“A culture of political correctness has led to a blind eye being turned to widespread voting fraud in Muslim communities, a devastating government report reveals today. Ex-Cabinet minister Sir Eric Pickles lambasts the police, election watchdogs and town halls for ignoring evidence of electoral abuse because of ‘over-sensitivities about ethnicity and religion’.” – Daily Mail
“We like to boast that Britain is home to the “mother of Parliaments”, but this country’s democratic foundation is being systematically undermined, and further weakened by a reluctance to tackle the problem. The decision of the election court last year to disqualify the Mayor of Tower Hamlets for a litany of corruption and illegal practices should be a wake-up call.” – Daily Telegraph
“Theresa May has been urged to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty as soon as possible amid fears it could be reversed at a later date by pro-EU MPs… The warning to Mrs May to hurry up and get on with the process of exit negotiations comes amid concerns the two-year waiting period could be allowed to straddle a general election.” – Daily Express
Home Office:
Comment:
>Yesterday:
“Theresa May is being urged to pull the plug on the controversial Hinkley Point C project immediately, after new allegations of spying in the US by a consultant working for the Chinese co-investor in the planned nuclear plant. The new government is currently in the middle of a review of the £18.5bn Hinkley scheme following a final investment decision by the developers, EDF of France and its Beijing-based partner China General Nuclear Power (CGN).” – The Guardian
Foreign affairs:
Comment:
Editorial:
>Today: ToryDiary: Rebalancing the economy requires a new monetary policy
“Junior doctors are poised to mount further strikes after rejecting Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s proposed contract. Ministers had hoped to end the dispute over the changes by agreeing to a reformed contract with British Medical Association officials, but 58 per cent of the 37,000 junior doctors who took part in a ballot had rejected it.” – Daily Mail
More strikes:
Comment:
“Boris Johnson, who once described President Putin as a ruthless and manipulative tyrant, spoke with his Russian counterpart for the first time yesterday in a sign of Britain’s desire to rebuild its relationship with the country. In a phone call the foreign secretary and Sergei Lavrov “expressed hope for the normalisation of Russian-British ties”, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. Mr Lavrov and Mr Johnson also discussed the conflict in Syria.” – The Times (£)
Editorial:
“Official government figures claiming that nine out of ten households have access to superfast broadband are meaningless and flawed, a former business minister has claimed. Anna Soubry said that she became suspicious about the statistic, based on data from BT, after talking to people in the real world who struggled with slow internet speeds.” – Daily Mail
“The head of John Lewis is poised to be chosen as the Conservative candidate for mayor of Birmingham. Andy Street is in the running to be the official Tory candidate, according to two sources. The decision on whether he will be selected… for next year’s contest to be the first “metro mayor” for the area is expected before the Conservative Party conference in October. – The Times (£)
“Leading former figures in Militant have said that they want to rejoin Labour and form a new alliance if Jeremy Corbyn is re-elected as leader. Dave Nellist, the former MP expelled from Labour in 1991 due to his support for the hard-left 1980s faction, said that he hoped to return to the party but added: “Not the Labour it is now but the Labour I hope it will become if Jeremy is re-elected.”” – The Times (£)
More Labour:
“If Mr Corbyn sees off Owen Smith and is reconfirmed as leader of the Labour Party he will be appointed as its grim reaper. Things have fallen apart. The left cannot hold. It is not that the case for a new party in British politics has suddenly become good. It is that the case for all the other options is worse. – The Times (£)
Sketches: