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30-04-2008, 09:07 AM
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Brown plans barrage of policies to counter-attack after elections
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brown-plans-barrage-of-policies-to-counterattack-after-elections-818056.html
Gordon Brown will unveil new policies next month in an attempt to fight back after what Labour expects to be disappointing local election results tomorrow.
http://www.independent.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00026/IN4073751Prime_Minis_26059t.jpg
Labour officials fear the party could lose 200 seats in the local authority elections in England and Wales. Some predict that the party could even come third behind the Liberal Democrats, which would be a humiliating setback for Mr Brown in his first elections as Labour leader.
Although much media attention will focus on the race between Labour's Ken Livingstone and the Tories' Boris Johnson for Mayor of London, the national share of the vote shown by the contests for 4,023 seats on 159 councils will provide a more accurate barometer of public opinion.
The Tories insist there is little scope for Labour to make huge losses because the party did poorly when many of the seats being contested were last fought in 2004. But with many of the elections taking place in Labour's metropolitan heartlands, the party's MPs are bracing themselves for a backlash over Mr Brown's decision to scrap the 10p lower rate of income tax.
Ministers will try to calm Labour nerves if there is a "wobble" over whether Mr Brown should lead the party into the next election. They insist there is no prospect of a change of leader.
The Prime Minister is expected to promise that Labour will "listen and learn" if the results are poor. He will seek to fight back by showing that Labour has not run out of steam. A draft Queen's Speech for the parliamentary session starting in November was discussed by the Cabinet yesterday and will be published next month. The measures include reforms to health and education and constitutional reforms designed to devolve more power to ordinary people. Longer term reforms could include a largely elected House of Lords and a new voting system for Westminster elections.
Mr Brown is determined to regain the initiative from David Cameron's resurgent Tories. In the short term, he wants to put the spotlight on policies rather than personalities – a sign that he may avoid a cabinet reshuffle immediately after tomorrow's elections, which might be seen as a panic response. He predicted yesterday that many people would vote on local rather than national issues. Asked about the row over the 10p tax rate, he said: "I think what happens is people vote on what is happening in their schools and on their streets."
Mr Cameron, who was campaigning in Sale, Greater Manchester, said: "People want a leader with conviction not calculation. They want a doer, not a ditherer. On Thursday, we can start the job of finishing off this Government, that we will continue at the next general election."
Labour will today move the writ for a by-election to be held on 22 May in Crewe and Nantwich – where it has a 7,078 majority – following the death last week of Gwyneth Dunwoody. It is the earliest possible date for the contest.
Brown plans barrage of policies to counter-attack after elections
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brown-plans-barrage-of-policies-to-counterattack-after-elections-818056.html
Gordon Brown will unveil new policies next month in an attempt to fight back after what Labour expects to be disappointing local election results tomorrow.
http://www.independent.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00026/IN4073751Prime_Minis_26059t.jpg
Labour officials fear the party could lose 200 seats in the local authority elections in England and Wales. Some predict that the party could even come third behind the Liberal Democrats, which would be a humiliating setback for Mr Brown in his first elections as Labour leader.
Although much media attention will focus on the race between Labour's Ken Livingstone and the Tories' Boris Johnson for Mayor of London, the national share of the vote shown by the contests for 4,023 seats on 159 councils will provide a more accurate barometer of public opinion.
The Tories insist there is little scope for Labour to make huge losses because the party did poorly when many of the seats being contested were last fought in 2004. But with many of the elections taking place in Labour's metropolitan heartlands, the party's MPs are bracing themselves for a backlash over Mr Brown's decision to scrap the 10p lower rate of income tax.
Ministers will try to calm Labour nerves if there is a "wobble" over whether Mr Brown should lead the party into the next election. They insist there is no prospect of a change of leader.
The Prime Minister is expected to promise that Labour will "listen and learn" if the results are poor. He will seek to fight back by showing that Labour has not run out of steam. A draft Queen's Speech for the parliamentary session starting in November was discussed by the Cabinet yesterday and will be published next month. The measures include reforms to health and education and constitutional reforms designed to devolve more power to ordinary people. Longer term reforms could include a largely elected House of Lords and a new voting system for Westminster elections.
Mr Brown is determined to regain the initiative from David Cameron's resurgent Tories. In the short term, he wants to put the spotlight on policies rather than personalities – a sign that he may avoid a cabinet reshuffle immediately after tomorrow's elections, which might be seen as a panic response. He predicted yesterday that many people would vote on local rather than national issues. Asked about the row over the 10p tax rate, he said: "I think what happens is people vote on what is happening in their schools and on their streets."
Mr Cameron, who was campaigning in Sale, Greater Manchester, said: "People want a leader with conviction not calculation. They want a doer, not a ditherer. On Thursday, we can start the job of finishing off this Government, that we will continue at the next general election."
Labour will today move the writ for a by-election to be held on 22 May in Crewe and Nantwich – where it has a 7,078 majority – following the death last week of Gwyneth Dunwoody. It is the earliest possible date for the contest.