Labour Uncut

UNBOUND: Tuesday News Review

06/09/2011, 06:49:16 AM

MPs to examine Murdoch’s claim

MPs will test James Murdoch’s assertion he knew nothing about a crucial email in the phone-hacking scandal when they quiz former News Of The World executives today. The News International chairman has reportedly cancelled a trip to Asia to monitor first-hand what is said at the select committee hearing because he knows his credibility as a witness and a business leader is on the line. When James Murdoch appeared with his father Rupert before the Culture, Media and Sport committee in July, he was asked if he knew about a document known as the “for Neville” email which is seen as critical to the hacking inquiry. The email indicates that the practice of hacking was more widespread than News International (NI) originally admitted. James Murdoch said he was unaware of the document at the time he sanctioned a payout totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds to the Professional Footballers’ Association chief Gordon Taylor, whose phone was hacked by the News of The World (NOTW). His denial of knowledge of the email was subsequently contradicted by Colin Myler, the NOTW’s last editor, and the paper’s former lawyer Tom Crone, both of whom will give their side of the story to the committee. – Sky News

The former legal manager of the News of the World (NOTW), Tom Crone and the paper’s former editor, Colin Myler, today face questioning from the Commons committee investigating phone hacking, after Scotland Yard confirmed no formal charges were imminent in their own criminal investigation into the scandal. MPs on the culture, media and sport select committee had been concerned that their probe into phone hacking was on the verge of being halted as police investigations throughout the UK intensified and threatened formal charges being brought against key figures at the centre of the hacking affair. However, the Metropolitan Police’s specialist crime directorate investigating phone hacking, will now allow MPs to pursue an uncompromised re-examination of Mr Crone and Mr Myler. In 2009, the two gave evidence to earlier hearings of the committee, saying James Murdoch, News Corporation’s chairman and chief executive, had been informed of the background behind an out-of-court settlement of £700,000 to a hacking victim, football boss Gordon Taylor. – the Independent

Rioters were known criminals

The justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, has blamed the riots that swept across England last month on a “broken penal system” that has failed to rehabilitate a group of hardcore offenders he describes as the “criminal classes”. Revealing for the first time that almost 75% of those aged over 18 charged with offences committed during the riots had prior convictions, Clarke said the civil unrest had laid bare an urgent need for penal reform to stop reoffending among “a feral underclass, cut off from the mainstream in everything but its materialism”. Writing in the Guardian, Clarke dismisses criticism of the severity of sentences handed down to rioters and said judges had been “getting it about right”. However, he adds that punishment alone was “not enough”. “It’s not yet been widely recognised, but the hardcore of the rioters were in fact known criminals. Close to three quarters of those aged 18 or over charged with riot offences already had a prior conviction. That is the legacy of a broken penal system – one whose record in preventing reoffending has been straightforwardly dreadful.” – the Guardian

Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke has blamed last month’s riots on a ‘broken penal system’ that has failed to rehabilitate what he describes as the hardcore ‘criminal classes’. He revealed that almost 75 per cent of those aged over 18 charged with offences committed during the riots had prior convictions. Mr Clarke said reform was vital to prevent reoffending among ‘a feral underclass, cut off from the mainstream in everything but its materialism’. He also expressed concern at ‘the instinctive criminal behaviour of apparently random passers-by’. His remarks will be seen as bitterly ironic by right-wing Tory MPs, who blame the Justice Secretary for threatening their party’s reputation on law and order with a series of ‘soft sentencing’ policy proposals, which had to be overruled by Downing Street. – Daily Mail

Cameras to be let in the courts

David Cameron is expected to pave the way for the move in a speech on crime planned for later this month. The televised coverage is expected to be limited and will not allow cameras to record witnesses giving evidence. Television cameras are currently banned from most courts in England and Wales, although the proceedings of the new Supreme Court can be broadcast. It is understood cameras will first be allowed in to the court of appeal. That move could be announced today, but the Government is keen to expand it to other courts and is in talks with the judiciary on how that might work. Lord Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions, backed the move, comparing it to the broadcasting of parliament. “I’ve been a supporter of this for years,” he said. Baroness Kennedy QC, a human rights lawyer, has argued that cameras would distort trials. – the Telegraph

