Thursday 21 July 2011

Lib Dems Seem To Benefit Most From Hackgate

Yesterday was another extraordinary day in the ‘Hackgate’ scandal. David Cameron had to make a statement to the House of Commons regarding the hacking scandal as well as his judgement in hiring Andy Coulson as his spin doctor. On Tuesday we saw the Emperor himself being thrown to the Select Committee lions as Rupert Murdoch eat humble pie (pun very much intended). Speculation is rife as to whether the Murdochs will retain leadership of their company and whether David Cameron will retain the leadership of the country. Now there are concerns over whether the PM and Rupert Murdoch discussed the now failed BSkyB bid. Although Vince Cable must be punching the air. Perhaps, there are more questions in hindsight as to whether or not the PM should have stripped the BSkyB bid from Dr.Cable’s judgement.

After all the scandal and revelations of late, which political party comes out of it best? Well according to the voting intention polling data that political party appears to be the Liberal Democrats. The Lib Dems have seen an increase in support for them recently. This seems to be mostly at the expense of the Labour who has seen a dip in their support in recent days, whereas the Conservatives have only seen a gradual decline. The other parties have also seen an increase in support.

The most recent polls of the major polling organisations:
Com Res         14th July           Con   36% (-1%)      Lab   40% (+3%)      LD   10% (-1%)
Populus           17th July           Con   34% (-5%)      Lab   39% (-1%)       LD   11% (+2%)
ICM                17th July           Con   37% (nc)         Lab   36% (-3%)       LD   16% (+4%)
Ipsos MORI    20th July           Con   32% (-5%)      Lab   39% (nc)          LD   11% (nc)
You Gov         20th July           Con   35% (-1%)      Lab   43% (nc)          LD   11% (+3%)

Yes these are only modest climbs in the Lib Dem poll rating and yes both Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband have seen increases in both of their popularities due to their handlings of the hacking crisis. However according to this recent polling data the Lib Dems have made the most gains of the three main parties. This rise in Lib Dem support may be a reflection of the fact that they have consistently opposed the influence of Rupert Murdoch, News Corporation and News International unlike Labour and the Conservatives. We will have to wait and see if this trend of the increase in Lib Dem support continues.  

Thursday 14 July 2011

Labour’s Welsh First Past The Post Stitch Up

At last the Labour Party has shown its true colours on electoral reform. Just months after over half the Labour Party vocally opposed the Alternative Vote Referendum, a major policy shift has emerged in Wales that threatens the very notion of Welsh democracy. This is a policy put forward by the shadow Welsh secretary, Peter Hain which aims to change the Welsh Assembly voting system from the Additional Member System to First Past the Post. The current system used in the Welsh Assembly is an Additional Member System made up of 40 seats elected on a constituency First Past the Post basis; with the remaining 20 seats elected by Proportional Representation on a regional list basis. The plan by the shadow Welsh secretary is to reform the Welsh voting system to the Welsh Assembly not by bringing it into the 21st century but by dragging it back into the electoral dark ages.

The Welsh Labour Party draws its impetus to rejuvenate First Past the Post in Wales from two sources. Firstly, the defeat of the Alternative Vote Referendum and secondly, the plan by Westminster MPs to reduce the number of MPs in Wales from 40 to 30. Added to this notion, the plan put forward by the Welsh Labour Party would see Welsh constituencies in the Welsh Assembly elect two members per constituency. This abolition of the Proportional Representation regional list would make the Welsh Assembly truly determinant on First Past the Post and that could only ever benefit one political party, that of the Labour Party. Labour has emerged in all four assembly elections as the largest party and with the added advantage of total First Past the Post Labour would receive an absolute majority in the Welsh Assembly after every election. Wales would truly become a one party state. This is nothing more than a stitch up by the Labour Party designed to move the goalposts of democracy in Wales in order to benefit itself and undermine the opposition parties in the assembly. In the latest election held in May of this year the Conservatives, Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats received the majority of their seats from the regional list. First past the post would clearly undermine the three opposition parties in the Welsh Assembly and strengthen the position of the Labour Party and its First Minister, Carwyn Jones.

