What’s behind the rise of German Greens?
According to polls the German Greens, who already have the most MPs they’ve ever had, are seeing an unprecedented rise in the polls seeing them neck and neck for the first time with the SPD, the German version of the Labour Party.
So what’s to account for the rise which, like in Sweden, does not seem to have effected other parties to the left of the centre?
One explanation is that the new right-wing coalition’s decision to extend the life of existing nuclear power stations has hit a nerve in a nation that has had a vibrant anti-nuclear movement for many decades.
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An ethical foreign policy? At least admit past mistakes, Mr Miliband
contribution by Ivo Petkovski
24 hours before voting closed for Labour leadership, David Milliband returned to the Home office to study files relating to Brits tortured abroad under his watch as Foreign secretary.
His conclusion? That there was no evidence that any ministers had ever asked for any of the men in question to be detained, so any allegations of his own collusion in torture were unfounded.
The statements coming from Miliband and his team are pure legalese, but the overall meaning is clear: ‘David would never sanction torture‘. D-Mili has been at pains to distance himself from the torture allegations, easily the most toxic part of his career to date.
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Watch: Protests against cuts at #LDconf
Protest against cuts in Liverpool at Libdem conference
Film made by Angela Byrne – on YouTube and Twitter
Ireland continues to deteriorate and we’re heading there too
A year ago I noted how, unlike Britain, the Irish Government had reacted to the global recession by cutting spending and attempting to drive down costs to remain globally competitive.
I also noted this was broadly the policy pushed by the Conservatives at the time. This is what happened between September 2008 and September 2009:
Nearly one year on, what has been the effect of these polices? Irish GDP is expected to fall by 12%, a staggering decline. Unemployment has reached 12.4% and is still rising. The economy is now in the grip of a severe deflation (minus 5.9%)…
In December last year, as Ireland delivered yet another emergency budget that was again praised by British Tories, I wrote an update.
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UN report: Israel acted unlawfully on Flotilla
A United Nations panel of human rights experts has accused Israel of war crimes through willful killing, unnecessary brutality and torture in its “clearly unlawful” assault on a ship attempting to break the blockade of Gaza in May in which nine Turkish activists died.
The report by three experts appointed by the UN’s Human Rights Council (UNHRC) described the seizure of MV Mavi Marmara, a Turkish vessel, by Israeli commandos as illegal under international law.
It condemned the treatment of the passengers and crew as brutal and disproportionate. It also said that the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian enclave is illegal because of the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“There is clear evidence to support prosecutions of the following crimes within the terms of article 147 of the fourth Geneva convention: wilful killing; torture or inhuman treatment; wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health,” the report said.
He must be the world’s worst “benefits scrounger”
There’s been a fair amount of coverage of Keith Macdonald, the “Sunderland Sh***er” who has fathered ten (or more) children with ten different women, and “outrage” that this will cost the taxpayer more than £1.5 million.
Matthew Sinclair, director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “This is a disgusting abuse of a benefits system that is supposed to look after those who have genuinely fallen on hard times. It is shocking that someone can be so indifferent to their responsibilities.”
If you believe the newspaper reports, then Macdonald doesn’t sound like a particularly nice guy. But if you think about it, he also sounds like the worst “benefit scrounger” ever.
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‘But Vince Cable doesn’t hold reins of power’
The former political editor of the Sun newspaper, George Pascoe-Watson, has written an intriguing piece of commentary on Vince Cable’s big speech today.
He says the PM and his deputy Nick Clegg has formed “a genuine and lasting bond” which is likely to prove stronger than even their bond with party colleagues.
This is the relationship which explains much of the political landscape and is the best evidence we have that this coalition is more likely than not to survive.
It explains why 10 Downing Street didn’t come down like a ton of bricks on business secretary Vince Cable after his astonishing attack on capitalism.
And so those in number 10 who wanted to put a red pen through Mr Cable’s speech were forced to sit on their hands – knowing a media firestorm would erupt.
But it’s unlikely to mean anything substantial he says.
Mr Cable’s jaw-dropping comments have angered the business editors and caused considerable unease in Britain’s boardrooms.
But in 10 days’ time, the PM himself will reassure the critics by making it abundantly clear he holds the reins of power – and he loves business, big and small. Mr Cable’s speech was aimed squarely at LibDem waverers and there is no chance of this government unleashing an assault on capitalism.
The Chancellor, he says, has bitten his tongue for now, but will “stamp on any attempt to curb bank bonuses further”.
In other words, any Libdems or Labourites hoping this speech will lead to any serious change in government policy will be sorely disappointed.
Vince Cable: a populist, not a Marxist
Political theory does have a name for ritual rhetorical denunciation of fats cats and the labour movement alike, in the name of standing up for the little guy. It’s called populism, it is generally considered an ideology of the right, and it was the only –ism that the business secretary was retailing in his speech to the Lib Dem conference today.
Not that you’d know it from the hysterical reaction to the advance text of Vince Cable’s oration, which has been denounced by several commentators as an attack on capitalism.
Cable himself was backfooted to the extent where he was forced to deny any Marxist intent. He was even at pains to insert an additional reference to Adam Smith in the speech as delivered.
Yet look at what Cable actually said.
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Survey shows scant example of ‘Big Society’
One of the pioneering policies of the Coalition Government has been ‘The Big Society’.
Based on the principles of empowering communities, redistributing power and fostering a culture of volunteerism, it is apparently their big plan.
But have MPs themselves lead by example on volunteering and civic action?
A new website – www.the-big-society.co.uk – decided to find out.
They wrote to every MP on the government benches to ask them to detail any voluntary work they had undertaken during the summer recess of Parliament.
They started contacting MPs at the end of August and felt a month would be about right to allow them to respond, even after reminders.
And what were the results? This is what they told us:
So far the response been slightly underwhelming. At the time of launching the website approximately 5 to 6% of government MPs have declared their voluntary contributions to The Big Society.
There have been some notable efforts from the likes of Harriet Baldwin, Damian Collins, Penny Mordaunt and Amber Rudd, but the information to date suggests that the vast majority of Coalition MPs have yet to fully buy into The Big Society project. However, we are regularly contacting MPs for updates, and anticipate a far greater uptake from our representatives as the Big Society becomes established.
The full data can be accessed by a site-wide search facility, and alphabetically by MP’s surname and by political party.
They also have a list of ‘Top Volunteers’ to indicate which MPs have been doing the most to forge The Big Society.
Libdem could lose £200k in case against Woolas
Libdem candidate Elwyn Watkins, who is fighting a court case against Labour MP Phil Woolas over election leaflets, stands to lose as much as £200,000 of his own money if the case is unsuccessful.
The startling figure was revealed by the BBC’s Arif Ansari, who was covering the court proceedings last week. Mr Watkins believes he was cheated out of victory by lies in Labour election leaflets.
You can read Arif Ansari’s summary of court proceedings here: day one, day two, day three
During the trial it emerged that Woolas’ election agent, Joseph Fitzpatrick, allegedly sent an email in the run-up to the poll saying: “We need … to explain to the white community how the Asians will take him [Woolas] out … If we don’t get the white vote angry he’s gone.”
Yesterday, the Saddleworth News website reported that Phil Woolas has accused his Liberal Democrat opponents of “bigotry” during the general election campaign.
Mr Woolas made the claims in an e-mail to supporters, seen by Saddleworth News. He said:
For too long the Liberal Democrats have tried to play it both ways: Because we were attacking Islamists, they assume we are pandering to the white racist vote. They assume – wholly wrongly – that Muslim voters don’t oppose the Islamists. This is the bigotry.
“Of course we wanted white voters to vote for me – but be in no doubt that the campaign was aimed at and supported by large numbers in all communities.
The full email is here.
The case was also covered by the Libdem blogger Nick Thornsby. A judgement is expected next month.
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