For the Coalition, localism means little more than trying to localise the blame for their decision to make the cuts faster and deeper than is necessary or wise. The threat to our communities places a responsibility on Labour councils to try and strengthen our community’s resilience to withstand the damaging cuts. While we must campaign against unfair cuts, we must also show that we are able to turn our values into new ideas that offer the hope of a fairer future.
Ed Miliband in his campaign office
Yesterday we took your questions to Ed Miliband. Speaking from his campaign office, incidentally run from the same building Brown used for his 2007 leadership campaign, Ed Miliband is gearing up for the remaining weeks of the campaign with a team of volunteers he is particularly proud of.
He was particularly pleased with his campaign’s appeal to younger party members. But who’s the Babe Ruth of the Labour Party? Covering that, his comments on marriage equality, the nuclear industry, Clem Attlee and more, Ed was next up for the Labour Uncut crowdsourcing hotseat.
Q. (from Jae): Following Ed Balls and Diane Abbott announcing their support for marriage equality, will he retract his comments about there not being enough people calling for it and come out in support of LGBT equality?
A. My position on this is pretty simple, which is that we did a consultation in the run up to the manifesto, and it wasn’t raised with me as an issue. But obviously if it’s something that is felt to be an important issue, I understand absolutely the reasons for that, then it’s something we should definitely look at. And I’m very happy to say that and I completely understand and sympathise with the wish for equality in this area.
A bit of brotherly love from both Milibands at hustings
The Leadership
“It’s easy for me – it’s not on all issues that blood is thicker than water, but I only have one brother standing,” said David Miliband. “I nominated Diane but I fear I would disappoint her (when the votes are cast).” His brother Ed responded: “I would nominate David – I think his qualities speak for themselves but obviously he would be a fantastic leader.” Diane Abbott summed up: “You can see their mum has got them in line on this. Canary Wharf hustings – Docklands 24.
Normally in a Labour leadership election people like us either profess disinterest (or, possibly, even uninterest), or make jokes about intrusions into private grief. I think it would be unwise to be so flippant. I have never set foot in a bookmaker’s in my life, but were I that sort of person, I would be seeing what odds I could get on Ed Miliband’s being prime minister this time next year. Oh, I know he’s the less famous one, and it has been decreed that the Coalition is going to last five years: but stranger things have happened. Therefore, we might take notice of what the Labour Party, in what the media represent as being a quiet period in its fortunes, is up to. – The Telegraph.
Recently, my conversations with Labour party members have transformed solely in to yet more opportunities to preach the 40 year plight of the Chagossians and how at fault our party has been and still is. This sordid tale, remarkably, is unknown to most of the people I’ve been speaking to (as it was to me a few months ago) but after sharing the history, there is unanimous support for their cause and dismay at our policy that has caused a four decade long abuse of human rights. So here’s the story:
In the early 1960’s, the US government, concerned about Soviet expansion in the Indian Ocean, asked the British government to find an uninhabited island where the US could build a naval base. Returning the favour, the US would be willing to give $14 million in research and development fees for Britain’s Polaris missile program. The first island located was Aldabra, near Madagascar. Aldabra fitted the bill in terms of it’s location and vitally it was uninhabited. However, the island was a breeding ground for a rare species of tortoise and their mating habits may have been affected by a military base. Looking for an alternative, the US decided on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos Archipelago. This had the benefit of leaving tortoise mating undisturbed but the island was home to 1,800 Chagossians, or Ilois, who had inhabited the islands for over 200 years. The Chagossians were employed, grew their own food and fished and had built their own stores and a church. However, the courtesy for tortoises evidently didn’t apply to human beings. The government soon began a campaign to deal with the “population problem” to “maintain the pretense there [are] no permanent inhabitants.” This appalling attitude persisted and rather than seeing Diego Garcia as the society it was, it was regarded as a nuisance, summed up by the British diplomat Dennis Greenhill who said: “unfortunately along with the birds go some few Tarzans or Man Fridays whose origins are obscure and who are hopefully being wished on to Mauritius.”
