Thursday, 4 September 2008



Thursday 4th September 08
Other news

CameronrazaDavid Cameron will round off his trip to turbulent Pakistan by visiting projects designed to help the country's poor - Press Association

Scottish Tories condemn proposed alcohol ban for under-21s

"SNP's plans to prohibit the sale of alcohol to people under 21 ... included banning off-sale drinks to under-21s, setting a minimum price for alcoholic drinks, and introducing a “social responsibility fee” that would require the drinks and retail trade to pay reparation if they were found to have been selling acohol irresponsibly.

"The Tories, however, pledged to fight the plan. “We will continue to lead the opposition to the ludicrous plans to criminalise a responsible, 20 year-old adult who wants to buy a bottle of wine to take home and celebrate the birth of his baby,” said the Tory leader Annabel Goldie.

“We will also fight against stigmatising the pensioner who wants to buy alcohol in the supermarket and would be forced to line up in a special ‘drinks only' queue.” - The Times

Tory MP plans cross-party campaign for a No vote in referendum on full lawmaking powers for the Welsh Assembly

"Monmouth MP David Davies, who was an AM for eight years, said giving the Assembly extra powers would begin a slippery slope to independence and 'Soviet-style poverty'." - Wales Online

Brown demands energy companies fund his fuel package

Brown_drinking_2"Relieving the cost of energy bills on households was supposed to be one of the centrepieces of his autumn relaunch. But he could be left with a threadbare deal which just involves energy saving measures such as help with loft insulation and encouraging the use of energy saving light bulbs... It means Mr Brown risks the second part of his economic recovery plan being a damp squib just days after his stamp duty announcement was dismissed by many experts as unlikely to make a difference to the housing market." - The Telegraph

Charles Clarke's intervention has revived speculation that Mr Brown will face pressure to stand down or be openly challenged this autumn - The Telegraph

Brown is slumsy, reckless and a shadow of his former self - Steve Richards in The Independent

Minister for Tourism admits she prefers to holiday in Italy

Margaret Hodge said British hotels were expensive, rush hour on London’s Tube was “dreadful” and centres like Stonehenge needed “sorting out” - The Sun

SNP ready to fight Westminster over tax plans

"Alex Salmond cleared the way yesterday for his most fraught battle yet as First Minister when he pledged to scrap the council tax in Scotland and replace it with a highly-controversial local income tax." - The Times

Britons among Europe's hardest working, report suggests

"Workers in full-time jobs put in an average of 41.4 hours every week last year - almost two hours more than the average among the 15 original members of the European Union. Only workers in Romania and Bulgaria work longer at an average of 41.7 hours a week. By comparison, the French spend an average of just 37.7 hours a week at work, effectively giving them an entire afternoon off compared with British workers. And while working hours in many parts of Europe are generally falling, those in Britain are rising - from 40.7 hours last year in 2006." - The  Telegraph

Despite the Government's modest and ineffective ‘rescue package', the outlook is looking brighter for Britain's economy - Anatole Kaletsky in The Times

Political lessons of past economic downturns - Adrian Hamilton in The Independent

Doctors split on 'presumed consent' to organ donations - The Telegraph

Cabinet Office has been ordered to release secret memos on Iraq - The Independent

Government forecasts seven million more immigrants by 2028

"Our approach to immigration is unsustainable - we must either cap numbers or introduce a tough guest worker scheme" - Camilla Cavendish in The Times

HamzaPrison bosses spent £25,000 to buy lunch boxes for Muslim terrorists and criminals

The containers were handed out to nearly 250 inmates to keep their dinners warm in their cells during the Muslim festival of Ramadan - The Sun

Liberal Democrats claim Labour has created more than 3,600 new criminal offences since it won power 11 years ago – almost one for every day it has been in office - The Independent

Courts face closure over £90 million shortfall

"The criminal courts are facing their biggest cash crisis in decades after a warning to judges and magistrates of a £90 million shortfall in the budget for the justice system. Judges and magistrates in England and Wales have been told of the emergency, which is likely to result in trial delays, cancelled court sittings and redundancies." - The Times

London crime maps go online - The Independent

Tony Blair's bodyguard left a loaded pistol on the floor of a Starbucks toilet for nearly twenty minutes - The Sun

Sarah Palin gets the spiteful Margaret Thatcher treatment - Janet Daley in The Telegraph

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