“Mr Duncan Smith claimed the corporation had run five negative stories this week alone about sickness and disability benefits, and ‘ignored’ a major announcement on an extension of his flagship new universal credit. ‘Who is the biggest opponent of welfare reform? Not a weak Labour Party, but the relentlessly negative BBC,’ he said. ‘This government is fixing the broken and bloated welfare system left behind by Labour – a system which trapped the very people it was designed to help into cycles of worklessness and welfare dependency.’” – Daily Mail
“Sir Michael Wilshaw, head of watchdog Ofsted, believes too many are still clinging on to poor teaching methods which are a “throwback to the 1960s and 1970s”, such as “informal learning”. He also attacked a lack of academic rigour, a neglect of basic literacy and numeracy and a resistance to exams and “meaningful” qualifications. Sir Michael warned that nearly one in five is not up to scratch and many others are in a “constant battle to avoid slipping backwards”.” – Daily Express
“The chancellor will announce plans to channel investment over many years into improving transport and science across a region made up of traditionally rival cities, but whose combined population of 9m is similar to that of the capital. Mr Osborne’s vision, to be set out in the coming weeks, is an attempt to build Conservative appeal outside the party’s southern heartlands and to show the Tories have plans for the north beyond building the HS2 high-speed rail line from London to Manchester and Leeds.” – Financial Times
“Ministers are in talks with mobile phone operators about asking them to share mobile phone masts to increase coverage in rural areas. Sajid Javid, the Culture, Media and Sport secretary, wants mobile phone firms to introduce national roaming for users in the UK. The policy is being driven by changes in the European Union which will bring in free roaming from 2016. Unless action is taken this could mean foreign visitors will be able to come to the UK and benefit from free roaming – when people living in the UK cannot.” – Daily Telegraph
Britain is heading for the exit. Something seriously impressive has to be achieved to change our course. David Cameron does not want us to leave; he did not anticipate the likelihood when he promised a referendum; he has still not reached that conclusion. But I have and I’ll tell you why. The warning was best expressed by Professor Vernon Bogdanor at an “In or Out” symposium I recently attended on the costs and benefits of exit. The constitutional expert’s words were chilling: “Don’t imagine that Mr Cameron can pull off Harold Wilson’s trick a second time.”” – The Times (£)
>Yesterday: James Davis on Comment – Tory Euroceptics are harming their own cause
“Councils are to be banned from using CCTV cameras and “spy cars” to enforce parking restrictions in an effort to stop “over-zealous” enforcement, ministers will announce today. Drivers will be encouraged to appeal against more parking tickets, with the introduction of a 25 per cent discount for those who try to overturn a fine but fail. Ministers are trying to ease the policing of parking, as they believe it often makes driving to shops too difficult and forces people to go out of town or online. Hundreds of thousands of drivers are caught by cameras each year.” – Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday: Local Government – Pickles denounces attempt to prevent parish councillors talking to the press
“A Conservative MP has been forced to apologise after he said he would punch a female journalist in the throat and suggested she should be deported. Michael Fabricant, the former Tory vice chairman, wrote on Twitter that he could never have a debate with commentator Yasmin Alibhai-Brown as he would violently lose his temper. He tweeted: ‘I could never appear on a discussion prog with @y-alibhai I would either end up with a brain haemorrhage or by punching her in the throat.’”– Daily Mail
>Yesterday: Watch – That Fabricant/Alibhai-Brown rumpus
“Labour and the Conservatives face structural decline unless they grasp the potential of the fast growing minority vote, according to an authoritative new analysis. A study of demographic patterns, polling data and statistics from the recent European elections indicates that the so-called superdiversity emerging in towns and cities will have a massive impact on future results.” – The Guardian
“Anna Yearley, the Labour leader’s political secretary, was accused of bullying a more junior worker. Three sources with knowledge of the leader’s office allege that Ms Yearley treated Gemma Tumelty, the stakeholder relations manager, who joined last summer, poorly. Ms Tumelty, 33, a former president of the National Union of Students who was widely liked by other party figures, left about a month ago after the relationship with Ms Yearley deteriorated, sources said.” – The Times (£)
“Ed Miliband is to be told by Labour frontbenchers that he will have to resign as leader if he loses the general election next year, as they move to prevent him following the example of Neil Kinnock by leading the party to two consecutive defeats. Amid increasing concern that the Labour leader is failing to connect with voters, MPs across the party are saying Labour would need a fresh start if Miliband were defeated. “Ed really cannot stay on if he loses – that really would not work,” one frontbencher said. “He has to go if we lose,” said another.” – The Guardian
Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls was yesterday slapped with a court summons for allegedly hitting a car and driving off. The MP is said to have damaged the parked Peugeot 306 when he left Labour Party offices. Mr Balls, 47, claims he did not realise what had happened until he was contacted by cops. Prosecutors authorised West Yorkshire Police to summon him to court.” – The Sun (£)
“The Passport Office has been accused of “profiting from the public’s hardship” by charging a £13 surplus on applications as tens of thousands of people face delays. Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Commons home affairs committee, said officials should use the surplus to tackle the crisis disrupting holiday plans by employing more staff.” – Daily Telegraph
“Former home secretary David Blunkett is to stand down from Parliament at the next general election, he has announced. Mr Blunkett said it was clear that Ed Miliband would want “new faces in ministerial office and a clear break with the past” if Labour won next year’s election as he informed his Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough constituents of his decision.” – Independent
“This assault on Mr Blair resembles what happens in dictatorships after a coup. The actions of the previous regime are treated as criminal. The ex-leaders are tried, maimed and shamed. That is not how a free country should behave. When Britain went to war in March 2003, it did so after extensive media and parliamentary debates which Mr Blair never shirked. The invasion was endorsed by votes in the House of Commons, supported by most of Labour and most Conservatives. Any legislator who later says he was hoodwinked into voting the way he did is only making himself look ridiculous.” – Daily Telegraph
“Nick Clegg has expressed concern that the Government’s plans to promote “British values” in schools could alienate moderate Muslims. The Deputy Prime Minister has written to the Muslim Council of Britain in an attempt to reassure it about the move, which followed allegations that a “Muslim agenda” was being introduced in some schools in Birmingham.” – Independent
“Nick Clegg is being urged by colleagues to forego his usual holiday in Spain and volunteer for a ‘summer of pain’ doing ordinary jobs outside Westminster. With the Liberal Democrats fearing wipeout at next year’s general election, and the Deputy Prime Minister’s personal ratings through the floor, senior party figures are drawing up a radical plan for him to reconnect with ‘real people’. It is based on former leader Paddy Ashdown’s decision in 1993 to spend several months outside the ‘Westminster bubble’, which was credited with boosting his popularity.” – Daily Mail
“The research shows that today’s young tend to want to spend less on welfare, favour reduced government spending and lower taxes. Not because they don’t care about those in need, but more probably because their attitudes include a suspicion of collectivism, a greater scepticism towards the state and more faith in themselves as individuals to get things done.” – Vicky Spratt, Daily Telegraph