Newslinks for Wednesday 29th April 2015

Cameron: No rise in Income Tax, NI or VAT…and a law to guarantee it

‘In what aides billed as one of the campaign’s most important speeches, the Tory leader will challenge voters to consult their “gut instinct” on which party is more likely to keep down taxes, saying: “When you’re standing in the polling booth, ask yourself: on the things that matter in your life, who do you really trust? When it comes to your tax bill: do you trust the people who taxed you to the hilt when they were in power and still haven’t come clean about the taxes they want to increase next time round?” Mr Cameron will bolster his pledge by proposing legislation to enshrine the promise of no increases in income tax, NI and VAT (now 20 per cent) for the lifetime of the next parliament.’ – The Times (£)

• Miliband to counter with a pledge to raise tax credits – FT
• The 1922 Committee will meet the Monday after the election – FT
• The Prime Minister should expand his team – Alice Thomson, The Times (£)

>Today: ToryDiary: Reasons to be Tory 8) The fuel duty freeze

Growth slows – is it a sign of Tory problems, or another reason not to risk Labour?

‘George Osborne has declared Britain’s recovery is now “on the ballot paper” after it emerged growth halved in the first three months of the year. The economy grew by just 0.3 per cent amid fears of renewed international turmoil. The surprise tailing off before polling day came after two unbroken years of powerful growth that saw Britain booming.’ – The Sun (£)

• Let’s borrow some more – Martin Wolf, FT
• It’s Osborne’s fault – The Guardian
• We need tax cuts, not Miliband – Daily Telegraph Leader
• Ditch the long-term economic plan – The Guardian Leader
• Under Labour a £1,000 pay rise could cost you £10,000 – Daily Telegraph
• Krugman attacks austerity, no-one shocked – The Guardian

Javid warns the BBC over political bias

‘Culture and Media Secretary Sajid Javid has complained of ‘bias’ in the BBC’s election coverage and threatened a review of how the Corporation is governed. Senior Tories have been increasingly frustrated by what they claim is a Left-leaning slant to much of the BBC’s coverage, which Mr Javid said sometimes left him thinking: ‘What was that? I’m sure they could have done a more balanced job.’’ – Daily Mail

• TV stars brought back into the payroll – Daily Mail
• Planning row over BBC Wales HQ – WalesOnline

Morgan offers parents of summer babies the right to delay school start

‘The Tories will give parents of summer-born children the right to delay their entry to school, the Education Secretary said today. Nicky Morgan said one of the first things she will do if the Conservatives win the election is review the rules which have seen some councils putting obstacles in parents’ way. Experts say children born between April and August tend to do worse at school because they are one of the youngest in their year and fall behind those who are older.’ – Daily Mail

• How have we got schools policy so badly wrong? – Peter Tait, Daily Telegraph
• Clegg makes education funding a coalition red line – The Times (£)
• Inside the Clegg household – Daily Telegraph

>Yesterday: WATCH: Clegg sets out his coalition red lines

Crunch time approaches for political pollsters

‘The political parties are not the only people on tenterhooks ahead of the election on May 7: the reputations of Britain’s pollsters are also on the line. For now, they cannot agree who is in the lead: on Monday, Lord Ashcroft put the Tories ahead by 6 points, suggesting a majority for David Cameron. Populus said Labour was 3 points in front — a win for Ed Miliband’s party.’ – FT

Salt nannies accuse ministers of killing thousands

‘Experts accuse the Government of undermining a salt reduction programme which had saved thousands of lives. They say that replacing it with the controversial ‘responsibility deal’ – which focused on health initiatives led by the food industry – was a ‘major step backwards’. As a result, efforts to reduce the amount of salt in food stalled and thousands of lives may have been lost.’ – Daily Mail

• The power of a postcode in surviving cancer – Daily Mail
• Staffing problems hold back NHS reforms – FT
• Bomb threat over ‘beach body’ adverts – Daily Mail

The millionaire left-wing comedian…meets Russell Brand

‘Ed Miliband was condemned as ‘desperate and pathetic’ for agreeing to be interviewed by controversial comedian and self-styled revolutionary Russell Brand. The Labour leader even travelled to Brand’s £2million home in trendy Hoxton, East London, on Monday night to be questioned in his kitchen for a YouTube video. Brand, a former drug addict, has previously urged his millions of Twitter followers not to ‘bother’ voting and admitting he has never voted himself.’ – Daily Mail

• Don’t laugh, this is how to engage young people – Owen Jones, The Guardian
• Margaret Hodge’s tax haven windfall – The Times (£)
• The £16,000 sting in the tail of the mansion tax – The Times (£)
• Miliband’s latest political broadcast, brought to you by a famous action director – Daily Mail
• Karen Danczuk wants to be an MP – Daily Mail

Editorials

• It’s more of a tragedy – Daily Mail Leader
• An endorsey-worsement would be damaging – The Sun Says (£)
• Is Hodge naive or incompetent? – The Times Leader (£)

>Today: The Deep End: Why do intelligent politicians produce so many stupid policies?

