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Monday News Review

20/06/2011, 06:25:26 AM

Hutton urges Labour to back his pension reforms

The former Labour business secretary charged by the coalition with overseeing its contentious pensions reforms has called on his party leader to back his plans and ask union leaders to stop threatening strikes. Lord Hutton said people had to face the “reality” that public sector pension reform was necessary and that strikes would not “make this problem go away”. When asked if Ed Miliband should oppose the threat of industrial action by the unions that backed him to become party leader, Hutton said “of course”. He also said he would like to see Miliband endorse his report. The government and unions have been at loggerheads since the end of last week when ministers went public with plans to extend the retirement age and increase pension contributions for millions of public sector workers. Union leaders felt that ministers had pre-empted negotiations with the announcement. The head of Unison, Dave Prentis, and other union leaders threatened the biggest wave of industrial action since the general strike of 1926 after the chief secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, made the announcement on Friday. The Treasury later said that Alexander was articulating proposals for reform, not settled government policy, but Prentis said that Alexander’s speech had effectively rendered the talks meaningless. – the Guardian

Lord Hutton, the Labour peer who drew up proposals for slashing the cost of state-sector pensions for the Government, yesterday pressed the Labour leader to use his influence to call off the disastrous strike. His intervention came after increasing criticism of the Labour leadership for failing to condemn the one-day national strike planned by teaching and civil service unions on June 30. Lord Hutton, a Cabinet colleague of Mr Miliband in the last Labour government, said: “Strikes won’t make this problem go away, we have to act now. If we don’t, it’s our kids who are going to pick up the tab and it’s not right.” Asked whether he would like to see Mr Miliband back his recommendations, Lord Hutton replied: “I’d like him to endorse the report I produced, yes, because I think it does strike the only fair balance.” Pressed on whether Mr Miliband should “call off” industrial action over pensions, he said: “Of course.” Unions yesterday intensified their rhetoric against the Government in the increasingly bitter dispute. Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, insisted the unions would “win” by using “smart” tactics of frequent short strikes rather than the mass confrontations of the 1980s. Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union representing civil servants, said: “I think if the Government isn’t prepared to change course in the negotiations that we are having after that strike, we will see unions representing millions more move to ballot members for strikes in the autumn.” – Daily Express

Cameron’s bad dad rant rebuked

DavidCameron hit out at fathers who run out on their children yesterday and said absent dads deserve to be shamed in the same way as drink drivers. The Prime Minister described family life as the “cornerstone of our society” and said fathers had a financial and emotional duty to support their kids. But experts called his comments an extraordinary “contradiction” because new Government rules will actually make it harder for single parents to chase up errant fathers. Not only will they have to pay £100 simply to apply to the Child Support Agency, they then face losing between 7% to 10% of the money they receive in charges. Sadly, Mr Cameron and his Government are making life harder for single parents at the moment. They propose making single parents pay a fee and ongoing charges for the Child Support Agency to collect money from runaway dads. It would consist of an upfront application fee of £100 plus an extra ongoing charge of between 7% and 12% of the money paid. The proposals will act as a disincentive to using the CSA. The people who use it at the moment are the people who need it. They can’t make private arrangements, either as they don’t know where the dad lives or because he is deliberately avoiding and refusing to pay. Sometimes there is a lot of conflict and the mother doesn’t feel able to negotiate an agreement. In those situations, you need help from a statutory agency but £100 is a big chunk of money to pay just to start using the CSA. The people more likely to use the agency are those in more difficult circumstances. They tend to be poorer and to have more difficult relationships with the other parent. They are disadvantaged single parents. We need the CSA to be there for exactly those type of parents. The proposals make Mr Cameron’s comments yesterday all the more extraordinary. – Daily Mirror

David Cameron was accused of double standards after calling for fathers who abandon their families to be “stigmatised”, while backing policies which could make it more costly for mothers to pursue them for financial support. In an article yesterday, the Prime Minister said “runaway dads” should feel the “full force of shame” in a similar way to drink drivers. Labour said government reforms would make it easier for fathers to escape their financial responsibilities, by charging mothers to use the Child Support Agency. Earlier this year, the Government announced a consultation on proposals to encourage parents to reach their own arrangements for child maintenance – rather than relying on the state – by introducing a fee. The shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said Mr Cameron’s approach was deeply flawed.”Fathers should take their responsibilities seriously, but he is charging mums when the father leaves now to go into the CSA [Child Support Agency],” Mr Balls told the BBCs’ The Andrew Marr Show. “He is going to make it harder with his marriage tax cut [which] will disadvantage the woman left behind and give the tax break to the father who goes off.” – the Independent

Huhne attacks Coalition partners over green laws

The energy secretary, Chris Huhne, has attacked his Conservative colleagues in government as “rightwing ideologues” and “deregulation zealots” for placing environmental regulations on a list of red tape to be considered for scrapping. In comments made at the weekend to a conference of social democrats in his party, Huhne made it clear he is opposed to environmental protection laws such as the Climate Change Act, the Wildlife and Countryside Act and the National Parks Act being included in the government’s review of regulations in force in the UK. His views are thought to reflect a range of opinion within Liberal Democrats in government. A source close to Huhne said he was supported by the business secretary, Vince Cable, and Lib Dem ministers were braced to do battle over hundreds of regulations they believe their Tory colleagues will be inclined to discard. The move is part of a Lib Dem strategy to fight their corner more aggressively that has been evident in the party leadership’s successful opposition to the NHS changes. Huhne said: “Between the obsession with micro-management and target-setting displayed by the Labour party, and the fixation with deregulation and scrapping rules just because they are rules on offer from some rightwing ideologues, we Liberal Democrats have a real chance to define an evidence-based, intelligent and distinctive approach.” – the Guardian

Ed’s Maggie fixation

Ed Miliband was denounced for ‘naked and cynical positioning’ last night after his aides said he ‘admires’ Margaret Thatcher and is using her as his inspiration to become Prime Minister. The Labour leader is reportedly studying the methods she used to remove Labour from power in 1979, and based his recent pledge to crack down on welfare scroungers on similar moves by Lady Thatcher. However, his claims to be a ‘fan of Maggie’ were dismissed as a stunt by Tory MPs. And they are undermined by a new book which reveals his ‘glee’ when she was forced out of Downing Street in 1990. A new book, Ed: The Milibands And The Making Of A Labour Leader, by Left-wing journalists Mehdi Hasan and James Macintyre, reveals that the future Labour leader spent 24 hours celebrating her downfall and wrote of his ‘elation’. At the time, Mr Miliband was a 20-year-old at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he earned a reputation as a Left-wing firebrand student leader in his role as president of the Junior Common Room (JCR). The book describes his reaction to Mrs Thatcher’s downfall: ‘Like so many Labour students, Ed couldn’t contain his glee, referring in the JCR president’s newsletter to the “elation among many Corpus undergraduates.”’ ‘He was ecstatic,’ said a friend. ‘All of us were. We didn’t leave the college TV room for 24 hours. It was the biggest event of our lives.’ – Daily Mail

