A little later today, but here is what I’ve found interesting from today’s newspapers:
First of all, infighting in the Labour Party surely can’t count as news as it’s its default state in that organisation. It strikes me that Norman Baker’s resignation, while highlighting the massive difference between the two governing parties in the Coalition, was at least couched in dignified and respectful language. The previous government operated in an environment of toxic dysfunctionality. This one has its moments but never comes close to that pure poison. Anyway, the Observer reports on poor Ed Miliband’s latest woes. For me, he’s the most likeable Labour leader since John Smith. While his flaws in leadership are clear, even if he had a significant narrative, half the party would be trying to undermine it. The paper’s advice in its leader is, basically, to feel the fear and go radical anyway.
The Independent has this year’s Rainbow List of LGBT people who have a strong record of standing up for equality, headed by new Labour peer Lord Cashman, aka Colin from EastEnders. I think that Liz Barker is a big omission. The Straight Allies list has, alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, Jo Swinson and Lynne Featherstone.
The Sunday Times (£) has a story on a lucrative deal that former PM Tony Blair signed with a Saudi company:
The former prime minister is, however, likely to face questions about whether it was appropriate for him after leaving office to be paid by a private company founded by a senior member of the Saudi royal family.
He will also face questions over the scale of any confidential business deals in the Middle East and whether they may have led to conflict with his role as Middle East envoy.
A group of former British ambassadors has already joined a campaign calling for him to be removed from the unpaid post, citing his role in the Iraq invasion, the lack of progress on his Middle East mandate and the lack of transparency over his business dealings and personal finances.
I was encouraged (and irritated that such a thing is necessary) to see in the Independent that the Bath Film Festival is introducing a special rating for films that have a strong female input that is a bit more holistic than the narrower Bechdel Test.
The Sunday Herald highlights that not far off 20,000 requests for interception of phone and email records were decided in-house by Police Scotland. That’s a relatively small increase from the year before. Scots should be very worried about this, especially in light of Police Scotland’s clearly authoritarian tendencies on stop and search and armed policing. Scottish Liberal Democrat Justice Spokesperson Alison McInnes is quoted:
There is no rhyme or reason as to why this information should not be made public. People deserve to know the extent to which ministers are sanctioning police interceptions of public communications.
It’s also worth noting that although the Police seem happy to snoop on us, the information about how many people they had snooped on had to be dragged out of them after an appeal to the Information Commissioner.
There aren’t many Tory MPs I’d link to in reasonably glowing terms, but Sarah Wollaston really does get it right when she says in the Observer that children should never be thrown into a police cell if they are mentally ill. I like her idea that this should be classed along with all these as “never events.”
What has caught your eye in today’s papers?
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social
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8 Comments
Irinically, Labours Poll lead seem to have stabilised at 1%, for now, making the timing of Labours half-arsed Coup even odder. The central point about the whole Sack/Back/Ed thing is that its missing the point. Milliband is not one of Labours greatest Leaders but is he really any worse than Foot, Kinnock or Brown ?
Labour are projecting their own faults on to the Leader they chose, something that sounds oddly familiar.
Hi Caron, the police cells and mentally ill children. I feel we should be tad careful saying “thrown into police cells”, they usually walk on their own and if they are a self harm risk, the door is normally open with a 24 hour watch kept on them.. As someone who professionally deals with this issue could I just caution, life is not quite so simple as it sounds. Almost inevitably when a young person is arrested for a serious criminal matter the first place of call will be the police station where the assessments are done. There are mental health staff there who would normally see each individuals and if it was thought advisable efforts would be made to find a bed elsewhere, but a secure unit may be required and these will always be in demand whtever their number,. However if the offence is serious they may have to be in court the next day. Therefore it may not now or even with more provision be possible to locate into a vacant bed for that night. Therefore the next day probably offers better opportunities, when all units and services are fully resourced and staffed.
I am not saying there are no areas for much improvement, there is after all improvement required in all we do in life whether private or professional, but I venture to suggest we steady the ship a bit and watch how we present these delicate issues and the terminology we use.
As my only present way to communicate with the political world I can inform you that Ed Miliband is actually getting worse, not better.
How do I know?
Not so long ago Ed was reaching out to the business world, but he has just written an article in City AM insulting business leaders and tomorrow he is going to the CBI to do the same.
He portrays business as being dependent on the EU and we should be grateful to Ed Miliband for not destroying us.
He is not only alienating himself from business, but to British public as well – people appreciate someone willing to stand up to Brussels.
Labour might win the next election, but I predict it won’t be with Miliband as PM. Cameron also needs to stop listening to dark forces around him and get back to being a moderate. Him being against further cuts in troop numbers is a signal in the right direction.
Lib Dems need to find some wriggle room and work with allies in different parties.
Best wishes all.
@ Caron
“children should never be thrown into a police cell if they are mentally ill”
The law in England identifies a police station as a “place of safety”. I do not know if the situation is different in Scotland/Northern Ireland.
1. A teenager is wandering through a housing estate breaking windows. The police arriving on the scene are not sure whether this because the teenager has a clear intention to terrorise their neighbours, is acting under the influence or is behaving as they are through mental illness. They are taken to a police station and assessed by an approved mental health professional and an appropriately qualified doctor. They are assessed as being mentally unwell and [if there is a bed available] taken to hospital. Is this wrong?
2. A teenager is standing on a bridge parapet threatening to thrown themselves off. They are persuaded down by a member of the public who then takes them to a police station as the nearest place of safety. Is this wrong?
3. If it is wrong for a child with a mental illness to be held in a police cell is it right for an adult with a mental illness to be held in a police cell?
Caron – you omitted any reference to the Independent article about Ed Milliband’s woes, which was in fact its front page story http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-funding-crisis-jewish-donors-drop-toxic-ed-miliband-9849299.html This was quite a shocking piece about the power of big donors – this time (allegedly) big Jewish donors who are deserting Labour because Ed Miliband was the Party leader who was most critical of the Gaza invasion and driving the Party cap-in-hand to the Unions. Of course if Lib Dems had their way the recommendation of the Committee on Standards in Public Life to restrict large donations would have been implemented by now and this sort of discussion would have been irrelevant.
John Kelly, you have a tin ear for history and rising anti semitism if you are banging on about Jewish conspiracy theories. It’s not acceptable for experienced people to make such basic mistakes. I am afraid.
All corruption should be tackled.
Thanks to John Kelly for drawing attention to the Independent on Sunday front page story –http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-funding-crisis-jewish-donors-drop-toxic-ed-miliband-9849299.html
This is indeed shocking. The lesson of the Independent story is clearly that political parties in the UK if they do as they are told on Israel and Palestine can receive millions of pounds. Fail to do as they are told and the money is cut off.
So effectively UK Foreign Policy is determined not by what is in the interests of the people in the UK, or ratonal decision making or the democratic will of Parliament (which voted by a majority to recognise Palestine), but by a tiny minority that can buy our country’s foreign policy.
The Independent article mentions both Labour and Conservative parties being influenced (or bought) in this way. But the treatment by our leadership of Jenny Tonge and David Ward might indicate that our party is not immune to the power of these big money donors.
The article mentions
@john Tilley “So effectively UK Foreign Policy is determined not by what is in the interests of the people in the UK, or ratonal decision making or the democratic will of Parliament (which voted by a majority to recognise Palestine), but by a tiny minority that can buy our country’s foreign policy.”
Actually what the article shows is the exact opposite – Miliband has not changed his views on Israel despite the possible loss of money from Jewish donors.