995

August 18 - 24 2010 No. 995

THE WEEKLY WORLD EDITION OF The Daily Telegraph AND The Sunday Telegraph telegraph.co.uk/expat

The Telegraph

EDINBURGHHighlightsfromthefirstweekoftheFestival

:: CULTURE PAGES 24-27

Young and old mark VJ Day

Hot and wet Floods and droughts due to global warming :: NEWS P11

By Rosa Prince NICK CLEGG will push the Government to the Left as he took charge of the country on Monday at the start of David Cameron’s two-week summer holiday.

Becoming the first Liberal to take on the mantle of power since Lloyd George left office in 1922, he will use his fortnight at the helm to promote his party’s pet policies, such as electoral reform and social equality.

Lib Dems alarmed at the party’s dramatic decline in the opinion polls, with support falling from 23 to 12 per cent since the formation of the Coalition, on Sunday urged the Deputy Prime Minister to make the most of his time “centre stage”.

The Lib Dem leader has drawn up a full programme of speeches and speaking engagements, in which he will promote projects which have largely been soft-pedalled by his Conservative colleagues.

As the centrepiece of his first week in charge, Mr Clegg will use a speech on inequality to unveil Alan Milburn, the former Labour Cabinet minister, as the Government’s new “social mobility tsar”.

He will seek to reassure Lib Dem supporters that ministers are not simply focused on dealing with the deficit but on tackling inequality.

Simon Hughes, the deputy Liberal Democrat leader, on Sunday ruled out an electoral pact with the Conservatives at the general election. He told Sky News: “We will be standing in every seat at the next election.

“There will be no deals, there will be no pacts. We are going to stand on our own.”

He said it was important that Mr Milburn was heard to reinforce “elements of policy that come from our stable, rather than the Tory stable”.

However, Mr Milburn’s appointment — the fourth former Labour Cabinet minister to accept a government job since the Coalition came to power — is likely to cause consternation among Conservatives who fear that the Left is being indulged too much. Labour also criticised the appointment.

Lord Prescott labelled Mr Milburn a “collaborator” and Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, described the appointment as a “kick in the teeth”.

But the Tories are relaxed about Mr Clegg’s promotion of Left-wing causes during his two-week reign, although, notably, he will not follow the lead of previous second-in-commands by working out of Downing Street. Instead, he will use his own work space at the Cabinet Office, which connects to No10.

Mr Clegg’s week was set to begin with an online question and answer session, discussing plans for a referendum on electoral reform.

Conservative backbenchers are infuriated at his plan to drop the first past the post system, and have wrung from Mr Cameron a promise that he will campaign against it.

John Whittingdale, a senior Tory backbencher, said: “As long as Clegg does not deviate from government policy then we will not have a problem.”

IGMA

EN

Two-year-old Alice Bruce stands at the Cenotaph holding a wooden cross in honour of her great-grandfather, Pte Frank Bruce, of 2nd Bn the Gordon Highlanders, who died in 1943 while building the Burma railway. He was one of about 12,500 British servicemen who died during captivity by the Japanese

DAVID CAMERON and the Prince of Wales were among those commemorating the 65th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day at the Cenotaph in London on Sunday.

Scores of veterans, many wearing their campaign medals, converged on Whitehall to remember their 30,000 British comrades killed during the conflict.

The ceremony, organised by the Ministry of Defence and the Burma Star Association, began with prayers followed by the Last Post played by The Buglers of The Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines.

There was then a minute’s silence.

Viscount Slim, president of the Burma Star Association, read the Kohima Epitaph:

“When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our day.”

The BBC was accused of snubbing veterans by failing to screen the anniversary service live on its main terrestrial channels. The ceremony was relegated to the BBC News Channel rather than being shown on BBC One or BBC Two.

Murray Wardrop

Diamond trial Mia Farrow contradicts Naomi Campbell :: WORLD NEWS P15

Double dip? Bank backs Coalition cuts as outlook palls :: BUSINESS P33

‘I was awake all day worrying about it’

University students may not receive loans in time for start of new term Report, page 2