11.30pm ToryDiary: 78% of Tory members support common market or out
6.30pm A triple-bill of videos for Sunday evening:
4.30pm ToryDiary: Can Steve Hilton be tempted back to Government? It doesn't sound promising…
12.45pm LeftWatch: Ed Miliband goes out of his way to defend universal benefits
ToryDiary: David Cameron’s intervention in Mali has shades of Libya and Afghanistan
On Comment, Brandon Lewis MP raises a glass to the Great British local: "My new year's resolution is to make the Great British pub the hub of a resurgent economy. … I think it's high time we paid tribute to the folk behind the bar down the Jolly Farmers, Dog and Duck, the Ship and Anchor, the Queen Vic and the Rovers Return."
On International, Chris Gatenby and Isaac Levido preview Australia's election year
WATCH: "New Labour didn't do enough," says Ed Miliband
David Cameron takes on the Better Off Outers — he reckons it would be "mad" to leave Europe
"David Cameron thinks it would be ‘mad’ for Britain to leave the EU and is secretly backing a move by Tory MPs to warn of the perils of cutting all our ties with Brussels. … One insider said that Cameron and Osborne were deliberately using a ‘good cop, bad cop’ approach to get a better deal for Britain, with the PM playing the good cop." – Mail on Sunday
> Yesterday on ToryDiary: Will the "Wizard of Ozzy" back leaving the EU?
…as Eurosceptic Tories provide the PM with a list of demands…
"The Fresh Start Group's 'Manifesto for Change' will set out demands for five treaty changes and 12 reforms it insists must be made to 'rebalance' the UK's position in the EU. The Independent on Sunday understands that the overhaul includes opting out of 131 EU policing and criminal justice laws, and clawing back powers over working hours and extraditions." – Independent on Sunday
…a poll suggests that Ukip could beat the Tories into third in next year's Euro-elections…
"David Cameron faces electoral disaster at the hands of the UK Independence Party , says an exclusive Sunday People poll. … The Tories would finish in a humiliating third place, on 22 per cent, in next year’s European elections a point behind UKIP, said today’s ComRes poll." – Sunday People
> Yesterday:
…and Ken Clarke joins forces with Peter Mandelson
"Along with Liberal Democrat Lord Rennard, Clarke and Mandelson will spearhead a new organisation, the Centre for British Influence through Europe (CBIE), which will support a cross-party 'patriotic fightback for British leadership in Europe'. The organisation will hold its launch event at the end of the month." – Observer
Mr Cameron offers to help the French in Mali
"David Cameron's offer to transport foreign troops and equipment involved Britain in a fresh conflict that could provoke terrorist reprisals against European targets. … Downing Street said two transport planes would be dispatched, but British troops would not join the French military mission to help recapture the north of Mali from al-Qaida-linked rebels acting against the country's government." – Observer
> Today on ToryDiary: David Cameron’s intervention in Mali has shades of Libya and Afghanistan
And remains committed to the boundary reforms
"A Number 10 source has told The Sunday Telegraph that Mr Cameron remains 'absolutely committed' to boundary reforms and 'would pull out all the stops' to get the legislation through. … The parliamentary arithmetic suggests that Mr Cameron might just be able to 'sneak' through boundary changes if all of his party and most of the minority parties vote in favour." – Sunday Telegraph
Steve Hilton's frustrations with Government laid bare
"David Cameron's former policy chief has revealed his 'horror' at the powerlessness of Downing Street to control government decisions, admitting the prime minister often finds out about policies from the radio or newspapers — and in many cases opposes them. … He described how No 10 is frequently left out of the loop as important policy changes are pushed through by 'paper-shuffling' mandarins." – Sunday Times (£)
New pension changes; stay-at-home mums and the self-employed to benefit
"Years raising a family will finally be recognised with a flat-rate £144 weekly payment for all. Four million self-employed workers also win. … From 2017, everyone who has put in at least ten years’ work will get the same deal — without means tests. It is worth an extra £37 a week to 'white van man'." – Sun on Sunday
Eric Pickles to give a speech about immigration and integration
"The poll results are being released as communities secretary Eric Pickles prepares to give a major speech this week in which he will announce further efforts to aid integration. Pickles will say that a mastery of English is the key to social mobility and essential if people of different generations want to get on." – Observer
"Immigration fears have to be faced and defused, not dismissed" – Sunder Katwala, Observer
David Willetts: Overseas study is good for business
"Our industrial strategy will focus on attracting international students, while helping UK educational institutions gain a bigger footprint abroad. But our future as an outward-looking, trading nation open to other cultures also relies on a constant supply of new graduates alive to other cultures." – David Willetts,Independent on Sunday
Liz Truss's childcare proposals come under question
