The G20: When Spin Won't Work

Next Election is (UPDATE: Not) Confirmed for May 7 2010 (And Fixed Term Parliaments Too!)

Iain Dale 11:54 AM

So what's this then? On Tuesday the Government reintroduced its LibDem Peer introduced the Constitutional Renewal Bill into the House of Lords. If you look at Section 5 of the Bill it appears to give the game away on the date of the next election, which is says will take place on 7 May 2010. Even more interestingly it then says...

Each subsequent parliamentary general election is to take place on the first Thursday in May in the fourth year after the previous parliamentary general election.

Unless I am very much mistaken, that means the government has accepted the case for Fixed Term Parliaments. If that is indeed the case, I could not be more delighted. But there's a part of me that thinks that if they meant it, they'd have been trumpeting it from the rooftops. Another part of me thinks this clause has been included in error. Anyone know more details?

UPDATE: It appears that although this was not an April Fools joke the Bill was actually not introduced by the Government, but by LibDem Peer Lord Tyler using the same name as the Government's Bill last year. With me so far?!

More here on this from the Electoral Reform Society.

Hattip: The Withering Vine

The G20: When Spin Won't Work

Iain Dale 11:12 AM

James Kirkup writes in this morning's Telegraph that whatever the outcome of the G20 summit, it will be hailed as an historic, triumphant success by Gordon Brown. Even if Sarkozy flounces out, he would no doubt say it was fantastic that 19 of the 20 have signed up to whatever they are signing up to. I don't blame him for that. It's what politicians do. Brown knows that if his political fortunes are to rise, the G20 has to be seen as a success - both in terms of PR and substance.

But it's not Brown's spin which we need to observe, interesting though that will be. The real story will be the reaction of the financial markets. If they blow a collective raspberry and stock markets around the world tank, then that will speak for itself, and no amount of Brown spin will be able to counter that.

Let me be plain. I hope the summit is a success. And if it is, I won't begrudge Gordon Brown his moment of glory. But my definition of success may be very different from Gordon's. One of my definitions of success will be if Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy get their way on preventing yet more taxpayers' money being pissed down the drain.