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conservative mp defects to labour a conservative mp and former minister has defected to labour. robert jackson 58 mp for wantage in oxfordshire said he was disillusioned with the party s leadership and its dangerous views on europe. prime minister tony blair declared himself delighted saying mr jackson would be warmly welcomed by labour mps. mr jackson who has clashed with his leaders over tuition fees and europe in the past served as higher education minister between 1987 and 1990. in a letter to his constituency chairman he wrote: it is in the country s best interest that tony blair rather than michael howard should form the next government. while saying he admired mr blair s courageous leadership of the country he bitterly criticised the conservatives stance on europe. the conservative party s hostility to europe has now hardened to the point at which it advocates the unilateral denunciation of britain s treaty obligations he wrote. mr blair said mr jackson was a decent fair-minded and dedicated public servant... who will be warmly welcome by labour mps and members . as he rightly says [the conservatives] have learned nothing from their two election defeats and are if anything drifting further rightwards he added. a spokesman for michael howard said mr jackson s views on policy issues were very different from those of the party leadership. he believes students should pay tuition fees that tony blair should not be criticised over his handling of the iraq war and that more powers should be given to europe the spokesman said. he added that it was not surprising mr jackson had chosen to leave the conservatives. mr jackson is due to stand down at the next election. he is the third conservative mp to defect to labour since 1997. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
guantanamo pair s passport ban the government has written to two of the british men freed from guantanamo bay telling them they will not be allowed passports. a letter sent to martin mubanga said his british passport would not be issued in the light of evidence gathered against him by the us. this suggested he was likely to take part in action against uk or allied targets if he left britain it said. an identical letter has been sent to feroz abbasi the men s solicitor says. it is not known whether the other two men released from the cuba detention camp in january - richard belmar and moazzam begg - have also received letters. the government is implementing the rarely used royal prerogative in order to withdraw the men s passports. it is only the 13th time the power has been used since 1947 - the last time was in 1976. the letter from the home office says: i am writing to inform you that on the basis of the information which has come to light during your detention by the united states the home secretary considered that there are strong grounds for believing that on leaving the united kingdom you would take part in activities against the united kingdom or allied targets. the home office said it could not comment on individual cases. the liberal democrats say they suspect the move is part of a package of security measures agreed with the us in order for the men to be allowed home from guantanamo bay. home affairs spokesman mark oaten also demanded assurances that the evidence against the men was not gained under torture. he added: the power should only be used in absolute extreme circumstances and i find it hard to believe that these conditions have been | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
brown ally rejects budget spree chancellor gordon brown s closest ally has denied suggestions there will be a budget giveaway on 16 march. ed balls ex-chief economic adviser to the treasury said there would be no spending spree before polling day. but mr balls a prospective labour mp said he was confident the chancellor would meet his fiscal rules. he was speaking as sir digby jones cbi director general warned mr brown not to be tempted to use any extra cash on pre-election bribes. mr balls who stepped down from his treasury post to stand as a labour candidate in the election had suggested that mr brown would meet his golden economic rule - with a margin to spare . he said he hoped more would be done to build on current tax credit rules. he also stressed rise in interest rates ahead of an expected may election would not affect the labour party s chances of winning. expectations of a rate rise have gathered pace after figures showed house prices are still rising. consumer borrowing rose at a near-record pace in january. if the mpc (the bank of england s monetary policy committee) were to judge that a rate rise was justified before the election because of the strength of the economy - and i m not predicting that they will - i do not believe that this will be a big election issue in britain for labour he told a parliamentary lunch. this is a big change in our political culture. during an interview with bbc radio 4 s today programme mr balls said he was sure mr brown s budget would not put at risk the stability of the economy. i don t think we ll see a pre-election spending spree - we certainly did not see | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
more to do on adult literacy the government will only hit its target for improving adult maths and literacy skills if courses are made more attractive a report says. the national audit office praised ministers for reaching the benchmark of 750 000 adults in england gaining basic qualifications by this year. but a target of 1.5 million more by 2010 needed creative ideas. some 26 million adults lack maths or english skill levels expected of school-leavers. according to the report more than half the qualifications achieved were by learners aged 16 to 18. these are defined as adults by the government for the purpose of compiling these figures. normally adults are defined as being aged over 19. the number of these people gaining qualifications was rising slowly . auditor general sir john bourn said: higher levels of literacy and numeracy will benefit england both socially and economically. more people will have the opportunity to live richer lives. in 2001 the government launched the get on scheme - aimed at reducing illiteracy and innumeracy. sir john said substantial progress had been made since adding that this was only the beginning . the government and its partners would need to be creative and responsive . some £3.7bn will be spent on implementing the programme by 2006. the report recommends gathering more details on the educational needs of areas so courses can be set to meet local demand. existing adult learners could use their enthusiasm commitment and local knowledge to attract other people. the department for education and skills could also use more personalised learning and work with voluntary groups councils and employers. it should also assess adult learners progress at frequent intervals the report adds. when the government announced it had reached its 2004 target earlier this month prime minister tony blair | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blair sets date for africa report the commission for africa s report will be released on 11 march - comic relief day tony blair has said. july s g8 summit in gleneagles in perthshire - chaired by the prime minister - will use the report as the basis for talks on africa. the announcement followed the final meeting of the commission - which includes singer bob geldof - in london. as well as more aid fairer trade and less debt the commission is likely to demand action on corruption in africa. mr blair told a news conference: it will be a report that s brutally frank about the reality but i hope idealistic about what can be done if the will is there. it s an ambitious project we have set ourselves and you will have to judge on its outcome when we publish it. mr blair has vowed to put africa at the top of his agenda during his time at the helm of the g8. he acknowledged he would have a a job of persuading to do on other nations to get the necessary commitment to debt relief. bob geldof in characteristically blunt style promised that the commission would not just be a talking shop but would deliver radical new thinking to change direction for africa. the former rock star s presence on the commission has been interpreted as a sign that it will be uncompromising in its demands. the people involved include two african government leaders and a range of other african politicians as well as experts from some other developed countries. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
tutu s guantanamo release call archbishop desmond tutu has called for the release of the remaining inmates at guantanamo bay and terror suspects detained without trial in the uk. his comments follow news that all four britons held by the us in the cuban camp will be freed within weeks. the south african archbishop said detentions without trial were unacceptable and distressing . twelve foreign nationals are being held indefinitely without trial in the uk under anti-terror laws. referring to the detentions in cuba archbishop tutu told bbc news: it is utterly unacceptable. the rule of law is in order to ensure that those who have power don t use their power arbitrarily and every person retains their human rights until you have proven conclusively that so-and-so is in fact guilty. moazzam begg from birmingham and martin mubanga richard belmar and feroz abbasi from london have been held by the us at guantanamo bay for almost three years. on tuesday foreign secretary jack straw told the commons that the us had agreed to release the four after intensive and complex discussions over security. the britons were detained as part of the us-led war on terror . the archbishop added: whilst we are saying thank you that these have been released what is happening to those left behind we in south africa used to have a dispensation that detained people without trial and the world quite rightly condemned that as unacceptable. now if it was unacceptable then how come it can be acceptable to britain and the united states. it is so so deeply distressing. following mr straw s announcement lawyer louise christian who represents mr abbasi and mr mubanga said the government should have acted sooner. foreign nationals detained in the uk are being held at belmarsh and woodhill prisons. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
defection timed to hit tax pledge with impeccable and precisely-calculated timing tory defector robert jackson and his new labour bosses have attempted to overshadow michael howard s latest announcement on taxation and spending. with just about everyone in westminster now working towards a may general election mr howard is eager to map out some clear and distinctive policies aimed at finally shifting the tories resolutely depressing poll showings. the big idea is his £35bn savings on waste and bureaucracy which mr howard has pledged to plough back into public services and tax cuts. and it was virtually certain his pledge on tax cuts was meant to be the core message from his interview on the bbc one s breakfast with frost programme. he and his shadow chancellor oliver letwin have been edging towards an announcement on this front for some months now but without any concrete pledges. but mr howard announced that of the £35bn he has earmarked from savings £12bn will be used to plug labour s claimed financial black hole with any left over going to tax cuts in mr letwin s first budget. he would not be precise but there are already suggestions he is set to announce lifting the threshold on income tax and reforming or abolishing inheritance tax. but he did for the first time say there would be such tax cuts. 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 value for money and tax less . it is the tories attempt to open that famed clear blue water between them and the labour party and return to a traditional tory agenda that will both reassure the middle england voters who have abandoned him and appeal to | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
mps tout lords replacement plan a group of mps has tried to raise the pressure on tony blair over reform to the house of lords by publishing a detailed blueprint for change. the cross-party group has unveiled a draft bill proposing a smaller second chamber in which 70% of members would be elected. mps and peers have failed to agree on reform since 1999 when 600 hereditaries lost their seats. the group says it can win support for removing the last 92 hereditaries. the government postponed plans to remove the remaining hereditary peers because they said they were unlikely to succeed after opposition in the lords. tony blair has argued. there needs to be consensus on reforms. there have been suggestions there will be proposals for changing at least the powers of the lords in labour s manifesto. but the all-party group including tories ken clarke and sir george young labour s robin cook and tony wright and liberal democrat paul tyler is confident its plan would win support from a large majority . and they list former conservative leader william hague and former labour leader neil kinnock as supporters of the plans. the group says the british public and a clear majority of mps support replacing the lords with a largely-elected second chamber. their plan would see the house of lords being renamed the second chamber of parliament and its members would be known as mscps. there would be 385 mscps including 270 elected members 87 appointed members and 16 bishops. they would serve for between 12 and 14 years. mr cook said holding elections for mscps on the same day as those for mps might help motivate the electorate and increase voter turnout. he added: over the last year i have seen many statements from senior figures of | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
brown proud of economy record gordon brown has delivered a rousing speech to labour s spring conference setting out the government s agenda for the next general election. the chancellor said he was proud of his party s record on the economy and would strive for continuing stability if elected. the gateshead conference was told he would help young people who were struggling to buy their own homes. and the chancellor vowed to continue the fight against child poverty. later prime minister tony blair will answer questions sent by the public via text and e-mail. analysing mr brown s position before the speech bbc correspondent james hardy said mr brown would draw sharp dividing lines with the conservatives for the forthcoming election campaign. he would contrast labour s plan to invest £60bn in services with a tory plan to cut spending by £35bn. mr brown will lay out his credentials as a reforming chancellor determined to take on and beat the asian tiger economies which increasingly dominate world trade our correspondent said. on friday night mr brown confirmed he would not make any tax commitments until the labour manifesto had been published after the budget expected in march. but commentators will listen to his speech closely for hints on whether as the conservatives claim he plans to raise tax after the election. the tories accuse labour of raising taxes 66 times since coming to power in 1997. following the chancellor s keynote speech the prime minister will face interactive questioning from ordinary voters on saturday. mr blair is thought to be deliberately putting himself on the line in a bid to engage the electorate ahead of an expected may election. capital radio dj margherita taylor will select questions to put to him from thousands e-mailed and sent by text. the | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
ukip s secret weapon by any measure new yorker dick morris is that thing americans love over everything else - a winner. this is the man who some pundits believe was almost single-handedly responsible for bill clinton s sensational 1992 comeback victory. but morris is no ideologue. he has worked as election strategist for any number of republicans as well and more recently politicians from mexico to uruguay. now he is back in london as the uk independence party s not-so-secret electoral weapon after returning from the ukraine where he helped - you guessed it - opposition candidate viktor yushchenko. if there is one regular criticism levelled at morris it is that he is too ready to switch allegiances. that he enjoys the game more than the politics. so why britain and why ukip which despite its recent eu election successes is not likely to pull off a sensational victory in the looming general election. on this subject morris appears almost evangelical. i was on a cruise in the mediterranean and coincidentally so was ukip leader roger knapman. i had just written a piece saying how the english channel was now wider than the atlantic which he liked and it went from there . but what is it about ukip that particularly attracts him many might think it is simply another chance to practice his art irrespective of the politics. i think the greatest threat to democracy in the world is not terrorism but bureaucratism . a great soundbite but a surprise coming from a new yorker post 11 september. it is the growth of these bodies composed of experts who know better who don t believe in letting democracy govern but believe in letting the correct solution be determined. that s international bankers the world trade organisation the international | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
mandelson warning to bbc the bbc should steer away from demonising ex-downing street media chief alastair campbell peter mandelson has said. the european commissioner and former labour minister was speaking amid claims that mr campbell is part of a labour dirty tricks campaign. that charge was denied by mr mandelson who said the tories were afraid of mr campbell s campaigning skills. he warned the bbc that attacking mr campbell had brought it trouble before. that was a reference to the hutton inquiry following a bbc story claiming downing street sexed up iraq s weapons of mass destruction dossier. the affair prompted the resignation of bbc chairman gavyn davies director-general greg dyke and reporter andrew gilligan. labour has attracted media criticism for using new freedom of information laws to dig up information about tory leader michael howard s past. mr mandelson a former labour communications director told bbc radio 4 s today programme: i understand why the tories will be gunning for alastair campbell because they fear his campaigning skills. what i understand less is why the bbc should be joining with the tories in driving that agenda. in my experience of these things parties which shout about dirty tricks and the like tend to do so because they fear a direct hit in some vulnerable part of their political anatomy. i suggest the bbc concentrates on the issues and helps the public to understand the policies and the choices that are at stake in the election rather than engages in the process politics the trivialisation of the campaign. i think the bbc would be much better advised to leave all this stuff well alone concentrate on the issues as i say not resume their demonisation of alastair campbell - we all know where that led before. mr campbell is | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
fido to be taken off vote lists the risk of pets and children being given votes could be cut by changing how people register to vote the uk elections watchdog has said. those are some of the mistakes found under the current system where one person in each household applies for voting forms for the other occupants. the electoral commission says enabling people to register individually could cut some errors and combat fraud. voters need to register by 11 march if the next poll is on 5 may as expected. but any individual registration scheme would not be introduced in britain before that general election. the proposed scheme would mean voters using individual identifiers when they vote - such as their own voting number date of birth and signature. the electoral commission says having voters register individually rather than the head of household do it for them fits better with human rights laws. chairman sam younger told mps on tuesday care was needed to ensure that people were not lost off the register in the process - which happened when northern ireland switched to a similar system. there have been rare cases when household pets have been put on the electoral roll the mps heard. and some people have registered all their family regardless of their age - birth dates are not included on the forms so election officers cannot easily check. non-british citizens who are not entitled to vote have also been registered in some cases. mr younger said there was anecdotal evidence of inaccuracies in the register the vast majority of which were caused by genuine mistakes. he argued local councils could look harder at promoting targeted campaigns at hard to reach voters for example. some authorities already run such programmes but in others councillors worry about the | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blair prepares to name poll date tony blair is likely to name 5 may as election day when parliament returns from its easter break the bbc s political editor has learned. andrew marr says mr blair will ask the queen on 4 or 5 april to dissolve parliament at the end of that week. mr blair has so far resisted calls for him to name the day but all parties have stepped up campaigning recently. downing street would not be drawn on the claim saying election timing was a matter for the prime minister. a number 10 spokeswoman would only say: he will announce an election when he wants to announce an election. the move will signal a frantic week at westminster as the government is likely to try to get key legislation through parliament. the government needs its finance bill covering the budget plans to be passed before the commons closes for business at the end of the session on 7 april. but it will also seek to push through its serious and organised crime bill and id cards bill. mr marr said on wednesday s today programme: there s almost nobody at a senior level inside the government or in parliament itself who doesn t expect the election to be called on 4 or 5 april. as soon as the commons is back after the short easter recess tony blair whips up to the palace asks the queen to dissolve parliament ... and we re going. the labour government officially has until june 2006 to hold general election but in recent years governments have favoured four-year terms. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
eu fraud clampdown urged eu member states are failing to report fraud and irregularities in eu funds on a consistent basis the uk s public spending watchdog has said. the national audit office said although the latest figures showed reported fraud was falling the eu still had no common definition of fraud. it also expressed concern that for the 10th year the european court of auditors had qualified the eu accounts. the nao urged the government to push for improvements in reporting fraud. it said member states needed to be more accountable on how money was spent. the report said: member states still do not report fraud and other irregularities to the european anti-fraud office on a consistent basis. as the court has now qualified its opinion on the community accounts for a decade it is essential for all the authorities involved to contribute to the strengthening of the audit of eu revenue and expenditure and improving accountability for the financial management and use of eu resources. it said there were 922 cases of reported fraud or irregularities in eu funds in the uk in 2003 worth £38.5m (52m euros) up from 831 cases worth £35.7m in 2002. at the same time reported fraud throughout the eu dropped from 10 276 cases worth £808m to 8 177 cases worth £644m. edward leigh chairman of the commons public accounts committee said britain had to set an example when it assumed the eu presidency. any fraud in other member states is potentially fraud against the uk taxpayer given that we are the second largest net contributor to the community he said. departments responsible for administering eu funds need to make sure that they re doing everything possible to weed out improper spending. the government must take the opportunity afforded by the uk | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
no to royal succession shake-up a labour peer has withdrawn proposals to give female members of the royal family the same rights as males. the legislation would have ended the right of male heirs with older sisters to succeed to the crown. it would also have torn up ancient legislation banning heirs to the throne marrying roman catholics. but the government refused to back lord dubs succession to the crown bill saying it was too complex and raised too many constitutional issues. the lord chancellor lord falconer agreed the 1701 act of settlement which governs the succession was discriminatory but added that for all practical purposes its effects are limited . the changes proposed by lord dubs were a complex and controversial undertaking raising major constitutional issues he said. lord falconer said there were 22 members of the royal family in the line of succession after the prince of wales - all of who were eligible to succeed and had been unaffected by the act. it is not a simple matter that can be tinkered with lightly. while we wish to remove all forms of discrimination... this isn t the proper form he added. he did not rule out change in the future but said if lord dubs private member s bill was passed by peers he would urge mps to oppose it in the commons. lord dubs agreed to withdraw his bill after its second reading in the house of lords but urged the government to think again at a later stage. we cannot forever say we don t want to change things because it is too difficult he told peers. during the debate the labour peer and former minister said: the monarchy should symbolise the values of this country. what we don t want is a situation where | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
kennedy to make temple address charles kennedy is set to address 2 000 people at a hindu temple as part of an appeal to ethnic minority voters. the liberal democrat leader will visit the shri swaminarayan mandir temple in neasden north west london. he will say labour can no longer lay exclusive claim to the votes of britain s ethnic minorities . mr kennedy will also highlight the anger among people of all races over the iraq war and call for a balanced approach to tackling terrorism. saturday s speech comes days after the lib dems launched their ethnic minority mini-manifesto. mr kennedy is to tell the audience: many people in britain of all races cultures and religions were angry about the way we were taken to war in iraq. and they saw the principled stand the liberal democrats took at the time. he will also say that the lib dems want to restore britain s reputation on the world stage by fighting international poverty and climate change and protecting human rights. mr kennedy will say that a balanced approach to tackling terrorism would mean tough measures to make britain safe - but not at the expense of people s fundamental legal rights like has happened at belmarsh . he will say it also means acting through the united nations on terrorism. mr kennedy held talks with tony blair on friday over government plans to hold terror suspects under house arrest. he said afterwards that the prime minister had offered some movement to address his concerns. the plans face trouble in the lords if conservative and lib dem opposition continues. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
police probe bnp mosque leaflet police are investigating a british national party leaflet posted to homes in south wales opposing plans for a new mosque. anti-racism campaigners in swansea have handed copies to south wales police. swansea s muslim community is raising money to open a new mosque and community centre in the former st andrews united reform church. the building on george street has been derelict since the 1980s. taha idris director of the swansea bay race equality council said his organisation contacted police after receiving complaints from the public. i m quite shocked to see this sort of leaflet by the bnp in swansea he said. the bnp has tried in the past to get into swansea and this is another example of them trying again. i am in no doubt that the bnp are not needed and not wanted here. a south wales police spokeswoman confirmed that they were looking at the contents of the leaflet. according to the bnp s website they have been posted to homes in the castle ward. the bnp website carries a photograph of party leader nick griffin - who lives near welshpool mid wales - delivering the leaflet. the bnp has denied it is trying to stir up hatred of any race or religion but argues that they should be able to debate this without fear of arrest. swansea unite against fascism (uaf) is meeting this week to plan a campaign. following the death earlier this year of kalan kawa karim an iraqi kurd living in swansea it organised an anti-racism march in the city that was supported by more than 1 000 people. it is planning its own mail shot campaign and may launch a petition in support of the plans for the mosque. andy richards of swansea uaf said | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
goldsmith denies war advice claim the attorney general has denied his statement to parliament about the legality of the iraq war was drafted by downing street officials. lord goldsmith said lord falconer and baroness morgan played no part in drafting the answer. he added the answer represented his view that the war was legal but was not a summary of his advice to the pm. the government has resisted calls to publish the full advice saying such papers are always kept confidential. in a statement lord goldsmith said: i was fully involved throughout the drafting process and personally finalised and of course approved the answer. he said the answer had been prepared in his office with the involvement of solicitor general harriet harman two of his own officials three foreign office officials a qc christopher greenwood and the then lord chancellor lord irvine of lairg. no other minister or official was involved in any way. he suggested the claim that lord falconer and lady morgan had drafted the answer were the result of a mis-transcription of his evidence to the butler inquiry into pre-war intelligence. as i have always made clear i set out in the answer my own genuinely held independent view that military action was lawful under the existing (un) security council resolutions he said. the answer did not purport to be a summary of my confidential legal advice to government. former foreign secretary robin cook said lord goldsmith s admission that his parliamentary answer was not a summary of his legal opinion suggested parliament may have been misled. the attorney general may never have presented his answer as a summary but others certainly did he said. what is clear from his statement today is that he does not believe that it was a full accurate summary of | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
uk discriminated against roma the government s immigration rules racially discriminated against roma (gypsies) seeking entry into the uk the law lords have ruled. it follows a home office move to cut asylum claims by stopping people mostly roma from boarding flights to britain from the czech capital prague. civil rights group liberty said it exposed racism at the heart of the government s asylum policy . the home office said it had not meant to discriminate against anyone. it said it would look at the implications of the ruling but pointed out the controls were no longer in place because czechs are now entitled to free movement across europe. the screening took place at the airport in july 2001 at a time of concern about the number of asylum seekers entering britain. those refused pre-clearance were effectively prevented from travelling to the uk because no airline would carry them. lady hale sitting with lords bingham steyn hope and carswell said many roma had good reason to want to leave the czech republic because of persecution. but she said they were treated more sceptically than non-roma passengers by immigration officers acting on racial grounds . lady hale said immigration officers should have treated all would-be passengers in the same way only using more intrusive questioning if there was a specific reason. liberty said statistics suggested roma czechs were 400 times more likely to be stopped by british immigration officials at prague airport than non-roma czechs. it took up the case of six unnamed roma czechs refused entry to britain and that of the european roma rights centre which said the measures unfairly penalised roma people. it lost a high court action in october 2002 when a judge said the system was no more or less objectionable than a visa control | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
tories leave door open for archer the conservative party would deal sympathetically with any application by disgraced peer lord archer to rejoin its ranks its co-chairman has said. dr liam fox told bbc one s breakfast with frost programme there was no place for vindictiveness in politics. lord archer spent two years in prison after being convicted of perjury and perverting the course of justice. the former tory deputy chairman s five-year suspension from the party has just elapsed. a jury ruled that lord archer lied during a libel trial against the daily star at the high court in london in 1987. he won damages after the newspaper printed allegations about involvement with a prostitute. dr fox was asked if he would say yes or no if lord archer applied to rejoin. i m sure that in line with people having served their sentence and having done some reparations for what they did wrong we would look at that sympathetically. i don t believe in vindictiveness i don t think that has any place in politics unlike the prime minister and alastair campbell. tory peer lord tebbit said he agreed with dr fox s view and said the case should be looked at on its merits. after all he is far from being the worst perjurer in the world he added. meanwhile senior conservative mp sir teddy taylor warned that moves bring lord archer back into the fold could be controversial. he said: i suppose on a sunday in particular we should always make provision for forgiving sinners. but there is no doubt it would be controversial. lord archer who was not available for comment remains a popular figure among constituency tory parties and is a successful fundraiser. he has not been seen in the house of lords since his | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blair pressing us on climate tony blair is pressing the us to cut greenhouse gases despite its unwillingness to sign the kyoto protocol downing street has indicated. officials have confirmed climate change was discussed when influential senator john mccain recently visited mr blair. climate change was an issue the prime minister wanted to progress during the uk s presidency of the g8 and eu in 2005 said a spokesman. but he played down reports mr blair was considering a new us-friendly treaty. according to the times the uk leader wants to end us isolation with a kyoto-lite agreement on the scale and nature of the threat from climate change. he is said to have discussed the idea with mr mccain during his time at number 10. the prime minister is said to believe the united states refusal to sign the kyoto protocol on emissions is undermining other countries resolve to cut carbon dioxide production. so far the us has refused to sign up to the kyoto treaty - which aims to cut emissions - branding it politically motivated and not based on science. president bush s advisers have repeatedly denied global warming is taking place. europe which disputes the claim has also signalled it wants to press ahead with talks about longer term climate change action in a way which involves both the united states and developing countries. mr blair s reported treaty would also establish an international programme to develop technology needed for renewable energy and the reduction of carbon emissions says the times. but there is still apparently little prospect of america agreeing to cut emissions which could further provoke environmental campaigners already angry at the lack of progress. mr blair was left blushing on wednesday when it emerged his manifesto target of a 20% cut to the | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
voters reject eu by two to one british voters would reject the european constitution by two to one according to a poll posing the question the government will put to the country. the daily telegraph poll suggests that 45% of people would vote against the constitution and 24% in favour. however the yougov poll which questioned 1 943 british adults online found 25% did not know how they would vote if forced to decide tomorrow. only 51% of those polled had made up their minds about the constitution. another 7% said they would not vote at all. the poll is believed to be the first to pose the question which the government has chosen for the upcoming referendum expected in 2006. the constitution will be incorporated into uk law if there is a yes vote. ballot papers in the poll will ask: should the united kingdom approve the treaty establishing a constitution for the european union the government unveiled the question which will be asked earlier in the week. the treaty was signed by all 25 current eu members in rome last october and is due to come into force in november 2006 providing it is ratified by all member states - several of which will hold a referendum. critics say the constitution is a further step towards a federal europe but advocates say it ensures effective operation of the enlarged 25-state eu. if we reject this treaty britain will be isolated and weak in europe said foreign secretary jack straw after the question was unveiled. mr straw along with the rest of the cabinet will back a yes vote. meanwhile conservative shadow foreign secretary michael ancram said the referendum question seems straightforward . but he accused the government of trying to confuse the issue by putting the eu referendum | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
schools to take part in mock poll record numbers of schools across the uk are to take part in a mock general election backed by the government. some 600 schools have already signed up for the y vote mock elections 2005 run by the hansard society and aimed at boosting interest in politics. pupils in the schools taking part will learn the skills of speech writers canvassers and political candidates. schools minister stephen twigg said engaging young people s interest was essential to the future of democracy. he added: said young people who are engaged and motivated by the political process are essential to the future health of our democracy. the mock elections initiative provides an opportunity for pupils to develop their own understanding of how the democratic process works and why it matters. by experiencing the election process first hand - from running a campaign to the declaration of the final result - we hope that young people will develop the enthusiasm to take part in the future. the hansard society the electoral commission and the department for education and skills are running the programme. pupils will stand as party candidates speech writers and canvassers. michael raftery project manager at the hansard society said: the y vote mock elections for schools mirror the excitement and buzz of a real election raising awareness of citizenship and the benefits of active democracy. the mock votes will take place around 5 may widely expected to be the date of the general election. information packs including ballot papers and manifesto guides with elections happening in early may were sent out to the 3 000 schools invited to take part. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
observers to monitor uk election ministers will invite international observers to check the forthcoming uk general election is fairly run. the move comes amid claims the poll could be marred by electoral fraud. a report by two mps committees called on thursday for urgent changes to the electoral registration system to combat vote rigging and boost turnout. but in a written response to labour mp gordon prentice the government said it would normally invite observers to any uk election. junior constitutional affairs minister christopher leslie said: i fully expect us to repeat our previous practice of doing so once the date for the next general election is announced. the government has looked at ways of boosting voter turnout which fell to 59% in the last general election in 2001. but trial all-postal ballots in four english regions last summer were hit by delays and some fraud allegations. liberal democrat peer lord greaves called last week for international observers at the general election - saying otherwise there could be months of court challenges on a scale not seen since the 19th century . thursday s report was drawn up by two committees scrutinising the work of the office of the deputy prime minister (odpm) and the department for constitutional affairs (dca). it said that with the growth of postal voting there was a strong case to tighten up fraud protection by requiring voters to register individually rather than by household. it also said about three million people eligible to vote are not registered to do so. figures for the 2001 general election suggest 29% of people aged between 18 and 24 and 19% of black voters were not on the electoral roll. young people in shared accommodation are thought to miss out because no one acts as head of the household | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
tory candidate quits over remark a conservative election challenger is quitting after being quoted as wanting a period of creative destruction in the public services . danny kruger who also works in the tory research unit had been due to take on tony blair in sedgefield. he says his remark last week was misrepresented but he will not contest the election for fear of damaging the conservative cause. tory leader michael howard accepted his decision with regret . mr kruger was quoted in the guardian newspaper saying: we plan to introduce a period of creative destruction in the public services. in a statement the party said the comment had been taken out of context. he fully supports the party s policies on and approach to the public services said the statement. however in order to avoid any further misrepresentation of his views and any damage to the party he has decided not to stand in the sedgefield constituency at the next election. mr kruger is continuing in his job at the tory campaign headquarters. labour election coordinator alan milburn claimed mr kruger had exposed the tory agenda for £35bn of cuts to public services. mr milburn said: he is not some unknown hopeful fighting an unwinnable seat. he is a man who has worked at the heart of conservative policy development... his claim that the tories were planning a period of creative destruction in the public services is not a rogue claim. it is the authentic and shocking voice of the conservative party. it reveals the true picture of what they would do. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
strike threat over pension plans millions of public service workers could strike if ministers scrap their final salary pension scheme and make them work longer warn union leaders. the cabinet office has confirmed it is reviewing the current pension system prompting unions representing 4.5m workers to threaten united action. they believe the plans include raising the mandatory retirement age for public service workers from 60 to 65. the government says unions will be consulted before any changes are made. it is thought the proposed overhaul due on thursday could mean pensions could be based on a career average salary. for each year served staff currently get one eightieth of their highest salary in the final three years. ministers will be anxious to avoid mass strike action in the lead-up to the next general election which is widely expected next may. in a statement on sunday the cabinet office said it was reviewing the civil service pension scheme and hoped to announce proposals soon. unions will of course be consulted about any proposed changes. public sector pension schemes need to remain affordable and sustainable. people are living longer and pensions are getting more expensive. to maintain the long-term affordability of our pension scheme the government announced in its green paper on pensions that pension age would rise from 60 to 65. on monday tony blair s official spokesman declined to say whether the prime minister backed the plans. he said: what s important is that there s a process going on it s out for consultation at the moment let s wait for that process to complete itself. there is already widespread anger over the chancellor s plans to get rid of more than 100 000 civil servants. now public service unions are united against the plans and the trades union | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
tory leader quits legal position david mcletchie has resigned from his post as a partner in a legal firm following criticism over his dual role. the scottish conservative leader had insisted that his legal work with tods murray did not influence the causes he supports. but on friday he said: i have tendered my resignation as a partner with immediate effect. mr mcletchie had received advice from holyrood officials about what details he needed to declare. labour said he had cleverly not asked about paid advocacy. a tory spokesman totally refuted any wrongdoing. mr mcletchie received advice from the clerk to the standards committee after concern over him signing a parliamentary motion questioning expansion plans for edinburgh airport. the msp had been a partner for tods murray which has a client opposing the development. mr mcletchie did not have a complaint made against him but when concerns were raised he sought guidance from the standards committee to clarify his position. he was advised to exercise judgement to avoid the perception of a conflict and said he had done nothing wrong. explaining his reason for quitting the post mr mcletchie said: i have been greatly concerned by the recent publicity surrounding my association with tods murray. however i have no wish to see a similar situation arise again. to avoid any misconceptions in the future and be mindful of the good name of tods murray and the confidentiality to which its clients are entitled i have brought forward the date of my retirement from the firm which would otherwise have happened later this year. i am proud to have been a part of tods murray for the last 29 years and wish it well in the future. labour msp christine may had said mr mcletchie was very clever to ask the | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
turkey deal to help world peace a deal bringing turkey a step closer to eu membership is of fundamental importance to the peace and security of the world tony blair has said. the deal struck at the european council last week also proved claims of a clash between muslims and christians were wrong mr blair said. it represented the achievement of an historic british objective he added. tory leader michael howard said the deal laid to rest any suggestion the eu was anti-islamic . turkey s involvement with the eu would provide an invaluable bridge between europe and the rest of the world mr howard added. but the tory leader argued that the eu constitution was not designed to take in a country as large as turkey. mr blair has been a leading advocate of turkish membership despite controversy surrounding the idea. he insisted that the turkish leadership had made great advances in improving its human rights records. the deal to open formal talks with ankara came despite an eu demand for turkey to recognise cyprus. it was agreed the issue can be tackled at a later date but turkish premier recep erdogan had to accept negotiations did not guarantee his country full eu membership. the internationally recognised southern part of cyprus is an eu member but turkey which occupies northern cyprus had previously insisted it would not bow to demands to recognise the country calling the issue a red line . it could take up to 15 years before turkey is able to join and entry cannot be guaranteed. if it joins turkey may have to accept restrictions to limit migration by its citizens. the eu has also announced that it will start accession talks with croatia in april 2005. however talks will begin only if the country co-operates | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
eu referendum could cost £80m it could cost £80m to run a uk referendum on the european constitution ministers have revealed. in a written parliamentary answer constitutional affairs minister chris leslie said the poll was likely to cost the same as a general election. mr leslie said the cost could not be compared with the only previous british referendum held 30 years ago. ministers say the constitution would make the european union work better but critics fear creating a super state . labour mp john cryer whose question revealed the price estimate said the cost surprised him but was not a central factor as it was important people had their say. but he said it would have been better to have rejected the constitution so avoiding the need for a referendum. the 2001 election cost £80m. no date for the vote has been set but foreign secretary jack straw has suggested it is unlikely to be held until early 2006 - after the predicted date for the next election. most voters said the uk should stay in the common market in the 1975 referendum. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
kilroy-silk attacked with slurry euro mp robert kilroy-silk has had a bucket of farm slurry thrown over him by a protester in manchester. the uk independence party member was arriving for a bbc radio show when the attacker emerged from behind a bush. fellow guest ruth kelly mp was also hit by the slurry. mr kilroy-silk said the man who later disappeared claimed he was doing it in the name of islam . in january mr kilroy-silk quit his bbc one show for remarks he made about arabs who he called suicide bombers . mr kilroy-silk had already been taken off air by bbc bosses for the comments in which he also described arabs as limb-amputators women repressors . the remarks prompted outrage among muslim groups. the slurry attack took place on friday as mr kilroy-silk and ms kelly a cabinet office minister and bolton west mp arrived at manchester high school for girls for the recording of bbc radio 4 s any questions. the police were called but the attacker had disappeared by the time officers arrived. they are treating the incident as assault. the programme s host jonathan dimbleby later told the audience the mep had been covered from head to toe . mr kilroy-silk was still able appear to appear on the show after being loaned a change of clothes. he told reporters he was very angry and planned to press charges if his attacker was caught. he said the man shouted: you ve offended my religion i m doing this in the name of islam. as i started to turn round a guy tipped a bucket of farmyard muck over me and then threw the rest of it over me and the car mr kilroy-silk said. i was totally covered it was all through my clothes | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
labour accused of broken pledge labour has already broken its pre-election promise on immigration before the ink has dried on its new pledge card the tories have claimed. home secretary charles clarke has been quoted as telling labour members he wants more migrants to come to the uk. tory co-chairman liam fox said the comments were at odds with tony blair s prediction of a net cut in immigration. but mr clarke accused him of trying to score cheap political points by muddling immigration with asylum. london s evening standard quoted mr clarke telling labour activists at a question and answer session in gateshead that he wanted britain to offer refuge for those fleeing tyranny. that s not only a moral duty and a legal duty but something which is part of the essence of this country he said. we want more migration more people come to study and to work. we want more people coming to look for refuge. mr blair s was asked last wednesday if the government s new immigration plans including a point system for economic migrants would reduce net migration. the prime minister told mps: the abusers will be weeded out and as a result of the end of chain migration [where families have an automatic right to settle] the numbers will probably fall. on monday dr fox told reporters: the prime minister has broken his word so many times in the past but now his promises do not even last a week. the labour party election pledges even when they are so incredibly vague do not even last four days. the tories want quotas for economic migrants and refugees and on tuesday will outline more details of their plans for health checks on migrants. mr clarke dismissed the latest tory attack. this is simply | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
lib dems stress budget trust gap public trust in the handling of the economy can only be restored if gordon brown opens up his books for unbiased inspection say the lib dems. city experts say there is a £10bn black hole in the public finances a claim denied by the chancellor. lib dem spokesman vince cable said the public did not know who to believe and the national audit office should judge. responding to the pre-budget report mr cable also attacked labour s unfair and over-complicated taxes. in his report mr brown insisted he was on course to meet his golden rule of borrowing only to invest rather than for day-to-day spending over the course of the economic cycle. mr cable said people did not know whether to believe the chancellor or the consensus among experts which said the rule would be broken. there is an issue of credibility and trust he said. we cannot have a continuation of a situation where the chancellor sets his own tests and then marks them. what we need is the equivalent of a thorough ofsted inspection of the government s accounts. he asked what the government had to hide. mr cable also accused the chancellor of ducking tough choices. he argued: there are serious challenges ahead from the falling dollar and from the rapid downturn in the uk housing market and rising personal debt. but they have not been confronted. mr brown confirmed he was setting aside another £520m for the conflicts in iraq and afghanistan. mr cable compared that new cost with the £500m needed for britain s role in the entire first gulf war - when 80% of the bill had been met through help from european and arab nations. he suggested keeping british troops in iraq could cost another £1bn | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
howard unveils tory asylum plans tory plans to cut immigration to the uk are not racist and will make the asylum system fairer for genuine refugees michael howard has said. as his party set out detailed asylum reform plans mr howard said they would help smash people smuggling gangs. there would be an annual limit on asylum and all claims would be processed overseas. some charities say the plans would put refugees lives at risk if they were turned away once quotas were filled. tony blair said labour would set out workable plans for tackling immigration abuse in the next few weeks and attacked the tory plans. by cutting the number of front-line immigration staff at our borders they will actually make the problem worse said mr blair. liberal democrat chairman matthew taylor said there needed to be a quick fair and firm asylum system. but he said it was absolutely disgusting to propose a system which could turn away genuine refugees. the conservatives say there is little risk of this happening as demand for asylum will be considered when quotas are set. in a speech in london on monday mr howard said: it s not racist as some people to claim to talk about controlling immigration far from it. he said that coming from an immigrant family himself he recognised that firm but fair immigration controls were essential for good community relations. - withdrawing from the 1951 united nations convention on refugees which obliges countries to accept people being persecuted on the basis of need not numbers - introduce laws to allow the immediate removal of asylum seekers whose claims were clearly unfounded because they came from safe countries or had destroyed documents - detain asylum seekers without documents so people whose identity was not known were not able | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
debate needed on donations cap a cap on donations to political parties should not be introduced yet the elections watchdog has said. fears that big donors can buy political favours have sparked calls for a limit. in a new report the electoral commission says it is worth debating a £10 000 cap for the future but now is not the right time to introduce it. it also says there should be more state funding for political parties and candidates should be able to spend more on election campaigning. there were almost £68m in reported donations to political parties in 2001 2002 and 2003 with nearly £12m of them from individual gifts worth more than £1m. the rules have already been changed so the public can see who gives how much to the parties but the report says there are still public suspicions. the commission says capping donations would mean taxpayers giving parties more cash - something which would first have to be acceptable to the public and shown to work. while we are not in principle opposed to the introduction of a donation cap we do not believe that such a major departure from the existing system now would be sensible says its report. if there was to be a cap it should be £10 000 - a small enough amount to make a difference but which would have banned £56m in donations between 2001 and 2003. even without changes the commission does urge political parties to seek out more small-scale donations and suggests there should be income tax relief for gifts under £200. it also suggests increasing state funding for parties to £3m so help can be extended to all parties with at least two members in the house of commons european parliament scottish parliament welsh assembly or northern | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
child access laws shake-up parents who refuse to allow former partners contact with their children could be electronically tagged under plans being considered by ministers. curfews and community service orders were other options which could be used if court orders to allow parental access were defied lord falconer said. the constitutional affairs secretary outlined some of the plans on tuesday. he denied fathers activists had forced the changes telling the bbc there is a recognition that something is wrong . between 15 000 and 20 000 couples go to court to resolve access disputes each year although in nine out of 10 separations there is no court intervention. lord falconer told bbc radio 4 s today programme he hoped voluntary mediation could help solve disputes before they reached court. but he opposed compulsory mediation saying that it would lead to many people taking part with the wrong attitude. other plans include: - parenting plans to give advice on access arrangements based on real-life examples that have worked in the past - extending in-court conciliation - more informal hearings before contested court cases - better access to legal emotional and practical advice by telephone and internet - legal aid changes to give incentives for early resolution of disputes. judges can already jail parents who breach contact orders but that was a nuclear option which was rarely used as it was not seen as being in the child s interests a spokesman said. the aim of the new legislation was to provide a medium range of penalties such as fines community service orders compulsory anger management or parenting classes or curfews. failure to comply with these measures could result in offenders being electronically tagged. on the possibility of tagging uncooperative parents lord falconer said: tagging may be going too far but let | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
muslim police stops more likely uk muslims should accept that people of islamic appearance are more likely to be stopped and searched by police a home office minister has said. hazel blears said innocent muslims would be targeted because of the search for islamic extremists. qualifications for religious leaders to enter the uk could also be made tougher she told a commons inquiry. her comments have been described as irresponsible and outrageous by the islamic human rights commission (ihrc). the threat is most likely to come from those people associated with an extreme form of islam or who are falsely hiding behind islam the salford mp told the commons home affairs committee. it means that some of our counter-terrorism powers will be disproportionately experienced by the muslim community. it was a reality that should be recognised she said. if a threat is from a particular place then our action is going to be targeted at that area she added. on ministers of religions such as imams she said faith groups would be asked what other qualifications and skills such as civic knowledge and ability to engage the community should be demanded. last year ministers introduced a requirement that ministers should speak english to a certain level. ihrc chairman massoud shadjareh accused ms blears of playing an islamophobia card in the run-up to a general election. she is demonising and alienating our community he said. it is a legitimisation for a backlash and for racists to have an onslaught on our community. this sort of comment is just music to the ears of racists. later the prime minister s official spokesman urged people to put ms blears comments into context. the minister had been saying she understood there was a perception that stop and search was aimed at one community but | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
former ni minister scott dies former northern ireland minister sir nicholas scott has died at a london hospice his family has announced. the former conservative mp for kensington and chelsea died after a long illness diagnosed as alzheimer s. the 71-year-old served in northern ireland from 1981 to 1987 during the premiership of margaret thatcher. as a northern ireland minister he dealt with education and later security where he rode out the mass ira escape from the maze in 1983. in education he encountered criticism over school closures and the future of the catholic training colleges. he also merged the new university of ulster and the ulster polytechnic to create the university of ulster. sir nicholas was a strong defender of the anglo-irish agreement and was held in esteem in dublin government and sdlp circles. but he experienced hostility from unionists some of whom dubbed him minister of discord . after leaving northern ireland in a reshuffle he became a uk disability minister. sir nicholas was replaced as the member for kensington and chelsea by the flamboyant alan clark after being deselected by his constituency in december 1996. his deselection followed a series of scandals including being found slumped in the street by police during the tory party conference in bournemouth and taken back to his hotel. sir nicholas claimed strong painkillers he was taking for a back problem had reacted badly with a small amount of alcohol. after his sacking he bitterly said that despite the support of cabinet ministers and tory backbenchers the eurosceptics in his constituency were absolutely determined to get rid of me . his colourful career also included a very public disagreement with daughter victoria over civil rights for the disabled. sir nicholas admitted he misled mps when he denied his department had been involved | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
milburn defends poster campaign labour s election chief alan milburn has defended his party s campaign posters amid tory claims the ads were nothing short of sly anti-semitism . mr milburn said he appreciated people s concerns but insisted that what they were was anti-tory and not in any way shape or form anti-semitic . he was responding to tory spokesman julian lewis who said the ads were part of a wider trend of smearing the party. labour has withdrawn two controversial posters and launched four new designs. a row was sparked after the party published posters appearing to depict michael howard who is jewish as fagin and as a flying pig amid claims they were anti-semitic. the posters were labelled a big misjudgement by the conservatives who said labour s first shot in the election has badly backfired . the posters were among a series of ideas shown to labour members who were asked to vote on their favourite. labour has taken them off its website saying members preferred other posters. the party s four new designs launched on tuesday steer clear of the fagin or flying pig images but make clear that labour is sticking to its strategy of targeting the tory leader personally with reminders of his record in office. the posters were among a series of ideas shown to labour members who have been asked to choose which one should be used ahead of the election. in the commons tory spokesman mr lewis suggested the posters were part of a wider trend and reminded mps that labour chairman ian mccartney last year described shadow chancellor oliver letwin as a 21st century fagin . given the outrage that that smear caused then how could you have thought anything other than the fact that what you were doing | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
mp attacked by muggers in kenya an mp has had more than £600 and his passport stolen after being mugged by six men in a park in kenya. quentin davies the mp for grantham and stamford was attacked in a notoriously dangerous park in the capital nairobi. he was not hurt in the mugging on saturday evening. several people are being questioned over the attack. he was in kenya before travelling to sudan with the parliamentary committee. local police were said to be surprised he was in the area. mr davies 60 said the mugging occurred 100 yards from the nairobi serena hotel and equally close to the anglican cathedral in the centre of the city at dusk. he said in a statement: it was a frightening experience. six men managed to steal up on me and grab me from behind. i knew i had to stay very calm and passive - you cannot fight six men . he had to spend an extra 24 hours in nairobi before rejoining the rest of the house of commons international development committee in dafur after the mugging. naturally i was afraid they would use a knife or gun though they never produced any weapon he said. two of them held me from behind and two others held my legs and another one expertly rifled all my pockets. | 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 |
uk troops on ivory coast standby downing street has confirmed british troops are on standby in case they need to help evacuate several hundred uk citizens from ivory coast. the news came as it emerged france had begun evacuating its hostages after days of anti-french demonstrations. trouble flared after nine french peacekeepers were killed and president jacques chirac ordered the destruction of the ivory coast s air force. a company of 100-120 uk troops is understood to have been put on standby. they are ready to fly out and secure the route from the embassy to the airport if called upon. prime minister tony blair s official spokesman said: there are british nationals in ivory coast and as you can imagine we are making the usual contingency plans in case the situation deteriorates further but that s all i can say at this stage. he added the situation would be monitored carefully in case evacuation became necessary. france has played a lead role in international peacekeeping in ivory coast - a former colony - after president laurent gbagbo broke an 18-month ceasefire with rebels bombing their positions and killing the nine french soldiers. the decision to destroy the african nation s small air force prompted riots against french and other foreign nationals. the spanish have already put their forces on standby to evacuate their nationals if necessary. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
labour pig poster anti-semitic the labour party has been accused of anti-semitism over a poster depicting michael howard and oliver letwin - who are both jewish - as flying pigs. prospective tory candidate andrew mennear whose finchley constituency contains a large jewish community branded it tasteless and offensive. the poster shows the two men s faces superimposed on winged pigs and says the day the tory sums add up . labour said the poster was not anti-jewish but anti-tory . it is one of four designs e-mailed to labour members who were asked to vote for their favourite. mr mennear who was sent the e-mail by a friend said he had been shocked by the image and had shown it to friends who were similarly horrified. he said there was nothing more distasteful for a jewish person than to be associated with a pig. i am not suggesting there is any deliberate intent but these sort of things can cause great offence. it clearly wasn t thought through. it is possible the posters were designed for maximum impact but this one clearly overstepped the mark and should be withdrawn. the campaign was particularly insensitive as it had come out at the same time as holocaust day a difficult time for many jewish people mr mennear added. a labour spokesman denied the campaign was anti-semitic. as we said at the time the james report (the tory backed inquiry into possible public spending savings) was published pigs will fly before the tory s sums will add up. this poster is making a serious point he said. a conservative party spokesman said: while the conservatives are concentrating on the issues that matter to people such as lower taxes and controlled immigration it is clear to see that the labour party is not. people | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
mrs howard gets key election role michael howard s ex-model wife sandra is to play a leading role in the conservative election campaign. mrs howard will make solo visits to target seats as well as accompanying her husband on his helicopter campaign trail criss-crossing the country. mr howard will host a news conference at the party s london hq every morning tory co-chairman liam fox said. we want michael to be as accessible as possible mr fox said adding that the party was not afraid of scrutiny. the tory leader wanted to meet as many ordinary members of the public mr fox said. tony blair has also said he is intending to get out and talk to as many people as possible during the election campaign. but labour campaign chiefs say there are no plans for mr blair to hold a daily news conference. mr fox responded by accusing the prime minister of hiding away from the scrutiny of london s media . the liberal democrats also say they are planning to hold daily news conferences with charles kennedy. on mrs howard s role mr fox said: sandra has already been campaigning with michael on a number of visits and has been undertaking short visits herself. that pattern will continue. it s worked very well up until now. mrs howard made her debut speech at the conservative party conference in bournemouth last october. she used her speech on the fringe to highlight the work of a drugs charity addaction which she supports. mrs howard has also appeared along side her husband on tv chat shows. during an interview on itv1 s this morning she said she often criticised her husband for not showing the side of him that she knows. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
labour trio had vote-rig factory three labour councillors in birmingham were caught operating a vote-rigging factory an election court has heard. police found the trio handling unsealed postal ballots in a deserted warehouse in the city during a late-night raid in june 2004 the hearing was told. the votes were later counted towards that month s english local elections. the men elected to the aston ward deny collecting votes fraudulently. the judge presiding has indicated the whole postal voting system is under scrutiny. deputy high court judge richard mawrey qc told the hearing at the birmingham and midlands institute the case could have potentially serious consequences for any forthcoming general election. the special election court the first in living memory to hear allegations of vote-rigging opened in birmingham last month. the case against muhammad afzal mohammed islam and mohammed kazi is being brought by local liberal democrat supporters. they claim the trio benefited from the widespread misuse of postal votes during the 10 june election. ravi sukul counsel for the petitioners accused the three men of being deeply involved in illegal practices. witnesses saw them carrying several bags from their campaign office which the men drove to a warehouse on an industrial estate off birch road east the court was told. the police were alerted and called to the premises. mr sukul said: when (the officers) arrived there in the middle of the night they saw a large room with a 10ft long table and six asian men present. hundreds of documents and unsealed envelopes were scattered all over the table. the police officers left the warehouse but were later ordered back to seize the documents. when the officers left all the envelopes and papers were scattered mr sukul said. (when they went) back to make the seizure every one | 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 |
blair hails turkey-eu talks deal tony blair has hailed a deal bringing turkey a step closer to eu membership as important for the world s future peace and prosperity . mr blair has been a leading advocate of turkish membership despite controversy surrounding the idea. leaving a brussels summit mr blair said the fact turkey is a muslim country does not mean it should be barred . the deal to open formal talks with ankara came despite an eu demand for turkey to recognise cyprus. it was agreed the issue can be tackled at a later date but turkish premier recep erdogan had to accept negotiations did not guarantee his country full eu membership. if it joins turkey may have to accept restrictions to limit migration by its citizens. mr blair said having turkey in the eu was of importance to the future peace and prosperity of my country britain and the wider world . we are stating a fundamental principle that the fact turkey is a muslim country does not mean it should be barred from europe. on the contrary if it fulfils the same principles of human rights then muslim and christian can work together. under the agreement turkey must issue a written statement promising to sign an accord effectively recognising the greek cypriot government but gives turkey more time to sell the idea to its people. the internationally recognised southern part of cyprus is an eu member but turkey which occupies northern cyprus had previously insisted it would not bow to demands to recognise the country calling the issue a red line . it could take up to 15 years before turkey is able to join and entry cannot be guaranteed. the eu has also announced that it will start accession talks with croatia in april 2005. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
the memory driving brown s mission the memory gordon brown says keeps returning to him - the one that he says is burnt into him - is that of a 12 year-old girl whose parents died of aids and who is hiv positive herself. mr brown seems haunted by her eyes desolate of all hope. and then he talks of those eyes that do inspire optimism: an extraordinary performance by schoolgirls of kenya s largest slum advancing with crowded menace flicking their hips in a manner almost as disturbing before the finale of a clenched fist salute and shout of free education - free education for all . mr brown s message generally that compassion must become action before that hope is squandered. but he is such a pivotal figure in british politics it is almost impossible not to ask him why he is doing this. his answer in part is because of the missionaries that used to come to his father s church. ever since he says africa has been important to him. i ve absolutely no doubt whatsoever this is heartfelt. but he also believes it is time for the world to see a new gordon brown. not the dull reassuring bank manager but a man driven by a moral passion - and it just so happens the labour party feels an awful lot happier ridding the world of debt than ridding the world of dictators. there s also a sense of liberation. if mr blair won t allow him to run the election campaign then he can at least pretend it was all getting tedious and he d much rather be out examining social problems in the raw. it also goes some way to solving one of the overarching problems for all politicians of all parties: scepticism | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
visa row mandarin made sir john the top civil servant at the centre of the david blunkett visa affair has been knighted in the new year honours. sir john gieve was home office permanent secretary during the saga which ended with mr blunkett quitting. he and other civil servants were criticised for failing to recall how the visa for mr blunkett s ex-lover s nanny came to be fast-tracked. the outgoing head of the troubled child support agency doug smith also earns an honour in the new year s list. mr smith 57 whose retirement was announced by work and pensions secretary alan smith in november is made a commander of the order of bath. both men were giving evidence to a commons committee on the computer difficulties facing the agency which left thousands of single parents without any maintenance payments when the announcement was made. the knighting of sir john 54 will be received with astonishment by opposition politicians. the liberal democrats said it beggared belief he and fellow officials could not remember how leoncia casalme s application for indefinite leave to remain went from mr blunkett s office to the head of the immigration and nationality department. meanwhile the conservatives accused officials of a collective failure of memory. but sir alan budd who led an inquiry into the affair said he had no reason to believe anyone involved had deliberately withheld information. downing street defended the decision to honour both men with a spokesperson saying: you have to look at their whole career. sir john was made permanent secretary in april 2001 following a civil service career which dates back to 1974. he has also worked in the treasury and the department of employment. a department for work and pensions spokeswoman said of mr smith s honour: the | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
security papers found in street an inquiry is under way after files containing security details about the pakistani president s visit to london were found by a member of the public. the files are believed to contain detailed security arrangements for gen pervez musharraf s visit this week including police codes. scotland yard said the policing operation had been reviewed. a spokesman said president musharraf s safety had not been compromised as the papers had been handed in promptly. we cannot discuss who was responsible for the documents only that they contained the policing arrangements for the official visit said the spokesman. the papers are believed to have been found by a member of the public in a street in mayfair and given to the mirror newspaper. the police spokesman said the newspaper handed the report over on monday. the force s directorate of professional standards is investigating the circumstances surrounding the loss of the documents he said. gen musharraf held talks with tony blair on monday. he arrived in britain on sunday night after flying from the united states where he met president george w bush. he is due to visit the pakistani community in manchester on tuesday afternoon. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
job cuts false economy - tuc plans to shed 71 000 civil service jobs will prove to be a false economy that could hamper public sector reforms according to a tuc report. public and commercial services union members have already voted to strike over cuts for one day on 5 november. the tuc said cuts would deliver less than 6% of the £22bn ministers hope to save through efficiency reforms. general secretary brendan barber warned the costs could easily outweigh the benefits . the government s big boost to public spending is now showing results said mr barber. public services are improving but looking for simple savings through job cuts at this stage could be a false economy. they may shoot a tory fox but cutting thousands of civil service jobs will hit the morale and capabilities of the public servants expected to implement government reforms. the costs could easily outweigh the benefits. next friday s strike action by the pcs is the biggest in the civil service since 1993 hitting jobcentres benefit agencies pensions offices customs and driving tests. the union says it is concerned about pensions sick pay and forced relocation as well as the cut in jobs. last month it was announced that a total of 37 social security offices and jobcentres across the uk would close in the first wave of plans to shed civil service jobs. the number of civil servants in britain rose to more than 520 000 in april. other areas the strike will affect include passports museums and galleries libraries and health and safety inspections. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
