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Thursday News Review

19/05/2011, 06:53:47 AM

The Tory mask slips…

The suggestion by his junior minister, Crispin Blunt, that rapists could have their jail sentences cut by half in return for a guilty plea, had triggered furious accusations of “soft justice”. But if the situation was bad before Mr Clarke decided to take to the airwaves to defuse the row, it was considerably worse soon afterwards as he managed, during the course of a radio interview, to suggest that some types of rape were less serious than others. The remarks triggered a “car crash” of a day, during which the Justice Secretary conducted a further two rounds of broadcast interviews in an attempt to ‘qualify’ his remarks yet succeeded only in muddying the waters even further. – Daily Telegraph

The Justice Secretary suggested in a radio interview that teenage and date rape were not “proper” offences. When he was told that “rape is rape”, he then replied: “No it’s not”. Mr Clarke, who was confronted in the street in Westminster yesterday afternoon by campaigners, then refused to apologise and said he was “astonished” by the reaction. Labour leader Ed Miliband led calls for Mr Clarke to be sacked, saying he “cannot speak for the women of this country when he makes comments like that”. He told David Cameron: “Let me say very clearly – the Justice Secretary should not be in his post at the end of today.” Mr Clarke wants to halve jail sentences for offenders who plead guilty – and in the Commons on Monday he revealed this could also apply to rapists. But during a Radio 5 Live radio interview yesterday, an attempted rape victim warned him of the dangers of an early release for sex offenders. The caller, Gabrielle, told Mr Clarke she was attacked by a man who had been released early on licence despite being convicted of six previous sex attacks. Breaking down in tears, she told Mr Clarke his plans were a “disaster”. – Daily Mirror
Mr Clarke sparked an outcry while defending controversial Government proposals to halve the sentences of some rapists if they made early guilty pleas. He angrily rejected reports sex attackers could face just 15 months behind bars as a result, insisting “classic” rapes involving violence and unwilling women resulted in longer sentences. Mr Clarke insisted less clear-cut “date rapes” and consensual sex between teens, one of whom was under age, skewed average sentencing figures. Rape victim support groups in Merseyside stopped short of calling for Mr Clarke to lose his job, saying the debate should be kept to sentencing. Jo Wood, from Merseyside’s Rape And Sexual Abuse Centre (RASA), said: “He has gone off policy and started coming out with personal opinion, because nobody in their right mind is going to have a policy statement that there are different types of rape. – Liverpool Daily Post

Ed’s first goal

Mr Miliband might have chosen to urge, more in sorrow than in anger, that Mr Clarke be told to correct any misleading impression of being lenient on rape. The Labour leader instead tried to get Mr Clarke sacked: “The Justice Secretary should not be in his post at the end of the day.” The merciless instincts of a Brownite attack dog had driven out any idea Mr Miliband might have had of presenting himself as a liberal-minded person who recognised Mr Clarke as a kindred spirit. Mr Miliband has recently displayed the same intolerance towards Nick Clegg, with whom he refused to share a platform during the AV referendum campaign. One also detected a hint of ruthlessness in Mr Miliband’s conduct during the Labour leadership campaign, when he carved up the liberal-minded front runner, who happened to be his own brother. – Daily Telegraph

It was a day for dinosaurs. Sir Peter Tapsell reared up among cheers to suggest the PM order an investigation into the death of David Kelly. Dennis Skinner gave a fabulous display of primordial rage (it’s his birthday today: he is 65 million years old). And Ken Clarke got into trouble for his Jurassic views on sex crime. He had said some rapes were worse than others and Ed Miliband demanded he resign. Your sketch writer found himself a bit Triassic on the subject. Isn’t statutory rape (a 17-year-old having consensual sex with his girlfriend just shy of her 16th birthday) less serious than… let’s not imagine the details. Cameron made this defence a bit – but it didn’t quite command the House. Taken with the Coalition proposal to give rape defendants anonymity this was dangerous ground for a Tory. Ed Miliband’s case was a modern one: rape is one single category of offence. That’s the progressive view. Fair enough, that’s probably what Independent readers think too. But wasn’t that the Ed of two weeks ago? Hasn’t he assigned dinosaur status to his “progressive majority”? The modern thing, the mutation of the moment is Blue Labour, isn’t it? That’s the idea that England is more and more like the Daily Mail describes it. You have to wonder whether Ed Miliband is the person – or “guy”, as he calls it – to pitch working-class conservatism. He is after all a hereditary aristocrat of the political class. – the Independent

A demand too far

Nick Clegg has put another obstacle in the path of the Government’s controversial health reforms. The Liberal Democrat leader announced that he will oppose the establishment of a regulator to promote competition in the NHS – a key plank of Health Secretary Andrew Lansley’s plans. But the intervention incensed Tories who yesterday questioned why the Lib Dems were happy to vote for the plans in the Commons, but are now against them following their disastrous showing in the local elections. Two weeks ago the Deputy Prime Minister promised a more ‘muscular liberalism’ – with the Lib Dems not going along with so many Conservative policies. He has already demanded Mr Lansley change his plans so that hospital doctors and nurses become members of the new GP commissioning boards which will run most of the NHS budget under the reforms. – Daily Mail

People can’t trust Nick Clegg to protect the NHS. After the Lib Dems’ local elections disaster, his concern is to save his party, not safeguard our NHS. As students faced with £9,000 tuition fees know, you can’t take the deputy prime minister at his word. Clegg has backed David Cameron’s NHS plans every step of the way for 12 months. They made and broke together the coalition agreementpromise “to stop top-down reorganisations” and they co-signed the foreword to the NHS white paper in July. Clegg signed off the NHS bill in cabinet in December. He took to the airwaves in January to defend the plans. His MPs have backed the bill in parliament at every stage so far, and in the committee it was his Lib Dem health minister who led rejection of Labour’s amendments to make the changes Clegg now claims he wants. The deputy prime minister has come so late to concern about the legislation, that if the bill were any shorter it might have been on the statute book by now. His Mr Muscle act is born of desperation after the Lib Dem electoral meltdown on 5 May. – John Healey, the Guardian

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Opening doors and breaking barriers, or smoke and mirrors

14/05/2011, 12:00:22 PM

by Hugh Goulbourne

Nick Clegg’s social mobility strategy – Opening Doors, Breaking Barriers – has attracted much attention from the media. But are the proposals anything more than just a way of diverting attention from this government’s clumsy budget cuts which have left millions of people, especially those aged 16-25, without access to vital traineeships and work experience opportunities?

The overarching principle set out in Opening Doors, Breaking Barriers is a sound one, namely that “no one should be prevented from fulfilling their potential by the circumstances of their birth” and instead “what ought to count is how hard you work and the skills and talents you possess, not the school you went to or the jobs your parents did”. Indeed it is the very principle that all of us in the Labour party sign up for when we join.

Under New Labour, a series of interventions were made to help target internships and apprenticeships at those from unprivileged backgrounds. Perhaps the most successful of those programmes was the future jobs fund (FJF). The FJF programme provides a grant to charities, social enterprises and local government to offer a paid contract of employment to an individual aged 18 – 24 who has been out of employment for six months – in effect a paid internship.

The experience of the FJF demonstrates the importance of paid internships in opening up vital work experience to those without existing financial support. In West Yorkshire, a consortium of not for profit arts organisations have used the final slice of FJF funding to provide an internship to a local arts graduate, who, despite a good degree and several voluntary positions, has not been able to find the requisite workplace experience to be able to secure full-time employment. All over the country, the programme has been a success, with well over 50% of those who have joined the FJF scheme ceasing to claim job seekers allowance and entering into paid employment seven months after they started the programme.

FJF was axed in April, together with a number of other Labour programmes as part of the government’s spending cuts. It will be replaced by a new code for government internships, a new business compact for fairer, more open internship and work experience programmes and the new work programme.

The first limb of Clegg’s proposals – the reform of government internships and the removal of barriers to internships within the professions and corporate organisations – has already attracted widespread support from those within the Labour party. These are certainly sectors of the economy where significant investment should be directed towards developing a new generation of workers from a range of backgrounds. (more…)

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Thursday News Review

12/05/2011, 06:53:52 AM

£60m, a drop in the Future Job Fund’s ocean

David Cameron and Nick Clegg will be together at an event later to launch a government drive on youth unemployment. The prime minister and his deputy will announce a £60m package to boost work prospects and vocational education. They will commit in their appearance in London to tackle “structural barriers” to young people starting a career. It comes as the coalition is under more strain after the flagship policy of directly elected police commissioners was defeated in the House of Lords. – BBC News

The Government has announced a £60m funding boost to help youth employment. As nearly 700,000 14- to 18-year-olds are currently not in employment or full-time education, it is hoped the cash will help boost apprenticeships and reform vocational education. The announcement comes as 100 large companies and tens of thousands of small companies across the country have responded to the Government’s call and pledged to offer work experience places. In total the coalition will provide funding for up to 250,000 more apprenticeships over the next four years, and funding for 100,000 work placements over the next two years. The £60m will be spent over the three years and fund more early access Work Programme places, increase the capacity of Jobcentre Plus to support teenagers who are not in education, employment or training and pay for a new £10m per year Innovation Fund to help disadvantaged people. – Yorkshire Post

The war on red tape claims its first victims

Unions have rounded on the government over plans to water down workers’ rights to “make it easier for businesses to grow”. Lib Dem minister Ed Davey will announce the new areas of employment legislation up for review at the Institute for Economic Affairs as the government attempts to clear away restrictions for employers. It will consult on cutting compensation payments for discrimination, reducing the current 90-day timescale for firms to consult over job losses, and changing the Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment Regulations (Tupe) which protects the pay and conditions of public sector workers transferred between companies. One law firm has warned that the move will disadvantage women and ethnic minority workers. The government is already simplifying the employment tribunal system, looking at extending the period before an unfair dismissal claim can be brought and reviewing the system for managing sickness absence. – the Guardian

Workers are set to receive less protection against redundancy, dismissal and workplace discrimination as the Chancellor George Osborne tears up sections of employment law so businesses can dispose of their staff more easily. Mr Osborne has proposed imposing a cap on awards given in cases of discrimination and abuse in the workplace on the grounds of race or gender. Employers will also be able to sack people more quickly. As well as introducing fees and new rules to prevent “vexatious” claims at employment tribunals, the Government wants to review the unlimited penalties currently applied in employment tribunals, simplify the administration of the national minimum wage and reform the consultation period for collective redundancies. Mr Osborne attacked the trade unions as “the forces of stagnation” who “will try to stand in the way of the forces of enterprise”. The Chancellor’s words were criticised by the unions and Labour Party. John Denham, the shadow Business Secretary, said: “George Osborne’s only idea for growth is to make it easier to cut pay and pensions, dismiss employees without giving time to plan for the future, and make working life more insecure. Successful companies have a workforce that is confident, dedicated and fairly rewarded.” – the Independent

Lords ‘rip the heart’ out of policing bill

Rebel Liberal Democrats scuppered flagship Tory plans for elected police commissioners last night. Former Met chief Ian Blair sided with Lib Dem peers to inflict a bruising Lords defeat on David Cameron. The introduction of elected police chiefs – with the power to hire and fire chief constables – is the Prime Minister’s flagship law and order policy. The Tories say it is vital for making police more accountable to the public. But peers voted to change the plan so that commissioners are appointed by policing panels – not the public – leaving the plan worthless. Liberal Democrat Baroness Harris of Richmond, who led the revolt, said the proposals ‘put so much power in the hands of one person’ that they posed ‘great risks to policing’. The independent peer claimed there was nothing to stop a police commissioner ‘just announcing that he has got rid of the chief constable, or that he wishes to get rid of the chief constable or he has no confidence in the chief constable.’ Analysis of division lists showed there were 13 Lib Dem rebels. The Government’s position was supported by 36 Lib Dem peers. Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: ‘The Lords have ripped the heart out of this deeply flawed flagship Bill’. – Daily Mail

David Cameron suffered a major set-back last night after his flagship plan for elected police commissioners was chucked out in the House of Lords. Peers instead backed a rebel Lib Dem move that would see the commissioners appointed rather than directly elected. The PM wanted to see commissioners elected from May next year to replace police authorities in England and Wales. They would have the power to hire and fire chief constables and set forces’ budget and “strategic direction”. But under Lib Dem Baroness Harris of Richmond’s amendment, the chiefs would be chosen by a police and crime panel and not by the public. She raised deep fears over plans that would pose “great risks to policing”. – Daily Mirror

Change or lose

Ed Miliband has been given an astonishing warning by a senior shadow Cabinet minister that he is on course to lose the next election. Shadow culture secretary Ivan Lewis, who backed David Miliband in the Labour leadership contest, said the party was seen as one of the ‘North, benefit claimants and immigrants’. His remarks are the most serious internal criticism of Mr Miliband since he became Labour leader last September. They reflect growing anxiety among a rump of Blairite MPs that he is appealing only to core voters, rather than reaching out to swing voters who will decide the next election. They are calling on Mr Miliband to change his strategy after results in last week’s local elections that were worse than those of Michael Foot – Labour’s least successful leader ever. Mr Lewis said the elections showed that so-called ‘squeezed middle’ voters were not yet returning to the Labour fold. In a provocative speech to the modernising group Progress last night, Mr Lewis warned that southern voters see Labour as standing up for other people. – Daily Mail

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Wednesday News Review

11/05/2011, 06:13:30 AM

A year on

Nick Clegg will risk the wrath of Coalition colleagues by boasting that the Liberal Democrats have blocked a string of flagship Conservative pledges. In a transparent attempt to cheer his battered troops as the Government marks its one-year anniversary, the Deputy Prime Minister will describe the union as one of ‘necessity, not of conviction’. He will reel off a list of Tory manifesto promises – including scrapping the Human Rights Act, replacing Trident in this Parliament, cutting inheritance tax and building more prisons – that have been prevented by the Lib Dems. ‘None of these things has happened,’ the Lib Dem leader will say. ‘They haven’t happened because the Conservatives are not governing as a majority party. They are in a coalition, and coalition requires compromise.’ His remarks reflect intense Lib Dem frustration that they are being punished by voters for ripping up their pledge to scrap university tuition fees, while Tory support has held firm despite their failure to deliver key promises. – Daily Mail

