http://blogs.news.sky.com/boultonandcohttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14745675
The changes to abortion legislation proposed by Conservative back bencher Nadine Dorries have sparked the usual fierce debate.
Dorries' views are typical of many in today's Conservative Parliamentary
party - in particular those who entered the House of Commons for the
first time at last year's general election. They reflect the thinking
of a growing number of Tory MPs who belong to Christian groups, which
also include Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith.
She proposes that organisations that provide abortions, like Marie Stopes, should be prevented from providing women with advice before they go ahead with a termination.
Such organisations have long experience of providing impartial counselling women wishing to end their pregnancies in both the pros and cons of doing so.
In my view, not allowing these clinics to do so in future will make an already extremely distressing predicament even more so for women and almost certainly prolong the trauma for them.
A woman's right to choose should remain paramount and no further undermining of that choice by those heavily influenced by the religious right should take place. We do not need to go down the same road as the United States and espouse the same values as Sarah Palin and the Tea Party.
The current legislation is sufficient and should not be altered further.
The Prime Minister is right to oppose this amendment.
Thursday, 1 September 2011
UK Riots Not Down To Race Or Poverty - We Are Not A Nation In Moral Decline
http://www.tonyblairoffice.org/news/entry/tony-blair-in-the-observer-britain-isnt-broken/
Tony Blair may have largely disappeared from the UK political arena but his occasional interventions are usually astute.
Like most people in this country, I watched in horror as unprecedented riots swept through the UK and people from all walks of life - both wealthy and less so - chose to participate in the violence and looting.
The initial police response to the disturbances was worse than woeful.
However, the fact remains that in the most deprived areas that were caught up in the disturbances, only a very small minority of people chose to take part. Most of those people stayed away from trouble. Therefore the theory that social deprivation was the root cause of the riots, is in my view, far too simplistic. As usual, Ken Livingstone was far too quick to blame what happened on cuts in government spending.
By the same token, the Prime Minister's statement from Downing Street in the aftermath of the riots was equally black and white. Yes, of course such behaviour is totally unacceptable and the fact that so many areas were involved does on the surface give the impression to the rest of the world that Britain is 'broken' and 'frankly sick'.
But rather than running Britain into the ground and using the riots to score political points, I would agree with Tony Blair that a more individual approach is needed to tackle social problems and prevents such events happening in future. His view that we should solve problems family by family is surely sensible and avoids the sweeping generalisation that the entire nation is 'in moral decline'.
The courts, understandably, have come down very heavily on some of those involved. However, I don't believe that the sentences of some will be allowed to stand on appeal. The person who was jailed for stealing a bottle of water will surely have their punishment lessened when reviewed. And with the prison population already at bursting point, jailing first-time offenders for very minor offences will only make a very bad situation even worse and won't necessarily deter them from re-offending.
The British people are on the whole, decent, tolerant and law-abiding. Mr Blair is right to point out that, instead of focussing too heavily on those who looted and rioted, we should applaud those who came out to clean up.
We would do well to keep this in mind and should remember that such widespread disturbances are thankfully very very rare.
Tony Blair may have largely disappeared from the UK political arena but his occasional interventions are usually astute.
Like most people in this country, I watched in horror as unprecedented riots swept through the UK and people from all walks of life - both wealthy and less so - chose to participate in the violence and looting.
The initial police response to the disturbances was worse than woeful.
However, the fact remains that in the most deprived areas that were caught up in the disturbances, only a very small minority of people chose to take part. Most of those people stayed away from trouble. Therefore the theory that social deprivation was the root cause of the riots, is in my view, far too simplistic. As usual, Ken Livingstone was far too quick to blame what happened on cuts in government spending.
By the same token, the Prime Minister's statement from Downing Street in the aftermath of the riots was equally black and white. Yes, of course such behaviour is totally unacceptable and the fact that so many areas were involved does on the surface give the impression to the rest of the world that Britain is 'broken' and 'frankly sick'.
But rather than running Britain into the ground and using the riots to score political points, I would agree with Tony Blair that a more individual approach is needed to tackle social problems and prevents such events happening in future. His view that we should solve problems family by family is surely sensible and avoids the sweeping generalisation that the entire nation is 'in moral decline'.
The courts, understandably, have come down very heavily on some of those involved. However, I don't believe that the sentences of some will be allowed to stand on appeal. The person who was jailed for stealing a bottle of water will surely have their punishment lessened when reviewed. And with the prison population already at bursting point, jailing first-time offenders for very minor offences will only make a very bad situation even worse and won't necessarily deter them from re-offending.
The British people are on the whole, decent, tolerant and law-abiding. Mr Blair is right to point out that, instead of focussing too heavily on those who looted and rioted, we should applaud those who came out to clean up.
We would do well to keep this in mind and should remember that such widespread disturbances are thankfully very very rare.
Thursday, 4 August 2011
UK Economic Recovery Far Slower Than Government Forecast
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14370681
The UK economy is expected to grow by 1.5% this year, according to the IMF, but slower than the Coalition's predicted 1.7% increase in expansion.
Of course the Treasury has repeatedly said that the waters will be choppy on the journey back to recovery, and certainly the UK has not yet reached the predicament of other European nations and the US in coming perilously close to economic default.
But the Government have tied themselves so firmly to cuts in public spending as the only way to reduce the country's deficit, that I don't believe they are fully prepared what happens if the UK economy does not grow quickly enough. With unemployment still expected to remain high throughout 2011, it is difficult to see the economy growing sufficiently to lift us out of the danger zone.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for George Osborne to dodge Labour's accusations that the Government does not have a Plan B for economic recovery.
And now, with the IMF voicing their worries, the state of our finances is cause for international concern.
The UK economy is expected to grow by 1.5% this year, according to the IMF, but slower than the Coalition's predicted 1.7% increase in expansion.
Of course the Treasury has repeatedly said that the waters will be choppy on the journey back to recovery, and certainly the UK has not yet reached the predicament of other European nations and the US in coming perilously close to economic default.
But the Government have tied themselves so firmly to cuts in public spending as the only way to reduce the country's deficit, that I don't believe they are fully prepared what happens if the UK economy does not grow quickly enough. With unemployment still expected to remain high throughout 2011, it is difficult to see the economy growing sufficiently to lift us out of the danger zone.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for George Osborne to dodge Labour's accusations that the Government does not have a Plan B for economic recovery.
And now, with the IMF voicing their worries, the state of our finances is cause for international concern.
Hacking Scandal Rumbles On Amidst New Revelations.
Despite denying all knowledge of hacking activities whilst at The News of the World, Andy Coulson still has questions to answer.
This will no doubt shift the focus back on the Prime Minister come the end of the summer recess, and renew the debate over his judgement in hiring Mr Coulson as his Communications Director at Number 10.
And with the revelations that Heather Mills, ex-wife of Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, now believes her phone was hacked by journalists at Mirror Group Newspapers, it is clear that such underhand practices were not confined to just one tabloid newspaper.
Indeed Piers Morgan may have created a rod for his own back by revealing that he had heard details of a phone conversation between Mills and Sir Paul. Does he know more than he is letting on?
This story is not over yet.
This will no doubt shift the focus back on the Prime Minister come the end of the summer recess, and renew the debate over his judgement in hiring Mr Coulson as his Communications Director at Number 10.
And with the revelations that Heather Mills, ex-wife of Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, now believes her phone was hacked by journalists at Mirror Group Newspapers, it is clear that such underhand practices were not confined to just one tabloid newspaper.
Indeed Piers Morgan may have created a rod for his own back by revealing that he had heard details of a phone conversation between Mills and Sir Paul. Does he know more than he is letting on?
This story is not over yet.
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
Miliband Captures The Public Mood As The Tabloid Press Sinks To A New Low
http://www.labourlist.org/pmqs-verdict-ed-finds-his-voice
Ed Miliband performed brilliantly in today's PMQs, in what was undoubtedly his best outing so far as Leader of the Opposition.
The Labour leader left David Cameron with nowhere to hide as the Prime Minister desperately tried to defend the increasingly precarious position of his friend Rebekah Brooks.
Tabloid reporting has always been sensational and nothing more than gossip at best. But the revelations that employees of The News of the World hacked into the mobile phone of missing schoolgirl Milly Dowler, takes things to a different level.
The deleting of frantic messages left by Milly's anxious family and friends - therefore giving them false hope that she was accessing her voicemails and still alive when in fact she had already been brutally murdered - is nothing short of nauseating and dispicable.
And now of course, it is alleged that the phones of the parents of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, the victims of Soham murderer Ian Huntley - as well as those belonging to relatives of people who died in the 7/7 outrage - were also tampered with.
