Here are my latest responses to your posts on the Webcameron Forum. Keep them coming!

The Usual Suspects instead of a New broom
Author: jonjii

I wrote on my blog recently about two of the things I can’t understand about the reshuffle. The first is the way education has been split. And the second, more important, change I can’t understand is the fact the Defence Secretary post now seems to be considered a part-time job. There can barely have been a more inappropriate time to make that decision.

On the other hand we have welcomed the appointment of Lord Stevens, the former Met Police Commissioner, who is the new adviser on security to the Prime Minister. He is already in charge of our taskforce looking at a Border police for the UK.

Overall, I think those who said the Cabinet has a similar look to Tony Blair’s ministerial team have got it right. The new Chancellor for instance was second in command to Gordon Brown at the Treasury when the pensions tax was brought in. Now the same man is charged with trying to tackle the crisis in pensions which that tax helped to produce.

Appointments like that hardly suggest this is the team to bring about the change this country needs – or indeed the change Gordon Brown said he recognised was necessary.

Should Brown call a General Election?
Author: coiaorguk

It won’t come as a surprise to hear that I agree with those who say it was Tony Blair who got the mandate, not Gordon Brown. In actual fact it goes further than that, because Tony Blair promised to serve a “full term” at the time of the last election. So people had every right to expect he would serve that full term when they voted for him.

But the most important reason I called for an election is that this is the only way people will have the opportunity to vote for real change, not just a change in Prime Minister.

And to answer coiaorguk’s original question, yes we would be ready for an election if one was called. The plan at present is that our policy groups and taskforces are going to be reporting over the coming months. We then intend to launch a wide-ranging policy debate, leading to the publication of our draft programme for government. But, as the policy groups have already given a huge amount of thought to the policies necessary to meet the various challenges facing the country, this process can certainly be speeded up if required.

What should the 'Mission Statement' of prisons be in 25 years time?
Author: Tizzy

Although this thread has strayed off topic a bit, Tizzy asks an interesting question. Prison is partly about punishment – criminals need punishing – and partly about keeping offenders off the streets. But it should also be about rehabilitation.

We aren’t achieving that goal properly at the moment. Half of all crime is committed by ex-convicts.

One of the problems is that the Government’s woeful failure to plan for the number of prisoners we have – even though the Home Office itself predicted higher numbers five years ago - means that prisons are grossly overcrowded. Not only does that mean the Government is having to let 25,000 prisoners out early, but it also means those who remain behind bars aren’t always getting the education they need, the training on life skills they need, or the drugs rehab they need.

Improving the way we rehabilitate prisoners for a return to society has to be a priority. This isn’t in any way a soft option. In fact it will make prison tougher, not softer. But above all, it will make it work better.

When will the opposition start opposing?
Author: MandolinKing

Last week I raised this issue in Parliament – for the second time in two weeks. I did do in response to Gordon Brown’s statement on the UK constitution. In it he said he wanted to make lawmakers more responsive to people’s wishes. Yet he’s about to agree to big constitutional changes which go in precisely the opposite direction. Not only will the return of the European Constitution (in all but name) take more power further away from people – talking it from Westminster and giving it to Brussels – but the Government is deliberately trying to avoid asking people their views about this.

All three main parties signed up to a referendum at the last election. Unlike Labour’s, our position hasn’t changed. We are against this major transfer of power to the European level. And we believe if they want to go ahead the Government should keep their promise to hold a referendum, to let people have their say.

Gordon Brown said he would offer people a new approach. He also said he would listen to people more. Whether or not he now agrees to a referendum on the European Constitution is an important test of whether he means what he says.

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