Politics
-
Politics live blog: PMQs and NHS risk register debate22 February 2012, 4:41 pm
• My PMQs verdict• Afternoon summary4.30pm: Here's an afternoon summary.• Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, has accused the government of refusing to publish the NHS risk register because it would demolish the case the health bill. Opening what has been a bad-tempered debate on a Labour motion calling for the register to be published, as the Information Commissioner's Office has said it should be published, Burnham said that regional risk registers which have been made public high...
-
Dr Liam Fox's deregulation remedy? A tonic we don't need22 February 2012, 12:24 pm
As shadow health secretary Fox had some scary treatment for the NHS. His next patient is labour protections laws. We should be afraidWhenever I read a speech by Liam Fox I usually think how lucky I am never to have been a patient of the good doctor. Headache? Let's amputate a leg, shall we? Sore throat? Whoops, we seem to have severed an artery here. So sorry.His return to frontline politics on Wednesday, after what footballers would call a four-month suspension over the strange Adam Werrit...
-
MPs unite to give a powerful new voice for Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire22 February 2012, 11:51 am
A new all-party Parliamentary group for the region has been formed. Andrew Percy, its co-chair and Conservative MP for Brigg and Goole, explains why and sets out its prioritiesWith the emergence of City Regions, Local Enterprise Partnerships, and the clear commitment by all major political parties to "localism", is now the right time to establish a new, regionally-based, cross-party group of Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire MPs? The clear consensus is "Yes". The question of whether to join po...
-
London mayoral election hustings - live21 February 2012, 4:02 pm
See all the debate between Boris Johnson, Ken Livingstone and Brian Paddick as they spelled out their plans ahead of May's elections5.02pm: To summarise, I'll take each candidate in turn.Brian PaddickPaddick played to his strength as a former Met officer and focused on tackling crime and making people feel safer, but it seemed to play well with an audience of older people. He promised to protect the Freedom Pass for older people.His one new announcement was that he would put in place a deputy m...
-
Jeremy Paxman: wrong to criticise Tony Blair over Irish potato famine21 February 2012, 1:15 pm
Newsnight presenter misquotes and misinterprets landmark declaration by former prime minister on Irish potato famineJeremy Paxman believes Tony Blair is guilty of "moral vacuousness" for apologising for the Irish potato famine and for Britain's role in slavery.This is what the Newsnight presenter and author of Empire, What Ruling the World Did to the British has told the Radio Times:You should apologise for things that you have done, that you recognise that perhaps you shouldn't have done or reg...
-
Politics live blog: Tuesday 21 February21 February 2012, 1:15 pm
• Rachel Reeves speech - summary• Lunchtime summary8.50am: The big story this morning is coming out of Brussels, where Eurozone finance ministers have agreed the latest bailout package for Greece. My colleague Graeme Wearden has all the details on his Eurozone debt crisis live blog. In London the government's main announcement this morning is coming from Nick Clegg, who is unveiling a work programme for what Clegg describes as "disengaged" 16 and 17-year-olds (ie, NEETS, people not in educat...
-
Rupert Murdoch hints at backing for Scottish independence21 February 2012, 12:43 pm
Tweets by owner of Scottish Sun seem to imply Alex Salmond will have a big boost in his plans for referendum voteRupert Murdoch has used his Twitter feed to suggest he backs independence for Scotland, signalling that the Sun may too come out in favour of breaking up the UK.In a slightly gnomic eight word tweet late on Monday evening, the News Corporation owner said:This apparent endorsement for Alex Salmond's independence plans was welcomed by the first minister's office, but in somewhat cautiou...
-
Vince Cable and the Merkel-Borgen connection21 February 2012, 12:19 pm
What wrangling in Germany tells us about coalition politicsHave you been following the drama over Germany's non-executive presidency? The one in which Christian Wulff was forced to resign over a "favours" scandal? What about the subsequent row in Angela Merkel's coalition over their choice of the "Stasi hunter" Joachim Gauck as his successor?Probably not, we're all busy. Though not as busy as Merkel, who must have cursed her bad luck and judgment – we'll come to that – as she tried to focus...
-
Deficit, national debt and government borrowing - how has it changed since 1946?21 February 2012, 11:50 am
How bad is the deficit really? As new figures show it's worsening, we bring you all the data going back to the 1940s• Get the dataWhat's happened to the deficit? Are things getting better? Britain's public finances posted their biggest monthly surplus in four years last month after a drop in local government borrowing and a rise in tax receipts hauled the country's debt back below the £1 trillion mark.The Office for National Statistics says the public sector made a net repayment excluding fi...
-
Politics live blog – Monday 20 February20 February 2012, 5:33 pm
• Today's agenda• Number 10 lobby briefing - summary• Lunchtime summary• Afternoon summary8.40am: The health bill is back at the top of the news. David Cameron is hosting a health summit at Number 10 and, as the Guardian reports this morning, he has angered some in the health lobby by excluding organisations like the BMA and the Royal College of General Practitioners who are opposed to the bill. On the Today programme, after recovering from the shock of being introduced by Sarah Montague...
-
David Amess MP: Fishermen are losing out on their catch22 February 2012, 8:43 am
David Amess MP urges government action to help fisherman and act on quotas that are "killing the historic UK fishing industry"....
-
MP calls for Hillsborough death inquest22 February 2012, 8:00 am
Stephen Mosley MP calls on the government to grant a fresh inquest into the death of Hillsborough victim, Kevin Williams....
-
UK is cheating on air quality laws and misleading the European Commission22 February 2012, 8:00 am
Clean Air in London says that it is "totally unacceptable" that the UK is cheating on air quality laws and misleading the European Commission....
-
Barry Gardiner MP: Olympics needs radical reform21 February 2012, 9:00 am
Barry Gardiner MP calls for the relationship between national Olympic Associations, the International Olympic Association and host governments to be reformed....
-
MP calls for road safety measures21 February 2012, 7:53 am
John Leech MP calls for a number of provisions to improve road safety in a bid to save lives, reduce pollution and inspire younger generations to be fitter and healthier....
-
Government policy on higher-rate taxpayers and child benefit21 February 2012, 7:30 am
Christopher Chope MP calls for the government policy on higher-rate taxpayers and child benefit to be "abandoned"....
-
Reform of Dangerous Dogs Act a ‘no-brainer’17 February 2012, 3:08 pm
TheCommunication Workers’ Union (CWU) has welcomed Huw Irranca-Davies MP’s call for the government to crack down on irresponsible dog ownership....
-
Legally unacceptable pension changes15 February 2012, 12:26 pm
The largest teachers' union has argued that the government's plans to change the teachers’ pension scheme are legally "unacceptable"....
-
'Best of village life in busy city'15 February 2012, 10:09 am
The Woodland Trust is actively supporting the London Mayor's campaign to plant more trees and revamp parks in London, and is calling on Londoners to get involved in the valuable project....
-
‘Not possible to deflate your way to growth’15 February 2012, 8:00 am
Paul Kenny, GMB general secretary has argued that, "Austerity means 2.67m are not working"....
-
The Times Loses It: Sense and nonsense about Tucson17 January 2011, 2:01 pm
...
-
WikiLeaks: Were I An Alien ...8 December 2010, 8:10 am
...
-
General Motors should have gone bankrupt7 December 2010, 8:03 am
...
-
PJ on Political Satire1 December 2010, 2:04 am
...
-
PJ's speech at IQ²22 November 2010, 8:29 am
...
-
I Think We Lost the Election14 November 2010, 2:29 am
...
-
Facts Meet Freedom: On the Air in Afghanistan2 November 2010, 1:27 am
...
-
Bloomberg grills PJ27 October 2010, 7:34 am
...
-
They Hate Our Guts and they’re drunk on power24 October 2010, 1:25 am
...
-
New Book: Don't Vote It Just Encourages the Bastards21 September 2010, 5:38 pm
...
-
Cherie Blair starts hacking case22 February 2012, 6:05 pm
Cherie Blair has started legal proceedings over phone hacking, her solicitor confirms....
-
Awema: 'Ministers stonewalling'22 February 2012, 5:56 pm
Opposition AMs have accuse the Welsh government of failing to answer questions about race-relations charity All Wales Ethnic Minority Association (Awema)....
-
Commons staging Mullin diary play22 February 2012, 5:04 pm
A hit play based on the diaries of former Labour MP Chris Mullin is to be performed in Parliament....
-
Moore calls for early referendum22 February 2012, 4:49 pm
The Scottish secretary sets out a timetable he said would allow an independence referendum to be held in September 2013....
-
VIDEO: Lib Dem MP: Health Bill is now 'less bad'22 February 2012, 4:37 pm
Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George said the coalition Health Bill was "less bad" but he was yet to be persuaded it should go through....
