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Archive for January, 2011

Wednesday News Review

12/01/2011, 06:55:40 AM

Labour turns up the heat over bonuses

Labour today stepped up the pressure on the government over City bonuses as the new chief executive of Barclays, Bob Diamond, stood firm against demands that he give up his potential £8m payout for 2010. Forcing George Osborne to the House of Commons dispatch box to defend his attempts to crack down on bankers’ bonuses, the shadow chancellor, Alan Johnson, said the coalition had gone “from the scent of rose garden to the stench of broken promises” since the election. The chancellor, who says we are all in this together, bows to the rich and powerful whilst bearing down on everyone else. His sneering arrogance will not get him out of this one,” Johnson said. – Guardian

George Osborne warned of stiff penalties yesterday unless banks cut bonuses and increase lending. The Chancellor said “nothing is off the table” if they do not comply. His emergency Commons statement to a packed chamber came after reports that the Government had given up trying to curb banks’ estimated £7BILLION bonuses. It was sparked by Barclays chief Bob Diamond, believed to be in line for an £8million payout, telling MPs that neither the Chancellor nor PM had asked him to limit his bonus. The Government appeared to be in disarray as officials refused to say what limits it would allow on bonuses. Mr Osborne said the Treasury is talking to banks about smaller bonuses, greater transparency and a fairer deal to customers. He added: “If the banks cannot commit to that I’ve made it very clear to them that nothing is off the table.” Mr Osborne was forced into his statement by Labour shadow Alan Johnson, who accused him of breaking a coalition vow to bring forward “robust” banking legislation. – The Sun

The coalition was in disarray over bank bonuses last night after Nick Clegg publicly demanded that the Treasury do more to slash sky-high payouts. Chancellor George Osborne responded by reviving a threat to hit the banks with new taxes unless they raise lending by £20billion this year and open their books to publish more details of bonuses. He told MPs ‘nothing is off the table’ if the banks are not more ‘responsible’. Mr Osborne intervened in an apparent attempt to placate Liberal Democrats furious at suggestions that the Government has abandoned hope of slashing the £7billion bonus pot to be paid by the big banks this year. Senior Lib Dems accused Downing Street of ‘waving the white flag’ over bonuses after months of tough talk. – Daily Mail

By-election number two

The Labour MP admitted dishonestly claiming more than £14,000 in taxpayer-funded expenses after being exposed by The Daily Telegraph. He is now expected to become the second MP to be sent to prison when he is sentenced until next month. The MP faces spending up to seven years in prison. However, Illsley will not automatically be banned from the House of Commons unless he is imprisoned for more than 12 months. There was growing pressure for the MP to resign his seat or for the Speaker to intervene to force him out of Parliament. Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, called on the MP to step aside. Illsley was suspended from the Labour Party when he was charged but still sits in Parliament as an independent MP representing Barnsley Central. Mr Miliband said: “Eric Illsley has been found guilty of a very serious charge. He is no longer a Labour MP and I think he should now do the right thing and resign as an MP. I do not think he can be a credible voice for his constituents having pleaded guilty to such a serious offence.” – Daily Telegraph (more…)

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It was the risk not the spending that Labour got wrong

11/01/2011, 04:15:34 PM

by Anthony Painter

Ed Miliband is in a bind. He is tied to a fiscal policy that the public believes was profligate and irresponsible. His strategy so far has been to defend that record to the best of his ability. That is not enough. It may be time to switch tack.

The debate is homing in on the question of whether Labour was spending too great before the 2007 turbulence. And actually if you pull out the figures the answer is marginally on the side of ‘defend the record’- on the face of it. Current spending was in deficit ahead of the crisis though not catastrophically so- 0.3% of GDP in 2006-2007. The public sector net debt was lower than in 1997 at 36.6%.

None of this looks irresponsible in fiscal terms. Public sector productivity and inefficiency tell a slightly different story- there is no doubt that the money invested in public services post-2001 failed to raise output as it should have done. Steve Richards in his articulation of the case for the defence in the Independent this morning acknowledges that fact:

“Labour failed to address inefficiencies in the public sector and some of the additional investment was wasted needlessly, but the overall spending was necessary at the time, as Blair discovered then and some senior Tories discover now.”

So the case for the defence seems to exonerate Labour for imprudence but is more ambiguous on wastefulness. (more…)

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The Piers Morgan of politics – 30 years since the birth of the SDP

11/01/2011, 02:30:05 PM

By David Seymour

Can it really be 30 years since the formation of the SDP? What a torrent of political water has flown under the bridge since then.

