New evidence, new investigation?

It is a close ranks strategy that has – for the moment – failed. Desperate to protect its reputation, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has spent four years arguing that any phone hacking at the News of the World was confined to the former royal editor Clive Goodman – and an out-of-control private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire. Only now has it to be forced to admit Ian Edmondson, the tabloid’s senior news executive, may have a case to answer. In suspending Edmondson after allegations that he ordered Mulcaire’s targeting of Sienna Miller, News Corp is hoping to pull off a high wire act. The publisher wants to gain credit for taking action while at the same time hoping that Edmondson does not have any awkward information to reveal, particularly about Andy Coulson, his former editor and now David Cameron spin-doctor. Many believe the practice of phone hacking was widespread across tabloid’s newspapers from the moment mobile phone voicemail was invented. – The Guardian

Police should investigate new accusations that a senior executive on the News of the World was involved in phone-hacking when the paper was edited by Andy Coulson, now David Cameron’s media chief, the Labour Party said on Thursday. The paper suspended assistant editor Ian Edmondson on Wednesday after a “serious allegation” was made about his professional conduct. Media reports said the suspension related to possible eavesdropping on the voicemail messages of actress Sienna Miller in 2005, raising fresh questions about the ethical practices of some of the paper’s journalists. Labour’s Home Affairs spokesman, Ed Balls, said the police had to re-examine whether illegal snooping took place and whether it had been sanctioned by more senior staff including Coulson. “I think the police need to put all the resources necessary into these new investigations which are happening because of disclosure by individuals who are bringing court cases,” Balls told BBC Radio. “As more information comes out it’s getting closer and closer to Mr Coulson,” he said. – Reuters

As MPs and victims of these crimes, we now ask you publicly: please would you answer these simple questions of fact? As the edifice of lies which has been allowed to shield these sordid events for so long begins truly to crumble, there will be as few places for the complicit to hide as for the criminal. Now is the time for you to establish the panel and set up a real investigation that you promised to consider. That way, there is the slight possibility that the non-metropolitan police and the judicial system may be able to emerge from the ruins of this democratic disaster with at least a scintilla of credibility. – Tom Watson, Labour Uncut

Police cuts risk crime rise

Criminals are less likely to get caught as police numbers are cut over the next few years, a think tank has warned. Civitas said falls in crime could be halted or reversed after this year’s 6% real terms cut to the national funding grant and 20% cut up to 2015. The report called 2011: The start of a great decade for criminals? said “a nation with fewer police is more likely to have a higher crime rate”. Ministers said deployment, not the size of a force, was what mattered. The report carried a comparison of the number of police officers and the number of recorded offences per 100,000 people in European countries showing that reducing police numbers could lead to higher crime rates. – BBC

The public will be at greater risk with an expected fall in officer numbers during the Government’s austerity drive, according to a study by Civitas. Police forces across the country are facing budget cuts of up to 20 per cent over the next four years which is likely to result in thousands of fewer officers and staff. The Home Office has insisted crime can still be reduce while police officer number decline and has pointed to examples around the world including New York. But an analysis of other countries by Civitas suggests crime is higher where there is fewer police. A comparison of the number of police officers and the number of recorded offences per 100,000 people in European countries showed “a nation with fewer police is more likely to have a higher crime rate”, it said. – Telegraph (more…)

Senior NOTW executive suspended over hacking allegations

A senior editor at News of the World has been suspended while investigations into allegations that he was involved in?continue?A senior editor at News of the World has been suspended while investigations phone-hacking in 2005, the newspaper said on Wednesday. People familiar with the situation said Ian Edmondson, head of news at the Sunday tabloid since that year, was suspended after being named in a High Court document as having commissioned a private detective to intercept voicemail messages of the actress Sienna Miller. His suspension once again shines a spotlight on a case that has put pressure on Mr Edmondson’s former editor, and the man who hired him, Andy Coulson, now director of communications for David Cameron. – FT

The suspension of Ian Edmondson by the News of the World raises obvious questions for the paper’s ultimate owner, Rupert Murdoch, for the prime minister and, perhaps most of all, for the Met police. Edmondson was hired, initially as associate news editor, by its then editor Andy Coulson – a man who now sits at David Cameron’s side. A suspension is not an admission of guilt, but if it is proved, either in court or during the course of the paper’s own investigation, that Edmondson obtained stories acquired by phone hacking, it will cast serious doubt on repeated assertions by Coulson – now No 10’s director of communications – that he knew nothing about the extent of the practice while he edited the paper. It is Scotland Yard, however, which may face the most difficult questions. When they first raided the office and home of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire in August 2006, police found transcripts of messages apparently obtained by hacking into mobile phones belonging to dozens of public figures. The court case that resulted from this involved only Mulcaire and the paper’s then royal editor, Clive Goodman. – The Guardian

The news agenda changes fast in tabloid journalism but Hackgate has been a story that refuses to go away. When the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire and the News of the World journalist Clive Goodman were jailed for conspiring to intercept the voicemails of members of the royal household, Wapping quickly closed ranks. The editor Andy Coulson was obliged to fall on his sword – while denying knowledge of illegality – and Goodman was condemned as a rogue operator. Mr Murdoch’s close henchman Les Hinton assured MPs that the affair had been dealt with and when, two years later, Mr Coulson – by now director of communications for David Cameron – appeared before a renewed parliamentary inquiry he seemed confident of being fireproof. “We did not use subterfuge of any kind unless there was a clear public interest in doing so,” he told MPs. When Scotland Yard concluded that, despite more allegations of hacking, there was nothing new to investigate, Wapping and Mr Coulson must again have concluded the affair was over. But after an election campaign in which the Conservatives were roundly supported by Mr Murdoch’s papers, a succession of further claimants against the News of the World has come forward. Sienna Miller, among others, seems determined to take her case to court, compelling Mulcaire to reveal his handlers and naming in court documents Ian Edmondson, once one of Coulson’s executives. Mr Edmondson is now suspended. But the story is unlikely to end there. – Independent

Tory rebels join with Labour over prison votes

The Coalition Government could be forced to water down controversial plans to allow prisoners to vote in elections as Conservative MPs prepare to join forces with Labour to sabotage the proposal. The threat of a Tory rebellion grew as ministers disclosed that 28,770 prisoners would be entitled to vote under their plans – including 5,991 convicted of violence against the person, 1,753 of sexual offences, 2,486 of robbery and 4,188 of burglary. Following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, ministers propose to lift the ban on votes for prisoners for those serving jail sentences of up to four years. Although David Cameron stressed he was doing so reluctantly, the Liberal Democrats have long argued that prisoners should not be denied the right to vote. Labour delayed a decision on implementing the Court’s ruling before last May’s election but is now ready to form an unlikely alliance with Tory MPs in an attempt to force a U-turn. More than 40 Tories are said to oppose the Government’s plan – potentially enough to defeat it with the backing of the Labour Opposition. – Independent (more…)

Lib Dem rating at all time low

Support for the Liberal Democrats has slumped to its lowest level since the party was formed in 1988, according to The Independent’s “poll of polls”. Nick Clegg is now the most unpopular third party leader since David Owen led the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1989. The Liberal Democrats’ 11 per cent rating in the first poll of polls since last May’s election highlights the dramatic slide in their fortunes since they entered the Coalition with the Conservatives. The 57 Liberal Democrat MPs would be reduced to a rump of just 15 at the next election if this level of support were to be repeated then. Labour is now on 40 per cent and the Tories on 38 per cent, giving Labour an overall majority of 14, according to the weighted average of the regular surveys by ComRes, ICM, Ipsos MORI and YouGov. John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, who compiled the figures, said that the costs and benefits of the Coalition had been distributed very unevenly between the two parties in it. “It is clear that the tone and direction of the Coalition Government has upset many people who voted Liberal Democrat in May, and before, while for the most part those who voted Conservative have been reasonably content with what has transpired,” he said. – Independent

Nick Clegg and Theresa May at war over control orders

Nick Clegg has yet to strike a deal with the increasingly determined home secretary, Theresa May, over how to replace control orders or allow suspected terrorists to be detained for more than 14 days without charge in exceptional circumstances.

Faced by growing calls from senior former cabinet members to retain control orders, it appears that the Liberal Democrat leader is willing to seek a compromise, and will recognise that some form of replacement to control orders is necessary – even though in opposition he called for their outright abolition… Clegg is facing a fraught battle to balance the needs of civil liberties and national security, as well as prevent a public falling out between two distinguished Liberal Democrats peers: Lord Carlile, the government reviewer of terrorism until last week, and Lord Macdonald, the man appointed at the insistence of Clegg to monitor the terrorism review. – Guardian

DAVID Cameron is to hold crisis talks with Nick Clegg amid signs the row over control orders is threatening to shatter the fragile coalition. Mr Clegg wants the measures, which force terrorist suspects to observe a curfew and wear a tag, to be scrapped. But he is locked in a bitter row with Home Secretary Theresa May. Mr Cameron has called an urgent meeting ahead of next week’s Cabinet. No?10 hinted he was unwilling to give any ground, saying UK security was above party politics. – The Mirror

Lib Dems crumble in Oldham

The Liberal Democrats will not win the Oldham by-election next week. The Tories might, though. They were around 2000 down in May and I don’t perceive that their support has fallen by a great deal. Remember, this is one of the few parts of the country where a sizeable group of people define themselves as “Liberal”.  From the times I’ve been on the doorstep in Oldham (it’s not often), it is these “Liberals” who most feel the betrayal. They’re turning on Clegg. Many will stay at home. Some will vote Labour. A smaller group will go Tory. A Tory win is the only thing that all three party leaders don’t want. It would be comical if the consequences weren’t so serious. If we lose (and if we don’t turn out our natural supporters on a cold day in January, we will), Ed Miliband will be in the firing line of the anonymous (though we all know who they are) briefers near to the shadow cabinet. Yet defeat causes greater problems for the government. The Lib Dems need this seat to remain credible. If their coalition partners win, it will be a catastrophe for Clegg and, therefore, an irritation for Cameron. – Tom Watson, Labour Uncut

David Cameron and Nick Clegg will use the Oldham East by-election to quash claims the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives are planning a permanent merger. The Deputy Prime Minister will claim the by-election is a two horse race between the Liberal Democrats and Labour when he visits the constituency later today. He will also tell a town hall meeting that his party will run in every seat in 2015, instead of forming any electoral pact with the Conservatives. David Cameron is expected to visit later in the week, perhaps as soon as tomorrow. – PoliticsHome

VAT rise puts jobs at risk

The 2.5% hike in VAT which comes into effect at midnight tonight will cost families almost £400 a year and put up to 250,000 jobs at risk, Labour leader Ed Miliband warned today. He accused both of the parties in the ruling coalition of breaking election promises on tax, reminding voters that Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg campaigned against a “Tory VAT bombshell”, while Conservatives promoted a “fuel duty stabiliser” to reduce levies on petrol when prices are high at the pump. The increase to 20% will force up the cost not only of a tank of petrol, but also of regular purchases like a mobile phone call, cup of coffee or DVD, he said. But he was accused of “opportunism” by Chancellor George Osborne, who challenged him to explain what he would cut to make up for the revenue he would lose by scrapping the planned VAT increase. – Independent

The rate of Value Added Tax rose by 2.5 percentage points at midnight, from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent – an attempt by the Coalition to reduce the deficit. But analysts believe many gyms, mobile phone companies, restaurants and shops will raise their prices by between 5 per cent and 8 per cent, or possibly more. To recoup the escalating cost of petrol, energy, cotton and other key commodities, they are expected to use the tax change to obscure far larger price increases. This could add far more to a family’s annual expenditure than previously expected. Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, said yesterday that the VAT rise would cost the average family almost £400 a year and put 250,000 jobs at risk. Campaigning in the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election, Mr Miliband cited a Liberal Democrat poster from last year’s general election, that warned a “Tory VAT bombshell” would cost households £7.50 a week. – The Telegraph

The government claims that the alternative to today’s VAT rise is bigger spending cuts. But that isn’t true. Yes, the coalition government needed to set out a credible framework for stabilising the national debt, but its decision to tighten the screws so far and so fast was a political choice. It wouldn’t surprise me if Osborne was planning pre-election tax cuts for 2014. Instead of raising VAT and national insurance this year, the government could introduce taxes on carbon and financial transactions next year. And it should levy a tax on land values. Since all the land in Britain is worth some £5 trillion, an annual levy of 1% could raise £50bn a year – without depressing economic activity, because land is in fixed supply: central London can’t be spirited away to a tax haven. As well as preventing property bubbles (and busts), a land tax would be fair. A mere 160,000 people (mostly hereditary landowners) own more than two-thirds of Britain – and the value of that land increases not through their own striving, but through that of others. – The Guardian (more…)

VAT increase will hit hard

The planned rise in VAT is the “wrong tax, at the wrong time”, Labour leader Ed Miliband is to warn. Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s VAT increase from 17.5% to 20%, Mr Miliband will claim it will cost the average family £7.50 a week. He will say the rise, considered but rejected by Labour, will hit “living standards, small businesses and jobs”. But the Conservatives say Labour’s plans for the economy would cost businesses billions of pounds. The government hopes the VAT increase will raise £13bn and insists it is necessary to help reduce the UK’s deficit. The Labour leader is set to issue his warning on Monday during a visit to the constituency of Oldham East and Saddleworth, where a by-election is to take place on 13 January. He will say the VAT rise on most goods and services will hinder economic growth, cost thousands of jobs and make it even harder for families to make ends meet when they are already feeling squeezed. “Today we start to see the Tory-led agenda move from Downing Street to your street,” Mr Miliband will warn. – BBC

The shameless Chancellor jetted off on a luxury skiing holiday – leaving Britain to suffer the backlash of his vicious policies. He went on the piste as struggling families faced huge rises in fuel duties, rail fares and VAT. That’s not to mention benefit reductions, pay cuts, job losses and the rise in university tuition fees. Last night furious union chiefs said the top Tory’s latest jaunt made a mockery of his claim that “we’re all in this together”. Millionaire Mr Osborne is staying with wife Frances and their two children at a trendy boutique hotel in the Swiss resort of Klosters. They have enjoyed almost a week of fun on the slopes – just before the Coalition’s stinging 2.5% VAT hike hits the high street. – The Mirror

Hundreds of poor families and young people may miss out on emergency welfare assistance for essential items such as beds for children, cookers and fridges because of this week’s VAT increase, charities warn. People in urgent need of specific household items – for instance those who have had to move swiftly to escape domestic violence, or who have lost their belongings in a house fire – can apply to charitable organisations for small, quickly delivered sums to meet their most pressing needs when they have exhausted state help. But charities warned of a “perfect storm” as the rise in the VAT rate from 17.5% to 20% on Tuesday increases prices and cuts the number of grants awarding bodies can make – at a time when applications are rising and funds dwindling because the interest earned on charities’ investments has plummeted. – Guardian

Campaign kicks on in Oldham East

Campaigning will get under way in earnest this week in the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election, the first big test of public opinion since the creation of the coalition government. Both Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband will pay their second visits to the constituency, which Labour won last year with a majority of just 103 over the Liberal Democrats. David Cameron, who has faced accusations he secretly wants his coalition partners to win the contest on 13 January, is also due to visit this week. In a sign of Liberal Democrat anxiety about their prospects, their former leader, Charles Kennedy, deputy leader, Simon Hughes, president, Tim Farron, and several ministers will also bang the drum for the party. Mr Miliband will say during a visit today: “The battle in Oldham and across the country is about Labour and this Conservative-led government. “It may be a three-way fight for Oldham East and Saddleworth between Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Tories. But it’s only a two-way fight about the direction for the country.” – Independent (more…)

