A Stain On Society

Perhaps Cameron thinks this kind of language is clever or helps him connect with us ordinary people - in that patronising tone he likes so much, but in truth it's pathetic, unstatesman-like and fake (my emphasis):

"To me the [coalition] is not a marriage," Cameron said at the launch of their midterm review, which is designed to rejuvenate the government after battles over House of Lords reform and climate change. "It is a Ronseal deal. It does what it says on the tin. We said we would come together, we said we would form a government, we said we would tackle these big problems. That is exactly what we have done."

Doing what it says on the tin is the last attribute that can be applied to this coalition, given cast iron promises, student tuition fees and just bog standard plain lies. Perhaps they think we're all so stupid to notice?

But at least Clegg is not debasing politics further by hosting a radio show in an attempt to "learn what the people really think". You would assume that as a member of the government, and as an MP he should already be aware of that - but apparently not. If not he could at least use the tried and tested "Google is your friend" technique, and take comfort in the fact that it's the only friend he's got.

Meanwhile the rest of us are actually trying to take politics seriously and make this country better.

Weak, Weak, Weak

The Mail has an exclusive interview today with Cameron where he wails that the Lib Dems are holding him back from things he would like to do:

Mr Cameron singled out human rights law, reform of workplace rights and support for marriage as areas where Tory principles are being held in check but urged senior MPs growing tired of coalition not to ‘waste’ the next three years.

And so continues the running theme that beneath that Cameron veneer is a real Tory waiting to emerge if only events didn't conspire against him. If only the Lisbon Treaty wasn't passed before the election he wouldn't have had 'to let matters lie there', if only he had won the election, he could have thrown off the 'cuddly Tory' coat and reveal his inner Thatcher, if only he wasn't 'forced' into a coalition with the Lib Dems, he could have done all those things he wants to do but can't. If only... The joke's wearing a little thin.

However it wasn't the Lib Dems that forced Cameron to detoxify the Tory brand which included aspirations of being the greenest government ever and to stop banging on about Europe. Nor was it them that meant Cameron reneged on a cast iron referendum promise, nor putting a 3-line whip on a petition for an in/out referendum, nor for Cameron to break his party's long-standing commitment to pull Britain out of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy in 2006, nor trying to 'bury the Right' by ditching Tory policies faster than the Lib Dems could list them in 2010.

But apparently he wants us to believe that it's now those pesky Lib Dems - who lost 5 seats in 2010, who only make up 16% of the coalition and who are rather reluctant for an immediate General Election - that are tying poor old Dave's hands. Perhaps Dave thinks 'tail wagging the dog' headlines will make him look Prime Ministerial and statesman-like. It doesn't, it just makes him look weak, shallow and unprincipled - a fitting and accurate epitaph to his Premiership.

Splicing The Mainbrace

After a weekend of indulging in very rare joy (you have to appreciate these things fully when you can) I've spent the morning catching up, so blogging will hopefully resume again shortly.

Looks like not much has changed; the euro is still knackered, democracy is still non-existent and the coalition is still useless.

Ho hum...

I Forgot I'm Running The Country

The Middle East is in chaos, UK citizens are being neglected, yet the Deputy PM 'forgets' he is in charge. From the Daily Mail:

When asked who was in charge, Mr Clegg, who is on a skiing holiday in Switzerland, said: 'Yeah, I suppose I am. I forgot about that. I'm holding the fort but I'm hoping to take the end of the week off with my kids. Someone else will have to do it then. It sounds more haphazard than it probably is.'

Truly I'm speechless, I really don't know what else to say.

Either Put Up Or Shut Up

The Mail today reports that the coalition is becoming increasingly frustrated by interference by the EU, even good ol' europhile ministers like Oliver Letwin:

Constantly being told what you can and can’t do by Brussels is driving Ministers and No 10 deeper and deeper into the Eurosceptic camp.

Oliver Letwin, Cameron’s mild-mannered and cerebral Policy Minister, has become so frustrated by this constant interference that he has told colleagues he thinks Britain should leave the European Union if it won’t give us all the opt-outs the Government wants.

I suspect part of the reason is that Mr Letwin and his Tory colleagues have been taken back by the scale of the interference now, considering that they were last in power in 1997 - EU power has dramatically increased since then:

Letwin is not alone in thinking this. In one department, a recent meeting between a Secretary of State and a junior Minister ended with the pair agreeing that the only solution to the problem they were discussing was to get out of the EU.

Cameron’s strategy guru and close friend Steve Hilton is getting fed up with the way Brussels bureaucracy is blocking his agenda for a post-bureaucratic age.

And it's not just the Tories who are frustrated either:

...even the Lib Dems have been shocked at how much influence Brussels has on decisions that should be taken at a national level. Nick Clegg was appalled when officials told him that the EU wouldn’t allow VAT to be set at a local level.

Was Clegg, a former MEP, really unaware of this? That an EU tax, controlled by the EU could not be set at a local level. If so, he is far more stupid than I thought.

But I little sympathy for ministers whinging, in fact it's more than a little irritating. It's fine example of wanting it both ways; you can hardly complain about having no power if you give it away.

They know the EU is a bureaucratic monster yet they sign up to more of it. They always vote for more EU interference, they always deny us a referendum on EU matters, not one of the 3 main parties advocates EU exit. If MPs and ministers think that remaining in the EU is good thing then EU interference is something that they will have to put up with.

If ministers, and MPs, don't like being powerless then they have a simple choice; get us out of the EU. And until then they should shut up.

'Legal Difficulties'

Much is being made this morning that the Government is introducing minimum pricing for alcohol, although in reality no such thing is actually being proposed. Instead of a blanket minimum price per unit, it is being linked to the duty and VAT paid:

Under plans to be unveiled by the Home Office today retailers will be banned from selling drinks for less than the value of duty and VAT owed on them.

But the announcement means the Government has stopped short of setting a blanket minimum unit price for alcohol – such as 50p per unit – which would have pushed up the average price of all products.

And there's a very good reason for this, a blanket price per unit would have been challenged in the European Courts as I blogged here and here. Don't expect the Telegraph to mention this though:

It is understood officials were concerned such a move would run in to legal difficulties. Similar proposals in Scotland were dropped.

No elaboration on what those legal difficulties are, and not for the first time has the Telegraph stayed quiet. In contrast even the BBC managed to get around to mentioning the EU in its report, albeit briefly:

Last September, the Scottish Parliament rejected plans for a minimum price per unit of alcohol of 45p, after opposition MSPs said the move would penalise responsible drinkers and could be illegal under European competition law.

Predictably the usual fake charities are not happy:

Don Shenker, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said: "Duty is so low in the UK that it will still be possible to sell very cheap alcohol and be within the law.

"The government needs to look again at a minimum price per unit of alcohol. That is the only evidence-based approach that will end cheap discounts once and for all."

How about the evidence based approach that our real government lies in Brussels not in London?

Taxing

Some lather has been generated today regarding this Telegraph report (my emphasis throughout):

HM Revenue and Customs could take direct control of every worker’s monthly pay cheque under plans to overhaul the error-prone income tax system.

Outrageous! All wages in the country will be paid to the government and then we receive a net salary based on whatever the government decides we should be allowed? Rightly disgraceful if true, but...

...note the operative word; 'could'. That's not the same as will.

And:

Instead of employers deducting income tax then paying gross salaries to employees, the gross monthly payment would go to an HMRC-run tax “calculator”, which would then pass the net salary to the worker.

The reform would mean the end of traditional monthly payslips, because employers would no longer be able to tell workers how much tax they had paid each month.

Ah 'would' if true...

The tax authorities are consulting accountants, lawyers and businesses on the plans to reform the pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) system.

Ah consultation, so not yet law then...

