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Thursday News Review

21/04/2011, 06:54:39 AM

Guardianistas go negative – at last

A leading Labour figure in the campaign for a no vote in the alternative vote referendum has praised its gutter politics, saying there are too many people on the liberal left who think politics is a spectator sport. Dan Hodges, a paid consultant to the no campaign until two weeks ago, ridiculed the yes campaign’s style, saying that gutter politics is where political battles are won and lost. His remarks come as allies of Nick Clegg have confirmed that the deputy prime minister feels David Cameronis breaking a private pact between the two men to maintain a low profile during the campaigning. Clegg refused to discuss the prime minister’s promise on the BBC, but will make a speech directly attacking first past the post. Clegg’s allies say the betrayal of the promise will have long-term consequences for the coalition’s future conduct. Hodges claims the yes campaign has not got a prayer in the referendum on 5 May. He writes in article for the website Labour Uncut: “I thought one of the positive legacies of Blairism was that it had finally put some lead into the progressive pencil. Those countless debates about ‘should we go positive… should we go negative’, ‘we mustn’t be too aggressive, the public don’t like it, ya da, ya da, yah’. All that had gone. Once we’d been campaigners. Now we were street fighters. If someone hit hard and low, we’d hit lower and harder.” – the Guardian

Whilst Clegg downplays his own importance

Nick Clegg has downplayed the effect his unpopularity could have in the AV referendum. In an increasingly personal campaign that has seen the ‘no’ campaign splash pictures of Nick Clegg across its literature, the deputy prime minister said it would be “daft” to vote against electoral change because of one politician. “I really don’t think that people are so daft that when they’re asked to have this once-in-a-generation opportunity to change the electoral system they’re going to do it based on what they think about one party or one politician,” he told BBC Breakfast. The deputy prime minister also explained his much-quoted remark before the election that AV was a “miserable little compromise. What I was actually referring to was Gordon Brown’s suggestion very late in the day in his government of making changes which everyone knew would not come into effect,” he said. – politics.co.uk

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg insists he is thick-skinned enough to deal with the personal attacks he has sustained in the run-up to the Alternative Vote (AV) referendum. The Liberal Democrat leader has been repeatedly mocked by those in the “No to AV” campaign, which is backed by Prime Minister David Cameron. Mr Clegg denied suggestions his stance on the referendum was causing problems with his working relationship with Mr Cameron – but said the No camp’s tactics were becoming “desperate”. He said: “I’ve been in politics long enough to know when people start mudslinging and start playing the man rather than the ball they are rather desperate. – the Scotsman

Now the teachers are unhappy with the coalition

Activists interrupted a speech by Nick Gibb, the Schools Minister, with shouts of “rubbish” and “not true” as he addressed a union conference in Liverpool. Speaking to the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, he claimed that proposed Government changes to the teachers’ pension scheme would protect their “gold standard” retirement fund. But members – traditionally viewed as more moderate than other classroom unions – repeatedly barracked the minister, saying he failed to understand their concerns. One activist also accused Mr Gibb’s boss, Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, of “political cowardice” for failing to address the annual conference in person. It is the first time teachers have publicly barracked a Coalition minister since the Government was formed last year. A series of Labour ministers were subjected to high-profile attacks over issues such as class sizes and national testing. The ATL claims the Government’s reforms, including a rise in pension contributions, will force them to work for longer and receive less when they retire. – the Telegraph

The schools minister, Nick Gibb, was heckled and jeered by teachers as he attempted to justify proposed changes to their pensions that have prompted a ballot for industrial action. When Gibb told delegates at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers annual conference in Liverpool: “I fully understand the strength of feeling on this,” and said teachers’ pensions remained a priority, he was greeted by shouts of “no, you don’t” and “rubbish” – along with calls for evidence of the need for change. ATL delegates voted to ballot for strike action over pensions, which could see schools shut by June. The union fears the changes will mean teachers working longer, paying increased contributions and receiving less when they retire. Teachers are also fiercely opposed to the coalition’s education changes, with a survey underlining the challenge facing the government. The survey commissioned by the Sutton Trust found only 8% of teachers believe free schools will raise standards, while 69% believe the expansion of academies will lead to greater social segregation. – the Guardian

He will wear a morning suit after all

David Cameron yesterday caved into his inner toff by agreeing to wear a traditional morning coat to the royal wedding. Downing Street had briefed that the PM would wear a lounge suit, because he did not want to remind voters of his posh past. But it was claimed yesterday that he will wear the full waistcoat and tails next week. A source close to the PM told the Daily Telegraph: “Of course he’s got to wear tails. He knows that. He’s the Prime Minister, it’s the Royal Family, there will be foreign dignitaries present. It is only proper that he dresses for the importance of the occasion.” Downing Street refused to confirm that the PM, after days of dithering, had now opted for a morning suit – or whether he will be wearing a top hat. – the Mirror

When Gordon Brown wore a lounge suit at the Mansion House, some were willing to forgive it as an eccentric piece of ideological nonconformity. But even Mr Brown wore a white tie and tail coat for a state banquet at Buckingham Palace. So when it was bruited that David Cameron, as Prime Minister, would be wearing a lounge suit to the wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton, there was more public outrage than perhaps he bargained for. For this is not a wedding of private individuals. As a semi-state occasion, the monarch will be present and foreign heads of state will attend. The British head of Government is invited in his official role, not merely for his agreeable small talk. “Reclothe us in our rightful mind,” says the popular hymn. We congratulate Mr Cameron on his change of mind – soon to be seen in a change of clothes. – the Telegraph

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Cameron understands that immigration is a class issue

15/04/2011, 03:30:13 PM

by Nick Keehan

Language is important when it comes to integration and community cohesion. Successive governments have therefore sought to make it compulsory for all ministers delivering speeches on immigration to learn how to speak in clichés. If a prime minister or home secretary comes over here and is not even able to use simple phrases such as “open debate”, “impression that their concerns were racist”, “huge contribution to Britain”, “real pressure on communities” and “massive back-log of asylum cases”, there is a real risk to cohesion up and down this country.

And cohesion is important when it comes to immigration. A lack of government cohesion, for example, can lead to mixed messages, and this only undermines sensible and reasoned debate. As the prime minister said in his speech yesterday:

“The last government … actually helped to inflame the debate. On the one hand, there were Labour ministers who closed down discussion, giving the impression that concerns about immigration were somehow racist. On the other, there were ministers hell-bent on burnishing their hard-line credentials by talking tough”.

(more…)

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Private debt is this government’s public injustice

15/04/2011, 12:00:33 PM

by Stella Creasy

When David Cameron proclaimed failure to deal with the deficit would cost us all, he didn’t outline the true price of his austerity programme. Now with stubborn inflation, the VAT hike and pay freezes shrinking wage packets we can see consumers are the ones picking up the tab.

Whilst public debt is down by £43bn, private household debt is up by £245bn – five times as much. With the cuts planned in public spending the only way the government will see improvement in the office for budget responsibility’s forecasts for growth is if this ratio increases. The impact of this shift on the potential for economic recovery and the family fortunes of millions is substantial. And as people struggle to make ends meet, access to affordable credit – and its ugly sister, exorbitant debt – is fast becoming the new inequality in modern Britain.

The British have always had a different approach to personal debt than many other countries – we are a nation comfortable with borrowing in ways at which other cultures baulk. It is no surprise that we have the highest level of personal debt in any G7 country. This in itself isn’t a problem if it can be managed – much of the money owed is housing-related and reflects a culture in which mortgages are routine.

However for many, financial liabilities have recently taken a more worrying turn. Since the recession, nearly a third of Britons are spending more than they have coming in each month. Over four in ten people are now worried about their current level of debt, with four million fearing redundancy and four million having taken on more debt in recent months. 22% of consumers will carry a credit card debt throughout 2011 – with 7% saying they will still be paying for Christmas 2010 after June 2011.

The debts the public are getting into are not about luxuries but the everyday. Recent research shows more than two million people have used credit cards to pay their mortgage or rent, an increase of almost 50% in a year.

Access to money to pay for food and shelter is drying up for many – it is estimated five million people are now permanently overdrawn and eighteen million people have gone into the red at some point in the last twelve months. Nearly eight million of us failed to pay at least one bill over the last year. And it’s not just the poorest consumers in our society who are suffering. According to Experian, “suburban mindsets” – married, middle-aged consumer groups – represent the biggest rise in insolvencies in 2010. This compares to previous evidence that it was mainly an indication of disadvantaged groups.

All the signs point to the fact that pressures on consumers are going to get worse – and that the government is responsible. Credit Action says that of the forty five changes to the tax and benefit system made in the budget, twenty six will have a negative impact leaving households £200 worse off.

As Ed Balls has pointed out, cuts to childcare support will take over £1,500 a year from families alone. At the very time when consumer confidence is desperately needed to pump up withering high-streets, families are finding shopping too expensive and their purses empty.

Loading debt on to households helps the government cut the deficit at the pace they desire, but Labour must challenge them on the costs and consequences to all of doing so. And in an economy where jobs and growth are in short supply, debts like these don’t just mean lower consumer spending, higher levels of bankruptcy or repossessions. 29% of British parents admit they are arguing over their family’s finances, and a third of parents are suffering the stress of sleepless nights because they are worried about money.

There’s another danger lurking too. To cover costs, more and more are turning to sources of credit which may seem like short-term solutions but quickly become long-term problems. People who say they are likely to use an unauthorised overdraft this month has nearly doubled since July last year, from 900,000 to 1.6 million. So too, the payday lending industry in the UK with its 4,000% interest rates has quadrupled in the last 18 months.

Being able to borrow in a way which doesn’t leave a long-term scar on your family finances is the new dividing line within society. Those who can access mainstream credit may scrape by in austerity Britain. Those with little option but legal loan sharks, maxing out their credit cards or racking up unauthorised debts could spend a generation or more trying to become debt free.

Getting more people into paid work, reducing inflationary pressures and recognising the costs of living in the tax and benefits system could ease the difficulties many families are facing. So too would practical steps to improve the affordability of credit. Yet despite overwhelming support from a wide range of consumer bodies, campaign organisations and community groups, such proposals have so far been ignored by ministers.

This government wants to pretend personal debt is solely a private matter, but the social and economic consequences beg to differ. Lack of regulation in comparison to other countries allows the high-cost credit industry to go unchecked in the UK. Recognition of the problems caused by casino banking practices in the city is widespread – but this is only half the battle. We should not forget the financial needs of those in our communities too.

Credit should not be lent in a way that is detrimental to consumers without those that profit from exploiting them being made liable for the consequences. In the forthcoming finance bill I will table amendments to review whether corporation tax or the bankers’ levy could be applied in a way which would disincentivise this behaviour. Please ask your MP to co-sign these proposals. It’s time this government put the fortunes of every family first.

Stella Creasy is Labour and Co-Operative MP for Walthamstow.

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Friday News Review

15/04/2011, 06:53:20 AM

A modern triple entente

President Obama today signals the return of America to the forefront of the international effort in Libya, writing a joint article with David Cameronand Nicolas Sarkozy in which the three leaders commit their countries to pursue military action until Colonel Gaddafi has been removed. In the joint article, Obama reverses America’s earlier cautious approach to the conflict – which saw the US hand control to Nato and withdraw fighter planes just days after the intervention began – and signs up his country to the more muscular intervention of his European colleagues. Obama’s new interest could transform the efforts of the international community after three days of talks in the Gulf state of Qatar in effect came to nothing. – the Guardian

Barack Obama, David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy have stated their determination to keep bombing Libya until Muammar Gaddafi steps down or is deposed. The leaders of the United States, Britain and France said, in a jointly written article, it would be an “unconscionable betrayal” of the populations of rebel towns to cease operations with Colonel Gaddafi still in place. It was “unthinkable” that a leader who has “tried to massacre his own people” could be allowed to continue in government, they said. “So long as Gaddafi is in power, Nato and its coalition partners must maintain their operations so that civilians remain protected and the pressure on the regime builds.” – the Independent

Immigration policy chaos

The Lib Dem Business Secretary, was speaking in Manchester following the Prime Minister’s speech on mass immigration which Mr Cable had said was “very unwise” suggesting they could fuel extremism over immigration. “The reference to the tens of thousands of immigrants rather than hundreds of thousands is not part of the coalition agreement, it is Tory party policy only,” Mr Cable had told the BBC before Mr Cameron’s speech. Questioned about his comments to the BBC Mr Cable said: “I don’t want to develop that, and I think I have said what I wanted to say. – the Telegraph

Vince Cable insisted the government was ‘completely united’ on immigration after earlier claiming David Cameron’s comments on the subject were ‘unwise’. The Lib Dem business secretary was greeted by angry protesters as he arrived for a visit in Greater Manchester at the centre of a political storm. The protesters – complaining about government cuts – disrupted a campaign visit to Levenshulme by Mr Cable. One was arrested. Mr Cable had appeared to criticise Mr Cameron’s keynote speech on immigration – in which the prime minister said the numbers coming into Britain were ‘too high’ and were dividing communities. The business secretary said the speech risked ‘inflaming extremism’ and was ‘unwise’. But Mr Cable, who was touring businesses in the north west, said later there was ‘no division’ between him and the prime minister on the issue. – Manchester Evening News

More people waiting longer for treatment

David Cameron’s pledge to protect the NHS was in tatters last night after official figures revealed a shock increase in hospital waiting times. The devastating blow, in a week where Health Secretary Andrew Lansley was ¬humiliated by nurses, ¬undermines the Premier’s -promises to patients. Less than 90% get their treatment within 18 weeks – the worst performance in almost three years, said the Department of Health. And some patients are even being made to wait for more than 39 weeks. Shadow Health Secretary John Healey said: “Cameron should say sorry to patients for breaking his promise. “He said he wanted waiting times to come down but these figures will further add to people’s concerns the NHS is starting to go backwards.” – the Mirror

Official figures show that some people have endured gaps of more than five months between being seen by their GP and being admitted to hospital, with the average wait lengthening by a full week over the past year alone. Waiting lists lengthened over the winter as NHS trusts cancelled planned operations to care for critically ill flu patients, but are likely to increase still further as health authorities begin in earnest to make savings of £20billion over the next four years. It represents the latest in a series of figures that have called into question ministers’ claims that the health budget and front-line services are being protected. Waiting times in A&E have increased by 63 per cent over the past year while more than half of 10,000 planned job cuts are said to be hitting doctors, nurses and midwives. Labour, which introduced the targets for treatment within 18 weeks, highlighted David Cameron’s claim at a recent Prime Minister’s Questions that the Government wanted “to see waiting times and waiting lists come down”. – the Telegraph

First class cover up

Labour leader Ed Miliband has been caught out trying to cover up his first-class train journey to the regions to reconnect with voters. Aides of Mr Miliband’s were spotted taking away the ‘First Class’ seat covers just as the leader arrived on the London to Coventry train with cameras in tow. The leader, who elbowed older brother David out of the way to seize the top Labour job, has repeatedly tried to launch a class war with the Tories, emphasising Prime Minister David Cameron’s privileged upbringing. But yesterday his class-war tactics backfired when Mr Miliband was filmed in the first class compartment of a Virgin train on his way to a local election campaign visit in Lancashire. Asked why he thought he should travel first class when he was trying to pitch himself as a man of the people, he said: ‘We travel standard class and we travel first class at different times… I don’t think any politician should claim that they are leading an ordinary life. – Daily Mail

So it was with mild surprise that I watched Ed Miliband step into a first class carriage on his way to Preston at the outset of a day of pre-local election events to which I and my Sky News crew had been invited. His team is evidently aware of the potential pitfalls of being seen to travel apart from the hoi polloi, as the first thing they did was to remove the “First Class” head covers from all the surrounding seats. When I questioned the Labour leader, he said: “We travel standard class and first class at different times.”I don’t think any politician should claim that they are leading a normal life because talking to you, being in the public eye is not a normal life.” The important thing, he said was to be able to “put yourself in other people’s shoes”. – Sky News

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Thursday News Review

14/04/2011, 06:40:54 AM

Cameron adds fuel to the fire

David Cameron will today make the provocative claim that communities across Britain are being damaged by the record levels of immigration of the last decade. He will accuse some new arrivals of not wanting to integrate with their neighbours, leaving some areas suffering “discomfort and disjointedness” following dramatic population shifts. He will also risk accusations that he is inflaming tensions over race in a local council elections campaign speech asserting that immigration has been too high for too long. But an unrepentant Mr Cameron will insist he is right to speak out on an issue that concerns millions of people – and accuse the last Labour government of fuelling support for the British National Party by refusing to address popular concerns on the subject. – the Independent

And in words that will alarm many of his Lib Dem partners he will claim many immigrants don’t want to fit in – accusing them of fuelling social pressures and dividing communities. He will say: “It has placed real pressures on communities up and down the country. “Not just pressures on school, housing and healthcare – though those have been serious – but social pressures too. When there have been significant numbers of new people arriving in neighbourhoods, perhaps not able to speak the same language as those living there, on occasions not really wanting or even willing to integrate, that has created a kind of discomfort and disjointedness in some neighbourhoods.” He will warn that the Government will never be able to properly control immigration without first tackling welfare dependency. He describes them as “two sides of the same coin”. – the Mirror

The Downing Street press team will no doubt know what they were doing, and the type of coverage that they were aiming to achieve, so there may be a view that there are short-term political benefits to this – the Telegraph reports says the timing of the speech is influenced by wanting a popular theme for the local elections, and the well informed Tim Montgomerie of ConservativeHome also emphasises tensions with the Tory grassroots and right-wing presss seeing this as an “attempt to steady a panicking ship with a tough speech on immigration” as the local campaigning begins, also tweeting: Increasingly nervous about core Tory vote, Cameron makes immigration speech. – Next Left

How long till Lansley’s P45 arrives?

Health secretary Andrew Lansley apologised to nurses yesterday after they backed a vote of no-confidence in his controversial NHS reforms. Almost 99 per cent of delegates at the Royal College of Nursing said they did not support the Health Secretary – the first time such a motion has ever been passed against a minister. Mr Lansley later said sorry to the nurses several times and admitted the no confidence vote was a ‘rebuke’. It is the latest blow for the beleaguered Health Secretary, whose plans to scrap Primary Care Trusts and give GPs greater control of NHS cash have come under sustained attack from leading doctors, MPs and even members of the Coalition. – Daily Mail

Andrew Lansley coupled an apology to Britain’s nurses for failing to explain his health reforms with an impassioned statement of his commitment to the NHS. Hours after the Royal College of Nursing voted 99% in favour of a motion of no confidence in him at the RCN congress in Liverpool, the health secretary told nurses that he would have voted with them if he thought his plans would undermine the health service. The health secretary sought to underline his commitment by making clear that his only ambition in politics is to serve as health secretary. He said he had told the prime minister of this “publicly and privately”. Downing Street fears that Lansley’s failure to sell the reforms, which are designed to transfer commissioning powers from Primary Care Trusts to new GP-led consortiums by 2013, is jeopardising years of work in neutralising the NHS as an issue. Clegg must secure major changes to the bill to win over his party, which voted against the reforms at its spring conference last week. – the Guardian

Ed plots to kill off NHS reforms in the Lords

Labour has held secret talks with independent peers in a bid to ‘kill’ the Coalition’s controversial health reforms in the House of Lords, Ed Miliband revealed yesterday. The Labour leader said shadow health secretary John Healey had held a series of joint briefings with crossbench peers in recent weeks in a bid to sabotage the Health Bill when it arrives in the Lords in the summer. The Government does not have a majority in the House of Lords and the crossbenchers could play a key role in watering down the planned reforms. Some Coalition peers, including senior Lib Dem Shirley Williams and former Tory Party chairman Norman Tebbit, have also voiced serious concerns about the health plans. Mr Miliband said the legislation was already in ‘intensive care’ and now needed to be ‘killed off’. He added: ‘The answer to a bad Bill is not to slow it down but to junk it.’ – Daily Mail

Osborne wades in to the AV battle

The chancellor has launched an extraordinary attack on the Yes to AV campaign, highlighting alleged conflicts of interests in its funding. George Osborne’s accusations are just the latest dispute in an increasingly bitter and bad-tempered campaign which has seen both camps fling insults and accusations of assisting the far-right. “What really stinks is actually one of the ways the Yes campaign is funded,” Mr Osborne told the Daily Mail. The Electoral Reform Society, which is actually running some of the referendum ballots, and is being paid to do that by the taxpayer, stands to benefit if AV comes in. That organisation, the Electoral Reform Society, part of it is a company that makes money – is funding the Yes campaign. That stinks frankly and is exactly the sort of dodgy, behind the scenes shenanigans that people don’t like about politics.” – politics.co.uk

George Osborne was at the centre of a legal row last night after his attack on voting reform backfired. The Chancellor was accused of demeaning his position, and lawyers were called in to separate the opposing sides in the impending referendum on changing how MPs are elected. Mr Osborne claimed that the Yes campaign to scrap the first-past-the-post voting system was involved in “dodgy shenanigans” in funding – raising the temperature in an increasingly acrimonious contest. Electoral reformers called in solicitors to try to stop the dispute escalating any further, ahead of the 5 May ballot on whether to switch to the alternative vote for Westminster elections. The Yes campaign has pointed to the many wealthy Conservatives handing large sums to the opponents of electoral reform. Backed by Mr Osborne, No to AV countered by alleging that the Electoral Reform Society (ERS), which has given £1.1m to the pro-AV campaign, faced a financial conflict of interest in pressing for a Yes vote. No to AV claimed that the society and its subsidiaries had received more than £15m in contracts from the public purse over the past three years. – the Independent

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Friday News Review

08/04/2011, 06:56:05 AM

U-turn to fill MOD black hole

David Cameron is poised for another humiliating U-turn as the crisis in Libya forces him to rethink the Government’s savage defence cuts. Chancellor George Osborne has been shamed into finding an extra £250million to prevent more equipment and troops being scrapped while British forces are in action. Military chiefs are pushing him to go much further and undo some of the brutal austerity measures already inflicted on the armed forces in last autumn’s defence review. One senior commander said the debate is “live” and that the Prime Minister “is very much part of it”. Reversing defence cuts would the latest in a long line of about-turns by Mr Cameron. Ending free school milk, axing books for young children, cutting school sport, scrapping NHS Direct, selling off Britain’s forests and bringing in anonymity for suspected rapists are among the policies that have been dropped. – Daily Mirror

The Prime Minister is “actively engaged” in a reassessment of Britain’s military capabilities and planned reductions in equipment and manpower, sources have disclosed. The rethink has raised hopes that some of the cuts to military aircraft and ships in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) could be postponed or even reversed. Insiders said it was not too late for a change of mind on the decision to cut the number of RAF Tornados and scrap surveillance planes. Some Royal Navy frigates could also be spared, or have their retirement delayed. In the first sign of compromise on defence cuts, Mr Cameron has ordered the Treasury to give the Ministry of Defence a reprieve on its overspent 2011-12 budget. The £800 million climbdown will spare the Armed Forces further cuts this year. Senior government figures admitted that the Libyan conflict has raised questions about the wisdom of cuts that will leave Britain facing a “dip” in its military capabilities for several years. “The debate is live. The Prime Minister is very much part of it. There’s a lot of objective thinking going on,” said a senior defence source. – Daily Telegraph

We really are all in this together

If she was expecting a lavish treat, she was in for a sore surprise. Mindful of how a luxury holiday would appear amid massive public spending cuts, David and Samantha Cameron flew to Spain with budget airline Ryanair to celebrate her 40th birthday. And despite their wealth, they stayed in a ‘mid-market’ hotel. No special treatment: A fellow passenger took this photograph of the couple in the departure lounge ahead of the Ryanair flight from Stansted airport to Malaga, in southern Spain, on Wednesday afternoon A fellow passenger took a photograph of the couple in the departure lounge ahead of the flight from Stansted airport to Malaga, in southern Spain, on Wednesday afternoon. They will fly home today. – Daily Mail

They could have been any other couple waiting to catch their flight. But it was the Prime Minister and his wife who were spotted waiting along with everyone else to fly with low-cost airline Ryanair from Stansted Airport to Granada in Spain. David Cameron whisked his wife away without their three children on a flight for a short break to mark her impending 40th birthday. Mrs Cameron does not reach the milestone age until later this month, but the couple took the start of the Easter recess to spend some time together. It is the first time the couple have been abroad on holiday since Mr Cameron became Prime Minister last May. – the Scotsman

Hollow words over interns

Is it business as usual for Liberal Democrat MPs advertising for interns days after Nick Clegg said he’d stamp out the practice of unpaid work? That could certainly be the charge. The office of John Leech MP told one prospective intern that they wouldn’t get paid because the new rules only apply to Whitehall and the party’s Cowley Street HQ, not MPs, according to the group Intern Aware. Party figures admit that yes, this is technically the case, they can’t tell their MPs what to do as they fall under the remit of Ipsa, the expenses watchdog. Leaders can’t tell their MPs what to do? That may be news to some. Clegg also seemed to think he could on Tuesday, when he said: “I’ve announced that in my capacity as leader of the Liberal Democrats that we now have put an end to that system within the Lib Dem Parliamentary party. From now on, all internships should be properly advertised, they should be subject to a meritocratic process and people should be properly supported and remunerated. Lunch costs, travel costs and so on.” – Sky News

Just days after Nick Clegg made an earnest pledge to improve expenses for the Liberal Democrats’ army of unpaid interns, The Capitalist was amused to see three job ads for internships at the party on the Work for an MP (w4mp) website offering barely a cup of tea. The “short volunteer opportunity” to work in the offices of Greg Mulholland, MP for the Leeds North West, offers no financial reward at all, while the internship at the offices of Bradford East’s MP David Ward says “some expenses” can be met “by agreement”. And a school-leaver helping out on the local campaign trail for the Lewes Liberal Democrats would presumably want a roof over their head at the end of the working day – but lodgings for the lucky candidate are only “possibly” an option “if required”. In a jargon-filled display of passing the buck, the party said it could only directly manage internships at the central Cowley Street HQ. – City AM

Where have all the Lib Dems gone?

The Liberal democrats face a double blow at next month’s council elections, when they will field fewer candidates than usual and could be the main victims of a Labour recovery. More than 9,000 seats are up for grabs, about 5,000 of which are held by the Conservatives, 1,800 the Liberal Democrats, 1,600 by Labour and 800 by other parties and independents. Figures from town halls yesterday showed that the Lib Dems have candidates to put up in only 59 per cent of the seats, down from 64 per cent when they were last fought four years ago. The biggest falls appear to be in the south-east and north-west, both down about 10 per cent. Labour will contest 72 per cent – up from 60 per cent last time. The increase reflects a drive to fight back in the south, where the party did badly at last year’s general election. The Tories will field candidates in 93 per cent of the seats next month, up from 88 per cent in 2007. – the Independent

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Sunday News Review

03/04/2011, 07:24:55 AM

Horror returns to Northern Ireland

A 25-year-old Catholic police recruit was been killed by a booby trap car bomb at his home in Omagh, County Tyrone, on Saturday. The device exploded under 25-year-old Constable Ronan Kerr’s car outside his home in Omagh, Co Tyrone, just before 4pm. The officer had only finished his training in December. He was getting into the vehicle in the residential Highfield Close development, off the main Gortin Road, when neighbours rushed to help him, some using fire extinguishers to put out flames from the explosion. He was the second police officer to be murdered since the formation of the Police Service of Northern Ireland out of the Royal Ulster Constabulary in 2001 as part of the peace process. – Sunday Telegraph

Deadly terrorism returned to the scene of Northern Ireland’s worst atrocity yesterday after a young Catholic policeman was murdered by a car bomb in Omagh. Ronan Kerr, 25, who was was killed in the booby-trap blast outside his home as he prepared to go to work, had only just completed his training. Last night tributes were paid to PC Kerr, who represented a new generation of officers trying to repair the image of the province’s police among the Catholic community. Last night Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin Guinness is understood to have visited Mr Kerr’s family. British Prime Minister David Cameron said: ‘Those who carried out this wicked and cowardly crime will never succeed in dragging Northern Ireland back to a dark and bloody past,’ he warned. Their actions are rejected by the overwhelming majority of people from all parts of the community.’ – Mail on Sunday

Cameron humiliates Lansley over NHS reforms

Defiant Health Secretary Andrew Lansley yesterday ruled out a major u-turn in his NHS reforms – in a direct confrontation with Downing Street. He has faced a growing chorus of critics, ranging from medical organisations to MPs, and is even opposed in his own constituency. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg demanded substantial changes after a vote overwhelmingly against the plans at his Lib Dem spring conference. And PM David Cameron is now said to have accepted the need for “clarifications” on the pace and scale of the reforms. – the Sun

David Cameron will announce this week another humiliating climbdown, putting the brakes on the Government’s health reforms in a desperate attempt to rescue his reputation as a defender of the NHS. In the latest embarrassing example of the Prime Minister being forced to intervene in the policy of one of his ministers, Mr Cameron will publicly admit to mistakes in the plan by the Secretary of State, Andrew Lansley, to hand £80bn of health spending to family doctors, characterised by critics as privatisation by the back door. Mr Cameron will announce a “pause” of up to three months in the progress of the Health and Social Care Bill through Parliament, to allow for more time to reassure clinicians, patients and coalition MPs. One option being considered is a series of public meetings at which Mr Lansley would be forced to restate the case for reform in a less confrontational manner. – Independent on Sunday

Embarrassment for the Yes campaign

The “Yes” campaign, which is supported by Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats, was severely embarrassed after it emerged that it had removed the poet Benjamin Zephaniah from leaflets destined for the home counties, while leaving him in leaflets distributed in London. Mr Zephaniah is one of six celebrities who adorn a leaflet from the “Yes” campaign calling on householders to back the Alternative Vote in a forthcoming referendum on May 5 in which people will be asked if they want to change Britain’s voting system. He appears alongside Joanna Lumley, Eddie Izzard, Colin Firth, Honor Blackman and Stephen Fry in the leaflet which was delivered in London and which is signed by Katie Ghose, chair of Yes To Fairer Votes. However, in an identical leaflet sent to other parts of the country including Sussex and Cornwall the poet is not there. Only white celebrities are featured and Mr Zephaniah is replaced by a picture of the actor Tony Robinson. – Sunday Telegraph

Clegg likes Plan B, lets hope it’s not just his music taste

For the first time last night Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg held a Q and A in a cinema. The session was hosted by Capital at the Showcase Cinema De Lux in Leicester and more than a hundred people from Leicester, Loughborough and Nottingham turned up. Capital didn’t just speak to the Deputy PM about politics though. The Deputy PM told us how much he loves Plan B‘s album, his secret passion for cartoons and his funniest moment in power so far….telling his son he wasn’t the Prime Minister. – Capital FM

