Thursday, 11 November 2010

The Big LibCon - Government by fiat on the way

Date:Thur 11.11.2010




http://obiterj.blogspot.com/2010/11/breathtaking-bill-of-which-even-henry.html

FRIDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2010

A breathtaking Bill of which even Henry VIII would have been proud ...!

On 28th October, the government's Public Bodies Bill received its first reading in Parliament - actually it has been first introduced via the House of Lords. We all knew that, mainly for economic reasons, a "Bonfire of the Quangos" was being planned but the interesting question was just what form the legislation would take.

We now know that the plan is to hand Ministers sweeping powers to abolish, merge, or modify these public bodies or offices. The powers are to be exercised by "Orders" (in the form of Statutory Instruments). Although those orders have to be laid in draft form before Parliament and an "affirmative resolution" of each House obtained, the reality is that, in practice, only rarely will there be any debate.

The basic ministerial powers to abolish etc. are set out in Clauses 1 to 6 which have to be read with Schedules 1 to 6. In exercising their powers to make orders, Ministers have to "consider" the matters set out in Clause 8.

The Bill is replete with "Henry VIII" powers. For example, under Clause 11, a Minister is permitted to make certain amendments to Schedules 1 to 6. Under Clause 27, an order may repeal, revoke or amend an enactment whenever passed or made. The Bill contains some restrictions on the use of these powers. Under Clause 20, an order may not authorise the creation of a power to make subordinate legislation; or grant a power of forcible entry/search or seizure; or grant a power to compel the giving of evidence. Under Clause 22 - an order may not create or authorise the creation of criminal offences punishable with imprisonment for more than 2 years. Surely, that is far too extensive a right granted to Ministers to create new criminal offences. One might be forgiven for thinking that earlier this year the coalition government had mentioned introducing a mechanism to prevent the proliferation of unnecessary new criminal offences - see here.

This Bill will extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. [There are various clauses in the Bill dealing more specifically with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland].

Once this Bill is on the statute book as an Act, it will be there as a permanent extension to Ministerial powers exercisable with quite minimal Parliamentary oversight.

On 4th November 2010 the Solicitors Journal published - "Lords rap government over hasty bonfire of quangos." In July 2010. the Lord Chief Justice expressed considerable concern over the use of "Henry VIII" powers - see Speech by Lord Judge at the Mansion House dinner for H.M. Judges. It appears that, since Ministers like such clauses, their use will continue unabated. Please also see UK Human Rights Blog 5th November 2010.
Telegraph

Even ministers don't get Cameron's Big Society idea, says Tory Tim Loughton

Most people have no idea what David Cameron’s “Big Society” really means, a Conservative minister has said.

Tim Loughton said few understood Big Society Photo: Geoff Pugh
By Tim Ross, Social Affairs Editor 6:43PM GMT 09 Nov 2010
Tim Loughton suggested that bemused observers were wondering whether the Big Society was merely “another American import”, or “is it in fact Ann Widdecombe?”
Charities and voluntary groups never miss a chance to use the “buzz phrase” when lobbying for influence in Whitehall but even ministers struggle to master the concept, Mr Loughton said.
Labour immediately seized on his “gaffe” as proof that the Prime Minister had failed to explain his own political creed. 09 Nov 2010
Speaking to the volunteering organisation, CSV, Mr Loughton, the children’s minister, said: “The trouble is that most people don’t know what the Big Society really means, least of all the unfortunate ministers who have to articulate it.
“What actually is the Big Society let alone is it good or not? Exactly how big is it now or is it going to be? Is it in fact Anne Widdecombe?
“Is it a very British thing? Or is it another American import?”
Mr Cameron has described the Big Society as his “great passion” and insisted that it represents a major advance for “people power”. His plan is for volunteers, charities and citizens to take responsibility for reforming society themselves, rather than receiving services dictated from Westminster.
Giving the Edith Kahn Memorial Lecture in the House of Lords, Mr Loughton said: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a voluntary organisation in possession of a good idea and in want of a meeting with a minister will use the buzz phrase ‘Big Society’ before breakfast, lunch and dinner – to open with a cacophonous car-crash of mixed misquotes.
“But it does seem that every time I receive a letter or email requesting a meeting, let alone the subsequent meeting itself, there is something of a target quota system operating to see how many times Big Society can be inserted into the dialogue.”
Labour’s Andy Burnham, the shadow education secretary, claimed Mr Loughton’s comments showed that the Prime Minister had failed to communicate his overarching policy theme despite five attempts at doing so.
“Tim Loughton should at least get credit for saying what the rest of the country has been thinking,” Mr Burnham said.
“The Big Society is nothing more than a piece of clever spin to provide a philosophical fig leaf for an attack on public services. This latest gaffe from the education team confirms that the Coalition has no clear policy direction.”
In his speech, Mr Loughton went on to explain what he believed the concept meant.
The minister said people were happiest when at their “most altruistic” and insisted that the Big Society was not a way of providing public services “through the back door”.
Research from CSV found that 17 per cent of 18-24-year old volunteers claim that “volunteering improves their sex lives”, he said. “Not only is being nice good for others – it is also personally rewarding and is likely to be reciprocated.”
Mr Loughton has found himself in difficulty over unguarded remarks in the past. Just hours after the Chancellor announced plans to cut child benefit for the middle classes last month, Mr Loughton suggested that the policy could be revised. He later clarified his comments with a statement on Twitter, insisting the move was “tough, but fair”.
Telegraph

Hu Jintao tells David Cameron: 'You are very young'

David Cameron has been given a back-handed compliment by the Chinese president Hu Jintao, who told the Prime Minister: "You and your cabinet are very young".