I for one have always been quite dubious of the claims of the Labour Party to favour of electoral reform after their opposition to the Alternative Vote, this policy shift in Wales surely puts that notion to rest. Labour has nothing to offer when it comes to electoral reform. They are not liberal and progressive in this respect, they are conservative and traditionalist. And their aims are truly tribalist and self-interested. In Wales as well as in the rest of the United Kingdom they support First Past the Post solely because it benefits themselves. Hopefully, the people of Wales will see through this stitch up by the Labour Party especially given the Welsh political traditions of Liberalism and Radicalism. The idea of electoral reform to Labour is not to insure that everybody's vote has equal weight and equal value and that election results are determined fairly with each party getting a fair and accurate proportional of the seats but by ensuring that more people are disenfranchised, less votes count, the parties have fewer representatives and that democracy as an institution is undermined. Labour has once more shown their true colours when it comes to electoral reform. They are willing to stitch up democracy in order to benefit themselves and not the votes of the people, whether it is their majority opposition to the Alternative Vote or the fact that they are willing to introduce First Past the Post in the Welsh Assembly, Labour cannot be trusted on electoral reform. There is only one political party that can be trusted to reform British politics and Britain's electoral system and that is the Liberal Democrats. See the article regarding Labour’s plans here: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/07/14/first-past-the-post-for-senedd-has-labour-vote-91466-29049445/

Wednesday 13 July 2011

The Empire’s Last Stand ... For BSkyB?

Today British politics will see a piece of history as the next phase of the battle against Rupert Murdoch and his media empire begins. This is the battle between the media mogul and the British Parliament. The House of Commons shall vote on whether Rupert Murdoch should proceed with his bid to take over BSkyB. All of Britain's major parties; the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats will today join forces in the House of Commons (which is an extreme rarity at the best of times) and overwhelmingly reject Rupert Murdoch's bid to obtain full ownership of BSkyB. Could this vote signal the last stand of the Murdoch Empire in its aim to control all of BSkyB? This motion (which has been tabled by the Labour Party) will be the latest in a long line of recent humiliations for Murdoch and his company, News Corp. These humiliations range from the potentially illegal developments in the phone hacking scandal, the necessity to close the News of the World and the public rejections of Murdoch's BSkyB bid by all three main parties.

In the early hours of the day when this historic vote is due to occur, a letter has emerged that has been written by three senior Liberal Democrats, which represents yet another rejection of News Corp’s bid to own all of BSkyB. The letter written by Simon Hughes, Tim Farron and Don Foster also goes on to state that the recent allegations made against News International have "shocked and sickened the British people." Furthermore the letter accuses those working for News International of seeking to "cover up the many wrongs which it has committed." The aim of the letter is to persuade Murdoch to drop his bid to own all of BSkyB because after the recent scandals "many people in this country have no desire to have any more of our media" fall into his hands. This letter is evidence of how one of Britain's main political parties, the Liberal Democrats wishes for Murdoch to withdraw his BSkyB bid. The link to the article displaying this letter is here: http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2011/07/13/lib-dems-fire-salvo-against-murdoch. It shall soon become apparent after today's vote in Parliament whether or not Murdoch will withdraw his bid for BSkyB. Today, may very well be the last stand of the Murdoch Empire’s takeover ambitions. One thing however is certain it will take months if not years for News International to rebuild its integrity in the minds of the British public and Britain's politicians after its integrity has been so clearly shattered in the past fortnight.

