Friday, September 05, 2008

Brown ‘cautiously optimistic’ about economy

‘Gordon Brown signalled tonight that there would be no one-off payment to soften the impact of rising fuel bills in a package of measures expected to be released next week. But in a speech to the Scottish CBI, he sought to lift the gloom surrounding the wider economy, saying he was cautiously optimistic that underlying strengths would help Britain weather the global crisis.’ – Patrick Wintour, The Guardian

‘But the worst outlook in six decades? Nonsense. Britain is not going to return to the rationing of the 1940s, the three-day working week and 25%-plus inflation of the 1970s, or the 3m unemployed of the early 1980s. Nor does Britain look so bad in comparison with the neighbours. The somewhat flaky OECD report was sexed up in the retelling and, while Britain is teetering on the brink of recession, the euro zone is already shrinking.’ – Economist

‘The present economic situation would test even a robust government united under a popular leader. Apart from Jack Straw, no one in the cabinet has experienced such bad times before, and the strain is showing. If, as predicted, the British economy is the first in Europe to enter recession, we will enter unknown territory.’ – Martin Bright, New Statesman

Ideas drought?

‘At the heart of the mess is the fact that the centre-Left is running out of ideas. It is not that the ideas do not exist. Out there, outside the Westminster sphere, people are at least as politicised as they ever were. But the ideas are not being harnessed and developed.’ – John Kampfner, Daily Telegraph

A challenge for the plotters

‘Those who want the removal of Mr Brown have three obligations. First, they must spell out in detail how they would deal with the external factors that have derailed Mr Brown's leadership, in particular the credit crunch and the soaring price of oil and food. Second, they must outline their policies for the future and how they connect with a party that is meant to be on the centre-left of British politics. In fairness to Mr Clarke he has done that in articles and lectures. Third, they must demonstrate they can build a coalition of support that gives Labour a chance of winning the next election.’ – Steve Richards, The Independent

No fairness by chance

‘Labour's opponents are opportunist. But that is what oppositions do. The problem is that the opportunism has not been called. Labour's argument should be the opposite: "Fairness doesn't happen by chance" - it depends on what governments do. And this must be fleshed out by concrete policy that can test the party's political opponents.’ – Sunder Katwala, New Statesman

McCain speech

‘John McCain has accepted the Republican Party's candidacy for the White House in a speech to cheering supporters at the party's national convention.’ – BBC News

‘Mr. McCain faced the unusual situation of distancing himself from the Republican president he hopes to succeed and, to some extent, from the party whose nomination he was accepting. In doing so, Mr. McCain offered a significantly different rationale than the one he presented in launching his candidacy 17 months ago. He subordinated what had been his major theme -- leading America in "a global struggle with violent extremists who despise us" -- to one that hearkened more to the John McCain of the 2000 primary campaign: a renegade fighter for the bread-and-butter concerns of ordinary Americans against "the old big-spending, do-nothing, me-first, country-second Washington crowd."’ – Editorial, Washington Post

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Antisemitism is taking on new and subtle forms

    Mark Gardner

CST’s new report on antisemitic discourse analyses rhetoric, words and imagery around Jews and Jewish issues in mainstream British media and politics during 2007. Antisemitism warns of malaise, division and extremism within society as a whole. It is therefore a subject that should concern not only Jews, but all of us. read >

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Charles Clarke: Labour must 'stop obsessing about the past'

‘In the newspapers this summer, I have read about "eye-wateringly 'Blairite' gospels"; about "Blairites" "thumbing their noses" at progressive politics; about "Blair privatisers" and how "Blairites" are the "business wing" who "play the markets against the 'progressive wing' of the party". Some argue David Cameron is now more progressive than new Labour and that Labour under Blair became a party of the centre right.

This deceitful nonsense has to end. Everyone in Labour needs to stop obsessing about the past and to start obsessing about the future.’ – Charles Clarke, New Statesman

Focus on fairness

‘Yet there was a way in which precisely the same package could have been projected more effectively. First Brown should have returned from his holidays and made fairness a defining theme in speeches and articles. Other ministers should have joined in. At the same time they should have made clear that the government was determined not to be financially reckless by spending too much additional cash, which would have unfair consequences. It would not have huge sums available, but would do what it could to help those who needed it most.’ – Steve Richards, The Independent

Energy companies told to cough up

‘The Prime Minister is demanding the industry provides extra funding to offer discounts to the hardest hit customers.

Relieving the cost of energy bills on households was supposed to be one of the centrepieces of his autumn relaunch.’ – Andrew Porter, Daily Telegraph

Scottish council tax battle

‘Alex Salmond cleared the way yesterday for his most fraught battle yet as First Minister when he pledged to scrap the council tax in Scotland and replace it with a highly-controversial local income tax.’ – Angus Macleod, The Times

Russia's challenge

‘So, yes, there was fault in Tbilisi and Washington. But finding fault with the US (a sport at which Europeans excel) and Georgia (a faraway country of which most Europeans know nothing) reduces by not one jot or tittle the challenge Russia now poses to the whole way western Europe has tried to conduct human affairs since 1945 - and the creed most of Europe has lived by since 1989.’ – Timothy Garton Ash, The Guardian

Palin’s speech scores points

‘Sarah Palin lived up to her teenage moniker of "Sarah Barracuda" last night in a formidable prime-time national television debut that energised the Republican convention and set up the cultural fault lines for the coming election.’ – The Guardian

‘If the Republicans win the presidential election in November, it may well be said that they won it last night -- the night that John McCain's brilliantly screwy choice for a running mate changed from laughingstock to national star.’ – Tom Shales, Washington Post

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

The case for a windfall tax has not been made

    Luke Akehurst

The soft left faction Compass seems to have a slight obsession with finding new taxes to call for. Their latest campaign is the superficially attractive clarion for a windfall tax on energy company profits. I’m afraid that any kind of new tax gives ammo to the Tories. The public won’t necessarily clock that it is a tax on businesses, not them, when Cameron's PR people add it to the list of alleged stealth taxes. The presentation of the concept has been all wrong and reflects the prejudices of its originators. read >

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Allowing councils to offer competitive mortgages would tackle the real cause of the housing market crisis

    Steve Reed

The stalled housing market is one of the factors threatening to push the UK economy into recession. The consequences of that would be dire – higher unemployment, pressure on public spending, impacts on crime and family breakdown. The government must do what is necessary to stop that happening, and a strong partnership with local government will help. It was good to see the government recognise a role for local councils in this week’s package to help prevent homelessness and repossessions and provide more council housing. Local government >

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

The Tories have the right analysis but the wrong answers for education

    Oli de Botton

Michael Gove is a sharp politician. His speech this month at the ippr described a society where the state is remote and individuals are unable to shape the services they want. The crucial relationships that sustain our wellbeing are failing; relationships between parents and teachers, GPs and patients, politicians and frontline public servants. In other words, he acknowledged what progressives have always known, that we are all implicated in each other’s lives and that when our sense of the collective break downs our power to effect change evaporates. School governors' network >

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Democrats' strength built on growing middle class

‘It is common to write of the current strength of the Democrats as if it were a passing phase caused by the unpopularity of George W. Bush. But it is the rise of the mass chattering class, rather than the temporary problems of the present White House incumbent, that really threatens the Republicans.’ – Daniel Finkelstein, The Times

...but culture wars return

‘What no one can know is whether that cost will be outweighed by the gains Palin brings, galvanising a socially conservative base that had been previously lukewarm towards McCain. What we can know already is that this election will share a depressing feature with the contests of the past 40 years: that America will plunge again into the never-ending culture wars.’ – Jonathan Freedland, The Guardian

Recession looming?

‘The UK economy is likely to fall into recession this year, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).’ - BBC News

Clegg on windfall tax

‘Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, today accused energy companies of "blackmailing" the government because they are apparently reluctant to fund energy-saving measures for poorer customers.’ – The Guardian

Scottish legislative programme unveiled

‘The Scottish Government's plans for the year ahead have been set out by First Minister Alex Salmond at Holyrood.

Three of the 15 bills focus on the environment, with the Climate Change Bill setting tough new targets. Health is also prominent in the programme.

Mr Salmond challenged Labour to support the Council Tax Abolition Bill, which would scrap the tax in favour of a local income tax.’ – BBC News

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Broadcasting’s future hangs in the balance

    Murray Rowlands

Are we about to witness the death of public service broadcasting as we know and understand it? The recent Ofcom review appears to indicate that an end to the BBC’s monopoly on the license fee will end after 2010, which may coincide with a Cameron government. read >

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Government launches economic fightback

‘Gordon Brown will today launch the first phase of his autumn economic fightback when he unveils a package of measures to revive the ailing housing market targeted at first time buyers and vulnerable families.’ – Allegra Stratton and Nicholas Watt, The Guardian

‘Stamp duty is to be axed for a year on properties costing less than £175,000 as part of a package of measures being unveiled to help the housing market.' - BBC News

...but does it go far enough?

‘The “economic recovery plan” of which Downing Street officials have made much will start today, with an announcement on housing. But privately, even some at No 10 say the plan is likely to be a damp squib because all the radical ideas have been filleted out.' - Rachel Sylvester, The Times

September gloom

‘Governments in deep trouble at the end of July are nearly always in a hole again at the start of September. The fleeting tranquillity of August changes nothing fundamental. Not surprisingly, therefore, cabinet ministers awake each day to the same sort of headlines that greeted them before they departed for their holidays. Above all, there is the same restiveness at the top of the Government that marked the dying days of July.’ – Steve Richards, The Independent

Boris wobbling

‘For all that, the revolving door of senior advisers in City Hall has pointed up the absence of any obvious mayoral strategy and sounded a warning nationally for the Tories.’ – Philip Stephens, FT

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

An ambitious housing strategy will provide a new sense of purpose for Labour’s third term

    Rachel Reeves

This week the government will unveil a package to support the UK housing market. One year on from the beginning of the credit crunch, support for struggling families will be welcome. And by focussing on the issues most hurting voters we can restore our reputation for fairness and competence. The package should include help for those at risk of repossession, support for first-time buyers and an increase in the supply of social and affordable homes. New thinking >