Link to By Heidi Blake 11:10AM GMT 10 Nov 2010
The Chinese president made the remark at a meeting with Mr Cameron in Beijing at which the two men discussed international issues including Iran, Afghanistan and the G20 meeting which opens in Seoul tomorrow.
It came after Mr Cameron raised the issue of Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who has been sentenced to 11 years in prison because of his calls for political reform, at a banquet hosted by the premier Wen Jiabao last night.
Mr Jintao told the prime minister: "You are the youngest prime minister Britain has had in the last 200 years and most of your Cabinet members are very young. They are full of drive and energy." The remark is likely to be interpreted as a subtle dig at Mr Cameron, who risked offending the Chinese by being seen to "lecture" them on human rights. Mr Jintao is 67 and China has a strong culture of respect for the elderly.
The Chinese president couched the apparent barb by telling Mr Cameron: "I am sure that under your excellency's leadership, the China/UK relationship will see greater development."
The prime minister made it clear today that he would continue to make the case for human rights, insisting that "being able to talk through these issues - however difficult - makes our relationship stronger".
He told an audience of students: "It's right also that Britain should be open with China on issues where, no doubt partly because of our different history and culture, we continue to take a different view.
"There is no secret that we disagree on some issues, especially around human rights. We don't raise these issues to make to us look good, or to flaunt publicly that we have done so. We raise them because the British people expect us to, and because we have sincere and deeply held concerns."
Yesterday, Mr Cameron, who is leading a trade delegation to China, was able to claim success when Rolls Royce announced a £750 million deal with Chinese Eastern Airlines. Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, will today announce a programme to train 1,000 new Chinese language teachers in England.
Telegrap

Simon Hughes threatens Liberal Democrat rebellion over housing benefit reforms

The Coalition is facing its first major rebellion after a leading Liberal Democrat warned that he could not support the Government’s plans to reform housing benefit.

Iain Duncan Smith blames Labour for 'broken' housing benefit system Photo: GEOFF PUGH
By Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent 5:56PM GMT 09 Nov 2010
Simon Hughes, the Lib Dem Deputy Leader, warned that he would vote against proposals to dock housing benefits payouts by 10 per cent from unemployed claimants who had been out of work for more than a year.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman confirmed that all Liberal Democrats serving within the Government would be expected to back the plans.
Sources said that as Mr Hughes was not a member of the Government, he would not be disciplined if he failed to back the measure.
Related ArticlesBut a rebellion led by such a senior figure within the party would be highly embarrassing for Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem Deputy Prime Minister, and lead to significant tensions within the Coalition.
During a Commons’ debate on the housing benefit proposals, Mr Hughes, who represents the inner London constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark, said moves to cap payouts at £400 a week must not result in residents being driven from their communities.
He added: “The proposal to knock 10 per cent off people’s benefit if they have been out of work for a year is not a proposal I can support.”
Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, promised that no family would be made homeless following the reforms.
Disclosing that the Government had set aside a £140 million fund to help those who risked losing their home, he dismissed “scare stories” suggesting that councils in the Capital were booking spaces in bed and breakfast accommodation to cope with those made homeless.
Mr Duncan Smith vowed that taxpayers would no longer be forced to subsidise benefits claimants to rent properties homes that they themselves could not afford to live in.
He said: “There should be no need with the discretionary allowance that anyone should be made homeless.
“There is no need for councils to think or to worry about the idea of having to put people into homeless accommodation.”
Mr Duncan Smith said the current system created by Labour had led to a "landlords' charter to raise rents" which had driven up the cost of housing for the wider population resulting in parts of London being "socially cleared" of all but the wealthiest and those on housing benefit.
"It hasn't done any favours for those on low or marginal incomes. It's done them a great disservice.
"In parts of London, frankly, you can only live in parts of central London if you are on housing benefit or you are very wealthy.
"They have actually, you could argue, socially cleared parts of London of working people who are trying to earn a living. That's the effect of what they've been doing."
The proposals are designed to save £110 million a year.
Douglas Alexander, the shadow work and pensions secretary, called on the Government to abandon plans to cut benefits for the long-term unemployed, and demanded that local authorities be given more time to prepare for the cap.
He told MPs: “How can this approach be fair when there are presently five claimants chasing every vacancy in the British labour market?”
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Telegraph

Benedict Brogan

Benedict Brogan is the Daily Telegraph's Deputy Editor. His blog brings you news, gossip, analysis and occasional insight into politics, and more. You can find his weekly columns here and you can email him at benedict.brogan@telegraph.co.uk.

Who will be the first ministers to resign – and over what?

By Benedict Brogan Politics Last updated: November 9th, 2010

The Cabinet is divided on high speed rail in the Chilterns (Photo: Alamy)

All eyes are on this week’s European votes on the revision of the Lisbon treaty and David Cameron’s sovereignty clause. Some say as many as 50 Conservatives will rebel, which is of course nonsense in that the actual number will be considerably lower. But there is certainly that number who, given a cause and an opportunity, would vote against the whip on a European issue. Research published yesterday showed that rebellions are running at the highest rate since the second world war – 59 rebellions in the first 110 votes – which bodes ill for the Coalition. Prof Philip Cowley and Mark Stuart of the Centre for British Politics at Nottingham University, who carried out the research, found the Tory rate of rebellion is running at 35pc. A number of them are from the new intake, which worries Tory whips who have tried to point out that defying the Prime Minister is not conducive to career advancement, to no avail. This has not turned into a problem so far because no single issue has arisen to galvanise Tory and Lib Dem rebels into a rebellion that would threaten Mr Cameron’s majority. Even on Europe tories are divided over which aspect to get excited about, and whether to follow Bill Cash or Douglas Carswell, each of whom is making a good case for being the standard-bearer.
But there is plenty of talk about who might throw in the towel among ministers if push comes to shove. On tuition fees there is speculation that a number of Lib Dem parliamentary private secretaries might resign rather than back the measure, and possibly a junior minister. But the issue that keeps coming up as one that might cause Tory resignations is less obvious: high speed rail. If Mr Cameron presses ahead with building the fast link from London to Birmingham through the Chilterns, then he should brace himself for a Cabinet resignation and one only barely lower down: Cheryl Gillan, the Welsh Secretary, and David Lidington, the Europe minister, are both Bucks MPs and their colleagues tell me that they will walk rather than accept seeing the line go through their constituencies. We are a way off from that moment, and they would understandbly question this analysis, but Tory MPs seem certain. If he looks hard enough, Mr Cameron will find trouble at every point of the horizon.

Telegraph

  1. William Hague: no UK referendum on EU treaty changes

Changes to the fundamental rules of the European Union will not lead to a British referendum, William Hague has insisted.

By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent
Published: 8:00AM GMT 08 Nov 2010
Mr Hague insisted that the Coalition does not intend to grant a referendum on the changes put forward by Angela Merkel Photo: Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
The Foreign Secretary said the Coalition will reject the demands of Conservative MPs for a popular vote on proposed changes to the EU’s treaties.
David Cameron has signalled he is prepared to give his consent to a German plan to alter the EU’s basic rules to support the euro.
The Conservatives have promised a referendum on any transfer of British sovereignty to Brussels, and some Tory MPs will this week demand such a vote.
Ministers insist that the German plan does not justify a British vote because it affects only eurozone countries and has no impact on the UK.
Mr Hague insisted that the Coalition does not intend to grant a referendum on the changes put forward by Angela Merkel, the German chancellor.
“As proposed, it would not give rise to a referendum,” he said in a BBC interview.
“What is being proposed by Angela Merkel does not affect the United Kingdom and the powers of the United Kingdom.”
The Commons will on Wednesday debate recent developments in the EU, including “economic governance” proposals that would increase European surveillance of individual nations’ budgets.
In the latest test of Coalition unity over Europe, Conservative MPs may attempt to amend or even reject the motion, leaving ministers facing an open revolt.
On Thursday, ministers will publish a Europe Bill setting out promises to hold a referendum on any transfer of sovereignty.
Mr Hague claimed that the referendum clause would never be triggered under the Coalition because ministers would not agree to any such transfer.
He said; “Clearly the logical and sensible thing to do is to have referendums when if ever we're asking the British people to give up more of their powers. And by the way, this government is not ever going to agree to Britain giving away any more of our powers and rights.”
He added: “We could never have a repeat of what happened under the last Labour government of the Lisbon Treaty going through without a referendum.”

Telegraph
David Cameron's EU budget promises are 'dishonest'

David Cameron's promise to keep next year's EU budget increase down to 2.9 per cent is "dishonest" and the true extra cost to British taxpayers will be much higher than he has admitted, according to a senior Brussels negotiator.

By Bruno Waterfield in Brussels
Published: 12:42AM GMT 09 Nov 2010
Two weeks ago at an EU summit, Mr Cameron rallied Germany, France and 11 other countries against a 6.2 per cent spending increase for 2011 Photo: REX
Sidonia Jedrzejewska MEP, the European Parliament's lead negotiator in tense budget negotiations that began last night, has accused the Prime Minister of planning a "very tricky set up" that will keep the EU's headline spending rise low while allowing new increases by the backdoor next year.
The real but hidden extra cost to British taxpayers of the EU's budget increase in 2011 will be at least £660 million, according to the senior MEP, over 50 per cent higher than the £430 million of additional Brussels contributions for next year that have been disclosed by the government.
Two weeks ago at an EU summit, Mr Cameron rallied Germany, France and 11 other countries against a 6.2 per cent Brussels spending increase for 2011 that had been demanded by the parliament and European Commission.
In a climb down from his previous call for a cash freeze, Mr Cameron secured majority support for a summit letter stating that EU spending would be capped at a maximum 2.9 per cent increase next year.
Miss Jedrzejewska, a Polish centre-right MEP, has acknowledged that the parliament is ready to cut back substantially on its demand for an extra £6.6 billion, or 6.2 per cent, for the EU budget.
But, she claimed, Mr Cameron and other national leaders had a public strategy of securing the 2.9 per cent figure while privately planning to introduce later "amending budgets" during the course of next year to boost EU funding piecemeal.
"It is not honest. The people who wrote the letter know very well that it will be more in the end. They are just postponing payments," she said.
Miss Jedrzejewska, who has prepared the detail of parliament's budget proposals, predicted that the true rise to EU spending in 2011 will be at least 4.5 per cent but with the extra increases on top of Mr Cameron's 2.9 per cent cap hidden behind complicated technical amendments.
"We know that 2.9 per cent is unsustainable so there will have to be series of amending budgets during the year," she said. "Who can follow amending budgets apart from a couple of experts?"
Downing Street has denied the claims.
"It is untrue to suggest we're acting dishonestly. The UK is determined to go no higher than 2.9 per cent," said a spokesman. "This is not about postponing payments and we're not privately planning to agree to further increases to the 2011 budget through amending budgets next year. That's wishful thinking on behalf of MEPs. Any future amending budgets should be about reprioritising expenditure within these limits, not increasing them."
Miss Jedrzejewska's comments have fuelled growing suspicion of the Coalition Government's policy on Europe on the Tory backbenches ahead of politically sensitive House of Commons votes on the EU later this week.
"The Coalition Government has some explaining to do. The EU can carry on writing cheques with our money and, contrary to what our politicians tell us, there is nothing that can be done," said Douglas Carswell, Conservative MP for Clacton.
Telegraph

  1. David Cameron to intervene over foreign prisoners

David Cameron is planning to make personal appeals to foreign leaders to allow foreign prisoners held in British jails to be sent home.

By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent
Published: 7:30AM GMT 08 Nov 2010
David Cameron will try to win consent for altering the prisoner transfer agreements that govern the deportation of many foreign inmates Photo: PA
The Prime Minister will “personally intervene” in efforts to remove foreign prisoners and take pressure off the prison system, No 10 sources said last night.
Mr Cameron will also try to win consent for altering the prisoner transfer agreements that govern the deportation of many foreign inmates.
Many of those agreements effectively give the prisoner a legal right to object to being returned home to serve their sentence. Only 41 prisoners were removed under such agreements last year.
Coalition sources said Mr Cameron wants to reduce the legal scope for such objections, easing deportation.
More than 11,000 of the 85,000 people in English jails are foreign nationals.
Jamaica is the country with the largest numbers of citizens in UK jails – more than 900 in all. Mr Cameron will shortly make direct contact with his Jamaican counterpart to raise the issue.
A source said Mr Cameron “determined to do everything in his power” to get more foreign prisoners removed from Britain.
However, the source insisted Mr Cameron was not setting any targets for removals, saying: “We know this is going to be difficult.”
Telegraph

The Tories shouldn't fight in Oldham East

The coming by-election presents the Coalition parties with a dilemma, writes Max Wind-Cowie.

Would Cameron and Clegg go head to head? Photo: Getty
By Max Wind-Cowie 3:05PM GMT 09 Nov 2010

Comments

Phil Woolas's victory this May – retaining his seat by the slimmest of margins – was built on nasty foundations. He accused his Lib Dem opponent of being a patsy for terrorists and he deliberately stoked racial tensions for his own political advantage. There is something eminently satisfying about the judgment declaring Woolas's win void – and the coming by-election gives the people of Oldham East a chance to show that they will not be conned by slimy politicians on the make. But the decision also presents the coalition parties with a dilemma. For it means that the Lib Dems (who came a very close second last time around) and the Tories will have to slog it out while trying to stay friendly for the purposes of coalition government.
The Lib Dems have previously proved formidable in by-elections precisely because they have thrown their limited weight so heavily into them. The narrow focus of by-elections has enabled the big-guns of liberalism to help secure shock wins that would have been impossible under the circumstances of a general election. Their willingness to throw everything they have at by-elections has won scalps but it also means that leading Lib Dems have played a greater role than would the heads of the other two parties. That was all very well in the long (long, long) years of opposition but now, with Clegg sat at the right hand of Cameron, it would be an uncomfortable job. Having to arrive in Oldham to berate Conservatives, whilst simultaneously defending them in Westminster, would be squirm-inducing even for the frightfully grown up and reasonable men and women in yellow.
But there is another way, a get out clause if you like. All this awkwardness and uncertainty could be cleared away if only the Conservative Party would step aside. Thus the Lib Dems could concentrate their fire on the sophist who made all of this possible – Mr Woolas himself – and avoid the difficult question of why they, rather than a Tory, would be best as his replacement. It would show that Tories can make sacrifices for the Coalition too.
Of course, many Conservatives would cry foul at this approach, outraged that the Tories of Oldham East might be denied the opportunity to support their party. But politics is not only about principle. It is about practicalities. And the Tories stand no chance of success in this by-election. The figures from election night speak for themselves - Woolas (Lab) - 14,186, Watkins (LIb Dem) - 14,083, Ali (Con) - 11,773. Why not put some of those twelve thousand votes to good use, supporting the direction and the principles of our Government, rather than allow them to be wasted? Cameron should bite the bullet and refuse to fight Oldham East.
Max Wind-Cowie is Head of the Progressive Conservatism Project at Demos.
Telegraph

James Kirkup

James Kirkup is a Political Correspondent for the Daily Telegraph and telegraph.co.uk. Based at Westminster, he has been a lobby journalist since 2001. Before joining the Telegraph he was Political Editor of the Scotsman and covered European politics and economics for Bloomberg.

