Gay Couples to Win Legal Right to Marry Before Next Election
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Gay couples will be guaranteed the legal right to marry before the next general election, a Liberal Democrat minister has said.

Lynne Featherstone, the equalities minister, defied Tory backbench MPs who want the proposal to be dropped, declaring: “There will be no U-turn on equal marriage.”

She said the Coalition would continue to focus on “core issues”, such as reducing the deficit, at the same time as introducing laws allowing same-sex couples to marry by the end of this Parliament.

Her remarks, on her constituency blog, will fuel tensions between Liberal Democrats and Tories over the direction of the government.

Since last week’s poor election results for both Coalition parties, a succession of Conservatives have demanded that David Cameron and Nick Clegg abandon “fringe issues” and focus on the economy.

Miss Featherstone insists that the coalition can introduce equal marriage and secure the economic recovery at the same time. » | Tim Ross, Political Correspondent | Monday, May 07, 2012

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Sheffield UKIP Candidate Removed Over Breivik Blog Post

BBC: A man who was due to stand in Sheffield's local elections for UKIP has been stripped of the candidacy over comments made on his blog.

Steve Moxon, a former government whistle-blower, is standing in the Dore and Totley ward.

On his blog he said Norwegian killer Anders Breivik's thesis on Islam and political correctness was accurate.

Mr Moxon said he "resolutely does not agree with" his crimes. UKIP said his comments were at odds with its policy.

Breivik, 33, killed 77 people in Norway last July. He is currently on trial accused of terrorism and mass murder.

Mr Moxon, a former civil servant, first came to prominence in 2004 when he made claims that key checks were waived by immigration staff in Sheffield to make the numbers coming to Britain seem less dramatic when the EU expanded.

He told BBC Radio Sheffield he had been "amicably" removed as a candidate but remained a member of UKIP.

He said: "I would stress that I do not in any way agree with Anders Breivik's actions. » | Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Ed Miliband Savaged in Phone-in
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, has been savaged in a radio phone-in, with callers telling him he is not up to the job and will never be prime minister.


Mr Miliband faced several personal attacks from callers to BBC Radio Five Live. He also endured the embarrassment of a caller mistaking him for his brother, David.

Despite opinion polls putting his party neck-and-neck with the Conservatives, the Labour leader has faced persistent questions about his performance since defeating his brother to take the leadership in 2010.

His appearance on the Victoria Derbyshire show today was meant to highlight his call for greater pride in British goods and manufacturers.

However, it rapidly became a litmus test of his personal appeal, as several callers strongly criticised his performance and abilities.

One caller told Mr Miliband he was “a laughing stock” who could not win the next general election. » | James Kirkup, Deputy Political Editor | Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Listen to BBC Radio Five Live programme here

Big Donors 'Buying Policy'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Wealthy donors appear to be buying Government policy by securing “preferential” access to ministers and senior politicians, the standards watchdog has warned.


Sir Christopher Kelly said the perceived influence of rich businessmen over politicians is undermining public trust in Westminster. He cited the Coalition’s planning reforms as an example of a policy that raised suspicions after The Daily Telegraph disclosed that property developers were paying thousands of pounds for access to senior Tories.

Such preferential treatment leads to increasing concerns that there is “no smoke without fire”, the chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.

“There is no doubt that significant donors do have preferential access to political decision makers,” he said. “The thought that anyone would give such a large sum of money to a party solely for altruistic reasons is quite a difficult one. The risk is policy being influenced in other, more subtle, ways because some people have access because they have given donations.

“There is a risk of it [influencing of policy by donors] happening and more importantly there is a public perception that it does happen.”

The comments by Sir Christopher amount to one of the most strident warnings yet that Britain’s political system is at risk of being corrupted by wealthy individuals. » | Christopher Hope, Senior Political Correspondent | Friday, January 06, 2012

Ed Miliband 'Has No Strategy as Leader’

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Ed Miliband has shown “no strategy, no narrative and little energy” as Labour leader and failed to “break through” with voters, one of his closest political allies has said.

Lord Glasman, a political theorist who has advised Mr Miliband, passed a damning verdict on his performance as Labour leader, saying he is losing the argument with the Coalition on the economy.

The peer said Labour was in thrall to “old faces” from Gordon Brown’s era committed to the former prime minister’s economic policies.

“On the face of it, these look like bad times for Labour and for Ed Miliband’s leadership,” Lord Glasman said. “There seems to be no strategy, no narrative and little energy. » | James Kirkup, Deputy Political Editor | Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Rewarding Party Donors in the Honours System Risks Bringing System into 'Disrepute' Says Sir Christopher Kelly

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Handing knighthoods and other honours to financial backers of major political parties risks bringing the system into “disrepute” because of the suspicion of corruption, according to the standards watchdog.

