A Green Role Reversal

Liberal society is good at informing and educating people about the environment, but it struggles to create environmental consciousness. When people are asked about the environment, they show an understanding on the problem and a need to do something about it, yet are usually unwilling to give up their cars, turn off the lights to save energy or pay more taxes.

The task of winning the election creating an environmental conciousness is what faces our leaders. So what do they do?

Cameron calls for more tax and more Government targets. Brown, speaking at the Green Alliance today, calls for more investment in education and incentives. Both of them are also highly eurosceptic, yet agree the EU should lead on environmental issues.

Not only the reverse of what you might have expected at one time, but neither policy will really make the difference needed. They will not convince people to change their attitudes or begin to tackle Climate Change.

At least there’s one good thing about this, Brown didnt follow Miliband’s advice. Miliband wants to introduce personal carbon credits: a regressive, unjust and centrally planned idea, which would effectively establish quotas on what people can do. Carbon credits for businesses hasn’t worked yet, why would they work for individuals?! This is a certain vote loser if there ever was one.

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No Super Thursday for us

The Sunday People’s on a roll. Last week it predicted when Blair would stand down. This week it’s when the next election will be- 11th June 2009 if the People is to be believed.

The political editor Nigel Nelson notes that the Government have changed the date of the local elections from May to June 2009 to coincide with the European election. Brown also wants to hold the general election on that day.- A good move by my account.

Nelson then goes on to suggest that the Government wants to eventually hold the Welsh, Scottish and London Mayoral elections on the same day- making it a “Super Thursday” polling day!

Well the mayoral, general election and some of the local elections could all coincide in 2024.* The Scottish and Welsh elections could never coincide unless one of their terms were extended. However you are also unlikely to get the UK general election on the same day, because of the nature of the election system.

Unless there is some major fiddling with the electoral cycles, I can’t see there being anything special with Thursdays in the near future.

*Calculations:
Mayor: every 4 years- 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, 2028
EU: every 5 years- 2009, 2014, 2019, 2024, 2029
Scottish/Welsh: every 4 years- 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023, 2027
UK: every 4-5 years or earlier- 2009?, 2013?, 2017?, 2021?
or 2009?, 2014?, 2019?, 2024?

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“Fully elected House of Lords” are the headlines, but will Gordon shelve the plan?

Was tonight a great night for democracy? Tonight’s Commons vote for a fully elected House of Lords certainly, on the face of it, looks like it (even though the vote will only inform government policy). But will Gordon shelve the plan? Can he afford to have his first few months in power dominated by the finer details of Constitutional reform? Benedict Brogan thinks not.

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Chancellor Straw?

According to the Telegraph, Jack Straw is to become Gordon’s first Chancellor, with Reid staying at the Home Office. This is not a new prediction, for example, the FT covered this (in more detail) last month. But the big question is who is the favourite to become Foreign Secretary? Miliband perhaps?

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Buying office in Euros

The BBC have been running an excellent documentary on 10 years of Blair called Tony Blair: The Inside Story. In tonight’s episode, Clare Short is going to reveal how Blair told her, on a flight to Africa, that if Brown allowed the UK to join the Euro, he’d allow him to become PM in the second term. Short then informed Brown, who had already been told by two other people. What a great way to run a government.

If only Brown had ignored all the economic data and expert advise and joined the struggling Euro-zone, he could have been PM. But at what cost?!

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Mafia Boss Brown

sopranos-crop.jpg

Tonight Channel 4 finally began showing the latest series of the Sopranos. The series, which has all the features of a great Shakespearian tragedy, depicts the life of Mafia boss Tony Soprano, a brooding alpha male who trusts no one.

Perhaps Brown shares some similarities with Soprano. As Richard Scott said in the Sunday Mirror:

Brown runs a team that makes the Mafia look like a debating society. It is totally loyal to him and anyone who questions his policies is automatically an enemy.

In Cabinet meetings, Brown is said either to sit there scribbling furiously making notes, or to ignore everyone around him and contribute very little. In public, we often see Brown as a overbearing, puritanical figure. Someone we are almost scared of.

The question for both men is how will their own Greek tragedies end.

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Brown’s first policy pledge

If the rumours are to be believed, one of Brown’s first decisions as PM will be to get rid of the DTI, and give the Treasury monopolistic powers responsibility for business.  The DTI plans have been rumoured for a while.  What is new is the fact that ministers are talking about it openly.  But what will Brown’s other policies be?

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No snap election under Brown, Blair says

In another meandering wide-ranging interview, this time with the Observer, Blair informs us that Brown will not hold a snap election.  No surprises here- Blair clearly knows Labour can’t afford an election.  And 2009 could be such a better year.

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Ming Deal or No Deal?

Ming’s speech to the Lib Dem Spring Party Conference is being spun as a shopping list for a lib-lab deal if, as frequently predicted, we are faced with a hung parliament at the next election.   But was this speech soley aimed at Brown?

Campbell did not include electoral reform in his tests, but did include a number of areas in which the Tories seem to have similar commitments (no to ID cards, tackle Climate Change etc etc). Could this also be an olive branch to the Tories?  Is Ming playing both sides?

He may have said no when asked at the conference, (he had to) but can he continue to resist when offered the position of Foreign Secretary?

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Another Blair prediction

The ever accurate Sunday People predicts that Blair will quit at 6pm on 24th July. Assuming this has any significance, it would mean Brown a replacement would be in by Labour’s September conference. However will Blair really be able to continue after his predicted beating in the May elections?! Surely not.

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