6.30pm LISTEN: Nick Clegg accuses the BBC over Jimmy Savile
4pm Prof. Philip Booth on Comment: Higher education for profit, it's time to move forward
3.15pm Local government: Council byelection results from yesterday
2.30pm ToryDiary: The split on welfare spending is now official — should the Tories do more to distinguish their fiscal plans from the Coalition’s?
1pm Local government:
12.30pm WATCH: "The Nobel Peace for 2012 is to be awarded to the European Union…"
10.45am MPsETC: Martin Callanan MEP: Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to the EU is "downright out of touch"
ToryDiary: Andrew Mitchell faces increasing hostility from five directions
Columnist Stephan Shakespeare: By historical standards, Labour's opinion poll lead is quite modest
Robert Halfon MP on Comment: Now we must build on this White Van Conservatism
An EXCLUSIVE on Majority: How Conservatives plan to win in the battleground seats
John Bald on Local Government: We need to Get Britain Reading – not just London
The Deep End: Heresy of the week: Sorry, but there were no good leader’s speeches this year
WATCH: All of last night's Vice-Presidential debate
David Cameron announces plans to commemorate the centenary of World War One
"Children from every state secondary school will travel to the First World War battlefields as part of a £50million package of events to mark the centenary of the Great War. … David Cameron yesterday pledged a ‘truly national commemoration’ in 2014 to remember the start of the ‘war to end all wars’. … The Prime Minister said Britain had a duty to ‘honour those who served, remember those who died and ensure the lessons learnt live with us forever’." – Daily Mail
Mr Cameron's personal ratings rise after his Birmingham speech – Sun
> Yesterday:
Maternity leave to be "shared" by fathers under new Coalition plans
"Fathers will be able to take time off work and claim state benefits throughout the majority of the first year of their baby’s life if the mother returns to employment. … The Daily Telegraph can disclose that the introduction of the joint allowance will be delayed until October 2015, following a Cabinet disagreement over the impact of the scheme on hard-pressed businesses." – Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph calls on Andrew Mitchell to resign
"The problem is not simply that the Chief Whip is now a laughing stock, the inevitable subject of mockery at Prime Minister’s Questions. It is that he is a walking, talking embodiment of everything with which David Cameron would least like his party to be associated. … If he stays, Mr Mitchell can do little good, and much damage. For the sake of his party, he should do the decent thing and stand down." – Daily Telegraph editorial
> Today on ToryDiary: Andrew Mitchell faces increasing hostility from five directions
Further opposition from local government over the Coalition's home extension plans
"In a huge blow to the Coalition’s flagship housing policy, the Local Government Association said councils would not implement the plans. … The LGA’s intervention sets the stage for a clash between town hall chiefs and Eric Pickles. The Communities Secretary has warned that homeowners could sue councils that refuse to follow the new guidance on extensions. Ministers have said however that it will be up to each council as to whether to cooperate." - Daily Mail
> Yesterday on Local Government: Pickles says unions shouldn't just pay for their own staff but also for collecting their subs
Ministers planning to build "dozens" of gas power stations to burb rising energy prices
"The Times can reveal that the Government wants to sidestep climate change targets in an effort to stem soaring electricity prices. In an exclusive interview, Ed Davey, the Energy Secretary, said that he wanted to introduce a loophole which would allow new fossil fuel plants to be built." – The Times (£)
Justine Greening receives personal apology over the West Coast Main Line fiasco
"Philip Rutnam, the Permanent Secretary [at the Department for Transport], took the unusual step of apologising in person and writing a subsequent e-mail in which he expressed regret that officials had not unearthed the errors in the franchise process earlier." – The Times (£)
A group of business chiefs has written to the Daily Telegraph to back George Osborne's "Rights for Shares" plan – Daily Telegraph
Ken Clarke is going to become a "roving trade envoy" — and help sell NHS expertise to China - Financial Times (£)
IDS poised to clash with the Lib Dems over a tax break for married couples…
"The Work and Pensions Secretary wants George Osborne to make the change in next year’s Budget to show the Government is serious about promoting marriage. … He is said to have warned David Cameron the public will dismiss the idea – a key Tory manifesto pledge – as tokenism if its introduction is delayed any longer." – Daily Mail
