16th March, 2010, 8:19 am Cabinet contenders: departmental debates confirmed – 8 in the morning, March 16th Alex Smith Share this article: By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 * Peter Mandelson will debate Ken Clarke on business, and other cabinet ministers will also discuss policy on live TV debates with Andrew Neil in the weeks before the election. * The number of ministers should be cut by a third, reports parliament’s public administration committee. * The European Commission has warned that the UK is not on course to cut its deficit in line with EU rules by a deadline of 2015. * Last minute talks between Unite and BA are unlikely to have led to the strike being called off. * Ladbroke’s outgoing boss has tipped Labour to have most seats in parliament after the general election. * “Politician, scholar, football fan, reader, writer, storyteller, husband, stepfather and loyal friend”: Michael foot is laid to rest in London. * Liberal Conspiracy says the “splintering of Stoke’s working class eventually found expression in its politics” and reports on Labour’s collapse there. * The Guardian asks: Why isn’t every company like John Lewis? Alex Smith Alex is the founder and CEO of The Cares Family. He was editor and first director of LabourList in 2009-2010, during which time he established the site as the number one Labour blog, and later an aide to Ed Miliband. @alexsmith1982 View all articles by Alex Smith Subscribe to our daily email More from LabourList Grassroots voices ‘HMOs are a state-financed cash machine for investors’ Matthew Desmond’s Pulitzer Prize winning book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City tells the story of… Andy Bates 12th July, 2026, 12:00 pm Comment ‘Support for children with additional learning needs is our red line’ Next week the new Plaid Cymru Government will face its first big vote – their supplementary budget. Plaid… Anthony Hunt 12th July, 2026, 10:00 am Comment ‘Communities are strongest when people have power’ The Durham Miners’ Gala has always been more than a celebration of mining heritage. It is a reminder… Andy Mcdonald MP 11th July, 2026, 2:00 pm
Alex Smith Alex is the founder and CEO of The Cares Family. He was editor and first director of LabourList in 2009-2010, during which time he established the site as the number one Labour blog, and later an aide to Ed Miliband. @alexsmith1982 View all articles by Alex Smith
Grassroots voices ‘HMOs are a state-financed cash machine for investors’ Matthew Desmond’s Pulitzer Prize winning book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City tells the story of… Andy Bates 12th July, 2026, 12:00 pm
Comment ‘Support for children with additional learning needs is our red line’ Next week the new Plaid Cymru Government will face its first big vote – their supplementary budget. Plaid… Anthony Hunt 12th July, 2026, 10:00 am
Comment ‘Communities are strongest when people have power’ The Durham Miners’ Gala has always been more than a celebration of mining heritage. It is a reminder… Andy Mcdonald MP 11th July, 2026, 2:00 pm
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