Only 26 Per Cent Of Public Now Have Confidence In MPs

The number of voters who believe MPs are dedicated to doing a good job for the public has almost halved in three years, a survey shows today.












Research commissioned for the Committee for Standards in Public Life found only 26 per cent now have confidence in their elected representatives compared with 46 per cent when the last study was carried out in 2008, before the expenses scandal.

The proportion thinking that most MPs are competent also fell by 10 percentage points from 36 to 26. The committee's chairman, Sir Christopher Kelly, described the findings as "worrying". He is putting the finishing touches to his committee's report into funding political parties, due next month. Plans include a £10,000 cap on individual donations with parties being compensated through tax relief on smaller contributions.

Sir Christopher said yesterday: "The results of this survey make stark reading. Previous surveys have shown that public confidence in those holding public office has been on a long term decline since 2004. The 2010 results suggest that the rate of decline may have increased. I am struck by the common themes that run through many of the issues we see. High ethical standards do not just happen. They require leadership and the development of a strong ethical culture in which people understand what is expected of them. Overwhelmingly, the scandals we have seen in recent years could have been prevented."

Sir Christopher said his report on party funding would look at "complex and controversial" issues.

"The public are concerned about very large donations, whether from activist groups, large companies, trade unions, or individual donors," he said. "People generally assume that substantial donations are made for self-interested reasons and a third of respondents believe that politicians 'very often' do special favours for people and organisations who give large donations."

Government Can't Rewrite Nature And Allow Gays To Wed - O'Brien

The leader of Scotland's Catholic community has warned that moves by MSPs to legalise gay marriage will be "strenuously opposed" by the Church.







Keith O'Brien said any attempt to redefine marriage would be ‘strenuously opposed'.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, in a strongly worded homily delivered at a mass for politicians in Edinburgh last night, claimed that allowing gay people to wed through a civil or religious ceremonies would be a "direct attack" on the institution of marriage.

However, the intervention sparked criticism from MSPs, with the openly gay leader of the Scottish Greens, Patrick Harvie, attacking the Cardinal's remarks as "absurd" and as an attempt to "suppress" the freedom of gays, lesbians and bisexuals.

The row came after the SNP government launched a 14-week consultation on allowing gay marriage - a change to the law that currently allows same-sex couples to enter a civil partnership, but bans the ceremony from church or other religious premises.

However, Cardinal O'Brien suggested that supporters of gay marriage wanted to "rewrite human nature" as he appealed to MSPs to oppose the proposed reform.

He said: "The Church esteems the institution of marriage as the most stable building block upon which any family can rest.

"The view of the Church is clear, no government can rewrite human nature; the family and marriage existed before the State and are built on the union between a man and woman.

"Any attempt to redefine marriage is a direct attack on a foundational building block of society and will be strenuously opposed."

There was also a sharply worded statement issued by the Bishops' Conference of Scotland yesterday, which suggested that the Scottish Government's consultation was "an exercise for justifying the campaign demands" of the "vociferous" gay rights lobby.

But Green MSP Mr Harvie attacked the Catholic Church's stance on gay rights and highlighted a Scottish Social Attitudes survey which revealed 60 per cent believe same-sex couples should have the right to marry.

"It's absurd to suggest that one marriage can undermine other marriages," he said.

"Just as non-Catholics respect Catholic marriages, so it's time for the Cardinal to start respecting the right of every adult to love who they please.

"The Cardinal should also remember that he doesn't speak for all people of faith, or even all Christians.

"There are many faith groups who want to conduct same-sex marriages for their members, and the Catholic Church seems determined to try and suppress their freedom to do so."

SNP MSP John Mason, who faced criticism for lodging a parliamentary motion that said no-one should be "forced" to approve of same-sex marriage, said he wanted "to encourage churches" to get involved in the debate about the proposals.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "Our consultation, published last week, sets out that the Scottish Government tends towards the initial view that same-sex marriage should be introduced in Scotland but that faith groups and their celebrants should not be obliged to solemnise same sex marriages."

Support Grows For Keeping 50p Tax Rate

Politicians from Labour and the Liberal Democrats joined forces with trade unions to argue for a retention of the 50p top rate of income tax after 20 leading economists called for it to be scrapped “as soon as possible” in a letter to the FT.










Alistair Darling, the chancellor who introduced the rate in 2009, and Tim Farron, the Lib Dem president, said on Wednesday that lowering the top rate of tax would be unfair while the economy was still in difficulty.

