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hague given up his pm ambition former conservative leader william hague says he will not stand for the leadership again having given up his ambition to be prime minister. mr hague 43 told the daily telegraph he would now find a life dominated by politics too boring and unfulfilling. mr hague who stepped down after his party s 2001 election defeat does not rule out a return to the front bench. he also told the paper he hopes to remain mp for richmond north yorks and start a family with wife ffion. mr hague who recently had published the biography of william pitt the younger also said he wanted to continue writing books and speech-writing. he told the newspaper: i don t know whether i will ever go back on to the front but don t rush me. asked if he would stand for the leadership again mr hague replied: no. definitely not. his determination to stay away from a central role will disappoint some senior conservative members who say the party needs him. tim collins the shadow education secretary said last week it would be a huge boost to the party if mr hague returned to the front bench. mr hague became an mp at 27 and leader of the opposition at 36. he said: i feel fortunate that by the age of 40 i had crammed in an entire political career. i had been in the cabinet and been leader of the party so now i can branch out into other things...it is a very liberating feeling. mr hague added that he may have misjudged his own ambition to be prime minister. maybe i wasn t as driven by politics as i thought i was he said. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
eu rules won t stop uk spending the shape of the uk s economy in graphics but he denied that he was ruling out british membership of the euro despite saying there would be no assessment of the five economic tests this year. mr brown said that it was vital the uk continued to invest in infrastructure science and education in the future. otherwise it would be overtaken by the likes of china he told mps. the chancellor said that the eu s planned changes in the growth and stability pact - designed to ensure that countries in the euro zone do not borrow too much - would force britain to run a budget surplus of 1% over the economic cycle. under mr brown s rules the uk current budget must be in balance over the economic cycle but public investment is not counted as part of that deficit. he told the house of commons treasury select committee that the eu rules make it difficult for a low debt country to run the investment programmes that are necessary to improve its infrastructure . but he argued that the eu was moving in the direction of the uk principles and would eventually recognise the need to consider budget deficits over a longer period than one year to include investment and to take more account of the total size of government debt as well as the balance each year. under mr brown s sustainable investment rule government debt should be under 40% - in contrast to the 60% allowed under the growth and stability pact. mr brown vigorously denied conservative claims that he had in effect fiddled the figures to ensure that he met his own fiscal rules. in march the office of national statistics (ons) reclassified £3.4bn of spending on road | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
assembly ballot papers missing hundreds of ballot papers for the regional assembly referendum in the north east have disappeared . royal mail says it is investigating the situation which has meant about 300 homes in county durham are not receiving voting packs. officials at darlington council are now in a race against time to try and rectify the situation. the all-postal votes of about two million electors are due to be handed in by 4 november. a spokesman for darlington council said: we have sent out the ballot papers the problem is with royal mail. somewhere along the line something has gone wrong and these ballot papers have not been delivered. the royal mail is investigating to see if they can find out what the problem is. a spokeswoman for royal mail said: we are investigating a problem with the delivery route in the mowden area of darlington. this is affecting several hundred properties which have failed to receive ballot papers. we are working closely with the council and will do all we can to help rectify the problem. no-one will not receive their ballot paper as special hand deliveries will take place where necessary. we are unaware of any other problems of this kind to do with the regional assembly vote. the darlington council spokesman added: initially we had complaints from a couple of residents in mowden to say they thought they should have had their ballot papers by now. we then made further investigations and it became clear this was a bigger issue. a spokeswoman for the electoral commission told bbc news online that letters were being sent out to those homes affected. she said the commission was satisfied that measures had been put in place to ensure all voters received ballot papers in time. so far a | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blair dismisses quit claim report tony blair has dismissed reports he told gordon brown he would quit before the next general election. you don t do deals over jobs like this the prime minister told bbc one s breakfast with frost programme. according to a new book brown s britain mr blair went back on a pledge to make way for mr brown after cabinet allies intervened in june 2004. mr blair said the claims were reheated from six months ago and that he was concentrating on running the country. mr blair said: i ve dealt with this six months ago. i said then you don t do deals over jobs like this - you don t. what both of us are actually concentrating on are the issues that concern the country. the book by sunday telegraph journalist robert peston and serialised in the newspaper said the pair had mutual animosity and contempt for each other. it claims tony blair felt by november 2003 he had lost voters trust because of the iraq war and that he was no longer an asset to the labour party. and that at a dinner hosted by deputy prime minister john prescott he told mr brown of his intention to stand down. according to mr peston the prime minister said: help me to get through the year and i will then stand down. but he then changed his mind in june 2004 following intervention from allies in the cabinet and the suspicion that the chancellor was deliberately manoeuvring against him according to the book. mr peston told bbc news: my understanding is that they are not nearly as close or as friendly as they once were. what the book says is there is now a pretty profound mutual mistrust mutual animosity. i think in | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
council tax rise reasonable welsh councils should set their taxes at reasonable levels after being given an average funding increase of 6% says the assembly government. finance minister sue essex said it was a good deal for local government. the £3.2bn settlement includes the full £7.4m from the uk treasury announced by chancellor gordon brown. but opposition parties said rebanding of council taxes would mean steep rises. in addition £13.4m will come from the business support grant - a scheme which enables local authorities to keep part of business rates. she said where spending rises were kept to around 5% she was confident that councils will be able to set council taxes at reasonable levels. the welsh local government association (wlga) had said on the eve of the announcement said that significant cuts to services may still be unavoidable. after the announcement wlga finance spokesman bob wellington of torfaen said it was vital that rises were minimsed. a limited amount of money has come available but this is not the answer to our problems said mr wellington. it is vital that we start now to plan for future years and accept that resources will continue to reduce while pressures on services increase. on monday a delegation of north wales councils visited ms essex to lobby for increased funds. ms essex said: i have listened to the views of local government and council tax payers and recognise the funding pressures and the concerns they have about council tax rises. i have met a large number of local authorities in recent weeks and i am aware of the pressures on them to provide local services and keep down the level of council tax particularly for those people to are moving up a band due to the revaluation of domestic properties. she said | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
kennedy criticises unfair taxes gordon brown has failed to tackle the fundamental unfairness in the tax system in his ninth budget charles kennedy has said. how was it right that the poorest 20% of society were still paying more as a proportion of their income than the richest 20% the lib dem leader asked. the new £200 council tax rebate for pensioners did nothing to fix the unfair tax he added. the government could not go on patching up the system he added. speaking in the commons after mr brown had delivered what is widely thought to be the last budget before the general election mr kennedy acknowledged that the uk was one of the most successful economies in the world. but he criticised both the chancellor and the tories for failing to address the ticking bomb of council tax revaluation. he said the recent experience of wales indicated seven million households in england would pay significantly more after revaluation. the chancellor s announcement that he was to offer a £200 council tax rebate paid by pensioner households was merely a sticking plaster to a much bigger problem. the lib dem plan for a local income tax would benefit the typical household by more than £450 a year with half of all pensioners paying no local tax and about three million being better off. on pensions mr kennedy said it was a scandal that the system discriminated against women who had missed making national insurance payments when they were having children. he said a residency criteria would end at a stroke this fundamental iniquity . mr kennedy added his party s priorities of free long-term care for the elderly abolishing top-up fees and replacing the council tax would be funded by charging 50% income tax to those earning more than | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
howard pitches for uk ethnic vote michael howard is to make a pitch for britain s ethnic vote urging people who feel taken for granted by tony blair to vote conservative. he will say conservatives share the same values as the uk s minorities. and that he wants to build a better britain where everyone whatever the colour of their skin or religion can make the most of their talents . but the tory leader will argue against positive discrimination saying it is outdated and unjust . it sets family against family and it leads ethnic communities to doubt their own abilities he will argue. mr howard - himself the son of immigrants - will acknowledge that racial discrimination still exists in the uk. people from ethnic communities for example still earn less than their white counterparts he will say before arguing the answer to helping everyone to get on was free enterprise free trade free speech . the tory leader will also call for religious tolerance arguing that hindus and sikhs as well as muslims got caught in the downdraft of islamaphobia which was one of the terrible side effects of 9/11 . mr howard will make his speech during a visit to support tory parliamentary hopefuls robert light and sayeeda warsi - the first british muslim woman selected to run for mp as a conservative candidate. he will attack labour s record in government over issues such as tax and he will set out tory plans for an immigration quota to be set by mps. mr howard will also attack the lib dems for wanting to abolish faith schools introduce compulsory sex education from the age of seven and give contraceptives out in schools from the age of 11 . so i say to all those people from | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
parties warned over grey vote political parties cannot afford to take older uk voters for granted in the coming election says age concern. a survey for the charity suggests 69% of over-55s say they always vote in a general election compared with just 17% of 18 to 24 year olds. charity boss gordon lishman said if a decisive blow was struck at the election it would be by older voters who could be relied on to turn out. a total of 3 028 adults aged 18 or over were interviewed for the study. mr lishman urged the next government to boost state pension. he also called for measures to combat ageism and build effective public services to support us all in an ageing society . older people want to see manifesto commitments that will make a difference to their lives mr lishman said. political parties must wake up to the fact that unless they address the demands and concerns of older people they will not keep or attract their vote. in the survey carried out by icm research 14% of people aged between 18 and 34 said they never voted in general elections. among the over-65s 70% said they would be certain to vote in an immediate election compared with 39% of people under 55. age concern says the over-55s are united around key areas of policy they want the government to focus on. for 57% pensions and the nhs were key issues while the economy was important for a third and tax was a crucial area for 25%. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
correction agency plans dropped plans to create a single correctional agency for scotland have been scrapped. the scottish executive will not now merge the scottish prison service with local authority social work criminal justice departments. the national correctional agency would have provided a one-stop justice system but has been abandoned in the wake of stiff opposition. instead scottish councils and the prison service will be compelled to work more closely to cut reoffending. the plan was to ensure offenders were monitored by the same body during and after prison preventing many from being lost in the system and helping more of them to stop reoffending. scotland s reoffending rate is high with more than 60% of prisoners reconvicted within two years of release from jail. this is leading to an ever-expanding prison population and the executive wants to tackle the problem. ministers thought merging the prison service with the council-controlled criminal justice social work departments which provide community sentences might have provided an answer. however following a consultation on the idea justice minister cathy jamieson has decided to drop the plans. instead ms jamieson will change the law to help produce a closer working relationship between both elements of the justice system. she will announce the move in her criminal justice plan on monday aiming to break down the barriers between what happens in prison and what happens in the community . the new measures will place a new statutory duty on the sps to work with local authorities and others in area partnerships. a national advisory board on offender management will also be created to advise ms jamieson on the sps s role and performance in reducing reoffending. the minister said: better joint working will help prisons play a much stronger role in ending reoffending behaviour and in particular | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
new ukip defection to veritas the uk independence party has lost one of its two london assembly members to robert kilroy-silk s new political party expected to launch on wednesday. damian hockney said ex-chatshow host mr kilroy-silk would deliver better as the leader of a eurosceptic party. he said mr kilroy-silk had made him deputy party leader of veritas latin for truth. sources close to mr hockney said around eight other members of london ukip were also planning to jump ship. details of the coming week s events were hammered out at a meeting at mr kilroy-silk s buckinghamshire home on sunday the bbc news website was told. the news came after ukip suspended a candidate for allegedly suggesting the criminally insane should be killed. john houston 54 was due to stand in the east kilbride seat in lanarkshire at the next election. a spokesman for ukip called on mr hockney to quit the london assembly. ukip asserts that mr hockney has a moral obligation if not a legal one to stand down. mr hockney meanwhile told the bbc: i believe that robert kilroy-silk can deliver better as a leader of a eurosceptic party than the current leadership of the uk independence party. on the suspension of mr houston ukip said those who selected him knew nothing of his views. mr houston is alleged to have said that the organs of the criminally insane should be made available to law-abiding members of the community and proposed the legalisation of drugs and the sex trade. the document reportedly said: we re looking for the resurrection of the british empire. the problems for the human race - environmental and others - can only be dealt with on a global scale and that calls for a radical alliance of the english-speaking nations which | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
escaped prisoner report ordered first minister jack mcconnell has ordered a report on the decision to allow a paranoid schizophrenic knife attacker to go on a visit unguarded. michael ferguson 36 escaped after being allowed out of the high-security carstairs unit. the snp s nicola sturgeon has demanded to know who was responsible for signing off the leave. the scottish executive said ministers would be notified but it would not be common practice to sign approval. an executive spokesman said the health department and the state hospital itself would work together on preparing the report. ministerial responsibility for carstairs rests with rhona brankin the deputy health minister. ms brankin said: the first minister has called for a review of what has happened we need to talk to the state hospital and we need to reflect on this. ms sturgeon has written to mr mcconnell asking for clarification on the move to allow the prisoner out. she said questions must be answered about his escape if the public is to be reassured about safety. police are still searching for ferguson who failed to return after a trip to east kilbride on monday. the scottish national party s parliamentary leader argued that under the law authorisation of ferguson s leave of absence would have come directly from ministers. she said: the scottish executive seemed to indicate yesterday that the escape of mr ferguson was a matter for carstairs. however my understanding is that under the mental health legislation the decision to grant this patient - and any restricted patient - leave of absence would have required direct and specific authorisation by scottish ministers. she added: i have written to the first minister today asking for confirmation of that fact. i have also asked him to confirm which minister would routinely take decisions | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blair backs pre-election budget tony blair has backed chancellor gordon brown s pre-budget report amid opposition claims he was too bullish about the state of the uk economy. in a speech in edinburgh the prime minister said thursday s report reinforced stability and opportunity. and that would be central to labour s next election campaign planning for which was already well advanced. mr brown earlier denied his economic forecasts were too optimistic - but refused to rule out future tax rises. he told bbc radio 4 s today programme: no politician should make the mistake that john major and his colleagues made in 1992 of saying no matter what the circumstances are they can make all sorts of guarantees on every individual thing. that is not what politicians should do it would not be responsible to do. mr brown insisted his spending plans were affordable and he could afford to be optimistic because britain was now a stable low-inflation economy and house prices were now stabilising. mr blair praised his chancellor for his role in creating economic stability which he said was the cornerstone of labour s programme. in a speech at edinburgh s napier university he said labour would publish over the next few months a rich agenda for future policy in any possible third term . in every area of work there is a detailed plan for the future much clearer than those in 1997 or 2001. all of it fits together around common themes of opportunity security and stability for all mr blair said. in his pre-budget report mr brown surprised some city experts by forecasting uk growth at between 3% and 3.5% for next year. many believe the figure is more likely to be under 3% - and fear tax rises or spending cuts saying tax | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
sainsbury s labour election gift science minister lord sainsbury has made a £2m donation to the labour party for its general election fund. it is the latest hefty donation to the party by the billionaire - he has contributed more than £10m since 1999. david sainsbury said he was pleased to give cash to a party that had the vision to deliver economic prosperity and better public services for britain. general secretary matt carter said it was a fantastic gift that would help labour fight and win the election . through the generosity of david sainsbury and other labour supporters labour will be campaigning hard to take britain forward and to stop the tories taking us back mr carter said. lord sainsbury added: i am pleased to be able to make this contribution to the general election funds of the labour party because i believe that they are the only party that has the vision to deliver both economic prosperity and better public services for britain. the 64-year-old latest donation follows a £2.5m gift to the party in 2003. lord sainsbury was created a life peer in 1997 a year before he was appointed as minister for science. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
mps assess scots fishing industry a group of mps are on a two-day fact-finding mission to scotland to gather evidence for a report into the uk s fishing industry. members of westminster s environment food and rural affairs committee will be touring fish markets and talking to fish processors. they will also talk to fisheries minister ross finnie and scientists. mps are deciding whether to recommend a new system of community quotas to conserve fish stocks. the aim is that fishing ports like peterhead or fraserburgh would be allocated a quota and local people would decide how to fish it. the scheme is a variation on the local management committees already being established by the european union. details are contained in a royal commission report for the uk government along with the more controversial idea of closing some mixed fishing grounds completely. six members of the committee will be in scotland to seek views from fishermen and processors in aberdeen and peterhead. they will also speak to mr finnie representatives of the royal society and the sea fish industry authority. committee chairman austin mitchell said some way has to be found of harvesting mixed fisheries without wasting stocks. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
student fee factor played down a rise has been recorded in the number of students from south of the border applying to universities in scotland. however lifelong learning minister jim wallace said that this would not result in scottish students missing out. applications from england and wales rose by 17% between january 2005 and the previous year up 23 600 to 27 700. fears had been expressed that a flood of fee refugees would try to avoid top-up fees of up to £3 000 a year being introduced in england. in june last year mr wallace announced proposals to increase tuition fees for english students studying in scotland by £2 000 in an attempt to prevent a cross-border flood although no figure has yet been agreed. legislation to introduce the top-up fees in england is not due to take effect until autumn 2006 and students who start before then will not have to pay additional fees at all. the figures were made public on thursday by admissions service ucas. universities scotland which represents university principals claimed that an increase in applications did not amount to scottish students being squeezed out. director david caldwell said some students could be applying in an attempt to avoid the possible increase in annual fees at english universities but this was not a major factor. he told bbc radio scotland s good morning scotland programme: the reason people are opting for scottish universities is that they are perceived as being of very high quality they offer very attractive courses and scotland is seen as a very attractive place to study. they know that when they take up their studies in 2006 they will be hit by top-up fees if they are going to a university in england and that may be part of the reason | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
howard denies split over id cards michael howard has denied his shadow cabinet was split over its decision to back controversial labour plans to introduce id cards. the tory leader said his front bench team had reached a collective view after holding a good discussion but admitted it was not an easy issue . he had decided to support the plans as the police said they would help fight terror crime and illegal immigration. the lib dems have pledged to oppose the bill when it is debated next monday. tory sources say senior party figures had argued vociferously against the id card scheme. among those reported to have serious reservations over the strategy were senior shadow cabinet members david davis oliver letwin and tim yeo. but mr howard denied mr yeo his transport and environment spokesman said the plans stink . he also said he was confident shadow home secretary mr davis would set out the position very clearly when he stands up to debate the matter next week. mr howard said the police had said id cards could help them foil a terror bomb plot in which people could lose their lives . he added: when the police say that you have to take them seriously . he acknowledged there were good libertarian arguments against the cards but said the shadow cabinet had weighed up all the conflicting interests before reaching its decision. i don t pretend that it is an easy decision but at the end of the day a decision has to be taken. he also denied he was afraid of looking soft on the issue compared to labour. the conservatives announced their support for the government plans on monday evening. sources within the party told the bbc mr howard had always been in favour of id | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
howard backs stem cell research michael howard has backed stem cell research saying it is important people are not frightened of the future. the controversial issue was a feature of the recent us presidential election where george bush opposed extending it. but the tory leader argued there was a moral case for embracing science which could help victims of alzheimer s parkinson s and motor neurone disease. i believe we have a duty to offer hope to the millions of people who suffer devastating illnesses he said. the use of embryonic stem cells in the uk is already allowed. stem cells are master cells that have the ability to develop into any of the body s tissue types. scientists hope that by growing such cells in the laboratory they can programme them to form specific tissue such as kidney heart or even brain tissue. mr howard acknowledged there were genuine concerns about stem cell research. but he argued: we mustn t be frightened of change or nostalgic about the past - we must be optimistic about the future. politicians must create the right framework so that the great potential of science can be harnessed for the benefit of mankind. with the life expectancy of the average briton now around the mid-70s society has a responsibility to enhance the quality of people s lives as they grow older. i know many people are concerned about stem-cell research. they are fearful of meddling with what they see as the stuff of souls. i respect those concerns. but i also believe we have a duty to offer hope to the millions of people who suffer devastating illnesses like parkinson s multiple sclerosis motor neurone disease alzheimer s and - as we saw in the papers today - now possibly heart problems. mr howard | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
nat insurance to rise say tories national insurance will be raised if labour wins the next election tory leader michael howard has claimed. tony blair has said he does not want higher tax rates for top earners but on wednesday said other tax promises would be left to labour s manifesto. prime minister s questions also saw mr blair predict that new plans would probably cut net immigration. he attacked tory plans to process asylum claims abroad - but mr howard said labour had proposed the idea too. the commons questions session again saw the leaders of the two biggest parties shape up for the forthcoming election campaign. the tories have promised £4bn in tax cuts but have yet to say where they will fall. mr howard pointed to the institute for fiscal studies predictions that labour will need to increase taxes to cover an £11bn gap in its spending plans. he accused ministers of wasting money on unsuccessful attempts to curb bad behaviour and truancy in schools and on slow asylum processing. it was no good mr blair claiming tax pledges were being left to the manifesto as he had given one to mps on tuesday about the top rate of income tax argued mr howard. pointing to national insurance he added: everyone knows tax will go up under labour: isn t it now clear which tax it would be mr blair instead hailed labour s achievement in using a strong economy to invest in public services. when we have money not only going into extra teachers and nurses but equipment in schools and hospitals that money is not wasted he said. on the tax questions he added: we will make commitments on tax at the time of the manifesto. home secretary charles clarke this week published plans for | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
lib dems target the student vote students can decide the fate of mps in some seats at the next election liberal democrat leader charles kennedy has claimed. the party says the votes of students can win it 27 new seats at the poll. the figures assume all students will vote in their university town. in fact some may vote where the parents live. the lib dems say scrapping university fees wins them student support. but the tories would also end fees and labour says both would cap people s ambitions. the lib dems have named the 14 seats where there are enough students to take the lib dems from second place to beat labour and the 13 where they could go from second to beat the tories. launching his campaign to win students votes at the london school of economics mr kennedy urged students to make their mark . he underlined lib dem plans to scrap university fees and reintroduce maintenance grants of up to £2 000. he said: top-up fees put students off university especially those from a poorer background. and is it really right that so many young people are starting out in life with mortgage-style debts hanging round their necks mr kennedy also said students want action on the environment and see the iraq war which his party opposed as a defining issue. labour has pushed through plans to let universities charge fees of up to £3 000 a year with the poorest students eligible for non-repayable support of up to £3 000. ahead of mr kennedy s launch a labour spokesperson said: like the tories the liberal democrats would restrict access to higher education and put a cap on aspiration closing the door to students with good grades and restricting their life ambitions. they are committed | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blunkett hints at election call ex-home secretary david blunkett has given fresh clues that the general election will be announced on monday. he told bbc radio five live: i m out in my constituency getting ready for what we presume will be an announcement very shortly at the weekend. he clarified that he meant he would be in his sheffield seat this weekend not that he expected an election call then. tony blair is tipped to ask the queen on monday to dissolve parliament ready for a 5 may poll. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
labour seeks to quell feud talk labour s leadership put on a show of unity at a campaign poster launch after mps criticised tony blair and gordon brown over reports of their rift. mr brown was joined at the launch by john prescott and alan milburn the man controversially put in charge of election planning by mr blair. a private meeting on monday saw normally loyal mps warn that feuding could jeopardise their election hopes. it follows a new book charting disputes between prime minister and chancellor. the event was the first time mr milburn has shared a platform with the chancellor since taking mr brown s traditional poll planning role. but the pair chatted amicably and mr brown insisted he was happy with his current campaign task. asked about how he would deal with claims that he did not trust the prime minister mr brown replied: you can see that our record on the economy is about the british people trusting us to run the economy. he refused to comment on the new book saying nobody should be distracted from the business of government. mr brown later told reporters: of course i trust the prime minister. downing street cited that comment when reporters suggested mr brown had pointedly failed to deny claims he had once told mr blair: there is nothing you could ever say to me now that i could ever believe . labour s new posters say britain is enjoying the lowest inflation since the 1960s lowest unemployment for 29 years and the lowest mortgage rates for 40 years. they urge voters not to let the tories take things backwards. mr milburn promised a poll campaign which is upbeat confident and above all else optimistic about the future of our country . conservative co-chairman liam fox derided | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
talks aim to avert pension strike talks aimed at averting a series of national strikes over pensions reforms will take place this weekend. five public sector unions will hold private talks with deputy prime minister john prescott at labour s spring conference in gateshead. they want the government to withdraw regulations - due to be introduced in weeks - which would raise the pension age for council workers from 60 to 65. up to 1.4m workers could take part in a strike already earmarked for 23 march. however all sides are anxious to avoid a major confrontation in the run up to the general election said bbc labour affairs correspondent stephen cape. in four days britain s biggest union unison will start balloting 800 000 local government workers on strikes. other public sector unions have pledged to follow. it is just weeks before new regulations are introduced to raise the pension age of local government workers. the five unions meeting mr prescott want the government to withdraw these regulations. this would allow months of tough negotiations to follow said our correspondent. but a spokesman for mr prescott warned that the changes to the local government pension scheme would have to go ahead in april. privately ministers believe this will be the less painful option our correspondent added. the public and commercial services union (pcs) will co-ordinate any industrial action with up to six other public sector unions. pcs leader mark serwotka warned last week that there could be further walkouts unless there was a government rethink. for a government that lectures everyone on choice - choice on public service choice on this and choice on that - isn t it ironic that they re saying to public sector workers there is no choice he said. if you want the pension | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
concerns at school diploma plan final appeals are being made for the government not to ditch the reform plan for england s secondary schools put forward by the tomlinson report. the government s response to the plan for a four-tier diploma to replace all existing 14-19 qualifications is expected next week. some are worried it could be scuppered if as tony blair and ruth kelly have suggested gcses and a-levels stay. sir mike tomlinson himself was briefed only this week. he is said to be feeling more comfortable about what the government is likely to say than if he had read only what was in newspapers in the earlier part of the week. but the government was said to be still rewriting its response on friday. it will be a tragedy if the government comes through with a half-hearted response said the chairman of the commons education select committee labour mp barry sheerman. his main concern was the reports that there would be a diploma - but only to replace existing vocational qualifications. we must tackle head-on the structural mess that is our secondary education system he wrote in the times educational supplement. it is not the case that the academic stream in secondary is fine while the vocational route is desperately weak. the qualifications and curriculum authority (qca) has also told the government not to compromise . the qca said the potential step-change in participation and attainment lay in the integrity of the whole diploma. any partial implementation of the proposals would in our view compromise that integrity said its chairman sir anthony greener. it is a sign of the qca s concern that its advice went to ministers last december but was publicised only recently. but people understand that a white paper response is government policy and has | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
labour plans maternity pay rise maternity pay for new mothers is to rise by £1 400 as part of new proposals announced by the trade and industry secretary patricia hewitt. it would mean paid leave would be increased to nine months by 2007 ms hewitt told gmtv s sunday programme. other plans include letting maternity pay be given to fathers and extending rights to parents of older children. the tories dismissed the maternity pay plan as desperate while the liberal democrats said it was misdirected. ms hewitt said: we have already doubled the length of maternity pay it was 13 weeks when we were elected we have already taken it up to 26 weeks. we are going to extend the pay to nine months by 2007 and the aim is to get it right up to the full 12 months by the end of the next parliament. she said new mothers were already entitled to 12 months leave but that many women could not take it as only six of those months were paid. we have made a firm commitment. we will definitely extend the maternity pay from the six months where it now is to nine months that s the extra £1 400. she said ministers would consult on other proposals that could see fathers being allowed to take some of their partner s maternity pay or leave period or extending the rights of flexible working to carers or parents of older children. the shadow secretary of state for the family theresa may said: these plans were announced by gordon brown in his pre-budget review in december and tony blair is now recycling it in his desperate bid to win back women voters. she said the conservatives would announce their proposals closer to the general election. liberal democrat spokeswoman | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
ex-pm lord callaghan dies aged 92 former labour prime minister lord callaghan has died on the eve of his 93rd birthday. he passed away at home in east sussex just 11 days after his wife audrey died aged 91. lord callaghan who leaves a son and two daughters was the longest living former british pm in history. he entered downing street in 1976 after the resignation of harold wilson. prime minister tony blair called him a giant of the labour movement. he held each of the major offices of chancellor home secretary foreign secretary and prime minister during his career and became lord callaghan of cardiff in 1987. chancellor gordon brown said the former pm would be mourned throughout the world . it was a commitment to public service that brought jim callaghan into parliament in 1945 and while jim rose to the top he never forgot his roots. former cabinet colleague lord hattersley said his first reaction on hearing the news was immense sadness . it was not a major surprise - i knew what a blow the death of his wife audrey was a few days ago he said. he was a decent kindly man who helped me and my generation of politicians immensely. the labour party and the country will be poorer without him. conservative peer lord heseltine said that despite their political differences he and lord callaghan became friends. you don t get to the premiership unless you have a streak of determination he said. but i saw the other side of jim callaghan he became a personal friend in a way and my family and i were very fond of him. tory leader michael howard said he would be remembered with affection and respect . liberal democrat leader charles kennedy said: when i was first | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
