“Tory council leaders across England and Wales have presented a united front with Labour and Lib Dem-run local authorities as they warn the chancellor, George Osborne, that another round of funding cuts would devastate local services and harm the most vulnerable in society. In a letter to the Observer, council bosses representing every type of local authority in England and Wales, as part of the Tory-controlled Local Government Association (LGA), say they have already had to impose cuts of 40% since 2010 and cannot find more savings without serious consequences for community life and social care, and knock-on effects for the NHS” – Observer
>Yesterday:
“David Cameron’s former chief strategist has called on him to do more for the poor and listen less to the rich… In an interview with The Sunday Times, Steve Hilton said it was ‘outrageous’ that 2m people in Britain who work all week are unable to support themselves without benefits and said he would be raising the issue with Cameron. And in an intervention that will raise eyebrows, he warns that British politics is victim to a new form of ‘corruption’, where big money donors buy influence with ‘a ruling class that seeks to perpetuate its privilege’” – Sunday Times (£)
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“We will continue our push to improve our schools and the forthcoming Queen’s Speech will set out a series of new measures…our big priorities will be to speed up the process for tackling failing schools; extend our academies programme to tackle ‘coasting’ schools; and deliver on our commitment to open new free schools” – Nicky Morgan MP, Education Secretary, Sunday Telegraph
“David Cameron has appointed women to a third of the posts in his cabinet, fulfilling a pledge he made in the previous parliament. Rudd believes the proportion should rise further because seeing more women in prominent roles will encourage others. “I’m going to have to leave him to work that out himself. I think women should always be in 50% of places of influence. One of the many things I like about this job and being a woman is that it does make young women think: that is something I could do” – Amber Rudd MP, Environment Secretary, Sunday Times (£)
“David Cameron came under new pressure over Europe on Saturday as the frontrunner for the Labour leadership, Andy Burnham, called on him to bring forward his planned in/out referendum to next year and demanded a far-reaching renegotiation to address public concern over immigration. The move means that, if Burnham is chosen by his party to succeed Ed Miliband in September, Labour will not only perform a dramatic U-turn by throwing its backing behind an in/out vote, but will also join Tory Eurosceptics in demanding a tough new settlement for the British people as soon as possible” – Observer
“David Cameron was last night urged to ban one million Europeans from a vote in Britain’s in/out EU referendum amid fears they will be ‘biased for Brussels’… Last night, Tory MP Philip Davies called on Mr Cameron to say now that European nationals from other countries would be banned from taking part in the vote. Shipley MP Mr Davies said: ‘There is a massive concern that the referendum could be rigged to deliver a desired outcome’” – Mail on Sunday
“A week after Labour’s catastrophic general election defeat, Jon Cruddas is holding nothing back. His party must now “go to some dark places”, he says, in its search for explanations… “This could be the greatest crisis the Labour party has faced since it was created. It is epic in its scale” – Observer
>Yesterday:
“Defiant Nigel Farage hit back at Ukip rebels yesterday – and vowed to continue as their leader for the next 20 years. He refused to tone down his ‘aggressive’ style or give up the booze, insisting: ‘I’ll do it my way.’ In an exclusive interview with The Sun on Sunday, Mr Farage blamed the outbreak of back-stabbing on a handful of colleagues stressed out after a gruelling election campaign. He declared: ‘I’ve put 20 years of my life into trying to get a referendum and now is not the time to walk away’” – Sun on Sunday (£)