An online call for anti-government protests across China on Sunday instead brought an emphatic show of force by police determined to deter any buds of the kind of unrest that has shaken the Middle East. This file photo shows a man arrested by police in front of the Peace Cinema, where internet social networks were calling to join a "Jasmine Revolution" protest, in downtown Shanghai February 20, 2011
An online call for anti-government protests across China on Sunday instead brought an emphatic show of force by police determined to deter any buds of the kind of unrest that has shaken the Middle East.
Lines of police checked passers-by and warned away foreign photo journalists in downtown Beijing and Shanghai after a U.S.-based Chinese website spread calls for Chinese people to emulate the "Jasmine Revolution" sweeping the Middle East and stage gatherings in support of democratic change.
Officials from China's ruling Communist Party have dismissed the idea that they could be hit by protests like those that have rippled across the Middle East.
But a rash of detentions and censorship of online discussion of the Middle East have shown that Beijing is deeply nervous about any signs of opposition to its one-party rule.
What started as a call for protest has instead become an opportunity for the Chinese government to brandish the big and sophisticated security forces funded by rapid economic growth.
In Shanghai, police bundled away at least seven men, one of whom had been taking photos. Reuters TV filmed several policemen forcing a man in a brown jacket into a Public Security Bureau van, while other police held up an umbrella to block the view.
In Beijing, uniformed police were joined by plainclothes officers who kept shoppers and journalists moving. Men in sanitation uniforms with armbands that said "Public Security Volunteer" used brooms to sweep pedestrians along.
An American news videographer was kicked and beaten repeatedly in the face with brooms and taken into police custody, witnesses said. Other reporters were detained by police and some were roughed up, including one from Taiwan whose hand was injured, they said.
A U.S. embassy spokesman said he was "disturbed" by reports of foreign journalists being physically harassed.
"We call on the Chinese government to respect the rights of foreign journalists to report in China and urge public security authorities to protect the safety and well being of anyone who is subject to illegal harassment or intimidation," embassy spokesman Richard Buangan said.
MCDONALD'S CLOSED BRIEFLY
It was impossible to tell who were simply shoppers and who had shown up to support silently the call to demonstrate.
Security was evident throughout Beijing's Wangfujing shopping street, one of the venues singled out as a protest site by the website, Boxun.com. Shoppers strolled along, but there were at least 40 public security vehicles at the south end of the pedestrian-only street.
Passage was partly blocked by construction fences that went up late in the week outside a McDonald's restaurant, which the Boxun message designated as a place for the gathering. The McDonald's was shut down on Sunday afternoon for about an hour.
"A few days ago some people were creating a stir over by the McDonald's, so they have stepped up security," said an employee at a nearby store. She said she did not want her name reported.
At least one news photographer was ordered into a police vehicle and forced to delete photos from her camera.
A similar call for protest a week ago brought out few people, and dozens of dissidents and human rights activists have been detained or warned to avoid such activities.
It is not clear who is behind the appeals for protests. The government has blocked text messages and web postings in China that contain references to jasmine.
The term "jasmine gatherings" comes from the protests in Tunisia that ousted long-time President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in January in what supporters there called a "Jasmine Revolution".
Some thoughts came to mind last night as to whether Obama was right to go it alone or should he should have waited until the UN passed a number of resolutions or is the US up to its own tricks again.
On the face of it there is not doubt that we have to buy and sell to dictators and all govts have to work with dictators whether we like or not. Tony Blair, and associations went to Libya to get the oil contacts all went head on in. In my opinion
The US has announced it is to impose sanctions on Libya and cut diplomatic ties as heads of state pledged to bring those responsible for atrocities there to justice.
Spokesman Jay Carney said the White House was finalising the process, working with European partners on additional sanctions and deciding whether to enforce a no-fly zone.
In Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) resolved to call for an independent international inquiry into abuses perpetrated by the Libyan goverment and to call on the UN General Assembly to consider suspending Libya from its seat on the HRC.
Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh told Sky News it supported the resolution.
"Our biggest fear is the targeting of civilians and the heavy toll in terms of casualties, fatalities, injured people... the numbers are varying and the information thus far has been very sketchy," he said.
"We don't know exactly what the extent of this is but what's been reported has been horrendous so far and our position on this has been very clear. So our biggest fear; what's happening to the civilian population.
"It's our view that civilians have the right to demonstrate and to express their opinions freely and we're just monitoring the situation very closely."
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon demanded an end to the violence and said an international consensus was building to take action following reports of attacks on protesters and innocent civilians, including women and children.
"It is time for the UN Security Council to consider concrete action," he said.
"Let us be mindful of the urgency of the moment... the loss of time (will mean) the loss of life."
