The Politics Blog

Religion and Politics in the US

2012-02-10T11:00:54+00:00

In Britain politicians tend to avoid getting involved in debates surronding religion. Although the UK has an estbalished church, major ethical and moral debates such as abortion and stem cell research are left to the scientisits and medical professionals. In the USA however, where you stand on abortion or stem cell research may either improve or weaken your chances of electoral success.

Explaining the role of Select Committees

2012-02-09T19:42:38+00:00

This 10 minute video from the UK Parliament site provides an introduction to the role and activities of Commons Select Committees.

UK Electoral Reform demonstrated with Lego!

2012-02-08T13:00:44+00:00

A hat-tip to Nicola Morgan for spotting this terrific video from Dr Simon Usherwood (Department of Politics, University of Surrey) who uses the universal medium of Lego to help explain some core concepts in electoral reform…

Global Issues: Humanitarian Intervention: Sryia ~ Time to intervene?

2012-02-06T22:16:22+00:00

Syria’s crises seems to deepen with no apparent end in sight. Amid increasing fears of a civil war in Syria following the failure of the UN Security Council resolution, commentators remain divided over the question of intervention and how best to address the crisis. The US foreing polict think tank CFR has two articles which highlight the debate and the possible different options available: 1. It’s Time to Think Seriously About Intervening in Syria which asserts:After all, if the many Syrians who have been in open revolt since March of last year are on the verge of bringing down Assad, then, as the conventional wisdom has it, there is no need for a international response and thus no need for an agonizing debate about whether to use force in Syria. But this logic seems less convincing every day, and it might be time to reconsider our assumptions about intervention. AND 2. We Intervene in Syria at Our Peril which argues:This is a juncture at which to rebuild and renew the United States, not be consumed by the civil war of a complex nation. Syrians will decide their own fate. When the British said to Gandhi that without their involvement, India would be in chaos, Gandhi retorted “At least it will be our chaos.”

Global Issues: Changing Nature of Conflict - Pakistan Relations - A double game?

2012-02-02T10:25:45+00:00

The leaking of a NATO report claiming that Pakistan’s intelligence agency continues to provide support for the Taliban is the latest in a string of events demonstrating a breakdown in the relationship between the West and Pakistan. The porous and Af-Pak border and the role crucial role of Pakistan in possibly brokering talks with the Taliban in the elusive search for an end game to the conflict in Afghanistan makes this recent development all the more significant. With relation to the Global Issues course, the issue is worth realting to the question of ‘why are assymetrical wars so diificult to end?’. Chatham House’s Gareth Price has an excelleent analytical piece in the Huffington Post: NATO’S Leaked Report: A Breakdown in Relations With Pakistan Here is an excerpt:At the same time, there is little hope of success in Afghanistan without Pakistan’s engagement. And as moves towards some form of peace process or reconciliation with the Taliban are expedited, the need for Pakistan’s involvement becomes greater still. The leaking of a report suggesting that Pakistan continues to back the Taliban will probably have less impact on Western engagement with Pakistan than the bombing of a Pakistan border-post at the end of November; an act which led Pakistan to prevent NATO supplies transiting via Pakistan. That said, given the urgent need to start rebuilding the relationship it will do little to engender trust. At the heart of the problem lies a void in Western thinking over how best to deal with Pakistan. Carrots, in the form of large cash transfers, would seem to have singularly failed in reducing Pakistan’s ambivalence in its dealings with Afghanistan. And the Western toolkit is somewhat lacking in sticks, short of threatening to withhold those cash transfers, in dealing with nuclear-armed Pakistan.

Ideologies: New Edition of Heywood’s Political Ideologies

2012-01-31T15:45:18+00:00

A quick heads up - Andrew Heywood’s Political Ideologies textbook is about to come out in a 5ed. Worth knowing if you are budgeting for next year etc. Palgrave’s blurb is here [includes sample Conservatism chapter] - Click here.

Ideologies: Hayek v Keynes - the Boom and Bust Rap

2012-01-31T15:39:15+00:00

For a bit of amusement two great youtube clips on the battle between Hayek [the Free Market] and Keynes [the ‘managed economy’ and state intervention’]: “Fear the Boom and Bust” a Hayek vs. Keynes Rap Anthem Fight of the Century: Keynes vs. Hayek Round Two And….Hayek’s Gift

Global Issues: Terrorism ~ Boko Haram: a ‘new’ global terrorist threat?

2012-01-31T15:12:44+00:00

Boko Haram’s series of bloody terrorist attacks in northern Nigeria has announced their activities to an international audience which is starting to take Boko Haram seriously as well as the deep challenges that Nigeria faces. Boko Haram is certainly of interest to Global Issues students - to what extent does it represent ‘new’ terrorism in terms of being seemingly jihadi [with alleged al-Qaeda links], embracing more modern technologies and destructives means and possibly having an international dimension. Boko Haram has certainly sparked off a wide reaching international debate about its very nature and the extent to which it poses a global threat. The Guardian, published on January 27, an interview with alleged Boko Haram spokesman Abu Qaqa, conducted by Guardian Nigeria correspondent Monica Mark. In conjunction, the paper also included a careful analysis by Jason Burke that concludes the Boko Haram remains “a local phenomenon, not a global threat,” and an editorial that calls on President Goodluck Jonathan to address Nigeria’s religious divide and corruption, provide protection for all, and to redistribute state resources to accomplish those goals. The article asserts:Boko Haram’s gruesome rise has prised open crevices where ethnic, religious and socioeconomic fault lines intersect Also the Telegraph has a piece: “‘We will attack Nigeria again and again’, Boko Haram leader vows’. It is reported that the purported leader of Boko Haram, the radical Islamist group responsible for hundreds of deaths in Nigeria has vowed to attack “again and again” until the country becomes an Islamic state. The full international impact of these attacks is also reflected in an excellent article in the Washington Times: Nigeria Islamist militant sect drawing increased scrutiny The article is well worth a full read but here is an exerpt:But the extent to which Boko Haram, the Islamist sect that claimed responsibility for the blasts that killed 185 people Jan. 20, is tied to al Qaeda remains a subject of international debate. While senior U.S. officials, including Army Gen. Carter F. Ham, head of U.S. Africa Command, have suggested the Nigerian group has developed ties to the international terrorist group al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), some regional experts are circumspect. Boko Haram, they argue, remains a nebulous and ill-defined national movement - less aligned with the globally focused tenets of al Qaeda than it is eager to embrace violence to combat injustice in Nigeria. What few dispute is the sheer level of sophistication marking the terrorism now gripping the oil rich yet impoverished West African nation, whose predominantly Christian south is tensely divided from its mainly Muslim north. “Nigeria has never had a terrorist organization like this,” said Elizabeth Donnelly, the Africa program manager at London-based Chatham House, a British institution that analyzes international issues. Several northern Nigerian sects, she said, have long embraced varied approaches to fundamentalist Islam. And….According to a congressional report three months later, the U.N. bombing “marked a significant shift in the targeting and goals of the group, largely unknown to the U.S. intelligence community, and capped off an evolution in the capabilities of Boko Haram, beginning in the mid-2000s, from attacks with poisoned arrows and machetes to sophisticated car bombings.” The report, titled “Boko Haram: Emerging Threat to the U.S. Homeland,” highlighted claims by senior U.S. military officials that members of the group are being trained by AQIM and are thought to have established “ties to the Somalian militant group al-Shabab.” Such assertions have caused an uproar among some regional experts, including Jean Herskovitz, an Africa historian and Nigeria expert. She argues that Boko Haram has “never expressed goals of an international sort that would make it the kind of threat that is being portrayed in that report.”

Unit 2: Constitutional Reform: Break of the UK?

