British politics in turmoil

A day before Britons go to the polls in local and European elections, the Labour party is in turmoil. Amid controversy over MP’s expenses several high ranking politicians have announced their intention to stand down from the cabinet. On Tuesday it was announced that Home Secretary Jacqui Smith was to step down from her position in the next cabinet reshuffle expected next week.

Within hours of this news breaking four other Labour Members of Parliament announced their intention to step down. Children's minister Beverley Hughes and ex-health secretary Patricia Hewitt said they would also resign their positions. Political turmoil continued after it was reported that Ian Gibson, Margaret Moran, Elliott Morley and David Chaytor would be barred from standing as MPs at the next general election scheduled for 2010. And on Wednesday Communities Secretary Hazel Blears announced she was quitting from her cabinet position.

Leadership contest

Gordon Brown has continually insisted he will not resign his position as prime minister nor hold an early general election. But as more and more ministers stepped down his position has been considered untenable by many political commentators.

One political pundit said there was little the prime minister could do except perhaps “saving a drowning kitten from the river Thames”. Speaking on Sky News the Times political correspondent said, “Short of the arch-angel Gabriel coming down I can’t see what he can do”.

On the street anger is building amongst the general public. One lorry driver angry at the current Labour administration told tvnewswatch that “political change was on its way”.

“Gordon Brown is washed up,” he said as he went on to criticise the prime minister’s latest initiatives. “His scrappage scheme is not going to work,” he said, “I drive hundreds of miles across the country and I see thousands of unsold cars parked up near Avon docks near Bristol.”

As a lorry driver he was also worried about his own job. “No-one’s secure in this economic climate,” he said.

Opposition parties were taking particular advantage of the situation with Shadow Commons Secretary Theresa May saying the government had “lost its authority” and was “in meltdown”. The Conservative MP said a general election was needed and that only “David Cameron can take this country forward”.

But many Labour MPs were pulling rank in support of Gordon Brown. “It would be madness to oust the Prime Minister at this stage,” Martin Salter, MP for Reading West, said. “He’s the best person to lead the country through the recession,” he insisted, but he conceded Gordon Brown had been "dealt with a pretty tough hand”.

Even Jacqui Smith, who is standing down as home secretary, insisted that Gordon Brown was the right man for the job and that there were “no wimps in the Labour party”.

A rowdy PMQs

The party in freefall, as it has been described by some, faced a grilling as the prime minister stood up in parliament during PMQs [Prime Ministers Questions]. Leader of the opposition, David Cameron, said the government was “collapsing before our eyes,” and called on the prime minister to “get down to the palace and call for a dissolution” of parliament.

But Gordon Brown defended his position insisting there was "still work to be done” and accused the Conservative party of having no policies. “They are all words, words and words,” the prime minister said.

But Cameron continued, saying that Brown was “in denial” following the resignations and departures of so many Labour MPs. Stuttering his way though his response the PM said there were pressures on all members of parliament in the house.

Cameron’s continued lambasting of the prime minister caused uproar in the house among the Labour benches and brought a threat from the speaker. “There is a danger of the house being suspended if the leader of the opposition is shouted down,” Michael Martin exclaimed.

Cameron went on to describe the government as dysfunctional and said the main issue was one of leadership. He was also critical of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, who was vehemently defended by Gordon Brown who said he was “doing a very good job.”

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg also laid into the Labour party. He said the government was “paralysed” and that “Labour was finished”. There was only two choices for voters, he insisted, that of the Conservatives or his own party.

A scathing press

The government has suffered weeks of criticism from the British press with daily reports concerning expenses claimed by MPs. While no party has been spared from the uncomfortable revelations, it is the Labour party that has suffered in the polls and courted public anger. But the press coverage has also angered MPs with Keith Vaz, Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, calling it a “media frenzy”.

The latest resignations brought strong headlines in many of Wednesday's newspapers. The Daily Telegraph, which broke the details of MP’s expenses, ran with the headline “Cabinet meltdown” and accused the departing Members of Parliament of milking the system “to the end”.

