Cameron embarrassed by Lansley’s failure to build reform support

NHS chiefs are urging ministers to rethink their health service shakeup because the speed and scale of the radical restructuring could damage patient care and cause financial problems. The government’s failure to persuade health professionals that its proposals are needed is destabilising the NHS and alienating staff, the NHS Confederation warns. It represents 95% of the service’s employers, such as the bosses of hospitals, primary care trusts and ambulance services. In a new paper, the confederation says that the coalition should rethink its insistence that trusts be abolished in 2013 and replaced by consortiums of GPs to commission patients’ care. Instead, the trusts should be allowed to continue and the new consortiums be given the freedom to develop slowly then gradually acquire control over treatment budgets, in what would be a major U-turn for the health secretary,Andrew Lansley. The confederation’s intervention comes amid intense government discussions involving David Cameron about how to improve the health and social care bill after the Liberal Democrat spring conference’s call for major changes. Lansley has caused growing concern among coalition colleagues by failing to win over public opinion, or any major health or medical organisation, by insisting on a big bang approach to change in the NHS.- the Guardian

I know it is wise not to believe everything you read in the papers, but if I were Andrew Lansley, I would not like what I see. There is enough around, as his officials will be muttering nervously to each other this morning, to suggest David Cameron is about to cut him adrift. By this I do not mean that he faces the axe in the reshuffle, though it is not impossible. What I do mean is that the Prime Minister’s political instincts finally appear to be kicking in, and he is seeking to avert the car crash Lansley has inadvertently caused. A succession of ministers has already learned that the Prime Minister tends to let them get on with it, pays scant attention to detail during policy planning, but then finds he has to step in. It is becoming harder and harder to find an expert voice or a vested interest (sometimes the two are combined) who thinks the non-mandated reforms will do anything other than real damage to healthcare. Cameron has had his jibe at the BMA as being just another trade union, but beneath the bravado, he is getting worried, and looking to make change. – Alistair Campbell

Warsi under fire again for AV comments

Baroness Warsi, the Conservative Party chairman, was accused of scoring a spectacular own goal last night in a speech about the British National Party, provoking calls from some Tory MPs for David Cameron to move her in a summer reshuffle. Senior Conservatives joined Labour and Liberal Democrat politicians in criticising Lady Warsi after she claimed that a Yes vote in the referendum on electoral reform would boost the prospects of the BNP. They pointed out that the BNP was on the same side as the Tories in opposing a switch to the alternative vote (AV) in the 5 May referendum. Her critics accused her of giving the BNP credibility and publicity – the very things she argued that AV would provide for the far-right party. One senior Tory MP said: “It looks as though she didn’t think it through. There’s a growing feeling that she should be moved to a job as a departmental minister.” – the Independent (more…)

Libya summit in London

Around 40 different international delegations are meeting today in London for a conference on military action in Libya. David Cameron has said he hopes the meeting will ensure “maximum political and diplomatic unity” between nations.The meeting comes as a poll for the Independent finds seven out of ten voters fear Libya will turn into a drawn-out conflict like Iraq. There are also concerns over defence cuts affecting the mission, with the Telegraph reporting there may not be enough pilots to man RAF planes flying over Libya. President Obama last night said the USA had to act on Libya due to the “violence on a horrific scale”, but warned that US forces would not be bogged down trying to remove Colonel Gaddafi from power. – Politics Home

Refounding Labour

Members of the public will be given a formal role in the choice of Labour’s policies, candidates and future leaders under far-reaching reforms to be unveiled today. Ed Miliband will offer ordinary people the chance to become “registered supporters” free of charge without paying Labour’s £41-a-year subscription fee. He will also invite pressure groups such as “green” bodies and non-governmental organisations to become “registered bodies”. The aim of the “Refounding Labour” project is to combat the decline in membership, which has afflicted all political parties, and to transform Labour into an outward-looking party for the internet age. Labour sources deny that the real goal is to dilute the influence of the trade unions, who have half the votes at the party’s annual conference and a third of the votes in the electoral college which chooses the Labour leader. However, that could be one side-effect of the drive to broaden Labour’s base, since some of the voting power enjoyed by ordinary members and unions could be reduced to hand a share to the new registered supporters and bodies. – the Independent

Experienced police to be given the chop

More than 2,000 of the country’s most experienced police officers could be forced to retire by 2015 as forces try to cut costs, according to Labour. Although police officers cannot be made redundant, officers with 30 or more years’ experience can be made to retire early under existing regulations. Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said it was “deeply worrying” 13 forces had decided to use them in some form. Ministers have said savings can be made without affecting front-line policing. Police budgets are being cut by 20% over the next four years, with a 4% cut in the first year and 5% the year after. But ministers insist these savings are achievable by cutting bureaucracy and more efficient use of resources, including forces sharing some back-office functions. Fully sworn police officers are servants of the Crown, not employees, so they cannot be made redundant under existing laws. However, forces are able to get permission to use a regulation known as A19 to make officers with 30 years’ experience or more retire early. – BBC (more…)

Huhne attacks Warsi over AV

Cabinet tensions over the electoral reform referendum burst into the open last night after a senior Liberal Democrat minister challenged the Conservative Party chairman to disown the “scaremongering” and “gutter politics” of the “no” campaign. Chris Huhne tore into its claim – reinforced in an advertising campaign – that a “yes” result in the poll on 5 May over replacing the first-past-the-post system with the alternative vote (AV) would cost Britain £250m. He targeted his anger at his Tory Cabinet colleague, Baroness Warsi, in a bluntly worded letter that exposed the growing strains between the Coalition partners on the issue. Mr Huhne challenged her, as the Tory chairman and a patron of the “no” campaign, to pull the plug on its “scaremongering and misleading” publicity. He attacked the £250m claim, which has been backed by the message that the money could be used to treat sick babies or buy body armour for soldiers, as the “politics of the gutter”. Mr Huhne, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, wrote: “When David Cameron launched his ‘no’ campaign, he said this should not be a source of tension between us or risk breaking the Coalition. It won’t, if your ‘no’ camp now withdraws these disgraceful advertisements and campaigns on facts not fears, substance not smears.” – the Independent

Cable confirms 50p tax to go

The business secretary, Vince Cable, has confirmed the 50p rate on tax will be abolished – and revealed the government would consider bringing in a ‘mansions tax’ to ensure the wealthiest pay their way. The chancellor, George Osborne, ordered a review of tax on top earners in the budget last week, restating that the 50p rate on those who earn above £150,000 was only temporary, and triggering speculation that the rate could be wound down as soon as 2013. Cable in two interviews raised the issue of the rate and alternatives to it. The move would leave the government exposed to accusations that it is softening taxes for the rich, amid intense public anxiety about the fairness of the cuts. The business secretary’s intervention comes just a day after up to 500,000 people took to the streets to demonstrate against the government’s economic plans. Labour pointed out that the coalition would be reducing the tax for the richest while forcing the poorest to lose the largest proportion of their pay packets through the VAT hike. – the Guardian (more…)

Budget 2011 – reaction

George Osborne has bowed to growing concern over the biggest squeeze in living standards since the second world war with an instant cut in fuel duty, but had his claim to be delivering a budget for growth undermined by the ominous prospect of lower growth, rising unemployment and higher borrowing. While insisting the government was sticking to its austerity plan despite a gloomier outlook for the economy, the chancellor levied a surprise £2bn windfall tax on North Sea oil companies to finance a populist 1p a litre reduction in the price at the pumps as the unexpected finale of a reform package focused on reversing Britain’s economic decline. The chancellor said he was “putting fuel in the tank of the British economy” by liberalising Britain’s planning laws, scrapping red tape, simplifying the tax system and creating a Green Investment Bank to fund the expansion of environmental companies. But he was forced to admit that growth this year would be just 1.7% – lower than the 2.1% expected – while 200,000 fewer jobs would be created during this parliament. Figures from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility showed slower growth would result in £45bn extra borrowing between now and 2015. – the Guardian

The Chancellor announced a £2 billion-a-year windfall levy on North Sea oil to fund an immediate cut in fuel duty of 1p per litre. He also postponed a 5p rise in fuel duty due next month and introduced a fuel price stabiliser to keep costs at the pumps down… Elsewhere, Mr Osborne announced a staged 3p cut in corporation tax, a £326 tax cut for 23 million low to middle earners and a fund to help first-time house buyers. But these were among few giveaways in a Budget dictated by the stagnant state of the economy. The Chancellor was forced to admit that growth would be slower than expected over the next two years and that he would have to borrow more than originally forecast to plug the gap in the public finances. He refused to change his strategy for cutting the deficit, saying: “We have a plan and we’re sticking to it.”… The announcements were welcomed by motorists and business groups. However, economists pointed out that the small savings to households were likely to be dwarfed by sharp tax rises that had already been announced and come into force next month. – the Telegraph

It is getting hairy. This only works if we get decent growth – solid thumping growth of close to 3 per cent a year by the back end of this parliament. If we get that, the national debt levels out and starts to come down as a percentage of GDP. If we don’t – and the challenge will be to grow faster than the rest of the EU and well above our long-term trend – then it is not just the Coalition that is in trouble. We all are. So is this really a Budget for growth? Well it is not a Budget against growth, and since the main business bodies have given it a general welcome, that’s a start. But the debt mountain is as high as ever and if this Budget tells us anything, it is that we need things to come right in the next four years – or, in grander language, for a lot of the economic variables to turn out to be towards the more favourable end of the possible scale. So far, looking at our latest growth and inflation numbers, rather the reverse seems to be happening. – the Independent

