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Wednesday News Review

02/02/2011, 06:59:21 AM

Another one bites the dust

Former Labour MP Jim Devine is set to go on trial on Wednesday accused of fiddling his parliamentary expenses. The former MP for Livingston is accused of falsely claiming costs for parliamentary duties in March 2009. The first count alleges that, between July 2008 and April 2009, Mr Devine dishonestly claimed £3,240 for cleaning services using false invoices. The second count alleges that, in March 2009, Mr Devine dishonestly claimed £5,505 for stationery using false invoices. Mr Devine, 57, of West Main Street, Bathgate, West Lothian, is on bail. He will appear before Mr Justice Saunders at London’s Southwark Crown Court. – Press Association

Former Labour MP Jim Devine’s trial over his expenses claims is due to start at Southwark Crown Court later. Mr Devine, 57, faces two charges of dishonestly claiming for cleaning and stationery, involving claims totalling £8,745. Mr Devine, who denies the charges, became MP for Livingston at a by-election in 2005, triggered by the death of Robin Cook. He stood down as an MP at the 2010 general election. Before becoming an MP, Mr Devine was the late foreign secretary’s election agent between 1983 and 2005. – BBC News (more…)

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Thursday News Review

13/01/2011, 04:52:11 AM

Here we go again

At their first shouting match of 2011 Mr Cameron called Mr Miliband “the nothing man”, while Mr Miliband accused Mr Cameron of making “pathetic excuses”. How heartening to find two statesmen so dedicated to upholding the tradition of vulgar personal abuse. Mr Cameron is a great master of gibes and flouts and jeers, while the Leader of the Opposition has quickly learned how to reciprocate the Prime Minister’s expressions of genuine personal contempt. But even those of us who revel in Punch and Judy politics cannot help feeling that this kind of thing might become a bit wearing if it happens every time the two men set eyes on each other. We could find ourselves in the position of neighbours who can hear the next door couple screaming at each other at every hour of the day and night. The Prime Minister is in danger of surrendering the moral high ground. It would perhaps be a good idea sometimes to speak in sorrow of Mr Miliband’s limitations, and sometimes to perplex him with offers of bipartisan action. Many at Westminster are ready to see in Mr Cameron an objectionably rich and arrogant friend to the bankers. This is very much the impression Mr Miliband wishes to foment, and by treating the Leader of the Opposition in such a dismissive fashion, Mr Cameron could start contributing to it. – Telegraph

Voters are headed to the polls in Oldham East and Saddleworth in the first by-election test of the new parliament. Polls in the marginal have suggested Labour is on course to win comfortably in what would be a major electoral setback for the Liberal Democrats and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. However, anecdotal evidence points to a closer race and much may come down to turnout after polling stations open. The by-election was called after an election court declared last year’s contest void after finding that Labour victor Phil Woolas had made false statements about the Lib Dem candidate Elwyn Watkins. There were expectations of a local backlash against Labour because of the circumstances of the by-election, but the Lib Dems have also slumped dramatically in the polls since last May. Despite finishing just 103 votes behind Labour in last May’s general election, polls last weekend found Mr Watkins trailing by a massive 17 points. Prime Minister David Cameron has been repeatedly forced to deny that the Tories have run a half-hearted campaign in the by-election in a bid to bolster their Lib Dem coalition partners. Mr Clegg, the Lib Dem leader, and other Lib Dem ministers have paid numerous visits to the constituency to try to shore up their vote. The Deputy Prime Minister insisted this week that the result would be “pretty close”. – Press Association

The Oldham East & Saddleworth by-election descended into acrimony last night as Labour accused the Liberal Democrats of launching personal attacks on their candidate in a last ditch attempt to win the seat. Labour condemned Liberal Democrat leaflets suggesting that Labour’s candidate, Debbie Abrahams, had misled voters at the last general election about where she lived. The Liberal Democrats responded that they were merely highlighting the fact that Ms Abrahams had given two “obviously contradictory” statements at different elections. There was also concern within the Labour camp that Jack Straw’s criticism of the Pakistani community at the weekend for not being “more open” about the sexual grooming of young white girls had become an electoral factor among Muslim voters. Labour canvassers said they had overheard a Liberal Democrat supporter highlighting Mr Straw’s remarks to voters. The issue was also raised at a hustings held at a community centre in the Glodwick area of the former mill town, which is home to many voters of Pakistani descent and was the scene of severe rioting in 2001. – Independent

Illsley on his way

Eric Illsley yesterday bowed to pressure and said he would quit as an MP. The ex-Labour politician tried to cling to his seat despite being convicted of fiddling £14,500 expenses. But he agreed to clear his desk after being told he faced a cross-party motion ordering his expulsion from the Commons. He said he “deeply regretted” his actions and would resign before his sentencing next month. This would spark a by-election in his Barnsley Central seat. – Daily Mirror

The disgraced MP Eric Illsley today bowed to pressure and confirmed that he would resign his Commons seat, triggering a second potentially troublesome byelection for the coalition. The ex-Labour MP for Barnsley Central, currently sitting as an independent, pleaded guilty to defrauding the expenses system of £14,500 yesterday and is likely to face a spell in prison when he is sentenced next month. There was intense pressure on him to resign after it emerged that, if he receives a sentence of less than 12 months, he could have kept his seat, collecting his salary from prison. David Cameron and Ed Miliband had both called on him to go, describing his position as “untenable”. There was also cross-party pressure from his colleagues who wanted to avoid the House of Commons having to resort to procedures to eject an MP that are untested in recent times. The speaker refused to answer questions in the Commons earlier today after the possibility of a motion to expel Illsley was raised, saying that the issue remained sub judice until sentencing. It would have been the first time in 35 years that an MP had been expelled from the house by his colleagues. Illsley issued a statement apologising to his constituents, family and friends, saying he “deeply, deeply” regrets his actions. “I have begun to wind down my parliamentary office,” he confirmed, saying he would formally resign ahead of his sentencing. “I would like to apologise to my constituents, family and friends, following my court appearance, for the distress and embarrassment caused by my actions that I deeply, deeply regret,” he said. – Guardian (more…)

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Sunday News Review

09/01/2011, 07:50:04 AM

Straw comments spark race row amongst Labour MPs

A row around race and sexual exploitation flared last night as opponents and supporters reacted to a suggestion by Jack Straw that Pakistani men were grooming white girls for sexual abuse. The former home secretary was accused of attempting to “stereotype a whole community” after he suggested that some Pakistani men in Britain see white girls as “easy meat”. He was also criticised for not speaking out on the issue when his party was in power. – Independent on Sunday

Straw suggested young Pakistanis deliberately look for white girls and urged the Pakistani community to be “more open” about the issue. The Blackburn Labour MP said: “Pakistanis, let’s be clear, are not the only people who commit sexual offences, and overwhelmingly the sex offenders wings of prisons are full of white sex offenders. But there is a specific problem which involves Pakistani-heritage men … who target vulnerable young white girls. He claimed there is a “specific problem” after two Asians were jailed for targeting vulnerable teenagers. The issue of Pakistani men in the north of England allegedly grooming underage girls for sex also dominated headlines throughout the week. – Sunday Herald

However, Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, said Mr Straw was wrong to accuse British Pakistani men of targeting white girls. “To generalise in this stereotypical manner and castigate a whole community is not becoming of him,” said Mr Mahmood. Mr Mahmood’s criticism was echoed by Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, who said: “I don’t think this is a cultural problem … I don’t think you can stereotype an entire community.” Mr Vaz added: “Why didn’t Jack Straw say something about this? He has represented Blackburn for 31 years, he has been the home secretary.” However, Ann Cryer, the former Labour MP for Keighley, West Yorkshire, said Mr Straw should be commended for highlighting a problem that, she said, Muslim MPs were not prepared to confront. “The vast majority of young Asian men are fine, but there’s a minority who do not behave properly towards white women and sweeping it under the carpet will only make matters worse,” she said. – Sunday Telegraph

