This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jun/13/hugh-muirs-diary-food-banks

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Diary: he can't make head or tail of the benefits system. And he's a minister Diary: he can't make head or tail of the benefits system. And he's a minister
(4 months later)
• Nice to see another minister on top of his brief. They sought wisdom from employment minister Mark Hoban. What did they get? "I can't navigate my way round the benefits system," he said. Speaking at a Catholic church conference on combating poverty, the minister admitted that when a constituent comes to his surgery with a benefits problem, he sends them straight round to Citizens Advice. "We have a complex benefits systems," he said. Quite! Hoban admitted that in 2011 the government decided it would signpost people from jobcentres to food banks. Now that 500,000 families are turning up at the food banks – many as a result of welfare benefit problems – no wonder the minister admitted he was "keen to do some more work on how food banks operate". At full stretch, he will find. Shambles upon shambles. Yikes. Your life in their hands.• Nice to see another minister on top of his brief. They sought wisdom from employment minister Mark Hoban. What did they get? "I can't navigate my way round the benefits system," he said. Speaking at a Catholic church conference on combating poverty, the minister admitted that when a constituent comes to his surgery with a benefits problem, he sends them straight round to Citizens Advice. "We have a complex benefits systems," he said. Quite! Hoban admitted that in 2011 the government decided it would signpost people from jobcentres to food banks. Now that 500,000 families are turning up at the food banks – many as a result of welfare benefit problems – no wonder the minister admitted he was "keen to do some more work on how food banks operate". At full stretch, he will find. Shambles upon shambles. Yikes. Your life in their hands.
• As the Edward Snowden-NSA saga furrows brows on both sides of the Atlantic, we enjoy the contribution of Congressman Pete King. People are angry and many inevitably seek retribution against Snowden. But King says Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian writer who broke the story, should also be under arrest. He says Greenwald has and will endanger CIA agents; Greenwald says that's nonsense. But King's intervention shows that he retains a keen eye for the complexity of international affairs. As referenced here before, he joined the campaign in 2008 to achieve bail for Pol Brennan, who escaped from the Maze Prison, Belfast, in 1983, along with 37 other republican prisoners. Britain initially sought Brennan's extradition, a request withdrawn in 2000 as part of the Good Friday agreement, although technically Brennan remained a fugitive. King, who faced much criticism for alleged association with the IRA – links broken post-9/11 – interceded in 2008 when the escapee was arrested at a border checkpoint in Texas. The authorities, seeing that Brennan's US work permit had expired, moved to deport him. King stood tall on his behalf. Good for him. Clearly he sees the perils of an overweening state.• As the Edward Snowden-NSA saga furrows brows on both sides of the Atlantic, we enjoy the contribution of Congressman Pete King. People are angry and many inevitably seek retribution against Snowden. But King says Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian writer who broke the story, should also be under arrest. He says Greenwald has and will endanger CIA agents; Greenwald says that's nonsense. But King's intervention shows that he retains a keen eye for the complexity of international affairs. As referenced here before, he joined the campaign in 2008 to achieve bail for Pol Brennan, who escaped from the Maze Prison, Belfast, in 1983, along with 37 other republican prisoners. Britain initially sought Brennan's extradition, a request withdrawn in 2000 as part of the Good Friday agreement, although technically Brennan remained a fugitive. King, who faced much criticism for alleged association with the IRA – links broken post-9/11 – interceded in 2008 when the escapee was arrested at a border checkpoint in Texas. The authorities, seeing that Brennan's US work permit had expired, moved to deport him. King stood tall on his behalf. Good for him. Clearly he sees the perils of an overweening state.
• Many see such tendencies in Europe. But Euroscepticism is a broad church, and many see danger in efforts by Professor Alan Sked, the now bitterly estranged founder of Ukip, to found a centre-left sceptic party. Perhaps this explains events at a debate on One Nation Britain hosted by LSE's Institute of Public Affairs on Wednesday evening. Sked, who was debating with Labour's Jon Cruddas, Tory David Davis and human rights expert Francesca Klug, surprised the audience by beaming on to the screen above the words democraticselfgovernment@gmail.com, the email address for his fledgling group. "We've been ambushed!" shouted professor Conor Gearty, the head of the institute. "Take it down, take it down," said Cruddas. They dined amicably afterwards, but the tone is set.• Many see such tendencies in Europe. But Euroscepticism is a broad church, and many see danger in efforts by Professor Alan Sked, the now bitterly estranged founder of Ukip, to found a centre-left sceptic party. Perhaps this explains events at a debate on One Nation Britain hosted by LSE's Institute of Public Affairs on Wednesday evening. Sked, who was debating with Labour's Jon Cruddas, Tory David Davis and human rights expert Francesca Klug, surprised the audience by beaming on to the screen above the words democraticselfgovernment@gmail.com, the email address for his fledgling group. "We've been ambushed!" shouted professor Conor Gearty, the head of the institute. "Take it down, take it down," said Cruddas. They dined amicably afterwards, but the tone is set.
• Fresh controversy surrounding the casting process, meanwhile. Too few good parts for women, too few for minorities, scant few for those with disabilities. And what about tall people? At 6ft, Richard Smith, aka the performance poet Elvis McGonagall, trained at the Bristol Old Vic but then encountered heightism. He writes for the Stage about "The Lilliput Conspiracy", referencing those untroubled. "Dustin Hoffman – short arse; Tim Roth – garden gnome; Tom Cruise – bouncing weather dwarf; Sylvester Stallone – surreptitious user of fruit boxes; James Dean – fond of cuban heels." Knock knock, jokes Smith. "Who's there? Al Pacino. Al Pacino who? Al Pacino who cannae reach the doorbell." He's a brave one. With acting now closed to him, hope the poetry keeps going well.• Fresh controversy surrounding the casting process, meanwhile. Too few good parts for women, too few for minorities, scant few for those with disabilities. And what about tall people? At 6ft, Richard Smith, aka the performance poet Elvis McGonagall, trained at the Bristol Old Vic but then encountered heightism. He writes for the Stage about "The Lilliput Conspiracy", referencing those untroubled. "Dustin Hoffman – short arse; Tim Roth – garden gnome; Tom Cruise – bouncing weather dwarf; Sylvester Stallone – surreptitious user of fruit boxes; James Dean – fond of cuban heels." Knock knock, jokes Smith. "Who's there? Al Pacino. Al Pacino who? Al Pacino who cannae reach the doorbell." He's a brave one. With acting now closed to him, hope the poetry keeps going well.
• A happy note to end as the Sun, having lapsed again, does the right thing. Under the headline Aliens: An Apology, the paper said: "In an article on Saturday headlined 'Flying saucers over British Scientology HQ', we stated 'two flat silver discs' were seen 'above the Church of Scientology HQ'. Following a letter from lawyers for the Church, we apologise to any alien lifeforms for linking them to Scientologists." Perfect in tone and entirely in keeping with the Leveson doctrine. He was right. There is a better way.• A happy note to end as the Sun, having lapsed again, does the right thing. Under the headline Aliens: An Apology, the paper said: "In an article on Saturday headlined 'Flying saucers over British Scientology HQ', we stated 'two flat silver discs' were seen 'above the Church of Scientology HQ'. Following a letter from lawyers for the Church, we apologise to any alien lifeforms for linking them to Scientologists." Perfect in tone and entirely in keeping with the Leveson doctrine. He was right. There is a better way.
Twitter: @hugh_muir Twitter: @hugh_muir
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.