Miliband says General Strike is a “terrible idea” – Media and blog roundup, April 24th 2013

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Miliband says General Strike is a “terrible idea”

“Ed Miliband has denounced as “a terrible idea” the threat of a general strike by two of Labour’s biggest union donors, ahead of a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the threatened protest. The Labour leader, who has been warned by Tony Blair, former Labour prime minister, against leading the party into a leftwing comfort zone, went head-to-head with Unite and Unison by calling for talk on industrial action to be “killed off quickly”. His comments came on a campaign tour before local elections next month which will test whether Mr Miliband can extend Labour’s appeal beyond its urban heartlands. The Trades Union Congress general council will meet on Wednesday to discuss the general strike. Unite and Unison, which have more than 2m members between them, have urged other unions to join in staging a 24-hour walkout in an “explicitly political” attack on the coalition government and its austerity programme.” – FT

Labour Lord breaks ranks on NHS regulations

“One of Tony Blair’s leading modernisers will rebel against the Labour party in a key vote on Wednesday on proposed NHS regulations that the opposition says will allow companies to bid for almost all health services. Despite a three-line whip in the House of Lords on a so-called fatal motion to kill the government’s controversial NHS regulations, the former health minister Norman Warner says he will vote with the Conservative and Liberal Democrat peers – sparking speculation of another Blairite revolt against the current Labour leadership.” – Guardian

Other highlights

• George Osborne’s “secret veto” over fruad probes – Mirror
• Ed the illusionist will have to conjure up more with less – Telegraph