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Saturday News Review

26/03/2011, 06:30:06 AM

All roads lead to London

More than a quarter of a million protesters against public sector cuts are expected to flood central London today in the biggest political demonstration for nearly a decade. Police sources, normally cautious about estimating numbers, said last night they were braced for up to 300,000 people to join the march – far higher than previous forecasts from TUC organisers. More than 800 coaches and at least 10 trains have been chartered to bring people to the capital from as far afield as Cornwall and Inverness. The Metropolitan police, under fire for their use of kettling in previous protests, said “a small but significant minority” plan to hijack the march to stage violent attacks. Organisers, however, insist it will be a peaceful family event. Union members are expected be joined by a broad coalition, from pensioners to doctors, families and first-time protesters to football supporters and anarchists. Ed Miliband said the government was dragging the country back to the “rotten” 1980s. Labour is calling today’s event the “march of the mainstream”. The opposition leader will address the rally – his biggest audience ever – in Hyde Park to set out Labour’s alternative to the cuts, accusing the government of fomenting the “politics of division” not seen since Margaret Thatcher’s 1980s. His remarks are reinforced by a Guardian/ICM poll that shows the public divided over the cuts. Of 1,014 people questioned this week, 35% believe the cuts go too far, 28% say they strike the right balance and 29% say they don’t go far enough; 8% don’t know. Two other polls put the balance more strongly against cuts. A YouGov survey for Unison found that 56% believe the cuts are too harsh and a ComRes poll for ITV showed that two-thirds think the government should reconsider its planned spending cuts programme. Just one in five disagree with that view. The TUC organisers of the event said they had organised a family-friendly demonstration with brass, jazz and Bollywood bands. But with unofficial feeder marches, sit-down protests and a takeover of Trafalgar Square planned, there was increasing nervousness that acts of peaceful civil disobedience could lead to stand-offs with police and outbursts of violence. – the Guardian (more…)

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Why I changed my mind and abstained on the Libya vote

21/03/2011, 11:59:55 PM

by Tom Watson

David Cameron’s assured performance at the dispatch box during the Libya statement on Friday worried me. He was confident, authoritative and re-assuring. It was like watching Tony Blair introducing the debate before we went to war in Iraq.

I was concerned that there wasn’t sufficient support amongst our key allies and, crucially, arab states to make military intervention credible.

I asked the PM:

“Now that the UN has reasserted its authority with this resolution, it is important that Gaddafi be in no doubt that there is an overwhelming military force to carry it out. In that light, how many countries does the prime minister wish to provide military assets, and how many of them come from the arab league”?

The PM replied:

“The hon. gentleman makes a good point. Obviously, we want the widest alliance possible. I do not think it would be right for me to name at the dispatch box those countries that are considering participation, but there is a wide number. Clearly, at the heart of this are the Americans, the French and the British, but other European countries are coming forward, and there are also some in the arab league, including a number I have spoken to, who have talked about active participation – about playing a part in this. One of the purposes of the meeting tomorrow in Paris will be to bring together the widest possible coalition of those who want to support it, and I believe, particularly as this has such strong UN backing, that it will be a very wide coalition indeed”.

I left the chamber with a lot of unanswered questions:

1.What are the objectives of this mission?

2.What are the limits of the UN resolution?

3.What is our exit strategy?

4.How much is it going to cost?

5.Have we the appropriate military capacity?

6.How strong is the international coalition? (more…)

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Saturday News Review

12/03/2011, 06:44:24 AM

All eyes on Japan

PM David Cameron said Britain stands ready to help Japan in “any way we can”. Mr Cameron said he had spoken to Foreign Secretary William Hague about Britain’s contribution and what can be done to help British nationals caught up in the disaster. Meanwhile the Queen extended her “heartfelt sympathy” to those affected by the earthquake. Mr Hague convened the emergency Cobra committee in Whitehall and the Foreign Office set up a hotline for British citizens concerned about friends and relatives. – Daily Mirror

Lib Dems set to ‘get used’ to protests

Nick Clegg last night warned Liberal Democrat supporters to “get used” to protesters as he launched an impassioned defence of his party’s record in Government so far. With police in Sheffield gearing up for the largest demonstations South Yorkshire has seen since the 1984-85 miners’ strike, Mr Clegg admitted that his party was more used to being protesters themselves than being protested against. But he called on members to “hold their nerve” and insisted that they were helping to build “a new economy from the rubble of the old”. “It is not easy for us as a party to be the focus of protests,” he said. “Some of our proudest moments have been on marches: against climate change, against child detention, against the illegal war in Iraq. We’ve put down the placards and taken up the reins of power. It’s a big change but it is worth it. You can’t do everything when you are in power, but you can’t do anything when you are not. With power comes protest. We need to get used to it.” Mr Clegg faces a difficult couple of days in Sheffield – the city he represents as an MP – with expected defeats against the leadership on the conference floor and protests outside. Yesterday, South Yorkshire police said the operation to control today’s expected 10,000-strong demonstation by trade unions and students would be the biggest challenge the force had faced since the floods which devastated parts of the county in 2007. “We hope for the best and have planned for the worst,” said Assistant Chief Constable Max Sahota. – the Independent (more…)

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