On 1 Dec Balls said budget surplus goal by 2020 depended on economy; now it's a binding pledge. Has economy improved that much in 8 weeks?
'The cables, obtained by whistleblowing website Wikileaks, also include a string of revelations about Bank of England governor Mervyn King's concern about Mr Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne's lack of experience ahead of May's general election.'Two points:
'David Cameron's quick trip back from Zurich was well worth it. He wiped the floor with Ed Miliband at Prime Minister's Questions, absolutely hammered him.When even Michael Crick calls PMQs for David Cameron rather than the labour leader you know it must have been a massacre... Strange how the BBC's news coverage is less forthcoming.
It was a huge mistake for Miliband to taunt Cameron with a William Hague quote about the Tories front bench being the "children of Thatcher", for Cameron inevitably retorted that Miliband was the "son of Brown".
That had government MPs in rapture, and dismayed members on the Labour benches.
Why instead didn't Miliband raise the Wikileaks remarks from Mervyn King about Cameron and Osborne's lack of experience and tendency to think of things only in terms of politics?
One thing Ed Miliband needs to learn is to stop repeating so many of his phrases, and sub-clauses. I imagine he does it to make himself heard above the noise, and to add emphasis, but it makes him look hesitant, nervous, indecisive and weak.
But one piece of advice for Cameron. He should avoid looking a touch too cocky when he has the upper hand.'
"The Conservative donor and deputy party chairman Lord Ashcroft has admitted he is "non-domiciled" in the UK for tax. How damaging has his affiliation been to the party? Our Political editor Michael Crick will be considering why the Conservative poll lead is narrowing."I am assuming that Lord Paul, Lakshmi Mittal, Sir Ronald Cohen, Sir Christopher Ondaatje, Sir Gulam Noon, William Bollinger and Mahmoud Khayami will not be mentioned at all; after all why should they as they are lovely Labour donors not evil Tory ones.
"We were puzzled when we saw the pictures on TV because there were so many white faces. Whereas the population of UEL is much more black and Asian."
And I'm also told that when the Student Union President Joseph Bitrus was asked on LBC radio today why the student audience looked so bored with the speech, Mr Bitrus too expressed puzzlement, and said that they weren't his students.
So did the Conservatives bus their students in from somewhere else just to be sure that Mr Cameron's speech got a good reception and there weren't any embarrassing protests?
Indeed, were the audience students at all?
I think we should be told. After all, one of the themes of Mr Cameron's speech was "transparency"."
"Mischievously, I looked up the voting figures for the Conservative leadership election last time round, in 2005.The key word here is indeed "Mischievously" as the Conservative Party leadership election was not held under the Alternative Vote system where electors rank candidates in order of preference and votes are redistributed accordingly until one of the leading candidates has more than 50% of the votes. It was a run-off election where after each round of voting one or more candidates drop out, there is more campaigning, another round of one vote per person voting; this process continues until one candidate has a majority of the votes. I seem to remember that the French elect Presidents in just such a manner.
Lo and behold, the votes from MPs in the first round were:
David Davis - 62
David Cameron - 56
Liam Fox - 42
Ken Clarke - 38
It was only in subsequent ballots, after the weaker candidates, Mr Clarke and Mr Fox, were eliminated, and David Cameron picked up many of their supporters' second or third preferences, that he won through.
If the Conservatives had used "first past the post" in 2005, then David Davis would have won."
"The prime minister's spokesman would not comment on the leaked document, saying there were "a number of documents that would be around that would have within them assumptions at various stages of the planning process"."obvious"? To whom? Not to me that's for sure.
He added: "It is an obvious statement that the prime minister would never mislead Parliament, clearly.""
"The Liberal Democrats' Treasury spokesman Vince Cable told the BBC the Conservatives were trying to "make a big political issue out of this".Am I right that Vince Cable and the BBC's line on this is that nobody was mislead because we all knew that cuts were coming so whatever Gordon Brown said in Parliament or at Press Conferences can be ignored because we all knew what was coming? If that is the BBC line then it is fundamentally wrong; if the leaked documents are real then Gordon Brown lied to the House of Commons and at the Press Conference in his reply to Fraser Nelson's straightforward question.
