8.15pm MPsETC: Full list of tonight's FIFTY-ONE THREE Tory rebels
7.15pm GOVERNMENT DEFEATED IN EU BUDGET VOTE. Details here.
6.45pm MPsETC: Seven observations about the ongoing EU budget debate
6.45pm Local government: Labour ditch Police candidate for Northamptonshire over arrest
4.15pm Dr David Green on Comment: Conservatives shouldn't dismiss Lord Heseltine’s recommendations for foreign takeovers out of hand
3.45pm JP Floru on Comment: Where do the stones come from, Lord Heseltine?
2.15pm WATCH: Today's session of PMQs in full
1.30pm ToryDiary: Miliband buries himself during a ghoulish session of PMQs
11.45am Local government: The Government should cherry pick from the Heseltine Review
11.30am WATCH: Lord Heseltine discusses his growth review: "Towns and cities need to have a bigger say in the way money is spent"
10.30am ToryDiary: John Hayes lets his rhetoric get away from Coalition policy — but does he have the blessings of the Tory leadership?
ToryDiary: Today's Commons vote is about much more than the EU budget
Columnist Jill Kirby: How to avoid further child benefit chaos
On Comment, Nadhim Zahawi MP says that localism can work, but only if we give it the space to do so: "This decision in Shottery is exactly the kind we've been rallying against. It's a decision taken by a Civil Servant at the centre, who will never have to live with the consequences, that has been rubber stamped by a Minister who has never even visited the area. In short it's a decision that drives a coach and horses through the Localism agenda."
Local Government:
The Deep End: Drugs damage cultures not just individuals
WATCH: Barack Obama warns that superstorm Sandy "is not over yet"
EU Vote Day: David Cameron under pressure from backbenchers…
“Despite
misgivings in Labour ranks, senior party sources signalled that Ed Miliband
would instruct his MPs to back a Tory rebel motion calling for a real-terms
reduction to the budget covering 2014-20. … At least 40 Tory MPs are already
signed up to the rebel amendment demanding a cut. Eighty-one rebelled last year
in calling for an immediate referendum on Britain’s EU membership.” – The Times
(£)
…including David Davis…
“The EU needs to do less, and it needs to do it better. A robust
approach, more focused policies and the curbing of the EU’s sillier ambitions
could save European taxpayers a quarter of the budget. … So our stance must be
more aggressive: we must ensure that in these times of austerity, Brussels
bureaucrats shoulder at least as much of the burden as the member states during
a eurozone crisis for which they are largely responsible.” – David Davis, Daily Mail
…but the PM does have the support of Nick Clegg…
“Mr Cameron has won unlikely support from Deputy Premier Nick Clegg, who
will insist in a speech today: ‘We will not accept an increase, above
inflation, to the EU budget. That is a real terms freeze, and we will protect
the British rebate in full. … That is the toughest position of any European
country.’”
– Daily Mail
> Today on ToryDiary: Today's Commons vote is about much more than the EU budget
> Yesterday:
…although the Guardian reports that Mr Cameron has "confronted" Mr Clegg over constituational reforms
"In a sign of the
deterioration in relations, the prime minister vented his fury at Clegg after
the Lib Dem leader authorised his peers to support a Labour move to delay plans
to reduce the size of the Commons until 2018." – Guardian
Mr Cameron's adviser on digital strategy, Jonathan Luff, has moved to the payday loan firm Wonga - Daily Mail
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph about his new growth review, Lord Heseltine urges a solution on airport capacity before 2015
Here are three snippets from the article:
And Lord Heseltine also writes a comment article for the same paper. The BBC's summarises his recommendations here.
John Hayes: No more windfarms!
"Insisting ‘enough is enough’, John Hayes said turbines
had been ‘peppered around the country’ with little or no regard for local
opinion. … He said existing sites and those in the pipeline would be enough to
meet green commitments with no need for more. … ‘Even if a minority of what’s
in the system is built we are going to reach our 2020 target,’ he said. ‘I’m
saying enough is enough.’ … Mr Hayes told the Mail he had commissioned research
on the impact of wind turbines on the landscape and whether they drive down
house prices." – Daily Mail
"On the face of it, this promises to be the beginning of an end to one of the greatest and most dangerous political delusions of our time." – Christopher Booker, Daily Mail
Continuing doubts about the child benefit cuts
“Mr Wade said: ‘It is
particularly problematic for people who are in the range or just below the
range. If they get the option of overtime and if they have got a large family
then it is a waste of time doing it because they will just lose more than
they’ll get paid. Or they will lose quite a percentage due to tax, National
Insurance and the clawback.’” – Daily Telegraph
> Yesterday on ToryDiary: Is David Cameron coming round to the idea of further universal benefit cuts?
