LONDON (Reuters) – There were more than a few gasps of amazement when Ed Miliband beat his better known elder brother David to the leadership of the Labour party last September.

Many doubted the former policy wonk had the steel, vision or charm to rebuild a party struggling to come to terms with losing power after 13 years, or to mount a credible challenge among voters to the triumphant new Prime Minister David Cameron.

Yet this week, a phone-hacking scandal at the British arm of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has presented a golden opportunity for the 41-year-old to silence dissent, unite his party and generate the kind of momentum which could snowball in his – and Labour’s – favour.

“There’s no question this has been the best week for Ed Miliband since he became Labour leader. He’s landed a number of blows. He’s put forward a very clear trajectory, he took gambles and they paid off,” said Mark Wickham-Jones, a politics professor and Labour Party expert at the University of Bristol.

“He’s shown himself good at close-quarters political combat and outfoxed the government. All of those are major pluses for Ed Miliband.”

In this saga, Miliband has appeared one step ahead of Cameron. Where his normally confident rival seemed to hesitate, Miliband has been bold, daily giving the impression that the government was following his lead.

As Cameron accused Murdoch of wrongly prioritising his takeover bid for television company BSkyB above the need to sort out the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World tabloid, it was easy to forget the government had, only last week, opposed a Labour motion to discuss the TV deal.

LONDON (Reuters) – There were more than a few gasps of amazement when Ed Miliband beat his better known elder brother David to the leadership of Britain’s Labour party last September.

Many doubted the former policy wonk had the steel, vision or charm to rebuild a party struggling to come to terms with losing power after 13 years, or to mount a credible challenge among voters to the triumphant new Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron.

Yet this week, a phone-hacking scandal at the British arm of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has presented a golden opportunity for the 41-year-old to silence dissent, unite his party and generate the kind of momentum which could snowball in his – and Labour’s – favor.

“There’s no question this has been the best week for Ed Miliband since he became Labour leader. He’s landed a number of blows. He’s put forward a very clear trajectory, he took gambles and they paid off,” said Mark Wickham-Jones, a politics professor and Labour Party expert at the University of Bristol.

“He’s shown himself good at close-quarters political combat and outfoxed the government. All of those are major pluses for Ed Miliband.”

In this saga, Miliband has appeared one step ahead of Cameron. Where his normally confident rival seemed to hesitate, Miliband has been bold, daily giving the impression that the government was following his lead.

As Cameron accused Murdoch of wrongly prioritizing his takeover bid for television company BSkyB above the need to sort out the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World tabloid, it was easy to forget the government had, only last week, opposed a Labour motion to discuss the TV deal.

LONDON (Reuters) – “You may wonder what is happening with the Murdoch press,” Britain’s then Business Secretary Vince Cable said late last year. “I have declared war on Mr Murdoch and I think we’re going to win.”

At the time, those words were in fact a big loss for Cable, a senior figure in the Liberal Democrat party, the junior partner in the Conservative-led government.

Recorded by two reporters from the Daily Telegraph posing as Lib Dem supporters, the private comments cost Cable some of his ministerial powers. It also hobbled the Lib Dems opposition to plans by News International, Murdoch’s British press arm, to buy the 61 percent of satellite broadcaster BSkyB it does not own.

Now, though, the Liberal Democrats may emerge as among the few winners in the phone hacking scandal battering Murdoch’s media empire, Scotland Yard and Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives alike.

Britain’s third party has had a rough time of it lately. Many voters turned on it after it joined with the larger, center-right Conservative party; others blame Lib Dem MPs for not doing enough to take the edge off the government’s most painful austerity measures.

The scandal offers the beleaguered party a rare chance to stand apart from its Tory partners.

A non-binding parliamentary vote on Wednesday is likely to see many Lib Dem MPs vote with the Labour opposition to delay News International’s takeover of BSkyB.

LONDON (Reuters) – The demise of Britain’s biggest-selling newspaper is likely to weaken media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s grip on British politics, at least in the short-term, after a phone hacking scandal that has tarnished Prime Minister David Cameron.

Allegations that the News of the World Sunday newspaper, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News International, hacked into phones of people including a murdered schoolgirl and dead soldiers have rocked British politics and disgusted the public.

The allegations triggered the dramatic announcement on Thursday of the closure of the 168-year-old paper, after a rare emergency session of parliament on the scandal Wednesday and Internet campaigns to boycott the publication. Many firms had already pulled their advertising.

Conservative Cameron and former Labor Prime Minister Tony Blair heavily courted Murdoch, whose support is seen as crucial in marshalling votes — Blair was reported to have flown to Australia to seek his blessing ahead of an election.

“Politicians are falling over themselves to distance themselves from Murdoch’s empire,” said Jonathan Tonge, professor of politics at the University of Liverpool.

“The long term legacy of this that no politician will ever want to be seen as being overly close to newspaper editors or media conglomerates. It’s simply too dangerous,” he added.

As well as the News of the World, Murdoch’s other titles include the hugely influential Sun tabloid newspaper, the Times broadsheet and broadcaster Sky.

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will pull an extra 500 soldiers from Afghanistan next year, Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday, cutting the number of British troops there to 9,000 as NATO begins to hand responsibility for security to Afghan forces.

The relatively small number of troops being withdrawn reflects the difficulty of cementing gains in a decade-long war against the Taliban that has grown increasingly unpopular with British voters.

Cameron, who visited Afghanistan this week, plans to end Britain’s combat role by the end of 2014, leaving some troops behind to train and mentor their Afghan counterparts.

“I have already said we will withdraw 426 UK military personnel by February 2012 and today I can announce that the UK will be able to reduce its force levels by a further 500 from 9,500 to 9,000 by the end of 2012,” Cameron told parliament.

“The country needs to know that there is an end-point to the level of our current commitment and to our combat operations.”

Britain’s involvement in Libya’s civil war, a conflict which military leaders say could drag on for many months, has raised fears about a stretched defense budget and increased pressure on the government to pull troops out of Afghanistan.

It also appears to run against promises by the government that it would take a less interventionist approach to foreign affairs than the previous Labor administration, although no ground troops have been deployed in Libya.

LONDON (Reuters) – The government will pull an extra 500 soldiers from Afghanistan next year, Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday, cutting the number of British troops there to 9,000 as NATO begins to hand responsibility for security to Afghan forces.

The relatively small number of troops being withdrawn reflects the difficulty of cementing gains in a decade-long war against the Taliban that has grown increasingly unpopular with voters.

Cameron, who visited Afghanistan this week, plans to end Britain’s combat role by the end of 2014, leaving some troops behind to train and mentor their Afghan counterparts.

“I have already said we will withdraw 426 military personnel by February 2012 and today I can announce that the UK will be able to reduce its force levels by a further 500 from 9,500 to 9,000 by the end of 2012,” Cameron told parliament.

“The country needs to know that there is an end-point to the level of our current commitment and to our combat operations.”

Britain’s involvement in Libya’s civil war, a conflict which military leaders say could drag on for many months, has raised fears about a stretched defence budget and increased pressure on the government to pull troops out of Afghanistan.

It also appears to run against promises by the government that it would take a less interventionist approach to foreign affairs than the previous Labour administration, although no ground troops have been deployed in Libya.

LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister David Cameron defended his planned reforms to public sector pensions on Tuesday and told workers planning to strike this week that walking out would make matters worse.

Up to 750,000 teachers and civil servants, around one in eight public sector workers, are expected to strike on Thursday in protest against changes to their pension schemes designed to save money as Britain’s population gets older.

Schools will close and government offices will also be shut, disrupting the lives of millions of Britons. More strikes could follow later this year if talks between the government and unions fail to bridge the gap over pensions.

Pension reform is part of the government’s effort to effectively wipe out a record budget deficit by 2015. Like other European governments, the Conservative-led coalition says reform is needed to make pensions affordable when people are living longer.

“In a democracy, people can go out and protest. But the people marching should know what they’re objecting to, and I believe there are some misconceptions flying around,” Cameron said in a speech to local government workers.

“So to those considering strike action, at a time when discussions are ongoing, I would say to you: these strikes are wrong — for you, for the people you serve, for the good of the country. It’s the changes we propose that are right.”

While Britain has experienced widespread and sporadically violent protests against public sector spending cuts aimed at dealing with the budget deficit, it has so far escaped the level of public anger seen in other European countries.

LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister David Cameron defended his planned reforms to public sector pensions on Tuesday and told workers planning to strike this week that walking out would make matters worse.

Up to 750,000 teachers and civil servants, around one in eight public sector workers, are expected to strike on Thursday in protest against changes to their pension schemes designed to save money as Britain’s population gets older.

Schools will close and government offices will also be shut, disrupting the lives of millions of Britons. More strikes could follow later this year if talks between the government and unions fail to bridge the gap over pensions.

Pension reform is part of the government’s effort to effectively wipe out a record budget deficit by 2015. Like other European governments, the Conservative-led coalition says reform is needed to make pensions affordable when people are living longer.

“In a democracy, people can go out and protest. But the people marching should know what they’re objecting to, and I believe there are some misconceptions flying around,” Cameron said in a speech to local government workers.

“So to those considering strike action, at a time when discussions are ongoing, I would say to you: these strikes are wrong — for you, for the people you serve, for the good of the country. It’s the changes we propose that are right.”

While Britain has experienced widespread and sporadically violent protests against public sector spending cuts aimed at dealing with the budget deficit, it has so far escaped the level of public anger seen in other European countries.

LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) – Public sector workers will not stop the British government from reforming their pensions by going on strike, Treasury Minister Danny Alexander said on Friday, comments that unions said threatened to undermine talks on the issue.

The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition is making changes to public sector pensions as part of efforts to cut Britain’s debt burden and adjust to a population that is living longer.

About 750,000 workers, including teachers and job centre staff, have vowed to stage coordinated action later this month in what would be Britain’s worst labour stoppages for decades as anger over the coalition’s spending cuts grows.

“It may be that those who oppose change think they can force the government to change its mind,” Alexander said in a speech to a think-tank in London.

“This head in the sand approach is a colossal mistake. The government will reform public sector pensions, and this is the time to shape that change not try and block it.”

Brian Strutton, national secretary of the GMB union, challenged Alexander in person at the event. He accused the minister of jeopardising talks between unions and the government due to resume on June 27 by presenting proposals as firm policy.

He said his message to the government was “are you saying negotiations are in effect over, or do you have an open mind?”

LONDON (Reuters) – Public sector workers will not stop the government from reforming their pensions by going on strike, Treasury minister Danny Alexander will say on Friday, in a speech likely to further inflame union anger.

The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government is making changes to public sector pensions as part of efforts to reduce Britain’s debt burden and to adjust to a population that is living longer.

About 750,000 workers including teachers and job centre staff have vowed to stage co-ordinated action later this month in what would be Britain’s worst labour stoppages for decades as anger over the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition’s spending cuts grows.

“It may be that those who oppose this change think that they can force the government to change its mind,” Alexander will say in a speech in London, according to extracts seen by Reuters.

“This head in the sand approach is a colossal mistake. This government will reform public service pensions, and this is the time to shape that change not try to block it.”

Government spending is bearing the brunt of the austerity plan to eliminate a record budget deficit, with hundreds of thousands of jobs in the public sector set for the axe, pay packets frozen for two years and pensions facing reform.

Alexander will also confirm the government will protect low paid workers from an average pension contribution increase of 3.2 percent.