Top British military officials to step down

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

LONDON, June 13 (Reuters) – Two of Britain’s top defence officials will step down later this year, the government said on Sunday, but denied they were being blamed for mistakes in Afghanistan or for wasteful military spending.

Britain’s most senior military officer, Chief of the Defence Staff Jock Stirrup, and Bill Jeffrey, the top civil servant at the Ministry of Defence, are expected to leave towards the end of the year once a strategic defence review (SDR) ordered by Britain’s new government has been completed.

“We’ve talked about the best time to be replacing our senior staff, probably at the end of the SDR in the autumn,” Defence Secretary Liam Fox said in an interview with The Sunday Times newspaper, referring to the two men.

The strategic defence review will set out the future role of Britain’s armed forces and may pave the way for cuts in defence spending as the Conservative-Liberal Democrat government formed after the May 6 election moves to rein in a big budget deficit.

The newspaper said the changes at the top of the Ministry of Defence were designed to improve the military’s performance in the Afghanistan war and to cut wasteful spending, adding that both men were close to the former Labour government.

The armed forces and top civil servants in Britain are traditionally politically neutral.

Stirrup’s term had been due to end in 2009 but was extended for two years by former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

In a BBC interview, Fox would not rule out a cut in troop numbers after the review: “I’m not saying that I’ve got any preconceived idea about the size and shape of the forces.”

A study by the Royal United Services Institute, a defence thinktank, said this month Britain could be forced to cut ground troop numbers by 20 percent by 2019 and to sharply reduce the number of its aircraft and ships to save money.

Fox told the BBC that the two men had not been dismissed and portrayed their departure as their own decision.

Fox denied Stirrup was too close to the previous government and said: “I really don’t think, whatever mistakes may have been made in Afghanistan or anywhere else, that the blame should land anywhere else but firmly on the desks of the politicians.”

British forces have been locked in some of the fiercest fighting against Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan and almost 300 British soldiers have now been killed there since 2001. (Editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Gordon Brown’s chances of knighthood ruined?

May 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, May 16 (ANI): Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown may miss a chance to earn knighthood after his recent statement following his exit from the top post.

The ex-leader said he “loved the job” of prime minister, “not for its prestige, its titles and its ceremony.”

However, the speech has put officials, who were planning to make Brown a Knight of the Order of the Thistle, at Buckingham Palace in a fix, as the felicitation apparently would be an “insult” to the former Labour leader with such an honour.

“Brown may well come round to the idea. Other Labour prime ministers, such as Harold Wilson, couldn””t wait for an honour,” the Telegraph quoted Hugo Vickers, the author of Royal Orders, as saying.

Even though there is a vacancy in the Order of the Garter, Vickers feels Brown will be offered the Thistle.

He added: “If you are Scottish, it is in some ways more prestigious. Unfortunately, there are no vacancies for the Thistle at the moment, but the Queen doesn””t like to rush these things.”

Meanwhile, Brown has said he will continue as the MP for Kirkcaldy. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

British PM Brown falls on sword

May 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

British prime minister Gordon Brown has announced his decision to step down as Labour leader to make way for negotiations between his party and the Liberal Democrats to form a coalition government.

After four days of discussions, it had seemed that the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives were close to a marriage that would see them share power in a coalition.

But after a three-hour meeting of Liberal Democrat MPs, there was news that the Conservative courtship had not gone well.

They had disagreed on the terms of a union with regards to education policy, tax reform and crucially, a revamp of the voting system.

Not long after that became known Mr Brown made a statement announcing his decision to step down as Labour leader.

“The reason that we have a hung parliament is that no single party and no single leader was able to win the full support of the country,” he said.

“As leader of my party, I must accept that that is a judgement on me. I therefore intend to ask the Labour parties to set in train the processes needed for its own leadership election.

“I would hope that it would be completed in time for the new leader to be in post by the time of the Labour Party conference.

“I will play no part in that contest. I will back no individual candidate.”

Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg had promised to woo first the party with the most seats and the most votes. The Conservatives won on both those measures but ended up 19 seats short of a majority.

He wants proportional representation. It is the way Australians have elected members to the Senate since 1949.

Labour is instead offering immediate legislation to introduce the Australian Lower House system of preferential voting and in a final attempt to get Nick Clegg to say “I do”, Conservative Leader David Cameron has offered him a referendum on voting reform.

Moving forward

Throughout the election campaign Mr Clegg had made it clear that he would not be open to a coalition with Labor while Gordon Brown was leader.

