In the UK a gloomier economic outlook forces George Osborne to warn that austerity will continue until 2018 as the government continues to struggle with high debt and a weak economy. This week David Cameron has confronted Tory opponents of gay marriage head on by coming out in favour of gay weddings in churches and celebrations ensued with news of Kate Middleton’s pregnancy and a new member of the royal family. Elsewhere Egypts military have urged rival political forces to solve their disputes via dialogue amidst the growing violence and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has stated he would run to become Italy’s leader for a fifth time, confirming his return to politics after months of indecision.
Lords will ‘massacre’ gay marriage laws
This week David Cameron voiced his opinion in favour of gay weddings in churches. The prime minister said on Friday that he was a “massive supporter of marriage” and did not want gay people to be “excluded from a great institution”. Cameron’s intervention means that all three party leaders have now spoken out in favour of allowing religions to host same-sex wedding ceremonies. However Tory MPs and Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, have reacted with dismay after the Prime Minister said places of worship will be allowed to conduct same-sex weddings.
The prime minister will allow Conservative MPs a free vote to follow their conscience on the issue, but last month it was reported that over 100 Tory MPs plan to oppose the prime minister by voting against coalition plans to bring in gay marriage. Mark Pritchard, a Conservative MP, urged Mr Cameron to hear the “alarm bells” of discontent from the Tory grassroots and Lord Carey, the former Archbishop, said here was a real possibility that the bill could be defeated in the Lords.
The Autumn Statement
Mr Osborne delivered his Autumn Statement this week, in a parliamentary statement in which he warned that the whole country would need to play its part in helping to reduce the country’s record debts. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) reckons GDP will contract by 0.1% this year, compared with the 0.8% increase it hoped for in March.
It appears the Chancellor targeted the better-off and those on benefits, while trying to preserve the incomes of those in the middle. This week’s announcements will mean about 400,000 extra people will be dragged into the higher-rate tax bracket while the poorest 10% of the population will see the biggest percentage drop in their incomes as a result of the autumn statement. Mr Osborne characterised his measures as targeting “bureaucracy, benefits and the better off”.
Paul Johnson, the IFS’s director, said the chancellor’s spending plans for the years after 2014 implied deep cuts for those parts of Whitehall not protected by the government’s ring fence. In the event that the chancellor again decided to spare the NHS, schools and international aid from cuts, the IFS calculated that every other area of spending would have to fall by 16% in inflation-adjusted terms in the three years after the 2015 election.
Change to Royal succession law agreed
This week a statement from St James’s palace announced that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton are expecting their first baby. Along with this, all Commonwealth realms have agreed to press ahead with a bill ending discrimination against women in the succession to the British throne. Changing the Royal succession rules requires legal changes in all the Queen’s Realms, the 16 nations where the Queen is head of state. Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, has revealed that by “wonderful coincidence” the final formal consents from other Commonwealth realms were received just as the Duke and Duchess revealed that they are expecting their first child.
The Succession to the Crown Bill is now expected to be published earlier in the New Year. It means the first child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will become monarch, whether a boy or a girl.
Egypt’s Military Warning
On December 5th thousands of Muslim Brothers answered an official call to disperse secular protesters gathered outside the presidential palace, sparking the most vicious street clashes seen since the revolution, in which five people died and hundreds were injured. This week in its first statement since protests erupted, the army in Egypt has vowed to protect public institutions and innocent people.
The military said serious dialogue is the “best and only” way to overcome the nation’s deepening conflict over a disputed draft constitution adopted by Islamist allies of President Mohammed Morsi, and recent decrees granting himself near-absolute powers. Failing to reach a consensus, “is in the interest of neither side. The nation as a whole will pay the price,” the military said, adding it “realises its national responsibility in protecting the nation’s higher interests” and state institutions.
Mr Morsi’s call for a referendum on the constitution on December 15th was meant to allow for fresh parliamentary elections and define a legitimate new order. However the presidential office announced Friday during mass protests that Morsi was willing to hold off the referendum scheduled with the opposition insisting Morsi must annul the constitutional declaration before holding any talks with him.
Berlusconi plans return to politics
Silvio Berlusconi ended weeks of speculation on Saturday by confirming that he planned to run for prime minister again in general elections that he said he expected to be held in March next year. The 76-year-old billionaire and former three time prime minister resigned in November 2011 over Italy’s economic troubles and was convicted of tax fraud in October. Mr Berlusconi is also on trial accused of paying for sex with an under-age prostitute.
Mr Berlusconi said PM Mario Monti’s, who replaced Mr Berlusconi as prime minister just over a year ago and launched a programme of reforms aimed at pulling Italy out of economic crisis, had harmed Italy. The former leader said he had not missed the office of prime minister “not even for a minute” and he was returning out of a “sense of responsibility“.
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