BANKERS, lawyers and journalists have lately taken pay cuts and gone without raises to stay employed in a tough economy. Now similar givebacks are spreading to education, an industry once deemed to be recession-proof.
All 95 teachers and five administrators in the Tuckahoe school district in Westchester County have agreed to contribute $1,000 each to next year’s school budget to keep the area’s tax increase below 3 percent.
In the Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow district, 80 percent of the 500 school employees — including teachers, clerks, custodians and bus drivers — have pledged more than $150,000 from their own pockets to help close a $300,000 budget gap.
And on Long Island, the 733 teachers in the William Floyd district in Mastic Beach decided to collectively give up $1 million in salary increases next year to help restore 19 teaching positions that were to be eliminated in budget cuts.
New York State’s powerful teachers’ unions have rarely agreed to reopen contract negotiations in bad economic times, let alone make concessions. But as many school districts presented flat budgets to voters in recent weeks, teachers in at least a dozen suburban areas have opened the door to compromise to save jobs, preserve programs and smaller class sizes, and show support for the towns and villages where many of them have taught generations of families.
Richard C. Iannuzzi, president of the New York State United Teachers, said the last time teachers made so many concessions was during the financial crisis of the 1970s.
“In a normal school year, in a normal economic situation, we would see very little of what’s going on now,” said Mr. Iannuzzi, who predicts more than 5,000 layoffs of teachers statewide next year because of budget cuts.
In New York City, where the Bloomberg administration said last week that schools would face a 5 percent cut, the United Federation of Teachers said there had been no discussion of reopening its contract, which runs through October. And in New Jersey and much of Connecticut, where school districts face similarly tight budgetary times, calls for teacher givebacks have largely been ignored, or rejected.
The teachers’ union in Ridgewood, N.J., for example, voted this spring against a district proposal to renegotiate salaries. “We’re sympathetic to the economic situation, but we just don’t believe that teachers and school employees are overpaid,” said Steve Baker, a spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association, pointing out that no district ever rushed forward to double teachers’ raises during boom times. “Our members are the same middle-class people feeling the pinch of this recession as well, so we don’t feel it’s appropriate to target them for givebacks.”
Even in some of the places where unions have voted to help out management, some members have balked. In the William Floyd district, 60 teachers —about 8 percent of the total — voted against giving up what amounted to $1,190 apiece, while 580 teachers voted to do so (those who voted no still have to forgo the money). In Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, donations from school employees have been kept confidential so as not to place undue pressure on those who do not participate.
“We didn’t want people to feel that it’s some kind of contest,” said Howard Smith, the Tarrytown superintendent.
Richard Perugini, a physical education teacher who is president of the Tarrytown teachers’ union, said he has pledged to give money even though his wife, Carmen, a teacher’s aide, is to be laid off from a nearby school district in June. “We’ll be living paycheck to paycheck,” he said.
Tarrytown’s budget for next year is $62.5 million, a 3.8 percent increase. While that is about half the size of the annual growth in recent years, leading the district to eliminate four teaching positions, four teaching assistants and 10 bus drivers and monitors, it is nonetheless higher than in some places. White Plains has an increase of 0.74 percent, to $185.7 million, the smallest in more than 25 years.
Similarly, Yonkers, Westchester’s largest school system, has a planned budget increase of 0.81 percent (to $487.1 million), after increases of at least 5 percent in each of the past two years. District officials say they have to buy fewer supplies, negotiate lower rates for food and busing, suspend supplemental teacher training and pare special education costs by more than $3 million to cover rising expenses for salaries and benefits.
“There’s a real sense that we’ve reached a limit, and in many communities, that translates into, ‘We can’t even raise it one dollar,’ ” Dr. Smith said.
In most districts, personnel costs are the largest expenses, making up three-quarters or more of the annual budget, so renegotiating terms with teachers is one of the only ways to avoid cuts in the classroomIn Cambridge, N.Y., about 50 miles north of Albany, the 980-student district had proposed to lay off a teacher, two teaching assistants and five aides — about 4.5 percent of its school staff. As an alternative, the teachers agreed, in a vote of 68 to 22, to reopen their contract and accept smaller stipends for advising student clubs, coaching athletic teams and chaperoning school events. The savings to the district: $67,868.
“I laid out the problem,” said Daniel Severson, the superintendent. “Everybody knows everybody because it’s small; we all live in the same town.”
Similarly, William Floyd teachers averted the layoffs of nine teachers, and helped the 9,600-student district restore 10 other teaching positions, by agreeing to give up part of their raises, a concession similar to one the union made in 1991 to help close a budget gap.
In return, they secured a one-year contract extension, to 2010-11, with a 2.5 percent raise on top of annual step raises.
