Lord Young gone, but Tories still are the nasty party

David Cameron’s enterprise adviser resigned yesterday after he undermined the Government’s attempts to show a caring face by saying that most Britons had “never had it so good”. Lord Young of Graffham, a 78-year-old former Cabinet minister who served under Margaret Thatcher, bowed to Labour demands for him to quit for saying that many people had gained from low interest and mortgage rates in what he labelled a “so-called recession”. Tory MPs hope Lord Young’s departure will limit the damage from the affair, which threatened to undo painstaking efforts by Mr Cameron and the Chancellor, George Osborne, to soften the “uncaring” image associated with the Conservatives during the recessions of the 1980s and 1990s. – Independent

David Cameron yesterday suffered a humiliating defeat in his fight to save the adviser who claimed recession-hit Britons had “never had it so good”. The Prime Minister desperately tried to cling on to enterprise tsar Lord Young, a pal since the days when they both served Margaret Thatcher. But Mr Cameron was forced to accept the peer’s resignation – just hours after insisting he should keep his job. Number 10 eventually announced the peer had lost his job shortly after 1pm. The PM accepted his resignation without speaking to the peer, a spokeswoman said. – Mirror

His words echoed those of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, a former Conservative prime minister, who was accused of insensitivity to hard-pressed Britons when he said in 1957 that “most of our people have never had it so good.” They were also seen as undermining Mr. Cameron’s efforts to present his government as keenly attuned to the hardships experienced by Britain’s 60 million people, including 2.5 million unemployed. The prime minister first described Lord Young’s statement as “unacceptable” and said he would be doing “a bit less speaking in the future,” but as the political storm over the remarks continued to build, 10 Downing Street announced within hours that Mr. Cameron had accepted Lord Young’s resignation. – New York Times

54 in all

The controversy over honours for political benefactors was reopened today with the appointment of a clutch of party donors and political apparatchiks as working peers. The millionaire car importer Bob Edmiston, who gave £2m to the Tories, the Conservative party treasurer Stanley Fink, and the Labour donor Sir Gulam Noon were among 54 new working peers announced by Downing Street today. Howard Flight, a former deputy chairman of the Conservative party, and Tina Stowell, a former deputy chief of staff to William Hague when he was opposition leader, were also on the list. Better-known names include the screenwriter Julian Fellowes, celebrity divorce solicitor Fiona Shackleton and the former defence chief General Sir Richard Dannatt. – Guardian

David Cameron was yesterday accused of cronyism after packing the House of Lords with Tory donors. Angry Labour leader Ed Miliband claimed the move was undemocratic. The PM has put forward 29 Tories for working peerages, compared to 15 Lib Dems and 10 for Labour. In a letter to Mr Cameron, Mr Miliband complains: “These appointments would create an even bigger majority for the Coalition in the Lords and risk reducing its role to a mere rubber stamp for the House of Commons.” – Mirror

It is a sign of how confident David Cameron is feeling that he has risked the reopening of the whole class question. A few MPs who stood down have received peerages — Sir Patrick Cormack, David Maclean, and Richard Spring — and there are the usual smattering of donors, though Sir Anthony Bamford is conspicuously absent from the list. The Labour list shows Ed Miliband’s intellectualism: three of his ten peers are academics. Maurice Glassman’s acceptance of a peerage is a coup for Ed Miliband given how hard the Tories have courted London Citizens, the community organising group that Glassman works with. – Spectator

Joyce loses job and dignity

Labour MP Eric Joyce stepped down as shadow Northern Ireland minister last night after he was banned from driving for a year. The 50-year-old ex-Army major had appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court handcuffed to a custody officer yesterday where he pled guilty to failing to provide a breath sample. The MP for Falkirk was arrested near Grangemouth oil refinery on Thursday and held in custody overnight pending his court appearance. He was fined £400 and banned from driving for a year. – Herald

Joyce, shadow Northern Ireland spokesman, last night said he was “deeply ashamed of his actions” after being held by police at a petrochemical plant in his constituency. He added: “I have been incredibly stupid and rightly suffered the penalty for it. I want to apologise unreservedly to those I have let down.” He said: “I had one of those bottles of wine on the plane, but not excessive.” But he refused to give a breath sample, saying he wanted to speak to a solicitor first. He was charged with failing to give a sample without reasonable excuse. – Scotsman

Harman hosted coup attempt

Harriet Harman’s pivotal role in an attempted coup against Gordon Brown has been laid bare in an explosive book on New Labour. Miss Harman, then as now deputy party leader, encouraged and supported the bid by former ministers Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt. The revelations – in a book by respected political historians Anthony Seldon and Guy Lodge raise major questions about the loyalty of the woman who is now deputy to Labour leader Ed Miliband. It also reveals the treachery of Lord Mandelson, Jack Straw and Alan Johnson and a string of Cabinet ministers. It goes to the very heart of the plot to unseat Mr Brown. – Daily Mail

Ed returns

Ed Miliband will attempt to “hit the ground running” to stabilise his leadership when he returns from paternity leave on Monday. Party sources say Labour’s leader will end his first week with an announcement at the National Policy Forum of a special commission to review how the organisation is set up. Pressure on Mr Miliband to deliver has ramped up in recent days, amid party in-fighting and even suggestions from some MPs that he might not lead them into the next general election in 2015. – Evening Standard