Peter Hoskin

Thursday

Peter Hoskin

Labour prime their anti-Coulson strategy

From our UK edition

Some useful insights from PR Week's David Singleton, who reveals that Labour are planning a concerted effort to paint Andy Coulson as a "sleazeball" ahead of - and perhaps during - the next election campaign.  Here's a snippet: "One senior Labour source in regular contact with Gordon Brown's inner circle told PRWeek: ‘Cameron wants to present himself as the man who's going to clean up politics. That's going to be difficult if the public think his right-hand man is a complete sleazeball.'   Another Labour insider said that senior party figures had been thrashing out a strategy to target Coulson since the news emerged yesterday. The source said the aim was have Coulson ‘wounded, but still there'.

Peter Hoskin

There could be a pay freeze, after all

From our UK edition

Over at the FT's Westminster blog, Jim Pickard picks up on an important comment from Stephen Timms, the Treasury minister, speaking at a committee meeting this morning.  Timms suggests that Treasury hasn't ruled out a public sector pay freeze, as recommended by the Audit Commission's Steve Bundred.  Here are the minister's words:   “It’s certain the case that our pay policy needs to reflect the wider economic circumstances ... we will be deciding on pay policy over the next few weeks, the policy has got to be fair to people who work in the public sector just as we have to be fair to everybody else. The suggestion by Steve Bundred has made is certainly one we will reflect on but the details on that will be made over the next few weeks.

Peter Hoskin

A headache for Cameron and Coulson

From our UK edition

So David Cameron has said that Andy Coulson's job isn't endangered by the News of the World wire-tapping allegations in this morning's Guardian, and you can see where the Tory leader is coming from.  After all, there are very few - if any - new revelations about Coulson in the Guardian piece.  We already knew that the Tory communications chief resigned the editorship of the NotW after a phone-hacking scandal involving the royal editor Clive Goodman.  And we already knew that he claimed no knowledge of the hacking but, as editor, he took responsibility for it.  No evidence has yet emerged that Coulson was more implicated than he's letting on.

Wednesday

Peter Hoskin

PMQs live blog | 8 July 2009

From our UK edition

Brown's away at the G8, so it's a Harman-Hague-Cable match at PMQs today. Stay tuned for live coverage from 1200. 1202: Here we go.  Harman leads with condolences for the servicemen killed in Afghanistan over the past week.  She adds condolences to those killed in the fire in Camberwell.  The first question comes from Malcolm Wicks: would Harman agree that "we need to develop a robust social policy" which deals with the costs of an ageing population.  Harman: "We'll bring forward a Green Paper which makes sure there is choice in the provision of services ... and affordability." 1205: Stephen Dorrell stick to the same issue, asking why the Government hasn't achieved much on "long-term care.

Peter Hoskin

When the cat’s away…

From our UK edition

Hm.  Seems like Alan Johnson has chosen the day that Gordon's away in Italy to write another comment piece on voting reform.  Like his article for the Times a few months ago, it pushes the AV+ version of proportional representation.  And, like his Times article, it goes out of its way to mention Brown ("I work for a leader who accepts the need for ... renewal"), but it still comes across as an attempt to grab the leadership limelight.  After all, why should the Home Secretary be reiterating points he's made before about voing reform?  Why isn't he leaving this attention-grabbing stuff for his leader who "accepts the need for renewal"?  And why now?

Tuesday

Peter Hoskin

Nick Clegg: out of love with the Tories?

From our UK edition

The thing that jumps out from Nick Clegg's speech on families today is how aggressively - if, ultimately, unconvincingly - it sets about attacking the Tories.  Yes, he also criticises Labour - but the attack on the Tories comes first and is more bitter in tone.  Here's a snippet: "David Cameron’s social policy is focused almost obsessively on marriage, cajoling people to conform to a single view of what a happy couple should look like. The Conservatives want marriage incentives in the tax system. And they may adopt Iain Duncan Smith’s proposals to put in place more legal roadblocks to divorce. This is both bizarre and patronising.

