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I was a cab for hire: Former British minister
PRESSTV Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:32:04 GMT
A new scandal has broken in the UK as ex-transport secretary Stephen Byers has declared that he has been employed by firms to secure secret deals.
Stephen Byers refers himself to watchdog over lobbying claims
GUARDIAN Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:38:11 GMT
Former cabinet minister asks parliamentary commissioner for standards to investigate allegations about his willingness to engage in lobbying
Ritchie confirmed as candidate
BBC Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:13:50 GMT
The SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie is confirmed as the party's Westminster candidate in South Down
'Death tax' to pay for increasing care costs likely to be shelved by Labour
GUARDIAN Mon, 22 Mar 2010 06:00:01 GMT
Andy Burnham still convinced that ageing population will have to do more to pay for their own future care Labour is likely to backtrack on plans to implement a so-called death tax to pay for long term care saying it will not introduce any definitive final reform in the next parliament. The intention is to take the heat out of the issue during the election in an attempt to reconstruct a cross-party consensus afterwards . The government is due to introduce a national care service in a white paper in the next few weeks, but appears to recognise that it is too close to the election to introduce a tax to pay for the scheme. It will set out a phased process towards a final reform allowing the electorate to look at the issue again in a further election. The decision is likely to be seen as a defeat for those arguing the government needed to take a bold approach in the face of repeated delay and evidence of a funding shortfall. A recent comprehensive Lords defeat over interim plans to provide free care at home for those 400,000 in need of intensive care has also complicated the issue. But the health secretary Andy Burnham remains convinced that Britain's ageing population will have to do more to pay for their own future care, either by having a means tested percentage of the value of a person's estate deducted when they die, or through some form of social insurance. There is concern in the cabinet at the prospect of the proposals being distorted as a fresh round of taxes by the rightwing media. They admit that a pre-election atmosphere is not the right environment in which to introduce major social reforms. Cabinet ministers have hit back at critics of the proposals saying that many of the elderly are suffering a dementia tax that is forcing them to sell their own homes to pay for the long term care. A previous Guardian report highlighting government plans to introduce a levy at the time of death led to the Tories publishing adverts warning of Labour's £20,000 death tax. A fragile cross party consensus between Labour, the Tories and the Liberal Democrats also collapsed amid recriminations over responsibility for the collapse. The Tories have compared the idea of a compulsory levy to the voluntary insurance system they propose, which suggests an optional, one-off payment of £8,000 at 65 to cover the cost of future care. Critics say such a scheme has no prospect of raising the cash, put at around £400m a year, necessary to keep pace with the demands of an increasingly elderly population. The white paper is likely to set out some transitional scheme including help for those in most severe need followed by a right to defer pensions to pay for care. The chief option is for the government to fund up to 50% of social care costs, with the remainder being paid for by a compulsory levy on the value of a person's estate. The Kings Fund has proposed the government paying £2 for every £1 paid by individuals towards their care costs. Economic policy Health policy Long-term care Tax and spending Labour Older people Patrick Wintour guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Answers sought on lobbying claims
BBC Mon, 22 Mar 2010 04:46:53 GMT
Opposition MPs will seek answers about claims by ex-minister Stephen Byers that he secured government deals for firms.
MPs targeted in undercover sting over cash for influence
GUARDIAN Sun, 21 Mar 2010 00:30:00 GMT
Former ministers said to have been caught on camera by journalists A group of MPs, including former ministers, have been targeted in an elaborate sting operation in which journalists set up a bogus lobbying company and offered to pay them in return for political influence. Among the politicians approached was Stephen Byers, the former cabinet minister and arch-Blairite, who was filmed describing himself as a "bit like a sort of cab for hire". He offered to trade Westminster contacts for £3,000 to £5,000 a day.
Labour takes on lobbying after MPs caught in sting over cash for influence
GUARDIAN Sun, 21 Mar 2010 10:31:22 GMT
Ex-ministers Stephen Byers, Patricia Hewitt and Geoff Hoon caught on camera claiming they could influence government
Labour pledges lobbying crackdown
BBC Sun, 21 Mar 2010 08:13:29 GMT
Labour promises to crack down on senior MPs lobbying the government after claims two ex-ministers offered their services for money.
wow....check this BBC documentary about power to people
WORLDPRESSNETWORK Sun, 21 Mar 2010
wow....check this BBC documentary about power to people, first 10 mins explains

Why directly elected mayor is good. It is objective and talks about pros and cons, but overall Micheal Portillo who was a conservative politician argues for a directly elected mayors for greater democracy.

