Wednesday, 16 December 2009

Today's other newlinks

The Government is lambasted over its defence cuts

"For the first time in modern history, the Government has raided the budget of the Ministry of Defence to fund a continuing military operation... Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, accused the Government of “catastrophic economic mismanagement”. “Our defences are being cut, not as a response to a diminished threat – if anything the threat is increasing,” he said. “The Government that’s had four defence secretaries in four years, is now cutting capability as a result of catastrophic economic mismanagement. Our brave armed forces are paying for Labour’s incompetence." - Daily Telegraph

DUNCAN ALAN NEW "Rutland MP Alan Duncan has vowed to fight for RAF Cottesmore to remain open. He said: "RAF Cottesmore is the home of the Harrier force that won the Falklands War. The base still has strategic value and I oppose plans for its closure in the strongest possible terms. It is as a result of a catastrophic failure of planning on the Government's part. RAF Cottesmore is being sacrificed because of the Prime Minister's incompetence at managing the economy." - Rutland and Stamford Mercury

"Yesterday's back-of-the-envelope package of defence cuts from Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, is an object lesson in how not to manage the Armed Forces." - Daily Telegraph editorial

> Yesterday on ConHome:

David Cameron gives his taken on the recent opinion polls

"If you get technical you can see there is a bit of switching between Liberal and Labour and there is a bit of firming up – Labour are going for a bit of a core votes strategy," Cameron tells the Guardian. Labour's decision to tack to its natural supporters, by provoking a class war and bashing bankers, is a familiar but arguably unwise move. "It is a massive mistake for them because they are saying if you want to be aspirational then Labour is no longer for you," he says. "That is a disastrous political strategy." - The Guardian

Chris Grayling accuses Government of mis-selling ID cards

GRAYLING-OPEN-SHIRT "The Conservatives have accused the government of "miss-selling" ID cards after Alistair Darling appeared to suggest they would be scrapped... People living in Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside and Cumbria will be able to apply for ID cards from 4 January next year, the government has said... Chris Grayling, for the Conservatives, who along with the Lib Dems want the ID card scheme scrapped, accused the government of misleading people. He said: "This is nothing short of a deception of the people of the North West. We now know that the chancellor of the exchequer is planning to scrap ID cards. Yet the Home Office is still encouraging people to sign up for a card. It's blatant mis-selling."  - BBC

Zac Goldsmith makes record donation to his own campaign

"The donation is the biggest by any candidate to their fighting fund since Mr Goldsmith’s late father Sir James pumped millions of pounds into the Referendum Party in the 1997 general election." - Daily Telegraph

> Yesterday in Seats and Candidates: Zac Goldsmith may be able to contribute vast amounts to his own election campaign fund, but candidates must not be expected to follow suit

Tories forced to rewrite amendment on non-dom MPs

"The Tories have been forced to toughen up their plans to force all MPs to become full British taxpayers amid Labour claims that David Cameron's party was going to exempt so-called 'non-doms'. The justice secretary, Jack Straw, accused the Conservatives of ineptitude after they withdrew an amendment to a parliamentary bill that could have allowed those with offshore non-domicile tax status to remain as MPs and peers." - The Guardian

Daniel Finkelstein: There will not be an early election

FINKELSTEIN DANIEL "Every election I have been involved in, there has been a last-minute rumour about an early poll date. And every one has involved a mad dash to get things ready, all those little practical details that you were going to get round to but hadn’t. Followed by anticlimax... So excuse me if I greet all this March election stuff with a wry smile. Let’s just say I’ll believe it when I see it." - Daniel Finkelstein in The Times

Mother of all parliaments to open first nursery

"The £400,000 facility is due to open in September and will replace Bellamy's bar. Parents will have to pay the standard central London rate of around £300 a week, or £10 an hour, for the nursery. All Commons pass holders will be able to take advantage of it, including police officers, secretaries and catering staff." - The Independent

Hurd attacks ministers for lavishing cash on promotional gimmicks

"More than £8million of taxpayers' money is being spent on goods such as cakes, stress balls and Frisbees decorated with government propaganda messages. Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Nick Hurd said: 'It is outrageous that Labour ministers are hiking taxes on hard-working families to pay for this vanity marketing'." - Daily Mail

Man arrested over Baroness Warsi egg attack - BBC

Fifty MPs threaten appeals against Legg demands to reply expenses - Daily Telegraph

MPs back doctors' right to help their patients die - The Times

John Scarlett accused of misleading Iraq Inquiry - The Independent

And finally... David Cameron praises "incredibly talented" Simon Cowell

Picture 5 "Simon Cowell has been described as "incredibly talented" by Conservative leader David Cameron. Mr Cameron admitted that politicians could learn from the X Factor supremo, but stopped short of offering him a job in any future Conservative government. Asked if there would be a place for Simon in a Tory administration, Mr Cameron told talkSPORT radio: "I'm a great believer you should go beyond the Westminster fish tank, you do need to get outside Westminster and find talented people - I have met Simon Cowell a couple of times, he's incredibly talented." - The Mirror

Posted by Britannia Radio at 16:12