Calls for reform continue
‘A senior minister has recommended blowing open the Labour party’s selection process to allow all constituents a say in the choosing of a candidate by bringing in open primaries.’ – Allegra Stratton, The Guardian
‘Britain’s political leaders all now agree that MPs expenses need reform – but significant differences remain on what needs to be done. Here is what the three main UK parties have been proposing, as well as ideas from other politicians and campaigners – followed by some of your ideas.’ – BBC
MPs’ expenses
‘Tory MP Julie Kirkbride is poised to stand down today in the face of damaging revelations about her expenses claims, the Guardian has learned.’ – Hélène Mulholland, The Guardian
‘Labour MP Margaret Moran, whose expenses claims provoked widespread public anger, has announced that she will stand down at the next election.’ – BBC
‘A Tory MP has agreed to repay £20,000 in tax and mortgage payments, much of which was claimed from public funds towards staff quarters in his home.’ – BBC
A new world order?
‘As the dust settles after the Great Depression That Never Was, the worldwide financial crisis is starting to look less like the seismic historical transformation so widely expected. With every week that passes, President Sarkozy’s predictions about the death of Anglo-Saxon capitalism sound more premature, while ahistorical comparisons with the end of communism in 1989 seem ever sillier.’ – Anatole Kaletsky, The Times
EU elections
‘The Scottish National Party’s two MEPs have the worst attendance record of Scotland’s seven representatives at the European Parliament.’ – Angus Macleod, The Times