Coulson under pressure
‘So
David Cameron has pronounced that Andy Coulson is safe in his job.
Assuming Cameron does the basics of leadership, that means he has
satisfied himself that his communications director did nothing improper
or illegal, nor condoned, used or benefited from anything improper or
illegal, in his time as editor of the News of the World. He has also
satisfied himself that nothing is likely to emerge to cast doubt on
that judgement. That is a big call to have made.’ – Alistair Campbell, The Guardian
‘Now that it has become clear the extent to which outrageous and illegal bugging of celebrities and senior
politicians like Tessa Jowell, John Prescott and Boris Johnson was
carried out and planned while his communications chief, Andy Coulson,
was deputy editor at the News of the World, surely there can be
absolutely no ifs or buts about it. Coulson must go.’ – Conor Ryan, Conor’s Commentary
‘The
Tory chairman of the Commons Culture and Media Select Committee, John
Whittingdale, made it plain yesterday that he is not going to defend Mr
Coulson if evidence emerges that he was personally implicated. Mr
Whittingdale was Margaret Thatcher’s political adviser 20 years ago,
and his devotion to her legacy makes him less than enthusiastic about
the Cameron operation.’ – Andy McSmith, The Independent
Electoral reform debate
’“How can we have 92 hereditary peers in the Lords after 12 years of a Labour government? We have to stop that”’ James Macintyre interviews Lord Adonis, New Statesman
‘The
government must put forward legislation on reform of the Lords and
change the system of voting before the general election as part of a
“big and radical move forward”, the Welsh secretary Peter Hain has told
the Guardian.’ – Patrick Wintour and Allegra Stratton, The Guardian
‘KT Tunstall and Billy Bragg sang, and Blur’s drummer Dave Rowntree
made a foot-stamping speech. This campaign can only work if it can
galvanise all the popular anger against the current political system
and direct it towards an unstoppable demand for constructive change.
Can it be done? It’s a tall order in a short time. If you support it,
text Change to 60013 and recruit as many others as you can. Go to the
website for news on events being set up around the country. Help is
needed now.’ – Polly Toynbee, The Guardian
G8 summit
‘Leaders of the G8 developed nations have pledged $20bn (£12bn) for
efforts to boost food supplies to the hungry, on the final day of a
summit in Italy.’ – BBC
‘The
G8 will step up the fight to combat hunger in the world’s poorest
countries when they announce plans to invest $15bn (£9bn) over the next
three years in a “green revolution” for Africa.’ – Larry Elliott and Patrick Wintour, The Guardian
The next generation
‘It is clear that the House of Commons is going to look very different in a year’s time. This week Hilary Armstrong and Doug Henderson announced they would not defend their seats, taking to 100 the number
of MPs standing down. There are also sure to be more to come,
especially among the 25 MPs aged over 70. In their place, a new
generation is looking to demonstrate that it represents a fresh break
and a new approach to politics. The cynical will write off those
waiting in the wings as yet more of the same, but a guide to the 30
most promising candidates (pdf)
for the next election produced by Insight Public Affairs suggests that
many of the new faces are very different to the establishment figures
they are replacing.’ Andrew Hobson, The Guardian