Peter Hoskin

To freeze or not to freeze?

From our UK edition

The question of whether or not to freeze public sector pay has had a fair bit of airtime over the past few days.  In his interview at the weekend, Alistair Darling seemed to take a hard-line on the issue - and most outlets wrote it up as him not ruling out a freeze.  But, via today's Times, "sources close to [Darling]" say that he won't re-open wage deals to introduce a freeze.  While, for his part, David Cameron is also claiming that a Tory government wouldn't order a freeze of public sector pay.  The politics of the situation is plain: neither side wants to seem especially tough on public sector pay ahead of the "nice cuts vs nasty cuts" battle which lies ahead.

Peter Hoskin

A rebellion stirs

From our UK edition

So, what does today hold in store for Gordon Brown?  Howabout another 10p tax rebellion marshalled, as always, by Frank Field?  A bunch of around 30 Labour rebels have prepared an amendment to the Finance Bill, by which the last Budget couldn't pass into law until everyone who lost out from the 10p tax fiasco has been fully compensated.  It should be debated today, and the rebels have the support of both the Tories and the Lib Dems.  In response, Labour whips have cancelled all foreign trips by ministers and MPs, and are feverishly trying to rally the troops.   If the rebellion succeeds, then it will be hugely embarrassing for Brown - his beleagured premiership could well do without another Commons defeat.

Monday

Peter Hoskin

Brown puts on his gloomy face for the world stage

From our UK edition

How peculiar.  After all the economic optimism coming out of government recently, all the talk of recovery by the end of the year, Brown's going to warn that the worst of the recession may be yet to come in his meetings with G8 leaders this week.  The Times has the full story here, but this snippet from the Dear Leader's address in France today gives you the idea: "If we do not take the necessary action now to strengthen the world economy and put in place the conditions for sustainable world growth, we will be confronted with avoidable unemployment for years to come." So does this mean he's losing faith in the "green shoots" strategy, by which a grateful nation will hail him for leading the UK out of recession?  No, I rather suspect not.

Sunday

Peter Hoskin

The Greatest

From our UK edition

Wow, that really was something.  Just like last year's Wimbledon final, Roger Federer's 5-7 7-6 7-6 3-6 16-14 victory over Andy Roddick has to go down as one of the greatest, and most nerve-wracking, contests in tennis history.  A spectacular way for Federer to claim his fifteenth Grand Slam title, breaking Pete Sampras's record in the process. UPDATE: Ok, so it looks as though I have a bit of explaining to do here.  Most CoffeeHousers comment below that the match was actually a boring slog-a-thon, and paled in comparison with other Wimbledon finals.  First, I stress that the headline - "The Greatest" - is referring to Federer and his record-breaking fifteenth Grand Slam title, rather than the match itself.

Peter Hoskin

More blows against Brown’s spending narrative

From our UK edition

It's public spending time again, dear CoffeeHousers, with a couple of eye-catching articles in  today's papers.  The first is a comment piece by Steve Bundred, chief exec of the Audit Commission, on the necessity for extensive spending cuts.  If you recall, Bundred claimed a few days ago that health and education shouldn't be ring-fenced from cuts, and here he repeats the point, adding a snappy conclusion: "So don't believe the shroud wavers who tell you grannies will die and children starve if spending is cut. They won't. Cuts are inevitable, and perfectly manageable. We should insist on a frank and intelligent debate about how and where they will fall, which will then enable everyone to make more sensible plans.

Peter Hoskin

Osborne’s crazy admission

From our UK edition

Tim Montgomerie flags up this passage from Andrew Rawsley's column today: "Mr Osborne raised some eyebrows at a recent private meeting in the City when he was heard to remark that '40% of my time is spent on economics' - meaning that most of his hours are spent on campaigns and tactics. Mr Osborne seemed to think that 40% was an impressively large amount of his time to find to spend on economics; some of his audience thought it was a worryingly low proportion for the man who expects to be chancellor in less than a year's time." Of course, it's no secret that Osborne has other responsibilities within his party.

