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| PMQs and Cameron statement on G8 and Nato summits: Politics live blog | PMQs and Cameron statement on G8 and Nato summits: Politics live blog |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 9.13am: Is Ed Balls (pictured) ever off the TV? He seems a constant presence on the screens in my office, and he was on ITV's Daybreak this morning, with some robust arguments to make. Here are the main points. | |
| • Balls said that Labour would support the government if it opposed the European court of human rights on prisoner voting. In fact, Balls sounded even more gung-ho on this than some Tory ministers. | |
| This is one of those times in politics where there is cross-party consensus. The court first said this in 2004, that prisoners should be able to vote, and Labour then said we disagree and we did not implement it. I am all in favour of prisoners having the right kind of support and being rehabilitated but voting is one of the things I think you give up if you go to prison. So we all agree that this is the wrong thing ... If David Cameron's going to go out and fight this one we'll be supporting him on that. | |
| Yesterday Sadiq Khan's, the shadow justice secretary, also said Labour was opposed to prisoners having the right to vote, but Balls's language is more confrontational. | |
| • He rejected suggestions that the IMF managing director Christine Lagarde was criticising Labour yesterday when she talked about Britain's economic position in 2010. Lagarde said: "When I think back to May 2010, when the UK deficit was at 11%, and I try to imagine what the situation would be like today if no such fiscal consolidation programme had been decided, I shiver." Asked about this, Balls said Labour did have a plan to get the deficit down. | |
| If there was no plan to get the deficit down, I would be shivering too, of course. But there was a plan back then, our economy was recovering and George Osborne in this Parliament is going to have a bigger deficit than the plans Labour had. | |
| • He said he disagreed with the IMF's call for interest rates to be cut further. | |
| There are lots of people in their 50s or 60s saving for their retirement worried about interest rates being low. Actually, it's been important to have them low, but making them even lower, I'm not sure that will make the difference. | |
| I've taken some of the quotes from PoliticsHome. | |
| 9.00am: We'll be hearing a lot from David Cameron today. He's got PMQs, and then he's giving a statement in the Commons about the recent G8 and Nato summits in the US. The G8 summit seems to have been one of the least productive in recent years, but, with the eurozone on the brink of collapse, MPs will have plenty to ask Cameron about. And there are at least three stories in the news today that are likely to come up in some form. | 9.00am: We'll be hearing a lot from David Cameron today. He's got PMQs, and then he's giving a statement in the Commons about the recent G8 and Nato summits in the US. The G8 summit seems to have been one of the least productive in recent years, but, with the eurozone on the brink of collapse, MPs will have plenty to ask Cameron about. And there are at least three stories in the news today that are likely to come up in some form. |
| • Nick Clegg has told the Financial Times (subscription) that the government is planning a "massive" increase in state-backed investment in housing and infrastructure. It sounds suspiciously like Plan B. Here's an extract. | • Nick Clegg has told the Financial Times (subscription) that the government is planning a "massive" increase in state-backed investment in housing and infrastructure. It sounds suspiciously like Plan B. Here's an extract. |
| In an interview with the Financial Times, the deputy prime minister sounded a new tone on economic policy, when he said the government's "absolute priority" was to use the government's strong balance sheet to inject credit into the economy. | In an interview with the Financial Times, the deputy prime minister sounded a new tone on economic policy, when he said the government's "absolute priority" was to use the government's strong balance sheet to inject credit into the economy. |
| Mr Clegg said the coalition was looking at "massively amplifying the principle of what we did on credit easing" – a reference to the Treasury's £20bn scheme to support lending to small businesses. | Mr Clegg said the coalition was looking at "massively amplifying the principle of what we did on credit easing" – a reference to the Treasury's £20bn scheme to support lending to small businesses. |
| • Adrian Beecroft, the Tory business adviser, has told the Daily Telegraph that Vince Cable is a "socialist" who should not be running the Deparment for Business. | • Adrian Beecroft, the Tory business adviser, has told the Daily Telegraph that Vince Cable is a "socialist" who should not be running the Deparment for Business. |
| [Beecroft] claims the Business Secretary's objections to the proposals are "ideological not economic". "I think he is a socialist who found a home in the Lib Dems, so he's one of the Left," Mr Beecroft says. "I think people find it very odd that he's in charge of business and yet appears to do very little to support business." | [Beecroft] claims the Business Secretary's objections to the proposals are "ideological not economic". "I think he is a socialist who found a home in the Lib Dems, so he's one of the Left," Mr Beecroft says. "I think people find it very odd that he's in charge of business and yet appears to do very little to support business." |
• The BBC has revealed that ministers have taken legal advice on how Britain could, or could not, intervene in a war between Israel and Iran. This is from Nick Robinson. | • The BBC has revealed that ministers have taken legal advice on how Britain could, or could not, intervene in a war between Israel and Iran. This is from Nick Robinson. |
| I have learnt that UK ministers are discussing not just the possibility of a military confrontation but what role, if any, Britain might play and whether any involvement would be legal. | I have learnt that UK ministers are discussing not just the possibility of a military confrontation but what role, if any, Britain might play and whether any involvement would be legal. |
| Last week in London, the National Security Council discussed what would happen if the latest set of negotiations with Iran failed and if Israel carried out its threat to launch a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. | Last week in London, the National Security Council discussed what would happen if the latest set of negotiations with Iran failed and if Israel carried out its threat to launch a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. |
| Ministers were told that this could trigger a wider war in the Middle East in which Iran might respond not just by attacking Israel, but also by closing the vital trade route - the Strait of Hormuz - through which more than a fifth of the world's oil shipments are carried. | Ministers were told that this could trigger a wider war in the Middle East in which Iran might respond not just by attacking Israel, but also by closing the vital trade route - the Strait of Hormuz - through which more than a fifth of the world's oil shipments are carried. |
| I understand that the government's law officers are now examining the legality of any British involvement if this happen. | I understand that the government's law officers are now examining the legality of any British involvement if this happen. |
| I expect we'll hear more on all three of these stories later today. | I expect we'll hear more on all three of these stories later today. |
| Here's the full agenda. | Here's the full agenda. |
| 11am: BBC presenters Andrew Marr and Jeremy Paxman, the Tory MP Stephen Dorrell and the Labour peer John Reid give evidence to the Leveson inquiry. | 11am: BBC presenters Andrew Marr and Jeremy Paxman, the Tory MP Stephen Dorrell and the Labour peer John Reid give evidence to the Leveson inquiry. |
| 12pm: David Cameron and Ed Miliband clash at PMQs. 12.30pm: Cameron makes to Commons statement on the G8 and Nato summits. | 12pm: David Cameron and Ed Miliband clash at PMQs. 12.30pm: Cameron makes to Commons statement on the G8 and Nato summits. |
| 2.05pm: The Commons transport committee takes evidence on transport and the Olympics. | 2.05pm: The Commons transport committee takes evidence on transport and the Olympics. |
| 2.30pm: Kenneth Clarke, the justice secretary, gives evidence to the Commons justice committee on the Ministry of Justice. | 2.30pm: Kenneth Clarke, the justice secretary, gives evidence to the Commons justice committee on the Ministry of Justice. |
| As usual, I'll be covering all the breaking political news, as well as looking at the papers and bringing you the best politics from the web. I'll post a lunchtime summary at around 1pm and another in the afternoon. | As usual, I'll be covering all the breaking political news, as well as looking at the papers and bringing you the best politics from the web. I'll post a lunchtime summary at around 1pm and another in the afternoon. |
| If you want to follow me on Twitter, I'm on @AndrewSparrow. | If you want to follow me on Twitter, I'm on @AndrewSparrow. |
| And if you're a hardcore fan, you can follow @gdnpoliticslive. It's an automated feed that tweets the start of every new post that I put on the blog. | And if you're a hardcore fan, you can follow @gdnpoliticslive. It's an automated feed that tweets the start of every new post that I put on the blog. |