Mandelson suggests Balls is living in the past – Media and Blog round up: March 22nd 2013

Mandelson suggests Balls is living in the past

“Lord Mandelson has launched a damaging critique of Ed Balls as shadow chancellor, accusing him of living in the past and focusing on “tiring” arguments about the pace of spending cuts. Speaking at the CBI’s annual dinner in London on Thursday, Labours former business secretary said his party’s economic strategy was failing to win over voters. Lord Mandelson said: “The whole argument about whether we’re cutting too far and too fast, it’s in the past. It is rather predictable party political stuff from over the dispatch box, and it is a bit tiring to the public.” He added: “We need to focus on how to redevelop our economy rather than fight about the past and fight about what’s too far and what’s far enough. The Labour party has got to offer more than that.” Lord Mandelson called for Labour to deliver a more optimistic vision of how it saw the economy working after the period of fiscal consolidation.He added: “We need to focus on how to redevelop our economy rather than fight about the past and fight about what’s too far and what’s far enough. The Labour party has got to offer more than that.”” – Financial Times

Peers to attempt “ping pong with grenades” to halt secret courts

“Campaigners against a new generation of secret courts are confident they will be able to introduce fundamental changes to the controversial measure next week by launching parliamentary guerrilla tactics dubbed “ping pong with grenades”. Amid warnings that the government is planning to introduce Russian-style secret courts, the government is being warned that peers are prepared to exhaust a series of parliamentary devices when the bill sanctioning the changes reaches its final stage on Tuesday.” – Guardian

Other highlights

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• What’s going on with Labour selections in Brent and Harrow? – Guardian