Sky News foreign affairs editor Tim Marshall on Gaddafi
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "On Monday, I will be attending the HRC in Geneva. I will be meeting with other Foreign Ministers including Secretary (Hillary) Clinton.
"We will continue to press for action on Libya as there have been gross and systematic human rights violations by the Libyan authorities that are utterly unacceptable and we condemn them absolutely."
UK Prime Minister David Cameron warned the Libyan regime "the world is watching you", and declined to rule out military action against the country.
People working for this regime should remember that international justice has a long reach and a long memory and they will be held to account for what they do.
David Cameron
He added the Government "will do everything it can" to get estimated 200 British nationals still stranded in Libya safely back home.
The US embassy in Libya has closed and its staff have departed on a charter flight for Istanbul, although sources at the State Department said operations there could resume "at any time".
Meanwhile, the Libyan ambassador's house in Washington DC there were scenes of celebration as the flag symbolising the Gaddafi regime was pulled down and pre-Gaddafi colours hoisted to the mast in its place.
The entire Libyan mission in Geneva has also quit in a public session, with the envoy telling the UN rights body that the diplomatic mission now served the Libyan people and their will.
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy has become the first leader to call for Colonel Gaddafi to go, and he warned of "investigations and sanctions" over crackdowns on protesters.
Nato's secretary-general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, has also called an emergency council meeting, adding further international pressure to Colonel Gaddafi.
"The situation in Libya is of great concern," he wrote on his Twitter account.
"Nato can act as an enabler and co-ordinator if and when member states take action."
It's a very sad day for demorcy for the amy to turn their gunds on their own people who are demostrating in a peaceful way for decomcrocy.
Libya's leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi, has dismissed reports that he had fled amid the unrest sweeping the country, calling foreign news channels "dogs".
Libya's leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi, has dismissed reports that he had fled amid the unrest sweeping the country, calling foreign news channels "dogs".
Speaking to state TV from outside a ruined building, he said: "I am in Tripoli and not in Venezuela," after rumours that he had flown to Caracas.
Col Gaddafi's statement came after security forces and protesters clashed in the capital for a second night.
The UN Security Council is to meet in closed session to discuss Libya.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made the announcement, after speaking to Col Gaddafi on Monday.
"I urged him that the human rights and freedom of assembly and freedom of speech must be fully protected," said Mr Ban.
“Start Quote
I want to clarify for them that I am in Tripoli not in Venezuela. Do not believe these channels - they are dogs”
End QuoteMuammar GaddafiLibyan leader
The Arab League will also hold an emergency session.
Eyewitness reports that military aircraft had fired on protesters in Tripoli have been backed up by Libyan diplomats who have turned against the leadership.
But Col Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam said the aircraft had been used only to bomb army bases which had defected to the opposition.
The BBC's Jon Leyne, in western Egypt, says the regime now seems to be fighting on multiple fronts, trying to put down the protests and fighting a bitter battle against a growing number of army units that have risen up against the Libyan leader.
Libya's diplomats at the United Nations in New York called for international intervention to stop the government's violent action against street demonstrations in their homeland.
Here in Tripoli Col Gaddafi's forces are in control. This morning has been really quiet in the streets, there is very rare movement.
We've heard some reports that anyone who goes out in the street is stopped and asked for their destination and if there's no clear destination people might get arrested.
People in Benghazi confirm to me that the people are in control of the city, they have control over the radio.
They have set up committees to organise public life there but they also confirm that the army has control over the airport and the suburbs.
Deputy Permanent Representative Ibrahim Dabbashi said Libyans had to be protected from "genocide", and urged the UN to impose a no-fly zone.
Ali Aujali, Libya's most senior diplomat in the US, also criticised the country's leader. He told the BBC he was "not supporting the government killing its people".
The embassy in Malaysia condemned the government's actions after being briefly occupied by protesters who smashed a portrait of Col Gaddafi.
The ambassador to India said he had quit because of "unacceptable" violence against civilians.
Ali al-Essawi said he had heard from sources inside the country that the leadership had been using African mercenaries to combat the protests, and this had prompted Libyan troops to join the opposition, Reuters news agency reported.
Meanwhile Libyan state TV denied there had been any massacres, dismissing the reports as "baseless lies" by foreign media.
"You should know that this is part of the psychological warfare, lies and rumours which you should resist because they are aimed at demolishing your morale, stability and blessings for which they envy you," a statement said.
"Rumours are a poison which you should not drink. False news peddled by satellite TVs are arrows which you should deflect towards their throats."
'Satisfied'
Col Gaddafi appeared for less than a minute on state television shortly after 0200 local time (0000 GMT) on Tuesday.
Mid-East unrest: Libya
Col Muammar Gaddafi has led since 1969
Population 6.5m; land area 1.77m sq km, much of it desert
Population with median age of 24.2, and a literacy rate of 88%
Gross national income per head: $12,020 (World Bank 2009)
He was sitting in the passenger seat of an old, white vehicle and held up an umbrella to shield himself from the rain while speaking.
"I am satisfied, because I was speaking in front of the youth in the Green Square tonight, but the rain came praise to God, it is a good omen," he said.
"I want to clarify for them that I am in Tripoli not in Venezuela. Do not believe these channels - they are dogs. Goodbye."
It has been raining in Tripoli for much of the past two days.
One resident of Tripoli called the comment an insult.
"We thought that he'd just say he was sorry, or that he would just fix [it] or whatever, but something like this? This is insulting," he told the BBC.
Earlier, the newly established General Committee for Defence said its forces would cleanse Libya of anti-government elements.
A statement described the protesters as "terrorist gangs made up mostly of misguided youths", who had been exploited and fed "hallucinogenic pills" by people following foreign agendas.
Bombing raids
Our correspondent says Col Gaddafi has now lost the support of almost every section of Libyan society.
Foreign journalists work under tight restriction in Libya, and much of the information coming from the country is impossible to verify.
But the authorities have accepted that eastern cities such as al-Bayda and Benghazi - traditional pockets of resistance to the government - are now under the control of the opposition.
The unrest had not touched Tripoli until Sunday, when hundreds of protesters flooded the streets, only to be suppressed by security forces.
On Monday, state TV reported that a renewed operation had begun against opposition elements.
An eyewitness in the capital said the suburbs of Fashloom and Zawiyat al-Dahmani had been cordoned off by security forces.
Witnesses estimate that more than 50 people have been killed in Tripoli since Sunday.
Before the unrest spread there, Human Rights Watch estimated that 233 people had been killed. Other groups said the figure was much higher.
Libya's most senior diplomat in the US, Ali Aujali, has criticised Col Gaddafi's regime in a BBC interview
Amid the turmoil on the streets, senior officials have begun to desert the regime. Justice Minister Mustapha Abdul Jalil quit the government because of the "excessive use of violence", the Quryna newspaper said.
The US joined "international community in strongly condemning the violence in Libya," said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"Now is the time to stop this unacceptable bloodshed," she added.
EU foreign ministers released a statement condemning the "ongoing repression against demonstrators", and said they deplored the violence and death of civilians.
The violence has helped to push up oil prices to their highest levels since the global financial crisis of 2008.
International firms including BP, one of the world's biggest oil companies, are preparing to pull their staff out.
Thousands of Europeans have already fled the country.
Frankly I think the timing of Cameron's visit is insensitive as David Cameron has met Egypt's new leaders, as the first world leader to visit the country since President Hosni Mubarak was forced out of office.
The UK prime minister held talks with the head of the armed forces supreme council Mohamed Tantawi and caretaker Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq.
He said Egypt had a "great opportunity" to push for democracy.
Mr Cameron also described the violent suppression of protests in neighbouring Libya as "appalling".
Egypt's long-standing leader Mr Mubarak stood down 10 days ago amid widespread protests against his regime by pro-democracy activists.
Speaking on the flight to Cairo, Mr Cameron said: "This is a great opportunity for us to go and talk to those currently running Egypt to make sure this really is a genuine transition from military rule to civilian rule, and see what friendly countries like Britain and others in Europe can do to help."
Part of the prime minister's agenda will be a call for the lifting of emergency laws, which have been in place for more than 30 years.
It is frankly astonishing for David Cameron to be here. Egypt is still in flux. It is only 10 days since the country's president Hosni Mubarak stood down.
The interim government is still very much only that. Tahrir Square, where Mr Cameron did an unlikely walkabout, may have returned to its chaotic, noisy self, but the tanks are still there.
The risks for the prime minister are obvious. He could be accused of lecturing the new regime - the old colonial West come to tell the Egyptians how to do their democracy - or he could be accused of legitimising a temporary military government simply by being here - an administration that may soon find the status quo rather comfortable.
But Mr Cameron rejects these views. For him, this is a moment of opportunity for Britain to encourage Egypt's government to press ahead with its move from military to civilian rule.
Mr Cameron walked through Tahrir Square, the centre of the anti-Mubarak demonstrations, and met figures from the protest movement, although not representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood - the banned Islamic group which is thought to have widespread public support.
The prime minister had planned to make a trade-centred tour of the Middle East but altered his schedule to visit Egypt.
He told the BBC that Egypt's current military rulers had done some good things in terms of setting out the need for constitutional change, a referendum and parliamentary elections.