Watch it!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... he_People/

Thanks to "Yesfor Mayor - One Tower Hamlets. One community. One Mayor." for highlighting.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/prof ... 0702161140
"Fed up with the status quo in Tower Hamlets? Want change and progress? Well its not good enough just to join the group, register to vote and tell your friends and family about 'Yes for Mayor'......make it happen on the 6th of May"
Government borrowing: what the economists say
GUARDIAN Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:32:53 GMT
The government today announced better-than-expected figures for last month's public finances, although it was the worst February deficit on record. Here is what the economists make of it
Hague 'knew of Ashcroft tax deal'
BBC Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:03:46 GMT
Former Tory leader William Hague was kept informed about the negotiations of Lord Ashcroft's tax status, leaked papers suggest.
'Quarter of MPs' rue their career
BBC Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:57:56 GMT
Nearly a quarter of MPs would not enter politics if they were starting a career now, a poll for the BBC suggests.
Cartoon : Nourishment
WORLDPRESSNETWORK 17 Mar 2010
By cartoonist Leon Kuhn whose work can also be seen on his own website http://www.leonkuhn.org.uk where postcards of some of his cartoons can be ordered.

See Leon Kuhn's page on "SpideredNews | Politics" at http://www.spiderednews.com/LeonKuhn.htm
Gordon Brown intervenes to delay EU hedge funds rules
GUARDIAN Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:22:26 GMT
• France and Germany press for tougher regulations •Tim Geithner, says EU is adopting protectionist agenda Gordon Brown delayed EU proposals for tighter rules covering hedge funds and private equity groups after he intervened to block a discussion by finance ministers meeting in Spain. A debate in the EU parliament is scheduled to go ahead tomorrow, but MEPs will discuss the Alternative Investment Fund Managers's (AIFM) directive without a recommendation from the finance ministers' group, Ecofin. It is understood the prime minister telephoned his Spanish counterpart, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who holds the European Union presidency, to call for more time to debate the rules. The compromise directive was due to be hammered out at a meeting of finance ministers, but the item was dropped from the agenda. A spokesman for Brown welcomed the move. He said: "The fact that it has been postponed is good news. More time is needed." Britain, home to four out of five hedge funds in Europe and about a third of all private equity firms, had been concerned that the proposed rules would damage Europe's competitiveness. Most of the debate has focused on rules for non-EU funds and managers, which the UK government believes unfairly discriminates against US fund managers as well as those in offshore jurisdictions, many of them with offices in London. Private equity firms have lobbied intensely to block plans for greater disclosure and hedge funds have protested at limits on borrowing under AIFM rules. The US treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, has also accused the EU of adopting a protectionist agenda. Simon Havers, chairman of the British Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, said recently the new rules would encourage firms to locate outside the EU in Dubai, Zurich and New York. "Europe would be less shooting itself in the foot than squarely in the temple," he said. Britain is expected to push for the G20 to bypass EU plans and agree rules covering private equity and hedge funds. French and German politicians have pressed the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the chancellor, Angela Merkel, to take a tough line. They believe there should be strict curbs on the high levels of debt adopted by private equity firms and what they see as the destabilising impact of hedge fund investment strategies. The Tories' City spokesman, Mark Hoban, accused the government of failing to stand up for London's financial sector."The decision to drop the AIFM directive from Ecofin's agenda hides the fundamental weakness in the government's position. If the debate had gone ahead, the government's failure to build alliances to block damaging parts of the directive would have been obvious for all to see. "The government has had to play up throughout the debate on AIFM because it failed to provide leadership when the directive was being drafted. This mess reinforces the argument we have made for a senior Treasury minister to spend as much time as is necessary in Brussels and other European capitals to shape directives and build alliances with other member states to make sure that the voice of London's financial services sector is heard," he said. Hedge funds Private equity Euro Regulators Gordon Brown Financial crisis Phillip Inman guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Letter: Michael Foot obituary
GUARDIAN Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:43:50 GMT
Francis Beckett writes: Soon after he became Labour leader, Michael Foot (obituary, 4 March) travelled to St Albans for a meeting for the agricultural workers' trade union. I was its head of communications, and we knew there was to be a demonstration by the left against Foot's Northern Ireland policy
Iran issue 'unites' UK and China
BBC Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:42:34 GMT
The UK foreign secretary says Britain and China have "a shared goal" in solving the issue of Iran's nuclear programme.
