Public spending row continues
‘The hue and cry has begun: cut, cut and cut again. Where to begin?
With the pay of the 6 million public sector workers, naturally. The
head of the Audit Commission has called for a pay freeze across the
board, which amounts to a real cut with inflation running at 2%. A
rumbling campaign to squeeze the gold-plated, feather-bedded public
workforce has been led until now by the TaxPayers’ Alliance, using
conveniently deceptive figures.’ – Polly Toynbee, The Guardian
‘There
are some savings to be made by governing in a different way, with more
robust lines of accountability and lower pay for those with relatively
undemanding remits. But this represents no more than a pebble thrown in
a sea of whirling gloom if the Conservatives believe the answer to
Britain’s indebtedness is to cut deep and quickly.’ – Steve Richards, The Independent
‘Alistair
Darling moved to allay fears of a freeze on the pay of public-sector
workers as unions warned that they should not be punished for the
failings of the private sector. Downing Street and the Chancellor made
clear that there was no question of reopening the three-year pay deals
negotiated with the police, teachers and nurses, the third year of
which is 2010-11.’ – Philip Webster, The Times
‘a discordant harmony’
‘Politicians are meant to campaign in poetry and govern in prose.
Today’s speech by David Cameron on reforming quangos was a discordant
harmony. One note was aimed at a populist “slash and burn” audience and
outlined the £64 billion cost of Britain’s 790 to 1100 quangos. The
other was aimed at a more elite, “Sir Humphrey” audience and outlined
that there were principles behind his approach. The problem is that the
principles are so woolly and vague that they are unlikely to result in
any cost savings at all.’ – Will Straw, LabourList
‘Maggie was going to throttle them, Tony pledged he’d consign them
“to the dustbin of history”, Gordon wanted a bonfire – and now Dave is
saying the same. The proposed mode of execution varies, but politicians
never stop pronouncing death sentences on quangos. Yet the unelected
bodies which oversee everything from school food to hearing aids are
hard things to kill off.’ – Editorial, The Guardian
Aid spending
‘In this economic climate, it would have been just as easy for the
development secretary to keep his head down and hope no one raised any
tricky questions about why taxpayers’ money is going towards classrooms
in Dhaka rather than Deptford. That he did not give in to that
temptation is to be commended. Mr Alexander did better than that,
arguing that aid spending should be kept up not only because the rich
have a moral duty to the poor, but also because it is in Britain’s
economic self-interest.’ – Editorial, The Guardian
Housing issues
‘There is no evidence that new arrivals in the UK are able to jump
council housing queues, an Equality and Human Rights Commission report
says.’ – BBC
‘Council
house building is to restart in earnest for the first time in almost 20
years in England with local authorities set to construct 139,000 homes
over the next decade. Town halls have predicted that rule changes
announced by ministers last week allowing them to retain rent from
council housing and receipts from right-to-buy purchasers, rather than
the money going to the Treasury, mean that building is set to return to
levels not seen since 1990.’ – Robert Booth, The Guardian
G20 policing review
‘A watchdog has said the Metropolitan Police’s planning for the London G20 protests in April was inadequate.’ – BBC
‘There
should be a national overhaul of the policing of protests in the UK
that reasserts the state’s obligation to allow lawful demonstrations, a
scathing report into how the Metropolitan police handled the G20
protests recommended today.’ – Paul Lewis, The Guardian
Unrest in China
‘The violence that erupted in Urumqi over the weekend is the most
deadly seen in China’s vast and turbulent north west for years. At
least 156 people are reported dead and a further 828 have been injured.
The figures were announced by Chinese official media only 12 hours
after website reports of rioting and clashes between police and Uighur
demonstrators. The details remain murky, but the real figure is likely
to be far higher — making this not only the most serious violence in
China for the past 20 years but the second uprising against the Beijing
authorities in an inland province in 18 months.’ – Leader, The Times