“David Cameron today says Britain’s Christian values are why the country is such a “successful home” to immigrants. In a Christmas message laced with religion, the PM praises Jesus as the “Prince of Peace”. And he urges families not to take their security for granted when so many Christians are being persecuted in Africa and Asia.” – The Sun
Comment:
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“David Cameron was last night buckling under the strain to remove the ‘muzzle’ from his ministers and give them a free vote for the EU referendum. Amid mounting pressure from Eurosceptic MPs, the Prime Minister is increasingly expected to allow his senior MPs to campaign to leave the EU – but only after his renegotiation is complete in February.” – Daily Mail
“He is to blame as much as anyone for the political pickle into which the Tory party has led itself and the country today – a perilous “renegotiation” with 27 EU partners who have more pressing problems of their own, followed by a Brexit referendum in which anything might happen.” – The Guardian
“George Osborne suffered a significant double blow yesterday as ‘worrying’ figures suggested that the economic recovery is stalling. The Office for National Statistics downgraded growth figures for both the second and third quarters of 2015. At the same time, it emerged that the trade deficit – the difference between the value of Britain’s exports and imports – had widened to £8.7billion.” – Daily Mail
Tax:
“The number of children growing up in workless households has plummeted by almost half a million since Iain Duncan Smith began his reforms to the ‘bloated’ welfare system. The Work and Pensions Secretary – who has come under repeated attack from the Church of England and the Left-wing establishment – last night said the figures proved the ‘doom mongers’ had been wrong.” – Daily Mail
“Two senior Tory officials made intimidating phone calls in an effort to gag alleged victims of a bullying scandal last month, activists have claimed. A female party worker said she received a telephone call from Amy Fisher, the Conservative party’s head of press, and Alexandra Broadrick, chief of staff to the party chairman, Lord Feldman of Elstree, late last month.” – The Times (£)
“Jeremy Corbyn will spend the Christmas break planning a reshuffle to oust his most prominent shadow cabinet critics that is due to be announced within weeks of the New Year, The Telegraph understands. The Labour leader and his aides will spend the next fortnight working out how to replace leading internal critics with allies in major a departure from his initial conciliatory top team.” – Daily Telegraph
London:
Christmas:
Comment:
“The Labour party is developing policies to break up the UK’s largest media companies, according to leader Jeremy Corbyn. In an interview in Monday’s Morning Star, Corbyn said the party also wanted to promote co-operative ownership models for the media.” – The Guardian
“This is interesting only in an “oh, isn’t the abyss interesting?” kind of way. And those are only the lowlights. Still, they’re pretty close to the standard Corbynite prescriptions of printing money, cancelling Trident renewal, spending more and state intervention in the economy.” – Daily Telegraph
“Britain must be involved in bringing stability to Afghanistan, former foreign secretary David Miliband has said, particularly given the country’s potential as an “expansion ground for Isis”. Military reinforcements are supporting forces on the ground in the Afghan town of Sangin amid fierce fighting against the Taliban.” – The Independent
“The European Court of Justice has delivered a blow to Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister, by ruling that imposing a minimum price for alcohol could breach EU law. The decision – a major victory for the drinks industry – means that the Scottish government may have to rethink its key manifesto pledge. The measure was also considered and then shelved by David Cameron.” – Daily Mail
>Yesterday: Henry Hill’s Red, White, and Blue column: Mundell spearheads attack on SNP budget