Lawson invited to join UKIP

With impeccable timing, the UKIP leader Nigel Farage today wrote to the former chancellor Lord Lawson to invite him to join his party. Farage fired off a letter after Lawson called on David Cameron to use any future EU treaty negotiations, in the wake of the crisis in the Eurozone, to call for an end to greater European integration. This is what Farage says: “Nigel Lawson has come to the conclusion that the very approach of the EU is against Britain’s interests, and is calling for the concept of ‘Ever Closer Union’ to be struck from the Treaty. He calls for a new Constitution that makes explicit the limits of EU power. He is also wise enough to know that his proposals have not a cat in hells chance of being accepted by the other 26 countries of the European Union. What Lord Lawson leaves unspoken is what happens when inevitably the EU rejects his idea. If the changes he calls for are not made, then Britain must reserve the right to leave the moribund European Union and strike out as a free-trading good neighbour of the European Union.” – the Guardian

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UNCUT: Give us a Barnett formula for the North to match the Marshall plan we have for the South

05/09/2011, 09:09:24 AM

by Kevin Meagher

“Power, wealth and opportunity” should be “in the hands of the many, not the few” intones Clause Four (Section Four) of the Labour party constitution. An admirable sentiment and one that we could usefully start by applying to our unbalanced and dysfunctional national economy.

No, this isn’t a moan about the iniquities of the Barnett formula, which was revealed last week to shower a fifth more public spending on Scotland than England.

For those of us living north of the Wash, our beef is not with our Caledonian neighbours, but our Southern English brethren. Yes, the problem is our old friend the North/ South divide; that drag anchor that mars all efforts to deliver the wise words emblazoned on the back of our membership cards.

You can see why, when the unemployment rate in the South East is now half that of the North East. The TUC estimates that there are 158,000 fewer jobs now than there were on the eve of the recession in December 2007. During that time, the North West and Yorkshire and Humber regions have lost 60,000 jobs apiece. London, on the other hand, has actually seen 122,000 more jobs created.

Meanwhile the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s latest quarterly labour market outlook found a stark differential in business confidence, with employers in the South expecting to increase staffing levels over the next three months, while those in the North predict further job cuts.

The government’s response to this glaring asymmetry? The department of business has just confirmed that it has only managed to green-light one out of fifty approved bids to its new regional growth fund, the scheme designed to bolster the private sector in those regions most reliant on the public sector (and therefore most exposed to cuts). Yet even if all its projects were up and running, this £1.4bn pot amounts to just a third of what Labour’s regional development agencies were spending.

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UNBOUND: Monday News Review

05/09/2011, 06:03:57 AM

Ed to re-write clause I

Ed Miliband is to propose rewriting the Labour party’s 93-year-old founding principles, amending clause I of its constitution to explicitly put the principles of community organising at its heart. In the first redrafting of the party’s clauses in 17 years since Tony Blair famously scrapped clause IV, which until then had committed Labour to a programme of mass nationalisation, Miliband hopes to get party support for his wider ambitions for the party, which have so far been controversial with union leaders. The proposal, contained in the Refounding Labour document, which has been drawn up by Peter Hain, chair of the national policy forum, would also insert into the new clause I the statement that Labour is “a force for social justice”. The new clause would say the party exists to “bring together members and supporters who share its values to develop policies, make communities stronger through collective action and support, and promote the election of Labour representatives at all levels of the democratic process”. A leaked version of the speech David Miliband planned to make if he had become Labour leader shows the former foreign secretary would also have pushed for a new clause I. An attempt by Labour to try to make itself a movement with broader appeal is particularly acute as the parties all await a report into funding due to be published in October by the committee on standards in public life. – the Guardian

Clegg blocks profit making free schools

The Guardian today claims Tory education secretary Michael Gove had hoped to allow free schools to make profits in the government’s second term and quotes a supporter of Gove as saying “Gove has never had an ideological issue with profit in schools, whereas Clegg is ruling it out for ideological reasons.” Meanwhile, Fraser Nelson writes in the Spectator that some of David Cameron’s allies are “…keen to fit rocket boosters under the free schools programme – and that means including profit-seeking groups like Cognita and International Free Schools.” If Nick Clegg does indeed have a ‘victory’ in blocking the proposal it will be one of the deputy prime minister’s most significant achievement in office. More significantly, the cat is now out of the bag on free schools: the Tories do see free schools as a vehicle to turn schooling into business. What is surprising is that people ever doubted this. For free schools to be anything other than an expensive fad, with just a handful of schools run by charities, parents or as publicity seeking exercises for the likes of Toby Young, it is logical they would have to become profit-making. Michael Gove’s free schools policy was based on the free schools programme in Sweden, where the government’s initial plan was that free schools would either be set up by parents or charities. – Left Foot Forward

The deputy prime minister is to open up a new front in his disagreements with the education secretary, Michael Gove, criticising the recent decision by the Tories to heap responsibility for children’s development on to teachers. Nick Clegg‘s aides believe the Conservatives have placed too much emphasis on teachers as arbiters of authority over children in the wake of last month’s riots. In a speech to teachers and pupils, Clegg will say: “We already expect our teachers to be social workers, child psychologists, nutritionists, child protection officers. We expect them to police the classroom, take care of our children’s health, counsel our sons and daughters, guide them, worry about them – and on top of that, educate them too.” Clegg’s comments come as his party claimed to have reined in Gove’s desire to allow his free schools programme to become profit-making, and that any new wave of free schools had to be in deprived areas. In response to this Lib Dem assertion, Gove refused to rule out profit-making schools as a possibility in the future. – the Guardian

Performance pay myth

The rise in remuneration came despite a 71pc decline in average year-end share prices, according to a report by the High Pay Commission (HPC). The findings claim to lay bare the “myth” of performance pay as salary growth “bears no relation” to market capitalisation, earnings per share or pre-tax profit growth, the HPC claimed. Performance pay scales have escalated dramatically in the past decade. Lead executives now collect a bonus worth 90pc of their salary if they hit performance targets, compared to 48pc in 2002. At the same time, the base salary from which performance pay is calculated has risen 64pc. Deborah Hargreaves, chair of the HPC, said: “The evidence exposes the myth that big bonuses and high salaries result in better company performances. There has been massive growth in what has been termed as performance related pay, yet no such corresponding leap forward in company performance.” The findings of the report have reopened the row over boardroom pay in Britain’s biggest companies. Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC union, said: “Runaway pay at the top is not just unfair but helped cause the crash.” – the Telegraph

Fatcat bosses have seen their bonuses shoot up by a whopping 187 per cent in the past 10 years while the rest of the country struggles with pay freezes, it was revealed yesterday. With flagrant disregard for Government warnings to cut such payments in the wake of the banking collapse, top earners are continuing to pay themselves bigger and bigger bonuses. The report, by the High Pay Commission, shows the average annual bonus for a FTSE 100 director has increased by 187 per cent in a decade, while the average year-end share prices declined by 71 per cent. This inconsistency exposes the myth of the usual claims that excessive high pay is a reward for companies performing strongly. Finance analysts say there can be only one reason: Greed. The report shows that executives’ greed is growing. In 2002 the median maximum grant of shares that a FTSE 100 lead executive could be awarded was 100 per cent of salary. By 2010, this had risen to 200 per cent. – the Express

Ex Iceland PM faces charges for banking collapse

The dust from Iceland’s spectacular financial disaster — the failure of its three biggest banks and then the collapse of its economy in the fall of 2008 — had barely begun to settle when the country set about finding someone to blame. The bankers, surely: a government-appointed special prosecutor has named more than 200 people as official suspects in a case that appears bound to result in criminal charges. The politicians, certainly: voters expressed their disgust with the long-governing Independence Party by ousting it in the 2009 elections. But the desire for justice and retribution is deep and complicated, and Iceland has taken an unusual step in the strange annals of the world financial crisis: it is pursuing criminal charges against a politician, former Prime Minister Geir Haarde, for his government’s failure to avert the catastrophe. – New York Times

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GRASSROOTS: Who’s the nasty party now?

04/09/2011, 12:30:34 PM

by David Talbot

As Tory activists gathered in Bournemouth in October 2002, for what was regarded as a critical make-or-break conference for Iain Duncan Smith, few were thinking about his newly appointed chairwoman, Theresa May. But whilst Duncan Smith was wasting everyone’s time, meekly proclaiming himself “the quiet man” of politics, May delivered a speech to a stunned audience that would have profound ramifications for British politics.

In a particularly hard-hitting passage, May said it was time for the Conservatives to face up to the “uncomfortable truth” about the way they were perceived by the public as the “nasty party”. Her description of a party that had sunk into corruption, incestuous feuding and outright bigotry, was devastating precisely because it was accurate. If you didn’t dislike the Conservatives, you simply weren’t trying.

It left an indelible mark on the party. Cameron’s entire strategy, since his election as leader in 2005, could been summed up by self-conscious efforts at “decontamination”. Hence an acceptance of the critique from the left about the party, and total and absolute submission to their fundamental framing of the terms of British political debate. Cameron didn’t get to be leader of his party without grasping, from personal and political experience, that the 21st century Tories could never afford, whatever other battles they might be prepared to fight, to be seen as the nasty party. And Labour desperately wants to revive this sobriquet that Cameron spent years of his leadership escaping.

Jonathan Powell in The New Machiavelli: How to Wield Power in the Modern World, weaves the maxims of the legendary Florentine civil servant to the proceedings he witnessed as Blair’s chief of staff in Downing Street from 1997-2007. It’s part of a surge of well-researched books relating to the disturbing saga of the politics at the top of the Labour party that was so unspeakably vicious that it interfered with the business of government. Read the rest of this entry »

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UNBOUND: Sunday News Review

04/09/2011, 06:29:12 AM

At each other’s throats

Gordon Brown repeatedly pressured Alistair Darling to change his economic forecasts almost from the outset of his premiership, it has emerged. As the former chancellor prepared to publish his memoir, Back from the Brink, former government insiders revealed the full extent of the split between the two men at the top of the Labour administration. From the autumn of 2007, as Brown agonised over whether to call a snap general election, Darling faced interference from Number 10 as he drew up his first pre-budget report, with the prime minister’s allies urging him to play down the risks of an economic slowdown in the wake of the collapse of Northern Rock. Northern Rock’s bosses blamed “extreme conditions” in the markets for the bank’s collapse, but Brown and Darling clashed over how hard the turmoil would hit the wider economy. Darling feared the impact would be severe, but Brown was determined to stick to the line that the “fundamentals” remained sound. Former insiders say Brown, who had kept Treasury officials on a tight rein during his tenure as chancellor, wanted Darling to overrule his cautious civil servants. “Gordon never understood why Alistair didn’t have the authority over his civil servants that he had,” one source told the Observer. The pre-budget report of October 2007 predicted that GDP would expand by 2% to 2.5% in 2008 as the UK shrugged off the effects of the credit crunch. In the event, it contracted by 0.1%. – the Observer

Gordon Brown came close to sacking his Chancellor, Alistair Darling, five times, senior Labour figures reveal today. The bombshell disclosure comes on the eve of a new book by Mr Darling about his relationship with the “brutal” and “volcanic” ex-PM. Mr Darling writes that he saw off a bid by the PM to replace him in 2009 with Mr Brown’s key ally, Ed Balls. And Labour sources have told the Sunday Mirror that he considered sacking Mr Darling five times in his almost three years as PM. The first doubts surfaced in 2008 when Mr Brown was unconvinced Mr Darling could handle the financial crisis, say senior Labour party officials. Mr Brown seriously considered sacking Mr Darling a second time in an October 2008 Cabinet reshuffle which saw the return of Lord Mandelson and key allies like “enforcer” Nick Brown. The third attempt – confirmed by Mr Darling in Back from the Brink: 1,000 Days at Number 11 – came in June 2009 when Cabinet Minister James Purnell quit after poor local election results. Mr Brown also thought about knifing his fellow Scot twice more in late 2009 and early 2010. – the Mirror

Scottish Tories could disband

Dramatic plans to disband the Tories north of the border were unveiled by the front-runner for its leadership in a move one senior party figure warned could encourage the break-up of the United Kingdom. Mr Cameron – who is spending the weekend in Scotland – faces the prospect of being the first British Prime Minister whose party has no Scottish MPs. Murdo Fraser, who is favourite to become leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, will announce that he plans to wind up the party if he wins a ballot of members next month. He would follow disbanding the party by launching a new Right-of-centre party that would contest all Scottish elections — council, Scottish Parliament and Westminster. Mr Fraser, a member of the Scottish Parliament, believes the Conservatives have become a “toxic brand” in Scotland since losing all 11 of their Commons seats in the 1997 Labour landslide. – the Telegraph

Tory leadership favourite Murdo Fraser is to launch a bid to scrap the current Scottish Conservative party and transform it into a distinct Scottish identity that is free from London control. The contest for the party leadership is to take a dramatic twist tomorrow with Fraser seeking a mandate to replace the party north of the Border with an alternative bearing a new name in the hope that a radical new approach will attract new members and voters. Fraser, currently deputy leader, believes that the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party brand is now so toxic that it cannot be revived in its current form and will argue that the best way to fight the SNP is to rebrand it as a new progressive tax-lowering party that is separate from David Cameron’s Westminster Tories. His plan has been discussed with senior London Conservatives, close to Cameron, who are sympathetic to the idea that something truly radical has to be done to break the centre-left consensus that has seen the SNP and Labour dominate Scottish politics. – the Scotsman

Chaos in the NHS

The future of the government’s health reforms has been plunged into fresh doubt as the Liberal Democrat peer Shirley Williams raises new concerns, and secret emails reveal plans to hand over the running of up to 20 hospitals to overseas companies. The revelations come as MPs prepare to return to Westminster on Tuesday for what promises to be a crucial stage of the flagship health and social care bill. Baroness Williams, one of the original leaders of a Lib Dem rebellion against health secretary Andrew Lansley’s plans – who appeared to have been pacified after changes were made over the summer – said she had new doubts, having re-examined the proposals. “Despite the great efforts made by Nick Clegg and Paul Burstow [the Lib Dem health minister], I still have huge concerns about the bill. The battle is far from over,” she said. Writing in Sunday’s Observer, Williams raises a series of issues that she says must be addressed. Chief among them is a legal doubt as to whether the secretary of state will any longer be bound to deliver “a comprehensive health service for the people of England, free at the point of need”. Some critics of Lansley believe the Tories are bent on a mission to privatise the NHS, gradually handing it to the private sector. They fear that moves to end the legal obligation on the secretary of state to deliver comprehensive services may be a deliberate part of the process. – the Observer

The political row over the coalition’s NHS reforms will wipe out hundreds of millions of pounds in planned cost savings, which will have to be found in further cuts elsewhere, ministers will be forced to admit this week. The rewriting of Andrew Lansley’s flagship plan to hand GPs control of £80bn in health spending is expected to mean projected benefits are downgraded by up to 10 per cent, putting in jeopardy a fiercely ambitious target to save £20bn by 2015. As a result, recruitment freezes will become more widespread, waiting lists are already on the rise and moves will be made to cut hospital stays, drugs bills and back-office staff. Under Mr Lansley’s original proposals, the changes were projected to secure £5bn in savings over this Parliament, and £1.7bn a year after that. But a new impact assessment, taking into account concessions to the Liberal Democrats, doctors’ leaders and patients groups, could slash that total by up to 10 per cent. – the Independent

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UNCUT: Blue Labour goes global

02/09/2011, 10:18:06 AM

by Jonathan Todd

Blue Labour seems less in fashion than previously. It was never the answer to every challenge facing Labour. But it does have contributions to make to Labour’s renewal. Whatever it is, blue Labour seems defiantly rooted in our country and the traditions which have shaped and continue to comfort and inspire its people. Global and jet-set it isn’t.

It feels odd, therefore, to see the core motivations of a creed as unabashedly Anglo-Saxon as Britpop reflected back in the protests convulsing India and Israel. These protests, like blue Labour, are, fundamentally, about rejecting contemporary materialism for the perceived morality and communality of exalted past eras: the dignity of Gandhi’s India; the solidarity of the Israeli kibbutz; and the warm embrace of the Labour party before the middle class dilettantes stole it from the working class. It’s easy to be cynical. There were, of course, no golden ages. But it’s what blue Labour and the protests say about the present that is most interesting.

Tobias Buck recently observed in the Financial Times that 250,000 Israelis have taken to the streets calling for social reform. He described them as ranging “from students to pensioners, and Holocaust survivors to taxi drivers” and as “perhaps the most serious challenge yet to the government of Benjamin Netanyahu”. He went on: “Many Israelis, regardless of their wealth and social status, say they still long for a return to the years when the country was less materialistic and more egalitarian. Even in cosmopolitan Tel Aviv, the ideals of the kibbutz live on”.

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UNBOUND: Friday News Review

02/09/2011, 06:17:33 AM

In it for the long hall

David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy have emphasised the on going commitment of Nato to the conflict in Libya. Speaking at a press conference at the end of the Paris summit, the Prime Minister expressed his pride in what British and allied forces had accomplished as part of Nato’s mission to stop Gaddafi’s attacks. However, he also emphasised that “it is the Libyan People who are responsible for the liberation.” “We pay tribute to your bravery and to the many who have lost their lives or been injured,” he said. Cameron also outlined three key commitments to the National Transitional Council, including the implementation of the UN resolutions by Nato and its allies, a commitment to international law, and a pledge to support the NTC in their aims to implement a democratic transition. “Freedom in Tripoli has brought to light unspeakable crimes,” he said. “These crimes must be investigated and the guilty brought to justice.” Both Cameron and President Sarkozy expressed gratitude to the Arab states that took part in the Nato coalition. – Huffington Post

Nato will remain on a war footing in the skies over Libya until the last remnants of the Gaddafi regime have been defeated, European diplomats have said. World leaders are converging on Paris on Thursday for a Friends of Libya summit intended to acclaim the National Transitional Council (NTC) as the country’s new interim government, and mark a pivot point in the international community’s efforts in Libya from war to reconstruction. The leaders will discuss a new UN security council resolution which will endorse the new status quo, lifting the sanctions regime on Libya to allow the NTC to get access to over $100bn (£62bn) in state assets frozen abroad since the start of the conflict, while handing the United Nations the lead international role in rebuilding the country. However, the NTC’s western backers, led by France, Britain and the US, want to continue Nato’s legal mandate to conduct military operations in Libya laid down in UN resolution 1973. The resolution, agreed in March, allows the alliance to use “all necessary measures”, short of deploying ground troops, to protect civilians. – the Guardian

Soft on knife crime

Only one in every five yobs caught with a knife is given a prison sentence, figures revealed yesterday. Despite David Cameron’s vow to get tough on armed thugs, most are given community punishments or cautions. Between April and June, 5,190 criminals were caught carrying a knife or other offensive weapon in England and Wales. Court statistics show that 1,024 of them – 20 per cent – were given an immediate jail term, the lowest proportion since 2008. Sentencing guidelines suggest that judges should jail for 12 weeks anyone caught with a knife, but this can be reduced for those who plead guilty or claim mitigating factors. Before winning power, the Tories said everyone caught with a knife would be sent to prison. But Justice Secretary Ken Clarke scrapped the policy to help take pressure off the prisons budget. – Daily Mail

Nearly one in four people caught carrying knives in the three months to the end of June was let off with a caution. And a third of those prosecuted for the offence received only a community service sentence, according to latest statistics. The Tory-led Government has said anybody convicted of possessing a knife should expect to be sent to prison. Most of those who were jailed were sentenced to just three months or less, the Ministry of Justice figures showed. Just 1,024 of the 5,190 offenders sentenced – 20 per cent – were jailed, down from 21% in the same period last year. The proportion of knife carriers locked up is now at its lowest in three years. Shadow Justice Secretary Sadiq Khan said: “David Cameron promised that anyone caught carrying a knife could expect a jail term. He broke that promise.” – Daily Mirror

Stealing from the poor to save the rich

Hospitals will be forced to treat wealthy foreigners to raise cash rather than treat poor patients as they are hit by cuts to the NHS budget and the government’s radical pro-market reforms, the leader of Britain’s doctors has warned. In an interview with the Guardian, Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the British Medical Association, predicted the government’s health and social care bill would see the NHS being rebuilt on a “philosophy that relies on a market-based health system rather like the one we see in the United States. “There, those who pay or are insured get a better service than those who do not and rely on state-funded Medicare. Until now our system has been built on social solidarity where patients get appropriate treatment in the appropriate time.” He said the government was forcing all hospitals to become foundation trusts and these would be gearing up to lure private patients from home and abroad as budgets were squeezed. This decision, he argued, would only be possible because the government plans to abolish the cap limiting the proportion of total income hospitals can earn from the paying sick. – the Guardian

Thomas’s challenge

Labour needs to sharpen its appeal in the crucial commuter land around London which could decide the next general election, Ed Miliband has been warned by one of his own frontbenchers. Gareth Thomas called on Labour to target the “suburban Sarahs and Simons” and “commuting Christophers and Chloes” in the 107 constituencies in outer London and near the M25 motorway, which include a high concentration of key marginals. In a stark message to Labour, he says it will not regain power on the back of opposition to spending cuts or the Coalition’s mistakes. YouGov, which carried out polling and focus groups for the report, found that 53 per cent of voters in this “outer metropolitan area” think Labour “used to care about the concerns of people like me”, but only 30 per cent believe the party still cares about them. For the Conservatives, the figures are 33 and 30 per cent respectively, a much smaller drop. “Whilst there are many marginal seats around the country, it is in London’s commuter belt that Labour needs to win more marginal seats if it is to return to power and where the battle for the hearts and minds of electors will be particularly tough,” Mr Thomas said. – the Independent

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UNCUT: Ed’s not that daft – but we didn’t know that

01/09/2011, 12:00:37 PM

by Dan Hodges

False alarm. Stand down.

Ed Miliband is not going to start attacking the government for being too harsh on rioting arsonists. There will be no call for a blanket amnesty for illegal migrants. Or for benefit fraudsters.

The Woodward memo, a sort of stamped and self-addressed Zinoviev letter, certainly caused a bit of a flap. “Labour’s new line of attack on David Cameron revealed”, exclaimed the Observer. “The opposition believes the prime minister has abandoned the centre ground in recent months to adopt a more orthodox conservative stance on issues such as law and order, immigration and welfare”. “Labour’s new strategy will highlight the Conservatives’ most popular policies”, reported Conservative Home, gleefully adding, “We’re not making this up”.

Well, they were to an extent. “It’s not a strategy document”, said one Labour insider, “it’s an assessment of where Cameron and the Tories are. It provides analysis but it doesn’t advocate a line of attack”.

That statement is certainly borne out by the sections printed in the Observer. Woodward’s document is heavy on psychoanalysis, but light on prescription:

“Analysis of Tory party policy, carried out over the summer, convincingly demonstrates the Conservatives are shifting to a distinctly rightwing strategy, in both their chosen focus on issues and their solutions… Cameron clearly recognises some of the danger he faces in his repositioning. He is still seeking to separate himself out from a toxic Tory brand and has assumed a presidential role and style”. Read the rest of this entry »

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UNBOUND: Thursday News Review

01/09/2011, 05:59:16 AM

Kick in the teeth for our best and bravest

Almost 500 RAF personnel will be told on Thursday that they are to be forced out of their jobs when the Ministry of Defence sets out the first details of its controversial redundancy programme aimed at reshaping Britain’s armed forces. The Gurkhas have also been hit hard, with infantrymen from the historic Nepalese brigade making up most of those in the army who will be told that they have been selected for compulsory redundancy. The announcement is likely to reopen bitter arguments about cuts to the defence budget that are being pushed through even though the UK is committed to fighting the insurgency in Afghanistan and has been asked to play a lead role in Libya. It will also spur on those who have demanded the government reconsiders the main conclusions of last year’s strategic defence and security review (SDSR) – calls that the defence secretary, Liam Fox, has dismissed outright. – the Guardian

Gurkhas will be among the first members of the British army to be made redundant as part of cuts to the defence budget. There will be 260 complusory redundancies in the army and among them will be 140 members of the 3,500 strong Brigade of Gurkhas. About 920 soldiers and 930 RAF personnel will be told they are being made redundant, 750 of them against their will. The cuts are being implemented to the Gurkha regiment after a change to their terms of service which put them on the same footing as the rest of the army. The Ministry of Defence, however, says he expects some of the Gurkhas facing redundancy to transfer to other regiments who are below strength. Those serving with the RAF on the front line in Libya and Afghanistan will be exempt from the cuts, however ground support and operational staff are at risk. – Sky News

