Boris pretends to oppose Cameron’s cuts
This is a classic bit of positioning by Boris Johnson – given the likely political fallout from Cameron’s cuts:
The mayor, who has made tackling crime and improving London transport two of his key objectives for the mayoralty, told members: “It would be a great mistake to cut frontline policing in this city and it would be a disastrous mistake to cut investment in transport infrastructure.”
The mayor is particularly concerned that vital tube upgrades and the £16bn Crossrail project – an east-to-west rail link across the capital which will increase London’s rail capacity by 10%, remain unscathed.
…
But John Biggs, deputy leader of the Labour group, pointed out that the mayor has at the same time increased the number of his senior team on top salaries of more than £100,000 to 18.
It’s obvious what Boris is doing – positioning himself so when London suffers from Tory cuts, he can claim that he opposed them all along.
When will our cultural institutions disassociate from big oil?
contribution by Mel Evans
One month ago, a group calling themselves Liberate Tate released black helium balloons carrying ‘oil-slicked’ model fish and birds to the upper airspace of Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall during the gallery’s BP sponsored birthday party.
Two weeks ago, an offshoot of the same group spilled ‘oil’ at the entrance and on the gallery floor of Tate Britain as art scenesters arrived for the semi-prestigious BP Summer Party.
And this week yet another group has extended the story by visiting the British Museum, which also takes BP money, during visiting hours and elegantly spilling ‘oil’ from hand-crafted BP eggs in front of (but not touching) a key exhibit.
continue reading… »
This is the last sane man in France
With the news that the French Assembly has overwhelmingly passed a law against the wearing of the veil I’ve been in a blistering, fuming rage.
The law, which was introduced by a “delegation for the rights of women” criminalised women who choose to wear the “wrong” clothes.
If the senate passes the law it will be illegal to wear a full face-veil and you can be fined and forced to go to citizenship classes. It’s also a crime (rightly) to force someone to wear a veil, including your children.
continue reading… »
Exclusive: Balls, Abbott support gay marriage
Ed Balls has become the first Labour leader candidate to affirm his support for gay marriage.
His team confirmed the stance last night to Liberal Conspiracy.
He will become the first senior Labour MP, as well the only leader candidate so far, to support the move.
Update: Diane Abbott today also issued this statement to LC:
I have always supported gay marriage and made that case when civil partnerships were first discussed. Despite what may now be reported, it wasn’t New Labour that first proposed civil partnerships but Ken Livingstone in his first administration. I supported it then, way before New Labour had the bravery to put this issue into legislation.
In an interview with LC last week, Ed Miliband said he “would listen to what people had to say” on the issue but did not go as far as endorsing full support for gay marriage. He was later criticised for his stance.
Libdem leader Nick Clegg said in March this year he supported gay marriage but the party’s LGBT election manifesto made no mention of the issue.
The new Coalition government has said it would “consult” on the issue but hasn’t moved further on the issue.
Greens are the only party in the UK to officially support gay marriage.
An editorial in PinkNews.co.uk said last week:
Religious gay people want religious ceremonies – something the law does not currently allow. Others, who may be religious or secular, crave the gravity and recognition the word marriage offers.
There may be no difference in the rights and benefits received by those in civil partnerships, but to be married is to make a statement – to your partner, to your loved ones, to the world.
Activists are also campaigning to end the blanket, lifetime ban on gay and bisexual blood donors.
When asked yesterday at a Labour leader hustings (where each candidate was represented by an MP), none on the panel knew where their candidate stood on gay marriage.
The Ed Balls team was the only one to get back in touch and confirm their support.
Government’s Spending Challenge website now offers you comedy gold
The government’s Spending Challenge website, launched last week on Friday, invites us to send our ideas for cuts.
A team has been put together right at the heart of government," claims the blurb on the homepage, "and their job is to make sure that your ideas and comments are taken seriously."
Which is deeply worrying, because for the most part the contributors to Spending Challenge give the impression that they have moved there directly from the Daily Express comments board.