Sir Christopher Kelly, the chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, was speaking after four leading Conservative donors who had collectively given the party nearly £1million were given awards in the New Year honours list.

Paul Ruddock, a hedge fund manager, and Doug Ellis, a package holiday millionaire were knighted, while James Lupton, an investment banker, and James Wates, a construction firm tycoon, were awarded CBEs in Saturday’s list.

However Labour criticised the awards, suggesting the Government was using the system to reward individuals who had been generous to the Conservative party.

Sir Christopher said that the claims showed why rules on party funding needed to be changed to prevent any suspicion that rich individuals can buy influence. The three main parties are considering proposals he submitted in November.

He told The Daily Telegraph: “For as long as you can make political donations, when there is a coincidence between honours and donors you get this sort of story.

“It implies corruption even when there isn’t any. It is unsatisfactory. It is bad all round. They risk bringing it [the honours system] into disrepute.” » | Christopher Hope, Senior Political Correspondent | Sunday, January 01, 2012

Hasn't He Done Well! John Bercow Unveils His £37,000 Portrait and Coat of Arms Complete with Ladder, Rainbow and Pink Triangles

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: John Bercow has unveiled his official coat of arms, dominated by a ladder to represent his climb to the top and a rainbow and pink triangles to mark his support for homosexual issues.

The Speaker of the House of Commons also revealed his new official portrait by British artist Brendan Kelly, depicting him rising from his Speaker's chair and motioning towards the Government benches.

The total bill to the taxpayer is £37,000, prompting criticism from value for money campaigners, who said it was “very excessive at a time of public sector austerity” and only aimed at “boosting John Bercow’s ego”.

Mr Bercow’s official coat of arms sits in the frame of his portrait. It is dominated by a ladder, four roundels and two curved ‘seax’ knives.

The ladder represents Mr Bercow’s ascent from humble beginnings, as the son of a taxi driver in north London. He went to a comprehensive, before entering Parliament as MP for Buckingham and becoming Speaker in 2009.

The roundels mark Mr Bercow’s fondness for tennis – he is a qualified lawn tennis coach – and also represent his role as ex officio chairman of the Boundaries Commission of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The seax knives, which were traditionally worn by Saxon warriers over 1,000 years ago, represent Mr Bercow’s attachment to Essex.

He went to university in the county, graduating in 1985 with a first class degree in Government.

The rainbow colours and pink triangles mark Mr Bercow's championing of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans-sexual people. They sit between his motto: “All Are Equal”.

The red and blue colours, as well as the gold colour of the roundels, represent the three main parties in the House of Commons. » | Christopher Hope, Senior Political Correspondent | Monday, November 28, 2011

The Chancellor and the Dominatrix – UK
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Chris Huhne Attacks Tory Hard Right
THE INDEPENDENT: Chris Huhne has launched a scathing attack on the Tory hard right, bracketing them with the "madcap" American Tea Party movement and warning they will "wreck the nation's economy".

The Energy Secretary used his speech to round on Conservatives who "slaver over tax cuts for the rich" and claimed if they failed to compromise Britain's economic recovery would be "put in peril".

Mr Huhne's criticism is the most explicit verbal assault made from the conference platform by a senior Liberal Democrat on their coalition partners this week.

He said: "This coalition government saved Britain's credit standing by compromise.

"The danger if you don't compromise is now clear from America.

"There the markets looked over the brink when the mad-cap Republican right in Congress would not compromise with the President.

"Let that be a warning to the Conservative right here - we need no Tea Party Tendency in Britain. » | Sam Lister | Tuesday, September 20, 2011

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Baroness Williams of Crosby warns Chris Huhne to stop bashing the Tories: Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat Energy Secretary, has been chastised by one of his party’s senior figures for his “unhelpful” attacks on the Conservatives. » | James Kirkup, Political Correspondent | Tuesday, September 20, 2011

'Most Immigrants Are Fruit Pickers': Labour MP Sparks Race Row with 'Ignorant' Claim

MAIL ONLINE: Glenda Jackson was plunged into a race row last night after she suggested migrants were engaged in ‘picking strawberries’ and ‘digging up potatoes’.

Labour leader Ed Miliband faced calls to discipline the MP for Hampstead and Kilburn in north London after her comments were condemned as ‘incredibly ignorant’.

