The Week in Wet-minster

In these times of meteorological and economic uncertainty, what voters value above all else is a knock on the door from an overly enthusiastic party activist, asking them to trudge out on a cold February day to vote in a by-election.

No? Well like it or not, that’s what the residents of Wythenshawe and Sale East have experienced over the past few weeks, and yesterday they responded with a turnout of 28%, sending Labour’s newest MP, Michael Kane, to Westminster. After initial excitement over UKIP’s prospects, the Labour party’s election machine quickly put paid to any chance of an upset, prompting a few grumblings of foul play from Farage himself.

But the by-election wasn’t the only contest Nigel lost this week, with his flood-fashion failing to make the grade. And he wasn’t alone. Ed Miliband struggled to hide the grimace as his brand new wellies filled with icy water, and Nick Clegg looked a bit wet in his ‘glum dad at Center Parcs’ number. David Cameron, a Shire Tory to his bones, looked the best in gumboots and made use of the great asset that all Prime Ministers have in a crisis: namely, that they can do things, while others can only talk about them.

This was also the week that some in Westminster remembered that not only is there a (rather wet) country outside of the M25, but that there’s another one slightly north of Watford which may not be entirely satisfied with its current constitutional arrangement. The increased media attention on mooted Scottish independence, allied with George Osborne’s pledge not to allow a currency union, could be a sign that Westminster is getting the jitters. While this slightly ignores the fact that the average poll share of the Yes campaign has increased just 1.2 percentage points since September, only a fool rules Alex Salmond out of anything.

Just two weeks after Labour’s proposed ‘ban on smoking in cars when children are present’ was approved in the Lords, MPs voted in favour of an amendment to the Children and Families Bill, which empowers (but does not compel) ministers to bring in said ban. This was the second high profile legislative win by a campaigning Labour MP in the last six months - so hats off to Luciana Berger. Time will tell if interventions like hers, and Stella Creasy’s on payday loan caps before it, will get Labour any credit with the voters.

Finally, there was a reminder of the golden (and perhaps imaginary) days of political accountability with the resignation of immigration minister Mark Harper. By resigning on the premise of holding himself to a higher standard, Harper has set the benchmark for how we should expect our elected officials to behave and – whether you like his policies or not – deserves credit for doing so.

David Radestock
Consultant, Pagefield

Additional content by Rory Cronin, Sam Oakley and Tom Bage