Labour Uncut

UNCUT: David Cameron is a second rate Ted Heath

17/08/2011, 12:00:04 PM

byJonathan Todd

I’m not the first person to compare David Cameron with Ted Heath. Iain Martin has made this parallel. Martin asked last year whether Philip Ziegler’s biography of Heath had been read in Downing Street.

“It should be. Ted Heath was a relentlessly pragmatic Tory leader who had poor relations with his party in Parliament and in the country. He began in government seemingly fixed on a clear course of reform and modernisation. But then he hit stormy waters and, lacking an ideological compass that might have helped guide him through, was blown over. Having failed to build good relations with his colleagues, he had no reservoir of loyalty on which to draw. When Margaret Thatcher emerged he was sunk.”

Heath, though, did have an objective for his government. He wanted to pacify the trade unions and draw them into a corporatist national project that would make us less like the US and more like France, not simply through being part of the common market, but also in terms of industrial policy and organisation. While one might have misgivings about this, it seems a more substantial project than whatever the defining purpose of Cameron’s government is. Read the rest of this entry »

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INSIDE: The glass is half empty for high speed broadband

17/08/2011, 10:15:07 AM

by Ian Lucas

When is good news not good news for rural communities struggling to get online?

Yesterday’s announcement by the Government of millions of pounds of investment sounds great. But despite the fanfare with which the Government is announcing its allocations, it is only providing half the money for projects.

Ministers are lining up to say how shameful it is that, in 21st century Britain, people in communities across Britain can’t get online in the way others take for granted.

Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt says people are “suffering”. Environment secretary Caroline Spelman calls the situation “unthinkable.” Scottish secretary Michael Moore says broadband is a “lifeline.” But these are empty words, and more empty promises.

This anger from ministers at the situation communities across Britain face is only half the story – and their solution creates a big money problem for hard-pressed local councils. They must find millions from council budgets to ensure their areas don’t get left behind.

Devon and Somerset were revealed in the DCMS announcement to be receiving £31.2 million. Both counties must now find the same amount themselves. In contrast, in Greater London, a government assumption that the private sector will provide broadband means no government funds – but also no obligation to find the millions to match them.

The government’s decision to provide only half the necessary funds means an inequality in broadband provision is being guaranteed – unless rural councils find extra money from their own budgets.

Labour would have funded universal high speed broadband by 2015 through a 50p per month levy on fixed phone lines and an extra £230 million from the Digital Switchover Fund. The government ditched these plans. But the way in which it has structured their replacement means some local authorities have to find millions and others don’t, simply because of where they are.

The government’s superfast plans are starting to look more and more like a super stealth tax.

Ian Lucas is Labour MP for Wrexham and a shadow business minster.

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UNBOUND: Wednesday News Review

17/08/2011, 08:00:31 AM

New evidence points towards Coulson

Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch and their former editor Andy Coulson all face embarrassing new allegations of dishonesty and cover-up after the publication of an explosive letter written by the News of the World’s disgraced royal correspondent, Clive Goodman. In the letter, which was written four years ago but published only on Tuesday, Goodman claims that phone hacking was “widely discussed” at editorial meetings at the paper until Coulson himself banned further references to it; that Coulson offered to let him keep his job if he agreed not to implicate the paper in hacking when he came to court; and that his own hacking was carried out with “the full knowledge and support” of other senior journalists, whom he named. The claims are acutely troubling for the prime minister, David Cameron, who hired Coulson as his media adviser on the basis that he knew nothing about phone hacking. And they confront Rupert and James Murdoch with the humiliating prospect of being recalled to parliament to justify the evidence which they gave last month on the aftermath of Goodman’s allegations. In a separate letter, one of the Murdochs’ own law firms claim that parts of that evidence were variously “hard to credit”, “self-serving” and “inaccurate and misleading”. – the Guardian

The allegations that Andy Coulson ordered his executives at the News of the World to stop openly discussing phone hacking and that he promised Clive Goodman his job back as long as he did not drop any other staff in it when he pleaded guilty to hacking is yet another problem for David Cameron. Until yesterday, the only written evidence linking Mr Coulson directly to any criminality had been emails suggesting that he authorised payments to police officers for information. Those documents – while hugely damaging – could still allow Mr Coulson to claim that he did not know about hacking and Mr Cameron to claim that Mr Coulson had not lied to him. But now it is alleged by Mr Goodman that Mr Coulson not only knew about phone hacking but ordered its cover-up as well. This raises fresh questions about the assurances Mr Coulson gave to Mr Cameron when he was hired and increases the chance that the Prime Minister may eventually have to admit that he was wholly deceived by a man he chose to take into the heart of the Downing Street machine. – the Independent

Lib Dems say Tory riot rhetoric “bonkers”

Liberal Democrat politicians indicated on Tuesday that they have deep concerns over David Cameron‘s uncompromising post-riots law-and-order agenda, with the party’s home affairs spokeswoman in the Lords telling the Guardian there should be “zero tolerance with zero tolerance”. Lady Hamwee, who led the Lords revolt against Tory plans for electedpolice commissioners earlier this year, said the pledge by the prime minister of zero tolerance on criminality was taking matters too far. Her comment suggests Cameron will meet stiff resistance when parliament returns in September. Lib Dem backbenchers went further when contacted by the Guardian and accused their coalition partners of short-termism and kneejerk reactions. David Ward, MP for Bradford East, described plans to withdraw offenders’ benefits as “nuts”, and Tessa Munt, the MP for Wells, said the plans were “bonkers, bonkers, bonkers”. She said: “Frankly, this all smacks of headline grabbing by Conservatives, not calm, rational policy-making.” The vice-chair of the party’s federal policy committee, Evan Harris, said he would table an amendment at the party conference asking members to vote to block Cameron’s contemplation of barring individuals suspected of causing social unrest from Twitter and Facebook. – the Guardian

More uncertainty as Germany and France defend the Euro

Germany and France looked to have failed again to calm feverish financial markets despite unveiling a raft of economic agreements at a summit in Paris. Traders reacted with exasperation as Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy repeated their “absolute will to defend the euro” and “shore up investor confidence” yet refused to back the shattered currency with eurobonds or a bigger bail-out fund. The failure to address the two measures left many traders ruing what they see as a lack of political leadership. Edward Meir from MF Global in New York said: “It doesn’t look like the two biggest items were seriously discussed — the potential for a eurobond and the size of the stabilization/bailout fund. At €450bn [the European Financial Stability Facility] could easily be wiped out if one of the larger countries gets into trouble.” Phil Flyn from PFG Best in Chicago said: “The market was holding out hope that we would be closer to a eurobond… What we’re moving towards is more uncertainty.” – the Telegraph

David loves Center Parcs

To some, Center Parcs offers a nightmare image of forced jollity at a water-themed prison camp. Now David Miliband has urged holidaymakers to cast off their snobbery, following a life-changing experience at the holiday village. While David Cameron enjoyed luxury in Tuscany and Mr Miliband’s brother Ed took a family trip to Devon, the former foreign secretary has hailed the delights of the Pont Royal Center Parcs resort in Provence. Writing a post entitled Holiday Harmony, Mr Miliband castigates sophisticates who scoffed at their destination. “The week in Provence got all the usual approval,” he wrote. “But when we said we were having a week at Center Parcs, we got a few raised eyebrows. One person said they had heard it described as an open prison.” – the Independent

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UNCUT: Labour’s riot response: wrong on tactics, wrong on strategy

16/08/2011, 02:00:27 PM

by Rob Marchant

It was a mere few days ago that we were praising the willingness of a reinvigorated Ed Miliband to make hard decisions. The dumping of the shadow cabinet elections. The explicit non-backing of an unpopular strike. And most striking of all, two occasions on which he had gone out on a limb against powerful interests, his sure-footed handling of the parliamentary debate on phone-hacking, which finally had Cameron on the back foot, and his determination to adjust the representation of unions in party decision-making. Though the endgame of both is still uncertain.

It seemed like Labour had things all sewn up for the summer recess. We could look forward to a renewing summer break and a gentle trot into conference season, enjoying the first truly glad, confident morning of the Miliband leadership. How quickly events can intervene.

Labour’s political response to the riots has shifted from a neutral position of non-partisan solidarity, to one which is tactically wrong. And, worse, it is strategically wrong. Read the rest of this entry »

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UNCUT: Which side are you on: us, or them?

16/08/2011, 09:11:52 AM

by Dan Hodges

And now we get the fight-back. The backlash against the backlash. The reaction to the reactionaries.

As ever, the left is in the vanguard. We need to pause. Avoid a knee-jerk response. Keep things in perspective.

When the riots first exploded across our communities the political class was united in its response. Shock. Horror. A desire for the perpetrators to be caught and punished.

But now that brief, intuitive, consensus is vanishing. The political battle lines are reforming.

The response of the right is emotional and authoritarian. Use Wembley stadium to incarcerate the rioters. Block social networking sites. Throw the miscreants onto the streets.

The response of the left is logical, and measured. We must not exacerbate the social problems that underpin the disturbances. We must avoid tactical ripostes like the military and water cannon that many experts say would only inflame the situation. We must ensure that our cherished civil liberties do not vanish amid the flames of Tottenham.

Both reactions have been instinctive. Both have broadly gone with the grain of prevailing sentiment within their respective political movements. And I suspect that both have proved instructive to the broader public.

Read the rest of this entry »

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UNBOUND: Tuesday News Review

16/08/2011, 06:25:56 AM

May on collision course with senior cops

Police in England and Wales are to be given new guidance on dealing with outbreaks of disorder on the streets, in the wake of last week’s rioting. Home Secretary Theresa May has asked for new advice on use of officers and tactics after several cities were hit. She has said police initially deployed too few officers and that some appeared “reluctant” to use robust tactics. In a speech later, she is also due to say last week’s riots make the case for police reform more urgent than ever. Mrs May’s speech in London is expected to provoke further conflict with senior officers over the government’s planned 20% police funding cuts and plans for directly elected officials to oversee police forces. – BBC News

Cameron’s families

As part of the “social fightback”, Cameron had a tough-love message for 120,000 of the UK’s most “troubled families”. He set himself the rigid target of the next election to put all of them through some kind of family-intervention programme. In a speech setting out his analysis of what led to the riots, Cameron highlighted those families across the UK who were dealing with multiple complex social health and economic problems. Lifting them out of extreme worklessness would be regarded as a measure of his success in his wider agenda of fixing Britain’s broken society, he said. Cameron said he would put “rocket boosters” on attempts to rehabilitate those 120,000. He said would ask the chief executive of an organisation called Action for Employment (A4e), Emma Harrison, who he appointed his “families champion” in December, to use her experience in dealing with troubled families in three pilot areas to overcome the bureaucratic problems that have prevented the rapid expansion of Labour’s similar families intervention programme, running since 2006. – the Guardian

Bratton hired, not fired

David Cameron might have to re-think the appointment of US supercop Bill Bratton. The Prime Minister has turned to the tough-talking American to help tackle London gang crime. But Bratton cleaned up the crime-ridden streets of New York and LA by HIRING thousands of cops not FIRING them. Cameron is planning to axe 16,000 frontline police officers from forces across Britain. And some believe Bratton’s record in crime-fighting is solely down to him increasing numbers on the force. According to a book written by leading economist Steven Levitt, the NYPD was boosted by around 45% under Bratton’s leadership. Bratton hired 7,000 more police in New York – a policy that President Bill Clinton successfully expanded nationwide by funding 100,000 extra cops. When Bratton arrived in LA as police chief in 2002 he announced his first priority was to hire officers. – Daily Mirror

I’d bet my house on him

Stephen House, the chief constable of Strathclyde Police, has been confirmed as the favourite to be the new Metropolitan Police Commissioner, according to reports. Mr House, the former Met assistant commissioner, applied for the job after Home Office officials contacted him. Sir Paul Stephenson resigned from his post at the height of the phone-hacking scandal, and applications for the coveted post close tomorrow. Acting Met deputy commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe is also seen as a front-runner. Mr House, 54, was born in Glasgow and moved to London in the 1960s. He became a police officer in 1981, serving in uniform before taking on operational roles with the Sussex, Northamptonshire and West Yorkshire forces. He joined the Met in 2001, and led the specialist crime directorate, before taking over as head of Scotland’s largest police force in 2007. Whoever does take over will be appointed on the recommendation of the Home Secretary. – the Scotsman

Downing Street finally agree to an inquiry

No 10 has conceded to Labour demands for a formal commission to investigate the causes of last week’s riots after behind-the-scenes cross-party talks coordinated by the Liberal Democrats. Nick Clegg is said to be close to “brokering” a deal between theConservatives and Labour into a commission that would go into every neighbourhood affected by the disturbances to ask community members why the outbursts of violence occurred. David Cameron had previously ruled out a full public inquiry in the short term claiming that the parliamentary select committee inquiries were adequate but the government has now signalled its intention for a “public engagement exercise”, with an independent chair, to establish the causes of the riots and looting. A No 10 source said: “We are coming to the view that there is a case for community engagement about what happened and why. It would involve getting someone to go into the communities and find out why this all happened. It would be likely that it would be chaired by someone outside government. We’re coming to the view that some sort of engagement exercise would be useful.” – the Guardian

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UNCUT: Reframing immigration: Ed’s clause four moment?