top judge clashes with ministers the uk s top judge has revealed he has clashed with ministers about how the heads of public inquiries are chosen. lord woolf said he was determined his current veto on whether a judge should chair an inquiry should continue as a guard for judicial independence. but he told mps the lord chancellor lord falconer was insisting he should have the final say in such cases. lord hutton s inquiry into the death of dr david kelly sparked debate about who should run inquiries. the government says the lord chancellor would be unlikely to go against lord woolf s wishes. lord woolf who is lord chief justice of england and wales was giving evidence to the commons public administration select committee s inquiry into public inquiries. he said he had not been involved in the choice of lord hutton who as a law lord did not come under his jurisdiction. but he argued he should have a veto on whether judges generally should chair a particular inquiry and if so which judge it should be. in written evidence to the committee lord woolf said: i have so far failed to reach an agreement with the lord chancellor on this issue ... i intend to maintain my position and will press for this safeguard to be in any future legislation. judges should think carefully before heading an inquiry into a highly political issue such as the intelligence on iraq s weapons of mass destruction he said. he argued: the subject matter of the inquiry may be so political that it would be damaging to the judiciary for a judge to be involved. in addition the question of whether there should be an inquiry at all may be highly controversial and if a judge is appointed the | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
whitehall cuts ahead of target thousands of civil service jobs have already been cut or moved out of london as part of a major cost-cutting drive. chancellor gordon brown said 12 500 jobs had gone while 7 800 were being moved out of the south east. he plans to axe 104 000 jobs to free up money for education health defence housing and overseas aid. unions oppose the plans but mr brown said £2bn savings had already been made and more jobs had been cut than had been expected at this stage. a further 200 jobs at the department of the environment food and rural affairs have been earmarked to be cut. at the department for work and pensions 30 000 jobs are to go 560 will be lost by the end of the month at the department of trade and industry and 400 are to go at the inland revenue and customs. in his budget statement the chancellor said the first 12 500 civil service jobs had been cut on target. about 4 300 civil servants will leave london and the south east by the end of march 2005 and there are plans to relocate another 3 500. of those 300 department of health posts will go to yorkshire while hundreds at the department of culture will move to birmingham and newcastle. mr brown also announced plans to merge 35 agencies into nine - described by one civil service union as a bonfire of the quangos . mark serwotka the leader of the public and commercial services union said: in last year s budget we had the day of the long knifes as the chancellor kicked off the crude game of who could cut the most civil service jobs between the government and the tories. there was a time | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
cabinet anger at brown cash raid ministers are unhappy about plans to use whitehall cash to keep council tax bills down local government minister nick raynsford has acknowledged. gordon brown reallocated £512m from central to local government budgets in his pre-budget report on thursday. mr raynsford said he had held some pretty frank discussions with fellow ministers over the plans. but he said local governments had to deliver good services without big council tax rises. the central government cash is part of a £1bn package to help local authorities in england keep next year s council tax rises below 5% in what is likely to be a general election year. mr raynsford said nearly all central government departments had an interest in well run local authorities. and he confirmed rows over the issue with ministerial colleagues. obviously we had some pretty frank discussions about this he told bbc radio 4 s the world at one. but he said there was a recognition that a good settlement for local government was important to health education and other government departments . ministers had to be sure local government could deliver without unreasonable council tax increases he added. mr raynsford dismissed a suggestion the move was designed to keep council taxes down ahead of an expected general election. this is a response to the concerns that have been voiced by local government about the pressures they face. mr raynsford also plans to make savings of £100m by making changes to local government pensions schemes. these would raise the age from which retiring workers could claim their pensions and limit how much they received if they retired early. he insisted the changes were very modest and designed to tackle the problem of workers retiring very early . but general secretary of the public services | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
how political squabbles snowball it s become commonplace to argue that blair and brown are like squabbling school kids and that they (and their supporters) need to grow up and stop bickering. but this analysis in fact gets it wrong. it s not just children who fight - adults do too. and there are solid reasons why even a trivial argument between mature protagonists can be hard to stop once its got going. the key feature of an endless feud is that everyone can agree they d be better off if it ended - but everyone wants to have the last word. each participant genuinely wants the row to stop but thinks it worth prolonging the argument just a tiny bit to ensure their view is heard. their successive attempts to end the argument with their last word ensure the argument goes on and on and on. (in the case of mr blair and mr brown successive books are published ensuring the issues never die.) now this isn t because the participants are stupid - it s actually each individual behaving entirely rationally given the incentives facing them. indeed there s even a piece of economic theory that explains all this. nothing as obscure as post-neo-classical endogenous growth theory which the chancellor himself once quoted - but a ubiquitous piece of game theory which all respectable policy wonks are familiar with. it s often referred to as the prisoner s dilemma based on a parable much told in economics degree courses... about a sheriff and two prisoners. the story goes that two prisoners are jointly charged with a heinous crime and are locked up in separate cells. but the sheriff desperately needs a confession from at least one of them to provide enough evidence to convict them of the crime. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
chancellor rallies labour voters gordon brown has issued a rallying cry telling supporters the stakes are too high to stay at home or protest vote in the forthcoming general election. the chancellor said the vote - expected to fall on 5 may - will give a clear and fundamental choice between labour investment and conservative cuts. speaking at labour s spring conference in gateshead mr brown claimed the nhs was not safe in conservative hands. he said tory plans to cut £35bn tax would cut deep into public service . to a packed audience at gateshead s sage centre the chancellor said the cuts proposed by shadow chancellor oliver letwin were the equivalent of sacking every teacher gp and nurse in the country he told activists. laying into the conservative s record in government he said: i give you this promise - with labour britain will never return to the mistakes of erm and 10% inflation 15% interest rates £3bn in lost reserves 250 000 repossessed one million in negative equity and three million unemployed. never again tory boom and bust. this will be the central dividing line at the election between a conservative party taking britain back and planning deep cuts of £35bn in our services and a labour government taking britain forward which on a platform of stability will reform and renew our hospitals schools and public services and i am proud to say spend by 2008 £60bn more. turning to the economy the chancellor pledged to continue economic stability and growth in a third term in power. he said after seven years labour had transformed from a party not trusted with the economy to the only party trusted with the economy . it was now a party not just of employees but of employers and managers he | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
us casino tricks face ban in uk controversial new uk casinos will be banned from using american tricks of the trade to ensure they are socially responsible it has been suggested. culture secretary tessa jowell said proposed super-casinos will be different from their us counterparts. in america pheromones have reportedly been released from machines to encourage aggressive gambling and clocks are often removed from walls. eight super-casinos are proposed from 2010 if the gambling bill becomes law. ms jowell said the legislation would ban psychological trickery. she told the times: british casinos will be quite different to those overseas. they will have to act in a socially responsible way and will be tightly regulated. they will be run according to british rules and we ll simply not allow any tricks which people are subjected to unawares and which increase the risk of problem gambling. one tactic used in the us is simulating daylight during night-time to lull players into remaining at the tables and slot machines. casinos also frequently offer free food drink and hotel accommodation to keep punters betting. a spokesman for the british casino association which represents the uk industry said the government was trying to allay fears over a uk las vegas . he said the way the licences were being awarded meant uk firms were at a massive disadvantage and foreign companies would be certain to win the contracts. the uk industry is one of the world s most respected he said. we have the lowest level of problem gambling in the world. we certainly don t use pheremones. the uk gambling industry is being totally frozen in time and the foreign companies will take over. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
kilroy launches veritas party ex-bbc chat show host and east midlands mep robert kilroy-silk said he wanted to change the face of british politics as he launched his new party. mr kilroy-silk who recently quit the uk independence party said our country was being stolen from us by mass immigration. he told a london news conference that veritas - latin for truth - would avoid the old parties lies and spin . ukip leader roger knapman says he is glad to see the back of mr kilroy-silk. mr kilroy-silk promised a firm but fair policy on immigration and said they hoped to contest most seats at the forthcoming general election. he said veritas would also announce detailed policies on crime tax pensions health and defence over the next few weeks. labour campaign spokesman fraser kemp said veritas was joining an already crowded field on the right of british politics . on thursday mr kilroy-silk is due to announce which constituency he will run in at the next general election - that will come amid speculation he has his sights set on defence secretary geoff hoon s ashfield seat. he was joined in the new venture by one of ukip s two london assembly members damien hockney who is now veritas deputy leader. ukip s chairman petrina holdsworth has said the group will just be a parody of the party the men have left. mr kilroy-silk quit ukip last week after months of tension as he vied unsuccessfully for the leadership of that party. he said he was ashamed to be a member of a ukip whose leadership had gone awol after the great opportunity offered by its third place at last june s european elections. while ukip has turned its back on the british people i shall not he said. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
hunt demo at labour meeting pro-hunt supporters are set to protest at labour s spring conference. the countryside alliance says it expects up to 4 000 supporters to demonstrate against the hunting ban. they have agreed to keep to a demonstration site on the other side of the river tyne from the conference venue in gateshead. a bid to overturn the law banning hunting with dogs in england and wales has begun in the court of appeal. the ban comes into force on 18 february. the court of appeal is expected to rule early next week on whether the alliance s challenge has succeeded. richard dodd regional director of the countryside alliance said he expected between 2 000 and 4 000 supporters in tyneside to make their protest with hunt horns and placards. campaigners have been asked not to bring any animals or alcohol. mr dodd said he did not believe there would be any repeat of the trouble which marred the pro-hunt demonstration outside parliament in september. we are holding a static demonstration just to remind labour that we are not going away he said. northumbria police said the pedestrian millennium bridge by the demonstration site will be shut if necessary. but assistant chief constable david warcup has liaised with several protest groups and said all negotiations had gone well. fathers 4 justice pensioners rights activists and stop the war campaigners were also expected to demonstrate during the three-day conference which starts on friday. pro-hunt campaigners claims the 1949 parliament act - which extends the right of the house of commons to overrule the house of lords - was itself invalid because it was never passed by peers. the high court last month ruled the act was valid and the proposed hunting ban was lawful. pro-hunt supporters formally launched | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
talks aim to avert pension strike talks aimed at averting a series of national strikes over pensions reforms will take place this weekend. five public sector unions will hold private talks with deputy prime minister john prescott at labour s spring conference in gateshead. they want the government to withdraw regulations - due to be introduced in weeks - which would raise the pension age for council workers from 60 to 65. up to 1.4m workers could take part in a strike already earmarked for 23 march. however all sides are anxious to avoid a major confrontation in the run up to the general election said bbc labour affairs correspondent stephen cape. in four days britain s biggest union unison will start balloting 800 000 local government workers on strikes. other public sector unions have pledged to follow. it is just weeks before new regulations are introduced to raise the pension age of local government workers. the five unions meeting mr prescott want the government to withdraw these regulations. this would allow months of tough negotiations to follow said our correspondent. but a spokesman for mr prescott warned that the changes to the local government pension scheme would have to go ahead in april. privately ministers believe this will be the less painful option our correspondent added. the public and commercial services union (pcs) will co-ordinate any industrial action with up to six other public sector unions. pcs leader mark serwotka warned last week that there could be further walkouts unless there was a government rethink. for a government that lectures everyone on choice - choice on public service choice on this and choice on that - isn t it ironic that they re saying to public sector workers there is no choice he said. if you want the pension | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
whitehall shredding increasing - tories civil servants have drastically stepped up the shredding of official documents figures compiled by the tories suggest. some government departments had doubled the number of documents being shredded ahead of the freedom of information act s implementation on 1 january. departments for defence environment and trade which had all increased file destruction said they were following rules governing public records. but the tories want the information commissioner to investigate. the freedom of information act will for the first time give members of the public access to government records previously kept secret for 30 years. but bbc political correspondent james hardy said the prospect of outsiders poking their noses into the inner workings of whitehall appeared to be causing jitters among the mandarins. liberal democrat alan beith - who chairs the select committee which monitors the department of constitutional affairs - said if the claims were true whitehall was acting entirely against the spirit of the new act . both the information commissioner and the select committee will have to keep this issue under very close scrutiny. fellow lib dem norman baker said the episode painted an unflattering picture of the inner workings of government . it is clear that the government s initial enthusiasm for open government has turned to self-serving cynicism. dr julian lewis the conservative spokesman for the cabinet office said he had discovered a huge acceleration in shredding from a series of parliamentary answers. the department of work and pensions destroyed nearly 37 000 files last year - up 22 000 on four years ago when the act was passed. the number of files destroyed by the ministry of defence and the departments of environment food and rural affairs and trade and industry has also risen dramatically. dr lewis has called for | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
tories pledge free sports lessons children would be offered two hours free sports training a week by a future tory government the party has said. the club2school policy would provide up to £250m yearly for local sports clubs in the uk to deliver after-school sport. the extra coaching would be funded by the national lottery and would come on top of the two hours of sport a week children are supposed to get in school. shadow home secretary david davis said five million children were being denied adequate sporting opportunities. the plans would help tackle the fastest growing rate of obesity in the developed world he said. shadow sports minister lord moynihan said the policy would empower local clubs and create a lasting legacy. we aim to shift the emphasis on after-school sport provision away from our overstretched teachers and schools directly in to the 151 000 sports clubs in the uk. the tories say labour s plans to give all children two hours of sports lessons a week in schools have failed. government figures show that in england in 2002 only a third of schools at key stages 1 3 and 4 and two-fifths of schools at key stage 2 met that target. the tories also claim that of the £750m the prime minister pledged in 2000 to invest on school sports facilities only £41m had been spent. but the big lottery fund has said that complex capital projects are involved - and it was confident the money would all be allocated by next year as intended. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
best person for top legal job the best person for the job should be appointed lord chancellor and not necessarily a lawyer or mp the courts minister has told mps. under reforms the post of lord chancellor is to be stripped of its judicial functions. the lord chancellor...no more needs to be a lawyer than the secretary of health needs to be a doctor said courts minister christopher leslie. the constitutional reform bill was entering its second reading on monday. mr leslie said: the prime minister should be able to appoint the best person for the job whether they sit in the house of lords or the house of commons. under the reforms the law lords will also be replaced as the uk s highest legal authority by a supreme court and judges will be appointed by an independent panel rather than ministers. in december the lords rejected a plea by current lord chancellor lord falconer that the holder of the job should not necessarily be a lawyer or a peer. the peers voted by 229 to 206 to say in law that lord chancellors must also be peers. the debate was carried over from the last parliamentary session but with an impending general election time is crucial for the government to get the bill passed. mr leslie said it was irrelevant whether the post was called secretary of state for constitutional affairs or lord chancellor. he said: what matters most is...whether it is reformed so that the post holder no longer has those conflicting duties. it is no longer appropriate for a government minister to have such unfettered discretion in the appointment of judges. shadow attorney general dominic grieve criticised the government on its plans to change what he said was an exceptional institution providing a champion of the | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blair stresses prosperity goals tony blair says his party s next manifesto will be unremittingly new labour and aimed at producing personal prosperity for all . the prime minister is trying to draw a line under speculation over the state of his relationship with gordon brown with the speech in chatham kent. he is saying that prosperity means both individual wealth and ensuring radically improved public services. he is also claiming labour is more ideologically united than ever. mr brown is currently touring africa after a week of facing questions about reports of his splits with downing street. with the election widely predicted for may angry labour mps this week warned mr blair and mr brown about the dangers of disunity. now mr blair is trying to put the focus on the substance of labour s platform for a third term in government. labour made low inflation unemployment and mortgage rates the centrepiece of a new poster campaign this week. and on thursday mr blair is saying: i want to talk about the central purpose ofnew labour - which is to increase personal prosperity and well-being not justfor a few but for all. by prosperity i mean both the income and wealth of individuals and theirfamilies and the opportunity and security available to them through radicallyimproved public services and a reformed welfare state. the tories are trying to capitalise on the apparent feud at the top of government. on wednesday they unveiled a poster which pictured the prime minister and mr brown under the words how can they fight crime when they are fighting each other michael howard and frontbencher john redwood on thursday launched new plans to abolish hundreds of quangos. they say government is spending too much and lower taxes are needed to make britain more competitive. the | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
hague s six-figure earnings shown the rewards of leaving front-bench politics are shown in the latest annual register of members interests. the register shows former tory leader william hague earning up to £820 000 on top of his mps salary much of it from speaking fees. his former shadow chancellor michael portillo makes up to £560 000 a year - partly because of speeches and tv work. ex-health secretary alan milburn earned up to £85 000 from speeches articles and advice while not in the cabinet. mr milburn was away from the frontbench for just more than a year between stepping down as health secretary and becoming labour s election supremo. his declared interests include £20 000 from newspaper articles and fees of up to £35 000 for four speeches. he also commanded a salary of between £25 000 and £35 000 for being on investment company bridgepoint capital s european advisory committee. his time out of office will however have lost him his £71 433 minister s salary. mr hague s work outside parliament included two one-man shows which with other speaking fees netted him up to £480 000. he also earned up to £195 000 for a weekly column in the news of the world and between £5 000 and £10 000 for presenting bbc 2 s have i got news for you. mr hague was also paid an undisclosed amount for the newspaper serialisation of his biography of william pitt the younger and up to £135 00 for work as an adviser to various companies. former defence secretary michael portillo makes some of his money as a non-executive director of bae systems. he is to stand down as an mp at the next election. and former foreign secretary robin cook was paid between £45 001 and £50 | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blair blasts tory spending plans tony blair has launched an attack on conservative spending plans saying they are a ludicrous improbability . the prime minister has told a labour party gathering that the tory policies would cause economic failure. tory leader michael howard has said his party would cut £35bn in wasteful spending to allow £4bn in tax cuts. on saturday tory shadow home secretary david davis said the tories would fund the cuts by removing inefficiencies which had burgeoned under labour. in his speech mr blair contrasted a reformed labour party which had learned to occupy the political centre ground with a hidebound tory party which he said would turn the clock back with spending cuts. mr blair said: the conservative tax and spending proposals would put at risk both britain s hard-won economic stability - the lowest mortgages inflation unemployment for decades - and the key investment in public services. i believe that the tory plans are as plain a call to return to the past as it s possible to imagine he said. it s a recipe for exactly the same boom and bust economics and cuts in public services that were their hallmark in 18 years of conservative government. mr blair added: they the conservatives have learned nothing. by contrast he said new labour had listened to its electorate and changed. mr blair went on to list his government s achievements and to issue a rallying call to the party. so now we have a choice we can defend this record and we can build on it and go on and fulfil the promise or give up and go back. and i say we have to fight. in response david davis said the tories would make cuts such as removing regional assemblies but would bring in | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
butler launches attack on blair former civil service chief lord butler has criticised the way tony blair s government operates accusing it of being obsessed with headlines. he also attacked the way the iraq war was sold to the public with important warnings on the strength of the intelligence left out. tory leader michael howard said lord butler had given the most damaging testimony he could remember. but downing street said mr blair should be judged by results not his style. lord butler said mr blair bypassed the cabinet and relied instead on small informal groups of advisers to help him make decisions. the prime minister s official spokesman said the cabinet was still used to achieve a consensus on important issues. but he added: you cannot in a modern government take every decision in cabinet. it s just not possible. lord butler said the government had too much freedom to bring in bad bills and to do whatever it likes and it relied too much on the advice of political appointees. the former cabinet secretary said in an interview with the spectator magazine: i would be critical of the present government in that there is too much emphasis on selling there is too much central control and there is too little of what i would describe as reasoned deliberation which brings in all the arguments. mr howard described lord butler s intervention as very important . this is from someone who was an insider at the very heart of the blair government. it is certainly the most damaging testimony i can ever remember from someone in such an eminent position. lord butler s report earlier this year into iraq intelligence said the government s september 2002 weapons dossier did not make clear intelligence about claims that saddam hussein had | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
tory expert denies defeatism the conservatives campaign director has denied a report claiming he warned michael howard the party could not win the next general election. the times on monday said australian lynton crosby told the party leader to focus on trying to increase the tories commons presence by 25 to 30 seats. but mr crosby said in a statement: i have never had any such conversation... and i do not hold that view. mr howard later added there was not one iota of truth in the report. the strategist helped australia s pm john howard win four elections. mr howard appointed mr crosby as his elections chief last october. mr crosby s statement said: the conservative party has been making an impact on the issues of lower tax and controlled immigration over the past week. it added: the labour party will be wanting to do all they can to distract attention away from the issues that really matter to people. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
prime minister s questions so who if anyone is playing politics with the security of the nation michael howard has no doubt it is the prime minister who he claims is ramming through parliament the controversial new anti-terror measures without proper debate. he didn t say so but the tories believe the prime minister is playing the fear card on this one so he can look tough in the run up to the general election and they believe tony blair is using the issue to suggest the tories are soft on terrorism. why on earth will the prime minister not simply take up the tories offer to extend the existing powers temporarily to allow proper parliamentary debate of the laws he demanded. the prime minister claims this is the clearest indication that it is the tories who are playing politics with the issue by attempting to score cheap political points in parliament. is not the opposition against to the proposed laws in principle in which case delaying a decision for further debate would be pointless what this is really about believes mr blair is the tories spotting an opportunity to embarrass maybe even defeat the government. and that is more important to them than national security. liberal democrat leader charles kennedy avoided suggesting anyone was playing politics with the issue. he preferred to state that as with other issues like id cards the government s immediate instinct was authoritarian. as is his habit nowadays the prime minister was less rough with mr kennedy than he had been with mr howard - he prefers a more exasperated tone suggesting he believes the lib dems have once again just missed the point. apart from all that it was electioneering as usual. the very first question to the prime minister from derby north | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
will tory tax cuts lift spirits michael howard has finally revealed the full scale of his planned tory tax cuts. should he win the next general election he has earmarked £4 billion that will be used to reduce taxes - although he still will not say which or how. this was the pre-election message many in his party have been pressing for and voters he believes will warm to. at its simplest it is saying: vote tory and you can have it both ways . not only would his government stick to labour spending plans on core public services including health and education it would increase spending on defence police and pensions. and even after that was done it would still have enough left over for a tax cut equivalent to about a penny off the basic rate of income tax. all the money would come from its £35 billion efficiency savings which would see the axe taken to bureaucracy waste and the civil service. of that £23 billion would go on spending plans with £8 billion to fill the black hole left they claim by gordon brown and the rest going in tax cuts. neither mr howard nor mr letwin would say exactly how they would use that cash although a cut in the basic rate seems unlikely. ideas already floated include raising tax thresholds and abolishing or reducing inheritance tax although some in the tory party are urging mr howard to announce something more eye-catching before the election. as the tory leader declared the aim of the exercise is to open up a real economic policy divide between labour and the tories. at this election people will have a clear choice between mr blair who will waste more and tax more and the conservative party which will give | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
will the budget bring out smiling voters as tory spokesman oliver letwin said - any chancellor would use his pre-election budget to offer some vote winning sweeteners wouldn t he. and everyone does indeed expect gordon brown to do just that in his last budget before the expected polling day of 5 may. there will be plenty of talk about taking no risks with the economy or handing out irresponsible giveaways. but mr brown will stun westminster and break just about every historical precedent if he fails to do something designed to put a smile on voters faces and make them more inclined to back labour in the election. and there has already been speculation about possible tax reductions for the poorest and increasing the threshold on stamp duty in this week s budget. the aim of his package will be to keep any disillusioned core labour voters in the fold while ensuring the middle england voters who gave tony blair two election victories don t desert him at the third poll. and needless to say there will be plenty of analysis of what impact the budget will have on mr brown s own ambitions to replace mr blair as prime minister at some point after a third win. but there is a shadow hanging over this pre-election performance - in the shape of £11 billion or thereabouts. that is the size of the financial black hole the tories backed by some independent forecasters believe mr brown will have to fill with tax increases after the election. the opening shot in that battle was fired at the weekend with claims a treasury leak suggested mr brown was ready to slap capital gains tax on home sales to raise some of that cash. it was immediately denied but the tories remain | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
csa could close says minister ministers would not rule out scrapping the child support agency if it failed to improve work and pensions secretary alan johnson has warned. but he said replacing the controversial csa would be the nuclear option . a report by the commons work and pensions committee called for the agency to be wound up unless it improved its service within weeks. chairman sir archy kirkwood said: if the agency cannot be rescued then it must be replaced. the committee reached its conclusions after it found that nearly 250 000 cases have yet to be processed. it warned that it could be five years before the csa was fit for purpose describing it as a failing organisation and in crisis with parents facing payment delays and inaccurate maintenance calculations. the report urged the csa to draw up contingency plans including the abandonment option to be presented to parliament by easter in case the cs2 computer system could not be made to work. and responding to calls for the agency to be scrapped mr johnson told bbc radio 4 s today programme: i certainly wouldn t rule out the nuclear option of moving to a completely new system. but i think the select committee would agree with me we would only do that when we were absolutely convinced that this system just isn t going to work. the mps launched their inquiry into the csa s performance after it became clear that despite the introduction of a simpler system of calculating maintenance payments for new cases in 2003 a backlog of claims was building up. the mps found the £456m system from american it giant eds was nowhere near being fully functional and the number of dissatisfied disenchanted and angry customers continues to escalate . faced with the | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
kennedy questions trust of blair lib dem leader charles kennedy has said voters now have a fundamental lack of trust of tony blair as prime minister. he said backing his party was not a wasted vote adding that with the lib dems what you see is what you get . he made his comments at the start of a day of appearances on channel five in a session on the wright stuff programme. questions from callers a studio audience and the show s presenter covered lib dem tax plans anti-terror laws and immigration. mr kennedy said during his nearly 22 years in parliament he had seen prime ministers and party leaders come and go and knew the pitfalls of british politics. 1983 was when i was first elected as an mp - so tony blair michael howard and myself were all class of 83 - and over that nearly quarter of a century the world has changed out of recognition he said. we don t actually hear the argument any longer: lib dems good people reasonable ideas but only if we thought they could win around here - it s a wasted vote . you don t hear that because the evidence of people s senses demonstrates that it isn t a wasted vote. but he said mr blair had lost the trust of the british people. there is a fundamental lack of trust in tony blair as prime minister and in his government he said. what we ve got to do as a party - what i ve got to do as a leader of this party - is to convey to people that what you see is what you get. mr kennedy also used his tv appearance to defend his party s plans to increase income tax to | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
uk pledges £1bn to vaccine effort uk chancellor gordon brown has offered £960m ($1.8bn) over 15 years to an international scheme aiming to boost vaccination and immunisation schemes. in a speech he called for action to reach the 2000 millennium declaration goals of halving global poverty and tackling child mortality rates. mr brown has just returned from a tour of african nations. the £1bn commitment is part of a five-point plan on debt relief trade aid education and health. the chancellor was speaking at an event jointly organised by the uk s department for international development and the un development programme on wednesday. mr brown welcomed news that the bill gates foundation and norway are joining up to put an extra £0.53bn ($1bn ) into the global alliance for vaccines and immunisation (gavi). britain france gavi and the gates foundation have drawn up proposals to apply the principles of the international finance facility (iff) to the area of immunisation. that could see donors making long-term legally binding financial commitments which can then be used as collateral for raising extra funds from international capital markets. as well as pledging £960m over 15 years to the immunisation iff britain urged other donors to contribute. if gavi could increase its funding for immunisation by an extra £4bn ($7.4bn) over 10 years then an extra five million lives could have been saved by 2015 and five million thereafter mr brown argued. campaign groups including friends of the earth the world development movement and war on want said uk government policy on free trade was a major barrier to fighting poverty. war on want s john hilary said: compassionate rhetoric cannot disguise the reality of the government s neo-liberal policies. as long as mr blair and mr brown continue to push free trade and privatisation | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
terror detainees win lords appeal detaining foreign terrorist suspects without trial breaks human rights laws the uk s highest court has ruled. in a blow to the government s anti-terror measures the house of lords law lords ruled by an eight to one majority in favour of appeals by nine detainees. most of the men are being indefinitely held in belmarsh prison south london. the law lords said the measures were incompatible with european human rights laws. the men will stay behind bars while ministers decide how to react. the ruling creates a major problem for charles clarke on his first day as home secretary following david blunkett s resignation. the liberal democrats say mr clarke should use the fact he is new to the job to take issue with a law established by his predecessor david blunkett. belmarsh prison has been dubbed britain s guantanamo bay by civil rights campaigners opposed to the use of emergency anti-terror laws. the detainees took their case to the house of lords after the court of appeal backed the home office s powers to hold them without limit or charge. the government opted out of part of the european convention on human rights concerning the right to a fair trial in order to bring in anti-terrorism legislation in response to the 11 september attacks in the us. any foreign national suspected of links with terrorism can be detained or can opt to be deported. however those detained cannot be deported if this would mean persecution in their homeland. on thursday senior law lord lord bingham said the rules were incompatible with the european convention on human rights as they allowed detentions in a way that discriminates on the ground of nationality or immigration status . lord nicholls of birkenhead in his ruling said: | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
tories opposing 24-hour drinking the tories say plans to extend pub opening times should be put on hold until binge drinking is under control despite backing a law change last year. spokesman david davis said ministers had failed to make his party aware of concern among senior police that plans would cause more anti-social behaviour. notts police chief steve green said innocent people would suffer. but culture secretary tessa jowell said a delay would be disastrous and she accused the tories of opportunism. the government would go ahead with the changes which would give police more power to tackle excessive drinking she added. earlier chief constable green questioned how his officers would be able to practically apply powers allowing them to shut down problem premises. if you look at the market square in nottingham if a fight takes place which licensed premises do you go and lay the responsibilty at the door of he asked on bbc radio 4 s world at one programme. he warned that if drinking establishments were allowed to open until three or four in the morning the police would have to take officers off day shifts in order to do their job effectively at night. earlier this year the royal college of physicians said it opposed the plan to extend drinking hours when there was already an epidemic of binge drinking. minister richard caborn said the government was tackling the causes and the symptoms of the problem by allowing more powers to close down problem premises. it is hoped that allowing pubs and clubs to stay open longer will stagger closing times and end the current situation where drinkers spill on to the streets all at once. earlier tony blair defended the plans against criticism from one of his own backbenchers. my view of this | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
stalemate in pension strike talks talks aimed at averting national strikes over pension reforms have ended without agreement after 90 minutes. five public sector unions met deputy prime minister john prescott at the labour spring conference in gateshead. they want the government to withdraw regulations - due to be introduced in weeks - which would raise the pension age for council workers from 60 to 65. up to 1.4 million workers could take part in strikes earmarked for 23 march. discussions will resume next week. a spokesman for unison britain s biggest union said after saturday s meeting: at least we are still talking. all sides are anxious to avoid a major confrontation in the run up to the general election said bbc labour affairs correspondent stephen cape. in four days unison will start balloting 800 000 local government workers on strikes. other public sector unions have pledged to follow. the five unions which met mr prescott want the government to withdraw these regulations. this would allow months of tough negotiations to follow said our correspondent. but a spokesman for mr prescott warned that the changes to the local government pension scheme would have to go ahead in april. privately ministers believe this will be the less painful option our correspondent added. the public and commercial services union (pcs) will co-ordinate any industrial action with up to six other public sector unions. pcs leader mark serwotka warned last week that there could be further walkouts unless there was a government rethink. for a government that lectures everyone on choice - choice on public service choice on this and choice on that - isn t it ironic that they re saying to public sector workers there is no choice he said. if you want the pension you were promised when you | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
hague given up his pm ambition former conservative leader william hague says he will not stand for the leadership again having given up his ambition to be prime minister. mr hague 43 told the daily telegraph he would now find a life dominated by politics too boring and unfulfilling. mr hague who stepped down after his party s 2001 election defeat does not rule out a return to the front bench. he also told the paper he hopes to remain mp for richmond north yorks and start a family with wife ffion. mr hague who recently had published the biography of william pitt the younger also said he wanted to continue writing books and speech-writing. he told the newspaper: i don t know whether i will ever go back on to the front but don t rush me. asked if he would stand for the leadership again mr hague replied: no. definitely not. his determination to stay away from a central role will disappoint some senior conservative members who say the party needs him. tim collins the shadow education secretary said last week it would be a huge boost to the party if mr hague returned to the front bench. mr hague became an mp at 27 and leader of the opposition at 36. he said: i feel fortunate that by the age of 40 i had crammed in an entire political career. i had been in the cabinet and been leader of the party so now i can branch out into other things...it is a very liberating feeling. mr hague added that he may have misjudged his own ambition to be prime minister. maybe i wasn t as driven by politics as i thought i was he said. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
straw backs ending china embargo uk foreign secretary jack straw has defended plans to end the european union s arms embargo on china despite opposition from the us and japan. mr straw visiting beijing noted arms embargoes applied to china burma and zimbabwe but not to north korea which he said had a terrible rights record. the eu imposed its arms ban on china in 1989 after troops opened fire on protestors in tiananmen square. mr straw also signed a deal on china-uk tourism. it is expected this would increase the number of chinese tourists by 40 000 per year providing $120m in revenue. china has in the past said it sees the weapons ban as politically driven and does not want it lifted in order to buy more weapons. mr straw speaking at a joint news conference with chinese foreign minister li zhaoxing stressed this point. the result of any decision [to lift the arms embargo] should not be an increase in arms exports from european union member states to china either in quantitative or qualitative terms mr straw said. earlier this week he said he expected the embargo to be lifted within six months. but mr straw faces tough opposition to the move. tory foreign affairs spokesman michael ancram said lifting the arms embargo would be irresponsible and would damage britain s relations with the us. he said mr straw was naive beyond belief if he accepted china s claim it does not want the ban lifted in order to buy weapons. the french want the embargo lifted because they want to sell arms to china; the chinese want it lifted because they want to buy arms and battlefield technology from europe. when he was in tokyo earlier this week japanese foreign minister nobutaka machimura told the british | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
howard attacks cost of asylum michael howard has launched an attack on the cost of britain s chaotic asylum system under tony blair. the tory leader said english local authorities have spent more than £3bn - or £140 per household - on asylum since labour won power in 1997. mr howard is expected to tell activists in kent that voters tolerance and desire to help others are being abused. other parties and refugee agencies have already attacked tory plans for annual limits on numbers. mr howard said britain should take its fair share of the world s genuine refugees . the anniversary of the liberation of auschwitz - where my grandmother was murdered along with over a million others - has reminded all of us that we have a moral responsibility to those fleeing persecution he was due to say. but if we are to fulfil responsibility we have to get a grip of the system. fair play matters. people want a government that upholds the rules - not one that turns a blind eye when they are bent and abused he said. and let s be clear. our asylum system is being abused - and with it britain s generosity. earlier this week mr howard said his party s plans to cut immigration were not racist arguing they would make the asylum system fairer for genuine refugees. if elected his party would institute an annual limit on asylum and all claims would be processed overseas. that prompted some charities to say the plans would put refugees lives at risk if they were turned away once quotas were filled. if we have a moral responsibility towards people fleeing persecution then these policies will not provide a safe haven said hannah ward of the refugee council. if people turn up in | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
tory leader unveils spending plan tory leader michael howard says his party can save £35bn in government spending by tackling waste. the money would be ploughed back into frontline services like the nhs and schools with the rest used to cut government borrowing and reduce taxes. the tory leader has also shrugged off the defection of one of his mps robert jackson a former minister to labour. mr howard said that these things happened in politics and it would not affect the outcome of the election. let s be realistic - the election is not going to be decided on the basis of what mr jackson did he told bbc 1 s breakfast with frost programme. however the defection on saturday has cast a shadow over the launch of the conservatives spending plans. fuller details are due to be unveiled on monday. the bulk of the £35bn saved by tackling bureaucracy and inefficient systems will go back into frontline services mr howard said. the £12bn left over would then be spent on reducing government borrowing he added. however the remainder would deal with some of the unfair taxes . almost every independent expert says if you get another labour government you are going to have to pay higher taxes mr howard insisted. because borrowing is going up it is out of control that is bound to lead to higher taxes or higher interest rates or both. so part of the £12bn we are going to apply to filling the government s black hole reducing the borrowing. the rest will be used to reduce these unfair taxes which are bearing so heavily on the people of our country today. mr howard is expected to say that around £6bn will be available for tax cuts when he makes his announcement on monday. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
ukip outspent labour on eu poll the uk independence party outspent both labour and the liberal democrats in the european elections new figures show. ukip which campaigned on a slogan of say no to europe spent £2.36m on the campaign - second only to the conservatives £3.13m. the campaign took ukip into third place with an extra 10 meps. labour s campaign cost £1.7m the lib dems £1.19m and the greens £404 000 according to figures revealed by the electoral commission on wednesday. much of the ukip funding came from yorkshire millionaire sir paul sykes who helped bankroll the party s billboard campaign. critics have accused the party of effectively buying votes. but a ukip spokesman said labour and the conservatives had spent £10m between them on the last general election. with the advantages of public money the others have the only way the smaller parties can get their message across is by buying the advertising space he added. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blair said he would stand down tony blair promised gordon brown he would stand down before the next election a new book about the chancellor claims. but the prime minister changed his mind following intervention from allies in the cabinet according to the book. the book by sunday telegraph journalist robert peston said the pair had mutual animosity and contempt for each other. the book brown s britain said tony blair felt by november 2003 he had lost voters trust. the author s sources all unnamed allies of mr blair and mr brown said the prime minister felt the iraq war had undermined him and that he was no longer an asset to the labour party. the book serialised in the sunday telegraph alleges that mr blair told the chancellor at a dinner hosted by deputy pm john prescott in november 2003 of his intention to stand down. at that stage he saw gordon brown and said look you are the next most influential member of the government i need your help to get through the next year mr peston said. i myself recognise that i m going to have to stand down before the election but help me to get through the year and i will then stand down. but he changed his mind in june 2004 following intervention from allies in the cabinet and the suspicion that the chancellor was deliberately manoeuvring against him the book claims. mr peston told bbc news: my understanding is that they are not nearly as close or as friendly as they once were. what the book says is there now a pretty profound mutual mistrust mutual animosity. i think in public you see this double act pretending everything is alright but in private i don t think the relationship is good because | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
super union merger plan touted two of britain s big trade unions could merge to form a super union of two million members. the move by amicus and the transport and general workers union (tgwu) would be a seen as a bid to carry more weight with ministers and employers. amicus has 1.2 million members and the tgwu has 800 000. any merger would have to be approved by the unions executives and their membership. it is understood meetings will be held on wednesday about the proposal. along with the gmb and unison the tgwu and amicus worked closely together in the last year to hammer out a 56-point deal with labour s leadership over equality at work holidays and pensions - the warwick agreement. both unions are remaining tight-lipped about the merger rumours but one insider pointed out to the bbc news website that nobody is denying suggestions a merger could be on the agenda when the two unions executives hold their meetings on wednesday. amicus s executive was due to meet in any case although the tgwu is holding specially scheduled talks. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
kennedy begins pre-election tour liberal democrat leader charles kennedy has begun a week-long tour to persuade voters they are the real opposition . mr kennedy is visiting constituencies in somerset and hampshire on monday - rural seats where his party is hoping to make gains from the conservatives. later he will visit places such as liverpool where labour is targeted. labour say a lib dem vote could let the tories in while the tories say the lib dems would mean higher taxes soft crime laws more power to europe . mr kennedy s tour comes as he labour leader tony blair and conservative leader michael howard all step up campaigning ahead of the next general election widely expected to be held on 5 may. on tuesday mr kennedy will visit leicester south where lib dem mp parmjit singh gill overturned a big labour majority to win the seat in last year s by-election. stops in shrewsbury north dorset liverpool manchester basingstoke and west london are planned for later in the week. the liberal democrats say in the northern cities the race is between them and labour while in southern seats - particularly the south west - it is between them and the tories. speaking to the bbc s westminster hour on sunday mr kennedy said the upcoming general election - widely tipped for 5 may - would be much more unpredictable than any others in recent experience . asked whether it was realistic to assume the liberal democrats could win the general election he said: there s no limit to the ambitions we have as a party. but we have got to be responsible we have got to be credible we have got to demonstrate to people that we are up to that task. mr kennedy said the british public | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
brown visits slum on africa trip chancellor gordon brown has visited kenya s biggest shantytown as he opened a week-long visit to africa. mr brown s trip is designed to highlight how the uk wants to make africa s problems a priority of its chairmanship of the g8 this year. he will see an hiv/aids orphanage in tanzania and a women s credit union in mozambique before chairing a meeting of the commission for africa in cape town. at slums in narobi on wednesday he said education needs had to be tackled. speaking outside the olympic primary school mr brown said: it is simply not acceptable in the modern age for the rest of the world to stand by and have hundreds of millions of children not getting the chance at education. he pointed to international plans to invest $10bn for education in africa over the next decade. the school is on the edge of kibera where 800 000 live often in huts made of mud scrap metal and cardboard. mr brown s aides say he wants to find out more about the kenyan government s education policies which included introducing free primary education in early 2003. the chancellor has already unveiled proposals for a g8 aid package which he has likened to the marshall plan used by the united states to rebuild europe after world war two. the trip follows claims of infighting between mr brown and tony blair detailed in a new book. conservative leader michael howard is expected to seize on those reports at prime minister s questions at 1200 gmt on wednesday. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blunkett unveils policing plans people could be given the mobile phone number of their local bobby under an overhaul of policing in england and wales unveiled by david blunkett. the plans include a dedicated policing team for each neighbourhood and a 10 point compulsory customer charter. the home secretary said targets would be put in place to ensure that the public got a good response from police. local people would also be able to trigger action on specific problems if they felt nothing was being done. local councillors would have to show certain conditions had been met before invoking the power. and police could refuse the request if the complaints were frivolous would only cause annoyance or would pose too heavy a burden on resources. mr blunkett said a new three digit number would be created for non-emergency phone calls to police. the best performing police services would get more cash and extra freedoms he said but he would not shirk from stepping in where the public was being failed. the home secretary s powers to suspend or sack chief constables are being reviewed after mr blunkett s battle with humberside chief david westwood over intelligence failures on soham murderer ian huntley. opposition parties also want more local policing to tackle nuisance behaviour and other crime but they accuse ministers of tying the police up with paperwork. tory spokesman david davis said the proposals were little more than a taxpayer-funded pr exercise ahead of a general election predicted for next may. police forces were already buried under existing government initiatives and there was little in the latest plans to reassure them said mr davis. earlier lib dem home affairs spokesman mark oaten said the government was right to want to increase the links between local people and the police. but | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
falconer rebuts charade claims concessions on a bill which critics claim would allow euthanasia through the back door were not a political ploy the lord chancellor has said. ministers have been accused of panic in offering last minute changes to the mental capacity bill amid chaotic scenes in the commons on tuesday. lord falconer said it was fair to criticise the late timing of the offer. he said the changes provided a solution to a very difficult issue but some mps argue the situation is still unclear. the bill allows people to give somebody the power of attorney to make decisions on their behalf if they become too ill to decide for themselves. ministers insist the plans would not change laws on euthanasia and would improve safeguards. critics fear it could allow killing by omission through withdrawing treatment including food and fluids. tony blair said he would do everything he could to meet concerns about the bill. but changes to the bill must not overturn the law set when a court ruled that doctors could withdraw artificial feeding and hydration from hillsborough coma victim tony bland. it is important we don t end up in the situation where doctors and consultants are confused about the law and may lay themselves open to prosecution in circumstances where no sensible person would want that to happen he said. on tuesday the government saw off a backbench attempt to force changes to the bill by 297 votes to 203 despite rebellion by 34 labour mps. the revolt was also reduced by news that lord falconer had promised the catholic archbishop of cardiff to strengthen safeguards in the bill. but that only came after mps bombarded constitutional affairs minister david lammy with a barrage of requests for him to read the letter as they | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
parliament s record of scandal in a locked room at the heart of parliament there is a hive of scandal. sex betrayal and custody of children are all there in this affair but this time it has nothing to do with the recent troubles of david blunkett or boris johnson. few realise that westminster in effect has its own divorce den. for sprinkled among 12 floors of archives are blow-by-blow accounts of marital break-ups - and now you can search what s there online. until 1857 the only way in england to get a full divorce which allowed re-marriage was to obtain an act of parliament by proving adultery or life-threatening cruelty. the legacy is pages of testimonies used in the hearings dating back to 1670 all recorded among the 325 000 items which fill the 12 floors of the parliamentary archives in parliament s victoria tower. most people researching their family history want to discover some tale of illicit love. this gives them the chance. divorce by parliament was an expensive process open really only to the rich but the records also include the testimony of maids butlers and coachmen about their masters and mistresses. among the records is the story of jane campbell the first woman ever to divorce her husband. that happened in 1801 after she had discovered her husband edward addison had committed adultery with her sister jessy. a transcript of evidence from jessy s maid amelia laugher shows her telling how addison frequently passed by her on the way to the room where she had just put her mistress naked to bed. it must have been a killer blow to addison s case - he had already fled abroad rather than pay the £5 000 damages ordered by a civil court. as well as making | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
uk youth interested in politics the majority of young people are interested in politics holding strong opinions on policies and have a keen appetite for direct action. research undertaken for voting watchdog the electoral commission suggests 81% of 16 to 20-year-olds feel strongly about issues like crime and education. the survey findings are being released to coincide with the launch of the y vote mock elections 2005 initiative. mock elections are planned to take place in schools across the uk. electoral commission boss sam younger said: we know that young people often feel disengaged from democratic life and we believe in working creatively to encourage their interest and participation. mock elections can play an extremely valuable role in helping young people understand how the democratic process works and why it matters he said. the survey of a sample of 500 british 16 to 20-year-olds and 500 21 to 25-year olds showed britain s young people are far from apathetic about issues that matter to most of their lives . the y vote initiative is being run jointly by the electoral commission the hansard society and the department for education and skills in the run-up to local elections and the general election possibly on 5 may. michael rafferty who is mock elections project manager at the hansard society said he looked forward to seeing schools and colleges across the uk participating in the mock votes. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
green fear for transport ballot the green party is concerned thousands of residents may not be able to vote in edinburgh s transport referendum. edinburgh city council is to ballot constituents on proposals to introduce congestion charging in the capital. but green msp mark ballard fears people not on the council s edited electoral register may miss out. local authorities can only send ballot papers to those on the edited list over non-statutory matters such as the transport referendum. therefore residents who have exercised their right to have their details left off the list could miss the chance to vote. however there is still time for those who are not on the list to contact the council and make sure they are sent ballot forms ahead of february s voting deadline. mr ballard said: this vote will set the future of transport in edinburgh for decades to come. it is therefore vital that as many residents as possible in edinburgh city and the surrounding areas are registered to vote in the ballot. many people are not aware that they may miss out on their chance to have a say. everyone involved in this debate - both for and against - wants the ballot to be as fair and representative as possible and that means encouraging people to take part. the ballot will ask residents to vote for or against the council s proposed congestion charge scheme and a host of transport improvements to be funded by it. the outcome of the referendum will be known next month after the ballot forms are sent out and returned to the council. towards the end of february the council will meet to decide whether to proceed with an application to scottish ministers for approval for its planned congestion charging scheme and the other | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
tories urge change at the top tory delegates are gathering for what is expected to be their last conference before the general election declaring britain needs a change at the top . the party goes into its spring forum trying to highlight what it sees as a clear choice between it and labour. tory co-chairman liam fox has opened proceedings with a speech criticising tony blair s record in government. labour s rule has been characterised by lost trust and failure to deliver he told the brighton conference. he also attacked the government s failure to control immigration and asylum and criticised its record on the nhs telling delegates labour cannot be trusted on education or crime. a tory government would sort out the shambles of immigration put patients before statistics and bring discipline to schools he said. dr fox also underlined tory promises to cut tax by £4bn. bbc political correspondent shaun ley says opinion polls suggest the tories still lag some way behind labour on the issues of health education and the economy. conservative leader michael howard who had been due to welcome delegates to the conference on friday will address them in a lunchtime speech. his welcome address had to be postponed after he stayed in london to lead the party s opposition to the prevention of terrorism bill in its lengthy progress through parliament. the bill was finally passed on friday evening after more than 30 hours of debate. mr howard is likely to defend his party s handling of the bill which was only passed after the conservatives accepted prime minister tony blair s promise that mps would be able to review it within a year. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
boothroyd calls for lords speaker betty boothroyd has said the house of lords needs its own speaker and that peers should lead the way on reforming the upper chamber. baroness boothroyd who was the first woman to be commons speaker said she believed tony blair initiated reforms without a clear outcome in mind. now we have to take care of it ourselves and make the best of it she told the bbc s breakfast with frost. in 1999 labour removed all but 92 of the lords 750 hereditary peers. that was billed as the first stage of reform of the institution. the lord chancellor hinted further reforms could be unveiled in the next labour manifesto. i think we need to look very carefully at the relationship between the lords and the commons lord falconer told bbc1 s breakfast with frost. how it interacts with the commons is a very very important issue. we need to address the issue in the manifesto but you will have to wait for when the manifesto comes. the lord chancellor currently has the role of house of lords speaker. he is also head of the judiciary and a member of the cabinet as constitutional affairs secretary. lady boothroyd said she believed it was unacceptable for the lord chancellor to have the role of speaker. i would really like to see a speaker of the house of lords she said. i don t go for the idea of somebody - a lord chancellor - who is head of the judiciary a senior cabinet minister and speaker of the lords. i want somebody there who is going to look after that house and do a job there. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
iraq advice claim sparks new row the tories say ministers must respond in parliament to claims that the legal advice used to justify the iraq war was drawn up at number 10. downing street has denied the claims made in a new book about the attorney general lord goldsmith s advice. lord goldsmith also denied them saying he was not leaned on in any way. but the conservatives and liberal democrats say they want the publication of the full legal advice given by the attorney general. the government has consistently refused to publish lord goldsmith s advice on the legality of the war - saying such papers have always been kept confidential. but a short statement about lord goldsmith s position was presented in a written parliamentary answer on 17 march 2003 - just before a crucial commons vote on the military action. it said it was plain iraq continued to be in material breach of un resolution 1441. in his new book lawless world philippe sands a qc and international law professor suggests the parliamentary answer was written in downing street. according to mr sands lord goldsmith had warned tony blair in a document on 7 march 2003 that the use of force against iraq could be illegal and that it would have been safer to seek a second un resolution sanctioning military action. mr sands told newsnight the government had prepared a legal team to be able to defend its case in case legal action was taken against the uk over the war. on 10 march military chiefs reportedly asked for an unequivocal statement about the legality of the war to make sure troops could be defended in a court of law. the book being serialised in the guardian newspaper says on 13 march lord goldsmith met then | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
lib dems new election pr chief the lib dems have appointed a senior figure from bt to be the party s new communications chief for their next general election effort. sandy walkington will now work with senior figures such as matthew taylor on completing the party manifesto. party chief executive lord rennard said the appointment was a significant strengthening of the lib dem team . mr walkington said he wanted the party to be ready for any mischief rivals or the media tried to throw at it. my role will be to ensure this new public profile is effectively communicated at all levels he said. i also know the party will be put under scrutiny in the media and from the other parties as never before - and we will need to show ourselves ready and prepared to counter the mischief and misrepresentation that all too often comes from the party s opponents. the party is already demonstrating on every issue that it is the effective opposition. mr walkington s new job title is director of general election communications. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
brown outlines third term vision gordon brown has outlined what he thinks should be the key themes of new labour s next general election bid. he said ensuring every child in britain had the best start in life could be a legacy to match the nhs s creation. the chancellor has previously planned the party s election strategy but this time the role will be filled by alan milburn - a key ally of tony blair. the premier insisted mr brown will have a key role in labour s campaign and praised his handling of the economy. writing in the guardian newspaper mr brown outlined his view of the direction new labour should be taking. as our manifesto and our programme for the coming decade should make clear labour s ambition is not simply tackling idleness but delivering full employment; not just attacking ignorance disease and squalor but promoting lifelong education good health and sustainable communities. bbc political editor andrew marr said that mr brown s article was a warning shot to mr blair not to try and cut him out of the manifesto writing process. it was as always coded and careful... but entirely deliberate was mr marr s assessment. the prime minister was asked about mr brown s article and about his election role when he appeared on bbc radio 4 s today programme. mr blair said a decision had yet to be taken over how the election would be run but the chancellor s role would be central . mr blair argued that under new labour the country had changed for the better and that was in part because of mr brown s management of the economy. and he pledged childcare would be a centrepiece of labour s manifesto. he also predicted the next general election will | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
what really divides the parties so what is the gap between labour and the tories nowadays one starbucks one rymans and one small greek cafe as it happens. both parties have now completed their moves to new headquarters with labour creating its election hub just three doors away from the tories new headquarters in victoria street just down the road from the commons. that should make things a little easier if and when the crack-of-dawn election press conferences kick off. unlike 2001 there should be no need for colleagues to have taxis gunning their engines outside or to buy scooters to get themselves between the tightly-timetabled events. and to all intents and purposes we already appear to be in that general election campaign. certainly the press conference hosted by election co-ordinator alan milburn in the rather compact new conference room - still smelling of new carpet and with the garish new labour coffee mugs as yet unstained - had all the hallmarks of an election event. welcome to the unremittingly new labour media centre he said. and i ll bet he hadn t checked that one with gordon brown. along with work and pensions secretary alan johnson and minister for work jane kennedy he then went on to tear into the tory plans to scrap the new deal welfare-to-work scheme which they claimed would lead to an increase of almost 300 000 in unemployment. and they ridiculed the claims made on monday by michael howard that he could save £35 billion of labour waste and inefficiency to spend on public services while also offering £4 billion of tax cuts. labour has come up with a figure of £22 billions worth of efficiency savings so understandably perhaps believe mr howard must be planning cuts to squeeze the extra £13 billion. these | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
faith schools citizenship warning schools must improve the quality of citizenship lessons - or social cohesion and democracy will suffer says the education watchdog. independent faith schools were singled out by ofsted chief david bell for not doing enough to promote the wider tenets of british society . mr bell said muslim jewish and evangelical christian schools must be intolerant of intolerance . diversity certainly must not mean segregated or separate he said. mr bell s speech called for a much greater effort in all types of schools to teach citizenship - with an accompanying survey showing that young people knew little about politics and had no enthusiasm to find out more. badly-taught citizenship lessons have previously been criticised by mr bell and in a speech to the hansard society he warned that it was failing to pass on an understanding of democracy public service and shared values. he highlighted his particular concern for citizenship in the growing number of independent faith schools - which he said included about 100 muslim 100 evangelical christian and 50 jewish schools. mr bell expressed concern about schools which did not teach children enough about a common heritage and needed to do more to promote principles of mutual tolerance and social inclusion. i worry that many young people are being educated in faith-based schools with little appreciation of their wider responsibilities and obligations to british society said mr bell. the ofsted chief said his forthcoming annual report would make particular reference to muslim schools. many must adapt their curriculum to ensure that it provides pupils with a broad general knowledge of public institutions and services in england and helps them to acquire an appreciation of and respect for other cultures in a way that promotes tolerance and harmony. mr bell said such questions of | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
at a glance: tory health checks the uk opposition conservatives have unveiled plans to introduce health checks for immigrants if they win the general election. here s a guide to the plan: people coming to live and work in britain from outside the eu. if they plan to stay six months or more and are from a country with lots of tb they would have to have a chest x-ray and further tests if appropriate. all people from outside the european union who want to stay a year or more will have to undergo a full medical. tuberculosis hepatitis b and hiv. a positive test for tb would automatically mean visa applications being turned down. all other conditions would be dealt with on a case by case basis. people would have to prove they have an acceptable standard of health and are unlikely to be a danger to public health in the uk or impose significant costs or demands on the nhs. they would also if appropriate have to be able to undertake the work or study they applied to come here for. people coming to britain for less than six months would not be medically tested unless they intended to work in health care childcare or teaching. children and pregnant women wanting to live in britain permanently would not have to have a chest x-ray for tb. under 16s would not face tests for hepatitis and hiv. the tories say people fleeing persecution will not be denied sanctuary in britain because of poor health. however they will undergo health checks to ensure they receive the right medical treatment and do not spread infectious diseases. they claim government figures show that tb in england has increased by 25% over the last 10 years and that nearly two-thirds of people with | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
act on detention ruling uk urged the government must act quickly on the law lords ruling that detention of foreign terror suspects without trial is unlawful mary robinson has said. the former un commissioner for human rights and irish president told radio 4 s today the government s response would be scrutinised internationally. it would be very troubling if the government did not accept the judgement and then work within it she said. home secretary charles clarke has said detainees will not be freed at present. speaking to parliament on his first day in office as home secretary following david blunkett s resignation mr clarke said: i will be asking parliament to renew this legislation in the new year. in the meantime we will be studying the judgement carefully to see whether it is possible to modify our legislation to address the concerns raised by the house of lords. mrs robinson said the law lords ruling was in line with international legal opinion and praised their very decisive eight to one majority. what the law lords did was acknowledge the role of the government but say that there had been a disproportionate use that it amounted to executive detention and it was discriminatory because it didn t apply to british citizens she said. mrs robinson warned that a lack of action by the british government could lead to further action in legal arenas such as the european court of human rights in strasbourg. if the government were not to accept this ruling then there is further redress including possible damages for the individuals who could claim that the government either was tardy or was resisting the implications of the judgement of the law lords. she said a meeting of the club of madrid - a group of former world leaders | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
watchdog probes e-mail deletions the information commissioner says he is urgently asking for details of cabinet office orders telling staff to delete e-mails more than three months old. richard thomas totally condemned the deletion of e-mails to prevent their disclosure under freedom of information laws coming into force on 1 january. government guidance said e-mails should only be deleted if they served no current purpose mr thomas said. the tories and the lib dems have questioned the timing of the new rules. tory leader michael howard has written to tony blair demanding an explanation of the new rules on e-mail retention. on monday lib dem constitutional affairs committee chairman alan beith warned that the deletion of millions of government e-mails could harm the ability of key probes like the hutton inquiry. the timing of the new rules just before the freedom of information act comes into forces was too unlikely to have been a coincidence mr beith said. but a cabinet office spokeswoman said the move was not about the new laws or the destruction of important records . mr beith urged the information commissioner to look at how the e-mail regime could support the freedom of information regime . mr thomas said: the new act of parliament makes it very clear that to destroy records in order to prevent their disclosure becomes a criminal offence. he said there was already clear guidance on the retention of e-mails contained in a code of practice from the lord chancellor. all e-mails are subject to the freedom of information laws but the important thing was the content of the e-mail said mr thomas. if in doubt retain that has been the long-standing principle of the civil service and public authorities. it s only when you ve got no further use for the | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