The potential shake-up has emerged after HMRC confirmed that inaccurate data means millions of people will be made to pay back underpaid tax, and millions more will get rebates.

Ah 'potential'...

To make PAYE more accurate, Treasury ministers have suggested that employers should provide HMRC with monthly updates on workers’ salary payments and other financial details.

Ah 'suggested'...

Such “real time information” could then be used as the basis of a new “centralised deductions” system that would give HMRC an unprecedented role in workers’ monthly salary payments.

Ah 'could'...

Ministers have asked tax experts to give their responses on the proposed new system later this month.

Ah 'proposed'...

Treasury sources said ministers had made no decision on overhauling PAYE, but insisted the Coalition is determined to make the system more accurate.

Ah 'had made no decision'...

So in effect it's all could, might and maybes. How strange that such a controversial proposal, which would be political suicide if ever introduced, is released at the same time as HMRC admits a cock-up.

Spinning? Media manipulation? I've never suggested that for one minute.

Tick Tock

Apparently this week has marked the milestone that was the Coalition's first 100 days in power.

My thoughts have been pretty evident on the Coalition from previous posts; in summary it has been more of the same. Yes there have been substantial cuts, but these would have to be made anyway (despite Labour's apparent denials) and a couple of other welcome changes. EU policy of course has not only remained the same but voluntarily gone much much further - as expected.

However what really has struck me, and amused me in equal measure, in the last 100 days is the hemorrhaging of support for the Liberal Democrats. They are dropping in the polls at an alarming rate, were hammered in the Bilston North Ward council by-election in Wolverhampton, where they were behind UKIP, and appear to be losing members to Labour in significant numbers. The Independent recently highlighted that:

ComRes found that more than one third of people who supported the Liberal Democrats at the election have abandoned the party. It has held on to 63 per cent of its voters, compared with the 92 per cent of Labour voters and 94 per cent of Conservatives who have remained loyal. The proportion of 18- to 24-year-olds supporting the Liberal Democrats has dropped in each polls since the election and now stands at 26 per cent.

This fall is alarming for the party as surging support among young adults during the election campaign accounted for much of its rise.

So despite the 'pals' act' of Cameron and Clegg, 100 days is too early to celebrate the long term success (or failure) of the unity of the coalition, although it didn't stop Iain Dale trying:

When the Coalition was formed back in May, the cynics said it wouldn't last. The media have spent the last three months vainly searching for signs of splits and laying bets as to who might be the first Cabinet Minister to resign. Every minute mistake was analysed to the 'n'th degree. Every prime ministerial comment was rated on a 'gaffe-ometer'.

This is the first time the Lib Dems have been in power for nearly a century, so they are unlikely to knife their leader so soon. The trappings of power is still a novelty to them. Wait until the cuts kick in and the novelty wears off. Tick tock. Already there are unhappy Lib Dem MPs jockeying for position for when the collapse happens.

In the meantime I take great delight in the fact that Lib Dem voters feel conned:

Alex Kear, 32, the chairman of the Liberal Democrat branch in Worcester, said he had quit the party and joined the Green Party because he regarded the coalition as an "unforgivable sin".

He said: "I have stuck with the Liberal Democrats my entire life but now, I'm afraid, I can't do it when they have betrayed me and betrayed my confidence."

And:

Miss Langdon, 43, who runs a recycling company, said:"I had done leaflet drops and donated money [for the election] but I feel now I have been conned. I might as well have been campaigning for the Tories because the Lib Dems are now propping up their government."

And:

[Long-standing Lib Dem member Rodney Smith] is particularly disillusioned by his party leader. "Nick Clegg has entered into a coalition with a party that has a commitment to unfairness and inequality deeply ingrained within its DNA,"

The Lib Dems duplicitous? Now who would have thought that? As the old cliche goes, any party which has the words; 'Liberal' and/or 'Democrat' in it usually turns out to be comprehensively neither.

Bless their little cotton socks.