Blog
Clegg’s core compromised by coalition
by Tom Rollins / 22 May 2012 17:21
“For liberals, this is core stuff.” So spoke Nick Clegg today at the Sutton Trust, in a much-discussed speech on the need to promote social mobility.
His address should be praised for bringing class – always a loaded word in this country – back into mainstream discussion, at a time John Prescott’s claim that “we’re all middle class now” looks increasingly hollow to a lot of voters. However the jury is still out
Why we should rip up our tax system
by John O’Connell / 22 May 2012 16:24
George Osborne called our tax system a "spaghetti bowl" in 2010. He had a point. We have one of the world’s longest tax codes at over 11,500 pages, and this has real consequences for families and businesses in the UK. If someone sat down to design a tax system from scratch, they wouldn’t come up with the one we have now. It exists because of years of tweaking at the edges to raise more
My experience of a neighbour dispute in Hebron, West Bank
by Ian Lucas / 22 May 2012 15:29
Neighbour disputes are the most difficult cases to solve. I learned this truth as a high street solicitor and am reminded of it often in my role as Wrexham's Member of Parliament.
But the difficult cases I have seen are as nothing compared to what I saw in Hebron recently.
Hebron, a biblical city, has the centre to prove it. Built on a collection of hills, it boasts
Fight to change EU from inside
by Emma Burnell / 22 May 2012 13:35
I’m generally pro-European. Well actually, I’m generally 'please stop talking about Europe now'. It’s not an abiding passion – I used to find my mind slid off the topic like butter off parsnips – but in general, I guess I am in favour if not in fervour. From my non-scientific method of never recalling a conversation being started with me on the topic outside of SW1, I suspect that’s how most people feel –
Lib Dem anger over Beecroft grows stronger
by Amber Elliott / 22 May 2012 10:21
Lib Dem criticism for Tory donor Adrian Beecroft's report just keeps coming.
One Lib Dem MP described Adrian Beecroft's work as "frankly shit" when I asked about it.
They suggested there was very little research and it was just a "rant" by the venture capitalist.
"That was after I'd got through all the spelling and grammar errors," they added.
Their comments come after business secretary Vince Cable criticised the proposal
June issue preview - out today
by Ben Duckworth / 22 May 2012 10:10
Ed Miliband is on the cover and Jim Pickard examines what makes the Labour leader tick, his relationship with his brother David and shadow chancellor Ed Balls, and whether he is providing a transformative lead for his party.
Inside this issue you will find:
Jim Pickard's cover feature looking at Ed Miliband as Labour leader.
Includes:
- The relationship between Ed Miliband and Ed Balls: “They’re like chalk and cheese,”
Imagine if our MPs never 'chillaxed'
by Sadie Smith / 21 May 2012 12:07
I’ve often thought that there should be a flow-diagram issued to all new MPs to assist them in predicting how the press and the public will criticise them with respect to any given circumstance.
You’re not in the Chamber? So you’re probably loafing around the subsidised Commons bars chatting up interns. You are in the Chamber? Huh, alright for some. You should be in your constituency listening and helping with the concerns of
Miliband rejects 'snobbery' over social mobility
by Amber Elliott / 21 May 2012 11:26
Social mobility is about more than just getting kids into university.
That was Ed Miliband's message this morning as he spoke to the Sutton Trust.
The Labour leader declared: "We must reject the snobbery that says the only route to social mobility runs through university."
He's right, of course.
It would be great if people didn't turn their noses up so much at vocational training or apprenticeships.
And perhaps
Cameron's early coalition plotting
by Amber Elliott / 21 May 2012 09:31
We've been under the impression that David Cameron first began to explore the idea of a coalition with the Lib Dems in those first few tentative days after 6 May 2010.
But a new book, Cameron: Practically a Conservative, suggests that Oliver Letwin, William Hague, Ed Llewellyn and George Osborne first met to discuss the idea as early as 18 April.
According to authors Francis Elliott and James Hanning, Cameron agreed to
Will the real David Cameron please step forward?
by Richard Darlington / 21 May 2012 09:02
Who is the real David Cameron? Is he the heir to Blair or to Thatcher? After two years in Downing Street, the true intentions of the prime minister remain a mystery. Is he a principled true believer or a power-hungry pragmatist? And is coalition the source of his strength or the cause of his weakness?
This dilemma is the topic of an extended essay in the new IPPR quarterly journal -
The agenda
21 May 2012 08:45
What's happening
Today David Cameron and Philip Hammond attend the Nato summit in Chicago
Today Tessa Jowell and Peter Mandelson give evidence to the Leveson Inquiry
Today Vince Cable attends The Sun Employment Roadshow, an event designed to give young people the chance to find out more about employment opportunities in their region
Today The annual meeting of all 194 members of the World Health Organisation takes place in Geneva
Voters believe the Conservatives have lost economic credibility
by Tom Mludzinski / 18 May 2012 14:54
When the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats came together in the summer of 2010 to form a coalition government there was a great deal of speculation about the future of the British political landscape. We were entering into untrodden ground. No-one knew for sure exactly what it would mean for the two governing parties or for that matter, for the only remaining party of opposition. The coalition is now two years old and a look
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Quote of the Day
What you call austerity is what I might call efficiency.
