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December 18th, 2010

The economic ‘Plan B’, localism cuts hard, and the Tories round on Ken Clarke: blog round up for 11 – 17 December

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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Blog Admin

December 18th, 2010

The economic ‘Plan B’, localism cuts hard, and the Tories round on Ken Clarke: blog round up for 11 – 17 December

1 comment

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Amy Mollett, Avery Hancock and Paul Rainford take a look at the week in political blogging

Saturday 11th December and Sunday 12th December

The Spectator note Nick Clegg’s fall from grace as 61 percent of respondents in the latest Ipsos MORI poll say that they don’t trust him, compared to 24 percent in April.

Guido Fawkes condemns the decision by the CPS not to prosecute Andy Coulson.

Mark Pack writes on the slow moving progress of the climate change talks in Cancun, noting that Chris Huhne’s presence there received more publicity than it would normally have done.

Labour Uncut takes a closer look at Debbie Abrahams, the candidate selected by Labour for the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election.

The Spectator also believes that Cameron must shift towards the common ground in order to keep his party happy.

Monday 13th December

The Staggers consider the rumours that the David Miliband may return to front-line politics, whilst Total Politics take a look at Ed’s offer to disheartened Liberal Democrats to join Labour.

Iain Dale is ‘gobsmacked’ at Ed Miliband’s choice for his new Director of Communications, Tom Baldwin.

Ken Livingstone shows his support for the student protestors, covered in Liberal Conspiracy.

Left Foot Forward writes on the budget cuts to council spending announced today, noting that they mark one of the most ‘significant moments’ in the coalition government’s programme so far.

The latest British Social Attitudes Survey reveals that the country is now ‘more Thatcherite’ than in the 1980s, discussed by The Staggers.

Tuesday 14th December

Our Kingdom writes that the House of Commons has not only raised tuition fees but has paved the way for the privatization of British universities, and even the New York Times has chimed in on the errors of the UK’s new education policies.

Liberal Conspiracy sums up the IFS’ latest report which heavily criticises scrapping the Education Maintenance Allowance.

Of the 30,000 new Labour party members who joined the party after the election almost a third are former Liberal Democrat supporters, writes Labour Uncut, but the party should be cautious of embracing Lab Dem’ism too quickly.

An unsolicited memo emerged written by Sir Gus O’Donnell outlining a ‘plan B’ should the economy stall.

Liberal Conspiracy uncovers how local government cuts will reach up to 25 per cent, rather than the 4.5 per cent cut in ‘total spending power’ that Eric Pickles has announced.

Closer reading of the localism bill by Though Crowds Flinch reveals the sweeping powers the Secretary of State would have to revoke statutory provisions he didn’t agree with.

At Conservative Home former home secretary Michael Howard slams Ken Clarke’s prison reform proposals for leaving too many criminals on the streets.

Michael White suspects the Tories might be rounding around Clarke to get him sacked in the New Year.

Wednesday 15th December

Left Foot Forward presents the disappointing unemployment figures released today, which rose from 7.7 to 7.9 per cent, the highest since March.

Staggers sizes up Ed Miliband’s new press supremo, Tom Baldwin, who is likely to bring ‘some fire and fury to Team Ed.’ He’s likely to need it, according to Westminster Blog, as only 15 per cent of the public think the Labour leader would be ‘good in a crisis.’

Polis reminds us that in the excitement surrounding Julian Assange we should not forget Rupert Murdoch, whose case to launch a complete takeover of BSkyB is still with Ofcom until 31 December, when it may be referred to the Competition Commission.

Next Left ponders what will become of the Right’s place in the blogosphere after the prolific Iain Dale packs up shop.

The Liberal Democrats are unlikely to face such a divisive vote as last Thursday’s again, according to Tory Diary, although there are plenty of tests ahead for Clegg.

Ian Martin calls a draw for today’s tired PMQ’s with Miliband calling on Cameron’s ‘broken promises’ and the PM likening him to Basil Brush.

Thursday 16th December

False Economy posted a video with a withering deconstruction of austerity economics by Professor Mark Blyth of Brown University.

Bob Ainsworth MP makes a call for a rational debate on the decriminalisation of drugs, and he is commended for his contribution over at Left Foot Forward.

Labour Uncut takes a look at the government’s plans or social housing, and the subsequent implications.

The Tory Diary lays out the press’s reaction to the coalition’s NHS programme.

Guido suggests that the students’ protests are actually losing them support.

The Staggers argues that ending the detention of children should mark just the beginning of a wider reappraisal of the detention of asylum seekers.

The Coffee House questions Alan Johnson’s grasp of economics.

Eleanor Besley at Left Foot Forward argues that the Localism Bill could create higher levels of inequality in the UK, while Dave Hill shows the disproportionate effects the cuts will have on already poor boroughs.

Liberal Conspiracy comments on the IFS’s forecast that child poverty will rise as a result of the coalition’s cuts.

Friday 17th December

Politicalbetting.com produces some data on how the three main party leaders are being perceived by the public.

The Adam Smith Institute Blog comes out in support of Bob Ainsworth and critiques the logic of the war on drugs.

Liberal Conspiracy notes that consumer confidence has fallen to a 20 month low as people become more pessimistic about the state of the economy.

Next Left questions the supposed “integrity” of the new politics under the coalition.

Robert Peston argues that 2011 will be a make-or-break year for Britain’s banks.

The Coffee House lays out what David Cameron should push for at the European summit in Brussels.

The Westminster Blog wonders whether bankers will listen to Nick Clegg’s threats over bonuses.

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This work by British Politics and Policy at LSE is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported.