Decrypting Cameron’s trip to Washington
David Cameron this week embarked upon a two day visit to Washington to meet with President Obama. Understandably high on the agenda was talk of joint action against terrorism. Specifically, Mr Cameron sought Mr Obama’s support for his plans to legally access some encrypted personal communications, thus denying extremists the ability to communicate in secret. Given the revelations on NSA (the US GCHQ equivalent) surveillance practices, Obama’s support is unlikely to placate civil liberties campaigners here in the UK.
Other issues to be discussed during the PM’s trip include the possible EU-US trade deal and the case of Shaker Aamer, the last British prisoner being held in Guantanamo Bay. Mr Cameron is expected to explore whether Aamer could be returned to the UK. No doubt to the Prime Minister’s displeasure, the Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls, has followed Mr Cameron across the pond to conduct a launch event for the Commission on Inclusive Prosperity.
Pint-sized competition?
Comedian Al Murray has announced that he will be battling it out against Nigel Farage in the constituency of South Thanet this coming May.
Standing as his stereotypical right wing alter ego ‘the Pub Landlord’, Murray has formed the Free United Kingdom Party (FUKP); a party offering voters the tantalising prospect of “moon on a British stick” and a pledge that the “UK will leave Europe by 2025 and the edge of the Solar System by 2050.”
Murray’s party have also adopted an upside-down pound sign for a logo, arguably a spoof on UKIP’s symbol. Farage appears to have taken the mockery in his stride however; telling journalists he was grateful at last, for some “serious opposition.”
Residents of South Thanet will face a tough choice in May; vote for a beer-swilling loud mouth or Al Murray…
Lights, Cameron, Action?
Cast your mind back to 2010. The TV debates held during the last election campaign were lauded as a huge success. Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg were all in agreement that televised debates were a natural step in modernising our democracy and engaging with the electorate.
Fast forward to now. Things are slightly more complicated. Or rather, the political landscape is. Both Ed Miliband and David Cameron have accused one another of “running scared” in relation to the proposed election debates. Miliband claims that the Prime Minister is coming up with excuses not to appear whilst Cameron claims that the debates can only go ahead with all major parties, including the Greens. The rise of the Green Party has not been much commented on in the national media but some believe they could pose a serious threat to Labour’s left flank.
The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Cameron will no doubt be wary that Farage may chip away at the Tory vote base (and challenging him on TV may only exacerbate the issue); and similarly, Miliband will be aware of the threat posed to the Labour vote base by the proposed inclusion of the Greens.
The three major broadcasters find themselves under mounting pressure to find a solution to this escalating quarrel. JBP finds that Rock, Paper, Scissors solves most arguments…
Weight watchers
A Labour Government will limit the amount of fat, salt and sugar in foods marketed at children is what Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham is expected to announce in his speech today; the latest Labour attack geared at challenging the Government on public health.
Burnham hopes to further reduce these amounts and points out that 15% of under-15s are still obese – even though this number has fallen in recent years. Burnham is expected to say “Labour has traditionally led the way on public health and this new approach will chart a new course towards a healthy nation in the 21st century.”
Labour may wish to revisit their attitude to reducing the voting age from 18 to 16 - this Smith Square correspondent overhead one youth saying, “When I buy a bag of Jelly Tots, I expect to be bouncing off the walls. Under a Labour government, we won’t be able to experience this huge sugar high.”
Burnham is also expected to call for a revised traffic light system on food labelling and plain packaging on cigarettes.