So while Mr Brown’s speech on the steps of Downing Street signalled an end to his political career, it paved the way for Labour to continue in government in a relationship with the Liberal Democrats.

“Mr Clegg has just informed me that while he intends to continue his dialogue that he has begun with the Conservatives, he now wishes also to take forward formal discussions with the Labour Party,” Mr Brown said.

So after months of failed coup attempts from within senior Labour ranks, in the end, it was the Liberal Democrats leader who managed to shoehorn Gordon Brown out of Number 10.

“Given the urgency of the need to have a resolution to this whole situation, we think it is the right thing, the responsible thing to now open talks on exactly the same basis as we have been having with the Conservative Party with the Labour Party,” Mr Clegg said.

There is one thing all three parties agree on – that the UK needs a stable government – urgently.

If the Conservatives and Lib Dems do strike a deal, it would likely pave the way for Mr Cameron to become prime minister, taking over from Mr Brown who is still in office.

Meanwhile, foreign secretary David Miliband has been listed by bookmakers as the favourite to replace Mr Brown as Labour’s leader.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

UK’s third party: kingmakers or poison tasters?

May 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Britain’s third largest party has suddenly found itself in the full glare of the political spotlight. It’s an uncomfortable, and potentially dangerous, place.

An inconclusive election result last week — the first such outcome in more than 30 years — has handed the centre-left Liberal Democrats the balance of power.

It should be a moment of triumph for Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg. The Liberal Democrats — formed from the old Liberal Party, one of the two great political parties of the mid-19th century — have not had a shot at government for decades.

Now they have a very real chance of ministerial posts and of achieving long-sought reform of Britain’s voting system.

Yet the dilemma of choosing to ally with either centre-left Labour or centre-right Conservatives could thrust the Lib Dems back to the political wilderness for decades if they get it wrong.

“There is a danger that if something doesn’t come out of this that is positive or permanent … then the Liberal Democrats will be skewered,” said Steven Fielding, Professor of Political History at the University of Nottingham.

LEADERSHIP TUSSLE

Clegg is in a bind. His party sits on the left of the political spectrum, championing social liberalism, electoral reform and fairer distribution of taxes and services.

That should make an alliance with the ruling Labour party a much more natural fit.

But Labour’s popularity has plunged after 13 years in power and it now faces a four-month leadership battle that could distract it from what all parties agree is the most important challenge for government — tackling the nation’s debts — after Prime Minister Gordon Brown agreed on Monday to step aside.

“How can anyone with any gumption call for stable government and then propose allying with a party which is going to spend the next four months in a bitter leadership contest?” wrote a blogger on activist web site Liberal Democrat Voice.

Nor would the Lib Dems and Labour together have enough seats to form a majority so they would need the support of a clutch of smaller parties, such as the Scottish National Party and Wales’ Plaid Cymru, to push through legislation.

Such a potentially unstable government would test the vision of a strong government Clegg has said the country needs.

“I don’t like what is taking place at all,” said former Labour Home Secretary (interior minister) David Blunkett.

“I believe it will lead to a lack of legitimacy and I think that the British people will feel that we have not heard what they have said to us,” he told the BBC on Tuesday.

VOTING REFORM

One of the potential trump cards held by Labour was the offer it made before the election of holding a referendum on voting reform, but that was matched late on Monday by a similar offer from the Conservatives.

The Conservatives won the largest number of parliamentary seats in Thursday’s election but fell 20 seats short of a majority. They swiftly offered talks with the Liberal Democrats, including the possibility of working in a formal coalition.

Voting reform is essential for the Lib Dems, particularly if people are turned off by the experience of the country’s first inconclusive election since 1974. Under the current system, which produces a first past the post winner in each parliamentary constituency, they could be squeezed hardest if people try to force a clear-cut outcome at the next election.

“Whoever they go in with, they really have to get electoral reform,” said Nottingham University’s Fielding, pointing to the negative experience of the Liberal Party in the 1920s.

Forerunners of the modern Lib Dems, the Liberal Party put a minority government into power twice in the 1920s.

In 1923, the Liberals supported the second-largest Labour party rather than the bigger Conservatives but the resulting Labour minorituy government lasted just 10 months and the Conservatives were then elected with a majority.

The Liberals also supported Labour — this time the largest party, although again short of a majority — in 1929 after Labour promised a commission on electoral reform.

“Unfortunately for the Liberals by the time Labour left office in 1931, amidst a grave financial crisis, it had failed to pass any legislation,” Fielding said.