The management of drug misuse featured briefly in the leaders debates when David Cameron seemed to say that everyone should go into residential rehabilation, so it is no surprise that the Coalition seems to be trying to steer treatment policy.
The National Treatment Agency, a Special Health Authority giving advice on the management of illicit drug misuse, has new business plan that suggests that substitute treatment, usually with methadone or buprenorphine, should be time limited with patients “moved on” after a year or two. As ever, their choice of words is revealing – they talk of patients being “parked” on methadone. We don’t hear people complaining of diabetics being “parked” on metformin or insulin do we?
Up here in Scotland we have heard a lot of similar ill informed rhetoric for a long time now. “Research” has shown that if you ask heroin addicts if they wish to recover and not be addicted to any drugs they nearly all say yes. Who would have thought it? This leads some people to say that patients treated with substitute drugs cannot be said to have recovered even if they are doing well and free of illicit drugs.
"This isn’t just Red Ken anymore; it’s Green Ken, Pink Ken; Ken the chameleon."
When I heard Ken would be standing for Labour as London Mayor in 2012, I was thrilled. It didn’t even occur to me that there may be an alternative contender. But now the pantomime of Oh Yes We Kens and Oona You Cants has started, I feel we need a reminder of why Ken’s still the man for the job.
I’m too young to remember Red Ken. Ken, the maverick leader of the GLC, reviled by Thatcher and hailed by the unions. But I do remember King Ken: trouper of the Thames; boss of the bendy bus; guardian of a truly Greater London.
In all of his 8 years as mayor, Ken transformed the city. He encouraged sustainable lifestyles with the congestion charge, a hugely extended bus service, low emissions zone and London Energy Partnership. Livingstone testified his commitment to public transport at a lower cost in his fight against PPP, his plans for the Cross-rail scheme and a reduced price service for students and OAPs.
Contrast this with London since Boris took over: fares have sky-rocketed across public transport; train line expansion is under threat; the western extension of the congestion charge has been scrapped. While inner-city London dwellers are penalised, wealthier commuters get a cheaper deal.
Forming dual ventures with Eco Cities in China, Ken lead the way towards London becoming Europe’s green capital. If re-elected, Ken will protect London’s green belt while extending affordable housing projects, something the city has seen slashed since 2008. He also pledges to improve insulation in every building in London over ten years.
Ken champions diversity. He pioneered London’s anti-racism and Muslim, Jewish and International festivals, and oversaw the reduction of racial attacks in London by a third. Ken also did a remarkable job of uniting the city after the tragic 7/7 bombings with his We Are Londoners campaign.
Iraqi trade union leaders who leave the country to attend international events could be arrested when they return if a new Diktat from part of the Iraqi government is enforced. It’s not in the same league as the murderous crimes of Saddam Hussein, but it’s still a monstrous attack on free trade unionism.
The Iraqi labour movement used to be the biggest between Europe and Australia and mobilised maybe half a million people at the May Day march in Baghdad in 1959. The population of Iraq was then about ten million which illustrates the tremendous social and political weight of the movement and its contemporary potential.
Saddam crushed the unions and civil society as a whole. In 1987 public sector unions were banned in a country dominated by the state. Only a few hundred exiled and clandestine activists were left when he was overthrown in 2003.
Miliband: beating contenders
Leadership Candidate Visibility
‘Despite his rivals efforts to make inroads – particularly Ed Balls who seems to be constantly popping up on tv and radio – David Miliband’s support is rock solid and there is no serious money being invested on any of his fellow contenders’ –William Hill
Many of those who do may have listened to Mr Balls’s speech and been enchanted by it. It may certainly have appealed to their lower instincts. It may have tickled their viscera. And for this reason we can conclude that Mr Balls had a good day, awful though he may have been. The simple fact was that he was on his hind hooves, bulging his eyes in parliamentary prime time while none of his leadership opponents was to be seen or heard. – Daily Mail.
Miliband in Scotland
Labour will never form another UK Government unless it revives in southern England. The stark assessment comes from David Miliband as the Labour leadership contender tries to get to grips with the public’s rejection of New Labour, now consigned to the history books and to be replaced by what some have dubbed, somewhat unimaginatively, Next Labour, which Miliband says can be relaunched from Scotland. –Herald Scotland.
Labour leadership contender David Miliband has condemned the decision to release the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing as clearly wrong. His comments in an exclusive interview in The Herald today represent a dramatic change in his previous position on Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi’s release on medical grounds. – Herald Scotland.
Ed Miliband: finding a voice on Big Society
Big Society
Labour was today quick to dismiss the prime minister’s pledge to deliver the “most dramatic redistribution of power from elites in Whitehall to the man and woman on the street”. This is what Ed Miliband told Radio 4: “This is essentially a 19th century or US-style view of our welfare state which is cut back the welfare state and somehow civic society will thrive.” – The Guardian on Big Society.
Graduate Tax
Vince Cable, and according to Cable, the prime minister and the chancellor; the universities minister, David Willetts; the NUS and all Labour leadership contenders except David Miliband. –The Guardian on Graduate Tax Supporters.
In a letter to the climate secretary Chris Huhne, former climate secretary Ed Miliband called on the government to to stand up against “free-market zealots” and restore funding for green industries. “After helping to lead the debate in changing the balance of our economy in a more sustainable direction, you are now turning your back on green industry and risk undermining the UK’s growing reputation around the world for leadership in this field,” he wrote. “You claimed to be the ‘greenest government ever’ but so far you are turning your back on green jobs and green industry.” – The Guardian.
Abbott
Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP Diane Abbott has called on the Government to continue its aid efforts for Haiti. Ms Abbott tabled an Early Day Motion and requested a meeting with ministers to discuss how further help could be given to the tiny nation on the six month anniversary of the tragedy. – Hackney Gazette.
The idea of Stella and her husband, magazine publisher Alasdhair Willis, doing a Diane Abbott in reverse – dragging their children out of public schools to send them to the local state-education establishments to give them a better chance in life – is laughable. Jan Moir on Stella McCartney – Daily Mail.
The Australian federal election campaign is already proving to be a hard fought contest. Australian elections tend to be volatile and unpredictable and it is far from certain who will come out on top on 21st August. But it does look increasingly promising that the current Labor government could be returned to power – a prospect highly unlikely less than a month ago. So what’s changed? Two bold moves have pushed Labor’s poll ratings from the doldrums to an election winning (just) lead.
The first move was a change of leader. On 24th June, Kevin Rudd, the then Prime Minister resigned in the knowledge that he had fatally lost the support of the parliamentary Labor party, the Labor caucus. Julia Gillard, the then deputy prime minister, stepped up and became Australia’s first female prime minister. It was the first time the Labor caucus had removed a leader in their first term as prime minister. The move was rapid, certainly ruthless and many would say premature. Polling released the day after the coup suggest Rudd could have won the coming election. But most commentators agree that the poll lead now enjoyed by Labor is the result of the Gillard-factor.
Julia Gillard (born in Wales and citing Nye Bevan as one of her political heroes) commands wide public support. Tony Abbot (most famously known for his choice of swimwear) is the leader of the opposition (a coalition between the Liberals and the smaller National Party) and consistently lags in double figures behind Gillard in ‘preferred prime minister’ polling.
For the first time ever an Australian Prime Minister who’s not a bloke has taken the charming five minute drive from Parliament House to the Canberra residence of the Governor General and advised the Queen’s representative of a Federal election date. That in itself is a terrific thing.
Interestingly, for the first time since 1993 neither of the two main party leaders – Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott – have previously faced the people in their bid to become the nation’s leader. It’s also unprecedented that a Prime Minister has challenged and successfully deposed their first term colleague as party leader and sought their own mandate from the people only a few weeks after such a coup.
And this coming contest will be only the second August election in Australia’s history, the last being back in the 1940s. So there are quite a few rarities on offer in this 2010 Federal election, but not nearly so many predictabilities.
If there is one tried and tested way to smartly pick Australian election results at the start of the campaign, it would be to check the bookies odds. Rarely if ever do the punters end up getting it wrong. So it is some surprise to concentrate one’s attention Down Under now and find not just a swiftly changed political landscape of the post-Rudd type, but an election scene that the book makers believe Labour will dominate.
