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The Guardian reports that Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, has vowed to back industrial action to fight the coming spending cuts. He said if Nick Clegg, who criticised “gold-plated and unaffordable pensions” on Monday, came “for our pensions, then we will ballot for industrial action”. Richard Kemp, leader of the Liberal Democrats in local government, wrote yesterday to Nick Clegg asking him to recognise that local authority pensions and pay were not “gold plated”.
Left Foot Forward yesterday outlined how public sector pensions are sustainable. Gail Cartmail, assistant general secretary of Unite, told The Times: “It is deeply ironic and very sad that the Liberal Democrats, who first introduced the state pension with Lloyd George in the 1900s, should now be mounting a right-wing campaign to decimate retirement incomes a century later.” Meanwhile the centre-right think tank, Reform, has produced a report calling for George Osborne “to cut health spending by £20bn, reduce state benefits by £13bn and increase VAT”, according to the Independent.
The front page of the Financial Times reports that George Osborne will use the chancellor’s annual Mansion House speech to “warn big banks that they will have to pay for the damage they inflicted on the British economy and could be broken up.” The paper says that “Mr Osborne will confirm his plans to introduce a bank levy and faces pressure from his Liberal Democrat partners in the coalition to raise a substantial amount from the tax in next week’s Budget.” The Treasury appears to be moving in favour of a tax on balance sheets rather than profits or bonuses. The Daily Telegraph‘s front page focuses on another area of Osborne’s speech and details that the chancellor will give the Bank new powers allowing it to “impose restrictions on the amount banks can lend … [including] restrictions on the loan-to-value ratios offered to customers.” The Times says the speech will “constitute a significant volte face” by the Conservatives, who argued in opposition that the FSA should be abolished and that the role of all City regulation should reside with the Bank of England.
The front pages are dominated by the Saville Report’s condemnation of the “unjustifiable firing” on Bloody Sunday in 1972. The Times says, “Cameron seeks closure as he says sorry for Bloody Sunday” in what the paper calls a “sombre statement”. The Independent has a special issue marking “Truth and Reconciliation” – their leader says, “The Saville report and David Cameron’s response to it represent honourable attempts to put right things which went grievously and fatally wrong”. The Guardian hails “38 years on, justice at last” while the Daily Telegraph features a picture of a crowd watching “Cameron apology for Bloody Sunday”. According to the Telegraph, “The report said none of those shot had posed a threat, found that British soldiers fired first and criticised senior officers for sending “aggressive” paratroopers into the city’s Bogside area in breach of their orders.” In the House of Commons, David Cameron apologised on behalf of the country for the killings which he called “unjustified and unjustifiable”.
The Guardian reports that Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to take full control of “£12bn BSkyB empire” is a “done deal”. The paper says that the BSkyB board are hoping to extract an additional £1 billion from Mr Murdoch although “the two sides have in the meantime signed a co-operation agreement and begun the process of seeking approval from competition authorities in Brussels.” The paper’s leader says that full ownership of Sky would give News Corporation’s boss “a great competitive advantage” while making James Murdoch “the most powerful man in the British and European media industry”. For these reasons it says, “It now falls on politicians to raise the necessary questions about this concentration of power.”
The Financial Times front page reveals that “[US] Congress attacks energy groups”. Henry Waxman, energy committee chairman of the House of Representatives, said a review of energy companies’ lengthy response plans proved Congress needed to put “teeth” into new enforcement rules. The paper also reports Barack Obama’s “urgent call” for the US to lessen its reliance on oil and move towards cleaner energy. The US president said, “There are costs associated with this transition [to clean energy]. And some believe we can’t afford those costs right now. I say we can’t afford not to change how we produce and use energy – because the long-term costs to our economy, our national security, and our environment are far greater.”
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6 Responses to “Politics Summary: Wednesday, June 16th”
Mr. Sensible
I think it is important that we seem to have got to the truth of what happened on Bloody Sunday.
It is important, though, that we don’t forget the good work our armed forces do at the same time.
I also fear the possible repercutions if prossicutions are brought.
There’s an interesting inerview with Andy Burnam in the Mirror:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/features/2010/06/16/breast-cancer-devastated-my-wife-s-family-her-double-mastectomy-lifted-the-fear-115875-22336583/
Politics Summary: Wednesday, June 16th « The best Labour blogs
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Kurt
Politics Summary: Wednesday, June 16th | Left Foot Forward http://bit.ly/alnyks
Lauolefiso Stibbie
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Casey Vanderpool
Politics Summary: Wednesday, June 16th | Left Foot Forward http://bit.ly/dhC4UX