“We did not want to see any of our teachers lose their jobs, or good programs suspended, and that’s what was going to happen,” said Karen D’Esposito, a high school social studies teacher who is president of the union.
In Tuckahoe, teachers already contribute $10 annually for a $1,000 scholarship awarded to a graduating student, and they frequently volunteer at school events. But last fall, Michael V. Yazurlo, the superintendent of the 1,000-student district, approached the union about trying to keep next year’s property tax increase at 2.88 percent, the lowest in more than a decade.
“We are already at survival level,” said Dr. Yazurlo, who gave up a 3.5 percent pay raise for next year. “We don’t have the fat, the extra staff other districts have.”
The teachers’ union had initially proposed that its members voluntarily contribute between $200 and $600, based on salary, to support the school budget. But that amount was rejected — as too little — by many of the teachers, some of whom have spent more than three decades in the district. The final amount was $1,000 per teacher.
Marianne Amato, a 12th-grade English teacher and president of the teachers’ union, said, “Everybody really understood that this is a different time and we have to do something to help as a community of teachers.”
Friday, May 22, 2009
Pakistan Claims More Gains Against Taliban
A top Pakistani general said Friday that the military has succeeded in clearing two militant strongholds in upper parts of the contested Swat Valley and is just a week away from taking over a third.
Essentially, at this point in time, we are looking at eliminating the hard core militants,” Major General Sajjad Ghani, the commanding officer of the military operation in the upper part of Swat, said in a briefing for journalists here. Khawazakhela is one of the largest cities in Swat, with a population locals estimate at more than 500,000.
General Ghani, who has been in the area for the past year and a half, said the military had cleared militants from Matta and Bini Baba Ziarart and was closing in on another stronghold in Peochar, in the upper Swat valley.
“The commandoes have already landed on the mountain peaks and ridges,” around Peochar, he said. “The militants are surrounded and encircled from all sides. They are hemmed in. And this is the right time that the security forces can go with full might and kill and eliminate the residual militants in the Peochar valley.”
Buoyed by the military’s success, local people in the neighboring northern area of Kalam have taken up arms against the Taliban, General Ghani said.
General Ghani ruled out the possibility of a ceasefire. “Miscreants are on the run,” he said. “Their command and control, communication infrastructure has been destroyed. They cannot coordinate and articulate operations in a coherent way any longer.”
While the military is gunning for the militant leadership, recruits who desert the Taliban ranks will be allowed to rejoin mainstream society, he said.
Gen. Ghani said residents could begin to return to Khawazakhela and Matta in 15 days.
But as of Friday, the city of Khawazakhela, like other towns and villages throughout the Swat valley, had a ghostly aspect when seen from a helicopter. Long roads winding through green fields were deserted. Dozens of cargo trucks were parked in the center of town, while smoke billowed from what seemed to be a filling station. Very few people could be seen.
The Pakistan Army has established an operational base in a girls’ college in the city. Soldiers in camouflage fatigues stood guard outside the boundary walls of the building.
“The Taliban would have blown it up had we not established our base here”, said Lt. Col. Abdul Rehman, one of the officers. The Taliban had targeted girls’ schools and banned female education.
Colonel Rehman said that 31 soldiers in his unit had been killed, but that morale remained high.
As helicopters flew in and out of the base, a group of young officers said there was no moral dilemma for them in fighting the Taliban, most of who are fellow Pakistanis. “They are not Muslims despite their claims to be so,” said Lt. Asad Hanif. “A true Muslim cannot slaughter people like the Taliban have been doing.”
Officers said the Taliban were recruiting young men from the area through intimidation and coercion, and raising money through extortion. While most of the Taliban militants were from the area, the officers said that some foreigners, most of them from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, had also joined in the fighting.
Rahimullah Shaheen, a local journalist, sounded a note of caution, saying that the Taliban who had been forced out of Khawazakhela had simply retreated into the nearby mountains, just a few miles from the city.
Essentially, at this point in time, we are looking at eliminating the hard core militants,” Major General Sajjad Ghani, the commanding officer of the military operation in the upper part of Swat, said in a briefing for journalists here. Khawazakhela is one of the largest cities in Swat, with a population locals estimate at more than 500,000.
General Ghani, who has been in the area for the past year and a half, said the military had cleared militants from Matta and Bini Baba Ziarart and was closing in on another stronghold in Peochar, in the upper Swat valley.
“The commandoes have already landed on the mountain peaks and ridges,” around Peochar, he said. “The militants are surrounded and encircled from all sides. They are hemmed in. And this is the right time that the security forces can go with full might and kill and eliminate the residual militants in the Peochar valley.”