Saturday

Peter Hoskin

More worrying news from Iran

From our UK edition

I'm just catching up with the latest New Yorker over brunch, and would recommend that CoffeeHousers read their eyewitness account of the Tehran protests: it captures the scale and sweep of the opposition to Ahmadinejad, as well as the brutality of the state response. Elsewhere, the latest news coming out of the country makes for a worrying addendum.  An Iranian newspaper has said that Mir Hossein Mousavi should be tried for treason; which sounds ominously like an prelude to even more oppression and antidemocratic action.  As always, it's worth keeping an eye on developments.

Friday

Peter Hoskin

The candidates for cuts

From our UK edition

Over at the Beeb website, Mark Easton flags up a new Ipsos MORI poll on public spending; you can view the whole thing here.  There are plenty of eye-catching results in there.  For instance, most people strongly agree that many public services are a waste of money and can be cut, while 40 percent of the public think that the Conservatives would be most effective party at getting good vaule for money from public services (compared to 25 percent for Labour).  In particular, I think these two charts deserve attention: Going off what the Tories are currently saying, they'd ring-fence both overseas aid and health spending.

Peter Hoskin

Another one for Miliband’s collection of cock-ups

From our UK edition

Great spot by Paul Waugh, who's got evidence of the latest Miliband cock-up over at his blog.  Basically, Miliband told the Commons earlier this week that British aid to India would be decreased and eventually stopped because "India is becoming a richer country".  But now he's had to sneak out a complete retraction, which even makes reference to India's "continuing levels of poverty": "We have no plans to scale down the provision of aid to India, nor to stop the provision of aid by 2011.  Our aid expenditure under current spending plans amounts to £285m in 2008/09, £275m in 2009/10, and £280m in 2010/11. These figures reflect India's continuing levels of poverty, with over 450 million Indians living on less than $1.

Peter Hoskin

Can Brown’s inner circle be broken?

From our UK edition

Given the speculation that's whirling around Westminster about plots to oust Brown in the autumn, it's worth noting this passage from Steve Richards' article for the latest New Statesman: "The most significant change since the hopelessly disparate attempted coup last month is how the rest of the cabinet relate to Brown, Mandelson and Balls, the trio who are working closely together. Recently a friend asked one cabinet minister on the so-called Blairite wing whether he thought Mandelson would tell Brown that the game was up if polls suggested Labour was heading for electoral oblivion. The minister replied that he could no longer have such a conversation with Mandelson; it would be seen as disloyal to Brown to present such a hypothesis.

Peter Hoskin

Darling’s position of strength

From our UK edition

Interviewed in today's Indy, Alistair Darling's "get real" warning to the bankers seems to be grabbing the headlines - but his comments on public spending rather jumped out at me.  After Peter Mandelson said that there wouldn't be a spending review before the next general election, there were rumblings that Darling was actually still thinking about a pre-election review.  Here, he confirms that: "Mr Darling insists the uncertain economic position means he cannot decide now whether to go ahead with the scheduled comprehensive spending review (CSR). He will announce his decision in his pre-Budget report, due in November. 'To do detailed allocations running up to 2013-14 at the moment, with all the uncertainty, just does not make any sense,' he says.

Thursday

Peter Hoskin

Advertising cuts

From our UK edition

If you're stuck for something to do during this sweltering afternoon, then it's well worth flicking through David Cameron's speech to the Local Government Association earlier.  Aside from a few mentions of handing "much more power" to local governments (which could be taken as merely transferring power from one bureaucracy to another), it's a good example of how much more confident and clear the Tory message on spending cuts has become.  The passage which stands out - although it may not actually be the snappiest - is where Cameron draws a comparison with the private sector: "Imagine if some of our biggest business brands followed the logic of our government.