In a speech later today, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg will review the first year of the coalition Government and promise a clear party identity, which he is calling “muscular liberalism”. The Deputy Prime Minister will say he understands the anger over tuition fees, but will again repeat his point that the Lib Dems did not win the election. He will explain that with just 8% of the MPs in the Commons, they cannot deliver on all parts of their manifesto – but in a coalition, neither can the Tories. Mr Clegg believes the Liberal Democrats need to be seen as a distinctive voice within the coalition Government. Mr Clegg claims the Lib Dems are “punching well above our weight” on policy, delivering 75% of their manifesto promises, but he wants his party to be more assertive over the next year. “You will see a strong liberal identity in a strong coalition Government. You might even call it muscular liberalism,” he will say. – Sky News

What a U-turn

Samuel Beckett was once asked why he quit his job as a university lecturer teaching the cream of Irish society. Indeed, the rich and the thick, was his riposte. The Tory minister, David Willetts, was forced into an embarrassing climbdown before the House of Commons yesterday after suggestions that he wanted to introduce a two-tier system in English universities which would apparently favour those with money over those with academic ability. Politicians who fly kites take the risk that they might be struck by lightning. That was what happened yesterday to Mr Willetts. By mid-morning he was back-pedalling furiously on an idea that critics portrayed as a daddy’s chequebook exercise in old-style Tory privilege. In Parliament, Mr Willetts was forced to state categorically that the scheme to allow businesses and charities to fund extra places would not allow rich students unfair access. Public schools, many of which have charitable status, would not be able to buy places, he promised, but he failed to dispel fears that family trust funds and the old boy network would buy preference in a system where almost a third of applicants now fail to secure a university place. – the Independent

It has to go down as one of the fastest U-turns in the history of politics… Blundering David Willetts dropped plans to let rich students buy a place at university just four hours after he announced them. The Universities and Science minister had suggested those from well-off families should be treated like foreign applicants who pay up to £28,000 a year for places. But critics immediately slammed the idea, warning it would create the sort of elitist higher education system campaigners have fought for decades to abolish. Mr Willetts tried to justify the ludicrous idea at 10am by claiming it would free up more college spots for poorer children as the wealthy would not count as part of the strict quota of students because they would pay their own costs in full. But by 2.05pm, he was forced into a humiliating climbdown after his announcement sparked a furious backlash. David Cameron had angrily slapped down the minister, sparking fresh questions about his volatile temper. The university farce is just the latest in a long line of Coalition U-turns that also includes flogging off forests, granting rape-suspect anonymity, Mr Cameron’s vanity photographer and cutting school sport. – Daily Mirror

MPs to review Scottish defeat

Labour leader Ed Miliband has moved to exert his authority over the party in Scotland following the disastrous Holyrood election campaign. At a meeting of Labour MPs, Mr Miliband vowed “never again” to allow them to be cut out of a Scottish campaign. The Labour leader has also ordered a review panel, to be led by former Scottish secretary Jim Murphy MP and Edinburgh MSP Sarah Boyack, to produce an interim report by June on the future for the party. The review will also involve Douglas Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, and shadow Scottish secretary Ann McKechin. The move by Mr Miliband suggests a reversal of a leadership campaign promise to allow the Holyrood party to run itself without Westminster interfering. But it comes as the Labour leader has to explain to his own internal critics how the party lost so heavily in Scotland. – the Scotsman

Tributes pour in

Westminster was in mourning at the sudden death of Labour MP David Cairns, aged just 44, from acute pancreatitis. Tributes poured in to Inverclyde MP, a former Catholic priest, whom party leader Ed Miliband said would be “missed beyond measure”. His death leaves Labour facing a by-election battle against the resurgent Scottish Nationalists in what was one of their safest seats. Popular Mr Cairns won in May 2010 with a huge 14,416 majority – but the same area in last week’s Scottish elections saw Labour win by a wafer thin 1.8 per cent, or 500 votes. Mr Cairns leaves behind his partner Dermot, father John and brother Billy. “David will be missed beyond measure as a former minister, as an MP, as a friend and a colleague by many people,” said Mr Miliband. Former prime minister Tony Blair added: “David was, quite simply, a good man, with time for everyone and a wonderful sense of humour, which made him a delight to be around.” To enable him to enter the Commons,Parliament had to reverse a law dating back to the 19th century which banned former Catholic priests from taking up a seat. – Evening Standard

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Friday News Review

06/05/2011, 05:40:58 AM

The start of a long road back

Labour took control of Sheffield early this morning, gaining nine seats from the Lib Dems on leader Nick Clegg’s home turf. In a further blow for the party, Carl Minns leader of Hull council, lost his seat to Labour. The result capped a disastrous night for the Lib Dems. The party was also predicting it “could lose everything” in Liverpool, which has traditionally been a stronghold. In Hull, the party lost ten seats to Labour, with former council leader Mr Minns among the casualties. Labour now has a clear majority in the city. Sheffield, where Mr Clegg has his parliamentary seat, had been governed by the Lib Dems without an absolute majority. The party’s former council leader Paul Scriven insisted that the results were merely a “short-term setback” for the party, and said it should not change direction in response to its drubbing in the polls. Mr Scriven said Lib Dems had to “keep our nerve, keep our backbone and keep bringing fairness to Government and sort out this financial mess”. He told the BBC: “We are in this for the long term, because if not we let the country down.” As the counts were declared in Sheffield, former Labour minister David Blunkett said Cleggmania had become “Clegg pneumonia.” – Yorkshire Post

Liberal Democrat group leader Carl Minns faces being unemployed this morning, having paid the price for cuts which left hundreds of council workers out of a job. In a press conference, Mr Minns admitted his Liberal Democrat party was facing defeat in Hull and losing control of the council. He also conceded that he was facing losing his own seat in Kings Park although the result has yet to be confirmed. He said: “It is clear that the Liberal Democrats are not going to have a good night tonight.” – Hull Daily Mail

Gray has got to go… will go…

SNP leader Alex Salmond promised a referendum on Scottish independence as early results indicated an historic night for his party. Huge inroads have been made into Labour’s central belt strongholds, with John Mason taking the Glasgow Shettleston constituency, James Dornan taking the Cathcart seat and Sandra White winning in Glasgow Kelvin. There were also SNP gains in Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse, East Kilbride and Clydesdale. The SNP also snatched Edinburgh Pentlands from the Conservatives – with former Scottish Tory leader David McLetchie losing his seat – and Edinburgh Southern from the Lib Dems. Meanwhile, Labour leader Iain Gray managed to hold his East Lothian seat – but by just 151 votes. He said that the collapse of the Liberal Democrats, who have already lost deposits, may have benefited the SNP. The final winners and losers are not expected to be confirmed until later in the afternoon. Voters are electing 129 MSPs, 73 for constituencies and a further 56 on regional lists. – STV

Alex Salmond was last night on course for a second term as First Minister as voters across Scotland turned away in large numbers from Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Former Labour minister Andy Kerr became the first major scalp of the Holyrood election, losing to the SNP’s Linda Fabiani in the East Kilbride constituency. Mr Kerr, who was Labour’s finance spokesman in the last. Elsewhere, there were widespread signs of a collapse in the Lib Dem vote, with Tavish Scott’s party losing their deposit in the first seat of the night to be declared in Rutherglen, where the SNP vote surged by 16 per cent. The broad picture looks set to deliver an SNP victory and a return to Bute House for Alex Salmond with an increased mandate. If his re-election is confirmed today, Mr Salmond is expected to press ahead with his preferred plan to run a second SNP minority government for the next five years. Early indications last night suggested clearly that he will be in a far stronger position than over the past four years, when he held a one-seat majority over Labour. Labour sources were last night indicating they expected the SNP to beat them in several previously secure seats, and that their rivals could have a double-digit lead in seats by the time all the results came in. The last opinion poll of the campaign, published last night, suggested the SNP had double the support of Labour, and was in sight of a majority on its own. – the Scotsman

Encouraging signs in Wales

Labour fears it may “fall short” of gaining an overall majority in the Assembly elections. The party has led the opinion polls since The Senedd went into recess last month – and was recently tipped to go into government alone following yesterday’s vote. Party sources say they expect some gains and an improvement on the 26 seats it held in the last assembly – but Labour insiders admit they may not be able to surpass the “magic figure” of 31 needed to claim an overall majority. First Minister Carwyn Jones, who attended the count in Bridgend, has downplayed those suggestions – saying the result is still too early to call. – Western Mail

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Monday News Review

02/05/2011, 06:44:20 AM

The world’s most wanted man is dead

Osama bin Laden, the criminal mastermind behind al-Qaida and the world’s most sought-after terrorist since the attacks of 11 September 2001, has been killed by a US operation, President Barack Obama has announced. In an address to the nation, President Obama said Bin Laden was killed in a “targeted operation” in Abbottabad, a highland town north of Islamabad, last night. The operation started with an intelligence lead last August, and culminated in an operation involving a “small team of Americans”. “After a firefight they killed bin Laden.” None of the Americans were killed. Pakistani cooperation “helped to lead us to him” he said. Osama’s body is in possession of the US, according to the first leaks of reporting from the US television networks. As the news spread, crowds gathered outside the gates of the White House in Washington DC, singing the national anthem and cheering. President Obama made the highly unusual Sunday night live statement to announce the news, around 11.30pm eastern time. – the Guardian

Barack Obama:

Today, at my direction, the United States carried out that operation… they killed Osama Bin Laden and took custody of his body. The death of Bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date against Al Qaeda. We must also reaffirm that United states is not and will never be at war against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader, in fact, he slaughtered many Muslims.

George W. Bush:

This momentous achievement marks a victory for America, for people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done. – Al Jazeera

Speaking from the White House, President Obama said he authorised the operation. The body of the Al Qaida leader was now in US custody, he said. Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed the development in a statement issued by 10 Downing Street. “The news that Osama Bin Laden is dead will bring great relief to people across the world. Osama Bin Laden was responsible for the worst terrorist atrocities the world has seen – for 9/11 and for so many attacks, which have cost thousands of lives, many of them British. It is a great success that he has been found and will no longer be able to pursue his campaign of global terror. This is a time to remember all those murdered by Osama bin Laden, and all those who lost loved ones. It is also a time too to thank all those who work round the clock to keep us safe from terrorism. Their work will continue. I congratulate President Obama and those responsible for carrying out this operation.” – Daily Express

Scottish leaders in debate clash

The SNP’s Alex Salmond, Labour’s Iain Gray, Annabel Goldie of the Tories and Lib Dem Tavish Scott clashed just days before the 5 May Holyrood election. The BBC Scotland debate came on the day economists warned there could be thousands of job losses ahead. Each leader also spoke about a possible referendum on independence. The debate, at Perth Concert Hall, also saw the foursome square up on issues including the cost of university education, sectarianism and green energy. The programme came on the day of a report by the Centre for Public Policy for Regions (CPPR), attached to Glasgow University, which claimed planned 2%-a-year savings put forward in the SNP and Labour manifestos were likely to produce job cuts of 7%. – BBC News

Cameron’s spin doctor in hot water over AV battle

David Cameron’s spin doctor has risked tearing the coalition apart by blundering into the war over voting reform. Craig Oliver flouted a pact under which Government advisers promised not to get involved in the fierce mud-slinging between the Tories and Nick Clegg’s Lib Dems over the alternative vote referendum. He tried to use his influence as a former BBC editor when he called the corporation to moan about its reporting of the issue, insiders there have revealed. Mr Oliver, Downing Street’s director of communications, may have also broken strict rules on what politically-appointed special advisers can do, it emerged. They are only supposed to work on Government policy – which does not include the AV referendum because the coalition is divided. One senior Lib Dem source said yesterday it sounded like “a clear breach of the rules”. – Daily Mirror

Lansley is not listening

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has just one practising nurse on the 50-strong “listening panel” set up to save his controversial reforms. And all five GPs serving on the panel – including Professor Steve Field, former President of the Royal College of GPs – are already supporters of Mr Lansley’s plan. The embattled Health Secretary set up his Futures Forum after nurses’ leaders gave him a humiliating no-confidence vote at their conference last month. But now Mr Lansley is facing angry criticism that he has shunned the views of frontline NHS workers by packing the forum with “yes men and women”. Mr Lansley and the PM David Cameron created the panel – largely made up of health service bureaucrats – after the public outcry over plans to give GPs more control of the budget of the NHS and open it up to more private firms. Dr John Lister, of pressure group Health Emergency, said: “This is all a stunt to convince the public that Lansley is listening.” – Daily Mail

Clegg admits to liking the trappings of power

Nick Clegg confessed that he has ‘grown to like’ his £15 million grace and favour residence, describing it as a ‘haven of freedom’. For decades, Chevening has been the official and exclusive country retreat of the Foreign Secretary. But William Hague had to agree to share the Kent mansion with the Deputy Prime Minister and his family when the Coalition was formed. Mr Clegg, who has three sons aged nine, six and two, said: ‘I’ve grown to like it. I was a little bit embarrassed by it when we first went down there. But from my purely selfish point of view, being able to walk through the woods and fields without having a protection team at my shoulder, and being able to let the kids run around totally unrestricted, that is absolutely lovely. It’s a sort of haven of freedom.’ Mr Clegg admitted he sneaks into the grounds to enjoy an occasional cigarette ‘out of sight, when the children are asleep’. – Daily Mail

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Thursday News Review

21/04/2011, 06:54:39 AM

Guardianistas go negative – at last

A leading Labour figure in the campaign for a no vote in the alternative vote referendum has praised its gutter politics, saying there are too many people on the liberal left who think politics is a spectator sport. Dan Hodges, a paid consultant to the no campaign until two weeks ago, ridiculed the yes campaign’s style, saying that gutter politics is where political battles are won and lost. His remarks come as allies of Nick Clegg have confirmed that the deputy prime minister feels David Cameronis breaking a private pact between the two men to maintain a low profile during the campaigning. Clegg refused to discuss the prime minister’s promise on the BBC, but will make a speech directly attacking first past the post. Clegg’s allies say the betrayal of the promise will have long-term consequences for the coalition’s future conduct. Hodges claims the yes campaign has not got a prayer in the referendum on 5 May. He writes in article for the website Labour Uncut: “I thought one of the positive legacies of Blairism was that it had finally put some lead into the progressive pencil. Those countless debates about ‘should we go positive… should we go negative’, ‘we mustn’t be too aggressive, the public don’t like it, ya da, ya da, yah’. All that had gone. Once we’d been campaigners. Now we were street fighters. If someone hit hard and low, we’d hit lower and harder.” – the Guardian

Whilst Clegg downplays his own importance

Nick Clegg has downplayed the effect his unpopularity could have in the AV referendum. In an increasingly personal campaign that has seen the ‘no’ campaign splash pictures of Nick Clegg across its literature, the deputy prime minister said it would be “daft” to vote against electoral change because of one politician. “I really don’t think that people are so daft that when they’re asked to have this once-in-a-generation opportunity to change the electoral system they’re going to do it based on what they think about one party or one politician,” he told BBC Breakfast. The deputy prime minister also explained his much-quoted remark before the election that AV was a “miserable little compromise. What I was actually referring to was Gordon Brown’s suggestion very late in the day in his government of making changes which everyone knew would not come into effect,” he said. – politics.co.uk

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg insists he is thick-skinned enough to deal with the personal attacks he has sustained in the run-up to the Alternative Vote (AV) referendum. The Liberal Democrat leader has been repeatedly mocked by those in the “No to AV” campaign, which is backed by Prime Minister David Cameron. Mr Clegg denied suggestions his stance on the referendum was causing problems with his working relationship with Mr Cameron – but said the No camp’s tactics were becoming “desperate”. He said: “I’ve been in politics long enough to know when people start mudslinging and start playing the man rather than the ball they are rather desperate. – the Scotsman

Now the teachers are unhappy with the coalition

Activists interrupted a speech by Nick Gibb, the Schools Minister, with shouts of “rubbish” and “not true” as he addressed a union conference in Liverpool. Speaking to the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, he claimed that proposed Government changes to the teachers’ pension scheme would protect their “gold standard” retirement fund. But members – traditionally viewed as more moderate than other classroom unions – repeatedly barracked the minister, saying he failed to understand their concerns. One activist also accused Mr Gibb’s boss, Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, of “political cowardice” for failing to address the annual conference in person. It is the first time teachers have publicly barracked a Coalition minister since the Government was formed last year. A series of Labour ministers were subjected to high-profile attacks over issues such as class sizes and national testing. The ATL claims the Government’s reforms, including a rise in pension contributions, will force them to work for longer and receive less when they retire. – the Telegraph

The schools minister, Nick Gibb, was heckled and jeered by teachers as he attempted to justify proposed changes to their pensions that have prompted a ballot for industrial action. When Gibb told delegates at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers annual conference in Liverpool: “I fully understand the strength of feeling on this,” and said teachers’ pensions remained a priority, he was greeted by shouts of “no, you don’t” and “rubbish” – along with calls for evidence of the need for change. ATL delegates voted to ballot for strike action over pensions, which could see schools shut by June. The union fears the changes will mean teachers working longer, paying increased contributions and receiving less when they retire. Teachers are also fiercely opposed to the coalition’s education changes, with a survey underlining the challenge facing the government. The survey commissioned by the Sutton Trust found only 8% of teachers believe free schools will raise standards, while 69% believe the expansion of academies will lead to greater social segregation. – the Guardian

He will wear a morning suit after all

David Cameron yesterday caved into his inner toff by agreeing to wear a traditional morning coat to the royal wedding. Downing Street had briefed that the PM would wear a lounge suit, because he did not want to remind voters of his posh past. But it was claimed yesterday that he will wear the full waistcoat and tails next week. A source close to the PM told the Daily Telegraph: “Of course he’s got to wear tails. He knows that. He’s the Prime Minister, it’s the Royal Family, there will be foreign dignitaries present. It is only proper that he dresses for the importance of the occasion.” Downing Street refused to confirm that the PM, after days of dithering, had now opted for a morning suit – or whether he will be wearing a top hat. – the Mirror

When Gordon Brown wore a lounge suit at the Mansion House, some were willing to forgive it as an eccentric piece of ideological nonconformity. But even Mr Brown wore a white tie and tail coat for a state banquet at Buckingham Palace. So when it was bruited that David Cameron, as Prime Minister, would be wearing a lounge suit to the wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton, there was more public outrage than perhaps he bargained for. For this is not a wedding of private individuals. As a semi-state occasion, the monarch will be present and foreign heads of state will attend. The British head of Government is invited in his official role, not merely for his agreeable small talk. “Reclothe us in our rightful mind,” says the popular hymn. We congratulate Mr Cameron on his change of mind – soon to be seen in a change of clothes. – the Telegraph

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Put aside the Cleggphobia and then vote No to AV

19/04/2011, 08:07:12 AM

by Jim Murphy

I have stayed out of the debate about the AV referendum until now. I have surprised myself because instinctively I usually know where I stand on all the big issues, but on this I have found it easy to sit it out. There are so many other more pressing issues – a view that I know those involved in both campaigns share. I have waited in the expectation that the pro-AV campaign would make a convincing new argument. They haven’t, so when the referendum comes on May 5^th I have decided to vote No.

There are many people I know who are voting No simply to spite Nick Clegg, but I’m not one of them. This was a really important point that Ed Miliband rightly raised yesterday. To vote against AV to get back at Nick Clegg is a churlish way to conduct politics. A change in the electoral system could be permanent, but say whatever you want about Nick Clegg one thing for sure is that he is certainly temporary – this is probably his last job in frontline British politics. If last year’s post-election political gamble of switching to the Tories’ macro-economic policies turns out to be as bad economics as it is bad politics then it’s questionable whether he’ll even lead his Party into the next election.

