“Mr Cameron surprised MPs by announcing: ‘We are going to have a vote, we are going to have it before the Rochester by-election. Your questions have just collapsed.’…MPs expressed surprise at the decision to risk a major revolt just days before a by-election the Conservatives had promised to ‘throw the kitchen sink at’ in terms of money and resources.” – Daily Mail
The Commons:
> Yesterday:
“It would have been better had the UK sought a bilateral agreement with the EU over these matters – as Denmark did after rejecting the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 – rather than allow them to become part of the Community’s acquis and therefore subject to the ECJ. But it is too late for that now; and a decision must be taken by December 1 or our extradition arrangements will have a gaping hole in them up to and beyond the general election.” – Daily Telegraph Editorial
“Speaking on LBC radio, Sir Michael said increasing numbers of children whose first language isn’t English pose major problems for schools. He said: “When they’re faced with an influx of children from other countries, they need the resources and capacity to deal with it. If those resources aren’t there, that’s a big issue for Government.” – The Sun (£)
Comment:
> Today: ToryDiary – Osborne has not given up on deficit reduction
> Yesterday: Ziya Meral on Comment: Most Britons with migrant origins are natural Tories. Here’s why the Conservatives are losing them.
“Financing these tax cuts while continuing to cut the deficit will be hard, but doable. In this parliament we will have made £100 billion of savings while cutting income tax by £10.5 billion. In the next parliament we plan to make £25 billion of savings while making £7.2 billion in income tax cuts. And of this I am in no doubt: Labour could not deliver any of this. Forget, for a moment, its complete lack of economic credibility; put aside the fact that it only ever proposes tax rises — on your home, on your business, on your pension. Just think of its beliefs. This is a party ideologically addicted to spending and borrowing and taxing.” – The Times (£)
“Families where all the adults work is now 55.3 per cent, up by 1.5 per cent, found analysis by the Office of National Statistics. And the data also revealed that 1.5 million children living in workless households is down by 132,000 from a year earlier. That is the lowest number for a generation, according to the Department of Work and Pensions.” – Daily Express
> Today on Comment: Ryan Bourne and Kristian Niemietz: Tory Reform 4) Iain Duncan Smith – a tenacious reformer on a moral mission
“The Better Care Fund is intended to prevent 2,000 people a year being admitted to expensive nursing homes and also prevent 160,000 hospital admissions every year, he said. The fund was first announced by the Government in June 2013, with a value of £3.8billion – but the figure has been increased to £5.3billion each year, which will fund thousands more care workers.” – Daily Mail
“The ground breaking study – ordered by the Home Secretary – probed different regimes around the world. It didn’t find “any obvious relationship” between the toughness of legal penalties for narcotics use and the numbers of the deadly substances’ users. In a second major finding, the report also found treating heroin, crack and cocaine addiction as a health problem rather than a criminal one saves hundreds of lives.” – The Sun (£)
“The actress said she felt unable “in all seriousness” to back senior figures in Ed Miliband’s team, including Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, Harriet Harman, the deputy leader Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary, Tristram Hunt, the shadow education secretary, and Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary. However, she reserved her most stinging criticism for the Labour leader and his decision to back a Commons vote in favour of recognising the state of Palestine alongside Israel.” – The Times (£)
Full Maureen Lipman article from Standpoint
“Miliband, therefore, has to come off the ropes now. He must either act decisively to restore Labour in Scotland – which means allowing the Scottish party to go its own way while remaining an ally, as the Bavarian CSU does with Angela Merkel’s CDU – or he must get out of his London comfort zone, fight Rochester to win and thus send a message to England. The option of doing nothing does not exist. But if he wants my advice, he should do both.” – The Guardian
> Today:
“Mr Murphy, shadow development secretary, said on Wednesday night he would become the third and most high-profile politician to enter the race to succeed Johann Lamont. The former Scotland secretary said: “I want to bring Scotland back together after the referendum. There is so much to be proud of in Scotland but so much we have to change.” – Financial Times
“Alan Billings, the Labour candidate, is favourite to win the position, which fell vacant after Shaun Wright resigned over the Rotherham child abuse scandal. But Ukip officials say they expect to run Labour close in one of the opposition party’s most secure strongholds, which includes the Doncaster North seat of Ed Miliband, Labour leader.” – Financial Times
“The problem is that Sir John failed to reach the conclusion that the Prime Minister, Prince Charles and their vociferous Middle Eastern allies wanted. They had hoped for confirmation that the Saudis had been correct in their assessment of the Brotherhood. Sir John Jenkins’s exculpation has caused grave affront to powerful interests, and has led to a long, vicious Whitehall battle that began over the summer, persisted throughout the autumn and shows no signs of ending.” – Daily Telegraph