Tag archive for ‘Conservatives’
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Valued pubs are closing – so the Tories cut the fund that saves them
The Telegraph today covers the problems faced by community pubs whose future is threatened by the closure of a £3.3 million fund set up by the last Labour government to help stem the closure of local pubs.
It reports:
Critics said last night that ministers were “turning their back” on rural communities.
More than 80 groups have come forward for help to buy out their local pub since the Community-Owned Pubs Support Programme was announced in March.
But about 50 projects across England that [...] -
Conservatives should be disappointed by the London election results
There’s a very interesting article on Conservative Home by Alex Crowley in which the author concedes “Nowhere should Conservatives be more disappointed with the recent election results than in London.”
Crowley writes:
“On a night of mixed results, Labour got the most votes in London and performed far better than they did in the rest of the country. As a result, the Tories were denied marginal seats, and key councils turned red.
“How did Labour manage such a good result?”
Crowley’s piece hits the [...] -
Crossrail – problems for a Tory mayor
Ongoing speculation about the future of Crossrail is mainly a problem for London. But it is also a problem for London’s mayor.
During the general election campaign Labour highlighted the failure of the Tories to give a clear commitment to complete Crossrail. That issue finally broke open when Justine Greening, then the Shadow London Minister, admitted that it was possible that under the Conservatives Crossrail might be cancelled.
The Tories’ deliberately imprecise formulation of ‘support’ for Crossrail – as opposed to any [...] -
Has Boris Johnson lost his grip? – asks the Spectator
There’s disgruntlement with Boris Johnson’s mayoralty from an unexpected quarter today – the Evening Standard’s property and planning correspondent Mira Bar-Hillel, in the lead article for this week’s Spectator.
Accusing the mayor of having passed his ”Emperor’s New Clothes moment,” Bar-Hillel pulls no punches: “he can’t admit he’s wrong, but he’s a little too lazy to do his homework properly, and that often leaves him intellectually denuded.”
“Just how well-suited is Boris to power?” she asks.
Bar-Hillel characterises Johnson’s administration as “well-meaning enthusiasm, followed by [...] -
Labour’s great night in the borough elections
Congratulations to the many newly elected Labour councillors. It’s a fantastic result that’s changed the local government map in London. Here’s a quick summary of how Labour did in London in the borough elections.
Labour now control seventeen London boroughs, up 8. The Conservatives control eleven, down three. The Liberal Democrats hold two, down two. There’s no overall control in two boroughs, down five.
Labour has gained Brent, Camden, Ealing, Enfield, Harrow, Hounslow, Islington, Southwark, Waltham Forest.
Labour won Barking, completely wiping out [...] -
Labour in London exceeded expectations
“Labour has done much better than expected in London”
David Dimbleby, BBC Election Results programme, 7th May 2010
I didn’t have time to post this yesterday, but here’s Tessa Jowell’s comment on the London general election results, where Labour held a succession of seats that were predicted to be going from red to blue. That’s in addition to the succession of local government victories in London that have seen Labour take back council after council.
Tessa Jowell said:
‘‘From the results that have been [...] -
A lash-up with Cameron is bad news for LibDems
BBC News 24 is running spin – clearly from the Liberal Democrats – that Gordon Brown had an angry conversation with Nick Clegg last night. Immediately the BBC has got onto the issue of whether Gordon Brown should go.
But the root of this is more likely not a serious attempt to get the Labour party to agree to a putsch against its leader. It is far more likely to be explained by the difficulties Nick Clegg is having in persuading [...] -
Maximising the Labour vote
The Guardian today carries a letter opposing the Guardian’s editorial backing for the Liberal Democrats.
The letter’s signatories say:
“Your editorial (1 May) makes clear that neither a Tory government nor a Tory-Lib Dem partnership woube considered by the Guardian as the best outcome. We, however, strongly believe that your conclusion – vote Liberal Democrat – is deeply flawed and undermines the possibility of stopping the Tories coming to power. Given the current position of the main political parties in opinion polls, [...] -
Only Labour MPs will keep the Tories out
What’s wrong with the Guardian’s editorial endorsing the Liberal Democrats is that it poses an issue that it then does not answer, because it cannot, without its whole line unravelling.
“For now, however, the cause of reform is overwhelmingly more likely to be achieved by a Lib Dem partnership of principle with Labour than by a Lib Dem marriage of convenience with a Tory party which is explicitly hostile to the cause and which currently plans to redraw the political map [...] -
May Day greetings
I’ve not been blogging very much: an election campaign is a busy-enough time without giving vent to my own thoughts as well. But with a few days to go to polling day I hope to get back in the swing again soon. Watch this space as they say.
In the meantime, I’m pleased to say I’ve posted my vote for a Labour government today, on May Day. It’s my sixth general election vote and although every single one of them has [...]
