Rolling coverage of all the day’s political developments as they happen, including David Cameron’s speech on taxCameron raises new objection to TV debatesCameron’s Q&A - Summary 12.41pm GMT Responding to the Digital Democracy Commission report (see 9.45am), Angela Eagle, the shadow leader of the Commons, says Labour would pilot online voting.This report suggests some interesting ways to improve our democracy and help us meet the challenges of our modern age. It is right they should be considered. We have to do much more to demystify parliament and facilitate public engagement in our political process. Labour is committed to piloting online voting to see if it can be done securely and affordably. We will also create a new democracy portal to draw together in one place all of the things you need to know before you vote, we will make it easier to register to vote and we will reform the scrutiny of legislation to formalise a role for the public and give a greater role to backbench MPs. 12.31pm GMT Here’s Ed Miliband’s full quote on the Greek election results.Just like our elections are a matter for the people of this country, so who the Greek people elect is a decision for them.It is the responsibility of the British government to work with the elected government of Greece for the good of Britain and Europe and not to play politics. 12.28pm GMT Here is today’s Populus poll.Latest Populus VI: Lab 35 (-1), Con 34 (+2), LD 9 (-), UKIP 13 (-), Others 9 (-1). Tables here: http://t.co/MMEgv3KR2Y 12.19pm GMT Ed Miliband has been doing one of his People’s Question Time events this morning. This is what he said about the Greek election result.It is the responsibility of the British government to work with the elected government for the good of Britain and Europe, and not to play politics. 12.03pm GMT Here are the key points from Cameron’s Q&A.My BlackBerry went in my pocket, I answered it and it claimed to be a conference call established – which I do obviously very frequently – between the head of GCHQ and some of the staff in my office. A voice came through, a voice I didn’t recognise. The voice said he said he was sorry to wake me up, which I thought was strange as it was 11 o’clock in the morning, and so I quite rapidly asked ‘who is this?’, to which the answer came ‘it is a hoax call’, and so I pushed the red button on the BlackBerry which ended the call.I want to see unconventional gas properly exploited in our country. I think there are good reasons for doing this: we want to have greater energy security, and that should mean making the most of our indigenous energy supplies; we want to keep prices down, I think that’s important; we also want to tackle climate change, and so exploiting some of our own gas rather than shipping it from other parts of the road can make a contribution ...Until we see wells that are dug, local communities benefiting from not only the financial incentives, but also the business rates that will flow to them - it’s only when that happens that I think we’ll see people in our country, who are understandably sceptical about this new technology, see that it worked in America, it can work here, it can create jobs, it can create wealth and it can make us competitive at the same time.What the Greek elections show is that you need to have an economic plan that works. The Greek voters were revolting against failure, economic failure; a country whose economy had shrunk, whose unemployment was unacceptably high and they couldn’t see a secure future. There’s a massive contrast with what has happened here in Britain. 11.51am GMT Here is the full transcript of what David Cameron said about the TV debates. He was responding to questions from ITV’s Libby Weiner.It is worth posting at length because it is actually a rather brilliant example of political flannel. Most politicians can dodge a tricky question, but to do it as effortlessly as this, with humour and apparent sincerity, is rare indeed.Well, we’re making good progress. I was told that it was appalling and outrageous that I had suggested that you could not have one minor party without having the other minor party, and I’m delighted the broadcasters have gone away and thought again. They have actually come up with rather more minor parties than I had in mind. [Laughter.] But, anyway, I’m sure they’ve thought it all through and they know what they’re doing, although I don’t quite see why Northern Ireland seems to be missing out because, as far as I’m concerned, that is as important a part of our United Kingdom as well as Scotland. But we’re making good progress and I’m sure they know what they are doing.Well, I want to take part. And I said they needed to do the minor parties thing. And they have certainly done that. Well, they were never my terms. I simply said you have a problem if you have one minor party, Ukip, but you don’t have another minor problem, the Greens. And everyone said that is appalling and outrageous and how can the prime minister make such suggestion. I woke up one morning last week to find out everyone agrees with me. It’s very good news. I want these debates to go ahead. And that’s good progress. 11.12am GMT Here are the key points from Cameron’s Q&A. 11.02am GMT Q: Will tax cuts be enough to keep the south and south east Conservative?Cameron says there are 214,000 more people in work in the region. 11.00am GMT Q: Will you back plans to put fracking on hold?Cameron says he wants to see unconventional energy sources exploited. If you look at America, you will see that fracking (although he continues to call it unconventional gas) has promoted economic growth. 10.59am GMT Q: Now the Greens have been included in the debates, will you turn up?Cameron says we are making progress. People said it was outrageous that the Greens were not included. Now the broadcasters have included even more, including parties he did not propose. But he does not see why the Northern Irish are excluded. They are an important part of the UK. 10.57am GMT Q: What lessons do you draw from the elections in Greece? And what impact will there be on the UK?Cameron says the Greek elections show that you need to have an economic plan that works. The Greek voters were revolting against failure. There is a “massive contrast” with the UK, where the plan is working. There are 1,000 more people getting a job every day since it has been in office. 10.53am GMT Cameron is now about to take questions. 10.52am GMT BBC News has given up its coverage of the speech, but there is a live feed on the BBC website. 10.52am GMT Cameron is now setting out the Conservatives’ tax commitments.First, the basic rate income tax threshold would go up to £12,500. Some 1m people would be taken out of tax. Anyone on the minimum wage working 30 hours a week would then be taken out of income tax altogether. 