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The Week in Westminster

Factual: Politics

Radio 4's weekly assessment of developments at Westminster

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Week in Westminster

The Week in Westminster: 22/05/2010

22/05/2010

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Peter Oborne of the Daily Mail on the second week of the new coalition government.

Peter Oborne of the Daily Mail takes soundings on impending cuts in public spending and finds unease among some Tory MPs about David Cameron's management style.

Peter Oborne of the Daily Mail reviews the coalition government's second week in office in which grand plans were laid before the public and backbench Conservative unease at David Cameron's management style came to the surface.

With six billion pounds of cuts in public spending due to be announced on Monday, the former Tory cabinet minister, John Redwood, and the newly-elected Labour MP and top union man, Jack Dromey, weigh the likely impact. They reflect too on the state of their own parties.

A big minority of Tory MPs reacted angrily when David Cameron changed the rules to allow ministers into the most influential backbench forum - the famous '1922 committee'. Some are now questioning his style of party management. 

The deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, meanwhile, unveiled a host of proposals to take power away from the state and give it back to the individual. ID cards are to be scrapped, the use of CCTV is to be reviewed and the DNA database restricted. The former Labour chairman of the Home Affairs Committee, Keith Vaz, wonders if all the proposals will become law. The Conservative, Douglas Carswell, gives them a wholehearted welcome. 

Finally, the Labour Party is staging its leadership contest - described here by the politcal editor of The Independent newspaper, Andrew Grice. 


Editor: Peter Mulligan.

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22/05/2010

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