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Tommy Watson takes the fight to the Tories

16/06/2010, 04:19:15 PM

When the coalition caved in to pressure and published details of – some of – its special advisers’ salaries last week – there were a few details missing.

So Tom Watson has produced this briefing paper, which contains a detailed account of the coalition’s spin doctors’ new pay rates and pensions.

It includes what last week’s document didn’t show: the additional civil service pensions that these coalition spinners can expect.

Under the civil service pension scheme, the PM’s spin man Andy Coulson gets £160K to add to his retirement pot.

These are the same “gold-plated and unfair” pension schemes that deputy pm Nick Clegg denounced this week.

Clegg said it was unreasonable to expect the taxpayer to continue to keep paying into “unreformed gold-plated public sector pension pots” – just like those awarded to the new government.

So, Watson asks in his letter to Nick Clegg, if low paid public sector workers are to forgo their “gold plated pots”, will all the coalition spin doctors be opting out of the civil service pension scheme?

Posted in Inside | 3 Comments »

Efficiency Briefing: Number 1

16/06/2010, 04:16:51 PM

David Cameron and Nick Clegg: The cost of their recently appointed special advisers’ pensions

“So can we really ask them to keep paying their taxes into unreformed gold-plated public-sector pension pots? It’s not just unfair, it’s not affordable.” Nick Clegg, 14 June 2010

Tom Watson MP

Efficiency Briefing: Number 1

Introduction

Last Thursday, after a dismal performance in the chamber by Danny Alexander earlier in the week, the government caved into pressure and published the salary list of their newly appointed special advisers.

As well as showing a startling increase in the number of spin doctors working out of number 10, the publication showed that chief spin doctor Andy Coulson had been awarded a salary greater than that of the deputy prime minister.

What the publication didn’t show you was that on top of a £140K pay packet, Coulson is automatically entitled to a civil service pension – the same pension arrangements that Nick Clegg described yesterday as “gold plated…unfair…[and]…not affordable”. So on top of his £140K, the taxpayer could fund another £27,160 per year towards Mr Coulson’s retirement.

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The case against Ed Balls, by Tom Bage

16/06/2010, 12:30:34 PM

Kerry McCarthy reaffirmed her support for Ed Balls on the Staggers site last week, echoing the ‘he gets it’ thesis of that combative tweeting phenomenon, Ellie Gellard.

Their arguments for Ed will appeal to many in the party: he understands why we lost and can win back our disillusioned supporters; he will defend Labour’s record and he can lead us back to power. Unfortunately, they founder on the last premise – outside of his supporters, does anybody seriously believe that the British people will install Ed Balls in Number 10?

To his great credit, Balls is a dogged defender of Labour’s record and will revel in making life as unpleasant as possible for Michael Gove. He fought and won a tough campaign against a well funded Tory candidate in Morley and Outwood, where anger about immigration and housing seems to have made a lasting impression on his thinking.

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Posted in Grassroots | 5 Comments »

Jonathan Todd sorts the economics from the ideology

16/06/2010, 09:13:43 AM

The Daily Telegraph isn’t normally essential reading for Labourites. But yesterday it should have been, especially for Harriet Harman. Fraser Nelson set the backdrop to the politics of the deficit and the “emergency” Budget, to which she, as acting leader, will respond. This week’s report from the new Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) dramatically changes this political context. Nelson has been quick to realise this and, while our instincts differ markedly from his, we need to be equally fleet-footed.

The limited discussion on the deficit in the leadership election has denied our candidates the opportunity to demonstrate this quality. Though, of course, they could engineer such an opportunity for themselves. I’d be impressed if any of them do flesh out a more substantial economic platform, not least as The Economist is right to note that, “nothing will make or break the next leader of the opposition like his response to the government’s austerity programme”. (more…)

Posted in Uncut | 5 Comments »

Never mind the quality, feel the width

15/06/2010, 10:36:00 PM

Over at the unionstogether blog they are doing a ‘question to the candidates’ every week of the summer. This week’s is on the living wage, which has become rather a surprise campaign theme. It is worth a read.

In a campaign in which no candidate is strong on content, Ed Miliband has chosen to put the living wage “as the centre of my campaign for Labour leadership”. Not “to put it at the centre”, you will note, but “put it as the centre”. Massive difference in that one letter. For Ed M, the living wage is the defining issue of his leadership bid “because it sums up both the Labour party’s values and its activism”.

