Could the Speaker have to face the music? If the News of the World report is right that the Crown Prosecution Service is concluding that the case against Green and Galley is “not prosecutable†then that puts a whole different complexion on the affair and today’s debate. For the possibility that there’s not a “crime” takes away one of the main props on which the two who are most exposed – the Speaker and the Home Secretary – had been…
Will Canada’s Conservative PM still be in office next spring? It’s less than eight weeks ago that I (and in contrast to the US election night, probably few fellow Brits) had an “all-nighter” to watch the Canadian election results come through live. With the exceptions of Quebec and Newfoundland, the Conservatives performed strongly, turning three-figure majorities into five-figure ones, while the Liberals had a disastrous night under the hapless Dion and the NDP made progress. But now, although Harper’s Conservatives…
So where does Greengate go from here? The News of the World is reporting that neither Damian Green nor the Home Office mole will be charged: “…Damian Green and his Home Office mole will NOT be charged in the leak scandal, the News of the World can reveal. Prosecutors say papers seized from Mr Green’s Commons office cannot be used as evidence in a trial. They add that cops FAILED to conduct a proper search in Westminster. The conclusions, in…
The Speaker wants another term – but can he finish this one? The BBC is reporting that the Speaker has lost the confidence of 30 MPs, with 50 believing him to be culpable over the Green arrest, while the Observer editorial simply says “Stand down, Mr Speaker”, and the Mail reports on how the Serjeant at Arms was “knifed” by the Speaker. However, the Sunday Times reports a defiant Michael Martin as wanting to stand for a third term as…
Mail on Sunday Could two Labour ministers be giving secret tip-offs? Potentially the most explosive story in the Sunday papers is a long report in the Mail on Sunday in which the Tories are saying that they have received direct leaks from the heart of Gordon Brown’s cabinet. A letter to Brown from shadow minister, Chris Grayling, is reproduced in the paper and there’s little doubt that this steps up the ante in the ongoing leaks row. For it suggests…
Ipsos MORI Issues Tracker On what issues will the next election be fought? On Tuesday-last, Double Carpet and I attended the Ipsos MORI ‘End of Year Review’ in the CBI Conference facility at Centrepoint in London. Over 300 delegates were in attendance, mostly from public sector organisations who rely on Mori for social research, and we got to meet Julia Clark who frequently comes onto PB.com to answer our questions – I am indebted to her for providing me with…
Is the aim to muddy the pitch? For those who agreed with Mike’s initial assessment of Greengate, the Labour Party’s response must have seemed a little strange. The ‘points of order’ from the Labour benches following the Speaker’s statement on Wednesday seemed determined to draw partisan distinctions between those who supported the operational independence of the police and the neutrality of the civil service, and those who clearly (in their view)* cared only to assert the rights of Parliament and…
The Friday night open thread I’ll kick off with this:- The thing that most p*sses me off about modern politics is that everything seems to be focussed on “Hard-working families” – which can be alienating to those who aren’t. I don’t think that Brown ever uses the word “family” without this prefix and Cameron has been known to do the same. This is formulaic political rhetoric at it worst. I want political leaders that will stand up for the slothful,…