pakistani women must not hide hiding women away in the home hidden behind veils is a backward view of islam president musharraf of pakistan has said during a visit to britain. he was speaking to the bbc s newsnight programme a few hours before visiting the pakistani community in manchester. my wife is travelling around. she is very religious but she is very moderate said general musharraf. it comes after pakistan s high commissioner to britain said some pakistanis should integrate more. dr maleeha lodhi said people could not expect others to listen to their grievances if they isolated themselves. gen musharraf told the bbc: some people think that the women should be confined to their houses and put veils on and all that and they should not move out - absolutely wrong. the pakistani president was also asked whether he thought the war on terror had made the world less safe. yes absolutely. and i would add that unfortunately we are not addressing the core problems so therefore we can never address it in its totality he said. we are fighting it in its immediate context but we are not fighting it in its strategic long-term context. it is the political disputes and we need to resolve them and also the issue of illiteracy and poverty. this combined are breeding grounds of extremism and terrorism. on monday the pakistani president met prime minister tony blair at 10 downing street on his first official visit to london. he is due to visit the pakistani community in manchester on tuesday afternoon. the mirror newspaper said on tuesday it had been handed a sensitive dossier outling the details of gen musharraf s visit to britain. the paper said the document had been found in a london street by a member of the | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
howard truanted to play snooker conservative leader michael howard has admitted he used to play truant to spend time with his school friends at a snooker hall. mr howard said his time at jack s snooker hall in llanelli in the 1950s had not done him any lasting damage . but he told the times educational supplement that truancy was very bad and said firm action was needed. mr howard also called for a return to o-levels and more classroom discipline. mr howard eventually left llanelli grammar school - and the snooker hall - to go to cambridge university. he said: i don t think it s done me any lasting damage. nor has it made me a snooker world champion. there might have been some occasions when we left early of an afternoon. i m just being honest. i think truancy is a very bad thing and that firm action should be taken to deal with it. another player who has failed to win snooker s world championship - jimmy the whirlwind white - has previously admitted missing lessons instead spending his days in smoky halls. tony meo [another player] and me used to spend all of our spare time there mr white said we loved the game and the atmosphere. school went out of the window. i went for a while and then started taking time off. mr howard s fellow welshman ray reardon - known by his fellow professionals as dracula - won the snooker world championship six times having left school at 14 to work as a miner. and terry griffiths like mr howard from llanelli won the tournament in 1979. it is not known whether the two of them ever clashed cues at jack s. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
petrol duties frozen brown says chancellor gordon brown has announced a freeze on fuel duty in his pre-budget speech to the commons on thursday. mr brown told the house that government policy is to raise fuel duty at least in line with inflation each year to fulfil environmental commitments. but this financial year because of volatility in the oil market he said the duty would be frozen. during 2000 many motorists campaigned against the rises but environmentalists believe less duty means more pollution. he said: it is our policy that each year fuel duties should rise at least in line with inflation as we seek to meet our targets for reducing polluting emmissions and fund our public services. but this financial year because of the sustained volatility in the oil market i propose to match the freeze in car vehicle licence duty with a continuation on the freeze on the main road fuel duties. the rac welcomed the news calling it an early christmas present for motorists. but the organisation urged drivers to continue to shop around to get the best price for petrol. environmental group transport 2000 said the freeze sends the wrong message to motorists. we are concerned that although britain leads the world in rhetoric about climate change it often fails in practical action said a spokesman. in 2000 the people s fuel lobby caused chaos by blocking roads with slow-moving convoys after mr brown threatened to raise fuel taxes. the chancellor did not raise duty that year but despite threats of more protests in 2003 he added 1.28p per litre. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blair rejects iraq advice calls tony blair has rejected calls for the publication of advice on the legality of the iraq war amid growing calls for an investigation. the prime minister told his monthly press conference the matter had been dealt with by the attorney general. earlier conservative mp michael mates joined calls for a probe into claims lord goldsmith s statement to parliament was drawn up at number 10. mr blair said the statement was a fair summary of lord goldsmith s opinion. that s what he (lord goldsmith) said and that s what i say. he has dealt with this time and time and time again mr blair told his monthly news conference in downing street. he refused to answer further questions on the issue saying it had been dealt with literally scores of times and the position has not changed . lord goldsmith has denied being leaned on and says the words written were his. the government refuses to publish his advice on the legality of the war - saying such papers have always been kept confidential. mr mates who is a member of the commons intelligence and security committee and was part of the butler inquiry into pre-war intelligence told the bbc on friday: that as a general rule is right but it s not an absolute rule. he said there had been other occasions when advice had been published most recently regarding prince charles s marriage plans. the government could not pick and choose when to use the convention he said. mr mates added: we discovered that there were two or three occasions in the past when law officers advice to the government has been published. and this may be one of those special occasions... when it would be in the public interest to see | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
labour chooses manchester the labour party will hold its 2006 autumn conference in manchester and not blackpool it has been confirmed. the much trailed decision was ratified by labour s ruling national executive committee in a break with the traditional choice of a seaside venue. it will be the first time since 1917 that the party has chosen manchester to host the annual event. blackpool will get the much smaller february spring conference instead in what will be seen as a placatory move. for years the main political parties have rotated between blackpool bournemouth and brighton. and the news the much larger annual conference is not to gather in blackpool will be seen as a blow in the coastal resort. in 1998 the party said it would not return to blackpool but did so in 2002. the following year bournemouth hosted the event before the party signed a two year deal for brighton to host the autumn conference. colin asplin blackpool hotel association said: we have tried very hard to make sure they come back to blackpool. obviously we have failed in that. i just hope manchester can handle the crowds. it amazes me that the labour party which is a working class party doesn t want to come to the main working class resort in the country. the exact cost to blackpool in terms of lost revenue for hotel accommodation is not yet known but it is thought that block bookings will be taken at the major manchester hotels after the official announcement. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blair and blunkett sheffield trip tony blair is to join home secretary david blunkett in a visit to sheffield on thursday. mr blunkett s conduct is being looked at to establish whether he abused his position in relation to his ex-lover. the parliamentary standards watchdog is looking at his decision to give kimberly quinn free rail tickets. he is also being investigated over the visa application of mrs quinn s ex-nanny. the visit to sheffield will be seen as a show of unity by mr blair. on wednesday during prime minister s questions tory leader michael howard went on the offensive over comments mr blunkett is alleged to have made in a new biography. he is understood to have made a series of criticisms about his cabinet colleagues from the prime minister down. mr howard said mr blunkett had complained he had inherited a giant mess when he took over at the home office from jack straw now foreign secretary. the tory leader went on: he doesn t stop there: he thinks the culture secretary s weak; he thinks the trade secretary doesn t think strategically and he thinks the education secretary hasn t developed as expected. he says the prime minister doesn t like being told the truth and the chancellor - no doubt the prime minister will agree with this - is a bully. mr blair retorted voters remembered the record of a government and no comments by politicians. the home secretary has already admitted he was wrong to give the two first class tickets given to him as an mp to mrs quinn and has since paid the £180 back. he has apologised for a genuine mistake and says he will write to the watchdog to answer further questions. the rail tickets are meant to help mps | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
uk s useless quangos under fire the uk has 529 quangos financed with billions of pounds of taxpayers cash - many of which are useless or duplicate each other s efforts a report claims. essential guide to british quangos 2005 author dan lewis said at least 111 of the appointed bodies had been set up since labour won power in 1997. he urged a limit on the number of quangos that could be set up by any individual government department. tories and lib dems welcomed the report and called for a slimming down . conservative deregulation spokesman john redwood said: the research endorses our policy of destroying unwanted and unnecessary quangos and slimming down the rest. a conservative government will axe 162 quangos as part of its drive for more efficient and more accountable government. lib dem spokesman ed davey meanwhile said instead of the bonfire of quangos new labour had promised there had been an explosion of them. for over two decades under both tory and labour governments these unaccountable agencies have mushroomed. liberal democrats would abolish many merge others and make any that remain properly accountable. labour representatives were unavailable for comment. the quango guide follows last year s government-commissioned gershon report which recommended significant cuts in bureaucracy across the public sector. mr lewis wants a public inquiry into regional development agencies which cost £1.8bn a year - cash he says which appears to be almost entirely wasted . as well as a departmental limit on quangos he also wants a statutory five-year limit on any such body with executive powers. he also listed what he dubbed the nine most useless quangos . they were the british potato council the milk development council the energy savings trust agricultural wages committees the wine standards board the westminster foundation for | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
tories outlining policing plans local communities would be asked to go to the polls to elect their own area police commissioner under plans unveiled by the conservatives. party leader michael howard said the new role would replace inconspicuous police authorities. he said the new office would not supersede the job of a chief constable. the lib dems said the plan could let extreme groups run policing while labour criticised extravagant tory promises on policing. responding to the plans the chairman of the police federation of england and wales which represents rank and file officers said it was essential operational independence was retained. jan berry said: it is a service not a political football to be kicked around every time an election approaches. these plans could result in those with extreme political views dictating what actually happens on the ground she warned. outlining his crime manifesto mr howard said elected police commissioners would be more accountable than police authorities which are made up of local councillors and magistrates. the commissioner will have the powers which existing police authorities have he told bbc radio 4 s today programme. the trouble is and it s no reflection on the people who are on the police authority - they are good people - but hardly anyone knows who they are. mr howard said the authorities were not providing the local accountability that we want to see and that elected police commissioners would be more visible. critics fear the move could hand control of the police to single-issue campaigners who would ignore the needs of the wider community. lord harris who sits on the executive of association of police authorities said the plans seemed to suggest chief constables should be told what to do by a single politician. that is overturning nearly 200 years of | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
brown outlines third term vision gordon brown has outlined what he thinks should be the key themes of new labour s next general election bid. he said ensuring every child in britain had the best start in life could be a legacy to match the nhs s creation. the chancellor has previously planned the party s election strategy but this time the role will be filled by alan milburn - a key ally of tony blair. the premier insisted mr brown will have a key role in labour s campaign and praised his handling of the economy. writing in the guardian newspaper mr brown outlined his view of the direction new labour should be taking. as our manifesto and our programme for the coming decade should make clear labour s ambition is not simply tackling idleness but delivering full employment; not just attacking ignorance disease and squalor but promoting lifelong education good health and sustainable communities. bbc political editor andrew marr said that mr brown s article was a warning shot to mr blair not to try and cut him out of the manifesto writing process. it was as always coded and careful... but entirely deliberate was mr marr s assessment. the prime minister was asked about mr brown s article and about his election role when he appeared on bbc radio 4 s today programme. mr blair said a decision had yet to be taken over how the election would be run but the chancellor s role would be central . mr blair argued that under new labour the country had changed for the better and that was in part because of mr brown s management of the economy. and he pledged childcare would be a centrepiece of labour s manifesto. he also predicted the next general election will | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
kilroy launches veritas party ex-bbc chat show host and east midlands mep robert kilroy-silk has said he wants to change the face of british politics as he launched his new party. mr kilroy-silk who recently quit the uk independence party said our country was being stolen from us by mass immigration. he told a london news conference that veritas - latin for truth - would avoid the old parties lies and spin . ukip leader roger knapman says he was glad to see the back of mr kilroy-silk. mr kilroy-silk promised a firm but fair policy on immigration and said they hoped to contest most seats at the forthcoming general election. he said veritas would also announce detailed policies on crime tax pensions health and defence over the next few weeks. and he announced the party would be holding a leadership election. on thursday he is due to announce which constituency he will run in at the next general election - that will come amid speculation he has his sights set on defence secretary geoff hoon s ashfield seat. he was joined in the new venture by one of ukip s two london assembly members damien hockney who is now veritas deputy leader. ukip s chairman petrina holdsworth has said the group will just be a parody of the party the men have left. mr kilroy-silk announced his decision to quit ukip at a public meeting in hinckley leicestershire last week. it came after months of tension as he vied unsuccessfully for the leadership of that party. he said he was ashamed to be a member of a ukip whose leadership had gone awol after the great opportunity offered by its third place at last june s european elections. while ukip has turned its back on the british people i | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blair up for it ahead of poll tony blair says his personal standing in the eyes of voters will be an issue in the general election. the prime minister said he was up for it as the country waits to go to the polls possibly in a matter of weeks. he told the observer government life was a constant barrage of attack but said he would not stay in charge if he felt unable to contribute. mr blair also spoke of meeting many people across the country with concerns about the compensation culture. he said britain was in danger of needless panic over public safety issues. speaking amid a flurry of pre-election campaigning the prime minister said: i am an issue i always will be. whoever is the prime minister will be. he added: if you are afraid to take criticism you should go and do another job. asked if he would quit as leader if he felt like a liability to labour he said: it s important always not to do the job unless you feel you have something to contribute. whether he still had something to offer he said was a judgement for people to make. mr blair s assessment is likely to be seen as a signal that replacing him would not bring an upsurge in fortunes for the labour administration. his comments come as the co-chairman of the conservative party liam fox on saturday called him a disappointment of historic proportions as a prime minister. mr blair said he had learned from a series of at times tough encounters with members of the public during question and answer sessions across the country in recent weeks. he pledged to clamp down on britain s growing compensation culture which has brought concerns that doctors teachers and other professionals | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
retirement age could be scrapped the myth that ageing is a barrier to contributing to society needs to be exploded the work and pensions minister has said. this was why the government was considering scrapping the retirement age entirely alan johnson said. it was also committed to stamping out age discrimination and would outlaw it he told a conference on ageing. all three parties have been wooing older voters with both the tories and lib dems pledging higher pensions. mr johnson told age concern s age agenda in london the government was seriously considering introducing pensions based on residency rather than national insurance contributions. this idea has been adopted by the lib dems as policy while the tories have pledged to boost pensions by restoring the link between earnings and pensions. mr johnson s speech comes after he last week unveiled plans to find a consensus on how to reform the country s pension system. this would be based on a series of principles including tackling pensioner poverty and fairer pensions for women he said. speaking at the london conference he said: generalised stereotypes of people past state pension age as dependant incapable and vulnerable are a particularly pernicious form of age discrimination . the government wanted to tackle this by moving to a culture where retirement ages were increasingly consigned to the past . we re sweeping them away entirely for people under 65 and we re giving those above that age a right to request to work past 65 which their employers will have to engage with seriously. and the review in 2011 which will look at whether it is time to sweep retirement ages away entirely is to be tied to evidence ... showing that retirement ages are increasingly outmoded . mr johnson said his department had | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
brown s poll campaign move denied the government has denied reports that gordon brown is preparing to oust alan milburn as labour s election supremo. work and pensions minister alan johnson said it was wrong to suggest the chancellor would usurp mr milburn adding they would work as a team . a report in the sunday business claimed mr brown has been asked to take charge of media strategy while mr milburn would move to a behind-the-scenes role. labour has always maintained mr brown would have a central campaign role. but many labour backbenchers are said to be dissatisfied with the way election campaigning has gone and have said they wanted to see the chancellor take a bigger role. some commentators say the tories have grasped the initiative putting labour on the back foot having to respond to conservative policy announcements. these claims follow various opinion polls which suggest the tories have been gaining on labour. party strategists are believed to want to bring mr brown to centre-stage having seen support rise in private polling after his budget last week. but another report in the sunday telegraph claims mr milburn is unwilling to allow any new role for the chancellor to come at his expense. mr johnson told bbc news: gordon brown will play a central role in any election campaign. they were wrong when they said milburn was ousting brown and they re wrong now if they are saying brown is ousting milburn. we work as a team. mr milburn has repeatedly said the chancellor was key to the campaign and dismissed claims of a rift. neither downing street nor the labour party would comment directly on the reports. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
