Newslinks for Friday 16th January 2015

DC in DC 1) Obama’s warm welcome for Cameron

‘On the whole, it rather outscores Ed Miliband’s recent dinner date with Mr and Mrs George Clooney. Word here is that Mr Obama would be far from distressed if Mr Cameron – whom the President allegedly addresses as ‘bro’ – won the election in May. Mr Obama’s admiration for Mr Miliband is, ahem, a work in progress.’ – Quentin Letts, Daily Mail

Cameron’s working dinner with the President – Daily Mail
But are voters impressed? – Daily Telegraph
Not as good as it might seem – Philip Stephens, FT
Balls breaks convention and attacks the EU referendum in Washington – The Times (£)
How does the Prime Minister stay so fresh-faced? – Helen Rumbelow, The Times (£)
Romney might win in 2016 – Justin Webb, The Times (£)

>Today: Harriet Maltby on Comment: News from Britain for Obama. We may outstrip America within four years.

DC in DC 2) New transatlantic co-operation on cyber security

‘David Cameron has announced measures designed to help companies and government organisations prevent a repeat of the hacking attack on Sony Pictures. Speaking as he landed in Washington on Thursday for talks with President Barack Obama, Mr Cameron said: “This is an evolving threat which poses a real risk to our businesses and that is why we are taking our co-operation with the US to an unprecedented level.”’ – FT

Police avert alleged terror attack in Belgium – Daily Mail
Illiberalism is the wrong response – David Allen Green, FT
1,065 crazy reasons 20,000 officials can barge into your house – Daily Mail
But will Cameron persuade Obama to lift the haggis import ban? – The Scotsman

>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Obama and Cameron team up

Economy 1) IMF’s Lagarde endorses the UK’s economic plan

‘’A few countries, only a few, are driving growth: one is the USA, where growth is solid, anchored and where we foresee a 2015 that will be also a good year. And the UK where clearly growth is improving, the deficit has been reduced, and where the unemployment is going down. ‘Certainly from a global perspective this is exactly the sort of result that we would like to see: more growth, less unemployment, a growth that is more inclusive, that is better shared, and a growth that is also sustainable and more balanced.’’ – Daily Mail

Wake up, deluded lefties – Daily Telegraph Leader
Pound rises vs Euro, falls vs Swiss Franc – Daily Mail
Eurozone crisis hurts non-EU countries, too – The Times Leader (£)
What would Grexit mean for us? – The Sun (£)

Economy 2) Archbishops launch assault on the Coalition’s record

‘The Church of England has launched a scathing attack on the UK coalition government less than four months before the general election, blaming welfare cuts and “poverty wages” for a rise in income inequality. Entitled On Rock or Sand? Firm Foundations for Britain’s Future, the book is intended to provide a moral framework to the political debate before May’s vote. While it stops short of attacking individual parties or politicians, the text questions the prime minister’s slogan “We’re all in it together”.’ – FT

Last time they were wrong, this time they’re irrelevant – Damian Thompson, Daily Mail
Miliband’s a fan, obviously – Daily Mail
The Coalition should boast of their economic success – Fraser Nelson, Daily Telegraph
Defend the Enlightenment – Jeremy Warner, Daily Telegraph
The Ten Commandments of political Anglicanism – Tim Montgomerie, CapX

Editorials:

A justified turbulence – FT Leader
Once they preached hard work, now they preach Labour press releases – Daily Mail Leader

>Yesterday: ToryDiary: The Archbishop of York should talk more about politics

Economy 3) Osborne intensifies pressure on firms to cut prices

‘Mr Osborne told The Sun: “My message is clear: oil prices have fallen and those falls should be passed on to families and to small businesses. It’s not just the pump prices and energy bills that should fall; things like fuel surcharges can be lower too…Let’s stop hearing excuses and start seeing bills fall”.’ – The Sun (£)

Finally, a petrol price war – Edmund King, Belfast Telegraph
Calls for cuts in oil tax – Daily Telegraph
Miliband’s energy policy is a disaster – Daily Mail Leader
Low inflation means tougher cuts – The Guardian Leader

>Yesterday:

ToryDiary: How everyone was blindsided by oil prices (but especially Salmond)
Philip Booth on Comment: How to stop worrying and learn to enjoy deflation

The Pope says ‘provocateurs’ like Charlie Hebdo should ‘expect a punch’

‘The Pope denounced “provocateurs” who mocked religion yesterday and said that they could expect to receive a punch, as he weighed into the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks. Pope Francis criticised the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo for insulting Islam and said that he understood why Muslims reacted with violent anger.’ – The Times (£)