-
Tories get most party donations22 February 2012, 4:30 pm
The Conservatives received £3.2m in party donations in the last three months of 2011, according to figures from the Electoral Commission....
-
Pilots 'falling asleep on duty'22 February 2012, 4:17 pm
Many over-tired airline pilots are falling asleep on duty, putting passenger safety at risk, MPs hear....
-
VIDEO: Ten Minute Rule Motion22 February 2012, 4:07 pm
A proposal to send individuals itemised annual statements detailing their NHS healthcare costs has been rejected by MPs....
-
NHS 'will be Cameron's poll tax'22 February 2012, 3:14 pm
Labour leader Ed Miliband tells David Cameron he risks making NHS reform "his poll tax" - in noisy Commons clashes over the health bill....
-
AUDIO: 'Football can tackle homophobia'22 February 2012, 3:09 pm
Jeremy Hunt MP told Radio 5 live that if football tackles homophobia, it will reach more people than through politics....
-
Eurozone: UK ready to back IMF bailouts2 November 2011, 11:43 pm
Britain is standing by to give more money to the IMF so that it can, in turn, lend more money to Eurozone countries like Greece, Italy or Spain who are struggling to service their debts.
The government now believes, I'm told, that there are only three ways out of the current crisis - one they hope for, one they fear and a third they are ready to accept.
They are:
1. Eurozone leaders succeed in getting last week's deal back on track despite Greece's plan to use a referendum to secure a bett...
-
A new look12 May 2011, 12:32 pm
Thank you for reading my blog. As of today it is moving to a new home, with a fresh format and that old cartoon gets replaced by a photo - which I'm not sure is wise for a bald man with bottle bottom specs but progress is progress.
Visit my new page to see all of my reports, analysis and musings in one place - including video, audio and news stories. Oddly, though the first to blog at the BBC, I'm being a little slow to adapt to tweeting - at the moment I just tweet my blog posts but I ...
-
Happy anniversary11 May 2011, 12:40 pm
There were touching messages today from one partner to another on their first anniversary:
Nick: We don't like cutting but the Tories do.
David: There's only one party you can trust on the NHS.
Brings a warm glow to your heart, doesn't it?...
-
Who's saving the NHS from who?9 May 2011, 11:40 am
As you listen to Liberal Democrats declare that they are riding to the rescue of the NHS I can't help recalling a story I heard a while ago. It relates to Nick Clegg's reaction to attending a service at Westminster Abbey to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the NHS. As well as prayers and blessings the service on 2 July 2008 included a speech by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the reverential playing of a sound recording of a speech by the founder of the NHS, Labour's Aneurin Bevan. Clegg compla...
-
Be careful what you wish for6 May 2011, 6:08 pm
To think that elections used to be boring. Predictable.
Just like the general election held exactly a year ago - today produced results no-one predicted with consequences which are totally unpredictable.
Many may have foreseen the drubbing Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats would receive but few foresaw its scale - losing not just to Labour in the Northern cities, not just to the SNP in Scotland but - irony of ironies - to their coalition partners the Conservatives in parts of the South.
An...
-
Funny old game6 May 2011, 3:09 pm
As we await the result of the referendum on changing our voting system I can't help noticing that proportional representation has delivered a stable, majority government in Scotland whilst good, old fashioned first past the post produced a hung parliament and a coalition in Westminster....
-
Whither the Coalition now?6 May 2011, 9:09 am
It was inevitable after a night like that. Someone somewhere would call for Nick Clegg to resign. The defeated leader of Nottingham's Lib Dems, Gary Long, was the first to the microphone. If he got the backing of 74 local parties there would have to be a leadership contest. But where are they? And who support such an idea? And who would run against Clegg?
What is striking so far is that those councillors who lost in Sheffield and Liverpool and Hull gave their leader and the Coalition their bac...
-
Elections - the agony and the ecstasy6 May 2011, 7:16 am
Elections can bring relief, agony, joy and doubt.
David Cameron must scarcely be able to believe his luck this morning.
A year after failing to win the general election and having announced deep and painful spending cuts he will be deeply relieved that - so far at least - his party has barely received a scratch from the electorate. Losses may still follow but on nothing like the scale once feared.
The reason is clear - it's his coalition partner who has absorbed all the pain. Nick Clegg will...