This is an affair which has all right-minded people totally united in their utter revulsion at the unfolding of events. The Prime Minister is of course right that a police enquiry should be allowed to take its course, but any public investigation into these deplorable events must not be allowed to drag on for years. The British people demand swift action against The News of the World and for those responsible to take the rap for what has happened.
I am reminded of the appalling aftermath of the death of Princess Diana, when greedy photographers took pictures of her as she lay dying in that car in Paris.
Of course no media organisations in this country dared to publish those snaps but it is clear that there are many journalists - if you can actually call them that - still prepared to sink to the lowest depths imaginable just to get a story.
To intercept the private conversations of celebrities, politicians and members of the Royal Family is bad enough. Actor Hugh Grant - interviewed today about his experiences at the hands of the tabloid press - quite rightly said that being famous does not mean you totally forego the right to a private life.
But to play on the emotions of bereaved and distraught relatives of victims of murder and terrorism is not just immoral. There is no doubt in my mind that any enquiry must explore the possibility of bringing the most serious criminal charges against those considered to have broken the law over this affair.
And above all, Rebekah Brooks definitely cannot stay in her job.
No matter how appalled Ms Brooks claims to be at the unfolding of events, as Editor of the News of the World as the time of Milly Dowler's disapperance in 2002, the buck clearly stops with her.
If David Cameron is as disgusted at The News of the World's actions as he says he is, then he must put aside his personal friendship with Rebekah Brooks and take the lead in calling for her to go.
Ed Miliband performed brilliantly in today's PMQs, in what was undoubtedly his best outing so far as Leader of the Opposition.
The Labour leader left David Cameron with nowhere to hide as the Prime Minister desperately tried to defend the increasingly precarious position of his friend Rebekah Brooks.
Tabloid reporting has always been sensational and nothing more than gossip at best. But the revelations that employees of The News of the World hacked into the mobile phone of missing schoolgirl Milly Dowler, takes things to a different level.
The deleting of frantic messages left by Milly's anxious family and friends - therefore giving them false hope that she was accessing her voicemails and still alive when in fact she had already been brutally murdered - is nothing short of nauseating and dispicable.
And now of course, it is alleged that the phones of the parents of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, the victims of Soham murderer Ian Huntley - as well as those belonging to relatives of people who died in the 7/7 outrage - were also tampered with.
This is an affair which has all right-minded people totally united in their utter revulsion at the unfolding of events. The Prime Minister is of course right that a police enquiry should be allowed to take its course, but any public investigation into these deplorable events must not be allowed to drag on for years. The British people demand swift action against The News of the World and for those responsible to take the rap for what has happened.
I am reminded of the appalling aftermath of the death of Princess Diana, when greedy photographers took pictures of her as she lay dying in that car in Paris.
Of course no media organisations in this country dared to publish those snaps but it is clear that there are many journalists - if you can actually call them that - still prepared to sink to the lowest depths imaginable just to get a story.
To intercept the private conversations of celebrities, politicians and members of the Royal Family is bad enough. Actor Hugh Grant - interviewed today about his experiences at the hands of the tabloid press - quite rightly said that being famous does not mean you totally forego the right to a private life.
But to play on the emotions of bereaved and distraught relatives of victims of murder and terrorism is not just immoral. There is no doubt in my mind that any enquiry must explore the possibility of bringing the most serious criminal charges against those considered to have broken the law over this affair.
And above all, Rebekah Brooks definitely cannot stay in her job.
No matter how appalled Ms Brooks claims to be at the unfolding of events, as Editor of the News of the World as the time of Milly Dowler's disapperance in 2002, the buck clearly stops with her.
If David Cameron is as disgusted at The News of the World's actions as he says he is, then he must put aside his personal friendship with Rebekah Brooks and take the lead in calling for her to go.
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
MP Calls For Car Smoking Ban
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13875513
Labour MP Alex Cunningham has called for smoking to be banned in cars carrying children.
His Private Member's Bill is unlikely to make it through Parliament with Tory MPs slamming the proposals as politically correct and smacking of 'nanny stateism'.
There are certainly a number of examples of where the last Labour Government can be accused of exerting too much state control over people's lives. I myself, have applauded the Coalition's scrapping of the 'no touching' rule in schools, which in my view was too far-reaching and indeed left many teachers, as well as children in danger from an unruly pupil.
However, despite the endless circulation of propaganda by the pro-smoking lobby, the link between passive smoking and cancer is well established.
The well-being of our children touches a cord with all right-minded people in our country. This is one occasion where a degree of political correctness is more than justified.
Labour MP Alex Cunningham has called for smoking to be banned in cars carrying children.
His Private Member's Bill is unlikely to make it through Parliament with Tory MPs slamming the proposals as politically correct and smacking of 'nanny stateism'.
There are certainly a number of examples of where the last Labour Government can be accused of exerting too much state control over people's lives. I myself, have applauded the Coalition's scrapping of the 'no touching' rule in schools, which in my view was too far-reaching and indeed left many teachers, as well as children in danger from an unruly pupil.
However, despite the endless circulation of propaganda by the pro-smoking lobby, the link between passive smoking and cancer is well established.
The well-being of our children touches a cord with all right-minded people in our country. This is one occasion where a degree of political correctness is more than justified.
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Rocky Times For The Coalition
http://politicalscrapbook.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/indy_front_page_clarke_rape.jpg
The Coalition has attracted an array of bad headlines of late.
Although the Tories' vote in the recent local elections held up reasonably well, the same cannot be said for their coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats.
Their Leader was quick to promise that he and his party would be more assertive in government and willing to fight the Liberal Democrats' corner in opposing much of the Tories' proposals for reform of the NHS.
Clearly rattled by the bloody nose dealt him and his party, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's petulant outburst following their poor showing in the polls and the result of the referendum on the Alternative Vote going against him, will have impressed very few people, especially those supporters still furious at his abandoning of the Party's pre-election pledge to oppose any rise in student tuition fees.
I am left wondering if the coalition can survive so many Liberal Democrats opposing these changes to the NHS, which after all, weren't in the Conservative manifesto and are changes being proposed for which the Government has no mandate.
To add to the Prime Minister's woes, Business Secretary Vince Cable has continued to snipe at the Tories from inside the Government's ranks, with David Cameron seemingly unwilling or too frightened to remove him for fear of uprooting the coalition.
David Laws, the former Chief Secretary to the Treasury has faced suspension from the House of Commons for his role in the expenses row which cost him his Cabinet job so soon after taking office. A rising star, admired by both parties in the Coalition, Laws' chances of a quick return to government have taken a severe blow.
Chris Huhne, the Climate Change Secretary, is now the subject of a police enquiry over allegations that he persuaded his wife to take penalty points on his behalf for a speeding offence in 2003. Clearly if it is established that he did indeed break the law, Mr Huhne's position will become untenable.
But the prize for the biggest recent faux pas has to go to Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke. His comments during a Radio 5Live phone-in implying that some rapes are more serious than others, have provoked fury from all quarters. Labour leader Ed Miliband immediately called for him to be sacked and was quite right to do so; a Justice Secretary has to show that they have some empathy for, and an understanding of what it is like to be, the victims of crime, otherwise they should not be in that position. It was, without doubt, Miliband's best performance at PMQs to date, where he had the Prime Minister - who had not yet heard Mr Clarke's interview - clearly on the run.
Mr Clarke may not have meant to trivialise rape or its effect on the victim. Indeed the basic principle behind the new proposals on sentencing is a sound one; if a defendant pleads guilty at the earliest opportunity then that will indeed spare the victim the trauma of having to give evidence in court and relive their horrendous experience.
The Justice Secretary is, however, guilty of putting forward his case in the clumiest way imaginable, since the new guidelines will apply to all offences, not just rape. It is just deplorable to imply, however unintentionally, that there are some circumstances in which rape can not be considered 'proper' or 'serious'.
Not surprisingly, the Secretary of State's choice of words led to a storm of protest from rape campaigners and victims unlike. The lady that called in to the radio show obviously extremely distressed by what Mr Clarke had said, deserved in my view much more than an impersonal letter of apology from the minister; it would have been far more appropriate if he had actually phoned her to say sorry.
David Cameron had had very little frontbench experience when he became leader of the Tories in 2005. And it was perhaps right, when in Oppostion, that he called upon many former ministers from the Thatcher/Major era - including Mr Clarke - to bring a wealth of experience into his Shadow Cabinet team.
Now in Government, however, the Prime Minister cannot afford to give the impression that he and his ministers are out of touch on such sensitive issues. Having made such a momumental blunder, Mr Clarke should have immediately offered his resignation and not given interview after interview refusing to apologise and repeatedly maintaining that he had said nothing wrong.
