“A minister who claimed Britain’s first nuclear power station for 20 years would save consumers money had to perform a U-turn yesterday. … Ed Davey had suggested the new generators – paid for by levies on household bills for 35 years – would help consumers in the long run. … But within hours he conceded it would be ‘absurd’ to guarantee any savings from the deal.” – Daily Mail
Comment:
> Yesterday on ToryDiary: Nuclear power: the Government plumps for trying to keep the lights on
“The Department for Energy and Climate Change said that Britain would need to build more than 30,000 onshore wind turbines to produce the same amount of energy … [Michael Fallon] told The Daily Telegraph: ‘Without new nuclear local people would face many thousands more wind farms blighting our landscape. By contrast, nuclear power is popular in areas that have existing stations and will deliver significant jobs and investment.'” – Daily Telegraph
“A £300m biomass plant in Avonmouth, a £400m gas storage facility in Northern Ireland and a large wind farm in Scotland are among 15 infrastructure projects lined up for a potential government guarantee. … The full list, to be announced on Tuesday, will be held up by the Treasury as proof that George Osborne’s ‘UK Guarantee’ scheme is smoothing the path for energy, road and rail projects.” – Financial Times
“David Cameron and Nick Clegg held ‘tense’ face-to-face talks yesterday over the Liberal Democrat leader’s controversial U-turn on free schools. … Mr Clegg said on Sunday he no longer supported some of the freedoms exercised by free school heads.” – Daily Mail
“Tory sources said Clegg was unapologetic but that the Liberal Democrat briefing to the weekend papers had been stronger, and had greater impact, than Clegg and his communications team had intended.” – The Guardian
“…friends of Mr Laws dismissed as ‘total rubbish’ claims that he had been contradicted by his leader, while senior Lib Dem sources launched a withering counter-attack, saying that David Cameron and Mr Gove had failed to keep pace with the junior partner’s official policy.” – The Times (£)
> Yesterday, by Philip Booth on Comment: Are teachers qualified to teach? Is Nick Clegg qualified to call himself a liberal?
“Nick Clegg has signalled that the Liberal Democrats would repeal free television licences and winter fuel payments for the better-off elderly. … Those ideas would form part of the Lib Dems’ manifesto at the general election, he said. … His remarks are in stark contrast to those he made last week following suggestions that the Government should treat wealthier pensioners less generously.” – Daily Mail
“Despite the blue rosette on [Cameron’s] lapel, many Tories regard him as an apostate … More than enough words have been written challenging the beliefs and tactics of the Tory right; it is now more pressing to highlight that, in a year and a half, they could be the power in the land. A narrow Cameron victory in 2015 would see to that. And yet he must strive to win all the same.” – Janan Ganesh, Financial Times
“[Three police officers] issued a partial apology for their conduct following a meeting with Mr Mitchell at the height of the ‘Plebgate’ row last year. … But they pointedly did not apologise to the former Government chief whip himself. … Former shadow home secretary David Davis said: ‘After bringing down a Cabinet minister, a half-apology won’t do. These people are guilty of a serious misconduct.’” – Daily Mail
“The controversial ‘Go home or face arrest’ poster vans targeted at illegal immigrants are to be axed because they have been ineffective. … Sources close to Home Secretary Theresa May said she had examined the evidence for continuing the Government’s billboard campaign which resulted in the voluntary repatriation of just one person.” – Daily Mail
> Yesterday, by columnist Priti Patel MP: We should be proud of the tough new measures in the Immigration Bill
“Foreign visitors and short-term migrants cost the NHS £2billion a year, an official report warns today. … However Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt hopes to recover up to £500million a year, arguing Britain cannot afford an ‘international health service’. … Mr Hunt said: ‘Having a universal health service free at the point of use rightly makes us the envy of the world, but we must make sure the system is fair to the hardworking British taxpayers who fund it.’” – Daily Mail
“Arab and Western foreign ministers are to meet Syrian opposition officials in London in an effort to persuade them to attend the next round of peace talks. … A key group in Syria’s main opposition alliance is threatening to boycott the talks, expected next month in Geneva.” – BBC
“Convicted hackers could be signed up to a new government cyber unit despite their criminal past, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond admitted. … He said convictions will be acknowledged but for candidates that get past the vetting process, ‘I can’t rule it out’.” – Daily Mail
“Mr Greenspan, 87, who ran the Fed from 1987 to 2006, said he was surprised the economy was managing to grow at all given the scale of cuts planned by the Chancellor. … ‘What Britain has done with its austerity programme has worked much better than I thought it would,’ he said.” – Daily Mail
“First, [Cameron] should reverse his decision to attend the summit. In doing so he would make clear to the Sri Lankan authorities the extent of Britain’s concern about human rights. If he does this then, as the opposition, Labour will support him.” – Douglas Alexander, The Guardian
“A group of MPs are fighting to save their dinner, hotel and taxi expenses amid fears they will be curbed in an unreasonable way by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa). … The House of Commons standards committee mounted a defence of the current arrangements after the expenses watchdog said MPs received reimbursement for some costs that they would not normally get in other professional jobs.” – The Guardian
“The Co-operative Group is to lose overall control of its banking arm amid a funding struggle, Sky sources have confirmed. … The Co-op will be left with only a 30% stake in the bank, according to Sky News City Editor Mark Kleinman.” – Sky News
> Yesterday on LeftWatch: Co-Op Bank, the generous lender which props up the Labour Party, goes into meltdown
“Civil servants have been instructed to ditch their emails for some old-fashioned face-to-face communication, after officials found their inboxes were ‘bombarded’ with unnecessary messages. … Cabinet Office officials have been told to stretch their legs and directly speak to colleagues while any online messages between internal workers have been outlawed on ‘no email Thursday’.” – Daily Mail
“The fastest route to parliamentary success is via a television studio, according to Gyles Brandreth, the former MP and broadcaster, who has applauded the rise of the “autocutie” in the recent Cabinet reshuffle. … Mr Brandreth hailed three daytime television presenters turned politicians — Labour’s Gloria De Piero and the government ministers Esther McVey and Anna Soubry — as the future of a media-savvy and aesthetically pleasing Parliament.” – The Times (£)