Tag archive for ‘Labourlist’
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International action needed as Honduras coup rips up power-sharing agreement
Last week it seemed that a victory had been secured in Honduras over the military coup that had removed the President, Manuel Zelaya. The coup leaders had agreed a deal for power-sharing that would take the country forward to elections.
The Tegucigalpa-San Jose agreement set out the priority of returning to constitutional order, and requires the need to “return the holder of executive power to its pre-June 28 state through to January 27, 2010, which marks the end of the term [...] -
New on Labourlist: Honduras coup rips up powersharing deal
Last week I posted on the changing situation in Honduras. The military-backed coup had signed a power-sharing agreement that would enable the country to move forward on an agreed basis towards elections.
However, conditions quickly went into reverse. The coup government of Roberto Micheletti ripped up the deal and refused to have the ousted President, Manuel Zelaya, in the power-sharing government.
Thus the situation is now as before – the coup remains in place.
The danger is that this new scenario may be [...] -
New on Labourlist – Honduras needs our support
I have contributed a piece on Labourlist this evening: “Honduras needs our support.”
I hope it will encourage some readers to attend the meeting on Wednesday night at Transport House on the need for international support to restore democracy to Honduras and to resist the pressure of right wing anti-democratic forces in the USA who have been mobilising on behalf of the coup.
Read it here. -
Cronyism and fraud: how reality under Boris Johnson has pushed fiction aside in the end
A deputy mayor given suspended prison sentence and community service for fraud…Another appointee resigns from his Olympics post after breaching Financial Services Authority regulations over shareholdings…A deputy mayor forced out after allegations of impropriety and for lying about being a magistrate…The mayor embroiled in a row after seeking to appoint a personal political ally to the Arts Council, reportedly against the Nolan rules for appointments in public life…
Just imagine the fury-filled pages that [...] -
Wadley smeared Ken but real the real cronyism is under Boris Johnson
The latest Boris Johnson-related story is the news that the mayor tried to get the former Evening Standard editor – Veronica Wadley – appointed to run the Arts Council in London.
The Times reported this morning:
“Johnson has been accused of breaching rules on public appointments after trying to appoint a key ally to a top London arts job…
“The appointment was resisted by Liz Forgan, chairwoman of the Arts Council in England, who took part in the shortlisting process and has suggested [...] -
Pickles over-eggs the pudding with his latest defector
I see the Tories are grandly parading the defection of a Brent Labour councillor today. ConservativeHome’s local government blog declares:
“Gordon Brown’s fightback falls flat in Brent as Labour councillor defects to the Conservatives.”
Eric Pickles cannot contain himself:
“It seems like Gordon’s great fightback has already crumbled at its first hurdle. People are deserting Labour in droves as they realise the only real way of achieving positive change for the country is through a Conservative government. The Prime Minister should do everyone [...] -
At Labourlist – Eric Pickles over-eggs the pudding
I have a new post on the new-look Labourlist today.
It follows Eric Pickles grandly parading the defection of a Brent Labour councillor, Francis Eniola, to the Tories. Pickles pontificates:
“It seems like Gordon’s great fightback has already crumbled at its first hurdle. People are deserting Labour in droves as they realise the only real way of achieving positive change for the country is through a Conservative government. The Prime Minister should do everyone a favour and spare us another eight [...] -
On Labourlist – fares must rise to be reasonable says the mayor
I have new post on Labourlist this afternoon. It follows Boris Johnson’s hint that he is about to announce another round of fare increases despite the low rate of inflation, and his claim that London’s transport system has not in the past faced the “necessity to charge a reasonable price for services.”
Or, to summarise, under Ken fares were kept too low for the service on offerbut Boris Johnson will charge a more reasonable – higher -price.
My post says:
Londoners are likely [...] -
Barnet’s “easyCouncil” plan is at one with the principles and practice of Tory government
The Guardian has exposed to a national audience the radical right wing plans of the Conservative London borough of Barnet, now nicknamed “easyCouncil” for its adoption of a budget airline approach to public services.
“Barnet wants householders to pay extra to jump the queue for planning consents, in the way budget airlines charge extra for priority boarding,” reports the Guardian. “And as budget airline passengers choose to spend their budget on either flying at peaktime or having an in-flight meal, [...] -
New from me on Labourlist – Barnet’s “easyCouncil” cuts and privatisation plan
I have a new post at Labourlist, following this morning’s Guardian report on the “easyCouncil” plans of Barnet’s Tories, who are planning a huge programme of cuts and privatisation the borough.
On Labourlist my article argues that far from being at odds with Cameronism plans like these fit with the Conservatives’ plans for public spending cuts:
“The truth is that Barnet is aiming for a radical programme of cuts and privatisation, no different – despite the new ways of explaining it – to [...]
