A primary concern
‘Choosing Labour’s Parliamentary candidates should no longer be the preserve of party members, says Foreign Secretary David Miliband.
In an article for Tribune, he argues US-style primary elections would give the public a greater say in selection.
He says traditional party systems are “dying” and Labour needs to improve the way it reaches out to non-members.’ – BBC
’ The Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, has become the first senior Labour figure to call on the party to follow the Conservatives and allow the public to select parliamentary candidates in primary elections.’ – New Statesman
Economic matters
‘Royal Bank of Scotland Group, which is 70%-owned by taxpayers, has reported a pre-tax profit of £15m for the first six months of the year.’ – BBC
’The Bank of England’s decision yesterday to extend its quantitative easing programme is justified. For the Bank to have called an end to its purchases of Treasury securities would have felt to the economy in its present fragile state like a monetary tightening.’ – Leader, The Independent
Russia-Georgia war: one year on
‘A year after the summer war that erupted in the Caucasus while the rest of the world was watching the Beijing Olympics, Russia and Georgia are on high alert. Each side accuses the other of stoking the tensions, deliberate provocations and seeking to relaunch hostilities. Each seeks to blame the other for starting the fighting and to justify its own actions as self-defence. And each is now seeking, by vigorous propaganda, to overcome the lasting damage that the war has left on its image and on the trust in its leadership.’ – Leader, The Times