Author Archives: Patrick Wintour
Pub companies’ regulation to be subject of independent inquiry
To relieve pressure on struggling publicans tied to pubcos, MPs also call for statutory code of practice for the industryMPs have forced the government to back down and set up an independent inquiry into the regulation of large pub companies – pubcos… Continue reading
Welfare reform: government vows to reverse Lords defeats
Ministers urged to make concessions over benefits for people with disabilities and serious illnesses following defeat in LordsThe government has vowed to reverse a triple defeat in the Lords over plans to cut benefits for people with disabilities, but … Continue reading
Lords inflict triple welfare bill defeat on government
Campaigners win House of Lords votes on Employment and Support AllowanceThe government’s plans to reform welfare were badly hit on Wednesday when it suffered three defeats in the Lords on proposed benefits cuts.Peers rejected plans to means test emplo… Continue reading
Cabinet secretary calls for social policy ‘kitemark’
New Whitehall chiefs hail open debates, propose independent arbiter to boost investment and call for social policy version of NiceA kitemark to vouch for the effectiveness of social policy schemes such as rehabilitating prisoners or drug addicts has be… Continue reading
Ed Miliband tells Labour to face reality of deficit
Leader sets out new direction and warns party it faces difficult choices on spending at next electionEd Miliband will set out a new direction for the Labour party under his leadership on Tuesday by saying the unprecedented and unexpected landscape at t… Continue reading
Scotland referendum: David Cameron throws down the gauntlet to Salmond
PM takes gamble on union, telling Scotland’s first minister independence vote must be held within next 18 monthsDavid Cameron is to take a high-stakes gamble with the union this week by telling the Scottish first minister, Alex Salmond, he can have a b… Continue reading
Alex Salmond in battle with David Cameron over Scottish referendum
PM takes gamble on union, telling Scotland’s first minister independence vote must be held within next 18 monthsDavid Cameron is to take a high stakes gamble with the union this week by telling the Scottish first minister, Alex Salmond, that he can hav… Continue reading
Ed Miliband urged to start ‘bigger and blunter’ debate on public spending
Gavin Kelly, former adviser to Brown and Blair, suggests a whole Labour generation must unlearn its old model of politicsEd Miliband has been urged by a former senior Labour adviser to embark on “a far bigger and blunter conversation” about future spen… Continue reading
Curb power of pubcos, say MPs
Ministers face Commons defeat over reform of pub business as MPs call for statutory code of practice in an industry that is losing 20 pubs a monthMinisters are being accused of naivety, if not outright collusion, in their dealings with pub companies, a… Continue reading
Ed Miliband takes on his critics: ‘I knew it would be a fight’
Labour leader says he has ‘taken the hard road’ and ridicules the idea of David Cameron as a caring capitalistEd Miliband has confronted the growing concerns about his leadership qualities, defending himself against the charge that he has allowed a pol… Continue reading