“The Chancellor angered employers by indicating he is ready to contemplate an increase of almost 11 per cent in the present £6.31-an-hour rate to £7 to restore it to pre-recession levels. … But if the rise is approved by the independent Low Pay Commission, Government sources say he is likely to ease the pain for businesses – probably with more cuts in employers’ National Insurance contributions.” – Daily Mail
“Political strategists in Number 10 have issued an edict to Government departments effectively banning them from promoting initiatives that are not central to the party’s key election themes of crime, the economy, immigration and welfare. … The plan is understood to be the brainchild of the Tories’ election guru Lynton Crosby, who last year told David Cameron to ‘get the barnacles off the boat’ in order to win in 2015.” – The Independent
“Britain must accept its ‘shared responsibility’ for Syria’s refugees and join a UN scheme to welcome those fleeing the conflict, a coalition of 25 aid agencies and charities tells David Cameron. … In an open letter published in The Independent, the organisations call on the Prime Minister to ‘transform the lives’ of Syrians displaced by the civil war in their country by committing the UK to participate in the UNHCR’s global resettlement programme.” – The Independent
“Eric Pickles warned local authorites yesterday that if they want to raise council tax this year they will have to put their decision to a local referendum. … George Osborne has called for a council tax freeze for the third year running but many town halls are threatening to raise the tax to supplement budget cuts.” – The Times (£)
“Prisoners on licence who go on the run after breaking the terms of their release will face up to two additional years behind bars. … The measure will tackle the 800 inmates a year who abscond rather than be sent back to jail – and then face no additional punishment when they are found. … Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said the new measure will stop inmates ‘getting away’ with absconding and result in more fugitives being returned quickly to jail.” – Daily Mail
“Some minority communities are operating their own justice systems with offences as serious as murder going unreported to police, according to the Chief Inspector of Constabulary. … Tom Winsor said that officers were never called to some neighbourhoods that ‘administer their own form of justice’. In an interview with The Times, he added that such alternative systems were run not by criminals but by ‘law-abiding people’.” – The Times (£)
“Toy makers risk damaging girls’ chances at maths and science by marketing certain toys only at boys, an education minister warned last night. … Elizabeth Truss called for an end to ‘segregation in toy departments’ that results in some products being marketed only at one sex.” – Daily Mail
“In Afghanistan, where the Army is now excelling itself, our partners the US Marines deploy many reserve units. Australia and Canada give peacekeeping tasks to their reserves, and have deployed combat companies to Afghanistan. All three allies have proportionately larger reserve forces than we plan to recruit.” – Julian Brazier, The Times (£)
“If Mr Cameron wants to stay in power, he should bring forward the referendum to, at the latest, the day of the next General Election — May 7, 2015. He should also hound the Labour Party for their denial of voters’ democratic rights. This certainly ought to win him extra votes. Sadly, however, Mr Cameron won’t do this. … Instead, he seems hell-bent on sacrificing the Tory Party — and, more importantly, Britain — because of a misguided desire to keep his own seat at the top table of the European club.” – Simon Heffer, Daily Mail
“Definition: ‘Fifth column . . . [2] any group of hostile or subversive infiltrators; an enemy in one’s midst.’ … One does not use the expression lightly. But I believe that a group of Conservative backbench MPs — quite a small group, much smaller than what the news media like to call the ‘Tory Euro-rebels’ — are content that should their party lose the coming general election, this will suit their plans.” – Matthew Parris, The Times (£)
“David Cameron must be ‘honest and upfront’ about the Government’s plans to build two new garden cities in Kent and Buckinghamshire, Nick Clegg has said. … His comments, made in an article for The Telegraph, will be seen as a direct challenge to David Cameron to publish a ‘prospectus’ for future developments, which was drawn up after the Prime Minister gave a speech supporting the idea nearly two years ago.” – Daily Telegraph
“Nick Clegg last night risked civil war in his party as he insisted Lord Rennard should not rejoin the Lib Dem group in the Lords unless he apologises over sexual harassment allegations. … It came as a former party activist, who claims to have been the victim of ‘scary’ unwanted advances after Lord Rennard trapped her in a room, attacked the party for letting him get off scot-free. … And Mr Clegg was placed under further pressure last night after more than 100 Lib Dem activists signed a letter urging him to demand the withdrawal of the whip from Lord Rennard if he fails to apologise.” – Daily Mail
“Launching a UK government paper that argues for continued union, Danny Alexander, UK Treasury chief secretary, said that, as part of the UK, Scotland was expected to contribute a net £3.3bn to the EU budget over the seven years from 2014-2020. However, he said that as an independent state it would face a bill of at least £5.2bn or more.” – Financial Times
“Ed Davey, the energy secretary, has called on EU heads of state to endorse a target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030, but reject a specific binding renewables target. … The Europen Commission is due to issue a paper next Wednesday that is likely propose a EU-wide renewables target in line with the wishes of Germany and France, but Davey, in a Guardian interview, claimed his call not to impose a binding renewables target was gaining traction.” – The Guardian
“Ed Miliband was accused of ‘economic vandalism’ yesterday after his declaration that Labour wanted a ‘reckoning’ with the banks led to more than £500million being wiped off the value of taxpayer-owned lenders. … After a £500million slump in the combined value of Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds yesterday, Business Secretary Vince Cable said Mr Miliband’s arguments were out of date, pointing out that two new banks – TSB and Williams & Glyn’s – had already been set up out of the two state-owned lenders.” – Daily Mail
And comment:
> Today: ToryDiary – Why do politicians insist on ramming credit down small businesses’ throats?
> Yesterday:
“Labour will take away benefits from young jobless as part of a drive to get them into work. … Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Rachel Reeves will next week unveil new tough conditions on state giveaways for the first time.” – The Sun (£)
“Officers had been examining a cache of e-mails held on the work computer of Stevie Deans, who was accused of seeking to fix a Labour selection contest. … Last night, Police Scotland confirmed that the inquiry had concluded and ‘there is no evidence of any criminality’. … Mr Deans has now been given a job as an official with Unite.” – The Times (£)
“An executive has been hired on a £750,000-a-year salary to build the HS2 high speed rail project – even though the controversial scheme may never go ahead. … Simon Kirby, 48, was yesterday appointed as construction chief for the £50billion project … Critics have already called the pay deal an ‘absolute disgrace’ and said it smacks of a ‘jobs for the boys merry-go-round’.” – Daily Mail
“David Cameron has used public money and the sumptuous surroundings of his official country retreat to woo a procession of senior Liberal Democrats as well as the provost of Eton College, newly released documents show. … Chequers has also been used to entertain controversial foreign leaders including the emir of Qatar, whose country’s preparations for the World Cup in 2022 have been mired in slavery allegations.” – The Guardian