Michael's Blog
This new webpage will be used to publish new blog posts and provide links to other articles Michael has written.
LabourList: If Cameron really “relishes” PMQs, Labour will put that to the test
14 February 2012
Michael has written an article for LabourList outlining some more “whoppers” from David Cameron during PMQs as well as analysis showing that the Prime Minister is trying to duck out of as many PMQs as possible.
Click here to read the full article: ‘If Cameron really “relishes” PMQs, Labour will put that to the test'
LabourList: More PMQs whoppers from David Cameron
3 February 2012
Michael has written an article for LabourList today outlining some more “whoppers” from David Cameron during PMQs.
Click here to read the full article: ‘More PMQs whoppers from David Cameron'
Tribune Magazine: The future may not be bright, but it’s unlikely to be Orange
16 January 2012
In an article in the latest edition of Tribune Magazine, Michael says that Clegg may have a differentiation strategy, but the Lib Dems are just quasi-Tories and pay-roll survivalists.
Click here to read the full article: “The future may not be bright, but it’s unlikely to be Orange”
Government changes are bad for the NHS - and bad for Barnsley, says Michael Dugher
3 January 2012
Here's a quiz question for you for the New Year: Where can you find the statement "we will stop top-down reorganisations of the NHS that have got in the way of patient care"? The Labour Party website? Wrong. Try again. An article by Andy Burnham? Nope. Answer? This is the pledge that the Conservatives and Lib Dems signed up to when they drew up the coalition agreement last year. Yet the Government continues to push forward with its plans to impose changes to the NHS from above, ignoring the concerns of doctors, nurses and patient groups, at a cost of over £3 billion. And, as is so often the case with this Tory-led Government, the changes will disproportionately hit the places that are most in need.
Take my own borough. In the last ten years of the Labour government, health care in Barnsley improved substantially. Between 2000 and 2010, investment increased by 95% in real terms and by 2010 there were 5,270 more doctors across Yorkshire alone. The mortality rate in Barnsley fell over the same period, especially among those suffering from cancer, heart disease and strokes. Yet there are still massive health challenges that need tackling. Official NHS figures show that mortality rates in Barnsley are still well above the national average, with life expectancy lower, on average, than in the wealthier parts of the country by 8.8 years for men and 7.7 years for women.
But despite these challenges, the Government has decided to divert funding, which could and should be being used for front-line patient care, to pay for its reorganisation of health services. It has recently been exposed, for example, that new guidelines have forced Barnsley Primary Care Trust (PCT) to put aside nearly £18 million - some £17,942,169 to be precise - from its budget this year and next to pay for the costly NHS restructure. The financial request is in the Government’s new NHS 'Operating Framework' document and takes the nationwide cost of the NHS reorganisation above previous estimates of £2-3 billion, with PCTs now holding back £3.44 billion over two years.
And it is not just the reorganisation of the system that will prevent money going to the areas that need it the most. A recent report for the parliamentary Health Select Committee said that the Government's changes to NHS funding formulas will see more deprived areas given less funding to tackle health inequalities. The report states, for example, that Barnsley will be the ninth worst hit area in England with Barnsley PCT set to lose 3.1 per cent of its funding compared to wealthy parts of England, such as Surrey, which will gain 4.2 per cent (£61m).
Cameron famously promised at the General Election that he would cut the deficit, not the NHS. But it is now clear that it's the exact opposite that has happened. The deficit has got worse – with the Government now set to borrow an extra £158 billion this year than it originally planned - and the NHS is facing real term cuts with poorer areas hit the hardest. But it's not just about the cuts. To make matters worse, the Government's top-down reforms will impose more bureaucracy – taking doctors and nurses away from their patients - as well as allowing private and profit-seeking health companies unprecedented access of to our health service. Hospitals will be encouraged to treat higher value private ‘customers’, rather than NHS patients. Plus GPs, who will be responsible for health budgets, will have to consider the cost of treatment instead of just what patients need.
In another important change, sneaked out by the Government just before Christmas in an amendment in the House of Lords, half of all NHS beds could now end up being occupied by private patients paying to skip NHS waiting lists. This big increase in private care would mean much longer waits for the sick and injured who cannot afford to pay for treatment. Labour introduced a cap so that only one-in-50 patients in NHS hospitals can be private, but the Government wants to lift this limit so that hospitals struggling due to the budget cuts can make up more money outside the NHS.
It is now blindingly obvious that Government’s plans are bad for the NHS - and bad for the people I represent in Barnsley. Funding to help the most in need will be cut, waiting lists will get longer and local health providers will be incentivised to pursue profit rather than patient care when making decisions. Regional disparities in care will no doubt increase, health inequalities will get worse, not better, and the progress we have made over the last decade in places like Barnsley will be at risk.
Thousands of people across the country have already signed up to Andy Burnham's Drop the Bill e-petition, calling for an end to the unnecessary and costly reorganisation. It is time that this out of touch Government finally listened to the health professionals, and the people who depend on the National Health Service, and dropped these changes which threaten the core principles of Britain's most cherished of institutions.
Michael Dugher is the Labour MP for Barnsley East and Shadow Minister without Portfolio.
Labour List: Have confidence – 2011 in review
23 December 2011
Michael has written an article for LabourList today reviewing Labour’s progress over the last year. He writes that: “Labour has some way to go to rebuild after the 2010 general election defeat, and efforts to modernise our party and our policies must continue at a pace, but we have made remarkably good progress”.
Click here to read the full article: ‘Have confidence – 2011 in review’
Labour List: The Government is running out of excuses
25 November 2011
Michael has written an article for LabourList today ahead of the Autumn statement next week. Michael argues that since coming to power, this out of touch Government has become a government of excuses.
Click here to read the article: ‘The Government is running out of excuses’
Labour Uncut column: PR summits can’t mask a return to 1980s scale unemployment
16 November 2011
Michael has written an article for Labour Uncut today about the latest unemployment figures and the growing problem of long-term and youth unemployment.
Click here to read the full article: "PR summits can’t mask a return to 1980s scale unemployment"
Yorkshire Post: Memories of the Barnsley Pals bring home human cost of war
11 November 2011
Michael has written an article for the Yorkshire Post today about Remembrance Day and the Barnsley Pals. He also pays tribute to Private Matthew Thornton, from Barnsley, who was killed this week in Afghanistan. Click here to read the article.
Cuts to legal aid will hit the poorest areas of the country hardest, says Michael Dugher
3 November 2011
Blog post by Michael Dugher:
For the last sixty years, the idea that everyone, irrespective of income, should have the right to legal support has been a cornerstone of the British legal system. But the Government is now trying to push through cuts to legal aid which could see up to 750,000 people a year denied access to justice. And this is just the latest example of the Government's cuts hitting the poorest hardest.
Under the new proposals debated in Parliament this week, money for Legal Aid in criminal cases would be protected, but 68 per cent of the funds provided to those needing help for fighting injustice in areas like housing, debt and employment would be scrapped. In the current economic climate, these services are in even more demand. Small wonder that a whole host of eminent lawyers, charities and organisations have criticised these plans.
Young people and less-well off families would no doubt be the ones to feel the brunt of the changes and, like so many of the Government’s policies, would also hit women disproportionately hard. The Domestic Violence Intervention Project has estimated that the tightening of the definition of ‘domestic violence’ in the legislation could mean that 50 per cent of women suffering domestic abuse would be unable to get legal assistance if they can’t afford it themselves. Additionally, the removal of Legal Aid in divorce and custody cases will mean that there is a real risk that children caught in the middle of family disputes could lose contact with one of their parents.
As ever, the Government is claiming that it has to make these cuts in order to cut the deficit over the next few years. But the fact is that in the long-term these changes will actually end up costing more. The Citizen’s Advice Bureau has calculated that every £1 given in Legal Aid saves the state £8 in longer term legal, health and social costs. Added to this, the new proposals would mean increased costs due to a backlog in the courts with more and more people being forced to represent themselves in a desperate bid to secure justice.
It is true that savings need to be made in the Legal Aid budget, but as Linda Lee, the President of the Law Society, has said, the Government has failed to consider alternatives which would make bigger savings without removing access to justice. Indeed, before the general election, Labour set out a plan for reforming the way legal aid is commissioned that would have generated 10 per cent savings alone whilst, crucially, protecting Legal Aid.