10.46am GMT Cameron says security is the key theme behind his campaign.He says promising to cut taxes is not just a vague promise; the Conservatives’ record shows that they can do this, he says. 10.43am GMT David Cameron is speaking now. He is in Eastleigh.He says it has been an interesting weekend. 10.38am GMT Here’s the speech venue.The PM will take to the stage here in about five minutes. pic.twitter.com/rdlzYrr9ow 10.35am GMT David Cameron is in Hampshire for his speech, and he has already fitted in a visit to Southampton. 10.32am GMT David Cameron’s speech on tax cuts is due to start soon.According to the extracts released overnight, this is what he will say about why he is committed to tax cuts.I sometimes get asked: why do I believe in tax cuts so much? It’s simple, because I trust people more than I do politicians. I think people know how to spend their money better than those in Westminster do. I believe that if people have worked hard and earned their own money, they should be able to spend it on a holiday, or a nice meal out, or some new clothes for their children – and that it shouldn’t be thrown up the wall to satisfy the latest gimmick dreamed up in Whitehall. This is the right thing to do: it’s your money, not the government’s, and so you should keep it ...But there’s another reason for tax cuts, and we’re at that moment now – what I would call the tax moment, when after years of sacrifice, the British people deserve a reward. Let me put it like this: in the wake of Labour’s great recession, these past few years have incredibly hard for this country. But after some dark times, we are coming out the other side. And as we do, I’m clear – the people whose hard work and personal sacrifices have got us through these difficult times should come first. So it’s right that where we can ensure people keep more of their own hard-earned money, we should. 10.24am GMT Boris Johnson visited Kurdistan last week. In his Telegraph column, he suggests the government should consider sending ground troops to help the Kurds fight Islamic State.Of course I understand the anxieties of the UK Government: the strong and justifiable aversion to sending British ground troops to the frontline ... All these political questions are important and delicate, but they strike me as fundamentally questions for another day. The immediate task is to help the Kurds defeat the forces of darkness and hate. It is hard to think of another conflict where righteousness coincides so overwhelmingly with the British interest. In a miserable region, Kurdistan is an oasis of democracy, tolerance, prosperity, openness and relative gender equality. Since John Major’s 1991 no-fly zones, the Kurds have been vehemently pro-West, and particularly pro-British. With the sixth-biggest notional oil reserves in the world, Kurdistan is a huge opportunity – and already has the most successful Jaguar Land Rover showroom in the Middle East. 10.08am GMT SSE has become the latest power company to announce it is cutting gas prices. This is from the Press Association.Energy supplier SSE is to reduce household gas prices by 4.1% on April 30 before extending its energy price freeze until at least July 2016. The move is the latest cut by one of the UK’s Big Six energy firms, although SSE’s reduction will take effect much later than the company’s rivals, with British Gas due to cut its gas tariffs by 5% from February 27. 9.45am GMT John Bercow, the Commons speaker, has published the report from his Digital Democracy Commission. The full report is here (pdf), and here’s a summary.Mostly it’s full of very sensible suggestions about making parliament more accessible. Here are what it describes as its key recommendations.1. By 2020, the House of Commons should ensure that everyone can understand what it does. 2. By 2020, Parliament should be fully interactive and digital. The sheer weight of information about politics, now available, can act as a wall, keeping the citizen out of the mysterious world of Westminster. 9.09am GMT As I mentioned earlier, George Osborne was on the Today programme earlier (although it didn’t sound much like Osborne - either he’s got a croaky voice, or it was another imposter.)Ultimately, if you take at face value all the things that the new Greek government has promised, including the increases in public expenditure, I think that is going to be very difficult to deliver and incompatible with what the eurozone currently demands of its members. But I hope that both sides now act responsibly. Indeed, you heard the new Greek leader immediately saying ‘look, I want to get into a discussion with the eurozone authorities’. So I think everyone has in the past seen the precipice, a couple of years ago, the Greek exit from the euro, and pulled back.I don’t think it’s just a question about the public finances. I think that is a panacea, that’s a false hope that it’s just a question of spending more money in these countries. One of the reasons these countries are in a mess is because they weren’t able to bring their public finances under control in the past.I think the obligation on the eurozone is to come forward with an economic policy that delivers jobs and growth not just in Greece, but in other European countries that have really struggled.What people don’t like is economic policies that don’t work; in the UK, we have an economic policy that is working.I was listening to him on the television yesterday, and I thought he was very compelling about the reasons why he wanted a Conservative government ... I’m certainly not aware of something that that I should be worried about.Hear the full interview with Chancellor @George_Osborne on how Greece's #Syriza win could affect Europe: http://t.co/6EhrWJ2zIH #r4today 8.50am GMT #UKGENERALELECTION2015 101 DAYS TO GO 8.43am GMT David Cameron is giving a speech on tax this morning. And, according to the extracts released overnight, he’s going to say that the public should get tax cuts after the election because we deserve a reward. It is as if he views tax cuts as Nectar points.We’re at that moment now – what I would call the tax moment, when after years of sacrifice, the British people deserve a reward. Let me put it like this: in the wake of Labour’s Great Recession, these past few years have incredibly hard for this country. But after some dark times, we are coming out the other side. And as we do, I’m clear – the people whose hard work and personal sacrifices have got us through these difficult times should come first. So it’s right that where we can ensure people keep more of their own hard-earned money, we should. Continue reading...
 |
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com |