5.15pm ToryDiary: If Michael Gove wants to stop the party leadership talk…
3.30pm ToryDiary: Special ConHome poll: Almost three in four Tory members would vote to leave the EU now
12.30pm Local Government:
Noon Alistair Thompson on Comment: Cowardly Clegg – and his attempt to distract attention from his own links to the Murdochs
Tory Diary: The Government is wrong to U-turn on the pasty tax
Dr Eamonn Butler on Comment: It's Tax Freedom Day today. Yes, for almost five months you've been working just to pay taxes.
Local Government:
The Deep End: How the internet eats the economy
WATCH:
George Osborne backs down on pasty (and caravan) tax
"Pasties and other bakery items will no longer attract Vat if they are “cooling down” after being removed from the oven. The Chancellor controversially proposed in the budget that any food served above ambient temperature would be taxed at 20 percent to address an “anomaly” in the system. … He also said that plans to tax static caravans at 20 percent will be altered. They will now attract Vat at a reduced rate of five percent from next April. Static caravans do not currently attract any Vat." – Daily Telegraph
Cameron in Eurozone contingency talks – Theresa May ready to suspend EU free movement rules if crisis causes migration
"In the City, banks have been told to work out the legal and financial implications of various scenarios – ranging from a Greek exit from the eurozone to larger government defaults… [M]inisters are drawing up their own contingency plans; the Foreign Office is considering how it would help British tourists in Greece if the cashpoints ran dry and if disruption to ferry services left them stranded on Greek islands. Theresa May… has not ruled out some kind of suspension of the EU’s free movement rules if a crisis spreads across the eurozone triggering large-scale migration" - FT (£)
U-turn on secret court hearings
"Plans to introduce closed inquests with evidence heard in private have been dropped from the government's "secret justice" bill to be published on Tuesday following a dispute between David Cameron and Nick Clegg. Government officials heralded the move as the main concession in one of the most controversial pieces of legislation contained in the Queen's speech. It follows a well-publicised row behind the scenes which delayed publication of the bill for almost a week." – Guardian
Michael Gove and Theresa May to appear before Leveson
"Home Secretary Theresa May and Education Secretary Michael Gove are to appear before the Leveson Inquiry into media standards later. Mrs May faces questions over Scotland Yard's phone-hacking probe, and the closeness between the press and police. Mr Gove will be asked about his relationship with Rupert and James Murdoch, and other News Corps staff." – BBC
Warsi fights back over expenses
"Baroness Warsi has asked the Lords Commissioner for Standards to examine allegations she claimed for accommodation while staying rent free with a party colleague. … “I take these allegations very seriously," Warsi said yesterday in Malaysia, where she was on an official visit. “It’s why I said right at the outset that I would fully cooperate with any investigation,” she told ITV, denying that she had done anything wrong." – City AM
> From yesterday - WATCH: Baroness Warsi's landlord says he never charged rent
Bowing to Murdoch turned politics rotten, says Clegg as he launches attack on senior Tories
"Nick Clegg will today launch an attack on David Cameron and other senior Tories for their decision to ‘bow and scrape’ before Rupert Murdoch. The Deputy Prime Minister will condemn the behaviour of the Prime Minister and successive Labour leaders in what he terms Britain’s ‘broken establishment’. He will condemn the ‘sordid spectacle of phone hacking’ and say cosying up to the media baron is evidence of the death of ‘clean politics’." – Daily Mail
Blair denies striking deal with Murdoch
"Tony Blair defended his “working relationship” with Rupert Murdoch on Monday, insisting that it was a bond based on power but denying he had struck any deal with the media mogul. … Mr Blair started his evidence by saying he had taken a strategic decision to “manage” but not confront a powerful media." – FT (£)
> From yesterday - Blair confronted by heckler during Leveson evidence in security breach
Leveson comment
CSJ: scrap child poverty targets – Daily Telegraph
Richer pensioners should lose some benefits, says thinktank - Guardian
Teachers to strike again – after summer holidays – The Sun
Waltham Forest council scraps plans to relocate residents to Walsall – Independent
Male-dominated boards will fall behind rivals, says report – Daily Telegraph
Fifteen more university technical colleges to open in next two years – Guardian
Poll says Britain has changed for the worse under Elizabeth II – Reuters
> From yesterday - Columnist Bruce Anderson: The Diamond Jubilee is a time for rejoicing and gratitude
Spain says help not needed to save banks – FT (£)
> From yesterday:
> Please use the thread below to provide links to news topics likely to be of interest to ConservativeHome readers and to comment on political topics that haven't been given their own blog. Read our comments policy here.