| 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. | |
 |    |
| We never seem to get a proper silly season these days. In 2010 the thrills of the new coalition government kept us all busy. In 2011 the August riots presented us with some serious news, when we should all have been sunning ourselves and knocking off to the golf course at 3pm. In 2012 the excitement of holding one of the most successful Olympic Games ever kept us more than occupied. This year, a woman gave birth to a baby boy. The birth of Prince George matters because a lot of people cared about it. I might have launched into a fit of despair about the media frenzy earlier this week, but the truth is it was an incredibly newsworthy event. This was no ordinary babe-in-arms emerging into the world. It was a future king. All that was left to do was try and write about it in terms which were not inane or pointless. The result was, on those grounds, a complete failure. But at least it embraced the craziness, or tried to anyway. Against this backdrop, actual stuff was happening. David Cameron's big effort was in trying to tackle pornography on the interweb. His promise to get everyone to opt-in to watching adults do things involving the bodily fluids of other adults was welcomed by anti-smut campaigners, and contained some important side-proposals about clamping down on sickening indecent material featuring children. Not everyone was impressed by the package as a whole, though. By the end of the week he had fled for Portugal. Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, for those of you who care, is in Spain. That leaves Ed Miliband, whose summer holidays this year are en Francias. Before he headed across the Channel there was time for a bit of leadership over the union clash. His Monday evening gig announcing a special conference next spring, where the issue would be settled once and for all, was thoroughly overshadowed by news of the royal birth. Len McCluskey, the Unite general secretary, made clear he would support the changes - so long as the Labour party did not continue being a "pinkish" version of the coalition. The battle lines are being dug ahead of what promises to be a monstrously messy confrontation. The economy showed itself to be picking up. Over half of the losses seen since the great contraction started in 2008 have now been recovered, but there is still a long way to go. And it's taking ages. That, and the royal wedding, and Friday morning's Today programme interview with Justin Welby, were the reasons to be cheerful this week. The Archbishop of Canterbury does not like to play by the rules and is certainly approaching his new high profile with a refreshing zeal. He was - shock horror - open and honest when brushing up against John Humphrys. Given how much trouble the Church was in over payday lenders, this was all the more impressive. As riot police took on protesters in Bulgaria - the only place in western Europe where actual politics was really taking place this week - we finally discovered where the silly season had gone. The Big Apple, that's where. The frontrunner in New York's mayoral race, Anthony Weiner, has once again been caught engaging in questionable behaviour with a young 20-something. His wife has forgiven him, but will the voters? If they do, a new record will have been set in the escaping-from-clearly-unacceptable-sex-scandal. Our political leaders have left Westminster behind, and so - for the weekend at least - we're going to as well. It's officially summer. So stop reading this and go out and drink in the sun instead. MondayComment: Three bad ideas about sex and the internet Is David Cameron a complete fool – an ignoramus of the highest degree when it comes to online technology – or a master manipulator, using justifiable fear of child abuse to stir up some quite ridiculous notions around controlling the internet as a whole? Royal baby? This has been the mother of all media frenzies The intense national squawking about the royal baby has turned us into a nation of flapping mother-in-laws. We seem to have forgotten that this little bundle of joy will make next to no difference to any of our day-to-day lives. Households forced to choose: Do you want porn or not? The government has reversed its previous opposition to a default ban on online pornography. TuesdayAnti-porn Tory MP's website flooded with porn Conservative MP Claire Perry's website has been hacked by internet pranksters who have flooded her site with indecent images. Tory minister: 'We're all mad now' The Conservative party has changed so much its members are now universally "mad", a Cabinet Office minister has reportedly said. Royal baby: Unnecessary congratulations analysis There is nothing a politician likes more than being able to associate themselves with good news... WednesdayUnions won't back 'pinkish' Labour, McCluskey warns Trade unions will only back Ed Miliband's union funding reforms if Labour stops being a "pinkish shadow of the present coalition", Len McCluskey has said. Comment: If voters let the Weiner sex scandal pass, they will have lost their minds Politicians' careers can sometimes escape the odd affair. But if Anthony Weiner gets away with his latest sex scandal and becomes New York's next mayor, the world will truly have gone mad. Bulgaria barricades MPs as protests turn violent Turmoil has engulfed the Bulgarian republic, after MPs were barricaded in parliament by angry protesters. Thursday'Send him back to Australia!' Peer wants to send Lynton Crosby packing Tobacco lobbyist Lynton Crosby should be "got rid of" because he poses a threat to public health in Britain, a Liberal Democrat peer has said, amid a Labour offensive on plain packaging in the Lords. Welby vs Wonga: We'll push you out of business The Church of England will "compete" major payday lending companies out of business by creating its own credit union, the Archbishop of Canterbury has declared. Economy back on track? Growth registers 0.6% in second quarter Britain's economy grew by 0.6% in the second quarter of 2012 - the first time the UK has enjoyed two consecutive quarters of positive growth since 2010. FridayThe Welby technique: Why the Archbishop's unorthodox interview approach trumps politicians' at every turn When Welby went up against Humphrys this morning, he showed exactly why the Church made the right decision in backing him for the job. Comment: Why I'm taking steps to protect the Olympic truce legacy I'm walking nearly 500 miles in two weeks this summer - because the Olympic truce legacy is worth protecting. Welby red-faced over Church's Wonga investment The Archbishop of Canterbury has admitted he was "irritated" after it emerged the Church of England has tens of thousands of pounds invested in Wonga. | 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