Ed’s inbox – July 21st

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

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

Lembit Opik puts on bizarre stand up, poetry, arm wrestling show – Political Scrapbook
By Political Scrapbook

Everyone’s favourite Segway riding electoral failure, Lembit Opik is hoping to combine his campaign to become Mayor of London with the other passion in his life – stand up comedy.

Opik, whose debut comedy performance was awarded a charitable two stars by the Guardian, is to appear at Islington’s George Orwell Inn tonight, presenting an evening of stand up, poetry and…arm wrestling. – Read more.

Cameron’s on the ropes, but he will last the distance – Labour Uncut
By Kevin Meagher

The parliamentary recess will be greeted by the prime minister in exactly the same way a wounded boxer welcomes the end of a gruelling round. Winded, bloodied and blurry-eyed, the prime minister staggers back to his corner. His legs are like lead. His arms ache. His body is battered and sore.

He put up a spirited defence in the Commons yesterday – penance for bobbing and weaving out of fronting-up the hacking issue on behalf of the government these past few weeks – but he is behind on points.

Despite his combativeness and bluster the reigning champ looked ring rusty. Belligerent where he should have been contrite, he struggled to read the fight and walked on the end of punches he is seasoned enough to avoid. His pledge to apologise if Andy Coulson is eventually found guilty of sanctioning phone hacking simply risks storing up the mea culpa to end all apologies. – Read more.

Blue Labour: sorting the wheat from the chaff – The Staggers
By Ed Rooksby

“Blue Labour” is in serious trouble — perhaps even dead in the water. In a remarkably ill-judged interview with the Daily Telegraph, the faction’s most prominent intellectual, Lord Glasman, emphatically pushed the “self-destruct” button, calling for draconian immigration controls that even Andrew Green of Migration Watch says go a bit too far.

What many regard as the toxic and dangerous elements of Blue Labour thinking are well known. The brouhaha surrounding Glasman’s recent comments on immigration have, indeed, thrust one of these firmly into the limelight. – Read more.

More than 2 million people could enter fuel poverty on a single day – Liberal Conspiracy
By Éoin Clarke

I wish to start an awareness campaign for Fuel Poverty Day.

On the 1/8/2011, prices in gas will rise on average 20% and prices in electricity will rise 18%. It brings into fuel poverty families whose household incomes are £12,840-£14,440.

From the graph below I can tell you that this is more that 2million people. – Read more.

Osborne got his one chance – don’t give him another – Diary of a Benefit Scrounger
By Sue Marsh

GDP figures will be out any minute now and estimates are dire, ranging from between a -0.2% contraction and a paltry 0.2% growth.

Extraordinary though it may sound, cutting services, freezing benefits and wages, rising unemployment and high inflation is not encouraging anyone to go shopping or invest in their businesses.

I know, it’s a mystery! No-one could possibly have predicted that cutting this much during a recession wouldn’t work, but there we have it.

Now, other countries that thought austerity would work have simply gone back to their treasuries and drawn up lists of even more eye-watering cuts. Obviously, their plans will work, they can’t possibly be wrong! They just need to cut more!! Well, phew. – Read more.