"I wasn't misled. I think we all realised, who have studied government documents, that cuts were on the way," he said. "
"Well done Michael, a funny story that shows just what the Tories are like! This makes it your 6th post (out of 8) this month about the Tory Party. I've loved them all. Three have been firmly anti-Tory (well done again!), and the others merely slanted against the Tories (great!). None have been specifically about the Labour government (and why should they have been?). I know some people think you hate the Tories, but I hate them too and I don't see anything wrong in that. I think you're doing a great job. Go on Michael, keep socking it to them!"
"CraigMorecambe, the joke is on you, especially when the Conservatives trounce Labour at the next election (Super Great!).
So yes, let Mr Crick continue with his pointless blog, all he is doing is ensuring that he will be looking for a new job sometime in the next 8 months....."
"Britain's payments to the European Union will soar by almost 60 per cent next year, according to figures "buried" in government documents.Do read this story as it reminds us of Tony Blair's duplicity and Gordon Brown's capitulation over the UK rebate.
The Treasury statistics show that the UK's net contribution to the EU will increase from £4.1 billion this year to £6.4 billion in 2010/11.
The figures were published in the Treasury's annual Community Finances statement, which was slipped out last month just before parliament broke up for its summer recess. "
"I'm Michael Crick, and I'm Newsnight's political editor. My guiding rule is that in any story there's usually something the politicians would prefer the world not to know. My job is to find that out."
"Labour peer Baroness Uddin is to be investigated over allegations that she used a reportedly empty flat to claim £100,000 in public allowances.
The House of Lords authorities are to look into the allegations, relating to a Kent property owned by the peer.
The Sunday Times said the peer stated this was her main residence and claimed a second home fee for a London flat.
Baroness Uddin said she "welcomed" the investigation, insisting that she had not broken the parliamentary rules. "
"She said she had "regularly" stayed in the two-bedroom Kent "Of course "regularly" could be a word chosen very deliberately as it makes the leads the reader to think it means often whereas it could just as easily mean once a month every month.
"What about the questions that Michael Crick should answer?
Should he really have broken an 11 year old story with such little evidence, which looks to be based on very unfair misleading questioning of the nanny?"
"Were this a current affair I would support such questioning. However this is way way too old to care about now. From reports she and her party behaved reasonably to find and correct something that 'looked' wrong.
Given the fast movement over this issue in the last year or so, the possible shredding of expense documentation, NOW, this is a complete non story and only appears to be gross anti Conservative in house bias from the BBC.
I equally have no interest in 10 year old expense irregularities from times with different atmospheres on the issue from any party. Find a scandal of Harold Wilson's expenses, just bin it no one cares now.
Oh and MEPs, we all know the EU is corrupt, that is what we expect! They can not even sign off their accounts!
This all 'looks' like a plan devised after the crushing of Labour in the local elections by the BBC to shore up their soul mates."
"Another question for Mr Crick:
Why did you miss the Labour MPs paying their insurance premiums from their allowances and dig this old news up?
You have clearly nailed your political colours to the mast Mr Crick, and seriously damaged your credability."
"Ah the Salem Witch trials continue with Michael Crick as the Witchfinder General.
Shame he does not apply his diligent approach to Beckett, Blair, Brown, Harman etc.
Need I say more?
Clearly the TV Licence is being wasted once again. Time to franchise out the BBC Current Affairs Dept!"
"The great Michael Crick (pbuh) brings the searchlight of truth onto a 10 year old story
Given that there are 650-odd current MPs to investigate plus MEPs and MSPs why are you spending so much time on Ms Spelman?
Perhaps you might like to consider investigating the entire Kinnock family?
Where did the tip-off come from, eh?"
"So what questions are to be put to ed balls and yevette cooper - about their remote holdiay home suddenly becoming their 'main residence'.
They live in london and that is where their kids go to school. So why is their london house now consdered their 'second home' so being paid for by the taxpayer?
What about the massive mortgage x,00% the blairs used to launch their property empire?
Is there anyone at the BBC who has any independance?"