Eric Pickles to consider plans for new council housing for "middle-class professionals"
“The
three boroughs of Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, and Hammersmith and
Fulham are proposing to borrow against their “extremely valuable” housing
assets to build the homes. … Today they will submit their plan for a pilot
scheme of 300 homes on a new ‘middle-class’ estate to the Communities
Secretary, Eric Pickles.” – Daily Telegraph
> Today on Local Government: Your chance to question Eric Pickles
Michael Gove tries to give Maths a boost
“Education Secretary Michael Gove today announced funds to create a
curriculum aimed at sixth-formers who abandon maths after their GCSEs. … Youngsters would study the
maths behind real-world scenarios such as the cost-effectiveness of washing
machine insurance, the trustworthiness of opinion polls and the odds of
lotteries being fixed.” – Daily Mail
Some of the British aid money going to Uganda wil be suspended, after worries about corruption – Daily Mail
Tory MPs call for the beer duty escalator to be scrapped, as Brits pay ten times more beer tax than other Europeans
“Tory MP Andrew Griffiths told politics.co.uk: ‘The Treasury's own figures reveal that even with the escalator it'll
raise no extra revenue over the next two years, because it's hitting beer sales
and encouraging people to drink other things.’” – Daily Mail
Louise Mensch writes to Ed Miliband and Harriet Harman over Austin Mitchell's "sexist comments"
“In a letter to the pair, she wrote: ‘Mr
Mitchell has not deleted nor withdrawn his tweet. He is a sitting Labour MP and
neither of you have said a word about his behaviour. I trust you will correct
this lack of leadership at the earliest opportunity.’” – Daily Telegraph
Vince Cable's "senior moment" over meetings
"The Business Secretary, Vince Cable, faced embarrassment yesterday after he told MPs that a new committee set up to promote economic growth had not held any meetings – even though he attended two of them." – Independent
Mr Miliband admits that he saw a counsellor when his father died
“‘When my father died, I
did go and see a counsellor, who helped me a lot with coping with that
bereavement, so I think the availability of help for people in all kinds of
ways is very important,’ said Mr Miliband.” – Daily Telegraph
Labour peer Lord West warns that Britain is "sleepwalking" into another Falklands War – Sun
Alex Salmond dodges questions about whether he lied about an independent Scotland's status in the EU – Daily Telegraph
SNP's Education Minister accused of overruling experts to include more Scottish books in the curriculum – Daily Telegraph
Met Police to sell New Scotland Yard – Financial Times (£)
The Commission on Living Standards warns of "two decades of stagnant living standards"
“The Commission on Living
Standards says that even if the economy recovers, around a third of the working
age population – some 11million people – will be no better off in 2020 than
they were in 2000. … Among the worst hit are mothers because the cost of
childcare is so high they cannot afford to go back to work." – Daily Mail
"Benefits for wealthy pensioners should be axed to free up money to help hard-working families, a report claims." – Sun
> Yesterday:
Taxpayers' Alliance research finds that taxpayers stump up £113 million every year to fund the union activities of civil servants
“This amounted to £92million in paid staff time in the last year, according to research by the TaxPayers’ Alliance, along with a further £21million in direct payments to unions. … The staff figure is the equivalent of 3,000 public sector employees working full-time for trade unions, in what campaigners described as a ‘scandalous subsidy’.” – Daily Mail
> Today on Local Government: Army of state funded union officials still in place
> Yesterday on Local Government: Labour Police and Crime Commissioner candidates should come clean on UNISON funding
The end of the White Van Man? Just four per cent of under-30s are entering trades that require a van – Sun
Israel postpones a strike on Iran after discussions with British spies – Sun
> Yesterday, by Ross Cypher-Burley on Comment: Cameron must remain part of the "carrot and stick" club when it comes to Iran
And finally… Could Sandy postpone the US election?
“Despite no presidential election
ever being postponed, some are pointing to past precedents where voting has
been delayed. … However, what is most likely is a
compromise for those affected by the havoc caused by the storm. … Voting hours
could be extended at various locations and in places where electronic voting
machines are in use, paper ballots could be used instead.” – Daily Mail
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