Yvette Cooper steps up the pace in race for Labour leadership
Laura Kuenssberg
Newsnight Chief Correspondent
Press AssociationCopyright: Press Association
Until today, Yvette Cooper's campaign for the Labour leadership has not made many waves, a deliberate tactic perhaps to allow the early scrutiny to go elsewhere, focus on gathering the 35 nominations to get onto the ballot paper, and watch how the first weeks of the contest play out.
No more. Tonight, we've been speaking to the shadow Home Secretary as her campaign proper gets started in her first major interview of the race. And some of what she had to say might surprise, and it doesn't all fit with the neat assumption that she is a hard core Brownite, the wife of Ed Balls who will always stick to that line.
Cooper acknowledged that Labour was wrong to be running a deficit before the crash. She was careful to say Labour spending was not the source of the country's financial problems, staying away from what she describes as the 'Tory trap' - but the admission is significant nonetheless, especially given how difficult it has been for Labour to escape its economic record.
And there is no question that Cooper was frustrated by Ed Miliband's reluctance to focus on immigration, she told me she'd been arguing behind the scenes for more emphasis on immigration and she's clear she might support David Cameron's efforts to limit benefits for EU immigrants to those who have only been in the UK for at least four years. That won't go down well in many parts of the Labour party, nor will what she told me about the welfare cap - her belief that there is more to be saved from the welfare budget. Nor her rebuff to union bosses who are trying to influence the race, "let's be clear the unions can never tell Labour what to do". Nor will some on the right of the party like her rebuff to them, they are "trapped in the past, still back fighting battles from 2004 and 2005, there's been a lot of people wanting to settle old scores".
But sometimes party leaders need to be able to tell their own parties what they don't want to hear. For Yvette Cooper, maybe this is the start. You can watch some of our interview here
The West v the rest?
Dan Clarke, Newsnight Programme Producer
BBCCopyright: BBC
Sepp Blatter was re-elected today, largely with support outside of Europe and North AmericaImage caption: Sepp Blatter was re-elected today, largely with support outside of Europe and North America
On Newsnight tonight we'll hear what a man who has just stepped down from FIFA's Ethics Committee thinks of Sepp Blatter's re-election. Perhaps foolishly, we're also trying to explore whether the FIFA debacle tells us anything broader about the changing global order. Are the troubles at FIFA a microcosm of a bigger story about the changing relationship between countries in the West and those of the Global South? Can a game that is genuinely global ever be 'clean'? We'll be hearing from the economist Lord Desai, and we're still trying to track down Branco Milanovic, whose fascinating provocation can be read here even if he doesn't appear on the show tonight...
Yvette Cooper on Labour leadership
Labour leadership candidate and shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has been talking to Laura Kuenssberg. She certainly wasn't short of a few things to say, here's a taster:
And much more besides. For more, tune into Newsnight tonight at 10.30pm.
What are former Lib-Dem ministers doing now?
Lewis Goodall
Newsnight producer
You've probably been worried about the welfare of our former Lib Dem lords and masters, in particular, Danny Alexander the erstwhile Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Not three weeks ago this was the fourth most powerful man in the coalition government. Today, if his twitter feed is anything to go by, he's taken refuge in his old stomping ground of the Cairngorms.
BBCCopyright: BBC
He's been going on lots of walks since May 8th. With publicity like that he could be angling for his old job as press officer for the Cairngorms National Park. In particular Mr Alexander has been waxing lyrical about the Tollhouse Cafe in Dalwhinnie, graced by the former Chief Secretary several times during the campaign and since.
BBCCopyright: BBC
To be fair, it seems a great place. According to Trip Adviser you can purchase: a BLT sandwich, a Beef burger, an omlette and chips, two coffees and one tea for a mere £8.65. Given he's currently unemployed and as a former austere guardian of the public's finances, he'll need that sort of value for money.
BBCCopyright: BBC
Post update
Chris Cook
Newsnight Policy Editor
Reporting from FIFA in Zurich
Could the government campaign in the EU referendum?
James Clayton, Political producer
BBCCopyright: BBC
One of the more interesting things to come out of the EU Referendum Bill – and something that has privately caused quite a bit of consternation – is an obscure subsection of the bill:
Section 25 of Schedule 1
"Section 125 of the 2000 Act (restriction on publication etc of promotional material by central and local government etc) does not apply in relation to the referendum."
What does this mean? Well it would allow the government to campaign in the referendum – something they weren’t allowed to do in the AV referendum. It also allows the government to, potentially, announce further concessions or agreements with EU heads of state during the campaign period.
The civil service like the clause because, in theory, Section 125 of the Political Parties, Election and Referendums Act 2000 could preclude the government from commenting on or reacting to anything happening in the EU over the election period.
The happy corollary of that for the government is that it gives them a great opportunity to influence the debate during the contest.
Post update
Chris Cook
Newsnight Policy Editor
Reporting from FIFA in Zurich
Sterling's short-lived bounce
Duncan Weldon
Economics correspondent
Before the election, I spent a lot of time on this blog giving a running commentary on the city's running commentary of the campaign.
