Wednesday, 14 May, 2008
- 14 May 08, 05:55 PM
BROWN'S POLITICAL FIGHT BACK?
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced the laws he wants to introduce in the next Parliamentary session. The programme includes 18 Bills which include plans to give communities more say about policing priorities - and policies to extend the range of affordable homes available to first time buyers. The Conservatives said Mr Brown had "run out of steam". The Lib Dems said he had "scraped the barrel to save himself". Our Political Editor, Michael Crick will analyse what sort of message the government is sending and will gauge whether the public are prepared to listen after the 10p tax row.
INFLATION
The Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, has warned today that the economy faces a bumpy road ahead. In a gloomy report, he forecast rising inflation and slowing growth, and said the "nice decade" was over. Our Economics Editor, Paul Mason will set out how inflation and unemployment could limit Gordon Brown's wriggle room in future.
We'll be bringing together senior politicians from all three parties to discuss whether the Draft Queen's speech will really punch through to the electorate.
WHITE CITY
It's exactly 100 years ago today since an extraordinary exhibition took place at White City, which is now the home of the Ö÷²¥´óÐã Television Centre in London. The Great White City was a collection of shimmering palaces and pavilions that made up the Franco-British Exhibition of 1908. Our Culture Correspondent, Madeleine Holt, reports on a one-off celebration of harmony between Britain and France.
DISASTERS
Two big disasters in Burma and China have hit in recent days causing massive causalities. But are they having the same impact on us compared to the Asian Tsunami in 2004? If not why is that? Is it down to a muted media response at first? And what happened to liberal interventionism?
Comment number 1.
At 14th May 2008, dAllan169 wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 2.
At 14th May 2008, barriesingleton wrote:BANGED TO RIGHTS
When Darling espouses the term: ‘sort out’ (as in ‘sock draw’) to avoid using ‘put right’ (reference: ‘cock up’) and Tories take to addressing Brown as ‘THIS prime minister’ to insidiously emphasise that there is an alternative OTHER one, we know that Westminster is in the grip of Machiavellian weasel-wording and in very real need of gunpowder. Brown is not the problem; he is just the steam arising from the New Labour party dung heap. Another party; another dung heap. SPOIL PARTY GAMES.
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Comment number 3.
At 14th May 2008, rinpoche1 wrote:Re your proposed piece by Paul Mason I do hope it's going to move on a little bit in its analysis from pointing out the BoE is in a bit of a bind juggling interest rates.
Given that the days of our NICE free lunch lending money it turns out we don't really have appear to be over, I for one would like to know how we propose to earn an honest crust or two in the future - a question that Stuffo might well have posed the chancellor incidentally given that the prime minister whose weaknesses he lambasts would appear to have some convictions on the matter.
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Comment number 4.
At 14th May 2008, Neil Robertson wrote:I enjoyed the question put to Darling this morning by Ö÷²¥´óÐã Good Morning Scotland's
Ken McDonald. On being told that the up
side of all this was that Labour was now
focussing on poverty which is/was their home ground, McDonald came straight
back at the Chancellor asking: 'So are
you saying, like the old Stalinists used
to say, that 'mistakes have been made'
but 'they were the right mistakes'?! The
Chancellor was stopped in his tracks ....
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Comment number 5.
At 14th May 2008, Neil Robertson wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 6.
At 14th May 2008, barriesingleton wrote:CHANCELLOR STOPPED IN TRACKS
All day (in the South) I heard Darling being stopped in his tracks, but it never seems to register with him. Might as well talk to the steely Flint, or the Good Ship Lollyypop Blears, or the Straw Man, or Stepford Wife Cooper, or 'words sans frontiere' Miliband, or any of them . . .
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Comment number 7.
At 14th May 2008, rinpoche1 wrote:Fine on the night ... I take it all back what I said my post number 3 today worrying that the interest rate debate had got stuck in a rut.
And Jeremy did indeed ask the right question about the grand design (also enjoyed his digs at the conservative rep whoever he was about them lot being Labour's keenest supporters).
I look forward to further Newsnight debates about the PM's planned Great Leap Forward but do let's try and concentrate on the issues and not the personalities.
Enjoyed the White City piece too.
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Comment number 8.
At 15th May 2008, var42605 wrote:Bit of a shoddy disaster at the end really, wasn't it.
> No indication that the final report was about to end;
> Never saw any front pages other than the Daily Mail;
> Mr Paxman said "there's more goodies tomorrow" instead of "there're more goodies...";
> The full credits failed to roll, so we might as well have had more on the papers.
I suppose it was late at night.
(Interview with Mr Darling MP was very good).
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Comment number 9.
At 15th May 2008, barriesingleton wrote:END TO NICENESS
Was Mervyn signalling his endorsement of the fact that 'Wunderkind Brown' had performed his ten years of economic miracles DURING THE NICE YEARS, when world economics were being nice to him?
Might it be that 'Clunk Brown' is no more brainy, than he turned out to be fisty?
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