2012-01-14T08:23:44+00:00

The big constiutional issue of the year looks firmly set to be that of Scottish devoltion/independence and the ultimate issue of the fate of the Union. Quite what was David Cameron doing in lighting the toucpaper for a debate on Scotland’s future which could end with the United Kingdom splitting apart? Initially it seemed a masterstroke catching Salmond on the hop, but it seems to have backfired. Salmond in some eyes is a ‘political genius’ but does that make him right on the issue? Very briefly here is a snapshot of a few relevent articles: 1. A question not just for the Scots, but for everyone in Britain - Charles Moore, The Daily Telegraph What Alex Salmond calls independence is really the break-up of the United Kingdom. 2. A generous offer to Scotland could keep the Union safe - Dominic Raab, The Daily Telegraph As Alex Salmond makes hay haggling over process points for a referendum on Scottish independence, we risk losing sight of the big picture. Mr Salmond may see crude political capital in casting the debate as Scots versus English, but the referendum will define the constitutional architecture for the United Kingdom as a whole. 3. Of course Scotland can stand on its own two feet - and here’s how ~ Hamish McRae, The Independent Scotland’s voters will be asked to make a political decision in its referendum on independence, but it will be a decision coloured inevitably by economics – or at least economic perceptions, for the long-term economic impact of independence is far from clear. But such is the nature of politics that economic arguments will be used by both sides to support their case. 4. Scotland’s political bruiser - Andrew Bolger, George Parker, The Financial Times Alex Salmond, the ebullient leader of the Scottish National party, was in his element this week, doing what even his foes concede he does best: hogging the centre of the political stage, draping himself in history and arguing the case for independence that would break up the United Kingdom. Only a start…...

House of Lords - Welfare Bills savaged by Lords

2012-01-12T08:22:47+00:00

Nice current example of the House of Lords ‘delaying’ a Bill. The Government has suffered a series of embarrassing defeats on its flagship Welfare Reform Bill in the House of Lords. Peers voted against the Government on three separate amendments on the employment support allowance for disabled people and for cancer patients. The amendments, brought by crossbenchers Lord Patel and Lord Listowel, mean that young disabled people who are unable to work are automatically eligible for the employment support allowance, that claimants are reassessed for the benefit after two years, not 12 months, and that cancer patients are exempt from the time limit between reassessments altogether. Campaigners had feared that the reforms would mean cancer sufferers would be forced back into work before they had fully recovered. Peers voted 222 to 166 for the amendment for cancer patients, 234 in favour of the amendment for the time limit, and 260 to 216 for the amendment on young people. They mark the fourth defeat for the Government on the legislation, following a vote before Christmas on housing benefit cuts. Here is more in the Independent: Lords throw out plans for welfare reform And the BBC - Click here

Modern Conservatism - In Thought And Action

2012-01-07T13:45:38+00:00

The Conservative Party is well blessed with an independent website in Conservative Home that often provokes debate within the party and allows the outsider to see how conservatism is shaping and shifting on the current political sea. There are two articles currently on it that are worth investigating. One, by website editor Tim Montgomerie, discusses how a right wing party “with a heart” can position itself to govern more universally than is often perceived to be the case with the Conservatives. Highlighting key areas of current policy, including Michael Gove’s radical education agenda, he argues the case for a modern, ‘compassionate’ conservatism that could bring electoral victory. In so doing, he covers the ground of where the Conservative Party currently stands in a way that can certainly help any students and teachers looking to analyse what the ideology of the modern Conservative party really is.

House of Lords: Why have a House of Lords without a single Lord in it?

2012-01-07T11:01:26+00:00

The issue of reform of the House of Lords is back at the top of the political agenda. Clegg’s proposal that the Lord’s be replaced by an ‘elected Senate’ of 300 ‘full time parliamentarians’ has met with criticism from a number of quarters. A joint committee of MPs and peers examining the government’s plans has concluded that the Lords should have around 450 members. They argue the Lords cannot work effectively with just 300 members to do the work of scrutinising legislation. The Libdem lord Tyler said:Simply cutting it back to 300 and assuming that everybody’s got to be a full time parliamentarian, would make us too much like the House of Commons. ” In today’s Telegraph Charles Moore has an excellent article Why have a House of Lords if there’s not a single lord left in it?. He asserts:“The last thing we need is a second chamber filled with yet more professional politicos.” The article begins:Dr Johnson said that “most schemes of political improvement are very laughable things”, and that was 250 years before Nick Clegg tried to reform the British constitution. Last year, Mr Clegg failed to persuade the British people, in a referendum, that the Alternative Vote system was the answer to their political ills. This year, he hopes to persuade both Houses of Parliament to invent a new House of Lords. He thinks the present House is “an affront to the principles of openness which underpin a modern democracy”. Other recent articles on the issue have been [none of them seemingly in favour of reform]: BBC - Plans to cut Lords to 300 rejected Independent: Peers and MPs reject Clegg’s plans to cut size of the Lords by a half Daily Mail: Don’t make the Lords in your image, Mr Clegg Spectator: The scale of Clegg’s Lords challenge

Parliament: Order! Oder! More revolting MPs

2011-12-31T07:35:19+00:00

Useful article in the Independent Order, order! Why the newest Tories are a major headache for Cameron. Based on research by Philip Cowley at Nottingham University it shows that the Conservative MPs elected in 2010 are the most rebellious. Here is a revealing quote:The so-called “class of 2010” is playing a central role in the simmering discontent facing the Prime Minister on a range of issues, a study next month will disclose. The Government has suffered a revolt in 43 per cent of Commons divisions between the general election in May 2010 and Christmas 2011, by far the highest rate in modern times. Tories have rebelled in 31 per cent of votes. Particularly worrying for Mr Cameron is that more than half of the Conservative rebels have been “newbie” MPs, voting 340 times against their leader. Useful analysis for arguing that Parliament still has a life of its own and executive dominance is not to be just taken for granted.

Party Leaders in the spotlight

2011-12-28T09:04:48+00:00

A few more articles which focus on the fortunes of the various party leaders. Ed Miliband’s performance is certainly under scrutiny. James Macintyre [co-author of the recent Ed: the Milibands and the making of a Labour leader] has an article in the Guardian - Ed Miliband is just not radical enoughContrary to David Cameron’s accusation of being too ‘leftwing’, the Labour leader’s vision is being obscured by opportunism. He writes: The end of the year provides a good time for reflection. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Miliband’s problem is not that he is too “leftwing”, to use the word David Cameron now attacks him with. It is more complicated, and actually graver, than that. Instead, he is not consistently radical enough. His long-term vision is being obscured by incoherent opportunism epitomised by two judgment calls this year: calling for Kenneth Clarke’s resignation and exploiting the scare over immigration. More on the Milband debate can be followed in John Rentoul’s blog in the Independent:1 “He needs to be much more Blair-like” Cameron’s performance as PM and his relationship with his own party is always well chronicled by Tim Montgomery [conservativehome] - he has an article in the Independent An appetite for conservatism that the PM doesn’t always satisfy Cameron’s position has strengthened after he has acted in recognisably conservative ways. He asserts:The Conservative Party has never fallen in love with David Cameron. Today’s ConservativeHome survey of Tory members for The Independent shows that he is only eighth in a 15-person league table of centre-right politicians. Thus once again highlighting that one of Cameron’s weaknesses as a ‘powerful PM’ is his ability to take his own party with him and rely on their support. And just to end the festive season Bruce Anderson in the Telegraph says Santa Claus David Cameron will have to discover his inner Scrooge and that: Despite his strengths, Cameron can sound like a vicar jollying along a church outing

PM: ‘Politics is getting really interesting at the moment’

2011-12-27T08:46:21+00:00

How powerful is the PM? Well recently the import of external factors has been especially important in evaluating PM’s performances. As Macmillan once famously said ‘Events, dear by, events!’. A few interesting article in today’s press which look at the performances over the last year of key political figures and give some valuable ammunition for the ‘PM and Cabinet’ Topic. 1. Steve Richards in the Independent looks at the performances of Ed Balls, Alex Salmond and David Cameron - and his conclusion is obvious in the title Well done Alex and Ed, but David wins by a head. He asserts “Leaders or aspiring leaders must try to appear overwhelmingly dominant, when mostly they are not”. A useful excerpt on Cameron - who is also described as being elusive to the point of being uninteresting is:Cameron is the third candidate. He leads on the narrowest of stages. To the one side of him are the increasingly stroppy Liberal Democrats, on the other is an assertive parliamentary party that cannot be easily appeased with the promise of ministerial jobs. Prime ministerial patronage is a powerful weapon in controlling a party, but Cameron has fewer jobs at his disposal in a coalition. Meanwhile, economic storms are brewing on a scale that makes those of the 1970s and 1980s seem little more than minor breezes. Other leaders in comparable circumstances were exhausted and demoralised. Harold Wilson leading a hung parliament in the 1970s, John Major in the economic doldrums in the early 1990s and Gordon Brown in 2008, all lost their humour and political guile partly because there was no cause for laughter and they felt trapped politically. Cameron remains vivacious and witty and is implementing a radical Tory agenda without having won the election. In policy terms, he is skating on thin ice and I suspect the ice will crack next year, but, for now, we are looking back. 2. Another article, if unfortunately hiding behind the Times paywall, is Let’s be honest. How did the leaders do in 2011? by Mehdi Hasan, Tim Montgomerie and Mark Pack. It comments: Pity poor Ed Miliband. By any objective assessment, he has had a good year. His leadership is secure, his party united. Despite losing in the Scottish Parliament elections to the SNP, Mr Miliband gained more than 800 seats in May’s local elections and won five parliamentary by-elections in a row. Labour consistently polls at around 40 per cent and has been ahead of the Conservatives for much of 2011, as austerity failed and growth ground to a halt.

Global Issues: Terrorism ~ sub-Sarahan Terrorist threat

2011-12-26T12:50:50+00:00

The Independent has a relevant article on terrorism Largely unnoticed, violent Islamist groups have been looking across the Sahara Boko Haram’s goals are still inherently local, but there are fears that more internationalist groups may seek to link up. The article comments:The attacks on churchgoers in Nigeria yesterday [by Boko Haram] will further inflame the already tense relationship between Muslims and Christians in Africa’s most populous nation.

Global Issues: North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies

2011-12-19T09:48:32+00:00

Kim Jong-il North Korea’s leader has unexpectedly died of a heart attack. Global Issues students should follow up on this as unpredictable North Korea has been led by a ‘cult’ and developments tied to one of the world’s most unstable and nuclear tipped states should be seen with alacrity in relation to the issue of WMD and proliferation. The BBC carries the story and some useful analysis: N Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies

Core Exec: Cabinet Secretary has few regrets.

2011-12-04T12:46:56+00:00

Important read in relation to studying the core executive, with particular reference to the key role of the Civil Service in the Observer: Gus O’Donnell prepares to quit as cabinet secretary with few regrets It starts:A meandering walk from Parliament Square to the cabinet office takes you past all of the grandest landmarks of Sir Gus O’Donnell’s civil service career. The Treasury – where the economist started out in 1979. On past 10 Downing Street, where fellow south London boy John Major first brought him in as press secretary in 1990 and where, as cabinet secretary, he later minuted those controversial discussions about the decision to invade Iraq. Right outside the entrance to his own office at number 70 is a relatively new memorial – to the women of war. It seems apt for a man so proud of encouraging diversity in the senior echelons of the mandarin classes.