Polls point to Labour win

Labour is on course for a thumping win in next week’s Oldham East and Saddleworth byelection, according to opinion polls, in what would be a devastating blow to the Liberal Democrats. Despite losing the seat by just 103 votes at last year’s general election and although the Tories are allegedly holding back their campaign at David Cameron’s request, Nick Clegg’s party trails by 17 points in two separate surveys of voters in the key marginal. It will be seen as a resounding thumbs-down to the Lib Dems’ role in the Conservative-led coalition government. Labour blitzed the constituency with 500 campaigners yesterday as Ed Miliband made a new overture to disgruntled Lib Dems. The Labour leader urged people to “send a message about the betrayal on fees”. Portraying the Lib Dems as locked into a Tory agenda that many do not support, he added: “For the first time since this Conservative-led government was formed, voters will have their chance to pass judgment on David Cameron and Nick Clegg. They can show the government what they feel about police cuts both here and across the country. And they can make clear their anger about a VAT rise that is the wrong tax at the wrong time.” – Observer

The first out of the stocks (with changes from the General Election) are the ICM and Populus polls
ICM have CON 18%(-8), LAB 44%(+12), LDEM 27%(-5)
Populus have CON 15%(-11), LAB 46%(+14), LDEM 29(-3)
So both have Labour substantially up on their general election support and the Lib Dems dropping less than the third placed Conservatives. Rumour has it that the third poll, from Survation, has a bigger squeeze on the Conservative vote with them pushed down to single figures. The Labour and Lib Dem campaigns seem broadly equal – just over 70% recall getting leaflets from the two parties, about 20% have been doorstepped by them, about 20% have been phoned by them. In comparison only 57% have had a Conservative leaflet, 7% had them on their doorstep and 5% been phoned by them. Populus also asked how people would have voted had there been a joint Con-LD candidate – I make the repercentaged figures for that Lab 47%, Con/LD 38% – so it would have been a little closer – UK Polling Report

David Miliband to do a Portillo?

David Miliband is considering a role in television, in a surprise move that appears to dash his brother Ed’s hopes that he can be persuaded to join the shadow cabinet. The Labour leadership candidate has approached the BBC with a number of programme ideas. It is unclear whether Miliband wants to front one-off documentaries or a series of shows, but it is thought all his proposals would involve him taking a starring role on screen. In a statement, a spokesman for Miliband said: “David is talking to a range of organisations about his interest in foreign and environmental policy.” A BBC spokesman confirmed: “David Miliband has approached the BBC with some programme ideas. The BBC receives suggestions from a wide variety of sources and these will be considered in the same way as any others.” Industry sources believe he has held informal talks with executives at the corporation, however. – Observer

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BAME Labour is pointless – because Labour’s leadership can’t be bothered with minority communities

03/01/2011, 03:30:04 PM

by Atul Hatwal

If BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) Labour mattered it would be a headline writer’s dream. “Who’s to BAME”? “BAME blame game begins”; “Labour mess: BAME to blame”. The list of blame-based headlines would give a ready top line for each new problem to afflict Labour’s gaffe-prone successor to the black socialist societies (BSS).

But, unfortunately, BAME Labour barely merits reporting. It has been in existence for three years and under-performed even the low expectations that greeted its birth.

A quick look at the website shows an organisation ossified in the past. There’s an announcement about the formation of BAME Labour (presumably dating back to 2007), a plea to back Gordon in the wake of the MPs expenses furore (that’s summer 2009) and the “Obama scholarship free training course for aspiring BAME candidates”, upcoming in April 2009. Whether president Obama managed to send a supportive message to recipients of the scholarship in his name remains unclear. (more…)

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Wednesday News Review

29/12/2010, 06:58:33 AM

Hughes set to sell the un-sellable

Simon Hughes, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, was yesterday handed the job of selling the Government’s unpopular higher education reforms to prospective students. Downing Street said Mr Hughes – who abstained in the Commons vote on raising tuition fees – agreed to take up the unpaid role as an “access advocate” to persuade parents and children from poor backgrounds they will be able to afford a university education when the new fees come into effect. However, just as important will be Mr Hughes’s role in convincing recalcitrant Liberal Democrat supporters that the party has not sold out to the Tories over the policy and that the new fees structure is genuinely fairer than the previous system. Mr Hughes is a popular figure in the party and his acceptance of the new role is a sign of how seriously the leadership takes the fall-out from the tuition fees vote. – Independent

The unprecedented unpaid appointment was agreed by David Cameron and Nick Clegg before Christmas, and follows the huge controversy that followed the Commons decision to treble tuition fees from 2012. In an admission that he is losing the propaganda war, Cameron, in his letter appointing Hughes, claimed there was a “material risk” poor schoolchildren would be put off by “misinformation” from applying to higher education institutions or staying on to study A-levels. It was also being stressed that Hughes will have the power to make policy recommendations for what should replace the abolished £560m education maintenance allowance aimed at helping poor children into further education. EMA subsidised young people in England who remain in education after the age of 16 by up to £30 a week if they came from poorer families. – Guardian

Mr Hughes, who has positioned himself as a standard bearer for the left of the party, will tour schools and colleges to discuss the policy with the students of the future and report their concerns to Mr Clegg and David Cameron. The move is designed to ease Lib Dem concerns about the policy, which directly contradicts their manifesto pledge to abolish tuition fees. Fewer than half the party’s 57 MPs supported the plan to raise fees to a maximum £9,000 a year earlier this month. But the unpaid role risks opening Mr Hughes to ridicule, coming less than three weeks after he threatened to vote against the policy he will now be promoting. – Daily Mail

Labour and Tories trade flu jab insults

The health minister, Simon Burns, accused Labour of stooping to a new low of political opportunism today after it claimed the government had cut a routine flu vaccination for under-fives. John Healey, the shadow health secretary, said the cut had been against scientific advice and was driven by the need to make financial savings. He said: “The serious problem lies with the groups that are most at risk, like children. That has come because the government axed the annual advertising campaign and they cancelled the flu jab plan for the under-fives.” But an angry Burns said: “Labour have stooped to a new low of political opportunism today. By calling on the government to reject independent scientific advice, they risk undermining the public confidence in immunisation programmes which is so crucial to their success.” The rate of flu cases in England almost doubled in a week earlier this month, from 34 people in every 100,000 to 87 in every 100,000 – a faster rise than in 1999, the last time England suffered a flu epidemic. Labour had criticised the government over the lack of dedicated protection for young children and the decision to axe the annual flu jab awareness campaign. – Guardian

Last year, all healthy children aged six months to five years were offered the jab. This year, doctors asked for £25 per patient to cover the costs of the jabs for the 38million youngsters. Mr Healey accused ministers of making the ‘wrong judgment’ by cancelling the jabs. Mr Burns yesterday hit back, saying: ‘Labour have stooped to a new low of political opportunism. The Government is legally obliged to implement recommendations made by experts on the joint committee. John Healey is either spectacularly ill-informed or playing politics with people’s health.’ Mr Healey told the Mail on Tuesday: ‘The problem lies with the groups most at risk, like children. That has come because the Government axed the annual advertising campaign and cancelled the flu jab plan for the under-fives.’ – Daily Mail

Is David stateside bound?

South Shields MP David Miliband could be US-bound. The former foreign secretary is being touted for the post of British ambassador to Washington, according to reports in the national press. Mr Miliband forged a good relationship with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton when he was foreign secretary and, as US ambassador, observers believe he would be a voice trusted by the Obama administration. But if he was offered the post it could lead to problems within the Labour Party – with the ambassador appointed by the UK Tory-led government. – The Shields Gazette

It’s official Tories have something wrong in their head

Scientists say Conservative voters really do have something unusual happening in their heads. Researchers found that right-wingers are likely to have a very thick amygdala – a part of the brain associated with emotion. Like many Tory supporters, the amygdala is ancient and primitive. The study was commissioned as a bit of fun by actor Colin Firth as part of his stint guest editing BBC Radio 4’s Today programme – but has developed into a serious effort to discover if people’s political views are encoded. – Mirror

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Tuesday News Review

14/12/2010, 06:59:23 AM

It’s not over yet

Controversial government plans to raise university tuition fees in England to as much as £9,000 a year are to be debated by peers. In the Lords’ vote, Labour peers will have to overturn a coalition majority of 40 to have a chance of blocking the government’s education proposals. Labour’s leader in the Lords, Baroness Royall, said: “Labour opposed the government’s policy in the Commons last week, and Labour will oppose the government’s policy in the Lords this week.– BBC Politics

The Liberal Democrats ran into fresh trouble today when the party’shigher education spokeswoman in the Lords, Lady Sharp, said she was not sure she could vote tomorrow for the coalition government’s trebling of tuition fees. Sharp told the Guardian: “I face a dilemma. I have a lot of reservations, and I am in the same position as many Liberal Democrat MPs. I have not decided how to vote.” – Guardian

Labour reaches out

Labour leader Ed Miliband yesterday appealed to disgruntled Liberal Democrats to work with him against the UK coalition Government. With 21 Lib-Dem MPs having voted against government plans to raise university tuition fees in England, Mr Miliband said the party should recognise its “common interests” with Labour. At his first Westminster press conference since becoming Labour leader, he called on Lib Dems to submit ideas to Labour’s policy review. – Western Mail

No pork in Pickle’s agenda

The biggest cuts to police and local councils “in living memory” were yesterday unveiled by ministers with some parts of the country losing almost 10 per cent of their budget in a single year. Inner city areas of Liverpool and Manchester and parts of London including Hackney will be worst hit with spending reductions of 8.9 per cent. However richer parts of the country such as Surrey, Buckinghamshire and Wiltshire fare much better with cuts of less that 1 per cent. – Independent

The revolution in local government outlined in Eric Pickles‘s localism bill has laid ministers open to the charge that their package of new powers coupled with drastic spending cuts will hit the poorest in society hardest, enable big business to buy off local opposition and devolve difficult political decisions to councils at a time when they are least able to cope with them. Overshadowing the devolved powers in the bill are the cuts imposed on local councils and the impact on local services as well as the potential job losses, amid claims that more than 140,000 people will be handed redundancy notices by town halls next year. – Guardian

Cost guard Cuts

Opposition MPs claimed lives would inevitably be put at risk if the cutbacks were put in place, and rank-and-file coastguards spoke privately of “an impending disaster”. Angus Robertson, defence spokesman for the Scottish National Party, said: “The Tory government is putting lives at risk on sea and land by their reckless cuts to the Coastguard and privatisation plan for Search and Rescue services. The coalition is planning to sell off the search-and-rescue service to a foreign consortium. – Telegraph

Don’t forget me

The former foreign secretary said his brother Ed had ‘done well’ since winning their battle for control and it was a ‘very difficult job being leader of the opposition, especially in the first year of a parliament’. The 45-year-old added: ‘I have no plans to return to front-line politics – at the moment, that is. ‘For now, I’m doing what’s best for the party and leaving the field open for Ed to lead the party. I’ve got to admit, I wish the leadership campaign had gone differently but who knows what will happen in the future?’ – Metro

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We’ve had dissent and discipline, it’s time for debate and dialogue

05/11/2010, 03:00:08 PM

by Jessica Asato

This week I did something 99.9% of the population didn’t. I took part in a Labour party branch discussion about reform of partnership in power (PiP) – the party’s policy-making process introduced in 1997.

Liam Byrne has been put in charge of leading the review process which will conclude in June next year and changes to policy arrangements will be agreed by party conference. As Pat McFadden states at the start of the consultation document, “now, in opposition, the time is right to have a fundamental review of our policy making process”. Actually, I don’t quite agree with that. We should have reviewed and improved policy making when we knew the top of the party was failing to communicate with the membership and nipped it in the bud. If your footsoldiers are unhappy about the direction of the top brass they will be less willing to do their best in the fight on the ground.

In fact, a number of things about the document don’t quite make the grade. It states “Partnership in Power has in most people’s eyes been considered a success”. What, seriously? No one at my branch meeting seemed to think it had. Even its assertion that PiP helped to “deliver election winning manifestos in 2001 and 2005” is pushing it a bit far when a) most of the new policy in those manifestos were formulated in the Downing St policy unit and b) PiP also helped to procure an election losing manifesto in 2010. (more…)

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Far from being the left’s embarrassing secret, the state is actually its trump card, says Anthony Painter

14/10/2010, 08:54:51 AM

What weird contorted, politically arrogant logic comes to the conclusion that David Miliband should join the Tory-Lib Dem coalition, as Nick Boles attempted to argue yesterday? While setting on a course that gives Margaret Thatcher a run for her money in terms of its social and economic destructiveness, the government has finally been lifted from the ground with the hot air of its own rhetoric. The definition of socialism is what a Labour government does and anything this government does is progressive reform – by definition. Why? Well, because it’s a progressive reformist government, duh.

