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Archive for August, 2011

Can Labour’s Cooler King make it over the wire?

02/08/2011, 12:43:18 PM

by Dan Hodges

Every Christmas evening my family and I would settle down for the same ritual. Excitement, mixed with anticipation, blended with hope.

Could this, we wondered, be the year Steve McQueen finally makes it over the wire?

In the days before satellite television lured us out of our cosy viewing habits with “Ice Road Truckers” and “Extreme Animal Attacks 2”, the film the Great Escape was a festive staple. Cruel Gestapo hoods. A brutal execution of heroic allied officers. The perfect accompaniment to the season of peace and goodwill.

Though it was on every year, familiarity did not breed contempt. Instead it produced intrigue. Would James Garner check the fuel gauge before shepherding Donald Pleasence on his doomed flight to safety? Might Gordon Jackson hold his tongue when the suspicious German ticket collector wishes him “good luck”?

But most tantalising of all, what fate would befall Captain Virgil Hilts, ‘The Cooler King’, McQueen’s perpetually incarcerated US fighter pilot? Every year he would gun his stolen BMW motorbike towards the snow capped mountains of neutral Switzerland. And every year his heroic bid for freedom would fall agonisingly short.

For the first year of his leadership Ed Miliband has been the Labour party’s Cooler King. Trapped by an inconclusive mandate, imprisoned by his own insecurity, held hostage by a party unable to come to terms with electoral defeat and the reality and demands of opposition.

No longer. Labour’s leader has awoken to find the cell door ajar, the guard towers deserted and the searchlights extinguished. Suddenly he sees the prospect of making his own great escape. (more…)

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Murdoch – sympathy for the devil?

02/08/2011, 09:05:22 AM

by Kevin Meagher

Ever since that bright Friday morning on 10 April 1992 I have maintained a blood oath. As I woke following Labour’s fourth consecutive general election defeat – robbed by Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid snipers at The Sun – who picked off our leaders and traduced our policies with heartless precision – I swore revenge.

So, in the spirit of “think global, act local”, I have never bought a copy of The Sun from that day to this. As an occupational hazard I read it from time to time, as I do The Times, but my conscience is clear; I never shelled out cash for either paper.

Rupert Murdoch is deprived of my few shillings in protest at his malign impact on our public life. The only flaw in my otherwise spotless moral universe is purchasing The Sunday Times. I have not worked out a way around that one yet (well it is the Sunday papers, after all).

But there’s no Sky TV in the Meagher household. Even though, following BSkyB’s acquisition, I now miss out on the oeuvre of cult US cable station HBO, I will not budge. My nineteen year boycott of (nearly) all things related to the Dirty Digger remains resolute.

I am not alone. For many on the left Murdoch is a member of the pantheon of the detested; up there with Thatcher, Tebbit and Powell. The late Dennis Potter even called the cancer that was killing him “Rupert” as a reminder of the man he despised for his coarsening effect on British popular culture.

But does there come a point when there is no more hate left to give? Over these past few weeks I have come to realise that my spleen is all vented out. I am content, rather, to win on points. The octogenarian Rupert Murdoch will now go to his maker under the cloud of an investigation of one kind or another.

He will be lucky to fend off investors who are tired of his antics and the way he runs his business like a personal fief; or US authorities who take a dim view of companies bribing public officials in whatever jurisdiction. The end game for Rupert Murdoch seems nigh.

(more…)

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Tuesday News Review

02/08/2011, 06:50:16 AM

Osborne needs answers now

Bad economic news bombarded the Treasury on Monday as new International Monetary Fund forecasts cast doubt on the chancellor’s deficit reduction plan, while near-term indicators suggested the recovery was losing the little momentum it had. The IMF judged that Britain’s economy had less capacity to grow quickly over the next few years than the government had hoped, slowing the reduction in borrowing to the point where it comes within a whisker of missing George Osborne’s main fiscal target. – FT

In a comprehensive analysis of the state of the British economy, the economic watchdog said that, between them, families would have £35 billion less disposable income due to the Government’s attempts to tackle the deficit. In addition, a fall in the value of houses would wipe off more than a tenth of their “tangible” wealth in real terms by 2016, the IMF said in its report. The forecast for household finances came amid a growing political row about recent slow growth. George Osborne has come under pressure from David Cameron to come up with new ways to stimulate the economy. – the Telegraph

The UK faces a “bumpy and uneven” economic recovery, with families £1,500 a year worse off, the International Monetary Fund has warned. A report from the organisation backs the Coalition’s fiscal policies, but said the Government must be ready to change course if growth and inflation figures do not improve. Deficit reduction plans will leave households with £35 billion less in disposable income, with falls in house prices cutting 12% from their “tangible wealth”. –PoliticsHome

Local authorities forced to make council tax benefit cuts

Town halls are to be forced to take charge of drastic cuts to the £5billion paid out each year in council tax benefits. Amid claims local authorities are standing by as the system is defrauded and claimants languish on the dole, ministers will today announce they are handing them responsibility for the payments. Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles says councils will have to determine who is eligible for the benefit – currently administered by the Work and Pensions Department – which is given to low-income households to help them with the cost of council tax. Pensioners will be protected against any reduction, but many working-age claimants are likely to face cuts. – The Mail