Ed Miliband lambasted George Osborne as “the wrong Chancellor” yesterday, accusing him of putting the recovery at risk and squeezing living standards by cutting public spending “too far and too fast”. The Labour leader denounced Mr Osborne for pursuing the wrong economic course, pointing to faltering growth, rising inflation and growing unemployment as evidence that the tough medicine was not working. He argued that the centrepiece measures of the Budget – the rise in income tax thresholds and the 1p cut in fuel duty – were dwarfed by other tax increases in the pipeline. Producing an instant response to a Budget statement – even a leaked one – is one of the toughest jobs in Parliament and Mr Miliband frequently struggled to make himself heard in rowdy Commons scenes. Lindsay Hoyle, the Deputy Speaker, was forced to appeal for calm as MPs hurled insults across the chamber. Mr Miliband deployed a series of jokes crafted by his new press team to deride the Coalition’s strategy and accuse it of ideological inflexibility.- the Independent (more…)

Osborne prepares to deliver budget

Only a short but eventful year ago, George Osborne was no one’s idea of a chancellor. He routinely trailed Vince Cable and Alistair Darling in polls of the City, the public and business for competence. Mervyn King told the US ambassador he was worried by his lack of experience. Peter Mandelson identified poor George as the Tories’ “weakest link”; dark rumours circulated that he would be replaced by the apparently full-of-mojo William Hague. Yet now Mr Osborne has confounded his critics and emerged as the most formidable operator in the Government, and it is fair to acknowledge that (though some of us rated him in opposition a bit higher). He does not exactly bestride the British political scene today, but then again nobody does. In any case the eyes of the world will be elsewhere today – on Portugal, whose government may topple if its austerity budget is not passed today, in which case the eurozone could be plunged yet again into existential crisis. The UK’s sovereign debt trauma never arrived. Mr Osborne calls this “the absence of war”, and much of it is down to him. Quite an achievement for “the weakest link”. – the Independent

Time for George to stop blaming the snow and go for growth

IN today’s Budget George Osborne will boast he’s a man with a plan. He’s right – a political plan to cut services now in the hope he can bribe voters with tax cuts later, before the next election. He blames his ­decisions on Labour and hides behind the Lib Dems. But this isn’t an economic plan. And it’s not working. A year ago, under Labour, unemployment was falling, ­inflation was lower and the economy was growing strongly. But yesterday we saw inflation rise again, the number of people out of work is now at a 17-year high, and the economy has ground to a halt. But all the Tories can do is blame the wrong kind of snow. The Tories said they were the most family-friendly government in the world. But they’re giving the banks a tax cut while clobbering families with children hardest. They told us the NHS would be safe in their hands. But they’re cutting funding in real terms. Today, I think Osborne will cancel April’s fuel duty rise, as Labour did when world oil prices were going up. But will he reverse the Tory VAT rise on petrol? He’ll claim to help more young people get work placements. But, with nearly a million out of work, is it enough? – Ed Balls, the Mirrror (more…)

MPs back military action in Libya

MPs have voted overwhelmingly to back military action in Libya, even as poll figures emerge showing the conflict is unpopular with the public. The government won the vote by 557 to 13, although many MPs voiced their concerns and anxieties about the decision. Meanwhile, a ComRes poll for ITV news showed 49% of people think military action in Libya is an unnecessary risk. Only one in three (35%) thought it was right for the UK to take military action against Colonel Gaddafi’s forces in Libya. The vote came as a reminder to David Cameron of the political gamble he is taking, after the prime minister spent hours in the Commons Chamber listening to backbench MPs’ concerns and trying to persuade parliament of the case for action. “Gaddafi has had every conceivable opportunity to stop massacring his own people,” he told the Commons. “The time for red lines, threats and last chances is over. Tough action is needed now to ensure that people in Libya can live their lives without fear. – Politics.co.uk

Questions over Libya targets

Divisions opened yesterday between British ministers and the head of the armed forces over whether Muammar Gaddafi should be personally targeted in the strikes on the Libyan military machine. Government sources maintained it could be legitimate to attempt to kill the Libyan leader if he was orchestrating brutal armed operations against his own civilians. Their assertion came hours after General Sir David Richards, Chief of the Defence Staff, insisted that a direct strike against the Libyan leader was not permitted by last week’s United Nations Security Council resolution. Senior figures in Washington have also emphasised that the coalition is barred by the UN from attempting to hit Gaddafi; the issue is sensitive because of fears that talk of toppling the regime could alienate Arab supporters of the action. The controversy was sparked when Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, signalled that Gaddafi could be a “legitimate target”. William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, also left open the possibility in a BBC interview yesterday. But Gen Richards, speaking after a meeting of ministers and military chiefs on Libya, was adamant that Gaddafi could not be targeted. Asked if it could happen, he replied: “Absolutely not. It is not allowed under the UN resolution and it is not something I want to discuss any further.” – the Independent

I support the Government’s decision on Libya but I think Liam Fox’s comments are irresponsible in many ways. His view that the aim of our military effort is to bring about regime change is outside what is a very broad UN resolution. It is wrong but also counterproductive at a time when we are trying to maintain a broad coalition including Arab opinion to talk in such a way. I agree with US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who said, “If we start adding additional objectives then I think we create a problem”. Gaddafi is a tyrant, but it is up to the people of Libya to decide what happens next in their country and not for any single foreign government. Our government needs to have one clear policy on this. – Jim Murphy MP’s blog (more…)