| Stats show scale of pupil attacks As powers to search pupils for weapons are due to come into force in Wales, figures show more than 1,800 were injured in attacks last year. bbc.co.uk |
Lib Dem David Laws returns to shed new light on coalition negotiations with Tories David Cameron's statement that Labour had offered to scrap the current electoral system without a referendum may have been due to 'confusion in the smoke and heat of battle', says former chief secretary to the TreasuryOne of the key Liberal Democrat negotiators of the coalition deal with the Tories said today that David Cameron's statement that Labour had offered to scrap the current electoral system without a referendum may have been due to "confusion in the smoke and heat of battle".David Laws, the former chief secretary to the Treasury, was giving evidence today to the Commons political and constitutional reform committee's inquiry into how the coalition was formed after May's election, and was asked to clarify exactly what had been suggested to the Conservative leader about Labour's intentions to scrap first past the post.Tory MPs are unhappy that, at the time of the coalition formation, their leader told them he had had no choice but to acquiesce to a referendum on the alternative vote electoral system even though the Conservatives are ideologically opposed to it.The question is key because – after talks with Labour collapsed – the Tories and Lib Dems were able to clinch a deal when Cameron surprised Lib Dem negotiators by moving further than they thought he would and offering them a referendum on introducing the alternative vote for Westminster.In a meeting at the time, Cameron persuaded his MPs to support him in this offer by telling them that the Labour party had told the Lib Dems a Lib-Lab coalition could change the voting system without a referendum. The issue is a running sore for some Tory backbenchers, who question whether they were misled in supporting the Tory-Lib Dem coalition.In a documentary made by the BBC's political editor, Nick Robinson, over the summer, both Cameron and Clegg were asked about this. Robinson asked Cameron whether he misled his MPs by saying Labour would give the Lib Dems voting reform without a referendum.Cameron replied: "No, because I was absolutely certain in my own mind that was the case, and I had I think good reason to be certain ... A number of people had told me what was, what they thought was going on and conversations that were taking place about AV without a referendum. I'd also had a conversation with Nick [Clegg] when I'd argued very vigorously that you couldn't do alternative vote without a referendum; it would be wrong."Robinson went on to ask Clegg whether it was inaccurate to say he told Cameron he could get the alternative vote without a referendum from Labour. Clegg replied: "The perception, which I think was accurate, was discussions are out and it might have been an offer that might have been made and might have been considered. In answer to your direct question – was it ever formally made to me? – no, it wasn't formally made to me."Today Tory committee member Christopher Chope reiterated that Conservative MPs were warned by their leaders that they should back a referendum because Labour was offering AV without a public vote but David Laws said he was not aware of any such offer.Asked if Tory MPs had been "completely misled" by their leadership, he replied: "I think this was one of the things that was an issue of confusion in the smoke and heat of the battle."Laws served for just 17 days as chief secretary to the Treasury in the coalition government before resigning over expenses, and has written a forthcoming book about the formation of the new government. He said the party had a strategy for coalition negotiations in place as early as March. Today Laws also said that in the absence of the then-chancellor, Alistair Darling, in the negotiating teams, there was no one on the Labour side with the authority to negotiate on key economic policies.Lord Adonis, one of Labour's negotiators, also spoke to the committee today. The former transport secretary dismissed the claim as "complete nonsense". He said Clegg's party made clear from the beginning that any deal had to include a commitment to eliminate the structural deficit during the course of a parliament, something the Lib Dems had opposed during the election campaign.Adonis said that Clegg turned down an offer made by Gordon Brown of direct talks on economic policy between the chancellor and Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable.Instead Adonis accused Lib Dems of spreading "disinformation" about the talks to cover up the fact that they had intended from the outset to side with the Conservatives.Laws praised the Tory negotiating team, saying they "had done a lot of work, were very serious and very well prepared". Cameron himself, Laws said, appeared to prefer the option of formal coalition to a minority Tory administration.Adonis disagreed with this. He said: "What happened was a political decision on their part to go with the Conservatives. It wasn't anything to do with the composition of the negotiating teams."The alternative vote system allows voters to list candidates in order of preference, instead of just marking an X by the one they like best. If the referendum bill passes, the plebiscite will take place in May.Liberal-Conservative coalitionDavid LawsLiberal DemocratsConservativesLabourElectoral reformConstitutional reformPolitics pastAllegra Strattonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
'I lost my job on day of cuts' BBC Radio 5 live's Tony Livesey speaks to Frank, a public sector worker who was made redundant on the day of Osborne's cuts. bbc.co.uk |
Wikileaks shows 'criticism of UK' A new leak of US government documents includes serious criticism of UK operations in Afghanistan, according to the Guardian. bbc.co.uk |
Osborne sees the road to recovery despite report New fiscal watchdog warns economic situation is delicately balanced, while Labour says government predictions are overly optimisticGeorge Osborne vowed yesterday to press ahead with spending cuts and tax rises, despite concerns that a report by the government's fiscal watchdog showed the recovery was delicately balanced and could be derailed if exports faltered or unemployment went up faster than expected.The chancellor, who was accused of not having a plan B, told the Commons he would "stick to the course" following a report by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) that provided both ministers and opposition MPs with ammunition as they debated the fate of the economy.Osborne said the OBR's independent forecast backed his view that the UK was likely to avoid a double-dip recession next year and grow steadily over the life of the parliament. It said the economy would grow by 1.8% this year – a substantial increase on the 1.2% previously expected, and greater than forecasts by international groups such as the OECD.Osborne told MPs: "This is an uncertain world but the British recovery is on track. Employment is growing, one million more jobs are being created, the deficit is set to fall, the plan is working. So we will stick to the course. That is the only way to help confidence to flourish and growth to return."The OBR report, made in response to the government's comprehensive spending review, also backed projections by the Treasury that the UK's annual budget deficit would be reduced from one of the highest in the G20 to one of the lowest following five years of austerity.Osborne said the UK would avoid the fate of Ireland, which has agreed to accept an £85bn bailout, with £7bn from the UK.The OBR also revised downwards its forecast for the number of job losses in the public sector, from 490,000 to 330,000, after a switch from cuts in Whitehall spending to cuts in welfare payments over the next five years.But the OBR said growth over the next two years would be less than expected, giving support to opposition claims that austerity measures would hurt the recovery. Critics of the tax and spending plans said the coalition was gambling that exports would rise and businesses would dramatically increase employment to drive Britain out of recession.Several business groups and City analysts joined the shadow chancellor, Alan Johnson, in calling the OBR's forecasts "overly optimistic" when the world economy was slowing and continental Europe was in the grip of a debt crisis.Johnson characterised Osborne's approach as a "reckless gamble" that relied too heavily on exports and could lead to a "jobless recovery". He said the chancellor was attempting fiscal tightening at a rate that had only been attempted twice in living memory – both times by countries benefiting from strong growth.Douglas Alexander, the shadow work and pensions secretary, will warn in a speech today that "In the current economic crisis, no country other than Ireland has attempted to cut so deeply, so quickly," he told MPs. "The chancellor has chosen to take an unprecedented gamble with people's livelihoods and the country's future, and he has done so on the basis of a fundamental deceit that when he assumed office the public finances were worse than expected. …" The reckless gamble that members opposite support is still to come. The chancellor is in the casino, but he hasn't spun the wheel yet."Osborne's austerity drive will make the return to pre-recession levels of employment "slower and more painful" than many people expect. With the dole queue shrinking by just 15,000 since the coalition came to power, it could take 15 years before numbers claiming out-of-work benefits drop below one million if present trends continue, he will say.Most economists have spent the last three months downgrading forecasts for next year after surveys showed a slump in confidence among consumers and businesses. With house prices falling and much of the rise in employment attributed to part-time workers, consumer spending is expected to weaken.The OBR forecast growth would moderate next year from 2.3% to 2.1%, as exports and business investment slowed.According to analysts at Cambridge Econometrics, even this forecast was optimistic, while David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, warned the economy would struggle next year and unemployment was likely rise above the 8% predicted by the OBR.The TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber, said Osborne "must have missed the forecast showing unemployment little better than static for the next three years". He added: "What is the point of economic policy if it does not include getting people back to work? And while the OBR report is full of uncertainty [about the economy] … George Osborne does not have the plan B any sensible chancellor should."Osborne, who used his response to the OBR report to announce a review of corporation tax, said borrowing this year was expected to be £1bn less than forecast in June. He added: "On the OBR's central forecast, we will meet our fiscal mandate to eliminate the structural current budget deficit one year early, in 2014-15. And the same is true for our target to get debt falling as a percentage of GDP." Over the forecast period, Osborne said £19bn would be saved in interest payments on the national debt.George OsborneTax and spendingLiberal-Conservative coalitionLabourEconomic growth (GDP)EconomicsPhillip InmanPolly Curtisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |