Cameron goes to Europe

First Trip Abroad Takes British Leader to Europe

In a recent New York times Article David Cameron, the Uk's newest elected Prime Minister has taken his first trip abroad. He travelled to Paris France where he met with Nicolas Szarscozy and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. This is an example of British politics, with loyalty to both the United States and with the European Union. His trip seemed to be mostly focused on Greece and aligning fears of the disruption of policy with Britain in its first coalition government in 3o years. This seems to effect the politics and legitimacy of Britain and is an example of future politics and foreign policy in the nation.

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Osbourne Outlines New Spending Cuts

This BBC article details the new spending cuts that will be implemented by the coalition governemtn in an effort to reduce the UK's budget deficit. Last week I reported on the announcement by Chancellor George Osbourne that he would announce the details this week, and here they are. The cuts plan to end ineffective elements of employment programmes, send a shock through government departments and discourage wasteful spending. The rest of the cuts as according to the government will go as follows:

• £1.15bn in "discretionary areas" like consultancy and travel costs, £95m through savings in IT spending, £1.7bn through delaying/stopping contracts and projects and renegotiating with suppliers


• £170m from reducing property costs, at least £120m from a civil service recruitment freeze and £600m from reducing quango costs and £520m from other "lower value" spend


• The biggest cuts by department are £683m (4.6% of departmental budget) at Transport, £780m (7.2%) at Communities and Local Government, £836m (3.8%) at Business, £670m (1.1%) at Education and £325m (3.2%) Department for Justice


• The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would have to save £704m - although they would have the option of deferring savings until the following year


• And local authorities - which will be expected to save £1.165bn - will be given more "flexibility" to find savings as "ring-fences" around government grants are being removed.

The Labour party has responded to this announcement with harsh criticism of the cuts saying that it's a "fantasy" to think that these cuts will not lower employment levels along with potential economic growth. Union representatives have also expressed concern with the cuts saying that with the state of the UK and its major trading partner's economies it's not the time to begin cutting back.

This announcement is the first big public policy move made by the new coalition government and their support level will have a lot to do with the success of these cuts. Much like the stimulus package that President Obama put into place this move is aimed to help the economy out of their current recession.

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Photocredit: The Telegraph

EU ministers seek better economic crisis response

In the BBC article EU ministers seek better economic crisis response, the EU ministers agreed on the need to be tougher on the budgets of member states. Pledging to react quicker and more efficiently in the future, the ministers agreed new sanctions were needed to be guide lines for the future. With the Euro falling to its lowest value compared to the dollar in four years, and the impending economic crisis in Spain and Portugal, the member states have agreed to four main objectives:

1) greater budgetary discipline

2) to look for ways to reduce the divergences in competitiveness between member states

3) to establish an effective economic crisis management mechanism

4) to strengthen economic governance to be able to act quicker and in a more co-ordinated and efficient manner to deal with any future economic crises

The new economic task force of the EU is centered on learning the lessons from the Greek crisis in order to avoid a similar situation in the future. Chancellor George Osborne said the UK government was keen "to show that we are serious about living within our means".
"Britain has the largest budget deficit in the EU and I'm very conscious of that and that's why in Britain we're going to accelerate the reduction of that deficit," he said. The EU taskforce comprises finance ministers from all 27 member nations of the European Union, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, EU Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Olli Rehn, Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker, and Mr Van Rompuy, the European Council President.

This article relates to the concept of public policy and authority in supernational organizations. The UK is a member state of the European Union, and while it has the greatest deficit, it is working to correct that, despite its challenging coalition government situation.

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5/23/10

Picture credits to Getty.

Cameron will not yield more power to EU

According to the BBC news article, "Cameron wants strong EU role but will not yield powers," Cameron has told the German leader Angela Merkel that he will not back any treaties which give more power to the EU. At the same time he says that a strong eurozone is in the UK's best interest. He also has said he wants to form a strong partnership with Germany in the future.