ministers naive over phone-taps the government is being naive by refusing to allow phone-tap evidence in court a senior eu politician says. javier solana eu foreign policy chief says phone-tap evidence works in the courts of other european countries. human rights groups top police officers and many mps say allowing the evidence would remove the need to detain terror suspects without charge. but home secretary charles clarke says the evidence would not make much difference to these cases. mr solana told itv1 s jonathan dimbleby programme: [phone-tap evidence in court] works it is normal that it is done it would be naive not to do it. it would be naive not to use this technological thing that we have at our disposal. mr solana s comments come the day after sir ian blair the newly-appointed metropolitan police commissioner said he was in favour of phone-tap evidence. under the anti-terrorism crimes and security act 2001 foreign terror suspects can be detained in british jails without trial or charge. several suspects have been detained under these powers because evidence against them was deemed too sensitive to be heard in court. some of this evidence is believed to be telephone intercepts. human rights group liberty has argued that if intercept evidence could be heard these detainees could be brought to trial. but critics of phone-tap trials say the evidence is often weak and can expose the methods of the security services. the home secretary says intercepts would not make much difference because cases against terror suspects frequently rely on other kinds of surveillance. but mr clarke has been forced to change the regime of detention without trial after law lords ruled it illegal. he has opted for a system of control orders whereby suspects both british and foreign can be held under house | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
labour accused of eu propaganda a taxpayer subsidised propaganda exercise on the eu is being used to lull the british public into a false sense of security say the tories. shadow foreign secretary michael ancram told mps a new white paper was part of trying to soften up opinion ahead of the referendum on the eu constitution. his claims were denied by foreign secretary jack straw who accused the tories of running scared of debate. eu cooperation would help get better uk immigration controls he argued. mr straw used thursday s commons debate to launch the new white paper on the prospects for the eu in 2005. security stability and prosperity would be the key themes when the uk took over the chairmanship of the eu in july said mr straw. africa and climate change would also feature highly. he said the uk was trying to ensure future eu budgets were limited to 1% of europe s economic output and were spent where it adds most value . mr straw promised to continue to ensure the uk s budget rebate secured in 1984 by margaret thatcher was fully justified . we like all other countries have a veto on any changes proposed in this area he said. mr ancram condemned the document which the foreign office says has cost about £2 500 to design print and deliver. isn t the reason that the government is now involved in a taxpayer subsidised propaganda exercise to try to sell the new eu to the country in advance of the forthcoming referendum and general election he asked. the tory spokesman also criticised the government for claiming the eu constitution would make europe easier to understand. the government last week had to publish a commentary of 500 pages to try and explain this easy | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
what the election should really be about a general election is the best chance most pressure groups get to make a real impact on government policy. here is how six leading lobbies plan to make sure their cause is being debated ahead of an expected spring poll. we ve called for the state pension to be increased from £79.60 to the pensioner credit guarantee level of £105.45. that s what we re calling for. many pensioners are disadvantaged by the current system. if we ve got one in five pensioners below the poverty line we ve got to make it more generous or have these people living in poverty. we ve drawn up a pensioners manifesto. this will be sent to each of the candidates in the 659 constituencies. they will be asked which of the top five issues including the pension issue they would support. once we ve got their responses we will publish the results within the constituencies and nationally as well. it s our way of putting the politicians on notice. we are trying to get across the fact that there are 11m voters over 60 in the country they are more likely to vote than other sections of society and thirdly they are true swing voters. before 1997 most pensioners voted conservative. in 1997 and 2001 they voted labour. but there is no guarantee they will vote for a labour government this time around. they cannot take that vote for granted. pensions generally will certainly be a big election issue even though the government has postponed the publication of adair turner s full report into the issue. he said the uk had one of the least generous pensions systems in the developed world. that the government takes seriously the impact of aviation on the environment. we | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blair joins school sailing trip the prime minister has donned a life jacket and joined school children in a sailing dinghy as he sought to sell his party s education policies. tony blair sailed across the lake in bromsgrove worcestershire while on a visit with education secretary ruth kelly to back school outings. mr blair later stressed labour s election pledge to focus on education when he met parents in the area. the conservatives and lib dems both say his pledges are worthless . all the parties are stepping up campaigning ahead of a general election widely expected to be held on 5 may. mr blair looking a little windswept joined two girls from st egwin s middle school in evesham and an instructor for a trip in the wayfarer dinghy closely followed by a boat full of photographers. afterwards he said outdoor activities were beneficial for children but accepted that lots of teachers now worried about taking part for fear of being sued if something went wrong. what we re doing is introducing some simple guidelines so if teachers follow those they are not going to be at risk of legal action mr blair said. when you are doing these types of activities you ve got to exercise some common sense there obviously. you can t have a situation where parents or teachers end up being worried that they re going to be subject to all sorts of legal action if they take children sailing or doing outdoor activity that is actually good for the kids and good for their health and their character. the pledge on education - your child achieving more - was one of six election pledges unveiled by mr blair last week. if it wins a third term in the general election expected this year | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blair pledges unity to labour mps tony blair has sought to reassure labour backbenchers that nothing will stand in the way of the party s bid for a third term in power. mr blair was speaking to mps amid fresh rumours of a rift with gordon brown. a new book says the prime minister went back on a pledge to mr brown to stand down before the next general election. the chancellor has said he is focused on winning the poll and is due to join election supremo alan milburn for a labour poster launch this week. mr blair told the parliamentary labour party (plp) on monday: i know from everyone here in cabinet and government nothing is going to get in the way of a unified labour party with a unified position and winning the third term people desperately need. the prime minister and his chancellor arrived within seconds of each other and seemingly in good spirits at the start of the meeting which lasted around an hour. a new book brown s britain by sunday telegraph journalist robert peston says mr blair went back on a pledge to make way for mr brown after cabinet allies intervened in june 2004. it has caused a new wave of concern among labour mps gearing up to defend their seats in an election widely expected to be held in may and several members are understood to have lined up to express their discontent at the plp meeting. health secretary john reid earlier warned that labour members would not easily forgive anybody fuelling damaging speculation. he told bbc news: those who co-operate or inspire these books in my view have to know that whatever the short-term political or personal advantage that they think they might secure they always do it by damaging | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blair to face trust issue head on tony blair says he will be facing the issue of trust and his own integrity head on during the election campaign. during a question and answer session with first-time voters on five news mr blair said he had no option but to confront it by talking to people. he also dismissed claims government plans to get 50% of young people into university would devalue degrees. he was not forcing anyone to go to university but places should be there for those who wanted them he said. in answer to a question from 22-year-old liverpool student david dunne about concerns over the prime minister s personal integrity mr blair said talking was the only answer. you ve just got to confront it and say to people let s have a discussion on the things that worry you the things that make you say i can t trust you or i am against you on this. the worst thing in politics was that the electorate only got little snatches of policy from things like prime minister s questions and the news headlines. this was why he wanted to get out of the 30 seconds on the news he added. by talking through policies at least people understood the reason for them even if they did not agree with them he said. mr blair also faced questions about british policy on iran and its alleged nuclear weapons programme. he insisted there was no plan for an invasion of the country saying: sometimes people say because of what has happened in iraq this is the next place. instead there was a real chance of a peaceful resolution to the problem he said. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
lib dems demand new inquiry a judge should look into the david blunkett controversy as key questions remain unanswered the lib dems say. sir alan budd s inquiry linked the ex-home secretary to the speeding up of a visa claim by his ex-lover s nanny. but he could not say whether mr blunkett had treated the nanny as a special case or had used her as an example of immigration problems. lib dem spokesman mark oaten said the number of officials who had forgotten what happened was worrying. he told bbc news: i m extremely concerned that 20 individuals appear to have forgotten what happened or more suspiciously are not prepared to say what happened. that must be bad for government it must be bad for public confidence in the system. mr oaten said people would be mystified why sir alan s inquiry failed to uncover why processing of the visa application was speeded up. he said: there is a strong case for a judge-led judicial review of this because of course next time it happens it may not be about a nanny and their visa. it may be about something even more important than that. so we do need to understand what took place and who was involved. the tories criticised the lib dem stance saying mr oaten had initially said he accepted mr blunkett s word unless further evidence emerged. but lib dem officials say mr oaten was speaking when an inquiry was under way and was avoiding rushing to judgement. | 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 |
tories attack eu asylum moves david blunkett has been accused of using the politics of confusion to disguise new eu immigration measures. tory spokesman david davis told mps the uk was losing its power of veto over who was allowed to come to britain. the eu has opted to adopt qualified majority voting in this area - previously measures needed unanimous agreement from all member states. mr blunkett told mps the uk would still be able to reject proposals on immigration it did not agree with. he argued closer co-operation with europe over asylum and immigration was crucial to controlling the flow of people into the uk. if we don t like what other eu countries do on immigration and nationality we have the right to opt-in or out to suit the british people he said. the home secretary was responding to an emergency question from his tory opposite number mr davis. the government is employing the politics of confusion - i think deliberately argued mr davis. by confusing the country it hopes no one will notice the disappearance of the asylum and immigration veto. on monday tony blair insisted closer co-operation did not mean losing control of british borders. he said an enlarged 25-member eu needs a streamlined decision making process. mr davis said once britain had opted into policies then it could not opt out - leaving the uk open to unfavourable interpretations of what those policies actually meant. he accused the government of being pathetic when it came to its efforts over immigration and asylum and of surrendering on the issue. and he asked why the government was agreeing to the measure on asylum and immigration now when the whole issue was part of the eu constitution which voters in the uk had been promised a referendum | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
lib dems bold election policy charles kennedy has told voters his liberal democrats will offer them an honest choice at the next general election. with the other two big parties battling over which will impose the lowest taxes mr kennedy is going into the looming election pledged to increase taxation. it is a bold policy and certainly ensures there is that choice between the lib dems and the other two. with his party s previous pledge to increase taxes by one penny in the pound to spend on public services already adopted by the government he has switched tack. now he is promising to levy a modest increase of the same amount on earnings over £100 000 a year to allow him to finance a series of pledges. they are to scrap student fees finance free long term care for the elderly and replace the council tax with a local income tax. that last policy will also see about 3% of the most well off paying more while others pensioners in particular will pay less. labour and the tories have attacked his policies as both unworkable and not properly costed. inevitably they insist there is no need to raise taxes to fund improvements in services. the tories claim they can improve services and cut taxes through £35bn efficiency savings while labour has offered £22bn savings but has yet to map out precise tax proposals although there is little chance they will propose increases. in many ways the argument between the lib dems and the others over taxation and spending echo the sort of arguments that raged between labour and the tories in the 1980s and early 1990s. but unlike the old tory-labour debate he believes voters are ready to see modest tax increases on the well off in order to | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
lib dems highlight problem debt people vulnerable to problem debts should be afforded greater protection from banks aggressively promoting financial products the lib dems say. vincent cable says one in eight households already struggle with debt and that will worsen if there is a hike in interest rates or unemployment. the lib dems treasury spokesman is unveiling a policy aimed at the issue. he wants to see proper health checks when loans are marketed so people know to take out payment protection. were economic conditions to deteriorate at all large numbers of people could be affected because they have borrowed to the limit mr cable told bbc news. banks are very aggressively promoting debt in many cases there is a bigger problem ahead. mr cable said the government s consumer credit bill would target some of the extreme problems such as loan sharking but ministers had been a bit complacent about the wider issue of debt levels. he said much of the payment protection currently available was extremely expensive and there were lots of exclusions . mr cable added that the office of fair trading should investigate the market. lib dem leader charles kennedy meanwhile is in the middle of a tour of the uk aimed at persuading voters his is the real opposition . mr kennedy is visiting a mixture of rural seats where his party is hoping to make gains from the conservatives and urban areas traditionally associated with labour. 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 | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
more reforms ahead says milburn labour will continue to pursue controversial reforms if it wins a third term in power the party s election chief alan milburn has said. he pledged labour would encourage more people to achieve their aspirations. what we want is for more people to earn and own mr milburn told bbc radio 4 s today show. tory shadow chancellor oliver letwin called labour a brilliant machine for talking about things but said it did not deliver policies the country needs. meanwhile the liberal democrats president simon hughes said: new labour has lost people s confidence in a way old labour never did. mr milburn told today that labour wanted policies which encouraged increased social mobility in britain. pressed on incapacity benefits he said the tax and welfare system must provide the right incentives to people . no-one is talking about driving people into work but what we do know is there are one million people on incapacity benefit who want the opportunity to work providing the right level of support is there for them . however backbench labour mp karen buck warned against proposed changes in such benefits. she told the today programme: if the policy is seen as being about how do you make the feckless poor go back to work then it is not going to work on the one hand. and it is not going to improve our electoral chances on the other. mr milburn also sought to draw a line under the controversy about reports of a feud between gordon brown and prime minister tony blair. he stressed that mr brown would play the same role that he did in the last election. mr milburn gave more details of planned reforms in a speech to labour s fabian society in which he | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
brown targets oaps and homebuyers gordon brown has doubled the level at which house buyers pay stamp duty to £120 000 as he put the economy at the heart of labour s election campaign. the chancellor also unveiled a one-off £200 council tax refund for pensioners and a rise in child tax credit. mr brown put 1p a pint on beer 4p on a bottle of wine and 7p on 20 cigarettes but froze petrol duty until september. the tories called it a vote now pay later budget. the lib dems branded it a sticking plaster for the election. tory leader michael howard predicted the budget would do nothing to help labour s faltering election campaign. this government and this chancellor have run out of solutions to the problems britain faces mr howard told mps. their only answer is to tax to spend and to waste - to get people to vote now and pay later. he ended his response with an election challenge to labour saying bring it on . liberal democrat leader charles kennedy attacked mr brown for failing to mention the environment and for his record on social justice. how can it be right in britain today that the poorest 20% pay more in tax as a proportion of their income than the richest 20% he asked. mr kennedy criticised mr brown for failing to mention the ticking bomb of council tax revaluation saying it was high time the system was replaced by a local tax based on the ability to pay . during his 49 minute speech mr brown told mps he had defied the pundits by hitting his growth target of 3.1% for 2004. he said his budget struck a balance between tax cuts that are affordable investments that are essential and stability that is | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
