‘Mr Cameron must demand that migrants be able to move only if another country agrees it needs them. He must commit to this “red line”. He has already said he would campaign to stay IN a reformed EU at his promised 2017 referendum. But the EU will not be reformed without this basic change. If the PM fails on this it is hard for him to credibly urge Britain to stay in.’ – The Sun Says (£)
>Yesterday: MajorityConservatism: Post Euro-elections fightback: 50 policies for the future
‘David Cameron last night told the EU it had become ‘too big, too bossy and too interfering’ as he warned his fellow leaders not to ignore the Eurosceptic surge sweeping the continent. The Prime Minister travelled to Brussels to demand the union be dramatically scaled back in the wake of election results in which millions expressed their disdain for the European project. At dinner with the 27 other leaders, he warned them not to ‘shrug off’ the view of the European people that Brussels should hand back power to national governments.’ – Daily Mail
>Today: Ruth Davidson MSP on Comment: How we held our Euro-seat and grew our vote in Scotland
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Callanan for Commissioner
‘Vince Cable, the business secretary, broke off a trip to China to deny any knowledge of a damaging poll handed anonymously to The Guardian on Monday. It suggested that Mr Clegg was on course to lose key constituencies next year, including his own seat of Sheffield Hallam. Dr Cable named as the culprit his friend the Lib Dem peer Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay and condemned the “reprehensible” move. He also insisted that he was unaware of it, even though the polling was conducted almost eight weeks ago. “Lord Oakeshott’s actions are totally inexcusable and unacceptable,” Dr Cable said.’ – The Times (£)
‘Nigel Farage is preparing to muscle into the battle against Scottish independence following his historic success in the European elections. The UKIP leader wants to open a new front in the campaign against the SNP, to the horror of the established Better Together allies.’ – Daily Mail
>Today:
>Yesterday: Andrew Lilico on Comment: On appealing to Northerners and Ukippers
‘Local Conservative and Labour politicians claimed to have witnessed heavy-handed tactics and intimidation at polling stations in the borough, which only declared its full results on Tuesday evening – with two final seats in Bromley South going to the Labour party, making it the largest party on the council. The attack on the “rotten borough” was led by Peter Golds, leader of the Conservative group at the council, who told The Independent that Tower Hamlets had been the stage for “third-world village politics”.’ – The Independent
>Today: Stephan Shakespeare’s column: No overall control will be a theme of our national politics for quite a while
>Yesterday: LocalGovernment: Democracy is not functioning in Tower Hamlets
‘Tough punishments really do deter criminals, an academic study of the London riots of 2011 shows. Researchers found that firm sentences handed down in the wake of the disorder cut crime for months afterwards across the capital and elsewhere around the country. The effect of the harsher punishments was to reduce crime levels by 3 per cent in the months after the summer riots.’ – Daily Mail
>Today: Stephen Greenhalgh on LocalGovernment: Crime on the Campaign Trail
‘Britain celebrates Tax Freedom Day today – after 148 days of the year handing over ALL our wages to the Government. The average worker finally gets to keep whatever they earn from today onwards until December 31, with their total bill for VAT, income tax and other levies now paid. The annual day – calculated by the Adam Smith Institute – falls three days earlier this year than last.’ – The Sun (£)
‘Companies are struggling to fill graduate positions because they cannot find enough quality candidates as the economy picks up. Nine out of ten graduate employers still have vacancies for this autumn, according to the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR)…A poll by the AGR found that half of employers had increased their graduate intake targets but 87 per cent still had vacancies for this year. Two thirds said the applications they had received so far had been of insufficient quality.’ – The Times (£)
‘Ministers in London have misled Scottish voters over how much it would cost to set up an independent government in Edinburgh, according to the man whose analysis underpins the Treasury’s case for Scotland remaining in the UK. Patrick Dunleavy, politics professor at the London School of Economics, told the Financial Times the Treasury had manipulated his research to make the one-off costs of setting up a new government look ten times larger than they were likely to be.’ – FT
‘Mark Carney, the Bank of England governor…warned that “unbridled faith in financial markets” before the crisis, rising inequality and recent “demonstrations of corruption” had damaged the “social fabric”. “When combined with the longer-term pressures of globalisation and technology on the basic social contract, an unstable dynamic of declining trust in the financial system and growing exclusivity of capitalism threatens,” said Mr Carney, who was speaking at the same conference as Ms Lagarde.’ – FT
‘Just imagine an NHS hospital whose standards match those of a top-quality hotel, with a welcoming reception area, polished floors, tasteful artwork on the freshly-painted walls, and menus inspired by a Michelin-starred chef. A public hospital where the doctors and nurses — and even porters and cleaners — are free to decide what’s best for the patients, and to put good ideas into practice without waiting for the orders of some remote, out-of-touch mandarin.’ – Daily Mail
‘Millions of ordinary investors will be given the chance to snap up free shares in Lloyds spin-off TSB. Lloyds has confirmed plans to start floating the new challenger bank on the stock market next month.’ – Daily Mail
And finally…
‘Inquisitive tabby Freya was found “meowing and confused” on the other side of the River Thames on Monday. A friendly cat-lover – who wishes to remain anonymous – took her back to a nearby houseboat in Vauxhall, central London for some food and a good night’s kip. She rang the number on Freya’s collar yesterday and was stunned to reach the Downing Street switchboard. One of the Chancellor’s aides picked her up and took her home hours later.’ – The Sun (£)