Many entries have little bearing on government doing "more for less" and instead reflect personal hobby-horses, like the ubiquitous "Bring Back Capital Punishment".
continue reading… »
‘Labour wouldn’t deal with Clegg as leader’
Labour would demand the resignation of Nick Clegg before doing a deal with the Liberal Democrats in a future hung parliament, a senior Labour figure has said.
John Denham, the shadow Communities Secretary, reflected the anger in Labour’s ranks about Mr Clegg’s decision to enter a coalition with the Conservatives two months ago.
When the general election ended in deadlock, Mr Clegg demanded the departure of Gordon Brown as the price of a Lib-Lab deal and Mr Brown offered to stand down. But talks with the Tories were already well advanced.
Mr Denham told the Fabian Review: “The Lib Dems have ceded all right to say they are a progressive party. If we use the next years to address the parlous state of the Labour Party, and if the Lib Dems change, that might open up possibilities.”
How Hackney cuts
Have started to spend time with people in poorer boroughs who are likely to be affected by public sector cuts. Will post interview extracts while several of us work on longer pieces with video, and go back to people to see how they’re getting on:
I talk to Anthony Rhoden at a Saturday afternoon Hackney Unites clinic for people who need free workplace and employment advice. Two Russell Jones & Walker solicitors are there as advisors, as well a TUC and local union rep.
A longtime (now unemployed) chef and restaurant worker, Rhoden says that he is a Unite organiser for bar and restaurant employees -’there’s a lot of problems in the catering industry – there were lots of problems even before the recession. It happened to me all the time – wouldn’t get paid, or wouldn’t get all my pay. People don’t know they have rights. You get bullied all the time.’
In a recession, though, people count themselves lucky to have a job, even if they’re abused in it. That’ll be nowhere more the case than in Hackney. Hackney’s unemployment figures are already the worst in London, with a June 2010 TUC analysis putting the ratio of people claiming jobseekers’ allowance to available jobs at 24:1. continue reading… »
OrangeFest 2010 and the right to demonstrate
Repackaging a deliberately intimidatory display of religiously-based ethnic supremacism as an all-inclusive carnival offering fun and frivolity for the whole family was always going to be a tall order.
But that’s just what Northern Ireland has been trying to do for the last three years, with the Loyalist marching season now officially known as OrangeFest, a moniker redolent of a discontinued east European brand of soft drink or perhaps the harvest celebrations in Seville.
Here’s the soft sell to the tourists, courtesy of the Belfast Visitor & Convention Bureau:
OrangeFest has become increasingly family friendly, and now includes acts for children to enjoy such as face-painting, juggling, stilt-walking and bouncy castles. And for fans of all things pyrotechnic, the spectacle of the annual Eleventh night bonfires all across Northern Ireland will certainly be a memorable one.
Well, I guess the category ‘all things pyrotechnic’ must logically include petrol bombs, and anybody in town specially for the party last night will be additionally grateful for having gotten their money’s worth.
Why AV reform would still be a big improvement on Westminster
The possible impact of the alternative vote (AV) on British politics is almost always talked about in the context of seat numbers and tactical voting, with a dash of talk about legitimacy courtesy of AV meaning that each MP has to end up with at least 50% plus 1 of the transferable votes.
Having a decent relationship between vote share and seat numbers is an important part of what a voting system should deliver (and the failure of first past the post to do that is part of what originally made me join the Liberal Democrats).
However, the votes / seats correlation is not the only factor.
continue reading… »
Does the BBC have a hidden agenda on climate change?
contribution by Hengist McStone
Some months ago I started my own blog to document a correspondence with the BBC as the result of a controversial documentary entitled “Are environmentalists bad for the Planet?”
It was about a lot of things but, oddly, put forward no evidence to justify the title. The BBC have now admitted that the title was to hook in the listeners , perhaps what journalists would call “sensationalist”.
But my contentions only start with the title. BBC editors extremely evasive in answering my questions around the documentary. But as I dug more, I started to get seriously pissed off with the way the BBC covers climate change in general.
continue reading… »
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» The real agenda behind Telegraph’s abortion investigation
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