Ed calls for quivker G20 action

The G20 group of leading world economies are due to meet in France in early November but Mr Miliband says it is clear the economic recovery has “stalled” and more prompt action is needed. Writing in the FT, Mr Miliband said the prime minister should press French President Nicolas Sarkozy for an earlier meeting when they hold talks at a Anglo-Frech summit on Libya on Thursday. As it currently holds the G20 presidency, France determines when meetings take place. In recent weeks, there have been a succession of warnings from key figures that the world economy is fragile and much more co-ordinated action is required to prevent a repeat of the 2009 global slowdown triggered by the banking crisis. But although IMF head Christine Lagarde said immediate action was required to boost economic growth, US central bank head Ben Bernanke signalled no immediate steps to stimulate demand. – BBC News

David Cameron is “standing on the sidelines” instead of tackling the latest wave of global economic turmoil, Ed Miliband has said. The Labour leader called on the Prime Minister to press for an early meeting of the G20 group of wealthy nations to address the crisis. He challenged the assertion made by Chancellor George Osborne that the UK was a “safe haven”, claiming it was “naive” to believe the UK was immune from the problems.” Mr Miliband said he was concerned by reports that splits within the Government and pressure from the banks could delay reform of the financial sector. “Neither should be used as an excuse for failing to deliver the change we need,” he said. In a bleak assessment of the global economy, Mr Miliband said the recovery which appeared to be taking hold a year ago “has now stalled”. – Press Association

Common sense at last

The Prime Minister and Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, will vote against the proposals put forward by pro-life groups and campaigning MPs, The Daily Telegraph can disclose. Their opposition follows claims that ministers were preparing to change long-established rules on advice given to pregnant women. The matter will still be debated in the Commons, but No?10 made it clear for the first time that Mr Cameron would vote against the amendments to the Health Bill tabled by Nadine Dorries, a backbench Tory MP. Downing Street sources said that the proposed amendments would “exclude proper choice”. It is understood that senior Liberal Democrats including Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, were angry at suggestions that the Department of Health was prepared to back the changes which would introduce a mandatory obligation on abortion clinics to offer women access to independent counselling, to be run on separate premises by a group which does not itself carry out abortions. – Daily Telegraph

Cameron’s ‘real’ U-turn

David Cameron was forced to make yet another hasty retreat yesterday – fortunately for the country, he was only reversing a Mini. The Prime Minister was behind the wheel of the 2,000,000th new-look Mini off the production line at a plant in Cowley, Oxford. He was meant to steer the silver motor on to the assembly area floor. But true to form, the MP for nearby Witney overshot his mark and was forced to back-track and try again. Mr Cameron told workers: “Minis have been a fantastic success story, not just for Oxford but for the UK. For me personally, it’s a bit of a thrill because I don’t get to drive any more, even though it was only 20 yards.” – Daily Mirror

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UNCUT: It was the Tories that broke Britain

31/08/2011, 03:43:55 PM

by Kevin Meagher

What was Labour’s problem with the concept of “broken Britain”?

The weekend before last, Tony Blair became the latest Labour voice to scoff at the “high-faluting wail” about a country that has “lost its way”.

Granted, the offending phrase is the offspring of David Cameron, and his erstwhile chums at News International, so comes preloaded to cause disdain to some on the left.

But we, too, used to believe Britain was broken. We used to endlessly criticise the “divided society” of “haves and have-nots” created in the 80s and 90s.

We were right to do so. This Britain was definitely broken when we took over in 1997. No question. We made a good start in fixing it: the minimum wage, tax credits, child benefit rises and investment in public services. Things, to coin a phrase, could only get better.

By 2001 our election slogan was “a lot done, a lot to do”. We recognised that there was still a mountain to climb in piecing our broken society back together. The legacy of 18 years of Conservative rule, was that whole communities and parts of the country had been reduced to a tightly-wound ball of social and economic problems that did not unpick easily. Read the rest of this entry »

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