'Ed Miliband speaks on elected police commissioners: Politics live blog' diff viewer (6/7)

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Ed Miliband speaks on elected police commissioners: Politics live blog	Ed Miliband speaks on elected police commissioners: Politics live blog
2012-06-18 12:20:04 UTC	2012-06-18 13:00:05 UTC (40 minutes later)
	1.45pm: Here's a lunchtime summary.
	• David Cameron has said that a delay in forming a government in Greec "could be very dangerous". He issued the warning as he arrived in Mexico for the G20 summit where he will press for action to stabilise the eurozone. In a speech later today, he will say his fellow leaders must eschew caution or defeatism.
	This is no time for caution or defeatism. The road ahead will not be easy. But I believe that we understand the steps needed to revitalise the world economy and that together we can take the bold steps necessary.
	The stakes are high, of course - incredibly high. But with courage and determination we can use these G20 and B20 summits to really begin to get to grips with these five great threats to the global economy. That is the task that brings us together in Mexico. To secure our prosperity now and for generations to come.
	Patrick Wintour has a preview of the speech here. • Labour has said the terms of the Greek bailout must be revised. In an article in the Evening Standard (see 12.29pm), Ed Balls said: "Sticking to the ideology of austerity has failed and is now building to a catastrophe." Ed Miliband said there was a real danger of complacency in the light of the New Democracy victory in the Greek elections. (See 10.21am.) • Downing Street has signalled that it is backing away from plans to impose regional pay in the public sector. Following a report (see 12.05pm) claiming that Nick Clegg is planning to veto the plan, which was first announced by George Osborne, a Downing Street spokeswoman told journalists at the lobby briefing this morning: "Unless there is strong evidence and a good case for it [regional pay], things won't change."
	• At least five former ministers are on track to return to public office following the announcement that they have been selected as Labour candidates for elected police commissioner posts. John Prescott, Alun Michael, Jane Kennedy, Tony Lloyd and Vera Baird are among the Labour candidates selections. The elections will take place in November. Labour is announcing all its candidates today and the names are going up on the party website as they are announced. Ed Miliband said: "We didn't seek these police commissioner elections ... But if these elections do go ahead - if the government insists on them going ahead - we, Labour, are determined to make the best of a bad job." (See 11.34am.)
	• Unison, Britain's largest public sector union, has threatened to organise strike action if ministers do not halt the multi-year pay freeze.
	• Boris Johnson has accused David Cameron of dithering over the question of whether to expand airport capacity in the south east. In an interview with the Evening Standard, he quoted Churchill, saying the government was "resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift".
	The whole decision to re-open [discussion about] Heathrow is designed to cause confusion — to muddy the waters and allow the process to become delayed for as long as possible. It's a procrastination device. The government strategy at the moment is divide and rule. It's a ruse designed to dissipate the energy of a campaign for a new airport.
	• Vince Cable, the business secretary, has indicated that the coalition wants to promote more house-building by using government guarantees to encourarage more private investment. He made the comment in a speech this morning.
	A second approach is to use government guarantees, which do not count as public sector liabilities but are sufficient to trigger investment which would not otherwise occur. For example, my department operates the Entreprise Finance Guarantee under which we might guarantee £100m of borrowing but only score, say, £20m against the deficit. Arguably the conservatism of the banks is preventing this scheme from achieving as much as it should but it has undoubtedly ensured that many thousands of companies can survive and expand.
	There is little doubt that these models could be expanded on a large scale in other sectors, and particularly infrastructure. One sector where progress could be made rapidly is in housing. The main vehicle for social housing for rent (as well as shared ownership) is housing associations. These are independent, not for profit, institutions which can – and do – borrow in capital markets. There is large unmet demand for social housing which may be self-financing if built, in conjunction with private housing. Indeed, some major UK contractors are doing just that with access to long term – 10 years plus finance – with access to guarantees. This activity could be multiplied.
	There are now some interesting ideas out there for government guarantees could trigger a significant volume of housing investment, replicating the recovery model of the 1930s and leading hopefully to a virtuous circle of new building lending to increased affordability and also increased private demand.
	• Ministers have launched a consultation into the nursery school free milk scheme, claiming abuse of the system means the government is being billed up to £1 a pint. As the Press Association reports, figures show that middlemen are charging around double the retail cost, meaning the government is spending 92p on a pint of milk while most consumers can buy a pint for 45p. A loophole in the system means the government is obliged to pick up the bill, regardless of cost, submitted by firms that are acting as schools' go-between with suppliers. • The Treasury has announced a consultation on plans to use tax reliefs to support the TV and video games industry. • A report into the PIP breast implant scandal has concluded that the material they contain does not cause a long-term threat to human health.