Piffle, Pontiff – The Sun Says (£)
What happened to ‘turn the other cheek’? – Piers Morgan, Daily Mail
Remember the writer being flogged in Saudi Arabia – The Guardian Leader

Boris warns of the housing challenge

‘London’s biggest challenge is to overturn government’s failure to build enough housing, Boris Johnson is due to say on Thursday. But the capital’s growth is a sign of economic health and should make its citizens confident, not fearful, the capital’s mayor will add.’ – FT

Council arson attacks may be linked to planning dispute – The Times (£)
Osborne cosies up to the Mayor – The Times (£)
Net migration over 30 years revealed – The Sun (£)

>Today: ToryDiary: Cameron’s House needs a Welcome Mat

£60 million a day splurge to hit aid target

‘Britain was handing out around £60million a day in foreign aid towards the end of the year in order to meet David Cameron’s target, a report has found. Taxpayers funded £11.5billion of overseas development projects in 2013 – the first time the Coalition’s aim to hand out 0.7pc of GDP to developing countries has been achieved.’ – Daily Mail

Nicky Morgan discusses the trials of parenthood and ‘gadget time’

‘While her parents’ generation just had to coax youngsters away from watching television, today children have many more hi-tech distractions. On one occasion Alex woke early one morning wanting to play on his tablet. ‘Alex woke us up at half past five. And as a result he lost gadget time for the rest of the day. He was deeply unimpressed by that. We had a little negotiation about whether “gadget time” meant “TV and screen time”.’ – Daily Mail

…and she attacks May’s plan to deport graduates – The Sun (£)
Our schools fail too many children – Philip Collins, The Times (£)
One in five students now gets a First – Daily Mail
Social engineering will undermine education – Greg Hurst, The Times (£)

Labour frets over unregistered young voters

‘Almost a million people have gone missing from the electoral register, including hundreds of thousands of young people, Ed Miliband will say in a speech today. A change in election law means that universities can no longer register students en masse, prompting the Labour leader to warn that young people were in danger of losing their voice.’ – The Times (£)

Burnham forced to immediately recant nanny state measures

‘Labour yesterday rowed back from banning alcohol brands from sports sponsorship and the party was forced to discard other health policies that were deemed “anti-business”. After Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, unveiled the party’s public health manifesto yesterday, it emerged that several of his central pledges had been blocked by other shadow cabinet ministers.’ – The Times (£)

Assault on Tony the Tiger goes down badly – FT
A war on parents – Brendan O’Neill, Daily Telegraph
Maybe finger-wagging is part of the solution – The Times Leader (£)
Hinchingbrooke CQC report written by ‘biased’ doctors – The Sun (£)
Don’t write off privately-run hospitals – The Sun Says (£)

>Today: Judy Terry on Local Government: Health and Wellbeing Boards should champion NHS reform

Thousands of care home residents hospitalised with dehydration

‘Thousands of elderly care-home residents are admitted to hospital suffering from dehydration, according to research revealing widespread neglect. One in eight patients admitted from residential care had high sodium levels from lack of fluids, the study by Oxford University and two leading hospitals showed.’ – The Times (£)

Over 100 MPs to support scrapping Fixed-Term Parliaments

‘Sir Alan Duncan, a former Coalition minister, is publishing legislation calling for a repeal of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, which means elections can only be held every five years…Sir Alan’s Bill has the backing of over 100 Conservative and Labour MPs, including six former Cabinet ministers.’ – Daily Telegraph

News in brief

Outrage over judge who claimed child ‘groomed’ teacher – Daily Mail
Muhammad Ali in hospital – Daily Mail
Churchill’s grandson hails new £20 coin – WalesOnline
It’s official – the best way to load a dishwasher – Daily Telegraph
Climbers conquer El Capitan – The Times Leader (£)
Hague buys mansion for his life after Westminster – The Times (£)
How Earth entered a new epoch on July 16 1945 – Daily Telegraph
Profiled: Jacqueline Gold and Karren Brady – Daily Mail

And finally…

Empty chair wins leaders’ debates

‘The empty chair was last night declared the resounding winner of the first 2015 general election debate. Snap opinion polls conducted immediately after the debate gave the chair a clear lead over other hopefuls as voters showed their support for its strong, silent approach…“It never loses its cool, never goes red, doesn’t talk down to women and didn’t go to Eton.”’ – Robert Shrimsley, FT

Greens mull legal action – The Sun (£)

>Today: Iain Dale’s Friday Diary: Why the Prime Minister will take part in the TV election debates after all