15/08/2011, 01:31:58 PM

by Kevin Meagher

I had never heard of Maurice Glasman until a year ago. Now this “radical traditionalist” frontman for the blue Labour movement seems to be everywhere.

To his friends, he is the exponent of a viable new politics for Labour, drawing on earlier, non-statist traditions of social solidarity and reciprocity and rejecting New Labour’s fetish for market solutions and, most controversially, the commodification of labour through a decade’s worth of mass immigration.

To his opponents, however, he is a nostalgic blowhard peddling a backwards-looking Labourist version of the big society to a party desperate for any crumbs of intellectual coherence.

Friend or foe alike can agree, however, that Glasman does not mince his words, particularly about immigration. Accordingly, he reckons Labour “lied” to the public about the scale of immigration that the party presided over in government. He warns that Britain must not become an “outpost of the UN”, instead focusing on the welfare of its own workers first, revising the EU’s free transfer of people to that effect. Read the rest of this entry »

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UNCUT: Both left and right should look into their hearts after the riots

15/08/2011, 08:16:41 AM

by Jonathan Todd

The world has looked perplexed upon the UK this week. Not standing up for justice, but reduced to”violent consumerism“. Clapham Junction isn’t Tahrir Square. We don’t need the international media to tell us something is profoundly wrong after such a debilitating implosion.

We did it to ourselves and that’s what really hurts. Whatever we call this – a Jacquerie (Gabriel Milland), an intifada of the underclass (Andrew Neil/Danny Kruger) – it’s a self-inflicted wound that must rank as one of our country’s darkest episodes in my 31 years. We don’t need to weigh the grief against the miners’ strike (a civil war in which both sides, at least as far as they were represented by Arthur Scargill and Margaret Thatcher, were wrong), Hillsborough (a football match where 96 people died) and 7/7 (mass murder of Britons by Britons) to know this is a bleak and pitiful watershed.

Over a longer horizon than my lifetime, however, the past week might seem less exceptional. Many times in the past, such as in 1780, 1816 and 1936, London saw riots arguably more violent and sometimes just as ostensibly inexplicable as now. The persistence and power of our capacity to descend to disorder and glory in anarchy should be taken as a lesson from this week.

This sits ill, though, with the vaguely whiggish sense of history defaulted to by much of the left. We like to think we’ve progressed since 1780. And, of course, in lots of ways we have. Many people have blackberries now, for one thing. 1780 was no less bloody for want of blackberries. The importance of the state’s capacity to uphold law and order is as fundamental now as in 1780 or in 1651 when Thomas Hobbes wrote the Leviathan.

Read the rest of this entry »

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UNBOUND: Monday News Review

15/08/2011, 06:49:41 AM

Real politics returns

Ed Miliband will today accuse the Government of resorting to “gimmicks” as David Cameron pledges a “social fightback” against the rioters. The PM will promise to reverse the “slow motion moral collapse” that has taken place in parts of Britain. In a speech, Mr Cameron will also accuse some parts of Government of being de-moralised and will blame the breakdown on a bureaucratic society that twists human rights laws. Meanwhile, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has vowed to make “life hell” for those responsible for the violence. He wants a war on gangs and says that their leaders must be “harassed” by tough policing. As part of the zero-tolerance policy, boot camp-style academies could be introduced for young offenders. Other plans would see police work with the Driving Standards Agency and TV Licensing to check gang members have paid taxes and motoring fines. But in a sign the political truce on the riots is over, Labour leader Mr Miliband will warn against knee-jerk reactions. – Daily Mirror

The prime minister will go head to head with the leader of the opposition as the two make speeches setting out their competing analyses of the riots and looting. The pair make similarly emphatic condemnations of the rioters, but in a speech at his old school in Camden, Ed Miliband, theLabour leader, will denounce Cameron’s ideas to deal with rioters, put forward over the weekend, as “gimmicks”. Miliband will also link the behaviour of the looters and bankers, phone hacking and MPs’ expenses scandals, saying: “It’s not the first time we’ve seen this kind of me-first, take-what-you-can attitude. The bankers who took millions while destroying people’s savings: greedy, selfish, immoral. The MPs who fiddled their expenses: greedy, selfish, immoral. The people who hacked phones to get stories and make money for themselves: greedy, selfish and immoral. Let’s talk about what this does to our culture.” Today, Cameron will push his long-held opinion that parts of Britain are broken, despite opinion polls that show the public believes he has not handled events well. He will say today that government ministers from both parties will audit their portfolios for policies aimed at mending the “broken society”. – the Guardian

