‘No evidence foetuses feel pain before 24wks’
There is no new evidence to show foetuses feel pain in the womb before 24 weeks, and so no reason to challenge the abortion limit, doctors say.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ review said foetuses are “undeveloped and sedated”.
Brain connections are not fully formed, and the environment of the womb creates a state of induced sleep, like unconsciousness, they add. Anti-abortion campaigners are likely to challenge the reports.
The issue of whether a foetus of 24 weeks or below can feel pain had been raised in the debate over whether the current time limit for abortion should be reduced.
…more at BBC News (hat-tip @hangbitch)
In 2008 the Conservative MP tried to reduce the legal limit for abortions to less than 24 weeks, using mostly junk science.
In 2006 a report in the British Medical Journal said that foetuses could not feel pain because it requires mental development that only occurs outside the womb.
Why shouldn’t we call out LibDems for their ‘betrayal’?
Is the Left’s job that of opposing measures that we deem unfair, or do we simply find ways of not disagreeing too much with the Coalition lest “we push the LibDems further towards the Tories”?
Stuck between the obvious ideological clashes between those who think such “brave” and tough measures are the “inevitable” legacy of the Labour years, and those who instead call the Budget “reckless” and “dangerous for the recovery“, there appears to be a third category of people.
Yes, you guessed it: LibDem MPs. We don’t really know where the Lib Dems stand, do we?
continue reading… »
MP calls for debate on an English anthem
Parliament should debate the case for an “English national anthem” that fans can sing at sporting events like the World Cup, a Lib Dem MP has said.
Greg Mulholland said it was “frustrating” to hear fans sing God Save The Queen in South Africa as it was the anthem for the United Kingdom. He told MPs there should be a “properly established” anthem for English teams.
For the first time, Jerusalem will be played to celebrate English winners at this year’s Commonwealth Games.
…
Mr Mulholland told MPs “it was wonderful to see the Cross of St George flying” after England’s victory over Slovenia, which booked the team’s place in the last 16 of the competition. But he added: “However, it is still frustrating to see England singing the wrong anthem, the anthem of the United Kingdom.
An idea whose time has come?
Why Labour needs an elected party chair
contribution by Jon Lansman
The two leading candidates for Labour’s Leadership, brothers Ed and David, have spoken in favour of an elected party chair. Jon Cruddas and John McDonnell are also understood to be in favour.
This is a proposal which the Left should advocate with enthusiasm.
David Miliband recently argued:
We should create the new position of an elected Party Chair, focused on building the organising and campaigning strengths of the Labour Party. Tony Blair invented the role but appointed who it would be. This isn’t right. In the era of new politics if we are to have a Chair they have to be elected and focused on party campaigning strength.
Ken and Oona battle for London Labour support
The Leader of Labour’s London Assembly members, Len Duvall AM, has backed Ken Livingstone as the best candidate to take on Boris in the 2012 Mayoral election.
Len Duvall is also the Chair of the Greater London Labour Party.
His endorsement of Ken Livingstone means six of the eight members of the London Assembly Labour Group have now declared their backing for Ken.
He said today:
Ken has secured support across the political spectrum and shows through his overwhelming backing from London Labour Assembly Members that he knows and understands London government.
Ken has focused his fire on Boris Johnson. Labour needs a candidate who really understands the role of the Mayor, is a tough negotiator and who will stand up for London.
Ken’s supporters now stand at 7 MPs (including Chuka Umunna and Jon Cruddas), 41 Councillors and 1 MEP.
But Oona King is doing better in MP endorsements across London.
She has the support of 12 London Labour MPs, including Stella Creasy, Rushanara Ali and Stephen Timms.
This week she also announced the backing of Labour stalwart Neil Kinnock and former cabinet minister Ben Bradshaw.
Yesterday the two main candidates were interviewed on the Today programme.
Listen below (made available by Adam Bienkov, who has more)
Boris was also forced to delay his re-election bid yesterday after it emerged that the £75,000 event would have to be paid by taxpayers.
Lawyers said that such a taxpayer funded event could not be used for political purposes.
Redwood asks people to ‘put on a jumper!’
Here is the Tory right and their reaction to this “age of austerity”.
Yesterday this appeared on John Redwood’s blog:
If you are on a low income then of course cutting spending is difficult or impossible. If you are living a middle-class lifestyle and your income goes down by 10 per cent you have plenty of options.
You can holiday nearer home and cut out the foreign trip. You can eat at home more than in restaurants. You can trade down for a cheaper car.
You can draw some money out of the savings account to tide you over until your income goes up again. You can buy more of the value items at the supermarket and put more vegetarian dishes into menus.
You can discover home entertainment to keep the leisure bill down. You can turn down the thermostat a little and put on a jumper.
Put on a jumper! I’m sure voters will appreciate such incisive advice.