"Controversial plans by ministers to allow childminders and nursery workers to look after greater numbers of children will lead to a 'deterioration' in the quality of their care and will not help parents reduce their costs, an official report by the Government's own advisers has warned." – Independent on Sunday
Andrew Griffiths uncovers the schools where over half the teachers aren't fully qualified
"Shock tables show fully-qualified teachers are in the minority at TEN English schools — five primary and five secondary — teaching 5,500 pupils. … The tables were uncovered by Tory MP Andrew Griffiths. … He said: 'It’s staggering there are schools where professional teachers are in the minority. It raises serious questions about how they are run.'" – Sun on Sunday
And 17 NHS hospitals have "dangerously low" numbers of nurses – Sunday Telegraph
Claire Perry, currently in a mud hut in Gambia, is interviewed by the Independent on Sunday
"Just don't call her ambitious. 'I can't bear this, just because you stand up and say things, and are supportive of the Government, you're "incredibly ambitious". Here's what people don't realise about politics: it's like being a salesperson. We are salespeople for a political brand. That, ultimately, is our job.'" – Independent on Sunday
George Osborne's father-in-law, Lord Howell, in "conflict of interest" row
"George Osborne's father-in-law was accused of a conflict of interest last night after it emerged he is being paid by a Japanese high-speed rail firm with commercial interests in the UK at the same time as having top-level access to the Foreign Office as William Hague's personal adviser." – Independent on Sunday
Boris versus the music mogul
"A music mogul who has given Nick Clegg more than £500,000 and won Lib Dem support in a row which threatens his nightclub faces a major setback after Boris Johnson ordered a probe into ‘odd goings-on’." – Mail on Sunday
The Lords versus Nick Clegg
"Nick Clegg has been warned that the Lords may hold up his plans to reform the royal succession laws because they have been badly thought through and could cause “enormous problems” for the monarchy." – Sunday Times (£)
Ed Miliband versus rogue landlords
"Ed Miliband has pledged to crackdown on rogue landlords cashing in on the housing shortage during his first major speech of 2013. … During the speech to the Fabian Society, he said it is wrong to have a nation divided between those who own homes and those who do not." – Mail on Sunday
> Yesterday on LeftWatch: Ed Miliband's green energy subsidies cost one billion pounds
And Mr Miliband has hired Ken Livingstone's former chief of staff
"Simon Fletcher, who was Mr Livingstone’s chief-of-staff when he was Mayor of London, is Mr Miliband’s new adviser on trade unions. … Mr Fletcher was a member of Mr Livingstone’s so-called ‘Kenocracy’, a group of close advisers when he was Mayor, and was said to be in Trotskyite group Socialist Action, which plotted to make London a ‘socialist city state’." – Mail on Sunday
Did Labour cover-up a donation from a controversial banker?
"Last night Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said he had written to the Electoral Commission to ask why the donation had been misregistered. In his letter, Mr Bridgen says ‘the public will want to be assured that the Labour Party did not purposefully cover up his donation to avoid negative media coverage’." – Mail on Sunday
MPs to warn: offshore windfarms could add to your bills
"Building wind farms a few miles off the coast has been the preferred alternative to putting up more huge turbines in the countryside. … But the influential Public Accounts Select Committee (PAC) is likely to warn that consumers will pay for the policy, while power firms make billions due to a ‘soft’ deal agreed with the previous government." – Mail on Sunday
More about MPs' remuneration, as they call for an increase in "golden goodbyes"
"Politicians from across the political spectrum are pressing for a change in the rules to entitle members to payouts — currently up to £33,000 — even if they enter the Lords or walk away to take high-paying jobs. … At present, so-called resettlement payments, paid in addition to a generous pension entitlement, are awarded only to those who lose their seats at an election." – Sunday Times (£)
Dominic Lawson: "More benefits won't help; lower prices will"
"All would benefit if housing, fuel and food were to cost less, but the poor would be the most relieved beneficiaries, since a greater proportion of their income is required to buy those essentials." – Dominic Lawson, Sunday Times (£)
The NHS and BBC face huge payouts over the Jimmy Savile scandal – Mail on Sunday
Three-quarters of working Brits clock up 6 hours of overtime a week – Mail on Sunday
And finally 1)… Sir Jeremy's wine collection
"Top mandarin Sir Jeremy Heywood, under fire for being ‘too busy’ to conduct a proper inquiry into the ‘Plebgate’ scandal, has had a lavish walk-in wine cellar built at his £2million home." – Mail on Sunday
And finally 2)… has Nick Clegg killed off the onesie?
"Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has admitted to owning a green onesie, the adult babygro beloved of Justin Bieber, One Direction’s Harry Styles and Tom Daley. … For one of the biggest, surprise hit trends of the past two years, this can only mean one thing – instant fashion extinction." – Henry Conway, Mail on Sunday
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