12.35pm: It's hard to imagine a dull interview with Boris Johnson, but this one, in New York magazine, is a cracker.	12.35pm: It's hard to imagine a dull interview with Boris Johnson, but this one, in New York magazine, is a cracker.
Do read the whole thing. But, if you're in a rush, here are the highlights.	Do read the whole thing. But, if you're in a rush, here are the highlights.
• Johnson says he wants to "assume supreme power in England". It is, of course, a joke. But that does not mean it's not true.	• Johnson says he wants to "assume supreme power in England". It is, of course, a joke. But that does not mean it's not true.
• He says Europe should abandon the euro.	• He says Europe should abandon the euro.
For what it's worth, he thinks Europe needs to just dump the euro. "Better an end with horror than horror without end," he says, deploying a German proverb associated with the last days of the First World War.	For what it's worth, he thinks Europe needs to just dump the euro. "Better an end with horror than horror without end," he says, deploying a German proverb associated with the last days of the First World War.
• He describes himself as a "libertarian anarcho-Tory".	• He describes himself as a "libertarian anarcho-Tory".
• He says the lure of cities is explained by the human desire for sex and fame. Johnson, as we all know, is an expert on both. This is not a particularly political point, but it's interesting anyway.	• He says the lure of cities is explained by the human desire for sex and fame. Johnson, as we all know, is an expert on both. This is not a particularly political point, but it's interesting anyway.
"The whole thesis" of his book, [Johnson] says, "is about prestige. What makes people tick. We seek cities because there are a greater range of girls at the bar, of reproductive choice. Number one. Number two is there are better outcomes for health and wealth. And now we care more about the environment, and cities are better for the environment. But above all, talented people seek cities for fame. They can't get famous in the fucking village." Then he recites: "Fame is the spur which clear spirit doth raise / That last infirmity of noble mind / To scorn delights, and live laborious days." It's from "Lycidas," the John Milton poem about a friend who drowned in the Irish Channel. "That's what's driving me. That's the awful fact." He mentions Benjamin Disraeli, another writer-politician, who once told another member of Parliament, " 'We came here for fame.' And a city, by the sheer concentration of people, provides the most amazing opportunity to get that affirmation—which is what it's about. The reason that so many ideas are produced in cities is not just that people are cross-fertilizing; it's because they want to beat each other. They want to become more famous than the other person."	"The whole thesis" of his book, [Johnson] says, "is about prestige. What makes people tick. We seek cities because there are a greater range of girls at the bar, of reproductive choice. Number one. Number two is there are better outcomes for health and wealth. And now we care more about the environment, and cities are better for the environment. But above all, talented people seek cities for fame. They can't get famous in the fucking village." Then he recites: "Fame is the spur which clear spirit doth raise / That last infirmity of noble mind / To scorn delights, and live laborious days." It's from "Lycidas," the John Milton poem about a friend who drowned in the Irish Channel. "That's what's driving me. That's the awful fact." He mentions Benjamin Disraeli, another writer-politician, who once told another member of Parliament, " 'We came here for fame.' And a city, by the sheer concentration of people, provides the most amazing opportunity to get that affirmation—which is what it's about. The reason that so many ideas are produced in cities is not just that people are cross-fertilizing; it's because they want to beat each other. They want to become more famous than the other person."
12.29pm: Ed Balls (pictured), the shadow chancellor, has written an article for the Evening Standard saying that the world needs a "global growth plan" and that the eurozone countries should revise the terms of the Greek bailout agreement. Here's an extract.	12.29pm: Ed Balls (pictured), the shadow chancellor, has written an article for the Evening Standard saying that the world needs a "global growth plan" and that the eurozone countries should revise the terms of the Greek bailout agreement. Here's an extract.
There is no easy option for Greece, given its problems. Difficult reforms are vital. But how can an austerity plan — which has seen recession turn into depression, youth unemployment soar to more than 50 per cent, the economy shrink by six per cent in the last year alone and the national debt grow further — be seen as a success? As even the credit rating agencies now recognise, as Standard and Poor's puts it, that "austerity alone risks becoming self-defeating".	There is no easy option for Greece, given its problems. Difficult reforms are vital. But how can an austerity plan — which has seen recession turn into depression, youth unemployment soar to more than 50 per cent, the economy shrink by six per cent in the last year alone and the national debt grow further — be seen as a success? As even the credit rating agencies now recognise, as Standard and Poor's puts it, that "austerity alone risks becoming self-defeating".
The irony is that yesterday's vote now allows eurozone leaders to do what they should have done before. They must now revise the Greek bailout agreement if it is to have any chance of economic success or lasting political support.	The irony is that yesterday's vote now allows eurozone leaders to do what they should have done before. They must now revise the Greek bailout agreement if it is to have any chance of economic success or lasting political support.
12.05pm: You can read all today's Guardian politics stories here. And all the politics stories filed yesterday, including some in today's paper, are here.	12.05pm: You can read all today's Guardian politics stories here. And all the politics stories filed yesterday, including some in today's paper, are here.
As for the rest of the papers, here are some stories that are particularly interesting.	As for the rest of the papers, here are some stories that are particularly interesting.
• Andrew Grice in the Independent says Nick Clegg is preparting to veto plans for regional pay in the public sector.	• Andrew Grice in the Independent says Nick Clegg is preparting to veto plans for regional pay in the public sector.
Nick Clegg is preparing to veto Chancellor George Osborne's controversial proposal to introduce local pay agreements throughout the public sector.	Nick Clegg is preparing to veto Chancellor George Osborne's controversial proposal to introduce local pay agreements throughout the public sector.
The Liberal Democrats have become increasingly hostile to the idea, amid growing fears that it would widen the north-south divide and provoke a backlash from voters in the north of England. Mr Osborne has asked the public sector pay review bodies to consider the scope for local agreements on the grounds that the present national bargaining system drives up local wage levels in the private sector.	The Liberal Democrats have become increasingly hostile to the idea, amid growing fears that it would widen the north-south divide and provoke a backlash from voters in the north of England. Mr Osborne has asked the public sector pay review bodies to consider the scope for local agreements on the grounds that the present national bargaining system drives up local wage levels in the private sector.
Although the Treasury denies the change would mean pay cuts, wage levels in some areas outside London and the South East could be frozen in future years.	Although the Treasury denies the change would mean pay cuts, wage levels in some areas outside London and the South East could be frozen in future years.
• Jill Sherman at the Times (paywall) says some ministers want the power to hire and fire their permanent secretaries.	• Jill Sherman at the Times (paywall) says some ministers want the power to hire and fire their permanent secretaries.
Ministers are demanding new powers to hire and fire their permanent secretaries using a US-style system, The Times has learnt.	Ministers are demanding new powers to hire and fire their permanent secretaries using a US-style system, The Times has learnt.
Last week key ministers, including Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, tried to block proposals for Civil Service reforms, due to be published tomorrow, claiming that they were not radical enough. The Times now understands that the main row at Cabinet was over whether ministers should be able to pick their most senior officials and put them on fixed-term contracts. Mr Gove and others want to have the flexibility to appoint outsiders from business or the wider public sector. Ministers are also keen to appoint other senior officials.	Last week key ministers, including Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, tried to block proposals for Civil Service reforms, due to be published tomorrow, claiming that they were not radical enough. The Times now understands that the main row at Cabinet was over whether ministers should be able to pick their most senior officials and put them on fixed-term contracts. Mr Gove and others want to have the flexibility to appoint outsiders from business or the wider public sector. Ministers are also keen to appoint other senior officials.
Steve Hilton, the Prime Minister's former strategy adviser, favoured fixed-term contracts for permanent secretaries but this is not in the latest draft.	Steve Hilton, the Prime Minister's former strategy adviser, favoured fixed-term contracts for permanent secretaries but this is not in the latest draft.
• James Cusick in the Independent says Scotland Yard detectives are investigating four newly discovered iPhones issued to senior News International executives. • Jason Groves in the Daily Mail says Tory MPs have been criticising Lord Justice Leveson following the revelation that he rang Number 10 to complain about Michael Gove's speech questioning the wisdom of his inquiry.	• James Cusick in the Independent says Scotland Yard detectives are investigating four newly discovered iPhones issued to senior News International executives. • Jason Groves in the Daily Mail says Tory MPs have been criticising Lord Justice Leveson following the revelation that he rang Number 10 to complain about Michael Gove's speech questioning the wisdom of his inquiry.
• Ed Davey, the Lib Dem energy secretary, tells the Financial Times (subscription) that his Conservative colleagues should not to play "fast and loose" with investors in onshore wind farms by cutting subsidies.	• Ed Davey, the Lib Dem energy secretary, tells the Financial Times (subscription) that his Conservative colleagues should not to play "fast and loose" with investors in onshore wind farms by cutting subsidies.
If we send signals to investors and to companies that we'll play fast and loose, and we won't go where the evidence is, we won't stick to our word, what will happen? The cost of capital for investment in the UK will go up so there will be a political risk premium.	If we send signals to investors and to companies that we'll play fast and loose, and we won't go where the evidence is, we won't stick to our word, what will happen? The cost of capital for investment in the UK will go up so there will be a political risk premium.