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Archive for September, 2011

Banking Commission: Only Labour can save capitalism

12/09/2011, 09:18:07 AM

by Jonathan Todd

When the global financial crisis struck, as John Kay recently noted:

“The political left offered no diagnosis or new ideas, and it gained no electoral advantage. Instead, across Europe, the parties that had waited a century for capitalism to collapse under its own contradictions congratulated themselves that such collapse had been averted by the injection of incredible amounts – trillions of dollars – of taxpayer funds into the banking system”.

Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling were right to bring us back from the brink. The left’s failure is the dearth of explanation as to how we came to be in this position or prescription as to where we go next. The explanation is a precondition of the prescription. If you can’t say how the crisis came about, then you can’t say how repetition should be averted.

The left’s explanations have tended to be personalised (e.g. “greedy bankers”), in spite of the left’s historic mission being to identify and correct structural explanations. We don’t think people are born wretched (even “Fred the shed”); we think that injustice and circumstance makes them so. The left’s explanation, therefore, shouldn’t be the banker’s greed but the structures that create and sustain this greed.

The left, for the most part, was no more analysing these structures than anyone else in 2008. Such analysis would have revealed a paradox: what we thought was high capitalism was anything but. Well functioning markets wouldn’t have allowed the banker to be so greedy. Effective competition would have restrained wages to merit-based levels.

(more…)

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The week Uncut

11/09/2011, 05:24:25 PM

In case you missed them, these were the best read pieces on Uncut in the last seven days:

Atul Hatwal reveals that troop morale is plunging at the hands of the government

Dan Hodges says we may as well erect a statue of Peter Hain

Kevin Meagher calls for a Barnet formula for the north

Jonathan Todd asks: why can’t the West believe in itself?

Peter Watt thinks the Tories still have the best tunes

Dave Talbot asks: who’s the nasty party now?

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Sunday review: Back from the brink, by Alistair Darling

11/09/2011, 11:16:44 AM

by Anthony Painter

Like the Kennedy assassination, new camera angles on the decline and fall of Labour in office will be discovered for many years to come. What’s more, each new piece of undisclosed footage will end with the same dreadful, bloody result. So why do we do it to ourselves? We just can’t help it.

The latest offering from a senior Labour figure, the ‘never knowingly over-optimistic’, Alistair Darling’s Back from the

"A wise voice of reason"

brink has the same literary merit as the others in the genre: structure and style are put in the service of proving a point. But like the chick lit, executive biography or self-help genres (the political memoir may be a subset of this latter category- for the author) it is not full-throttle, florid prose that is the attraction. The author gets to have their say, settle a few scores and we get to vicariously sit in the room while momentous decisions are made.

Perhaps only Chris Mullin’s diaries would be worth recommending to a non-Westminster obsessed friend amongst the New Labour memoirs. For the rest, twenty minutes in the company of exclusive in the Sunday Times would be enough. None of this is particular to Darling; it should be clear by now that this is not my favourite genre. If it’s your taste then Back from the Brink is no better or worse than most of the others.

The Alistair Darling who emerges from these pages is decent, honourable, intelligent, courageous, and resolute. He’s rather like Alistair Darling in fact: very likeable and engaging. When events have subsequently proved him right, he makes his point and then moves on. There is no great crescendo of self-justification. But there’s no real mea culpa either. We simply see things- most of which we knew already- from his perspective. Kennedy gets shot and dies. (more…)

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Sunday News Review

11/09/2011, 06:33:19 AM

10 years on

On this 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, we remember that 9/11 was not only an attack on the United States, it was an attack on the world and on the humanity and hopes that we share. We remember that among the nearly 3,000 innocent people lost that day were hundreds of citizens from more than 90 nations, including 67 from the United Kingdom. They were men and women, young and old, of many races and faiths. On this solemn anniversary we join with their families and nations in honouring their memory. We remember with gratitude how 10 years ago the world came together as one. Around the UK, entire cities came to a standstill for moments of silence. People offered their prayers in churches, mosques, synagogues and other places of worship. And we in the United States will never forget how the people of Britain stood with us in solidarity in candlelight vigils and among the seas of flowers placed at our embassy in London. We are touched that the UK will honour the victims again today – including by breaking with protocol and flying the Union Flag at half-mast at its embassy and consulates in the United States. – Barack Obama, the Mirror

Manhattan is always a hectic place. It is frequently gridlocked and its citizens are used to hustling their way through crowded streets and subways. But on Saturday it was different. As New York prepared to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, a new terror alert provided a grim reminder that a decade of war and struggle has not removed the threat. The visible evidence was all over New York. In the wake of an unconfirmed but scarily specific threat that three terrorists, likely to be aiming to use a car or truck bomb, had entered the country to attack the Big Apple, the city went into a kind of security lockdown. Yet, through it all, New Yorkers were urged to keep calm and carry on. “If you do lock yourself in your house because you’re scared, they’re winning,” Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show. Most people seemed to agree. Even with a wary eye on the security efforts, people seemed to feel it was still business as usual. “They look like they know what they are doing. I’m going to keep acting normal,” said Izzie Garcia as she arrived in Manhattan’s Union Square for an early start to a morning of shopping in her favourite stores. Bloomberg was also leading by example. It was he who had appeared on the nation’s TV screens to give the first official public details of the new terror threat. At a press conference in New York he had warned of the dangers and had urged New Yorkers to keep taking the subway. – the Observer

In America they speak of the “lost decade”. The moment it began is obvious: the morning of 11 September 2001, when the world’s lone superpower fell victim to the most devastating terrorist attack of modern times. Its end, however, is harder to date. One answer is 1 May this year, when a team of Navy Seals tracked down and killed Osama bin Laden at his hideaway in Pakistan. A circle was complete; after almost 10 years of frustration, false leads and continuous war, the master planner of 9/11 had finally paid for his crime. But look at it another way and the answer is not so obvious. In these 10 years America has lost much, in terms of lives, treasure and reputation. Most of all, perhaps, it has lost its illusions. One, that its home territory was invulnerable, beyond the reach of hostile foreigners, vanished on that terrible Tuesday morning. But a decade on, another no less cherished illusion has disappeared as well: the certainty that whatever happened in the world beyond, America was a place of infinite opportunity and ever-growing prosperity. – the Independent

New Scottish Labour

The Scottish Labour Party has put in place the first building block for its fightback in Scotland. It decided that Iain Gray’s successor as leader will not, as now, just be leader of Labour’s MSPs but leader of the whole party in Scotland. The review group recognised that for an individual to have the authority to lead Labour in Scotland all sections of the party must be involved in his/her selection and know their views will count. So the base from which a future leader can be drawn has been expanded. No longer will a candidate have to be an MSP, instead any Labour parliamentarian will be free to stand – MPs, MSPs and MEPs. However, it will be clear that whoever becomes leader will be Labour’s candidate for First Minister of Scotland. Expanding the gene pool from which a future leader is drawn is a first but insufficient step. The basic building block of Labour Party organisation has always been its Constituency Parties (CLPs). These are based on Westminster boundaries. The consequence has been that gearing up to fight a general election has been much easier than preparing to fight a Scottish Parliament election. Often MSPs or candidates have had to deal with two, three or even four CLPs, wasting time, effort and money on internal organisation when their time would have been more productively spent linking into their local communities. The new organisational base for Labour in Scotland will be based on Scottish Parliamentary boundaries reflecting our determination to have an organisation fit for purpose to fight the Scottish Parliament elections in 2016. – Scotland on Sunday

Proposals by MP Jim Murphy will go before their ruling executive committee today which could “transform” the party. The blueprint is the result of a four-month review led by Murphy and MSP Sarah Boyack following Labour’s crushing defeat in the Holyrood election. Insiders who have seen secret presentations by the pair say the plans amount to Labour’s biggest shake-up since 1918. But some changes could prove so controversial with sections of of the party that there are no guarantees the committee of MPs, MSPs, union leaders, local party bosses and others will give their approval when they meet in Glasgow today. Under the radical plans, Scottish Labour would: Loosen ties with the UK party, Appoint a Scottish leader – who might not be an MSP – with unprecedented powers to shape policy and plan strategy north of the Border, Kick out long-serving MPs and MSPs and train a new generation of “top notch” candidates, Reconnect with the business world and Haul themselves into the 21st century by using social media for campaigning. – Daily Record