Miliband brings in Allen to review party structure

Charles Allen, the former chief executive of ITV and chairman of EMI, is to oversee a management and commercial review of the Labour party asEd Miliband moves to underline his pro-business credentials. The Labour leader said that Allen, a longstanding supporter, will bring huge experience to the rebuilding of the party. Allen, who was recruited to EMI by financier Guy Hands, said: “I am delighted to be asked to conduct this review and to play my part in developing a strong and effective party, built on the foundations of strong grassroots support.” The appointment of Allen, who will work on a voluntary part-time basis at Labour headquarters, is the second significant appointment by Miliband in recent weeks after the arrival of Iain McNichol, the former GMB national policy officer, as general secretary. McNichol said: “Charles is a longstanding supporter and friend of the Labour party, as well as an experienced and successful businessman. His expertise in both private and public sectors will help us to build the stronger organisation Ed and I want to see.” – the Guardian

Big Society? Charities in decline

More than 2,000 charities are being forced to close services and sack staff as local authorities slash their funding, or in some cases completely withdraw it, according to research published on Tuesday. The study – based on 265 freedom-of-information responses from local councils across England and obtained by the union-backed anti-cuts campaign False Economy – reveals the scale of the impact that cuts are having on the charitable sector. Birmingham city council has cut funding to the largest number of charities, with more than 190 organisations losing out, followed by the cross-council organisation London Councils, which has cut funding to 174 groups. Many charities will see their funding cut by half while others will lose entire budgets. The hardest hit include children’s and young-people charities, with more than 380 organisations hit. Another 150 disability, 142 elderly and more than 110 adult care charities are also affected. – the Guardian

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Louise Mensch – future Tory PM or car crash waiting to happen?

01/08/2011, 01:00:46 PM

Louise Mensch – darling of the twitterati and media doyenne. After well deserved praise, even by Labour bloggers, for how she handled potential media revelations about her past, she has become something of a Westminster village heroine.

Already there is chatter about her as future leadership material.

But she combines three qualities which are terminal for new MPs – independent profile, past baggage and a boldness verging on the reckless. Louise Mensch is more likely to crash and burn than become Tory PM.

As a multi-million selling author, Louise Mensch was already well known before becoming an MP. She had money, fans and journalists eager to seek her out.

The House of Commons is like school. A new kid with a reputation breeds resentment amongst the less blessed – both amongst the new intake but particularly from the older hands.

Disparaging asides about la Mensch are already doing the rounds in the tea room and the bars amongst her colleagues.

Last week, one of her female colleagues was seen to roll her eyes at her mention and hiss ‘Louise bloody Mensch’. The whips are mistrusting and she is building up the one thing that newbies must avoid – enemies on her own side.

As someone with a past, the David Jones e-mail is just the start. Mensch was a press officer at EMI at the height of the “fruit and flowers” years. So called because of the euphemistic line item in the budget, which was cover for £200,000 a year allegedly spent on other ingredients of the rock and roll “lifestyle”. In those days, EMI was a party company.

There will be lots more to come.

Her current line, a variant on George W Bush’s “when I was young and reckless I was young and reckless” is fine to a point, but its purpose is to box off debate on past misdemeanours. It begins to break down if there is a stream of new revelations.

Inevitably, given her admission, there will be further questions about when she changed her lifestyle. If Mensch has been a paragon of virtue since her twenties, she will be fine, but as a celebrity author in her thirties, the temptations would have been more, not less.

And then there’s her judgement.

On the plus side, her boldness in pressing News International on the culture select committee is commendable. But the self-confidence that led her, as a new MP, to challenge the Murdochs also meant she made those ridiculous charges about Piers Morgan without bothering to check the facts.

Success in politics builds slowly. The stars that shine the brightest, earliest, often burn out.

At the height of the expenses crisis, David Cameron made lots of noises about wanting candidates from different backgrounds that had been successful before politics. That were more independent and brought new experiences into the House of Commons.

Careful what you wish for, David.

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The weasel the government sneaked through during the phone-hacking frenzy

01/08/2011, 10:02:12 AM

by Michael Dugher

It’s fair to say that local government finance is not something that sets hearts racing. The complexity – or incomprehensibility – of the subject turns off even the most ardent policy wonk. In fact, some of you reading this article are already thinking about abandoning doing so, with a view to logging on later when hopefully Dan Hodges has written something more interesting. So when Eric Pickles made a statement in Parliament about local government business rate retention during the height of the phone-hacking frenzy, it was not surprising that the majority of the media gave it little attention. However, despite the lack of interest, these proposed changes that have slipped under the radar are extremely important and could be the government’s most damaging reforms to date.

At the moment, local businesses pay rates to the council, which are then pooled nationally before being redistributed to less affluent local authorities using a complex formula. This system generated over £19bn last year and is used to pay for crucial public services like the police and fire brigade. The government wants to change this. From 2013, it wants to “re-localise” business rates, meaning that councils will get to keep the money they receive from local businesses within their patch.

The government says this is all about “localism”. Eric Pickles claims that enabling councils to retain what they gather from businesses within their area will incentivise them to foster a more competitive business climate. The idea is that councils will try that much harder because they will be the ones that reap the rewards. Pickles has gone as far as saying that it will empower poorer councils to stop having to use their annual “begging bowl” in Whitehall.

(more…)

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