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Saturday News Review

18/06/2011, 06:52:11 AM

Unison flexes its muscles

Britain’s biggest wave of industrial action since the 1926 general strike will be sparked by Government pension reforms, the largest public sector union’s leader has said. Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, issued the warning as angry unions threatened to walk away from talks over plans to pay more for reduced entitlements. He told the Guardian newspaper: “It will be the biggest since the general strike. It won’t be the miners’ strike. We are going to win.” It comes after Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander told public sector workers it would be a “colossal mistake” to reject a deal that was the best they could hope for. Under the reforms, the general retirement age in the public sector will rise from 60 to 66, in line with the state pension. – Sky News

The leader of the largest public sector union promises to mount the most sustained campaign of industrial action the country has seen since the general strike of 1926, vowing not to back down until the government has dropped its controversial pension changes. Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison – which has 1.4 million members employed by the state – described plans for waves of strike action, with public services shut down on a daily basis, rolling from one region to the next and from sector to sector. He said there was growing anger over a public sector pay freeze that could trigger more disputes further down the line and that the changes would unfairly penalise women, who form the majority of low-paid public sector workers. “It will be the biggest since the general strike. It won’t be the miners’ strike. We are going to win.” In an interview with the Guardian, Prentis – who also chairs the public sector group at the TUC – repeatedly insisted that he still hopes to negotiate a settlement with the government through talks that are currently under way. – the Guardian

They are still the nasty party

A Tory MP has sparked outrage after saying disabled people should work for less than the minimum wage. Right-winger Philip Davies said if employers had to pay the same wage they would always choose to hire an able-bodied job candidate over a disabled rival. The Shipley MP told the Commons yesterday: “People with a learning disability can’t be as productive in their work as somebody who hasn’t got a disability.” He added: “They (disabled people) accept an employer would take on a person without mental health problems if they were both having to be paid the same rate.” His comments came during the second reading debate of Tory Christopher Chope’s Employment Opportunities Bill, which opens up the possibility of workers “opting” to work for less than the £5.93 minimum wage. But Dame Anne Begg, chairman of the Work and Pensions Committee, said: “To suggest that disabled people should be treated as second class citizens is shocking and shows just what a warped world some Tories inhabit.” – Daily Mirror

Downing Street has moved to protect the Prime Minister from a torrent of criticism after a senior Conservative suggested that people with disabilities should be paid less than the minimum wage. Philip Davies, the MP for Shipley, claimed people with disabilities or mental health problems were at a disadvantage because they could not offer to work for less money. Relaxing the law would help some disabled people to compete more effectively for jobs in “the real world” in which they are “by definition” less productive than workers without disabilities, he claimed. The remarks stunned both Labour and Tory MPs and provoked a furious response from charities and equality campaigners, who condemned Mr Davies’s “insulting” suggestion as “absolutely outrageous”. During a Parliamentary debate, Mr Davies told MPs that the minimum wage of £5.93 per hour meant disabled people who wanted to work found the door being “closed in their face”. Richard Hawkes, Chief Executive of disability charity Scope, said Mr Davies had “got it seriously wrong”, adding: “We need to challenge employers’ prejudices – not pander to them.” The MP was also warned that he will be questioned over his remarks by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which is conducting an inquiry into disability-related harassment. – Daily Telegraph

Waiting lists rocket

Longer waiting lists nail David Cameron’s lie that the NHS is safe in his Tory hands. Behind the bald Whitehall statistics are real people unnecessarily suffering for longer and, in some cases, probably dying. Over the past few weeks I’ve had to listen to the PM denying that waiting lists are rising. He can’t do that any more – although I wouldn’t put it past someone so slippery as him trying. The quack doctor in Downing Street deserves to pay a political price for his misdiagnosis and botched operations. I can’t pretend I’m surprised that he is dismantling the NHS as we know it. I wasn’t convinced five years ago when he declared: “The NHS is safe in my hands – of course it will be.” Tony Blair, he added, used one word three times to explain that education was his priority. Mr One Upmanship said he could better that: “I can do it in three letters – NHS.” Really, Prime Minister? You’ve an unhealthy way of proving that to those who rely on an NHS you’re harming. – Kevin Maguire, Daily Mirror

Ed on the campaign trail again

Scots are feeling the pinch from “reckless” Conservative policies, according to Labour leader Ed Miliband. Mr Miliband joined candidate Iain McKenzie campaigning for the Westminster Inverclyde by-election seat yesterday. He said: “Iain McKenzie is a superb local candidate, a man who knows this community like the back of his hand because he has lived here all his life and fought for the area. People deserve well-paid, secure jobs, and Iain will work hard to make that happen for the communities he knows so well. But I know many families and pensioners here in Inverclyde are hurting, and hurting in the face of risky and unfair Tory cuts. We need a plan B on the economy to help people right across the country. There is now no coherent plan for growth. David Cameron’s plan to cut spending too far and too fast is a reckless gamble with people’s jobs and livelihoods, and it is making things worse, not better.” – the Scotsman

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Friday News Review

17/06/2011, 06:55:05 AM

Pension decision due

Danny Alexander, the Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury, tells millions of trade union members that only by agreeing to the Coalition’s new terms will they be able to keep “the best pensions available”. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, he warns that opposition to the change – that will require many in the public sector to work longer and pay more into their retirement funds – will mean a worse deal in future. “The history of reform is littered with examples of people simply denying the facts,” he writes. “Eventually reality bites. And when it does, change is urgent and uncompromising.” The Government’s offer, he says, is “by far the best that is likely to be on the table for years to come”. It will still leave them with retirement deals that are more generous and more certain than most in the private sector, he says. – Daily Telegraph

The government is to spare the lowest paid public servants from the worst of the increases in their pension contributions in a rush to avoid a mass opt-out. But the decision to protect people earning up to £18,000 from the average increase of 3.2% of their salary, made after warnings that the pension reforms could price some people out of saving for their future altogether, will mean the higher paid will pay up to 5% more. Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, will set out details of the plans to increase 6 million public sector workers’ pension payments, and will attack union leaders who have announced a joint strike on 30 June. Alexander will announce that workers earning less than £15,000 will be spared any increase and those earning less than £18,000 will have their contributions capped at 1.5%. The increases will be phased in over three years from next April to lessen the blow. Teachers, medics and local government managers could face a doubling in their contributions from next April. – the Guardian

The Falklands is an issue again

The Argentinian president has criticised David Cameron for insisting the Falkland Islands should remain a British territory. Cristina Kirchner described the prime minister as “arrogant” and said his comments were an “expression of mediocrity and almost of stupidity”. Cameron had been prompted by Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell during prime minister’s questions to remind Barack Obama that the British government would not accept any kind of negotiations over the south Atlantic islands, which Argentina and Britain fought a 10-week war over in 1982. Cameron told the Commons: “I would say this: as long as the Falkland Islands want to be sovereign British territory, they should remain sovereign British territory – full stop, end of story.” In her criticism of his comments, Kirchner said that Britain “continues to be a crude colonial power in decline”. She has insisted that the two countries should negotiate over the islands, which have been a British territory since 1833. The 1982 conflict cost the lives of 649 Argentinian and 255 British troops. – the Guardian

Clegg in electoral scrap

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg Thursday shrugged off the drubbing his party has received since joining the Conservatives in government, and said the British tradition of two-party politics was over. The Lib Dems have been battered by accusations they have compromised their principles to join the Conservatives in power after last year’s general election, and Clegg in particular has seen his star plummet in opinion polls. The deputy prime minister has been excoriated for going back on his election pledge to abolish university tuition fees, one of several compromises he says were necessary to achieve the coalition’s aim of eliminating Britain’s budget deficit. The coalition has made eliminating the deficit, which had topped 10 percent of national output, by the end of the current of the current parliament in 2015 a key pledge, and Clegg said his party would be rewarded in future. – Reuters

Many angry ex-Liberal Democrat voters in the North will not return to supporting the party, Mr Clegg admitted. The deputy prime minister acknowledged that some voters were so disillusioned – over the decision to enter coalition with the Conservatives – that his party had lost them for good. That collapse in support has been most severe in Northern areas such as Liverpool, where lingering anti-Tory sentiment is most common. But Mr Clegg insisted his party would still be a fighting force at the 2015 election, vowing: “I think we are going to have to get used to coalition.” He said: “Of course some people who used to vote for us absolutely hate the fact that we are in coalition with the Conservatives. As, by the way, if we had gone into coalition with Labour, a whole lot of people who had voted for us would absolutely hate that we had gone into coalition with Labour. “Of course. these people have peeled away – and many of them might not come back.” However, Mr Clegg said he was “relishing” the chance to present his party as one that had helped rescue Britain from economic disaster. – Liverpool Daily Post

Brothers partying together, whatever next…

The nation’s most visible sibling rivalry drifted into public view when Ed and David Miliband were seen together at a party. The brothers joined guests at a pub in Pimlico, central London, to celebrate a friend’s birthday. They have rarely been seen together since Ed unexpectedly pipped his older brother to the Labour party’s top job last year. Their joint appearance seemed designed to scotch rumours that David might try to oust his sibling, who has put in a poor political performance in recent weeks. A party source insisted the pair remained ‘brothers first and politicians second’. Speculation of a continuing rift between the brothers was fuelled at the weekend by claims in an unauthorised biography that the pair were barely on speaking terms. The rift allegations came amid reports of unrest among Labour MPs about Ed Miliband’s performance, which he has dismissed as ‘Westminster tittle tattle’. – Daily Mail

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Thursday News Review

16/06/2011, 06:55:55 AM

Balls warns Osborne of “permanent dent”

George Osborne will create a “permanent dent” in the British economy by pressing ahead with a damaging fiscal deficit reduction plan that will do little to promote economic growth, Ed Balls will warn on Thursday. Britain’s slow economic recovery risks leaving Britain £58bn worse off by 2015 at a cost of £3,300 to every family, the shadow chancellor will say as he points out that Britain is struggling behind the US, France and Germany. This will happen if the economy continues to grow at its current rate of 0.5 percentage points below trend in every year for the rest of this parliament. In a speech at the London School of Economics, Balls will say that Osborne’s plan to eliminate the structural deficit over the course of this parliament poses a major risk to Britain’s economic recovery by failing to encourage growth. – the Guardian

Milburn: health reforms are car crash

The Government’s health reforms are the biggest car crash in NHS history. From the outset they were devoid of advocacy and advocates. The screech of skidding tyres has been audible for months. This week, with the publication of the NHS Future Forum report and the Government’s response, the stench of a sharp U-turn has become overpowering. It leaves both health policy and British politics in a very different place. The temptation to elevate short-term politics above long-term policy proved too much for both David Cameron and Nick Clegg. Cameron has returned to his original strategy of playing safe on the NHS in order to decontaminate the Tory brand. A combination of his own neglect and his Health Secretary’s foolish bout of policy-wonking had put that at risk. It had managed to conflate in the public mind precisely the four words Cameron was desperate to avoid – cuts, privatisation, health and Tory. Clegg has had a different motive: to differentiate his Liberal Democrats from their Conservative Coalition partners by saving the NHS from “Tory privatisers”. Many in both camps inside the Coalition consider the U-turn a triumph. But it has the makings of a policy disaster for the health service and, maybe in time, a political disaster for the Government. – the Telegraph

Northern Rock to be sold?

George Osborne announced his intention to sell Northern Rock to a single bidder tonight, calling it “a sign of confidence in the industry”. But former Chancellor and architect of the bank’s public takeover Alistair Darling said he was “surprised” at the timing of the sale. “I’m slightly surprised at the Government putting northern rock on the market now. They’ve got to justify whatever price they can get for it. I was always clear that at the end of the day the taxpayer would get its money back. We need to make sure that happens.”- Politics Home

The nasty party strike again

No one believes you can raise a child decently on £3 a day, and yet the House of Commons today passed a law that will impose that hardship on youngsters across much of the south of England. This prospect flows from a crude £26,000 cap being applied to all of a family’s annual benefits, which will bite hard wherever households are large and rents are high. Designed to win George Osborne Tory conference cheers and tabloid plaudits, it achieved both these things before anyone had bothered to think it through. The rhetorical logic is ensuring that benefits should never exceed typical pay, and this line has been parroted in the Sun. But there is no real logic, since the whole argument rests on wilful misunderstanding. For one thing, the policy deliberately confuses average individual pay with family income. Only a truly nasty party would want to visit the sins of the fathers and mothers it deems to have too many children on the children themselves. Yet, by ignoring the number of mouths that a family has to feed, the cap does precisely that. – the Guardian

Tony’s Tories

For David Cameron there is a much more significant alliance than the one with Nick Clegg, a coming together that has defined his leadership from the beginning and will do so until the end. The alliance is not formal and never will be, but it is at the heart of his project as leader in a way the Liberal Democrats are not. I am referring to the informal alliance between Cameron and Tony Blair, one that extends to some of those who worked closely on policy with the former Labour prime minister. The partnership started when Cameron as the new Conservative leader supported Blair’s school reforms in 2006. Cameron went on to make the mischievous yet sincere observation that the Labour leader evidently wanted to go further and would do so if it were not for his wretched party and chancellor. The heir to Blair assured him that he would carry on with the reforms when he won a general election. He has done so. The rapport goes well beyond two leaders. The Education Secretary, Michael Gove, a close ally of Cameron’s, describes himself without irony as a Blairite. Famously he and others at the top of the Conservative Party regard Blair’s memoirs as the equivalent of the Bible. Blair reciprocates – the Independent

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Tuesday News Review

14/06/2011, 06:55:31 AM

Listening exercise is over: has anything changed?

The political fallout from the review of the NHS reforms has begun. Nick Clegg has reportedly told a meeting of Lib Dem MPs and peers that the party’s goals on the reforms had been “very handsomely met”. Andrew Lansley has called on Conservative MPs to stand by him. The Health Secretary earlier said the NHS Future Forum report had shown “clear support for a health service that puts patients at the heart of everything it does” – but John Healey described the findings as a “demolition job” on the Government’s “mismanagements”. Head of the Health Select Committee Stephen Dorrell hailed the Future Forum report as “a step forward”. The news comes as a new poll by Comres/ITV shows that over half the population do not trust David Cameron to keep his promises on NHS reform. – Politics Home

The truth is that one cannot slip an X-ray scan between Lansley and Field’s beliefs. Field said his NHS thinking was underpinned by three ideas: that services should be commissioned by clincians; that patients should be engaged and involved; and that health and social care need integrating. Lansley said the same thing last month in the same conference room. Field’s proposals have been welcomed by opponents because they think that Lansley’s bill will now be gutted. But what Field has done is to preserve the bill’s founding principles and seduce opponents by peppering the bill with so many concessions that the government is left with confusion and incoherence. The listening exercise was supposed to be a full stop in the heated argument over the NHS. In fact it is just a comma. When amendments to the bill and guidance are published, the political fight over the NHS will be resumed. – the Guardian

The government is to accept large swathes of its plans for the NHS in England need to be rewritten, the BBC has learnt. Concessions will be made over the pace of change and the powers given to GPs, as demanded by an independent review. More details – including about the role of competition in the health service – will be unveiled on Tuesday in the government’s response to the review. Ministers hope a quick response will allow them to restart stalled changes. In April, the government took the unprecedented move of halting the parliamentary progress of the Health and Social Care Bill underpinning the changes amid mounting criticism from academics, health unions and MPs. – the BBC

Front line return for David Miliband?

David Miliband is considering a surprise comeback to frontline politics in an attempt to end speculation about a continuing rift with his brother Ed. Friends of the former Foreign Secretary said yesterday that his joining the Shadow Cabinet was a “live issue” in his circle of political allies. “There is a debate going on. Some people are arguing that it would be better to be a team player than look as though he is sulking on the sidelines,” said one source. A biography of Ed Miliband by journalists Mehdi Hassan and James Macintyre claims the relationship with his elder brother is still very strained eight months after he defeated him to win the Labour leadership. There were weekend reports that David is waiting for Ed to fail so he could mount another bid for the job. – the Independent

Inflation hits poorest

Poor people in Britain are suffering from a far higher inflation rate than the rich, according to research released today by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) that shows the impact of soaring food and energy bills on those with the lowest incomes. The thinktank said the least well off had experienced a higher cost of living than the wealthy for the past decade, but that the difference had widened sharply since the long, deep recession of 2008 and 2009. In a study that coincides with the release of new official data today, the IFS said its analysis using the retail prices index (RPI) showed that the poorest fifth of households had faced an inflation rate of 4.3% between 2008 and 2010, compared to 2.7% for the richest fifth of households. RPI inflation has continued to rise in 2011 and stood at 5.2% in April. – the Guardian

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Monday News Review

13/06/2011, 06:27:02 AM

Family breakdown

When he won the Labour leadership, Ed Miliband declared that Britain had not ‘heard the last’ of his older brother, from whose complacent grip he had snatched the prize. David would ‘be around in one way or another’. Well, Ed was spot on in that analysis. Today, as he prepares to deliver yet another keynote speech, desperately crafted to pump life into his flaccid leadership, brother David’s shadow looms ever larger and more threatening.Indeed, it is Louise Miliband, even more than her vanquished former Foreign Secretary husband, who harbours a deep grudge against her brother-in-law. She regards his decision to run against her husband as an unforgivable act of treachery and betrayal. ‘She was distraught and still hurts for David. It’s often the partners who take more umbrage. But it’s very hard for them both to get over it. David would have won it if Ed had not stood. And he would have won it big,’ one trusted confidante told the Daily Mail. ‘Louise understands that and is still consumed by anger. She’s also furious with Ed’s wife because she feels she should have persuaded him not fight his own brother. The family will never get over this. Louise did not even want to go to Ed’s wedding.’ Indeed, as the new book reveals, Louise Miliband cut Ed dead when they met by accident as he headed back to his hotel room following his victory over her husband. The brothers used to speak several times a week. Now, with the exception of occasional requests for advice from Ed, they rarely converse, reveals the book. They communicate through their offices. – Daily Mail

Ed Miliband’s wife, Justine Thornton, is said to have been deeply hurt by the frosty stance reportedly adopted by her sister-in-law Louise Miliband since his surprise decision to stand for the leadership last year. Based on interviews with close friends and colleagues of the two men, the book depicts a deep and painful rift in the Miliband family which some fear will never heal. It claims that an increasingly ill-tempered election campaign developed into a rancorous family schism, evident as much at children’s birthday parties as political meetings, to the distress of the men’s mother, Marion. Despite his disappointment at failing to secure the Labour crown last September, the former Foreign Secretary David Miliband was careful to be gracious in defeat, the book says. But as Ed walked back to his hotel room in Manchester, following the announcement the election result, his sister-in-law was less forgiving and “cut him dead”, the book claims. It was, the authors – the Labour-friendly journalists Mehdi Hasan and James Macintyre – claim, “the start of a breakdown in the family”. – Daily Telegraph

Ed tries to bounce back with policy offensive

Ed Miliband will attempt to fight back against his internal Labour critics today by unveiling new policies demanding more “responsibility” from the highest paid people and welfare claimants. On the eve of his long-awaited policy offensive, Mr Miliband was hit by claims that his relationship with his brother David was still in the deep freeze eight months after he defeated him to win the Labour leadership. A new book by journalists Mehdi Hassan and James Macintyre claims that Ed spent years plotting to beat his brother and that David now thinks he is taking the party “in the wrong direction.” The Labour leader will try to turn a tide of negative publicity about what critics see as his lacklustre performance by turning the spotlight to one of his big policy ideas. He will promise a “revolution in the boardroom”, saying a Labour Government would make companies publish the ratio between their highest earners and the average pay level. In a long-planned speech in London, Mr Miliband will admit that the last Labour Government was too relaxed about bankers who caused the financial crisis and benefit claimants who abused the system. “We will be a party that supports the real boardroom accountability that rewards wealth creation, not failure,” he will say. “At the bottom of society, we will be a party that rewards contribution, not worklessness.” – the Independent

Plans to make unemployed benefit claimants work harder to find a job will be unveiled by Labour‘s policy review chief, Liam Byrne, on Monday. The shadow work and pensions secretary will also set out new ideas, drawn from the Australian prime minister Julia Gillard, requiring long-term workless households with pre-school children to attend compulsory employment workshops in return for childcare costs. The proposals chime with Ed Miliband’s proposals, unveiled on Monday, which will emphasise responsibility, rewarding those on the council house queue who are in jobs or doing voluntary work. Byrne will map out how far the party has drifted from mainstream public opinion, saying: “There is one sentiment that really shines through. People are angry about the state we face and they believe a new politics of responsibility is the answer. There’s a sense of too many great sins: wealth without work; commerce without morality; politics without principle.” – the Guardian

People in work, volunteers and foster carers will be able to jump council house queues, Ed Miliband will pledge today. “Rather than looking solely at need, priority is also given to those who contribute – who give something back. It’s fairer and it also encourages the kind of responsible behaviour that makes our communities stronger,” he will say. Labour is also looking at cutting benefits for young jobless people in workless households. And it is considering forcing the unemployed to sign on weekly and give higher dole payments for those who were in work and then lost their job. Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Liam Byrne will set out the controversial plans tonight, saying: “Welfare reform is one of the policy areas where Labour needs to win back trust.” – Daily Mirror

D-Day for NHS reforms

Experts are to unveil recommendations on the Government’s plans for the NHS after Nick Clegg claimed victory for the Liberal Democrats in the spat over the reforms. The NHS Future Forum will publish its report setting out proposed amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill, which is currently on hold on its passage through Parliament. The Bill has attracted widespread criticism from the medical profession and unions, particularly over its aim to increase competition between the NHS and private companies. Last week, Prime Minister David Cameron outlined “real changes” to the reforms – pre-empting the content of today’s report. Aides to the Prime Minister have insisted he was the driving force behind the policy rethink, but many Tory backbenchers are furious that Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has been “hung out to dry” to appease Lib Dems. – Sky News

In the face of Liberal Democrat opposition to his proposed shake-up of the NHS, the Prime Minister ordered a time-out so the views of doctors and nurses could be heard. Today, a report by the group NHS Future Forum, led by former chairman of the Royal College of GPs Prof Steve Field, will be published and is expected to recommend a string of changes. The Liberal Democrats claimed yesterday that the concessions they had demanded had been achieved, while backbench Tories were warning that Mr Cameron had given too much away. Mark Pritchard MP, secretary of the 1922 committee of backbench Tory MPs, suggested that the changes would lose the Tories votes. He told The Daily Telegraph: “History may judge this moment as a lost golden opportunity to make the NHS fit for the 21st century.“ Mr Cameron has called an emergency meeting of all 143 Tories who joined the Commons at last year’s election. It is being interpreted in Westminster as an attempt to ensure Mr Cameron has enough support to see off opposition from “old guard” MPs, who have been angered at concessions to the Tories’ Coalition partners and perceived “gloating” from Lib Dems. – Daily Telegraph

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Sunday News Review

12/06/2011, 05:51:37 AM

The real meaning of a U-turn

Education secretary Michael Gove has been accused of creating schoolsfor the middle classes after it was revealed that more than a third of his “free schools” will open in the most affluent areas. The government promised to provide all children with “access to the kind of education only the rich can afford” when it launched the policy of allowing parents to set up schools free from local authority control. However, an analysis of the 32 free schools set to open in the next academic year shows 13 are in the most affluent half of England with only two in the 10% most deprived areas and 10 in the 20% most deprived areas, as ranked by the government’s English Indices of Multiple Deprivation, 2010. Less than a fifth of them are opening in the north of England, while half are set to open in the south and southeast. – the Guardian

Michael Gove said they were “accelerating the pace of reform” and the review was needed because of the growth in academies. Councils provide support services such as special needs education for state schools, but not academy schools. Ministers had said the grant to provide such services would be cut by £148m this year and £265m next year. Mr Gove told the BBC some Labour local authorities were “a bit unhappy” about the pace of reform, but “the truth is at the moment we’re actually providing funding to local authorities and to schools for the same service”. The education secretary said they had to make sure the taxpayer “is not paying twice”. Labour says the decision shows changes are being pushed through too quickly. “This is the third time in a year that Michael Gove has had to U-turn under the threat of legal action,” shadow education secretary Andy Burnham said. “And the reason that it keeps happening is that he is railroading his policies through without proper consultation, without listening to parents, to teachers, to local councillors.” – This Day

Where do we go from here?

