“Crime in England and Wales fell by 15 per cent last year to a new record low since records began. … There were 7.5million offences in 2013 according to the British Crime Survey, down from almost 9million in 2012. … David Cameron sent congratulations to the police, with the figures showing a 22 per cent fall in both violent crime and bike thefts.” – Daily Mail
And comment:
> Yesterday:
“David Cameron yesterday urged Boris Johnson to return to Parliament and the Cabinet – as MP for Downton Abbey. … The Prime Minister suggested the London Mayor could stand as MP for North West Hampshire, where government chief whip Sir George Young is to stand down next year. … Mr Cameron said there was no bar to Tory Mr Johnson serving out his term as mayor until 2016 and representing the commuter belt constituency which is home to Highclere Castle where Downton Abbey is filmed.” – Daily Mail
> Yesterday: ToryDiary – Big beasts for big times
“It’s difficult to know what the Tories are hoping to achieve. If Mr Cameron still wants to lead the greenest government ever, then why abandon Britain’s biggest source of renewable power? If he wants to reduce household bills, then why move against the cheapest form of zero-carbon electricity? If he wants to get the state out of the energy market, then what about the massive subsidies he’s just given to the French and Chinese to build a nuclear power station in Somerset?” – Peter Franklin, The Times (£)
> Today: Cheryl Gillan MP on Comment – The case for HS2 has collapsed
“A huge research ship costing £200 million has been commissioned, which will probe the oceans and climate of the arctic and Antarctic, George Osborne will announce today. … The new vessel, to be operated by the British Antarctic Survey, will replace the UK’s two current polar exploration ships, which are nearing the end of their lives. … Although primarily for research, the government said the ship would also allow Britain to ‘maintain our presence’ around the British territories in the South Atlantic.” – Daily Telegraph
“The TV chef blasted ministers for allowing takeaway shops to trade ‘just a stone’s throw’ from where kids learn. … Jamie also declared that no country – including Britain – had ‘smashed’ the child obesity crisis despite years of effort. … Renewing his blistering attack on the Coalition, he said the UK lacked real ‘leadership and vision’ to solve it.” – The Sun (£)
“The Cabinet Office has launched an investigation into claims that insults which were sent to the victims and families of the Hillsborough disaster were sent from government computers. … The Liverpool Echo said it had discovered that text on the Wikipedia page of the disaster had been changed from computers within Whitehall. It said that in 2009, ‘Blame Liverpool Fans’ was added to the page, while in 2012 the phrase ‘You’ll never walk alone’ was changed to ‘You’ll never walk again’ and other insulting variations.” – The Guardian
“Nick Clegg prompted a row last night after issuing a provocative call for the separation of Church and State. … The Deputy Prime Minister said that while he agreed with David Cameron that Britain was ‘infused by Christian values’, he believed the Church of England should be disestablished. … His remarks are particularly sensitive since he is the chairman of the Privy Council, the formal body of advisers to the Queen.” – Daily Mail
And comment:
“Nick Clegg vowed to fight for reform of the EU as he launched the Liberal Democrats’ European election campaign on Thursday, insisting he was not “wrapping himself up in the European flag” for the sake of it. … The Lib Dem leader said he was the only head of a main party not ‘scared to speak up’ in favour of Britain’s membership of Europe and that it was ‘pro-British’ to argue for the country to remain in the EU.” – Financial Times
And comment:
“The Liberal Democrat leader should not expect much credit for requesting a police investigation into how the political Establishment turned a blind eye to the 29-stone monster’s crimes for 40 years. … He has had to be dragged kicking and screaming to this point, having claimed two weeks ago Smith’s evil deeds ‘were not known or condoned by anyone in the Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats’.” – Daily Mail editorial
“Cornwall’s claims to a separate culture, language and identity are to be recognised by Europe, the UK government will announce later on Thursday. … The Cornish are to be granted the same status as the Welsh, Scots and Irish under the Council of Europe’s rules protecting national minorities from discrimination. … Danny Alexander, the Liberal Democrat chief secretary to the Treasury – and a Scot – will make the announcement on a visit to the county.” – Financial Times
“A close ally of Vince Cable has called for the Lib Dems to quit the Coalition next month to avoid electoral disaster. … Senior peer Lord Oakeshott said the party should walk away from Government ‘straight after’ the May 22 European elections. … He said it was the only way to salvage the ‘piss off vote’ – or protest vote – ahead of next year’s general election.” – The Sun (£)