Lords pass internet piracy bill
BBC Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:16:04 GMT
The Digital Economy Bill, which includes measures to ban persistent illegal file-sharers, has been passed by peers.
Campaign to get Muslims to vote
BBC Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:54:34 GMT
Leading Muslim scholars give their backing to a campaign to try to get more people from their community to vote in the general election.
Cut ministers by a third, say MPs
BBC Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:08:09 GMT
The number of UK ministers should be cut "by as much as one third" to reduce costs and make Parliament more independent, MPs say.
Phillips blamed for equality row
BBC Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:31:23 GMT
A parliamentary committee raise concerns over the leadership of UK equalities chief Trevor Phillips and questions his reappointment.
'Not a kingmaker'
BBC Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:40:53 GMT
What is behind Nick Clegg's refusal to pick a party?
Defiant Brown will 'keep going'
BBC Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:46:16 GMT
Gordon Brown says he wants to "keep going", after being asked if he would resign if Labour failed to win the general election.
Selection row MP fights concerns
BBC Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:56:36 GMT
A Labour MP caught up in a reselection dispute is fighting claims from local party members she is not up to the job.
Elected Lords plan 'coming soon'
BBC Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:49:23 GMT
Proposals for a fully elected House of Lords will be set out shortly by the government, the transport secretary tells the BBC.
The snake oil salesmen who hijacked my party: After 25 years as an MP, Peter Kilfoyle hits out at hypocrisy of New Labour
DAILYMAIL Sun, 14 Mar 2010

By the Eighties, Thatcherism was the order of the day in public life. The economic landscape had shifted, and with it the industrial profile of the nation.

Unions were under the cosh and in rapid retreat from their power and numbers of the Seventies. The stresses spread from wider society into the Labour Party, complicating Labour’s internal battles, first between Right and Left and then with Militant.

Along came New Labour, in a last-ditch attempt to win power before the Labour Party splintered after a feared defeat in 1997.

It worked – at least, for while. What it also did, however, was to emasculate Labour ideologically.


UK MPs deny charges over expenses
ALJAZEERA Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:34:08 GMT
Four British politicians tell court they are not guilty of charges of false accounting.
Conservative technology manifesto
GUARDIAN Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:55:13 GMT
The Tory document in full Manifesto in full Conservatives guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Four due in court over expenses
BBC Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:24:37 GMT
Three Labour MPs and a Tory peer are due in court later to face charges in relation to their expenses claims.
MPs query non-political ministers
BBC Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:09:22 GMT
Ennobling people from outside Parliament to make them ministers should be "exceptional", cross-party MPs say.
Cartoon : STASHCROFT
WORLDPRESSNETWORK 10 Mar 2010
By cartoonist Leon Kuhn whose work can also be seen on his own website http://www.leonkuhn.org.uk where postcards of some of his cartoons can be ordered.

See Leon Kuhn's page on "SpideredNews | Politics" at http://www.spiderednews.com/LeonKuhn.htm
Economic storm 'not over' - Brown
BBC Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:00:27 GMT
Gordon Brown is expected to say he has guided the economy through a "storm" and is best-placed to secure its recovery.
UK seeks Afghan political drive
BBC Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:04:10 GMT
Foreign Secretary David Miliband is to urge the Afghan president to seek a political solution to the conflict with the Taliban.
Nick Robinson
BBC Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:30:32 GMT
Why the parties' biggest donors are treated differently
Labour peer to end non dom status
BBC Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:28:38 GMT
Labour peer and donor Lord Paul has said he will end his controversial "non dom" status from the next tax year.
Paisley jnr picked to fight seat
BBC Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:47:18 GMT
Ian Paisley jnr will contest his father's North Antrim seat in the general election after being selected by his party.
Bush asks Tories to save NI deal
BBC Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:30:39 GMT
Ex-US President George W Bush asks David Cameron to try to get the UUP to back devolution of justice and policing.
