The Week in Review - Politics.co.uk

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.
By Adam Bienkov Ed Miliband could not dream of an easier set of circumstances in which to win the next general election. The economy is struggling, the Conservative vote is split by a second right-wing party and David Cameron has just lost the trust of the public and his party on a matter of war and peace. After a week in which the prime minister suffered humiliation at home and abroad, Miliband should be ending his week on a high. And yet, throughout this week it was the Labour leader who looked to be having the most difficult time. His poor performances in the Commons and his near invisibility elsewhere has convinced some Labour activists to give up what little hope they had left in him. It's difficult to see how he has let this happen. After defeating the government on Syria last week, some of his critics accused him of being an opportunist. But they couldn't be more wrong. Opportunists take advantage of opportunities. Ed Miliband has shown almost no sign of being able to do that this week. The British public are overwhelmingly opposed to any more wars in the Middle East. In any normal situation, a political leader taking that position would have managed to secure at least a small boost for their efforts. Miliband has secured none. In fact one poll this week found that just three per cent of the public think he is good in a crisis and just two per cent think he is a natural leader. As one Tory MP pointed out this week, that's half the number of people who believe that Elvis Presley is alive. The corpse of Elvis would probably not make a better leader of the opposition than Ed Miliband, but if the Labour party did choose Dead Elvis as their new commander in chief, it's hard to see how his ratings could be much worse. So far Miliband's is not doing quite bad enough for most voters to switch to the Conservative party. But if Labour's polling remains relatively buoyant then it's in spite of Miliband's leadership, not because of it. Stuck in the lobby The electoral mathematics remain firmly in Labour's favour, but this week has seen the Conservatives' latest attempt to re-write the equation. The government's new lobbying bill has very little to do with lobbyists, and everything to do with restricting the ability of trade unions to campaign for Labour. But perhaps the biggest threat to Labour's union support comes, not from the government, but from Miliband himself. His decision to reform Labour's link with the unions was cheered by many commentators and activists on the right of the party. But the direct result of that decision is millions of pounds less money coming into Labour's future election campaigns. Miliband's decision led the GMB to announce this week that they will cut their contribution to Labour by over 90%. They are just the first of many other trade unions set to dramatically sever their ties with the party. This is dangerous for Labour but it doesn't have to be fatal. Miliband hopes to make up for the shortfall by inspiring many more individuals to sign up to the party instead. This is arguably a big opportunity for Miliband, especially when Conservative party membership is at such an all time low. With great challenges, come great opportunities. But then with great opportunities, there usually comes Miliband walking past with empty hands. Best of News Parliament debates burka ban MPs will debate whether to ban the burka today, as the first of a tranche of radically right-wing private members bills hit the Commons. Michael Gove goes to war over teacher strikes Education secretary Michael Gove today accused teaching unions of conspiring against the interests of children, after two of them announced a series of strikes across the country. Wind farms do not reduce house prices, study finds The presence of nearby wind farms has no negative effect on house prices, a new study has shown. Bloggers and campaigners to be gagged by lobbying bill Bloggers and campaigners could be issued with "stop notices" in the run up to the next election if the government's new lobbying bill is passed, MPs were warned today. Best of Comment and Analysis MPs' private porn habits contradict their public statements What does MPs' interest in naughty sites tell us about their efforts to block them? Comment: Instead of taking on trolls, many police are still victim-blaming women Weeks have passed since Caroline Criado-Perez was subject to a torrent of rape threats online. But tech firms, politicians and police are still more likely to victim blame women than take on the trolls. Comment: If Britain really cares about Syria, it will open its doors to refugees If we plan on containing the Syrian conflict, we need to alleviate the burden on its neighbours.	CIOB video: It's all about people NASUWT comments on GCSE results Commenting on the GCSE results, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union, said: NUT Wales comment on GCSE Results Commenting on this year’s GCSE results, NUT Secretary, David Evans, said: NUT comment on GCSE results Commenting on today’s GCSE results for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said: NASUWT comments ahead of publication of GCSE results The fact that GCSEs are challenging and demanding qualifications is buried in an avalanche of politically motivated, false claims of grade inflation, dumbing-down and easy options, say the NASUWT. CIOT: Institute warns of ‘dangerous precedent’ over tax code for banks Government proposals for a strengthened Code of Practice on Taxation for Banks1 will set a “dangerous precedent” by giving HMRC power to determine and publicly announce non-compliance with the Code without any right of appeal, the Chartered Institute of Taxation has warned.

This email has been sent to you by Politics.co.uk because you previously registered on our site. To stop receiving emails like this please update your preferences or unsubscribe here. Politics.co.uk, South Quay Plaza 2, 183 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9SH. Registered in England with company number 07092149.

© 2004-2013 Politics.co.uk

• Privacy
• Terms of use