“Ed Miliband will announce plans on Friday to crack down on “exploitative zero hours contracts”, giving new legal rights to up to 1m workers on arrangements that offer no guaranteed hours or pay, should Labour win the election in 2015. … The opposition leader will claim the move would end the abuse of the increasingly widely used contracts and encourage employers to compete on higher wages, skills and productivity.” – Financial Times
“Ed Miliband will take his entire shadow cabinet to Scotland to battle criticism Labour are failing to do enough to keep Britain together. … The Labour chief and his team will travel north of the border as part of a campaign aimed at encouraging Scotland to stay in the UK. … Labour have been heavily criticised by some for failing to do enough to prevent the breakup of the UK.” – The Sun (£)
And comment:
“Labour is looking to end its long-standing relationship with the troubled Cooperative Bank. … The party’s general secretary Iain McNicol is understood to want to move a £1.2 million loan to the trade union-controlled Unity Trust Bank. … Its current account facilities are also expected to be shifted.” – The Independent
> Yesterday: LeftWatch – Labour’s messy divorce from Co-Op Bank is another blow to their election machine
“The response of assembly members and hospital boards is typical. I came across it when investigating the NHS over nine months. … My accounts of what I had seen were also dismissed as ‘anecdotal’. While there are undoubtedly countless dedicated and caring people working for the NHS who put themselves out for patients, like Ann Clwyd, I, too, was flooded with letters from patients who’d suffered the same ‘anecdotal’ experiences of callousness and incompetence.” – Harriet Sargeant, Daily Mail
And news:
“Ukip has suspended the star of its first European election TV broadcast after it emerged that he condemned Ed Miliband as ‘not a real Brit’, suggested Africans should ‘kill themselves off’ and said Islam was an evil religion with a paedophile prophet. … Andre Lampitt also said he loathed the charity Oxfam and welcomed Aids outbreaks in Africa, saying: ‘Inner peace will come when Aids does what it should and reduce African density.’” – Daily Mail
And news:
> Today: Iain Dale’s column – UKIP’s European election posters are disgusting
> Yesterday: ToryDiary – Clegg & Farage, partners
“Firefighters will stage a fresh wave of strikes over the May bank holiday weekend in a bitter dispute over pensions. … Members of the Fire Brigades Union will walk out for five hours from noon on May 2, between 2pm and 2am on May 3 and between 10am and 3pm on May 5. … And there will be a ban on voluntary overtime for a week from May 2.” – The Sun (£)
“Weaker regional universities in England could struggle for survival in the wake of a brutal US-style beauty contest for students and their tuition fees, an international credit ratings agency has predicted. … The analysis by Moody’s comes the day after an Institute for Fiscal Studies report warned that the current funding model for universities in England would fail to produce forecast levels of revenue if graduate employment and pay remained subdued.” – The Guardian
“Barclays was accused of attempting to silence criticism of its bonus culture after one of the bank’s directors slapped down a major shareholder for speaking out against its pay practices. … Sir John Sunderland, chairman of the bank’s remuneration committee, was angrily heckled by shareholders after he told Standard Life’s Alison Kennedy that it ‘would be good in future if these points could be made during the consultation phase’.” – The Independent
“The great advantage of nudges is that they recognise the diversity of people’s situations and the risk of government error, while acknowledging people’s legitimate interest in preserving their own liberty. No one denies that requirements and bans have their place. But in a society that respects its citizens, we should start with a presumption in favour of freedom of choice.” – Cass Sunstein, The Guardian
“Up to 700 British jihadists could now be fighting in Syria, the UK’s police counter-terrorism chief admitted yesterday. … Deputy Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball said the authorities are powerless to stop young Muslims travelling to the war-torn state. … The Scotland Yard chief said the battle against the Assad regime acts like a ‘magnet’ – and fighters now number in the ‘mid’ rather than ‘low’ hundreds.” – Daily Mail
And comment:
“As a Member of the British Empire, Terry Wilkins was proud to display his title on his emails, web page and even office stationery. … That was until his claim to the honour was exposed as false, and he immediately faced calls to resign. … However, the Tory councillor from Cornwall claims he is the victim of a hoax — having taken his title to be real ever since he received an official-looking letter and a medal in the post 19 years ago.” – Daily Telegraph