There was a general sense that sterling might be vulnerable to a messy outcome, with increased uncertainty leading to investors getting out of the pound.
We didn't get a messy result and sterling duly bounced sharply after the vote.
But as Bloomberg's Jonathan Ferro has just pointed out, those post-election gains against the dollar proved fleeting.
Cooper leadership campaign kicks off
Laura Kuenssberg, Chief Correspondent, Newsnight
FIFA crisis
Chris Cook, reporting from FIFA in Zurich
Deal or no deal on Greek debt?
There may be a last minute deal with their creditors
Greek Finance Minister Yanis VaroufakisImage caption: Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis
The Greek government have been insisting that they are close to a deal with their creditors - there has even been talk (on the Greek side at least) of a deal by Sunday. But the institutions formerly known as the Troika are sounding far less warm. They still see too many unresolved issues.
No deal will come until the 11th hour and that hour has kept moving back. Still, two bits of news will concentrate minds today: confirmation that Greece is back in recession and the fact that deposits in Greek banks have hit a decade low.
With an IMF payment due on the 5th June & the slow and quiet run on Greek banks picking up pace, we may finally be at the 11th hour.
Post update
Chris Cook
Newsnight Policy Editor
Reporting from FIFA in Zurich
Post update
Chris Cook
Newsnight Policy Editor
Reporting from FIFA in Zurich
Cooper campaign kicks off
Laura Kuenssberg
Newsnight Chief Correspondent
BBCCopyright: BBC
Winning the Labour leadership is a long game. The decision won't be made until September. But today is an important stage in it as Andy Burnham "burns the past"' as one commentator puts it, Liz Kendall makes a speech about why she went into politics and Yvette Cooper launches her campaign officially.
So far, Cooper has been relatively low profile in the few short weeks of the campaign. Depending how you see it, a wise move to allow the other contenders to expose themselves to the first few weeks of scrutiny and announce, as she will today with a very solid number of MP nominations. Or, run the risk of allowing the others to position themselves first and gain the momentum.
Cooper today is trying to insert herself into the race with no lack of ambition. She is starting the day in Tech City in London, travelling to Peterborough and Sherwood, the kind of places Labour needs to win if they have a chance of forming a UK government, visiting a factory in Dewsbury and then ending the day in her own constituency with a major speech. Although she has been a senior figure on the political scene for years, as of this morning we don't know that much about what Cooper stands for or believes in as an individual politician. We'll be following her on her first big campaign day to try to find those answers.
Live Reporting
All times stated are UK
Press AssociationCopyright: Press Association 
BBCCopyright: BBC Sepp Blatter was re-elected today, largely with support outside of Europe and North AmericaImage caption: Sepp Blatter was re-elected today, largely with support outside of Europe and North America 
BBCCopyright: BBC 
BBCCopyright: BBC 
BBCCopyright: BBC 
BBCCopyright: BBC 
Reuters/Francois LenoirCopyright: Reuters/Francois Lenoir Greek Finance Minister Yanis VaroufakisImage caption: Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis 
BBCCopyright: BBC
Latest PostYvette Cooper steps up the pace in race for Labour leadership
Laura Kuenssberg
Newsnight Chief Correspondent
Until today, Yvette Cooper's campaign for the Labour leadership has not made many waves, a deliberate tactic perhaps to allow the early scrutiny to go elsewhere, focus on gathering the 35 nominations to get onto the ballot paper, and watch how the first weeks of the contest play out.
No more. Tonight, we've been speaking to the shadow Home Secretary as her campaign proper gets started in her first major interview of the race. And some of what she had to say might surprise, and it doesn't all fit with the neat assumption that she is a hard core Brownite, the wife of Ed Balls who will always stick to that line.
Cooper acknowledged that Labour was wrong to be running a deficit before the crash. She was careful to say Labour spending was not the source of the country's financial problems, staying away from what she describes as the 'Tory trap' - but the admission is significant nonetheless, especially given how difficult it has been for Labour to escape its economic record.
And there is no question that Cooper was frustrated by Ed Miliband's reluctance to focus on immigration, she told me she'd been arguing behind the scenes for more emphasis on immigration and she's clear she might support David Cameron's efforts to limit benefits for EU immigrants to those who have only been in the UK for at least four years. That won't go down well in many parts of the Labour party, nor will what she told me about the welfare cap - her belief that there is more to be saved from the welfare budget. Nor her rebuff to union bosses who are trying to influence the race, "let's be clear the unions can never tell Labour what to do". Nor will some on the right of the party like her rebuff to them, they are "trapped in the past, still back fighting battles from 2004 and 2005, there's been a lot of people wanting to settle old scores".
But sometimes party leaders need to be able to tell their own parties what they don't want to hear. For Yvette Cooper, maybe this is the start. You can watch some of our interview here
The West v the rest?
Dan Clarke, Newsnight Programme Producer
On Newsnight tonight we'll hear what a man who has just stepped down from FIFA's Ethics Committee thinks of Sepp Blatter's re-election. Perhaps foolishly, we're also trying to explore whether the FIFA debacle tells us anything broader about the changing global order. Are the troubles at FIFA a microcosm of a bigger story about the changing relationship between countries in the West and those of the Global South? Can a game that is genuinely global ever be 'clean'? We'll be hearing from the economist Lord Desai, and we're still trying to track down Branco Milanovic, whose fascinating provocation can be read here even if he doesn't appear on the show tonight...
Yvette Cooper on Labour leadership
Labour leadership candidate and shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has been talking to Laura Kuenssberg. She certainly wasn't short of a few things to say, here's a taster:
And much more besides. For more, tune into Newsnight tonight at 10.30pm.
What are former Lib-Dem ministers doing now?
Lewis Goodall
Newsnight producer
You've probably been worried about the welfare of our former Lib Dem lords and masters, in particular, Danny Alexander the erstwhile Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Not three weeks ago this was the fourth most powerful man in the coalition government. Today, if his twitter feed is anything to go by, he's taken refuge in his old stomping ground of the Cairngorms.
He's been going on lots of walks since May 8th. With publicity like that he could be angling for his old job as press officer for the Cairngorms National Park. In particular Mr Alexander has been waxing lyrical about the Tollhouse Cafe in Dalwhinnie, graced by the former Chief Secretary several times during the campaign and since.
To be fair, it seems a great place. According to Trip Adviser you can purchase: a BLT sandwich, a Beef burger, an omlette and chips, two coffees and one tea for a mere £8.65. Given he's currently unemployed and as a former austere guardian of the public's finances, he'll need that sort of value for money.
Post update
Chris Cook
Newsnight Policy Editor
Reporting from FIFA in Zurich
Could the government campaign in the EU referendum?
James Clayton, Political producer
One of the more interesting things to come out of the EU Referendum Bill – and something that has privately caused quite a bit of consternation – is an obscure subsection of the bill:
Section 25 of Schedule 1
"Section 125 of the 2000 Act (restriction on publication etc of promotional material by central and local government etc) does not apply in relation to the referendum."
What does this mean? Well it would allow the government to campaign in the referendum – something they weren’t allowed to do in the AV referendum. It also allows the government to, potentially, announce further concessions or agreements with EU heads of state during the campaign period.
The civil service like the clause because, in theory, Section 125 of the Political Parties, Election and Referendums Act 2000 could preclude the government from commenting on or reacting to anything happening in the EU over the election period.
The happy corollary of that for the government is that it gives them a great opportunity to influence the debate during the contest.
Post update
Chris Cook
Newsnight Policy Editor
Reporting from FIFA in Zurich
Sterling's short-lived bounce
Duncan Weldon
Economics correspondent
Before the election, I spent a lot of time on this blog giving a running commentary on the city's running commentary of the campaign.
There was a general sense that sterling might be vulnerable to a messy outcome, with increased uncertainty leading to investors getting out of the pound.
We didn't get a messy result and sterling duly bounced sharply after the vote.
But as Bloomberg's Jonathan Ferro has just pointed out, those post-election gains against the dollar proved fleeting.
Cooper leadership campaign kicks off
Laura Kuenssberg, Chief Correspondent, Newsnight
FIFA crisis
Chris Cook, reporting from FIFA in Zurich
Deal or no deal on Greek debt?
There may be a last minute deal with their creditors
Duncan Weldon
Economics correspondent
The Greek government have been insisting that they are close to a deal with their creditors - there has even been talk (on the Greek side at least) of a deal by Sunday. But the institutions formerly known as the Troika are sounding far less warm. They still see too many unresolved issues.
No deal will come until the 11th hour and that hour has kept moving back. Still, two bits of news will concentrate minds today: confirmation that Greece is back in recession and the fact that deposits in Greek banks have hit a decade low.
With an IMF payment due on the 5th June & the slow and quiet run on Greek banks picking up pace, we may finally be at the 11th hour.
Post update
Chris Cook
Newsnight Policy Editor
Reporting from FIFA in Zurich
Post update
Chris Cook
Newsnight Policy Editor
Reporting from FIFA in Zurich
Cooper campaign kicks off
Laura Kuenssberg
Newsnight Chief Correspondent
Winning the Labour leadership is a long game. The decision won't be made until September. But today is an important stage in it as Andy Burnham "burns the past"' as one commentator puts it, Liz Kendall makes a speech about why she went into politics and Yvette Cooper launches her campaign officially.
So far, Cooper has been relatively low profile in the few short weeks of the campaign. Depending how you see it, a wise move to allow the other contenders to expose themselves to the first few weeks of scrutiny and announce, as she will today with a very solid number of MP nominations. Or, run the risk of allowing the others to position themselves first and gain the momentum.
Cooper today is trying to insert herself into the race with no lack of ambition. She is starting the day in Tech City in London, travelling to Peterborough and Sherwood, the kind of places Labour needs to win if they have a chance of forming a UK government, visiting a factory in Dewsbury and then ending the day in her own constituency with a major speech. Although she has been a senior figure on the political scene for years, as of this morning we don't know that much about what Cooper stands for or believes in as an individual politician. We'll be following her on her first big campaign day to try to find those answers.