Don’t cut the 50p rate

One of the biggest names in British business has told the government not to scrap the new 50p rate of income tax. The former head of Marks & Spencer, Sir Stuart Rose has not only said he opposes the move but is happy to pay more tax to help the country out of its current financial difficulties. Rose is the biggest name so far to oppose the move which has been backed by a group of 20 economists on Wednesday, who feel the levy is hurting the UK’s competitiveness. Rose told BBC Radio 4’s Hard Talk yesterday: ‘I don’t think that they should reduce the income tax rate. How would I explain to my secretary that I am getting less tax on my income, which is palpably bigger than hers, when hers is now going down?’ Rose’s comments are in stark contrast to former Conservative Chancellor Nigel Lawson who urged George Osborne to axe the 50p top rate of income tax, warning it is ‘dangerous’ and ‘foolish’ to leave it in place. – Daily Mail

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Saturday News Review

10/09/2011, 06:16:03 AM

The world prepares to remember

Two thousand seven hundred and fifty three Flags of Honor – each baring the names of 9/11 victims in patriotic stripes of red and blue – are standing at the tip of Manhattan today as New York City prepares to mark the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks. The NYC Memorial Field, part of a five-day installation, was erected to give New Yorkers a public place to gather in remembrance of those who were killed in the horrific acts of September 11, 2001. It is among dozens of memorials, vigils and events organised throughout New York City this weekend, as citizens stand united, honouring their pledge to ‘never forget’ that tragic day. Yesterday in midtown Manhattan, 2,753 empty chairs, representing the lives lost on 9/11, were set to face south toward the World Trade on Bryant Park’s lawn for part of a project called Ten Years Later, A Tribute 9/11. The world will undoubtedly cast its eyes on the World Trade Centre memorial site on Sunday morning, when New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will join President Barack Obama and former President George W Bush for the reading of the names of the nearly 2,753 victims killed in New York, Washington, DC and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The National September 11 Memorial and Museum memorial service will see family gather from 6:30am to 4pm.A moment of silence will be held at 8:46 a.m., when the first plane crashed into the North Tower, and then the names of the victims will be read. Moments of silence will be held to mark the other attacks in New York, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania at 9:03am, 9:36am, 9:59am, 10:03am and 10:28am. The annual ‘Tribute in Light’ will begin from the WTC site at sundown, visible for more than 60 miles. Two blue beams, made up of 7,000 watt bulbs, were switched on for the first time this year on Tuesday night. – Daily Mail

A terror threat against the United States planned to coincide with this weekend’s tenth anniversary of 9/11 may be traceable to al-Qa’ida and possibly to Ayman al-Zawahiri who assumed the network’s leadership after the killing of Osama bin Laden, US terror officials indicated last night. Security precautions were being ramped up in New York and Washington DC yesterday as preparations were under way for tomorrow’s remembrance ceremony at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan to be led by both President Barack Obama and his predecessor George W. Bush. President Obama, who tomorrow will also travel to the Pentagon and to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the other two sites where hijacked plans came down, ordered a redoubling of security in the wake of the new terror warning. There will be six moments of silence at the Ground Zero ceremony tomorrow marking when the two airliners struck the Twin Towers and when they fell down but also the exact moments when the other two planes involved in that day’s tragedy crashed at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. Tomorrow will also be the first time that families of the victims will see the new memorial at the World Trade Center site. The day of remembrance will finish with a memorial concert in the Kennedy Centre in Washington where Mr Obama will also speak. The White House said none of his travel plans had so far been affected by the terror threat. – the Independent

Blair’s Arab Spring

Mr Blair said he had no regrets about setting aside decades of hostility between Britain and Libya and holding out an olive branch in 2004. In return, Col Gaddafi agreed to give up his programme of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). “No,” he said in an interview with the Reuters news agency to mark the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. “I always say to people it is absolutely simple – the external policy of Libya changed.” New details of the close relationship forged between the Blair government and Libya after MI6 negotiated the scrapping of the WMD programme in 2003 have emerged in Tripoli since the fall of the Gaddafi regime. But Mr Blair said it was a “great thing for the world” that Col Gaddafi had agreed to give up the weapons programme and, in addition, co-operate against terrorism. He added that in February as the uprising began he attempted to persuade Col Gaddafi to step down. “The trouble was in the end they weren’t prepared to reform internally,” he said. “They were less of a threat to the outside world, but inside they were a threat to their people and then when the uprising happened, again, there was a big choice. I remember actually speaking to Colonel Gaddafi at the time it happened and saying this is the moment to realise you are going to have to go and be the person that gives it up.” – the Telegraph

Tony Blair, the international statesman most closely tied to the response to the Sept. 11 attacks, believes the decade-long struggle to contain the threat from Islamic extremism is far from over, despite the killing of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden. The former British prime minister, who famously vowed to stand “shoulder to shoulder” with the United States and took a leading role in the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq in the face of domestic unease, told The Associated Press that potent threats still persist — including in nations swept by the revolutions of the Arab Spring. “It’s completely wrong,” to think the struggle to defeat extremist ideology is won, Blair said in an interview. “We shouldn’t be under any doubt about this at all. Unfortunately, as I say, this ideology is far broader than the methods of al-Qaida.” Blair also expressed concern over the uprisings which have shaken the Middle East and North Africa, insisting that the West must act as “players and not spectators” to help democracy flourish from the Arab Spring. – Washington Post

History in Northern Ireland

The first Presbyterian minister to address a Sinn Fein party conference last night praised Martin McGuinness as one of the “great leaders of modern times”. On his arrival at the Waterfront Hall for the conference, the Rev David Latimer said: “I haven’t come here for soundbites.” But he was undoubtedly the star turn of the first night of the first Sinn Fein ard fheis to be held in Northern Ireland. Delegates asked to have their pictures taken with Mr Latimer on mobile phones and many shook hands with him. “I am among friends,” he said, stressing that people could work together whatever view they took of the border. Despite his protestation he did manage a few soundbites in the course of his speech. He was greeted with tumultuous applause when he borrowed the words of the Queen in Dublin to address delegates as “a chairde” (my friends). Mr Latimer was greeted at the door of the conference by Mr McGuinness with whom he has formed a friendship. He told how the Deputy First Minster supported the opening of his Church on Londonderry’s walls, overlooking the Bogside, and helped him secure a £1.6m grant for the historic building’s refurbishment. – Belfast Telegraph

Rev Dr David Latimer described Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness as “one of the true great leaders of modern times” when he addressed the Sinn Féin ardfheis in Belfast last night. History was made on the double in the Waterfront Hall in that this was the first time an ardfheis has been held north of the Border, and the first time a northern Protestant religious minister addressed the conference. Dr Latimer, who three years ago served for a period as a British army chaplain in Afghanistan, was enthusiastically received at the conference, earning a standing ovation at the end when he finished with what he called a “Celtic blessing” on all the delegates. He delivered a relatively short address without what journalists would call any major news content. But it was his simple presence on the stage with the likes of Mr McGuinness and Gerry Adams sitting behind him that made his speech, delivered with some evangelical verve, notable and newsworthy. Learning his lesson from Queen Elizabeth, his description of delegates as “A chairde” and his final Irish good luck wish of “Adh Mór Ort” demonstrated that here was a minister who knew how to work an audience. His description of Mr McGuinness as a great modern leader will infuriate some unionists. Dr Latimer nonetheless insisted it was a strong and genuine friendship he has developed with the Deputy First Minister. – Irish Times

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Fox’s cuts bite as new figures reveal plunging troop morale

09/09/2011, 07:00:28 AM

by Atul Hatwal

As the findings of the Baha Moussa inquiry cast a shadow over the British army, new figures sneaked out by the MoD in the last week lay bare the slump in morale across the armed forces in the past year.

44% of personnel reported low morale in their service – army, navy, royal air force (RAF) or royal marines – according to the 2011 forces survey, a rise of 11% since 2010.

It reverses a five year trend of improving morale in the forces since the survey began in 2007.

The figures were slipped out by the government last Thursday, via the office of national statistics website. Unlike previous surveys, the ministry of defence did not issue a press release or give any indication the survey was being released. (more…)

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Friday News Review

09/09/2011, 06:59:13 AM

Cameron’s elitist education

David Cameron will signal a return to “elitism” in schools in an attempt to mend Britain’s “broken” society and secure the economic future. The Prime Minister will attack the “prizes for all” culture in which competitiveness is frowned upon and winners are shunned. In a significant speech, he will outline Coalition plans to ensure teaching is based on “excellence”, saying that controversial reforms are needed to “bring back the values of a good education”. Failure to do so would be “fatal to prosperity”, he will say. The comments mark the latest in a series of attempts to focus on education in response to the riots that shocked London and other English cities last month. They follow the announcement by Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, of back-to-basics discipline in state schools. He plans to give teachers more freedom to search pupils suspected of carrying banned items and to let them use reasonable force in removing the most disruptive children from the classroom. – the Telegraph

