Save the Date: How to engage with the Conservative – Liberal Democrat coalition government

May 18th, 2010

Wednesday 9th June 2010: 8:00am – 9.30am

Weber Shandwick, Fox Court, 14 Gray’s Inn Road, London, WC1X 8WS

The new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government has published its joint policy agreement, outlining where each Party has made concessions over the past few days. Liberal Democrat Ministers and MPs are now under a duty to support the Conservative-led programme in word and deed.

As a result, the two big implications for those pressing the arguments of businesses and organisations are:

the new, blended politics we will undoubtedly see; this is a new shade of blue/yellow which has significant implications for the reflexes of government the mechanisms of government and parliament are significantly adjusted by the mere fact of combination and a narrow majority;
the scope for lobbying interventions and significant reverses on a routine basis is dramatically increased

Weber Shandwick is hosting a breakfast seminar on the morning of Wednesday 9th June to discuss the impact of these implications.

Led by Jon McLeod, Weber Shandwick’s UK Chairman of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, guest speakers will include:

• Charles Walker, Conservative MP for Broxbourne

• Peter Riddell, Assistant Editor of The Times and Chairman of the Hansard Society

• Julia Goldsworthy, former Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson

Breakfast will be served at 8.00am for a 8.30am start.

Proceedings will close at 9.30am.

For further information and to confirm your attendance, please contact Nicola Pallett on 020 7067 0899 or npallett@webershandwick.com

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The full coalition government appointments

May 17th, 2010

The full list of Government appointments has now been published.

CABINET

Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service

The Rt Hon David Cameron MP

Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council (with special responsibility for political and constitutional reform)

The Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP

First Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

The Rt Hon William Hague MP

Chancellor of the Exchequer

George Osborne MP

Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Justice

The Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke QC MP

Secretary of State for the Home Department; and Minister for Women and Equalities

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP

Secretary of State for Defence

Dr Liam Fox MP

Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills

Dr Vincent Cable MP

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

The Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change

Chris Huhne MP

Secretary of State for Health

Andrew Lansley CBE MP

Secretary of State for Education

Michael Gove MP

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

Eric Pickles MP

Secretary of State for Transport

Philip Hammond MP

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Caroline Spelman MP

Secretary of State for International Development

Andrew Mitchell MP

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Owen Paterson MP

Secretary of State for Scotland (and providing ministerial support to the Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet Office)

Danny Alexander MP

Secretary of State for Wales

Cheryl Gillan MP

Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport

Jeremy Hunt MP

Chief Secretary to the Treasury

David Laws MP

Leader of the House of Lords, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

The Rt Hon Lord Strathclyde

Minister without Portfolio (Minister of State) *

Baroness Warsi

ALSO ATTENDING CABINET MEETINGS:

Minister for the Cabinet Office, Paymaster General

The Rt Hon Francis Maude MP

Minister of State – Cabinet Office (providing policy advice to the Prime Minister in the Cabinet Office)

The Rt Hon Oliver Letwin MP

Minister of State (Universities and Science) – Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

David Willetts MP

Leader of the House of Commons, Lord Privy Seal

The Rt Hon Sir George Young Bt MP

Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury and Chief Whip

The Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP

Also invited to attend Cabinet meetings when required:

Attorney-General

Dominic Grieve QC MP

DEPARTMENTAL APPOINTMENTS

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Minister of State – David Lidington MP
Minister of State – Jeremy Browne MP
Minister of State – The Rt Hon Lord Howell*
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Henry Bellingham MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Alistair Burt MP

HM Treasury

Financial Secretary – Mark Hoban MP
Economic Secretary – Justine Greening MP†
Exchequer Secretary – David Gauke MP†

Ministry of Justice

Minister of State – The Rt Hon Lord McNally
Minister of State – Nick Herbert MP (jointly with the Home Office)
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Crispin Blunt MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Jonathan Djanogly MP

Home Office

Minister of State (Minister for Security) – Baroness Neville-Jones
Minister of State (Minister for Immigration) – Damian Green MP
Minister of State (Minister for Police) – Nick Herbert MP (jointly with the Ministry of Justice)
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Equalities) – Lynne Featherstone MP

Ministry of Defence

Minister of State (Minister for the Armed Forces) – Nick Harvey MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Gerald Howarth MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Andrew Robathan MP

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Minister of State (Minister for Universities and Science) – David Willetts MP**
Minister of State – Mark Prisk MP
Minister of State – John Hayes MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Edward Davey MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – John Penrose MP (jointly with the Department for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sports)
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Baroness Wilcox

Department for Work and Pensions

Minister of State – Chris Grayling MP
Minister of State – Steve Webb MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Maria Miller MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Welfare Reform) – Lord Freud*

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Minister of State – Charles Hendry MP
Minister of State – Gregory Barker MP

Department of Health

Minister of State – Paul Burstow MP
Minister of State – Simon Burns MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Anne Milton MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Earl Howe

Department for Education

Minister of State – Sarah Teather MP
Minister of State – Nick Gibb MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Tim Loughton MP

Department for Communities and Local Government

Minister of State – Greg Clark MP
Minister of State – Grant Shapps MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Andrew Stunell OBE MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Bob Neill MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Baroness Hanham CBE

Department for Transport

Minister of State – Theresa Villiers MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Norman Baker MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Mike Penning MP

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Minister of State – James Paice MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Richard Benyon MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Lord Henley

Department for International Development

Minister of State – Alan Duncan MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Stephen O’Brien MP

Northern Ireland

Minister of State – Hugo Swire MP

Scotland Office

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – David Mundell MP

Wales Office

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – David Jones MP

Department for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – John Penrose MP (jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills)
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Hugh Robertson MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – The Hon Ed Vaizey MP

Office of the Leader of the Commons

Parliamentary Secretary (Deputy Leader) – David Heath CBE MP*

Cabinet Office

Parliamentary Secretary – Mark Harper MP
Parliamentary Secretary – Nick Hurd MP

Law Officers

Solicitor General – Edward Garnier QC MP
Advocate General for Scotland – The Rt Hon Lord Wallace of Tankerness QC

Whips – House of Commons

Deputy Chief Whip (Treasurer of HM Household) – John Randall MP
Deputy Chief Whip (Comptroller of HM Household) – Alistair Carmichael MP
Government Whip (Vice Chamberlain of HM Household) – Mark Francois MP

Whips – House of Lords

Lords Chief Whip (Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms) – The Rt Hon Baroness Anelay of St Johns DBE
Lords Chief Whip (Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms) – The Rt Hon Baroness Anelay of St Johns DBE
Deputy Chief Whip (Captain of The Queen’s Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard) – Lord Shutt of Greetland OBE

* Unpaid

** attends Cabinet

† paid as a Parliamentary Secretary

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Scottish Liberal Democrats launch 2010 manifesto

April 21st, 2010

The Scottish Liberal Democrats’ manifesto has been launched. Carefully burnishing their federalist credentials, it replicates the UK-wide manifesto on matters reserved to Westminster but on devolved matters, lays out what the party in Scotland would like to see happen.

Scottish Party leader Tavish Scott and Westminster Scotland spokesperson Alistair Carmichael put the emphasis on ‘fairness’ at the manifesto launch in target constituency Leith. Carmichael said the party’s manifesto “highlights the opportunities there are for Scotland with a Liberal Democrat government at Westminster”.

He went on to comment on the recent Liberal Democrat opinion poll surge, saying, “the people in this election have taken control of the agenda away from the political parties, away from Labour and Conservative, and said, ‘no, actually, we’re the ones who will call the shots’.”

The Scottish Liberal Democrats describe their key pledges as ‘four steps to a fairer Britain’. These include:

Exempting the first £10,000 of earnings from tax, which they say would free half a million low earners and pensioners in Scotland from tax completely,
To pay for this, closing tax loopholes and more tax on polluters,
Ensure children get the individual attention they need with more teachers and one-to-one tuition, made possible by investing extra money in schools, targeted to help struggling pupils,
Cut student debts and make a degree affordable for all,
Break up the banks and get them lending again to protect real businesses,
Honesty about the tough choices needed to cut the deficit,
Green growth and jobs that last by investing in infrastructure,
Put trust back into politics by giving people the right to sack corrupt MPs,
Restore and protect hard-won British civil liberties with a Freedom Bill,
Overhaul Westminster completely: fair votes; an elected House of Lords; all politicians to pay full British taxes.

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SNP launch 2010 manifesto

April 20th, 2010

SNP Party Leader and First Minister Alex Salmond today launched the SNP manifesto for 2010 with the promise of ‘more nats, less cuts’.

Mr Salmond said that this election, and the growing prospect of a balanced parliament, offered a great opportunity for Scotland.

Mr Salmond added: “Running through this manifesto is the SNP vision of a new future for Scotland.

“A Scotland that is independent, socially just and economically secure.”

Key pledges are:

60,000 new green jobs by 2020
A fair deal for pensioners with pensions rising in line with earnings and a guarantee to protect free personal care and concessionary travel
A new phase of capital acceleration
Press for the scrapping of Trident nuclear missiles and a halt to their replacement
Demand a fair fuel regulator
Work to make sure Scotland is part of the first phase of the UK high speed rail network.
Scrap the ID card project, the House of Lords and Scotland Office
MPs will work to ensure that Scots get the opportunity to be consulted on our own constitutional future.
Every SNP candidate will sign a pledge of accessibility, accountability and openness – it will be their Community Commitment.

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Conservatives launch manifesto for Scotland

April 20th, 2010

The Conservatives’ 2010 manifesto for Scotland was launched by Annabel Goldie, with a pledge to continue the freeze on council tax and protect the NHS from budget cuts.

The document, Invitation to join the Government of Britain, is described as “work in progress” for the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections, and includes several policies on which the Scottish Conservatives would campaign from opposition in Holyrood.

Ms Goldie claimed that the manifesto is a credible plan to get Britain working again and is “brimming with ideas, policies and visions for the future”.

Key pledges are as follows:

Campaign to freeze the council tax for a further two years
Increase health spending to protect the NHS from budget cuts
Create a national high speed rail network between Scotland and London
Pilot walk-in GP centres so people can see a doctor when it suits them
Introduce “Second Chance Centres” for unruly school pupils
Cut the cost of running the Scottish Parliament
Minimum sentence of two years for anyone caught carrying a knife without a reasonable excuse

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Email your election candidates in one go

April 15th, 2010

Great wee site where you enter your postcode and then it makes it simple to email all your general election candidates in one simple step.

http://emailyourcandidates.heroku.com/

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