Before Ed Miliband appointed Ed Balls as Shadow Chancellor, he consulted Tony Blair. Miliband, who has grown close to Blair since becoming leader, wanted to know what the former Prime Minister thought about the move. Would it just lead to a rerun of the Blair-Brown years, with the Chancellor destabilising his boss? Straight after winning the leadership, Miliband made a deliberate choice not to make Balls Shadow Chancellor. He feared that if he did, it would make it harder for him to chart a new course on the economy. But with Alan Johnson, the man Miliband had appointed, resigning because of family matters, the Labour leader had to decide whether to risk open hostilities with Balls by snubbing him again. They have tried to copy the successful Cameron-Osborne relationship by merging their two offices, as the Tory pair did in opposition. But Balls has maintained a room of his own elsewhere in the Palace of Westminster and the two staffs remain far more distinct than those of Cameron and Osborne. – Daily Mail

I am here to defend Ed Balls. The documents published last week are valuable primary sources for contemporary historians, but they do not prove that he was a plotter. There is no email there to Labour MPs frustrated by Blair’s failure to recognise their ability, such as Chris Bryant and Sion Simon, saying: “What about writing a letter to TB to tell him that the game is up?” We know that there was a plot, because Bryant, Simon and 13 others wrote that letter in September 2006, and one minister – Tom Watson – and seven parliamentary private secretaries resigned. We know, too, that Gordon Brown was responsible for it, (a) because he could have stopped it and (b) because it is completely obvious. I have always assumed that Balls knew all about it, and discussed it with Brown and other members of the Stable and Orderly Transition Task Force, but that he did not telephone, text or email possible resigners himself. – John Rentoul, the Independent

They still don’t get it

The row over David Cameron’s ditching of a high-profile female candidate flared up again last night amid claims that a senior Tory official described her pregnancy as a ‘disability’. A furious letter written by Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, complaining about his sister Annunziata’s exclusion from the Conservatives’ list of parliamentary candidates, condemns as ‘contemptible’ a remark allegedly made to Ms Rees-Mogg at a meeting last week. In the letter to 10 Downing Street, Mr Rees-Mogg says that the official, Giles Inglis-Jones, told Annunziata – who was eight months pregnant at the time of her crucial selection meeting in February – that ‘he knows all about pregnancy as he has five children’. Mr Rees-Mogg wrote: ‘From my own experience a man’s role and knowledge of pregnancy is somewhat different from a woman’s’, before adding lethally: ‘It was also suggested that Annunziata could have ticked the box for “disability”, but I feel most reasonable people would call that a contemptible suggestion. – Daily Mail

Clegg boasts as Tories grimace

Nick Clegg last night boasted that he had forced David Cameron to ditch plans to bring more private firms into the NHS. The Lib-Dem leader’s allies claimed victory saying the PM had performed a U-turn on key parts of his unpopular revamp of the health service after their protests. Mr Clegg’s supporters said Mr Cameron had agreed to rule out any competition in the NHS “based on price” after critics warned it would pave the way for the backdoor privatisation of the NHS. But the boast will infuriate Tory MPs and further humiliate Health Secretary Andrew Lansley. – Daily Mirror

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Saturday News Review

11/06/2011, 06:56:57 AM

More Balls papers are leaked

A confidential document presented to the Cabinet in January 2006 asks: “We’ve spent all this money, but what have we got for it?” It warns that the efficiency of the public sector needed to improve rapidly and insisted that “spending growth will slow”. The document drafted by civil servants also says that “ineffective spending” must be “closed down”. However, Gordon Brown discarded the advice and embarked on a £90 billion increase in spending when he became prime minister. The expenditure meant that the economy was left facing a record deficit as the effects of the recession were felt. The document is among 19 papers disclosed today by The Daily Telegraph that were obtained from the personal files of Mr Balls, the shadow Chancellor. They follow the divulgence yesterday of dozens of documents detailing Mr Balls’s central role in a plot to topple Tony Blair. The Coalition seized on the disclosures as evidence that Mr Brown’s “reckless” decisions over public spending left the country in a vulnerable position when the economic downturn hit Britain. A Conservative source said: “This document shows the reckless approach of Brown and Balls which left Britain dangerously exposed to the economic crisis.” – Daily Telegraph

The rivalry between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown is back like a sleeping monster that awakes every few months to wreak destructive havoc on the party they led. The latest re-awakening takes the form of leaked memos that once belonged to Ed Balls and are now published in The Daily Telegraph. The monstrous activity is to do with the present and not the past. This is an exercise aimed at damaging Balls now, rather than triggering a further historic seminar on Blair and Brown, the most familiar theme in British politics. And yet the documents are not incriminating. Indeed, the context in which they were written shows why it would be more of a shock if such memos had not been composed as Labour’s long internal battle reached a dénouement. – Steve Richards, the Independent

Another leak, why now?

David Miliband planned to use his first speech as Labour leader to warn that the party’s greatest danger lay in underestimating the challenge of the deficit – and that it was imperative to regain the public’s trust on the economy. The Guardian has obtained a final draft of the speech he planned to deliver if he had won the Labour leadership election last September, instead of losing to his brother Ed. The crestfallen former foreign secretary is said to have recited the speech to his wife in the back of his car on the drive home from party conference. Its disclosure now caps a difficult week for Ed Miliband who has been battling criticism of his leadership and the embarassing leak of emails belonging to the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls. The leadership speech that wasn’t shows David Miliband intended to announce that Alistair Darling, the former chancellor, had agreed to head an all-party commission to draft a framework of rules on public spending and deficits designed to restore lost trust in Labour fiscal discipline. – the Guardian

Tonight’s Guardian scoop revealing that the speech that David Miliband would have given if he had been elected leader makes this one of the most difficult—and leaky—weeks for Labour since its election defeat. The line in the speech that will cause the most trouble for Ed Miliband is that David Miliband intended to create a commission on the deficit chaired by Alistair Darling and charged with creating a new set of fiscal rules, an admission that Labour got it wrong on the deficit which Ed Miliband has refused to give. This speech emerging just a day after Ed Ball’s private papers about the plot to force Tony Blair to stand down came into the public domain will create suspicions in Labour circles that there is a deliberate effort underway to undermine Ed Miliband. One striking detail from the piece is that David Miliband delivered the speech to his wife in the car as they drove away from the conference. – the Spectator