Mr Darling said: “This has got to stay in place until we get out of the crisis. It would be grossly unfair to remove it. In the long run you have got to keep your tax rates internationally competitive which means something like the two rates we used to have. To remove it today would be grossly unfair. If they do not pay their taxes then it is poorer people who are going to pay.”

He was supported by Mr Farron, who said scrapping the 50p rate would be “phenomenally immoral and send an appalling message to the overwhelming majority of hard-working people in this country”.

Ed Balls, Labour shadow chancellor, also weighed in: “If we really are all in this together then the right priority to boost the stalled economy now should be temporarily reversing the VAT rise, which is costing families with children around £450 a year. This temporary tax cut would help to kick-start the recovery and give a much needed boost to millions of people regardless of their income.

“If the chancellor really wants to know how effective the top rate of tax is he should immediately ask the Office for Budget Responsibility, not just HMRC, to produce a report genuinely independent of government.”

Their warnings came after the Trades Union Congress also took issue with the suggestion of an immediate tax cut for top earners.

Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress called the economists’ opinion “monstrously unfair”, adding: “At a time when cuts are biting hard and ordinary people are suffering the biggest squeeze on their living standards in years, the last thing we need is a handout to the wealthiest in our society.”

But DeAnne Julius, the former member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee and one of the signatories of the letter, defended her position to the BBC, saying many hedge funds had already moved to Switzerland and that, if marginal rates were raised on a small number of highly mobile people, “You end up not collecting the tax that you’d hoped to.”

“Only by returning to an internationally competitive tax regime will Britain enjoy long-term sustainable economic growth,” the economists say in their letter.

The signatories include many figures not usually associated with conservative causes, such as Bob Rowthorn of Cambridge University, and two former members of the Bank of England’s policy committee, Ms Julius and Sushil Wadhwani.

George Osborne, chancellor of the exchequer, is already facing pressure from the Tory right and CBI employers’ organisation to scrap the “temporary” top tax rate.

The Treasury believed that the 50p rate, introduced by the former Labour government in April 2010 on annual taxable incomes above £150,000, would eventually raise £2.7bn a year. Combined with restrictions on income tax relief for pension contributions and the abolition of the income tax personal allowance for people with annual incomes above £100,000, last year’s tax increases on the rich were designed to raise £7bn per annum.

The economists dispute these estimates, arguing the 50p rate “punishes” wealth and entrepreneurship. “It is often portrayed as a justified tax on the rich, but the economic damage it causes means that it is against the interests even of ordinary workers who don’t pay it,” they write.

Last month Mr Osborne said “there’s not much point in having taxes that are economically inefficient”. He added that the rate was uncompetitive internationally and targeted wealthy people who were already paying taxes on their capital gains.

Government officials, however, have suggested that the top rate is unlikely to be scrapped until 2013 at the earliest, when a pay freeze affecting millions of public sector workers is due to be lifted.

Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat leader, will insist the 50p top rate can only be scrapped if other measures, such as a property or “mansion” tax, are introduced to ensure the wealthy pay their “fair share” towards cutting the deficit. The Lib Dems will also insist that the 50p rate’s abolition is accompanied by accelerated moves to raise the annual tax threshold to £10,000.

Other leading economists are more sceptical. Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies and not a signatory of the letter, said it was much too early to give up on the 50p rate: “The Treasury has been taking a punt on whether [the 50p rate] will raise money. It is taking a risk, but it is not a stupid punt.”

UK Riots: Acting Met Chief Rejects 'Feral Underclass' Analysis

Tim Godwin challenges Kenneth Clarke's description of people involved in last month's riots.












Tim Godwin has challenged the justice secretary’s description of those blamed for England’s riots as a 'feral underclass'.

Britain's most senior police officer has challenged the justice secretary's description of those blamed for England's riots as a "feral underclass".

Tim Godwin, the acting commissioner for the Metropolitan police, said he would not have used Kenneth Clarke's term as he outlined his vision for the future of policing in the wake of the violence to the London assembly.

Writing in the Guardian on Monday, Clarke said the civil unrest over the summer had revealed an urgent need for penal reform to stop reoffending among "a feral underclass, cut off from the mainstream in everything but its materialism".

His comments came as figures revealed that almost 75% of those aged over 18 who were charged with offences committed during the riots had previous convictions.

