Archive for david cameron
Will there be a cull of ministers after the next general election?
Whoever wins the next general election, they will have to make some tough choices about public spending. Will they dare look very close to home though?
In late 1914 when Britain ruled much of the world and was fighting a world war, there were a total of 49 ministers. Gordon Brown’s government currently has 119 ministers [...]
David Cameron targets the Electoral Commission
David Cameron’s speech today contains two pledges on public expenditure which are likely to meet with widespread approval across the political spectrum. Abolishing the Standards Board for England and cutting back on the Electoral Commission are policies by no means unique to Cameron – indeed the Liberal Democrats have made much of the running on [...]
MPs on Facebook: leading the way or forgetting to change the defaults?
Cross-posted from The Wardman Wire:
A new studyof MPs on Facebook shows widespread use of the social network by Parliamentarians, but also a range of curious choices about how to use the medium which may in part reflect a failure to change default settings.
The study, carried out by Woodnewton Associates and based on evidence gathered in May [...]
How Labour has mishandled #welovethenhs
In brief: by trying to turn the defence of the NHS against American attacks into a political stick with which to beat the Conservatives, Labour has given David Cameron and other senior Conservatives plenty of airtime to make the case, “Look, we’re not like previous Tories. We like the NHS – and to prove it, [...]
The Political Parties and Elections Act 2009: changes to election expenditure rules
Cross-posted from The Wardman Wire:
Hands up everyone who thought the problem with current rules for controlling constituency expenditure was that they work if a Parliament last for four years but not if it lasts for five? Nobody? Oh well, that’s the basis on which Parliament has just changed the law anyway.
This provision of the Political [...]
Lib Dems call on George Osborne to pay capital gains tax
From The Telegraph:
George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, is facing demands to “pay back” £55,000 in capital gains tax, which critics say he is morally obliged to pay after “flipping” his designated second property.
The Liberal Democrats said they had calculated how much capital gains tax Mr Osborne avoided by the way he designated his London family [...]
David Cameron forgets how many houses he has
Shades of John McCain’s political blunder in this Times piece:
So how many properties do you own? “I own a house in North Kensington which you’ve been to and my house in the constituency in Oxfordshire and that is, as far as I know, all I have.”
A house in Cornwall? “No, that is, Samantha [...]
David Cameron's political reform plans
PR Week has a few words of wisdom from me this week, in response to David Cameron’s speech about reforming our political system: Liberal Democrat head of innovations Mark Pack told PRWeek that Cameron could make even more use of new media to communicate the work of Parliament to voters. He said: ‘There’s plenty of [...]
The MPs who blocked expenses reform last summer
Last summer an unholy alliance of Labour and Conservative MPs voted to block a series of major reforms to MP expenses, such as requiring receipts for all claims, having outside checks and major changes to the Additional Costs Allowance (ACA).
I commented on Dawn Butler’s role in this yesterday and on looking through the details of [...]
The thing David Cameron wants you to forget when watching his election broadcast
Today’s election broadcast from the Conservatives simply features David Cameron talking to camera about MPs and their expense claims. The message is meant to be about him facing up to the problems and talking frankly about them.
But listen to his language:
I want to start by saying sorry … sorry for the actions of some Conservative [...]
