“Former Tory leader Michael Howard yesterday accused peers of trying to challenge the supremacy of the Commons amid signs that the Lords could inflict a historic defeat on ministers over tax credits today… Tory sources said they feared defeat over a Labour motion which ministers say would scotch £4.4billion of tax credit cuts. A group of 20 crossbench peers are expected to hold the balance of power in the vote which could provoke a constitutional crisis.” – Daily Mail
Comment:
>Today: Paul Abbott’s column: Hold your nerve and back the tax credit changes
>Yesterday: Video: WATCH: Morgan says there is no alternative to the tax credit cuts
“The problem the government has is that today’s debate will not be seen in the media as being about the constitution, but about tax-credit cuts… Tomorrow’s crisis is more clear-cut. The Labour party wants to delay individual registration of voters, which is a process designed to cut fraud, because that way the country can redraw constituency boundaries on a register that slightly favours them.” – The Times (£)
“Millions of job applications will now be processed on a ‘name blind’ basis to try to prevent discrimination, David Cameron will announce today. Recruiters in the NHS, councils, the civil service, the BBC and several other major corporations will not see the names of graduate applicants when filtering CVs.” – Daily Mail
“At the Conservative party conference two weeks ago, I spoke about a young black woman who had to put a more white-sounding name on her CV before she started getting called for interviews. Such racism in 21st-century Britain, I said, was a disgrace, and I committed our party to ending discrimination and finishing the fight for real equality. The audience rose to their feet. It was a significant moment.” – The Guardian
“Ministers want to raise levels of concern in capitals across Europe to boost David Cameron’s hand in his EU renegotiation. There are concerns that leaders in other EU countries do not believe Britain is serious about leaving and will therefore block Mr Cameron’s proposed reforms.” – Daily Mail
Comment:
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Amery has a passionate lesson for the EU referendum debate
“A Tory councillor has been identified as one of the organisers of the crowds of Chinese cheering on President Xi during his state visit. Pro-Tibet demonstrators condemned the role of Alex Yip liaising with police on behalf of China supporters, suggesting this indicated a lack of respect among Conservatives for human rights.” – The Times (£)
“It is not contemptible, first of all, for a society to treat its older generation well. That is a fine thing. And I am not sure that the legacy of the baby-boomers is really as poisonous as all that. Look at the Britain they have helped to create – a place that has been at peace for generations, and where everyone of every age has achieved a standard of living that was unimaginable 50 years ago.” – Daily Telegraph
“Labour could introduce a swingeing new ‘wealth tax’ on family assets to pay for higher benefits, John McDonnell revealed this morning. The hard-line Labour shadow chancellor attacked George Osborne’s plan to slash tax credits for low-paid workers and insisted the £4.4billion saved by the move could be found through higher taxes.” – Daily Mail
“Moderate Labour MPs who oppose Jeremy Corbyn’s hard-left policies should be purged from the Parliamentary party, Ken Livingstone said today. The former London mayor, who is a close ally of the new Labour leader, said the party needed to be ‘more in Mr Corbyn’s image’.” – Daily Mail
>Yesterday: Video: WATCH: Livingstone says MPs who defy Corbyn should face reselection
“Tom Watson intervened in four separate sexual abuse cases in letters to successive directors of public prosecutions, the Daily Telegraph has learnt. The Labour deputy leader contacted Alison Saunders, the head of the Crown Prosecution Service, and her predecessor Sir Keir Starmer, on five occasions about sexual abuse.” – Daily Telegraph
“Tony Blair was last night accused of a ‘cynical spin operation’ after offering a feeble half-apology for the Iraq War. Bereaved families and critics of the war said the former prime minister was ‘passing the buck’ after he offered a series of selective apologies for the conflict.” – Daily Mail
“Jeremy Corbyn could face a “stalking horse” leadership challenge if the Labour party fails to make headway in next May’s elections in Scotland, Wales and London. Simon Danczuk, MP for Rochdale, said he would try to oust Mr Corbyn to make way for a moderate alternative leader such as Chuka Umunna, Dan Jarvis or Emma Reynolds “to give us some chance of winning the next election”.” – Financial Times
“The Saudi ambassador to London has taken the unusual step of publicly denouncing the leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, accusing him of “breaching respect” by scuppering a trade deal with Riyadh. In an article for The Daily Telegraph on Monday, Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz Al Saud angrily defends his country against recent attacks on its human rights record.” – Daily Telegraph
Comment:
“The prospect of Scottish Labour backing the scrapping of Trident nuclear weapons was gathering momentum last night after it emerged that the trade union Unite is poised to come out against its renewal. Ahead of a knife-edge vote on the issue at this week’s Scottish Labour conference, anti-Trident party activists are doing their utmost to ensure maximum support from the trade unions.” – The Scotsman
Comment: