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December 4th, 2010

Wikileaks, a 'diminished' UK loses the World Cup, and gender pay audits are scrapped- blog round up for 27 November -3 December

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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Blog Admin

December 4th, 2010

Wikileaks, a 'diminished' UK loses the World Cup, and gender pay audits are scrapped- blog round up for 27 November -3 December

1 comment

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

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


Weekend 27th and 28th

After the media hammering suffered by Ed Miliband last week, Mike Smithson at Political Betting considers the likelihood of Yvette Cooper replacing him as leader of the Labour party before the next election.

Guido Fawkes was not impressed by Miliband’s speech to Labour’s National Policy Forum, noting also that many of Miliband’s own cabinet are still to be impressed.

Women’s Views on News report on the Reclaim the Night protest which took place in central London on Saturday night, noting that the protest received almost no press coverage.

Iain Dale believes the government must provide a proper alternative to universities as student places are cut.

Left Foot Forward believe Iain Duncan Smith is doubly wrong on housing benefit and rent inflation.

Tim Montgomerie at Conservative Home looks at the growing number of ‘ANTI voters’ in the UK: those who are politically Angry, economically Neglected, socially Traditional, and focused on Immigration.

Monday 29th November

As the Guardian publish more than 250,000 classified cables from embassies around the world, the online community became alight with responses and opinions: Mike Smithson at Political Betting calls the information less than ‘earth shattering’, The Staggers are inclined to agree but say the leaks have ‘exposed the limits of confidentiality’, and Left Foot Forward suggest that the Wikileaks scandal will in the long term harm counter-terror efforts.

Dave Hill’s London Blog notes the normality of tube strikes as more industrial action takes place across the capital.

Prior to the student protests planned for Tuesday, Though Cowards Flinch supports the scores of student occupations up and down the country. Meanwhile, Liberal Conspiracy covers the deep concerns of many senior academics on the marketisation of higher education.

Tuesday 30th November

The Wikileaks keep coming: the Guardian: the chancellor criticised as ‘lightweight and inexperienced’; Nick Clegg comes off as ‘smooth’ and a potential US ally; and questions are raised over the succession to Head of the Commonwealth.

The University of London Occupation posted a press release on police aggression and ‘pre-emptive kettling’ of protesters.

Marck Pack reports that the government’s anti-terrorism legislation will likely reduce the current 28-day limit on detention to 14, among other changes.

Guido Fawkes writes on why Ireland should follow Iceland’s example and allow the banks to fail.

Open Democracy examines the UK’s hate crime legislation and asks whether violence against women fits the bill.

Wednesday 1st December

While it’s snowing at home, Touchstone reports on the UN’s climate conference in Cancun , where civil society groups have had to fight to be heard.

UK Polling Report shows the swing of student support to Labour as Ed Miliband attacks the government’s ‘shoddy’ fees scheme and the National Union of Students unveils its ‘Right to Recall’ campaign.

Left Foot Forward marks the beginning of the worldwide 16 days of activism against violence against women, pointing out that 1 in 3 women globally will be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime and that eliminating violence against women must be a cornerstone of British foreign and development policy.

ToryDiary unpacks the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill, which would have the first elections for Police Commissioners taking place in May 2012, and claims a victory for Cameron over Miliband on the economy at PMQ’s and for clinching the quote of the day, “I’d rather be a child of Thatcher than a son of Brown”.

Dizzy reports that the same Police Reform Bill will ban camping in Parliament square.

Thursday 2nd December

The Institute for Government released the results of a survey of political scientists who found that the minimum wage, devolution, privatisation and the Northern Ireland peace process were the most successful policies of the last 30 years.

Left Foot Forward, commenting on Will Hutton’s interim report on fair pay in the public sector, finds that the top private sector is the major drive of wage inequality.

Ian Martin pins England’s failure to win the 2018 World Cup bid down to shifting balances of power and Britain’s diminished power. Michael White chimes in that British ‘self-delusion’ lies behind this and more serious failures, like imposing order in Helmand province.

Staggers reports on the Government’s plans to scrap compulsory gender pay audits , which the Liberal Democrats’ campaign manifesto promised to deliver. Mark Pack thinks it’s sensible to try voluntary action– provided there is real teeth to the threat of legal action if industry doesn’t make proper efforts to reach an agreement.

Friday 3rd December

Income inequality in the UK disadvantages children more so other developed countries like France or Germany, and inequality in access to education is higher than most European countries, according to a new report by UNICEF. Labour Uncut is sceptical that child poverty will not increase over the government’s spending review period.

Left Futures rails at the FSA for announcing it will not press criminal charges against Fred Goodwin or RBS, which they claim have cost taxpayers £45bn.

The legal round-up from Guy Fawkes: the decision to kick Phil Woolas out of parliament will stand, and David Chaytor pleads guilty for falsely claiming £13,000 from the taxpayer in mortgage payments.

On Conservative Home, Paul Goodman argues that the party’s 1922 committee should give the prime minister an ultimatum over the next manifesto to beef up his policy team, or else the committee will develop its own.

Laurie Penny believes teenagers turning on Topshop shows that the youth movement is about more than university fees but about challenging the political classes that give the markets priorities over education and social services- and effectively robs a generation of hope.

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