The Liberal party then split over joining a national government to deal with the financial crisis and the party was an almost spent force for the next 30 years.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

UK’s big parties scramble for power-sharing deal

May 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Britain’s Liberal Democrats will pursue a deal on Tuesday to form a government with one of the two larger political parties after an inconclusive election that forced Prime Minister Gordon Brown to say he would resign.

Brown’s announcement, designed to keep his Labour Party in power, disrupted efforts by the centre-right Conservatives to broker a power-sharing deal with the Liberal Democrats after the country’s first election producing no clear winner since 1974.

With markets and voters keen for an end to the political uncertainty that followed last Thursday’s close-fought poll, Liberal Democrat lawmaker Simon Hughes said his party hoped it could reach an agreement later on Tuesday.

“We are determined to make sure this process is concluded very soon, if it can be today then it will be, certainly very soon indeed,” he told Sky News. “We would like to do it today.”

The Conservatives emerged as the largest party in parliament in the election but fell 20 seats short of an outright majority in the 650-seat parliament, leading to a bidding war between the three main political blocs.

They quickly began talks with the centre-left Liberal Democrats, or Lib Dems, on a government alliance. However, the smaller party wanted clarity on issues such as electoral reform.

The Conservatives responded to Brown’s statement by offering the Lib Dems a place in a coalition and a referendum on limited reform of the voting system that falls short of their demand for a genuinely proportional system.

“That is our last offer in that area,” George Osborne, Conservative finance spokesman and election co-ordinator, told the BBC. “But I am very willing to discuss with the Liberal Democrats how we create that strong, secure government and deal with this massive economic problem.”

BROWN TO STEP DOWN

Sensing a hesitancy on the part of the Lib Dems, Brown said he would step down by the time Labour holds its annual party meeting in September.

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg had said during the campaign that he was reluctant to work with Brown and the prime minister’s departure could smooth the path to a deal.

Sterling and British government bonds fell on the uncertainty, with markets taking fright at the prospect of prolonged political uncertainty in a country struggling with a record budget deficit.

Clegg, 43, finds himself in a difficult situation. His party has more in common with Labour in terms of policy, but the two parties combined would be unable to command a majority and would need to enlist the support of smaller parties in a potentially more unstable “rainbow coalition”.

An alliance with the Conservatives would offer a more stable formation, with a strong majority but a more difficult political compromise. Activists on one Lib Dem website were leaning towards a deal with the Conservatives, rather than Labour.

“How can anyone with any gumption call for stable government and then propose allying with a party which is going to spend the next four months in a bitter leadership contest?” said one blogger on Liberal Democrat Voice.

Britain is unfamiliar with coalition negotiations and the talks cannot drag on for weeks as they do in some of its continental European neighbours.

David Laws, one of the Lib Dem party’s negotiating team, said there would a further meeting on Tuesday “to have discussions about where we are and see if we can resolve the existing issues that are outstanding”.

Parliament is due to resume sitting on May 18 and the new government will present its programme on May 25.

(Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan and Jodie Ginsberg; Editing by Charles Dick)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Brown eases Labour pains, will resign

May 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Monday he would step aside this year, sacrificing himself to try to give his Labour Party a chance of forming a government with the smaller Liberal Democrats.

The Conservatives have been talking to the Liberal Democrats to try to form a government, but Brown said in a dramatic statement delivered in front of his official residence at 10 Downing Street the Lib Dems also wanted to talk to Labour.

The Conservatives, led by David Cameron, won most seats in parliament but fell short of a majority after an inconclusive election last week. Labour came second and the smaller Liberal Democrats, led by Nick Clegg, a distant third.

“Mr Clegg has just informed me that while he intends to continue his dialogue that he has begun with the Conservatives, he now wishes also to take forward formal discussions with the Labour Party,” Brown said, adding that he would facilitate those talks.

“I have no desire to stay in my position longer than is needed to ensure the path to economic growth is assured and the process of political reform we have agreed moves forward quickly,” he said.

“As leader of my party, I must accept that that is a judgment on me. I therefore intend to ask the Labour Party to set in train the processes needed for its own leadership election,” he said. Brown did not give a precise timeframe for his departure, but said he hoped it would be done by the time of the Labour Party conference, which is scheduled for late September.

Britain’s sterling currency fell and government bond futures hit a session low after Brown’s comments. Markets had been hoping for a quick deal between the Conservatives and Lib Dems and will not relish the prospect of further delays as parallel talks take place between the Lib Dems and Labour.