As well as going against lawyers and charities, the Government is also in opposition to public opinion on this issue. A recent opinion poll by the Legal Action Group shows that 84% of the public believe that legal advice on social issues should be free to everyone, especially those earning less than the average annual wage.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court Justice, Baroness Hale, said the reforms would have a ‘disproportionate effect on the poorest and most vulnerable in society’. She is clearly right. Only this week, a local solicitors firm in my constituency wrote to me to warn of the impact the changes could have in poorer areas of Barnsley, with thousands of people set to lose out. The Government talks of the voluntary sector and pro bono work filling the gaps, but what it fails to understand is that the areas that will be impacted the most by the changes are the same areas that lack the necessary capacity and infrastructure for voluntary organisations to thrive.
The Government’s proposals would be shocking enough at the best of times, but when combined with the fact that the Government’s cuts to local government funding will disproportionally hit more deprived areas, such as Barnsley, it is yet another hammer blow to Britain’s hard pressed families. This comes on top of other Government policies that are hitting the poorest disproportionally hard. For example, a recent report by the Office of National Statistics showed that the poorest fifth of households in the UK now pay more in VAT as a percentage of their disposable income than the richest fifth, with poor families spending 58% of disposable income on VAT-rated products.
Changes to the benefit and employment systems will mean that more and more people will find themselves in desperate need of legal help. Instead of doing more, this out of touch Government is once again making life harder for less well-off families and vulnerable women.
Labour Uncut column: Forget the Tories: take the time to read Ed Miliband’s speech for yourself
3 October 2011
Michael writes a regular column for Labour Uncut. His latest article is about the response to Ed Miliband’s conference speech.
Click here to read the full article: "Forget the Tories: take the time to read Ed Miliband’s speech for yourself "
The Telegraph: “Let’s get a tighter grip on defence spending”, by Michael Dugher
23 September 2011
To coincide with the launch of a report on defence procurement, produced for Labour’s Shadow Defence Team, Michael has written an editorial for the Telegraph.
Click here to read the article: “Let’s get a tighter grip on defence spending”
Yorkshire Post - Michael Dugher: Britain will pay a price in the future as rushed defence cuts reduce our role in the world
09 September 2011
Michael has written an article for the Yorkshire Post about the Government's flawed and rushed defence review.
You can read the article here: Britain will pay a price in the future as rushed defence cuts reduce our role in the world
Tribune article: Laissez-faire coalition leads us down a
cul-de-sac
09 September 2011
Michael has written a column for Tribune Magazine's TUC Special. In the article, Michael argues that the Government cannot stand up for Britain's interests as it has no industrial policy.
Click here to read the full article: Laissez-faire coalition leads us down a cul-de-sac
Labour Uncut column: The weasel the government sneaked through during the phone-hacking frenzy
1 August 2011
Michael writes a regular column for Labour Uncut. His latest article is about the Government’s proposed changes to the way local councils are funded and how this will disproportionally impact more disadvantaged areas.
Click here to read the full article: "The weasel the government sneaked through during the phone-hacking frenzy "
Labour Uncut column: Slow, weak and out of touch – Cameron needs answers fast
18 July 2011
Michael writes a regular column for Labour Uncut. Click here to read his latest article: "Slow, weak and out of touch – Cameron needs answers fast"
Labour Uncut column: The govt must swallow its pride and adapt to the Arab spring
04 July 2011
Michael writes a regular column for Labour Uncut. In this week's column, Michael argues a new chapter to the 2010 SDSR is desperately needed today.
Read the full article here: "The govt must swallow its pride and adapt to the Arab spring"
Labour Uncut column: “Not a lot” – Cameron’s grasp of detail
20 June 2011
Michael writes a regular column for Labour Uncut. In this week's column, Michael argues that the Ed Miliband’s performance at PMQs last week exposed the fact that David Cameron doesn’t do detail.
Read the full article here: "“Not a lot” – Cameron’s grasp of detail"
Labour Uncut column: The government’s NHS changes tell you everything you need to know about the Tories
06 June 2011
Michael writes a regular column for Labour Uncut. In this week's column, Michael argues that the government’s approach to the NHS tells you everything you need to know about the Tories.
Read the full article here: "The government’s NHS changes tell you everything you need to know about the Tories"
Labour Uncut column: The government’s policy on the armed forces: giving with one hand and taking with the other
23 May 2011
Michael writes a regular column for Labour Uncut. In this week's column Michael says that at a time when more is being asked of our armed forces, it is vital that we put the government’s obligations to the armed services on a proper legal footing. Yet the Government’s u-turn last week on enshrining the military covenant in law is, sadly, only the latest example of the government’s approach to the armed forces: giving with one hand, while taking away with the other.
Read the full article here: "The government’s policy on the armed forces: giving with one hand and taking with the other"
Labour Uncut column: The Labour and Unionist party
09 May 2011
Michael writes a regular column for Labour Uncut. In this week's column Michael argues that it is imperative that Labour makes the case for the Union in Scotland.
Read the full article here: "The Labour and Unionist party"
Prospect election blog – “A view from the doorstep”
3 May 2011
Prospect Magazine is running a special election blog with James Macintyre, Ian Birrell, Olly Grender, Peter Kellner and Michael Dugher giving their thoughts on the upcoming elections and referendum on 5 May.
Click here to read Michael’s post today – “A view from the doorstep”.
Total Politics debate: should Labour ever seek to form a progressive alliance with the Lib Dems? To do so would be to seek a silver bullet that does not exist, argues Michael Dugher
3 May 2011
In this month’s Total Politics Magazine, Neal Lawson and Michael Dugher debate the workability of a pact between Labour and the Liberal Democrats. You can read Michael’s contribution below:
A hundred years ago, the Liberal party of Asquith, Lloyd-George and Churchill, governed Britain. The Liberals introduced important social and political reforms, not least on old age pensions, social insurance, and the Parliament Act, in an attempt to be the alternative voice – what we would today call the ‘progressive’ alternative – to the Conservative Party. By the end of the First World War, however, the Liberals were in coalition with the Tories, and they were in complete political meltdown. Once they had served their purpose, their coalition partners kicked them out, and Winston Churchill became a Conservative.
Now, Nick Clegg is no Winston Churchill, but there’s something more than a little familiar about this and there are things to ponder today. One of the great myths put about, particularly by electoral reformers in the Labour Party, is that there was a terrible split in progressive politics a century ago, and the Conservatives were able to dominate most of the 20th century in a way that would not have been possible had Labour and the Liberals formed a progressive alliance. But this is to misunderstand history.
The reason why the Liberals declined so quickly, and why Labour emerged, was precisely because the newly-enfranchised working man (and later woman) knew that the only authentic, radical, progressive force for change in Britain was Labour, with its roots in working class communities, specifically, in those days, through the trade unions and the co-operative movement. And just as the Liberals failed to offer the necessary progressive change a century ago, so their failure is being repeated lamentably in government today.
Yet the question is still posed as to whether or not Labour could enter into a progressive alliance with today’s Liberal Democrats. Under Nick Clegg - the man who not only chose to get into the bed with the Tories, but who seems to be enthusiastically enjoying his time between the sheets - the answer is an unequivocal no. Clegg is not merely leader of the Lib Dems, but for many years has been the poster boy for the so-called ‘Orange Book’ Liberals, the free-market Lib Dems like David Laws, Danny Alexander and Chris Huhne. These politicians have been exposed in recent months for what they really are: a bunch of ‘quasi-Conservatives’ who differ only from true Tories in their lack of hostility towards Europe. As David Laws said last November: “Working with the Conservatives in government has led to the ‘oranging’ process going on at a rapid rate”.
But even if the leadership of the Lib Dems were different, Labour should reject the idea that a deal with the Lib Dems should be our goal. It should not. Labour is, at its best, a ‘One Nation’ party. It’s one that, genuinely, can have a mass appeal. We can poll well in Scotland and Wales, we can be a strong voice for the industrial North and the Midlands, and we can represent the big cities like London and Birmingham. But Labour can win – and win again – in seaside towns, in the middle of East Anglia and in the leafy parts of the South of England too. History teaches us that when Labour has a broad appeal, we have a broad political reach. Think the mid-forties, the mid-sixties and repeatedly from the mid-nineties. To believe that Labour cannot win again in this way is the politics of despair.
To talk of a progressive alliance is also to seek a silver bullet that does not exist. You cannot simply tot up Labour’s standing in the opinion polls, add it to what the Lib Dems are polling, and believe that we have the basis for a progressive alliance. Labour has to do the hard work. If we listen harder to the public, if we connect with them more, and if we understand their aspirations and concerns once again, then we can win back their trust.
We desperately want – and need – people who voted Lib Dem last time, but feel betrayed by Nick Clegg, to think about voting Labour next time. In the same way that Labour needs to remain in touch with its core vote. If we are to win again, we need sizable numbers of people who have previously voted for the Conservatives to consider voting Labour in the future.
Under Ed Miliband, Labour has embarked on that journey, but there is no short cut and no quick fix. Political elites may put together grubby coalition governments, but its people – inspired and reassured – that act on mass to deliver breakthrough majorities. That should be the scale of Labour’s ambition, not some sort of shot-gun wedding with the Lib Dems.
Michael Dugher is the Labour MP for Barnsley East and a Shadow Defence Minister
Total Politics, Issue 35, May 2011
Labour Uncut column: A postcard from the Leicester South by-election
11 April 2011
Michael writes a regular column for Labour Uncut. In this week's column, Michael writes a postcard from the Leicester South by-election. Read the full article here.
Labour Uncut column: Last week saw the beginning of a journey: from Red Ed to one nation prime minister
28 March 2011
Michael writes a regular column for Labour Uncut. In this week's column - which has been highlighted in LabourList’s Ed’s Inbox article - Michael argues that "in a week of speeches by Ed Miliband, we are seeing the development of Labour’s one nation appeal once again".
Read the full article here: "Last week saw the beginning of a journey: from Red Ed to one nation prime minister"
Labour Uncut column: The right posture can really help a squeezed middle
14 March 2011
Michael writes a regular column for Labour Uncut. In this week's column, Michael argues that "the public are not looking for mini-manifestoes or pledge cards just yet from Labour", but they do want to see signals – "powerful messages" about what Labour's priorities are and "whose side we are on".
Read the full article here: "The right posture can really help a squeezed middle "
Tribune article: Back in business after Barnsley
11 March 2011
Michael has written a column for Tribune magazine following the by-election in Barnsley Central. In the article, Michael argues that Dan Jarvis’ great victory shows that Labour can and will regain the trust of working people in Britain.
Click here to read the full article: Back in business after Barnsley
Labour Uncut column: You can’t take on the Taleban with a rolled-up copy of the New Statesman
28 February 2011
Michael writes a regular column for Labour Uncut. In this week's column, Michael criticises David Cameron for his trade mission last week to the Middle East, saying it was not appropriate and the timing was wrong.
Michael, who is Labour's Shadow Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, explains that the system governing defence exports was significantly strengthened under the last Labour government, but that recent events mean that the rules need to be reviewed and may need to be tightened further. His comments follow similar calls from the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, at the weekend.
At the same time, Michael highlights the importance of our defence industries to our Armed Forces and to the wider economy, and he challenges those who have a blanket opposition to the defence industry and all defence exports.
Read the full article here: "You can’t take on the Taleban with a rolled-up copy of the New Statesman"
As we celebrate new Middle Eastern democracy, let’s not forget the old one
14 February 2011
Michael Dugher writes a regular political column for Labour Uncut. In his latest piece for the website, Michael argues that change taking place in the Middle East is an "opportunity for the UK and Europe to play a bigger role in helping to drive forward the peace process and galvanise regional support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict".
Read the full article here: As we celebrate new Middle Eastern democracy, let’s not forget the old one
Labour Uncut column: AV – who cares? The whole debate’s a waste of time and money
31 January 2011
Michael Dugher writes a regular political column for Labour Uncut. In his latest piece for the website, Michael argues that the debate about the alternative vote is a distraction and "there is a danger that some in Labour think that in supporting AV we are addressing the big challenges we face in politics, when we are not".
Read the full article here: AV – who cares? The whole debate’s a waste of time and money
Labour Uncut column: A quantum of spin
10 January 2011
Michael Dugher writes a regular political column for Labour Uncut. In his latest piece for the website, Michael argues that David Cameron is reverting to “process” with his summit on growth today to hide the fact his government still has nothing to say of substance on policies for jobs and growth.
Read the full article here: A quantum of spin
Labour Uncut column: Replacing nanny with a nudge is no joke
13 December 2010
Michael Dugher writes a regular political column for Labour Uncut. In his latest piece for the website, Michael argues with its "nudge" policy, the government has effectively given up on active policies to improve public health.
Read the full article here: Replacing nanny with a nudge is no joke
Labour Uncut column: There’s no crisis and no division, just a duty to oppose
29 November 2010
Michael Dugher writes a regular political column for Labour Uncut. In his latest piece for the website, Michael argues that investing energy into anything other than being an "effective opposition that listens to the public and develops an alternative is a luxury Labour cannot afford". He says that "we must not fall into the media and Conservative trap that we are in some sort of “leadership crisis”. We are not. The only crisis was losing the last general election. Getting rid of this government will be no easy task and it will require all our united efforts. The country will never forgive us if we are provoked into a self-indulgent row amongst ourselves".
Read the full article here: There’s no crisis and no division, just a duty to oppose
Labour Uncut column: Poor communities will be cut more than rich
15 November 2010
Michael Dugher writes a regular political column for Labour Uncut. In his latest piece for the website, Michael shows that poor communities will be disproportionally hit by the Government's cuts.
Read the full article here: Poor communities will be cut more than rich
Labour Uncut column: The loony libertarians in the government are not confined to the Lib Dems
1 November 2010
Michael Dugher writes a regular political column for Labour Uncut. In his latest piece for the website, Michael argues that the civil liberties lobby has a vital role to play in how we deal with the threat of terrorism, but that we "must start from the principle that the most important civil liberty that we possess is for our people to live free from the murderous attacks of those who wish to destroy our fundamental way of life in Britain".
Read the full article here: The loony libertarians in the government are not confined to the Lib Dems
Labour Uncut column: The Tories aren’t winners, so don’t let them write our history, says Michael Dugher
18 October 2010
Michael Dugher writes a regular political column for Labour Uncut. In his sixth piece for the website, Michael argues that "when it comes to the economy and to the battle over the public finances, we cannot allow the Tories, or the Lib Dems, to re-write our history or negatively caricature Labour’s economic legacy”.
Read the full article here: "The Tories aren’t winners, so don’t let them write our history"
Yorkshire Post article: Coalition runs the risk of triggering double-dip recession
7 October 2010
Michael Dugher MP has written an article in today’s Yorkshire Post about the risk the coalition government is taking with the economy. Read the full article below:
This weekend saw a stark warning about the fragile nature of UK economy, the tenuous prospects for economic growth and the serious risk that Britain will go back into recession. The startling thing was that the alarm bell was sounded not by an opposition politician, but by none other than Ken Clarke, the hush-puppy wearing former Tory chancellor who is now a cabinet minister in David Cameron’s government.
Clarke told a Sunday newspaper: “I think there’s a 50-50 chance of a double-dip recession. What I’m worried about is the global uncertainties and our being hit by the downturns in key markets. I do not rule out the risk of a double-dip recession”. So there you have it. What Labour has been saying for months, has finally been admitted by a senior and experienced Conservative.
George Osborne’s fiscal retrenchment, taking money out of the economy, is the biggest planned by any major economy anywhere in the world. UK growth figures were revised upwards at the end of August, a sign that the previous Labour government’s support for the economy was having an impact, but the markets are extremely jittery and economists are fearful.
In the United States, the debate is not about fiscal tightening but whether a further stimulus might be needed to avoid a so-called double-dip. To make things worse for us here, Britain’s major market is Europe, where the major centre-right governments are pursuing deflationary policies, meaning they are likely to buy even less goods and services from the UK.
All of this comes at a time when interest rates are rooted at 0.5 per cent – Conservative warnings about the threat of higher interest rates are a complete nonsense – and inflation is still historically very low. As Ed Balls has said: “As the second storm looms on the horizon, everything he (Osborne) is doing is designed to suck money out of the economy and cut public investment... His tax rises and benefit cuts will directly hit household finances at the worst possible time. It is the exact reverse of the policy which allowed Britain and the rest of the world to weather the first storm.”
So if Ken Clarke has let the cat out of the bag, and if there’s a growing consensus that our economy is fragile, what should our response be? Ed Miliband, the Doncaster North MP, used his first speech as Labour’s leader to stress that he was serious about reducing the deficit. He said that economics teaches us that in times of recession, governments run up deficits. But he admitted that our economy was too exposed to financial services, that the impact of the crash was therefore deeper on us than on others, and that we need to build a more balanced and resilient economy.
Whilst he restated Labour’s position that the deficit being halved in four years was the starting point, he made clear that growth was the priority, arguing: “When you cancel thousands of new school buildings at a stroke, it isn’t just bad for our kids, it’s bad for construction companies at a time when their order books are empty.”
In office, Labour was already committed to a greater and faster reduction in the budget deficit than any British government in living memory. We are not, in George Osborne’s words, “deficit deniers” but believe that the deficit must be reduced in a way that does not put in jeopardy our economic recovery, upon which so many people rely in this region for their jobs, their homes and their livelihoods.
But whereas the Tories and Liberals want to use predominantly public spending cuts, together with a VAT rise which clobbers the unemployed and the poorest pensioner to the same extent that it hits the banker and the millionaire, Labour understands that there are three ways to drive down the deficit. Yes, you must cut spending. Labour was already committed to difficult reductions – the Tories want to see £87 billion over and above Labour’s cuts. But you can also use fair taxation, and critically policies for jobs and growth.
Labour has always believed that those with the broadest shoulders should bear more of the weight. After all it was speculators in the banks – not families in Barnsley – that caused the global financial crisis, so why should the most hard-pressed people have deal with the consequences?
Ed Miliband made it clear that Labour will be a responsible opposition and that means we will not oppose everything the coalition government does. But cutting government spending too quickly, and by too much, is not only unfair, it also jeopardises the recovery, jobs and growth.
Ken Clarke’s fears of a double-dip recession may well be proved right. I hope not. But it is increasingly clear that it is the policies of Cameron and Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, that risk turning those fears into a reality.
The Yorkshire Post, Opinion & Analysis, Thursday 7 October 2010
Labour Uncut column: Liam Fox is right (and George and Dave are wrong), says Michael Dugher
4 October 2010
Michael Dugher writes a regular political column for Labour Uncut. In his fifth piece for the website, which is also being featured on PoliticsHome’s Daily Scrapbook today, Michael argues that "supporting and protecting the brave men and women who risk their lives in the service of our country should be central to what Labour does in opposition – even if it means, for the moment at least, supporting Liam Fox in his war with the battalion of bean-counters at the treasury”.
Read the full article here: "Liam Fox is right (and George and Dave are wrong)"
Labour Uncut column: Give us leadership, not dictatorship, says Michael Dugher
20 September 2010
Michael Dugher writes a regular political column for Labour Uncut. In his fourth piece for the website, Michael says that Labour doesn’t just need a new leader, but new leadership. He argues that a “different style and approach is required, including to policy-making and to working with colleagues.”
Read the full article here: "Give us leadership, not dictatorship"
Labour Uncut column: Labour lost the election during Blair’s watch, as well as Brown’s
06 September 2010
Michael Dugher writes a regular political column for the Labour Uncut website. In his third piece for the website, Michael says that Labour lost the election because of a cumulative failure of the party and of its leadership. He says that Labour "shed five million votes not during a four week election campaign in May 2010, or during the three years after Tony Blair stood down as PM, but over the course of 13 years in government".
Read the full article here: "We lost the 2010 election during Blair’s watch, as well as Brown’s, says Michael Dugher"
Labour Uncut column: Michael Dugher digs in for the long campaign
23 August 2010
Michael Dugher writes a regular political column for the Labour Uncut website. In his second piece for the website, Michael argues that Labour needs to learn lessons from electoral defeat, but be aware that the next election will be fought on the basis of who is best for Britain in 2015, not 2010.
Read the full article here: "Michael Dugher digs in for a long campaign"
Michael Dugher to write political column for Labour Uncut
27 July 2010
Michael Dugher has been asked to write a regular political column for the Labour Uncut website. In his first piece for the website, Michael argues that the main danger with the Labour leadership election is that the candidates become too inward-looking.
Read the full article here: "Michael Dugher blasts the inward-looking new Bennites"
Osborne is making the mistakes that could lead to a new great depression
24 June 2010
Michael Dugher MP has written an article about the emergency Budget in today’s Yorkshire Post. Read the article on the Yorkshire Post website here: Osborne is making the mistakes that could lead to a new great depression
Michael Dugher on the Strategic Defence Review, published on the Labour Uncut website
21 June 2010
Labour Uncut has published a piece by Michael Dugher MP on the Strategic Defence Review. Read the article below, or click here to see it on Labour Uncut.
At the General Election, all three main parties were committed to holding a strategic defence review (SDR) as part of their manifestos for government. Today in the House of Commons, the debate begins as to how we configure our armed forces for the challenges we face in the coming years. How Labour engages in this will be important.
In February, Labour in government produced Adaptability and Partnership: Issues for the Strategic Defence Review, the green paper which paved the way for the SDR. The document set out very well the principles that underpin Labour’s approach.
The first is that we cannot simply “defend our own goal line”. This is a response to the “troops out” message that goes out, not just from anti-war protesters, but from sections of the media and parts of the wider public, usually in response to ever-mounting casualties in Afghanistan.
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