Godwin – one of four candidates aspiring to be the Met's next commissioner – queried Clarke's choice of description when asked by Brian Coleman, a Conservative member of the London assembly, what he wanted politicians to do as a result of the riots.

He said: "The one thing that has struck me about the comments made by the justice secretary recently in the Guardian article was that he used a term – that I particularly would not use myself – about 'feral underclass'.

"The use of the term 'feral' in terms of youth and inner-city was first used, as I recall, in my service here in about 2000 following the death of Damilola Taylor.

"I think the fact that term is still being used in terms of young people in our inner city … is a great challenge to us as a city."

He added: "It's a term I would not personally use, but I think we do need to understand the level of fear of crime that actually encourages them to join gangs."

Godwin said the revelation that the vast majority of people involved in the summer riots had previous convictions had been a "wake-up call" for the criminal justice system.

He added that there has "got to be a big debate in London in terms of how we empower local communities" and called for "a wholesale change" in the way people first entering the criminal justice system are dealt with.

This should include developing a "cohesive plan", such as increasing local justice, which would see people coming forward from communities to sit as local JPs.

Godwin said: "Robust enforcement is key, but at the same time we need people to volunteer and come forward and work to make those communities better and to reduce the fear of crime – specifically among young people in inner cities."

He also told the assembly that police had not anticipated the scale of trouble that hit the capital across 22 boroughs last month, but said his force would do everything in its power to avoid a repeat of the disorder.

"In terms of the future, we will make sure that we over-egg the pudding in terms of numbers," he added.

Godwin told City Hall on Wednesday that morale at the Met was as strong as it ever had been. He also said next year's operation at the Olympics "will be better as a result of the experience we have had".

His comments came a day after he gave evidence to the home affairs select committee on the riots.

The panel of MPs heard that the rioting will cost the taxpayer more than £133m in policing and compensation for businesses hit by the violence.

British PM Rejects Idea MPs Partly To Blame For Riots

David Cameron and Ed Miliband clashed yesterday over whether the behaviour of politicians and bankers may have played a part in provoking last month's riots.








David Cameron has blamed the riots on Britain's 'broken society'.

Downing Street played down the findings of an academic research project suggesting lack of trust in politicians was a bigger factor in people's willingness to riot than other explanations such as lax moral values or poverty and the Government's spending cuts.

But Miliband, the leader of the Opposition, and Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Democrats, made clear that they were open-minded about whether alienation from the political class may have played a role.

Prime Minister Cameron, who regards the riots as a symbol of Britain's "broken society", yesterday began chairing a Cabinet review of the Government's social policies to see what changes are needed as a result of the riots. It will include state benefits, schools, parenting, family policy and whether health and safety and human rights laws prevent "common sense solutions" to social problems.

Commenting on the research by Essex University and Royal Holloway, University of London, Cameron's official spokeswoman said: "One can speculate but we are not necessarily going to know exactly what the causes were. The Prime Minister has been very clear. We have to have a very strong response in the wake of the public disorder."

The Liberal Democrats said the perception that politicians, bankers and others at the top were "getting away with it" may have been a factor in the refusal of rioters to abide by the "rules of the game" too.

Clegg is believed to be sympathetic to the academics' warning that depriving rioters of their state benefits could backfire - alienating them further and making them more likely to break the law again. Tory ministers have backed benefit cuts, but Clegg is warning Cabinet colleagues against a "kneejerk" response to the disturbances.

Labour sources said the academics' findings should be considered by the panel being set up by the Government to look into the reasons behind the riots.

Yesterday the Labour leader rejected Cameron's claim that the riots were caused by a breakdown in values. "There are issues of values but you've also got to address the issue of the values at the top of society, because the top of society sets an example for the rest and it hasn't been setting a good example in the last few years," Miliband said.

Miliband also promised to force a Commons vote on the cuts in police numbers.

MEDIA RESIST FOOTAGE CALL

Newspapers and broadcasters face growing pressure from the Metropolitan Police to hand over footage and pictures relating to the London riots.

Scotland Yard has threatened organisations with a court order forcing them to pass on material that may show "crime in action" if they refuse to comply.

Media groups have rejected the demands, maintaining that the press is an impartial recorder of events rather than an evidence-gathering mechanism for the police.

The police would have to convince a High Court judge that the police request outweighs the public interest of having a free press.

Other forces, including Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire, began approaching local and national media a fortnight ago.