-
Will Bin Laden's death hasten withdrawal from Afghanistan?3 May 2011, 12:15 pm
Further to my post yesterday I note the prime minister's words on the impact which the death of Bin Laden will have on the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan.
"It's clearly a helpful development I don't necessarily think it will change any timetables but we should use it as an opportunity to say to the Taliban now is the moment to separate yourself from Al Qaeda to give up violence"
More significantly he stressed the possibility of a political deal with the Taliban rather than a m...
-
Bin Laden's death2 May 2011, 10:28 am
America is rejoicing. George Bush promised Bin Laden - dead or alive. President Obama has delivered that promise and, crucially, before America marked the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Others are better placed than me to analyse what this means for Al-Qaeda and for events in the Arab world. The politics of this news, though, seem pretty clear.
Obama was elected to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. For many Americans the loss of life there was justified only as a response to th...
-
Now for something completely different...23 May 2011, 1:30 pm
This is my last blog in this format.
I'm getting a new picture and a new biography, but the good news is that you still get me - here....
-
The rise of the Dinosaurs' Coalition18 May 2011, 9:45 pm
There is a new coalition emerging in British politics.
Fresh from their resounding success in defeating AV, many Conservative MPs have started talking to Labour backbenchers who also voted No in the referendum trying to form a new alliance to defeat the proposals to reform the House of Lords, announced by Nick Clegg yesterday.
The grouping are buoyed by their success on AV, and united by a strong element of hating Liberal Democrats.
Critics will no doubt call them the Dinosaurs' Coalition. ...
-
The Beast of Bolsover roars once more18 May 2011, 9:07 pm
An amazing salvo from Dennis Skinner at Prime Minister's Questions today. It was vintage Skinner, of a kind we've not seen for 10 years or more.
Many believe the Beast of Bolsover has mellowed in recent years, following his heart troubles and problems in his personal life.
But not today. Dressed in red shirt and red tie, he thundered:
"In recession-hit Britain, the billionaires have gone up by 20 - an increase of 37% - in this first year of Tory rule. Whilst in the real world, inflation's ...
-
Boundary changes boosting Labour membership18 May 2011, 8:21 pm
Ed Miliband often boasts of how tens of thousands of people have joined the Labour Party since the election - all evidence of his "new generation", he says.
I must admit I have always been rather sceptical about the figures, but perhaps they're true.
One Labour MP told me tonight that the prospect of serious battles with Westminster colleagues over the reduced number of seats, has prompted the more organised and far-sighted to embark on local membership drives to help their own selection.
I c...
-
Essex police confident of quick progress on Huhne18 May 2011, 6:56 pm
Cabinet minister Chris Huhne has contacted Essex Police offering to help them
with their inquiry into allegations he tried to evade punishment for speeding,
his spokeswoman said tonight.
Earlier Essex police announced that they are starting to interview key individuals relating to the claims that Mr Huhne asked his then wife Vicky Pryce to accept penalty
points for speeding on his behalf in 2003 - claims Mr Huhne denies.
That presumably also includes Mr Huhne's ex-wife Vicky Pryce, and maybe t...
-
Was Huhne restricted by M11 road works?18 May 2011, 4:57 pm
Some of the press speculation about Chris Huhne in recent days has focused on whether he was the victim of a 30 mile an hour speed restriction on the M11 which had been imposed because of road works.
On 15 February 2003 the Daily Telegraph reported that extensive road works would cause big delays on the motorway for the next two months - ie. covering the crucial date in the Huhne case, 12 March 2003.
In late February resurfacing work was due to start between junction 7 (Harlow), and junction 6...
-
Black September for MPs as boundaries scramble begins18 May 2011, 3:22 pm
Expect MPs to be very nervous this September. That's when the Boundary Commissions are going to make their provisional recommendations for the new, larger, Parliamentary constituencies.
The number of seats in the Commons is being cut from 650 to 600, and the size of seats being made more equal, which will require new boundaries to almost every constituency in Britain.
I have learnt that at a meeting a few days ago, representatives of the three main parties were told that the proposed new W...
-
Was Nick Clegg on Flight 7775 with Chris Huhne?18 May 2011, 12:16 pm
UPDATE AT 1652BST:
A spokesman for Nick Clegg has just told me that he "would not have been on the plane" - Ryanair flight 7775 on 12 March 2003.
The spokesman tells me that during the weeks that the European Parliament sat in Strasbourg rather than Brussels, Mr Clegg's routine was to travel back to Brussels where the Clegg family had a home, and then, if necessary, fly to London.
