A new progressive era for the world

Here’s our aggregation of the week’s highlights from the LunchtimeList, our daily email which is one of the most valuable tools we provide readers. Keep a special eye out for each day’s best comment and Comment of the Week, below. If you wish to receive your copy of the LunchtimeList for free, enter your email at the top right of the site now.

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GEE, 20

President Obama arrives “in a blaze of dazzling light”.

Jonathan Freedland says, no: the President looks uninspired by the G20.

The Mail goes over precisely what this will all mean for his entourage on the ground.

The Independent has the best overview of the G20 and what it might and might not realistically acheive.

Some admin information if you’re thinking of protesting.

The Times leaders says the G20 will demonstrate both politicians’ ambitions and limitations.

While the Telegraph says it could be “soul-crushing”.

The Prime Minister of Japan has dismissed Germany’s warnings about excessive public spending and says we need stimulus now.

American Progress issues a report on how to strengthen the G20 to tackle future crises and how to implement the decisions made at tomorrow’s summit.

Two and a half cheers for the G20 leaders – “the summit is preordained to succeed”.

Gordon Brown says there’s already a high degree of consensus at the G20 summit.

Steve Richards is somewhat more sceptical.

Police are primed for more violence at protests.

But Obama’s visit has cast a “warm glow” over Downing Street and the Prime Minister.

And the Queen gets pally with Michelle – this is great.

What we’ve all been dying to know – who sat next to whom at dinner at Number 10 last night?

FINALLIST

Peter Mandelson says Globalisation has been good for everyone – including the protesters.

Listen up! – Seamus Milne says it’s important our leaders hear the core message of yesterday’s protests.

Septicisle rounds up the protest news and frowns upon the violent.

Tristram Hunt says this is what Labour governments are for…

Timothy Garton-Ash hails the arrival of China as a 21st Cenutry global power.

Dave Semple questions David Davis’ ethical foreign policy credentials.

Luke Akehurst gets sensible on MPs’ expenses.

Don Paskini looks at the difference between activism and organising – and what that means.

Michelle O’s London Fashion Week.

Gordon Brown slashes parliamentarians’ severance pay.

Business tax rates will also be slashed.

“A global plan for recovery on an unprecedented scale” – The Guardian picks out the exciting details of the progressive plan agreed by world leaders yesterday.

A summary of the world’s headlines on the agreement.

Jonathan Freedland says Gordon Brown is a world leader and wonders how that might translate in the British polls.

The Brownian Conference.

Peter Mandelson says Gordon Brown deserves the bulk of the credit.

But what price the O effect?

Britain is handed a glimmer of economic hope, as it’s revealed the UK is better positioned than Japan, Germany, Italy and the US.

Morgan Tsvangirai asks the British people to work with Zimbabwe through a difficult time.

What does Gordon have to do to save us from sleaze? The answer’s simple…

Jon Cruddas says Labour’s task is not to fight the centre-ground, but to change and revatilise the electoral system and head for a New Socialism.

G2 asks the experts to explain what happened to the economy. Very. Slowly.

A consensus of minds speaks on the need to scrap nuclear arms.

As western relations with Iran take a drastic turn for the better.

And the Russian Premier says the US and Russia owe is to the world to work together.

Kevin Maguire says YouTube phenomenon is a “Tory poster boy right-wing nutter”.

Simon Heffer says our whole political system attracts nothing more than career politicians and needs overhauling.

Fred the Shred is thinking about taking a “voluntary” pension cut.

How might the G20 lead to the Brown election – and a fourth Labour term?

Boris Johnson: can’t run London and can’t stage a walkout.

Building in the downturn – and providing for the upturn.

Johann Hari’s been drinking the Kool Aid – but might he have a point?

MONDAY’S COMMENT OF THE DAY:

“Do you really believe that Britain can’t do better than to have Charles as our next head of state? Do you really have so little faith in the British people? Or are you just terrified of the responsibility of democracy? Bottom line is this: if we vote for them we get them. If we don’t want them, don’t vote for them.“

Graham Smith on “The monarchy is not harmless”.

TUESDAY’S COMMENT OF THE DAY:

“I come from an immigrant background, with the distinction of being the first in my family to be born in the UK. Even though I speak English like a native, every time I have to give my name, my eastern European routes are displayed for all to see. There is no doubt that if you were to attempt to classify any member of my family, we would fall firmly within the working class.

Does this automatically translate into votes for Labour? I’m afraid not. Maybe not having the concept of a ‘class divide’ handed down through the generations has given our family an immunity to this particularly British concept. I don’t know. Growing up, I remember my parents working two jobs each. Unlike our neighbours, they never visited the pub, dined out in restaurants or smoked (to name a few). Every penny earned was put towards creating a better life for our family. During their working years, it was under the Tories that they prospered the most. What resonated with my parents was the Tory idea that hard work should be rewarded. My parents worked twice as hard as their neighbours. Consequently they earned twice as much, and spent half as much.

There seems to be a line of thinking within the ranks of Labour that earning more money, somehow makes you a bad person. Those that earn more must be punished by high taxes. “Wealth HAS to be redistributed”. And this is exactly where Labour lost my parent’s vote. A great number of “working class” people benefited under Tory rule during the 80’s and 90’s. Most saw a direct correlation between hard work and financial wealth. There seems to be an extreme dislike of inheritance amongst many Labour activists. My parents will tell you that the reason they worked so hard was so that they would be able to give us (their flesh and blood children) what their own parents couldn’t give them. A better start in life. A life less hindered by struggle. Why should my parents’ decades of hard work be distributed to Jack’s children?”

Zvonko Matovski on Does the Whole Eton Thing Really Matter?

WEDNESDAY’S COMMENT OF THE DAY:

“You can argue with a good deal of justice that the Monarchy and our unwritten Constitution didn’t stand up very well to the assault on our freedoms and liberties that has taken place in recent years, but let us not forget that it did so extremely well against other, far more sinister political movements thought to be ultra-modern and technocratic in the first half of this century. A historical throwback it maybe, but Id much rather take that than the horrors inflicted on Europe in the last hundred years (mostly by countries with Republican forms of government, by the way) in the name of modernity.”

Andrew Cadman on The monarchy is not “harmless”.

THURSDAY’S COMMENT OF THE DAY:

“We had Eric Pickles turn up at our Uni a few weeks ago. He made a complete a** of himself by calling me a ‘class warrior’ and over egged his ‘Yorkshire’ accent to make him sound like one of us. Just because you have a Yorkshire accent Mr. Pickles, doesn’t make you working class!

Anyway, this is what one Conservative future member at the Uni wrote on the forums.

‘I will kick it off, and sadly it’s going to be a negative one. I thought Eric’s performance was dire, very obvious that he and his team had not prepared for the possibility of questions being asked around higher education funding, when in the same week we had the press reports of potential increases in tuition fees…would of been obvious to me that questions would be asked over this when your visiting a university in the same week!!! I was actually embarrassed over his performance and I say that as a card holding member of the Conservative Party. If anyone saw Question Time last night, he was on the panel and to be honest he wasn’t much better and the audience just ripped him apart.’

Oh dear Mr. Pickles. D- Must try harder.”

Josh Eades, on Help Labour win the student vote.

COMMENT OF THE WEEK:

“There is no doubt that if you were to attempt to classify any member of my family, we would fall firmly within the working class. Does this automatically translate into votes for Labour? I’m afraid not.”

Zvonko’s full comment was much longer than this, but this pithy segment wins the bottle of House of Commons champagne for its punchiness and message that we need to buck up our ideas in communicating how we are still the party of the People.