Saturday 9 July 2011

In Praise Of Simon Hughes

I would just like to send my praise and thanks to Simon Hughes, the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. This is due to the fact that he has written to Ofcom the media regulator regarding Rupert Murdoch’s planned takeover of British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB). Simon Hughes asks Ofcom to assess whether News International is a ‘fit and proper’ person to take ownership of BSkyB in accordance with the Broadcasting Acts of 1990 and 1996. Here, Here! It is important that we stand up for Liberal Democrat principles especially now we are in government. We as a party have never taken Rupert Murdoch’s money or support, unlike the Conservatives and Labour. Here is what Simon Hughes said. (http://www.libdems.org.uk/latest_news_detail.aspx?title=Simon_Hughes%3a_Ofcom_must_investigate_whether_BSkyB_is_%e2%80%98fit_and_proper%e2%80%99&pPK=292bc47b-a281-4faa-a990-7e0c0505885f).

Nick Clegg and the other Lib Dem Cabinet ministers are bound by Cabinet collective responsibility but senior Lib Dems like Simon Hughes, Tim Farron, Ming Campbell and Charles Kennedy aren’t bound by Cabinet collective responsibility. Hence they should on occasion be willing to promote the Liberal Democrat view point on an issue even if it contradicts with those in the Conservative Party. An idea that the Party may want to consider is to appoint a ‘Chief Parliamentary Spokesperson’ who is able to communicate to the media the view of grassroots Liberal Democrats on an issue besides just the policy of the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition Government. The Spokesperson would represent the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party and could offer a comment to the media alongside David Cameron the Leader of the Government and Ed Miliband the Leader of the Opposition. Due to the Spokesperson not being a member of the Coalition Government and the Coalition Cabinet they could make a comment and would not risk undermining the stability of the government. Simon Hughes as Lib Dem Deputy Leader may be an ideal candidate for this role.

Friday 8 July 2011

The Labour and Conservative Love For Murdoch

The world ended yesterday well the News of the World anyway. The jewel of the Murdoch Empire has been shattered after the recent developments in the phone hacking scandal. Added to that the former Editor of the News of the World as well as the former spin doctor for David Cameron, Andy Coulson has been arrested by the police. This scandal has put News Corporation and its master Rupert Murdoch at the top of British news agenda (well with the exception of the Sun and the Times). But there’s another angle to this story to consider and that’s the relationship between the Labour Party and the Conservative Party and Rupert Murdoch.

A few weeks ago both David Cameron and Ed Miliband were at one of Rupert Murdoch’s parties, both were trying to win favour with News International. This was just the lasting wooing of the media tycoon by Labour and the Conservatives. In 1992 the Tory PM, John Major had the support of the Sun when he narrowly won the General Election, the myth was born that Murdoch had a hand in determining elections. This myth continued in both the Tories as well as in Labour Party. Tony Blair and New Labour were dependent on Murdoch’s support as was Gordon Brown. Within days of the formation of the Coalition Government, Rupert Murdoch walking into Downing Street to meet his latest Prime Ministerial admirer, David Cameron. For too many years Britain’s two largest parties have been under the influence of Rupert Murdoch and it must end. The Liberal Democrats must be the first party of government in over three decades not to be under Murdoch’s spell. We as Liberal Democrats must once more take the fight to Rupert Murdoch.

Nick Clegg has called for a judge led inquiry into the actions of News International. The Deputy Prime Minister is continuing the Liberal tradition of not siding with elites and vested interests. Just remember when Vince Cable was caught by undercover journalists declaring war on Rupert Murdoch. The Lib Dems are only one of the main parties to have never allied themselves with News International.

David Cameron has now agreed to hold a judge led public inquiry. Another person to also call for a judge led inquiry as well as for Rebekah Brooks’ resignation was the Labour Leader, Ed Miliband. Ed Miliband has been praised across the media for daring to distance himself from his would-be master, Rupert Murdoch. However, I for one view Miliband’s decision as being hypocritically opportunistic. If the Labour Party was serious about distancing itself from Murdoch it could have done so when the phone hacking scandal began to emerge in 2006. Even Ed Miliband harboured hopes of gaining Murdoch’s affections or else he would not have attended the media tycoon’s parties. If Labour had won the General Election and maintained the Sun’s support would they now be opposing Murdoch? After 13 years of worshipping Murdoch; I doubt it! So how is Ed Miliband or David Cameron in a fit state to criticise News International after decades of their respective parties hanging on the word of Rupert Murdoch. We need Nick Clegg to take the political lead on this issue.

