‘The Treasury raked in £3.4billion in inheritance tax last year, up £1billion since 2009. Most of the money came from levies imposed on transfers of wealth when people died. It comes amid a growing political row about the taxes which should be levied on people when they die. David Cameron is under pressure to deliver on his pre-election promise to increase the level when inheritance tax kicks in.’ – Daily Mail
>Today: ToryDiary: Before promising tax cuts, repeat after me: The deficit hasn’t gone away
>Yesterday: The Deep End: The future of tax-cutting conservatism could be decided in Kansas
‘The number of households being forced to pay higher rates of stamp duty has more than doubled in the past decade, according to new figures. The boom in property prices means that a quarter of homebuyers are paying stamp duty of 3 per cent or more, up from just one in 10 in 2003.’ – Daily Telegraph
‘High levels of immigration will undermine living standards by putting huge pressure on schools, housing, hospitals and water supplies in the UK, an economist warns in in a report published today. Bob Rowthorn, a Cambridge economist, says that while the projected rise in population in this century will increase overall GDP, the rise in GDP per capita will be only marginally effected.’ – The Times (£)
>Yesterday: Graeme Archer’s column: The stranger at my shoulder
‘More than 1,000 convicts who are considered a risk to the public and should be behind bars are unlawfully walking Britain’s streets – including 21 killers and 15 rapists. The shocking figure emerged in a blizzard of reports from the Ministry of Justice which critics said showed a justice system in ‘crisis’.’ – Daily Mail
‘Leading doctors say Labour would put patients ‘at great risk’ through its plans to restrict the number of private firms running NHS services. In a letter to the Daily Mail, the senior medics say services could worsen if the Health Service is not able to make use of the best providers. They say shadow health secretary Andy Burnham was ‘misguided’ this week. – Daily Mail
‘David Ross, co-founder of Carphone Warehouse, had been backed by Michael Gove when he was Education Secretary. But his successor Nicky Morgan has announced that David Hoare will become chairman of the schools watchdog in September.’ – Daily Mail
>Today: The Deep End: Heresy of the week: ‘Teaching to the test’ is a good thing
>Yesterday: Local Government: Bromley Council scuppers free school
‘Nearly a third of Conservative voters would prefer their party to form a coalition with Nigel Farage’s party rather than any other, according to a survey. The figure of 30% support for a coalition with Ukip compares with 31% who would favour a continuation of the current partnership with Liberal Democrats in the event of a hung parliament in 2015.’ – The Guardian
‘Coastal towns are to receive more than £8million to help create nearly 1,400 jobs and repair storm damage. Communities minister Penny Mordaunt made the announcement just 24 hours after a fire devastated Eastbourne Pier.’ – The Sun (£)
‘With exquisite hypocrisy, ex-BBC Director General Greg Dyke complains about the Prime Minister interfering in the appointment of the Corporation’s next chairman…Indeed, Mr Cameron’s mistake is not exerting more political influence over the BBC, whose institutional Left-wing bias has recently been strengthened still further by the appointment to its top echelons of an ex-Labour Minister, a former adviser to Harriet Harman and a deputy editor of the Guardian!’ – Daily Mail Leader
‘The Big Society Network, a charity launched by the prime minister, yesterday hit back at what it called “unsubstantiated claims” that it used political pressure to secure funding from the government…“There have been unsubstantiated claims that the Social Network Foundation and the Big Society Network (its subsidiary) used political pressure to secure awards of funding and that money has been misused,” it said.’ – The Times (£)
‘Germany’s relationship with Russia has become distinctly chilly after President Putin “misled” Angela Merkel, bringing their frequent telephone conversations grinding to a halt. After speaking several times a week for months, the two leaders have not spoken for 12 days, during which time Mrs Merkel has finally thrown her weight behind sanctions.’ – The Times (£)
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Western weakness caused this crisis in the East
‘The cost of rebuilding Afghanistan has surpassed the vast sums spent putting Europe back on its feet after the Second World War…American taxpayers have provided £61.5 billion since 2002 and Britain about £890 million, for hundreds of development projects. The military operation has cost America a further £296 billion and Britain £22 billion.’ – The Times (£)