Earlier, Liberal Democrat legislators said they were seeking clarification from the party’s negotiators about details of a possible deal with the Conservatives.

“Although we are very, very conscious of the need to make these decisions quickly… we also want to make sure that we get these matters right,” said Lib Dem legislator David Laws.

Conservative and Lib Dem negotiators said earlier they made progress at talks to reach a power-sharing deal, although others called for caution on how quickly a deal could be clinched.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Education Secretary Ed Balls will likely be leading contenders to succeed Brown.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tories, Labour court LibDems

May 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Conservatives and Labour planned to resume wooing the Liberal Democrats on Tuesday after Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he would step aside to try to keep his Labour Party in power.

Brown’s announcement disrupted efforts by the Conservatives to broker a government deal with the Liberal Democrats after the country’s first inconclusive election since 1974.

The Conservatives emerged as the largest party in parliament after last week’s election but fell 20 seats short of an outright majority in the 650-seat parliament.

They quickly began talks with the Liberal Democrats on a government alliance, but Liberal Democrat parliamentarians asked for more clarity on issues including reform of the voting system.

Sensing hesitancy on the part of the Liberal Democrats, Brown appeared outside his Downing Street office to announce that he planned to step down by the time the Labour Party holds its annual conference in September.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg had said during the campaign that he was reluctant to work with Brown and the prime minister’s departure could smooth the path to a deal.

Both the pound and government bonds fell on the uncertainty, with markets taking fright at the prospect of prolonged political uncertainty in a country struggling with a record budget deficit.

Clegg, 43, finds himself in a difficult situation. His party has more in common with Labour in terms of policy, but the two parties combined would not be able to command a majority and would need to enlist the support of smaller parties.

An alliance with the Conservatives would offer a more stable formation, with a strong majority but a more difficult political compromise.

“We are keen to settle things as soon as we can,” Clegg told reporters after a meeting with his parliamentarians that ended after midnight.

“There is going to be a further meeting (later on Tuesday) to have discussions about where we are and see if we can resolve the existing issues that are outstanding,” said David Laws, one of the party’s negotiating team.

FINAL OFFER

The Conservatives swiftly responded to Brown’s statement by offering the Liberal Democrats a place in coalition and a referendum on limited reform of the voting system.

“My view is that the offer that we are putting forward gives the Liberal Democrats a chance to show that in government they can help us shape a genuinely progressive agenda,” said Conservative education spokesman Michael Gove.

The Conservatives said the proposal for a referendum on the alternative vote system was a final offer, but it falls short of Liberal Democrat demands for a genuinely proportional system.

Britain is unfamiliar with coalition negotiations and the talks cannot drag on for weeks as they do in some of its continental European neighbours.

Parliament is due to resume sitting on May 18 and the new government will present its programme on May 25.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Treachery, cry Tories after Clegg and Brown talk

May 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, May 11 (IANS) Conservatives have savaged Liberal Democrats after the latter sought a deal with Labour leader and Prime Minister Gordon Brown, with a senior Tory leader saying: ‘These people cannot be trusted.’

Conservatives leader David Cameron was said to be infuriated after Nick Clegg, the charismatic leader of the Liberal Democrats, tried to radically change the terms of a possible deal with the Tories just minutes before Brown offered to step down Monday, The Telegraph reported Tuesday.

Conservatives and Liberal Democrats had spent the weekend working towards a loose agreement to rule Britain after last week’s election produced the first hung parliament since 1974.

But that seemed to collapse a little after 4 p.m. Monday when Clegg called up Cameron and told him that the deal was now a full coalition government with a guarantee to overhaul the voting system.

‘These people cannot be trusted. We had several days of discussions with the Lib Dems and then the terms changed. Clegg has gone from someone attempting to rise above normal Westminster politics to someone trying to do a shabby deal with Brown,’ said a senior Conservative leader.

Tory leaders also accused the Liberal Democrats of ‘double dealing’.

Within half hour of Cameron and Clegg finishing their phone conversation, Brown dramatically announced that he was ready to step down. Within three hours, formal Labour and Liberal Democrats talks had begun.

The political parties need to reach the magic mark of 326 to have a clear majority in the 650-seat parliament.

The May 7 election gave the Conservatives 306 seats while Labour netted 258. Liberal Democrats got 57 seats.

On Monday, the Tories had made a final offer to hold a referendum on introducing an alternative-vote system. But this falls short of previous Liberal demands for proportional representation.

Former Tory cabinet minister John Redwood said: ‘I think if Labour comes up with a plausible package, the Liberal Democrats would accept it. I think it’s still possible (a deal with Tories). I think a minimalist agreement is better for all parties.’

Tory leaders are concerned that this is a repeat of the situation in Wales in 2007.

At that time, the Conservatives were in talks with Plaid Cymru, a political party in Wales, and the Liberal Democrats to form a coalition when the latter pulled out.

A Conservative MP said: ‘We should have learnt the lesson of how hard it is to deal with the Lib Dems. The grassroots are even more leftwing than Labour. History is repeating itself.’

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Over 50 percent Brits want Cameron to be next PM

May 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, May 11 (ANI): About 53 percent of Brits want Tory leader David Cameron to be the country’s next Prime Minister.

According to The Sun”s latest poll, only 33 per cent want a Tory-Lib Dem coalition, with 20 per cent saying the Tories should go it alone.

The poll also found that fewer than two in five want to see a rainbow coalition involving Labour, Lib Dems, Scot Nats and other smaller parties.

Most popular voting system is proportional representation (47 per cent) but 38 per cent want to keep the present system.

The poll comes as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that he will step down as leader of the Labour Party in order to pave the way for talks with the Liberal Democrats to facilitate formation of the next government.

The announcement may derail an imminent deal between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, as the latter had reportedly made leadership change a condition for them to work with the Labour Party.

Brown, in a surprise move, offered to oversee talks between the two parties before stepping down by the time of the Labour conference in September, when a new leader would be chosen by party members.

In a statement, Brown said if it was in “national interest” for Labour and Liberal Democrats to form a coalition government that would enjoy a majority in a hung Parliament, he had “no desire to stay on longer than needed”.

“””We have a parliamentary system, not a presidential system, in this country. As I said on Friday, with no party able to command a parliamentary majority arising from the General Election, my constitutional duty as Prime Minister is to ensure government continues while parties explore options for forming a new administration with majority support in the House of Commons.” (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Brit PM Brown resigns in a dramatic move

May 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, May 11 (ANI): British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in a dramatic move, has announced that he will step down as leader of the Labour Party in order to pave the way for talks with the Liberal Democrats to facilitate formation of the next government.

The announcement made by Brown is likely to derail an imminent deal between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, as the latter had reportedly made leadership change a condition for them to work with the Labour Party.

Brown seized on David Cameron’s failure to secure a pact with Nick Clegg by opening formal talks to agree to a so-called coalition of losers, The Telegraph reports.

Brown in a surprise move offered to oversee talks between the two parties before stepping down by the time of the Labour conference in September, when a new leader would be chosen by party members.

In a statement, Brown said if it was in “national interest” for Labour and Liberal Democrats to form a coalition government that would enjoy a majority in a hung Parliament, he had “no desire to stay on longer than needed”.

“”We have a parliamentary system, not a presidential system, in this country. As I said on Friday, with no party able to command a parliamentary majority arising from the General Election, my constitutional duty as Prime Minister is to ensure government continues while parties explore options for forming a new administration with majority support in the House of Commons.”

“As we know, the Liberal Democrats felt they should first talk to the Conservative Party. Clegg has just informed me that, while he intends to continue his dialogue that he has begun with the Conservatives, he now wishes also to take forward formal discussions with the Labour Party,” The Telegraph quoted Brown, as saying.

If the Labour Party accepts Brown’s proposal that would mean he would remain at Downing Street for another five months.

The leadership campaign, which is likely to be contested by David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, his brother Ed, the Climate Change Secretary, and Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, and others, will only begin after any talks are concluded.

The paper reports that on Monday night senior Conservatives accused the Lib Dem leader of “treachery” after it emerged that Clegg had changed the basis of a deal with Cameron just minutes before Brown made his statement. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Brown subjects Clegg to telephone ‘rant’

May 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, May 8 (ANI): British Prime Minister Gordon Brown reportedly got angry and launched a “diatribe” and a “rant” at Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg during a telephone call over suggestion that he should step down from his post.

The BBC reported the confrontation based on remarks by a “very senior Liberal Democrat source who is involved in the negotiations with the Conservatives”.

The source told the BBC’s Jon Sopel that during the leaders’ conversation last night, the tone went “downhill” at the mention of resignation.

Labour Party leader Brown’s approach was threatening towards Clegg.

Clegg was said to have came off the phone assured that it would be impossible to work with Brown because of his attitude towards working with other people, The Telegraph reports.

The Prime Minister’s office has denied the report of Brown’s aggression, describing the chat as constructive.

In contrast, the Lib Dem source said discussions between Clegg and David Cameron, the Conservative leader, had been warm

In an official statement the Lib Dems denied there had been a row, insisting: “Any suggestion that it was in any way angry or hostile would be wrong. It was perfectly amicable and both men just set out what they said in their public statements.” (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bargaining on in hung UK House

May 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, May 7 — The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats began negotiations on Friday in a step that could give Britain its first coalition government after Thursday’s general election returned a Conservative-dominated but hung parliament. The Conservatives led the pack with 306 seats with incumbent Labour trailed on 258 and the Liberal Democrats were a distant third with 57 – all short of the 326 seats needed for majority in the 650-member House of Commons.

Regional parties, independents and – making its parliament debut – the Green Party accounted for 28 seats. As expected, the Liberal Democrats emerged as potential kingmakers and its leader Nick Clegg gave the Conservatives first choice of talks on government formation.

“I think it is now for the Conservative Party to prove that it is capable of seeking to govern in national interest,” he said. Clegg’s comment prompted prime minister Gordon Brown to offer the two parties “as much time as they feel necessary” while putting forward his Labour party as a candidate for a pact with the Liberals, if the talks broke down.

But Conservative leader David Cameron said he would make “a big, open and comprehensive offer to the Liberal Democrats. I want us to work together in tackling our country’s big and urgent problems – the debt crisis, our deep social problems and our broken political system”.

The negotiations aren’t expected to be easy – the Liberals’ key demand is electoral reforms, specifically scrapping the first-past-the-post system for proportional representation (PR).

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Miliband may take over from Brown: Report

May 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, May 7 (IANS) With the Labour party suffering heavy electoral losses, Foreign Secretary David Miliband was set to challenge Prime Minister Gordon Brown for the party leadership, a report said Friday.

The Sun reported that Thursday night saw Miliband preparing to strike as a disaster was predicted for Labour in the Thursday general elections.

Miliband is a favourite to succeed Brown. He has received support from former prime minister Tony Blair and Business Secretary Peter Mandelson.

Miliband won from the South Shields constituency with 52 percent of the votes. Conservative candidate Karen Allen stood second while Liberal Democrat Stephen Psallidas was third.

Miliband’s allies are keen that MP Jon Cruddas becomes Miliband’s deputy in what they call a ‘dream ticket’ for the leadership.

The media report said that Miliband was urged to have a proper contest for the leadership instead of an unelected takeover like Brown when he succeeded Blair.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Britain heads for hung Parliament

May 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, May 7 (DPA) Britain is set for a change of government as the opposition Conservatives emerged as the biggest party from Thursday’s general election, and the ruling Labour Party suffered major losses, according to exit polls.

Figures announced as polling stations closed late Thursday predicted a hung Parliament, in which neither of Britain’s two main parties would gain an overall majority.

Exit polls gave the Conservatives under David Cameron 307 seats, just nine short of an outright majority.

The Labour Party of Prime Minister Gordon Brown was projected at 255 seats, compared with 356 in the last general election in 2005.

The result, if confirmed, could leave Cameron seeking to lead a minority government or asking the Liberal Democrats for support.

As results are being counted through the night, if Labour does better than the exit polls suggest, a link-up between Labour and the Liberal Democrats could be possible.

The Liberal Democrats, despite a highly successful campaign, would gain 59 seats, according to the exit polls, remaining behind expectations before the vote.

The full results will be known early Friday.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Brown wants to secure stable government in Britain

May 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, May 7 (DPA) British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Friday it was his duty to play his part in securing strong and stable government in Britain after the general election.

‘The outcome of this country’s vote is not yet known,’ he said, ‘but my duty to the country, coming out of this election, is to play my part in Britain having a strong, stable and principled government, able to lead Britain into sustained economic recovery’.

Brown, whose ruling Labour Party lost around 100 parliamentary seats, according to exit polls, was speaking after his re-election in his Scottish constituency of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath.

Brown’s remarks were seen as underlining his intention to attempt to cling to power even though the opposition Conservatives have emerged from the election as the biggest party, according to exit polls.

Downing Street sources said earlier that Brown would try to form a coalition government if there was to be a hung Parliament with no clear majorities as a result of the election.

He would argue that the sitting government has the first right to form an administration, even if it is not the biggest party.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Britain heads for hung Parliament in cliffhanger election

May 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, May 7 (DPA) Britain could be set for a change of government following a general election Thursday in which the Conservatives emerged as the biggest party, according to exit polls.