This all comes on the heels of the financial crisis in Greece. The EU has been talking about passing treaties to better stabalize the eurozone. Clearly Cameron doesn't want to give up British sovereignty in any economic matter. He also has made statements reaffirming the British position against the Euro.

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This relates to the emerging trend of supranationalism, and the changing definition of national sovereignty. The UK has clearly had enough. They have always been opposed to the unified currency of the EU, and the recent events in Greece have seemed to confirm some of their fears. As a result, they are hesistant to give up more of their national sovereignty.

Budget Deficit

Osborne to give details of £6bn spending cuts next week

In a recent news article in the BBC , new chancellor, George Osbourne released a statment foreshadowing future cuts to spedning and that if the deficit isn't dealt with then it would be "disasterous". Although the shadow government, specifically former finace miniser Alistair Darling said that doing this too soon could create another recession. Mr Osbourne said a new Fffice for Budget Responsibility would manage push economic and fiscal responsibility. this effects the public policy in Briton but also shows that the checks and balances of this recently challenged democracy are still in tact.

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Conservatives Promise Upcoming Spending Cuts

The May 16th BBC article, "Savings pan next week - Osbourne", details new Chancellor David Osbourne's announcement of the emergency budget that is going to be announced next week and what goes along with the £6bn cuts. Osbourne also announced that there will be a new group that would publish economic and fiscal forecasts, the Office for Budget Reponsibility. According to Osbourne this new group was formed because of the innefficency of the current system, a function of the government, to produce a sound budget projection. Mr.Osbourne also believes that the Conservatives can "improve the quality of the education and health care that people recieve in this country". Osbourne goes on to say that the Labour party had left the nations finances in an unnacceptable state and that we needed to start living within our means.

Critics of the cuts have noted that a large round of cuts could lead to even higher unemployment and the risk of a deep recession. This current event has a lot to do with public policy and the outcome of the cuts will have a lot to do with estabishing the legitimacy of the newly formed coalition government.

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Photocredit: The Telegraph.

Labour's Future: Emerging from the Shadow

In the Economist article, "Labour's Future: Emerging from the Shadow," the author discusses his opinion on the direction Labour must take to remain competitive. He argues that domination of the Labour party by Blair and Brown prevented any new leadership from emerging--"such was their dominance that little could grow in the massive shadow they cast." The author attributes this dominance and a lack of serious competitors to the fact that Gordon Brown succeeded Blair unopposed, despite "all his previously well-known flaws."

It also argues that a change in government could ultimately be healthy for the party. He describes it as "exhausted," and suggests it needs to take some time to reevaluate its ideology and the direction it wants to go in the 21st century.

Throughout the article, the author points out several potential candidates for future leader of the Labour party. David Miliband is a charismatic and well liked former secretary of state who has publicly thrown his hat in the ring. Described by the author as "Blairite" candidate, it is likely he would have stepped up as prime minister had Labour been able to cut a coalition deal with the liberal democrats. He is criticized, however, for not making any attempt to challenge Mr. Brown after Tony Blair's resignation.

Miliband top competitor for the position will probably be Ed Balls, the former schools secretary and right hand man of Gordon Brown. His "thuggish ways" have left him with many enemies, however.

The article relates to change in government. The Labour party has lost power for the time being, and must regroup and reevaluate before the next election. In particular, now that Gordon Brown has stepped down, they must name a new party leader.

Promise of Major Changes

The New York Times' article "Side by Side, Britain's Improbable New Leaders Promise Major Changes" discusses the promises that the new coalition has agreed upon. Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy, Nick Clegg of the liberal democrat party, have agreed on a cabinet of mixed members of both parties. The political days of party self-interest are over, since the coalition requires much more conversation about policies. Also, the current tradition of dissolving parliament at any time during five years is being questioned, a fixed five year term proposed for the parliament. Apparently in the past David Cameron had joked that his favorite joke was "Nick Clegg". The coalition is launching a new campaign for "national" interest instead of "party" interest.

This is relevent to our class since the article has to do with public policy, and in such a critical time, the policies formed from this coalition will be an integral part of the future. The British system of government that we know today could be different in the next five years.

