Afternoon press briefing from 6 May 2008
Briefing from the Prime Minister's Spokesman on: Scotland, Cabinet, Charles Clarke and Burma
Scotland
Asked about Wendy Alexander's comments about a referendum for Scottish independence, the Prime Minister's Spokesman (PMS) told the assembled press that the Prime Minister spoke to his Labour Party and Governmental colleagues on a regular basis. In general, the Prime Minister's position on the subject was that there was a debate taking place in the Scottish Parliament on the timing of any potential referendum on Scottish independence. The Prime Minister had always been confident of the strength of the argument in favour of the Union and believed that a referendum on Scotland leaving the Union would be defeated.
Asked if the Prime Minister would welcome a referendum to put those arguments, the PMS reiterated that there was a debate taking place in the Scottish Parliament on that very issue.
Put that the Prime Minister had the final say on the matter, the PMS replied that we were not at that point. There was a proposal for a referendum and there was a debate in the Scottish Parliament on the timing of any potential referendum in Scotland.
Asked if the Prime Minister had spoken to Wendy Alexander on the subject, the PMS said that he would not be getting into briefing on conversations between the Prime Minister and his Labour Party colleagues. Wendy Alexander was not a member of the Government and the PMS was a Spokesman for the Prime Minister in his capacity as Head of the Government. Asked if that was a political matter and should the press direct their enquiries to the Labour Party, the PMS said that that was correct.
Cabinet
Asked if there was a sense of urgency in Cabinet this morning regarding the 10p income tax threshold, the PMS replied that he would check his notes but he didn't really recall the issue of 10p income tax coming up much in the part of the Cabinet that he attended, which was the official Cabinet. For briefing on the political Cabinet, people would need to speak to his colleague.
Asked if the Chancellor had met with Frank Field today, the PMS said he had seen reports on the matter and he had seen the Treasury's reported response, but it was for the Treasury to answer questions on what meetings the Chancellor was having.
Asked when the Draft Legislative Programme would be revealed, the PMS said that it would not be this week.
Charles Clarke
Asked what the Prime Minister thought about Charles Clarke's comments that what was needed was a mini-Budget, the PMS said that the Prime Minister thought that all these matters were for the Chancellor to consider. In relation to 10p, the Chancellor had set out the position of the Government in his letter to the treasury Select Committee on the 23rd April and that remained the position.
Asked to comment on Charles Clarke's criticism of British jobs for British workers, the PMS said that he would not get into every specific comment made by every backbench MP. However, in relation to British jobs for British workers, the PMS said it was clear that when the Prime Minister used the phrase, he was referring to the Government's local employment partnerships, which were about getting Job Centre Plus to work more closely with local employers to enable people who go through the Job Centre Plus system to be employed more by local employers.
Burma
Asked what efforts were being made by the Government to persuade Burma to open its borders to allow aid into the country, the PMS said that we did welcome Burma's call for international assistance and hoped that the authorities in the country would allow access to aid workers to help coordinate the massive response that would clearly be needed to help all of the survivors.
We were working closely with the UN and other aid agencies that had rapid assessment teams on the ground. On more specific matters, it would be best to check with the Foreign Office.
Email the Prime Minister