ENTRY FROM 1216BST:
Was Nick Clegg on Ryanair flight 7775 from Strasbourg to Stansted on the evening of 12 Mar...
-
Twins reversed at Daily Telegraph17 May 2011, 4:21 pm
Yesterday the Daily Telegraph sports section ran an article giving ratings for every Manchester United player this season.
For the two Brazilian full-backs, Rafael and Fabio - who are identical twins - the Telegraph merely reversed the photo of one of them.
Mind you, the pair do look so alike that I, a keen United follower, couldn't tell you which one it was.
...
-
On the Huhne speeding mystery16 May 2011, 2:38 pm
Two hours ago Newsnight discovered that Vicky Pryce - Chris Huhne's now estranged wife - was due to address a seminar at the LSE on the evening of 12 March 2003. That's the date in contention in the Chris Huhne speeding mystery.
And the LSE has just confirmed to me that Vicky Pryce did actually attend the event - a City Alumni seminar, starting at 6.30pm.
The organiser of the event, Nat Holtham, confirmed to me that Vicky Pryce spoke that evening, and that the event would have lasted betwee...
-
Assad forces try to bomb Homs into submission22 February 2012, 6:18 pm
(Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces rained rockets and bombs down on opposition-held neighbourhoods of the city of Homs Wednesday, reducing buildings to rubble and killing more than 80 people, including two Western journalists. The barrages marked an intensification of a nearly three-week offensive to crush resistance in Homs, one of the focal points of a nationwide uprising against Assad's 11-year rule, and prompted further international condemnation. ......
-
Iran Internet disruption points to government control22 February 2012, 6:17 pm
DUBAI (Reuters) - Millions of Iranians have experienced disruption to email and Internet access, raising fears Iran's leaders have been testing new ways to step up control of web traffic ahead of a parliamentary election. The disruption has been to the most common form of secure connections since Monday, including all encrypted websites outside Iran that depend on the Secure Sockets Layer protocol, which display addresses beginning with "https. ......
-
Chavez surgery rocks Venezuela ahead of election22 February 2012, 5:58 pm
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's imminent departure for more cancer surgery in Cuba has thrown his re-election campaign into uncertainty and once again shaken the socialist leader's passionate supporters. Though the 57-year-old former soldier looked stoic and played down the dangers of his latest condition, the announcement inevitably raises questions over his ability to stand for the October 7 presidential vote - or rule beyond it. Chavez, who has dominated Venezuela since...
-
'Crush racism' in football: PM22 February 2012, 2:16 pm
Swift action is required to "crush" any return of racism to football before it impacts on wider society, Prime Minister David Cameron has said....
-
Cameron holds UK football racism talks22 February 2012, 1:44 pm
British Prime Minister David Cameron will meet with football chiefs and anti-racism campaigners later Wednesday to address the recent spate of racist incidents that have blighted the national game....
-
PM urges 'thorough' fraud probe22 February 2012, 1:25 pm
David Cameron has urged police to carry out a "thorough" probe into a company running the Government's flagship scheme to cut unemployment....
-
Cameron gets involved in fighting discrimination22 February 2012, 10:52 am
LONDON (Reuters) - The battle against discrimination in football moves to Downing Street on Wednesday when Prime Minister David Cameron and Jeremy Hunt, the sports minister, meet senior football officials and representatives from anti-discrimination groups. The idea of the roundtable, according to Downing Street, is to identify what more can be done to make soccer more inclusive with the Government pledging its commitment to working with the football community as a whole to address and tackle th...
-
MPs Want 'Presumed Dead' Law For The Missing22 February 2012, 10:45 am
A single certificate declaring someone "presumed dead" should be brought in to help families resolve all the affairs of a missing person, a report by MPs recommends....
-
Occupy faces eviction from St Pauls after all appeals rejected22 February 2012, 10:19 am
Occupy protesters camped in St Paul's face eviction from the area after all their appeals were rejected by the courts....
-
Fox returns to demand tax cuts22 February 2012, 10:00 am
Momentum towards tax cuts is continuing to accelerate, as Liam Fox and the CBI add their weight to calls to help businesses foster Britain's economic recovery....
Politics: Politics blog | guardian.co.uk
Epolitix News
P J O'Rourke Online
BBC News - Politics
Politics News Headlines - Yahoo! News UK