“David Cameron last night indicated British involvement in air strikes against jihadists in Syria and Iraq could begin within weeks. … As senior Tories said there was ‘overwhelming’ support for the UK to join military action, the Prime Minister spoke publicly for the first time about striking Islamist targets in Syria without President Assad’s consent. … He also signalled that British attacks on Islamic State forces, which have seized large swathes of Iraq, could come as soon as the country agrees a new government. … But in talks with the Prime Minister at the Nato summit in Newport, south Wales, officials said President Barack Obama made no specific request for the UK to join strikes.” – Daily Mail
And comment:
> Yesterday:
“Nato leaders cautiously welcomed an apparent breakthrough in the five-month Ukrainian conflict after the country’s president, Petro Poroshenko, and one of the leading pro-Russia separatist leaders agreed to order a ceasefire on Friday. … But Poroshenko, who expressed cautious optimism about the truce, caught Nato officials off-guard with the disclosure that, while Nato was not arming Ukraine, at least one country, which he did not name, was providing Kiev with high-precision weapons.” – The Guardian
And comment:
“David Cameron has said ’emphatically’ that he will not resign if Scotland votes to leave the union this month, amid signs that Westminster and the City are starting to take seriously the prospect of a Yes vote. … Mr Cameron, who is unpopular north of the border, is anxious not to give Scots another reason to vote Yes. He said: ‘It is very important for people in Scotland to realise the consequence of their vote is purely and simply about Scotland and its place in the United Kingdom.'” – Financial Times
And comment:
“David Cameron could face a leadership challenge from his own backbenches if Scotland votes in favour of independence, as Tory rebels blame him for presiding over the break-up of the Union. … The Independent understands that discussions have already taken place among Tory MPs considering standing a candidate against the Prime Minister if the Yes campaign is triumphant on 18 September. … ‘The move will take place immediately,’ said one senior Tory MP. ‘David Cameron will be unable to contain the anger at the humiliation. His position will be terminal.'” – The Independent
> Today: Iain Dale’s column – Why we may have entered the last two weeks of Cameron’s premiership
“During a walk-about on Glasgow’s Buchanan Street, which saw Mr Salmond and Ms Sturgeon mobbed by Yes supporters, the First Minister was asked if he would resign in the event of a No vote. … ‘No,’ the First Minister answered during a lively event, staged to mark the 10th anniversary of the duo taking over at the top of the SNP after the resignation of John Swinney.” – The Scotsman
“Anne Main, Conservative MP for St Albans, said stamp duty ‘discriminates’ against the South and is a ‘burdensome tax affecting that most British of ideals – home ownership’. … Dominic Raab, Tory MP for Esher and Walton, described stamp duty as a ‘vindictive stealth tax on aspirational Britain’ and an ‘assault by the taxman on hard-working, middle-income savers’. … But Treasury minister David Gauke rejected calls for reform, saying the duty raises almost £10billion a year and ‘we need the money’.” – Daily Mail
“All-male shortlists and selection panels for senior UK civil service jobs will be banned in all but exceptional circumstances under plans to increase the number of females in Whitehall’s top ranks. … Sir Jeremy Heywood, Britain’s top civil servant, and Francis Maude, Cabinet Office minister, will say in a joint statement on Friday that, while this is almost double the proportion of senior women at most FTSE 100 companies, Whitehall ‘can and should be better’.” – Financial Times
And comment:
“Ministry of Defence plans to reform the army by cutting the number of regular soldiers and replacing the lost capacity with reservists were badly thought out, formed without proper consultation and risk creating ‘capability gaps’, says a parliamentary report. … Responding to the report, Mr Hammond, now foreign secretary, said: ‘The chief of the general staff and I are confident that we will reach our target of 30,000 trained army reservists by 2018-19.'” – Financial Times
“It may have won £250,000 and one of the world’s most prestigious awards, but a plan to build 3.5 million new homes by allowing 40 towns and cities to double in size has been almost immediately trashed by the Government. … the Housing minister, Brandon Lewis, has now condemned the scheme as ‘urban sprawl’ that would build nothing other than ‘resentment’ among local people and has said the Government would have nothing to do with it.” – The Independent
> Today: Local Government – Housing associations achieve fall in the number of empty homes
> Yesterday: Lord Wolfson on Think Tanks – The prize-winning ideas for building the homes that Britain needs
“The mayor of Calais launched a tirade on Thursday against the UK government, accusing it of ignoring the growing problem of migrants in Europe and renewing her threats to blockade the port – if necessary, with a human shield of local residents. … Natacha Bouchart said the population of Calais had suffered ‘for 12 years because of the rules of the UK government’ on migration, which she said were too lenient and gave migrants the idea that the UK was an El Dorado of employment opportunities and benefits.” – Financial Times
“Commons Speaker John Bercow was facing further questions over his authority today after his own staff allegedly railed against him in an expletive-ridden phone call to a Tory MP. … Leading rebel Michael Fabricant revealed today that he had been egged on by Mr Bercow’s own Parliamentary staff. … He told the Spector magazine: ‘I have had so many messages of support from junior employees of the House saying go for it, the Speaker is a c***.’” – Daily Mail
> Today: Terry Barnes on Comment – Carol Mills is a decent person who has been left by the Speaker in an impossible person
> Yesterday: Profile – John Bercow, one of the best Speakers of modern times, but also by far the rudest
“A US-style open primary will be used to select the Conservative candidate for the Clacton byelection as the party takes on Ukip defector Douglas Carswell. … The party confirmed it would hold a public meeting on Thursday 11 September at which residents will be able to vote for their preferred candidate from a shortlist of four selected by the local association. … In the face of opinion polls suggesting Carswell will become Ukip’s first elected MP, the Tories are encouraging anyone to apply to contest the seat, not just members of the party.” – The Guardian
And UKIP-related comment:
> Yesterday: MPsETC – Open primaries, caucuses and one cheer in Clacton
“Michael Gove embarked on a charm offensive on his own MPs yesterday in an effort to prevent further defections to Ukip. … The Tory chief whip took Mark Reckless for a private lunch in the Strangers’ Dining Room in the House of Commons. The Tory the MP for Rochester and Strood is one of the closest friends of Douglas Carswell, who last week announced that he was jumping ship to Ukip and triggering a by-election in his Clacton constituency. … Mr Gove’s willingness to try to mollify the serial rebel is a sign of just how concerned the Conservatives are about the prospect of further defections.” – The Times (£)
And comment:
> Today:
> Yesterday: Andrew Marshall on Comment – There is a breaking-point for the pro-EU Tory Left as well as for the Tory Right
“Boris Johnson faces a serious fight for the safe Tory seat of Uxbridge from a high flying local, The Sun can reveal. … Tory sources said Councillor David Simmonds has made the shortlist for the constituency’s Conservative candidate alongside the London Mayor. … Former bank manager Mr Simmonds, 38, has risen through the party ranks to become deputy leader of Hillingdon Council. … He has a lot of support from local Tories, who had planned for years for him to be retiring Tory grandee Sir John Randall’s successor.” – The Sun (£)
“Experts questioned the wisdom yesterday of plans being considered by the Conservatives to force all schools to teach children separately in ability groups or classes. … Evidence on the benefits of dividing pupils into ‘sets’ is inconclusive but educationists said that such classroom practice should be left to teachers. … Controversy over compulsory setting threatened to damage efforts by Nicky Morgan, the education secretary, to be seen to listen to the teaching profession.” – The Times (£)
And comment:
“Nick Clegg is facing a rebellion by grassroots Liberal Democrats who are demanding that he pledges to abolish the so-called bedroom tax. … Activists have tabled a motion for the party’s Glasgow conference next month attacking the Coalition’s policy on welfare and demanding a new approach in the Lib Dem manifesto at next year’s general election. … That could pave the way for a Lib Dem manifesto pledge to abolish the bedroom tax – as Labour has already promised.” – The Independent
“David Lammy, the former Labour minister who was praised for his response to the London riots in 2011, which started in his Tottenham constituency, has announced that he is to seek the Labour nomination for London mayor in 2016. … The former universities minister, who grew up near Broadwater Farm in Tottenham, north London, said he would place affordable housing at the heart of his campaign, with a pledge to introduce a “comprehensive programme” of rent controls. … Tessa Jowell, Sadiq Khan, Margaret Hodge and Diane Abbott are also seen as possible candidates for the Labour nomination.” – The Guardian
“A generation of young graduates are stuck in low-paid jobs such as working as baristas in coffee shops, the Trades Union Congress leader warned yesterday. … Frances O’Grady voiced fears about the ‘generational pay gap’ between older workers and their children and grandchildren. … She said it was ‘clearly’ wrong to suggest older people were over-paid, but ‘it doesn’t look like a very bright future’ for a generation of young workers trapped in dead-end jobs.” – Daily Mail
And comment:
“The Green party will on Friday call for the minimum wage to be raised to £10 an hour within the next parliament, in a move that appears to be aimed at stealing support from Labour. … On the first day of its annual conference in Birmingham, Natalie Bennett, the party leader, will call for the minimum wage of £6.31 to be immediately raised to the level of the living wage, which is £7.65 for everywhere except London, where it is £8.80.” – The Guardian
“Delays in restarting four key nuclear power stations after a safety shutdown could bring an electricity crisis this winter … The shutdowns have dangerously narrowed the gap between demand and the amount which National Grid can supply to homes and businesses. … The squeeze is now likely to step up the regime where major energy users, such as factories, are paid millions to shut down in peak evening periods.” – Daily Mail
“Mario Draghi startled markets on Thursday cutting interest rates to a record low and pledging to buy hundreds of billions of euros of private sector bonds in a dramatic move to save the eurozone from economic stagnation. … The euro fell to its lowest level in over a year – in the currency’s largest one-day decline since late 2011 at the height of the eurozone crisis – after what amounts to the European Central Bank’s last resort short of full-scale quantitative easing.” – Financial Times
“Pupils at a Welsh primary school were today left stunned when Barack Obama and David Cameron walked into their classroom. … Mr Obama greeted the smiling youngsters of Mount Pleasant Primary School in Welsh by saying ‘bore da’ – ‘good morning’. He then listened to a welcome message, thanking him for being the first serving US president to visit Wales. … In a slightly confused tone of voice, he added: ‘I think he wants to sell ice cream or something.'” – Daily Mail
“Nick Clegg has been taken to task over his free school meal policy by a caller claiming to be a nine-year old boy, who told the deputy prime minister the results were not very impressive. … The caller was so eloquent that some questioned whether Clegg had been stitched up by a political opponent pretending to be a child.” – The Guardian
> Yesterday: WATCH – Clegg gets grilled by a 9-year-old over free school meals…
“There are, Boris Johnson argued in a speech last night, two cities which qualify as the high point of western civilisation. One is Athens in the fifth century BC, under the great statesman Pericles: the other is London in the 21st century under, though he was (unusually) too modest to say so, its great mayor Boris Johnson.” – The Times (£)