Partner means one of a couple, whether of the same sex or of the opposite sex (the other being a Member) who although not married to each other or civil partners are living together and treat each other as spouses.
This week we discuss David Law, his resignation, and what it means for the coalition; the recent appointments to the Lords; the election of Graham Brady MP to the 1922 committee; and of course what I would sing if I ever represented us in the Eurovision song contest. As usual a smattering of smut and good fun throughout the show. Thanks to all of you who have stuck by us!
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A short extract from my MoS column...
David Laws is hardly the only gay in the Westminster Village. But he is perhaps the only one who thought his relationship could escape the glare of media scrutiny.
This rather quaint belief might have been reasonable had he not been thrust into the public limelight as a Cabinet Minister. After all, a backbench Lib Dem MP in a gay relationship is almost considered par for the course.
But through his stellar performance as Chief Secretary to the Treasury during the first three weeks of the coalition, Laws made himself a target.
Firstly, he made public the private note left on his desk by his predecessor, Liam Byrne, which said: ‘I’m afraid to tell you there’s no money left.’
And secondly, he pulled out of Question Time last week after Labour refused to withdraw Alastair Campbell as its spokesman on the programme.
This accusation may be way off beam, but it wouldn’t at all surprise me if somebody’s tricks department had tipped off The Daily Telegraph about the nature of his relationship with James Lundie and it was that which provoked them to trawl through their expenses files again.
Now, when I say 'somebody'... Conspiracy theory, or?
I’ve been involved in a relationship with James Lundie since around 2001 - about two years after first moving in with him. Our relationship has been unknown to both family and friends throughout that time.
I claimed back the costs of sharing a home in Kennington with James from 2001 to June 2007.
In June 2007 James bought a new home in London and I continued to claim back my share of the costs.
I extended the mortgage on my Somerset property - for which I do not claim any allowances or expenses - to help James purchase the new property.
In 2006 the Green Book rules were changed to prohibit payments to partners.
At no point did I consider myself to be in breach of the rules which in 2009 defined partner as ‘one of a couple … who although not married to each-other or civil partners are living together and treat each-other as spouses.’
Although we were living together we did not treat each other as spouses - for example we do not share bank accounts and indeed have separate social lives.
However, I now accept that this was open to interpretation and will immediately pay back the costs of the rent and other housing costs I claimed from the time the rules changed until August 2009.
James and I are intensely private people. We made the decision to keep our relationship private and believed that was our right. Clearly that cannot now remain the case.
My motivation throughout has not been to maximise profit but to simply protect our privacy and my wish not to reveal my sexuality.
However, I regret this situation deeply, accept that I should not have claimed my expenses in this way and apologise fully.
I have also referred myself to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.
Hattip: JavelinDear Nick,
I am writing to offer my resignation in my role as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats.
It has been an honour to serve as the Deputy Leader of our party. However, in joining the cabinet I have taken on many new challenges and responsibilities and it is right that I focus wholeheartedly on the job in hand.
These are exciting times to be a Liberal Democrat, and despite all the challenges we face we have a real opportunity to change Britain for the better. There are great opportunities for the party alongside our working in coalition.
I wish my successor all the best in what is a rewarding and important role.
Yours ever,
Vince Cable
We note your concerns and want to assure you that UEL take personnel matters very seriously. Staff are entitled to pursue lawful activities of their choice outside of work hours. However, we expect all of our employees to fulfil work obligations during contracted hours. We are currently looking into this matter."
• the total number of abortions was 189,100, compared with 195,296 in 2008, a fall of 3.2%
• the age-standardised abortion rate was 17.5 per 1,000 resident women aged 15-44, compared with 18.2 in 2008
• the abortion rate was highest at 33 per 1,000, for women aged 19, 20 & 21, each lower than in 2008
• the under-16 abortion rate was 4.0 and the under-18 rate was 17.6 per 1,000 women, both lower than in 2008
• 94% of abortions were funded by the NHS; of these, over half (60%) took place in the independent sector under NHS contract
• 91% of abortions were carried out at under 13 weeks gestation; 75% were at under 10 weeks
• medical abortions accounted for 40% of the total
• 2,085 abortions (1%) were under ground E, risk that the child would be born handicapped
Non-residents:
• in 2009, there were 6,643 abortions for non-residents carried out in hospitals and clinics in England and Wales (6,862 in 2008)
My name's Mike and I'm sending this from in my tent in Democracy Village, Parliament Square.
I have a job, infact have only been out of work for two weeks in my life. I'm not a hippy. I just know things are screwed up and have had enough. We all need to step back and realise what's important.
Last year I donated a kidney to my sister and this made me value my life a bit more. Part of this means thinking about the world as a whole. But action has to start small and local and this is why I'm here.
My main contribution thus far has been setting up the websites http://meltdown.uk.net and http://democracyvillage.org
These have now taken on a life of their own and I'm very proud of the work put into them. They were only my first and third websites I've setup. For those interested, I work for the public sector and my second website was for work.
Village life is great - we meet twice daily to discuss anything. Any decision is by consensus. This does take longer so for some areas, we break up into smaller groups. We've been successfully policing ourselves and have become self-sufficient. We are running workshops on various topics including how to setup renewable energy sources, how to deal with the police, citizen's journalism, early morning yoga as well as lots of language classes. Diversity with unity, deeds not words and this is what democracy looks like have become village mantras. My new friend Anna said yesterday that this was the best university in the world. There are no fees and all are welcome.
The 3 core reasons we all agree that we're here are war, economy and climate. My area of expertise has been of things economic.