But he said they need to "do more, more quickly in terms of ending the state of emergency, allowing political parties to register and freeing political prisoners".
Mr Cameron said he had met "very brave" figures from the protest movement who "don't yet have confidence that this transition is real".
"As a friend of Egypt we want this transition to happen we want to help encourage the government to take those steps," he said.
BBC deputy political editor James Landale, who is travelling with Mr Cameron, said it was extraordinary for a British prime minister to engage in full-on diplomacy in a country that was still "in flux".
He said the prime minister believed that there was a window of opportunity for western leaders to give what his advisers are calling "candid" advice, but there was a danger he could be seen as lecturing or as legitimising a temporary regime.
William Hague: "Gaddafi may have left country"
But Mr Cameron said it was "right to come here to say that we support the aspirations of people in Egypt for a more genuine, open democracy".
"It's not a question of either lecturing or legitimising, it's saying we want Egypt to have a strong and successful future," he said.
The Egypt visit comes while anti-government protests are raging in Libya and Bahrain.
Asked about the violent treatment of demonstrators against Muammar Gaddafi's regime in Libya in recent days, Mr Cameron said: "We can see what is happening in Libya which is completely appalling and unacceptable as the regime is using the most vicious forms of repression against people who want to see that country, which is one of the most closed and one of the most autocratic, make progress."
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague has been in Brussels for talks on the violence in Libya.
Oil firm BP has said it is preparing to evacuate some of its staff and their families from the country over the next day or so. The company has 40 foreign employees in Libya.
Network Rail has admitted health and safety failings over the 2002 Potters Bar crash, in which seven people died.
The company has said it will plead guilty to charges which were brought over the condition of tracks near the station in Hertfordshire.
Six passengers and a pedestrian died when a train from London to King's Lynn derailed on 10 May 2002.
An inquest last year concluded that a points failure was to blame. The company will be sentenced next month.
Peter Palfrey, chair of the bench at Watford Magistrates' Court, said: "In this case we have decided that the charge is so serious we cannot give punishment at this court."
'Almost unrecognisable'
Speaking outside the court, a Network Rail spokesman said the firm was pleading guilty because it had assumed all of Railtrack's responsibilities and liabilities when it took over the company in October 2002.
But he insisted that travelling by train was now safer than ever: "The railway today is almost unrecognisable since the days of Railtrack and the Potters Bar tragedy.
"All of the recommendations made by both the industry's own formal inquiry and the health and safety investigation have been carried out."
“Start Quote
The families had to go though an awful ordeal, and what still worries them is whether the safety concerns have been properly addressed.”
End QuoteLouise ChristianSolicitor
Six passengers - Austen Kark, Emma Knights, Alexander Ogunwusi, Jonael Schickler, Chia Hsin Lin and Chia Chin Wu - were killed in the crash.
The seventh victim, Agnes Quinlivan, was walking nearby and died after she was hit by debris.
More than 70 people were injured.
'An awful ordeal'
The Office of Rail Regulation launched proceedings over alleged breaches of health and safety law after the inquest into the crash last year.
Louise Christian, a solicitor representing some of the victim's families, said there was anger that the process had taken so long.
She expressed concern whether today's events would make a real difference. "The families had to go though an awful ordeal, and what still worries them is whether the safety concerns have been properly addressed for the future," she said.
"This is now a prosecution that can only result in a fine. There's a query whether that will bring about any real accountability, given that Network Rail is a not for profit company."
The Office of Rail Regulation said it was now considering whether it was in the public interest to continue prosecutions against Jarvis, the maintenance firm responsible for the tracks at Potters Bar.
Jarvis was due in court today facing a health and safety charge, but it was not represented when Network Rail entered its intended plea.
The world's leading nations were divided on Friday night over plans to reduce global economic imbalances, with China determined to head off international criticism over its huge foreign exchange reserves.
France had hoped to strike a deal at the weekend on economic indicators that would be used to monitor imbalances, including current account balances, real exchange rates and foreign exchange reserves.
In an urgent appeal for agreement, Nicolas Sarkozy, French president, asked G20 finance ministers and central bank governors to look beyond a "mechanistic approach". "We do not have much time," he said in Paris.
"We will not succeed in everything. But the worst-case scenario would be to refuse to address the real subject -- the international monetary order ... I hope your discussions will not get bogged down in interminable debate on these indicators."
China, however, signalled its opposition to the monitoring plan. "We think it is not appropriate to use real effective exchange rates and reserves," said Xie Xuren, Chinese finance minister.
His comments further lowered expectations that any substantial agreement would be reached at this weekend's G20 meeting, which brings together advanced and emerging economies. The decision to adopt guidelines to help global rebalancing was adopted at the G20 summit in Seoul in November, and is intended to form a central part of this year's meetings.
