“The European Commission (EC) will revise the VAT regime for tech start-ups after agreeing with David Cameron that they were punishing British entrepeneurs. The Prime Minister had lobbied Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the EC, over a new tax regime that came into force on January 1. It forces companies selling goods online to pay VAT in every country they trade in, rather than where the company is headquartered.” – Daily Telegraph
>Today:
“David Cameron yesterday declared his pride in having brought in free school meals for primary pupils – putting him at odds with his Education Secretary. Earlier this month, the Daily Mail revealed that Nicky Morgan had suggested getting rid of the £600million service as part of a spending review. Her department had drawn up plans to end universal free meals for four to seven year olds in an attempt to save money.” – Daily Mail
“Mr Cameron said the party’s vote share could rise from 37 per cent in May to 43 per cent at the next general election as people were put off by the Labour party’s lurch to the Left under Jeremy Corbyn. But the Prime Minister warned that this would only be possible if the Tories avoided adopting more right wing policies and instead occupied the centre ground of British politics.” – Daily Telegraph
“He has long been assumed to have Prime Ministerial ambitions, rising through the political ranks despite remaining vague about his exact intentions. But Boris Johnson’s interest in becoming leader of the Conservative Party has today been confirmed, by no less authority than his mother. Charlotte Johnson Wahl, an artist, said her son “is interested” in leadership, and would be “good” at the job.” – Daily Telegraph
“Buy-to-let borrowing has surged since the budget as George Osborne’s tax crackdown on landlords has failed to cool demand. Banks have driven down the cost of borrowing for landlords in the past month while increasing mortgage rates for first-time buyers. The figures will heighten fears that the rapid growth in buy-to-let is putting the economy at risk and that young people are being further priced out of homeownership.” – The Times (£)
“Unlocking brownfield land would require investment in London’s transport infrastructure, which is why the Chancellor’s encouraging words on Crossrail 2 are so welcome. And London needs greater powers. New York retains half the taxes it raises, while London holds on to just 7 per cent. We generate funds, hand them to government and then beg for some back. The capital needs to be given more responsibility to turn its strengths to the advantage of those who make it, and the UK, strong.” – Daily Telegraph
>Today: David Tomlinson in Local Government: The next Mayor of London faces a cut in the police budget of a third
“Jeremy Hunt has tried to avert a strike by NHS junior doctors by inviting their leader for talks over the threatened new contract that has sparked a grassroots revolt. The health secretary has responded to the British Medical Association’s decision at the weekend to ballot junior doctors in England about industrial action by seeking a meeting with Dr Johann Malawana, who has recently become chairman of the BMA’s junior doctors committee.” – The Guardian
>Today: Hugh Byrne in Comment: How junior doctors are making a mess of their case for more pay
“The big tent that is Corbynite new politics was graced on the Brighton fringe on Monday by no less than Robert Gascoyne–Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, grandest of former Tory cabinet ministers… He is now touring party conferences in equally dodgy company: Labour’s Peter Hain and John Denham. Their mission? To agitate for a constitutional convention to create a new Act of Union (possibly federalist) to prevent the UK falling apart in young David Cameron’s hands.” – The Guardian
“The Labour leader’s patriotism has come under fierce scrutiny in recent weeks after he refused to sing the national anthem at a Battle of Britain memorial, and suggested he would refuse to kneel before the Queen when he joins the Privy Council. Mr Corbyn also supports a united Ireland, wants to hand sovereignty of the Falklands to Argentina, and has given only muted support for Scotland remaining in the UK.” – Daily Mail
Comment:
“A split has emerged in the shadow cabinet over one of John McDonnell’s signature tax policies. The shadow chancellor and Jeremy Corbyn want to implement a financial transaction tax, which critics argue would damage the City of London.” – The Times (£)
Scotland:
Comment and Editorial:
Sketches:
>Yesterday:
“A hard-Left group has circulated a newsletter demanding action to ‘transform’ the party through a programme of ‘intimidation, constitutional changes and reselection’. The group, Labour Party Marxists, called for a concerted effort to pack constituency parties with hard-Left activists, and said the threat of expulsions of modernising MPs must be used to ‘subordinate the Parliamentary Labour Party to the wishes of the membership’.” – Daily Mail
Sketches:
“The Corbyn conundrum, as the new leader prepares to give his first conference speech today, is this: he must either betray the supporters who swept him to victory on a wave of left-wing idealism, or he must alienate the shadow cabinet he has crafted with such pragmatism to try and hold his party together. It’s an impossible choice because the positions of the two groups are utterly irreconcilable.” – The Times (£) >Yesterday: Paul Abbott’s column: Seven flaws in Labour’s machine