Named and shamed

The Crown Prosecution Service is to order prosecutors to apply for anonymity to be lifted in any youth case they think it is in the public interest. The law currently protects the identity of any suspect under the age of 18, even if they are convicted, but it also allows for an application to have such restrictions lifted, if deemed appropriate. Theresa May has revealed that she wants as many of the young criminals identifying as possible. She said: “When I was in Manchester last week, the issue was raised to me about the anonymity of juveniles who are found guilty of crimes of this sort. What I’ve asked is that CPS guidance should go to prosecutors to say that where possible, they should be asking for the anonymity of juveniles who are found guilty of criminal activity to be lifted.” – Daily Telegraph

Theresa May said guidance should be given to prosecutors that juveniles found guilty of criminal activity may lose their legal anonymity. She was firing the starting gun for the “zero tolerance” approach advocated by David Cameron to make life impossible for gang members. The Home Secretary also backed up actions by some councils who have threatened to evict the families of those found guilty of being involved in rioting. Wandsworth council became the first to serve an eviction notice after an 18-year-old man appeared in court following rioting near Clapham Junction, south London. – Daily Express

Bratton widens the rift

In a new low for relations between the police and politicians, senior officers ridiculed the Prime Minister’s decision to appoint American ‘supercop’ Bill Bratton to advise the Government on gang warfare. And in a new broadside about plans for 20 per cent budget cuts to the police, the Mayor of London insisted that crime will come down only if there are more police on the streets. Senior policemen angrily denounced Home Secretary Theresa May for suggesting that it was politicians who turned around the initially sluggish police response to last week’s riots. Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, complained that commanders had their hands tied by human rights laws. The increasingly acrimonious relationship between politicians and police gained new impetus yesterday when Mr Cameron signalled his support for Mr Bratton’s zero tolerance approach to cleaning up crime when he ran the police departments in New York and Los Angeles. Mr Bratton was initially mooted as the next Metropolitan Police Commissioner – a positions in which he said he was ‘seriously interested – but the idea was blocked by Mrs May. Instead, Mr Bratton will join a taskforce on gangs. – Daily Mail

Osbourne shows his true blue colours

George Osborne has confirmed he wants to scrap the 50p top rate of tax because it is not raising significant amounts of money for the Treasury. The Chancellor branded the 50p rate “uncompetitive” and said there was “not much point” in having taxes that brought in little revenue. “I have said with the 50p rate I don’t see that as a lasting tax rate for Britain because it’s very uncompetitive internationally, and people frankly can move. What is it actually raising? It’s only been in operation for a year this tax.” The Chancellor’s intervention will cheer Conservative backbenchers but puts him on a collision course with senior Liberal Democrats, who have said cutting taxes for the poor should be a priority. – the Independent

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UNCUT: Sunday Review: Visions of England, by Roy Strong

14/08/2011, 12:00:19 PM

by Anthony Painter

In the aftermath of urban riots in the US in the 1960s, president Johnson set up a commission under Otto Kerner to review root causes and recommend responses. On top of recommending hundreds of billions of dollars of government expenditure and conclusively blaming poverty and inequality for the riots, the report hit the headlines with its conclusion:

“Our nation is moving towards two societies, one black, one white – separate and unequal”.

What is more: white institutions were to blame for this state of affairs. Not surprisingly, President Johnson ignored it. Ed Miliband should be careful what he wishes for in asking for a public inquiry into this week’s riots. What England’s riots do warn, however, is that the modern English experience is not the same for all. Roy Strong’s new elegy for England, Visions of England, presents an idealised version of the nation. What we saw across England over a few days was a terrorised England. One is England as a dream; one is England as nightmare. Neither feels real.

Sir Roy Strong’s English idyll is passionately bonkers. He asks us to choose an England of pastoral tranquility. Constructed around the iconography of artists, writers, monarchs, and religious thought, Strong would have us revelling as modern John of Gaunts of Shakepeare’s Richard II. This is a blessed plot and it should be revered. Read the rest of this entry »

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