Peter Hoskin

Thursday

Peter Hoskin

Advertising cuts

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.

Peter Hoskin

Brown primes his new dividing line

With Brown shifting his position on spending by the minute, it's worth highlighting this snippet from today's Guardian: "Treasury ministers, in particular, believe they can look at whether there will be a need for cuts at the time of the pre-budget report in the autumn. They intend to use the report to show the scale of projected future savings, as well as how frontline services and new priorities can be protected by switching resources. Labour still believes the Tories have made a political mistake by committing themselves to public spending cuts so early." It rather supports Fraser's prediction that, following all their talk about "envelopes" and "projections," the Government will suddenly start saying those "cuts" aren't necessary after all.

Wednesday

Peter Hoskin

PMQs live blog | 1 July 2009

Stay tuned for live coverage of PMQs from 1200. 1202: And they're off.  Brown starts with by welcoming the "new recogition" that British troops killed in combat will receive.  The Queen will make a statement on this later. 1204: First question on swine flu.  Brown confirms that there are now over 6,000 confirmed cases.  He adds that "we continue to monitor the situation closely".  Andy Burnham will make a statement on the issue tomorrow. 1205: Cameron leads by asking Brown whether "total spending" will continue to rise.  Brown says that it will before - oddly - claiming that spending will "rise by 0 percent" as of 2013.  The Tory benches erupt with laughter.

Peter Hoskin

To review or not to review?

So will we see a spending review before the next election or not?  Peter Mandelson said that we wouldn't, but there are rumblings that his claim wasn't Treasury-sanctioned and that he subsequently called Alistair Darling to apologise for making it.  And now today's papers contain two different strands about Darling's own intentions.  In the Independent, Andrew Grice claims that the Chancellor is "said to be moving towards a decision to postpone a government-wide spending review until after the election."  While the Guardian's Patrick Wintour reports that he is "keeping open the option of a slimmed-down spending review in the autumn in which he will spell out the need for any cutbacks in the government's programmes if the public finances require it.

Tuesday

Peter Hoskin

The state we’re in

Just to recommend the FT's analysis of the size of the British state to CoffeeHousers.  Click through their slides, and you'll get plenty of digestable facts and graphs about public spending, the size of the public sector and, ahem, the MoD's 21 concrete mixers.  Who knew, for instance, that of the 30 children in an average primary school classroom "more than two" will have a parent who works in the NHS?  In an ideal, transparent world, the Treasury would provide straightforward statistical resources like this.

Monday

Peter Hoskin

John Bercow is the Speaker-Elect of the House of Commons

John Bercow: 322 votes Sir George Young: 271 votes UPDATE: Bercow has just given his acceptance speech.  Nothing too surprising: plenty of "heartfelt thanks" and references to reform.  His tributes to the other candidates sounded unintentionally patronising (imagine this said very sloooowwly: "Each had a contribution to make ... and I can honestly say that they made those contributions in a sincere fashion.") I hope he speaks quicker when he adjucates PMQs - otherwise it will last forever. UPDATE 2: The party leaders have paid tribute to Bercow.  Brown's speech starts off quite well - he gets a big laugh by saying that "some of us" thought that Bercow "had already cast off his previous political views" - but shifts oddly into tub-thumping about transparency and reform.

Peter Hoskin

Your choice for the Speakership

Ok, voting has now officially closed on the Coffee House Speaker poll.  Turns out that CoffeeHousers would like to see Ann Widdecombe win the Speakership - and by quite some distance.  Here are the top three positions: Ann Widdecombe --- 44.2 percent Sir George Young --- 22.1 percent Sir Alan Haselhurst --- 12.8 percent Meanwhile, the actual vote rumbles on...

Peter Hoskin

Young stakes his claim

I'm not in the mood for making predictions, but it's worth noting some of the late momentum that's gathering behind Sir George Young, probably the Tories' first choice for the Speakership.  The PoliticsHome Index of Westminster insiders has paid him the rather backhanded compliment of being the "least unbearable candidate"; the betting markets have swung markledly in his favour; and - to top it all off - he's just delivered the most impressive of the candidates' addresses so far [watch them live here].  As Nick Robinson notes, more Labour MPs seemed to be muttering in appraval at the end of his speech than at the beginning.  Watch this space. UPDATE: The speeches are over.

Peter Hoskin

Who would you choose as Speaker?

There's plenty in today's papers about the election of the new Speaker - much of it unedifying, if unsurprising.  Despite all the talk about electing the "best person for the job", it sounds as though there's a serious, party political tug-of-war going on, with Margaret Beckett the most likely to emerge as victor.   In which case, we figured we'd let CoffeeHousers have their say on who should get the Speakership.  We asked you in a poll a few weeks ago - before the official list of candidates had been drawn up - and Frank Field came out on top.  But here's a new poll which has the actual candidates running today.

Friday

Peter Hoskin

Brown and McBride: still partners in crime

So it's as we suspected: Gordon Brown hasn't ditched "McBride" after all.  Here's a great insight from the Telegraph's Alex Singleton: "Before Mr Brown appeared on the Andrew Marr Show on May 31, he discussed his lines with Mr McBride by text message. This surely puts him at the heart of Gordon Brown's inner circle. Given Mr McBride's nickname - McPoison - isn't it time Mr Brown found a more positive source of spin? And doesn't it make the Prime Minister's attempt to distance himself from Mr McBride and his smear emails look rather hollow?" Says it all, really.

Peter Hoskin

The “Politicians Against Redaction” movement is born<br />

Predictably, a skirmish seems to have broken out between Labour and the Conservatives over redaction.  Here are two entries from Paul Waugh's Twitter feed which caught my eye while I was wandering around Westminster just now: "David Cameron to outflank Brown by publishing Tory exes unredacted, unilaterally on line." Followed swiftly by: "Brown has just outspun the Tories. He's called for end to redaction. Tories should have got their msg out earlier." All in all, I guess this represents a score draw between the parties in the spin war - and some welcome progress on the transparency front.  But - as throughout the expenses scandal - you do wonder why it took a public outcry for the politicians to think of this.

Peter Hoskin

Why Fred Goodwin delayed his pension concession

Now that Fred Goodwin's poised to pay back a chunk of his pension, I'd recommend that CoffeeHousers read Jane Croft and Jean Eaglesham's blow-by-blow account of the saga in today's FT.  Crucially, it answers the question of why Goodwin has waited until now to make the decision: "His decision finally to do so came several days after the legal review concluded that there was no conduct on Sir Fred’s part that would justify reducing the pension. Insiders say the timing is no coincidence. Sir Fred was awaiting that exoneration before agreeing voluntarily to reduce his pension to ensure the gesture could not be misinterpreted as an admission of wrongdoing on his part. Now both RBS and Sir Fred believe the matter has been settled.

Peter Hoskin

The point of no return

Look at pretty much any newsapaper front cover this morning, and you'll see the word "blackout," along with blocks of black ink meant to represent those censored expense claims.  Flick through the pages inside, and the tone of the coverage is - rightly - vituperative, with the consensus being that yesterday's expenses release is little more than an insult to voters.  The Sun's headline pretty much sums it up: "What a bunch of blankers".  Yep, just when MPs thought it couldn't get any worse - it has. On the question of whether MPs can restore the public's faith in Parliament, the Indy's Andrew Grice writes that, "Probably it have gone too far now ... there is no turning the clock back."  After yesterday, it's even harder to disagree.

Thursday

Peter Hoskin

Would Labour cut by 10 percent (again)?

One important story which has been rather obscured by all the expenses revalations today is Andy Burnham's claim that the health Budget would never be cut under a Labour government.  It's a position that he stated last week, but quickly retracted after realising that it impled, yep, 10 percent cuts for other departments.  Anyway, he's hinted at it again, in interview with the Mirror: "[Burnham] said seeing the dedication of NHS staff will guide him in his new role as Health Secretary. And he backed up his claim by boldly announcing there will NEVER be any cuts to the NHS as long as Labour is in power. Mr Burnham said: 'The NHS is our priority. We are absolutely not talking about cuts. That is not part of our lexicon. We do not think in that way.

Peter Hoskin

Darling’s measured approach will drive Brown mad

I've just got around to reading Alistair Darling's Mansion House speech from last night, and I'd recommend that CoffeeHousers flick through it too.  It's a strange mix which takes some dechipering.  At first glance, there's plenty of talk about "investment"; the doubling, tripling and quadrupling of budgets; and how "cutting spending across the board would choke off the recovery".  But the overall emphasis - which, in turn, has become the emphasis of the newspaper coverage - is on bringing the public finances back into shape, and on lowering the debt burden. It's a speech which No.

Peter Hoskin

An obscure form of transparency

And so here it is: the list of Members' allowances for 2004-08, uploaded - after months of delay and prevarication - onto the Parliament website earlier this morning.  You can hunt down any MP from those years - apart from some, like Blair and Boris, who have left the House - and download pdf copies of their expense claims.  All very open at first glance, except... well, these are censored versions of the claim forms.  MPs have been able to sift through them with a marker-pen, and take out addresses, unsuccessful claims and other details which have been crucial to the Daily Telegraph investigation.  As Paul Waugh points out over at his blog, the result is pages and pages of black redactions.

Wednesday

Peter Hoskin

Another one bites the dust

Just stepped off the Tube to read that Kitty Ussher - the Treasury minister - has resigned from the Government over her expenses.  The Telegraph writes that "further disclosures" about her claims are "due to be published" by them - so I imagine that could have been the direct cause.  All in all, a reminder that this scandal is still rumbling on, claiming scalps, and that the fragmentation of Brown's government didn't end with the Cabinet reshuffle. P.S. Read Martin's take on Ussher's departure here.

Peter Hoskin

When a picture speaks a thousand words

Daniel Finkelstein has picked up on the most striking aspect of Michael Martin's valedictory statement earlier: the cutaways to Brown and Cameron when the ex-Speaker laments their failure to "show leadership" over expenses last year.  Fairly or unfairly, it seems to speak volumes about their characters.  You can see it 0:19 into this video on the Beeb's website - classic stuff. It doesn't contain the contrasting Brown 'n' Cameron shots, but here are some more highlights of the Speaker's statement: And you can find the full text here.