“Emergency laws are now the only way to block a pay rise for MPs that is set to plunge Parliament into a new row with voters, David Cameron has been warned. .. All three party leaders have indicated that they are not in favour of a large increase … But they are powerless to head it off after handing sole power for setting MPs’ pay to the Commons expenses watchdog, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.” – The Times (£)
“A committee of senior MPs led by the Speaker has taken urgent legal advice over whether it could block a £10,000 pay rise for politicians” – Daily Telegraph
> Yesterday:
“Prime Minister David Cameron is deeply concerned that Libyan could quickly become a failed state and a haven for al-Qaeda sympathisers. … More than 2,000 Libyan infantrymen would be given lessons in basic soldiering skills to prevent militants securing a foothold in the war-ravaged country.” – Daily Mail
> Yesterday on the The Deep End: Afghanistan and Syria: actually, it’s not all about us
“All foreigners arriving in Britain will face a fee of up to thousands of pounds to pay for their healthcare. … The levy will be mandatory for everyone except tourists for any stay longer than six months in a new Government plan.” – The Sun
“In a statement to MPs, the Home Secretary will promise to restrict the use of controversial ‘sus’ laws. … Mrs May fears that, as well as devouring huge amounts of police time, overuse of the powers is harming community relations, with young black men seven times more likely to be targeted than whites.” – Daily Mail
“Travellers will be barred from settling on green belt land to prevent a re-run of battles such as the £7million eviction of the Dale Farm travellers. … Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has acted because his advice to councils to only allow green belt developments in ‘very special circumstances’ is not being followed. … He also took the axe to politically correct planning rules – which required councils to consider the ‘diversity’ of the area when allowing developments.” – Daily Mail
“Hard-up parents may avoid being clobbered by holiday firms’ hiked costs after all schools were given the power to set their own term dates. … A DfE spokesman said: ‘It is heads and teachers who know their parents and pupils best, not local authorities, so it’s right that all schools are free to set their own term dates in the interests of parents and pupils.'” – The Sun
> Yesterday on Local Government: All schools to be allowed to set school term dates
“Mark Carney’s tenure as Bank of England governor began yesterday with a triple dose of bleak economic news. … A sharp fall in business lending, huge job losses in the financial sector and record unemployment in the eurozone overshadowed encouraging mortgage and manufacturing figures.” – Daily Mail
> Yesterday, by Mark Field MP on Comment: Don’t expect miracles from the new man at the Bank. What’s most likely is more of the same.
“While economists have predicted that Mr Carney will push for a new round of stimulus, yesterday’s data pointed to improvements both in the housing market and in manufacturing that could complicate the debate on the Monetary Policy Committee.” – The Times (£)
“The cost-benefit analysis for the rail scheme assumes that faster trains will produce £21bn of economic benefits simply because passengers will spend less unproductive time. … Philip Rutnam, permanent secretary at the Department for Transport, admitted that the modelling was based on a survey that was now ‘a decade old’ – before the era of handheld devices.” – Financial Times
“A summit on payday loans broke up yesterday without any commitment on reining in crippling interest rates. … The new financial regulator said only that it would consider banning advertisements that target students or the unemployed. … Treasury Minister Sajid Javid said the takeover by the FCA would mark a ‘step change’ in the regulation of the industry.” – Daily Mail
“Boris Johnson has said he is willing to offer up the streets of London to companies hoping to solve Britain’s energy crisis by drilling for shale gas. … in a sign that he wanted to play a part in encouraging the advent of fracking in Britain, the London Mayor said that energy companies ‘should leave no stone unturned, or unfracked” in his city.” – The Times (£)
“Lord Deben, chairman of the committee on climate change, wrote to Ed Davey, energy secretary, on Monday saying that failed efforts to toughen EU-wide climate targets were not a reason to change UK goals. … This is unlikely to be accepted by some ministers, who think they make the UK uncompetitive.” –Financial Times
“…the Tory myth has taken hold: Labour squandered vast sums on wasteful programmes that didn’t work. Benefits were ‘thrown at’ the idle instead of changing lives. All this is refuted by a wealth of statistics from Professors John Hills and Ruth Lupton and others in their reports on health, education and inequality.” – Polly Toynbee, The Guardian
“For the keen-eyed, there are already some flashes of the eurosceptic party that Labour might become. Supporters of a referendum are thought to include senior party figures such as Ed Balls, shadow chancellor, and Jon Cruddas, the MP overseeing a policy review for Mr Miliband.” – Janan Ganesh, Financial Times
“Labour’s paymaster Unite – the union provides a fifth of its donations – is threatening to sue Ed Miliband and Co over the selection of a new candidate for Falkirk. … Unite leader Len McCluskey wants a union candidate in his place but thinks they’re being blocked from taking part.” – Ephraim Hardcastle column,Daily Mail
“The ‘Curse of Cameron’ struck yet again yesterday as Laura Robson crashed out of Wimbledon – hours after the Prime Minister sent her a message of support. … The trend began when he was opposition leader and reached its peak last summer, when he watched Andy Murray lose in the final at Wimbledon and followed that up with string of visits to Olympic events at which our medal hopes lost.” – Daily Mail
“Sometimes I think that Mirren woman makes more out of playing the Queen than one does out of being the Queen. Philip says I’m in the wrong job. Should have been an actress. He fancies her, you know.” – Richard Littlejohn, Daily Mail