9.45pm ToryDiary: Has Tory support for Leveson-style regulation softened?
4.30pm LISTEN: Norman Lamb MP: The regulatory model for the care sector "is not actually yet fit for purpose"
2.30pm ToryDiary: Boris Johnson tells George Osborne the top rate of tax "needs to be looked at"
ToryDiary: A twitch of a tentacle from Octopus Osborne puts Neil O’Brien in post
Angie Bray MP on Comment: It is un-Conservative to make the many pay for the sins of the few – including with alcohol pricing
Also on Comment, Philip Booth: The problem is not that companies pay too little tax, but that they pay too much
Also on MPsETC: A productive day in Parliament – with progress on banning illegal scrap metal dealing
John Bald on Local government: Higher education is not improving
Boris tells George Osborne to cut the top rate of tax
"Boris Johnson has suggested that the higher rates of income tax should be reduced ahead of the Government’s Autumn Statement next week. On a business trip to India, Mr Johnson… said business leaders had expressed concern over Britain’s tax regime. … Speaking yesterday on the final day of his tour, Mr Johnson said: “You’ve got tax rates here of only 30 per cent – a point George Osborne might like to brood on."" – Daily Telegraph
> Yesterday:
Osborne to freeze benefits for jobless
"George Osborne is preparing to unveil a new round of welfare cuts and £3 billion of savings to PFI deals in next week’s Autumn Statement. The Chancellor and Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, were last night thought to have agreed to freeze some out-of-work benefit payments next year. The move will not affect pensioners. The criteria for new benefit claimants are also expected to be tightened next year." - Daily Telegraph
Osborne devolving billions from Whitehall to the town hall
"George Osborne is attempting to strip Whitehall of up to £58bn of business support funding and place it in local hands in the biggest act of financial devolution England has ever seen." – FT (£)
George Osborne hires Policy Exchange's Neil O’Brien to try and attract new voters
"George Osborne has sent an unequivocal message that Conservatives have to work harder to reach out beyond traditional voters by hiring a leading thinktank boss who has warned that the party is still seen as the champion of the rich. Neil O'Brien, the director of the centre-right Policy Exchange and who grew up in Huddersfield, is to offer the chancellor policy advice across the political landscape with a particular focus on how to reach voters in the north of England." - Guardian
> Today on ToryDiary: A twitch of a tentacle from Octopus Osborne puts Neil O’Brien in post
> Yesterday on ToryDiary: George Osborne appoints Neil O'Brien as new adviser and opens door to a more blue collar, northern conservatism
Charles Moore: Our crisis would have been far deeper without Quantitative Easing
"QE is a very alarming device, but in wars, alarming devices are needed, and we have been in an economic war since 2008. We have to keep calm and carry on. Next year, Mark Carney will fly in from cautious Toronto where QE has not been needed, and replace Sir Mervyn. Things will get exciting if he does not agree with the way the Old Country is fighting the war." – Charles Moore for the Daily Telegraph
Continued Leveson fallout 1: Hague says we can’t preach freedom to world if we adopt regulation
"William Hague has warned that a “Leveson law” would curb Britain’s ability to address other countries on the importance of free speech. The Foreign Secretary told Cabinet ministers that Russia, in particular, would pounce on any moves by the Government to legislate for a new press regulator… A new law would limit Britain’s ability to speak out over cases such as the jailing of the Pussy Riot protesters" – Times (£)
Continued Leveson fallout 2: Newspaper editors to meet Maria Miller
"The culture secretary is challenging newspapers to draw up a better model for self-regulation than the one they put to the Leveson Inquiry. Newspaper editors will meet Maria Miller on Tuesday to discuss their response to the Leveson report. Their plan was criticised in the report for being insufficiently independent. Mrs Miller says the "gauntlet has been thrown down" to newspapers to demonstrate how they could regulate themselves without legislation." – BBC
Continued Leveson fallout 3: Clegg and Miliband oppose Cameron's response
"Mr Clegg and Ed Miliband are furious with the Prime Minister for suggesting that a draft Bill to be drawn up in line with Lord Justice Leveson's proposals would merely be a wrecking device to show how difficult it would be to turn them into law. … The Deputy Prime Minister will work to ensure the draft Bill is a serious attempt to provide a workable system of press regulation." – Independent
Continued Leveson fallout 4: Ed Miliband U-turns, drops call for government watchdog Ofcom to oversee new Press rules
"Ed Miliband is preparing to drop his backing for Lord Leveson’s plan for broadcasting watchdog Ofcom to oversee the regulation of the press. Despite demanding David Cameron implement the Leveson Report in its ‘entirety’, the Labour party now says it will not insist that Ofcom be given legal powers over a new self-regulation process." – Daily Mail
Continued Leveson fallout 5: Comment roundup
> Coverage from yesterday:
Nick Boles blames Labour's immigration policies for plans to concrete over countryside
"Mr Boles said that nearly half the new households required were accounted for by immigration, saying that the previous administration had “allowed the population of this country to expand dramatically”. It comes after Mr Boles alarmed conservationists earlier this week when he suggested the total area of land under development should be increased by a third to ease the housing shortage." – Daily Telegraph
Justine Greening halts £21m of aid for Rwanda over links to Congo rebels
"Britain is withholding £21 million of aid to Rwanda amid concerns that the state is supporting rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). International Development Secretary Justine Greening said the money, which was due to be handed over next month, would not be released because president Paul Kagame’s regime had breached agreements." – Scotsman
Government "U-turn" as flood budget rises £120m
"The Government was accused of making yet another U-turn by announcing a £120m boost to flood defences after cutting the annual budget by £95m. … Of the extra £120m fund announced yesterday, £35m will be available in 2013-2014, meaning there will still be a £60m shortfall on previous investment levels. The remaining £85m has been allocated to the following year." - Independent
Government to give green light to mass exploration for shale gas – Independent
Liberal Democrats by-election result is 'worst ever by a major political party'
"The Liberal Democrats’ showing in the Rotherham by-election is the worst performance ever by a major political party, experts say, while support for the UK Independence Party (Ukip) dramatically increased. Support for Nick Clegg’s party at the by-election slumped to eighth behind behind the BNP, Respect and the English Democrats." – Daily Telegraph
Nigel Farage: UKIP is now Britain's third party
"The leader of Ukip, Nigel Farage, has claimed that his party has now displaced the Liberal Democrats as the "third force" in British politics after it performed strongly in three byelections. … "There is an upward trend. And I think the Ukip message is resonating with voters and not just Tory voters. There are plenty of voters, particularly in the north of England, coming to us from Labour and the Lib Dems."" – Guardian
> Yesterday:
Matthew Parris: Here’s what to do in the Middle East: nothing – Times (£)
Alex Salmond refuses to give up "McLeveson" role as FM bids to lead press regulation in Scotland
"Salmond is defying calls to abandon his bid to introduce a new press regulation regime to Scotland, dubbed “McLeveson”. The First Minister indicated that he would be involved in cross-party talks to set up a Scottish regulatory system in response to the Leveson Inquiry, despite opposition calls for the discussions to be led by Nicola Sturgeon." – Scotsman
Investigate eBay over tax payments, says Margaret Hodge - Guardian
Care homes' finances could face inspection – BBC
SAS sniper Sgt Danny Nightingale pays tribute to "hero" wife - Daily Telegraph
> Yesterday - David T Breaker on Comment: There must be an investigation into the Sgt Nightingale case
US heading for point when 'military pursuit of al-Qaida should end' – Guardian
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