Vince Cable’s attack on coalition partners (video)
In the light of a resounding defeat in the local elections last weekend, as well as a clear cut rejection of their proposed new alternative voting system, the LibDems seem to be still recuperating. Business secretary Vince Cable has come out to call his party’s governing partners “ruthless, calculating and very tribal”.
In an interview to the BBC he also affirmed the LibDems continuing priority is to look at and resolve the country’s economic issues, and that the coalition will remain united. This was reinforced by Tory Home Secretary Theresa May. It is believed the Liberal Democrats are particularly riled by the way the Conservatives allowed the No to AV campaign to be carried out. Much of it was focused on personal attacks towards the LibDems and their leader Nick Clegg, who was the main public figure behind the revised voting system.
The heavy defeat in a referendum that constituted one of the major concessions allowed to Mr Cable’s party in the forming of the coalition means that the LibDems are now under pressure to step up and prove they are not in the just for cosmetic reasons. The Labour Party points out that Clegg’s party should bow their ear to calls from voters to tone down ruthless Conservative policies, such as an important reform to the NHS and overall health system, and a shake-up of the composition of the House of Lords.
Government moves on after AV vote and results
The opposing sides of the alternative vote debate in the government have declared their intention to put the matter behind it and get back to the pressing issues still facing the country today. LibDem leader Nick Clegg says his party will now continue to work for the pressing matters at hand – mending the UK economy, addressing unemployment and restoring a sense of optimism to its people. His was the strongest voice in the request for a change in the voting system as the LibDems and part of the Labour Party actively pursued a “Yes 2 AV” campaign.
In what was an unexpectedly strong polling turn out, supporters of the alternative supporters only counted up to 32.1% of the votes, while the “No 2 AV” side registered 67.9%. 19.1 million people voted in what was the country’s only second UK-wide referendum in history.
Prime Minister David Cameron, whose Tory Party was a fervent opposant of the alternative vote, described the outcome as a “clear and resounding answer” to a “straightforward question”. The PM equally underlined the importance of switching focus back to the daily matters facing his government, by continuing to work together with the Liberal Democrat partners at Westminster.
Education Maintenance Allowances scrapped by Tory government
The long-standing EMA scheme will soon be replaced by a new plan by the Cameron government, intended on providing a more targeted financial support to students in need, encouraging them to continue their educational path.
The previous arrangement through the Education Maintenance Allowances meant low-income students were granted £30 a week in a budget allocation totalling more than £550m. The Labour opposition is regretting the change, with Andy Burnham calling the new support scheme a “humiliating climbdown” that unnecessarily replaces what he thinks was a successful policy. The old allowances had originally been brought on by the former Labour executive as they sought to bring down the high number of teenage drop-outs from education.
The new bursary scheme will only drain a third of the old budget for allowances and will attempt to give greater help to severely disadvantaged teens, like pupils in care or the gravely disabled. An additional £165m will be allocated directly to colleges and schools, who will have discretion in supporting low-income students with subsidies for transport, food and educational materials.
The scheme will gradually be introduced, with students who started courses in 2009-10 continuing to receive the same payments until the end of the 2011-12 academic year.
Cameron will not apologise for “Calm down, dear” incident (video)
David Cameron is accused of sexism after telling a a female Labour MP to “calm down, dear” several times during a House of Commons debate. Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Angela Eagle wanted to intervene in a presentation by the Prime Minister, but the Tory leader brushed her off with several calls for her to calm down.
The exchange eventually had to be ended by the Speaker of the House, with vociferous calls from the Labour side for Mr Cameron to apologise. Check out the video below for a recording of the event.
Cameron pledges effort to get addicts off benefits and into work
Prime Minister David Cameron has revealed the government is looking into measures to reduce the number of incapacity benefits claimants with an illness related to either alcoholism, drug abuse or obesity. Recent public statistics show that more than 80,000 people are getting regular social benefits relating to these issues and David Cameron thinks their circumstances should be examined with a view to getting them back into work.
Discussing situations that he says “trap people in long-term poverty”, the PM declared that the government was, in his opinion, showing “courage” to go back and re-assess all incapacity benefit claims on record, a social category that had been allegedly neglected and “left for dead” by the Labour administration.
Alcohol awareness organisations, while welcoming the declared aim to re-habilitate addicts and get them back on the work front, have warned that indiscriminately removing benefits would badly affect vulnerable people and leave them worse off.
Gordon Brown given advisory role in the WEF
Former Labour leader and Britain Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been designated in an advisory role within the World Economic Forum, an international organisation uniting world business leaders with politicians, notable academia figures and more through their annual high-profile meeting in Davos.
Professor Klaus Schwab, acting as WEF executive chairman, says Mr Brown will bring a “wealth of knowledge and experience” and “valuable insights into the global agenda” to the role, which is in effect an unpaid position.
Gordon Brown had previously been rumoured to be in the running for the position of the head of the International Monetary Fund, a potential move which sparked strong disapproval from political opposition back home. Conservative leader David Cameron declared Mr Brown would “not be the best person to work out whether other countries around the world have a debt and deficit problem”, while current Labour leader Ed Miliband thought the former PM would be “eminently qualified” for the role.
Attack attempt on John Prescott receives general disapproval
A physical altercation aimed at former Labour MP John Prescott left him unscathed but instead affected two women as a man in a Prescott mask tried to reach the politician during a public appearance in east London. The man, thought to be in his 30s, was arrested following the disturbance in Chrisp Street, Poplar, and is now in custody at an east London police station, while another man involved in the incident was only spoken to by police and released shortly after.
Mr Prescott made the incident public via a post on his twitter page, receiving a swift response from Conservatives chairman Erick Pickles, who called such incidents “unacceptable”. Another Tory spokesman announced the party had already opened an investigation into the incident, and had suspended the men involved (who were already rumoured to be party members) from the Conservative ranks, pending the results of the enquiry.
Conservatives rate a hung parliament as an economic disaster
With the second of the three planned televised debates looming this week, and opinion polls showing an incredibly tight three-way race to the finish line between the main political contenders, parties are trying to separate themselves through various forecasts and statements. In line most recently, Tory MP Kenneth Clarke, who came out a day before the Sky News debate in Bristol to send a firm warning that a hung parliament would mean a financial disaster for Britain, leaving the country at risk of needing an International Monetary Fund bail-out.
Following the first television debate, of which outsider Nick Clegg was generally hailed as the winner, opinion polls have shown a surge in support for the Liberal Democrats, creating an even more likely perspective of a hung parliament come May 6th. This, says Conservative Ken Clarke, would be highly risky for the bond markets, causing the national currency and interest rates to reach dangerous levels. According to Mr Clarke, the lack of a government with majority support in the Parliament would send a worrying signal to the international market, possibly prompting the intervention of the IMF.
Tory rivals quickly stepped in to attack these claims, with the statements being characterized as “ridiculous”, “desperate”, “scaremongering” or a sign of panic at “losing the election”, by Labour and Lib Dems alike.
photo: davidChiefTory savings considered dangerous by economists
A public letter quoted by The Daily Telegraph and signed by over 50 economists has issued a warning over the danger that the Conservatives‘ public spending plans represent on the health of the British economy. The publication claims it has read the leaked letter, which is supposedly signed by 58 economists, among them Lord Peston, Sir David Hendry, Lord Skidelsky and Lord Layard. All of them support the current Prime Minister’s plans for the economic recovery, while calling the Tories’ so-called efficiency savings only “a cut by another name”.
The Conservatives have spun much of their ongoing campaign around a proposed efficiency plan on the public sector which is promising to save £6bn straight away. The economists in question are warning this would be a “destabilising action” which is not needed. They claim that the country’s recovery is still fragile, and that “only when the recovery is well under way, will it be safe to have extra cuts in government expenditure”.
This comes in contrast with the opposition party’s supporters of the heavy cuts, as the Tories have been vigurously advertising the backing of over 400 small and medium businesses, as well as that of the leaders of several high-profile companies, such as Marks and Spencer and Next, over their savings plans. Mainly the Tory party is opposing a decision by Gordon Brown’s cabinet to raise National Insurance by one percent next year, for high earners (over £20,000), saying the measure would in effect “kill the recovery”.
photo: CPTory MP unhappy over Hitler parody
Oxfordshire Conservative MP John Howell has filed a formal complaint to the Thames Valley Police with regards to a YouTube clip using a subtitled extract from the movie Der Untergang (Downfall). The scene, well-known and heavily-used on the internet for parodies, used subtitles to picture Hitler complaining vociferously about Oxfordshire Tories. Howell said the video was “defamatory”, as well as highly offensive for the World Word II generation that would have to endure such material.
The MP, a Conservative candidate for the Henley constituency, has gone as far as to take legal action on the matter, reporting the video to local police. John Howell was elected in 2008 in the south Oxfordshire constituency, with just over 10,000 votes ahead his Liberal Democrat opposition.
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