The Daily Mail reported the story with the headline “Rats desert sinking ship”, while the Independent described the situation as “Disarray in Downing Street”.

The Sun called it Labour’s blackest day and ran with the headline “Blunderbird” with a spoof image of Jacqui Smith dressed as a Gerry Anderson Thunderbird puppet. The comparison to the 1960’s children’s television series was more than a little ironic. It will need more than International Rescue to pull the party from the quagmire of the political mud it has found itself.

Important elections

Despite the difficulties the Labour party faces, those within its ranks have urged people to vote on June 4th. “There's an important set of elections tomorrow. My message is simple: get out and vote Labour,” Hazel Blears said in her resignation statement.

Others within the party warned that racist parties such as the British National Party would be given a boost if people stayed away from the polls. Barry Gardiner, a backbench MP, said “I would absolutely urge everybody, whether they vote for my party or any other party, to get out there and vote, as long as they don’t vote for the racists.”

The political infighting seen amongst the Labour ranks is nothing new in British politics. In the 1990s the then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, was forced out, handing the reigns to John Major who himself had conflicts with some of his cabinet.

He too suffered from internal squabbling and once referred to some of his cabinet as those “bastards”.

John Major was caught on tape talking about possible reshuffles in his cabinet while preparing for an interview with ITN [Independent Television News]. During the conversation, which was not intended for broadcast, Major said, "I could bring in other people. But where do you think most of this poison is coming from? From the dispossessed and the never-possessed. You can think of ex-ministers who are going around causing all sorts of trouble.”

Then came the punch line. “We don't want another three more of the bastards out there. What's Lyndon Johnson's maxim?..."

It was at this point that someone, presumably an ITN technician, realised what was happening and pulled the plug. "Johnson's maxim" was, incidentally, a reference to FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, whom he declined to sack on the basis that "it's probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out than outside pissing in".

It appears there are quite a few Labour MPs pissing into Gordon Brown’s tent. And as British politics begins to smell a bit rank the electorate will make their voices known.

Though it is widely believed Labour will do badly, it is unclear whether there will be a major endorsement for the other parties.

US 'shock jock' to sue Jacqui Smith

Savage attack: Michael Savage says he's been libeled by Home secretary

British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith may find herself in court in the coming months after placing an American radio presenter on a list of persons banned from Britain. Michael Savage, a so called ‘shock jock’, has joined a list which included convicted terrorists, murderers and Islamic fanatics. But his addition to the list has angered the 67 year old presenter who insists he has been defamed by the Home Secretary.

And in response he has threatened to sue Ms Smith personally, unless he is removed from the list and receives a written apology.

Britain’s ‘least wanted’

The list of Britain’s “least wanted” which was published this week seeks to exclude people the government considers dangerous. It is made up of 22 individuals, though only 16 are named. It names 7 radical Islamists, one Jewish radical, two Russian right wing extremists and several US citizens ranging from neo Nazis to radical preachers.

Amongst those mentioned are the Hamas MP Yunis Al Astal. He once claimed that ““Rome will be conquered [by Islam], just like Constantinople” and is considered by the Home Office to be an individual who engages in “unacceptable behaviour by seeking to foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs and to provoke others to terrorist acts." Others Islamic extremists include Hezbollah terrorist Samir Al Quntar and preacher Amir Siddique. Samir Al Quntar once participated in the attempted kidnapping of an Israeli family in Nahariya that resulted in the deaths of four Israelis and two of his fellow kidnappers. He was released from prison last year after 29 years in prison. Other Islamic radicals included are Nasr Javed, Wadgy Abd El Hamied Mohamed_Ghoneim, Abdullah Qadri Al Ahdal and Safwat Hijazi.

It’s not just Islamic extremists on the list. Jewish extremist Mike Guzovsky is also included. Guzorsky is listed as a contact for the US banned terror organisation Kahane.org.

Far right Russian skinheads Artur Ryno and Pavel Skachevsky said to be responsible for leading a violent gang that beat migrants and posted films of their attacks on the internet have been banned from Britain, though both are languishing in prison following their conviction in 2007 in connection with the murder of 37 people.