Younger readers will not have experienced that extraordinary mix of violent bitterness between those who left the Labour party and those who stayed (not to mention the internecine hatred between many of those who remained) and the thrill of something momentous happening in British politics.

The infiltration of the organised left – particularly the Militant tendency (note to younger subs: keep as lower case t) – and the chaos of the disorganised left was tearing Labour apart. Thatcher was in power but deeply unpopular.

It was such an exciting time to be involved in politics, but looking back on it now, you can’t help wondering what all the fuss was about. Was the result of all that angst and agony simply the creation of New Labour and this coalition government? (more…)

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This government will mess you up – especially if you’re black

11/01/2011, 01:00:18 PM

by Clive Lewis

History will probably look back on 2011 as the year “austerity Britain” kicked in. The year the Tory-Lib Dem cuts really began to bite. Central and local government have now had enough time to analyse their budgets. And decide where the axe will fall.

It’s not going to be pretty.

Here in Norfolk, the sheer depth and severity of the county council’s proposed cuts has been staggering. Just one example is youth services, which is expecting to be dismantled in its entirety.

Nearby authorities like Norwich, Harlow, Corby, Great Yarmouth, Breckland and Fenland have been hit hardest with the maximum cut of 9%. All across the country it is a similar story.

But of all the communities left reeling from these cuts, I fear it is the black community that is going to get it hardest of all. Here’s why:

According to the most recent figures of the annual population survey (Oct 2008–Sept 2009) 42.2% of black people in Britain work in public administration, education and health. We are talking about nurses, doctors, teachers, tube workers, civil servants and cleaners. That compares to only 29.5% of white people who work in those sectors.

You can see where I’m going with this.

By slashing public spending and public sector jobs, this Tory-Lib Dem government will be disproportionately hurting black people and their families.

The state is not perfect. But compared to much of the private sector, it pays better and has better equality of opportunity. It is a social driver and its growth over the past 13 years has been a good thing for many groups, including our own.

Take educational maintenance allowances (EMAs). We all know the depressing statistics of underachievement amongst some black students. In the past, school leavers from low-income families faced a stark choice: sign on or take a low paid job. EMA gave them an alternative: study.

This Tory-Lib Dem government has just taken that choice away by abolishing EMAs.

Figures for 2008 show that 43% of all 17-18 year-old full-time students received EMAs. But for black students the figure was around 65%.

Do the maths: more black teenagers and their families are losing out than any other group.

The realty is that we are living in a country governed by the most ideologically and economically repressive right-wingers my generation has ever seen. I understand that black people are not politically homogenous, that we won’t all agree on that statement. Just look at the make-up of Parliament and the (admittedly small) distribution of black people sat opposite one another in the chamber. At one level, this is to be welcomed. It is, after all, what operation black vote (OBV) is about, multi-spectrum political representation.

But I have to ask myself how some of those MPs can sit on the government benches and still look their communities in the eye. To piously sit there, and tell us these catastrophic public-spending cuts are a “necessary evil” and that “we’re all in this together” is, quite frankly, an insult.

The more you look at it, the more you realise that the Tory-Lib Dem government should have come with a health warning on it: “This government will seriously mess you up, especially if you’re black”.

Clive Lewis is an army officer who spent 2009 serving in Afghanistan and 2010 shadowing Ed Miliband as part of operation black vote.

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We need to be on the right side of EU disintegration

11/01/2011, 07:00:52 AM

by Jonathan Todd

Labour modernisers have been largely pro-European since Neil Kinnock made them so. The role of the EU in advancing Labour’s goals has often, however, been vaguely defined. As UK relations with the EU head towards various crunches, this seems likely to be inadequate.

The issues that are most important to people will determine the next general election: the economy, jobs and public services. Nonetheless, debate about the EU is going to get hotter. As this happens, the connections between EU policy and the things that people care most about are likely to become more apparent.

Most immediately, the European Union bill, over the short to medium term the euro-zone crisis and the longer term need for the UK to adapt to the rise of Asia could all bring UK/EU relations to the boil. The first of these pressure-points diminishes UK influence in the EU at the same time as the second poses not only an existential crisis to a currency to which we don’t belong, but a union to which we do and our largest trading partners.

Either disintegration of the euro/EU or consolidation of the euro as both a fiscal and monetary union seem more likely outcomes of this crisis than perpetuation of the status quo. Either way, British business has only just begun the adaptation that it must undergo to prosper in a world whose centre of gravity lies ever more firmly to the east. (more…)

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Tuesday News Review

11/01/2011, 06:30:18 AM

Europe set to haunt the Tories again

David Cameron faces a serious rebellion from his backbenchers tonight when a bill on the referendum lock goes before the Commons. MPs will debate amendments to the bill, with veteran eurosceptic Bill Cash putting forward a series of radical changes. Tory backbencher Douglas Carswell branded the bill, which would ensure a referendum in the case of a “significant” EU treaty, “smoke and mirrors”. “This bogus EU bill is no substitute for the referendum we were promised. Nothing in this bill will cause the permanent British representatives in Brussels, who really decide Europe policy, to change course,” he wrote on his blog. Mr Cameron originally promised the referendum lock in opposition, when it became clear that his promise of a referendum on the Lisbon treaty would not be possible. But Tory backbenchers have been dismayed by the moderate tone adopted towards the EU from the prime minister and his foreign secretary, William Hague, since they arrived in office.
Combined with the unconcealed pro-European credentials of the Conservatives’ Lib Dem coalition partners, many eurosceptic backbenchers are intensely uncomfortable with the way Britain’s relationship with the EU is being managed. Labour is unimpressed by the law, especially the judicial review aspect, which they say hands power to judges which should be in the hands of elected representatives. “Even the foreign secretary must know this bill is a dogs dinner,” said shadow foreign secretary Yvette Cooper. “This bill is about failed Tory party management not the issues that matter for Britain in Europe. Instead of concentrating on things like growth, exports or cross border crime, William Hague is wasting time trying and failing to keep his eurosceptics happy.” – politics.co.uk

Angry Conservatives last night intensified their revolt over Britain’s membership of the European Union ahead of crucial Commons votes tonight. MPs are due to debate the full details of the Government’s European Union Bill. It is designed to prevent any further surrender of power from Westminster to Brussels without a national referendum. But Eurosceptic Tories are threatening to side with Labour in a bid to make the measures far tougher. Bill Cash, Conservative MP for Stone, Staffordshire, last night added an amendment to the Bill seeking to make clear that Britain’s sovereignty lies with Parliament. Despite the growing discontent on Tory backbenches, Government whips were last night relaxed about the debate. One Tory source said: “It does not feel as if this rebellion has really caught alight.” The European Union Bill includes a “sovereignty clause” introducing the so-called “referendum lock” promised in the Conservative election manifesto. This would oblige any future government to hold a referendum before agreeing to a treaty that transfers sovereignty to Brussels. – Daily Express

Cameron defeated over bank bonuses

Downing Street has accepted that it cannot halt large bonuses for bankers and is instead negotiating to make employers disclose how many are given more than £1 million. Despite public anger at the prospect, it admits it holds little sway with banks which are not partly stated-owned. A No 10 source said last night: “Whatever the bonuses are – if they are £7 billion or £3 billion – they will be too big. We are going to get flak and we accept that.” Some Liberal Democrats in the Coalition, including Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, had hoped that the Treasury would look at another bank tax to discourage the bonus culture. But No 10 regards last year’s levy as “a one-off”. Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, accused the Coalition of giving banks a tax cut by not renewing the levy imposed by the last government. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said that, while the Government wanted restraint, David Cameron would not “micromanage” the banks. “We are not going to set bonus pools for individual banks. We are not going to set pay policy for individual members of staff,” he said. – Daily Telegraph

David Cameron was humiliated yesterday by bank chiefs who insisted he does NOT have a veto over their pay. The PM threatened to torpedo a £2.5million bonus for Stephen Hester, head of Royal Bank of Scotland – a bank saved with £20billion of taxpayers’ cash. The PM boasted in a weekend TV interview that he ¬“absolutely” had a veto over RBS bonuses. But 24 hours later, the bank insisted he does not have the power to stop Mr Hester ¬pocketing the bonus. An RBS spokesman said: “There isn’t a formal veto.” He added that RBS agreed to let the body set up to run the nationalised banks decide the total bonuses paid to its workforce last year in return for extra government support. But the arrangement was a “one-off”, he stressed. Shadow treasury minister Chris Leslie said Mr Cameron had landed himself in an “embarrassing muddle”. – Daily Mirror

Miliband is forced to defend Johnson

Ed Miliband insisted yesterday that Alan Johnson DOES know what he’s talking about – as a furious bank bonus row erupted. The Labour leader’s vote of confidence in his bungling Shadow Chancellor came as it emerged ministers are thrashing out a deal with bankers to be more open. Mr Johnson said employers paid National Insurance at 21 per cent. The figure is 12.8. He has also admitted needing an “economics for beginners” primer, seemed confused about when Labour’s cuts were due to start and unsure how long it will take to reduce the deficit. With Mr Johnson at his side, Mr Miliband told a press conference: “Alan clearly knows about these things. It’s the big things that matter in politics. The things that matter are your instincts.” – The Sun

Ed Miliband yesterday backed Shadow Chancellor Alan Johnson despite his National Insurance gaffe. The Labour leader said he would trust Mr Johnson’s judgment “any day” over George Osborne’s. He was speaking after Mr Johnson was caught out on TV wrongly saying the rate of NI contributions was 20% when it is 12.8%. It was his second slip-up in a week, prompting questions about whether he is the right man for the job. Last week Mr Johnson had to correct himself after he forgot the date by which Labour hoped to halve the deficit. Asked about the comments, Mr Milband said: “Alan clearly knows about these things. It’s the big things that matter.” – Daily Mirror

Labour lead by eight points

Labour has opened up an eight-point lead in the latest ComRes survey for The Independent as the Conservatives start to feel a backlash over spending cuts and the rise in VAT. It shows Labour on 42 per cent, up three points since the most recent ComRes poll for The Independent on Sunday three weeks ago, the Conservatives on 34 per cent (down three), the Liberal Democrats on 12 per cent (up one point) and other parties 12 per cent (down one). This is the biggest Labour lead, and the Tories’ lowest share of the vote, in any poll since last May’s general election and the largest Labour lead since ComRes began polling for The Independent in 2006. The figures would give Labour an overall majority of 102 at the next election if it were fought in the current first-past-the-post system. According to ComRes, the Tories trail Labour among voters in every age group below 55 and in every region of Britain except the Midlands. Labour enjoys a narrow one-point lead among the AB top social group. – Independent

Minister in fishy embarrassment

Fisheries minister Richard Benyon has been caught out by TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall after the politician revealed his lack of knowledge about Britain’s most common fish. Benyon was able to pick out only cod and monkfish from 12 of the most obvious fish and, after a second chance, managed to identify pollock too. However, he was unable to identify favourites such as halibut, haddock and plaice. Fisheries minister Richard Benyon could identify only three of 12 common fish. The minister makes the gaffe on the TV quiz show Hugh’s Fish Fight, which screens on Channel 4 tomorrow. He was clearly nervous about his level of knowledge when presented with the task. ‘Oh God, this is so cruel. I’m a landlubber,’ says Mr Benyon. – Daily Mail

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How to free yourself from facebook friendship

10/01/2011, 03:00:08 PM

by Dan Stokes

During an extended new year break this week, back in the bosom of my family, I found I had ran out of crap telly and exhausted the Sky+. Having watched Love Actually three times, the Gruffalo twice and perhaps the worst film ever made, The Triumph, I turned to mum’s dvd collection.

Other than the handful of free films from the Guardian and the Express (held on to after granddad died with some sentimental attachment), I was left with two choices: Titanic or About a Boy. The 4.5 seconds of Kate Winslet’s naked breasts were tempting, but About a Boy won the day.

I watched it in the usual way: messing around with laptop, flitting between ebay, BBC sport and the femail section of the Daily Mail website. And as I did so, I began to realise that, as Hugh Grant muses in the film, I am an island.

Just a few hours before, I’d made an excuse not to go and meet friends. And these were my childhood friends, whom I loved, whom as the years went by I only had the opportunity to see during national holidays, or more recently, weddings.

“I’m looking after my brother’s kids”, I’d said. The truth was I just couldn’t be bothered. (more…)

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A quantum of spin

10/01/2011, 11:39:34 AM

by Michael Dugher

You always know when a government is short of ideas. In the absence of serious policies to announce, any government will revert to “process”. I can almost picture the No 10 “grid meeting” from a few weeks ago: the strategic comms team will have been lambasting their hapless counterparts in the policy unit for having nothing positive to present to the public and the media. After a fraught meeting, the room came up with the idea of a “summit” with business figures to discuss “how we can promote growth”. Today’s Downing Street summit come hot on the heels of that other old chestnut of spin-over-substance: last week’s prime ministerial “regional tour” to talk about “how we can promote growth in the regions”. But behind the spin of today’s summit, the truth is that the Tory-led coalition has no plan for jobs and growth.