With Labour’s leadership election out of the way, the fog of war is starting to clear. David Miliband and all those on the left who know that the state must change – be more personal, more local, and more innovative – equally know that the type of reform offered by the Tories and Lib Dems is anything but progressive. David Cameron and Nick Clegg know that as long as they can be seen to be taking it out on relatively high earners as well as the least well-off then the progressive fig leaf will stay in place.

So high rate taxpayers lose £1billion of child benefit. Others much lower down the earnings ladder lose up to £15billion a year. There is a £9billion hit for 3.5 million disabled people over five years according to the think tank, Demos. Progressive. Then there is the pupil premium: the government’s get out of jail free card when it comes to fairness. Or so they think. It conveniently ignores the fact that there already is a pupil premium. It goes to local authorities. Meanwhile, investment in creating the school buildings of the future for many is cut. Progressive. (more…)

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Monday News Review

04/10/2010, 08:10:19 AM

Hague picks on the brothers

William Hague says he will not nominate David Miliband for the post of European Union foreign minister, nor any other international job in the foreseeable future, scotching suggestions the defeated Labour leadership contender could be heading for Brussels. David Miliband may be regarded by Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, as “vibrant” and authoritative, but Mr Hague is far less smitten with the man who preceded him at the Foreign Office. “I’ve no personal quarrel with him,” Mr Hague tells the Financial Times. It is just that Mr Hague thinks that under Mr Miliband the Foreign Office was left financially stricken and marginalised in Whitehall, failed to build relations with emerging economies, and left Britain vulnerable to accusations it was complicit in torture. – The FT

NEWLY ELECTED Labour Party leader Ed Miliband faced a barrage of criticism yesterday from senior Conservative Party figures who will outline a multibillion-pound spending cuts programme later this month. They insisted Mr Miliband must produce a list of cuts that he will support if he is to build credibility with voters. The co-ordinated attacks upon Mr Miliband on the first day of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham came after early polling figures showed Labour now leading the Conservatives. Asking whether Mr Miliband would now say what he supports, foreign secretary William Hague said: “Or will he follow the unions who fixed the election for him, and Ed Balls and Gordon Brown who tutored him, in running away from the biggest problem facing the country and abandoning the centre ground of British politics?” – The Irish Times

Coulson listened to messages

Andy Coulson is alleged to have listened to hacked voicemail

The prime minister’s media adviser, Andy Coulson, personally listened to the intercepted voicemail messages of public figures when he edited theNews of the World, a senior journalist who worked alongside him has said. Coulson has always denied knowing about any illegal activity by the journalists who worked for him, but an unidentified former executive from the paper told Channel Four Dispatches that Coulson not only knew his reporters were using intercepted voicemail but was also personally involved. “Sometimes, they would say: ‘We’ve got a recording’ and Andy would say: ‘OK, bring it into my office and play it to me’ or ‘Bring me, email me a transcript of it’,” the journalist said. – The Guardian

(more…)

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When the plan falls apart, by Rob Carr

03/10/2010, 11:00:45 AM

When I was a kid, the big show on TV was the A-Team. In breaks and after school, my friends and I used to be the A-Team. This mainly involved acting out invented episodes whilst running around back lanes or climbing trees down the local park.

There were four main characters of which (in the eyes of an eight-year-old) only two were cool. They were John ‘Hannibal’ Smith and Templeton ‘Face’ Peck.

This of course caused difficulties. Among six or seven of us, only two could be the cool characters, two others had to be the boring characters, and the rest were the ‘baddies’. This should have led to squabbles, arguments, sulks and tantrums, but as a rule it didn’t. Eight year old minds are creative and open and we usually managed to rotate the roles in a democratic fashion before killing each other by the climbing frame.

Except for one kid. There’s always one kid isn’t there? In the case of my childhood, it was a kid I shall call Paul. Mainly because that was his name. Paul was a pain in the arse. He insisted on being Hannibal. If he couldn’t be Hannibal, he would refuse to play. And, worse, he’d generally end up sabotaging our game as we played around him. (more…)

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