“Why should Scottish MPs be able to vote on what is taught in English schools, to reduce spending on English hospitals, or even vary English or Welsh income taxes, when under the new settlement English or Welsh MPs would have no say in such matters in Scotland? It is fundamentally unjust to have the views of the people of England and Wales overridden in this way. And again, this is not a recent concern of the Conservative Party. I have argued for the past decade that we need ‘English votes for English laws’.” – Mail on Sunday
>Today: ToryDiary: After the Wharton Bill on Europe, a Wharton Vote on England?
“This time things have to be different. If the Scottish Parliament – and probably other devolved assemblies – are to be given new powers, then England has to be a priority as well. That was clear from the Prime Minister’s statement on Friday, in the wake of the referendum result. It is something the Conservative Party is united on.” – Chris Grayling, Sunday Telegraph
>Today: Guto Bebb MP on Comment: My concern as a Welsh MP about promises made to Scotland during the referendum campaign
“Ed Miliband was facing dissent over his refusal to support home rule for England last night as Labour MPs broke cover to condemn his position as untenable. Senior figures say up to six members of Miliband’s frontbench team support reforms restricting the right of Scottish MPs to vote on English laws — and are prepared to say so publicly. The issue threatens to disrupt Labour’s party conference, which begins in Manchester today.” – Sunday Times (£)
>Yesterday:
“The SNP could hold another independence referendum within the next five to ten years, raising concerns of a Quebec-style “neverendum” that could cause continuing uncertainty. Following Salmond’s decision to stand down after last week’s “no” vote, senior party sources privately stressed that his claim that the issue would not be put to another vote for about 20 years was “very much a personal judgement that Alex made” that the SNP was not bound by.” – Sunday Times (£)
“Until a fortnight ago, Brown was experiencing his own year of hell on the sidelines. Scotland’s place in the Union was under threat, and he was not wanted in the fight. Traipsing around his back garden in Kirkcaldy last summer, he would bark down his mobile phone about the mistakes being made.” – Mail on Sunday
“Little did I think when I made a back of the envelope calculation about funding for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland more than 35 years ago that the so-called ‘Barnett Formula’ would take on a life of its own and go on to become the unwritten – and unjust – convention by which Government spending would be allocated for decades ahead.” – Mail on Sunday
“An extraordinary Cabinet row has broken out over plans by Ministers to force Muslim schools to teach pupils about Christianity. The move by Education Secretary Nicky Morgan is intended to stop Islamic extremists from ‘brainwashing’ children. But it has led to a clash at the top of Government, with Home Secretary Theresa May lining up with Mrs Morgan against Communities Secretary Eric Pickles.” – Mail on Sunday
“The Government will commit £12 million to try to stop illegal immigrants in Calais coming to Britain, it was announced yesterday. Home Secretary Theresa May and her French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve have agreed to a plan to help boost security at the French port and educate migrants about ‘the reality of illegal migration and its consequences in the UK’ through information films.” – Mail on Sunday
“When Justine Greening was appointed secretary of state for international development, she was underwhelmed. If reports are to be believed, she had a stand-up row with the prime minister, telling him she had not gone into politics to distribute money to people in the Third World. A year into the job, however, and Greening, 44, seems to have gone native.” – Sunday Times (£)
“The troubled bank’s solution was to strip 44-year-old Miss Davenport of any role in the appointment process for the board – a move condemned by MPs and City women’s groups as ‘discriminatory and unjust.’ Tory MP Nadine Dorries said that the Co-op had failed to uphold its own ethical standards. ‘The fact they have stripped her of responsibility and let him carry on is blatant sexism. We are entitled to expect more from a bank which holds itself up as “ethical”.’” – Mail on Sunday
“The former cabinet minister at the centre of the Plebgate row has a history of foul-mouthed confrontations with police officers at Downing Street and the Houses of Parliament, the High Court will hear. The allegations are contained in court documents presented by The Sun newspaper in its libel defence against Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell.” – Independent on Sunday
“Best-selling author Hilary Mantel has revealed how her fantasies about killing Margaret Thatcher inspired her new short story about her assassination. The 62-year-old has recalled how she once spotted the former Prime Minister standing unguarded near her Windsor flat in 1983 and imagined shooting her. The fantasy was the inspiration for her short story, The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, which will be published at the end of the month.” – Mail on Sunday
“Ed Miliband faced embarrassment on the first day of the Labour conference when the roof fell in on his pledge to solve Britain’s housing crisis. The Labour leader vowed to ensure 200,000 new homes a year are built by 2020 if he becomes Prime Minister. But Jennie Formby, the political director of Britain’s biggest union Unite, appeared to suggest it could be a con.” – Mail on Sunday
“Ed Miliband has been warned he could become the Labour Prime Minister who lets the NHS descend into “total crisis”, if he does not introduce “significant, immediate injections of extra funding” for the health service.” – Independent on Sunday
“Senior figures within Ed Miliband’s shadow government have issued a warning to their leader not to be paralysed in tackling Islamic State (Isis) by the legacy of the Iraq war. In a thinly veiled criticism of Miliband’s decision last year to block military intervention in Syria, two members of his frontbench team argue that the consequences of military inaction can be as severe as action.” – Observer
“Labour will abolish police and crime commissioners and instead give local people a say in appointing police commanders, in the wake of the child sex abuse scandal in Rotherham. In an interview with The Sunday Times (£), Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said a future Labour government would abolish the controversial posts, saving at least £50m, which would be spent on frontline policing.” – Sunday Times (£)
“Rising star Labour MP Rachel Reeves last night laughed off claims that she is one half of a new ‘dream leadership ticket’ to make the party more attractive to voters. Labour welfare spokeswoman Ms Reeves, a close ally of Ed Miliband, has vowed to toughen up the party’s stance on benefits. In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, she said her work ethic was ‘embedded’ in her by her parents – and the jobless should work just as hard or lose their state handouts.” – Mail on Sunday
“Labour ditched one of its parliamentary candidates yesterday after she branded Israel “evil” and suggested the Islamist terrorist group Isis should attack the country. Vicki Kirby, Labour’s candidate in Woking, posted anti-Israeli comments on her Twitter feed, claiming Hitler might be the “Zionist God”.” – Sunday Times (£)
“The recordings were being edited by a private firm in Greater Manchester for the Crown Prosecution Service. Last night, Labour MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons’ Home Affairs Committee, said he was ‘deeply concerned by the serious security breach’ and voiced ‘surprise’ that a private firm had control of such data.” – Mail on Sunday
“Labour Deputy Speaker Lindsay Hoyle threatened to sue a student who criticised planned alterations to the swimming pool at his five-bedroom home. Lawyers sent Charlotte Woods, 20, an aggressive email after she posted Facebook comments — only shared with friends — about his proposals for a pool roof. It told her to delete the comments immediately or risk formal legal proceedings.” – Sun on Sunday (£)
“Under plans to be outlined at Ukip’s annual conference on Friday, the party will call for a change in the law to guarantee employers that they cannot be sued for discrimination if they favour a young unemployed Briton for a vacancy when a better qualified foreign national has also applied.” – Sunday Times (£)