The true scale of Labour’s open-door immigration policy is revealed

‘Between 1997 and last year, 65 per cent of the country’s 2.7million extra housing units were headed by a foreigner. And in the peak period – 2005 to 2009 – the figure rose to a staggering 89 per cent. MigrationWatch researchers say the influx – the equivalent of a new home being needed every four minutes – pushed up property prices and rents.’ – Daily Mail

• Miliband: We’ve changed, honest – The Guardian
• Labour betrayed a generation – Daily Mail Leader
• They still haven’t got in touch with their apprenticeship poster girl – Daily Mail

Kavanagh: A vote for Nigel risks letting Ed into Number 10

‘I wouldn’t dream of telling Ukip supporters how to vote. But this election is a game changer. A vote for Nigel risks handing it to the most socialist Labour Party since the days of Michael Foot. I know where I’m putting my cross.’ – Trevor Kavanagh, The Sun (£)

• Kellie Maloney ditches UKIP and backs the Conservatives – The Sun (£)
• The People’s Army shoots for Hartlepool – The Guardian
• Farage warns that Mediterranean boats might be carrying terrorists… – Daily Mail
• …and accuses the SNP of racism towards the English – Daily Telegraph
• New calls to end the MEP gravy train – The Times (£)
• Juncker offers hope of ‘minor’ EU treaty changes – The Sun (£)

A more complex election demands a more complex BBC swingometer

‘The advent of multi-party politics poses questions not just for the constitution and the shape of the next government, it also creates a headache for the producers of the BBC’s election coverage and the latest incarnation of its swingometer. Faced with the most complex and unpredictable election in a generation, presenter Jeremy Vine will unveil no fewer than four different swingometers on 7 May, each of them imposed on to the clock faces of a virtual version of the Westminster tower that houses Big Ben.’ – The Guardian

• I admire Sturgeon – Sarah Vine, Daily Mail
• Stoking nationalism is reckless – Rafael Behr, The Guardian
• It would be insane to rely on the SNP – The Sun Says (£)
• Michelle Mone switches to the Tories – The Sun (£)
• Coalitions are a good thing – Philip Stephens, FT
• Labour have brought us to the brink – Daniel Finkelstein, The Times (£)

>Today:

• ToryDiary: What will be the outcome of the General Election? Have your say in our latest survey
• Daniel Hannan MEP’s column: Why proportional representation is now right for the Commons
• Henry Hill’s Red, White and Blue column: Tories rule out pact with Nationalists in Holyrood

>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Remember when eternal coalition was supposedly a positive prospect?

Might the rise of green cars drive up your road tax?

‘The rise of the green car means that a record seven out of ten buyers now pay no road-tax on the first year of ownership of a brand new motor, even on family and luxury vehicles. But a report has warned that while our cars are now less polluting, this will create a potential £1.3billion black hole for the Treasury – and may spell a car tax hike down the line.’ – Daily Mail

• Miliband’s worst decision, and the £50,000 you will pay for it – Christopher Booker, Daily Mail
• Where is the sane energy policy in this election? – Bernard Ingham, Yorkshire Post
• There’s nothing ethical about dumping fossil fuel investments – Ross Clark, The Times (£)
• OAPs left in squalor by Environment Minister – Belfast Telegraph

News in Brief

• Australian drug smugglers executed in Indonesia – Daily Mail
• Troops are called in to tackle Baltimore riots – The Times (£)
• Revealed: The real Mr D’Arcy – Daily Telegraph
• New call for a Scottish spaceport – The Scotsman
• Twitter shares fall as results are leaked – FT
• A man and his duck: Keith Harris has died – Daily Mail
• McCanns win libel payout – The Times (£)
• Sainsbury’s chief executive jailed in Egypt – Daily Telegraph
• Huge devastation in Nepal – The Sun (£)

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