Leaving the house: MPs' diaries
BBC Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:26:01 GMT
MPs retiring at the election reflect on their careers in Parliament and their remaining days in Westminster.
Tebbit says Lord Ashcroft should have admitted tax status years ago
GUARDIAN Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:07:16 GMT
Formal complaint alleging 'pecuniary advantage by deception' sent to Scotland Yard's specialist crime directorate Lord Ashcroft should have admitted that he was a non-dom many years ago because keeping the matter secret suggested that he had done something wrong, Lord Tebbit said today. The former Conservative party chairman told the Guardian that although Lord Ashcroft had not broken any law, he had forgotten that what matters most in politics is public perception. Many Tories have criticised Ashcroft strongly in private, but Tebbit is one of the few senior figures in the party to speak out in public. He made his comments as it emerged that Scotland Yard has been asked to launch an investigation into Ashcroft, the Conservative deputy chairman, for allegedly profiting from a peerage obtained through a lie. Tebbit said that Ashcroft had not committed any offence, and in paying the minimum amount of tax he was legally obliged to pay he was doing "what we all do, if we have any sense". But that what mattered politically was that Ashcroft had not asked himself "the Daily Mail question". He went on: "Many, many years ago this was explained to me by Harry Legge-Bourke, the then chairman of the 1922 committee, when he said of a certain course of action that was being discussed: 'If you would not be happy to read that in tomorrow's Daily Mail, then don't do it.' That Daily Mail test is the one that matters above all in politics." Tebbit said he was not in a position to say whether he thought that Ashcroft had complied with the undertakings he had given William Hague, or whether Hague and David Cameron had handled the matter properly, because he did know the details of the conversations that had taken place. But he said that Ashcroft should have been more open: "The prurient always gain a kick from the prurience if what they see is seen through a not-quite-closed curtain. Probably it would have been better for Lord Ashcroft to have said what we now know some years ago." Ashcroft was sharply criticised in several newspapers over the weekend. The News of the World, owned by Rupert Murdoch and previously edited by Cameron's communications chief, Andy Coulson, appeared to urge the leadership to drop Ashcroft as deputy chairman. "A very rich bloke is managing to sort his own taxes very quickly, thank you, while the rest of us have to pay through the nose to bail out his banker pals. Cameron, and particularly Hague, have had chance after chance to lance this boil of a problem, but they didn't. Now it has come back to haunt them." In a separate development, the Guardian can reveal that a formal complaint was sent last week to Cressida Dick, the head of the Metropolitan police's specialist crime directorate. It claims that the Tory peer has gained "a pecuniary advantage by deception" by failing to keep promises that he would become a permanent resident in Britain. Jim Miller, a writer from Leominister, Herefordshire, said he made the complaint because Ashcroft had deceived the British people and profited from that deceit. "I've read what's happened and I'm not happy about it. I wanted to put it before the police so they could decide whether an offence has been committed," he said. In a letter to Dick on Wednesday, Miller said that a letter sent by Ashcroft to Hague when Hague was opposition leader gave a "clear and unequivocal assurance" that he would take up residency in Britain. "Lord Ashcroft did not take up permanent residence in the UK in 2000, and 10 years later he has still not taken up permanent residence in this country; he has done this in order to benefit from non-domicile tax status. He deceived the leader of the Opposition, and through him deceived the honours scrutiny committee, the prime minister's office, and the press and general public," Miller wrote. A spokesman for Scotland Yard said today that it had not yet officially received the complaint. Today Ashcroft's spokesman did not respond to messages left by....
Clinton calls leaders over deal
BBC Sun, 07 Mar 2010 12:18:18 GMT
Hillary Clinton conducts telephone diplomacy with NI politicians ahead of Tuesday's vote on the devolution of justice.
Brown's Afghan pledge questioned
BBC Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:56:15 GMT
The Conservatives query Gordon Brown's announcement of 200 new patrol vehicles for British troops in Afghanistan.
Tony Blair's memoirs to be published in September
GUARDIAN Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:38:56 GMT
Tony Blair: The Journey aims to 'describe the human as much as the political dimensions of life as prime minister' Tony Blair's memoirs, signed for an estimated £5m almost three years ago, will be published in September, Random House announced today, promising a "frank, open and revealing" account of the former prime minister's life. In a statement issued by the publisher, Blair said he had "really enjoyed" writing the book. "I have tried to write a book which describes the human as much as the political dimensions of life as prime minister," he said. "Though necessarily retrospective, it is an attempt to inform and shape current and future thinking as much as an historical account of the past. Most of all I want readers to have as much pleasure reading it as I had writing it." Blair will promote his memoirs with a national and international tour on its release in September, four months after the expected date of the next general election in May. The autobiography, to be called Tony Blair: The Journey, will be published by Random House Group imprint Hutchinson, priced at £25, with an audiobook read by Blair himself, and an ebook edition, out at the same time, along with American and Canadian editions from Knopf and Knopf Canada. Gail Rebuck, who heads up Random House and who is also married to Blair's former pollster Lord Gould, said the book would "break new ground in prime ministerial memoirs just as Blair himself broke the mould of British politics". She called the book "frank, open [and] revealing", and said it was "written in an intimate and accessible style". "As an account of the nature and uses of power, it will have a readership that extends well beyond politics, to all those who want to understand the challenge of leadership in today's world," she added. Blair refused to disclose the advance he received from Random House when he signed a deal with the publisher for the memoirs in 2007, but publishing experts said at the time that it could be worth as much as £5m. The former prime minister is also set for significant royalty earnings: Margaret Thatcher's memoir The Path to Power sold an estimated 500,000 copies in hardback when it was published in 1995, according to the Bookseller, while John Major's autobiography sold over 200,000 hardbacks for an advance of around £1m. Whether the timing is right for Blair's autobiography remains to be seen, however. According to a select committee report into government memoirs in 2006, "it is in the financial interest of memoir writers to get their accounts published as soon as possible, and to ensure that they are titillating". The select committee said it was told by Sir Simon Jenkins "that he could remember very well a certain chancellor of the exchequer, who shall be nameless, inquiring as to what his memoirs might be worth and the answer was: 'A quarter of a million tomorrow, £100,000 next week, £10,000 two months from now. How fast can you write them?' It was as simple as that - because there were going to be no sales two months from then. It is show business." Politics Tony Blair Politics past Alison Flood guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
James Bulger killer: Gordon Brown defends refusal to reveal new offence
GUARDIAN Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:51:41 GMT
Prime minister says he understands 'public outrage' after jailing of Jon Venables but justice system must run its course The prime minister, Gordon Brown, today defended the government's refusal to disclose why Jon Venables, who was convicted at the age of 10 of the murder of two-year-old James Bulger, has been sent back to prison for unspecified breaches of the conditions of his release on a life licence. Brown said he understood "public outrage" but insisted it was impossible for the specific details of the breach to be revealed. "What we are talking about is a totally abhorrent crime that happened some years ago but that still, rightly so, disgusts and offends the British people and I can rightly understand the public outrage, even after so many years," he told reporters at a Downing Street press conference. "But the public know that we cannot comment on individual cases that are going through the system and I think the justice secretary explained the particular constraints in this case. "But I want to be absolutely clear that what matters here is that the justice system is allowed to run its course and that justice is done, whatever wrongs are committed. "The justice system must be allowed to take the action that is necessary. That is what people would expect and that is what is going to happen." The prime minister's intervention came after the justice secretary, Jack Straw, was last night warned by lawyers and probation officers that it is inevitable that Venables's new identity will become known while he is back behind bars. Straw yesterday strongly defended his decision not to reveal why Venables, now 27, has been recalled to prison more than eight years after he and his co-defendant, Robert Thompson, were released on life licences from local authority secure units. "I know there's an intense public interest in why he has been recalled," said Straw. "I would like to give that information but I'm sorry that for good reasons I can't, and that's in the public interest." Only 89 offenders released on a life licence were returned to jail last year after breaching the terms of their licence. Only a handful of justice ministry officials, senior probation officers and prison governors currently know Venables's new identity. But as his trial solicitor, Laurence Lee, pointed out: "Every prison in the country will be looking round to see whether or not there's a 27-year-old who looks a little bit like that boy." Lee said it was too early to condemn Venables until it was known what he had done to justify the recall to jail. He said a breach of his ban on going to Merseyside or something similar might be regarded as minor technical infringements that would not mean spending long in prison. Harry Fletcher of Napo, the probation union, also said he believed Venables's new identity would be quickly compromised inside prison. Justice ministry officials said yesterday that disclosing the details of the breaches involved could prejudice the forthcoming parole board hearing to decide whether the recall is justified. It is also thought that disclosing the nature of the breach could jeopardise the anonymity order in force since Venables and Thompson were released in 2001. Bulger's family have not been told the details. Two-year-old James Bulger was abducted from a Bootle shopping centre and murdered by Thompson and Venables in 1993. His body was found was found by children playing on a railway line. The grainy CCTV footage of his abduction has lost none of its emotional power to shock. The killers were released in 2001 on life licences which included conditions such as not contacting each other or going near Merseyside. Both were given new names and a worldwide anonymity order was granted to protect their identity. James Bulger murder Crime Criminal justice Gordon Brown Jack Straw Alan Travis Haroon Siddique guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions...
