Latest news with #policychange
Fox News
3 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
CNN host warns Dems must actually 'get rid of some sacred cows' of far-left ideology, not just talk about it
CNN host Abby Phillip warned that if Democrats want to win back voters, they will need to risk offending their consultant class base with concrete policy changes. Since their historic defeat in November, the Democratic Party remains divided about how to move forward. While some Democrats are doubling down on the far-left politics many argue alienated voters, others are calling to abandon so-called "woke" politics. But as the party remains in flux, a rising tide of commentators are challenging such Democrats to actually articulate which far-left policies they will kick to the curb in order to regain the working-class voters they lost. On Tuesday evening, a panel on CNN discussed The New York Times' report claiming that Democrats are spending $20 million on a study called "Speaking with American Men: A Strategic Plan." The study is purportedly a project to "study the syntax, language and content that gains attention and virality in these spaces" of male voters. The panel spoke about how Democrats lack their own equivalent of podcaster Joe Rogan, and how he gradually went from a nonpolitical figure to becoming prominent in the "MAGA universe." CNN media correspondent Hadas Gold said one idea she has seen pitched is a "sleeper" podcast, "where they just they help fund the podcasters, let them do whatever they want, really build up that base, it has nothing to do with politics, and then in a few years, sort of seep into politics," she said, "just like Joe Rogan." However, she argued, such an idea probably wouldn't work. "The only way that that works is through authenticity, and you're not going to make it work by building up these funds and, in any way, being connected to a political party, because the political parties, especially Democrats right now, don't exactly have a good brand people want to be attached to," she said. When Gold praised Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego for appealing to authenticity in his rhetorical style, Phillip responded that Democrats need actual substance to their reform. "Okay, but here's the thing. They're going to have to — you alluded to this," Phillip said as she pointed to former Biden White House official Dan Koh, who called to take positions that may offend parts of the party. "They're going to have to get rid of some sacred cows. This is going to be the hard part. Everybody talks about authenticity until the rubber meets the road, and they have to actually take positions that the activist, you know, consultant class base does not want them to take." "I don't think they will," CNN commentator Shermichael Singleton said. "I mean, for Democrats to effectively target men of every color, they are going to have to drastically change some of their positions, especially some of the cultural stuff. I don't think that's going to happen, Dan. I think you guys have moved so far to the left, many — I know you're from the South, Dan, you seem to be more reasonable than most, but for the most part, a lot of you guys don't make room for guys to express their views in an open way about a lot of issues." When Koh was asked what he would do to change the party, he proposed doing a better job of enforcing the border and supporting upward mobility, saying, "These positions aren't popular with a lot of the party, but it's what people are — to the point of putting people where they are, it's where people are, and it's where we need to be as well."
Washington Post
3 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
West Virginia governor implements policy changes in embattled foster care system
CHARLESTON, — West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey vowed Wednesday that his administration will improve transparency and policies within the state's embattled foster care system. Morrisey, a Republican, announced the changes after eight listening sessions statewide to identify areas of improvement and a review of critical cases. Morrisey said he heard attendees at one such session in Martinsburg discuss 'a broken system.'
CBS News
4 days ago
- Health
- CBS News
Sacramento County Sheriff's Office faces more questions on mental health policy
SACRAMENTO -- The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office is facing more scrutiny and tough questions regarding its controversial decision not to respond to mental health calls if there is no crime being committed. The Sacramento County Sheriff Review Commission took those questions to the sheriff's office on Tuesday for the first public discussion on the matter since the policy was announced, where both the commission and a sheriff's office representative were present. The commission does not have policy power but acts as a watchdog group over the sheriff's office and can make recommendations. Ahead of the meeting, the commission submitted questions to the sheriff's office for review and discussed the list at length, asking questions about the policy impacts over the last five months. Sacramento County Undersheriff Mike Ziegler represented the department in front of the commission and provided insights on how the policy change has played out by the numbers. Since February, there have been 884 mental health calls. In 410, the sheriff's office did not respond; 286 calls were transferred to WellSpace Health, fire, or other mental health professionals; and in the remaining 188 calls, Ziegler said callers did not want service or specifically requested the sheriff's office, which Ziegler said can be a "red flag" and can signal the caller is attempting to harm responding deputies. "We haven't had one person call and then have them call back later and say that person committed suicide. Not one," Ziegler said. Commissioner questions ranged from requesting more data about mental health calls to the policy's impact on other agencies. "The big issue for the commission is how they handle ones where there's potential for violence and danger. This is both for the sheriff's office that is responding, and for me as well, first responders, fire department or county mental health response teams," said Paul Curtis, chair of the sheriff's commission. In a statement to CBS Sacramento, Captain Mark Nunez with the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said they have not had any injuries due to behavioral health calls, but, in rare cases, if there is not a law enforcement presence, they will not be able to make contact with the patient. Nunez said: "While our crews remain committed to providing care, it's important to note that in rare cases, the absence of law enforcement may prevent our responders from safely making patient contact. In these situations, our personnel are trusted to make informed, real-time decisions that prioritize the safety of both the public and our responders. As a result of this careful and situational approach, Metro Fire has not incurred any injuries to first responders in relation to behavioral health calls. Metro Fire is also actively engaged in ongoing regional discussions with law enforcement and behavioral health partners to develop long-term, sustainable solutions that ensure both community safety and access to care." Ziegler told the commission that the sheriff's office is open to improving the policy, where there are improvements to be made. "From a law enforcement perspective, it is all positive," he said. By June 30, the commission will have final recommendations.
Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Times
Winter fuel payments for all — is this the beginning of Reeves' undoing?
Sir Keir Starmer was in his office in No 10 on Tuesday night when he told aides he was going to announce a U-turn on winter fuel during the next day's Prime Minister's Questions. 'He was really sure that he wanted to do it and knew it would come up in PMQs, so wanted to be able to give people a straight answer,' said one staff member present. The decision had been taken at a meeting between Starmer, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, and Pat McFadden, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, in the week following the local elections when Labour lost two thirds of their council seats that were being contested. The PM had been privately lobbied by everyone from backbench MPs to members of the cabinet and even the Welsh first minister to change the policy, which had been a toxic issue on the doorstep and risked becoming Labour's poll tax. The announcement was made in haste. He promised reforms to ensure 'more pensioners are eligible for winter fuel payments' without explaining either the mechanism for achieving that aim or how it would be funded. He also said he wanted to implement the changes as soon as possible. However, civil servants have categorically told ministers it will be impossible to introduce any proposed reforms in time for this winter as officials struggle to overhaul ageing computer systems. They have been told to spend the summer working on solutions to be presented in time for the next budget, in autumn. Previously it had been reported that the government was looking at options for raising the income threshold at which pensioners qualify for payments, which was set last year at £11,500. But it can be revealed that officials are examining options for an almost complete reversal of the policy amid claims this would be faster and easier to implement. Although no decision had yet been taken, the aim would be to reinstate payment, worth either £200 or £300 a year per recipient, for all but the wealthiest pensioners. Creating a new means test for the winter fuel payment would be highly complex and ministers are considering a simpler option, which is restoring it as a universal benefit and then recouping the money when high income pensioners fill in their tax returns. A similar approach was taken by George Osborne, the former Tory chancellor, when he reduced the eligibility to child benefit for better-off parents. Confirming that the government was considering an almost total reversal of the policy, a senior Whitehall source said: 'I think they will want to do it in a symbolic way that means that the millionaires won't get it, although it won't actually save you that much money