Liberal Democrat Leaders Say Fair Taxation Is Key To Cutting Deficit

Danny Alexander outlines plans to kickstart economy by ensuring money hoarded by Labour is spent on infrastructure.












Liberal Democrats should fight the next election by aspiring to lift those earning less than £12,500 out of paying income tax, says Danny Alexander.

The Liberal Democrats should fight the next general election by aspiring to lift anyone earning less than £12,500 out of paying income tax, Danny Alexander said.

The chief secretary to the Treasury, a close ally of Nick Clegg, also set out the "next steps in our plan for growth", including a pot of £500m drawn from "unallocated funds" across Whitehall. Later, in an interview with the BBC's Andrew Neil, Alexander said these funds had been taken from savings found across government and did not amount to a stimulus.

Although this money comes from within the "spending plans", he said, the cash will now be disbursed with more urgency to kickstart infrastructure projects currently struggling for credit, with the hope of galvanising private spending.

It is the third indication from the Lib Dems in the past week that they intend to concentrate efforts on accelerating capital projects, which marks a subtle shift in emphasis towards greater public spending, without busting the headline deficit reduction plan.

Clegg made a speech on the subject last week, announcing that Alexander was now in charge of 40 projects across Whitehall, ensuring they are implemented rather than delayed.

They are pressing because they believe that if government funds already allocated can be spent rather than hoarded – which they believe was the case under the last Labour government – modest upfront sums "gear" up to become substantial amounts of fresh capital.

The business secretary, Vince Cable, also evoked the policies of Franklin D Roosevelt in the 1930s when he called for a "New Deal-style stimulus" for capital investment in an interview on Saturday with the Guardian. In his Q&A with Neil on Sunday evening at the party conference, Alexander refused to back Cable's language, but said he preferred to express it as the government "straining every sinew" to get the economy growing more.

As well as further schemes to drive capital investment, and the aspiration of the party going further in its bid to take the low paid out of tax, Alexander also set out measures to increase tax revenues.

He repeated a pledge made in last year's conference speech that there would be a clampdown on tax evasion, with 2,250 HMRC staff working on evasion and avoidance. He said the government was already raising £2bn in this way this year, which he pledged would rise to £7bn annually by the end of the parliament.

In one month's time, an "affluent team" will begin looking at the 350,000 wealthiest taxpayers who each earn more than £2.5m a year, in addition to the 5,000 who are already monitored: "These are the people who pay or should pay the 50p rate of tax," he said in his speech on the first morning of conference.

"My message to the small minority who don't pay what they owe is simple – I agree with the chancellor. We will find you and your money and you will pay your fair share," he said.

He was sanguine about the 50p rate of tax – which Tory colleagues expect will be dismantled if a review winding up in January shows it yields little revenue. Once Alexander had said he believed it was "cloud cuckoo land" the rate would be discarded despite Tory colleagues regarding him to agree he was not ideologically committed to it should it emerge to be unlucrative.

Tories say the debate behind the scenes is turning not on whether the 50p tax rate stays or goes but rather on what amount the replacement levy raises – the sum the previous Labour government intended it to raise when they introduced the tax; or the amount the 50p rate has actually brought in. The question then becomes what tax on the wealthy be brought in its stead.

Alexander said: "Fair taxation of the wealthiest is key to our deficit reduction plan. Of course, if a better way can be found to raise the money from this group, I will be willing to consider it."

Later in his interview with Neil, Alexander talked about ensuring the "tax burden" on the wealthy remained high.

Earlier in the day, Clegg also made it clear the party's negotiations on the 50p rate would not see them martial an ideological commitment to it, but rather they would accept its replacement by some other form of levy on the well-off.

He told the BBC's Andrew Marr programme: "It stays unless we can first make more progress on lowering the tax burden on people on low and middle incomes, and secondly making sure as the chancellor himself has said we can find other ways the wealthiest can pay their fair share."

In Birmingham, Alexander's speech was remarkable for placing an emphasis on how to push ahead with another aspect of the Lib Dem income tax policy, at the other end of the scale.

He told the conference hall: "In the next parliament, I want us to go further; our aspiration should be that someone working full time on the minimum wage should pay no income tax at all. An income tax threshold of £12,500 – think what that would do to work incentives, think what it would mean for basic fairness. Let's put that on the front page of our next manifesto."

The coalition agreement pledges that both parties in government will raise the income tax threshold to £10,000 by the end of the parliament and it is one of the policies the party is proudest of.

The policy has received support on the centre-right of the political spectrum with Tories sympathetic to its aims of cutting tax for the less well paid, but it has been criticised for being poorly targeted; in its original form this was a tax cut enjoyed by all, regardless of income.

The policy also has its Tory critics within the cabinet who fear a policy that removes people from paying tax would sever the relationship between government and the people.

Now the Lib Dems have committed themselves to raising the tax threshold still further, putting on the record an early indication of how they might seek to differentiate themselves from the Conservatives towards the end of the parliament.

Alexander's speech was occasionally heckled by one audience member with a shout of "rubbish" when Alexander criticised the Labour policies of Gordon Brown – a reminder that some delegates in the hall do not agree with the party leadership's decision to back plans to eliminate the structural deficit by the end of the parliament.

The coalition is currently trying hard to devise policies that will stimulate the British economy without busting either of the two targets they hope to hit at the end of the parliament – eliminating the structural deficit by 2014-2015 and bringing down the debt-to-GDP ratio.

While insistent they will not resile from the so-called "plan A" both on and off the record, the new imperative is to find ways of using existing capital spending commitment to encourage the private sector to part with their capital and increase the amount of capital in the economy.

On Friday, the business secretary Vince Cable, published a pamphlet for the CentreForum thinktank in which he suggested that alongside a new round of quantitative easing, he also believed new infrastructure projects were necessary including new roads built as toll roads.

This would have the advantage of encouraging the private sector to embark on a capital investment with a certain revenue stream not coming from the public purse.

Insisting his proposals amounted to a radical Keynesian package – using language and ideology not associated with the Conservative chancellor, George Osborne – Cable said that in the face of a stagnating economy ministers had to "pull all the levers available to government. We are not powerless."

Cable said: "It was four years after the Great Crash that Roosevelt came in and several years before they could do anything. Dams started being built 10 years after the Great Crash. What I have set out is a Keynesian approach to a demand crisis, but operating in a new world in which governments are highly constrained by these very febrile international financial markets. We constantly have to pay attention to them."

Now Alexander will disburse a "Growing Places fund", which he hopes enable the creation of local infrastructure across England.

"£500m to deliver key infrastructure and unlock development and create jobs. Providing a one-off upfront capital investment to kickstart developments that are stalled due to cash flow problems or lack of confidence.

"Putting local areas in the driving seat, enabling local government to invest in the key strategic infrastructure projects that they have identified as priorities and getting people into work."

Alexander said: "As Liberal Democrats, our judgments about what needs to be done should be driven by the liberal economy we want to build – sustainable, balanced, competitive, fair. To get there we must break down the vested interests – the enemies of growth that stand in the way of future prosperity."

"Too many businesses are being held back by congested roads, slow railways, inadequate broadband. Now more than ever, we need to get on with this work."

Hugh Grant: style watch

OK, so Italian politics has its problems, but at least they know how to dress. Hugh Grant, on the other hand, here lends weight to the old style adage that British men can't do casual.

When it comes to rocking a three-piece suit with a pocket square, the Savile Row gent still leads the world, but a certain type of British man still flounders as soon as let off the strictest dress code leash.

The trouble with this outfit is that the messages are mixed: was he trying to look smart but didn't have time to pull himself together and tuck his shirt in, or was he aiming for casual and put a suit jacket on as an afterthought? I suspect he was aiming for the kind of rakish dishevelment that Bill Nighy has made his own. But to pull that off takes effort.

Only the most perfectly fitted jacket looks good rumpled. Lucky for Hugh he's only addressing the Lib Dem conference. He'd never make it at London fashion week.

Top 50 Most Influential Liberal Democrats 2011: The Rise Of The Left

The battle to succeed Clegg and left-wing dissent over the party's role in the Coalition is reflected in this year's list of most influencial Liberal Democrats.












Establishment rebel: Lib Dem president comes in at number three.












Rebellion in the air: for how long will Nick Clegg remain Britain's most powerful Liberal Democrat?












Sticking power: Chris Huhne has been dogged be accusations over his driving - but keeps his top five slot.

If the opinion polls prove accurate - the last three showed the Liberal Democrats on 10% - this might be the last time we can find enough elected Liberal Democrats to form a viable top 50. The stark reality they face, and the internal debate that is now raging, is reflected in the top ten.

There is the whiff of succession planning in the air. The resilience of Chris Huhne is also hanging around – down just one place despite a difficult year in his personal life. Those in, or close, to the Clegg Operation (as Liberal Democrats a little self-consciously call it) remain powerful - his Chief of Staff stays at five. There have been recent changes reflected here, but the conflict between the government and the internal opposition has become much more of an equal one over the year.

