Newslinks for Monday 6th October 2014

Lib Dems 1) Clegg makes higher taxes a red line for new Coalition

‘Nick Clegg yesterday said the Government must raise taxes for the better off as he rounded on Tory plans to clear the deficit by cutting welfare and public spending. Setting out his red lines for any future coalition deal with the Tories, Mr Clegg accused David Cameron and George Osborne of ‘beating up on the poor’ and said he would insist on a raft of new taxes to help pay off the deficit.’ – Daily Mail

A lot of demands for a man polling on 6 per cent – Daily Mail Leader
Carping naysayers – Daily Telegraph Leader
Resist the temptation to insult your partners – The Times Leader (£)
How voters learned never to trust Nick Clegg – Dominic Lawson, Daily Mail

>Today: ToryDiary: Clegg got lucky in 2010 – a 2015 coalition negotiation will be a much tougher business

Lib Dems 2) An EU referendum might be on the table – for a price

‘A 2017 popular vote on Britain’s membership of the EU is more likely than ever, with senior Liberal Democrats having told the Financial Times they are willing to give up their opposition to a referendum if the party were to enter into coalition talks with the Conservative party next year. Lib Dem ministers and officials have told the FT they believe the Conservatives will refuse to negotiate on holding an EU vote two years after the next election They are drawing up plans to demand a heavy price in return.’ – FT

But they won’t drop support for the ECHR – The Sun (£)
Cable admits green taxes harm Britain – Daily Mail
The EU’s mad rules endanger our bees – Matt Ridley, The Times (£)

Lib Dems 3) Collapse in support among first-time voters

‘First-time voters are shunning the Liberal Democrats, according to aTimes data analysis that shows the scale of the long-term challenge facing the party. Using electoral roll data and the latest polls, the Times Data Team projects that the party will have about 84,000 first-time voters in the general election next year, down from 414,500 in 2010.’ – The Times (£)

Tumbleweed rolls, the saloon door swings in the breeze – Quentin Letts, Daily Mail
Seven mad Lib Dem policies – Daily Telegraph

Cameron: We’d cut taxes before balancing the budget

‘Tax cuts promised by the Conservatives would be introduced in within three years of winning the next election, David Cameron has said. Speaking in Afghanistan where he is visiting troops, the prime minister said a Tory government would begin raising the levels at which workers pay both the basic and 40p tax rates before 2018, the point at which the party aims to have balanced the national budget.’ – FT

>Today: Nadhim Zahawi MP’s column: Why our message is now getting through

Health charities launch demands for more NHS cash

‘The NHS is facing a funding crisis that has left it at “breaking point”, an influential coalition of doctors, nurses and medical charities has warned. They said that health service was “buckling under the twin crises of rising demand and flat-lining budgets” which threatens its very “founding principles”.’ – The Times (£)

Labour’s extra £2.5bn won’t appear until 2017 – Daily Mail
This bidding war is a fraud – John McTernan, The Times (£)
The Queen would be made to pay the mansion tax – The Times (£)
Official guidance to spy on your parents’ carers – The Times (£)

>Today: Dr Robin Cordell on Comment: The Conservatives are best for the NHS – and care passionately about it

Boris: Use public sector pensions for a Citizens’ Wealth Fund

‘We will need to spend £100 billion in the next 10 years on power stations, if we are going to keep the lights on. If we pooled our pension fund assets, and created a Citizens’ Wealth Fund, we would be able to get those schemes going – from new roads to new tunnels to hundreds of thousands of new homes for sale or rent (to say nothing of the new four-runway hub airport we need). And these investments would be attractive, because typically they would have a much higher yield.’ – Boris Johnson, Daily Telegraph

Clegg’s Garden City plan – The Sun (£)

Prescott joins Miliband’s critics

‘Ed Miliband’s ‘complacent’ leadership is under assault from senior figures in his own party after a poll suggested the Conservatives have extended a new lead over Labour. Former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott, normally a fierce loyalist, condemned Mr Miliband for pursuing a ‘core vote strategy of getting 31 per cent of traditional Labour supporters with a few ex-Lib Dem voters’.’ – Daily Mail

MPs urge Alan Johnson to challenge “tragic” Labour leader – Daily Telegraph
Ed will follow France’s example and destroy the economy – Trevor Kavanagh, The Sun (£)
Labour could split – The Independent Leader
RMT leader plots a new party of the left – The Independent

>Today: Cllr Nick Paget-Brown on Local Government: Mansion tax? Additional Death Grab more like

Villepin: Do what it takes to destroy ISIS

‘We have to do what it takes to achieve what we wish, the elimination of Islamist violence, a source of barbaric crimes. Not only by stopping Isis but also by destroying its political roots. This means choosing efficiency over ideology. Neither blind pacifism, nor warmongering, will do. We can be led to use force, with clear and limited objectives..but the core strategy remains political.’ – Dominique de Villepin, FT

We must not rule out ground troops – The Sun (£)
End this evil – Daily Express Leader
General Lord Richards: We need more troops – The Sun (£)
Britain can’t afford to shrink the armed forces – Daily Telegraph Leader
We’re at war whether we like it or not – The Times Leader (£)
Two British ISIS fighters returned to Syria by Turkey – Daily Mail

May seeks to roll Fraud Office into National Crime Agency

‘Theresa May is to revive plans to abolish the UK’s main anti-fraud and corruption agency and bring it into her new FBI-style national crime force, according to officials familiar with the situation. The home secretary has tried before to roll the Serious Fraud Office into the larger National Crime Agency but was forced to retreat three years ago after resistance from Conservative cabinet colleagues including Dominic Grieve, the former attorney-general, and Ken Clarke, who was justice secretary at the time.’ – FT

The City grows at fastest rate since 2007

‘Business in the financial services sector is growing at its fastest pace since before the recession, a survey has found. In a study commissioned by the CBI, the employer’s group, and PwC, the professional services company, estimates of the past three months’ sales were reported to be close to levels last seen in 2007.’ – FT

London tech start-ups draw record investment – FT
The capital is the biggest draw for international job-seekers – FT
The Left offers an ‘alternative’ to growth – Zoe Williams, The Guardian

>Today: Lord Flight’s column: Regulation – the collectivist wolf in sheep’s clothing

>Yesterday: Joe Storey on Comment: Save the Bankers!

Hong Kong protests continue

‘Tens of thousands of people, many of them students, have poured into the city’s streets in the past week to peacefully protest China’s restrictions on the election for the city’s top leader. But the area has been witness to violent clashes between pro-democracy student protesters and their antagonists over the weekend.’ – Daily Mail

’50 per cent chance’ of Ebola arriving in the UK shortly

‘The deadly ebola virus has a 50 per cent chance of reaching Britain within three weeks, experts predict. The disease is spreading rapidly across West Africa, with more than 3,400 people known to have died and 7,500 infected.’ – Daily Mail

News in brief

No more politics as usual – Douglas Carswell, Daily Telegraph
Jules Bianchi seriously injured in F1 crash – Daily Mail
British man imprisoned in Morocco for being gay – The Times (£)
There’s nothing wrong with looking your age, says Mary Beard – Daily Mail
Uber’s plan to cut a million cars from the capital – City AM
Tesco brings in new directors after troubled few months – FT
McCanns’ Twitter abuser found dead after being named – The Times (£)
Fight for press freedom against police snooping – The Sun Says (£)