labour s four little words labour has unveiled the four little words that will form the heart of its general election campaign which for those just returned from the planet galifray is looming . the slogan britain forward not back (no it s not an instruction from one of those inter-planetary time lords) is to become as much a part of our daily lives as the sky - it s always there but we mostly stop noticing. the word britain is cast on a red background - a nod to old labour. forward is in italics and cunningly slopes forward and along with not back is set against a mushy pea green background. as one of the journalists assembled at the unveiling declared it was all very post modern or something. great use of colour. those ad men really do earn their money. and coincidentally the ad men who came up with the abandoned flying pigs and so-called fagin posters which caused tory protests have not been sacked but as election supremo alan milburn declared are doing a very good job . mr milburn in the latest in his series of pre-election-campaign campaigning explained the slogan was the reaction to polling which suggests the public believe labour and tony blair are the future while michael howard and the tories would take the country backwards. not many people talk about the years before 1997 as the good old days he declared. it would be an aggressive campaign because things would inevitably boil down to a choice between labour and the tories. nobody he claimed could picture liberal democrat leader charles kennedy walking up downing street the day after polling. they could however picture michael howard or of course tony blair doing it. so it was only right that the campaign concentrated | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
uk needs true immigration data a former home office minister has called for an independent body to be set up to monitor uk immigration. barbara roche said an organisation should monitor and publish figures and be independent of government. she said this would counter so-called independent groups like migration watch which she described as an anti-immigration body posing as independent. migration watch says it is not against all immigration and the government already publishes accurate figures. sir andrew green chairman of the organisation says there is no need for an independent body because office of national statistics data are accurate. he says he opposes large-scale immigration both on the grounds of overcrowding and culture . he said: for example over the next 20 years one household in three will be due to immigration. we are already more overcrowded than india and we are four times more overcrowded than france. ms roche labour mp for hornsey and wood green believes legal migration is something we should welcome. she said her proposals mean we wouldn t have so-called independent experts like migration watch who come into this debate from an anti-immigration point of view. she went on: what i would like to see is there being a body which actually looked at the figures published them and was independent of government. i think that would go a long way to allaying some of the fears that are sometimes whipped up during this debate. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
tory leader cleared over work scottish conservative party leader david mcletchie claims he has been cleared over a potential conflict of interest. the edinburgh msp earns up to £30 000 a year from the law firm tods murray where he is a partner. mr mcletchie said he has taken advice from holyrood officials about what details he needs to declare. he was advised to exercise judgement to avoid the perception of a conflict and said he had done nothing wrong. as an msp mr mcletchie signed a parliamentary motion questioning expansion plans for edinburgh airport. it then emerged tods murray has a client which opposes the development. mr mcletchie then sought guidance from the standards committee to clarify his position. bbc scotland s political correspondent glenn campbell said no complaint had been made against mr mcletchie but questions were raised about his dual role. glenn said msps are advised to guard against a conflict of interests and a perception of a conflict. mr mcletchie said: i m quite clear that no conflicts of interest arise in my case that the judgement i took has effectively been vindicated when you look at the advice that has been given to me and that these allegations are unfounded. he said nothing had changed in respect of his work with the law firm and it was a matter he would have to discuss with the other partners at tods murray. the firm and i have a very good working relationship and we have done for the last six years said mr mcletchie. i don t suppose i ll be working forever as a lawyer or a politician. i deserve to retire from both but i m not willing to put time limits on them. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
tories plan migrant health checks non-european union citizens wanting to work in the uk will have to undergo tests for tuberculosis and hiv under plans unveiled by the conservatives. a positive test for tb would mean visa applications being turned down while hiv would be dealt with case by case. leader michael howard said the checks on new arrivals would help protect public health and the nhs. labour said many tests were already done. the lib dems warned both parties against pandering to prejudice . the proposals which would be brought in if the conservatives won the general election would not apply to people coming to the uk for less than six months unless they intended to work in health or childcare or teaching. mr howard said the plans were based on policies already in action in canada new zealand and australia. it s very important that we should safeguard the good standards of public health that britain enjoys he told bbc radio 4 s today programme. government figures suggest tb in england has increased by 25% over the past 10 years. nearly two thirds of people with tb are born abroad said mr howard. i don t think a responsible government can stand aside and do nothing in the face of this problem. but mr howard said the plans would not affect asylum applicants claims. the proposals include: - people coming to the uk from outside the eu for between six and 12 months from a high incidence tb country will have to undergo a chest x-ray. - people coming to settle in the uk permanently from outside the eu will have to demonstrate they have an acceptable standard of health . - they will also have to show they are unlikely to be a danger to public health | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blair congratulates bush on win tony blair has said he looks forward to continuing his strong relationship with george bush and working with him during his second term as president. mr bush s re-election came at a crucial time for a world that was fractured divided and uncertain mr blair said. it had to be brought together he added saying action was needed on poverty the middle east and the conditions on which terrorists prey. mr blair said states had to work with the us to fight global terrorism. but there was a need to recognise it would not be defeated by military might alone but also by demonstrating the strength of our common values he added. solving the conflict in the middle east was the world s single most pressing political challenge of the present day mr blair warned. the prime minister also urged europe and the us to build anew their alliance . all of us in positions of leadership not just president bush have a responsibility to rise to this challenge. it is urgent that we do so. mr blair also paid tribute to democrat john kerry s campaign saying he had helped make the presidential election a true celebration of american democracy . the election of the us president was significant for the world but particularly so for britain because of its special relationship he added. earlier tory leader michael howard sent mr bush his warmest congratulations saying: we look to the president to be a unifying force for those all over the world who share our determination to defend freedom. liberal democrat leader charles kennedy welcomed the fact there had been a quick conclusion to the election unlike in 2000. mr bush s first task was to rebuild a sense of domestic purpose within the | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
army chiefs in regiments decision military chiefs are expected to meet to make a final decision on the future of scotland s army regiments. a committee of the army board which is made up of the most senior defence figures will discuss plans for restructuring regiments on monday. the proposals include cutting scotland s six single-battalion regiments to five and merging these into a super regiment. the plans have faced stiff opposition from campaigners and politicians alike. the committee s decision must be ratified by defence secretary geoff hoon and prime minister tony blair. it is expected that it will be made public next week. when ministers announced a reorganisation of the army it drew a question mark over the futures of the black watch the kings own scottish borderers the royal scots the royal highland fusiliers and the argyll and sutherland highlanders. in october the council of scottish colonels proposed the merger of the royal scots and the king s own scottish borderers into a single battalion. under their vision it would be one of five in the new super regiment. the proposals to either merge or amalgamate the six regiments into a super regiment sparked a political outcry with labour backbenchers and opposition politicians opposing the plan. they felt the timing was insensitive because the black watch was in the frontline in iraq suffering casualties. the save the scottish regiments campaigners were so angered they threatened to stand against labour at the next general election. speaking ahead of the expected army board meeting a spokesman said: the government and the army board have spent the past four months attempting to trick serving soldiers and the public into thinking their planned changes for the scottish regiments are for the good of the army and for that of the serving | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
sport betting rules in spotlight a group of mps and peers has called for a tightening of regulations controlling betting on sport. the parliamentary group on betting and gaming held a substantial inquiry into betting last year. it followed fears that a massive increase in betting on sport such as that done using the internet and mobile phones has led to more cheating. the all-party group recommended 15 ways to protect punters and improve the integrity of sports betting. they include a proposal for raising the maximum jail sentence for gambling cheats above the current two years. lord condon head of the international cricket council s anti-corruption unit who originally made the call for longer prison sentences said the two-year penalty was derisory . you could get a bigger sentence for failing to pay your hotel bill criminally than you could for corruption in major sports. symbolically a higher penalty perhaps as the bill passes through the two houses might be appropriate. the report recommended the governing bodies of sports have a say in the type of bets offered to punters and for bookmakers to set up audit trails - something the new betting exchanges already do - to allow suspicious betting patterns to be traced. lord faulkner of worcester who chaired the inquiry said: whilst we accept that the greater part of sports betting is neither corrupt nor unfair to punters the evidence convinces us that the growth of betting exchanges - because of the facility they provide to bet against a result - has increased the potential for corruption. it is important that the government works with sporting administrators to review the difficulties faced by governing bodies in convicting the guilty and penalising them appropriately. the panel s aim was to try to define what constitutes cheating assess | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
nuclear strike key terror risk the uk and us must realise they cannot prevent all terror attacks and should focus on making sure they are not nuclear strikes says a top academic. amitai etzioni a key influence on new labour thinking says the us emphasis on an axis of evil is misplaced. the priority should instead be on failing states including russia and pakistan who cannot properly control their nuclear material he argues. his report demands a major overhaul of world rules on nuclear technology. professor etzioni was a senior adviser to president carter s white house and is the guru behind communitarian ideas which influenced the development of blairite third way politics. in a report for the foreign policy centre think tank he says a nuclear terrorist attack is the main danger faced by many nations. attempts to defend against it by hardening domestic targets cannot work nor can one rely on pre-emption by taking the war to the terrorists before they attack he says. that means there is an urgent need to curb terrorists access to nuclear arms and the materials used to make them. we must recognise that we will be unable to stop all attacks and thus ensure terrorists will not be able to strike with weapons of mass destruction prof etzioni continues. he suggests so-called rogue states such as iran and north korea are less of a problem than failed and failing states which are more likely to be a source of nuclear materials. he names russia as the failing state of gravest concern as it has an estimated 90% of all fissile material outside america. and he is also worried about pakistan after one of its top nuclear scientists abdul qadeer khan admitted leaking nuclear secrets. prof etzioni criticises the us for overlooking those | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
ukip candidate suspended in probe eurosceptic party ukip have 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. but he was suspended after his reported views including the return of the british empire were sent to two scottish newspapers. ukip spokesman mark croucher said those who selected mr houston knew nothing of his views. the episode comes at a difficult time for ukip soon after the high-profile departure of mep robert kilroy-silk. 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 they are uniquely able to do. mr croucher said the main issue would be that mr houston s reported views had been presented as ukip policy which they were not. he said they might have been submissions to a committee working on the party s manifesto but would not have been matched to mr houston when he was standing to become a candidate. he told bbc news: he appears to have said these things. we have suspended him as a member and as a candidate. by all accounts none of this was mentioned at his selection meeting. it is simply a distraction from the task in hand the eu constitution not individual idiocies. mr houston was quoted in the herald newspaper saying: i feel ukip have over-reacted | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
straw attacked on china arms moves to lift the european union s ban on arms exports to china have been condemned by human rights groups and the conservatives. the 15 year embargo was imposed in the aftermath of china s crackdown on protesters in tiananmen square in 1989. uk foreign secretary jack straw who will hold talks in beijing on thursday said an eu arms code was more effective than the current ban. but human rights watch says the eu is putting commerce above abuse concerns. in december the eu pledged to work towards lifting the ban but said it was not ready to do so yet. germany and france have repeatedly called for the embargo to be lifted. britain has been more cautious but mr straw last week said he also wanted it to end despite us objections. he expects it to be lifted over the next six months a prediction which has alarmed critics. brad adams from human rights watch said: this is a huge political signal from europe that they are willing to forget about tiananmen square. there are still thousands of people who are unaccounted for. mr straw said it was wrong to put china under the same embargo as countries such as zimbabwe and burma. the scope of the embargo was very narrow and did not have any force of law behind it he told bbc radio 4 s world at one. in the uk more export licences were refused under the existing european union arms code than under the embargo he said. and only two of the licences denied under the embargo would have been granted under the code. the code of conduct is much more effective it s a more powerful tool of and we intend to strengthen it as a pre-condition of | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
clarke plans migrant point scheme anyone planning to move to the uk will have to pass a test to prove they can contribute to the country home secretary charles clarke has said. he is proposing a points system similar to australia s but would avoid the quota system planned by the tories. mr clarke who will unveil his plans on monday said economic migration helped the uk but needed proper policing . the lib dems say they will look at his plans but tory liam fox said his party offered a clear choice on the issue. the conservative party co-chairman said the british electorate had a choice between a labour government that had done nothing for eight years and will not set a limit on immigration and a tory one that would impose quotas. the home secretary said by 2008 he wanted everyone given a visa and entering the uk to have their fingerprints taken to ensure we can know everybody who is in the country . speaking on bbc one s breakfast with frost he said economic migrants are of great value to this country but stressed that proper policing was needed to ensure that they do not become a burden on society . he said: we will establish a system ... which looks at the skills talents and abilities of people seeking to come and work in this country and ensures that when they come here they have a job and can contribute to the economy of the country. the home secretary whose five-year blueprint for immigration and asylum is expected to be published on monday also rejected claims that the immigration debate encouraged bigotry. the issue of who does come into this country and whether they are entitled to be in this country who does settle here | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
new yob targets to be unveiled fifty new areas getting special help to fight anti-social behaviour in england and wales will be named on thursday. ten areas have already had access to special prosecutors and local experts and the government is now expanding the crackdown to more towns and cities. details of how many anti-social behaviour orders (asbos) were used in the last year are also being published. labour sees nuisance behaviour as a key election issue but critics claim the record is at best patchy. a year ago ministers launched their anti-social behaviour plan and thursday s figures offer a progress check. they will say that in the past year more than 2 600 anti-social behaviour orders were issued by the courts - more than double the total used in the previous four years. police have also closed 150 crack houses and issued more than 400 dispersal orders breaking up groups of youths in public places. the 50 new pilot areas to get special attention will also receive extra government funding. exeter and cardiff are among cities who have voiced interest in being involved. prime minister tony blair is also expected to announce new measures to strengthen the use of asbos and fixed penalty notices. there are still concerns that some areas of the country are not using the powers properly. he is expected to say that the new figures were heartening but he would not rest until similar action was taken in all areas of the country where it was needed. we have not defeated this problem by any means but shown together what can be done he will say. mr blair this week defended the shake-up of the licensing laws saying it was right to focus on troublemakers rather than treating everybody as a potential drunken nuisance. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
