Miliband: ‘Our plans involved cuts’

Mr Miliband, a former adviser to Mr Brown, yesterday became the latest Labour figure to say that he had been wrong to “pretend” that cuts were avoidable. “We should have acknowledged earlier, after the financial crisis happened, that eventually there would have to be cuts under Labour,” Mr Miliband said. “Our plans involved cuts and we should have acknowledged that. The problem we faced was that we sometimes looked like we were pretending there weren’t going to be cuts under Labour, when there were.” The Labour leader also said that the party should “take our responsibility for not having regulated the banks sufficiently, along with governments around the world.” The UK economy was over-reliant on the financial sector and “too exposed” the financial crisis, he said. – the Telegraph

British Medical Association: ‘NHS reforms hugely risky’

Health reforms planned by the Government are “extraordinarily risky” and could lead to lower standards of care, a report from the NHS Confederation is expected to warn. The organisation, which represents hospitals and primary care trusts, agrees reform is needed but will criticise Health Secretary Andrew Lansley for failing to explain how the changes will benefit patients, the Observer reported. Mr Lansley is expected to publish the Health and Social Care Bill on Wednesday. His reforms will hand GPs responsibility for around 80% of the NHS budget and abolish primary care trusts. “Price competition”, which will allow hospitals to undercut each other to attract patients, could risk standards of care, the NHS Confederation is set to warn. – Sky

Miliband condemns strike action for Royal wedding

Ed Miliband yesterday condemned the prospect of unions timing industrial action to coincide with the Royal Wedding in April or next year’s Olympic Games. The Labour leader urged them against organising co-ordinated strikes to protest against cuts, warning them the tactic would be a return to the “heroic failures” of the 1980s. His comments marked his latest effort to rebut Tory accusations that he is “Red Ed”, with an agenda dictated by the large unions that bankroll his party. Some union officials have suggested that London Underground workers could strike on 29 April, the day of Prince William’s marriage to Kate Middleton. Mr Miliband told BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show: “I am appalled at the idea of strikes to disrupt people going to the Royal Wedding. It alienates the public, and it is not the way to make the political argument we need to make.” Aides said he would be delivering the same message in a meeting with union leaders this week. – the Independent

News Corporation braces itself for further lawsuits

News Corporation executives have been considering how to draw a line under the News of the World phone-hacking affair as the Rupert Murdoch-controlled publisher of the tabloid – via its News GroupNewspapers subsidiary – braces itself for further celebrity lawsuits in the coming weeks. This weekend it emerged that former England footballer Paul Gascoigneis planning to sue the paper, claiming his phone was hacked, while others are poised to act after being told that they were referred to in the notebooks of Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator employed by the tabloid who was jailed for his part in hacking into phones belonging to aides of Princes William and Harry. The drip-drip of accusations has left News Corp wondering how much more it has to endure, at a time when the company is already quietly softening its legal approach when it is being sued. Previously News Corp had sought to settle cases, paying Gordon Taylor, head of the Professional Footballers’ Association, and publicist Max Clifford, about £1m each. Now it is letting the cases run, partly to see what evidence there is of hacking by NoW reporters, and also because it does not want to be treated as a “piggy bank” by high-profile claimants. – the Guardian

Ed says Labour made mistakes

Ed Miliband yesterday urged unhappy Lib Dems to work with him to fight the Government’s cuts. He condemned Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg’s decision to sign up to the coalition as a “tragic mistake”. The Labour leader said he was pleased many Lib Dems “now see Labour as the main vehicle for their hopes”. He admitted Labour made “serious mistakes” in Government, losing voters’ trust by being too slow by being too slow to admit the need for cuts or regulate the banks. – the Mirror

Ed Miliband tore into Labour‘s style of government under Tony Blair andGordon Brown today as he promised to rebuild a grassroots movement that would go beyond “the bureaucratic state” and look to local people for answers. Seeking to sustain momentum after the party’s success in last week’s Oldham East and Saddleworth byelection, the Labour leader insisted the party would only move forward if it understood how and why it “lost touch with people’s daily struggle” during 13 years in power. Miliband told the Fabian Society that he was proud of much that Labour did in office, but that its failure to regulate the markets and, latterly, its belief that the state knew best, left it remote from the people it existed to serve. – the Observer

The Labour leader appealed to disaffected Lib Dems to work with him to oppose the spending cuts being implemented by the Coalition Government. Mr Miliband said the decision by Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader, to enter government with the Conservatives was a “tragic mistake” and he declared himself ready to co-operate with the Lib Dems “in Parliament and outside it”. Mr Miliband, who has been faced accusations of a lacklustre performance since becoming leader, admitted his party had made mistakes and needed to change course. In a speech to the Fabian Society, Mr Miliband acknowledged that Labour had lost voters’ trust by failing to regulate banks, seeming “in thrall” to the markets and remote from ordinary people’s values. – Telegraph

Lansley under fire

Hospitals will have to close, patient care could be hit and treatment rationed by GPs because of the government’s controversial shake-up of the NHS, health bosses and medical leaders have warned. The biggest restructuring of the service since its creation in 1948 is described as “extraordinarily risky” by NHS leaders and medical groups in a new report. The analysis by the NHS Confederation – comprising the British Medical Association, the Faculty of Public Health and the royal colleges representing GPs, surgeons and hospital doctors – comes ahead of publication of the government’s flagship Health and Social Care Bill on Wednesday. The report accepts the need for reform but criticises the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, for failing to persuade patients and health professionals that his radical proposals to hand the power to commission services to GPs will improve the NHS, and for not doing enough to boost patient power. – the Observer

Cameron turns down Coulson resignation

David Cameron refused to accept the resignation of his communications chief, Andy Coulson, over the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, it was reported last night. Tensions inside Number 10 have mounted over the potential damage caused to the government’s reputation by allegations of voice-mail hacking and mobile phone interception at the Sunday red-top when Mr Coulson was its editor. After a series of rows with Downing Street policy chief Steve Hilton, Mr Coulson offered to quit, according to The Mail on Sunday. However, both Mr Cameron and George Osborne, the Chancellor, are said to have refused to accept the resignation and vowed to stand by Mr Coulson, who has played a key role in overseeing the coalition’s media strategy. “Andy has said sorry to the PM for the embarrassment caused by the phone-bugging saga,” a source, described as a “well placed insider”, told The MoS. “He said it was making it difficult to do his job properly but he was doing his best.” – the Independent

Yes vs. No

The battle to overhaul Britain’s voting system is wide open, with almost two-thirds of people amenable to ditching first past the post. An exclusive poll for The Independent on Sunday says a third (34 per cent) have already decided to back the alternative vote in the referendum planned for 5 May, a vote which Labour peers are seeking to delay. But the ComRes survey reveals 61 per cent could be persuaded to support changing the voting system when they have heard more of the arguments for and against. Surprisingly, 54 per cent of Conservative voters are open to persuasion. It comes as the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, said he would honour his pledge to campaign in favour of AV. “The reason politics is discredited is because politicians always break their promises,” he said. In a speech to a Fabian Society, he also made a direct appeal to Liberal Democrats unhappy at their party’s “tragic mistake” in joining the Tories in government. – the Independent

Oldham round-up

DAVID Cameron is under pressure from the Tory ranks to take a stronger stance at by-elections after the party finished a distant third in Oldham East and Saddleworth. But the Conservative high command continued to deny giving the second-placed Lib Dems an easy ride in order to give Nick Clegg the best chance of a morale-boosting victory. Aides insisted a collapse in the Tory vote since last May’s General Election was due to Conservatives voting Lib Dem in a tactical bid to stop Labour. The contest was called after a court case unseated Labour MP Phil Woolas for telling lies about his Lib Dem rival. Yesterday Lib Dem Elwyn Watkins, who came within 103 votes of winning last May, finished 3,558 votes behind Labour winner Debbie Abrahams. Tory Kashif Ali was third with 4,481. – the Express

Cameron under fire for soft peddling

The Prime Minister is facing growing attacks from restless backbenchers – 27 of whom rebelled against the party whip over Europe this week – complaining that he is conceding too much influence to Mr Clegg’s party. Some even fear Mr Cameron is considering a Con-Lib Dem electoral pact at the next general election. The former party chairman Lord Tebbit described the Oldham East performance as “dreadful” and added: “Mr Cameron may be pleased that his decision to run a half-hearted campaign and offer good wishes to their candidate helped save the Liberals, but Conservatives will be downcast. “The Liberals fought an excellent campaign and with the help of Mr Cameron they avoided total disaster.” He claimed that the Tory tactics had played into the hands of the UK Independence Party, who came fourth with more than 2,000 votes. The MP Douglas Carswell protested that the Tory candidate, Kashif Ali, had been “let down” by the leadership. “It is usually a good idea if you want to do well as a party to make it clear that you are serious about trying to win. We have paid the price on the doorstep and our leaders should reflect on that,” he said. Bernard Jenkin, the MP for North Essex, said: “The Conservative candidate did well, considering there was such ambivalence from the leadership about whether they wanted to the Conservative Party to do well.” – Independent

