A programme for the future
‘Of course, that task will be made easier if there is a better story to tell – and this will have to be Brown’s side of the bargain. He cannot hope Britons will re-elect him out of humble gratitude for steering them through a recession (if he does). He also has to offer a full programme for the next five years. Some of that is in place already – with a speech on education yesterday and one on crime, at long last, to come soon – but there needs to be more.’ – Jonathan Freedland, The Guardian
‘Prime Minister Gordon Brown has gone back to YouTube for a Labour election broadcast, two weeks after his much criticised expenses reform webcast.’ – BBC
‘Luck, of course, can change. The problem, however, goes deeper than communication; there is also confusion about what the message is meant to be.’ – Editorial, The Guardian
‘Amid the shenanigans over the Royal Mail lies a real risk that too much politics will doom the postal service to oblivion. What matters is how the service can be run sustainably in the long term, while retaining the universal service obligation to deliver post to all parts of the UK.’ – Leader, The Times
Sats boycott
‘It would be naive to pretend that power and influence are now evenly distributed throughout our schools – of course they’re not – but the widespread availability of information about pupil and school performance has empowered parents in a way that wouldn’t have been possible before. That’s why Ed Balls, the schools secretary, is right to condemn any move by teacher unions to boycott this year’s Sats.’ – Estelle Morris, The Guardian
‘The threatened boycott by teachers of next year’s Sats tests for primary school pupils is to be regretted and will, we trust, be rescinded before any more damage is inflicted upon our children’s education.’ – Telegraph View, The Telegraph
Obama to appoint Supreme Court Justice
‘We are about to find out the type of president whom Americans have elected. The American system of government comprises, in the phrase of the historian Richard Neustadt, separated institutions sharing powers. Barack Obama has an early opportunity to shape one of those institutions, the Supreme Court. David Souter, one of its nine justices, has announced his resignation. Mr Obama has the opportunity to make the court more like America.’ – Leader, The Times
EU elections
‘David Cameron was today accused of adopting a “dotty” approach to the EU after his decision to withdraw from the main centre-right grouping in the European parliament.
As the Tory leader launched his campaign for the elections on 4 June, the only female Conservative MEP described his plan to leave the EPP grouping as a “pathetic” move that would store up trouble for the party.’ – Nicholas Watt, The Guardian
Recession ‘worst since 1930s’
‘The UK recession could be the worst since the early 1930s, a leading economic research body has predicted.’ – BBC
ID cards get go ahead
‘Manchester will this autumn become the first city where people can sign up for an ID card, Jacqui Smith is to confirm.’ – BBC