Cameron called his own welfare plans “barmy”
In 2008 the right-wing think-tank Policy Exchange published a report called ‘Cities Unlimited’. It stated:
If councils believe that many of the people in their area will have better life chances elsewhere, they should be allowed to assist in national job searches.
They could identify areas that are either short of labour in general, or of particular types of labour, and invite firms from those areas to visit them for job fairs. They could fund visits to other places, so that local people could get a better sense of what opportunities are available elsewhere. Such places could be within easy commuting distance, or further afield, that would imply migration. (p52)
David Cameron was swift to distance himself from it.
This report has got nothing to do with the Conservative Party, this is an independent think tank, it has charitable status, I think this report is complete rubbish.
“It is barmy,” he added.
But, in an interview with Iain Duncan Smith yesterday, the Sunday Telegraph reported:
Mr Duncan Smith, the MP for Lord Tebbit’s former parliamentary seat of Chingford, disclosed that ministers were drawing up plans to encourage jobless people living in council houses to move out of unemployment black spots to homes in other areas, perhaps hundreds of miles away.
…
“We have to look at how we get that portability, so that people can be more flexible, can look for work, can take the risk to do it.”It is understood that the Coalition is looking at ways to provide incentives for workers to move to areas where there are jobs…. But as well as incentives, there will be tough action to cut welfare bills which may prove controversial. Mr Duncan Smith, who is responsible for finding £11 billion of the extra £32 billion in savings earmarked by the Chancellor, disclosed details of moves to tackle “under occupation” of large council homes.
Is moving people hundreds of people miles in search of work, under threat of homelessness, “barmy rubbish” now, David Cameron?
Or is it just plain old ‘daft’?
Dozen eggs banned? Yes, they did make it up
The latest insane euromyth, as faithfully invented by the Daily Mail, is that the EU is planning to ban the sale of eggs by the dozen or half-dozen.
As usual, the Littlejohn Rule applies here: if the story sounds like something you “really couldn’t make up” (thanks, Mr Dale), then somebody doubtless has made it up.
The main thrust of the Daily Mail’s story is that under proposed EU legislation, it will be illegal to print “six eggs” on a box of six eggs. Instead, the quantity of eggage will have to be listed solely in kilogrammes.
This is simply – and really really obviously – false, and if you believe it then you’re doubtless someone who’s checked whether the word ‘gullible’ is really in the dictionary.
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Budget hits poor even more than thought
Drawing on a wealth of data sources, Landman Economics and the Fabian Society, have been building a statistical model for the TUC and Unison over the last few months which shows how public spending affects different households and income groups.
Don’t Forget the Spending Cuts! is the first study based on the model and it reveals just how strikingly regressive the Budget is once you factor in the spending cuts which neither the Treasury nor the IFS’s analysis included.
The model reveals that:
the average annual cut in public spending on the poorest tenth of households is £1,344, equivalent to 20.5% of their household income, whereas the average annual cut in public spending on the richest tenth of households is £1,135, equivalent to just 1.6% of their household income.
The graph based on the data tells its own remarkable story (you can click on it for a bigger version):
The Observer has a report on the study today.
Also: Next Left – So, what happens to fairness when you look at the spending cuts too?
Update: Left Foot Forward analysis shows that deprived areas will be hit hardest by cuts too.
The three different approaches to Tory cuts
One of the interesting themes that came up yesterday at Blog Nation was about how to most effectively oppose the budget cuts, as bloggers.
As always with Liberal Conspiracy there was a bit too much of a focus on ‘framing’ and ‘narrative’ for my tastes, but I’m not criticising that – it’s just I find that kind of language a little bit alienating.
Some people were talking about using anecdotal “stories” that help personalise the cuts and demonstrate the effect they have on people’s lives. I think there is value in that, but it can only go so far.
The problem is that both the Lib Dems and the Conservatives are happy to admit that cuts are painful and cause hardship – this is not contested.
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LC Blog Nation: the aftermath
Thank you to all who came to the LC Blog Nation event. It was a lovely, sunny day and you should be commended for willing to give up your Saturday for that. We had a packed theatre hall, and I would post some pictures but I seem to have left my camera in the hall (did anyone find it?).
We also had live coverage on Twitter.
It was the first in what I hope will become an annual fixture in the political calendar. My aim was two-fold: (a) two create a space for many bloggers, activists and campaigners to meet each other and share ideas and plans; (b) discuss strategy on how the left could move forward.