THE people have spoken and their voices will reverberate along the corridors of power at Westminster. Voters in the constituency of Oldham East and Saddleworth sent Labour’s Debbie Abrahams to Parliament with a thumping majority – 30 times greater than at the general election. That is an unmistakably popular verdict on the ConDem government and its ­policies: “No thanks!” It can’t be dismissed. The FibDems wanted this poll. They moved heaven and earth to get it, ousting a Labour MP through an unprecedented election court action. They poured all their resources into nominating their egregious candidate Elwyn Watkins. And they failed. Thousands of Tories then switched their votes to the LibDems in the hope of stopping Ed ­Miliband’s bandwagon. That failed, too. Tetchy Baroness Warsi, who ran the Tories’ non-campaign, claimed yesterday: “Nothing much has changed.” Oh yes it has! The first real votes cast since the general election that nobody won have given fresh momentum to Labour. – the Mirror

If David Cameron and Nick Clegg think that Oldham East and Saddleworth is a bad result, it’s time they thought again. The next few months will propel the Coalition government into a terrifying new dimension of electoral horror. This May, the Liberal Democrats and the Tories face the certain prospect of a bloodbath in the local elections, added to humiliation in the polls for the Welsh assembly. Meanwhile, Labour look set to romp to victory in the Scottish parliamentary elections – once again leaving Lib Dems and Tories devastated. Nor is that all. The national referendum on the alternative vote, also set for May, is bound to open up fresh rancour in Coalition ranks. Defeat looks inevitable, meaning Nick Clegg’s dream of electoral reform – one of his key reasons for entering into a Tory-led government – will be squashed. Afterwards, his hard-pressed troops will naturally ask what is the point of unpopularity if there’s no reward at the end of it. – the Telegraph

Miliband: Still work to do

The first real electoral test for this Conservative-led government has revealed people’s deep sense of unease about the direction in which our country is being led, and their anger at promises so solemnly made and yet so casually broken. I believe that unease stems from misgivings shared right across Britain on the three arguments that will dominate the year ahead: the economy; the damage being done to the next generation; and the way we conduct politics. From the trebling of student debt, to capitulation on bankers’ bonuses and a VAT rise squeezing working families, this government is showing it shares neither their values nor their hopes for the future. But Labour would be wrong if we thought the result in Oldham meant that the next election will somehow fall into our lap. Across Britain I know there are many who need to be convinced that Labour can offer Britain the progressive future they want. But I am also confident that Labour can again be the standard bearer for the progressive majority at the heart of British society. – Ed Miliband, the Guardian

DAVID Cameron suffered a furious backlash from Tory MPs after the party’s dismal showing in the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election. The Prime Minister and party chairman Baroness Warsi were slated as Labour easily won the seat. Seething Tory backbenchers said Mr Cameron deliberately ran a low-key campaign to give the Lib Dems more chance of winning. And Baroness Warsi was branded “Baroness Bonkers” after she lashed out at her colleagues. Tory MP Douglas Carswell said Conservative candidate Kashif Ali was “let down” by party leaders as he came in a distant third behind Labour’s Debbie Abrahams. – the Mirror

David Cameron came under attack last night for failing properly to back the Conservative candidate in the Oldham by-election. The Prime Minister was accused of letting down his man and party in order to help his Liberal Democrat Coalition partners. Baroness Warsi, the Tory chairman, meanwhile attempted to blame the party’s “Right wing” after Kashif Ali finished a poor third in the first proper test of public opinion since last year’s general election. Mr Ali, who had come within 2,000 votes of taking the seat last May, was comprehensively beaten by the victorious Labour candidate and the Liberal Democrats. Mr Cameron, despite visiting the constituency during the campaign, was accused of “soft-pedalling” to spare a further humiliation for Nick Clegg, the leader of the Lib Dems, who is already under pressure on tuition fees. – the Telegraph