Ed’s inbox – March 1st

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

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

Three questions to ask your councillor – Don Paskini
By Don Paskini

One of the keys to effective local action is making sure that campaigners think ahead and get decision-makers to respond to them, rather than waiting for decisions to be announced and then complaining. In that spirit, here’s three questions to ask your local councillor:

1. What have you done to make sure your council obeys the laws on promoting equality? – Read more.

Ed’s not going to take down Gaddafi with a sustained blast of the Reith lectures – Labour Uncut
By Dan Hodges

Libya has turned into the first international crisis of David Cameron’s premiership. And he’s flunked it. When an ash cloud stranded thousands of British holidaymakers, the previous government deployed the Royal Navy. With the Middle East aflame, and hundreds of British workers in peril, this government turned to the heavy metal band, Iron Maiden. Bruce Dickinson, the group’s lead singer, is also marketing director and chief pilot of charter airline, Astraeus, one of the first to land at Tripoli to begin a belated evacuation. The RAF heroes of 633 squadron have been pensioned off for the heroes of flight 666. – Read more.

Should we be worried that 48% of the UK would support a new anti-immigration party? – An EastEnd Girl: musings from E3
By Hannah McFaull

I wish I didn’t have to, but to cut down on the abuse from numpties, I feel the need to point out that I have been a committed anti-fascist, anti-racist campaigner for as long as I can remember. I am proud to live in multi-cultural Britain and the love I have for the diversity of London knows no bounds (except for tourists who stop at the top of escalators on the Tube with suitcases, you I can do without).

A new poll, conducted by anti-fascist organisation Searchlight, has shown that almost half of Britons questioned would support a political party that was anti-immigration, however the violence associated with the only parties currently articulating this view prevents them from doing so. The Guardian then infers that if the BNP, EDL and the like gave up their violent tendencies, they would get greater levels of support from British voters. – Read more.

Lib Dem accounts show Prison Inspector event is a fundraiser – Political Scrapbook
By Political Scrapbook

Scrapbook yesterday questioned the appropriateness of the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Nick Hardwick, being the star turn at a political fundraiser. With activists vainly claiming that their party’s Pizza and Politics bash is merely a “social event” it is the right time to apply the duck test: if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a fundraiser for the Liberal Democrats – especially when their own accounts say so! – Read more.

Austerity? Five HSBC fat cats share £35 million – Left Foot Forward
By Shamik Das

Austerity? Tough times? A wage freeze? A “cost of living crisis”? Not for the HSBC fat cats who raked in millions last year, figures revealed this week, with five of these unnamed individuals sharing £35 million, an average of £7 million each. HSBC’s top earner raked in £8.4 million, while 180 UK staff pocketed bonuses averaging £600,000. HSBC paid just £236 million in UK corporation tax last year – despite doubling its profits to £11.8billion. – 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.