As one MP put it, the year has been “about the rise of the left”. Confidence in the party outside Westminster has grown even as polling numbers remained minimal. Liberal Democrats seem to have discovered that even in government the world does not end if you disagree. And this has given rise to a new breed of rebel, personified in Tim Fallon, Lib Dem President and the leading establishment rebel (up 31 places to number three).

The Liberal Democrats have learnt a great deal about coalition politics this year. It is unclear sometimes which are the sanctioned and which the unsanctioned rebellions. If Nick Clegg is eyeing an eventual move to Brussels - to replace Baroness Ashton - then this is informing the positioning that is taking place now.

The experience of government has also lead to a rather different set of discussions this year. There was much more talk about the hidden wiring of the political game. Names like Ben Williams, a fixer from the Whips Office were discussed - and while he did not make the cut, James Gurling, who is modernising the party’s electoral machine, comes in at 46. Also in at 35 comes James McGrory, the leader’s favourite spin doctor. Described by some as a cockney thug he is not your typical Liberal Democrat, but he has also been described as the best press officer in the business. The highest new entry at 26 is also from the inside of the machine: Julian Astle comes in to the Clegg machine and into the heart of government as the newly minted Deputy Head of Number 10 Policy Unit.

The Liberal Democrats who hold Cabinet positions and can therefore, in theory, shape policy have had a mixed record this year. The sharpest debate surrounds Danny Alexander. He survives at number two because of his status as part of the mixed doubles Quad – Cameron and Clegg, Osborne and Alexander. But he has also been described as being dead in the party. Vince Cable, still hugely popular in the party, also slips down a little (three places to seven) and opinion is sharply divided on the extent to which he is a busted flush. Further down the food chain, junior ministers have struggled to make a mark and some have slipped back – for example Michael Moore but others have done obviously better, like Steve Webb, up two as Minister of State for Pensions. It depends on the extent to which they have delivered what is grandly referred as the Liberal Democratic Agenda in Government.

The discussion on Ministers vs the Party is reflected over and over again in this list. Does the party hate Danny Alexander because he is competent? Would they love him if he held the same post – they love to have Cabinet Ministers after all - but was utterly incompetent and ineffective in fulfilling his brief? One gets the impression that many of them would feel better, a little more like themselves, in these circumstances.

In the past when Liberals have formed coalition governments with the Conservatives, the ministers have tended to go native and be absorbed into the Conservative Party. Alexander matters while he holds office. The impression is that when the government ends so does his career in the Liberal Democrats. Any safe Tory seats going?

The big gainers, overall, have been from the left and it is here that the succession planning is really going on. Simon Hughes stays securely at sixth and Evan Harris is up 14 places to ten. Shirley Williams has campaigned across the board but especially on the NHS and is up 13 places to twelve. Brian Paddick pops in on the strength of the nomination to contest for Mayor of London and Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Greater London Assembly Liberals, squeaks in at 49 - one of a very few local government people to make it in on to the list. The party in the country, where it has clung on to power at local level, has had a quiet year.

Even though the left has made noise, the Liberal Democrats remain too fond of being in power to walk away from Clegg’s great gamble just yet. But the sound that we can hear this year from Liberal Democratic left, even up to the President of the Party, on the back benches and in the council groups that survive, is the sound of burying weapons for the battle of succession to come. The trouble is at 10% there might not be much left for Tim Fallon or A. N. Other, to inherit from the Cleggster.

Government To Investigate 'West Lothian Question'

Commission will look into long-running complaints about rights of MPs from parts of UK with their own parliaments or assemblies to vote on legislation affecting only England.












The commission will look into complaints about the rights of MPs from parts of the UK with their own parliaments or assemblies to vote on legislation at Westminster affecting only England.
Ministers are to set up an expert inquiry into limiting the voting rights of Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs at Westminster, the government has confirmed.

The commission into the so-called West Lothian question will look into long-running complaints about the continuing right of MPs from parts of the UK with their own parliaments or assemblies to vote on legislation affecting only England.

Mark Harper, a junior Cabinet Office minister, said the panel of "non-partisan" academic experts on the constitution, the law and parliament would investigate how England-only laws are handled by both the Commons and the Lords, now that there are devolved legislatures in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast.

Backbench MPs in the main UK parties have stepped up their complaints about the anomaly at Westminster where Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs can still vote on issues such as health, policing and education issues when they are onlyrelevant to England.

Many non-English backbenchers, particularly nationalist MPs in the Scottish National party and Plaid Cymru, voluntarily often avoid votes on England-only legislation except on controversial measures or on bills which have a significant financial impact on their countries.

Michael Moore, the Scottish secretary, said: "We understand how exercised colleagues in England are but if there was a simple solution to this, it might have been found some years ago but we will endeavour to do this because it has been ignored for a very long time."

The West Lothian question was first posed by Tam Dalyell, then MP for West Lothian during a debate about devolution in 1977.

It is regarded as one of the most serious anomalies of devolution, with control over most major domestic policies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland now solely in the hands of the devolved parliaments and assemblies.

Successive governments have played down its significance because they feared it would play into the hands of nationalist parties by weakening ties to the UK parliament, and diluting the influence of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland at Westminster. It could also accelerate pressure for a more federal structure for the UK.

Even so, the UK government promised to set up a commission on the West Lothian question as part of their coalition agreement in May last year, chiefly under pressure from the Tories. The government had been expecting to make a formal announcement on the commission's remit and membership after the October recess. It will publish the final details about its scope later this year.

UK ministers were forced into an early announcement on Thursday to block a private member's bill from the Tory backbencher Harriett Baldwin, the MP for West Worcestershire, which seeks to limit voting rights at Westminster, and has unexpectedly passed a series of hurdles in the Commons.

Baldwin's bill, which is not supported by the UK government, is due to complete its passage of the Commons on Friday and would then go to the Lords. It would require ministers to state on each bill whether it only affected England, to put non-English MPs under pressure not to vote on it.

Baldwin said she wanted to study Harper's statement before deciding whether she would drop the legislation (territorial extent) bill and allow the issue to be studied by the commission instead.

Harper said the commission would not study the financial impact of devolution because of existing work by Treasury ministers, nor would it question the number of MPs sitting in the Commons. This issue was already being addressed by existing proposals to cut the number of MPs.

"The government is clear that the commission's primary task should be to examine how this house and parliament as a whole can deal most effectively with business that affects England wholly or primarily, when at the same time similar matters in some or all of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are lawfully and democratically the responsibility of the separate parliament or assemblies," Harper said.

Many English backbenchers across all the major parties have been critical of and irritated by the issue. As she unveiled her bill in February, Baldwin said the West Lothian question came from the "heart of middle England".

She told the Commons: "How can it be right for it to be possible for potentially decisive pieces of legislation to be voted on in this place by, and carried by a majority of, members of parliament who are not legislating on behalf of their own constituents? That is not a question that we can carry on parking in that car park for ever."

Tom Harris, the Labour MP for Glasgow South, said he disagreed fundamentally with limiting MPs' voting rights. He said the Conservatives had relied heavily on Northern Irish unionist votes at Westminster for 50 years, even while Northern Ireland had its own legislature.

It was right to do so, he said. "We're a UK parliament. MPs always have responsibilities outside their own constituencies and even outside their nations. MPs vote on issues affecting Libya, for example, and I don't have many Libyans in my constituency."

He said the ability of Scottish or Welsh or Northern Irish MPs to control or influence English policy was overstated. There were far more English MPs than those from other nations or areas: there are currently 533 English constituencies against 59 in Scotland, 40 in Wales and 18 in Northern Ireland.

The UK government's legislation to cut the total number of MPs to 600 for the next general election in 2015 will leave England with between 500 and 502 seats, depending on the size of the electorate in 2015, Scotland with 50 to 52, Wales with 30 and Northern Ireland with 16.

"My bottom line is this: Scotland got devolution because it is a small nation, and it's easily possible for every single Scottish MP to vote one way and be out-voted by a small fraction of English MPs, but Scottish MPs don't decide English issues. You would need every single non-English MP to vote in that direction."

Eddie Bone, chairman of the Campaign for an English Parliament, said the issue needed urgently to be addressed as discontent in England about the "imbalance" between Westminster and the devolved areas was increasing rapidly, particularly with the upsurge in support for the Scottish National party.

"If they don't deal with it soon, they will have missed the window of opportunity with the people of England to save the union," Bone said.

Elfyn Llwyd MP, Plaid Cymru's constitution spokesman, said it was time for a federal system: "The problem is that Westminster is trying to do two jobs. It is trying to act as both an England and a UK parliament.

"England deserves to have its own administration to deal with issues which affect England only. This would then ensure that there is a clear distinction between what is a matter for England and what is a matter for other countries too. The lines are too blurred as they are."

Scottish Tory Leadership Candidate Rejects Call For Greater Economic Powers

Ruth Davidson distances herself from rival contender Murdo Fraser's proposal to scrap ties with UK Tory party.












Ruth Davidson the first openly gay Tory to stand for the party leadership, opens her campaign.

A contender to become Scotland's next Tory leader has rejected demands for far greater economic powers for the Scottish parliament in an open appeal to traditional Tory voters.

Ruth Davidson, at 32 the youngest of the three candidates and the first openly gay Tory to stand for the party leadership, would draw "a line in the sand" at new powers to give modest control over income tax and borrowing.

She also repeatedly distanced herself from Murdo Fraser, the favourite, by dismissing his dramatic proposal to scrap the Scottish Conservative and Unionist party and replace it with a centre-right party separate from the UK Tory party.

That was a "distraction" which would "tie the party in knots" for a year, Davidson said before rejecting the suggestion for more financial autonomy for Scotland, also supported by Fraser.

Portraying herself as the fresh-faced saviour, Davidson said: "Under my leadership, there will be no existential crisis, no wringing of hands. [The] values which made me an instinctive Conservative - that drive my politics - are shared by Scots the length and breadth of the country."

She predicted, however, that it would take a decade before the Tories were strong enough to share power at Holyrood. Her primary objective was to defend the United Kingdom in the run-up to the independence referendum being proposed by the Scottish government.

She described the measures being debated in the Lords to give Holyrood powers over income tax and new £2bn borrowing powers as a one-off "MOT" for the Scottish parliament.

She also dismissed proposals to set a second question on increased financial powers at the referendum.

"I believe that the United Kingdom is a force for good in this world. I believe that we in Scotland walk taller, shout louder and stand stronger for being part of that union," she said, as she became the last of the candidates to launch her campaign.

At the referendum, there would be "no half-way house, no second question, no march to fiscal autonomy. When the referendum is done and Scotland in the union has won the day, let that be an end to it."

Davidson is said to be the candidate most favoured by David Cameron but is the least experienced and least well-known.

Fraser has held a series of prominent party positions, been an MSP for 10 years and is deputy leader at the Scottish parliament.

Jackson Carlaw, the other contender, is seen as the most right-wing and traditional. Twice elected deputy chairman of the Scottish party and a list MSP since 2007, he has a strong base in the west of Scotland party but is seen by senior party figures as too reactionary to suit modern Scottish voters.

Davidson, a former BBC journalist and Territorial Army officer, has a female life partner was elected to Holyrood in May on the party list for Glasgow. She has attracted the fewest well-known supporters, besides John Lamont, one of the few Tories to win a constituency seat outright in May.

She said she was the only candidate who can present herself as one of a new generation of Tories who could convince Scottish voters to rejoin the party.

Younger voters knew little and cared little about Margaret Thatcher's premiership, a period many Tories concede destroyed the party's reputation in Scotland.

After losing every Westminster seat in 1997, the Scottish Tories have had only one MP for the last three elections. In Scotland it lost two seats at the May Holyrood elections, bringing their numbers down to 15.

"There's not just one but two generations of voters after me who have no knowledge of Margaret Thatcher ... Scotland has moved on. The Scottish Conservative party has moved on," she said.

Miliband Goes For His Clause 4 Moment

Ed Miliband is set to try to implement the first major change to Labour's founding principles for 17 years at this year's party conference.












In a move with strong echoes of Tony Blair's Clause Four campaign, when he scrapped the party's commitment to nationalising industry, Mr Miliband will insert a clause that brands Labour "a force for social justice".

Early reports of the document suggest there will also be a subtle but potentially important change in the party's organisational structure – Clause One.

Instead of aiming "to organise and maintain in parliament and in the country a political Labour party", the party will "bring together members and supporters who share its values to develop policies, make communities stronger through collective action and support, and promote the election of Labour representatives at all levels of the democratic process".

While the change sounds bureaucratic, it could herald wide-ranging alteration to the way the party operates. Mr Miliband hopes to introduce new categories of members, salvage Labour's economic prospects and encourage community organising.

The idea, originally proposed by Peter Hain, chair of the national policy forum, could see a registered supporters network bring in people who are non-partymembers who are willing to work on single-issue campaigns, such as local service cuts.

It could also ensure MPs demonstrate engagement with constituents via their candidate contract and trigger a wave of community campaign training.

Members of the public could also register as supporters, rather than members, and have a say in choosing party leaders. Such a move would replicate David Cameron's moves towards local primaries, by giving non-party supporters a say in which candidates are selected.

The proposals are particularly interesting, given that David Miliband had planned to reword Clause One if he became party leader.

They could anger union supporters, however, given they are already wary of the new Labour leader after he mooted plans to reduce their voting influence at party conferences.

Danny Alexander Backs Case For Strong UK Union

Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander has stepped up the case for Scotland remaining in the United Kingdom.