Global Issues: Changing Nature of Conflict - ‘Asymmetrical’ Conflict in Afghanistan

2011-12-03T22:14:16+00:00

On December 5, foreign ministers from some ninety countries will converge on the Rhineland city of Bonn to discuss Afghanistan’s future. They will be meeting exactly ten years after an earlier Bonn conference appointed a new government for the country in the wake of the Taliban’s retreat from Kabul. Interesting article in Chatham House’s World Today entitled : Afghanistan - More harm than good? Beyond giving a snap shot of Afghanistan’s ongoing complications, it has a quick reference to the nature of the ‘asymmetrical’ nature of the war being waged: As the conflict is one of ‘asymmetrical warfare’, the Taliban always slip away from direct confrontation with ISAF troops and use other methods to exert their power. Assassinations of government officials continue at a high level and, in a new tactic this year, the Taliban and the other insurgent groups started to impose an evening mobile phone blackout in more than half the country’s provinces. They warn the four mobile phone network providers to shut down from dusk to dawn or have their masts blown up; a simple but psychologically effective tactic that reminds every frustrated would-be mobile phone user just how extensive the Taliban’s reach has become.

Global Issues; WMD - Curbing Iran’s ‘rogue’ tendencies

2011-12-03T10:44:54+00:00

The ‘breaching’ of the British embassy in Tehran and subsequent withdrawal of the diplomatic mission tied with recents reports pointing to Iran intensifying their nuclear programme have once caste into sharp relief Iran’s ‘rogue’ tendencies and internatiojnal attempts to deal with Iran. Two worthwile recent articles: 1. David Owen in the Telegraph: David Owen: If Britain stands firm, it may yet tame IranThe solution lies in selective sanctions – not being sucked into military conflict . It starts:In Iran, the hardline Islamists call Britain “the little Satan”. This is in contrast to the United States, which they call “the Great Satan”. To some extent, the attack on our Embassy in Tehran is part of that positioning: they see us as a serious enemy and think we deserve this deliberate action, because the UK along with the US and Canada has recently cut its banking links with Iran. 2. In the Guardian Lord Malloch Brown in Expelling Iran’s diplomats: a dangerous showdown argues that the real threat to British diplomacy in Iran is not losing an embassy, but being seen as a US proxy. He asserts:Iran’s preoccupation with its own security and relations with what it sees as the threats of the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia have always offered the prospect of a wider canvas on which to provide guarantees against outside interference, in return for curbing Iran’s nuclear and conventional armament programme. The real value of a more imaginative diplomacy of this kind would have been to remove the prop that has kept this unpopular regime going: the threat of foreign intervention.

Global Issues: Poverty and Development: New Transparency International Corruption Index

2011-12-03T08:16:03+00:00

Transparency International - the NGO dedicated to monitoring political and corporate corruption - has just unveiled its Corruption Perceptions Index for 2011. War torn states are still the most corrupt in the world - with Somaila, everyone’s favourite ‘failed state’, topping the list as the world’s worst country followed by Burma, Afghanistan and North Korea. New Zealand keeps top place as the world’s least corrupt countries, with the UK 16th. To folow up: 1. Look at Transparency International’s website which has interactve map, full list and explanatory vidoe clip. Click here, 2. Article in the Independent: New report shows UK corruption ‘has increased’

Global Issues: Environment- Down and Out in Durban: End of the Line for Kyoto?

2011-11-23T16:23:39+00:00

Durban, the city where the fun never sets, is about to host the lastest round on international climate change negotiations. CFR has a useful article on its propects - click here! As delegates from nearly 200 countries prepare to descend on Durban, South Africa next week for the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP-17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), pessimism runs high. Privately, the leaders of major established and emerging economies concede that no new climate treaty containing binding emissions reductions will be negotiated before 2016. And even if an agreement were reached, it would not come into force until 2020—eight years from now. This bleak outlook comes despite warnings from scientists and economists about the dangers of delaying dramatic action to mitigate the planet’s warming.

Humanitarian Intervention: When to hold and when to fold

2011-11-21T13:24:36+00:00

Not too long ago humanitarian intervention while under the R2P doctrine was a theoretical possibility, after the complicated foreign intervention in Iraq in 2003, where the US broke the UN’s mechanisms for humanitarian intervention, became a practical impossibility. To quote Harriet Martin, author of Kings of Peace, Pawns of War, “Humanitarian Intervention is dead, and we killed it”. However, the Arab Spring and Libya have reignited both the practice and the debate! A few recent articles worth following are: 1. Review in the Economist of “Can Intervention Work?” By Rory Stewart and Gerald Knaus to quote:CAN we intervene in foreign countries and do good? Can we stop wars and genocides and get rid of evil dictators? Can we then build modern, democratic states that thrive in our wake? The answer depends on who you ask. An anti-Qaddafi Libyan will have nice things to say about NATO’s role there right now. But you will get very different views from an Afghan, an Iraqi, a Bosnian or a Kosovar. So, does intervention work? As any Bosnian peasant may tell you, “maybe yes, maybe no.” It depends on the circumstances and requires modest ambitions. Muddle through with a sense of purpose, says Mr Knaus. Do what you can, where you can and no more, agrees Mr Stewart. In policy terms that sounds a bit like “yes” to Libya, “no” to Syria and so on. 2. Recent essay in latest edition of Foreign Affairs magazine has two conflicting articles on the subject. Humanitarian Intervention Comes of Age - Jon Western and Joshua S. Goldstein Despite the fall of the Qaddafi regime in Libya, humanitarian intervention still has plenty of critics. But their targets are usually the early, ugly missions of the 1990s. Since then—as Libya has shown—the international community has learned its lessons and grown much more adept at using military force to save lives. The True Costs of Humanitarian Intervention - Benjamin A. Valentino Intervening militarily to save lives abroad often sounds good on paper, but the record has not been promising. The ethical calculus involved is almost always complicated by messy realities on the ground, and the opportunity costs of such missions are massive. Well-meaning countries could save far more lives by helping refugees and victims of natural disasters and funding public health.

PM: David Cameron’s statecrafty revolution

2011-11-17T08:43:57+00:00

Cameron’s statecrafty revolution - penned by Danny Kruger in the Guardian argues that The rumoured ‘rift’ between George Osborne and Steve Hilton is actually a creative divide that reflects the PM’s own character. He asserts:It seems unnatural. The intrigues, the partisan loyalties and betrayals of court life seem largely absent from David Cameron’s government. A number of backbenchers are grumbling, to be sure, with one even predicting a coup next spring. Yet at the top all is peace. Worth a quick read for leading into the PM topic, and worth contrasting with Brown’s premiership where it is safe to say that towards the end it was toxic at the top.

E-Petition Fuels Commons Debate

2011-11-15T14:35:52+00:00

A petition of over 100,000 signatures has prompted a debate in the Commons about fuel duty. Many would hail this as a great example of people power. But a feature on the Guardian website examines who was really behind this petition.

Parliament: Home Affairs Select Committee - It Teresa May toast?

2011-11-15T10:40:22+00:00

Quick one on Select Committes, today the Home Affairs Select Committee meets to delve into border checks being relaxed at 28 locations which has caused a furore. Nice example of Select committees in action and of clear import to the issue of the effectiveness of parliamentary scutiny of the executive. Brodie Clarke, the former head of the UK Border Force, faces a grilling from MPs today as the Home Secretary revealed the pilot scheme to cut passport checks was implemented at 28 ports and airports. In written evidence to the Home Affairs Committee, Theresa May also claimed that she did not tell Brodie Clark to go beyond the parameters of the pilot scheme and that 10m people entered the UK during the pilot. The committee will also hear from Immigration Minister Damian Green and Rob Whiteman, chief executive of the UK Border Agency. Follow up link in the Indepepndent: Brodie Clark and the bravery that we need to encourage Stefan Stern, The Independent Today Brodie Clark is appearing before the Home Affairs Select Committee. He will finally get a chance to explain what he did or did not do in his senior role at the UK Border Force. It will be his day in the court of public opinion. But Mr Clark has already paid a high price to win the freedom to speak out. He has resigned his post after a long career. No amount of compensation for a constructive dismissal claim will make up for the shock of his sudden exit. And Rachel sylvester in the Times:Sir Humphrey has a lot to answer for. There is a tendency among ministers who get into power after a period in opposition to assume that the civil servants are out to get them. In fact, the first lesson they should learn in Whitehall is that politicians cannot afford to go to war with their officials. From Politicshome’s running blog: 12.52 Lord West gave an interview on the Daily Politics today in which he described Theresa May as “toast” following Mr Clark’s evidence. PoliticsHome has a transcript of the interview for subscribers, but here are the key quotes: “I think the Home Secretary is toast. I think she’s had it really, I’m afraid. It’s a shame because I like her, but this has been a complete and utter mess.” “It is a dangerous thing to start picking on your senior civil servants, you’ve got to be very careful of your facts, I’m very surprised we haven’t seen anything of Damian Green who should be absolutely close up on this the entire time, it is his job to do that for the Home Secretary, I mean this is very disturbing I think. Now I’m sure the whole truth will finally come out, I know Brodie Clark, I find it extraordinary to think he’d go and do that, he’s not a sort of maverick, he doesn’t go running wild.”

