| Did your email system distort this newsletter? Click here to see it online. To make sure emails from Politics.co.uk don’t go into your junk folder, please add us to your email contacts. To stop receiving emails such as this, please update your preferences or unsubscribe here. | |
 |    |
| Contrary to popular opinion, politicians rarely lie. By the time they've said an explicit untruth, they have primed a bomb which could go off at any time in their future career. This is not to say politicians are truthful. They are not. They are among the least truthful people in the world, together with management consultants and prostitutes. But they do not lie. They evade. Looking for the lie is generally a waste of time, looking for the evasion is far more profitable. With that in mind, let us consider an undisputed fact about David Cameron. The prime minister has been asked whether he discussed plain cigarette packs with election guru and tobacco lobbyist Lynton Crosby at least 12 times, and each time he has replied using what appears to be a form of evasion. Each time he is asked if he had a 'conversation' with him, he answers that he was not 'lobbied' by him. "Lynton Crosby has never lobbied me on anything," he told Labour MP Kevin Barron in the Commons. "I have answered the question: he has never lobbied me on anything," he told Ed Miliband. "As I said I've never been lobbied by Lynton Crosby about anything," he told the BBC's Nick Robinson. "You said you weren't lobbied by Lynton Crosby but can you answer this word, did you discuss tobacco packaging, the word 'discuss'," ITN's Lucy Manning asked him. "Look, I've been very clear about this," he replied. "Lynton Crosby is employed by the Conservative party to advise us on political strategy and dealing with Labour and the rest of it. He does not advise on government policies and he has not lobbied me on any government policies – I've been very clear about that." And on, and on. No matter how many times you use the word discussion, Cameron will reply with lobbying. It's clear evasion. Labour can smell blood. Everyone can smell blood. But there is, as the prime minister is well aware, no evidence linking Crosby, the prime minister and the coalition's U-turn on plain packs. Miliband has reported the matter to the Cabinet secretary, although that's unlikely to go anywhere. Downing Street's reaction is to publish a lobbying bill which pleased precisely no-one. It would not, of course, have affected Crosby, although there were reports later in the week that the Australian bruiser might be planning to drop his lobbying operations in time for the new year anyway. Cameron typically responds to questions about Crosby with a reference to Miliband's union links. That tactic has played well so far, but it will become much less effective once the Labour leader is seen fighting a reforming battle over his own party's funding. Cameron has managed to get away with this evasion so far, but he'll be pleased the summer recess is here. For all the troubles he brings, Crosby's presence has been a bit of a lifesaver for Tory morale. Rebellious Conservative backbenchers are showing more discipline, not least because of his efforts to reach out to them with more upbeat polling details. There is a sense among Tories, for the first time in a long time, that they could win the next election, or at least return to a coalition with the Lib Dems. The stamp of Crosbian electioneering can be seen throughout the Tory party, like a stick of Brighton rock. The two key attributes are a solidly right-wing message on emotive issues like welfare, crime and immigration and resolute party discipline. The flip side is that government U-turns on plain packs, minimum alcohol pricing, fracking and gambling all seem to bear his mark too. You take the rough with the smooth. The Tories' newfound confidence was expressed most convincingly in Jeremy Hunt's efforts to tarnish Labour's reputation on the NHS. It was only partially successful, but partial success is considered highly impressive in this policy area for the Conservatives. There was a flip side here too. The health secretary was subject to considerable criticism by the medical community for politicising hospital deaths. It was pretty dirty stuff, but the image of a Tory going on the attack on a subject like the NHS will have helped convince Conservative MPs they could conceivably get back their sense of momentum in time for 2015. Is any of this newfound confidence justified? Don't look to the polls for advice. This month's Guardian ICM survey actually put the Tories and Labour neck-and-neck, but it could be (and probably is) an outlier. Most other polls have Labour between seven and 11 points ahead. Nevertheless, the details continue to make depressing reading for Miliband, whose personal polling is consistently disastrous. That's one of the only consistent elements of current polls, actually. Apart from that one element, they are all over the place. Ukip are either consolidating their spring local election surge or sinking into the sand, depending on who you read. Their polling is particularly chaotic. But an Ashcroft survey did give a clear indication of one thing: the public aren't keen on the 'alternative Queen's Speech' assembled by a cabal of troublemaking Tory MPs. People aren't really up for privatising the BBC, establishing a Margaret Thatcher day or banning the burka, funnily enough Turns out voters typically want their politicians to be to the left of Attila the Hun. Best of news...Privatised NHS blood service sold to Mitt Romney company Plasma Resources UK, which provides blood supplies to the NHS, has been sold to Bain Capital, a private equity firm set up by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Labour MP: No-one should work once it hits 30C Workers should be given time off if workplace temperatures hit 30C, a Labour MP has demanded. It's official: Gay marriage is legal in Britain Gay marriage is legal in the UK, after the Queen gave Royal Assent to the same-sex marriage bill. Manic Street Preachers start legal action after EDL use anti-fascist song Indie band Manic Street Preachers are understood to be starting legal action after the far-right English Defence league (EDL) used one of their songs to promote a demonstration in Birmingham. Tories call for pregnant teenagers to lose housing benefit rights Tory backbenchers are risking resuscitating the party's 'nasty' tag today, as they put the finishing touches on a package of policy measures which includes harsh conditions on housing benefit for teenage mothers. Cocaine in the Commons: Parliament embarrassed by drug revelation Traces of cocaine have been found in toilets on the parliamentary estate. A brotherly warning: Tories could win overall majority, David Miliband tells Ed Ed Miliband should not bank on a coalition deal if he fails to win an overall majority in 2015, his brother David Miliband has warned. Best of Comment and AnalysisComment: Labour can only succeed when it remembers what it's for Progressive politicians must not turn their back on religion. Comment: The English middle classes have ruined golf Golf, Scotland's great sporting export, is one of the least democratic sports around. And it is the English middle class which has ruined it. PMQs verdict: Cameron wins another battle, but will he win the war? Even as they become more one-sided, these brutal PMQs exchanges are becoming less relevant as the general election run-in approaches. Comment: The battle for Labour's secular soul Is 'one nation' Labour's policy on faith schools the same as New Labour's? Comment: It's time to end animal experiments for good Animals will never be safe until experimenters admit that all the genetic manipulations and wishful thinking in the world will not turn a mouse into a tiny human being. The political week onlineThe Political Week Online: You're all evil and going to hell Are you more or less evil than Owen Jones? The Twitter ListThe ten best (and worst) MPs on Twitter Welcome to our semi-regular survey of the ten best and worst MPs on Twitter. Win!Competition: Win a boxset of Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom The complete first season of Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom is out on Blu-ray and DVD from July 22nd and we're giving three Politics.co.uk readers a chance to win a copy. | Voice: Public urged to take part on consultation on “outrageous” pay recommendation for MPsVoice: the union for education professionals – which represents teachers, education support staff and nursery workers – has rejected the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority’s recommendations on MPs’ pay and called on members of the public to send their views to Ipsa.Public urged to take part on consultation on “outrageous” pay recommendation for MPs CPAG: Low wages and Universal Credit in danger of locking families into povertyAlison Garnham, Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group, responds to the findings of a Joseph Rowntree Foundation report on Universal Credit published today. MRSA Action UK: Accounting for the reductions in MRSA and C.diff flawed - these are lives, not numbersPublic Health England figures show that trends over the last two years reveal that there is a direct correlation between the hospital and community apportioned cases of both Clostridium difficile and MRSA bloodstream infections. Prestigious CITP status now available through the IETThe Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is pleased to announce that it is now offering Chartered IT Professional (CITP) status for experienced IT specialists. ESRC: New Council appointmentsDavid Willetts, the Minister for Universities and Science, has appointed four new Council members to the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). BHA: Legal humanist marriages move one step closerThe government has today brought forward a proposal for regulations that would give legal recognition to humanist marriages in England and Wales. The proposal is being made as an amendment to the Same Sex Marriage Bill currently in the House of Lords and comes in the wake of overwhelming cross-party support for legal recognition expressed by peers from all parties at the previous reading of the Bill. Construction Products Association: Construction Product Sales Bounce Back In Q2The Construction Products Association’s latest State of Trade Survey released today indicates that sales of construction products recovered slightly during the second quarter of 2013. This recovery was driven principally by exports and a ‘bounce’ following a Q1 slump which had been exacerbated by poor weather. Rethink Mental Illness: It’s time for Jeremy Hunt to make ‘parity of esteem’ a realityResponding to the publication of the NHS Mandate refresh today, the charities Rethink Mental Illness, Mind, the Mental Health Foundation and the Royal College of Psychiatrists have come together to urge Government to do more to put mental and physical health on an equal footing. |
No comments:
Post a Comment