ToryDiary: The pay of the 172 civil servants earning more than the Prime Minister is revealed
Dr Rachel Joyce on Platform: The case for a "fat tax"
Local Government: The Big Idea for the second Tory term at Hammersmith & Fulham is to clear the debt
Parliament: The race to chair the Treasury select committees hots up
Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: Guerilla cheese-rollers flout the Health and Safety ban on their centuries-old traditional bank holiday pastime
WATCH: William Hague calls for an independent inquiry into the Israeli interception of the Gaza Flotilla
David Cameron and William Hague 'deplore' Gaza aid ship deaths and call for an end to Israel's blockade of Gaza
"The prime minister has told his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, that he "deplored the heavy loss of life" caused during Israel's interception of a flotilla of aid. At least nine people were killed, and a Briton injured, after commandos stormed a ship destined for the Gaza Strip... A Downing Street spokesman said Mr Cameron spoke to the Israeli prime minister on Monday. He said: "The prime minister deplored the heavy loss of life off the coast of Gaza. He reiterated the UK's strong commitment to Israel's security, but urged Israel to respond constructively to legitimate criticism of its actions, and to do everything po ssible to avoid a repeat of this unacceptable situation." - BBC
"Britain, along with the EU and United Nations demanded an end to Israel's three-year blockade of Gaza. "I deplore the loss of life during the interception of the Gaza flotilla," said William Hague, the foreign secretary. "I call on the Government of Israel to open the crossings to allow unfettered access for aid to Gaza, and address the serious concerns about the deterioration in the humanitarian and economic situation." He also demanded information and "urgent access" for British embassy officials to UK nationals who were on board the flotilla and confirmed that one had been injured. At least 28 activists were known to be British citizens." - Daily Telegraph
> Yesterday's ToryDiary: William Hague condemns Israel's "unacceptable" blockade of Gaza in wake of flotilla deaths
> Matthew Sinclair on CentreRight: William Hague needs to issue a new statement on the flotilla incident
Government to scrap Labour's green belt house-building targets
"House-building targets set by central government are to be ended to protect the green belt around towns in England. There had been plans to build on green-belt land in 30 towns, as councils tried to meet regional targets. However, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said local authorities would now be given the freedom to make their own decisions and ignore the targets before the legislation is formally introduced." - The Independent
Michael Gove has no 'ideological objection' to firms making profits by running academy schools
"The government has "no ideological objection" to businesses seeking profits from the new generation of academy schools and free schools, Michael Gove has said. But the education secretary said his preference was for teachers and other experts to decide how to run and improve schools and said he expected most academies to be run as philanthropic projects." - The Guardian
> Last night's ToryDiary: Michael Gove reportedly has no "ideological objection" to firms running academies making a profit
David Laws' resignation "won't wreck coalition"
"Four in five Brits believe the David Laws crisis will not seriously damage the coalition, The Sun can reveal. And 52 per cent think the ex-Treasury Chief Secretary should return to the Cabinet at some point. The YouGov poll for The Sun will come as a relief for PM David Cameron and deputy Nick Clegg after Mr Laws' resignation gave the Government an early serious challenge." - The Sun
"David Laws could play an informal role in advising Danny Alexander – who replaced him in the Treasury after Laws' resignation over revelations about his expenses – in the run up to the June budget, Downing Street has confirmed. The future of Laws, the former chief secretary to the Treasury, was the subject of intense speculation today after friends expressed concerns that he might quit parliament altogether." - The Guardian
"The decision to parachute Danny Alexander into the key role of chief Treasury secretary after less than three weeks as Scottish secretary will not help the coalition government’s cause north of the border. Michael Moore, the new Scottish secretary, has little public profile in Scotland – although that drawback also applies to all 11 of the Scottish Liberal Democrat MPs, apart from their two former UK leaders, Charles Kennedy and Sir Menzies Campbell, who are now very much elder statesmen." - FT
Polly Toynbee: David Laws's life goal was to cast people out of work - The Guardian
Ex-Chief Secretary Lord Waldegrave has some advice for Danny Alexander
"You have one of the best jobs in government; you will know all the detail of every department, every secret, every last nook and cranny. You will know all about your colleagues: who is any good, who isn’t. The only trouble is, if it all goes well, it won’t be you who gets the credit." - Lord Waldegrave in The Times
Laws spells out scale of the challenge to his successor - The Independent
Danny Alexander profited from 'morally dubious' loophole
"The new Chief Secretary to the Treasury avoided paying capital gains tax on the sale of his taxpayer-funded second home by using a loophole his own party said was “morally dubious”, it has emerged. Danny Alexander used the tax-break loophole to avoid paying CGT on the sale of a property in south London for £300,000 in June 2007. Mr Alexander, appointed Chief Secretary on Saturday after the resignation of David Laws, took advantage of the loophole that allows people to avoid capital gains tax for three years after a property stops being their main residence." - Daily Telegraph
> Yesterday morning's ToryDiary: The Coalition will try to tough out the Telegraph's Danny Alexander revelations
Dominic Lawson: Cameron can't have it both ways
"The Prime Minister must make a choice. He can continue to impose ever greater energy costs on British industry – otherwise known as "Greening the economy" – or he can stand up for our manufacturing sector, as he declared he would last week. No speech, however glib or well-delivered, can disguise this dichotomy." - Dominic Lawson in The Independent
Bruce Anderson: Secrecy in government is often a feeble excuse for inefficiency
"This is the age of information. All over the world, the internet is spreading freedom and power. It is now much harder for oppressive regimes to kennel up their peoples in propagandised ignorance. In democracies too, there is an impact. Life can become much harder for unresponsive bureaucracies." - Daily Telegraph
US military takes command of UK troops in Afghanistan
"The US will take control of about 8,000 British troops in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, later. The move is part of a restructuring of Nato forces, with command and control in southern Afghanistan split into two. Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox welcomed changes he said were "based on sound military rationale" and in the interests of the coalition strategy/" - BBC
Security snub for Lib Dems
"Deputy PM Nick Clegg is the only Lib Dem cleared to know Britain's most sensitive secrets - alongside five top Tories, The Sun can reveal." - The Sun
Woman in court over attempted murder of Labour MP - Press Association
And finally... John Prescott seeks to justify his volte-face on accepting a peerage
"John Prescott has revealed the reason behind his extraordinary decision to accept a peerage: He wants to save the planet. The former Deputy Prime Minister had previously declared he would never accept a seat in the House of Lords and has been a vocal critic of 'flunkery and titles'. But seeking to justify his change of heart, Mr Prescott said yesterday he took the peerage because it gave him an 'opportunity' to influence environmental policy. The former merchant seaman denied saying he would refuse to become a member of the House of Lords, and he rejected suggestions that he accepted the peerage to placate his long-s uffering wife Pauline's fury over his affair with his secretary." - Daily Mail
ConHome coverage of David Laws' resignation
ToryDiary: David Laws paying rent of £40,000 to long-term partner may have broken Commons rules
Martin Sewell on Platform: "We must refute the notion that sex + financial claim = dishonour"
WATCH: David Laws' full resignation statement
ToryDiary: Immediate reactions to David Laws' resignation
Donal Blaney on Platform: It is time for conservatives to boycott the Telegraph. Anybody with me?
Paul Goodman on CentreRight: Why should Ben Summerskill tell David Laws how to live his life?
Melanchthon on CentreRight: David Laws' resignation was the consequence of setting the misjudgement bar too low
WATCH: IDS tells Andrew Marr that Laws was right to resign
ToryDiary: Let it be said: Most politicians aren't crooks
Other features from the Bank Holiday weekend
- Growing support for Coalition among Tory members
- Hague, IDS and Gove top Cabinet league table; Cable and Huhne get wooden spoons
- Are these Cameronism's seven big ideas?
- John Major blamed for 1922 putsch
- The government information and data being opened up to public scrutiny
- Howard Flight: There are advantages to the Coalition - but will it be able to deal with the biggest challenges facing the country?
- Simon Clark: The tobacco industry has every right and every reason to lobby government
- Rupert Matthews: The Government should release all the work of the Climate Research Unit for public scrutiny
- Damian Collins, Stephen Mosley and Thérèse Coffey give vocal backing to nuclear power in their maiden speeches
- New MPs John Glen and Neil Parish use maiden speeches to highlight challenges facing rural Britain
- Mark Wallace: The abolition of Comprehensive Area Assessments is to be welcomed
- Congratulations to Shireen Ritchie, a Kensington and Chelsea councillor, on her well deserved peerage
- Conservatives retain power in Mole Valley
Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: Is now really the time for the Queen to be asking for more public cash?
Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: Obama plays A LOT of golf
International: Defying opinion polls which pointed towards a left-wing victory, right-wing parties win 46% of vote in Czech elections
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