just excluding the very rich people from it. However, they haven't yet found the exact mechanism by which to do it.' There are also no guarantees the changes will be ready for this winter, although officials are looking at the feasibility of making backdated payments. The announcement was timed to buy the government a bit of goodwill among its backbenchers after weeks of unease over Liz Kendall's proposed welfare reforms. Labour MPs have been spooked by the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) own impact assessment which said the changes, which are worth £5 billion a year by 2030 and will restrict eligibility for Personal independence Payments, would result in an extra 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, living in 'relative poverty' by 2030. But, as with many government U-turns made in the heat of political necessity, the concession may come back to haunt Starmer. The prime minister faces a challenge this week from Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, who is expected to pledge to scrap the two-child cap on child benefits and reinstate the winter fuel allowance, The Telegraph reported. Farage will use his first address since his party's successful elections to appeal to left-leaning voters and attack Starmer's record on benefits. However, the public finances today are if anything worse than when Labour came into office. Economists think that the deficit in Reeves's finances could be as much as £60 billion. So where does that leave the chancellor, who was out of the country when the U-turn came? Given the scale of the challenge, tax rises in the autumn budget now look inevitable. The more that Reeves and Starmer concede on welfare, the greater the tax increases will have to be. 'She's [Reeves] in a really tricky place,' said a senior government source. 'Axing winter fuel payments for all but the poorest pensioners was supposed to send a strong signal to reassure the markets, shore up public finances and demonstrate that Labour is prepared to make tough decisions. So, obviously, if we are finding money for this, it opens up all sorts of questions about welfare, about the two-child benefits cap. 'We have always thought that scrapping the two-child benefits cap is not a vote winner, but at the same time, if you have to choose between giving money to pensioners, who are the only group in this country who are going to be significantly richer by the end of this parliament, versus handing money to impoverished kids, then it's pretty obvious what the priority should be.' Starmer, Kendall and Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, are among those in the cabinet who are said to be open to the idea of scrapping — or at least softening — the two-child cap on benefits. However, it is opposed by the Treasury and Morgan McSweeney, Starmer's chief of staff, because of the £3.5 billion price tag and polling showing that there are few votes in it. The Fabian Society has proposed a two-phased approach to scrapping the two-child limit, which they claim would be more palatable for voters. The first phase would include ditching it for working families, and families with a disabled child, before abolishing it entirely. This first step would benefit nearly nine out of ten children under five (89 per cent) affected by the two-child limit, but would be far more popular than scrapping it completely in one big step, and more popular and effective than raising the cap to three children. This is supported by new polling, which shows 46 per cent of voters would support removing the cap for families with disabled children, with 34 per cent opposing, while 45 per cent support removing it for families who are in work, with 35 per cent opposing it. This compares with 32 per cent who support lifting the limit from two children to three children, with 51 per cent opposing it. Just implementing the first step towards scraping the two-child limit — along with proposals to introduce a new baby and toddler element to universal credit — could result in one of the largest falls in early years poverty since the 1990s, lifting 230,000 children under-five out of poverty. HANNAH MCKAY/REUTERS Commenting on the findings, which have been shared with ministers, Ben Cooper, Fabian Society research manager and the author of the report, said: 'While the public finances are incredibly tight, the government can act to transform the lives of babies and toddlers living in poverty — and do so with public support.' While there had been intentions to look at the cap in the spring, the plans, which form part of the child poverty strategy, have now been delayed until the autumn budget. Another big pressure point for Reeves will be when she is urged to rip up her fiscal rules to allow for extra borrowing to stave off public spending cuts. In addition, talks are already under way to bring forward other less costly elements of the strategy to mollify some of the 170 or more MPs who have raised concerns about benefit cuts. Measures would potentially include broadening the eligibility criteria for free school meals and raising the amount paid to families in child benefit, currently £26.05 per week for the first child and £17.25 per week for subsequent children. It is understood that changes could be announced at the spending review next month ahead of the crunch welfare vote, which No 10 insiders insist will go ahead in the second week of June despite rumours of a delay. • Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves backed down on winter fuel. What's next? The spending review looks brutal. With the Home Office, Department for Education and Ministry of Housing, Communities and local government all facing real-terms cuts. Starmer will have a significant challenge on his hands just to retain cabinet order in the run-up to the review on June 11. Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, is set to be one of the biggest losers of the review. She is said to have complained 'forcibly' about proposals to squeeze spending on housing during increasingly heated meetings with Starmer and Reeves. She is also understood to be furious about rumours, now denied, that her department was set to be broken up, with a new ministry of housing created, as part of a wider Whitehall shake-up to better align departments with Labour's five missions of government. It comes after a week of fevered speculation about her leadership ambitions triggered by a leaked memo revealing she had urged the chancellor to hike taxes on savers and high earners. She also suggested stripping middle class families of child benefit payments. The ideas are popular with her allies on the left of the party, but were seen as provocative by critics. Rayner and her team have denied leaking the document, but that has been given short shrift by many in government. Rayner had urged the chancellor to hike taxes on savers and high earners CAMERON SMITH/GETTY IMAGES One source said the leaking of the document showed her 'naked' ambition. 'It's just Angela being Angela,' they added. 'Whenever the party hits a rocky patch she always does this kind of thing to remind the parliamentary Labour Party that she is still here and has different ideas to others at the top of the party.' However, Rayner is not alone in worrying about the 'huge pressures on housing' and the direction of the country as huge budget cuts loom. Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, has told the New Statesman that the north of England is so tense it could 'go up in flames'. 'Last summer, when we had the horrendous murder of those young girls [in Southport], there was already a real sense of tension in the north,' she said. 'People have watched their town centres falling apart, their life has got harder over the last decade and a half … I don't remember a time when people worked this hard and had so little to show for it.' It is a problem Starmer's team are acutely aware of. • While the cost of living crisis is easing, with interest rates falling, there is now a living standards crisis they know needs to be addressed if they are to counter the appeal of Reform. This includes also drawing up proposals to attract a new group of voters, known as the Henrys — people who are High Earners, Not Rich Yet. A Whitehall source said: 'The fiscal position is still tough, but for the first time in a long time, the macro stuff is looking better. We are seeing things like the trade deals, the investment coming in, so the bigger picture is good but none of that means anything unless people feel it and you can improve peoples' living standards.' But with the chancellor's cloth being cut smaller by the day, it will be a question once again of what is affordable, not just what is politically desirable, when the spending decisions are made.
Independent Singapore
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Independent Singapore
RDU chief Ravi Philemon calls new Cabinet ‘disappointing' as more women, youth should be given seats at the table
SINGAPORE: After Prime Minister (PM) Lawrence Wong announced his new Cabinet on Wednesday evening (May 21), Ravi Philemon, the secretary-general of the opposition party Red Dot United (RDU), expressed disappointment. 'Women's voices are muted. Young people's voices are not heard. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's first Cabinet announcement was a moment that should have signalled meaningful change. Instead, it reinforced the status quo,' Mr Philemon wrote in a social media post. While the announcement revealed some reshuffling and a couple of new faces from the May 3 polls were appointed to lead ministries, the members of the Cabinet have remained the same since PM Wong took office a year ago. For Mr Philemon, this appeared to be a missed opportunity for PM Wong to address 'real gaps in leadership' that had been present prior to the election, and he expressed that preserving the status quo would have 'real consequences—for working families, for women, for young people, and for the vulnerable.' The RDU chief noted that only three of the 15 full ministers are women, despite women having been nearly a third of the ruling People's Action Party's (PAP) candidates in the GE. Mr Philemon wrote that this could mean that policies that affect women, such as childcare options, work-from-home rights, legal protections at the workplace, and recognition for unpaid caregiving, would be deprioritised. 'The global research is conclusive. Governments with at least 50% women ministers score 17 points higher on the Women, Business and the Law Index, which measures legal equality in economic opportunity. Countries with more women in leadership are more likely to pass laws that remove inequality, strengthen protections for families, and invest in the long-term well-being of society. These aren't cosmetic gains—they are structural,' he wrote. Mr Philemon also noted that the average age of the new Cabinet is 55.1, adding concerns that younger Singaporeans today are 'living through a very different Singapore' in terms of job security, housing costs, climate change, mental health, and other issues. 'The issues that affect young people most are dealt with in a piecemeal way—because their voices are not present in the Cabinet room. Things must change. Let's not forget—Singapore is one of the few countries where 18-year-olds are expected to serve, to train, to carry a rifle for national defence, but cannot vote.' The RDU chief also raised the issue of what he characterised as 'bloated government and wasted resources' and again questioned why Singapore would need multiple Mayors, Senior Ministers, Ministers of State, and Senior Parliamentary Secretaries. 'For me, politics should always be about people, so Cabinets must reflect the people. That means more women at the table. More youth helping to shape the national agenda, and a leaner, more focused government that puts its weight—and its budget—behind solving real problems, not maintaining political comfort. 'RDU and I will remain committed to that fight. The fight to ensure Singaporeans are treated as first-class citizens in their own country, the only home we have,' he wrote. /TISG Read also: M Wong's New Cabinet: Masagos loses Muslim Affairs portfolio, first-term MP Jeffrey Siow and David Neo take Transport and MCCY roles