Apart from Michael Savage, there are 5 other Americans on the list. Ex-Ku Klux Klan grand wizard Stephen Donald Black, neo-Nazi Erich Gliebe, Muslim activist Abdul Alim Musa, radical pastor Fred Waldron Phelps and Shirley Phelps-Roper.

Many of those named on the list have not expressed any specific desire to travel to the UK, and at least three are currently in prison.

Defamation claims

Following the publication of the list, Michael Savage, whose real name is Michael Weiner, said he was shocked.

“I looked at the headline on the Drudge Report and I couldn’t believe it,” Savage told listeners on his radio show, “I thought it was a joke.”

But his shock turned to anger after the DJ found out who he’d been associated with.
"For this lunatic Jacqui Smith, to link me up with skinheads killing people in Russia and mass murderers who kill Jews on buses is defamation,” Savage proclaimed. “She has put a target on my back,” the controversial radio presenter added, and said he would sue the British politician.

Jacqui Smith has justified the inclusion of Mr Savage on the list saying he was “someone who has fallen into the category of fomenting hatred, of such extreme views and expressing them in such a way that it is actually likely to cause intercommunity tension or even violence if that person were allowed into the country.”

Britain’s Prime Minister, Gordon Brown also defended the government position. “There will have been specific decisions made by the Home Office based on the evidence that they have,” he said. “Our general position is that we do want to make a distinction between reasonable and moderate debate and actions that deliberately set out to create tensions.”

Following the release of the list, several news organisations clamoured for interviews from Savage, who is not well known in Britain. The BBC, Sky News and CNN all covered the story giving Michael Savage more publicity than he could have imagined.

The irony is that the decision to include the ‘shock jock’ on the ‘least wanted’ list has served to bring his views to a far wider audience. Few in Britain would have heard of Savage or his programme the “Savage Nation” before this week. In years past his show could only be heard on short wave radio, but with the advent of the Internet many can easily tune in to his chat show.

Ranting and raving

For those who listened in to the several affiliate stations which carry the Savage Nation, they were met with the ranting of an angry man. Savage, who has published several books and holds a PhD, claims he has up to 10 million listeners across America. From this large base he says he will launch boycott of British goods and travel to the country.

“Britain will suffer financially from this mistake,” Michael Savage told his listeners on Thursday. In his show which warns listeners of “adult language and psychological nudity”, Savage claims he represents the majority of what America believes.

“I talk about family values,” he said, running a campaign of “Borders, language and culture”.

His views are nonetheless very strong. He has spoken out very strongly against homosexuality and Islamic terrorists. He has also been criticised for statements made about autism, though he says he has made mistakes at times. But he insists he has never incited violence.

He holds nothing back in his criticism of those he dislikes. On Thursday night’s show he called the British government “extremist” and described Home Secretary Jacqui Smith as a “Witch”, a “hateful person” and a “creature”.

“I am going to use attorneys of England to sue Jacqui Smith,” he said, “Send me a letter of apology or you will find yourself in the courts.”

Callers to the show were unsurprisingly supportive of the right-wing DJ. One caller who claimed to be a former London police office calling from within the US said the British government had chosen a “White American radical Jew to appease the Islamists”.

“They are petrified of radical Muslims” the caller said, and in order to placate those that might feel the Muslim population had been unfairly singled out, Savage had been added to the list. “I’ve heard that,” Savage said, but avoided direct agreement.

Britain an "extremist nation"

His show was punctuated with bursts of Rule Britannia, the Russian ex-Soviet Nationale and the Sex Pistol’s God Save the Queen. At one point he played what he regarded as one of the most important speeches of all time, that given by Winston Churchill on June 18th 1940.

“What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us.

Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science.

Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.' ”

It was all a part of his attempt to show how Britain had lost sight of its once well founded principles of democracy and free speech laid out in the Magna Carta.

“If they don’t get some backbone they won’t have a nation” Savage declared.

“People are saying to me that this is the last gasp of a troubled Labour party that is out of touch with the voters of England,” Savage told reporters earlier. “That's all well and good but will the Conservatives undo the damage that this lunatic has done?”

Oxygen of publicity

Whether or not his views are dangerous, as the government maintains, their efforts to exclude him from Britain, has only increased his public profile. But it is not the first time such plans have backfired. In February this year Dutch right wing politician Geert Wilders was turned back at Heathrow by authorities because of his views. As a result he was unable to attend a meeting in London’s parliament, but the publicity served only to increase his public profile. His controversial film Fitna subsequently received record hits on video websites and there were pages of debate in the national press and on television about a previously unheard of politician.

In fact the banning of people, books and records has often served to make them more popular than they otherwise would have been. By banning Savage, the Labour party, which are already suffering in the polls, has courted yet more bad publicity for itself. From a failing economy, criticism over MP’s expenses to accusations of directing the country towards a police state, the government is on the defensive. A libel case against the Home Secretary is the last thing it needs.

"Rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic"

Alistair Darling announced his budget in parliament today [Wednesday] but it has drawn a poor reception from opposition parties and commentators. One e-mailer to Sky News described it as merely “rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic”.

It is a recession that has brought the worst debts in over 50 years and unemployment rates that continue to rise to record levels.

Opposition leader David Cameron said that the government had brought decades of debt. “The last Labour government left the dead unburied, this Labour government leaves the debts unpaid,” he said.

“What is the point of another 14 months of a government of the Living Dead,” he lambasted.

Similar views were expressed by other members of parliament with Liberal Democratic Party leader Nick Clegg accusing the government of being “out of ideas and running out of steam”.

Cigarettes & Alcohol

Many pub goers will be steaming after Darling’s announcement to increase the tax on alcohol by 2%. The decision has angered the British Beer & Publicans’ Association [BBPA] and the Campaign for Real Ale which has lobbied hard to ease pressure on Britain’s pubs, which are now closing at a rate of 39 per week.

There is little solace for smokers who will see cigarettes rise by 2%. And motorists will be fuming after the Chancellor announced petrol would rise by two pence per litre in September and a further penny per litre every April for the next few years.

Tax on beer will hit every drinker in every pub and taxes on fuel will hit every motorist driving to work, Cameron said.

The BBPA said, “Today’s Budget signs the death warrant for thousands of Britain’s pubs and for tens of thousands of British jobs.”

Meanwhile motoring organisations have criticised the fuel tax rises. RAC motoring strategist Adrian Tink said, "Today's announcement is another brutal blow for motorists who have already witnessed a decade of non-stop increases and price rises.”

“It's time for the Government to stop treating motorists' pockets as a bottomless pit of money and recognise their right to drive at a fair, affordable price,” he added.
Car scrappage

There was scepticism over the government’s car scappage scheme which is aimed at reducing the amount of the more polluting cars on Britain’s roads. It is also hoped the scheme will help boost the car industry. From next month, until March 2010, motorists will be offered a £2,000 discount on new cars if they trade in cars older than 10 years. But the cars to be scrapped must have passed an MoT and there has been criticism that the scheme is too bureaucratic.

While the government is putting £1,000 into the scheme it is looking to manufacturers for a matching contribution. It has prompted some to say the scheme may prove to be uneconomic, given that the motor industry will also have to pay for the disposal of the old vehicles.

But Paul Everitt, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders was broadly optimistic about the government plan.

“This is good news for consumers and will get people back into showrooms, kick-starting demand in the market,” Everitt said.

“The scheme recognises the economic value of the motor industry and we are determined to make it a success. There is clearly a great deal to do and we look forward to discussing the finer detail of the proposal with government in the coming days.”

Tax

The Chancellor announced he would raise income tax for those earning more than £150,000 per year to 50% as from April 2010. But while this may bring in vast sums of money, some believed it may scare some high earners out of the country.

Economy

It was the state of the economy which drew most interest. Chancellor Alistair Darling forecast the economy would shrink 3.5% in 2009, 2.5% worse than expected. He said growth was not expected to start until at least 2010 when it would be at 1.25% and 3.5% from 2011.

The figures have already been described as “fantasy” by acting leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Vince Cable. He said the predictions were “Wildly optimistic and completely unreal.”

Even the International Monetary Fund predicts the British economy is likely to see a 4.1% contraction this year and projects further shrinkage next year.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) also said the figures “look optimistic” and warned against such long term predictions. Richard Lambert, the CBI Director-General, said “By pushing out the horizon for balancing the books as far as 2018 the Government is running too much of a risk.”

There were gasps of astonishment when Darling stated public borrowing was set to reach £175 billion by the end of 2009, amounting to 12% of GDP. The total debt would grow over the coming years he said, though the amounts borrowed would fall year on year. He announced borrowings of £173 billion in 2010, £140 billion in 2011, £118 billion in 2012 and £97 billion by 2013. This amounts to a total of £703 billion.

The City was shocked by the mounting debt. City commentator David Buik said many were “blown away by the gargantuan size of the national debt”.

Opposition leader David Cameron accused the government of “Running out of money, running out of moral authority and running out of time.”

But one leading trade union has supported the government’s efforts in tackling the economic crisis head on. Unite's joint general secretary, Derek Simpson said, “Alistair Darling had to deliver the toughest budget in decades but he has positioned Labour as the party for jobs and social justice while exposing the Tories for being the party of cuts and inequality.”

Jobs

In an effort to tackle the rising unemployment, the Chancellor said the government would offer support to the long-term unemployed under 25s who would be offered a job or training. He announced that an additional £1.7 billion would be made available to the Job Centre network.

Housing

Alistair Darling announced a scheme to guarantee mortgage backed securities to boost lending. Stamp duty holiday for homes would rise to £175,000 and be extended to end of year. In addition he said an extra £80 million would be made available for shared equity mortgage schemes.

But opposition leader David Cameron was not impressed by the chancellor’s proposals. “Home buy direct has not made a single sale through the exisiting scheme,” Cameron said.

Savings and benefits

There were announcements to identify and close tax loopholes which he said could raise more than £1 billion. And he proposed a cut in public spending from 1.1% to 0.7% in 2011-2012. In a move to encourage saving Annual limits for tax-free ISAs would rise to more than £10,000 for over-50s this year and for everyone else next year, the chancellor said.

Environment

In a bid to cut Britain’s CO2 levels by 34% by 2020, Darling said an extra £1 billion would be spent to support low-carbon industries. Around £500 million would be made available for offshore wind projects over the next two years and £435 million would be spent in support of energy efficiency schemes for homes, firms and public buildings.
But Friends of the Earth's Executive Director Andy Atkins said the government had not done enough. "The Government has squandered a historic opportunity to kick-start a green industrial revolution, create tens of thousands of jobs and slash UK carbon dioxide emissions,” Atkins said

The budget is rarely good news, but this year painted an extremely grim picture. Britain is likely to be in debt to the tune of more than £700 billion within 5 years. Unemployment sees no sign of falling and many expect the number to rise to more than 3 million by the end of 2009.

The opposition parties have made great capital in tearing Labour’s proposals to pieces and called for a change in government. The Conservatives may well win the next election set for 2010, but they will inherit a country in the worst financial situation in living memory. It is an unenviable position they will find themselves [BBC / Sky News].

TV News gears up for historic budget

With a little under half an hour to go until Alistair Darling delivers his budget, TV news channels and news organisations have pulled out all the technological stops to deliver a barrage of information. Sky are deploying political bloggers to issue reports as Darling delivers his speech. The channel is also making use of Twitter as it puts out constant updates. Skype, the internet telephony service, text and email is being used to get views from the public around the UK, to provide what it hopes to be a rich flow of information. The BBC have followed a more traditional path with political commentators providing comment in the studio as well as bringing live broadcasts from the City and around the country. Meanwhile Sky News are not only rooted outside parliament but also flying above bringing aerial pictures from the Skycopter. Even No 10 is a Twitter with its feed and providing online coverage. It may all prove to be information overload for some. But most will nonetheless be listening carefully to see what the Chancellor says.