Cameron’s first policy success

Larry the Downing Street cat has made his first kills since being brought in to deal with rats at Number 10.Revealing the kills, Prime Minister David Cameron said that the tabby tom hasn’t got it quite right yet – a criticism some may be levelling at Mr Cameron’s coalition government – as he’s been catching mice instead of the more muscular rats he was brought in to deal with. Mr Cameron revealed that the historic London townhouse is infested with mice, and that he has even spotted one in the flat above 11 Downing Street that he occupies with wife, Samantha, and their children. ‘I’m a big Larry fan,’ the PM told ITV1’s This Morning. ‘We have got big mouse infestation in Downing Street and Larry has caught some mice. I actually took a picture of one in my flat on my mobile phone, because it was looking at me.’ Larry was recruited from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in south London in February to kill rats after several sightings of the vermin outside the Prime Minister’s official residence. – Daily Mail

Why we elect Labour Councils

The Labour council in Sheffield is to reverse £2m of spending cuts made by the Liberal Democrats who ran the authority until May’s elections. Labour said its revised budget would restore funding to key areas including apprenticeships, adult social care and more Police Community Support Officers. Labour said the £2m “will be met from a mix of reducing costs and making efficiencies, such as rationalising the council’s transport fleet, and savings in funding streams”. Council leader Julie Dore said: “We’ve decided that the authority had to restore funding to areas that matter to local people and give us the ability to deliver the right kind of services in the right way with the support of local people. I am pleased to say the council has now restored funding to these areas.” – BBC Sheffield & South Yorkshire

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Thursday News Review

09/06/2011, 06:46:46 AM

U-turn after U-turn

Dithering David Cameron was ridiculed yesterday after performing yet another spectacular backflip over Government policy. He ordered a rethink on controversial plans to halve jail sentences for violent criminals – shelving proposals put forward by Justice Secretary Ken Clarke. It came just two days he was forced into an embarrassing climbdown on sweeping health reforms. And it showed that, unlike one of his predecessors, Margaret Thatcher, this Tory PM definitely IS for turning. The hapless leader’s latest about-face is seen as a humiliating blow for Mr Clarke. – Daily Mirror

Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke faced embarrassment yesterday after David Cameron vetoed his proposal to cut by up to half the prison terms for rapists and other violent offenders who make early guilty pleas. It was the Prime Minister’s second major policy U-turn in less than 24 hours following his concessions on NHS reform. Mr Clarke’s plans to cut up to 50 per cent from sentences of offenders who plead guilty early (an increase from 33 per cent) faced savage criticism from Tory right-wingers. The Independent understands that ministers are considering a two-tier scheme, under which a maximum 33 per cent discount will be retained for the most severe crimes such as rape, assault and armed robbery but 50 per cent could be introduced for less serious offences. The latter option is being backed by Mr Clarke and Liberal Democrat ministers, while many Tories are pressing for the 50 per cent proposal to be scrapped outright. – the Independent

Justice secretary Kenneth Clarke has been forced by Number 10 to abandon a plan to give rapists, and other serious offenders, a 50% sentence discount in return for early guilty pleas, but he is fiercely resisting Treasury demands to make his justice ministry bear the multi-million pound cost. Clarke had proposed to increase the discount from 33% to 50% for all offenders, so saving £130m from a departmental budget being slashed by a quarter. Following talks with David Cameron over the past 48 hours, Clarke accepted rapists will now be excluded, but he is battling to retain the extra discount for less serious offences, a policy that would free up badly needed prison places. In difficult talks yesterday with the Treasury chief secretary, Danny Alexander, Clarke pointed out he had last year won Treasury agreement that if the government’s so-called rehabilitation revolution did not deliver a lower jail population, then the Treasury would bear the costs from the reserve. – the Guardian

Another U-turn on pensions possible

Senior Liberal Democrats are understood to be determined to reverse the plans. Jenny Willott, the Lib Dem backbench spokeswoman on pensions, has also called for the proposals to be reconsidered. But the Treasury is likely to fiercely resist attempts to unpick the state pension age changes, which will save the taxpayer billions in the years ahead, unless they can be made to pay for themselves. Former Lib Dem party leader Charles Kennedy, John Hemming and Annette Brooke are among those who have opposed the changes. While Tory MPs Peter Bottomley, James Gray and Chloe Smith have asked for the rules to be amended. She told the Commons: ‘Women currently in their late 50s are getting a very bad deal. No men will see their state pension age increase by more than a year but half a million women will.’ – Daily Mail

Tory and Lib Dem rebels sided with Labour in raising concerns about the impact a decision to raise it to 66 by 2018 will have on around 300,000 women born in 1953 and 1954. They have been given just seven years notice. David Cameron was challenged over it by Lib Dem Annette Brook at PM’s Questions. She urged him to review it, saying: “The women affected will be asked to work up to two extra years over and above what they had planned for, whereas men will be asked to work only an extra year. The discrimination concerns me.” Mr Cameron said he “understood” but argued pensioners would be better off in increased pension payments agreed by the Coalition. – Daily Express

Politicians pay tribute to Prince Philip at 90

Taking time out after Prime Minister’s Questions to propose a “humble address” to be presented to the Queen to mark the occasion, Mr Cameron described the Duke as “a source of rock solid strength” during his record-breaking 59 years as consort. Ed Miliband, the leader of the Opposition, was equally effusive, saying the Duke “embodies qualities of duty, loyalty public service and good humour – great British qualities”. But it was the two leaders’ frequent references to the Duke’s famed sense of mischief that drew the biggest response from the House. Mr Cameron promised to keep his speech short, quoting the Duke’s observation that “the mind cannot absorb what the backside cannot endure”, and shared his favourite blunt comment by the Duke, when he was once asked how his flight had been. “Have you ever been on a plane?” the Duke had told a dignitary. “Well, you know how it goes up in the air and comes down again – it was like that.” – Daily Telegraph

Its up to you Carwyn

Labour leader Ed Miliband has said that policies taken forward by Carwyn Jones’ Welsh Government would shape his party’s next UK manifesto – and he gave the First Minister a free hand to negotiate coalition deals with either Plaid Cymru or the Liberal Democrats. Speaking in a London press conference yesterday, Mr Miliband made it clear he would not oppose Assembly link-ups with Plaid or the Lib Dems if the Welsh Labour leader considered these necessary. He said: “These are decisions for him. He’s an excellent First Minister. “He’s done a brilliant job since he’s taken over from Rhodri Morgan. Those kind of decisions are for him.” – Western Mail

Encouraging for Labour, but worrying figures for Ed

Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg are struggling to improve their image with voters while David Cameron remains almost twice as popular as his two rival leaders. After a mini-revival early this year, the Liberal Democrats are back at the 11 per cent rating to which they slumped last year after their tuition fees U-turn. Labour (40 per cent) enjoys a four-point advantage over the Tories (36 per cent). Mr Cameron, dubbed “Teflon Man” by Tory aides, appears to float above the political fray. Mr Clegg seems to be the fall guy for ministers’ unpopular decisions while Mr Miliband makes little impact on voters. Mr Clegg’s personal ratings have hit a new low. ComRes found only 21 per cent believe he is a good leader. Professor Curtice said: “There must now be question marks about Clegg’s ability to recover from his unpopularity, which is beginning to be on a par with that endured by Gordon Brown. Leaders rarely recover popularity once most of the public have decided to write them off.” There is little either for Mr Miliband to celebrate. ComRes found only 22 per cent deem him a good leader, compared with Mr Cameron’s 39 per cent. Ominously for Labour, none of the last three opposition leaders with a negative satisfaction rating after eight months in the post – William Hague, Iain Duncan Smith and Lord Howard – went on to become prime minister. – the Independent

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Wednesday News Review

08/06/2011, 06:47:33 AM

Cameron’s concessions leave no-one happy

David Cameron tried to buy off critics of his hated health reforms by offering a string of concessions yesterday. The Prime Minister promised hospital medics a say on how NHS cash is spent and put a limit on competition with the regulator made to “support integration” as well as encouraging the NHS and private firms to fight for business. He even ditched the 2013 deadline for medics to take control in a move that will enrage Tories who fear reforms will never happen. But Labour leader Ed Miliband still dismissed the U-turn saying: “They should go back to the drawing board on the NHS. These are botched policies.” And Tory MP Karl McCartney raged at the Lib Dems for helping force the concessions, condemning “political posturing by our flip-flopping coalition partners”. – Daily Mirror

The bartering between Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg over health reforms as the Government prepares to unveil a revised package next week risks deepening coalition tensions. There is mounting anger on the Conservative benches at the stance of the Lib Dems, who have demanded a series of changes despite initially backing the legislation. Tory MP Nick de Bois, who sat on the committee examining the Bill, said sticking to the original time-table was crucial. ‘One of the fundamentals – one of the pillars – of the Bill is… that we can remove the vast swathes of democracy from primary care trusts and returning power to GPs by April 2013,’ he said. ‘Let me be clear, these pillars have to remain. I hope they do. I understand there can be changes, but I don’t want to be in a position when I can’t support this Bill because we have lost those essential pillars.’ – Daily Mail

David Cameron is facing a battle to reassure anxious Conservative MPs after he announced a series of changes to the government’s NHSreforms to win over the Liberal Democrats and members of the medical profession. As Nick Clegg told his parliamentary party last night that the time was fast approaching for the Liberal Democrats to swing behind the reforms after securing major concessions, Tories voiced concerns that the prime minister had abandoned key elements of Andrew Lansley‘s original blueprint. Cameron alarmed his backbenchers after he moved to meet the demands laid down by the Lib Dems at their spring conference in March by announcing the shelving of Lansley’s 2013 deadline, changes to the role of the health regulator, Monitor, and the opening up of GP-led consortiums. A senior Tory MP who warned last month that core “red lines” must not be crossed, warned shelving the 2013 deadline could threaten £5bn of spending on frontline health services. – the Guardian

Oxford Dons have no confidence in Willetts

Dons at Oxford University have delivered a decisive “no confidence” vote in the Universities minister, David Willetts. There were cheers last night when the vote was announced in Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre – the first time a “no confidence” motion had ever been issued in a government minister by the university’s Senate. It was carried by the massive margin of 283 votes to five. During the debate, Abdel Takriti, a tutor at St Edmund Hall, called the Government’s plans for further education – under which student fees would rise to up to £9,000 a year – “ill-articulated and incoherent”. Robert Gildea, professor of modern history at the university, proposing the motion, said proposals to introduce “off-quota places” outside the proposed £9,000 fee cap risked introducing a two-tier system. – the Independent

Oxford University has formally declared it has “no confidence” in the policies of the universities minister, David Willetts, in the first sign of a concerted academic backlash against the government’s higher educationreforms. Lecturers passed a motion opposing the coalition’s policies by 283 votes to five at a meeting of the congregation, Oxford’s legislative body. The university is the first to take a public stand against the raising of tuition fees and slashing of the teaching grant, but the rebellion is spreading. Cambridge is expected to announce a date for a “no confidence” vote, while a petition against the government is gathering force at Warwick University. It is the first time a vote of no confidence in a minister has been passed by an English university, and follows a no- confidence vote by the Royal College of Nursing in the health secretary Andrew Lansley’s handling of NHS reforms. The message of “no confidence” will be transmitted to the government by Oxford University’s council, its governing body. – the Guardian

May talks tough about preventing terrorism

Its new counter-radicalisation strategy, Prevent, warned that some people who are supportive of terrorist groups and ideologies have “sought and sometimes gained positions in schools or in groups which work closely with young people.” It said that new standards to be enforced by Ofsted should enable schools to take action against staff who demonstrate unacceptable views. The Education Bill will also include a stronger focus on pupils’ “spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.” A “preventing extremism unit,” which will include experts in counter-terrorism, has been established at the Department of Education to stop unsuitable providers setting up Free Schools – a key part of the government’s new education strategy. Applicants will need to demonstrate that they would support UK democratic values including support for individual liberties within the law, equality, mutual tolerance and respect. – Daily Telegraph

Not a great first day back from his honeymoon

Ed Miliband returned to work today a married man – and, judging by his animated expressions, it looked as if he was reliving every single emotion he has felt over the last few weeks in the space of a few minutes. The Labour leader tackled the sensitive subject of social care at a press conference this afternoon – but all attention was focused on the sheer number of faces he pulled during his speech. Speaking at the Royal Festival Hall on London’s South Bank, Mr Miliband described marriage as ‘an important institution’ but insisted that parents did not need to be married to bring up children well. – Daily Mail

At his first press conference since his wedding on May 27, the Labour leader faced questions over his personal popularity and the party’s failure to gain a big poll lead given the economic gloom. “We have succeeded in winning back a section of voters who left us at the last general election,” he stressed. But he admitted that Labour faced a “long task”. “You have got to recognise that we are coming from a long way back,” he said. “We got 29 per cent at the last election, the second lowest share for Labour since 1918.” The party had to address “anger” over decisions made by the last Labour government and lay out a vision for the country’s future. On his personal ratings, he argued that Opposition leaders “early in their time in office” were still building a relationship with the public. – Evening Standard

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