…And with Europe over benefits for migrants
"The Work and Pensions Secretary said last month that it would cost taxpayers £155 million a year if the UK was forced to get rid of the 'habitual resident test'. … The test makes sure that foreigners have genuinely lived and paid taxes in the country before they can claim welfare payments. … His department has been holding talks with the European Commission for months in an effort to find a solution, but sources said on Thursday that Brussels was preparing to sue Britain by the end of this year unless the test is scrapped." – Daily Telegraph
The government asked Jordan to consider pardoning Abu Qatada, to speed up deportation bid
"James Brokenshire, the Security Minister, asked Jordanian ministers if the radical cleric could be pardoned if he was sent there from the UK. Even when told that this was not possible, the Home Office had a 'Plan B' to research when the King of Jordan could issue such a pardon, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission was told." – The Times (£)
Ministers likely to ban another "legal high"
"A new ‘legal high’ is hitting Britain’s streets every week, drug experts warned last night – as they called for the ban of another danger drug. … The Government’s drug advisory body urged ministers to outlaw a substance sold as ‘Annihiliation’ which is available legally on Britain’s streets. … Ministers are thought likely to accept the recommendation and order a ban within weeks." – Daily Mail
The Guardian profiles Owen Paterson
"Paterson is Shropshire born-and-bred. The arrival of a true countryman – who derides 'metropolitan smartypants' and says 'we have to manage the countryside' – at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) might have been expected to please many of those who care about the environment. In what some may call a display of his 'good, old-fashioned, Shropshire common sense', he is said to have forbidden Defra officials from using the phrase 'ecosystem services', a jargon phrase for the benefits bestowed by the natural world." – Guardian
The government is considering recruiting a "part-time army of civilian spies" at GCHQ – Daily Telegraph
Over 45,000 pupils are to resit GCSE examinations next month, after the summer's grade row - Daily Mail
The Economist: The Tory Party's tribes are a "bad sign" for David Cameron
"The Tory tribes are particularly vivid and noisy these days. Public disagreement between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats at the heart of the coalition government, as well as a widespread belief among Tory MPs that Lib Dems are steering the ship, has made dissent seem more acceptable. … The tribal gatherings are outlets for energy that, in past Conservative administrations, was channelled into government business." – The Economist
Amber Rudd on the Boris Effect
"At his speech that evening the audience was slightly different than usual. What was it? Oh yes, many more women. Recently the Conservative Party conference has begun to attract more women, but they are still substantially outnumbered. Except at Boris events." – Amber Rudd, Daily Telegraph
> From Yesterday: Watch The Mission ImBorisable video that was used to introduce the Mayor of London at ConHome's Monday night rally
Nick Clegg is gifted an iPod to mark his appearance in the charts last month — from Bono – Sun
The chairman of the Financial Services Authority laments the "fool's paradise" that persisted before the crash
"In a withering assessment of the FSA’s own failings, he admitted the regulator had allowed a set of ‘bad rules’ to remain in place and had shown ‘severe deficiencies’." – Daily Mail
Gus O'Donnell tells the FT that the government should consider reintroducing limits on borrowing by individuals – Financial Times (£)
Christine Lagarde adivses that, when it comes to fiscal consoldiation, "It is sometimes better to have a bit more time" – Daily Mail
Despite the Olympics, tourist numbers actually fell to their lowest level since 2003 – Daily Mail
Baby boomers cost the NHS £825 million a year with alsohol-related problems — more than any other age group – Daily Mail
Con Coughlin: The BAE affair shows just how much we need America – Con Coughlin, Daily Telegraph
And finally… The honours are shared, more or less, in last night's Vice Presidential deabte
"CNN calls victory for Paul Ryan, saying in a post-debate poll that the Republican candidate earned 48 per cent of the vote from debate watchers. … In turn, Vice President Joe Biden was awarded 44 per cent, but anchor Wolf Blitzer was quick to point out that the numbers meant that it was an effectual draw given that the poll comes within the margin of error." - Daily Mail
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