Brown busted over statistics (again)
From our UK edition
Via the excellent C4 FactCheck blog: A pdf with explanatory footnotes can be found here.
Uk politics
Wednesday
Money down the toilet
From our UK edition
I have heard two examples of government waste this morning which make you realise just how much money there is to be saved. The first was of a £1000 photocopier that cost £35000. The second was of a toilet worth £10000 bought for £50000. Both of these examples of waste come from the education budget. Just imagine what the £34000 saved on a photocopier could have done in that school. No government can cut out waste entirely. But by moving away from central ordering and restoring discretion you can save money. If you doubt this just look at how much a tin of instant coffee costs in catalogues of office supplies compared to the supermarket.
Cameron’s winning optimism
From our UK edition
Last week, it was all doom, gloom, debt, the deficit and austerity from the Tories – and rightly so. But, this week, they've returned to the sunny uplands. First, we had George Osborne's tax cut for seven out of every ten people. And, today, we had David Cameron's closing speech at the Tory Big Society event. I lost count of how many times he dropped words like "hope" and "change". And, yes, he even namechecked Barack Obama. But don't give up just yet – there was more to it than that.
Prepare for an annual Big Society Day
From our UK edition
The Tories have just distributed the policy document to go alongside their event today. There's stuff in there about new funds for social enterprises, a recruiment drive for community organisers, neighbourhood grants, and so on. But it's the last page of the document which caught my eye... Apparently, the Tories would introduce an annual, national "Big Society Day" to "celebrate the work of neighbourhood groups and encourage more people to take part in social action projects." Hm. I suppose that's all well and good, if you're into that kind of thing. But you can expect this to become a political sticking point, as the left questions whether it's really an annual Celebrate Conservative Government Day.
The joys of DIY government
From our UK edition
One of the main problems with the Tories' Big Society/post-bureaucratic/responsibility agenda is how to sell it to the public. At the moment, it all sounds a bit too metropolitan, a bit too vanilla latte, a bit too wonkish. How do you better convey the often solid thinking that lies behind the management consultancy speak? Well, I think Grant Shapps has just given it a good go. He described the warm feeling that he gets from DIY work – from, say, putting up his own shelves – and then expanded this to wider society. Imagine being the person who helped rejuvenate a post office, or who set up a school, or who runs the local library. It's DIY government, so to speak. The analogy also highlights some of the problems with this whole idea, though.
Hammond’s honesty
From our UK edition
Philip Hammond gave the first presentation at this Big Society event, and he admitted something that the Tories don't admit too often. First, he attacked Gordon Brown for doubling the national debt. And then he added that, "unfortunately, we're on a trajectory where the national debt will double again over the next few years." Hammond's right to highlight this. The danger for a Tory government is that their attacks on Brown in 2010 could look hypocritical in 2015, when they would have presided over rising debt as well. The key thing is to pin the blame for this situation on Brown, and ask whether he can be trusted to keep it under some sort of control.
The speed of schools reform
From our UK edition
Michael Gove is always worth listening to when he speaks on schools reform – offering passionate rhetoric supported by detailed policy. But this morning he excelled himself. If you want a clear sense of what the Tories have in mind for making "opportunity more equal," then I'd recommend you track down a copy of his presentation. I'll try to link to it, if it appears online later. One point that jumped out at me was when Gove said a Tory government would introduce a bill "within days" of entering power, aimed at "making it harder for bureaucracies to block the creation of new schools". He added that he'd hope to get this signed off before Parliament breaks up for the summer.
Take that, Tony
From our UK edition
Yesterday, David Cameron offered a punchy response to Tony Blair's return to the frontline of British politics, saying: “It's nice to see him make a speech he's not being paid for”. But I reckon the more stinging rebuke might come today. Nestled in the schedule at today's Tory 'Big Society' event are two video messages from a couple of the most prominent independent political figures of the Blair era. The first is Anthony Seldon, the reform-minded headmaster of Wellington College, who has written numerous books on Blair, and who has recently done some eyecatching work on the big subject of Trust. And the second is Ray Mallon, the zero-tolerance elected mayor of Middlesbrough, who has been working to help communities and local groups act against youth crime.
Whitehall’s hung parliament contingency plans vindicate Tory alarm over the economy
From our UK edition
There it is. The Tories' premier weapon emblazoned across the front pages of the Guardian and the Telegraph: Brown could stay on as PM in a hung parliament, even if the Tories win more seats. To be fair to Brown, the headlines are misleading. It is his duty to remain in office until it is clear that David Cameron or another politician commands the confidence of the House, which may take weeks in current circumstances. Mandarins are drawing up radical contingency plans to ensure that some modicum of economic stability is maintained during that period. These measures include temporarily proroguing parliament for 18 days after the election (rather than the usual 6) and allowing the Chancellor to remain in office for that period even if he has lost his seat.
Tuesday
Why Blair’s return is good news for the Tories
From our UK edition
Blair's return will be worth a good 2-3 points to the Tory lead. Like Mandelson, he can dazzle journalists who admire his tradecraft. Like Mandelson, he is loathed by the public who see a snake oil salesman. Blair mis-sold the country a project in 1997, and delivered none of what he promised (and it was with those broken 1997 problems in mind that the News of the World backed the Conservatives last weekend). He is not very popular now. When he gave evidence to the Chilcott Inquiry, the crowds came from near and far to denounce him. One placard, which I found outside my office, said "Blair is a war criminal" then someone had taped below it "and a w****r" but without the asterisks.