super union merger plan touted two of britain s big trade unions could merge to form a super union of two million members. the move by amicus and the transport and general workers union (tgwu) would be a seen as a bid to carry more weight with ministers and employers. amicus has 1.2 million members and the tgwu has 800 000. any merger would have to be approved by the unions executives and their membership. it is understood meetings will be held on wednesday about the proposal. along with the gmb and unison the tgwu and amicus worked closely together in the last year to hammer out a 56-point deal with labour s leadership over equality at work holidays and pensions - the warwick agreement. both unions are remaining tight-lipped about the merger rumours but one insider pointed out to the bbc news website that nobody is denying suggestions a merger could be on the agenda when the two unions executives hold their meetings on wednesday. amicus s executive was due to meet in any case although the tgwu is holding specially scheduled talks. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
peace demo appeal rejected peace protestors have lost a landmark appeal over police actions in stopping an anti-war demonstration days after the start of the iraq war. they had appealed against a high court decision that it was not unlawful for police to forcibly turn protestors away near raf fairford glos in 2003. the police had also sought to overturn a breach of human rights ruling arising from the same case. sitting on wednesday three appeal court judges dismissed both appeals. they were challenging decisions by two judges in the high court in february this year. it followed action by police when three coachloads of people were searched and detained on the way to raf fairford and forced to return to london under police escort. the demonstrators appealed against a finding by lord justice may and mr justice harrison that it was not unlawful for the police to turn the passengers away. the police were urging lord chief justice and lord justices clarke and rix to overturn the ruling that they had breached the protestors human rights by detaining them in the coaches. craig mackey assistant chief constable of gloucestershire police said: we have always considered that our responses were proportionate and all our decisions on the day were based on intelligence. he said no one on the coaches accepted responsibility for items found on the coaches including body armour a smoke bomb and five shields. given these circumstances and the fact that raf fairford and other military installations in the uk had been the scene of increasingly destructive disorder in the weeks preceding this incident the police commander on the ground made the decision to turn back the coaches. from day one we have vigorously defended this decision which was made out of a genuine concern that if the | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
labour attacked on howard poster labour has been accused of using anti-semitic images in posters which critics claim depict tory leader michael howard as fagin. the poster shows mr howard hypnotising people with a pocket watch saying: i can spend the same money twice. the image prompted concern from the editor of the jewish chronicle but labour insists it is simply anti-tory. labour later took the image off its website saying an alternative idea had proved more popular with party members. the party will now use focus groups to test a poster showing mr howard and shadow chancellor oliver letwin with a blackboard reading: 2+2=5 . the hypnotism poster has been compared to the portrayal of the dickens character fagin in the stage version of the musical oliver! there was controversy over another poster choice offered to labour members. it showed mr howard and mr letwin - who are both jewish - as flying pigs. mr howard did not comment on the anti-semitism claims when asked about the poster on monday. instead he pointed to how tony blair had in 1997 complained about personalised abusive campaigning . mr howard told greater manchester radio: it is such a pity that mr blair doesn t practise what he preaches. jewish chronicle editor ned temko said there had been a mixed reaction to the first poster but e-mails from jewish chronicle readers showed deeper concern about the hypnotism image. shylock and fagin are inextricably linked to notions of centuries-old prejudice he told bbc radio 4 s world at one. whatever the idea is i think it s a difficult exercise to use images like that and to argue that you can divorce them from their historical context or meaning. mr temko said he blamed cock-up not conspiracy saying he did not detect inherent | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
david blunkett in quotes david blunkett - who has resigned as home secretary - built his reputation as a plain-speaking yorkshire man. i fell in love with someone and they wouldn t go public and things started to go very badly wrong in the summer and then the news of the world picked up the story. i tried for three years to make something work. trust plain-speaking and straight talking is something which matters so much to me as a politician and as a man that i have decided of my own volition to request an independent review of the allegations that i misused my position. i don t think anyone can say i have said one thing in public and done another in private. it would be dangerous territory if i wasn t practising what i preach which is to always accept responsibility always accept the consequences of your actions. none of us believe countering terrorism is about party politics. i accepted by necessity we have to have prevention under a new category which is to intervene before the act is committed rather than do so by due process after the act is committed when it s too late he said in reference to new anti-terrorism measures. our work with the french government...has been hugely successful said mr blunkett. the number of illegal immigrants detected in dover has dropped dramatically. strengthening our identity is one way or reinforcing people s confidence and sense of citizenship and well-being. i foolishly thought as this was a celebrity edition it would be more relaxed than normal. you wake up and you receive a phone call - shipman s topped himself. you have just got to think for a minute: is it too early to open a bottle | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
russian ex-spy on hunger strike an ex-russian intelligence officer who risked his life spying for mi6 is entering the seventh week of a hunger strike near 10 downing street. viktor makarov 50 claims he has been betrayed by the british authorities who promised he would live like an average british citizen . but despite a £65 000 settlement four years ago he says he has been denied defector status and a decent pension. other ex-russian spies have been given civil service pensions. hunger strike is a weapon of last resort. it can work only with determination and of course the realisation of the righteousness of your case - without that it will not work mr makarov told the bbc s newsnight programme. since i came to this country two batches of promises have been made and broken one after the other. oleg gordievsky a senior kgb officer who became a secret agent for the british said he was very happy with the way the government have treated him since him since he defected in 1985. commenting on mr makarov s case he said: the british state is not a fat cow - it is impossible to come here and demand give me more money every week. but mr makarov s case has been backed by david kahn - a former yale historian and a leading expert on code-breaking who has confirmed his information was valuable to the western allies. i believe the government of the united kingdom which in that respect was probably the same as most other power authorities - took the information that victor makarov had wrung him dry and left him to hang out in the cold mr kahn said. mr makarov joined the kgb in 1970s russia as an idealistic 20 year-old. one of his fellow | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blunkett sorry over murder plan david blunkett has apologised to mps after the home office announced prematurely via press release a review of murder laws. the home secretary confirmed the review was to get under way in the wake of a law commission report which branded the current murder law as a mess . he said the review would look at partial defences to murder including provocation and at mandatory sentences. the home office has already said the review will begin next year. on wednesday a home office spokeswoman said the terms of reference for the review had not been established but it was likely to include only england and wales. news of the review was released because it was thought mr blunkett would make the official announcement in a commons debate on wednesday. but the announcement never came with the home secretary saying the debate had never reached that stage. amid opposition anger mr blunkett had to answer an emergency question in parliament on thursday. he said he had taken steps to ensure the incident was not repeated. shadow home secretary david davis welcomed his gracious apology and the review itself. but he argued the minister should have volunteered a formal statement instead of having to be dragged to face mps. in its report the law commission said it had found wide support among criminal justice professionals for an end to the mandatory life sentence for murder. the panel suggested different kinds of murders could be graded to recognise the seriousness of the offence. but the home office said mandatory life sentences would not be abolished and argued courts already had flexibility. the commission an independent body including two judges a senior barrister and sentencing experts had been asked to consider reforms to the defence of provocation in murder | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
howard hits back at mongrel jibe michael howard has said a claim by peter hain that the tory leader is acting like an attack mongrel shows labour is rattled by the opposition. in an upbeat speech to his party s spring conference in brighton he said labour s campaigning tactics proved the tories were hitting home. mr hain made the claim about tory tactics in the anti-terror bill debate. something tells me that someone somewhere out there is just a little bit rattled mr howard said. mr hain leader of the commons told bbc radio four s today programme that mr howard s stance on the government s anti-terrorism legislation was putting the country at risk. he then accused the tory leader of behaving like an attack mongrel and playing opposition for opposition sake . mr howard told his party that labour would do anything say anything claim anything to cling on to office at all costs . so far this year they have compared me to fagin to shylock and to a flying pig. this morning peter hain even called me a mongrel. i don t know about you but something tells me that someone somewhere out there is just a little bit rattled. environment secretary margaret beckett rejected mr howard s comment telling radio 4 s pm programme that labour was not rattled . we have a very real duty to try to get people to focus on michael howard s record what the proposals are that he is trying to put forward to the country and also the many examples we are seeing now of what we believe is really poor judgement on his behalf. mr howard said tory policies on schools taxes immigration and crime were striking a chord with voters. since the beginning of this | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blair says mayor should apologise tony blair has urged london mayor ken livingstone to apologise for his nazi comment to a jewish reporter. labour s mr livingstone who says he is standing by his remarks had accused an evening standard journalist of being like a concentration camp guard . mr blair told five s wright stuff show: let s just apologise and move on. mr livingstone has said the remarks may have been offensive but were not racist and said he would not apologise even if the prime minister asked. mr blair who was instrumental in returning mr livingstone to the labour party insisted on wednesday it was time for the london mayor to say sorry. a lot of us in politics get angry with journalists from time to time but in the circumstances and to the journalist because he was a jewish journalist yes he should apologise he said. let s just apologise and move on - that s the sensible thing. tory leader michael howard asked about mr livingstone s remark by reporters said it was important for politicians to be mindful about the language they use. it s particularly important that as we get close to the election that politicians talk with civility and courtesy about issues that we all face he said. i think it s a matter of sadness that we are not seeing that from the labour party. we had what ken livingstone said we had what alastair campbell has said and we have what others have said. i think that s a matter of great regret. the row blew up after mr livingstone was approached by evening standard reporter oliver finegold following a party marking the 20th anniversary of former culture secretary chris smith coming out as britain s first gay mp. on | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
housing plans criticised by mps irreversible environmental damage will be caused by government plans to build more than one million homes in south-east england mps have warned. sustainable communities were being promoted without a real understanding of what sustainable means the environmental audit committee said. it said issues like energy needs and transport were not properly addressed. deputy prime minister john prescott said the report was completed before new initiatives were announced. he said: we are working across government especially with our colleagues at defra to create cleaner safer and greener communities while protecting and enhancing the environment. the report said there was far too little attention paid to many environmental issues including water even though supplies in parts of the south east are already too low. regulations designed to ensure energy-efficient buildings are too lax and builders routinely flout them anyway it said. financing for improving transport was around one-twentieth of what would be required. the report was a stinging rebuke for the government and especially john prescott s department bbc environment correspondent richard black said. chairman of the environmental audit committee peter ainsworth mp said: the government s housing policy is an alarming example of disjointed thinking in an areas where joined-up policy is crucial. i accept the need to improve housing supply but as things stand the principal beneficiary of housing growth will be property developers with the environment we all depend on being the principal loser. points raised in the report included: - no proposals to further increase housing supply should be taken forward without strong supporting evidence. - the government should recognise shortcomings of the treasury s barker review which said 140 000 new homes a year were needed in britain. - the government should consider a national spatial framework for england such as those | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
probe launched on ken nazi jibe an investigation by the standards board is under way following allegations that ken livingstone has brought his office into disrepute. the probe follows the london mayor s comments to a jewish journalist comparing him to a concentration camp guard after a party about a week ago. the local government watchdog also said the allegation related to a failure to respect others. it has the power to suspend or bar labour s mr livingstone from office. a complaint was made to the body by the board of deputies of british jews and the commission for racial equality. speaking after the investigation was announced bob neill leader of the london assembly conservatives said: he has behaved in a manner unbecoming of his office and in so doing has shown extraordinarily poor civic leadership. his administration is now in crisis. on sunday deputy mayor nicky gavron told the bbc s politics show she believed the mayor of london would say sorry on tuesday for offending the wider jewish community. the prime minister tony blair is among those who have called for an apology but so far the mayor has refused. the mayor accused oliver finegold of the evening standard newspaper of doorstepping him at a predominately gay event held for mp chris smith. ms gavron said she thought mr livingstone s comments were inappropriate but she did not believe the mayor was anti-semitic. she said: i work very closely with ken so i can speak of what he s like in his guarded and unguarded moments and... he is in no way anti-jewish i wouldn t for a moment work with him if he were. on the other hand i think his remarks were inappropriate and i believe it is important and i believe he will come | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
women mps reveal sexist taunts women mps endure shocking levels of sexist abuse at the hands of their male counterparts a new study shows. male mps pretended to juggle imaginary breasts and jeered melons as women made commons speeches researchers from birkbeck college were told. labour s yvette cooper said she found it hard to persuade commons officials she was a minister and not a secretary. some 83 mps gave their answers in 100 hours of taped interviews for the study whose secretary are you minister . the research team under professor joni lovenduski had set out to look at the achievements and experiences of women at westminster. but what emerged was complaints from mps of all parties of sexist barracking in the chamber sexist insults and patronising assumptions about their abilities. barbara follet one of the so-called blair babes elected in 1997 told researchers: i remember some conservatives - whenever a labour woman got up to speak they would take their breasts - imaginary breasts - in their hands and wiggle them and say melons as we spoke. former liberal democrat mp jackie ballard recalled a stream of remarks from a leading mp on topics such as women s legs or their sexual persuasion. and ex-tory education secretary gillian shepherd remembered how one of her male colleagues called all women betty . when i said look you know my name isn t betty he said ah but you re all the same so i call you all betty . harriet harman told researchers of the sheer hostility prompted by her advancement to the cabinet: well you ve only succeeded because you re a woman. another current member of the cabinet says she was told: oh you ve had a very fast rise who have you been sleeping with even | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blunkett row should end - blair prime minister tony blair said it was time to draw a line under the controversy surrounding david blunkett. the tories and the lib dems have called for a second inquiry into the fast-tracking of a visa application for mr blunkett s ex-lover s nanny. sir alan budd found a chain of events linked mr blunkett to leoncia casalme s indefinite leave to remain application. at the end of his middle east trip mr blair said he still admired mr blunkett and thought his integrity was intact. on tuesday sir alan said the application for leave to remain in the uk made by kimberly quinn s nanny was processed in 52 days 120 days faster than the average. but he could not find evidence to show whether mr blunkett s intervention was intended to give special help for his then lover s nanny - or if he was raising the case as an example of poor departmental performance. in his first comments since sir alan s announcement mr blair told bbc news he had not yet read the report in detail. but told bbc news: as far as i m concerned we have drawn a line under that. asked if mr blunkett could return to frontline politics at some point he replied: i have made my admiration for david very clear and it remains. he s been a tremendous colleague he s done a great job for us first as home secretary then as education secretary. the future is something we will have to approach in the future. the prime minister shrugged off claims from conservative leader michael howard that he led a grubby government . he said mr blunkett s integrity remained intact: he was the person first of all who asked for this | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
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