If this Coalition is going to maintain any credibility, I cannot see how Mr Cameron can keep Mr Clarke in his post.
Having not gone straight away, it will be astonishing if Mr Clarke is not sacked from the Cabinet or at least moved to another position come the next reshuffle.
When a seasoned political operator as experienced as Clarke comes out with such an appalling and inexcusable gaffe, it is a clear sign that they have had their day.
Kenneth Clarke is a reminder of the Conservative Party's past and it is now time for him to graciously step aside.
The Coalition has attracted an array of bad headlines of late.
Although the Tories' vote in the recent local elections held up reasonably well, the same cannot be said for their coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats.
Their Leader was quick to promise that he and his party would be more assertive in government and willing to fight the Liberal Democrats' corner in opposing much of the Tories' proposals for reform of the NHS.
Clearly rattled by the bloody nose dealt him and his party, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's petulant outburst following their poor showing in the polls and the result of the referendum on the Alternative Vote going against him, will have impressed very few people, especially those supporters still furious at his abandoning of the Party's pre-election pledge to oppose any rise in student tuition fees.
I am left wondering if the coalition can survive so many Liberal Democrats opposing these changes to the NHS, which after all, weren't in the Conservative manifesto and are changes being proposed for which the Government has no mandate.
To add to the Prime Minister's woes, Business Secretary Vince Cable has continued to snipe at the Tories from inside the Government's ranks, with David Cameron seemingly unwilling or too frightened to remove him for fear of uprooting the coalition.
David Laws, the former Chief Secretary to the Treasury has faced suspension from the House of Commons for his role in the expenses row which cost him his Cabinet job so soon after taking office. A rising star, admired by both parties in the Coalition, Laws' chances of a quick return to government have taken a severe blow.
Chris Huhne, the Climate Change Secretary, is now the subject of a police enquiry over allegations that he persuaded his wife to take penalty points on his behalf for a speeding offence in 2003. Clearly if it is established that he did indeed break the law, Mr Huhne's position will become untenable.
But the prize for the biggest recent faux pas has to go to Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke. His comments during a Radio 5Live phone-in implying that some rapes are more serious than others, have provoked fury from all quarters. Labour leader Ed Miliband immediately called for him to be sacked and was quite right to do so; a Justice Secretary has to show that they have some empathy for, and an understanding of what it is like to be, the victims of crime, otherwise they should not be in that position. It was, without doubt, Miliband's best performance at PMQs to date, where he had the Prime Minister - who had not yet heard Mr Clarke's interview - clearly on the run.
Mr Clarke may not have meant to trivialise rape or its effect on the victim. Indeed the basic principle behind the new proposals on sentencing is a sound one; if a defendant pleads guilty at the earliest opportunity then that will indeed spare the victim the trauma of having to give evidence in court and relive their horrendous experience.
The Justice Secretary is, however, guilty of putting forward his case in the clumiest way imaginable, since the new guidelines will apply to all offences, not just rape. It is just deplorable to imply, however unintentionally, that there are some circumstances in which rape can not be considered 'proper' or 'serious'.
Not surprisingly, the Secretary of State's choice of words led to a storm of protest from rape campaigners and victims unlike. The lady that called in to the radio show obviously extremely distressed by what Mr Clarke had said, deserved in my view much more than an impersonal letter of apology from the minister; it would have been far more appropriate if he had actually phoned her to say sorry.
David Cameron had had very little frontbench experience when he became leader of the Tories in 2005. And it was perhaps right, when in Oppostion, that he called upon many former ministers from the Thatcher/Major era - including Mr Clarke - to bring a wealth of experience into his Shadow Cabinet team.
Now in Government, however, the Prime Minister cannot afford to give the impression that he and his ministers are out of touch on such sensitive issues. Having made such a momumental blunder, Mr Clarke should have immediately offered his resignation and not given interview after interview refusing to apologise and repeatedly maintaining that he had said nothing wrong.
If this Coalition is going to maintain any credibility, I cannot see how Mr Cameron can keep Mr Clarke in his post.
Having not gone straight away, it will be astonishing if Mr Clarke is not sacked from the Cabinet or at least moved to another position come the next reshuffle.
When a seasoned political operator as experienced as Clarke comes out with such an appalling and inexcusable gaffe, it is a clear sign that they have had their day.
Kenneth Clarke is a reminder of the Conservative Party's past and it is now time for him to graciously step aside.
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