I know for instance that 97% of the UK money supply is in the form of debt. Debt that under the current system has to be repaid. But this debt is created by private banks when you and I take out a loan / credit card / mortgage. The banks then have the audacity to charge interest on this newly created money. "The process by which banks create money is so simple, the mind is repelled." (J.K.Galbraith) Do you think there's a moral need to repay this fraudulently created money? There is no legal reason since the contract is void as there is no consideration on behalf of the lender. This is the defense Jerome Daly successfully used to avoid the bank foreclosing on his home in the 60s and nothing has changed apart from the bankers now have way more political power. It's time to wake up and realise the enemy is here across the road from our beautiful Democracy Village. Please come and chat anytime. With love and peace, Mike
Deborah Mattinson was at the heart of Labour's polling organisation for many years. Indeed, she was Gordon Brown's personal pollster. In late June, Biteback is publishing a fascinating book by her in which she talks about polling and focus groups in general, but mainly her role as pollster to Gordon Brown. Here's what the blurb says...Deborah Mattinson had a unique perspective on the New Labour project. As Britain’s leading political pollster, she has been monitoring public opinion since the mid-1980s, and helped transform Labour into Europe’s greatest election-winning machine of the modern era. Most recently as chief pollster to Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, she has been on the frontline of electoral politics, consistently representing the voter’s side of the story to the politicians. Sometimes, she has encountered scepticism - a belligerent John Smith made an unappreciative witness to one of Deborah’s focus groups - and she has often had to convey unwelcome results - telling a grumpy Gordon Brown he needed to spruce up his appearance cannot have been easy.
With a stellar cast, including Neil Kinnock, Peter Mandelson, John Smith, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, Talking to A Brick Wall reviews the New Labour years from the voter’s point of view. It tracks the ups and downs of the Blair/Brown era as seen from beyond Westminster, showing how closely political reputation correlates with voter connection. It profiles the swing voter, shows the importance of women’s votes, and what gives a politician popular appeal, and maps the voters’ views through the 2010 campaign and its immediate aftermath, showing how the electorate has been left out of political decision making and revealing the public’s recipe for rehabilitating the Labour Party and rebuilding trust in democracy.
A champion of democratic renewal through citizen engagement, Deborah Mattinson believes that we must move to new grown up partnership politics if democracy is to thrive.
Deborah Mattinson advised Labour through the 1980s and the birth of New Labour. She then worked closely with Gordon Brown as he prepared to become PM, and after ‘transition’. She has a unique perspective on the New Labour years through the eyes of the voter. She began her career in advertising, working at McCann Erickson, then Ayer Barker. She left to set up Gould Mattinson with Labour strategist, Philip Gould, in 1985. Deborah co-founded Opinion Leader Research, now the UK’s top research and engagement consultancy, in 1992. She is currently forming a new company with the aim of bringing the public’s perspective to the debating table, connecting decision makers in business and government more closely with the national mood.
In this week's episode (number 25) we talk about David Camerons decision to change the 1922 committee; the new manifesto from the coalition; whether Cameron is like Blair; could there be any poisoned chalices for Ministers and the already unpopular IPSA. As well as me giving Jonathan some grammatical advice and how to sound less northern.
EDWARD DAVEY MP: MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS, CONSUMER AND POSTAL AFFAIRS
Postal affairs (Royal Mail and Post Office Limited), employment relations (including ACAS), consumer policy and consumer affairs, competition policy, corporate governance, company law (including Companies House), social enterprise, Insolvency Service (including company investigations), general oversight of Shareholder Executive and its portfolios, coordination of European business, Export Credit Guarantee Department, trade policy.
Dear Iain,
Becoming Secretary of State for International Development is indeed a weighty responsibility. You and I have both seen for ourselves the difference that well spent aid can make to the lives of some of the world’s poorest people.
I too am deeply dismayed by the conviction of Mr Monjeza and Mr Chimbalanga.
The government of Malawi has signed up to international treaties on human rights. Malawi’s constitution explicitly prohibits discrimination against any of its citizens. I – and the British government – strongly believe that human rights must apply to everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. And respect for human rights is one of the key principles underlining the UK’s diplomatic and aid partnership with Malawi.
But we should beware appeals for us to make aid a political weapon. Malawi is a desperately poor country, where about 40% of the people live on less than 34p a day. Britain’s aid plays a vital role in reducing this poverty.
We must not let down the people of Malawi. Rest assured, we, and our major international partners, will make urgent representations to the government of Malawi to review its laws to ensure it meets its commitments to human rights.
And this conviction will remain firmly in our minds when we negotiate the way we deliver our aid in future.
Yours,
Andrew Mitchell MP
Secretary of State for International Development
This month's Total Politics magazine, out today, features an In Conversation interview between me and Andrew Neil. In the interview he reveals
Matthew’s little helper
Dale has come to live at my London flat. Dale (I christened him) is a robot vacuum cleaner about the size of a very large dinner plate, who looks like a grounded flying saucer. At the press of his button he departs his battery-charging docking station and noses around the floor, dusting and sucking up dirt. He can handle rugs and chair legs; whenever he bumps into anything he reverses and goes off in another direction. After about an hour, when he knows his batteries are getting low, he returns without assistance to the docking station, to recharge. Dale isn’t very powerful, but he’s persistent, and (to judge from his filter compartment, which I empty regularly) he’s gradually getting everything up.
Sometimes I feel rather lonely in my big flat. But with Dale scurrying around and busying himself, I now feel I have a little friend. I hope he likes it here, and doesn’t ask to be taken back to the household appliances department at Peter Jones.
