“Amid genuine fears in Berlin that Britain may be on a trajectory towards exit, the German chancellor is expected to say that Britain benefits from its membership of the EU. But Merkel is also expected to say that the EU benefits from Britain’s open approach to trade and markets. Her visit, which has many of the trappings of a state visit rarely offered to a head of government, contrasts with the low key reception for the French president, François Hollande, at the Anglo-French summit last month at RAF Brize Norton.” – The Guardian
Yesterday: Christopher Howarth on Comment: Cameron needs to look beyond Germany to win Merkel’s support
“The Conservatives could tighten the law on strike ballots if they win the next election. Downing Street said the issue was “on the table” after Prime Minister David Cameron told MPs he wanted to see fewer “unnecessary” strikes. Mayor of London Boris Johnson has called for strikes to be illegal unless at least 50% of staff in a workplace participate in a ballot.” – BBC
Yesterday:ToryDiary: Andrew Gimson’s PMQ sketch: Miliband has abandoned the economic field
“The first minister has given the government until Thursday night to respond to the crisis over secret letters sent to more than 180 Irish republican paramilitary suspects. Peter Robinson has also asked for the NI Assembly to be recalled on Friday. Mr Robinson held talks with Secretary of State Theresa Villiers at Hillsborough Castle on Wednesday night. Earlier, Mr Robinson had threatened to resign unless a judicial inquiry into the so-called “On The Runs” was held.” – BBC
“The scandal-hit Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust is to be broken up after appalling care led to hundreds of deaths. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told MPs local people ‘suffered too much for too long under a system which ignored appalling failures of care in their local hospital’. He said the time had come to plans to dissolve the trust and move key services to neighbouring hospitals.” – Daily Mail
“The fiancée of Lee Rigby said his murderers yesterday got exactly what they had demanded as they hacked him to death — an eye for an eye. Aimee West, 23 — speaking after Michael Adebolajo was jailed for a whole-life term and Michael Adebowale got at least 45 years — added: “I don’t want them out in my lifetime or Lee’s son’s lifetime. While they were standing over Lee’s body, they were harping on about a life for a life, an eye for an eye. Now it’s their turn.” – The Sun(£)
“Half of Brits believe taxes on wine and spirits are too high, a new poll has revealed. And 80 per cent say there should be NO more increases at all. Campaigners say the findings pile pressure on George Osborne to freeze duties at their current rate in next month’s Budget. Figures show that 79 per cent of the price of a bottle of spirits is tax. For bottles of wine, the level is 57 per cent.” – The Sun(£)
Yesterday: David Skelton on Comment: If we Tories are the real workers’ party, we’ll cut tax on bingo
“Couples would be able to legally agree the terms of a divorce before they marry, under a new law being put forward by the Law Commission. The current law allows married couples and civil partners to make agreements, but courts do not always uphold them. The new suggestion would mean that any pre- or post-nuptial agreements would be seen as legally enforceable.” – BBC
“Plans to tear up the official definition of child poverty will be put on ice today following a Government row. Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith proposed that factors such as family breakdown and debt should be included in a new measure of children’s life chances. But senior colleagues are understood to have warned that the move would leave the Government open to charges of deliberately changing the goalposts in an attempt to mask the alleged impact of its austerity policies. Lib Dem sources insisted they had been prepared to back the plan – but claimed it had been blocked by Chancellor George Osborne.” – Daily Mail
“Using the main measure set by the last Labour Government child poverty is down by 300,000 since 2010. But we are not satisfied with measuring our achievement simply by how many children are moved from one side of an arbitrary line to the other. For far too long, a fixation on relative income led the last government to chase an ever elusive poverty target, spending unprecedented amounts on benefits and almost £170 billion on tax credits as they tried to move poor families over the line. But it did not deal with the difficult issues.” – Iain Duncan Smith and George Osborne The Guardian
“In 2011, Nick Clegg offered to pay employers to take on 160,000 18 to 24 year-olds as part of a £1billion package. But figures slipped out on Tuesday revealing that only TEN THOUSAND posts had so far been filled. Lottie Dexter, head of the Million Jobs Campaign, said: “It’s disappointing not to see a root and branch review of youth unemployment. The Government’s wage incentive scheme is clearly not working. There can be no more excuses. Wage subsidy schemes, like the Youth Contract, will not solve our deep rooted unemployment crisis.” – The Sun(£)
“Mr Gove said the heir to the throne, who must stay above party politics, was someone who ‘captures this best and understands it instinctively’. ‘It’s a Conservative instinct for example for property rights which safeguard the environment better than a bureaucratic or collectivist approach’, Mr Gove said. ‘It is celebrating those people who live and work in the natural environment like our farmers which is central to making sure the environment is stewarded carefully, rather than always in a default mode looking to bureaucrats or quangos to celebrate what is beautiful.’ Addressing the inaugural meeting of the Conservative Environment Network, a group of Tory MPs calling for a ‘decentralised’ approach to the environment.” – Daily Mail
“Grammar schools plan to admit more poor pupils, it was revealed yesterday. They are aiming to take a higher proportion of students who are eligible for free school meals by changing admissions policies. Over-subscribed schools could give preference to FSM pupils who pass the 11-plus test, just as children in care are currently given priority.” – Daily Mail
“According to archives held at Hull University, in December 1975 Keith Hose, chairman of PIE, wrote to Patricia Hewitt, then general secretary of NCCL and later a Labour health secretary, asking her to consider PIE’s views in its policy on ages of consent. The letter was on PIE notepaper which features a logo of two bare-legged children sitting on a rock. Hewitt wrote back saying: “We have found your evidence … most helpful and I think it has certainly been taken into account by the people preparing our evidence.” – The Guardian
“Becoming a Member of Parliament is onerous and expensive. A survey of 37 Tory candidates carried out by the ConservativeHome website a few years ago found the cost for successful candidates averaged £41,550. Costs included the amount spent on going to selection meetings all over the country in the hope of being adopted. Many never get past that stage. Those who do face a whole lot more accommodation and travel costs if they don’t live in or near the constituency where they’re selected.” Tim Montgomerie The Times(£)
Today: Majority: Tim Montgomerie and Stephen Shakespeare: Welcome to The Good Right
“The signs are mounting that the Western powers are beginning to understand that they have a choice. They can get rid of Assad, or they can fight al-Qaeda. But they can’t do both. That option was never really there.” – Peter Oborne Daily Telegraph