Figures announced as polling stations closed late Thursday predicted a hung Parliament, in which neither of Britain’s two main parties would gain an overall majority.

However, the ruling Labour Party of Prime Minister Gordon Brown immediately made clear that it hoped to hold on to power by wooing the smaller Liberal Democratic Party for an alliance to keep the Conservatives out of power.

The exit polls, based on surveys of 18,000 voters as they emerged from polling stations, showed a disappointing outcome for the Liberal Democrats, whose leader Nick Clegg had been declared the undisputed star of the four-week election campaign.

Exit polls have not proved entirely accurate in the past, commentators pointed out Thursday. Full results will be known Friday.

The exit polls gave the Conservatives, led by David Cameron 307 seats, 19 short of an outright majority. The Labour Party would win 255 seats, compared with 356 in 2005, and the Liberals were given 59 seats, remaining behind expectations.

The result, if confirmed, could leave Cameron seeking to lead a minority government or asking the Liberal Democrats and other smaller parties for support.

As results are being counted through the night, and if Labour does better than the exit polls suggest, a coalition between Labour and the Liberal Democrats could be possible.

Under the unwritten rules of Britain’s constitution, the sitting prime minister has the first option to ask Queen Elizabeth II to form a government.

However, convention also states that the party with the most seats has the ‘moral’ right to ask to form a government.

Leading Labour figures immediately made clear that the party was in no mood to concede defeat.

Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, the party’s chief strategist, wooed the Liberals for an alliance to ‘keep the Conservatives out.’

Mandelson said that electoral reform in Britain, from the current first-past-the-post system to proportional representation, was ‘overdue.’

A change in the voting system, which has in the past benefited the two main parties, has been at the heart of the campaign.

Brown had made securing the fragile economic recovery the main plank of his bid for a fourth consecutive Labour term. But critics are accusing him of being responsible for Britain’s massive budget deficit of 163 billion pounds ($242 billion).

In a stark reminder of the problems facing a new government, British papers printed a warning from the European Commission that Britain’s deficit, expected to reach 12 percent of gross domestic product in 2011, could come to exceed that of Greece.

Markets have shown signs of nervousness ahead of the elections, amid predictions of an inconclusive outcome that could lead to weeks of horse-trading over the formation of a new government.

A string of opinion polls for national newspapers were unanimous Thursday in placing the opposition Conservatives, led by David Cameron, in the lead by a comfortable margin.

However, under the vagaries of Britain’s first-past-the-post electoral system, opinion poll popularity ratings say little about the actual number of seats won in the 649 constituencies across the country.

Polling day was overshadowed by the crash of a light aircraft carrying Nigel Farage, a candidate for the anti-European United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP).

The 46-year-old former leader of UKIP, who is also a member of the European Parliament, escaped the crash of the two-seater aircraft with minor head injuries, a party spokesman said.

The accident was believed to have been caused by an election banner the plane was towing, urging a UKIP vote, becoming entangled with the aircraft.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

UK Brown says will take all steps for strong govt

May 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Friday he would ensure the country had a “strong, stable” government after an inconclusive election left no party with an outright parliamentary majority.

Brown said he had asked the Cabinet Secretary, Britain’s most senior civil servant, to arrange support for all parties that might be involved in talks over a possible future coalition government.

The election saw the opposition Conservative Party win the most parliamentary seats but not enough to form a majority government.

“It is my duty as Prime Minister to take all steps to ensure Britain has a strong, stable and principled government,” Brown said in a statement.

“I have asked the Cabinet Secretary to arrange for the civil service to provide support on request to parties engaged in discussions on the formation of government.”

(Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Keith Weir)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

UK Conservatives become largest party, no majority

May 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Britain’s opposition Conservatives won the most seats in parliament on Friday but failed to gain an overall majority, creating uncertainty over who will lead a country facing huge economic problems.

British asset prices crumbled as the prospect of the first inconclusive election result since 1974 unnerved investors already spooked by a global equity market sell-off.

With results in 615 constituencies declared, the Conservatives were on 290 and could not get to the figure of 326 needed for an outright majority in parliament.

Conservative leader David Cameron said the ruling Labour party had “lost its mandate to govern”.

However, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has the right under the constitution to try to form a government first, potentially opening the door to a period of political horse-trading.