“You’ll get great pictures, boss” will have been the advice to the PM from the No 10 events team. So today, in time for the lunchtime bulletins, expect pictures of business leaders arriving at Downing Street, followed by shots of them gathered round the cabinet table, sucking the Fox’s Glacier Mints, leaning forward in their shirtsleeves whilst David Cameron, George Osborne and a token Lib Dem “get down to business”. There may even be the odd business leader, probably not a current Tory donor, who will be wheeled out to do a round of interviews at the Millbank studios to talk up the success of the summit, the poor fellow flattered to be asked/used, though no doubt keeping one eye on next year’s honours list. (more…)

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It’s not all right, Jack (Straw). Stop now before you get hurt.

10/01/2011, 07:00:29 AM

by Atul Hatwal

When boxers are past their prime, it’s the movement and speed that go. The power is still there, but when they throw a punch, it’s slower and off-target. Politicians are the same.

When Jack Straw stepped in to the ring on street grooming and the Pakistani community, he swung hard, but what did he hit?

If the intention was to draw attention to the problem, then he was late and missed. The debate was already raging; that’s why he was on Newsnight. If he wanted to add some insight, then he missed again; all he offered was more opinion.

On this issue so far, there has been a lot of comment but a shortage of actual evidence. There are some statistics; the Times cited a study which showed that out of 56 convictions for this type of offence, 53 were Asian men, predominantly Pakistani. (more…)

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Monday News Review

10/01/2011, 06:25:39 AM

Leaders clash over youth jobs

David Cameron has betrayed a generation of young people by denying them help to get a job, Labour leader EdMiliband will say today. The Prime Minister has summoned businesses chiefs to talks today on boosting employment. But Mr Miliband accused the him of ignoring the problem of youth joblessness, which is at its highest level for a quarter of a century. In March the Tory-led Government will end the Future Jobs Fund, which provides 100,000 places for under 25s, but the “work programme” which replaces it will not start until June. Speaking at a press conference in London, Mr Miliband will warn that Mr Cameron is repeating Margaret Thatcher’s mistakes, which led to the creation of a “lost generation” in the 1980s. Mr Miliband will say: “The first thing Mr Cameron should be addressing at his meeting today is the risk of a lost generation of young people in this country. “There will be a looming gap in the help given to unemployed young people. “This decision to betray young people is not just unfair it is the wrong long-term economic judgement.” – The Mirror

The key political battleground of employment will flare up today as David Cameron meets 20 leading multinational companies which have pledged to create jobs in Britain, and Labour mounts a campaign attacking the Coalition on youth unemployment. Ed Miliband is warning that thousands of young people face a “looming gap” when they look for help to find work because of the Coalition’s plans to scrap the Future Jobs Fund.But Mr Cameron counters that 300,000 private-sector jobs have been created in the past six months and he has plans to unveil more job pledges today. He hopes that by enlisting the support of large companies, such as McDonald’s, Shell and Toyota, the Government will appear pro-active in delivering jobs. The Prime Minister also gave warning yesterday that trade unions that strike over public-sector job cuts would find they would not be able to “push anyone around”. Speaking on the BBC, he said the Government was ready to talk about the impact of cuts but would not be forced into changing tack. “Striking is not going to achieve anything and the trade unions need to know they are not going to be able to push anyone around by holding this strike or that strike or even a whole lot of strikes together – they can forget it,” he said. – The Independent

Johnson jibes

Alan Johnson has been dogged by claims that he is not knowledgeable enough to be an effective opponent to George Osborne in times of economic hardship.His latest slip was seized upon by both Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats as an example of his lightweight ability. Mr Johnson appeared on Sky News on Sunday to criticise the Coalition Government’s announcement that VAT will rise to 20 per cent, a move he described as “fiscal fundamentalism”. Labour wants to increase national insurance as a way of tackling the deficit. Accused of being an economic “novice”, Mr Johnson said: “The accusation of economic novice is that when you take over a new job, you have to ensure that you bone up on these things.” A few seconds later, presenter Dermot Murnaghan asked the shadow minister to give the current rate of employers’ national insurance contributions. Mr Johnson tried to avoid the question before he said it would increase by one per cent, rising from 20 per cent to 21 per cent. Mr Murnaghan interrupted, to say: “Sorry, National Insurance, employers’ secondary class one-rate for employers, stands at the moment at …?” There was an awkward pause where Mr Johnson appeared unable to answer before the presenter came to his rescue, telling him the figure of 12.8 per cent. Mr Murnaghan went on: “Right, OK, I helped you out there. Just out of interest, there is still a lot to learn for you in terms of the job.” – The Telegraph (more…)

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