Uk politics

Wednesday

Fraser Nelson

Why the confusion between debt and deficit?

From our UK edition

Polls show that, depending on how you ask the question, just between 8pc and 12pc of us realize that debt is rising. It’s not hard to work out why: first, politicians – even the Prime Minister – says that debt is falling. They say they get it confused with ‘deficit’. But this morning, I tweeted that blame lies with the BBC and its failure to mention this basic point when reporting on the public finance. Its narrative tends to be one of fast, deep cuts. It tends to use language that no one understands, and not just conflating ‘debt/gdp ratio’ with ‘debt’. Most normal people don’t know what ‘deficit’ means, for example, and nor should they. It’s a Westminster wonk word, not even used in business.

Isabel Hardman

Budget 2013: what the papers say

From our UK edition

The Treasury has largely managed to maintain discipline in the run-up to the Budget, with only controlled briefings in the past few days, rather than last year's public row over tax cuts. Yesterday we were told about the additional departmental spending cuts to fund infrastructure: the pain has already been briefed so that today the £2.5billion raised from cuts can be painted more as gain. There are also some carefully-placed stories on the front pages this morning, too. Last year's Budget didn't have much in it for Sun readers: the pasty and caravan taxes did for any suggestion that the government was on their side while it cut the top rate of tax. And after the Budget, the newspaper sent a model to hand out pasties on the steps of the Treasury.

Tuesday

Dan Byles

The quiet global energy revolution

From our UK edition

In all the noise of tomorrow’s Budget, many may not spot a small tweak to the fiscal regime for UK oil and gas. Those of us with a close interest in unconventional oil and gas, however, will be watching closely. Last year the Chancellor announced a consultation on a specific tax regime for onshore shale gas development, the results of which are expected on Wednesday. Press coverage of shale gas is often characterised by myth and hyperbole. For some, it’s the last gasp for fossil fuels; for others, a new source of energy security and the key to bringing down bills for industry and consumers. We are not used to thinking of energy as a diplomatic weapon here, but contrast this with the EU which imports a fifth of its gas from Russia via Ukrainian pipelines.

Isabel Hardman

Letter to PM: ‘Nicholson must go with all speed’

From our UK edition

Earlier, I blogged that Tory MP Charlotte Leslie planned to raise concerns with the Prime Minister about Sir David Nicholson's incorrect select committee evidence. She's now written a letter, which I've seen, telling David Cameron that the NHS chief executive 'must go with all speed', and reminding the Tory leader that she has the backing of 60 colleagues. The letter is pretty strong stuff. It says: 'I am deeply concerned that the man who currently leads the largest employer in the country has not only overseen a culture that has damaged our NHS, but has now given a false account to a Select Committee in this way. I know you are aware that wilfully misleading a parliamentary select committee is an offence for which one can be tried at the Bar of the House.

Isabel Hardman

Labour’s frontbench gets a taste of the welfare battles to come

From our UK edition

The Commons this evening approved emergency regulations for the government's work experience programme so the DWP can avoid repaying benefits to those who were sanctioned for refusing to take part. This wouldn't be a particularly interesting vote, but for an uprising on the Labour benches. This is the controversial 'workfare' programme, where those on Jobseeker's Allowance are required to undertake work experience as part of their benefit claim. A court judgement last month (which was widely misinterpreted) meant the government had to rush these new regulations through. But though Labour made hay with that judgement at the time, its official position this afternoon was to abstain on the vote.

Isabel Hardman

David Cameron under fresh pressure to sack David Nicholson after select committee blunder

From our UK edition

David Cameron is coming under fresh pressure to force out NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson this afternoon. The health boss has had to apologise to the Public Accounts Committee, after his evidence yesterday was directly contradicted by whistleblower Gary Walker's testimony to the Health Select Committee today. Nicholson told the PAC that Walker 'didn't identify himself as a whistleblower at that moment in time, nor did he raise with me any issues of patient safety'. But today Walker produced a letter which said 'I assume the Department of Health has a policy on whistleblowing and would therefore like this letter to be considered in that context'.

Isabel Hardman

How the Treasury could sell its tax cuts to voters

From our UK edition

One of the big challenges for the government in tomorrow's Budget is how well the Number 10 machine is able to sell some of the positive measures that George Osborne will announce. Some are easy for voters to notice: cancelling the fuel duty rise, for instance. But others, like the personal tax allowance, need a bit more noise. One Tory backbencher is currently trying to push an idea to the Treasury about how to do this: tell voters every time they get paid. Justin Tomlinson, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Personal Finance, will raise his idea in the post-Budget debate in the House of Commons on Thursday. Every payslip would tell an employee whether the government has made changes to their tax arrangements, and how much more or less they're getting in pay as a result.