Frankly neither the Conservatives nor Labour can be trusted to bring News International to account over the recent scandals given their previous love for Murdoch. Nick Clegg was absolutely right to call for a judge led inquiry and it is now up to the Liberal Democrats to hold Murdoch and News International to account. Also and almost as important we must not let Labour and the Conservatives paper over the past, they were allied to and dependent on Rupert Murdoch for decades; and we shouldn’t let them or the British people forget it. It is good to know that for all that time there has always been one party that hasn’t been obedient towards the likes of Rupert Murdoch; the Liberal Democrats!  

Wednesday 6 July 2011

The End of Murdoch’s British Empire?

Has the Last Post begun to sound for Rupert Murdoch’s British Empire? Rupert Murdoch's media empire in the United Kingdom consists of four major newspapers: the Sun, News of the World, The Times and the Sunday Times. Rupert Murdoch also has a large stake in the television media and is seeking to complete a takeover of British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB). Several years ago rumours began to emerge about News Corporation journalists from the News of the World hacking into the phones of major celebrities and politicians. It has since transpired that many individuals indeed did have their phone messages hacked into by journalists working for newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation. However the last few days has taken this scandal from the world of celebrity and politics into the country at large. This is due to the fact that it appears that the mobile phone of the murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler may have been hacked into by journalists of the News of the World. Further suspected cases of phone hacking may also include the murdered Soham teenagers, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman as well as the bereaved families of those who lost loved ones in the 7/7 terrorist attacks on London (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14040841). Tonight, it has also transpired that the families of dead soldiers may have had their phones intercepted and hacked into by the News of the World (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14052909). I for one would like to echo the words of the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg who described the recent developments in the phone hacking scandal as "beneath contempt" (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jul/05/phone-hacking-mps-milly-dowler). All of these allegations arguably put the future of the planned takeover of BSkyB at as well as the career of the head of News International, Rebekah Brooks at risk.

But what are the political implications of the scandal that is now engulfing Rupert Murdoch's dealings in the United Kingdom? Firstly there are the BSkyB takeover and the Prime Minister's relationship with Andy Coulson. However there is a much more central issue regarding politics and Rupert Murdoch in Britain. This is due to the fact that for many decades Rupert Murdoch and his media empire have been senior backers and donors to both the Labour and Conservative parties. Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and now David Cameron have sought strong links to the Murdoch press because they were dependent upon their support. Politicians for decades from both the Tories and Labour viewed the endorsement of Rupert Murdoch as a key steppingstone to achieving power. No politician of the two largest parties with any prospect of a political future has dared to criticise News International; but as Nick Robinson from the BBC speculates could that be changing? (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14045722) At any rate both Labour and the Tories have been dependent on Murdoch's empire, it is up to the Liberal Democrats to hold News International to account. This is especially the case now that we are in government. We as Liberal Democrats were not afraid to criticise the Murdoch press when we were in opposition and we certainly shouldn't be afraid now that we have influence in government. The one continuing factor throughout all the decades when the Murdoch Empire was either endorsing Labour or the Tories is it was always hostile to the Lib Dems, a third-party that would seemingly never achieve power. It wasn't the Sun that won it for us, far from it. It is important that those who are directly responsible for these latest phone hacking scandals are brought to account. Rebekah Brooks's position as the head of News International is looking increasingly untenable and the planned takeover of BSkyB should now be halted as it is clear that Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is not a fit and worthy company to be running such a large swathe of the British television media. Nick Clegg it is now up to you to carry the Liberal Democrat baton that has always opposed Rupert Murdoch and call for Rebekah Brooks to resign and also call for a halt to the planned BSkyB takeover.