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Archive for March, 2011

Let’s leave the anti-cuts rallies and join the fuel protests

10/03/2011, 07:00:04 AM

by Peter Watt

Cuts, cuts cuts. Across the country, local parties are campaigning to defend libraries, schools and jobs at hospitals. Every cut announced nationally and locally is condemned and the heartlessness of the government blamed. In fact, to listen to Labour at the moment you would think that the only thing that people are talking about is cuts to public services. But I’m not sure that that is right. In fact, I think it may be a very dangerous assumption to make.

Sure, if you ask people do they agree with closing or their local library, children’s centre or whatever they will say “no”. But that doesn’t mean that they oppose “the cuts” in general. As Atul Hatwal powerfully pointed out on Uncut last week:

“The net result of six months of battle on the economy has been literally nothing. No change whatsoever in the 23% majority who view the government’s approach to cutting the deficit as necessary”. (more…)

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Thursday News Review

10/03/2011, 06:27:47 AM

Hague out, Mitchell in?

David Cameron today publicly backed William Hague over his handling of the Libya crisis after Labour leader Ed Miliband branded the Foreign Secretary incompetent. The Prime Minister told MPs during Question Time that Mr Hague, who was not present in the Commons as he was briefing the Queen, was doing an ‘excellent’ job. Mr Cameron’s endorsement comes after claims that a replacement Foreign Secretary had been lined up. Allies insisted last night that Mr Hague – who has been roundly criticised for his slow response to the conflict in North Africa – is determined to stay until the next election. But the Mail has learned the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary met privately on Monday evening in Downing Street for a heart-to-heart. International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell has reportedly been lined up to step in if Mr Hague quits. Downing Street stressed that Mr Hague ‘absolutely’ has David Cameron’s support. But No 10 yesterday referred statements on his state of mind to the Foreign Office. The Prime Minister’s spokesman said there were no plans for a Cabinet reshuffle ‘any time soon’. Yet senior officials were openly speculating about Mr Hague’s future yesterday. Sources said that Mr Cameron was poised to promote Mr Mitchell when Mr Hague appeared about to renounce frontline politics last year after revelations he shared a room with a male aide. A well-placed source said: ‘Andrew Mitchell is very well thought of and familiar with all the issues. He sits on the National Security Council. He would have been sent over last year if William had gone and he’s still the man. ‘William has lost his mojo. He seems tired and often unengaged. ‘He just doesn’t seem that interested.’ – Daily Mail

A political reputation totters precariously in the Libyan storm. Last May William Hague arrived at the Foreign Office as one of the most popular and authoritative figures in the Conservative Party, a key player in the Coalition. Now, in the latest twist of his curiously oscillating political journey, there is speculation about whether he will be in his post for much longer. Politics is turned on its head. Hague, a master of ridicule, is ridiculed. Seemingly calm and solid, he has become part of a damaging narrative for the Government as a whole that poses potentially lethal questions about its competence. Although Hague is trapped in a media narrative from which there is no easy escape, his troubles have wider implications. Very early on in its life questions are being raised about the Government’s competence, and not just Hague’s – the theme of yesterday’s Prime Minister’s Questions. Various ministers have been in the spotlight, including Nick Clegg, Michael Gove, Caroline Spelman and Andrew Lansley. Now it is Hague’s turn. In relation to Libya, control of policy has not always been clear. Is No 10 or the Foreign Office in charge? Is the policy one of cautious conservatism or Blair-like interventionism? As Hague totters the Government totters too, a coalition of two parties led by a trio of youthful politicians – Cameron, Osborne, Clegg – who have never been in government before, facing economic and international crises. In such circumstances there will be more cock-ups. If they occur in Hague’s brief, the pressure on him will grow. Yesterday even his absence at Prime Minister’s Questions caused a fleeting stir. Where was he? – the Independent

David Cameron had said he takes “full responsibility” for the botched SAS mission in eastern Libya and has given his full backing to his “excellent” foreign secretary, William Hague. The prime minister fought off the charge of government “incompetence” over both Libya and policing amid reports of a 12,000 cut in the number of frontline officers, as he locked horns with Ed Miliband at prime minister’s questions. In a heated exchange that resulted in both sides levelling personal attacks, the Labour leader seized on the secret mission to Benghazi – which left Britain severely embarrassed when an eight-strong team including special forces personnel was detained by local rebels – to claim that this was the latest event to fuel “increasing concern about the government’s competence on the issue of Libya”. Miliband told Cameron there was a “deafening silence” about the performance of the foreign secretary, who was not present in the Commons for question time because he was briefing the Queen, according to the Foreign Office. – the Guardian

Ireland swears in new Taoiseach

The Irish Republic on Wednesday swore in its new prime minister, Enda Kenny, after an election that wiped out the longtime ruling party, Fianna Fail. Ms. Kenny’s center-right Fine Gael party will now govern in a coalition with the center-left Labour Party. Ireland has been traumatized by the collapse of its economy and recently accepted a $93 billion loan from the European Union and theInternational Monetary Fund. Ms. Kenny pledged to enter into a “covenant with the Irish people” in which “honesty is not just the best policy; it’s our only policy.” – New York Times

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny was elected Taoiseach by an unprecedented 90-vote majority with the support of five Independents in a 117 to 27 division in the Dáil. Sinn Féin, the United Left Alliance and a number of other Independents including Shane Ross (Dublin South), Maureen O’Sullivan (Dublin Central), Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central), Catherine Murphy (Kildare North), Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West), Luke “Ming” Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim) John Halligan (Waterford) and Mick Wallace (Wexford) voted against. Fianna Fáil did not oppose Mr Kenny’s nomination and abstained from the vote, as did a number of other Independents. Party leader Micheál Martin said his party respected his mandate. However, he hit out at the programme for government, describing it as “one of the least specific” ever published and said the two parties had “kicked to touch on most of the major issues to be addressed by this Dáil”. Simon Harris (FG, Wicklow), at 24 the youngest TD in the Dáil, nominated Mr Kenny as Taoiseach. He said he would bring “integrity, honesty and a work rate which simply cannot be surpassed”, to the job. He said “today the period of mourning is over for Ireland. Today we hang out our brightest colours.” Ciara Conway (Lab, Waterford) who seconded the nomination said it was a “historic moment”. Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said his party could not support Mr Kenny’s nomination because he proposed to put Fianna Fáil’s four-year plan into effect and was “prepared to sell important State assets and introduce water charges and property taxes for ordinary households”. – Irish Times

Coordinated strikes in the air as pension reform takes centre stage

The generous pensions enjoyed by public sector workers are “not tenable” for taxpayers in the long term, a government-ordered inquiry will report today. Lord Hutton, the Labour peer and former Work and Pensions Secretary, will propose that the pensions of millions of state employees should no longer be based on their final salary. Instead, they would be linked to their average earnings during their career. Lord Hutton’s nine-month inquiry will also propose raising the age at which most public sector employees can draw their full pension from 60 to 65. It has already been increased for new recruits. In future, the “normal pension age” in most public service pension schemes would be linked to the age at which people qualify for the basic state pension. This is due to go up from 65 for both men and women in December 2018 to 66 by April 2020. The review increases the prospect of coordinated industrial action by millions of workers including NHS staff, fireman, prison officers and teachers. Ministers have drawn up contingency plans to deal with mass industrial action but union leaders urged them to enter into dialogue rather than “rushing” to make cuts. Brendan Barber, the TUC general secretary, said: “The pension schemes are already sustainable and their cost as a proportion of GDP is set to fall over time. The Government must listen to the concerns of public sector employees, and avoid imposing changes that will leave workers with poorer pensions, and lead to people dropping out of schemes, leaving them with no provision in their old age.” – the Independent (more…)

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Will Hague ride off into the sunset?

09/03/2011, 05:00:53 PM

by Kevin Meagher

Poor old William Hague. There’s no shortage of people on this side of the aisle who have a soft spot for our favourite failed Tory leader. He’s self-deprecating, quick-witted and only ever tribal in that tongue-in-cheek sort of way. But the buck has come screeching to a halt outside his door for the botched incursion into Libya by UK special forces last week. And that buck is not for shifting.

His apparent sanctioning of the “botched” boy’s own adventure has already generated reams of speculation about his future as foreign secretary and dominated today’s PMQs. The cod psychology in today’s papers is equally feverish. Kevin Maguire in the Mirror raises the possibility that there is a darker tale to tell in this story of derring do (or perhaps derring d’oh!), that perhaps the incursion team may have been on a “black ops” mission. (more…)

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Who will be the next Labour leader?

09/03/2011, 02:05:27 PM

by Dan Hodges

One day the unthinkable will happen. We will be forced to stop all the clocks. Ed Miliband will cease to be Labour leader.

For those of us who have supported him loyally from the outset, it will be tough to come to terms with. But struggle on we will, because that is politics, and that is life.

Then our gaze will fall upon another. Were Ed to slip under the wheels of a passing automobile tomorrow, aside from hoping his brother possessed a cast iron alibi, the search for his replacement would be unlikely to extend beyond the same household. Ed Balls or Yvette Cooper would be a shoo-in. The contest would probably be decided around a kitchen table in Stoke Newington.

But throw things forward a few years. Let time march on. Who are the standard bearers of the next, new generation?

Over the last couple of months two names have begun to flutter around the tea rooms and stronger watering holes of Parliament. One has not exactly fluttered, but soared. Chuka Umunna, a political prospect so hot that bookmakers William Hill and Victor Chandler have (wrongly) installed him ahead of Ed Balls in the leadership sweepstakes. The second name is less heavily supported by the turf accountants, but is starting to attract increasing interest from those inside the Westminster beltway: Stella Creasy. (more…)

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Half a minute Harris

09/03/2011, 12:05:16 PM

Episode 2: Should we abstain on the welfare reform bill?

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Cameron would be lucky to get out of the pub alive

09/03/2011, 07:52:16 AM

by Tom Watson

It’s a poor workman that blames his tools. And this week the government has written the case study that scholars of public administration will follow for years to come in their lesson on how not to make reforms.

It’s a complete shambles behind that famous black metal door. Authorised and less-authorised briefings attacking huge sections of the population are spewing out of the government at such a rate that it’s hard to keep count.

I remember being told as a teenager living in Kidderminster that you should never pick a fight with the whole pub. Think about what David Cameron has been up to in the last couple of weeks. With his current record, he’d never have got out of the Market Tavern alive.

The list of people and groups he has officially offended is remarkable.

The civil service. They’re the enemies of enterprise, apparently. I promise Mr Cameron that he will regret those comments and the briefing that went with them. The survival instincts of Mr Gus O’Donnell and his team of mandarins are legendary. Cam’s team will pay in a hundred ways he hasn’t begun to imagine. Sure, the civil service needs reform, but insulting the entire institution won’t work. Trust me on this. I’ve tried it that way and failed. The only way to get lasting reforms in Whitehall will be a “Northcote Trevelyan Two” and a consensus between the parties. There are plenty of frustrated ex-ministers who, I am sure, would suspend their axe-grinding in order to work with our opponents to get the civil service in better shape. (more…)

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Wednesday News Review

09/03/2011, 07:00:35 AM

Speculation over Hague’s future

WILLIAM HAGUE has achieved the impossible – he’s more incompetent than Michael Gove. The blundering Just William in the Foreign Office is a bigger joke than even the dunce at the Education Department. Hague’s aides frantically ringing anyone who’ll listen to insist Willie’s not lost his Mojo means they know he’s sinking fast in the quick sands of Libya. Cameron’s Con-servative deputy’s a proud man, as we witnessed when he quit as Tory leader on the dawn of the party’s 2001 thumping. Willie enjoys telling the jokes – not squirming as the butt of merciless jibes. Yet his future ended with the botched SAS expedition to Libya, Hague a bumbling Private Pike when what’s needed is a smart Andy McNab. Critics are queuing up to kick sand in his face. MPs last night openly speculated in the Commons about when not if he’ll quit. – the Mirror

On Tuesday Mr Hague was forced to defend himself against questions about his commitment to his job and his handling of the crisis in the Middle East. He insisted that he intended to stay in place “for an extended period”, but failed to quell speculation in Westminster about his future. Mr Hague has faced repeated criticism over his handling of the crisis in Libya. This week he has come under fire for the botched SAS and MI6 mission to contact groups in eastern Libya rebelling against the rule of Col Muammar Gaddafi. He was also criticised for mistakenly suggesting last month that the Libyan dictator had fled the country. Allies of Mr Hague have told The Daily Telegraph they believe that criticism of him is being privately encouraged by other Cabinet ministers. A senior Foreign Office source said: “The root of the problem for William Hague is that he sits in a Cabinet where several other ministers think they could do his job better than he could.” – the Telegraph

William Hague has has sparked renewed speculation about his commitment to his job as foreign secretary with a convoluted explanation about having to shoulder responsibilities for an “extended period of time” during the historic events in the Arab world. Amid Tory fears that Hague is losing the will to fight after a row last year about sharing a hotel room with his special adviser, the foreign secretary was on Tuesday forced to deny that he is considering whether to resign after the failure of an SAS mission in eastern Libya. Hague, who faced Labour accusations in the commons on Monday of “serial bungling” in response to the Libyan crisis, found himself under pressure when Sir Menzies Campbell questioned his commitment to his job. “I am not sure just how enthusiastic he is about this business,” Campbell told BBC2’s Newsnight on Monday night. “It is very, very hard. It is a very, very demanding job.” The intervention by the former Liberal Democrat leader prompted a tortuous response from Hague when he was challenged about his position during a press conference with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. – the Guardian

Welfare reform bill will be a disaster for cancer patients

The coalition’s radical plans to reform the benefits system has come under attack from an unprecedented alliance of 30 cancer charities, who warn that the welfare reform bill will leave tens of thousands of people with cancer worse off and risks “pushing some into poverty”. The charities have written to Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, urging him to rethink plans in the bill that will mean a “significant number of people with cancer will be left without vital financial support at a time when they need it the most”. The bill is due to receive its second reading in the Commons on Wednesday. The warning came as Labour backbenchers put pressure on Ed Miliband to vote against the entire bill, a move the leadership fears would send a signal that the party is opposed to welfare reform. There are signs that support for the bill’s principles is beginning to fray due to opposition to specific elements of it. The shadow work and welfare secretary, Liam Byrne, endured a difficult meeting of the parliamentary Labour party on Monday night, with some MPs demanding outright opposition. The shadow cabinet agreed that the party should table a highly critical amendment, and then abstain on second reading, a tactic that could lead to rank-and-file Labour MPs voting against it in one of the first rebellions of Miliband’s leadership. – the Guardian (more…)

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Cameron has nothing to say. Clegg shrinks from his besandled assassins.

08/03/2011, 03:00:32 PM

by Kevin Meagher

As conference slogans go, Building a Better Future is a stinker. A dull, vacuous piece of political boilerplate; the ultimate holding statement: “I’ve not actually built anything yet, but it will be great when it’s finished. Trust me”.

Nevertheless, David Cameron thought it an apposite description for last weekend’s Conservative spring conference in Cardiff.

Of course he was not the first to grope for this catch-all formulation. “Building a better future” is the strapline for the Northern Ireland executive’s programme for government, Merton council’s major building programme and a campaign run by the dog’s trust.

In fact there are 66 million Google hits for the phrase.

But it was rather fitting: an empty slogan for an empty speech from a prime minister struggling for definition.

New Labour once had a snappy term for the position David Cameron now finds himself in: “post euphoria, pre-delivery”. In other words, how do you keep the va va voom in your party once the dull grind of governing takes over from the manic energy of electioneering? (more…)

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If we don’t stand, we can’t win. A Labour candidate in every ward.

08/03/2011, 01:00:32 PM

By John Spellar

There have been some significant omens heralding the implosion of the Lib Dems. Barnsley, where they slumped from second to sixth, is the most dramatic, leading to the bizarre outburst by Lib Dem president, Tim Farron MP, in which he compared Barnsley to North Korea.

Nor should we ignore the surge of UKIP as a new oppositionalist channel. A few weeks ago down in Cornwall, Labour went from fifth to first to win a county council seat.

The pattern isn’t universal. The Lib Dems are holding out in some areas. But there is clearly a rumbling in the land. There are also strong rumours that polling shows that Clegg’s position has slumped disastrously in his Sheffield Hallam constituency.

Which leads us to the elections in May. The public will only be able to register their disgust with this Tory-led coalition if they have Labour candidates to vote for. It is not only bad for Labour, but bad for democracy if we let the case go by default in some areas by not running candidates.

The NEC and Victoria Street should instruct all regions to ensure that everyone going to the polls has the chance to vote Labour. There must be no hiding place for the Tories and the Lib Dems.

We will win a lot more votes, build the party across the country and – as in Cornwall – make some surprising gains.

Closing date for nominations is Monday 4 April.

John Spellar is Labour MP for Warley.

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On international women’s day, do women have cause to celebrate this government?

08/03/2011, 11:30:22 AM

by Victoria Williams

Today is international women’s day. An apposite occasion to ask, in which case: do women have cause to celebrate the Tory-Liberal government?

In Parliament, women’s representation has improved, with the number of female MPs rising from 126 to 142 in the 2010 election. Nevertheless, the centre for women and democracy has described the 2.5% increase as “derisory”. The election of “Cameron’s cuties” swelled the number of female Conservative MPs from 18 to a more respectable 48 (though one might argue that calling them “Cameron’s Cuties” rather negates any positive aspect of it as an exercise in equality). But even adding in the Lib Dems’ paltry seven female MPs, the two governing parties combined still have fewer woman MPs than Labour’s 81 (and than the 94 they had in 2005, or the 101 in 1997). (more…)

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