The Evening Standard’s curious priorities
If you live or work in London you may have noticed the front page headline in Monday’s Evening Standard:
David Miliband’s tax blow to 34,000 homes in London
This was the response to the Labour leadership contender’s call for a tax on £2 million houses as part of a strategy for cutting the deficit.
Miliband set the £2 million threshold as the level at which such a tax would raise as much as the Tories are cutting from the poorest on Housing Benefit.
The Evening Standard was outraged that 34,000 houses in London – 80,000 nationwide – would be hit by the tax.
This week, we published an analysis of official data, showing that the Housing Benefit changes will hit more than 936,000 families, who will lose an average of £12 a week each. We gave a regional breakdown.
Unfortunately, the Evening Standard chose not to lead with…
Coalition’s HB blow to 160,000 households in London.
Hat tip: Next Left
The Green party needs a big debate about its direction
It’s been a few years now since the Green Party made its decision to adopt a leadership model. At the time it was a hotly contested issue and, in a high turnout, the referendum resulted in more than 70% voting to reform the old system.
However, since then there has been little discussion of how to implement the new system, I believe in order to help heal some of the wounds and concentrate on politics, funnily enough.
That’s all very sensible but the fact is with poorly contested elections the party has essentially allowed inertia decide for it what we want from our leader.
continue reading… »
Tories u-turn on free milk for infants
The government is considering cutting a UK-wide scheme offering free milk to under-five-year-olds in nursery or daycare, the BBC has learned.
UK health minister Anne Milton set out the proposals in a letter to Scottish public health minister Shona Robison.
She said there was no evidence the scheme improved health and it was too expensive to run.
The government expected opposition to the measure from the media, parents, nurseries, childminders and the dairy sector, she admitted, adding: “Abolition of the scheme is likely to be highly controversial, particularly as this will affect some children in low-income families.”
But she said: “This should not prevent us from ending an ineffective universal measure – and this would clearly be the best time to do it, given the state of public finances and the need to make savings.”
Update: The government, knowing the bad PR that would follow, has already u-turned.
Gove may face lawsuits for cutting schools
Michael Gove, the under-fire Education Secretary, has been warned in confidential advice from a leading QC that local authorities have a “fairly strong case” in legal bids to recover costs incurred from cancelled school building programmes.
The advice, leaked to The Sunday Telegraph, is the latest blow for Mr Gove as he battles against the fallout from his botched announcement last month in which he axed more than 700 projects.
At least two local authorities – Sandwell and Nottingham City Council – are known to be preparing possible legal challenges, and several other councils may follow in moves which could see the taxpayer facing payouts totalling hundreds of millions of pounds.
…
Last month The Sunday Telegraph revealed that Mr Gove had ignored the advice of his own officials in going ahead with the announcement of the scrapping of the £55 billion Building Schools for the Future (BSF) initiative before widespread consultation.
The DfE said the newspaper’s story was “wrong” – only for it to be confirmed in evidence to the Commons all-party education select committee.
Why I changed my mind over the Burkha debate
contribution by James Bloodworth
After initially stating my dislike for all things burka and hijab related, which, as it happens, I stand by, I have decided in hindsight that I was somewhat guilty of jumping upon the “ban the burka” bandwagon. I simply assumed that all women who do wear such garments are by default forced into doing so.
That is not to say that there isn’t a great deal of merit in that position. : there are, undoubtedly, a number of women who are forced into the burka (with the threat of Koranically sanctioned violence should they refuse); and it is also at least as important to frame the debate in terms of encouraging more women leaving their homes, as it is to simply view the debate as about the freedom to wear what one wishes.
However, it has became apparent to me that those often shouting the loudest for a burka ban were never really those for whom women’s rights had figured as an overly important issue in the past.
continue reading… »
End right to buy – says Simon Hughes
He is surely not speaking for the Coalition government – it so rarely seems to be the case that anybody is these days – but LibDem deputy leader Simon Hughes has opened up a new front, proposing the end of Margaret Thatcher’s flagship “right to buy” policy, to end a week which has suggested the Coalition parties have very different instincts when it comes to housing policy.
It looks a strong political scoop for the South London Press, whose interview with Hughes could well create some waves at Westminster.
continue reading… »
The worst cuts yet: how a Tory council is targeting the vulnerable
Buckinghamshire County Council is slashing funding for domestic violence programmes and children in care in one of the most blatant examples yet of a local authority targeting the most vulnerable.
A meeting of the full council this week agreed to the cuts, with Conservative members voting the cuts through in the face of concern from Lib Dem councillors who wanted more time to allow consultation.
continue reading… »
Tory, Libdem love-in at conference downgraded
It was meant to be an occasion for Cameron to address his new partners.
But it looks like now only William Hague is likely to make it.
William Hague is being lined up to speak at the Liberal Democrats’ annual conference next month in a move designed to cement relations between the coalition partners.
…
LibDem Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander and education minister Sarah Teather are expected to attend the Tory conference in October, but will have low-key roles, such as acting as chairmen of a fringe meeting.
But the Libdem press office has been in touch today to confirm that William Hague has not been asked to speak at their conference.
What do these polls tell us about where Labour needs to go?
Unlike a lot of lefties, I love polls: regular readers should know that by now. Why? Because I believe to get somewhere (a more equal society, say) you have to know where the electorate is now and understand what arguments would convince them to go with you.
Yesterday, two polls were published on the state of the Labour party and its recent election loss. It’s worth delving into them.
What Demos polls say
Demos polling says the party is “out of touch” and the Labour brand is “toxic” with a lot of voters.
continue reading… »
Candidates oppose domestic violence law
Both David Miliband and Ed Balls said last night they were running campaigns to challenge the Coalition’s recent decision to scrap a scheme to protect women from domestic abuse by removing violent partners from the family homes.
Ed Balls’ team sent out this email:
The Home Secretary Theresa May has slipped out an appalling decision to stop a new scheme to protect women and their children from domestic abuse. People across the country will be shocked by this decision and we have decided to launch a campaign to get it over-turned.
We’re writing to the Home Secretary asking her to think again and let the new scheme go ahead.
Domestic Violence Protection Orders, which Labour legislated for, give the police the power to ban a violent partner from a family home for two to four weeks. They are aimed at intervening in cases where police are worried about violent behaviour in a home but don’t have enough evidence to bring a criminal charge, or where the victim needs time to recover from the shock of an attack and decide what to do.
David Miliband also launched a campaign from his website, targeting Libdem MP Lynne Featherstone.
Tory Home Secretary Theresa May has announced she will scrap Domestic Violence Protection Orders, a scheme introduced by Labour, which would help the police protect women and children against violence in the home.
Send this letter to her and Lib Dem Lynne Featherstone, Home Office Minister with responsibility for Equality, to show your anger at their callous cuts which will put women in danger. Please feel free to amend the letter to fit your own views on why we must do everything we can to put a stop to domestic violence.
Both initiatives will also be useful in gathering new email addresses for their databases.
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