Buoyed by the military’s success, local people in the neighboring northern area of Kalam have taken up arms against the Taliban, General Ghani said.
General Ghani ruled out the possibility of a ceasefire. “Miscreants are on the run,” he said. “Their command and control, communication infrastructure has been destroyed. They cannot coordinate and articulate operations in a coherent way any longer.”
While the military is gunning for the militant leadership, recruits who desert the Taliban ranks will be allowed to rejoin mainstream society, he said.
Gen. Ghani said residents could begin to return to Khawazakhela and Matta in 15 days.
But as of Friday, the city of Khawazakhela, like other towns and villages throughout the Swat valley, had a ghostly aspect when seen from a helicopter. Long roads winding through green fields were deserted. Dozens of cargo trucks were parked in the center of town, while smoke billowed from what seemed to be a filling station. Very few people could be seen.
The Pakistan Army has established an operational base in a girls’ college in the city. Soldiers in camouflage fatigues stood guard outside the boundary walls of the building.
“The Taliban would have blown it up had we not established our base here”, said Lt. Col. Abdul Rehman, one of the officers. The Taliban had targeted girls’ schools and banned female education.
Colonel Rehman said that 31 soldiers in his unit had been killed, but that morale remained high.
As helicopters flew in and out of the base, a group of young officers said there was no moral dilemma for them in fighting the Taliban, most of who are fellow Pakistanis. “They are not Muslims despite their claims to be so,” said Lt. Asad Hanif. “A true Muslim cannot slaughter people like the Taliban have been doing.”
Officers said the Taliban were recruiting young men from the area through intimidation and coercion, and raising money through extortion. While most of the Taliban militants were from the area, the officers said that some foreigners, most of them from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, had also joined in the fighting.
Rahimullah Shaheen, a local journalist, sounded a note of caution, saying that the Taliban who had been forced out of Khawazakhela had simply retreated into the nearby mountains, just a few miles from the city.
Thousands of women leaving UK for fertility treatment
Thousands of British women desperate to have a child are going abroad every year to have fertility treatment in order to avoid NHS waiting lists and a shortage of donated eggs.
The numbers are increasing because foreign clinics cost less than British ones, treatment is available within weeks and more older women are seeking to become mothers when their fertility is declining.
The growing international trade in "fertility tourism" has been highlighted by the case of Elizabeth Adeney, the 66-year-old Suffolk woman due to give birth after receiving fertility treatment at a private clinic in Ukraine. She is set to become Britain's oldest mother, succeeding psychiatrist Patricia Rashbrook, who had a son in 2006 when she was 62.
No data is kept on the number of British women who seek fertility treatment in countries such as Spain, Greece, Russia, the US and India.
But Lorraine Culley, professor of social science and health at De Montfort University who is leading a new government-funded study of the subject, said it may be in the thousands. "We've come across one clinic here that sent 90 women abroad inside a few months," she said.
Culley and colleagues from three other universities have recently begun the first academic inquiry into British women seeking transnational reproduction, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. They will be interviewing scores of people with fertility problems to get more detailed information.
Couples here are able to exploit the fact that, in some countries, women who choose to donate eggs can be paid, said Culley, with some donors in America receiving up to $10,000. In Britain, by contrast, tight regulation of fertility means egg donors receive only expenses.
"All the evidence is that cross-border reproductive care is growing. Women here do this for all sorts of reasons," she said. "There is a serious shortage of eggs, donated sperm is in shorter supply than before, the cost can be cheaper abroad and some people want IVF which they can't get on the NHS."
The only previous study, conducted last year by the charity Infertility Network UK, found that 76% of the 339 respondents said they would consider going abroad for treatment.
Professor Valery Zukin, Ukraine's representative at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, said 10% of the patients at the Nadiya clinic he runs in Kiev were from abroad. His clinic treats 10-15 women a year now, compared with five or six in 2006. Most come to receive eggs donated by young Ukrainian women, and the others for IVF. "The oldest British woman we have treated was about 50, but usually they are aged 37 to 49. It's perfectly legal to treat a woman of 66, but I wouldn't treat anyone older than 50 or 51, unless in except circumstances," he said.
Dr Allan Pacey, secretary of the British Fertility Society of specialist doctors, estimated that thousands of women travelled abroad annually because of frustration with delays of many years to receive a donated egg or a year to receive donated sperm in the UK. "The depressing postcode lottery in NHS fertility treatment means there are people who aren't happy with what the NHS locally feels it can offer," he said.
But the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said procedures at some foreign clinics may not be safe, success rates may have been exaggerated and a child born as a result of the treatment may never be able to find out about any half-siblings it has because such information is not routinely available elsewhere. "There are clear risks," said a spokeswoman.
