“David Cameron’s ‘thin gruel’ EU referendum deal has been watered down even further, according to documents leaked last night… Eurosceptics said the changes reassert the ‘powers of the institutions of the European Union’, water down so-called protections for the City and make it more difficult for the UK to trigger its ‘emergency brake’ on migrant benefit claims.” – Daily Mail
Party:
Campaign:
“Having been humiliated by his paltry requests being further watered down, the prime minister has merely demonstrated just how powerless within the EU Britain actually is. Now he has made the absurd threat that Brexit would prompt the migrant squatter camp in Calais to decamp to Britain. This not only suggests that an independent UK would be unable to make any bilateral treaties with other countries, but that its own border controls would collapse.” – The Times (£)
>Today: Iain Dale’s column: The case for Davis leading the Leave campaign
>Yesterday:
“Until now the Cabinet Office rather than Treasury worked alongside Downing Street on communication strategy. Senior Tory figures fear the move will enable Mr Osborne to promote pet projects, such as the Northern Powerhouse, at the expense of existing campaigns, including those overseen by leadership rivals.” – The Times (£)
“Migrants will be scooped up by Nato warships in the Aegean Sea and taken back to Turkey, Michael Fallon said last night. In a dramatic escalation of the response to the crisis, the Defence Secretary said migrants rescued as they make the treacherous journey to Europe will be returned.” – Daily Mail
Comment:
“Home Secretary Theresa May has offered the Metropolitan Police Commissioner a contract extension of just one year rather than the three years which were available. Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe will now face a further review of his contract next year amid a growing scandal over Operation Midland, a murder probe into the several high profile public figures triggered by a single witness.” – Daily Mail
Comment:
>Yesterday: Nick Gibb MP in Comment: Maths must be a priority for every school and child
“Junior doctors are calling for guerrilla war including mass resignations and indefinite strikes after the health secretary said that the government would impose a new contract on them. The British Medical Association said that it would consider “all options open to us” and a full walk-out from accident and emergency departments will be back on the table as the union accused ministers of picking a “political fight” with NHS staff.” – The Times (£)
Comment:
>Today: Jeremy Hunt MP in Comment: The junior doctors contract. We need reform, however difficult it may be, if the NHS is to be even better
“The disaster-prone boss of HM Revenue & Customs admitted she was not a ‘tax expert’ during the stormy session. MPs reacted with incredulity when Dame Lin Homer, chief executive of HMRC for the past four years, said she would not consider herself a ‘deep expert’ on tax. She made the comments when asked how many tax experts work at the HMRC.” – Daily Mail
Sketches:
“Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn has rebuked the Labour leader over Trident with a warning no one wants to live in a world where only North Korea has nuclear weapons . Amid a fierce row over plans to renew the Trident nuclear deterrent, Mr Benn said the weapon system had been ‘successful’.” – Daily Mail
“Nicola Sturgeon has rejected a Treasury offer worth £4.5 billion of English income tax over the next decade to break the deadlock over transferring Scotland’s new powers. The First Minister claimed the proposal was not new or “serious” and did not satisfy the key recommendation by the Smith Commission, which drew up the powers package, that Scotland should suffer “no detriment”.” – Daily Telegraph
“It was the election in which almost four million people backed Ukip but it won only one seat, prompting Nigel Farage to call for voting reform and leading to an outcry among supporters. However, it can now be revealed that staff bungling, infighting among officials and rows between candidates played just as big a role in the party’s failure to convert popularity into more than the single seat of Clacton, where Douglas Carswell ploughs a solitary furrow as Ukip’s sole representative in the House of Commons.” – Daily Telegraph
“David Cameron was last night urged to introduce a fully legalised market for cannabis in Britain in moves that could raise £1 billion in tax. Lib Dem chief Tim Farron called on the PM to “rediscover his backbone” and press on with widespread drug reform.” – The Sun