Why IDS’s “radical” welfare reforms won’t work
Under the new government, the cost of the welfare state will increase, unemployment will go up, and so will the number of people living in poverty. It is worth bearing this in mind when reading the spin about Iain Duncan Smith’s “radical welfare reforms”. Here’s three reflections on his speech today:
1. Duncan Smith’s big idea for getting people into work is to pay them more benefits. Under his plans, everyone who is in low paid work will also get paid Jobseekers’ Allowance, and possibly also Housing and Council Tax Benefit.
He hasn’t yet managed to persuade the Treasury of the advantages of this policy (surprise, surprise).
continue reading… »
Check out Burnham’s flashy leadership website
Ladies and gentlemen, we give you Andy Burnham’s campaign website for leader:
From: www.andy4leader.com.
No really, that’s not created by someone who hates him. That is actually Andy Burnham’s campaign website.
Video: police arrest Brian Haw for not moving aside quickly enough
The Parliament Square activist Brian Haw was arrested on 25th May after London Mayor Boris Johnson decided that protesters being an eyesore was more of an issue than the principle of the right to protest.
This video was shot when Brian Haw was being arrested.
It shows Haw on crutches, trying to film the police and asking them why they want to search his tent. A police officer then asks to enter his tent, and when Haw complains, and does not move out of the way quickly enough, he is arrested for ‘obstruction of justice’.
It’s obvious they were looking for any pretext to arrest him.
Jon Cruddas for Mayor of London: the campaign starts here
Jon Cruddas must be persuaded to run for Mayor of London: he is the only candidate who can win against Boris.
A few years ago I said, ‘If Ken stands for Mayor, the left is in deep trouble‘ and most of those points still hold true. Ken has been working hard for the past two years to build a re-election vehicle that has kept him in the limelight and kept out potential opponents.
But Ken can’t win against Boris. He lost once and there are no reasons why he would win the second time around. And before readers respond with: ‘but he polled higher than Labour’s national vote‘: let me deflate that line.
continue reading… »
More pressure to put Labour candidates on list
Another letter has been signed by prominent Labour voices calling for all six leadership candidates to be put on the ballot to ensure a wide debate.
The Guardian publishes this letter today:
The electoral college process for electing Labour’s leader and deputy leader strikes a balance between MPs, members and trade unions. However, this and the previous leadership election have shown there are problems with the nomination process to get candidates on the ballot for all sections of the party to vote on.
Labour is a coalition of individual members, trade unions and other affiliated socialist societies. At its best it represents a broad church of opinion on the left. We welcome the extension of the nomination period, which now gives MPs the opportunity to consult with their local parties, trade unions and communities. However, we believe that with six candidates in the race the 12.5% threshold – meaning candidates must secure the backing of 33 MPs – is too onerous.
In future we believe there should be a procedure to give sections of the party (members and trade unions as well as MPs) the opportunity to nominate candidates. For this contest we call on MPs to nominate to give all parts of the party a choice. We believe that MPs should ensure that all six declared candidates receive sufficient nominations to be on the ballot paper. In this way MPs can be the protectors of democracy.
We are asking Labour MPs to co-ordinate their nominations and give all members and affiliates the broadest possible choice in the fullest debate representing all shades of opinion within our party and among our supporters.
It is signed by
Andrew Fisher – Labour Representation Committee
Neal Lawson – Compass
Peter Kenyon – Save the Labour Party
Sunder Katwala – Fabian Society (but signing in a personal capacity)
Alex Smith – LabourList blog
This follows a letter sent earlier by activist Duncan Hall which gathered nearly a hundred signatures from CLPs across the country.
Left-winger John McDonnell has also declared three names who support his nomination: Frank Field, Kate Hoey and Dai Havard.
This is what a Labour agenda for women could look like
These are glum times for women in politics. Plus ça change, plus c’est la freakin’ même chose. We were treated to an election campaign in which senior women politicans from all parties were told to keep quiet, look demure and generally get the dinner on.
Harman, a proper grown-up feminist whatever her other failings, was reportedly told to STFU by Mandelson, whose pricklish anti-woman agenda is as predictable as it is ghastly. The new Cabinet is as light on the X-chromosomes as Brown’s outgoing Brut-scented line-up.
The Minister for Women position is now Westminster’s own PTA post, handed as an afterthought to Theresa May to be accomplished in all that spare time she’ll have as Home Secretary.
continue reading… »
Free expression groups call to free journalist
English PEN have joined forces with other leading free expression groups – Amnesty International UK, Article 19 and Index on Censorship to collectively call for the immediate release of journalist Eynulla Fatullayev.
