Straw to step down
“I was first appointed to the Labour frontbench in 1980, and then elected to the Shadow Cabinet in 1987,” he told the Press Association. “But now I want the freedom to range more widely over foreign and economic policy.” – Jack Straw, Belfast Teregraph.
The immigration debate
Deborah Mattinson has run focus groups – snapshots of the voting public – for the past 20 years. In that time she has been made plainly aware of the needs, wants and fears of the British people. She claims that the immigration debate – dismissed to quickly by politicians as bigotry – is in fact a clear cry from voters that they are afraid for their families and their communities. – Daily Mail.
Nick Clegg Jnr
Somewhat sooner than any of us could have predicted, the time has come to ask what exactly is the point of Nick Clegg. Just cast your minds back to those heady days of the first-ever British television election debates as the nation enjoyed Mr Clegg’s warm sincerity; those arched hands, those dewy eyes that looked straight into the camera as he promised a ‘new politics’. – Daily Mail.
Ralph Miliband
“My father was very committed to his politics and to particular ways of thinking, but he also had a sense of humour and was never too busy to speak to us, or play with us, or go to the park. He took temporary teaching posts in America, and one year I went with him and lived with him on my own for three months. That was fantastic. I remember we would eat spaghetti with cold sauce.” – Ed Miliband, The Guardian.
Schools
Ministers are mothballing plans to rebuild more than 70 schools, it emerged today. Some 119 schools were promised new buildings in return for turning into academies under the Labour government. But Whitehall sources told a newspaper that building plans for at least 75 of the schools were being axed because the government cannot afford it. It would cost £2.3bn to pay for new buildings at all 119 schools. – The Guardian.
Coalition support
Mr Cameron is said to be calm and courteous – solicitous of staff. He wears his authority lightly and does not fret about taking decisions. Clever as well as confident, his easy public manner attests to the inner certainty. He is not overly fussed about being liked – Financial Times.
Tags: Jack Straw, Labour, Labour leadership, Miliband