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The Independent
3 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Governments have the right to expect MPs to support their decisions
As a parting shot at the end of the parliamentary term, the prime minister has rightly chosen to remind his party as to who is in charge of this government. Sir Keir Starmer, via his chief whip Sir Alan Campbell and the No 10 machine, has presented some of his most rebellious backbenchers with the chilling consequences of their serial actions. Four of his not-so-loyal MPs have had the Labour whip withdrawn, while another handful have been deprived of their unpaid but pleasant sinecures as overseas trade envoys. Thus, Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff can no longer describe themselves as Labour MPs, although they remain in the party, while Rosena Allin-Khan, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Mohammad Yasin have been deprived of official hospitality in South Africa, Ghana and Pakistan, respectively. Meanwhile, Diane Abbott, who directly challenged her leader over welfare reform at PMQs, finds herself suspended from the Labour Party altogether – albeit over an investigation into the separate matter of claiming she still stands by a controversial 2023 letter implying that racism against people of colour was worse than antisemitism or prejudice against travellers. The position of these rebels, such as it is, has attracted a great deal of sympathy within the Labour Party, and some from outside its ranks. It is understandable, given the passions aroused in the debates about disability benefits – a sensitive issue. However, it is wrong-headed. The unprecedented, and largely successful, attempt to kill the government's modest attempt at welfare reform did severe damage, both to the ability of the Starmer administration to govern effectively and to the mission to make the British social security system effective and affordable in the longer term. That, in turn, endangers the stability of the public finances and the ability of the UK to rely on the kindness of strangers in the international bond markets. It is perfectly fair to point out that the sums involved in the proposed changes in the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill were small in relation to the total of public spending – about £4.5bn. However, the same could be said for almost any 'line' in the public accounts, and managing the annual government deficit is a matter of very narrow margins. Britain's economy is already especially vulnerable to external shocks because of its high level of indebtedness, and it would not take much to provoke a full-on financial crisis. That would dump Labour out of office for a generation. As the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, reminded her party this week, 'there is nothing progressive about a government that simply spends more and more each year on debt interest, instead of on the priorities of ordinary working people. And fiscal stability is a choice that reflects economic reality'. There is indeed nothing progressive about wrecking the first Labour government in 14 years in its attempts to demonstrate its competence and fiscal responsibility. The rebels may feel that they have helped vulnerable people they rightly care about. But the hard, unavoidable consequences of their actions are to make their Labour government look weak and divided, and to strengthen Reform UK and Kemi Badenoch. Labour's poll ratings are dismal; historically bad. And what do the rebels think a government led by Nigel Farage would do to the welfare state? It hardly bears contemplating. Of course, the way ministers handled the welfare reform bill was flawed – and they have acknowledged as much. Yet even after Sir Keir and his colleagues had virtually abandoned their own bill, and conceded almost all the rebels' demands, many Labour MPs still voted with the opposition, an act of performative politics that changed nothing. They did so in preference to facing up to the messy compromises of government and the need to stay united. It is they, the hardcore rebels, who ended up being truculent. The whole welfare bill fiasco was a humiliation in every way for a government not quite one year old. In truth, some of the dissidents who've now been punished have been plotting and campaigning against their own government almost since the general election. The rebels were asking for trouble, and they could not have been surprised that they attracted the wrath of the leadership. Much the same had happened last year with an attempt to end the two-child limit on child benefit. Suspending the whip is normal parliamentary activity. What is highly abnormal is Labour backbenchers sabotaging their own legislation. They may recall how, not much more than a year ago, when they were aspirant MPs, they and their party made such rich political capital out of the promise to end the Tories' 'chaos and confusion'. What are the voters to make of the spectacles of recent weeks? What, indeed, are they to make of doctors engaged in a parallel exercise in destroying the future of the National Health Service? Governments have a perfect right to expect their MPs to support their programme. Without loyalty and discipline, parliamentary government cannot function. That, as previous prime ministers have found, applies just as much to an administration enjoying a nominal landslide majority as one in a hung parliament (when the constant threat of a general election can, paradoxically, make discipline easier to enforce). If anything, given the sheer size of the rebellion on social security – 130 of his own MPs threatening to defeat a government bill – Sir Keir has been perhaps a little too lenient. In the end, the prime minister has no alternative but to use all the means at his disposal to deliver his programme in the national interest. In his words, 'country before party'. His job is not worth the candle if he has to offer a veto to any group of MPs unwilling to join in his missions to rebuild the country and merely indulge themselves. They need to be told that they are no longer teenage activists; they are legislators in a G7 economy. It is perhaps not such a shock that so many came from the 2024 intake. It had been assumed that they'd be especially loyal to Sir Keir because, frankly, he helped them win their seats, sometimes in the most unlikely of true-blue constituencies, places in Dorset or Suffolk that had been Conservative for a century or more. Politics is an ungrateful business, but the prime minister could expect more credit for taking his party from the Corbynite debacle of 2019 and into government in a few short years. The rebels, many younger politicians who grew up during the leaderships of Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn, are stuck in an oppositionist 'Corbynista' mindset and need some further immersion in the realities of government and the duty they owe to the whole British people. In turn, it is Sir Keir's job to confront them with the 'hard choices' so often talked about but ducked by our politicians in all parties in recent years – the disease of ' cakeism ' has survived the departure of Boris Johnson and grown widespread. No government, of any party, can run a country if it has to give its most dissident members a veto on its actions. One day, in the not-too-distant future, there will have to be another attempt at reforming the British social security system in line with the nation's resources. That challenge has not been magicked away by one parliamentary rebellion, no matter how powerful. The prime minister must press on with reform across the public sector, and therefore has to restore order and discipline in his troops. If not, then like any other party that behaves like a rabble, they will lose the next general election, and the rebels will have betrayed the very people who put their trust in them. Mr Farage grinning outside No 10 is not a legacy to be proud of.
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Kentucky LB Alex Afari Jr. chasing neighbor in multi-continent football pursuit
July 17 - Kentucky can thank former Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson for helping unearth versatile gem Alex Afari Jr., a self-made success as a high school cornerback now starring in the middle of the Wildcats defense. Johnson is headed to training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers this month, a path Afari would like to follow after the childhood neighbors learned to compete against each other as 8-year-olds in their Ohio backyards. Entering his senior season with 21 starts in 38 games in Lexington, Afari's path to this point was anything but predictable. He was born in Italy, moved to Ghana for four years and it was in that African nation he first learned what he was told was football, the game with a round ball going by a different name in the United States. When he moved to Ohio with his family at the age of 8, Johnson and his grandfather offered to introduce Afari to American football. Johnson's grandfather signed him up to play and shuttled him to the first practice, Afari recalled Thursday at SEC Media Days. "First day of practice, they put a helmet on me and some shoulder pads. I said, 'this is not what I signed up for,'" Afari said. "But he didn't let me quit. He let me stay with it. Just blessed to be here now." Afari, a 227-pounder who played cornerback in high school and his first two seasons in Lexington, was an inside linebacker last season. He finished third on the team in tackles and wowed with a 10-tackle game against Tennessee and during a career night against Florida with 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. "He's had a great career. We actually recruited him as a cornerback," Kentucky's Mark Stoops said Thursday. "Grew into a safety, then became a hybrid. Last year moved to inside linebacker. Just picked it up in a big way. Is a great leader and person for us." Afari said he picked up the new game over time, improving by bringing down Johnson in their backyard football games. Johnson, drafted 83rd overall in April, forced a total of 78 missed tackles and gained more than 1,000 rushing yards after initial contact at Iowa. Completing a tackle of Johnson wasn't exactly remedial football, especially for someone brand new to the game. "I wouldn't say natural. I started really becoming good at football in seventh grade. It took me some time," Afari recalled Thursday, adding he wasn't clear on the rules when he began picking up the game. "I just learned off the fly. Kaleb Johnson's grandpa brought me to the football field every day with him. We were just practicing out in the backyard." Afari said he can't find jollof rice -- a traditional dish with tomatoes and chiles common in West Africa, where his parents were born -- in Lexington but the summer humidity and high seasonal temperatures are well shy of the oven he experienced in Ghana for nearly four years. While he now understands the tabulation for placement kicks worth either one or three points in American football, Afari continues pushing for the next step in his journey. He wants to continue growing as a prospect and have a chance to prove he can still bring down his old backyard buddy in the NFL. "I got stronger in the weight room. I got way stronger, way more explosive. I feel it's going to translate on the field," he said. "I feel like the strength coach has done a great job with all our players, changing our bodies, making us stronger and more explosive and faster." --Field Level Media
Zawya
5 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
President Mahama unveils major road infrastructure boost for Western North Region under ‘Big Push'
President John Dramani Mahama has reaffirmed his government's commitment to developing vital infrastructure, announcing the launch of extensive road construction and rehabilitation projects across the Western North Region. This will be carried out under his flagship 'Big Push Infrastructure Programme', a $10 billion initiative aimed at significantly improving national connectivity and economic development. Addressing a durbar of enthusiastic chiefs and people in Juaboso, as part of his ongoing nationwide 'Thank You Tour', President Mahama directly responded to a heartfelt appeal from the Western North Regional House of Chiefs. The Chiefs had passionately articulated the pressing need for improved road networks, emphasising that their overwhelming support for him and the NDC in the 2024 elections was a clear demonstration of their profound trust in his leadership. 'I have heard your concerns about the roads connecting our farming communities and our markets,' President Mahama stated, acknowledging the region's vital role in the national economy. 'These roads are crucial arteries for moving cocoa, timber, food products, and people across our country. They are not a luxury; they are a fundamental necessity.' The President assured the gathering that many of these crucial arteries, including vital cocoa roads that had previously experienced delays, will now undergo accelerated completion and new development as part of the ambitious 'Big Push' Programme. 'I assure you that these critical projects have been fully captured under our transformative $10 billion Big Push Infrastructure Programme,' he reiterated. Detailing the scope of this unprecedented commitment, President Mahama explained, 'The 'Big Push' is a strategic commitment to inject at least $2 billion annually into infrastructure development, with its rollout commencing robustly in the 2025 national budget.' He further added, 'We are dedicating substantial resources and deploying expert technical teams to ensure these roads are completed on schedule, transforming the landscape for our farmers, traders, and communities across the Western North Region.' Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency, Republic of Ghana.
Zawya
5 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
Ghana achieves stable power supply, eyes green future after major energy reforms
Ghanaians are now enjoying a stable and dependable power supply, thanks to significant ongoing reforms in the energy sector, Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, has announced. Taking his turn at the Government #AccountabilitySeries, John Jinapor stated that there has been a significant turnaround from the 'persistent and erratic power outages' experienced earlier this year. 'We have witnessed a remarkable improvement and reliable supply of power,' he stated, attributing this success to comprehensive reforms addressing both technical inefficiencies and financial challenges within the sector. 'You can attest to the fact that we are now experiencing a reliable, uninterruptible supply of power,' he emphasised, a demonstration of the visible impact of the government's interventions. Looking ahead, Mr Jinapor unveiled plans for a five-year strategic document aimed at accelerating Ghana's renewable energy and green transition agenda. This crucial blueprint will guide future policy reforms, ensuring a sustainable and environmentally friendly energy future for the nation. The Ministry's initiatives reflect the government's unwavering commitment to ensuring a robust, sustainable, and reliable energy sector for all Ghanaians. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency, Republic of Ghana.
Bloomberg
9 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Ghana Seen Slashing Rate as Yields Drop Ahead of Urgent Meeting
Ghana's central bank could deliver a sharp cut in interest rates at a meeting it pulled forward to this week, after inflation cooled significantly in the West African nation. The Bank of Ghana announced late Wednesday that policymakers would hold an 'emergency' meeting on Thursday and deliver their decision on Friday, shifting the date forward from July 30. The bank declined to comment beyond its announcement.
