As political and business leaders gathered in Davos to discuss the economic outlook for 2014, could this week in Westminster provide a window on how the coming year will shape up for UK politics? In a word, probably.
Cost of living
Ed Miliband at Prime Minister’s Questions continued with his focus on the cost of living ‘crisis’ that will run throughout 2014. On this occasion, he examined average wages stating that they were £1,600 a year lower than in 2010 and that many living in poverty were from working families. But timing is everything and the ONS’s announcement that there had been the largest quarterly fall in unemployment for 17 years gave Cameron plenty of ammunition to return fire.
Energy scrutiny
Meanwhile, intense political scrutiny over companies that operate in the energy sector continued this week and will no doubt feature for the next 12 months. This week, the spotlight fell on Energy Network bosses with Tim Yeo MP accusing them of exploiting their monopolistic position and complacency in their response to the Christmas storms. Energy Suppliers didn’t escape MPs attention either with several Early Day Motions tabled condemning the practice of charging customers extra for not paying by direct debit.
Internal disciplinary mechanisms
Nick Clegg decided to escape Westminster with a trip to Davos and with it came the opportunity to maintain his ongoing attempts to differentiate the Liberal Democrats from their coalition partners. Clegg warned that the Conservatives flirtation with an EU exit was damaging the country’s economic and business interests. Unfortunately for the LibDem leader, the media were more interested in his party’s internal disciplinary mechanisms closer to home, bringing uncomfortable reading for Party supporters. If history repeats itself, the spotlight will move away unless things get messy in the courts and control is lost.
Ministerial biscuit ban
On a lighter note, Eric Pickles is reported to have banned Ministers from eating taxpayer funded biscuits. Ministers be warned...where Pickles goes, others follow. So by the end of 2014, my prediction is that Whitehall will be a biscuit free zone (for Ministers)!
David Beamer
Founder and Managing Director, Brevia Consulting