Observer: Miliband to give public say in Labour leader contests

An article in The Observer this morning that ticks a number of boxes for Unit 1 students—from a Labour Party perspective, at least:

Ed Miliband wants to give public a say in future Labour leadership contests

In a speech to Labour's national policy forum, he declared Labour the "people's party" and said it had to become more "rooted" in the lives of the electorate if it was to regain support and respect. "A hundred years ago, when we were founded, people's allegiances were much more likely to be inherited rather than chosen," he said. "Today the world is very different. People are much more likely to choose that allegiance rather than inherit it."

Labour, stressed Miliband, could not survive as a "party of declining membership" but had to relaunch itself as a "genuine community organisation" that embraced non-members.

Miliband, who has been criticised privately by some Labour MPs for not making his mark on the leadership rapidly or firmly enough, insisted that union members would remain a vital part of decision-making. But aides said he was keen to see the public involved in future as well.

One idea could be to give non-Labour members a share of the vote in future leadership contests – a move that could anger the grassroots.

There were also some ideas about his own profile as leader and future party appeal:

The moves will be seen as Miliband hitting back at critics who say he is in the grip of the unions. Miliband tackled the issue head on, saying a system under which one person could have several votes in a leadership contest by being a party member but also a member of a trade union and another affiliated organisation had to change. He also said his focus would be the "squeezed middle".

Some commentators have suggested that this could be a somewhat fruitless / thankless reorientation, suggesting that in going for the "squeezed middle", Miliband may be going for the wrong group: 

Figures from the 2010 British Election Study, which is carried out by the University of Essex, showed that 35% of the working class did not vote. "Ed Miliband is focusing attention on the 'squeezed middle-class', but if Labour had appealed more to working-class voters, it could have won," said Paul Whiteley, professor of politics at Essex. 

Guardian: David Cameron reveals hints of a Bullingdon bully

Flashes of personalised humour at the expense of others undermine the prime minister's attractive courtesy, so says Michael White in The Guardian's Politics Blog today.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2010/nov/26/david-cameron-bullingdon-michael-white

An article worth reading.... Those studying Unit 2 (that's all of you!) will need to be aware just how important a Prime Minister's personal style can be in regard to electoral appeal and effective government. White presents a balanced view—and presents evidence (particularly regarding the Speaker of the House, John Bercow) that is not all too damning just yet, but he also sounds a warning:

All in all, it's a troubling trait, and one the PM would be wise to rein in because, as the coalition's troubles deepen, he needs all the help he can get.

AV: Will they? - or won't they?

As the projected referendum on the FPTP / AV voting system for general elections nears acceptance by Parliament, the various sides of the debate are staking out their territory and their supporters.

News from all directions today... Firstly came reports that a number (five) Labour Party grandees had come out against a change to the Alternative Vote:

Labour veterans to oppose change to AV election system (BBC News Online)

Five former Labour cabinet ministers have pledged their opposition to changing the system for electing MPs.

Margaret Beckett, David Blunkett, Lord Falconer, Lord Reid and Lord Prescott all said they would campaign against replacing first-past-the-post with the alternative vote (AV) system.

Later came news that the "No to AV" campaign had been forced to remove the name of Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, from their list of supporters against any change to the electoral system:

Campaigners against voting reform in Gove mistake (BBC News Online)

Campaigners against changing the Westminster voting system have wrongly included Michael Gove on a list of politicians supporting their cause.

Those opposed to replacing first-past-the-post named a list of high-profile Labour and Conservative politicians who they said would back their campaign. But they were forced to remove the education secretary's name after his advisers said he was "undecided".

 Expect to see much more of this sort of thing as the referendum date draws near!

Labour pulls ahead sharply in Guardian/ICM poll

That didn't take long....! Mind you, nothing too fatal yet for the Tories, but I think Nick Clegg might / should be somewhat concerned for the LibDems...

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/nov/22/labour-pulls-ahead-guardian-icm-poll

Labour has pulled ahead sharply in the latest Guardian/ICM poll, as both coalition parties lose support. The findings, published as Ed Miliband returns to Westminster after paternity leave, suggest only a minority of voters believe the coalition is taking Britain in the right direction.

Labour support in a theoretical immediate election has risen to 38%, two points higher than last month and the best in any ICM poll since Gordon Brown cancelled the planned 2007 general election.

Between them the coalition parties have shed five points. Conservative support has dropped three since last month to 36%, while the Liberal Democrats have fallen two points to 14%.

The Lib Dem score is the lowest in the Guardian/ICM series since May 2001, and the lowest in any ICM poll since October 2007.

Ed Miliband sets out 'profound' changes to Labour party

The Guardian has an exclusive first full interview published tonight with Ed Miliband, in which the new Labour leader reveals plans to review organisation and policies since winning the leadership contest...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/nov/21/ed-miliband-profound-changes-labour

Some highlights:

Ed Miliband launches his party on "the hard road back to power", saying it has to move beyond New Labour and commit to changes in policy and organisation as profound as those introduced by Tony Blair in 1994.

He also appears to clash with the shadow chancellor, Alan Johnson, by saying a 50p tax rate for those earning more than £150,000 should be permanent, as a way of creating greater equality in Britain. Making the country more equal, he says, is one of the issues that gets him out of bed in the morning. In his first full interview since becoming party leader, and marking his return to work after two weeks of paternity leave, he discloses:

• A commission on party organisation will be launched this weekend. It will examine the rules under which he was elected party leader, including the role of the unions.

• A policy review will be conducted including commissioned work by independent thinktanks and studies by each shadow cabinet member on the issues in their field. "In terms of policy, but not in terms of values, we start with a blank page," he says.

• The review is likely to include low pay, tough crime measures including asbos, and the "contributory principle" in the welfare state.

• His main priority next May will be the devolved and local elections and not the referendum on the alternative vote. He says the Liberal Democrats should change the referendum date if they really want to win.

• He will stand up for the "squeezed middle classes", a group he claims Cameron does not understand.

 The full interview is to be found here: "Ed Miliband – no huskies, no north pole, but he's in for the long haul". Take a read - this will prove important for current examples / knowledge on Labour Party policies and ideas...

Direct action by a pressure group: Students!

The Guardian publishes a report tonight of a new campaign by a suddenly-much-more-vocal pressure group—university students—against the changed further education policies of the LibDems:

NUS starts campaign to oust leading Lib Dems
National Union of Students launch 'decapitation' strategy aimed at ousting Nick Clegg and other top Liberal Democrats in protest at the party's U-turn on tuition fees

The National Union of Students will launch a "decapitation" strategy aimed at ousting Nick Clegg and other top Liberal Democrats from parliament in protest at the party's U-turn on student fees.

The move aims to build on anger about coalition policies – which spilled over into violence on Wednesday – in Lib Dem-held constituencies with large student populations.

The key targets will be Clegg in Sheffield Hallam, Simon Wright in Norwich South, Stephen Williams in Bristol West and Don Foster in Bath.

Aaron Porter, president of the NUS, said the campaign would aim to force out Lib Dems who break their pre-election pledge to oppose any rise in tuition fees.

This, of course, constitutes a brilliant current example of direct action against the policies of a particularly well-placed political party and sitting MPs (including the party leader). Will it succeed in changing anything? We shall see...

Parliament's ongoing rotten nature?

Peter Oborne, the Telegraph's chief political commentator, has published an article outlining the manner in which parliamentary corruption continues to burgeon, now on David Cameron's watch:

Our Parliament is rotten to the core

Parliamentary expense scandals, lying to the electorate.... Oborne's assessment is clear:

David Cameron responded with a promise to restore trust in British politics. Six months have now passed – enough time to make a preliminary judgment on how the Prime Minister is carrying out this task. Sadly, the conclusion must be that little has changed.

An important article and a reminder of sadly how little changes in politics behind the scenes... All grist to our mill for examples explaining voter apathy and parliamentary ineffectiveness.

Observer: How Britain's new welfare state was born in the USA

"The main themes of David Cameron's 'big society' are becoming clear – as is the influence of Republican political thinking", as reported today in the Observer:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/nov/07/britain-welfare-state-born-usa

Important and comprehensive reading for those who need to get the latest on Conservative party ideas and policies (... that's all of you!)

Read it!

BBC: Convicted prisoners to get vote after European ruling

Thousands of convicted UK prisoners are to get the right to vote after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the present ban was unlawful.

Prime Minister David Cameron was said to have reluctantly accepted that there was no way of maintaining the 140-year-old ban on sentenced prisoners voting in general elections, according to BBC political correspondent Reeta Chakrabarti.

However, he will resist allowing to vote those prisoners who have committed the most serious offences, our correspondent adds.

Read the full story—an important update to the Unit 1 topic, Democracy and Political Participation that examiners might expect you to know about... (Yes, once again, the textbooks have been outdated!)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11671164