Ed’s inbox – May 17th

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

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

Hypocrite education minister plagiarises speech from Wikipedia – Political Scrapbook
By Political Scrapbook

A Conservative minister has been caught red-handed stealing a House of Commons speech from Wikipedia. Ironically enough, the MP in question is universities minister John Hayes, whose portfolio encompasses academic standards and, erm, plagiarism.

The following comparison between Hayes’ speech during a private member’s bill and the this Wikipedia article has been provided by ePolitix.com. – Read more.

The cost of everything, the value of nothing – Sarah Hayward’s Blog
By Sarah Hayward

Just in case you haven’t noticed, the Department for Communities & Local Government isn’t particularly for local government. In fact, it seems to intensely dislike local government. Emanating from said departmet is a fairly constant flow of slurs and denigrations against local government, local councillors and local services.

Whatever this government’s localism credentials (and I’d say they’re more spin than substance) it’s pretty clear that local councils are there to be got round not worked with in terms of delivering it. – Read more.

Will the Foreign Aid commitment be another Cameron u-turn? – Liberal Conspiracy
By Owen Tudor

I’ve expressed scepticism before about the Government’s commitment to meet the UN target for overseas aid by 2013.

With the news that Defence Secretary Liam Fox has raised concerns about the pledge suggests that we are seeing the beginning of the end for that commitment.

Although Fox has said he is only concerned about tying the Government’s hands, that is the whole point of enshrining the commitment in law. – Read more.

The next financial crisis – The Staggers
By Anthony Painter

Political leaders across the world seem already to be treating the Global Financial Crisis as a one-off event. We were unlucky. Yes, we may have been driving at 100mph through a densely populated neighbourhood. There was an accident, but we’ll keep hold of the wheel next time and improve the brakes. How quickly we forget.

It’s a long road from the multilateral resolve of the 2009 G20 Summit in London to today’s paranoia, small-mindedness, and cowardice in the face of domestic politics. European finance ministers meet today with seismic activity along the eurozone fault lines starting to spike, while IMF faces an uncertain immediate future at just the wrong time. – Read more.

Call to make forced marriage a criminal offence – Harry’s Place
By Sarah AB

The Commons Home Affairs Select Committee has suggested that forced marriage should be made a criminal offence. Although currently forced marriage protection orders can be issued, with jail sentences of up to two years for those who violate their conditions, the committee feels this measure isn’t enough to deal with the problem.

The MPs said: “We believe that it would send out a very clear and positive message to communities within the UK and internationally if it becomes a criminal act to force – or to participate in forcing – an individual to enter into marriage against their will.”

They added: “The lack of a criminal sanction also sends a message, and currently that is a weaker message than we believe is needed. We urge the government to take an early opportunity to legislate on this matter.” – 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.