Isabel Hardman

Cabinet ministers told to find an extra £2.5 billion in cuts

From our UK edition

Cabinet this morning can't have been a cheery occasion. The Prime Minister did congratulate all those who had been involved in the Leveson talks, with a little bit more congratulation from the Deputy Prime Minister and Maria Miller. But that was where the backslapping stopped. the Chancellor and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced that OBR forecasts tomorrow will show that departments are underspending more of their budgets than the historical average. As a result, departments will now be required to reduce their spending by a further 1 per cent in 2013/14 and 2014/15, which amounts to a further £2.5 billion to fund capital investment projects in tomorrow's Budget. The £1.

Isabel Hardman

Liz Truss: the minister fighting the ‘Where have all the women gone?’ debates

From our UK edition

The government's childcare announcement, fronted by the formidable Liz Truss, is another attempt to appeal to working mothers and to spread privilege by removing some of the barriers for women who want to return to work after having children. Never mind that Labour and a left-leaning think tank complain this isn't as generous for low-earners as it is for those on higher salaries: the intention is to cut back on the staggering cost of childcare with parents claiming back £1,200 per child (the previous scheme was per household). Labour is anxious about this too: the party knows it left government with an extremely expensive childcare offer, and has been hard at work trying to remedy that before 2015. There are two problems with this very welcome announcement.

Isabel Hardman

Ministers avoid awkward vote on foreign criminals as Tories rebel on press damages plan

From our UK edition

The Crime and Courts Bill, which contains one half of the government's response to the Leveson recommendations, has just passed its third reading in the House of Commons. An earlier amendment on exemplary damages, which the Mail's James Chapman reports this evening has roused the ire of Boris Johnson, saw this group of Conservative rebels troop through the 'No' lobbies: Richard Bacon, Christopher Chope, Tracey Crouch, Philip Davies, Richard Drax, Nick de Bois, Andrew Percy, Mark Reckless, John Redwood, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Andrew Turner, Martin Vickers, Charles Walker and Sarah Wollaston. The amendment passed 530 ayes to 13 noes (the list above includes tellers Rees-Mogg and Drax, who are not listed in the initial division numbers).

Monday

Isabel Hardman

Theresa May tries to deter Tory uprising on foreign criminals

From our UK edition

MPs are hard at work in the Chamber tonight: once they've finished voting on the Leveson amendments to the Crime and Courts Bill, they'll move on to everything else in this piece of legislation. And everything else includes that amendment signed by over 100 MPs on Tory and Labour benches which limits the ability of foreign criminals to resist deportation. The Leveson debate has been a bit of a gift to ministers, as this big proposal would have enjoyed far greater attention had the Chamber not ben more exercised over press regulation. But that hasn't stopped a 'Dear Colleague' letter going out from Theresa May to Conservative MPs to explain why the government isn't supporting this call.

Isabel Hardman

Newspapers irritated by exclusion from Leveson talks

From our UK edition

As he summed up today's debate on press regulation, the Prime Minister repeatedly stressed that the new system was a voluntary one, with incentives for journalists to join. It marked a shift in the tone from the leaders at the start of the debate: the Prime Minister was now trying to coax the industry to join the new system leaders had agreed on. Perhaps it was this statement from the Newspaper Society that made him a little more conciliatory: 'We would like to make it clear that, contrary to reports broadcast by the BBC this morning, no representative of the newspaper and magazine industry had any involvement in, or indeed any knowledge of, the cross-party talks on press regulation that took place on Sunday night.

Isabel Hardman

Press regulation: Tory backbenchers worried by proposals

From our UK edition

MPs are continuing to debate the cross-party deal on press regulation in the Commons at the moment. The debate has been divided between congratulations for the party leaders and their colleagues who hammered out the deal, and wariness from some Tory backbenchers about what the proposals actually mean. David Cameron insisted during the debate that this wasn't statutory underpinning, but Nick Clegg said 'of course' when asked whether it actually was. Some Tory MPs agree with Nick: they believe this does include statutory underpinning.

James Forsyth

Leveson Royal charter debate: statutory or non-statutory?

