10pm ToryDiary: J Alfred Prufrock MP considers British military intervention in Syria
6.15 WATCH: Cameron returns to Downing Street
5pm ToryDiary: "This is the forming up of troops for the General Election battle. Getting good soldiers is important – next their lines of communication must be established, and an effective strategy for their use must be developed." The Number 10 operation is beefed up by two wise choices
4.45pm ToryDiary: What are junior Ministers for?
2.15pm MPsETC: Parliament to sit on Thursday to debate Syria
12.45pm LeftWatch: Gove praises union members but attacks union leaders
11am MPsETC: 70 MPs sign up to call for Parliamentary debate before war is declared in Syria
ToryDiary: Is there anyone left who still supports HS2? "The Victorians were good at engineering not just because they built big
things and built them well – they built things which were necessary."
Columnist Stephen Tall asks: Do you want to be in power? The new politics demands a Tory alliance with UKIP or the Lib Dems
Comment: Robert Halfon MP says: We must intervene in Syria – the arguments against doing so do not stack up "What has the result of this cultivation of Assad been? No modernisation,
but a Syrian-Iran axis funding Hamas, funding Hezbollah and
destabilising the Middle East. A delayed intervention, allowing even
more bloodshed in Syria, with a death toll over the past few years of
around 100,000 and approximately 1,300 killed in the recent chemical
attacks.."
Local Government: Cllr Philippa Roe says Welfare Reform is fair
The Deep End: What is it like to be recognised everywhere you go? You’re about to find out
MPs demand recall of Parliament over Syria…
"MPs were last night demanding a binding vote over plans to launch missile strikes on Syria without the backing of the United Nations. The Prime Minister is expected to announce that Parliament will be recalled this week to debate plans by Britain, France and the United States to launch strikes against Syria in retaliation for last week’s barbaric chemical weapons attack. Sources said David Cameron was ‘likely’ to give way to demands from Tory MPs, Lib Dems and Labour to allow the Commons to have a ‘say’ on the crisis before any attack is launched." – Daily Mail
> Yesterday:
…as well as clear legal guidance…
"David Cameron is facing demands to set out the legal justification for military action against Syria amid mounting unease over the scale and speed of Britain’s commitment to another conflict in the Middle East…Michael Caplan, an international lawyer, told BBC Radio 4’s World at One that ministers could find themselves in a “controversial situation”. “The difficulty here is there’s no threat as I understand it to the security of this country or the United States and therefore on what basis can we intervene?” he asked." – Daily Telegraph
…as Blair backs a military strike…
"Tony Blair has thrown his support behind a military strike on the Syrian regime to punish it for what the US last night called the “moral obscenity” of the gas attack that killed hundreds…With David Cameron set to recall Parliament to discuss Britain’s participation in the US-led action, Mr Blair said that, after Iraq and Afghanistan, he understood the “impulse to stay clear of the turmoil” in the Middle East. “But we have, collectively, to understand the consequences of wringing our hands instead of putting them to work,” he writes in The Times today. Without action, he claims, Syria will become “mired in carnage” and a “breeding ground for extremism”. – The Times (£)
…and Cameron cuts short his holiday
"David Cameron will consider a recall of Parliament when he returns to No 10 later to deal with the crisis in Syria. He has cut short a holiday in Cornwall to co-ordinate a response to what the UK and US believe was a chemical weapons attack by the Syrian regime." – BBC
A round up of other comment on Syria
Tory MPs express doubts on fracking
"George Hollingbery, a parliamentary private secretary to Theresa May, the Home Secretary, has warned that he will be “manning the barricades” if there is any danger posed to water supplies by shale gas exploration. Mr Hollingbery, the MP for Meon Valley in Hampshire, warned that gas fracking could be “disastrous” in his county because of the area’s fragile water supply." – Daily Telegraph
> Yesterday: Priti Patel's latest column: The Government must hold firm against anti-fracking extremists
Gove says Miliband is weaker than Kinnock..
"Ed Miliband’s failure to take on Labour’s union paymasters has left him looking ‘weaker than Neil Kinnock’, Michael Gove will warn today. In an attack on the Labour leader’s record, the Education Secretary will accuse him of letting powerful union barons drag the party back to the 1970s. Mr Gove – who has repeatedly clashed with teaching unions over radical school reforms – warns that the issue facing Mr Miliband is similar to that faced by Lord Kinnock in the 1980s when the hard-left Militant group was trying to take over the Labour Party." – Daily Mail
…but Jackie Ashley says Miliband could still win
"Watching Mo Farah's brilliant re-run of his Olympic victory in the 10,000 metres at this year's World Championships, I felt uneasy at the way he hung at the back for the first few laps…Ed Miliband, a master of self-deprecation, would be the first to admit that he's no Mo Farah. But perhaps he shouldn't be making his supporters this nervous. With the right tactics and determination, he could still win gold in 2015, so long as he doesn't hold back for too long." – Jackie Ashley The Guardian
Esther McVey and Nadhim Zahawi tipped for promotion
"Esther McVey, a former GMTV presenter and junior minister at the Department for Work and Pensions, is likely to be promoted to more prominent Government role by David Cameron, the Daily Telegraph understands. According to Whitehall sources Downing Street “just love putting a northern woman up on television to speak for the government”… Nadhim Zahawi, the Tory MP for Stratford-on-Avon, is also believed to be heading for a ministerial post. Mr Zahawi is seen as a reliable media performer who can both defend the Government and successfully attack Labour." – Daily Telegraph
Nicola Blackwood calls for tougher restrictions on child sex offenders
"Nicola Blackwood MP is tabling an amendment to a bill to create Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Orders, similar to anti-social behaviour orders. The Home Office said that it would consider the campaign's proposals." – BBC
Institute of Directors comes out against HS2
"A leading business lobby group has called on the government to abandon its controversial high-speed rail project. The Institute of Directors (IoD) said a survey of its members showed businesses were unconvinced by the economic case for HS2. The IoD's director general, Simon Walker, described the project as "one grand folly"." – BBC
£2 billion paid in holiday taxes
"Brits have been forced to shell out £2BILLION to the taxman for taking holidays this year — or £56 EACH per trip. The jumbo sum flowing into Treasury coffers came after the Government covertly hiked a series of taxes on travel and relaxation. Holidaymakers were hardest hit by a rise in Air Passenger Duty, increases in VAT and insurance taxes…The figures — compiled by the TaxPayers’ Alliance — will grate on Brits facing a return to work today." The Sun (£)
News in brief
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