Just how many foreign prisoners will David Cameron send home?

By James Kirkup Politics Last updated: November 8th, 2010
“Coalition sources” have been enthusiastically telling the Daily Mail that David Cameron will “personally” lead a new drive to remove foreign prisoners from British jails. This intervention by the PM, it is suggested, will result in the removal of thousands of people from our prisons.
Exciting stuff. But look a little closer, and you may be left wondering whether the PM has any clear plan, timetable or target for removals. Apparently not.
Then there’s this little exchange from last week’s Hansard, where Crispin Blunt, the prisons minister, was asked about likely removals.
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners he expects to be repatriated in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011. [20092]
Mr Blunt: The United Kingdom has in place prisoner transfer arrangements with over 100 countries and territories. The majority of these arrangements are voluntary agreements which require the consent of both states involved, as well as that of the prisoner concerned, before transfer can take place. In the calendar year 2010 we expect approximately 45 prisoners to have been repatriated from prisons in England and Wales (38 prisoners have transferred to date). In 2011, up to 50 prisoners are expected to be repatriated. The repatriation of prisoners from Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the relevant devolved administration.
So, “sources” close to Mr Cameron say “thousands” will be removed. The prisons minister says “up to 50″.
Ms Goodman, a Labour frontbencher, suggests this constitutes “serious confusion at the heart of government.”
No doubt the Coalition would say the two can be reconciled because Mr Blunt’s comments pre-date Mr Cameron’s intervention. We’ll see. Certainly, the two rather discordant messages raise some questions.
Telegraph

David Cameron promises to transfer power away from Whitehall

David Cameron has promised a shift in power from government to the people today as Whitehall departments published business plans setting out what they intend to do and how voters can hold them accountable for it.

Published: 9:45AM GMT 08 Nov 2010
Prime Minister David Cameron Photo: PHILIP HOLLIS
Mr Cameron said the move would help reverse the trend towards centralisation of power in Whitehall and would encourage ministers and officials to govern for the long term.
He presented it as an alternative to Labour's culture of targets, which he argued encouraged short-term thinking, as public sector managers sought immediate results to meet centrally-imposed deadlines at the expense of long-term improvements to services.
Speaking at the launch of the business plans, Mr Cameron said Labour's targets ''bred bureaucracy... created inefficiency and unintended consequences (and) crushed morale in the public sector''.
''Today we are turning that on its head,'' he said.
''Instead of bureaucratic accountability to the Government machine, these business plans bring in a new system of democratic accountability - accountability to the people.
''So reform will be driven not by the short-term political calculations of the Government, but by the consistent, long-term pressure of what people want and choose in their public services - and that is the horizon shift we need.''
The business plans will ''bring about a power shift by changing what government does'', Mr Cameron insisted.
''For a long time, government's default position has been to solve problems by hoarding more power to the centre - passing laws, creating regulations, setting up taskforces. The result is that Britain is now one of the most centralised countries in the developed world.
''We will be the first Government in a generation to leave office with much less power in Whitehall than we started with.
''We are going to take power from government and hand it to people, families and communities - and how we will do that is set out right here in these business plans.
''In one of the biggest blows for people power, we're shining a bright light of transparency on everything government does.
''Because each of these business plans does not just specify the actions we will take, it also sets out the information we will publish so that people can hold us to account - plain-English details about the progress of the reforms and the results they are achieving.''
Mr Cameron rejected claims that scrapping targets will lead to a decline in standards.
The publication of business plans will allow voters to check up month by month on progress being made and to hold ministers to account for their promises, he said.
And he dismissed suggestions that he was simply reinstating a target regime under a different name.
''These plans are about running Whitehall effectively so public services are steered by the people who work in them, responding to the people who use them,'' he said.
''And publishing information about the progress we're making and the effect our reforms are having is not targets, it's just the basic information that the public needs to hold government to account.''
Telegraph

David Cameron leads largest trade delegation to China in 200 years

Talks to boost trade between Britain and China were under way in Beijing this morning at the start of three days of intense negotiations by the largest British delegation to go to China in more than 200 years.

By Peter Foster, and Malcolm Moore in Beijing
Published: 8:43AM GMT 08 Nov 2010
Prime Minister David Cameron meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao, 26 Jun 2010 Photo: REX
Vince Cable, the business secretary opened proceedings at the annual Joint Economic Trade Commission, meeting China’s commerce minister Chen Deming ahead of the signing of a number of deals between British and Chinese companies.
David Cameron, who departs for Beijing later today for his maiden visit to China as Prime Minister, has said he wants to forge a “much stronger” relationship with China as Britain looks to export its way back into the black.
However, so far his achievements are lagging well behind the EU15 billion of trade deals secured by French President Nicolas Sarkozy last week.
The largest deal announced so far includes a license to export breeding pigs to China, worth £45m over five years.
The other major agreement was a £4m contract for the East Midlands architects Benoy which has capitalised on China’s building boom, and is now planning to open a headquarters in Beijing. However, the majority of the deals announced on Monday by UKTI, Britain’s trade promotion, were worth less than £1m.
Among them were a deal to provide products for Guangzhou’s metro worth £35,000 and a deal to make a promotional film for Shanghai’s government worth £200,000 to £500,000.
However, sources at the British delegation insisted that a number of bigger deals were in the pipeline.
More than 40 executives from Britain’s biggest companies, including Alliance Boots, Virgin, Shell and Barclays will accompany the ministers in the hope of leveraging high-level political backing to increase their presence in China.
Although China is the world’s second largest economy with an enviable 10pc economic growth rate, its trade with Britain remains disappointingly small, with UK exports China totalling just £7.7bn in 2009.
Mr Cable said that Britain was determined improve on the lacklustre figures, capitalising further on business opportunities thrown up by China’s massive program of urbanisation and infrastructure investment as well its growing consumer and services sectors.
“China represents the biggest source of demand in the world for many of the products that we in the UK have to offer,” Mr Cable said.
“This brings a huge increase in opportunities for UK firms given that they are globally competitive in services, advanced manufacturing and engineering, life sciences and creative industries.”
Sources in Beijing said the three days of official meetings would focus primarily on trade issues, including breaking down China’s trade barriers, however Mr Cameron will also have to decide how to address growing international concerns over China’s human rights record.
The award last month of the Nobel peace prize to an imprisoned Chinese dissident, Liu Xiaobo, has focused attention on China’s repression of those who challenge its ruling one-party state, with rights groups reporting more than 50 dissidents arrested since the award.
Mr Cameron will meet both China’s premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao but away from the high politics of state, will find time for a brief trip to the Great Wall and a visit to a Chinese school.
Other ministers in Beijing this week include the Chancellor George Osborne, who will hold an economic and financial dialogue with Wang Qishan, China’s point-man on international economic affairs, covering issues including the value of the Chinese currency, the yuan and market access problems.
Two other ministers will also be in Beijing; the Education Secretary Michael Gove who hopes increase exchanges between British and Chinese students and Chris Huhne, the Energy Secretary, who opens a new UK-China energy dialogue aimed at helping British companies capture a slice of China’s burgeoning green tech market.
Evening Standard

David Cameron 'jobs for the boys' row over 26 civil servants

Joe Murphy, Political Editor Joe Murphy, Political Editor
08.11.10

David Cameron faced new questions over “vanity staff” today as it emerged that he has appointed 26 civil servants on fixed-term contracts since the general election.

These are the same contracts that were used to hire personal photographer Andrew Parsons and several former Tory aides on the public payroll without the usual strict civil service entry procedures.
Labour MPs said it smacked of “jobs for the boys” and demanded a list of all the names of the officials and their current jobs.
Mr Cameron has been under growing pressure over the appointments, which critics say are inappropriate at a time when Whitehall is shedding jobs to save costs.
Mr Parsons followed the Tory leader in the election to create favourable images of him on the campaign trail, including a photo session depicting Mr Cameron laying a wreath.
He has now been taken on at the Cabinet Office on a £35,000 contract to take photographs of the Prime Minister and other ministers for government publications.
Other appointments include Rishi Saha, 30, a former Tory candidate, to run the PM's website; Isabel Spearman, 30, a former fashion PR to help Samantha Cameron run her diary and charity work, and Anna-Maren Ashford, 31, the former head of brand communications at the Conservative Party, who is working in the flagship behavioural insight team at the Cabinet Office.
Fixed contracts can be awarded without a job being advertised or made open to other candidates. They can be seen as a way of getting a favoured individual into a public position without risk of them failing to win the job in open competition. Labour MP John Spellar said: “David Cameron said he was against putting politics on the taxpayers' bill but it looks as though he is doing the exact opposite.
“Yet again he has been caught saying one thing and doing another. This smacks of jobs for the Tory girls and boys.”
A Cabinet Office spokesman said there were a total of 80 staff on fixed contracts, more than 50 of whom were appointed by the previous government.
“The vast majority have never worked for any political party,” he said, adding that most of them were currently working under fixed contracts to provide temporary maternity cover or because they had specialist skills.
Downing Street has denied claims that officials urged Mr Cameron to reconsider the appointment of Mr Parsons, despite the controversy the move has brought.
Telegraph

David Cameron's China trade trip eclipsed by 'vanity staff' row

David Cameron flew to China last night but left his official photographer in London amid the growing dispute over the employment of so-called "vanity staff" as Whitehall officials.

By Andrew Porter, Political Editor in Beijing and Christopher Hope
Published: 8:00AM GMT 09 Nov 2010
David Cameron boards an aeroplane as he departs for an overseas trip Photo: REUTERS
The Prime Minister is beginning a two-day trip to China, during which he will come under pressure to raise the issue of the jailed dissident who recently won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Mr Cameron is travelling with dozens of business leaders, including many who publicly backed Conservative tax policies, on his first visit to the emerging superpower.
Before boarding the plane, he claimed that relations between the two countries were "strong enough" to be able to talk frankly about human rights issues.
But last night the visit was at risk of being dogged by the issue of the Coalition's growing employment of part-time officials, many of whom were formerly political aides.
Last week, Mr Cameron was mocked for putting Andrew Parsons, his official photographer, on the civil service payroll. Last night, the Cabinet Office admitted that Nick Clegg had also recruited two of his former party aides as civil servants.
Tim Snowball, formerly Mr Clegg's campaign tour organiser who had a prominent role during the election campaign, has been given a job in his private office. Mr Clegg's former deputy speechwriter, Zena Elmahrouki, has also been given a job in the Cabinet Office as a speech-writer.
The Cabinet Office said that, since the election, 33 people had been hired on short-term contracts.
Critics claimed the contracts were a ruse for Mr Clegg and Mr Cameron to hire former staff and avoid a limit on the numbers of special advisers paid for by taxpayers.
Michael Dugher, a Labour Party shadow minister and former adviser to Gordon Brown, said: “What is gradually being revealed is the sheer scale of this great vanity project which rides roughshod over the Civil Service.”
Last night, a Cabinet Office spokesman insisted that the “vast majority” of the 33 hired on short-term contracts since May had “never worked for a political party”.
In a newspaper article today, Mr Cameron makes it clear that human rights will be part of the official talks with Chinese leaders during his trip. He writes: “Our relationship should be strong enough to address not only those issues on which we agree, but those on which we take a different view.” Attention is expected to focus on Liu Xiaobo, who was jailed for 11 years over his calls for reform in China. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last month.
More than 40 business figures have joined Mr Cameron’s delegation. Downing Street also announced a list of new “business ambassadors” charged with increasing Britain’s global competitive advantage. They include Anya Hindmarch, the handbag designer; Tamara Mellon, the founder of Jimmy Choo shoes; Alan Parker, one of the City’s leading public relations men; Sir Anthony Bamford, of JCB; Brent Hoberman of Lastminute.com and Sir John Bond of Vodafone.
Telegraph

David Cameron visit to China: Q & A

David Cameron arrived in Beijing this morning to head a delegation of cabinet ministers and business leaders. What will he be aiming to achieve?

By Peter Foster in Beijing
Published: 8:14AM GMT 09 Nov 2010
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David Cameron visits a Tesco store in Beijing Photo: EPA
What is David Cameron’s main aim on his visit to China?
Trade, trade and more trade. With Britain’s economy facing years of sluggish growth following public spending cuts and the end of cheap credit, Mr Cameron is desperate to boost the UK’s exports to China. He has set an ambitious target of almost tripling exports to China by 2015 from GBP7.7bn to GBP18.5bn.
crisis
So what will he be asking the Chinese for?
More open access to China’s burgeoning marketplace for British companies. Britain’s exports to China are currently very weak and this is partly because China protects its markets with a tangle of petty rules and regulations that make it hard for British companies to invest and compete in China.
Will the Chinese listen?
Not really. China has made clear that it is not ready to open up many of its “strategic” sectors such as telecoms, insurance, banking, media to the full force of foreign competition. It has also put restrictions on how far foreign businesses can invest in government infrastructure projects which account for a sizeable chunk of China’s economy. Mr Cameron’s visit isn’t going to change this, but it might just help chip away a few bricks in the wall.
Give me an example.
How about drinks maker Diageo and its putative deal to take a controlling stake in a Chinese company that makes baijiu, the fiery grain spirit that is the Chinese drink of choice? Mr Cameron is expected to try and encourage Chinese regulators to approve that deal worth up to GBP700m.
If it gets the green light, this would be the first takeover of a Chinese listed company by a foreign firm – that would send a strong signal that China is more open to foreign business and investment. The investment community is watching developments closely, but many are not optimistic.
So, are all those captains of industry on Mr Cameron’s plane wasting their time?
No, clearly not. Away from those ring-fenced “strategic sectors” there are good opportunities for British companies in China. Tesco is investing heavily in retail, GlaxoSmithKline in pharmaceuticals to name but two. And there should be more opportunities in the years particularly to come as China urbanises another 250m of its rural population. But be under no illusion, competition for profits and market share – from both Chinese and rival foreign businesses – will be intense. Margins will be squeezed and wages in China will rise. China has masses of potential, but it is not the answer to our economic prayers.
Any big deals to look out for?
Royal Dutch Shell and Rolls Royce are tipped as the “big ticket” billion-dollar deals from this trip, and there are a smattering of much smaller agreements from East Midlands architects Benoy who have signed deals worth GBP4m, right down to Coventry-based Oleo who will sell GBP35,000 worth of products for Guangzhou Metro.
Why else is Mr Cameron going? (Apart from visiting the Great Wall)
In a word, ‘Diplomacy’. Later this week the Prime Minister flies to the South Korea for the G20 leaders summit which economists say is critical for heading off the looming threat of a trade war that will send the world economy into a vicious downward spiral of such ferocity all this talk of growing UK trade with China would be besides the point.
At his meeting with China’s President Hu Jintao on Wednesday Mr Cameron will start laying the groundwork for the best possible outcome for the summit. Goodwill – currently in very short supply internationally - will be required on all sides if the G20 leaders are to come up with a plan to rebalance the world economy.
Is that it?
Not quite. Apart from the trade deals, banquets and photo-opportunities, the trip is also important to Mr Cameron personally as a recently elected world leader. Personal relationships are vital in China and this is Mr Cameron’s first chance to meet both the current Chinese leadership on their home turf, as well as making the acquaintance of the next generation of leaders like Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, who will take over in 2013.
If Mr Cameron’s coalition holds, if he wins a second term as Prime Minister, today’s meetings, if they go well, will lay the foundations for tomorrow’s good relations with the world’s emerging great power.
So what could possible go wrong?
Quite a lot, but the biggest worry is that the trip will be overshadowed by international concerns over China’s human rights record. The award of the Nobel peace prize to the jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo has infuriated Beijing which accuses the Nobel committee of honouring “a criminal” and hatching a vicious Western plot to denigrate China.
China has also made it clear that nations which bring up the Liu Xiaobo issue will “face consequences”, which is taken to mean economic reprisals. A recent study by two German academics, for example found that countries that talked to the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader The Dalai Lama (Beijing’s other bête noire) suffered an average 12.5pc drop off in trade for two years afterwards.
So how do we triple trade and stand up for what we believe in?
There lies the dilemma. Mr Cameron has indicated he will bring up human rights on the grounds that he believes that basic rights – of expression, association and equality before the law – are the foundations of a stable future for China, a country on which our future prosperity relies. Unfortunately the hard-line wing of the Communist Party doesn’t agree with him.
The real problem is that in the past Western leaders have come to China, said their piece on human rights and then both sides have agreed to respect each other’s position; a kind of mutually convenient dialogue of the deaf. The difficulty for Mr Cameron is that China is increasingly intolerant of even listening to Western criticisms of its autocratic methods.
Cui Tiankai, one of China’s most senior diplomats and lead negotiator at the G20 said last week, said the choice facing European countries was simple: “do they want to be part of the political game to challenge China’s judicial system or do they want to develop a true friendly relationship with the Chinese government and people?”
We live in menacing times.
Note: If he's really a Tory he won't be welcome in NuTory Boy's paty. RH
Telegraph

Conservative MP 'pretty sure' he's a Tory

The Conservative MP Rory Stewart has said he is "pretty sure" that he is a Tory in an interview in the US.

By Andy Bloxham
Published: 8:27AM GMT 08 Nov 2010
Rory Stewart, Conservative parliamentary candidate for Penrith and the Borders Photo: REX
Mr Stewart, 37, who was a member of the Labour party when he was younger, said he felt "dismay" when he learned his parents had cast his vote by proxy for the Conservatives in the 2001 election.
He added that met a Labour minister while working in Kabul and "probably would have been tempted" if he had been offered a job.
Mr Stewart, who was educated at Eton and Oxford, worked for the Foreign Office in Indonesia and Montenegro in the 1990s. He went on to be a deputy governor of an Iraqi province and set up a charity in Afghanistan.
He also worked as an academic at Harvard University and as a tutor to princes William and Harry.
Mr Stewart, now MP for Penrith and the Border in Cumbria, has also denied rumours that he worked for MI6.
However, in an interview in The New Yorker, he acknowledged that his career might "give the appearance" he had worked for the security services - and said his father Brian had been a spy.
Telegraph

Chris Huhne's ex-wife may join him as Lib Dem MP

Chris Huhne faces further embarrassment over his private life after his ex-wife disclosed that she hopes to join him as a Liberal Democrat MP.

By Martin Beckford
Published: 6:30AM GMT 08 Nov 2010
Carina Trimingham, Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce all attended the Liberal Democrat conference Photo: RII SCHROER
The Energy Secretary, who is now in a relationship with his election press secretary, could even end up sitting in Government with Vicky Pryce, a distinguished economist and former senior civil servant.
She had previously sacrificed her political ambitions to support him but has insisted it is not too late for her to start a new career, in her first interview since they split up.
“I want to be more involved in politics,” she told a Sunday newspaper.
“If I were to get into Parliament, I would very much like to be a Treasury minister.”
In the past few months Miss Pryce has joined the Business Advisory Group set up by Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, and attended the Lib Dem conference having been a party member for more than a decade.
As a long-serving civil servant whose “enormous contribution” was praised by the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Gus O’Donnell, when she left Whitehall, Miss Pryce could conceivably receive a peerage and serve as a minister in the Lords.
She also mentors aspiring business women and wants action to help them break through the “glass ceiling” in the City.
“Unless we have quotas, or start naming and shaming companies that don’t promote women, we won’t get anywhere.”
Miss Pryce, 57, had been married to Mr Huhne for 26 years and had risen to the rank of chief economist at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills when her husband unexpectedly became a Cabinet member after May’s election.
She resigned from the job she loved to avoid any accusations of conflicts of interest, but just days later discovered that Mr Huhne had been having an affair with Carina Trimingham, who had worked as his press agent. He announced publicly that he was leaving his wife for his mistress in June, and she has now filed for divorce.
Miss Pryce said she had no inkling of their relationship as Miss Trimingham had had a civil partnership ceremony with another woman.
“It was a total shock. Friends and family have rallied round, and that has been absolutely fantastic, but it is as much of a shock now as it was then.”
Commenting on a passage in Tony Blair’s memoirs about why politicians have affairs, she said: “Probably it’s something that happens to people when they get into power.”
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