By Jeremy Corbyn / @JeremyCorbyn Tuesday's papers led with the interesting story that the EU is concerned that Britain will be unable to lower its debt to the required 3% of GDP by 2014. This casts aspersions on the strategy of the government before next week's budget - indeed a veiled threat was made at the weekend by the head of Japanese bank Nomura that a hung parliament would lead to the devaluation of the pound. And as if to...
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By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 * Improving tax receipts could give Alistair Darling an extra £13 billion for next week's budget. * The government will today announce plans to help local communities buy up struggling pubs. * Last ditch talks between BA and Unite will resume this morning, before strikes are due to begin tomorrow. * Newly unearthed correspondence reveals Lord Ashcroft's written undertaking to become a permanent UK resident - and the "intense lobbying" on his behalf by William...
View 'Improving tax receipts could boost budget by £13bn - 8 in the morning, March 19th' >

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View 'Ed Balls on the schools funding choice facing voters' >

Richard Robinson's Speech Bubble Being asked to list New Labour’s most salient achievements you might well select from some well versed themes on a menu listing the successful introduction of the minimum wage, massive reduction in youth unemployment, establishment of Sure Start Centres, Pension Credit, peace in Northern Ireland and so on. Yet in winning that famous general election victory in 1997 it is sometimes forgotten how spectacularly well Tony Blair and New Labour secured the women’s vote, in itself...
View 'Everyone remembers Mondeo Man - but what of Worcester Woman?' >

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 George Eaton at the New Statesman has already written a detailed post on the ludicrous hypocrisy of Conservative Party's attack document on Labour's relationship with trade unions, released today. George writes: "The Tories aren't wrong to point out Labour's increasing financial dependence on the unions. In 2009 the unions were responsible for 64 per cent (£9.8m) of all donations to the party, with Unite accounting for 25 per cent (£3.6m). But isn't this all rather...
View 'Tory attack doc designed to split Labour - but we are united, and focused on the issues at stake in the election' >

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View 'Housing, immigration and jobs: The working class vote in Harlow' >

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 * Peter Mandelson will debate Ken Clarke on business, and other cabinet ministers will also discuss policy on live TV debates with Andrew Neil in the weeks before the election. * The number of ministers should be cut by a third, reports parliament's public administration committee. * The European Commission has warned that the UK is not on course to cut its deficit in line with EU rules by a deadline of 2015. *...
View 'Cabinet contenders: departmental debates confirmed - 8 in the morning, March 16th' >

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 A new ICM poll for tomorrow's Guardian will show the Tories increasing their lead by a net two points over Labour - just two days after a recent survey by the same pollster showed the Tory lead at its lowest for two years. The new results shows the volatility of current polls, with the Tories up three points and back at 40%, Labour also up one point, to 31%, and the Lib Dems unchanged on...
View 'Poll List: Tory lead widens to 9 points in new ICM poll' >

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 After we announced that it was on its way in January, Labour launched its new iPhone app last Friday. The application allows activists to stay up-to-date with national and local party news and - most importantly - to connect with other volunteers in their local area and make phone calls from Labour's online phone bank on the go. The app also allows you to sign up to local canvassing events, and has a section with...
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By Wes Streeting / @WesStreeting The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA), created by Labour to support 16-19 year olds whose household income is less than £30,810 per year, is one of this government's great achievements. Research published today by the National Union of Students (NUS) shows that it's making a real difference to young people in hardship, but also that certain steps are needed to make it even more effective. NUS surveyed over 1,600 students in further education aged between 16...
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By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 Pressed on Radio 4's Woman's Hour this morning as to whether he would continue as Labour leader even if the party cannot secure a majority at the forthcoming election, Gordon Brown responded "I will keep going". In the context of the broader discussion about the type of reforms Labour is seeking for the country, this could be interpreted as meaning Brown will fight on in politics, in public service or in some other capacity in...
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By Darrell Goodliffe Let's be quite frank. Lord Adonis's 'intervention' in the BA/Unite dispute was a disgrace. Rather than take at least a balanced view Adonis laid into Unite: "It's totally unjustified, this strike, on the merits of the issues at stake, and I do call on the union to engage constructively with the company." I struggled in vain to find remarks from Adonis condemning the outrageous way that BA used the courts to quash the first strike ballot; or...
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By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 * Gordon Brown has intervened personally in the British Airways industrial dispute in an attempt to avert a walkout by 12,000 cabin crew next weekend. * Every rape victim should have a specialist adviser to support them after an attack, a major review in England and Wales has recommended. * The funeral of Michael Foot will be held today in North London. * Alastair Campbell is playing the role of David Cameron in the TV...
View 'Gordon Brown steps in to try to stop BA staff strike - 8 in the morning, March 15th' >

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View 'Darling: We will have a spending review this year, but not before the election' >

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View 'Adonis: There will be firm proposals in our manifesto for an elected House of Lords' >

By Ian Robathan As I posted in a previous article on the Walsall South selection, I have a major concern over the control from the centre down to the local party. On Friday I went to my first ever selection meeting not knowing quite what to expect. What I experienced was actually a pleasant surprise. I had spoken to three candidates before the meeting and received a whole tree of literature so what they said on the day was of...
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By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 The Sunday Telegraph has the story that Jack Straw is to discuss with cabinet plans to include a move towards a fully elected, 300-member strong second chamber. The Telegraph says: "Under the government's proposals, members of the new chamber would be able to be subject to a US-style "recall ballot" which would disqualify them for incompetence." "The plans would see all members of the new-look assembly being directly elected – ending the system of...
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By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 UPDATE: The YouGov tracker tonight shows: Con 38%, Lab 33%, LD 17%. A new ICM poll for tomorrow's Sunday Telegraph shows the Tory lead down two points to 38% since last Sunday, with Labour unchanged on 31% and the Lib Dems up one point to 21%. Translated on a uniform swing, the new results would deliver a hung parliament, with the Tories on 292 seats - 34 seats short of a working majority - and...
View 'Poll List: Tory lead at 7 and lowest in ICM poll for two years' >

Letters from a Swing Voter This week, I was doorstepped for the very first time. I was, until then, a political-porch virgin, as it were. Like the majority of ‘first times’, it was awkward, a bit uncomfortable, brief and not particularly rewarding for at least one of us involved. It strikes me I’m a bit old to be popping my front-door cherry for the first time. I’m sure many of you reading this are far more experienced than I -...
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