“David Cameron will today unveil sweeping new restrictions on access to benefits for EU migrants. The Prime Minister will insist that he shares the public’s ‘concerns’ about a renewed wave of migration from Europe. Ahead of the lifting of controls on newcomers from Romania and Bulgaria on January 1, he will declare that the founding EU principle of ‘free movement’ for workers has gone too far.” – Daily Mail
“Critics said the manifesto was an uncosted ‘wish-list’, which failed to answer key questions such as what currency an independent Scotland would use. It also emerged that English taxpayers would be asked to continue propping up the Scottish economy, even if Scotland becomes ‘independent’. The Bank of England would be expected to bail out Scotland’s banks, and the SNP said Scotland would refuse to take on its share of the UK’s national debt unless it was allowed to keep the pound.” – Daily Mail
>Today: Henry Hill’s Red, White and Blue column: Both sides pretend Scottish referendum is about their own specific policy proposals, again
>Yesterday:
“Andrew Mitchell launched an astonishing attack on the Metropolitan Police over the Plebgate affair last night – after a 12-month inquiry concluded there was insufficient evidence that a Number 10 police officer had lied. The former Tory chief whip named PC Toby Rowland – with whom he clashed in Downing Street – branding him a serial liar and demanding that he repeat his claims that he used the word ‘plebs’ on oath.” – Daily Mail
>Yesterday: WATCH: Mitchell – “A process has now begun which should ensure that justice is done.”
“The Governor showed the first signs of his independence, by issuing a warning on the Help to Buy scheme that encourages 95 per cent mortgages. Having previously said the Treasury scheme might help boost spending, yesterday he revealed that the Bank believes the main safety valve to avoid a house price bubble may not be working. “We don’t see a marked improvement in the supply of new homes,” he told MPs.” – The Times (£)
“Of the 4.7 million people who were low paid in 2002, about 1.3 million (27 per cent) did not see their income rise at any point during the decade and a further 2.2 million (46 per cent) cycled in and out of low pay but had failed to escape it for good by the end of the decade. Only 800,000 workers escaped low pay – two thirds of median incomes – by moving up the earnings ladder without slipping backwards by 2012.” – The Times (£)
“Taxes should not be cut in next month’s mini-Budget — because Britain is still too skint to afford it, a think tank has warned. The economy’s recovery has raised hopes that George Osborne can afford a cash giveaway in the Autumn Statement. But analysts at Reform said the national debt is heading for “unsustainable levels” and so the Chancellor still needs all the money he can get.” – The Sun (£)
>Today: Ed Holmes on Comment: Whatever spending rules the Chancellor announces, we need to stick to them.
“The simple, tragic truth is that our political elites, with a handful of courageous exceptions, have turned decisively against the market economy, embracing instead an interventionist orthodoxy reminiscent of a bygone era. The shift is most noticeable in four key areas: a growing belief in price and wage controls across the political spectrum; a renewed faith in industrial policy; a decline in respect for property rights; and a growing tolerance for higher inflation.” – Allister Heath, Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: The march of time has outpaced the Tory modernisers
“The NHS is calling for an “army of good Samaritans” to check on lonely, elderly neighbours in cold weather, amid fears that too many pensioners end up in hospital because they have been neglected. Health officials made an unprecedented appeal for 100,000 people to pledge to look in regularly on an elderly friend or neighbour as the weather turns cold. The call comes amid concerns that the NHS could be facing its worst winter yet.” – Daily Telegraph
“The poll commissioned by a Ukip donor and conducted by the polling company Survation, shows Labour in first place with 35% (up nearly five percentage points on the general election), Ukip second on 30% (up 24 points), the Tories third on 28% (down 20 points) and the Liberal Democrats fourth on 5% (down 10 points). The poll in a key Labour-Tory marginal is one of eight constituency surveys being conducted by Survation for Ukip donors.” – The Guardian