The SNP wants to hold a referendum towards the end of the five-year parliamentary term.

In a speech to CBI Scotland members he said the current constitutional uncertainty was in danger of distracting from the economic recovery.

He told the Glasgow gathering: "We are stronger together."

The SNP government has pledged to hold an independence referendum in the second half of the current parliamentary term.

Chair of CBI Scotland, Linda Urquhart, also addressed the annual dinner, saying that members were concerned about the commitment to a referendum and its timing.

She also called for the legality of any such vote to be "put beyond doubt".

But SNP Treasury spokesman Stewart Hosie accused CBI Scotland of "blundering into the constitutional debate".

The constitution is a reserved matter for Westminster, but the UK government has indicated it would not stand in the way of a vote in Scotland.

It is not clear yet what question or options might be included in any ballot.
'Stronger together'

Ms Urquhart said anything that added uncertainty was unwelcome at a time when economic pressure on business continued "to be relentless".

Lib Dem minister Mr Alexander said: "Scotland's road to recovery is intimately tied to recovery of the rest of the UK, and we must work together - politicians and businesses - to capitalise on every opportunity to support recovery.

"We are stronger together - and we are stronger when Scotland's two governments work together, pulling in the same direction for the people of this country."

He added: "We cannot allow the current constitutional uncertainty to distract or undermine this economic goal - Scotland is too important to the UK and the UK too important to Scotland for that.

"I hope that your voices - the voices of Scotland's economic future - will be heard as that debate develops."

Ms Urquhart said the SNP government's commitment to holding a referendum was "a matter for them", but added there was concern among CBI Scotland members "about the possible damage that could be done to Scotland by the uncertainties arising from this commitment and its timing".

She continued: "This is not helpful - but with that timescale committed to, I believe that business will consider it all the more important for any referendum to deliver a clear result: independence - yes or no - and no second questions which might produce an inconclusive result.

"The legality of any referendum must also be put beyond doubt - the constitution is a reserved matter - so the Scottish and UK governments must work together to ensure legal certainty and a decisive result."

SNP treasury spokesman Stewart Hosie questioned whether Ms Urquhart's remarks were representative of the business community in Scotland.
'Right to vote'

Mr Hosie, who is MP for Dundee East, said the CBI's credibility had previously been "undermined by blunders into the constitutional debate", claiming it had misrepresented members on issues related to powers for the Scottish Parliament.

He continued: "This is not the first time CBI Scotland has blundered into the constitutional debate and this latest intervention will fuel concerns that the CBI's leadership has a political rather than a business agenda.

"Given the overwhelming mandate the SNP secured at the recent elections, with broad support from businesses big and small, there must be a question over whether CBI is even speaking for its membership, let alone the wider business community."

Mr Hosie added: "We believe that the people of Scotland should have the right to vote in a single referendum agreed by the Scottish Parliament, on a published proposal, which is then implemented - exactly as was done for the two-question devolution referendum in 1997."

Lib Dems Seek Candidates For Police Commissioner Posts, Despite Peer Revolt

Battle lines drawn as party touts for suitable candidates while its own peers work to derail controversial Tory policy.












Lib Dem peers hope to derail Theresa May's plan for elected police commissioners.

The Liberal Democrats are advertising for candidates to become elected police commissioners despite the party's peers still believing they can derail the policy in the House of Lords.

The bill to bring in one of the prime minister's and home secretary's most cherished policies was defeated in the Lords by Lib Dem peers in the last parliamentary term.

The Lords and Commons must now get together soon after parliament reconvenes in the autumn to agree how the legislation will reflect the Lords vote. The scene is set for a battle as Tories in the lower house do not want to water down their policy.

They are now highlighting the fact that the Lib Dems themselves are touting for candidates – a fact seized on as evidence that the party has little faith in its parliamentary efforts to derail the bill.

Campaigners in favour of elected police commissioners intend to have legislation in place in time for the first batch of police commissioners to be elected on the same day as next May's local elections.

The longer into the autumn the Lib Dems can delay the bill, the less likely that becomes, given the time the electoral commission would need to make the necessary arrangements.

In a speech delivered last week, the home secretary, Theresa May, used the police response to the riots to push her case again. "One thing is clear. The experience … makes the case for police reform more urgent than ever."

Senior Lib Dems opposed to the policy fear an elected police commissioner might play to a particular portion of their electorate in a bid for popularity. Cost is also a concern. According to a Home Office answer to a parliamentary question, the system could cost £130m to set up and run and another £50m every four years at election time – this while the government asks the police to cut their costs by 20%.

Peers voted in May against introducing elected commissioners, leaving open the possibility of their being appointed by a board of experts.

Tory sources said the issue was one of trust between David Cameron and Nick Clegg as the Lib Dem leader acquiesced to the policy in the coalition negotiations.

The coalition agreement reads: "We will introduce measures to make the police more accountable through oversight by a directly elected individual, who will be subject to strict checks and balances by locally elected representatives."

Advisers now say there is a small window of time for Clegg to decide whether he is going to face down his peers in the Lords to ensure the legislation is passed.

Blair Gibbs, research director at Policy Exchange said: "This policy has clear support from the top and if anything, after recent months, the argument for a clearer system of police accountability is stronger than ever.

"Most senior police officers now accept this reform is going to happen. There are some unelected peers and local councillors with a vested interest in the old regime who are still grumbling, but they cannot stop this reform from happening.

"The mandate is clear and the main parties are starting to plan for the elections and search for good candidates. It is no longer a case of if and why we should have police and crime commissioners, or even how and when, but who.

"These roles are really important and their success will depend more on the calibre of the office holders than any final minor amendments to the legislation."

Lib Dem MPs plan to hold an emergency debate at their party conference but Tory advisers believe the issue needs to be wound up in early September.

Migration Into UK Rises 21% As Fewer Leave

Net migration into the UK rose by 21 per cent last year to 239,000 on the back of a significant fall in people leaving the country and a net increase in migrants from eastern Europe, according to the Office for National Statistics.















Uncontrolled immigration: Asylum seekers in Calais, hoping to settle in the UK instead of the continent.

The ONS estimates released on Thursday show that while long-term immigration to the UK was 575,000 in the year to December 2010 – only up slightly from 567,000 the year before – emigration was at a six-year low of 336,000 in the 12 months to December last year.

The figures will make grim reading for Theresa May, home secretary, who is working to fulfil the coalition’s manifesto pledge of reducing net migration to the tens of thousands by the end of this parliament. Ms May has repeatedly confirmed that she will meet this target, although annual net migration levels were around 150,000 when the Conservative party first made its promise.

One of the biggest hurdles for the Home Office is that net migration figures can be inflated by several factors beyond the government’s control, such as the recent decrease in emigration or an influx of migrants from within the European Union. The ONS statistics show that net migration from A8 countries – including Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia – increased nearly eightfold to 39,000 in the year to December 2010, from 5,000 the year before.

Responding to the latest data, immigration minister Damian Green pointed out that from the quarterly perspective, net migration had in fact stabilised given that the current 239,000 figure for the fourth quarter of 2010 is a minor shift down from 242,000 the previous quarter.

“After almost two years of increasing net migration the figures stabilised in the last quarter,” Mr Green said. He added that the statistics cover a period before the government’s “radical changes” to the immigration system, which started in April this year, had kicked in.

The changes include a cap on the number of migrants entering the UK to work from outside the EU and a crackdown on bogus educational institutions in an attempt to reduce the number of foreign students coming into the country.

Matt Cavanagh, associate director at the Institute for Public Policy Research, a think-tank, expressed doubts that the fledgling policies were working. The latest quarterly figures to June 2011 show a slight fall in entry for work, which is down 2.7 per cent, although this is offset by a rise in entry for study, which is up by 3.5 per cent.

“Politicians shouldn’t promise what they can’t deliver, particularly on immigration,” Mr Cavanagh said. “Before the election, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats said immigration was out of control; afterwards, they said they would cut it dramatically. Neither was true.”

But Sir Andrew Green, chairman of the campaign group Migration Watch UK, said the figures laid bare the “legacy” of the Labour government – although he added that the coalition would have to “face down some vested interests” in the business and education sectors if they were to reach the tens of thousands target.

The shadow Home Office minister, Shabana Mahmood, said the figures revealed the “gulf” between the government’s rhetoric on immigration and the reality in the official figures.

“The prime minister said ‘no ifs, no buts’ on immigration, but on the contrary, ‘ifs and buts’ sum up the government’s policies,” she said. “Cuts to the UK Border Agency forcing the loss of over 5,000 staff is making it harder not easier to enforce the rules we have.”

Parliament Recalled To Tackle Riots - David Cameron

Parliament will be recalled on Thursday in response to rioting in England, prime minister David Cameron has said.



The government's emergency committee Cobra met on Tuesday after rioting spread across London, with violence flaring in other major cities.

The Metropolitan Police has cancelled all leave, with more than 16,000 officers due on London's streets later.

The force says it is considering the use of plastic bullets - never before fired to deal with riots in England.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh said their use would be "considered carefully" but added: "That does not mean we are scared of using any tactic."

Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin had earlier ruled out calling in the Army.

Meanwhile, Scotland Yard said a 26-year-old man found shot in a car in Croydon, amid rioting in the south London town, had died in hospital.

Mr Cameron met officers in the Met Police's Gold command in Lambeth on Tuesday afternoon, before speaking to emergency service personnel in Croydon.

He condemned the "sickening scenes of people looting, vandalising, thieving, robbing", which the Met Police said had resulted in 525 arrests and more than 100 people being charged.

He told rioters: "You will feel the full force of the law. And if you are old enough to commit these crimes, you are old enough to face the punishment."

'Copycat crime'

The recall of Parliament will allow MPs to "stand together in condemnation of these crimes and to stand together in determination to rebuild these communities", he said.

The prime minister returned early from his holiday in Tuscany to discuss the unrest, which first flared on Saturday after a peaceful protest in Tottenham over the fatal shooting of a man by police.

London has seen a wave of "copycat criminal activity" over the past three days, the Met Police said. More than 69 people have been charged with various offences following hundreds of arrests.

Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham and Bristol are among the other cities where violence broke out.










Shops have been looted across the capital

In other developments:

* Three people are being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder after a police officer was injured by a car in Wembley, north-west London, while trying to stop suspected looters

* Part of London's Tramlink between has been suspended as a result of a fire

* Elsewhere, 138 people have been arrested in Birmingham after scores of youths smashed windows and looted shops in the shopping area

* West Midlands Police said a police station in Holyhead Road in Handsworth, Birmingham, was set alight

* Up to 200 youths with masks roamed through Toxteth in Liverpool, while Bristol police said they dealt with outbreaks of disorder involving about 150 people

* A Nottinghamshire police station was attacked in the St Ann's area and 200 tyres were set alight in the street

* Police dealt with "small pockets of disorder" in the Chapeltown area of Leeds

Monday's violence started in Hackney, north London, after a man was stopped and searched by police, who found nothing.

Groups of people there began attacking officers in Hackney at about 16:20 BST, throwing stones and a bin.
Wooden poles

Police cars were wrecked by youths armed with wooden poles and metal bars, while looters smashed their way into shops before police dispersed them.

Nine other forces are supporting the Metropolitan Police, as well as the City of London Police and British Transport Police.

Special constables and community support officers will also swell the ranks to ensure more than five times the usual number of officers for a Tuesday will be on duty.

Some people had complained there were too few police to deal with the violence.



















The Met said Monday's was "the worst" disorder in "current memory" after incidents across the capital.

* Several fires broke out in Croydon, including one at a sofa factory which spread to neighbouring buildings and tram lines

* Hackney MP Diane Abbott said a London-wide curfew should be considered after 200 riot officers with dogs and mounted police were needed to deal with violence there

* Looters raided shops in Stratford High Street and Clapham Junction, where police used armoured vehicles to push back more than 150 people

* A Sony warehouse in Enfield, a shopping centre in Woolwich New Road and a timber yard in East Ham were all on fire

* Police said two officers were injured when more than 100 people looted a Tesco store in Bethnal Green, while vehicles were set alight in Lewisham and Peckham

* There were reports of looting of phone shops in Woolwich High Street, in south-east London, and set a police car on fire

* Shops and restaurants were damaged in Ealing, west London

* Tuesday's Carling Cup matches at Charlton, West Ham, Crystal Palace and Bristol City have been postponed at the police's request

* England and Holland's friendly at Wembley on Wednesday was also called off has also been called off

Hackney resident Catherine Holmes said: "Our community has been hurt and damaged by causeless violence. We spoke to looters trying to get home - the only explanation they gave for their behaviour was that they had no money."

'War zone'

Christian Potts, 29, described Ealing as "like a war zone".

"There were about 25 to 30 masked youths on Haven Green and they just started tearing into a florist with bricks. It's a local family-run business so I can't see why they are doing this."

London's mayor Boris Johnson cut short his holiday to return to the city, while Home Secretary Theresa May did the same to meet Met chiefs.

"These have been the worst scenes of violence and disturbance on our streets for many, many years, and this sort of violence, this level of criminality, this thuggery, this looting, this theft, is completely unacceptable," Ms May told BBC Breakfast.

However, she said the authorities could deal with the situation through robust policing, good use of intelligence and with the support of local communities.

She called on anyone involved in the violence to speak to police.

The trouble follows two nights of violence over the weekend which started after police shot a man dead in Tottenham.

A peaceful protest in Tottenham on Saturday over the death of Mark Duggan, 29, was followed by violence which spread into this week.