How more strikes could work for the Tories
From our UK edition
During the last Tube strike, a couple of lines kept going. As I made my way home by a rather circuitous route, I was intrigued that all the anger on the platforms was directed not at Transport for London or the new mayor but the unions. The general sentiment was that all the strikers should be fired, that back-up drivers should be trained up and that the trains should be automated. If the RMT do want to call more strikes, I suspect that they will make it a lot easier for an incoming Tory government to change the law to require minimun turnout for strike ballots — a change that Boris Johnson’s office wants to deal with the RMT strike problem. In other strike news, Network Rail is taking legal action to try and stop the planned rail strike.
Tomorrow is a Big Day for the Tories
From our UK edition
Tomorrow's Word of the Day is 'Big'. That is to say: the Tories are holding a Big Event, on the theme of the Big Society, and they've got all their Big Hitters out for the occasion. In all, there'll be presentations from eleven shadow Cabinet members, followed by a speech from David Cameron. You don't often see such a concentration of Tory firepower outside of conference season. What's clear, then, is that the Tories regard tomorrow as an important day for their election campaign. And so they should. Their Big Society agenda – aka, decentralisation – spans across some of their most encouraging policy ideas.
Letwin gets to the point
From our UK edition
Oliver Letwin is often mocked for putting things in over-complicated language, for talking about ‘a shift in the theory of the State from a provision-based paradigm to a framework-based paradigm’. But in his interview with the Wall Street Journal Europe, Letwin sums up the Cameron vision for public services with admirable clarity: 'Hospitals compete for patients, schools compete for pupils, welfare providers compete for results in getting people out of welfare and into work. So we get to the point where it [the public sector] is efficient because it is answering to the people it is serving and not to bureaucracy.
The Lib Dems attack Labservatism
From our UK edition
In this post-expenses election, there is going to be a considerable vote going for the none of the above party. The Lib Dems are clearly determined to try and tap into this vote. At PMQs in recent weeks, Nick Clegg has constantly sought to attack Labour and the Tories as different sides of the same coin. Last night in his closing statement, Vince Cable accused Labour of being ‘in hock’ to militant unions and the Tories to millionaires with their snouts in the trough. The message their trying to get across is clear: they’re both as bad as each other. Now, the Lib Dems have launched quite an effective site attacking the Labour Tory duopoly on power in Britain since the war.
Guess who’s back
From our UK edition
Yep, you guessed right: Tony Blair was doing his bit for the Labour cause this morning, with a speech in his old constituency. In truth, there was little in it of any note – or that we haven't heard countless times from his successor. Thus the Tories were derided as either the "old Tory party," or as confused about their direction of travel. Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling were hailed as the men who brought us through the worst of the economic storm. And even the soundbites ("meeting not just future challenges, but seizing future opportunities") sounded as if they had come from straight from the Brownite copybook.
Is David Davis talking off-message?
From our UK edition
James Macintyre asked yesterday, in response to a speech Davis made at the Bristol Chambers of Commerce. The question should enter John Rentoul’s entertaining list of questions to which the answer is No. Macintyre takes Davis’ comments out of context: ‘First, he [Davis] praises the post-war Labour Prime Minister Clement Atlee, who is credited with creating the NHS and the Welfare State, and effectively compares him to Margaret Thatcher: “Attlee created the modern Welfare State at a time when the country was bankrupt after the war. Mrs Thatcher transformed the country after 1979 when it was at its lowest ebb.”’ What Davis actually said was: “When times are tough, that is when we as a nation do the most extraordinary things.
Labour have moved on from the death tax for now – and so should the Tories
From our UK edition
Labour's plans for a national care service aren't looking too sharp this morning. Andy Burnham is expected to announce a cap on residential costs for the elderly later today – to be funded by freezing inheritance tax bands, raising the statutory retirement age, and (lo!) efficiency savings. But the full, free-for-everyone-at-the-point-of-use service will have to wait some time – or at least until a new independent commission has decided on how it can be funded in the long-term. In other words, the government has decided to park the death tax issue until well after the election. Presentationally speaking, this is proving difficult for the government.
Osborne’s silent victory
From our UK edition
I think Osborne’s main victory tonight would be to reassure those who thought him a clueless idiot. The left demonise him, and it’s easy for the right to despair at him too (yes, guilty). But the figure we saw tonight was calm, collected and assured – and I reckon this was his achievement. He allayed fears. Expectations of his performance would have been rock bottom, and he’d have surpassed them easily. He was playing it safe. Vince Cable did his after-dinner speaking comedy act (I met William Hague in the ‘spin room’ afterwards, who swears that some of Cables lines were nicked from his repertoire), and the studio audience loved him for it. But Cable is not going to be Chancellor, he can afford to take risks.
Tory poll lead widens further
From our UK edition
I'll spare you the nitty-gritty, but suffice to say that three separate polls tonight record growing leads for the Tories – of 7, 7 and 10 points, respectively. One of the 7-point leads is from the YouGov Daily Tracker, which has been hovering around the 4 point mark for the past few weeks. You could argue that we're still operating more or less within the margin of error. That's true. But throw in the polls from the weekend, and you'd be hard-pressed not to conclude that the tide is turning, at least momentarily, in Cameron & Co.'s favour. Either way, Tory folk around Westminster certainly seem more relaxed than they have been for months.
Monday
Few fireworks – but solid performances from Cable and Osborne<br />
From our UK edition
So now we know what happens when you put three would-be finance ministers into a room, and start asking them questions. There's plenty of esoteric language, a good dash of posturing – and next to no fireworks. Thinking about it, perhaps we shouldn't have expected much else. Not that the pyrotechnics were completely absent, of course. Both Cable and Darling rounded on Osborne over the Tories' national insurance plans, and Osborne hit back with some well-directed attacks on Labour's own tax and spend agenda – even getting Darling to waver and admit that a "death tax" is no longer on the cards. But, for the most part, calm and civility ruled the day. I lost count of how many times the participants said "I agree with...