"Of course you have to look at measures of imbalances," argued Tim Geithner, US Treasury secretary. In Seoul, the US failed to secure precise targets for current account surpluses, with a proposed limit of 4 per cent of gross domestic product.
While Germany supports using the suggested economic indicators for monitoring purposes, like China it opposes any specific targets.
"There is a vast majority of countries that support having these five indicators together," said Jörg Asmussen, Germany's financial state secretary.
Jim Flaherty, Canada's finance minister, said he believed there was agreement on two indicators -- the level of public debt and deficits, and the level of private savings -- but there was difficulty agreeing on the current account measure.
China wants a focus on trade figures, rather than the full current account.
He said that a "tiny levy on financial transactions" would be such an innovative scheme, appealing directly to Mr Geithner at least to consider the suggestion.
On commodity market regulation, Mr Sarkozy said that all markets should be subject to regulation, or they would be "governed by speculation". "I am suggesting a global strategy combatting volatility and regulating speculation," he said
There has been much talk of a Mix-race adoption policy whilst I agree in principal with a luke warm welcome the councils will have a long way to go on this subject matter. The council must in the first instance contiune to seek foster perants from BAME communites if it then can not then by all means go down the line of using white couples.
White couples should be allowed to adopt black and ethnic minority children under new guidelines for social workers in England.
Local authorities will be warned not to delay placing a child with a suitable family of a different ethnicity.
Many children from ethnic minorities do not get adopted because social workers have been keen to place them with families of the same background.
The move will be confirmed by Education Secretary Michael Gove on Tuesday.
Actions monitored
The law will not change but the new guidance will state that as long as prospective adopters show that they are able to care for the child then race should not be a factor.
They will also say that preventing families from adopting children of a different ethnic group is "unacceptable".
Each local authority will be closely monitored and those that persistently ignore the advice could have their adoption services contracted out to voluntary agencies.
Current advice states that social workers must give "due consideration to the child's religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background", but does not specify whether race should be regarded as outweighing other factors.
Children's minister Tim Loughton announced in November last year that the government would be updating its guidance on adoption.
Currently, single people, married couples and cohabiting couples can all adopt.
Same sex couples can adopt in England, Wales and Scotland, but not in Northern Ireland.
Adopters in England and Wales must be aged over 21 (18 if one of a couple is the birth parent). There is no upper age limit, but the placing authority must be confident anyone adopting a child will have the energy required and be in good enough health to offer a stable home.
Likewise, if they can prove they have the energy, people will not be disqualified for being disabled, overweight or having a medical condition.
People must also show that the can financially support a child.
A criminal record will not automatically prevent someone from adopting unless they, or someone in their household, has been convicted or cautioned for offences against a child.
Labour leader Ed Miliband has urged Wales to "send a message" to the rest of the UK at May's assembly election.
Mr Miliband said that under Labour, Wales' devolved administration could show a "better alternative" to the "dogma" of the UK government.
He told Welsh Labour's annual conference in Llandudno he believed in the politics of the "common good".
He also accused Prime Minister David Cameron of wanting to "break apart" the NHS in England.
Mr Miliband said a vote for Labour on 5 May was a "vote for a different way".
He said: "Make no mistake, the result of these elections will send a message across Wales and across the United Kingdom.
"I want to see Carwyn [Jones] back as first minister in a Welsh Labour government in May. That's the best hope for Wales.
“Start Quote
Just like they wanted to sell off the forests to the highest bidder, now they want healthcare sold to the lowest bidder”
End QuoteEd MilibandLabour Party leader
"And for Britain: a Labour Welsh Assembly Government showcasing with every decision it makes how there is a better alternative to the dogma of the Conservative-led government at Westminster."
Labour is using the conference in Llandudno to pledge it will "stand up for Wales", attacking UK government decisions such as the shelved plans for a military training academy at St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Making his second visit to Wales in a week, Mr Miliband said that in the assembly government - a coalition between Labour and Plaid Cymru - Wales had an administration that "understands the common good" and whose decisions were based on a "quite different vision - a Labour vision" to that in Westminster.
'Promise of Britain'
The planned rise in university tuition fees for students in England was "simply about individuals in a marketplace", he claimed.
Welsh students will avoid the hike under a subsidy being offered by the assembly government.
Everyone should care about whether bright youngsters can get into top universities regardless of their backgrounds, Mr Miliband said.
"That is the promise of Britain, the promise that each generation can do better than the last," he said.
He gave his support to the campaign for a Yes vote in next month's referendum on the assembly's law-making powers, attacking the Conservatives for accepting devolution "through gritted teeth".
The Tories were the "don't know party", he said.
"Or when it comes to Wales and especially the secretary of state: the 'I'm sorry I haven't a clue' party," he added in a jibe at Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan.
'Real anger'
David Cameron's vision of a Big Society was based on a smaller state and was a "dangerous ideological mistake", Mr Miliband said.
This week's U-turn on selling off state-owned forests in England was an example of what happens when a government did not understand what mattered to people, he said.
He warned that the ill-feeling over the forests "will be nothing compared to the real anger" Mr Cameron will face in opposition to his "dangerous plans" for the NHS in England.
"Just like they wanted to sell off the forests to the highest bidder, now they want healthcare sold to the lowest bidder."
But Health Secretary Andrew Lansley dismissed the criticisms, and said Labour had no vision of their own for the NHS.
High Speed is good for growth, capacity and connectivity. It will close the north-south divide, promote green jobs and cut carbon emissions by reducing the need for domestic flights.
Labour should support the development of High Speed Two and wish to see Labour re-commit itself to the project as part of the policy review. It is wrong the Tory-led government only plan to legislate for a small part of the potential route and wish to see them amend the legislation to enable the full potential of Lord Adonis’ planned high-speed network.
Progress with the support of SERA and others, are campaigning for Labour to committee to the future of high-speed rail and call on the Tory-led government to ammend their legislation only allowing high-speed rail extend to Birmingham and so the whole country can reap the benefits of the high-speed network.
#ISupport the @Progressonline #Labour4HighSpeed2 campaign - sign the petition now: http://bit.ly/hNepw8 #Going4Growth
Use #labour4highspeed2 when promoting the campaign on twitter
Download a petition to circulate at a local meeting, workplaceor social venue <>
Pass a motion at your local branch or CLP meeting <>
Labour 4 High Speed 2 Campaign motion
This CLP believes:
High speed two announced under Labour was a bold, progressive step to a greener, more cohesive and connected Britain and crucial to getting the uk economy growing again
High speed 2 is best placed to lead a revolution in green jobs and cuts carbons by reducing the need for domestic flights.
The benefits of high speed 2 go beyond speed and carbon reduction and include the connectivity and capacity currently denied by the Victorian infrastructure of the current network.
This CLP resolves:
To support the Labour 4 high speed 2 campaign, which urges Labour to recommit to high speed 2 in our policy review
To circulate the petition around CLP members encouraging them to show their support
Contact the campaign organisers and provide a quote for their campaign site from the appropriate CLP officer.
Just a few observations in regards to proposed changes to the Welfare Reform Bill:
The unemployed were damned for being "workshy" today as Con-Dem ministers revealed the nastiest welfare squeeze in living memory on top of mass public and private-sector job losses.
As the coalition ruins livelihoods by imposing hundreds of thousands of job cuts under the slogan
"we are all in this together," Prime Minister David Cameron announced a "reform" package that unions argue blames the unemployed for being jobless.
David Cameron describes his Welfare Reform Bill as "the most ambitious, fundamental and radical changes to the welfare system" since the welfare state was set up.
That it may be, but equally valid adjectives would include unfair, discriminatory and mean.
Despite rhetoric about helping the unemployed into work, the real aim behind this Bill is to reduce welfare spending over the next four years by £5.5 billion - slightly less than the £6bn that the banks have devoted to bonuses this year.
"Never again will work be the wrong financial choice," the Prime Minister asserted as he launched the Bill.
The implication behind this statement is that a substantial proportion of those living on benefits do so as a lifestyle choice rather than there being a lack of jobs.
Cameron and his ministers know this reality, but they are determined to draw a line under what the banks did and to blame unemployed workers for the symptoms of a crisis that they had no part in creating.
Their stomach-churning "compassion" for the needy, the most vulnerable and those in old age is just words.
The government is set to train its sights on precisely those sectors of society that need help most and to drive down their living standards at the behest of the City and the rich.
What would this multimillionaire, who has never experienced any kind of deprivation, know of claiming benefits?
And yet he rewrites history to claim that, when the postwar Labour government set up the welfare state, individuals' sense of "private shame" was sufficient to deter them from claiming handouts unless they really needed them.
Now, according to him, couples live apart, the unemployed refuse jobs and people go on the sick because they are better off cheating the system than working.
In fact, the take-up of benefits was low in the late 1940s, '50s and '60s because there was virtually full employment. Youngsters leaving school did not fear a life on the dole queue.
But the Upper class's obsession with short-term profitability, its refusal to invest in Britain and its readiness to export investment - and jobs - overseas in search of higher returns have made mass unemployment a major feature across the country.
Instead of berating the unemployed for not having a job, politicians ought to have been directing investment into industry and employment.
According to Cameron, one in every £7 of government spending is devoted to welfare, amounting to £90bn a year, and this is not "simply not sustainable."
If anything is not sustainable, it is the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere that have swallowed billions of pounds to no avail, to say nothing of the human cost.
Weapons of mass destruction, such as the Trident nuclear submarine fleet, are also unsustainable, costing tens of billions and contributing nothing to society.
The government is promising to "make work pay" as it sets out plans to ensure people in work are better off than the unemployed.
A "universal credit", sanctions for those turning down jobs and a cap on benefits paid to a single family are among the changes outlined.
Planned housing benefit curbs for the jobless have been dropped but tenants 'under-occupying' homes face cuts.
Labour backs some changes but says help for people to find work is inadequate.
A single universal credit to come into force in 2013
Tax changes to enable people to keep more income
Changes to the disability living allowance
More details of the back-to-work programme
Those refusing to work facing a maximum three-year loss of benefits
Annual benefit cap of about £26,000 per family
Review of sickness absence levels
The level of tax avoidance in Britain is also unsustainable, costing the exchequer around £80bn annually alongside a further £20bn uncollected because of staff shortages at HM Revenue & Customs that have been exacerbated by government-imposed redundancies.
The government does nothing about these unsustainable phenomena because they work to the benefit of the wealthy who still don't pay their fair share of taxation.
The coalition assault on working-class living standards forms part of its ongoing campaign to absolve the rich of any responsibility to contribute to society.
Central to the plan is the creation of a universal credit, a process which will begin in 2013 and continue into the next parliament.
The government says, with five million people of working age on out-of-work benefits and 1.4 million of those for nearly a decade, that unemployment has become entrenched in many communities.
Prime Minister David Cameron said the bill would "bring about the most fundamental and radical changes to the welfare system since it began".
Analysis
size=2 width="100%" align=center>
Iain Duncan Smith has become something of an evangelist for welfare reform.
But the task he faces is probably even more daunting than that faced by any recent government - most of whom also pledged to "make work pay".
The difficulty is that successful welfare reform in other parts of the world has always been carried out in boom times - when there are jobs and public money to help people find work.
There is also the sheer scale of the problem he faces, with more than five million people on out-of-work benefits.
The government is determined to move ahead at pace with more than half of all claimants moved on to the universal credit by the end of this parliament.
Lastly, the government has got an awful lot else on its reform agenda, with plans for sweeping change involving the NHS, schools, the police and the constitution.
He added: "Never again will work be the wrong financial choice... We are finally going to make work pay for some of the poorest people in our society."
'Wrong rewards'
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said: "Our reforms will end the absurdity of a system where people too often get rewarded for doing the wrong thing, and those who strive to do the best by their families get penalised.
"The publication of the Welfare Reform Bill will put work, rather than hand-outs, at the heart of the welfare system."
Asked about dropping the plan to reduce housing benefit for the long-term unemployed, Mr Duncan Smith told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it would "not be" in the bill.
He said: "Nobody will be worse off [under the changes]. They will be cash-protected."
Mr Duncan Smith also said: "The universal credit will make sure that the poorest in society will be better off."
The universal credit will see existing out-of-work and in-work entitlements, such as Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support and Housing Benefit, paid as a single lump sum although it is unclear how many benefits will be included in the new payment.
Ministers believe this will make it easier for them to demonstrate the value of being in work, reduce administrative costs and the risk of fraud.
“Start Quote
Long-term unemployment has doubled not because of a sudden increase in work-shy scroungers”
They argue that the current system actively discourages claimants from looking for work, or those on low-paid jobs from increasing their hours, as rates of tax and benefit reductions leave them worse off.
In future, the government is guaranteeing that for every £1 extra people earn, they will be at least 35p better off as a result of being in work.
Up to 2.7 million households will be better off as a result of the changes, ministers say, with more than a million of these - including many of the poorest - seeing an increase of £25 a week.
But the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned that while the changes could benefit 2.5 million households, a further 1.4 million - including many lone parents and families with savings of more than £16,000 - face being worse off.
Ministers say transitional arrangements will be put in place to make sure no-one is worse off while they are being migrated to the new system - which will cost £2.1bn up-front to introduce.
That short-term cost, they insist, will reap considerably higher savings in the long term.
The government has dropped controversial plans to cut housing benefit by 10% for people out-of-work for more than a year - but the bill includes plans to cut housing benefit for tenants deemed to be "under-occupying" their homes.
The National Housing Federation attacked the move, claiming about 680,000 people living in local authority and housing association properties will lose some of their housing benefit, "with many people struggling to pay their rent and ending up being forced to leave their home".
Labour supports efforts to simplify the benefit system and back "conditionality" on benefits but says people should not be penalised for being unable to find work and the proposals do not provide a "panacea" for reducing unemployment.
