Good ol' straw !!

Straw backs Brown to remain as PM

Jack Straw has made public his support for the prime minister

Jack Straw has said he is "absolutely convinced" that Gordon Brown remains the "right man" to lead Labour.

The by-election defeat in Glasgow East was disappointing, but it would be a "big mistake" for Labour to turn in on itself now, the justice secretary said.

It is the first time he has spoken out publicly in support of the prime minister since Thursday's defeat.

Mr Straw told the BBC he had no plans to mount a leadership bid, despite reports an ally is canvassing support.

Mr Straw, who has been touted as a potential caretaker leader, had previously made it known he wanted Labour to close ranks behind Mr Brown, without coming out publicly in support of him.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7527390.stm

Bstards !!

Harman denies planning leader bid

Ms Harman says Mr Brown is the "solution" not the "problem"

Harriet Harman has insisted she is "not preparing the ground for a leadership election" amid growing speculation over Prime Minister Gordon Brown's future.

The Commons Leader rejected a Times report she was overheard telling aides after Labour's Glasgow East by-election defeat: "This is my moment."

Mr Brown has been under pressure since Labour saw its majority overturned by the SNP in last Thursday's poll.

Two Labour MPs have openly called for him to consider resigning.

But Downing Street sources told the Press Association that reports Ms Harman and Foreign Secretary David Miliband were preparing leadership challenges were "garbage".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7531576.stm

Bstard !!

Miliband denies 'leadership' bid

David Miliband praises Gordon Brown as a leader

David Miliband has insisted he is not "campaigning" for the Labour leadership - despite writing about the party's future with no mention of Gordon Brown.

He said he was prompted to write his Guardian article because of the sense of "fatalism" in the party after its defeat in the Glasgow East by-election.

"Can Gordon lead us into the next election and win? Yes. I'm absolutely confident about that," he said.

He said his article was challenging David Cameron, rather than Mr Brown.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7532691.stm

74% answered "for the worse" What do they know ?????

Poll watch: June 2008

In the latest Poll Watch, the BBC's political research editor, David Cowling, reviews the political opinion polls published in the UK in June.

Mr Brown marked his first anniversary as PM in June

June marked the first anniversary of Gordon Brown's premiership - and the public's verdict in the polls proved far from complimentary.

ICM/Guardian (sampled 20-22 June) reminded respondents that Mr Brown had taken over from Tony Blair one year ago and asked whether the prime minister's "personal leadership style has proved to be a change for the better or a change for the worse?"

Some 74% answered "for the worse" and this group included 60% of Labour voters (overall 14% said "for the better", including 28% of Labour voters).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7494986.stm

Isolate Zimbabwe , it'll keep interest away from home

Brown urges Zimbabwe 'isolation'

Brown statement on the G8 Summit

Gordon Brown has urged the UN to use the "full weight of the international community" to isolate the "illegitimate" state of Zimbabwe.

In a statement to MPs on this week's G8 summit, he said there was a "growing international coalition for change".

He also outlined G8 action on oil and food prices and climate change, including a target to halve global carbon emissions by 2050.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7499551.stm

Stealth tax , MEEEE?????NEVER!!!!

Brown attacked over road tax plan

David Cameron and Gordon Brown clash over road tax

David Cameron has told Gordon Brown he will be ousted if he does not drop his "deeply unpopular" plans for higher road tax on more polluting cars.

In angry question time exchanges, he challenged Mr Brown: "Don't you understand that if you don't get rid of it, they will get rid of you?"

But the PM said the Tory leader sounded "more like a used car salesman".

Some green groups say the tax should apply to new cars only, rather than all cars bought since 2001.

Owners of some of the oldest cars could face a tax rise of as much as £200 - a move which the Conservatives and many Labour MPs say will hit poorer drivers the hardest.

It's not my backbenchers who are telling me to get on my bike David Cameron Conservative leader

Mr Brown insisted that 24 of the top 30 models of car would incur the same vehicle excise duty or lower.

But Mr Cameron hit back: "What you are doing is treating the Ford Focus as one model - in fact there are 40 models of the Ford Focus. You've got the saloon and the estate."

He said owners of only three of these 40 models would be better off. "When are you going to stop using such dodgy statistics to back up your figures?"

And as Labour MPs jeered, Mr Cameron quipped: "I don't know why you're all shouting at me - it's the prime minister who's given you the lowest poll rating since Michael Foot."

'Stealth tax'

Mr Brown, who taunted the Tory leader for riding his bike to work while a car followed with his bags, said: "When are the Conservative Party going to be honest when they say they support green taxes and then they run away from every one of them?

"You are sounding more and more like a used car salesman today."

Mr Cameron replied: "It's not my backbenchers who are telling me to get on my bike."

We haven't got a problem with green taxes but they have got to be fair and the retrospective bit of this tax is not fair Ronnie Campbell Labour MP

He said the road tax rise was "not a green tax, it's a stealth tax". "What on earth is green about taxing someone who bought a Ford Mondeo five years ago?"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7435575.stm

You know you can afford it all 9 million of you !!

Road tax increase 'will hit 9.4m'

Labour backbenchers have criticised the reforms to the road tax system New car tax rates

An estimated 9.4 million motorists will have to pay more road tax under reforms aimed at punishing "gas-guzzling" vehicles, the government has admitted.

Official estimates say vehicle excise duty will rise for 43% of vehicles made since 2001 - by up to £245 for the most polluting ones - but will fall for 18%.

The AA said the figures, for 2010-11, confirmed "our worst fears", while the Tories said the PM misled Parliament.

No 10 rejected that suggestion and said the aim was to cut carbon emissions.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7498884.stm

I'm Heathcliff

I'm an older Heathcliff, says PM

'Come down from dithering heights'

Gordon Brown has said it is "absolutely correct" to compare him to Heathcliff - the brooding, romantic anti-hero of Emily Bronte's novel Wuthering Heights.

In a New Statesman interview the prime minister was told: "Some women say you remind them of Heathcliff."

He replied: "Maybe an older Heathcliff, a wiser Heathcliff."

He said unlike Heathcliff, he did not "generally" lose his temper. But Bronte expert Ann Dinsdale said the character was actually "not an ideal role-model".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7497903.stm

Can This be true ?? will someone plaese tell me ??

Whistleblower warning on degrees

By Sean Coughlan BBC News education reporter

Degrees are being awarded to overseas students who speak almost no English, claims a whistleblowing academic.

The academic, at a world-famous UK university, says postgraduate degrees are awarded to students lacking in the most basic language skills.

There are concerns that financial pressures to recruit overseas students for cash rather than quality could threaten the credibility of degrees.

But Universities UK says there are "rigorous" checks on standards.

The number of overseas students taking higher degree courses, such as masters and doctorates, has soared - rising more than eightfold since the mid-1990s.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7358528.stm

What Rubbish !!!Conservatives and Liberal Democrats said Mr Brown could not claim to champion freedom when he was attempting to undermine it.

PM hits back over civil liberties

Gordon Brown on the 42-day terror detention limit

Gordon Brown has defended the use of CCTV, ID cards and the DNA database - saying they protect civil liberties.

In a speech to the IPPR think tank, the prime minister said they helped ensure people's right to live free from crime.

He also defended 42-day detention, saying the authorities could not afford a "head-in-the-sand" approach to it.

Both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats said Mr Brown could not claim to champion freedom when he was attempting to undermine it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7459053.stm