Is Attlee relevant to our economic troubles?

First published 28 July 2009

I noticed a letter in the Guardian this weekend written by Michael Bath of Rochester, Kent, which read:

Instead of interviewing four monetarist ex-chancellors [on the subject of public spending cuts], why don’t you explain how Attlee funded his programme of nationalisation, and founded the NHS, when the country had been virtually bankrupted by the second world war?

Michael Bath is not the only person who has had Attlee on his mind recently. Dominic Sandbrook writing for the Daily Mail recently spoke very highly about the former Prime Minister in a review of Frank Field MPs recent book. (Continue)

Labour Party and Public Spending: The case for reallocation

First published June 30 2009

Another look at what engendered a lot of anti-Ed Balls sentiment, even from inside the Labour ranks, as I put it on a Liberal Conspiracy entry;

“On CiF, and during an interview with Radio 4’s World at One, Balls spelt out his reasons for wanting to go ahead with spending, along with why fighting within the Labour ranks is hurting the party, and giving the Tories a free ticket to political high ground. (Continue)

It’s not just the message, Gordon.

First published June 18 2009

Michael Ellam, the current spokesman to Gordon Brown, declared the news on Tuesday that he is being replaced by Simon Lewis – the former spokesperson to the Queen. Good communications with the public is the sine qua non for an incumbent whose party’s latest ICM polls show that they are 15% behind the main opposition on the question of cleaning up the political system.

But communications is not the sum total of Brown’s problems. (continue)

Further Embarrassment for the Government as More Personal Data is Lost

First posted November 26 2008

An inquiry was called for after a memory stick with information of millions of people was found in a pub car park in Staffordshire. The information contained confidential passwords to the Government Gateway system, the online system that offers services including self-assessment tax returns, council tax records, pension entitlements, and child benefit claimants. (continue)