Pacey said some couples were deliberately going abroad in order to get round British law which, in 2005, gave any child born from then on as a result of egg, sperm or embryo donation the right once it turned 18 to find out the name and contact details of the donor.
Isobel O'Neill, a fertility counsellor in Glasgow, said couples seeking a donated egg who visit the Glasgow Royal Infirmary are told there is a six- or seven-year wait for one on the NHS. Even those willing to pay at the private Glasgow Centre for Reproductive Medicine, where she also works, face a delay of up to a year.
The numbers are increasing because foreign clinics cost less than British ones, treatment is available within weeks and more older women are seeking to become mothers when their fertility is declining.
The growing international trade in "fertility tourism" has been highlighted by the case of Elizabeth Adeney, the 66-year-old Suffolk woman due to give birth after receiving fertility treatment at a private clinic in Ukraine. She is set to become Britain's oldest mother, succeeding psychiatrist Patricia Rashbrook, who had a son in 2006 when she was 62.
No data is kept on the number of British women who seek fertility treatment in countries such as Spain, Greece, Russia, the US and India.
But Lorraine Culley, professor of social science and health at De Montfort University who is leading a new government-funded study of the subject, said it may be in the thousands. "We've come across one clinic here that sent 90 women abroad inside a few months," she said.
Culley and colleagues from three other universities have recently begun the first academic inquiry into British women seeking transnational reproduction, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. They will be interviewing scores of people with fertility problems to get more detailed information.
Couples here are able to exploit the fact that, in some countries, women who choose to donate eggs can be paid, said Culley, with some donors in America receiving up to $10,000. In Britain, by contrast, tight regulation of fertility means egg donors receive only expenses.
"All the evidence is that cross-border reproductive care is growing. Women here do this for all sorts of reasons," she said. "There is a serious shortage of eggs, donated sperm is in shorter supply than before, the cost can be cheaper abroad and some people want IVF which they can't get on the NHS."
The only previous study, conducted last year by the charity Infertility Network UK, found that 76% of the 339 respondents said they would consider going abroad for treatment.
Professor Valery Zukin, Ukraine's representative at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, said 10% of the patients at the Nadiya clinic he runs in Kiev were from abroad. His clinic treats 10-15 women a year now, compared with five or six in 2006. Most come to receive eggs donated by young Ukrainian women, and the others for IVF. "The oldest British woman we have treated was about 50, but usually they are aged 37 to 49. It's perfectly legal to treat a woman of 66, but I wouldn't treat anyone older than 50 or 51, unless in except circumstances," he said.
Dr Allan Pacey, secretary of the British Fertility Society of specialist doctors, estimated that thousands of women travelled abroad annually because of frustration with delays of many years to receive a donated egg or a year to receive donated sperm in the UK. "The depressing postcode lottery in NHS fertility treatment means there are people who aren't happy with what the NHS locally feels it can offer," he said.
But the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said procedures at some foreign clinics may not be safe, success rates may have been exaggerated and a child born as a result of the treatment may never be able to find out about any half-siblings it has because such information is not routinely available elsewhere. "There are clear risks," said a spokeswoman.
Pacey said some couples were deliberately going abroad in order to get round British law which, in 2005, gave any child born from then on as a result of egg, sperm or embryo donation the right once it turned 18 to find out the name and contact details of the donor.
Isobel O'Neill, a fertility counsellor in Glasgow, said couples seeking a donated egg who visit the Glasgow Royal Infirmary are told there is a six- or seven-year wait for one on the NHS. Even those willing to pay at the private Glasgow Centre for Reproductive Medicine, where she also works, face a delay of up to a year.
Role of British diplomats in Tamil leaders' failed surrender bid
British diplomats were involved in last- minute attempts to secure the surrender of two of the Tamil Tigers' most senior political figures as the war in Sri Lanka reached its climax, one of the UN's top officials revealed.
The plan backfired spectacularly when the two men were shot dead as they tried to give themselves up to the Sri Lankan army. Balasingham Nadesan, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's political leader, and Seevaratnam Pulidevan, head of its peace secretariat, were killed in the early hours of Monday despite the involvement of British officials and the UN secretary general's chief of staff, Vijay Nambiar, in the delicate negotiations.
Britain insists its involvement was at most indirect. "We made no specific representations on behalf of members of the LTTE but we consistently urged the UN to play an active role in mediating an end to the conflict, including protecting civilian lives," a senior British official said.
While British diplomats were part of a chain of intermediaries between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers, sources rubbished suggestions that they had tried directly to negotiate a deal.
Nambiar said he had "direct contact" with British diplomats at the UN in New York and with a British minister, but declined to give further details of the conversations. "There was a ministerial demarche [a formal diplomatic representation] to the secretary general from the UK office in New York," he said.
The initial contact from the LTTE is understood to have been made through a British journalist. "I received a telephone call through the situation centre in New York asking me to convey certain messages to the [Sri Lankan] government," Nambiar said. He said he passed on the information to the Sri Lankan authorities and spoke to the Sri Lankan foreign secretary, Palitha Kohona, about the matter.
But he said the attempts were unsuccessful: "The Sri Lankan government did not say that they would accept the surrender. They said it may be too late."
Sri Lankan officials have previously accused Britain of meddling in the war and of exhibiting pro-Tamil bias. Demonstrations were mounted outside the British high commission in Colombo following a controversial visit by David Miliband, the foreign secretary.
Unlike the Tamil Tigers leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, who was killed by government troops on Monday, many of the so-called "civilian members" of the LTTE wanted to hand themselves in. They are also understood to have contacted the Norwegian environment minister, Erik Solheim, who had led previous attempts to broker a ceasefire. He then contacted the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Sri Lankan government.
The Sri Lankan authorities have confirmed that they were aware of the surrender offer and that they had been in contact with an aid organisation which had passed on a number of messages from the LTTE men. A text message from the foreign secretary, Palitha Kohona, to the Red Cross read: "Just walk across to the troops, slowly! With a white flag and comply with instructions carefully. The soldiers are nervous about suicide bombers."
The LTTE's head of international relations, S Pathmanathan, said that the men did so, but were shot by the Sri Lankan soldiers. The Sri Lankan military disputes this, claiming that they had been shot by their own forces.
The Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, said to a crowd of thousands at a victory rally: "They wanted to take [us] to international criminal courts. Some are trying to do this even now. But I am not afraid of walking up to any gallows, having defeated the world's worst terrorists."
The first release of official Sri Lankan casualty figures said 6,260 soldiers, sailors and policemen were killed in the latest round of fighting that began in 2006. Nearly 30,000 were wounded.
The plan backfired spectacularly when the two men were shot dead as they tried to give themselves up to the Sri Lankan army. Balasingham Nadesan, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's political leader, and Seevaratnam Pulidevan, head of its peace secretariat, were killed in the early hours of Monday despite the involvement of British officials and the UN secretary general's chief of staff, Vijay Nambiar, in the delicate negotiations.
Britain insists its involvement was at most indirect. "We made no specific representations on behalf of members of the LTTE but we consistently urged the UN to play an active role in mediating an end to the conflict, including protecting civilian lives," a senior British official said.
While British diplomats were part of a chain of intermediaries between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers, sources rubbished suggestions that they had tried directly to negotiate a deal.
Nambiar said he had "direct contact" with British diplomats at the UN in New York and with a British minister, but declined to give further details of the conversations. "There was a ministerial demarche [a formal diplomatic representation] to the secretary general from the UK office in New York," he said.
The initial contact from the LTTE is understood to have been made through a British journalist. "I received a telephone call through the situation centre in New York asking me to convey certain messages to the [Sri Lankan] government," Nambiar said. He said he passed on the information to the Sri Lankan authorities and spoke to the Sri Lankan foreign secretary, Palitha Kohona, about the matter.
But he said the attempts were unsuccessful: "The Sri Lankan government did not say that they would accept the surrender. They said it may be too late."
Sri Lankan officials have previously accused Britain of meddling in the war and of exhibiting pro-Tamil bias. Demonstrations were mounted outside the British high commission in Colombo following a controversial visit by David Miliband, the foreign secretary.
Unlike the Tamil Tigers leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, who was killed by government troops on Monday, many of the so-called "civilian members" of the LTTE wanted to hand themselves in. They are also understood to have contacted the Norwegian environment minister, Erik Solheim, who had led previous attempts to broker a ceasefire. He then contacted the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Sri Lankan government.
The Sri Lankan authorities have confirmed that they were aware of the surrender offer and that they had been in contact with an aid organisation which had passed on a number of messages from the LTTE men. A text message from the foreign secretary, Palitha Kohona, to the Red Cross read: "Just walk across to the troops, slowly! With a white flag and comply with instructions carefully. The soldiers are nervous about suicide bombers."
The LTTE's head of international relations, S Pathmanathan, said that the men did so, but were shot by the Sri Lankan soldiers. The Sri Lankan military disputes this, claiming that they had been shot by their own forces.
The Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, said to a crowd of thousands at a victory rally: "They wanted to take [us] to international criminal courts. Some are trying to do this even now. But I am not afraid of walking up to any gallows, having defeated the world's worst terrorists."
The first release of official Sri Lankan casualty figures said 6,260 soldiers, sailors and policemen were killed in the latest round of fighting that began in 2006. Nearly 30,000 were wounded.
Gordon Brown should call 2009 election, say two-thirds of voters
The political crisis caused by the ongoing revelations of MPs' expenses claims has resulted in two-thirds of voters now saying Gordon Brown should call a general election before Christmas, according to a Guardian/ICM poll published today.
More than half of voters believe the prime minister must go to the country before the process of constitutional change can begin, and more than a third of respondents believe that an election should be held as soon as possible.
The poll also finds that more than a quarter of voters are planning to reject the Westminster establishment in next month's European elections in favour of minority parties.
The findings reflect deep-seated public anger over the way politicians have played the allowances system and spent taxpayers' money, and they come as revelations about MPs' expenses claims continued to send shockwaves through Westminster.
Last night former SAS man John Wick publicly admitted that he was the go-between who took a computer disk containing the expenses information from an unnamed source to the Daily Telegraph. He said he hoped his actions would create "a better parliament".
Yesterday the Labour party announced that the Norwich North MP, Ian Gibson, will become the fourth to be referred to its national executive committee after it emerged he had claimed parliamentary expenses on a flat where his daughter was living. Gibson subsequently sold the flat to his daughter at a knockdown price.
The Conservative leader, David Cameron, meanwhile slapped down two backbenchers, Nadine Dorries and Anthony Steen, who complained about how details of MPs' expenses are being made public.
Commenting on a blog written by Dorries speculating about MPs killing themselves over the crisis, Cameron said MPs ought to be worried about what their constituents think. And, asked about Steen's radio interview saying "jealousy" explained why voters were so angry, Cameron said: "One more squeak like that and he will have the whip taken away from him so fast his feet won't touch the ground." Cameron yesterday renewed his call for an early poll.
In an interview in the Guardian today, the new archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, attacks "fallible and flawed" MPs, saying they "have fiddled their system" and given in to the "easy temptation to greed". "The challenge is not to hide behind the rules, but to manifest the kind of virtue that we need," said Nichols.
Yesterday in the Times the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, acknowledged the gravity of the scandal, but added: "Many will now be wondering whether the point has not been adequately made: the continuing systematic humiliation of politicians itself threatens to carry a heavy price in terms of our ability to salvage some confidence in our democracy."
The poll found that 36% of respondents believe an election should be held as soon as possible. Another 30% said they wanted an election before Christmas – suggesting that two-thirds of voters want to go to the polls in 2009.
Only 30% said the election should be delayed until 2010 (Gordon Brown cannot leave it later than June 2010). 55% said they believe Brown should go to the country before the process of constitutional reform could begin. Unsurprisingly, Tories were most in favour of an early election, with 48% of those who voted Tory in 2005 favouring an early poll, but one in four Labour voters also said they wanted a poll soon.
Though Brown has unveiled plans to replace parliament's centuries-old system of self-regulation, only 31% of voters believe that these moves will be enough.
ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,010 adults aged 18+ by telephone between 20 and 21 May 2009. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults. Percentages may not add to 100 because of rounding. ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.
More than half of voters believe the prime minister must go to the country before the process of constitutional change can begin, and more than a third of respondents believe that an election should be held as soon as possible.
The poll also finds that more than a quarter of voters are planning to reject the Westminster establishment in next month's European elections in favour of minority parties.
The findings reflect deep-seated public anger over the way politicians have played the allowances system and spent taxpayers' money, and they come as revelations about MPs' expenses claims continued to send shockwaves through Westminster.
Last night former SAS man John Wick publicly admitted that he was the go-between who took a computer disk containing the expenses information from an unnamed source to the Daily Telegraph. He said he hoped his actions would create "a better parliament".
Yesterday the Labour party announced that the Norwich North MP, Ian Gibson, will become the fourth to be referred to its national executive committee after it emerged he had claimed parliamentary expenses on a flat where his daughter was living. Gibson subsequently sold the flat to his daughter at a knockdown price.
The Conservative leader, David Cameron, meanwhile slapped down two backbenchers, Nadine Dorries and Anthony Steen, who complained about how details of MPs' expenses are being made public.
Commenting on a blog written by Dorries speculating about MPs killing themselves over the crisis, Cameron said MPs ought to be worried about what their constituents think. And, asked about Steen's radio interview saying "jealousy" explained why voters were so angry, Cameron said: "One more squeak like that and he will have the whip taken away from him so fast his feet won't touch the ground." Cameron yesterday renewed his call for an early poll.
In an interview in the Guardian today, the new archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, attacks "fallible and flawed" MPs, saying they "have fiddled their system" and given in to the "easy temptation to greed". "The challenge is not to hide behind the rules, but to manifest the kind of virtue that we need," said Nichols.
Yesterday in the Times the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, acknowledged the gravity of the scandal, but added: "Many will now be wondering whether the point has not been adequately made: the continuing systematic humiliation of politicians itself threatens to carry a heavy price in terms of our ability to salvage some confidence in our democracy."
The poll found that 36% of respondents believe an election should be held as soon as possible. Another 30% said they wanted an election before Christmas – suggesting that two-thirds of voters want to go to the polls in 2009.
Only 30% said the election should be delayed until 2010 (Gordon Brown cannot leave it later than June 2010). 55% said they believe Brown should go to the country before the process of constitutional reform could begin. Unsurprisingly, Tories were most in favour of an early election, with 48% of those who voted Tory in 2005 favouring an early poll, but one in four Labour voters also said they wanted a poll soon.
Though Brown has unveiled plans to replace parliament's centuries-old system of self-regulation, only 31% of voters believe that these moves will be enough.
ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,010 adults aged 18+ by telephone between 20 and 21 May 2009. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults. Percentages may not add to 100 because of rounding. ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.
Cigarette makers lose US appeal
A US appeals court has largely upheld a landmark ruling that cigarette makers lied about the health risks of smoking.
Washington's Court of Appeals rejected an appeal by tobacco firms against a 2006 decision that banned labels such as "low tar" and "light".
Companies including Philip Morris USA were found guilty of racketeering and fraud over the issue.
Judges upheld the previous ruling, but excluded one firm and two trade groups from their judgement.
They ruled that the trade bodies - Council for Tobacco Research-USA and Tobacco Institute - had not made or sold products, so could be excluded.
And the firm Liggett was excused because it had co-operated with the authorities and acknowledged health risks.
But the judges rejected an argument from the other tobacco firms that they had never claimed that "light" cigarettes were less harmful.
"Defendants knew of their falsity at the time and made the statements with the intent to deceive," Friday's ruling said.
Denials
The 2006 ruling said firms had set up a "gentlemen's agreement" not to compete over whose cigarettes were the least damaging to health.
Lawyers for the tobacco companies denied that they had conspired to avoid public discussion of health risks.
The original ruling also required firms to issue "corrective statements" about health effects and addiction.
It has not been applied while the case has been under appeal.
Murray Garnick, lawyer for tobacco firm Altria - the parent company of Philip Morris - said the court's ruling was "not supported by the law or the evidence presented at trial".
"We believe the exceptional importance of these issues justifies further review," he said.
Other companies that were contesting the 2006 ruling included British American Tobacco, Lorillard Tobacco, RJ Reynolds Tobacco, and Brown & Williamson Tobacco.
The companies are now likely to take their appeal before the US Supreme Court, although commentators say that their chances of success are slim.
In a decision last December on an unrelated case, the Supreme Court ruled that smokers can sue tobacco firms over the misleading marketing of "light" or "low tar" cigarettes
Washington's Court of Appeals rejected an appeal by tobacco firms against a 2006 decision that banned labels such as "low tar" and "light".
Companies including Philip Morris USA were found guilty of racketeering and fraud over the issue.
Judges upheld the previous ruling, but excluded one firm and two trade groups from their judgement.
They ruled that the trade bodies - Council for Tobacco Research-USA and Tobacco Institute - had not made or sold products, so could be excluded.
And the firm Liggett was excused because it had co-operated with the authorities and acknowledged health risks.
But the judges rejected an argument from the other tobacco firms that they had never claimed that "light" cigarettes were less harmful.
"Defendants knew of their falsity at the time and made the statements with the intent to deceive," Friday's ruling said.
Denials
The 2006 ruling said firms had set up a "gentlemen's agreement" not to compete over whose cigarettes were the least damaging to health.
Lawyers for the tobacco companies denied that they had conspired to avoid public discussion of health risks.
The original ruling also required firms to issue "corrective statements" about health effects and addiction.
It has not been applied while the case has been under appeal.
Murray Garnick, lawyer for tobacco firm Altria - the parent company of Philip Morris - said the court's ruling was "not supported by the law or the evidence presented at trial".
"We believe the exceptional importance of these issues justifies further review," he said.
Other companies that were contesting the 2006 ruling included British American Tobacco, Lorillard Tobacco, RJ Reynolds Tobacco, and Brown & Williamson Tobacco.
The companies are now likely to take their appeal before the US Supreme Court, although commentators say that their chances of success are slim.
In a decision last December on an unrelated case, the Supreme Court ruled that smokers can sue tobacco firms over the misleading marketing of "light" or "low tar" cigarettes
Burma's Suu Kyi claims innocence
Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, on trial for breaking the terms of her house arrest, has told a court she committed no crime, her lawyer says.
She spoke after five days of evidence from prosecution witnesses.
The UN Security Council has renewed demands for all political prisoners to be freed and called on Burma's military rulers to open talks with Ms Suu Kyi.
She had been due for release on 27 May, but the charges she faces carry a maximum of five years in jail.
The authorities say she breached the conditions of her latest period of house arrest by allowing US national John Yettaw to stay in her home.
Observers say Burma's military rulers are using the charges as a pretext to keep her in jail during a general election scheduled for next year.
Rapid prosecution
In a press statement, the Security Council called for all political prisoners to be freed and to "create the necessary conditions for a genuine dialogue" with Ms Suu Kyi and other political groups.
"The members of the Security Council express their concern about the political impact of recent developments related to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," the statement said.
Ms Suu Kyi's lawyer, Nyan Win, said the presiding judge officially accepted the charges against her at the end of the prosecution case - which came much more rapidly than people had thought it would.
Prosecutors had been expected to call 22 witnesses, but the lawyer told the BBC's Burmese service that in the event far fewer had actually taken the stand.
He said the judge asked Ms Suu Kyi whether she was guilty, and she replied: "I have no guilt as I didn't commit any crime."
The trial, which is being held behind closed doors at Rangoon's Insein jail, is expected resume on Monday when her defence will present its case.
'Assassination dream'
Mr Yettaw, who swam across a lake to reach her house, is also on trial in Insein jail.
He is reported to have testified that he made the visit because he had dreamt that she was going to be assassinated.
Ms Suu Kyi's lawyers say she tried to send the man away but he refused to go.
He was then allowed to stay only because he said he was exhausted.
The ruling generals say the incident was a stunt designed to embarrass the government.
Foreign Minister Nyan Win was quoted as saying the incident had been fabricated by "internal and external anti-government elements" to "intensify international pressure" on the regime.
International condemnation
Ms Suu Kyi's trial opened on Monday behind closed doors.
Burma's ruling junta allowed some diplomats and journalists into the proceedings on Wednesday, only to bar them again the following day.
Governments and rights groups have condemned the trial - and diplomats have said they expect Ms Suu Kyi to be found guilty.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years.
The party she leads, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won the country's last general election in 1990 - but she was never allowed to take power.
The ruling generals have scheduled an election for next year - but have written a new constitution which carves out a major role for the military in any new government.
She spoke after five days of evidence from prosecution witnesses.
The UN Security Council has renewed demands for all political prisoners to be freed and called on Burma's military rulers to open talks with Ms Suu Kyi.
She had been due for release on 27 May, but the charges she faces carry a maximum of five years in jail.
The authorities say she breached the conditions of her latest period of house arrest by allowing US national John Yettaw to stay in her home.
Observers say Burma's military rulers are using the charges as a pretext to keep her in jail during a general election scheduled for next year.
Rapid prosecution
In a press statement, the Security Council called for all political prisoners to be freed and to "create the necessary conditions for a genuine dialogue" with Ms Suu Kyi and other political groups.
"The members of the Security Council express their concern about the political impact of recent developments related to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," the statement said.
Ms Suu Kyi's lawyer, Nyan Win, said the presiding judge officially accepted the charges against her at the end of the prosecution case - which came much more rapidly than people had thought it would.
Prosecutors had been expected to call 22 witnesses, but the lawyer told the BBC's Burmese service that in the event far fewer had actually taken the stand.
He said the judge asked Ms Suu Kyi whether she was guilty, and she replied: "I have no guilt as I didn't commit any crime."
The trial, which is being held behind closed doors at Rangoon's Insein jail, is expected resume on Monday when her defence will present its case.
'Assassination dream'
Mr Yettaw, who swam across a lake to reach her house, is also on trial in Insein jail.
He is reported to have testified that he made the visit because he had dreamt that she was going to be assassinated.
Ms Suu Kyi's lawyers say she tried to send the man away but he refused to go.
He was then allowed to stay only because he said he was exhausted.
The ruling generals say the incident was a stunt designed to embarrass the government.
Foreign Minister Nyan Win was quoted as saying the incident had been fabricated by "internal and external anti-government elements" to "intensify international pressure" on the regime.
International condemnation
Ms Suu Kyi's trial opened on Monday behind closed doors.
Burma's ruling junta allowed some diplomats and journalists into the proceedings on Wednesday, only to bar them again the following day.
Governments and rights groups have condemned the trial - and diplomats have said they expect Ms Suu Kyi to be found guilty.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years.
The party she leads, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won the country's last general election in 1990 - but she was never allowed to take power.
The ruling generals have scheduled an election for next year - but have written a new constitution which carves out a major role for the military in any new government.
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