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| Politics live blog: Tuesday 12 June | Politics live blog: Tuesday 12 June |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 10.55am: William Hague, the foreign secretary, has given a press conference in Islamabad. He said Britain does not want foreign military intervention in Syria. | |
| Clearly, we are not looking for any foreign military intervention and we should not think about it in terms of 'another Libya'. As I was pointing out to the House of Commons yesterday, the analogy is now more to the situation in the Balkans as it develops now, that we see the regime using heavy weapons against civilian-populated areas and then sending in militias to kill and murder people. This is reminiscent of Bosnia in the early 1990s. | |
| So I don't think we should be thinking in terms of the Libyan situation last year. All our efforts are going into supporting a peaceful transition in Syria and a peaceful solution, because any violent solution would clearly involve many more deaths and a great deal more hardship for the Syrian people. | |
| 10.46am: Here's the start of the story that the Press Association has filed from the opening of Sir John Major's evidence to the Leveson inquiry. | |
Former Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher admired "buccaneering businessmen" who were prepared to take risks, an inquiry into press standards was told today. Sir John Major - who succeeded Mrs Thatcher as Tory premier in 1990 - told the Leveson Inquiry that newspaper proprietors fell into that "buccaneering" category. And Sir John said Mrs Thatcher's right-wing views appealed to national newspaper editors and proprietors. He was speaking after being asked to outline the relationship Mrs Thatcher - now Baroness Thatcher - had with newspaper tycoon Rupert Murdoch, owner of The Sun. "I think she admired buccaneering businessmen who were prepared to take risks," Sir John told today's hearing in London. "And that certainly applied to proprietors of newspapers." He said Mrs Thatcher's policies on issues such as trade union reform and Europe appealed to most national newspapers. "Margaret was probably the most right of centre leader the Conservative Party had had for a long time," said Sir John, who left office in 1997. "I think that appealed to national newspaper editors and proprietors." | |
| 10.15am: Sir John Major has told the Leveson inquiry that Kelvin MacKenzie made it up about the "bucket of shit". (See 8.50am.) Major did not quite put it like that, of course, but he said that he read MacKenzie's account of their Black Wednesday conversation "with a degree of wonder and surprise". If MacKenzie had used the "bucket of shit" line, he would have remembered it, Major said. But he doesn't. And he would not have invited MacKenzie to Number 10 12 months later, as he did, if the conversation had taken that course. | 10.15am: Sir John Major has told the Leveson inquiry that Kelvin MacKenzie made it up about the "bucket of shit". (See 8.50am.) Major did not quite put it like that, of course, but he said that he read MacKenzie's account of their Black Wednesday conversation "with a degree of wonder and surprise". If MacKenzie had used the "bucket of shit" line, he would have remembered it, Major said. But he doesn't. And he would not have invited MacKenzie to Number 10 12 months later, as he did, if the conversation had taken that course. |
| 10.06am: Sir John Major is giving evidence to the Leveson inquiry now. | 10.06am: Sir John Major is giving evidence to the Leveson inquiry now. |
You can follow the proceedings on our Leveson live blog. | You can follow the proceedings on our Leveson live blog. |
| 9.52am: The Ministry of Defence has announced details of another round of redundancies. Some 3,800 servicemen and women are leaving. Here's the MoD news release. | 9.52am: The Ministry of Defence has announced details of another round of redundancies. Some 3,800 servicemen and women are leaving. Here's the MoD news release. |
| And here's the chart setting out the details. Applicants are people who applied for redundancy. "Non-applicants" is a euphemism for those being sacked. | And here's the chart setting out the details. Applicants are people who applied for redundancy. "Non-applicants" is a euphemism for those being sacked. |
| People being made redundant will be told face-to-face. | People being made redundant will be told face-to-face. |
| Here's a statement that Philip Hammond, the defence secretary, has put out about the job losses. | Here's a statement that Philip Hammond, the defence secretary, has put out about the job losses. |
| Of course I regret that it has been necessary to make redundancies to deliver our plans for reducing the size of the Armed Forces. We inherited a multi billion pound black hole in the defence budget which had meant the previous Government had not been able to afford to properly equip our troops with the kit they needed. | Of course I regret that it has been necessary to make redundancies to deliver our plans for reducing the size of the Armed Forces. We inherited a multi billion pound black hole in the defence budget which had meant the previous Government had not been able to afford to properly equip our troops with the kit they needed. |
| We've now brought the defence budget back into balance for the first time in a generation. We will have smaller Armed Forces but we will ensure they will have the protection and equipment they need. | We've now brought the defence budget back into balance for the first time in a generation. We will have smaller Armed Forces but we will ensure they will have the protection and equipment they need. |
| The Royal Navy and RAF redundancy figures are smaller than anticipated due to the MoD's ability to use other measures such as slowing recruitment. No further significant reductions are expected for the Royal Navy or RAF. We still have some way to go to bring the size of the Army down to 82,000 and decisions on what is necessary to achieve this are yet to be taken, but we won't compromise the mission in Afghanistan. | The Royal Navy and RAF redundancy figures are smaller than anticipated due to the MoD's ability to use other measures such as slowing recruitment. No further significant reductions are expected for the Royal Navy or RAF. We still have some way to go to bring the size of the Army down to 82,000 and decisions on what is necessary to achieve this are yet to be taken, but we won't compromise the mission in Afghanistan. |
| 9.44am: Matt in the Telegraph is particularly good today. | 9.44am: Matt in the Telegraph is particularly good today. |
| 9.33am: For the record, here are the latest YouGov GB polling figures. | 9.33am: For the record, here are the latest YouGov GB polling figures. |
| Labour: 45% (up 3 points from YouGov in the Sunday Times) Conservatives: 31% (down 3) Lib Dems: 9% (up 2) Ukip: 9% (no change) | Labour: 45% (up 3 points from YouGov in the Sunday Times) Conservatives: 31% (down 3) Lib Dems: 9% (up 2) Ukip: 9% (no change) |
| Labour lead: 14 points | Labour lead: 14 points |
| Government approval: -38 | Government approval: -38 |
| This is the fourth time a YouGov poll has put the Labour lead at 14 points, the largest it has been since the general election. | This is the fourth time a YouGov poll has put the Labour lead at 14 points, the largest it has been since the general election. |
| 9.11am: As Randeep Ramesh reports in the Guardian today, the annual British Social Attitudes survey has recorded the largest fall in public satisfaction with the NHS for a decade. | 9.11am: As Randeep Ramesh reports in the Guardian today, the annual British Social Attitudes survey has recorded the largest fall in public satisfaction with the NHS for a decade. |
| Simon Burns (pictured), the health minister, has been on BBC News this morning questioning the validity of the findings. According to PoliticsHome, he said patient surveys gave a different impression. | Simon Burns (pictured), the health minister, has been on BBC News this morning questioning the validity of the findings. According to PoliticsHome, he said patient surveys gave a different impression. |
| It doesn't tell the full story. If you look at the inpatient survey – that is, people who have been treated – which is going to be published later this week, it shows that 92% of people were very satisfied or thought that the service they got being treated was good. The survey you refer to, which is based on 1,000 people, was members of the public, not necessarily people who'd actually had any experience of the health service during the time. | It doesn't tell the full story. If you look at the inpatient survey – that is, people who have been treated – which is going to be published later this week, it shows that 92% of people were very satisfied or thought that the service they got being treated was good. The survey you refer to, which is based on 1,000 people, was members of the public, not necessarily people who'd actually had any experience of the health service during the time. |
| Burns also said that the British Social Attitudes survey was carried out in the autumn of last year, when the row about the health bill was at its height. "A lot of things were thrown about that were totally inaccurate and there would have been an impact on people's views of the health service," Burns said. | Burns also said that the British Social Attitudes survey was carried out in the autumn of last year, when the row about the health bill was at its height. "A lot of things were thrown about that were totally inaccurate and there would have been an impact on people's views of the health service," Burns said. |
| The story is based on an analysis of the British Social Attitudes survey figures carried out by the King's Fund, the health thinktank, which you can read here. | The story is based on an analysis of the British Social Attitudes survey figures carried out by the King's Fund, the health thinktank, which you can read here. |
| Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, has been responding on Twitter. | Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, has been responding on Twitter. |
| "@BBCr4today: #NHS survey "influenced by noises-off in political sphere" says Simon Burns" < he really needs to get that brass-neck seen to. | "@BBCr4today: #NHS survey "influenced by noises-off in political sphere" says Simon Burns" < he really needs to get that brass-neck seen to. |
| — Andy Burnham (@andyburnhammp) June 12, 2012 | — Andy Burnham (@andyburnhammp) June 12, 2012 |
| 8.50am: The Leveson inquiry is taking us all on another ramble down memory lane this morning, with Sir John Major (remember him?) giving evidence. Neil Kinnock is normally cited as the political leader most viciously trashed by the tabloid press, but the last Conservative leader to win a general election must come a close second and it will be interesting to hear him tell his version of the Kelvin MacKenzie "bucket of shit" story. Back at Westminster, it's a patchy day, with lots of select committees sitting. And the Church of England's claim that gay marriage could undermine its status as the state church is leading the news. Crispin Blunt, the justice minister, has been playing down the significance of what its saying. According to PoliticsHome, this is what Blunt told BBC News. | 8.50am: The Leveson inquiry is taking us all on another ramble down memory lane this morning, with Sir John Major (remember him?) giving evidence. Neil Kinnock is normally cited as the political leader most viciously trashed by the tabloid press, but the last Conservative leader to win a general election must come a close second and it will be interesting to hear him tell his version of the Kelvin MacKenzie "bucket of shit" story. Back at Westminster, it's a patchy day, with lots of select committees sitting. And the Church of England's claim that gay marriage could undermine its status as the state church is leading the news. Crispin Blunt, the justice minister, has been playing down the significance of what its saying. According to PoliticsHome, this is what Blunt told BBC News. |
As far as I can see the Church of England is split down the middle on this issue and, of course, what the government are proposing is around marriage in the eyes of the state. We're seeking to protect, indeed, proscribe religious organisations from offering gay marriage. That may be problematic legally, but the proposal the government are putting forward is that marriage should be equal in the eyes of the state whether it's between a same-sex couple or between a man and a woman. | As far as I can see the Church of England is split down the middle on this issue and, of course, what the government are proposing is around marriage in the eyes of the state. We're seeking to protect, indeed, proscribe religious organisations from offering gay marriage. That may be problematic legally, but the proposal the government are putting forward is that marriage should be equal in the eyes of the state whether it's between a same-sex couple or between a man and a woman. |
| The Church of England's full statement on gay marriage is available here (pdf). | The Church of England's full statement on gay marriage is available here (pdf). |
| Here's the full agenda for the day. 9.30am: Nick Herbert, the policing minister, Tom Winsor, the government's preferred candidate for the next chief inspector of constabulary, and Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, speak at a policing conference. | Here's the full agenda for the day. 9.30am: Nick Herbert, the policing minister, Tom Winsor, the government's preferred candidate for the next chief inspector of constabulary, and Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, speak at a policing conference. |
| 10am: Sir John Major, the former prime minister, Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, and Harriet Harman, the deputy Labour leader, give evidence to the Leveson inquiry. | 10am: Sir John Major, the former prime minister, Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, and Harriet Harman, the deputy Labour leader, give evidence to the Leveson inquiry. |
| 10am: Remunertion experts give evidence to the Commons Treasury committee about City pay. | 10am: Remunertion experts give evidence to the Commons Treasury committee about City pay. |
| 10am: Energy companies give evidence to a Commons committee about the draft energy bill. | 10am: Energy companies give evidence to a Commons committee about the draft energy bill. |
| 10.30am: James O'Shaughnessy, Michael Jacobs and Duncan Brack, former special advisers, give evidence to the Commons public administration committee about their role. | 10.30am: James O'Shaughnessy, Michael Jacobs and Duncan Brack, former special advisers, give evidence to the Commons public administration committee about their role. |
| 11am: Peter Fahy, the Manchester police chief constable, Colin Lambert, leader of Rochdale council, and others give evidence to the Commons home affairs committee about child grooming. | 11am: Peter Fahy, the Manchester police chief constable, Colin Lambert, leader of Rochdale council, and others give evidence to the Commons home affairs committee about child grooming. |
| 11.30am: David Willetts, the universities minister, gives evidence to the Commons business committee about higher education reform. | 11.30am: David Willetts, the universities minister, gives evidence to the Commons business committee about higher education reform. |
| 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. |