Ed’s inbox – March 23rd

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

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

How Labour forced Tories to defend the ‘squeezed middle’ – Liberal Conspiracy
By Sunny Hundal

Its one of those unstated rules in politics: if you want to win over your opponent, make sure you’re the one framing the parameters of the debate. The Conservatives played that hand well pre-election by forcing Labour on the defensive over the deficit and national debt levels.

Labour’s subsequent attempt to triangulate (saying they would also push for ‘savage’ cuts) failed and their economic credibility splintered between people angry that nothing was being done about the banks, and those suddenly fearful about national debt levels.

This budget is perhaps the first sign that Labour is regaining the initiative again. – Read more.

Where’s the social care in the health and social care bill? – Labour Uncut
By Peter Watt

There has been, rightly, an awful lot of attention given to the government’s health and social care bill. It proposes opening up the delivery of NHS services to any willing provider and the introduction, in some instances, of competition on the basis of price rather than outcome. Controversial stuff. Especially as the Conservatives promised no “top down reorganisation” during the election.

But there is one aspect of the bill that hasn’t been much commented on. It is misleadingly named. It is a “health” bill, certainly, but it is not a “social care” bill at all. This is not a pedantic point. The bill does not cover the social care system, which provides care and support to hundreds of thousands of people across the country in their homes and in residential settings. Last year, social care cost the state in the region of £27 billion. And individual families billions more on top. Many people do not realise that social care, unlike health, is not universally free. – Read more.

Osborne’s tax cut is not as big or fair as you think – Left Foot Forward
By Will Straw

Today’s newspapers have been well briefed on the Budget and seem certain that George Osborne will raise the tax threshold by a further £600. The policy sounds good but, in reality, has several problems.

1. It’s not as big as you think – Read more.

A budget for decline – Left Futures
By Michael Meacher

As is usually the case, this is a very political Budget. It will change the economic future of this country hardly at all. The purpose of this Budget is camouflage to distract attention from the Great Axe that is about to fall within the next two weeks and to give the impression that Britain has now been launched on an escalator of growth. If only.

The truth is the opposite. Growth forecasts have already been repeatedly downgraded even before the country is pounded by continuing heavy hits from unprecedented benefit cuts and spending cuts. – Read more.

Ken Livingstone surges 11 points to beat Boris in new ComRes poll – Political Scrapbook
By Laurence Durnan

Is Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson failing to distance himself from an increasingly unpopular Tory government? UK Polling Report write:

First preferences apparently show Ken on 46%, Boris on 44%, with second preferences re-allocated Ken remains ahead on 51% to Boris’s 49%.

But here’s the killer part:

When ComRes last measured London mayoral voting intentions in October they found Boris ahead of Ken by 44% to 35% – 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.