Parliament's last chance to reform| Meg Russell
GUARDIAN Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:00:00 GMT
The Wright committee debate should be taken seriously by MPs, so the Commons can make a fresh start before the election Today the House of Commons debates the recommendations of the Wright committee. These offer a real opportunity to reinvigorate parliament, and start restoring its reputation. In the closing weeks of this parliament, the Commons can leave a good legacy for its successor. The reforms would also fulfil one of Gordon Brown's very first pledges as prime minister: to strengthen parliament and return it to the centre of political life. Brown set up the select committee on reform of the House of Commons (chaired by Tony Wright) following the MPs' expenses crisis. It was charged with considering three things: the way select committee members and chairs are chosen, giving MPs more control over the Commons agenda, and increasing public influence in parliament. The first of these has been a bit of a running sore. Way back in 2001, Labour whips sought to block two "unreliable" select committee chairs from getting back onto their committees. This exposed how party whips (both Labour and Conservative) acted as gatekeepers to these committees. The select committees are increasingly well respected, but this affair damaged their reputation. Worse still, the whole reputation of parliament came to suffer. Robin Cook, then leader of the Commons, sought to reform the system and wrest control from the whips, but his proposals were ironically defeated in the house itself. Whips on both sides "encouraged" MPs, in an ostensibly free vote, to leave the system as it was. This puzzled and disappointed reformers. The Wright committee proposals would finally sort this out. Select committee chairs would be elected in a secret ballot at the start of each parliament by the house itself, thus raising their status, and the status of their committees. It would democratise the system, and finally start building the "alternative career path" which many reformers have long sought: allowing MPs to pursue high-profile parliamentary careers, rather than just aspiring to executive office. Select committee members would be elected too, in secret ballots by party groups. The proposals on public involvement have largely now been dealt with, through new arrangements agreed last week for petitioning parliament. This leaves the other big issue: MPs' control over what they can debate. Again, a recent parliamentary fiasco demonstrates the need for this reform. During the expenses crisis some MPs moved a motion calling on Speaker Martin to resign. He was however forced to admit that the only way to debate this was if the government chose to do so. Even on this most fundamental matter of how the Commons ran itself, MPs were dependent on ministers to grant them debating time, which exposed their powerlessness in a pathetic way. Problems with MPs' lack of control over agenda are usually more mundane. For example, the Wright committee proposals themselves have awaited debate for weeks, reliant on a government motion. Initially it was touch-and-go whether government would make the time. Similarly ministers decide which topics MPs can discuss during topical or general debates, at times leaving them disappointed. But in a democratic parliament of grown-up politicians, MPs should be free to make these decisions for themselves. The Wright committee draws a key distinction between management of "backbench" and ministerial business. Government should have no part in scheduling backbench business (eg general debates, debates on procedural matters or select committee reports): this should be a matter for the house. They propose a new backbench business committee, elected by MPs, to do this. Ministerial business (most obviously, government bills) is different: here ministers and shadow ministers will always need to be involved. For this they recommend creation of a house business committee, involving both front and backbenchers. This would bring the Commons into..
Guardian Daily: Michael Foot (1913-2010); plus Bulger murderer back in jail
GUARDIAN Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:00:00 GMT
People from across the political spectrum have been paying tribute to the former Labour leader Michael Foot, who died yesterday aged 96. Michael White and Martin Kettle discuss the legacy of the man whose 1983 election manifesto was described as the "longest suicide note in history".
