Select committees
We’ve shown forecasts are unreliable, jokes OBR chief
‘We’ve done quite a good job at demonstrating the limitations of economic forecasting,’ half-joked Office for Budget Responsibility Chairman Robert Chote at the start of his Treasury Select Committee appearance… Continue reading
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Michael Gove rebuffs calls for a GCSE remark
Michael Gove faced a tough grilling from MPs on the Education Select Committee this morning about the row over GCSE English results. But the Education Secretary gave as good as… Continue reading
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The political effects of all this hacking talk
I doubt that many votes will be moved by the split report on hacking of the Culture, Media and Sport select committee. This is not a subject that sets the… Continue reading
35 CommentsMPs squabble over their own phone hacking report
The education select committee reported earlier, but it is the report of another select committee that will get all the attention today. The culture, media and sport select committee has… Continue reading
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Gove gets covering fire
Good teaching matters; that’s something we don’t need to be taught. But how much does it matter? What are its measurable benefits? Today’s education select committee report collects some striking,… Continue reading
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What good would an annual National Strategy do?
Another set of bad notices for Cameron & Co. this morning, chief among them the Public Administration Select Committee’s report into government strategy. It basically says that there is none:… Continue reading
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QE comes to the fore
It’s roughly seven months until George Osborne’s Autumn Statement, so no better time to consider which political issues will come to the boil ahead of it. Fuel costs, I’m sure,… Continue reading
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The depressing appointment of Les Ebdon
Today brings confirmation that No.10 has not stood in the way of Vince Cable appointing Les Ebdon as the new director of fair access. Ebdon’s appointment is depressing for several… Continue reading
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The BIS select committee makes its presence felt
We will soon find out whether the coalition meant what it said about empowering parliament. The BIS select committee has rejected the government’s preferred candidate for the post of the… Continue reading
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Lansley’s headache becomes a migraine
Now that the three party leaders have each pronounced on capitalism, domestic politics is returning to its familiar battlegrounds. And there are few more familiar battlegrounds, for this government, than… Continue reading
16 CommentsAnother fine mess at HMRC
Today’s report by the Public Accounts Committee hasn’t so much been released as detonated onto the Westminster scene. The Exchequer is owed around £25 billion, it suggests, from major companies… Continue reading
42 CommentsJames Murdoch recalled by parliament
The Culture, Media and Sport committee has recalled James Murdoch to give further evidence into phone hacking and James Murdoch’s people are briefing journalists that he is happy to appear.… Continue reading
14 CommentsMore questions for UKBA
The Home Office and the UK Border Agency (UKBA) completed the review into the asylum seekers legacy backlog ahead of schedule at the end of last month. 450,000 case files… Continue reading
15 CommentsGaddafi in Tripoli as the entente cordiale flourishes
The imminent success of the Libya intervention was, to a remarkable degree, down to Anglo-French cooperation. Though the media has been keen to play up, and even conjure up, rifts… Continue reading
11 CommentsThe phone hacking saga bursts back to life
The phone hacking saga has burst back to life this afternoon, with the publication of a letter by Clive Goodman that contradicts much of the evidence given by News International… Continue reading
35 CommentsBitter Turkish delights
Turkish accession to the EU is apparently no more than a dream of those who desire it at present, but it remains a point of contention across Europe. The British… Continue reading
30 CommentsRengotiating the loan with Ireland
All eyes were on Greece at last week’s crisis summit in Brussels, but other indebted countries took advantage of Angela Merkel’s generous mood. In line with concessions made to Greece,… Continue reading
35 CommentsMore questions for Murdoch?
Much though most readers probably want it to, the phone hacking saga just won’t do the decent thing and die. Today brings fresh revelations. Colin Myler and Tom Crone, respectively… Continue reading
32 CommentsBrooks comes to Cameron’s aid, perhaps unintentionally
Rebekah Brooks’ appearance before the Culture Media and Sport Committee was largely uneventful. Most of the questions addressed her editorship of the News of the World, a period about which she cannot… Continue reading
34 CommentsThe crisis gets closer to the Tories
The news that Neil Wallis was informally advising Andy Coulson without the knowledge of any of the other senior figures in the Tory party is a reminder of just how… Continue reading
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