Human Rights Act - Not just a fad

2011-11-14T09:38:07+00:00

Shami Chakrabarti (Director of Liberty) has a hard hitting article in today’s Guardian entitled: Our human rights are not a fad. We don’t need this Botox bill She asserts that replacing the Human Rights Act could lead to a permanent constitutional revolution rather than a statement of basic values. She writes:While the coalition agreement was infused with the language of liberty and considerable substance in terms of scrapping ID cards, reviewing anti-terror laws and rationalising databases, one of the most progressive inheritances of the Labour government was not protected. A must read for both the Constiution and Judiciary topics.

PM: Is Dave bionic?

2011-11-12T11:08:46+00:00

Interesting and amusing article on the PM in the Daily Express entitled: TORY HIGH COMMAND AIMS TO BUILD BIONIC DAVID CAMERON Worth a read, especially if you can remember Steve Austin the Bionic Man! Quick snap shot of how powerful is the position of Cameron in relation to both his own party and coalition partners.

Judiciary: Judges becoming too politicized?

2011-11-09T18:14:53+00:00

British judges are becoming too politicised, inspired by Strasbourg’s European Court of Human Rights, according to the newest Supreme Court appointee. “How far,” asked Jonathan Sumption in a speech at Lincoln’s Inn, “can judicial review go before it trespasses on the proper function of government and the legislature in a democracy?” Follow up on this story ion today’s Guardian: Supreme court appointee says role of British judges is too politicised the article asserts:Judges are becoming too politicised in their decision-making, encouraged by a European court of human rights which is progressively shrinking national sovereignty, according to the newest appointment to the UK’s supreme court. In a critical assessment of the role of judges in a democracy, which will stir up debate on whether judges – not parliament – are making law, and the extent of the Strasbourg court’s powers, Jonathan Sumption QC implied that judicial reviews are in danger of trespassing on “the proper function of government”.

Global Issues: WMD ~ With Gaddafi Gone Libya is once again the West’s bogeyman

2011-11-03T08:41:45+00:00

With Libya seemingly sewn up the international spotlight is shifting back to one of our favourite ‘rogue states’ Iran and the fact that their attempt to acquire nuclear weapons is back on track. Certainly the US’s reluctance to take a lead role over Libya can be seen in the light of the US having the prospect of facing up to Iran at some point over its nuclear agenda as an ultimately more pressing and ominous strategic priority. Today’s Telegraph has a good article on Iran recent nuclear activity and attempt to proliferate: With Gaddafi gone, Iran is once again top of the West’s list of problems It asserts:The drumbeat of war against Iran is set to beat much louder when the UN’s nuclear watchdog publishes the findings of its long-awaited report next week that the country is well advanced in its attempts to build a nuclear bomb. For background - BBC Q&A: Iran and the Nuclear Issue It might be worth cross referencing with a few earlier blog posts on Iran: Global Issues: WMD and Rogue States - IRAN Global Issues: IRAN SPECIAL - Masters of enrichment?