Tory revolt over Oldham & Saddleworth

David Cameron faced a revolt from rebel Tory MPs last night over claims that he is secretly backing so-called ‘purple plotters’ who want a merger with the Liberal Democrats. Leading Conservative MP Mark Pritchard challenged the Prime Minister to make it clear that he will not allow Tory ‘zealots’ to form a new ‘Frankenstein’ party with Nick Clegg’s Lib Dems at any time, locally or nationally. Unless the plan is stopped in its tracks, the Tory faithful could refuse to campaign for the party in future elections, warned Mr Pritchard, secretary of the influential backbench Conservative 1922 Committee. His threat comes after a growing number of senior Tories, including former Prime Minister Sir John Major, have promoted the idea of maintaining the Tory-Lib Dem alliance after the next Election. – Daily Mail

I know that we are into a new and different sort of politics, what with two parties forming the government and all that, but the bigger of those two parties really is taking the mick in the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election. Both parties deserve to be punished as a result. It takes a fair bit for me to feel sorry for a Tory, but it is hard not to feel some sympathy with the Tory candidate, Kashif Ali, who has effectively been thrown to the scavenging Lib Dem wolves. From David Cameron down, the message is clear – we will say we are pulling out the stops for poor old Kashif, but we’re not really, and for heaven’s sake don’t do anything that looks remotely like an organised campaign. International development minister Andrew Mitchell seems to have gone further, saying they will do all they can to help the Lib Dems. – Alastair Campbell

Ed’s 100 days

Failure is half-acknowledged in the setting up of a sweeping policy review. But before that process is complete there must be an interim reckoning with New Labour’s legacy. The party needs to know what it is campaigning to preserve as well as what to change. Mr Miliband will himself spend his 100th day in the job campaigning to help Labour retain the marginal seat of Oldham and Saddleworth in a byelection. Inevitably, the contest is being held up as a test of progress against the coalition. Labour’s eviction from power is too recent to expect the party to start looking like a fresh alternative government. That is a long-haul project. But it starts with a clear account of what was right and what went wrong under New Labour. It requires also an account of the leader’s governing principles. After 100 days, Ed Miliband has not yet properly explained to the country as a whole who he is and what he believes. He shouldn’t waste any more time. – Observer

All in this together

Chancellor George Osborne, who defied austerity Britain by taking a luxury break at Prince Charles’s favourite ski resort, Klosters. Ironically, it was Mr Osborne who coined the phrase ‘we’re all in this together’ when calling for massive cuts to get the country out of the red at the 2009 Tory Party Conference. Meanwhile tycoon MP Zac Goldsmith was reportedly sunning himself at a £8,000-a-week villa in the Caribbean over the New Year – in contrast to David Cameron, who scrapped plans for an expensive holiday in Thailand for fear of sending the wrong message to voters. – Daily Mail

Cameron vs Tory right

Conservative backbenchers are preparing to ambush the controversial European Union Bill which goes before the Commons when MPs return from their Christmas break. Eurosceptic Tories will table radical changes to the legislation, which they claim does not deliver on its promise of a referendum on future transfers of powers to the European Union. If the changes strengthening the legislation are not accepted by the Government, some Conservatives said they might even vote down the entire Bill. Last night Labour sources signalled that Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, will order his MPs to oppose the legislation too. The prospect of a pincer movement of Labour MPs and Tory rebels is acutely worrying for Mr Cameron, whose Coalition majority of 76 would be overturned if just over half that number of Tories joined forces with Labour. – Telegraph

More broken NHS promises from Lansley

Promises to improve mental health care for millions of people a year are at risk of being broken as the Government scraps plans to invest money in high-quality research. The coalition’s new mental health strategy, expected to be published shortly, fails to recognise the importance of research in reducing the huge burden of mental illness. This flies in the face of its own promises and of compelling evidence, experts warn. Mental illness is the country’s leading cause of personal suffering, economic loss and social problems, costing England alone more than £105bn in 2009. Those with mental health problems are more likely to get cancer or have a heart attack, for reasons that are little understood. Less than £75m of public money is spent each year on relevant research, a fraction of the sums spent on cancer and heart disease. – Independent

Johnson calls for VAT rise rethink

The shadow chancellor, Alan Johnson, urges an 11th hour rethink of Tuesday’s planned VAT rise in a letter to the government today, as theConfederation of British Industry (CBI) warned public spending cuts could lead to a dramatic slowdown in the pace of economic recovery. Outgoing director general of the employer’s body, Richard Lambert, predicts “bumpy times ahead” for businesses which are “extremely uncertain” about what the new year will bring. “That’s understandable because the economic and political outlook both seem volatile over the short term,” said Lambert, who is knighted in the New Year honours list. “For a start the pace of economic recovery could slow quite markedly in the first few months of 2011. The VAT increase will be taking effect, and the construction sector will start to feel the pain of public spending cuts,” he said. While the influential body is not predicting a double-dip recession and expects the rate of growth to pick up later in the year, Lambert expresses concern about the early months of 2011. – The Guardian

Rebel rebel

Government MPs are rebelling against their parties’ policies on a scale not seen since 1945, new research for The Independent has revealed. During the Coalition’s first seven months, dozens of Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs – including many elected for the first time in May – have repeatedly defied House of Commons whips to vote against the Government. The findings suggest the Coalition – which has a Commons majority of 84 – could be vulnerable to defeat as the Government becomes more unpopular and the austerity measures hit home. Earlier this month the rise in tuition fees scraped by with a majority of 21. The research, conducted by Professor Philip Cowley and Mark Stuart of Nottingham University, found Government MPs rebelled in 84 of the 160 Commons votes between May and 20 December when Parliament rose for the three-week Christmas break. They say the 53 per cent rebellion rate is “without parallel in the post-war era”. – Independent

Lansley U-turn on flu after Healey pressure

THE ConDems were forced into making a humiliating U-turn as the flu death toll rose to 39 last night. It launched a desperate publicity drive to curb the spread of the virus – just months after scrapping an advertising campaign as too costly and unnecessary. Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has now resurrected the £1.5million “Catch it, Bin it, Kill it” programme. Geoff Martin, chairman of pressure group Health ­Emergency, said: “They scrapped the publicity to save a few pounds but placed people’s lives at risk.” The Health Protection Agency said the number of flu victims in intensive care has almost doubled in a week to 738. Twelve more people have died since last week, on top of the 27 victims killed by the virus since October. – The Mirror (more…)

Ed’s new year message

BRITAIN faces a year of pain as reckless ConDem cuts and tax rises bite, Labour leader Ed Miliband warned today. In a New Year message, he said the full impact of the coalition austerity measures are now about to hit home. He blasted David Cam-eron and Nick Clegg for breaking election promises and being indifferent to the unnecessary pain they are about to inflict.Mr Miliband said: “2011 will be a year of consequen-ces for Britain. Consequences felt by hard-working families all across the country. Consequences of reducing the deficit at an irresponsible pace and scale.” – The Mirror

Ed Miliband is warning Britons to be braced for the pain of deep spending cuts – and accuses Coalition ministers of being callous in how they wield the axe. In his New Year message, the Labour leader denounces the “irresponsible pace and scale” of austerity measures which he says will be felt “by hard-working families”. “Many people feel powerless in the face of these decisions that will affect their lives, families and communities. The political forces in Whitehall which have made these choices appear forbidding and unheeding,” he says. Brendan Barber, the TUC general secretary, warned that 2011 would be “horrible”, with rising unemployment and cuts to benefits and services. – Independent

2011: Year of social and economic misery

Support for the coalition has now collapsed from 59% to 43%, backing for the Lib Dems from 23% at the general election to 8% in some polls, and Nick Clegg has become one of the most hated men in Britain as his party prepares to pay a savage political price in next May’s elections – and quite possibly in his lifeline electoral reform referendum as well. Given that Brown was still fighting off Blairite cabinet coups last January, this really has been a year of dizzying political change. By the same token, 2011 promises to be a year of social and economic misery, as the coalition’s cuts and the heaviest costs of the bankers’ crisis are loaded on to the poorest under the slogan “we’re all in this together”. Everything from cuts in housing benefit and childcare support for those on low and middle incomes, to the abolition of the educational maintenance allowance and the slashing of basic council services will move from the realm of political debate to real life in the new year. – The Guardian

Polling in Oldham

I’ve just had word that the automated phone pollster, Survation, is carrying out a survey in Oldham East & Saddleworth ahead of the by-election. Survation is not a member of the British Polling Council and I had heard little of it until now. According to its website it carried out polling during the Labour leadership race and I am told it also did a general election exit poll. I don’t know where or when the Old & Sad poll will be published but it’s findings could play a key part in establishing whether the blues or yellows are best placed to challenge Labour. At the general election it was LAB 31.9%: LD 31.6%: CON 26.4%. – PoliticalBetting

AV contest warms up

The referendum on changes to the electoral system is shaping up to be the political event of next year. As it should be. Voting is a serious matter, and no alteration to the established way of doing things should be undertaken lightly or without exhaustive discussion. While not as fundamental a reform as The Independent and other advocates of proportional representation would like, a move to the Alternative Vote system would still be a landmark change for a country that has used first-past-the-post since modern elections began. The battle lines are already being drawn up. Late last month, the “no” campaign introduced its leaders: Margaret Beckett was named president; David Blunkett and Lord Prescott were given supporting roles, along with the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, and the Justice Secretary, Ken Clarke, making it a truly crossbench affair. – Independent

Party reform

Ed Miliband is to distance Labour from its trade union paymasters by diluting the party’s financial dependence on them and reducing their role in electing the party leader. Labour has proposed introducing a ceiling on donations to any political party which could be as low as £500, The Independent has learnt. The move could break the long-running deadlock between the parties on agreeing a new system of financing politics. Previous attempts to halt big donations have failed, partly because Labour was reluctant to give up its multimillion-pound gifts from the unions. But Mr Miliband is ready to gamble on Labour attracting thousands of small donations from individual supporters as part of a drive to take “big money” out of politics. He also wants to change Labour’s culture by allowing the public a vote when the party chooses its leader. He plans to give 25 per cent of the votes to non-party members who register as Labour supporters. MPs, trade unionists and party members would also each have a quarter of the votes in Labour’s electoral college. At present, MPs, union and party members each have a third of those votes. – The Independent

Gove put back in his box

The proportion of poor teenagers who go to university has been rising at a far higher rate than that of their better-off classmates, a statistical analysis by Labour shows. Between 2005 and 2007 the number of pupils receiving free school meals – a standard measure of poverty – who went to university jumped by 18% compared to a rise of 9% among pupils not entitled to free school meals. Some 10,060 pupils on free school meals started university in 2005. By 2007, the figure had risen to 11,905. Liz Kendall, the Labour MP for Leicester West, obtained the figures from answers to parliamentary questions. Statisticians originally matched data from the National Pupil Database to figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency for 19-year-olds at university. The figures for 2007 are the latest available. Kendall said the figures hit back at a claim made by the education secretary, Michael Gove, in the Commons last month. Gove told MPs that “social mobility went backwards under Labour.” Kendall said the figures showed that during the last parliament the number of children from the poorest families who went to university “increased at a much faster rate than those not on free school meals.” – The Guardian

Policy popularity contest

The government is to follow the lead of The X Factor television programme and allow the public to decide on legislation to be put before MPs. In an attempt to reduce what is seen as a disconnection between the public and parliament, ministers will ensure that the most popular petition on the government website Direct.gov.uk will be drafted as a bill. It is also planning to guarantee that petitions which reach a fixed level of support – most likely 100,000 signatures – will be guaranteed a Commons debate. Ministerial sources acknowledge that the proposals have the potential to cause headaches for the coalition because populist causes célèbres – such as a return of capital punishment or withdrawal from the European Union – could come top of the list. – The Guardian (more…)