“Moves to stop water companies ripping off their customers are being drawn up by the Government in an attempt to curb above-inflation rises in bills. The plan, which forms part of a drive by David Cameron to see “household bills coming down”, emerged as Ed Miliband signalled the water firms were also in his sights.” – The Independent
“Government plans to cut legal aid in criminal cases have been criticised by an elite group of barristers used by it to prosecute the most serious crimes. Treasury Counsel, appointed by the attorney general, said the cuts – £220m from a yearly budget of £1bn for criminal cases – were unsustainable.” – BBC
“Two former British Army soldiers who fought in Afghanistan have been selected to contest winnable seats for the party. A third could be selected on Saturday when Thomas Tugendhat, another Afghan veteran, stands in an open primary in Tonbridge and Malling in Kent.” – Daily Telegraph
> Yesterday:
MPsETC:
“A Conservative minister used an offshore company to buy his second home, allowing him to cut his tax bill, it can be disclosed. Stephen Hammond used a company based in Gibraltar, before it moved to Delaware, to buy his family’s £500,000 villa in Portugal. By not owning the villa directly, in his own name, he was able to reduce his tax bill in both Britain and Portugal.” – Daily Telegraph
“David Cameron is a patron of 29 organisations, including the European Union Youth Orchestra, according to a new list of ministers’ interests. Last published in 2011, it includes declarations of share holdings and details about the careers of ministers’ spouses, partners and siblings.” – BBC
“Five Cabinet ministers hold shares in controversial “blind trusts” that make it impossible to scrutinise their financial interests, new data reveals. The private interests of senior politicians were revealed for the first time in two years as the Government published the register of ministers’ interests almost 18 months behind schedule.” – The Times(£)
“Teenagers must study at least 15 poems, including works by the likes of Keats, Shelley and Byron, for the new English literature exam in a toughening-up of GCSEs. All pupils will read a series of ‘high-quality, intellectually challenging and substantial whole texts in detail’ as part of reformed qualifications.” – Daily Mail
“The new curriculum for GCSE maths will see pupils in England spending more classtime studying the subject and memorising mathematical formulae, such as Pythagoras’s theorem. The revised maths curriculum – which comes into force in September 2015 – expands the range of topics that pupils are expected to learn, while the new curriculum for GCSE English literature and language courses will place a greater emphasis on spelling, punctuation and grammar.” – The Guardian
“NHS bosses should have generous redundancy payoffs clawed back if they find new jobs in the health service, Downing Street said yesterday as outrage grew over “revolving door” payments revealed by The Times.” – The Times(£)
“The Unite union’s campaign of bullying and intimidation has targeted more than 60 businesses in the past two years, the Mail can reveal. Packs of militant protesters hounded senior managers at country hotels, a children’s charity fun run and at the castle where Downton Abbey is filmed in dirty tricks operations designed to humiliate them into giving in to the union’s demands.” – Daily Mail
“THE BBC was last night hit by a fresh bias row after it emerged five former and current staff are in the running to become Labour MPs at the next election. Conservative vice-chairman Bob Neill said there was “a revolving door” between the Corporation and the party. Ex-Beeb journalists Polly Billington, Clive Lewis, Victoria Groulef and Simon Thomson have all been selected for top target seats in 2015. And Matthew Turmaine, the Corporation’s head of client services and fulfilment, is standing for Labour in Watford.” – The Sun (£)
“People want children of their own, but what does the phrase “their own” mean? It is certainly not a form of property. But the alliance of science with money, law and sexual rights is turning it into that. The right of adult freedom is doing many children a great wrong.” – Charles Moore Daily Telegraph
“The Tories should benefit from a recovering economy and an ineffective Labour leader but Miliband could be boosted by the potentially historic UKIP/Tory split and a large defection of unhappy Lib Dem voters. It’s all to play for.” – Stephan Shakespeare The Times (£)
“What is happening in France now offers a chilling vision of what could happen under a Miliband government in Britain. All Hollande has done is bring poverty, unemployment, decline, disillusion and the desertion of France by its brightest and best in search of their fortunes elsewhere.” – Simon Heffer Daily Mail
“Lord Donoghue is right. Ed Miliband’s demand for a £125 carbon tax would be painful. Telegraph readers would pay the price, with higher bills. You can see the same callousness in Caroline Flint’s remark that green taxes are “only” adding £113 to people’s bills. It is the same old Labour Party.” – Charles Elphicke Daily Telegraph