Wednesday 28 January 2015

1992 and all that..



Labour's latest offensive on the NHS has been blown off course. Former Health Secretary Alan Milburn isn't convinced by his party's plans, telling Wato that the Opposition risks being seen as more able to fund the NHS "but not necessarily put its foot to the floor when it comes to reforming". It's a "pale imitation of 1992, and maybe it will have the same outcome, I don't know," Mr Milburn warns. Another Blairite former minister, John, now Lord, Hutton, has also chimed in: saying the party "ought to win" the next election but mustn't avoid the "really difficult, hard choices". (In today's FT, the two men strike a more supportive note, calling for Labour to do more to defend the last Labour government's reputation for fiscal competence.) 

Elsewhere that word "weaponise" continues to cast a heavy shadow, with Ed Miliband tellling 5Live that he "can't remember" whether he used the word in question. The Labour leader has set tongues wagging by refusing to say whether Andy Burnham will be made Health Secretary if Labour formt he next government in and refusing to confirm whether he'll keep Andy Burnham in post after the election in an interview with the Health Service Journal. 

"Labour election chaos over NHS" is our splash, while "Labour NHS strategy will bring 'poll catastrophe" is the Times'. "Lightweight" is the Sun's verdict on page 2, with Ed Miliband's head photoshopped into a lightbulb ala Neil Kinnock in 1992. "The Sun was never a fan of Neil Kinnock," its leader thunders, "But against today's Labour leader the Welsh windbag looks like Churchill. Winston - not the nodding dog." 

Is it 1992 all over again? Mr Miliband can take some comfort from the fact that it was bad polling, not a sudden loss of support, that meant Lord Kinnock was unexpectedly defeated at that election and if the electorate in 1992 had looked like the one in 2015, the Conservatives would have been the largest party, but without a majority. But if 99 days from now David Cameron is still head of the largest grouping in the Commons then that will be a fairly thin comfort. 



LET'S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN

Ukip will bring back smoking in pubs and introduce a 35p rate of tax, Lucy Fisher reports in the Times. But that the pledge is to introduce a 35p rate between £42,285 and £55,00, "taking many public sector workers out of the top rate of tax", suggests that Ukip is unaware that the top rate kicks in at £150,000. It's not just Nigel Farage who is het up over smoiking; up to 100 Conservative MPs will vote against the Government's plain packaging plans, Chris Hope reveals

VOTE DAVE, GET NIGEL?

Britain would be "a better, stronger country" if net migration fell to tens of thousands, David Cameron says. People recognise that immigration is "good for the UK" but feel it has not been "controlled properly", the PM told Radio 2. Steven Swinford has the story

SYRIZA'S PPE?

The University of Essex will count many senior figures among the leading party in the new Greek government among its alumni, with Yanis Varoufakis, the finance minister, the most prominent. Tom Rowley speaks to one of his lecturers, Roy Bailey. "I wouldn't say he was always scoring top marks," Mr Bailey tells Tom, "You wouldn't say this is a stellar individual we should send to Harvard. But he shone when it came to independent thinking."   

STOP AND THINK

In a letter to the Telegraph, 47 academics have warned that the amendment to the Serious Crime Bill to prevent gender-selective abortion would "undermine the professional integrity of those who work in an already overstretched abortion service", "risks encouraging doctors to enact some form of ethnic profiling" and seeks to erode women's reproductive rights through construing abortion "as an offence against the unborn child". 

GODOT: "IT HAS BEEN A WHILE, YES."  

The Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war has taken "longer than any of us expected would be necessary", Sir John Chilcot, who will be grilled by the Foreign Affairs Committee on the progress of the report next week, has said

VICE-CHANCELLORS

Sir Steve Smith, the University of Exeter's Vice-Chancellor, has appealed to Ed Miliband to stop considering a £3k cut in fees as it subsidises the middle class and could put higher education funding in jeopardy, Greg Hurst reports in the Times. Also unhappy with the planned policy is Briefing alumnus Tim Wigmore, who rounds on the policy over at the New Statesman

A FÉIN MESS YOU'VE LANDED ME IN

Sinn Féin and the DUP are considering legal action in order to secure a place in the two televised election debates, Henry McDonald reports in the Guardian. Labour have held "secret talks" with Sinn Féin in order to secure that party's support in a hung parliament, Kevin Schofield reports in the Sun, although Labour spinners deny they are planning for anything other than a majority government. 

WITH FOUNDERS LIKE THIS

Douglas Carswell "lacks the backbone" to confront Nigel Farage and "has the charisma of a wet turd", Ukip founder Dr Alan Sked tells the Huffington Post's Asa Bennett. 

AARD TIMES FOR ED?

A character in the new Aardman Animations film bears a startling resemblance to Ed Miliband, the Mail reports. I'm told that Labour spinners did consider a party political broadcast with an Aardman-designed Ed Miliband using a freeze ray to keep energy bills under control some time ago, but the idea was mothballed. It may be that the design has been re-used by Aardman. Or it could be a coincidence. See the pictures for yourself here.

You can get in touch with me by pressing "reply" or on Twitter. Our cartoon is the work of Christian Adams- a gallery of his work is available here.


POLL OF POLLS


Conservatives 32% Labour 33% Liberal Democrat 8% Ukip 15% Greens 7% (Ashcroft-ComRes-Ipsos-ICM-Populus-Survation-YouGov 

LATEST POLLS:

YouGov: Conservatives 34% Labour 33% Ukip 15% Liberal Democrat 7% Green 7%

TOO MANY TWEETS...

@A_B_Evans: Hearing rumours that David Cameron will only participate in TV debates if Lord Lucan takes part as well. 

COMMENT

From the Telegraph

Mary Riddell - Why be silent about Britain's generosity to the world?

Iain Martin - The prospect of a Labour-SNP coalition could win the election for the Tories

From elsewhere

Rafael Behr - Ed Miliband's five-year slow shuffle was meant to bring unity not sclerosis (Guardian)

Matthew Parris - You read it here first: Greece will end in tears (Times)

AGENDA

0930 LONDON: Michael Fallon speech to Institute for Government. 

1000 LONDON: Home Secretary Theresa May speech to International Police and Crime Conference.

1030 LONDON: Trade minister at Business Select Committee hearing on TTIP. Lord Livingston will give evidence on the Transatlantic trade and investment partnership.

1200 LONDON: Prime Minister's Questions.

1345 LONDON: Nicola Sturgeon to outline SNP European vision. 

1415 LONDON: Justine Greening at International Development Committee. 

1515 LONDON: Charity Commission at Public Accounts Committee.

2000 LONDON: The Paddy Power Political Book Awards. Guests include Alan Johnson, Dennis Skinner, Tim Bell, Charles Clarke, Sheila Hancock, James Naughtie, Andrew Marr, John Bercow, Michael Dobbs and Andrew Mitchell.

TODAY IN PARLIAMENT

Commons -1130: 

Northern Ireland Questions. 

Prime Minister's Questions. 

A Ten Minute Rule Motion: Private Rented Sector (Decent Homes Standard). 

An Opposition day debate: NHS funding.

A short debate on the funding for the hormone replacement therapy implant. 

Westminster Hall: 

0930: Progress on UNHCR report on Tamil people in Sri Lanka. 

1100: Commuter rail services from Chelmsford to London Liverpool Street. 

1430: SMEs and Government contracts. 

1600: Human rights in Mexico. 

1630: Rail services from Blackpool North. 

Lords - 1500: 

Questions. 

Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill - Committee of the whole House (Day 3)