Although a nice piece of policy, it would ordinarily seem like a pretty flimsy thing to be the defining essence of an entire campaign to lead the major force in left-liberal politics in the United Kingdom. (more…)

Posted in Inside | 2 Comments »

Nick Palmer says the sacred cow of income tax may be unwell

15/06/2010, 02:33:56 PM

One of the curious features of being a Labour MP in the last three elections was that we would often wake up and find out from the newspapers that we were irrevocably committed to something that we had not discussed, but which Tony or Gordon had decided was vital to our chances.

A hardy perennial was the recurrent commitment not to increase the standard rate of income tax. This was part of the New Labour deal: we were not unilateralists; we weren’t going to nationalise the commanding heights; and we wouldn’t put up your income tax.

This probably did help initially in refurbishing our image, but it has become a sacred cow. In these troubled times, we should re-examine the cow to find out how it’s getting on and if, in electoral terms, it is actually still alive. (more…)

Posted in Uncut | 3 Comments »

This morning’s email setting out rules for elections to Labour select committee vacancies

15/06/2010, 12:15:42 PM

From: O’DONOVAN, Martin

Sent: 15 June 2010 11:56

Subject: Elections to Labour vacancies on Select Committees

Importance: High

FAO Labour MPs

Please find below the agreed procedure for electing Labour members to the Select Committees, as agreed at last night’s PLP meeting. This is a pretty complex procedure, I’m very happy to answer any questions you may have. (more…)

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Uproar at the PLP: select committee member elections

15/06/2010, 10:06:21 AM

There was uproar at last night’s meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party. Many senior MPs are unhappy with the arrangements for electing select committee members.

Select committee chairs were elected last week by a ballot of all MPs. Now the members of the committees are to be elected, within their party groups, according to the proportion of MPs that that party has in Parliament.

Senior former ministers such as Hazel Blears and Keith Vaz (re-elected as chair of the home affairs select committee) spoke up against the way the election is being organised. (more…)

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Fabian Hustings: laughometer

15/06/2010, 08:23:14 AM

This is the laughometer from last night’s Fabian society leadership hustings.

Tiny chuckles weren’t recorded.

We maintained our rule that to score you had to get a proper laugh from a significant portion of the room.

David Miliband 5

Ed Miliband 7

Ed Balls 9

Diane Abbott 7

Andy Burnham 6

These numbers are significantly higher across the board than for previous hustings. Last night was a first outing for the Uncut reporter operating the laughometer on this occasion. We have not yet been able to establish whether the leap in laughs was due to operator error, or to the candidates loosening up and getting funny.

Views from those present at last night’s Fabian as well as more than one other hustings would be welcome.

Posted in Inside | 2 Comments »

Tuesday News Review

15/06/2010, 07:36:15 AM

#Hustings

“Mr Burnham stressed his ordinary working class background. Both the Milibands pointed out that they were the sons of immigrants who went to a comprehensive school and even knew people who didn’t sit exams. They didn’t mention their well connected Marxist intellectual father or the influential opinion formers who attended dinner parties at their North London home. Mr Balls revealed he once trotted along to a party conference to look after the kids while his wife did the important business of speaking.” – The Times

“There were some real stand out moments this evening. Perhaps most notable was Andy Burnham’s somewhat surprising decision to come out in support of the Iraq war. Burnham feels that we need “a framework for intervention”, but on Iraq itself he said, “I stand by the original decision.” Whilst at times Burnham appeared to inspire the crowd with his aspirational narrative about his own background, and “ordinary kids without connections”, it is hard to believe that his comments on Iraq won’t draw the most attention.” – Labour List

“According to the poll, Ed Miliband, the shadow energy secretary, is emerging as a compromise candidate, with the second highest number of first preferences, and the most second and third preferences. In contrast, David Miliband is a “Marmite candidate” – either liked strongly or disliked – and is struggling to pick up second and third preferences.” – The Telegraph

“Emma Burnell asked the candidates for the Labour party leadership “are you a Socialist – and what does the word mean to you?” at the hustings event co-hosted by the Fabian Society, Compass, LabourList, Left Foot Forward, Progress and the Young Fabians at the Institute of Education in London. Gaby Hinsliff challenged the candidates to give a “one line” ideology for this final question of the hustings event.” – Next Left

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