Tom Harris steps down as shadow minister

More evidence that the Tories are running the NHS into the ground

By Conor Pope

The Sun’s front page story this morning should come as no surprise to those who have been following the Government’s approach to the NHS. But the fact that the paper that has been one of the Conservative’s biggest cheerleaders over the past four years is running a three-day investigation into how badly the NHS is being managed should put all of us in no doubt: the National Health Service is in big trouble. With the headline “CRITICAL”, an inside two-page […]

Labour will give small companies backing to build homes

Today, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, Emma Reynolds, and Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Chris Leslie will explain how Labour would address the housing shortage in the UK. The plans that have emerged from the Lyons Housing Commission – which will be published in full in September –  focus on giving small-builders better access to finance, in turn increasing the amount of homes they can build. Reynolds and Leslie will today argue that during and after the 2008 bank lending to […]

Weekly Survey: Miliband’s image, public PMQs and a new domestic violence law

Last Friday, Ed Miliband decided to “hang a lantern” on what is supposedly his biggest problem: his image. Mark Ferguson explained the thinking behind the strategy, as well as the risks that Miliband’s team will have considered in their approach. You can read the full speech here. Do you think this decision paid off? Did it backfire? Or are we underestimating the public by concentrating on something as shallow as appearances? In an effort to get people more engaged in […]

NPF report – 18th-20th July, and NEC report – 22nd July

By Johanna Baxter

Report of National Policy Forum held on 18-20th July 2014 And Report of National Executive Committee meeting held on 22nd July 2014  Report of National Policy Forum held on 18-20th July 2014 The National Policy Forum (NPF) met in Milton Keynes, following consultation on the Final Year policy documents, in what was one of the most important meetings before the General Election. A massive 200,000 people had engaged in that process, resulting in a whopping 1300 amendments to the consultation documents.  The Joint Policy […]

Strategists now believe UKIP could hand election to Labour

Labour Party strategists have calculated that if UKIP poll more than 9% of votes in next year’s election, Ed Miliband will become prime minister, reports The Telegraph front page today. According to Lord Ashcroft polling, Nigel Farage’s party take far more of their votes from the Conservatives than they do from Labour, and are currently on course to take enough to ensure that Labour win in 2015. Ashcroft’s polls say that 52% of current UKIP supporters voted Tory in 2010 – while […]