Archives for September 2010

Before any momentous decision by a political party, a good tip is to check the mood music. Minutes before the results of the Labour leadership were announced delegates inside the Manchester conference centre were soothed by two classics: Brian Ferry's
Let's Stick Together and Altogether Now by The Farm.

Labour activists so far have got the message. Ed Miliband's slender win over his brother David could be a cause for opposing camps to start back biting.

Considering Labour's collapse in one of its biggest ever defeats in a general election, delegates here are in shockingly good spirits. After past Labour defeats, its conferences have usually ended with political blood on the floor. Yet, surprisingly, this conferences already feels like a pre-election rally.

Maybe it's the feeling that the party has a combat ready leader in Ed Miliband.There's also a sense that Labour has a leader who is one of them. Tony Blair never quite pulled off that one. The other main factor is that this party believes the coalition has elevated Labour to be the main opposition to the spending cuts agenda, and it is therefore the only "progressive" party left in Britain.

Lilian Greenwood is a new Labour MP, elected for the first time in May's General Election. She backed Ed Miliband.

Judy Mallaber, first elected in the Blair landslide of 1997, lost her Amber Valley seat in May. So could Ed Miliband's leadership bring back the voters who became so disillusioned with Labour, especially in those East Midlands seats it has to win to get back into government.

So what sort of leadership can be expected from "Red Ed", as some newspapers have already dubbed him. His choice of shadow cabinet could be an early clue. One problem: in opposition, the 19 members of the shadow cabinet are elected by the Parliamentary Labour Party.

The leader gets to allocate portfolios; and all eyes will be on who becomes Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer and whether brother David retains the Foreign Office watch.

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It can't be just the delights of Liverpool and the city's sparkling new arena and convention centre that's attracted so many Liberal Democrats.

In the years I've been on the conference circuit, I've never seen quite as many Liberal Democrats under one roof. It may be part celebration that Lib Dems are finally in government. It may also be to ensure that - as Nick Clegg told the rank and file here - Liberal Democrat policies really are at the heart of the Coalition.

The spending cuts agenda isn't the only test. Education and the Conservatives' enthusiasm for "free schools" - allowing parents to set up and run their own community schools - is another policy area where the two parties may have differences.

Paul Holmes is backing moves to strengthen the Lib Dems' opposition to free schools.The former Chesterfield MP should know: he was a school teacher before becoming the first Lib Dem MP in the East Midlands.

"Free schools are just a ridiculous idea," he told me.

Paul Holmes has been to Sweden and New York, where the idea of "free schools" has been pioneered.

That's backed up the leader of the Lib Dems on Leicestershire County Council, Simon Galton. He believes the 'free schools' may be attractive to parents in areas where existing schools are closing or maybe merging because the number of pupils are falling, such as Melton Mowbray and Louguborough.

For Liberal Democrats, this issue may offer the membership some clear political water for them to happily bash the Tories...without unhinging the Coalition's leadership.

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A friend posed me this question the other day: "So, John, who's your tip for the top".

This was no question about the download music charts or the premiership, but the new intake of Conservative MPs from the East Midlands. I speculated in typical political editor fashion and offered a few names.

Now I've had my initial hunch backed by the Prime Minister no less. Confirmation of the new Tories to watch comes in the list of appointments as a PPS, parliamentary private secretary. Being a PPS can be a fairly thankless task. It's often dismissed as simply being a minister's bag handler. As their parliamentary aide, the role is unpaid but it's the gift of a work experience moment for any new MP aspiring for a top job in government.

The latest PPS appointments include two Tories elected for the first time in May's General Election. Erewash MP Jessica Lee is to be the PPS to the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve. As a trained barrister she is ideally suited to this role.

Loughborough's Nicky Morgan, a former solicitor, has been appointed PPS to the Universities and Science Minister David Willetts.

Getting the nod to become a PPS is a sign that David Cameron sees some potential in Nicky Morgan and Jessica Lee. This Prime Minister has hopes of winning a second term in power, this time leading a majority Tory administration.

But the fact that it's taken this long for the Prime Minister to complete his list of PPS appointments is a sign of the political delicacy involved in governing with his Lib Dem coalition partners.

That delicacy may also limit the churn that usually offers a quick route to the ministerial top table for ambitious new MPs.

But when, and if, David Cameron has ministerial gaps to fill, watch out for the names of Jessica Lee and Nicky Morgan.

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Eyebrows have been raised by the move by a Conservative-run shire county to cut a ground-breaking deal with a Labour controlled city council. Tory Leicestershire and Labour Nottingham are to merge their computer and personnel departments.

It's part of new thinking being forced on cash-strapped councils. Leicestershire County Council is the latest to consider making further big cuts to spending... with the inevitable impact on local jobs and services.

A financial report going to county councillors talks in stark terms of
"unprecedented cuts" that will have a "profound impact". The government's 25% cuts target now means Leicestershire having to find an extra £14m to £20m. On top of earlier cuts of £66m, that brings the cuts total to £86m over four years.

Hence the new thinking for councils to consider merging support services. The Conservative Leader of Leicestershire, David Parsons, is a leading advocate of councils and public sector organisations sharing buildings and staff. In the local government world, the concept is called "Total Place".

"We are already a long way down the road in co-operation with Nottingham City Council," he told me.

The planned merger of IT and HR by Nottingham City and Leicestershire County Councils will initially save £2m a year. They will also share the loss of 70 jobs.

But there's scepticism that the merger is really worth it. The Tories may be in coalition with the Lib Dems in government, but not in Leicestershire: the Liberal Democrats - led by Simon Galton - are the main opposition group.

"Actually, we are all in favour of this merger. But in the end it won't deliver the cuts required. It just won't be enough," he told me.

In front of Leicestershire's County Hall, there are four fountains. One of them is not working. That could be a metaphor for the 25% cuts facing this council and others across the East Midlands .

Leicestershire's fountains are eye-catching, but it may be its ambitions to share services and staff with other councils that cause a real splash.

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