The extraordinary statement by the Oscar-winning actress came in a clash with Chris Grayling, the Work and Pensions minister. Read on and comment » | Gerri Peev | Thursday, June 09, 2011

Nasty War of Words over AV in the Coalition
THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: David Cameron was branded a ‘toffee-nosed slimebag’ by a senior Liberal Democrat peer yesterday as recriminations over Nick Clegg’s shattering referendum defeat threatened to wreck the Coalition.

The Prime Minister found himself in a Coalition tug-of-war as angry Lib Dems called on him to scrap NHS reforms to make up for Mr Clegg’s failed bid to axe Britain’s first-past-the-post voting system.

Tory Right-wingers hit back by warning Mr Cameron will face a revolt from his grassroots if he made concessions to save the Deputy Premier.

The war of words came as The Mail on Sunday’s ‘referendum map’ showed that outside the bastions of elite university towns and the London liberal elite, virtually every region of Britain voted against the Alternative Vote.

The torrent of abuse at Mr Cameron was led by Lib Dem Lord Tony Greaves. ‘A lot of people in our party never liked Cameron,’ he said. ‘He is seen as a toffee-nosed slimebag, which is what he is. That is being polite to the man.’ The day an angry Lib Dem peer called Cameron 'a toffee-nosed slimebag'... and the people of Britain held the liberal elite to ridicule » | Simon Walters and Brendan Carlin | Sunday, May 08, 2011

Janet Daley: Cameron Is Taking Us Back to the Feudal
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The party appears to have returned to the old model of gentry-led Conservatism , says Janet Daley.

There is an election coming. So the Prime Minister is touring the country trying to persuade Conservative voters in various states of disgruntlement and suspicion that they should support the party. He is hitting a number of refrains that are calculated to have that effect: we are doing what you know in your hearts needs to be done to the economy. We are bravely reforming welfare, education and health (whoops, no – maybe not health). And, rather startlingly, we are cracking down on immigration – or at least we are prepared to acknowledge that you have legitimate concerns about immigration.

But even in the midst of these various strands of more-or-less persuasive appeal there is an odd kind of vacuum – a hole where the central theme should be. The Conservatives may be doing quite a few things of which their supporters approve, most notably taking on what had seemed the intractable problems of welfare dependency and collapsing educational standards. But if people choose to vote Tory now it will be more a consequence of what the party seems to be getting done from one day to the next, than of what it is in itself. There is no longer a clear sense of basic common purpose – of fundamental driving principle – at the heart of Conservatism. Who the party speaks for, and what it stands for, is a matter of confusion and contradiction. This is not, as some apologists might claim, a simple re-assertion of pragmatism over ideology. Pragmatism is the doctrine of do-what-works but what counts as working is established on the basis of values: governments can only know when they have achieved something worthwhile if they have an idea of what is worth achieving.

If you are between the ages of, say, 30 and 45, you probably thought you had a fairly clear conception of what you were supporting when you voted for the Tories (or of what you hated when you voted against them). Since the 1980s, Conservatism had stood for free-market economics and self-improvement: the party had come to represent the striving, sometimes vulgar but always determined and hard-working, upwardly mobile classes. This provoked a revulsion on both the Left and the more traditional Right which was as much to do with snobbery as it was with political beliefs. Margaret Thatcher was dismissed as a “greengrocer’s daughter”, and her philosophy derided as “bourgeois triumphalism”. The Tory party had cast itself as the voice of the most productive, creative, energetic – and unfashionable – people in the country. Read on and comment » | Janet Daley | Saturday, April 16, 2011

My comment:

Nothing will ever change in this country, since snobbery is written in the Brits’ DNA. The class system is perpetuated by the monarchy, which, while its pageantry is charming and delightful to watch, its effect on society is toxic. Little people who think they are big simply because daddy was very rich and mummy was a lady-in-waiting! It’s a case of the best ‘jobs for the boys,’ and university places in the best universities, especially Oxbridge, are reserved for the aristocracy.

I used to feel very pro-monarchy and pro-establishment until I had a rude awakening and discovered what the establishment of this country was truly like.

To call this country a democracy is a joke indeed. This country is a plutocratic aristocracy. Closed to all that weren’t born in the right circles, scornful of achievement, and distrustful of true academic success. (The aristocracy, traditionally, never had to work for doctorates and higher degrees, because they had their status from birth.)

Until this country can be turned into a true meritocracy, there will never be true advancement, and the country will always be held back and chained to its feudal past.

Other successful countries in Europe cast off the spell of aristocracy long ago, and they embarked on the bourgeoisification of their countries, thereby shrinking the lower class and upper class, and giving everyone a fair chance in life by including them in the middle class. Not so, this country. In this country, successive governments have deliberately not embarked on bourgeoisification: the Labour Party wanted to keep the working classes down so as to keep them all in power; the Conservative Party wanted to keep the working classes down, too. That way they could hold on to the reins of power, and maintain a good, solid supply of cheap labour for the overlords.