David Cameron will identify discipline, “freedom for schools” and “high expectations” as the key factors that make for a good education system as he opens one of the first “free” schools today. “We want to create an education system based on real excellence, with a complete intolerance of failure,” the prime minister will say in a speech being seen by some as backing a return to elitism in schools. While there is no direct mention of the recent riots in extracts of the speech released in advance, he will say: “We’ve got to be ambitious too, if we want to mend our broken society. “Because education doesn’t just give people the tools to make a good living – it gives them the character to live a good life, to be good citizens. So for the future of our economy, and our society, we need a first-class education for every child.” Speaking at the opening of one of the first new “free” schools – set up by parents, teachers, faith groups, charities and others outside of local authority control – he will say that the country had been “bogged down in a great debate” for too long about how to provide that first-class education. “Standards or structures? Learning by rote or by play? Elitism or all winning prizes? These debates are over – because it’s clear what works,” he will add. – the Guardian

Co-ordinated action

A strike by millions of workers protesting at Government pension reforms will be called in November, a union leader revealed yesterday. Action by up to 10 unions will be finalised at next week’s TUC conference in London, said Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the civil servants’ Public and Commercial Services union. The strike would come after four unions staged a day of action on June 30, involving 750,000 workers. Mr Serwotka branded pension talks with the Government a “shambles”. He said: “The Government has a choice – to put its head in the sand or negotiate. We are prepared to talk.” The Government wants civil service staff to pay £1.1billion in extra contributions from April next year. – Daily Mirror

In an interview with the Evening Standard before next week’s annual congress, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said there was a “very real prospect” other unions would follow suit. He spoke out as sources at the civil service PCS union, which joined teachers on strike in June in a row over the Government’s pension reforms, said its national executive had agreed to hold another one-day walkout in the autumn. Other unions are also threatening industrial action and the PCS it would consult on joint action before setting a date. It is a clear sign that unions feel their concerns over plans to make them work longer and pay more towards their retirement are being ignored, and raises the prospect of widespread disruption before the end of the year. “We have reached an extremely difficult point where at the moment there is absolutely no sign of the Government being prepared to really take a step back on some of the changes that they are preparing to force through which are very, very damaging to millions of public sector workers,” Mr Barber said. “On the industrial action issue, we may be heading towards a more difficult period.” – Evening Standard

Labour’s donations headache

Political parties face a £10,000 cap on donations but would be compensated by a big rise in state funding, under proposals from an inquiry into how politics is financed. The Committee on Standards in Public Life, the anti-sleaze watchdog, wants all parties to become less dependent on big donations. In a report next month, it is expected to propose small donations be matched by tax relief to encourage parties to recruit new members and supporters. The plan to channel millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to the parties may prove highly controversial at a time of spending cuts and squeezed household budgets. However, it may provide political cover for Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister responsible for political reform, to propose a rise in state funding, a long-standing Liberal Democrat goal. The proposed £10,000 ceiling, ending the £1m gifts from rich individuals, is much lower than the parties expected. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have backed a £50,000 cap. Labour may suffer the biggest headache from the review because of its heavy dependence on the trade unions, which provide about 80 per cent of its donations. – the Independent

Ed’s challenge

Ed Miliband, the Labour leader has been warned by leading Labour figures including Dagenham MP Jon Cruddas that he risks missing a huge opportunity to make Labour more democratic and ensure ordinary party members’ views are heard in planned reforms. The Labour national executive is due to meet on 21 September, four days before the start of Labour conference, to discuss the outcome of the “Refounding Labour” consultation undertaken by the party leadership through the summer. One Labour source involved in the talks with the unions said all options are still on the table. But there are growing signs that Miliband has stepped back from plans to dilute the size of the union vote at party conference, and is instead focusing on a series of reforms designed to make local parties more dynamic, and open up the party to a wider group of Labour supporters. In a letter, Compass, the left-of-centre pressure group, together with Cruddas and other Labour activists, said: “It would be a hugely missed opportunity if the party reforms instigated fell short of the mark in making Labour more democratic.” – the Guardian

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Remind me why we hate elected police commissioners

08/09/2011, 02:00:59 PM

by Kevin Meagher

Ed Miliband was right in the Commons yesterday: spending £25 million postponing elections for the 41 proposed police and crime commissioners is a waste of money that could instead pay the wage bill (presumably before overtime) of 2000 coppers.

Cameron should be ashamed of himself. And he was doing so well: police commissioners are one of the few things he has got right. He should have stuck to his guns and held the elections next May, as planned. Unfortunately he has caved-in to Lib Dem backwoodsmen in the Lords who have pushed for the polling day to be postponed back to November 2012 to “depoliticise” the issue.

Whenever police commissioners arrive, the resource-intensive, low performance culture of British policing will at long last get a democratic makeover. They will be a shot in the arm for accountability in a key frontline public service and a finger in the eye for complacent chief constables. The public’s priorities might, for once, get a look in.

The only snag is that Labour opposes elected police commissioners. Why? Nobody knows why. But oppose them we do. On grounds, it seems, of cost and because they will politicise policing (whatever that is supposed to mean). (more…)

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The Tories still have the best tunes

08/09/2011, 07:00:07 AM

by Peter Watt

Back to school this week; families are struggling and life is hard. Kitting out one child is expensive, and we have more than one. Shoes £30 – £40, skirts £15 each and you need several, white shirts £6 each and at least two school sweat shirts at £15 per pop. Then there’s the PE kit. And pressure to buy a new school bag and pencil case. So not much change from £150 there then. More than one and the price goes up. And of course, all of this comes at the end of a long summer, with the inevitable costs of entertaining the kids with or without the cost of the annual holiday.

Over the last few years fuel price rises mean that it costs at least £70 per week to fill the car, parking charges have been raised and the gas and electric just keep going up. You try and cut down on usage, you get your cavity walls filled, your “units used” drops; but the bill still rises. Your weekly shop costs more and you seem to be getting less. Train and bus fares are higher this year as well and they’ll probably go up again next year. So there really is no slack in the budget to pay for the back to school purchases – credit card it is then. Assuming there’s still some credit left. And there’s a pretty good chance that over the next few weeks there will be a series of letters from the school asking for money for trips, photographs and commemorative school tea-towels.

What is worse, is that many are also worried about their job. So they are working longer hours in order to impress the boss just in case. And maybe there is a second job just to help make ends meet. There’s not much, if anything, left at the end of the month. The TV is full of news of more economic woes to come. It just doesn’t seem fair. (more…)

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Thursday News Review

08/09/2011, 06:59:08 AM

Do we really back you Dave?

David Cameron faced embarrassment when medical leaders rejected his claim that they supported the government’s health reforms. The row came hours before the health and social care bill was approved by MPs, after Cameron hailed the profession’s support at prime minister’s questions. “Now you’ve got the Royal College of GPs, the physicians, the nurses, people working in the health service, supporting the changes we’re making,” he said. The bodies questioned the prime minister’s claim. Peter Carter, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, told the BBC: “While we acknowledge that the government has listened to our members in a number of areas, we still have very serious concerns about where these reforms leave a health service already facing an unprecedented financial challenge. At a time when the NHS needs to find £20bn in efficiencies, tackle waste, work harder to prevent ill-health, and deal with an ageing population, we are telling MPs this bill risks creating a new and expensive bureaucracy and fragmenting care.” Clare Gerada, chairwoman of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), said: “The college supports putting clinicians at the centre of planning health services. However, we continue to have a number of concerns about the government’s reforms, issues we believe may damage the NHS or limit the care we are able to provide for our patients.” – the Guardian

Mr Cameron told MPs during prime minister’s questions on Wednesday that the RCGP, nurses and other health professionals were supportive of the NHS reform plans. His comments came as MPs prepared for a crucial second day of debates in the House of Commons on the Health Bill, ahead of a vote that will decide whether the Bill is passed. RCGP chairwoman Dr Clare Gerada said while the college supports putting clinicians at the centre of health service planning, it continues to have a ‘number of concerns’ about the government’s reforms. ‘As a college we are extremely worried that these reforms, if implemented in their current format, will lead to an increase in damaging competition, an increase in health inequalities, and to massively increased costs in implementing this new system. These concerns have been outlined and reiterated pre- and post-pause.’ Labour leader Ed Miliband said the prime minister was on a ‘different planet’ if he believed the health profession was on board with the NHS reform plans. He said: ‘Does he not read the newspaper? Only on Tuesday the BMA, RCGP and Royal College of Midwives all rejected his Bill. We are seeing a reckless and needless reorganisation of public services.’ – GP online

Right wingers frustrated at Lib Dem influence

Simmering concern among Conservative MPs about the Coalition Government’s direction boiled over yesterday as David Cameron was accused of making too many policy concessions to the Liberal Democrats. Tory backbenchers vented their anger at Prime Minister’s Questions amid concerns that Nick Clegg has forced Mr Cameron to water down policies on Europe, free schools, tax cuts, human rights, NHS reforms, elected police commissioners and abortion. Nadine Dorries, the Tory MP who proposed an amendment to the Bill, accused Mr Cameron of giving in to Liberal Democrat “blackmail” over abortion. She told the Commons that the Prime Minister was initially “very encouraging” about her move but was then placed in an “impossible position” by the Liberal Democrats. Ms Dorries was not amused and Labour accused Mr Cameron of being patronising towards women. Angela Eagle, a Shadow Cabinet member, said: “I thought that little comment about Nadine Dorries… was really nasty, premeditated and totally uncalled for.” One Tory MP added: “The Prime Minister’s behaviour was despicable. It was the worst of the Bullingdon [Club]. It was a total demolition of Nadine Dorries on a personal basis.” – the Independent

Right-wingers took the unusual step of protesting during Prime Minister’s Questions, reflecting annoyance that private complaints to No 10 have fallen on deaf ears. Mid Bedfordshire MP Nadine Dorries said: “Liberal Democrats make up 8.7 per cent of this Parliament and yet they seem to be influencing our free school policy, health, many issues and abortion. It’s about time [Mr Cameron] told the Deputy Prime Minister who is the boss.” Mark Reckless, MP for Rochester and Strood, called for a referendum on Britain’s position in the EU – contrasting the Prime Minister’s refusal to give one with Mr Clegg’s success in delaying elections for police commissioners. Senior backbench sources told the Standard that leading members of the party’s 1922 Committee have been warning Mr Cameron about simmering discontent since May. – Evening Standard

Sir Stuart Bell, the laziest MP in Britain?

Veteran Middlesbrough MP Sir Stuart Bell has come under fire from his local newspaper for failing to represent constituents. The Gazette reported that they had made more than 100 calls to Sir Stuart’s Westminster office and Middlesbrough home over the course of several months but received no response. The newspaper used several different landlines and mobile numbers to disguise where the calls were coming from. In contrast the newspaper rang other Teeside MPs, who all answered on the first attempt. Sir Stuart has not held a constituency meeting since he was physically threatened by a constituent in 1997. Despite this he has been re-elected six times, holding the seat since 1983. The Gazette said that the MP had claimed to meet members of the public by appointment instead and that he can be reached at any time by telephone. “Sir Stuart is paid an annual salary of £65,738 to serve as the town’s MP, and claimed £82,896 for staffing costs last year. Wife Lady Margaret was paid more than £35,000 to work as his office manager. But no-one appears to be available to answer the phone,” the newspaper added. Theyworkforyou.com, a website which provides a public record of MPs appearances in parliament, shows Sir Stuart to have only spoken in 11 debates over the course of the last year, well below average. He has also only voted in 41.69% of parliamentary votes, substantially below his fellow Teeside MPs who have all voted in 75% or over. – politics.co.uk

Getting in touch with Sir Stuart is the hot political talking point on Teesside. Yesterday the 73-year-old accused the local Evening Gazette of conducting a politically motivated campaign to unseat him after it reported the results of an investigation in which reporter Neil MacFarlane tried to speak to him on 100 occasions earlier this year. Despite phoning daily – 50 times to his constituency number and a similar amount at his Westminster office – he never managed to get through. The MP, who has claimed £82,896 in staffing costs, however insisted that the report was “a total mystery” and was yesterday readily fielding calls from journalists. Last night Labour sources said Ed Miliband was treating the allegations against Sir Stuart with the “uttermost seriousness”. If they are proved, they added, the Labour whip could be withdrawn. Pressure could also be put on Sir Stuart’s local party to deselect him. The latest allegations come after it emerged Sir Stuart had not held a surgery in Middlesbrough for 14 years and does not have a publicly accessible office in the town. – the Independent

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