The organisation has issued a press release saying it was “extremely concerned” by the fabricated charges of drugs possession brought against him in December 2009, and the recent death threats received by his father.
On Thursday 3 June we will be holding a peaceful protest outside the Azerbaijani Embassy in London between 12pm and 1pm. Join them if you are able to!
The Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan
4 Kensington Court
London
W8 5DL
(Nearest tube: High Street Kensington)
Update
Some photos:
Update updated
A video:
Labour letter pushes for lower leader threshold
Labour activists are circulating a letter appealing to the Labour NEC and General Secretary, trying to persuade them to lower the nomination threshold to 5% for leadership election.
Organiser Duncan Hall says, “The idea is to see whether we could get all six candidates onto the ballot paper.”
The letter has so far been signed by Labour MPs as well as local members. There are plans to give it wider circulation and put pressure on the party hierarchy to reduce the threshold.
The text of the letter comes from an article written by Duncan Hall for LabourList last week.
There is a simplicity in such a move. And there appears to be a precedent for making a temporary rule change for the contest. After all, the rule is that people must have been members for six months before they can vote in a leadership or deputy leadership election. The NEC rightly waived this rule for this contest and the 2007 one. As such, there should be no difficulty in making a similar temporary decision about this contest. The party can consider whether a more permanent rule change is necessary or desirable in its own leisure at a later date. Today we don’t need to debate the general principle, merely what will work for this contest.
So who’s in? Let’s give the party members the choice they really want. Let’s have the broad range of candidates that all the candidates themselves say they want. Let’s show the country the broad range of talent we have in the Labour Party, and show the country how democratic, mature and comradely we can be. This is an enormously important contest: let’s make it a good one.
Signatories
Tom Harris MP(Glasgow South)
Kate Hoey MP (Vauxhall)
Katy Clark MP (North Ayrshire and Arran)
Tony Benn (Former MP for Chesterfield)
Harry Barnes (Former MP for Derbyshire NE)
Alice Mahon (Former MP for Halifax)
Sunny Hundal (Liberal Conspiracy Blog)
Cllr Geoff Lumley (Agent, Isle of Wight CLP)
Cllr Matthew Brown (Preston CLP)
Cllr Robert Boswell (Preston CLP)
Cllr Drew Gale (Preston CLP)
Cllr James Hull (Preston CLP)
Cllr Taalib Shamsuddin (Preston CLP)
Cllr Peter Rankin (former leader of Preston City Council) (Preston CLP)
Cllr Susan Press (Calder Valley CLP)
Former GLC Councillor Dave Wetzel
Frances Kelly (Finchley CLP)
Jago Parker (Halifax CLP)
Ben Ferret (Rugby CLP)
Stephanie David (Bexleyheath and Crayford CLP)
Duncan Hall (Vice-Chair, Skipton and Ripon CLP)
Alex Otley (Bristol West CLP)
Norrette Moore (Uxbridge & South Ruislip CLP)
Tom Davies (Walthamstow CLP)
Andrew Fisher (Croydon Central CLP)
Lynne Wallace (Vice Chair, Preston CLP)
Owen Jones (Hackney North and Stoke Newington CLP)
Jonathan Burke (Hackney North and Stoke Newington CLP – L0091362)
Steve Revins (Perry Bar CLP)
Sonia Bridge (new member – doesn’t know CLP yet)
David Brown (new member – doesn’t know CLP yet)
Patrick Briggs (new member – Durham)
Here’s what I say on Labour and immigration
Many of the Labour leadership contenders may not want to challenge the myths around immigration, and more’s the shame on them. But instead of wringing my hands about it, it’s my job as a Labour member to try and do something to make them change their minds.
This post is partly a response to Anton at Enemies Of Reason:
If Labour doesn’t want to challenge these [immigration] myths, fine. If it wants to think that it lost the election because it wasn’t tough enough on immigration, fine. But they’ll have a pretty stinging smack in the face coming when they have a re-brand with added Woolas-style dogwhistles but don’t get anywhere. They had the chance to challenge the myths, but instead they’re making myths of their own. And that’s a massive mistake.
Indy front-page shows govt liberties hypocrisy
[hat-tip @bevanitellie for alerting me)
That pretty much sums up this confused government.
Tory bloggers were yesterday furiously trying to defend this attack on our civil liberties. Iain Dale and Tory Bear both claimed the tent was on a world heritage site. It is not (via @hannahnicklin).
Later it became an issue about the protest being an “eyesore” or “making life harder for tourists” or because it was “semi-permanent”. What an atrocious measure of whether protests should be allowed or not.
Say hello to the new boss. Same as the old boss.
There was at least one Conservative who got it. David Skelton writes:
Needless to say, whether you agree with the demonstrators or not should be beside the point. If you believe in freedom to protest then you believe in freedom to protest. The right to protest should not be limited because you do not agree with the views of the protestors or because you believe that the protest is creating an ‘eyesore’ (which is, after all, a subjective term anyhow). The right to protest should certainly not be limited because it causes a minor inconvenience to Members of Parliament.
I doubt many other Tories will rally to the cause.
Abbott emerges as most popular Labour candidate
Diane Abbott was the most popular candidate among a wide range of voters in a poll published today.
It underlines the view that much of the popularity is still defined by public recognition of the leadership contenders.
While Diane Abbott was not as popular among Labour supporters as David Miliband, she was far more popular among Conservative and Libdem voters, a survey by PoliticsHome found.
Only 29% of all voters found the Labour leadership contest ‘inspiring’, with 62% finding it ‘uninspiring’. The figures are almost reversed for Labour voters.
Update
I think it’s pretty cute that Tory bloggers think they’re representative of the population, and will try and skew votes deliberately, so let me explain what is happening here.
If Libdems and Tory voters deliberately wanted to skew votes then they would have voted David Miliband lower and John McDonnell a lot higher. But they didn’t because they aren’t thinking tactically.
Instead, my feeling is that they’re rating candidates based on their profile. Both D Miliband and Diane Abbott have a good profile in the media and hence they’re rated higher. (that isn’t to question Diane Abbott popularity generally of course.)
The obligatory Facebook group to support Diane is here.
The government is calling victims of rape liars
So the new government has somehow found time in its recession-busting schedule to propose a law that will grant anonymity to men accused of rape, who are of course the most pitiable and urgently un of victims of woman-promoting-marriage-destroying-single-mum-supporting-violence-preventing Broken Britain.
Popular wisdom has it that vast numbers of rape allegations are false, when in fact false accusation is believed to account for only a tiny percentage of reported rapes – no higher than false reports for other crimes.
The Daily Fail have somehow produced both the most table-bitingly offensive assessment of the situation so far – from treacherous misogynist Melanie Phillips, who claims that “after Labour’s reign of extreme man-hating feminism, common sense is reasserting itself” – and the most reasonable discussion of the issues for women, from Susanne Moore.
continue reading… »
The class politics of Fake Sheikh scams
Funny how you never hear of a Fake Sheikh sting blushingly rebuffed by the target with a properly decent British response such as ‘thanks awfully old boy, but I really couldn’t possibly. I’m afraid your suggestion would be most, erm, unethical.’
No, the suckers somehow fall for it time and time again.
Fortunately for the Sunday papers, the ker-ching! reflex repeatedly proves irresistible across to the wealthiest 1% of the population, be they royal divorcees, discredited New Labour cabinet ministers or common or garden snooker champs. Front page splashes don’t come any easier than that.
continue reading… »
Tory approach to protests exposed as a fraud
The Tories demonstrated their limited dedication to free speech and protesting today by trying to clear out Brian Haw and other demonstrators from Parliament Square.
The Guardian reported this morning:
Police with sniffer dogs moved to search the tents on Parliament Square before the Queen arrived to announce the new government’s plans. Another protester at the camp, Barbara Tucker, was also arrested.
The response from Westminster council was even more ludicrous:
We all support peaceful protest, but it is completely unacceptable for parts of our city to be occupied and turned into no-go areas by vociferous minorities, however laudable each cause might be.
Parliament Square never was a ‘no-go area’. Perhaps they mean that Tories can’t stand going into areas where leftie protesters might be.
The Tory blogger Iain Dale today illustrated this bone-headed Conservative approach to civil liberties:
I am a defender of civil liberties. I want the laws repealed which ban spontaneous protests within a mile of the Palace of Westminster. People should have the right to protest about anything they want to. But their protests have to be within reason.
I don’t support Britain withdrawing from Afghanistan immediately but anyone with half a brain can see that free speech, free expression and the right to protest can never be dictated by what is ‘within reason’. A free society is a free society is a free society.
Not one where Tory ministers decided whether the protesters are well-dressed enough to have a protest or not.
You also won’t be surprised to hear that self-described ‘libertarian Tories’ are keeping completely quiet on the issue too. So much for their dedication to free speech and civil liberties.
More
BBC News: Parliament Square anti-war protester Brian Haw arrested
How should the left frame opposition to spending cuts?
The left-wing response to spending cuts announced yesterday has been, I think, a fairly scattergun approach.
Given that the coalition government have been talking about the coming cuts for months, if not years, it has been built into public expectations. Plus, they’ve announced some gimmicky austerity measures for MPs that will grab headlines and make people think that MPs are also sharing in the pain so it’s alright.
Which means public outrage won’t be that high.
continue reading… »
Libdems killed the Child Trust Fund star
Its official. After a short interim in which newborns will receive a mere £50 or £100, the Child Trust Fund (CTF) is in effect to be axed. As of January 2011, there will be no further government contributions into any CTFs, according to the announcement yesterday.
The Conservatives did not fight the election on a platform of completely abolishing the CTF. Their policy was to trim it back to the poorest families. The Lib Dems, however, have fought two elections on a platform of abolishing the CTF. The effective abolition of the CTF is, quite clearly, a Libdem responsibility.
continue reading… »
Police deny England shirts were ever banned
Last week I tried to debunk the Facebook rumour that police had banned England shirts for fearing of offending minorities.
Of course they hadn’t. It was thanks to a misleading tabloid story.
The rumour spread across Facebook like wildfire and it is still carrying on.
Then on Friday the BBC have finally picked up the story and asked the police:
Insp Howard Lewis-Jones, of West Midlands Police, said there had been no directive stating that pubs should not bear flags. He said: “It is nonsense. Police officers are football fans too and patriotism should be an important part of enjoying the tournament in a fun and friendly atmosphere as long as people are sensible.”
The Metropolitan Police says the advice, issued in March, was never meant to be seen as a ban on England flags or shirts. A spokesman said: “This letter contains a series of suggestions to make pubs safer for everyone. “However, licensees are not obliged to follow our advice and there is no policy to stop the wearing of England shirts.”
A pretty clear statement I’d say.
On Facebook groups have sprung up around the controversy.
Some buying into the xenophobia: IF IM TAKING MY ENGLAND TSHIRT OFF – YOU TAKE YOUR SHITROLL TURBAN OFF !!.
Others trying to debunk it: Nobody is banning any England shirts, you gullible xenophobic fool (61,000 members) and No one is offended by your England shirt/flag. Shut up. (6,500 members).
Don’t you just love the interwebs?
More at: Tabloid Watch and Enemies of Reason
Liam Fox slapped down for ‘racist’ comments
Defence Secretary Liam Fox was today ’slapped down’ by Foreign Secretary William Hague again and forced to track-back on comments he made about Afghanistan.
The row started when Fox told the Times on Saturday:
We are not in Afghanistan for the sake of the education policy in a broken 13th-century country. We are there so the people of Britain and our global interests are not threatened.
Today the Times reports that Afghanis, rather surprisingly, did not take too well to being called a ‘13th century country’, accusing him of ‘racism and disrespect’.
A senior Afghan government source said: “His view appears to be that Afghanistan has not changed since the 13th century and it implies that Afghanistan is a tribal and medieval society.
“Despite the sacrifices of British soldiers and the massive support of the British Government we do not feel that there is a mutual respect. His remarks show a lack of trust.”
The source added: “We see Britain as still a colonial, orientalist and racist country that they should have this view. Dr Fox really believes what he said, and he is not alone. London and Kabul must move on or things will be more difficult.”
According to the Daily Mail today, that comment prompted a humiliating dressing-down from Mr Hague on Saturday.
Fox was also slapped down over suggestions that Britain would try and withdraw from the country as soon as possible.
Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British troops in Afghanistan, told the newspaper: “It’s a good thing to see a more focused approach coming from the Government, but it’s a bad thing if mixed messages come out.”
More at the New Statesman blog: Liam Fox wages “war amongst the people” (…his people)
How can we keep climate change an important issue?
contribution by Climate Sock
However we measure it, climate change has become a less prominent issue in the UK lately. With a new government that looks unexpectedly stable, climate campaigners can no longer count on another election coming along soon to shake things up.
Instead, they need to find ways of working with the current media and political set-up.
There are significant risks in not addressing the way climate change is currently talked about and acted on.
continue reading… »
Why cutting the Future Jobs Fund is a travesty
contribution by Richard Exell
The government’s list of £6.2 bn of ‘savings’ includes one item that breaks my heart: the abolition of the Future Jobs Fund. This has been the most positive and progressive jobs programme for a quarter of a century, creating temporary but real jobs for young unemployed people around the country.
For a generation employment schemes have been let down by the attempt to run them on the cheap. The history of work experience programmes is that, unless they are crafted to address specific problems faced by individuals in getting back into work, they are not much use.
continue reading… »
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» Obama is right to slam BP – and why capitalists should too
» Why does Phillip Blond see civic cohesion as a security issue?
» So what if the Labour candidates went to Oxbridge?
» Last night’s Labour hustings: will it get interesting or turn to torture?
» It’s now down to Ken to win London for Labour
» The Labour people need
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