Senior Labour minister Peter Mandelson said he did not expect Brown to resign on Friday. He said he was ruling nothing in or out, and he and others in the party appeared to be wooing the centrist Liberal Democrats.

“I don’t think it would help matters if he (Brown) were suddenly to step aside,” Mandelson said.

However, Labour, in power since 1997, could struggle to form a coalition with the Lib Dems since their combined forecast seats would still be short of an overall majority.

The Conservatives could seek a pact with smaller parties from Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales to boost their support.

MARKETS SWOON

The prospect of a “hung parliament” rocked already febrile financial markets.

The pound tumbled, Britain’s top share index extended this week’s rout and gilt futures went into reverse as the inconclusive election outcome unnerved investors jittery about Europe’s mounting debt crisis.

“The net result is masses of uncertainty. The new government is likely to be weak at best,” said Alan Clarke of BNP Paribas.

“Even in the case of a coalition, the partners will be constantly looking over their shoulders, and compromise politics will mean that the scope for delivering radical or unpopular fiscal tightening is limited.”

Clarke said there was now a growing threat of a credit ratings downgrade for Britain, where the deficit is running at more than 11 percent of national output.

“Ahead of the election we saw the risk of downgrade at close to 50 percent. On the basis of the election outcome as it looks now, a downgrade looks to be the most likely outcome,” he said.

For multimedia coverage, see http://r.reuters.com/quq44j

COALITION PUZZLE

The focus switches on Friday to possible talks between the parties to break the deadlock. They will be assisted by civil servants who have prepared briefing documents outlining key elements of party proposals and their costs.

Britain does not have the same tradition of coalition building as its neighbours in continental Europe, and few Britons can remember the last inconclusive election almost four decades ago.

The sense of confusion was heightened by reports that hundreds of voters had been turned away from crowded polling stations across the country when voting ended at 2100 GMT.

The centre-right Conservatives were forecast to win around 305 seats and Labour 255 in the lower House of Commons. The Lib Dems were a distant third, with an expected 61.

The BBC calculated that the Conservatives had taken 36 percent of the vote, Labour 29 percent and the Lib Dems 23 percent.

Notable losses for Labour included former cabinet ministers Charles Clarke and Jacqui Smith. Northern Ireland’s first

minister, Peter Robinson, of the Democratic Unionist Party, was the highest-profile casualty of the night. Gainers included the Greens, who won their first ever parliamentary seat.

Independent think-tanks have accused all the parties of failing to be open with voters about the scale of cuts that will be needed to restore public finances, meaning any government could face a rapid plunge in popularity once cuts begin.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tories pull ahead in election endgame

May 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

As the UK election campaign enters its final days, two separate polls show that the Conservatives have raced ahead in public popularity.

The YouGov poll for The Sunday Times has the Conservatives inching forward on 35 per cent of the vote.

The Liberal Democrats claimed 28 per cent of the vote, closely followed by Labour on 27 per cent.

A ComRes poll for the Sunday Mirror and Independent on Sunday has the Conservative lead at 10 points – its highest since February.

The Conservatives held 38 per cent of the vote while Labour lagged on 28 per cent and the Liberal Democrats came in third with 25 per cent.

Rupert Murdoch’s Times newspaper, which has backed Labour since Tony Blair’s winning campaign in 1997, has switched its support to the Conservatives.

The Guardian, a long-time ally of Labour, is now publicly supporting the Liberal Democrats.

In the final weekend of campaigning, Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg tried to convince Labour supporters to switch their vote to his party.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown hit back, describing Mr Clegg as a “TV game show host”.

The UK goes to the polls on Thursday.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Brit polls indicates Tory leader Cameron winning final debate

April 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, Apr.30 (ANI): Polls published immediately after the third and final debate involving Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Conservative Party leader David Cameron and Liberal Democratic Party leader Nick Clegg suggest Cameron is the winner.

YouGov puts Cameron on 41 percent, Clegg on 32 percent and Brown on 25 percent.

ComRes has Cameron two points ahead of Clegg on 35 percent with Brown trailing in third on 26 percent.

Angus Reids puts Cameron on 37 percent, eight points ahead of Clegg (29 percent) and 14 points ahead of Brown (23 percent).

However, a Populus poll for The Times puts Cameron and Clegg level on 38 percent and Brown on 25 percent.

An ICM poll for The Guardian has Brown in second place on 29 percent, Cameron on 35 percent and Clegg on 27 percent.

Sky News” Instant Poll of Polls puts Cameron on 38 percent, Clegg on 32 percent and Brown on 26 percent. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Posts