Article found in the Thursday May 13th issue of the New York Times.

Picture credits to flickr.

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Cold Feet

A Regulator Holds Up the Pru Giant Asian Merger

In the Economist on may 4th it was reported that British insurance Company Prudence PLC, Britain's largest insurer was about to strike a $35.5 billion dollar deal with AIA, the Asian version of AIG, when suddenly the FSA or Financial Services Authority decided that it would be to risky, given the recent economic collapse to create another conglomerate that is, " too big to fail". whether or not this breaks British anti trust laws was also in question. The OECD, endorses this idea. This merger would make Prudence the leading insurer in seven east Asian countries and the head foreign insurer in both India and Asia. This effects the ongoing repurcussions of the economy and public policy towards banks that can't fail.

The British Third World Ballot

This May 7th Telegraph article details the shortcomings of the current and aparently archaic ballot in the U.K. The day after the election fiasco that took place in the midst of an important election numerous media sources from the BBC to MSNBC have been criticizing Jenny Watson, the Chairman of the Election Commission. These attacks stem from numerous claims that election comission has become complacent with their outdated system at the polls. Reports that strict timing requirements were ignored and that many of the polling stations had run out of paper before the official closing of the polls at 10 p.m. All of these mistakes led to the misrepresentation of several districts and the loss of thousands of votes. Many British citizens were angered at this chaos because of the close race for the most seats in parliament.

This event calls into question the legitimacy of the U.K. government becasue with the race being so close they couldn't afford to mess up the voting and now the citizens have a reason to question the outcome. This also brings up holes in their transparency because the governtment has denied a recount even with the uproar in the public.

Pound Volatile on Hung Parliament

In BBC's article, Pound Volatile on Hung Parliament, the current value of the pound is being speculated. Due to the messy and confusing situation in the new British parliament, with all three major parties lacking a majority, the sterling is sinking to a year low against the dollar. What's even more surprising is that the pound is losing ground against the euro, which has spiraled downward from the eurozone crisis. Speculators are worried that the weak government will not have the ability to work past the UK's high debt. They are also worried that the parties will spend too much time worried about the government formation rather than dealing with the economic crisis.

This article displays the concepts of sovereignty authority and power as they apply to the UK. Due to the power split, who will gain control and be the prime minister is a major question, especially during such a critical period.

Grade this post. Picture thanks to Getty images.

5/7/10

Claire Austin

Cameron makes offer to Liberal Democrats

According to the BBC News article, "Election: Cameron makes offer to Lib Dems on government" Cameron has given a vague and open offer to the Liberal Democrats to form a coalition government. In the last election, the conservatives gained a significant number of seats in parliament, but not enough for a majority. The result is a hung parliament that will rest on coalition government. Unwritten rules in the constitution let the sitting Prime Minister make the first attempt to form a coalition government. Mr. Cameron however is arguing that Gordon Brown has "lost his mandate to rule," and believes he should get the first attempt. The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, has made statements supporting Cameron's claim. Meanwhile, Mr. Brown is making assertions about his "constitutional duty" as prime minister to try to "resolve the situation."

In speeches, Cameron referred to the Labour party as "outgoing," and cites his desire to fix Britains most "urgent problems - the debt crisis, our deep social problems and our broken political system," he said. He has made several comments about reaching out to multiple parties.

There are some large differences in Liberal Democratic and Conservative ideology, especially in regards to defense and the European Union. Cameron, however, cites "many areas of common ground." The two parties agree on reducing carbon emmissions, tax reform, and they both oppose to the Labour party's "ID card scheme."

Other political analysts doubt the possibility of a coalition government. There is another possibility, however--the liberal democrats could allow Cameron to govern by refraining from voting down the budget and the queens speech. This would prevent them from being associated with decisions they do not agree with, while still giving them some power in the new government.

This article relates to the concept of change in government. The British electoral system is unusual in that it can result in a "hung parliament" and no chief executive. This article discusses possible results from this hung parliament.

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