anglers could face prosecution anglers and fishermen could find themselves prosecuted under plans to crack down on animal cruelty a committee of mps has warned. sloppy wording of the draft animal welfare bill could leave anglers facing court even though it was not intended the environment select committee said. the mps said they were concerned the government had not consulted directly on its plans to improve animal welfare. they raised complex and emotive issues which needed to be resolved mps said. they called for a cast-iron guarantee that the government consults on any plans to regulate animal industries like pet fairs and game bird rearing. the draft bill seeks to modernise and improve animal welfare legislation and intends to protect kept animals and companion animals by setting up a duty of care . in addition to maintaining existing cruelty offences it creates an offence of neglect by keepers who fail to protect the animals for whom they are responsible. the bill would allow animal welfare officers to intervene to prevent harm to an animal as well as outlawing mutilation of animals - unless it can be demonstrated to be in the animal s best interest. the environment select committee made 101 recommendations after hearing evidence from 51 organisations and individuals. one was a call to amend the bill so that prosecutions against those engaged in fishing were not inadvertently encouraged - even if they were to later fail. we accept that neither commercial fishing nor recreational angling should fall within the remit of the of the draft bill and we therefore support the government s intention to exempt fishing as an activity. but the committee said an amendment was needed to ensure cases were not brought. however in exempting fishing the government should be careful to ensure that those persons | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
custody death rate shocks mps deaths in custody have reached shocking levels a committee of mps and peers has warned. the joint committee on human rights found those committing suicide were mainly the most vulnerable with mental health drugs or alcohol problems. members urged the government to set up a task force to tackle deaths in prisons police cells detention centres and special hospitals. there was one prison suicide every four days between 1999 and 2003 mps said. the report which followed a year-long inquiry by the committee found the high death rate amounts to a serious failure to protect the right to life of a highly vulnerable group . many of those who ended up taking their own lives had presented themselves to the authorities with these problems before they even offended the report said. it questioned whether prison was the most appropriate place for them to be kept and whether earlier intervention would have meant custody could have been avoided. increased resources and a reduction in the use of imprisonment was needed to address the issue in the longer term the report said. committee chairman labour mp jean corston said: each and every death in custody is a death too many regardless of the circumstances. yet throughout our inquiry we have seen time and time again that extremely vulnerable people are entering custody with a history of mental illness drug and alcohol problems and potential for taking their own lives. these highly vulnerable people are being held within a structure glaringly ill-suited to meet even their basic needs. crime levels are falling but we are holding more people in custody than ever before. the misplaced over-reliance on the prison system for some of the most vulnerable people in the country is at the heart of the problems that | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
lib dems unveil women s manifesto the liberal democrats are attempting to woo female voters with the launch of their manifesto for women. charles kennedy is pledging a maternity income guarantee and a pension system based on years of residence rather than national insurance payments. he also thinks women will back plans to end university tuition fees and for free long-term care for the elderly. both labour and the conservatives have said they also plan to boost pensions and to improve childcare support. mr kennedy says he wants to deal with policy areas that disadvantage women. two million pensioners in britain currently live below the government s own poverty line - two-thirds of whom are women he said. he says that pensions based on the number of years worked ignore the contribution women make caring for children. the lib dem s citizen s pension based on length of residency not on national insurance contributions would address that imbalance mr kennedy argues. under the package new mothers would be offered minimum guaranteed maternity pay of £170 a week for the first six months after the birth of their first child. mr kennedy also believes the party s plans to use the money saved from not introducing illiberal id cards to boost police numbers by 10 000 would appeal to women too. the policies are not new announcements but the way they are structured as a package to appeal to women is. mr kennedy also points to the fact that 40% of the party s candidates set to stand in winnable or target seats are women. party strategists claim that where women candidates replace men turnout rises by 4%. mr kennedy began the pitch for female support with an interview on bbc radio 4 s women s hour on monday. during the | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
teens know little of politics teenagers questioned for a survey have shown little interest in politics - and have little knowledge. only a quarter of 14-16 year olds knew that labour was the government the tories were the official opposition and the lib dems were the third party. almost all could identify tony blair but only one in six knew who michael howard was and just one in 10 recognised charles kennedy. the icm survey interviewed 110 pupils for education watchdog ofsted. nearly half those pupils polled said it was not important for them to know more about what the political parties stand for. and 4% of those questioned thought the conservatives were in power - while 2% of them believed the lib dems were. the survey also looked at issues of nationality. it found the union flag and fish and chips topped the list of symbols and foods associated with being british. many of the pupils also looked on themselves as english scottish or welsh rather than british; while the notion of being european hardly occurred to anyone. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
immigration to be election issue immigration and asylum have normally been issues politicians from the big parties have tiptoed around at election time. but no longer. both labour and the tories have signalled their intention of making them central to their election campaigns. they have been struck by the level of concern amongst voters about the issues with internal surveys showing they have the potential to swing large numbers of votes. that was also true at the last general election and the issue did briefly become a campaigning issue. but it sparked the probably predictable furore with claims politicians were either stoking up xenophobia or alternatively running scared of addressing the problem. but this time around it looks set to be one of the core battlegrounds with both the big parties competing to set out tough policies. the tories are already committed to imposing annual limits on immigration with a quota for asylum seekers and with applications processed outside the uk. labour has already branded the proposal unworkable but party strategists have seen the tories seizing a poll advantage over the issue. now home secretary charles clarke has come up with alternative proposals for a points system to ensure only immigrants who can benefit the economy will be granted entry and to kick out more failed asylum seekers. that has been attacked by the tories as too little too late and for failing to tackle the key issue of the numbers entering the uk. the liberal democrats have not been drawn too deeply into the argument but have called for a europe-wide policy on immigration. but while all the parties appear to agree the time has come to properly debate and address the issue there are already signs they will run into precisely the same problems as before. former union | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blair labour s longest-serving pm tony blair has become the labour party s longest-serving prime minister. the 51-year-old premier has marked his 2 838th day in the post overtaking the combined length of harold wilson s two terms during the 1960s and 1970s. if mr blair wins the next election and fulfils his promise to serve a full third term he will surpass margaret thatcher s 11 years by the end of 2008. in 1997 mr blair became the youngest premier of the 20th century when he came to power at the age of 43. the last prime minister to be installed at a younger age was lord liverpool who was a year his junior in 1812. mr blair s other political firsts include becoming the first labour leader to win two successive full terms in power after the 2001 labour landslide. and the birth of the blairs fourth child leo on 20 may 2000 was the first child born to a serving prime minister in more than 150 years. the last downing street dad was lord john russell in 1848. labour won a huge majority of 167 over the conservatives in 2001 but mr blair has since been criticised by many in his own party. the war in iraq and reforms of the health service and education system have provoked dissent from backbenchers. gordon brown chancellor of the exchequer under mr blair became britain s longest-serving chancellor of modern times in 2004. former labour leader lord kinnock said the chancellor would be best placed to take over from mr blair. when asked about the future leadership of the party he told itv wales waterfront programme: that contest is a long way away and it will occur only when the prime minister tony blair decides he s subscribed all he | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
brown to outline presidency goals next year will be make or break for development in poorer countries gordon brown will say as he sets out uk goals for its eu and g8 presidencies. the chancellor is due to outline a series of key targets the government will be judged on in 2005. they will include doubling aid from donor countries and eliminating debt owed by the poorest nations. mr brown also wants other g8 nations to match his target for overseas aid - spending 0.7% of national income. he also wants the richer countries to do more to help the development of vaccines for aids and malaria. the chancellor is travelling to america next week as part of his persuasion drive over the issue. he told bbc radio 4 s today programme: we need more resources allied to progress on trade and progress on debt relief if we are going to make an impact on the problems of ill health of illiteracy of poverty particularly in africa but right through the developing countries. his proposals were effectively a new marshall plan for the world including an international finance facility which would issue bonds in an attempt to double global aid cash to $100bn a year. agreement in the doha development talks could also give developing nations the trading ability they needed he argued. the european union s common agricultural policy had caused aggravated trade problems he said but there was now an agreement to end export subsidies. mr brown said much had been achieved on issues such as debt relief in the last seven years. but with 30 000 children were dying unnecessarily every day more was needed including 100% debt relief multilaterally. that is why next year is a test he said. if after five years of making promises | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
brown names 16 march for budget chancellor gordon brown will deliver his budget to the house of commons on 16 march the treasury has announced. the budget likely to be the last before the general election will be at about 1230 gmt on that wednesday just after prime minister s question time. the annual event is when the chancellor outlines the government s taxation and broader economic predictions. the tories say it is likely the budget will contain measures to attract votes. the election is expected on 5 may. next month s budget will be mr brown s ninth since labour came to power in 1997. if a may election is called there could be as little as 18 days between the budget and the announcement of a date for the election. a shortened finance bill would have to be rushed through parliament with all-party support to allow the government to continue collecting revenue. the full finance bill with the budget measures in it would then be returned to the commons after the election if labour secures another term in office. tory shadow chancellor oliver letwin said: we can be sure of two things: the budget will contain measures to attract votes and it will not contain the £8 billion of tax rises which independent experts say are inevitable if labour wins the election. as mr brown announced the budget date in a short ministerial statement accountancy firm ernst & young urged him to put politics aside and focus on the long-term requirements of the economy. in the budgets that were given immediately before the last six elections taxes were cut by the incumbent chancellor and in many cases taxes were increased soon after the election result said aidan o carroll e&y s uk head of tax. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
taxes must be trusted - kennedy public trust in taxes is breaking down because labour and tories are not being straight with people on the issue lib dem leader charles kennedy has said. a day ahead of the government s pre-budget report mr kennedy used a speech to say his party was facing up to painful economic realities . he said the current level of taxation was about right although he would put a new 50% tax on top earners. other parties have accused the lib dems of making uncosted promises. mr kennedy made it clear he was determined to counter that accusation. the lib dems have already published what they say are the full costings for all their plans and wednesday s speech did not announce new policies. speaking at the commonwealth club mr kennedy said it was critical for a political party to have economic credibility both on what it promised and what it was expected to deliver. he said. budgets have to add up. tough choices are needed in public spending. the lib dems would cut low priority spending including the government s id cards scheme and the child trust fund. those cutbacks would free up funds for increasing basic state pensions for over-75s putting more police on the streets and reintroducing fee eye and dental checks he said. the lib dems argue they were honest about taxes in the past by calling for a 1p rise on income tax. now they say the only simple tax rise they want is a new 50% tax band for top earners to pay for scrapping university tuition fees providing free personal care for elderly and disabled people and keeping local taxes down. there would also be a local income tax to replace council tax and a number of changes | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
iraqis win death test case probe the family of an iraqi civilian allegedly killed by uk troops have won a challenge against the government s refusal to order a full inquiry. the high court ruled on tuesday that baha mousa s death in british custody in iraq fell within the european convention on human rights. and the judges paved the way for an independent inquiry by saying previous investigations were inadequate. but judicial reviews into five other deaths in southern iraq were ruled out. their families will be appealing against the judgement. the families solicitor phil shiner described it as a historic day for human rights and the rule of law in the uk . father-of-two mr mousa 28 a hotel receptionist was arrested with eight men seized at a hotel in basra in september 2003. he was allegedly beaten to death while in the custody of the queen s lancashire regiment. the iraqi families lawyer argued that failing to adequately investigate the death breached the european convention on human rights. ministry of defence lawyers argued the uk-controlled area of southern iraq was outside european jurisdiction. but lord justice rix and mr justice forbes ruled that uk jurisdiction could extend to a uk-run prison but did not apply to the total territory of another state . they said as mr mousa was in custody when he died his case came within the uk s jurisdiction. the other five iraqis did not die in custody so their cases had to fail they said. and it was difficult to say that the investigation which had already occurred has been timely open or effective the judges said. after the ruling carla ferstman legal director of the human rights organisation redress said: it is not enough for the military to investigate behind closed doors. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
galloway plea for hostage release ex-labour mp george galloway has appealed for the release of aid worker margaret hassan kidnapped in iraq. mrs hassan 59 who led care international operations in iraq was abducted in baghdad on 19 october. mr galloway was expelled from the labour party because of his staunch opposition to the war on iraq. he denied an earlier report that he planned to make a direct appeal to the kidnappers via the al-jazeera arabic television channel. speaking in london on saturday at the first annual delegate conference of his newly-founded party the respect coalition he said: i have deliberately not involved myself before in any of these situations. but this woman has been a prominent opponent of both the war and the preceding years of sanctions. i am prepared to do anything i can to help save her life. a spokesman later said mr galloway had friends in common with ms hassan who he described as a prominent anti-war activist and that he was willing to do anything - go to iraq or be an intermediary or anything that s necessary . since her abduction several videos of mrs hassan have been broadcast by al-jazeera. the latest footage showed mrs hassan asking for british troops to be pulled out of iraq. she also urged care international the aid agency she works for to close its office in baghdad and appealed for iraqi women prisoners to be freed. care has since closed down all its operations in iraq. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
hitler row over welsh arts cash an artist critical of welsh arts funding being brought under assembly government control has denied comparing the idea with dictatorships in russia and germany. shani rhys james is worried that the arts council of wales may be taken over by the welsh assembly government. culture minister alun pugh said it would be crass and ignorant to liken a quango review to hitler s germany. but ms james emphasised she had actually said artists needed freedom. the future of the arts council of wales has been in question since it was announced that most welsh quangos would eventually be abolished. it was announced last july that three welsh quangos education and training body elwa the wales tourist board and the welsh development agency would be brought under assembly government control. the arts council of wales may be among the next to come under the assembly government s umbrella. but ms james who won the £30 000 jerwood painting prize in 2003 said arts funding should be separate from government. ms james told bbc radio wales: it s quite dangerous when you involve politicians because it s not like the health service and it s not like the railways. free expression is absolutely vital in a democratic society. you need distance you do not need government interference because it could be taken the wrong way. but she said reports that she had likened the assembly government to totalitarian regimes were inaccurate. she told good morning wales: just to put the record straight that business in the paper where it said i likened the government to bolshevik russia or hitler s germany the actual quote i gave was: it is vital to a civilised society that we allow artists to express themselves without government control . as | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
few ready for information act thousands of public bodies are ill-prepared for the freedom of information act due to come into force next month because of government failures say mps. from next month anyone will have the power to demand information from a range of public bodies - from whitehall departments to doctors surgeries. but an all-party committee said it was not confident many would be ready. it blamed the department for constitutional affairs for a lack of consistent leadership . the act comes into effect in england wales and northern ireland on 1 january while similar measures are being brought in at the same time in scotland. it provides the public with a right of access to information held by about 100 000 public bodies subject to various exemptions. but the government department responsible for implementing the change suffered from an unusually high turnover of staff within the department which had seriously interfered with its work said the constitutional affairs select committee. it said despite four years of preparations some local authorities and parts of the health sector were still not ready. the dca had failed to provide early guidance on technical matters and shown a lack of consistent leadership the mps found. committee chairman alan beith said: the dca has had four years to prepare for freedom of information but with less than a month to go it appears that some bodies may not be well enough prepared. our report shows that in the past support and guidance from the dca which has overall responsibility for guiding the public sector through the process of implementation for the freedom of information regime has been lacking. a spokesman for the dca said: the dca has provided - and will continue to provide - strong clear leadership. it has delivered a | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
