“The Prime Minister concluded a triumphant visit to Washington by paying tribute to the ‘special relationship’ between Britain and the US – and his personal connection to the man who calls him ‘Bro’. … In an interview with American TV, Mr Cameron paid tribute to the ‘very strong’ bond, adding: ‘Whether it was Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, or Churchill and Roosevelt, different relationships have been forged, but the underlying strength of this partnership is there for reasons of not just history, but of values’.” – Mail on Sunday
> Yesterday: ToryDiary – As Cameron talks better security in Washington, Clark plans more localism in Britain
“David Cameron clashed with the Pope yesterday by insisting people should be able to poke fun at religion. … The PM said living in a free society gives him the right to insult others — or be insulted. … He spoke out after Pope Francis warned those who mock other people’s faith should expect a ‘punch’, comparing it to insulting his mum.” – Sun on Sunday (£)
And comment:
“Ever since the birth defects caused by the morning sickness pill were first revealed more than 50 years ago, the British ‘thalidomiders’ have sought compensation from Grünenthal, the drug’s German manufacturer. … Now a string of letters from Mark Allen, one of an estimated 10,000 people who suffered deformities caused by the drug globally, has led Cameron to raise the issue with the German government.” – Sunday Times (£)
“The pledge by David Cameron to release his personal tax return before the general election has been ditched, George Osborne has signalled. … Downing Street said in 2012 that the prime minister was ‘relaxed’ and ‘happy’ about publishing details of his tax affairs and indicated that other senior ministers such as the chancellor, the home secretary Theresa May and the then foreign secretary William Hague would also embrace transparency. … In an interview with The Sunday Times, however, Osborne said there were now ‘no plans’ to do so because it would violate the principle of taxpayer confidentiality.” – Sunday Times (£)
“A year ago, a convivial dinner between Boris and the Whips would have been unimaginable. Downing Street was nervous about any attempt by the London Mayor to cosy up to Tory MPs, fearing a challenge to David Cameron’s authority. … But this invitation to dinner is evidence of a new, unspoken deal between Johnson and Downing Street. He will be supportive and campaign hard for Cameron. In exchange, it will allow him to cultivate Tory MPs, rectifying his biggest weakness ahead of any leadership contest.” – James Forsyth, Mail on Sunday
“The legal powers under which the police and security agencies access communications for intelligence or evidential purposes have become outdated; they were not designed for the current digital world. Increasing areas of digital communications are beyond the reach of law enforcement and they are being exploited by those who wish us ill and prey on the vulnerable. … It is imperative that the laws that govern this issue be brought up to date. If nothing is done, things will not stand still – they will get worse.” – Jonathan Evans, Sunday Telegraph
Sir Malcolm Rifkind speaks to the Sunday Telegraph:
Related news stories:
And further comment:
> Yesterday: Nicky Morgan MP on Comment – No Government has done more to tackle extremism in schools
“Victims of two of Britain’s most worrying miscarriages of justice of modern times are to take the Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, to court over changes to the law stopping them from receiving compensation for the 24 years they wrongly spent behind bars. … The legal challenge is seen as a test case for a new stricter regime to compensate the victims of miscarriages introduced last year.” – Independent on Sunday
“Plans by Theresa May to force health professionals to report cases of female genital mutilation to the police are unlikely to lower the extent of abuse and risk dissuading families from seeking medical help, according to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. … In a strongly worded intervention, the college has warned there is no “credible or conclusive” evidence that the move would better protect children.” – The Observer
“Liz Truss, the environment secretary, has called on food firms to put the Union Jack on their packaging as part of a renewed push to convince the public to ‘Buy British’. … In an interview with The Sunday Times, the minister said: ‘What I want to see is more British flags on our products, not just overseas but here in Britain, because we need to have the same pride in our country that’s evident elsewhere in the world. … I would love to see more prominent British branding on our products. I want British consumers to know when they’re buying high-quality British products.'” – Sunday Times (£)
“A leading Tory is pushing to give watchdogs the power to cut prices if retailers are not able to explain premiums at out-of-town pumps. … Treasury Select Committee member Mark Garnier wants to change the law after drivers in his Wyre Forest constituency were forced to pay 7p a litre more than in nearby Birmingham. … He argues that rural customers are being fleeced so companies can offer cheaper prices in cities where competition is more fierce.” – Sun on Sunday (£)
And comment:
“Efforts by David Cameron to parachute his former health secretary, Andrew Lansley, into a plum United Nations role have met with furious opposition from numerous of the world’s leading international disaster-relief organisations. … More than 80 of the world’s most important NGOs have signed a letter to the UN secretary general that implicitly criticises the appointment of a politician without long-standing experience of humanitarian crises to the role of emergency relief coordinator.” – The Observer
“A local council is in secret talks to sever all links from central government and become a flagship independent authority, under a radical devolution plan being discussed in Whitehall, it emerged yesterday. … Officials from Conservative-controlled Kingston upon Thames council in south-west London are talking to ministers about losing all their central grant money in return for greater control over business rates and, ultimately, the freedom to set council tax.” – Independent on Sunday
“A former Conservative party adviser and friend of David Cameron has launched a remarkable attack on the Conservative leader over his failure to defeat what he regards as the party’s racist attitude to immigration. Jamaica-born Derek Laud accuses the party of using ‘dog-whistle’ tactics to appeal to voters. … He says the attitude that allowed the approval of that ad ‘was essentially racist. [Cameron] knows it. We all know it.'” – Independent on Sunday
“Nick Clegg has condemned Tory spending plans and blasted illiteracy levels among British pupils a ‘national scandal’, confirming a dramatic collapse of relations within the coalition. … The Liberal Democrat leader turned his fire on David Cameron as he announced on Sunday that his party’s general election manifesto will commit to ending child illiteracy by 2025 and that he will protect the education budget from cuts.” – The Observer
And comment:
“The Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg is being ‘airbrushed’ from his party’s election campaign by his own MPs, research by the Tories reveals. … Clegg’s photograph was used in just 3% of Lib Dem election leaflets produced between May last year and this month, and he is mentioned by name in less than 2%. … Of 153 leaflets distributed in 45 constituencies, only five contained a picture of Clegg and just two named him.” – Sunday Times (£)
> Today: ToryDiary – An open letter to the Party Chairman: Let members approve any coalition deal
“Ed Miliband accused David Cameron of trying to ‘magic away’ families’ money problems, after the Prime Minister urged companies to pass on extra profits made from falling oil prices to their employees. … But the Labour leader says workers would be ‘choking on their cornflakes’ at this rhetoric – and warned the Tory’s only plan was to continue slashing state spending.” – Mail on Sunday
And comment:
“The Labour leader did not deny an explosive new report that they both urged Prime Minister Gordon Brown to call a snap Election in 2007 because ‘the economy was about to fall off a cliff’ and it was Labour’s only hope of holding on to power. … Chancellor George Osborne said the revelation ‘exposed the cynicism’ of Balls and Miliband, adding: ‘They were more interested in saving their own skins than saving the British economy.’ … The disclosure comes in a new book by Miliband’s former ally and friend Martin Winter, the ex-Labour Mayor of Doncaster, where Miliband is an MP.” – Mail on Sunday
And comment:
“A future Labour government would consider scrapping university tuition fees in the long term and replace them with a graduate tax, Liam Byrne, the party’s higher education spokesman, has said. ‘The system is unsustainable — university funding is falling off a cliff,’ Byrne told The Sunday Times. ‘We want to bring the cost down, but this has to be funded. The right long-term shift is a move to a graduate tax.'” – Sunday Times (£)
“Labour’s paymasters have trained up more than 100 activists to peddle propaganda to schoolkids. … Internal Unite documents reveal an army of brainwashers are ready for action — with more recruiting due in the coming months. … It is part of a plan by Unite’s firebrand boss Len McCluskey and hardline teaching unions to infiltrate every secondary school.” – Sun on Sunday (£)
“Labour supporters are being won over to Ukip because Nigel Farage strikes them as ‘more authentic’, one of the party’s senior MPs has warned. … Margaret Hodge, chair of the public accounts committee, said a “top-down agenda” meant Labour politicians were obsessed with staying on-message. … Speaking at the Fabian Society’s conference, the Barking MP also reportedly urged the leadership to talk more about the benefits of immigration.” – The Observer
“Obviously I am not an expert on each seat. But there’s a lot of information out there if you look for it. Sites such as PoliticalBetting.com and UKPollingReport are mines of useful statistics and opinion. Lord Ashcroft’s excellent constituency-based polls also provide useful data along with other local factors I have researched. … The one prediction I am 100 per cent confident in making is that the Liberal Democrats will lose more than half of their 57 seats. A year ago I thought they would end up with 30-35. In October I revised that to 28-30. Now I have them on 24.” – Iain Dale, Independent on Sunday
And election-related news:
“The future of Britain’s nuclear submarine fleet is set to become a major election issue this week amid concern that billions of pounds is being spent on a successor before parliament has approved an upgrade. … MPs will not vote on Trident’s replacement, the largest UK submarine project in a generation, until 2016. But a Ministry of Defence report, slipped out over Christmas, reveals that spending on the project’s ‘assessment phase’ is to increase by a further £261m this year.” – The Observer
“Calls to the non-emergency 111 number are up 46 per cent so far this year. … Operators told 526,520 people to go to casualty in the whole of 2013-14 — but have already given the same advice to 515,593 patients in just eight months of 2014-15. … While that is partly due to the rise in callers, the percentage of people sent to A&E is up from 7.5 to 7.9 per cent. … Dr Cliff Mann, of the College of Emergency Medicine, blames it for 95 per cent of the extra attendances at A&E.” – Sun on Sunday (£)
> Today: George Freeman MP on Comment – How technology will transform care and debate about our NHS
“There are times when one believes that one is going to die. That can be for weeks or even months. When and if you get through that period and if, as in my case, a new ventilation system is suddenly developed, you get better again. Perhaps you have a week, a month or, as in my case, you have another two years. … However, during the weary low period when everyone expects you are going to die, you could easily take advantage of an assisted dying exit.” – Baroness Campbell, Mail on Sunday
“David Cameron may get a tongue-lashing from wife Sam after setting out a novel way to boast about his economic record. … When Tory MPs told him at a private meeting it was important to campaign on other issues, he said: ‘No, when your wife asks what you want for supper, you must tell her – “I want steak please, darling, and don’t forget we can only afford it thanks to my wonderful long-term economic plan.”’ … He quietly added: ‘I hope Sam doesn’t hear I said that.’ Too late.” – the Black Dog column, Mail on Sunday
“Is it really racist to say: ‘Argh god no, no we don’t want any of you or your lot coming over here to live here Christ no thanks argh Jesus? Stay away stay away’? Actually when you put it like that it might be racist. Er. My press bloke is telling me to move on.” – Al Murray, speaking to the Indepedent on Sunday