Cartoon : Tories plan immediate assault on public sector
WORLDPRESSNETWORK 3 Mar 2010
By cartoonist Leon Kuhn whose work can also be seen on his own website http://www.leonkuhn.org.uk where postcards of some of his cartoons can be ordered.

See Leon Kuhn's page on "SpideredNews | Politics" at http://www.spiderednews.com/LeonKuhn.htm
Michael Foot, 1913-2010: adored even in defeat | Diane Abbott
GUARDIAN Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT
He led Labour to a disastrous rout and was wary of my 'Bennite' generation, yet Michael earned our loyalty and admiration Perhaps my enduring memory of Michael Foot is at 1983 Labour party conference. We had just gone down to catastrophic defeat, narrowly avoiding being beaten into third place by the SDP.
Michael Foot, 1913-2010: renaissance littérateur | Geoffrey Goodman
GUARDIAN Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:00:00 GMT
Never cut out for political intrigue, Foot's breadth of learning and facility with words made him a great writer and parliamentarian To describe the legacy of Michael Foot – whether as a politician, a biographer, a historian, but probably most of all as an outstanding journalist and writer – is effectively to chronicle the tapestry of 20th century British radicalism.
Harman attacks Hague on Ashcroft
BBC Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:14:30 GMT
Harriet Harman sparks Commons uproar as she accuses the Tories of misleading the country over Lord Ashcroft's tax status.
LIVE: Prime minister's questions
BBC Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:56:45 GMT
Watch all the action with key points, analysis and reaction as Harriet Harman stands in for Gordon Brown at PM's questions.
Tory poll lead remains in single figures
GUARDIAN Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:10:44 GMT
Latest polls, conducted before the latest revelations about Tory deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft, point towards a hung parliament A new wave of polls did little to boost the Tories' general election prospects today as the party's lead over Labour remained in single figures while its flagship plans for early cuts in public spending received the thumbs-up from just one in four voters. A ComRes survey for the Independent showed the Tory lead over Labour narrowing to five points in the past month. A YouGov survey for the Sun today gave the Tories a seven-point margin, well up on the weekend but still short of the double-digit lead David Cameron needs to be confident of a Commons majority. Both surveys were conducted before revelations about Tory peer Lord Ashcroft's tax status surfaced yesterday. A separate survey for PoliticsHome shows Conservative plans to reduce the £178bn deficit by making early spending cuts is causing jitters as 40% expressed concern that public services would be cut back too deeply as a result. Just 25% said they were worried that the deficit would not be tackled quickly enough. The Independent poll, which gives the Tories a five-point lead, was taken over the weekend, when Cameron admitted to the party's spring conference that the Conservatives faced a "real fight" to win power. While the findings give the Tories a bigger share of the popular vote, the poll rating suggests Labour would be returned to government with the most MPs under the first-past-the-post electoral system. This would leave Labour short of an outright majority, however, and so would be forced to strike deals with the smaller parties for support on controversial issues. Fears of a hung parliament sent sterling temporarily to a nine-month low against the dollar yesterday following another YouGov poll at the weekend suggesting the Tory lead was down to just two points. The Independent survey found that support for the Tories had gone down one point in the past month, to 37%, while that for Labour was up one on 32%. The Liberal Democrats were unchanged on 19%. The margin represents the Tories' smallest lead in the monthly ComRes survey since December 2008. John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, suggested the figures would give Labour 294 seats, the Tories 277, the Liberal Democrats 46 and others 33. In such a scenario, Brown would be 32 seats short of an overall majority in a hung parliament but would almost certainly continue as premier. The poll reinforces the recent trend showing Labour gaining ground on the Tories as the election, expected on 6 May, approaches. The weekend YouGov survey, for the Sunday Times, showed the Tory lead down to just two points, with support of 37% compared with Labour's 35%. The YouGov survey for the Sun today, conducted after Cameron's weekend address, gave the Tories a seven-point margin, which was framed in the Tory supporting tabloid as a bounce for the Tory party leader. It found that Tory support had risen dramatically, to 39%, with Labour on 32% and the Lib Dems on 17%. Conservatives Opinion polls Labour Liberal Democrats General election 2010 Hélène Mulholland guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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