Ed’s inbox: March 9th

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

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

Tory: cllr a ‘foreigner’ with ‘lesbian hair’ – Liberal Conspiracy
By Sunny Hundal

The leader of the Conservatives on Hull City Council was slammed last week for his comments on Twitter, calling members of the public who opposed cuts at a council budget meeting a “collection of retards”. It emerged later that numerous people in the public gallery had disabilities.

What is perhaps equally as shocking, however, are his previous comments to a council officer. A standards inquiry heard that Councillor Fareham bullied Danish-born Inga Jorgensen, calling her “wonk” and a “foreigner”. Jorgensen said he called her a “lesbian” for refusing to make him a drink and remarked she had “lesbian hair”. – Read more.

Stand for Labour – Progress Online
By Luke Akehurst

I’m not going to use this column to make a political point this week.

Instead I want to use this soapbox to make a simple organisational appeal as an NEC member to Labour supporters reading this on the Progress website or via email.

If you are in an area with council elections this May and your local party has not yet picked a full team of candidates, please put yourself forward. – Read more.

2nd Reading of Welfare Reform Bill – Summary – Diary of a benefit scrounger
By Sue Marsh

Today was the 2nd reading of the Welfare Reform Bill and, on the whole, it seemed a very constructive, mannerly affair with both sides of the house making reasoned arguments. There seemed to be a genuine desire on both sides of the house to make sure the reforms were fair and any problems resolved.

The main points that came up time and again were those things IDS couldn’t confirm, the parts of reform for which details haven’t been decided despite them being in the original bill. These include : – Read more.

Cameron would be lucky to get out of the pub alive – Labour Uncut
By Tom Watson

It’s a poor workman that blames his tools. And this week the government has written the case study that scholars of public administration will follow for years to come in their lesson on how not to make reforms.

It’s a complete shambles behind that famous black metal door. Authorised and less-authorised briefings attacking huge sections of the population are spewing out of the government at such a rate that it’s hard to keep count. – Read more.

Would you march with the police? – Left Futures
By Owen Jones

Relations between the anti-cuts movement and the police are bad. That’s an understatement: they are atrocious.

The left has long been suspicious of the police, and not for reasons that can be dismissed as unreconstructed dogma. Far from being neutral arbiters at times of conflict between citizens and state, they have frequently acted in a ruthlessly partisan fashion. – 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.