"There is a big problem about a lack of jobs for people to move into," Shadow employment spokesman Stephen Timms said. "There just aren't the jobs there."
'Blaming the jobless'
Critics say the overhaul could leave vulnerable people worse off.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "Long-term unemployment has doubled not because of a sudden increase in work-shy scroungers, but as an inevitable result of economic policies based on cuts that destroy growth.
"Of course no welfare support is perfect and a small minority play the system, but just as conjurors divert your attention when doing a trick, today's proposals are based on blaming the jobless for their own unemployment in the hope that voters won't notice the real cause."
But Katja Hall, chief policy director at the Confederation of British Industry, said: "Getting the UK working is crucial for securing economic growth. We welcome the government's plans to get people off benefits and into long-term employment and to tackle long-term sickness."
Sam Bowman of the Adam Smith Institute, a pro-free market think-tank, said: "The government's welfare reforms are a good step towards reducing people's dependency on benefits, but they are only part of the story.
"The minimum wage prices the most unskilled and inexperienced out of work and it should be abolished if the welfare reforms are to have the impact the government hopes."
Kate Wareing, Oxfam's UK poverty director, said it was a "step in the right direction" but lacked detail, adding that the government needed to make sure the "safety net welfare provides is not being pulled from under our feet".
Gavin Poole of the Centre for Social Justice think-tank, which was founded by Mr Duncan Smith, said: "It [the bill] offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to overhaul a dysfunctional and chaotic benefits system that locks people in poverty and stifles aspiration."
A referendum on changing the voting system for general elections will now take place on May 5 after peers opposed to the Government's bill eventually backed down.
The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill received royal assent last night after a torrid passage through the Commons and Lords.
Ministers needed to get the Bill through Parliament before peers began their February half-term recess today in order for preparations to be made to hold the referendum at the same time as elections to the devolved institutions and local councils in England.
Earlier, for the second time in 24 hours, the Commons threw out an amendment by the Lords demanding that any referendum on dumping first-past-the-post elections for AV (alternative vote) should be binding only if there was a turnout of at least 40%.
This is a real milestone in restoring trust in our political system and making our democracy fairer
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg
The AV system allows electors to rank candidates in order of preference.
The Bill was first debated in the Commons on September 6 last year.
But its passage through Parliament was held up by a dogged rearguard action from Labour peers, which saw the committee stage in the Lords drag on for 17 days, with late-night and all-night sittings.
Labour wanted to wreck the Bill because it also includes proposals to cut the number of MPs from 650 to 600, and create constituencies with roughly equal numbers of voters.
Voters can choose to ditch the first-past-the-post system
In a sign of how important the legislation was, Lib Dem leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg called off an official visit to South America this week to help secure the Bill's passage.
After the Bill became law he said: "This is a real milestone in restoring trust in our political system and making our democracy fairer.
"Constituencies will be redrawn, so that votes are more equal throughout the country.
"And, for the first time, through a referendum, voters will have a say in the system they use to elect their MPs.
"Together, these measures will help put the expenses scandal behind us and start to restore trust in our political institutions."
The Commons has voted by big majorities to overturn a series of Lords' amendments over plans to cut the number of MPs and hold a referendum on changing the voting system.
In just a few hours, MPs voted to throw out moves passed during several weeks of debate in the Lords.
These include a proposal to make the result of a referendum on replacing first-past-the-post with the alternative vote (AV) non-binding if turnout was under 40%.
The other votes by MPs, all passed with majorities between 60 and 85, mean the Government’s proposals to cut the number of Parliamentary constituencies from 650 to 600 are still intact.
The scene is now set for a bruising battle of Parliamentary ping-pong between the Commons and the Lords, as the Bill goes back to the Lords on Wednesday.
The Lords must decide whether to reinstate their amendments or to back down.
Lords and Commons divided over voting system plans
In the key vote in the Commons, rejecting the 40% turnout threshold, voting was 317-247, a comfortable Government majority of 70
Opposition MPs are predicting that the Lords will attempt to defy the Commons on a tortuous and at times ill-tempered passage through the Lords.
Government ministers have feared a procedural crisis as Labour peers were blamed for deliberately slowing its progress.
Opposition to the Bill focused on the attempt to redraw the electoral map to reduce the number of MPs, with roughly equal numbers of constituents in each seat.
The Government has blamed a "small number of former Labour MPs" for the hold-up, which saw the Lords sit through the night on one occasion last month.
The Bill needs to be on the statute book before the Lords rises for its half-term recess at the close of Wednesday's business.
This is in order for the Electoral Commission to make preparations for a May 5 referendum on adopting the alternative vote (AV) system for Westminster elections.