labour mps fears over squabbling if there is one thing certain to stiffen the spines of labour mps it is the prospect of losing their seats at a general election. and it was largely that fear that led to tony blair and gordon brown being read the riot act during a meeting of the parliamentary labour party. the views expressed by both backbenchers and labour peers over the claimed squabbling between the two men starkly demonstrated the widely-held view within the labour party that the two most powerful figures in the government are jeopardising the next election. as one hugely-disgruntled backbencher said before the meeting: it is time they realised it s not just my seat they are threatening but if they go on like this they could put the election in doubt. it is a sentiment that is now running throughout the labour benches with mps eager to underline the message to their leaders to stop the squabbling and get on with the job at hand. as paul flynn said: what has deeply upset the party is in this time of all times when we wanted to come together we wanted to lead on the global issues to change politics for the next decade the whole thing was wrecked by a piece of childishness by the two main people in the party two people we greatly respect. stephen pound echoed the message saying: we know that the one thing that could entirely jeopardise what we are trying to achieve not for the labour party but for this country is the appearance of division. we remember the 1980s . they backed the suggestion that unless the squabbling stopped the people briefing on behalf of the two men would be named and shamed . the dressing down appears to have done | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
abbas will not tolerate attacks palestinian leader mahmoud abbas has said he will not tolerate attacks such as last friday s suicide bombing in the israeli city of tel aviv. in an interview ahead of a meeting in london to discuss palestinian reforms mr abbas said such attacks were against palestinian interests. the palestinian authority (pa) was exerting a 100% effort to end the violence mr abbas added. the attack which killed five was the first of its kind since he took office. mr abbas confirmed israel shared information with the pa in the hunt for the organisers of the attack. the israeli government refuses to accept syria s denials that it was implicated in the nightclub bombing. israeli officials gave an intelligence briefing to foreign ambassadors on monday explaining syria s alleged involvement. british foreign minister jack straw said there had been a continuing stream of information suggesting palestinian militant groups were operating from within syria. in an email interview in the british newspaper the independent mr abbas said: we believe peace is possible now and we are ready to negotiate with israel to reach a true and lasting peace based on justice and international legitimacy. he added: we have an opportunity and it would be irresponsible if we the israelis or the world allow it to slip away. tuesday s meeting on palestinian reform is being hosted by british prime minister tony blair. also due to attend are us secretary of state condoleezza rice un secretary general kofi annan world bank officials and foreign ministers from 23 european and arab countries. the conference was a vital step in renewing the peace process mr straw said. it s a high-level attendance which reflects the sense of momentum and opportunity created by recent events he added. a spokesman for mr | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
no more concessions on terror charles clarke says he has no desire to offer more concessions on his controversial anti-terror plans to get them on to the statute book. mps voted in favour of the prevention of terrorism bill after mr clarke agreed to key changes - but labour s majority was reduced to 14. the bill now faces opposition from peers angry at house arrest proposals. lord strathclyde tory leader in the lords said ministers should expect it to be substantially re-written . the bill proposes control orders which as well as house arrest could impose curfews tagging or bans on telephone and internet use. they would replace current powers to detain foreign terror suspects without trial which the law lords have ruled against. on monday mps voted 272-219 in favour of the bill after key concessions from mr clarke. the government earlier saw its 161-strong majority cut to just 14 as a cross-party amendment was narrowly rejected by the commons despite the support of 62 labour rebels. mr clarke won over critics by announcing he would introduce an amendment in the lords to ensure the most controversial control order amounting to house arrest would be imposed by judges and not politicians. lord strathclyde warned ministers that they should prepare themselves for substantial rewriting of various aspects of the bill . they should consider far more seriously the use of intercept evidence in any trial and i think they should drop the most objectionable proposals which are for house arrest. but mr clarke told bbc radio 4 s today programme he believed the changes he had made to the bill to win over critics in the commons should be sufficient to satisfy colleagues in the lords. no bill goes through parliament without detailed consideration being made but i believe | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
jack cunningham to stand down veteran labour mp and former cabinet minister jack cunningham has said he will stand down at the next election. one of the few blair-era ministers to serve under jim callaghan he was given the agriculture portfolio when labour regained power in 1997. mr cunningham went on to become tony blair s cabinet enforcer . he has represented the constituency now known as copeland since 1970. mr blair said he was a huge figure in labour and a valued personal friend . during labour s long period in opposition mr cunningham held a number of shadow roles including foreign affairs the environment and as trade spokesman. as agriculture minister he caused controversy when he decided to ban beef on the bone in the wake of fears over bse. he quit the government in 1999 and in recent years has served as the chairman of the all-party committee on lords reform and has been a loyal supporter of the government from the backbenches. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blair and brown criticised by mps labour mps have angrily criticised tony blair and gordon brown amid renewed reports of a rift between the two men. a meeting of the parliamentary labour party saw a succession of normally loyal members warn that feuding could jeopardise labour s election hopes. the pm insisted nothing would derail labour s campaign despite a new book saying he has upset his chancellor by backing out of a pledge to stand aside. mr brown will again be in the public eye at the party s new poster launch. in what the party had hoped would be perceived as a show of unity he is due to line up alongside alan milburn - the man controversially appointed as the party s election supremo - and deputy leader john prescott for the event in london on tuesday. relations between mr brown and mr milburn are widely reported to be cool ever since mr blair brought the latter back into the cabinet to run labour s election campaign a role successfully carried out by mr brown in both 1997 and 2001. mr blair told the parliamentary labour party on monday: i know from everyone here in cabinet and government nothing is going to get in the way of a unified labour party with a unified position and winning the third term people desperately need. the prime minister and his chancellor arrived within seconds of each other for the meeting of the plp and were seemingly in good spirits as it started. new speculation about the state of their relationship was sparked by claims in brown s britain by sunday telegraph journalist robert peston which suggested mr blair went back on a pledge to make way for mr brown. labour s paul flynn said mr blair and mr brown | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
schools to take part in mock poll record numbers of schools across the uk are to take part in a mock general election backed by the government. some 600 schools have already signed up for the y vote mock elections 2005 run by the hansard society and aimed at boosting interest in politics. pupils in the schools taking part will learn the skills of speech writers canvassers and political candidates. schools minister stephen twigg said engaging young people s interest was essential to the future of democracy. he added: said young people who are engaged and motivated by the political process are essential to the future health of our democracy. the mock elections initiative provides an opportunity for pupils to develop their own understanding of how the democratic process works and why it matters. by experiencing the election process first hand - from running a campaign to the declaration of the final result - we hope that young people will develop the enthusiasm to take part in the future. the hansard society the electoral commission and the department for education and skills are running the programme. pupils will stand as party candidates speech writers and canvassers. michael raftery project manager at the hansard society said: the y vote mock elections for schools mirror the excitement and buzz of a real election raising awareness of citizenship and the benefits of active democracy. the mock votes will take place around 5 may widely expected to be the date of the general election. information packs including ballot papers and manifesto guides with elections happening in early may were sent out to the 3 000 schools invited to take part. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
profile: david blunkett before he resigned the position of home secretary on wednesday david blunkett had been in charge of a substantial body of government portfolios including race policing and immigration. his responsibilities in running the home office included civil emergencies security terrorism and expenditure. named home secretary after the 2001 general election mr blunkett had seen the focus on his office intensify. the attacks on the world trade center on 11 september 2001 heightened concern for security and immigration in particular. a labour loyalist from a working class background mr blunkett 57 had been unafraid of pushing for tough changes to labour policy. recently the issue of identity cards had provoked controversy with questions raised over cost and invasions of civil liberties. mr blunkett was also at the centre of a humiliating scandal involving the former immigration minister beverly hughes. having received his full backing ms hughes was forced to resign in april over abuses in the visa processing system which she claimed to be unaware of. mr blunkett s own comments on immigration had prompted censure - he told refugees from afghanistan and kosovo to get back home to start rebuilding their countries. and he also urged people from ethnic minorities to develop a sense of belonging in britain telling them to speak english at home. avoiding political correctness is second nature to the former home secretary who spurns a metropolitan elite and airy fairy libertarians and earlier in the year coined the phrase liberati as an amalgam of glitterati and liberal . yet in january of this year he courted further controversy over his seemingly liberal reclassification of cannabis from a grade b to grade c status drug . before the recent furore mr blunkett had always appeared more interested in politics than his personal life. mr | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
tories reject rethink on axed mp sacked mp howard flight s local conservative association has insisted he will not be its candidate at the general election. russell tanguay agent for arundel and south downs tories said mr flight was ineligible to be a candidate and the association was seeking a substitute. the news comes despite mr flight s allies saying they had enough support to hold a meeting to discuss his fate. mr flight landed in trouble over remarks on tory tax and spending plans. he quit as tory deputy chairman after apparently suggesting the tories planned extra spending cuts - but he wants to continue as an mp. tory headquarters says he cannot stand as a conservative candidate because he is no longer an approved candidate. mr tanguay backed that view on tuesday saying: howard flight is ineligible to stand as a conservative party candidate. the association is in the process of selecting a new candidate. but the local tory chairman made similar comments on friday and dissent continues. two local councillors who back mr flight met mr tanguay and the local association s chairman in arundel on tuesday afternoon but did not comment as they left the meeting. mr flight says he will not stand down as a candidate unless his local party instructs him to do so at an extraordinary general meeting (egm). the mp who is consulting his lawyers told bbc news: they selected me and they if you like dispose of me or keep me. mr flight s supporters also say they have the 50 signatures needed to trigger the egm. at a news conference mr howard insisted he had played by the party s rules. the tory leader who argues he is ensuring honesty said: we do not say one thing in private and | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
parties build up poll war chests the labour party received more than £5m in donations in the final quarter of 2004 new figures show. this is nearly half of the £11 724 929 received by 16 political parties listed by the electoral commission. the conservatives were in second place with donations totalling £4 610 849 while the liberal democrats received just over £1m. the majority of labour s donations came from affiliated trade unions. there were also large sums from individuals. lord drayson whose company powderject won multi-million pound contracts to provide smallpox vaccine to the government after the 11 september terror attacks gave £500 000 to the party just days before christmas. this followed an earlier donation of the same amount earlier in 2004. he was made a lord by tony blair last year. other significant donations came from retired millionaire businessman and philanthropist sir christopher ondaatje who gave the party a sum of £500 000 and refrigerator magnate william haughey obe who gave £330 000. the totals for the fourth quarter were well up on the same period of 2003 as the parties built up their war chests for the general election campaign. the largest donation to the conservatives was a bequest from ruth beardmore of nearly £400 000. the joint founder of merchant bank hambro magan gave £325 417. there were also donations topping £250 000 for the conservatives from scottish business groups focus on scotland and the institute of international research the world s largest independent conference company. also among the gifts to the tories were 24 donations totalling £161 840 from bearwood corporate services. this company is controlled by the party s former treasurer lord ashcroft which has directed almost £300 000 to specific marginal constituencies over the past two years. the liberal democrats largest | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
blair sees greater bush consensus george w bush will display a more consensual approach to world politics as he begins his second term as us president tony blair has said. the prime minister said mr bush had learned military force was not the only way to fight terrorism. he understood that the best prospect of peaceful co-existence lies in the spread of democracy and human rights mr blair told the guardian newspaper. mr bush was sworn in at a ceremony in washington dc on thursday. echoing the new us secretary of state condoleezza rice the prime minister said there has been a clear evolution of us policy since the war in afghanistan in 2001. mr blair had personally seen the change over time in conversations with mr bush. the president understood that while military and security measures were important there also needed to be a multilateral approach to solving the world s problems. turning to critics fears that the us was poised for further military action mr blair refused to give succour to suggestions it was preparing for strikes against iran. the prime minister conceded that the us had what appears to be a harder position towards the state than europe. but the prime minister pointed out that until now the us had allowed britain france and germany to take the lead in trying to halt the iranian nuclear programme. following claims that us forces had worked inside iran to identify potential targets mr blair was asked if the sas had also been in the country. we never answer questions about special forces but do not take that as indicating an affirmative said mr blair. mr blair said he believed the president was keen to work with other countries while trying to spread democracy and human rights. it is significant | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
fox attacks blair s tory lies tony blair lied when he took the uk to war so has no qualms about lying in the election campaign say the tories. tory co-chairman liam fox was speaking after mr blair told labour members the tories offered a hard right agenda . dr fox told bbc radio: if you are willing to lie about the reasons for going to war i guess you are going to lie about anything at all. he would not discuss reports the party repaid £500 000 to lord ashcroft after he predicted an election defeat. the prime minister ratcheted up labour s pre-election campaigning at the weekend with a helicopter tour of the country and his speech at the party s spring conference. he insisted he did not know the poll date but it is widely expected to be 5 may. in what was seen as a highly personal speech in gateshead on sunday mr blair said: i have the same passion and hunger as when i first walked through the door of 10 downing street. he described his relationship with the public as starting euphoric then struggling to live up to the expectations and reaching the point of raised voices and throwing crockery . he warned his supporters against complacency saying: it s a fight for the future of our country it s a fight that for britain and the people of britain we have to win. mr blair said that whether the public chose michael howard or mr kennedy it would result in a tory government not a labour government and a country that goes back and does not move forward . dr fox accused mr blair and other cabinet ministers of telling lies about their opponents policies and then attacking the lies. what we learned | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
lib dems predict best ever poll the lib dems are set for their best results in both the general election and the local council polls one of their frontbenchers has predicted. local government spokesman ed davey was speaking as the party launched its campaign for the local elections being held in 37 english council areas. the flagship pledge is to replace council tax with a local income tax. the tories say the lib dems would make people pay more tax and labour says the party s sums do not add up. looking to the coming elections which are all expected to be held on 5 may mr davey said: we are going to be winning more votes and winning more seats. i think we are going to have the best general election results and local election results we have ever had under [party leader] charles kennedy. i couldn t think of a stronger endorsement of a leader. | 0 | bbc_news | This text is about politics. | 0 | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 |
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