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Articles tagged with David Cameron
Ed Miliband's hour has come
by Nik Darlington / 13 Jul 2011 09:04
There are points in politics when everything changes. A moment passes and what came before can never be the same again. Gordon Brown had any number of those moments in the final stages of his premiership. Uppermost in people’s recent memory might be the in-car contretemps over Gillian Duffy. For my mind, the revelations about Damien McBride most damaged Mr Brown’s integrity as a prime minister, when he accepted ‘full responsibility’ for McBride’s wrongdoings.
Ed Miliband: “Drop the bid” Murdoch
by Gareth Hill / 11 Jul 2011 12:35
This has been a good week for Ed Miliband. It was only seven days ago that he was the subject of ridicule by the media for his robotic interview technique. How times have changed. He's now slowly maneuvering himself into a position as a figurehead against Murdoch.
The Labour leader showed renewed confidence in his press conference this morning, ignited by his PMQs win last week, and was quick to continue
Cameron will be hoping for his own second chance
by Gareth Hill / 08 Jul 2011 10:56
A nervous prime minister took calls from the press this morning and announced two inquiries into the scandal while also trying to steer the conversation away from individuals. He called this a “wake-up call” moment and said that the inquiry into the press would be judge-led, which was not mentioned before, with his full backing so that there can be a “free press that is clean and trustworthy.”
He was careful not to
MPs see NotW closure as sign of a bigger shift in power
by Paul Waugh / 08 Jul 2011 09:03
“Gotcha!” That was the gleeful reaction of one Labour MP when he heard that one of Rupert Murdoch’s oldest flagships had been downed by the Exocet that is the hacking scandal.
It wasn’t the demise of the paper itself that was the source of Falklands-style jubilation. In fact, many MPs of all stripes have a soft spot for the News of the World’s Lobby team and felt a pang of sympathy for political
PMQs: In which Ed finally wins one
by Caroline Crampton / 06 Jul 2011 12:51
In the face of blanket and occasionally hysterical media coverage of the phone hacking scandal, Ed Miliband was faced with a clear choice. Whip up the hysteria further, light a fire under his backbenchers, and throw the appointment of Andy Coulson in Cameron’s face from the outset.
Or, he could keep it calm, measured, reasonable. Address the question of an independent inquiry, attempt to pin Cameron down on the specifics of the action
PMQs: In which Ed nearly pulls it off
by Caroline Crampton / 29 Jun 2011 12:36
The devil’s in the details, or so the saying goes. Ed Miliband’s chance at winning an exchange at PMQs seems to be in the details as well. Or at least, that’s what he and his team seem to have decided.
Miliband focused exclusively on the NHS, challenging Cameron to produce precise figures for the number of statutory bodies that will exist in his reformed NHS (it’s going up from 163 to 521, apparently),
The many faces of David Miliband
by Caroline Crampton / 28 Jun 2011 12:47
Yesterday, I saw four different David Milibands.
First, the man himself. Walking along the road outside Parliament, looking a bit hot, but otherwise relaxed. We nodded, but he had a posse of aides with him and didn’t break stride for me.
Second, we saw David Miliband the former foreign secretary. After the prime minister had made his statement to the Commons about the EU Council, Miliband asked a couple of quite
The future of trade: pigs, chickens and pandas
by Caroline Crampton / 27 Jun 2011 13:53
The headline figures were big. At their joint press conference this morning, David Cameron and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao announced £1.4bn of trade agreements between the UK and China, a step on the way to the $100bn in bilateral trade that Cameron says he wants to achieve by 2015.
Long-term, sustainable investment from the world’s fastest growing economy is an integral part of Cameron’s plan to achieve growth in the UK. It seems,
What’s the point of PMQs?
by Charlotte Henry / 24 Jun 2011 14:47
Prime Minister's Questions is, in theory, the time when backbenchers and leaders of the opposition parties can hold the prime minister to account. It is a noble attempt to give the backbenches ample opportunity to haul the prime minister over the democratic coals.
Except, increasingly, it has become a farce.
I’ve noticed this more in recent weeks, with Ed Miliband trying to cover his ineptitude and score points by using cancer
Celebs against homophobia in sport
by Caroline Crampton / 23 Jun 2011 15:05
The prime minister and the home secretary, along with equalities minister Lynne Featherstone, greeted celebrities and campaigners against homophobia in sport at Downing Street yesterday. The event follows on from the launch of the charter for action launched by Featherstone on 13 March
The emphasis was very much on the celebrity of the guests, with David Cameron commenting, "Young people look to role models, and until we have enough positive role models, it
Serious Ed does PMQs his way
by Amber Elliott / 15 Jun 2011 13:54
Ed Miliband led on how welfare reform will affect cancer patients at PMQs this week. It was a good decision. It's an important issue. And it's an issue you can't play politics with.
There was plenty of potential for David Cameron – a big, succulent mud pie of Tony Blair, Liam Byrne, the Volvo plot, David Miliband's leaked speech and male ostriches…
But Ed Miliband refused to play that game. He couldn't
Consequences of the NHS reforms for the coalition
by Ben Duckworth / 14 Jun 2011 12:48
David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Andrew Lansley have announced their response to the Future Forum report on the NHS. Speaking to various MPs in Parliament this morning revealed just how serious the long-term consequences of the NHS reforms could be.
“You can smell the burning rubber” was one description of this particular U-turn. Other Conservatives I spoke to dismissed the Lib Dem claim of victory as “bad politics which they will regret”.
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"The prime minister has said he does not believe that statutory legislation is necessary to achieve the principles outlined by Leveson."
