UK Politics and Current Events - Articles - Zimbio

The SNP victorious in Glasgow East

Thu, 25 Jul 2008 21:21:00 GMT

posted by andrewallison
I am surprised at the result. I was sure Labour would just hold on to this seat, although with the government's popularity about as low as it can get, last night proved that just about anything is possible. The heat is once again on Gordon Brown and all the inevitable questions about his future are being asked.

In any ordinary circumstances, the prime minister's position would have been untenable; but we are not in ordinary times. As twitchy as Labour MPs may be, they know it would be electoral suicide to have yet another unelected prime minister; although rats deserting a sinking ship seldom think before they jump. There isn't anyone who wants the job either. No-one is keen to volunteer themselves as the new captain who is sailing directly at the iceberg, with no way of turning the ship around. So for the moment, Brown is safe, although he will no doubt face hostility at the Labour Party Conference in September.

When will he go? If the local election and European election results are dire next spring, I think his number will be up. If Labour replace their leader with just one year to go before a general election, the interim prime minister - probably Jack Straw - should be able to steady some nerves and prepare the way for a new, younger leader. The British people will just about stomach yet another prime minister they haven't voted for, as they know the next general election will be less than a year away.

Gordon Brown is not up to the job. The whole country knows that, regardless of their political persuasion. Labour Party members know it, as do Labour MPs, ministers and cabinet ministers. There is only one thing that can save him now; the generosity of the British people. If they really want to put the boot in next spring, they will finish him off.

What now for Brown after Glasgow East?

Thu, 25 Jul 2008 07:35:00 GMT

posted by conorryan
There weren't even the top-hatted toff mockers to blame this time. Labour had an excellent candidate in Margaret Curran and ran a super-professional campaign. But it didn't do enough to prevent the SNP from snatching the seat by a few hundred votes. Glasgow East should be the signal of what needs to change in Labour. And that change needs to come from the top, rather more than at the top.

It is good that Gordon Brown is taking a decent holiday this year. But he needs to make it a holiday, and stop sending lots of emails to his staff and trying to micromanage events from his Southwold holiday home. Instead he needs to reflect on how to start the party's recovery in the autumn. Of course, the economy will be crucial: Labour can have little hope of recovery while people experience double-digit food and fuel increases, and see their home values diving.

But, an economic recovery of itself will not be enough. Brown's problem is not just a lack of empathetic engagement - though that is a problem for a modern politician - it is also a fear of spelling out a clear sense of purpose, including just how radical his government is being, which hides notable successes in aspects of the public services such as health and education (marking fiascos aside). Public satisfaction with the NHS is now at record highs; this is thanks to the investment and reforms introduced by the Labour governments, which has meant more frontline staff, much lower waiting lists and better equipped hospitals and surgeries. Yet, in polls, the public say they trust the Tories - whose main policy is to dismantle Labour's successes on orders from the BMA - more than Labour on the NHS. On education, a daft decision to create 'distance' from Tony Blair on academies in the first months of Brown's premiership has obscured their subsequent rapid and hugely popular expansion. Crime is falling fast - as even Tory commentators acknowledge, even if they want the credit given elsewhere. And the government has been radical on welfare reform this week.

Yet, there is no sense that Labour is making the political weather. The Tories, whose policy differences with Labour on the subject are relatively small and draw heavily on academies, are seen as having all the ideas on education. Even on welfare reform, where the work had been done before any Tory policy commission was born, many commentators were persuaded that Labour was just copying their ideas.

That's where the big change is needed. Tony Blair was very good at developing and disseminating a clear political narrative. With Gordon Brown, there is no such narrative, so nobody from the commentariat to the common voter can understand what's happening. This failure may owe something to the schizophrenic attempt to create novelty in the first months of Brown's tenure. If so, the time for real clarity is overdue. That means selecting half a dozen very clear goals for the government, on which Brown devotes most of his energy. He should leave the micro-management to his ministers, and where necessary, to his policy aides, but work relentlessly on those goals. These goals should be spelt out at the party conference in September, and he should devote considerable energy and the time of his delivery, strategy and policy people to seeing them being delivered. Any reshuffle should be done with this in mind, ensuring strong ministers who can communicate effectively leading on these goals.

None of this will require a huge change in policy direction. The last few months have, ironically, been the most productive and radical of Brown's tenure to date. But they will require a big change in approach by Brown and his team. Brown should enjoy his holiday, despite the Glasgow East result, and leave the day-to-day business to Alastair Darling and Jack Straw. After all, when he returns, he needs to be physically and mentally refreshed if his to defy the psephologists and establish the clarity of purpose that could - with an economic upturn - start to restore Labour's fortunes.

Gordon Brown Seeks To Brown Out Green Energy Laws

Wed, 24 Jul 2008 07:02:37 GMT

posted by fstopsky

Prime Minister Gordon Brown who never ceases telling he world of his commitment to alternative energy sources was accused of trying to water down tough new European legislation to boost the uptake of renewable energy. He openly seeks a “green revolution” while working behind the doors to ensure the current oil revolution continues to damage economies. Documents obtained by the British newspaper, the Guardian, show the uK wants to block attempts to give renewable electricity sources such as wind farms priority access to the national grid. The European official who drafted the legislation accused Britain of “obstructing” EU efforts on renewables and said UK officials wanted to protect traditional energy supplies and their coal, gas, and nuclear power stations.

According to documents examined by the Guardian, a key word “shall” was changed to “may” indicating it allowed those in charge not to provide access to renewable energy sources. Unless new sources of energy can readily access the national grid their effectiveness is sharply reduced as a tool in developing alternative energy sources. Th EU document obliges member states to give priority grid access to renewables. Either Prime Minister Gordon Brown never read the legislation or he simply prefers the doctrine of the old and true is the one to follow.

The fight for news sources of energy will constantly encounter resistance from those who currently dominate energy. They will not surrender power to new sources of power.

Plane Stupid activist glues himself to Gordon Brown to protest Heathrow airport expansion

Tue, 23 Jul 2008 05:20:00 GMT

posted by brennybaby
Blast from the past here. Former USSU President Dan Glass,now doing an MsC in human ecology at Strathclyde University, glued his hand to Prime Minister Gordon Brown's sleeve to protest the expansion of Heathrow Airport.

Glass is a member of Plane Stupid, a group that protests airport expansion and the impact of flying on the climate. Indymedia has audio of the events.

He had been invited to Downing Street to recieve an award for his work with Plane Stupid.

According to the Telegraph, he demanded to know why the Government was refusing to meet residents opposed to plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport and said to Brown "We cannot shake away climate change like you can just shake away my arm."

Plane Stupid commented on their website "He had no choice but to listen to Dan or undress."

Although I won't pretend I don't take the odd longhaul flight every couple of years, I quite admire Dan Glass for his bravery and imagination, and I'm totally opposed to any further airport expansion. Instead, we need to improve public transport and look into how the Eurostar can be made cheaper to cut shorthaul flights.

BBC:

Speaking afterwards, Mr Glass said: "My left hand was covered in superglue and I stuck it to his sleeve.

"I just glued myself to him and after 20 seconds he tore my hand off - it really hurt. He had to give it a couple of tugs before it came away.

"He was just grinning about it. He didn't seem to take me seriously."

Will this start a new trend? Will Jacqui Smith walk out of Downing Street glued to two No2ID protestors?

5 examples of how YouTube influence in UK politics is growing

Sun, 23 Jun 2008 08:14:00 GMT

posted by nickburcher

YouTube influence in UK politics is growing and UK politicians are having to quickly adapt to a new way of communicating with voters. Much as politicians had to learn new techniques as TV became a mass medium, so politicians are having to adjust to be able to successfully communicate using new web channels like YouTube.

Whilst UK politics lags behind the US in utilising YouTube as a campaigning tool, parties are developing their YouTube offerings (though I think it will be a while yet before we see UK candidature / policy announcements on YouTube or 'Obama Girl' equivalents!)

Here are 5 examples of how YouTube influence in UK politics is growing:

1) Ask Gordon on YouTube

Run through the Downing Street channel, the 'Ask The PM' initiative is allowing YouTube users to upload video questions for Gordon Brown. The YouTube community then vote to establish the most popular questions and Gordon Brown has pledged to answer them on 23rd June.

2) House Of Lords on YouTube

http://uk.youtube.com/ukparliament

In an effort to engage younger generations the House Of Lords is uploading explanatory videos to the Parliament channel on YouTube. We have already seen the launch of 'Lords Of The Blog' an 'experimental blogging project to encourage direct dialogue between web users across the world and Members of the House of Lords' and a YouTube presence is the obvious next step.

Five videos have been uploaded to start things off (including 'House of Lords- what's it all about') with the promise of more to come. According to Lord Speaker Baroness Hayman, the House Of Lords hopes that the YouTube channel "will help to combat some of the outdated stereotypes of members of the upper house."

3) Webcameron

One of the first UK politicians to really embrace YouTube, David Cameron, leader of the Conservative party, continues to update his vlogging channel Webcameron. Rather than just upload policy announcements and press conference coverage, David Cameron is using Webcameron to give viewers exclusives and behind the scenes access. A good example of this is the footage that was shot around the time that Boris Johnson's London Mayor victory was announced:

http://www.youtube.com/user/webcameronuk

4) London Mayor election campaign

The London Mayor election was the first major British election conducted in a YouTube / Web 2.0 world. All the major candidates had strategy in these areas and there was some effective work, even though the audience for the message was small (the British electorate are significantly lagging the US in engaging with candidates online.)

One of the better videos was Boris Johnson's Apprentice parody:

YouTube as a campaigning tool will grow and by the time the next UK general election comes around (2009?) it will have a significant role to play.

5) Downing Street YouTube channel

The Downing Street channel on YouTube started out as hub for historic Prime Minister / government speeches and video from the Downing Street archives (eg Lloyd Georges first visit to Chequers or 'Bonar Law forms a new government.') In recent times though it has tended to aggregate the activity of Tony Blair / Gordon Brown with speeches and policy announcements making up the bulk of the DowningSt channel videos.

'Tony Blair félicite Nicolas Sarkozy (en français)' is by far the most viewed clip on the Downing Street channel with 485,809 views. After Sarkozy won the French election Tony Blair recorded a congratulatory message in French and presented it through YouTube. This has a very high view count and shows an implicit understanding of how to use YouTube effectively.

No-one has yet defined what the official Downing Street YouTube channel should be for, but the views received for Tony Blair's message to Sarkozy show how effective it an be if used properly.

All of the above point to the growing influence of YouTube in UK politics. YouTube will engage younger generations far more effectively than an MPs constituency surgery or door box generic printed material. YouTube allows a two way dialogue with youth on their terms (they can choose whether to engage and choose the timing and terms on which they do so) and against the backdrop of the US primary campaigns, the UK political establishment is starting to realise how important YouTube is becoming.