So let’s put all the Cleggphobia to one side. My decision is based on the merits of the case. The main reason I have decided to vote ‘No’ is that the supporters of changing the system haven’t made a convincing enough case that this is the right kind of change. They have struggled to make a persuasive argument about why the country’s politics would be better with AV. It may seem unfair, but in all these constitutional debates most of the burden of persuasion falls upon those advocating change – that is certainly my experience with devolution. (more…)

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Sunday News Review

17/04/2011, 06:49:31 AM

Are Vince’s Coalition days numbered?

The Liberal Democrat Cabinet Minister is joining forces with Mr Miliband in a bid to win the May 5 referendum on changing Britain’s voting system. They will line up together at a Press conference in London, where they will issue a joint plea to scrap the first-past-the-post voting system to ‘make politics fairer’. The double act comes days after Business Secretary Mr Cable accused Mr Cameron of ‘inflammatory’ remarks over immigration, prompting calls for disciplinary action by some Tory MPs. And it is bound to lead to further claims that Mr Cable, who once worked for former Labour leader John Smith, has more in common with Labour than his Conservative colleagues in the Coalition. – Daily Mail

Business Secretary, Vince Cable, was “very unwise” and risked “inflaming” extremism. To listen to his detractors, you would think that Cameron was the Mr Benn of Westminster: on Monday, he was dressed up as Malcolm X; by Thursday, he had changed into the robes and pillow case of the Ku Klux Klan (Bullingdon branch). One hears him compared with Clare Short, a diminished figure who is better inside the tent than outside it, a novice at government who should be denied the martyrdom that part of him so obviously craves. All this, I think, reflects a cavalier approach to Cabinet collective responsibility and a failure to recognise its absolute necessity – especially in a Coalition government. – the Telegraph

Paddy hits out at the no campaign?

There is not a politician in the country who won’t tell you they want to improve politics. But as the conduct of the current referendum on adopting the alternative vote shows, judge them by their actions, not their words. I will be voting yes because I believe that changing to AV will substantially improve our democracy. I disagree with those advocating sticking to the current first-past-the-post system, but respect their right to their point of view. What I am perplexed and deeply disturbed by is that those running the no campaign haven’t once put forward a positive case for the current system and instead have spent their time lying about AV. I have seen principle-free machine politics in action many times and it is never a pretty sight. But this time really is different. – the Observer

Former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown has accused George Osborne of trying to “frighten” voters off changing the voting system. He said the chancellor and Conservative colleagues had resorted to “bizarre” and “tawdry” tactics. Voters will go to the polls in just under three weeks in a referendum on the Alternative Vote (AV) system. It comes as a survey suggests a significant hardening of public opinion against the switch. Mr Osborne sparked anger last week when he said it “stinks” that the main backer of the pro-AV camp was the Electoral Reform Society – whose commercial arm Electoral Reform Services Ltd (ERSL) runs election services. He claimed that it stood to benefit financially from a switch, something ERSL has denied. – BBC News

A very Royal conundrum

The Deputy Prime Minister said yesterday that the rules of royal succession could appear “a little old-fashioned” to most people and a change to the current arrangements was worth considering. But Nick Clegg stressed it would be a complex process that needed careful thought, with other Commonwealth countries on board, and that it could not be done overnight. He said the Prime Minister and himself were “sympathetic” to change and that it was worth looking again at the rules which dictate that the first-born son and not a daughter inherits the throne. The current arrangement means that if William and Kate were to have a daughter, followed by a son, the son would be in line to become king. – the Scotsman

Britain’s Government says it has begun the process of reviewing the ancient, discriminatory rules of royal succession, so that if Prince William and Kate Middleton’s first child was a baby girl she would eventually become queen. The current rule that puts boys ahead of their sisters “would strike most people as a little old-fashioned,” Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said overnight. It is just two weeks until the prince and Middleton get married at London’s Westminster Abbey, and Mr Clegg said many people may agree that the rules should be changed so that if the couple’s first child was a girl, she would eventually inherit the throne – even if she had a younger brother. “I think most people in this day and age would think it’s worth considering whether we change the rules so that baby girl could become the future monarch,” he said. “I think that would be in keeping with the changes that are happening with society as a whole.” – Fox News Australia

Lib Dems regrets

More than a third of people who voted Liberal Democrat in last year’s general election wish they had chosen differently, an Independent on Sunday poll shows. The finding underscores Nick Clegg’s unpopularity and alarm among his party’s grass roots at the political direction he has taken in the Tory-led coalition. While 54 per cent of Lib Dems are happy with their choice at the ballot box, 37 per cent, a significant proportion, have deserted Mr Clegg. In a local election campaign speech in Newcastle yesterday, Ed Miliband seized on the Deputy Prime Minister’s woes by appealing to Lib Dem voters to switch to Labour after a year of “broken promises” on the tuition fees, the NHS and VAT. – the Independent

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