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Two polls show Libdems deserting after budget
Nick Clegg is clearly suffering after entering into a coalition with the Conservatives while the other two main parties are flourishing, according to the ICM poll for The Sunday Telegraph.
The Lib Dems have plummeted to 16%, down five points, while the Conservatives are on 41%, up two, and Labour are up four points on 35%. The Telegraph says the poll would appear to show that they are floundering after entering into a coalition with the Tories and as their supporters voice scepticism about their part in the Budget.
Martin Boon of ICM told the Sunday Telegraph:
[T]he real concerns for the Liberal Democrats are evident. This is being seen as a necessary but still hard-nosed Tory budget which has had the effect of alienating a core group of supporters on the left of the party.
The Observer also has bad news for the Libdems today.
A new poll shows that 48% of those who voted Lib Dem at the election are now less inclined to back them again as a direct result of the increase in VAT from 17.5% to 20%.
The poll of almost 2,500 people, financed by Ed Miliband’s campaign for the Labour leadership, found 26% of people “somewhat” less likely to vote Lib Dem because of the VAT U-turn and 22% much less likely.
Among supporters of all parties, 34% said the VAT hike had put them off voting Lib Dem. A total of 25% of Lib Dems would be less likely to vote for the party again as a result of the budget decision to freeze child benefit for three years.
The Observer also reports that a study by economists Howard Reed and Tim Horton says those earning under £14,200 will be hit six times harder than those at the top of the pay scale, earning more than £49,700.
The left is now ahead in the World Cup
Six out of eight group winners in the group stages shows that left-of-centre countries have hit form as the World Cup enters the knock-out stages, as we continue Next Left’s unique political guide to the world’s greatest sporting event.
While Brazil, Argentina and Spain were favourites to win their group, strong performances from Uruguay, Paraguay and the USA left the political right trailing, with only Holland and Germany topping groups.
There are nine left-of-centre nations in the last sixteen, as Japan’s victory to knock out Denmark proved enough for an overall majority, with Ghana and Portugal also qualifying from the group stages. (But Australia’s third game victory was not enough to put them through, with prime minister Kevin Rudd falling in a party putsch the same morning).
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Libdem MPs back Clegg… for now
Support for Nick Clegg is holding up among Liberal Democrat MPs at the end of the most difficult week for the coalition after the budget heralded a freeze in child benefit and a VAT increase from next year.
A Guardian survey of Lib Dem MPs found unease about some of the harsh measures, but also consensus that tough action needs to be taken to tackle the record fiscal deficit and agreement that Labour is in no position to offer lectures.
Simon Hughes, the deputy leader, highlighted concerns yesterday when he floated the possibility of tabling rebel amendments to the finance bill.
He also warned the Tories that they cannot unpick any element of the coalition agreement as Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, indicated that some pensioner benefits may have to be reviewed.
The Daily Mail and its constant ‘cry rape’ stories
Alison Clarke is making a plea to the Daily Mail to stop featuring stories about false rape claims.
So, this is a plea to the Mail. Yes, we know that women make up stories about sexual assault. But – and please note this – they are very few and far between.
The fact is that at least 50,000 women are raped every year in the UK, but only a tiny percentage result in convictions of the rapist.
She’s not the only one. A while back I wrote about the way that papers like the Mail report rape cases – nearly every time it will be case where ‘an innocent man’s life has been ruined’ or ‘a woman made sickening claims in a revenge attack on her ex’ or some such tale.
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Is it time to join the Labour party?
In the five years that I’ve been running my blog, it could probably be classified as being written by a stereotypically angry leftie who felt dispossessed from the movement he felt he ought to be comfortable within, if not proud to say he belonged to.
Well, nothing’s changed, or at least has with me personally. I still feel dispossessed from the movement I should be able to belong to; I’m still a stereotypically angry leftie, still naive and still completely uncertain of my own surroundings.
The change, it has to be admitted, is that the government I found myself raging against which I felt I ought to be able to at least sympathise with, is now no more.
continue reading… »
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» Revealed: govt to restrict abortion counselling despite Nadine Dorries vote
» Would raising the tax threshold actually help the poorest?
» To win London, Ken Livingstone has to step outside his comfort zone
» This trade agreement with India will destroy thousands of lives
» UK debt hasn’t hit £1 trillion – mostly because of QE
» The benefits of being a “burden” on society
» Today’s economic figures will simply confirm UK’s “lost decade”
» Have Labour realised the election is more than three years away?
» Violence in the office
» Want a more responsible capitalism? Reform how pensions work
» The world is entering the third phase of the crisis, warns ILO
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