Ed’s inbox: March 15th

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

If Ed Miliband could only read five blogposts each day, he’d read these ones…

Unrest in the Middle East and our double-standards in intervention – Liberal Conspiracy
By David Malone

Events in Bahrain are getting less notice than they deserve. Bahrain is like Saudi, it far larger neighbour an absolute monarchy and one divided from many of its people not only by accumulated wealth and jealously hoarded power, but by religious conviction. Like Saudi Bahrain has a deep Sunni/Shiite divide. For the last few weeks there have been pro-democracy protests in Bahrain. As there have been on and off for the last thirty years or more. – Read more.

Tory-controlled Basildon Council’s Big Fat Gypsy Eviction – Political Scrapbook
By Matt Zarb-Cousin

Not content with Housing Benefit cuts that are set to double homeless numbers, Tory-controlled Basildon council last night voted in favour of spending millions of pounds of public money evicting 61 traveller families from Dale Farm, Essex.

Having failed to fulfil their legal obligation to find an alternative site, the council have decided to plough ahead and are set to invest a substantial sum in making children and the elderly homeless. The action is now the subject of a legal challenge to block the eviction. – Read more.

This government couldn’t outsource a booze-up in a brewery – Labour Uncut
By Dan Cooke

If the Tory-Lib Dem administration has one big, transformative vision, it is that government should do less itself – and enable others to do more. Even in accepting that public goods cannot be delivered by the unfettered market, the government contends that they will only ever be delivered shoddily by the unmediated state. So it proposes a more modest role for itself as funder, procurer and regulator of services, with delivery transferred as far as possible to the private or charitable sectors. – Read more.

If the West doesn’t act, Gaddafi will massacre the rebels – Left Foot Forward
By Marcus Roberts

As former Army Captain Patrick Bury reported yesterday, it is now highly likely that in the absence of outside military intervention the rebels will either be defeated outright or a protracted civil war will unfold.

Even so, it is not too late for Western governments, acting in concert with key regional allies in the Arab League, Gulf Co-operation Council and African Union, to respond to protect the rebellion and safeguard their own long-term interests. At stake for both NATO and the region is credibility and stability. – Read more.

Europe Causes More Trouble for the Coalition Government – THE HONEYBALL BUZZ
By Mary Honeyball MEP

David Cameron faces problems within his own party as Nick Clegg insists that the UK will not withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The Conservative led Coalition Government is establishing a commission of enquiry to investigate the possibility of establishing a British Bill of Rights, but Clegg has won the battle to ensure that withdrawal from the ECHR will not feature in the parameters of the investigation. This means that any Bill of Rights will have to fit around the already existing European legislation. – Read more.

Our suggestions for Ed’s inbox are limited by what we read – so if you’ve seen a blogpost that should be in Ed’s inbox, let us know.