Ed Jacobs
Ed writes on devolved and local government. He works as a political consultant at the only Northern based consultancy, The Public Affairs Company. Ed has previously helped establish and run a student news website therundown.co.uk.
Welsh Lib Dem council set to privatise adult social services
Later today, Welsh budget minister Jane Hutt will present the Assembly government’s draft budget in what amounts to the toughest fiscal environment since the birth of devolution. She will do so as it emerged that Liberal Democrat run Swansea Council is considering outsourcing its entire adult social services department by 2012 to save costs.
Wales and Scotland set to publish draft austerity budgets
Over the next fortnight, the devolved bodies are expected to publish their draft budgets against the background of the toughest fiscal environment since the birth of devolution. Last week Left Foot Forward reported on the double whammy being faced by Northern Ireland with health minister Michael McGimpsey warning of “large numbers of redundancies” in the NHS and substantial concerns over the impact of the UK government’s welfare reforms on the most vulnerable.
Northern Ireland’s cuts double whammy
In further evidence that the coalition’s claims the NHS budget is ring fenced are questionable at best, Northern Ireland health minister, Michael McGimpsey, has warned that without protection for his department’s budget, the NHS across Northern Ireland faces the prospects of significant job losses.
SDLP rules out mergers with parties in the Republic
SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie has ruled out any merger with parties south of the border under her watch, reports Ed Jacobs.
Rodents aside, what else happened at the Scottish Labour conference?
In his speech to Scottish Labour’s final conference before next May’s elections to Holyrood, Ed Miliband declared “Labour’s fight back has begun”, but what have we learnt from the weekend on Oban? First, these’s no love lost between the Liberal Democrats and Labour, with Miliband's deputy Harriet Harman calling Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander a “ginger rodent”.
Tory deal with the SNP “ludicrous”
A spokesman for the SNP has said: "There is no possibility whatsoever of a coalition deal with the Tories at Holyrood now or in the future... To suggest a deal is possible is simply ludicrous and reveals that the Tories still don’t understand how deeply opposed the vast majority of Scots are to what they represent."