It has been quite a week in Westminster and beyond. The rain might have ceased but the unpredictable climate was there for all to see.
Dark clouds loomed over Labour’s Deputy Leader, Harriet Harman, following four front page attacks from the Daily Mail regarding her association with Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE). Matthew Parris in The Times called the attacks on Harman a ‘load of bull’ but thought she was ‘silly’ not to say sorry. Harman expressed regret, but that wasn’t going to quell the media’s oh-so-often insatiable yearning for the s-word. Harman’s five statements in 48 hours did not help her cause, however I found myself sympathising with her hazardous situation; don’t say sorry and the story continues, say sorry and allow your accusers to exaggerate your admission of guilt. Harman may receive some respite following Labour MP, Tom Watson’s intervention that the Thatcher Government may have provided state funding to PIE. Watch this space.
The weather dominated the leader’s exchanges at PMQs as Ed Miliband implied David Cameron was a ‘climate change denier’ and Cameron hit back by calling Ed Miliband a ‘reality denier’. Backbenchers were in stitches and Punch & Judy were back with a bang. Ed Miliband did land a blow by referencing the one time social care guru now head of the UK Statistics Authority, Andrew Dilnot, who said that less had been spent on flood defences in the last four years than the preceding four years. It’s hardly surprising given the period of austerity, however Cameron did himself no favours by denying it.
Aberdeen had no defence for the flood of Cabinet Ministers that arrived on Monday. The Prime Minister put himself in the firing line, this time to talk about North Sea Oil, which was a surprise given the backlash in the polls caused by the Chancellor and co’s recent posturing over the pound. Alex Salmond wasn’t fazed and took the opportunity to recite his beautifully alliterative ‘bluff, bully and bluster’ line on the Today programme, making the astute point that Westminster would be much less combative post a Yes vote. However, Salmond can’t have enjoyed Standard Life’s veiled threat to up and leave Scotland in the event of a yes vote. Brace yourselves for a bumpy ride on the road to September 18th, as the state of the union hangs in the balance.
Speaking of unions, Angela Merkel was in town this week and commentators built her speech up to be make or break for David Cameron’s treaty change aims. Some suggested the German Chancellor was going to offer the UK EU opt-outs, while others claimed that she wanted to strengthen the ties between EU countries. Instead, Merkel stressed renewal over reform and said we ‘need a strong UK with a strong voice inside the EU’. A slight dig at Cameron’s leadership on Europe perhaps? Merkel did, however, make it clear that she is not going to budge on the EU’s freedom of movement policy, and with the news that UK net migration is on the up the Prime Minister’s promise to reduce net migration to 100,000 looks in tatters.
Finally, the sun shone on the Ukrainian people for a wonderful, if fleeting, moment this week. The icy stand-off between Russia and the West, reminiscent of the Cold War days, has the potential to make waves in the coming weeks in Westminster.
Toby Brown
Political Consultant, Munro & Forster Communications