Author Archives: Mark Pack

Piqued by the debates around the internet, including here and also over on Nick Robinson’s blog, on whether the American elections are getting undue coverage in the UK, I thought “fair’s fair, let’s write something about the next elections coming up anywhere in the world”.

Alas for me (and for you too, dear reader of this post) it turns out they are in the Faroe Island, not my area of electoral speciality.  So what can I tell you about them? Somewhat to my surprise, it turns out these elections may be of some importance to the UK…

It’s all in the Mail on Sunday today:

The Tories were plunged into a party donors’ row last night after it emerged that George Osborne secretly received almost £500,000 last year.

… though as you’ll see if you read the piece, ‘secretly’ isn’t quite the full story because:

The money comes from donations to the Conservatives which have been declared to the Electoral Commission. The backers have requested that a specific amount is passed on to Mr Osborne.

But none of the donations – channelled from Tory coffers to the Shadow Chancellor’s office – have been declared by Mr Osborne in the Register of

…

That’s the headline the party’s given to Nick Clegg’s speech this morning to the party’s one-day manifesto conference. You can read more, including a link to the full speech text, over on the party’s website.

Media coverage so far:

• BBC: Lib Dems want parent run schools 
• ePolitix: Clegg backs ‘diversity and choice’ 
• Independent: Clegg to call for smaller state 
• Press Assocation: Clegg in call to scrap low grades

Ok, ok, ok. I know. When I said he had four problems at the moment, and then when I said he had five problems, I was wrong. The numbers just keep ratcheting up.

As Benedict Brogan writes:

Did Peter Hain lie in his statement last night? That’s basically the question being asked today after it emerged that at least one of his donors claims he had no idea he had contributed to the tanned one’s deputy leadership campaign. And what’s this Progressive Policies Forum? The mysterious “think tank” exists only in name. If you drop by its registered address

…

He’s got four problems:

1. He’s failed to declare donations on a massive scale, although the law makes him personally legally responsible.

2. He’s still heavily in debt.

3. He’s under regular scrutiny for his links with firms that also supported him financially (e.g. here and here).

4. The staff who worked on his campaign are falling out with a bout of mutual finger pointing – which is often the precursor to more bad news coming out.

Terms of reference, questions to answer, how to submit your views and more – over on the party website.

The Guardian today brings two updates on stories previously covered by Liberal Democrat Voice:

1. Peter Hain’s little problem with undeclared donations has now hit £100,000: “It is understood that there are almost 20 donations that his team failed to declare, in breach of the rules for party political elections. The scale of the under-reporting – more than half the total income received by the Hain campaign – will shock many party members and raise questions as to how such a massive apparent oversight occurred.”

2. And the latest on the blasphmey law: “The Church of England gave a cautious welcome …

From the BBC:

A town council mayor has apologised after sending an email saying Muslims “cause mayhem with explosives”…

Mr Bennett sent the email after a request by the Huddersfield-based Ahmadiyya Muslim Association to appear before the town council to ask for funding.

It said: “I am aware Islamic organisations are keen to promote a view that they are peaceful, forward thinking individuals who wish to integrate into the British way of life.

“The policy of clothing the feminine population of Dewsbury in black sack-like clothing from head to toe, the occasional trip out to cause mayhem with explosives and the proposal that

…

Oh dear. Scottish Labour councillor Terry Kelly seems to have landed himself in a spot of bother on his blog:

Patricia Devlin said…
Why are no women allowed to comment here? You’ve mentioned one being banned, you’ve called a black woman a liar for talking about racism but then no others have been allowed to comment.Councillor are you a sexist?

Cllr Terry Kelly said…
(Patricia Devlin) 30/12/07 – You have just perfectly demonstrated why, it’s because they are thick.

Rabbie said…
‘Women are thick.’ Dear oh dear – that’s a cracker even by your high standards. Are you planning on pleading insanity or irony?

Cllr Terry …

Today’s Guardian reports:

Peter Hain will be forced to admit that he failed to declare tens of thousands of pounds worth of donations from businesses and unions when he stood for the deputy leadership of the Labour party, the Guardian has learned.

The disclosure will reopen the controversy over Labour party funding and is likely to anger Gordon Brown, who has begun the new year hoping to reinvigorate his government and draw a line under the donors issue, which is currently been investigated by Scotland Yard …

Such is the scale of the under-reporting that some political sources believe Hain’s political future rests on his being able to show that he is the innocent victim of chaos within his election organisation, and that there has been no deliberate attempt to conceal the sources of the donations.

One angle to the story of Cypus and Malta joining the euro at the start of the year which you may have missed:

The euro will also become legal tender on British military bases in Cyprus, the first part of sovereign British territory to adopt the currency.

Although the bases at Dhekelia, Episkopi and RAF Akrotiri are not officially part of the European Union, an estimated 10,000 Cypriots live or work there.

Residents use the shops, cafes and beaches on the bases, so the authorities in the sovereign base areas have decided to adopt the same rules as the Cypriot government.

From the party’s news release today:
Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg today completed his reshuffle by announcing the full list of Shadow Ministers.

Commenting Nick Clegg said:

“I am delighted to complete my reshuffle. This is a very strong team and I am looking forward to working with them to take the Liberal Democrat message to the country.”

Well, it’s a novel argument. But perhaps not terribly convincing.

The Observer today trails moves from Gordon Brown to bring in more nuclear power, build in areas that conservationists won’t like and expand Britain’s airports. His argument? That opposing such policies for environmental reasons linked to the planet’s long-term future is, er…, short-termist and opportunistic.

10am, Sunday Live, Sky, 6th January.

(This previous post tells you how you can get advanced warning of such media appearances via the web, email or an RSS feed).

In addition to Nick’s ‘national’ new year message (read or watch), he has also been garnering regional coverage for his vision for the country. In today’s Yorkshire Post he writes:

I want 2008 to be the year we fix politics. There is no longer any question in my mind: politics is broken. It’s out of step with people’s lives and out of step with the modern world.

The instincts, the desires, the hopes and the fears of the British people are no longer reflected in our government or our political debate.

We have a choice. Either we give

…