The story has now hit the Daily Mirror, and now the Daily Mail, John Redwood quickly took down that blog post.
The right-wing Tory MP claimed £3,275 in expenses towards decorating his second home.
Update: I wrote earlier that the blog post was no longer to be found. Actually, it’s still there. I’ve amended the headline
Polling very positive for Coalition post-budget
YouGov has today sent out an extensive pre and post budget survey as part of its daily polling for The Sun.
The main points from the latest results are as follows:
1) Overall the budget went down well. 57% think Osborne made the right decisions for the country as a whole (23% think he made the wrong decisions), 42% think he made the right decisions for them, 33% the wrong ones.
2) Government approval is up since before the budget (from 41% to 46%).
3) Half of people believe that the coalition is cutting in a fair manner. 50% think the budget was fair, 27% unfair. We asked before the budget if people thought the reduction in the deficit would be done in a fair way and 34% thought so. That is now up to 45%.
4) Respondents approved of nearly all the specific measures in the budget, including the cuts/tax increases. The most popular were the rise in personal allowance on income tax and the tax on the banks. The big exception was VAT, which was supported by 34% and opposed by 54%.
5) Despite the overall approval of the budget, people were pessimistic about its short term effects. 55% think it will increase unemployment in the next year or two (19% disagree), 44% think it will increase poverty (32% disagree).
6) 69% of Liberal Democrat voters think the party leadership was right to support the budget. In general the public think the economy is being run better than it would have been had either Labour won, or the Conservatives won an overall majority.
Fieldwork was conducted between 22-23 June 2010; sample size 1,641 GB adults.
Click here for full analysis and tables
Click here for Peter Kellner’s budget commentary
Unions need to do better after the Budget to stay relevant
I’m no fan of Trade Unions as they are currently structured and operate, I’ve made this known before but feel it’s worth prefacing this article with that fact straight away. But this doesn’t mean I don’t believe that there is a place for democratic organisations to aid the process of ensuring fair pay and conditions.
However, while those organisations would put publicity ahead of their very reason for existence their credibility can only be shot to pieces; indeed the GMB have managed to do just this in spectacular style in response to Cameron & Clegg’s letter to public sector employees to help find alternative cost saving solutions, by blurting out their faux-fury at the way the situation is being dealt with… continue reading… »
Libdem activists hammer Cable over VAT rise
Libdem activists are angry with the highly regressive budget, despite media reports that they would remain loyal to their leaders.
OVer at LibdemVoice, Vince Cable publishes an article arguing: ‘Why the VAT rise had to happen‘.
But the response is overwhelmingly negative and dismissive of the argument put forward by Cable.
Some examples:
Kate
Nonsense. VAT is regressive. Saying black is white doesn’t make it so. What was wrong with National Insurance? Couldn’t you cut corporation tax to, say, 26% instead of 24%?…
Foregone Conclusion
Hmmm… I would recommend a quick browse of this pdf from the IFS, which shows us that it’s a bit more complicated than thathttp://www.ifs.org.uk/budgets/budgetjune2010/browne.pdf
…
Mike
Will Mr Cable be denying the rumour (from “senior Lib Dems” according to the Financial Times, and from Ed Miliband and Peter Hain talking about the Lib-Lab discussions) that he didn’t believe cuts should be delayed even as he said it to voters? If not, what were the reasons for this other dishonesty on top of VAT?…
Kerrie Furlong
I have voted Lib Dem for the last four elections, which is all my voting life. I will never vote Lib Dem again until Nick Clegg has gone. Though not a member, I have in the past and did at the last election help deliver leaflets through letterboxes. …
How the hell has it come to this and how the hell did that become leader of our party?
I actually live in Cleggs constituency and will campaign at the next election to get rid of him.
Maybe once he has gone, we will get our party back.
There were however some supportive voices too.
Andrea Gill
Say what you want about VAT (and the increase MUST be viewed in balance with the measures in the budget aimed squarely to protect the poorest in society) is at least a tax that cannot be evaded.It was also interesting that 28% CGT was the level estimated to bring the most revenue, as Danny Alexander explained on Newsnight last night – this was based on advice from all Treasury officials. Funny that Labour never took notice of this advice…
It will be interesting to see what the polls show in coming days, and the sentiment of the party as the budget cuts start hurting families.
The campaign to stop vote reform is kicking off; we have to fight back
contribution by Andy May
I know its slightly obsessive to be talking voting reform after a pretty depressing budget day, but given its now my job at Take Back Parliament please humour me.
This story in the Guardian on the coming voting reform referendum caught my eye. The soon to be ‘No to AV’ campaign are organising – and they’ve recruited Lynton Crosby.
The appointment of Lynton Crosby shows serious steps are already being taken by the nascent ‘No to AV’ campaign.
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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