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The arguments over the usefulness of speed cameras are eternal and reveal politics at its most truthful. It’s all about what happens on your doorstep, or, on your local roads.
Reading:Joseph Stiglitz in The Financial Times (registration may be required).
Reading:Reportsofformer Chancellor Alastair Darling’s speech at the Donald Dewar Lecture this week
Reading: Bank of England August report on interest rates and the failure to keep inflation inside the target range. The exchange of letters between Chancellor George Osborne and Governor Mervyn King are, at least to me, hilarious. It’s something about the perceived need for public performance I expect.
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The paradox between the optimistic volunteerism of the ‘Big Society’ (less is more!) and the 25% cuts in UK public spending will become increasingly clear this autumn (less is really less!). And especially in the run-up to Chancellor George Osborne’s comprehensive spending review.
The arguments and inter-departmental turf wars over who gets the biggest haircut are already testing the new government’s resilience and PM David Cameron’s PR and people management skills, not least over defence Secretary Liam Fox’s departmental review.
The most high profile part of this is about who pays for Trident – the national nuclear deterrent. The treasury seems to be palming this off on the Ministry of Defence. The MoD and its associated services can probably expect large job losses and major procurement cuts as a result of now having to bear this burden.
Cameron, George Osborne and the Conservatives got their way on the economy – the ‘emergency’ budget chose to cut the ‘deficit’ further and faster than the Lib Dems would have liked. This involved sidelining Vince Cable (until recently the people’s Tribune for matters economic and for harrassing the bloody financial industry).
In return, Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems got a promise of a referendum on voting reform (May 5th 2011) and a leading role in something called the Freedom Bill – an attempt to roll back the intrusions of the state into day-to-day life. He’s asked for help from the publicwith this. This is an area in which the libertarian instincts of the parties can agree although the Daily Mail has its own particular interpretation on the dangers of asking for advice from the plebs. (Libertarianism is often also popular with a government when cash is short).
Only time will tell if this was a good enough deal for the foot soldiers in the Lib Dems, but I’m theorising it won’t be. I thought some evidence for the weakness of Clegg’s position came in Gordon Brown’s last day at Number 10 – when Clegg was rather keen for Gordon to linger to help wring greater concessions from the Conservatives.
The Lib-Dem leader seems to have played the weak hand fortune dealt him well but in the long term I can’t see this taste of power having been much good for him or his party.
If you want an example of the trouble that is heading his way you might want to watch the education debate. Here Minister for Education, Michael Gove, is leading a rather traditional Tory charge against institutional provision of schools through Local Education Authorities. This is an area where Lib-Dems have traditionally been strong (not least in their representation in councils and LEAs) across Britain. There will be blood – there is already – and quite a bit of the violence has come from Conservative councillors too.