From our UK edition

The three party leaders have just opened the debate on the Royal Charter. David Cameron was at pains to stress that this is not a ‘statutory approach’. But this was undermined by the deputy Prime Minister describing the approach as ‘a mix of Royal Charter and Statute.’ It was Miliband, though, who looked most satisfied with the deal. He dished out praise to those involved in securing agreement as if he was the Prime Minister. Labour are still in shock about how Letwin wandered into Ed Miliband’s office to negotiate last night without a political adviser or the backing of any other minister. One of the things that worries me most is the fact that all three leaders referred to having a deal that the victims could accept.

Isabel Hardman

Why the Tories don’t think the Leveson deal is statutory underpinning

From our UK edition

David Cameron has just met Tory MPs to explain the deal he's struck on Leveson. One of the things many of them were anxious to learn was whether the result does really mean the government has accepted the need for statutory underpinning. Hopefully the PM employed a better turn of phrase than his spokesman,  who told hacks this morning that this 'enshrines a non-legislative approach'. The Tories in Number 10 are insisting that this really is the case, that it's not statute at all and that the PM's feet aren't wet from any crossing of the Rubicon. Their argument is firstly that the amendment to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill is aimed at all Royal Charters, and protects them from further interference.

James Forsyth

Number 10: Cameron was awake and available throughout the negotiations

From our UK edition

A senior Number 10 source tells me that David Cameron was awake and available throughout the Leveson negotiations. They also point out that Nick Clegg left the meeting at 11.30pm, before the crucial business was done. On the Hacked Off point, they insist that Oliver Letwin ‘very politely’ asked them to leave the room for the sensitive part of the discussions. I’m told that Cameron then chaired a 6am conference call on the result of the negotiations where he declared himself satisfied. He feels that he’s avoided a press law. Downing Street is bristling at the idea that they got the worst end of the deal. They argue that Hacked Off wanted full statutory regulation and they haven’t got that.

Isabel Hardman

Ministerial aides demand to support backbench vote on foreign criminals

From our UK edition

All eyes are on what's happening with the cross-party amendments to two bits of legislation on Leveson, but this afternoon in the Commons there could well be another row on the Crime and Courts Bill. As we reported last week, Conservative MP Dominic Raab has an amendment to the legislation which would limit the opportunities for foreign criminals to avoid deportation. It has over 100 MPs signed up to it, including Labour grandees such as David Blunkett. But I also understand that a number of Conservative PPSs have contacted their whips saying that they would like to support this amendment and that they want to be given leave to do so. The whips could refuse and place a three-line whip on the proposal, but that hasn't been clarified yet.

Isabel Hardman

Press regulation: Ceci n’est pas une statute

From our UK edition

The party leaders should finish their discussions on Leveson - by phone - in the next hour or so. We'll then get a statement in the Commons on the outcome of those talks, and it's highly likely that all three leaders will speak as part of that statement. But the big debate now is whether what they have signed up to already constitutes the statutory underpinning that David Cameron was so very keen to avoid. There are two amendments to two different pieces of legislation relevant to press regulation: one on the Crime and Courts Bill on exemplary damages, and one to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill which prevents politicians meddling with the Royal Charter.

Isabel Hardman

Harriet Harman and Maria Miller both claim victory in Leveson talks

From our UK edition

Who has won in the late-night Leveson talks? Both Harriet Harman and Maria Miller seem to think their own party's Royal Charter has come out tops. And one says they've secured statutory underpinning, while the other says there isn't any underpinning. And again, one says the deal is done, while the other says the parties are 'close' to a deal. This is what Harman had to say on the Today programme: 'There is an amendment going forward into the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill which says that where a Charter says in that Charter it can't be dissolved or amended without a two-thirds majority in both Houses then that should have the force of law.' She added: 'The framework is set up in a Royal Charter, not by statute but in a Royal Charter.

Isabel Hardman

Late night Leveson talks bring parties close to deal

From our UK edition

So it looks as though a deal has been struck on Leveson after late night talks. Oliver Letwin, Nick Clegg, Ed Miliband and Harriet Harman were holed up in Miliband's office until 2.30 this morning, and Labour is now confident that it is close not just to an agreement on press regulation, but an agreement on its own proposals for a Royal Charter, rather than the government's draft. As Coffee House reported on Friday, David Cameron was facing a rebellion of around 20 Tory MPs and a defeat in the House of Commons on his Conservative amendment which introduced the Royal Charter. That threat appears to have concentrated the mind rather.