2pm ConHomeUSA: Focusing on Hurricane Irene
Martin Sewell on Comment: The human rights problem lies with legal culture rather than legislation
Local government: How council housing failed
Lib Dems want a land tax on ‘rich’… and most Tory voters agree with them
"The Liberal Democrats are planning a new land tax in addition to their mansion tax. The proposal is aimed primarily at wealthy landowners, property magnates and foreign millionaires, but is also likely to hit middle class landowners with just a few acres. Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader and deputy prime minister, is among senior party figures in favour of shifting the tax system to extract more from those benefiting from unearned income." – The Sunday Times (£)
Tim Montgomerie: "Without specifying a particular tax instrument I have argued that Conservatives should rebalance the tax system so that – without increasing the overall tax burden – we tax wealth more and income less. A poll for YouGov finds that 63% of all voters support a mansions tax and just 27% oppose. Even 56% of Tories support such a tax with 38% opposed. If the question YouGov asked was reframed so that a wealth tax funded, for example, lower petrol taxes I predict very significant public and Tory support."
Osborne ups rhetoric on tax evaders, likening them to "leeches" and says Coalition is doing more than Labour to stop them
"Tax evasion is morally repugnant. It's stealing from law-abiding people who face higher taxes to make good the lost revenue. Those who evade taxes, like benefit cheats, are leeches on society. And my message to those who try to hide their incomes from the Revenue in offshore bank accounts and false declarations is simple: we will find you and your money." – The Chancellor writing in The Observer
Department of Health may introduce introduce a mandatory obligation on abortion clinics to offer women access to independent counselling
"The proposed change comes ahead of a Commons vote, due to take place next week, on amendments to a public health Bill put forward by Nadine Dorries, a backbench Conservative MP. The amendments would prevent private organisations which carry out terminations — such as Marie Stopes and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (Bpas) — from offering pre-abortion counselling. Women would instead be offered free access to independent counsellors." – The Sunday Telegraph
Most Conservative party members oppose David Cameron's flagship proposals to relax planning laws and build the High Speed 2 rail link – The Sunday Telegraph
Minister for cities Greg Clark asks eight core cities to make a bid to have control of their transport policy – Observer
Gove's educational revolution underway as first wave of 'free' schools open next month
"One school stresses the importance of yoga, a second insists its pupils learn Latin, and five different faith groups will get the chance to run their own state-financed schools, the Government has decided. Welcome to the brave new world of Secretary of State of Education Michael Gove's flagship "free" schools – 24 of which will be opening their doors for the first time at the start of the new term next month." – Independent on Sunday
The campaign in Libya demonstrates that Nato cannot afford to reduce its military capability any further – Sunday Telegraph leader
What Libya says about Cameron
"Cameron’s achievement in Libya will not cement the public’s image of him definitively, as, say, the Falklands did its perception of Thatcher as the Iron Lady, or as Iraq branded Blair as an absentee adventurer and congenital liar. Its impact, I think, will be subliminal: a hazy sense that this Prime Minister might, after all, be rather competent, good at fixing things, brave but not bombastic. And it is precisely this impression – however vague, however numinous – that must flourish if Cameron is to win the next election with a decent majority." – Matthew d'Ancona in The Sunday Telegraph
> Yesterday's ToryDiary: David Cameron has rescued and redefined the principle of overseas intervention
"My grandfather lost all his material possessions when he was forced to leave Libya. But at least he was able to get away and rebuild his life here – unlike the Libyan people who have been oppressed for so long. Hopefully, their suffering is now coming to an end." – Robert Halfon MP in the Mail on Sunday
A behind the secenes deal between energy companies and the Ministry of Defence enables more windfarms to be built - The Sunday Telegraph
Senior party figures warn Cameron against rapid promotion of new women MPs – Mail on Sunday
…and Mail on Sunday confuses Liz Truss and Anna Soubry…
New "controls" on immigration may be easily evaded – Alasdair Palmer in The Sunday Telegraph
Cost of new EU petrol pumps regulation could be £80 million – Mail on Sunday
Union-funded anti-Clegg campaigns hurt Liberal Democrats in May's elections
The Sunday Telegraph has seen an internal Lib Dem report that seeks to explain this year's election results.
The Prime Minister understands better than his deputy that voters want to hear impossible promises – John Rentoul in the Independent on Sunday
Labour plans to portray Cameron as 'recognisably rightwing' leader
"The two-and-half-page paper written by the MP Shaun Woodward, a former Tory frontbencher and now head of Labour's anti-Tory attack unit, and circulated among senior Labour officials, lays bare the areas where the opposition now believes Cameron is vulnerable. It asserts that the government's recent rhetoric and policy offer a chance to frame Cameron as a traditional Tory prime minister, arguing that there is clear evidence that the party has "moved rapidly rightwards" in response to major events." – Observer
Miliband demands law changes to stop Murdoch reviving BSkyB bid before 2015 – Mail on Sunday | BBC
Fewer pupils are studying British history, particularly in state schools – Tristram Hunt MP in The Observer
Tom Harris MP offered cash for Scottish Labour leadership bid – Scotland on Sunday
IPPR: People on the dole for more than a year should be forced to take a job at the minimum wage – or lose their benefits – Sunday Express
Third of police make NO arrests – The Sunday Times (£) reports research from Policy Exchange's Blair Gibbs "that in Derbyshire 49% of sworn officers, or 1,023 out of 2,075, made no arrests. By contrast, in West Yorkshire only 35% of the force made no arrests."
Inquiry into Iraq will clear Army of systematic torture – BBC
And finally… The Soviet secret services deny that they ever targeted Cameron – Mail on Sunday
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