This Coalition government, headed by the Caminicks, is run by the snobs for the snobs. They couldn’t give a damn about the ‘little people.’ If one hasn’t got gazillions, preferably inherited gazillions of course, then one doesn’t belong in their midst. It’s a public school, old-boy network. They’ll get ever richer, despite the austere times, but God help the rest of us! – © Mark

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Vince Cable: David Cameron's Immigration Claims 'Risk Inflaming Extremism'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, has accused David Cameron of “inflaming extremism” with his speech on immigration.

The Prime Minister will today claim that uncontrolled immigration has undermined some British communities.

Pledging to cut the numbers entering Britain to tens of thousands, rather than hundreds of thousands, Mr Cameron will say that "for too long, immigration has been too high".

Mr Cameron’s speech, his first major address on the issue since the general election, will please many Conservative MPs and voters.

But Mr Cable, a Liberal Democrat, described the speech as “very unwise” and suggested it could fuel extremism over immigration.

“The reference to the tens of thousands of immigrants rather than hundreds of thousands is not part of the coalition agreement, it is Tory party policy only,” Mr Cable told the BBC.

“I do understand there is an election coming but talk of mass immigration risks inflaming the extremism to which he and I are both strongly opposed.”

The Conservatives and Lib Dems agreed in their Coalition deal to take differing views on immigration, but Mr Cable’s forthright criticism of Mr Cameron may raise questions about his position in the Cabinet. Continue reading and comment » | James Kirkup, Political Correspondent | Thursday, April 14, 2011



My comment:

Doesn't Vince Cable understand that he is in office to serve the people? Doesn't he understand that the people's concerns should be of paramount importance in a so-called democracy? The good British people are fed up of all this unrestrained immigration into our once rather homogenous land. Do the people's wishes mean nothing to this man? If he is concerned about extremism, the one thing he and his colleagues could do to nip extremism in the bud is bring immigration under control. It is precisely in countries where immigration has been allowed to get out of hand that we are seeing the growth of the so-called extremist parties. Now surely you can get that, Dr. Cable! – © Mark

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Ed Miliband Addresses TUC Rally
Labour leader Ed Miliband has been speaking to thousands of anti-cuts demonstrators in Hyde Park saying together they can 'realise their voice.'
Watch Telegraph video here

History Should Come Down Hard on Tony Blair for Embracing Gaddafi
THE GUARDIAN: Tony Blair knew what a murderous 'mad dog' Gaddafi was. The only convincing reason for the rapprochement was the promotion of British interests in Libya

In the light of subsequent events, Neville Chamberlain's effort to appease Adolf Hitler is usually portrayed as one of the most shameful episodes in modern British history. But surely Tony Blair's love-in with Colonel Gaddafi was worse. Chamberlain never pretended to like Hitler. He certainly never embraced him. His aim was to prevent war by reaching an accommodation with a man whose full infamy he did not appreciate. He was naive to believe he could rely on Hitler's promises, and he was culpably indifferent towards the fate of the Czechoslovaks, but the prospect of another war between Britain and Germany seemed so terrible (as, indeed, it turned out to be) that his policy of appeasement can at least be understood. As Winston Churchill, the arch-opponent of appeasement, said in his House of Commons eulogy to Chamberlain after his death in 1940: "Neville Chamberlain acted with perfect sincerity according to his lights, and strove to the utmost of his capacity and authority, which were powerful, to save the world from the awful, devastating struggle in which we are now engaged. This alone will stand him in good stead as far as what is called the verdict of history is concerned." >>> Alexander Chancellor | Friday, February 25, 2011

THE TIMES: Exclusive: LSE’s £1m deal to train Libya’s rulers >>> Greg Hurst and Dominic Kennedy | Thursday, March 03, 2011 [£]

Looking Back! The UK's Coalition Challenge

Inside Story - Ruling the UK

Searchlight Poll Finds Huge Support for Far Right 'If They Gave Up Violence'
THE OBSERVER: Level of far-right support could outstrip that in France or Holland, says poll for Searchlight

Huge numbers of Britons would support an anti-immigration English nationalist party if it was not associated with violence and fascist imagery, according to the largest survey into identity and extremism conducted in the UK.

A Populus poll found that 48% of the population would consider supporting a new anti-immigration party committed to challenging Islamist extremism, and would support policies to make it statutory for all public buildings to fly the flag of St George or the union flag.

Anti-racism campaigners said the findings suggested Britain's mainstream parties were losing touch with public opinion on issues of identity and race. >>> Mark Townsend, The Guardian | Saturday, February 26, 2011

Harman’s Equality Act ‘Outlaws Humour’
DAILY EXPRESS: THE death knell has sounded for the risque joke after new equality laws, masterminded by Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman, heralded a new era of political correctness yesterday.

The Equality Act aims to make the law simpler by bringing together nine pieces of legislation under one single banner.

The change was seen as one of the proudest achievements by Ms Harman, dubbed ‘Harriet Harperson’ because of her strong views on equality.

But critics warn the Act will create a legal minefield for businesses with virtually anyone able to sue for anything that offends them.

Under the Act, vegans, teetotallers and atheists are to be given the same protection against discrimination as religious groups – while gypsies and travellers will get special favours because of the “many socio-economic disadvantages” they face.

There is also a provision that extends protection from third-party harassment, meaning employers have a responsibility to shield their staff, where possible, from abuse by customers.

This has led to fears that bosses could be sued for jokes or comments that staff overhear and find offensive – even if they are not directed at or about them.

The Act, which ministers claim will help stamp out pay discrimination, has been slammed by employer groups who claim it will cost £189million to implement. Since coming into force yesterday, the new law allows men and women in all firms to discuss and compare their salaries. Read on and comment >>> Martyn Brown | Saturday, October 02, 2010

Coalitions Are Here to Stay, Says Nick Clegg
THE GUARDIAN: Deputy PM claims Lib-Con government marks end of tribal politics and shift to more complex relationships between parties

Nick Clegg: 'What we are entering into is a permanent move to greater pluralism, diversity and fluidity in politics.' Photograph: The Guardian
The Liberal-Conservative coalition government is not a one-off but marks "a permanent move that breaks the duopoly of the old parties for good", Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, says in a Guardian interview today that marks his first two extraordinary months in office alongside David Cameron.

The coalition, he says, "is not an aberration, but a natural consequence of what has been happening for years, which is a loosening of the old tribal ties between the old parties and their supporters. Something very, very big is happening in politics."

Clegg, who leads the coalition's plans for electoral reform – a crucial part of the deal that brought the Tories and Lib Dems together – predicted more coalitions in the future, claiming that the "more complex set of relationships between political parties in the future reflects a more complex society in which people do not vote in the old blocs.

"I think what we are entering into is a permanent move to greater pluralism, diversity, and fluidity in politics that does not settle down to one associated pattern between parties," said Clegg.

The Lib Dem leader, who says of himself "I am a revolutionary but I am also a pragmatist", added: "There is a Labour assumption that this coalition is an unnatural act, and all we have to do is put it back in a box, and carry on as before. I really think they are missing something much more profound. That is why people out there, as opposed to the Westminster village, are warming as much as they are to the coalition. That is a deep change in the way people regard politics psychologically."

His remarks suggest he could yet envisage different-shaped coalitions in the future. At the same time he says he has found very quickly an ideological overlap with Cameron on decentralisation, public service reform and civil liberties. "What we have learned about each other most of all is that if you are in a coalition you have just got to be constantly open, pragmatic and level-headed about how you make progress together."

By contrast, he says Labour leadership candidates have rushed to the comfort zone of collective bile and vitriol. >>> Patrick Wintour and Nicholas Watt | Friday, July 09, 2010

Coalition Under New Strain Over Human Rights U-turn
THE INDEPENDENT: Fresh strains were showing in the new Lib-Con coalition tonight as senior Tory MPs expressed "dismay" that plans to overhaul the Human Rights Act had been put on a backburner.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg risked further antagonising Conservative backbenchers after he issued a warning that they tampered with the Act "at their peril".

The commitment to repeal the Act - which enshrines the European Convention on Human Rights in UK law - and replace it with a British Bill of Rights was a key commitment in the Conservative manifesto.

But it emerged yesterday that the coalition Government had decided to set up a commission to look at the issue of whether there was a case for new British legislation.

The latest controversy flared as Mr Clegg and Prime Minister David Cameron prepared to unveil the final coalition document tomorrow.

Tory MP Bill Cash - who, as shadow attorney general, had been instrumental in drawing up the original Conservative policy in opposition - said that he was "dismayed" at the latest developments.

He warned that there was "very acute" concern among Conservative MPs that the party's position was being watered down.

"I think our manifesto commitment was crystal clear. It said that we would replace the Human Rights Act with a Bill of Rights," he told BBC Radio 4's The World at One. >>> Andrew Woodcock, PA | Wednesday, May 19, 2010

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