Mats Persson on Platform: Two EU laws that urgently need to be renegotiated Philip Booth on CentreRight: What ministers should learn from Hayek's The Constitution of Liberty Two new posts on ThinkTankCentral: "On the eve of the Liberal Democrat conference, the Deputy Prime Minister backed the Coalition's programme of welfare cuts and dramatically shifted his party's policy on the subject. He said the billions spent on welfare should be used as an 'engine of mobility', instead of just leaving people 'stuck on benefits, year in, year out'. His comments are likely to infuriate his party's left-wingers, who have publicly accused the Coalition of targeting the vulnerable and Mr Clegg of breaking promises to ensure all cuts were 'fair' " - Daily Mail Prime Minister urged to give Nick Clegg more political advisers - The Independent Iain Duncan Smith takes on George Osborne over £4 billion welfare axe...and is apparently supported by David Cameron "Iain Duncan Smith...has won the political support of Downing Street to press ahead with welfare reform built around a new universal credit that will eventually save the taxpayer billions despite its initial start-up costs. The Treasury has been sceptical about the plans, concerned that the initial costs might not be matched by savings within the four-year timeframe of the coming spending review. But it is understood that Cameron has given Duncan Smith...the go-ahead to fund the reforms, ahead of a white paper later in the autumn." - The Guardian Fighting force of the future needs twice as many part-timers - The Times (£) MOD deal worth £10.5 billion failed to deliver - The Independent Cameron seeks to avoid press leaks on cuts "Most departments must make cuts of 25 per cent or more by 2014-15. Government officials expect especially bruising negotiations with Iain Duncan Smith, work and pensions secretary, Vince Cable, business secretary, and Liam Fox, defence secretary. Theresa May, home secretary, will also be involved in highly sensitive discussions about her budget. “Obviously any cuts to the police budget are going to be contentious,” said one aide to Mr Cameron." - Financial Times (£) > Yesterday in ToryDiary: The Coalition's main policy is right - and it's time to get behind it Ministers hit out at police scare stories - Daily Mail Leo McKinstry: Yes, some public sector employees are really bone-idle "We now have a two-tier Britain, where those on the state payroll generally enjoy far better pay, job security, pensions and holi- days. What makes the injustice even more intolerable is that private employees have to pay through their taxes for the superior conditions enjoyed by the public sector. in effect they are forced to subsidise the privileged position of the state workforce while enduring second-class status themselves." - Daily Express Chris Patten: Why this state visit is well worth its cost to British taxpayers Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said the predicted rise in sea levels could create the 'perfect storm' conditions in the future. Her comments are the first by a minister from the new coalition Government to directly address the predicted effects of climate change. Appearing before the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Select Committee, she insisted that the coalition Government was committed to boosting flood defences as a result - Daily Mail "Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman describes the CCC's adaptation report as "a wake-up call". "There is no part of our society which is immune from the effects of climate change," she is due to say in a speech on Thursday. "Britain's economy will only be as resilient and prepared as British firms, communities and infrastructure." - BBC "Hague calls his own approach "idealism tempered with realism". He promises to promote human rights wherever they arise and through all appropriate forums, the BBC World Service, EU, the Commonwealth and Facebook. As a biographer of William Wilberforce, the anti-slavery crusader, he has thought about these things." - Guardian Inaction stations: It's war in Whitehall - Robert Shrimsley, Financial Times (£) We let the economy slip, King tells TUC - Daily Mail David Cameron to push EU to ease Pakistan's trade terms - Guardian Government "committed" to using more open source software - Computer World ToryDiary: A narrative for this government (#3) ToryDiary: Cameron and Harman love-in at her last Prime Minister's Questions as Leader of the Opposition Invictus on CentreRight: Did a Labour ex-Spad break the Code of Conduct to attack the Monarchy? Parliament: Dr Dan Poulter and Fiona Bruce make maiden speeches WATCH
ToryDiary: As Benedict XVI prepares for Britain, Sayeeda Warsi "does God" in Oxford. But the Papal visit presents the Government with hard choices
"Our welfare reforms will put more power into the hands of benefit recipients and local communities. One of my predecessors as party leader, Jo Grimond, argued 30 years ago that a centralised, bureaucratic “welfare state”, treating people as passive recipients of benefits, had to be replaced by a “welfare society”, in which people engaged as active citizens in promoting their own welfare, and the welfare of others. This vision is long overdue." - The Times (£)
"Iain Duncan Smith stepped up his Cabinet war with George Osborne yesterday by openly contradicting the Chancellor’s claims over welfare cuts. Last week Mr Osborne let it be known that he had identified a further £4billion of savings to the welfare budget by 2014/15. But Mr Duncan Smith told MPs yesterday he simply did not ‘recognise’ the figure and was still involved in ‘robust discussions’ with the Treasury." - Daily Mail
"Ministers will decide shortly what kind of deterrent Britain should have and can afford alongside the current comprehensive spending review. But they are now looking at postponing key spending decisions on Trident until after the 2015 election, potentially saving billions in the short term. The Ministry of Defence said that no decisions had been taken. Delaying any decision beyond 2015 would also mean avoiding a political row in the run-up to the next general election" - BBC
"The onslaught from the police partly dictated Mr Cameron's tone at Cabinet on Tuesday. While the strategy is unchanged, the tactics have been reorganised into two strands. First, the Prime Minister urged ministers to lay into "irresponsible" special interest groups, a message reinforced by the Chancellor, who ordered them to take to the airwaves and return fire...The second strand of the fightback is the story the Coalition has to tell about what it is doing and why." - Daily Telegraph
"It is faith that inspires the social work in welfare education of so many Catholics, the work that promotes social cohesion and solidarity. Moreover, those whose lives are shaped by faith know that there is more to life than the pursuit of consumable goods. In a free society some may want to protest against [the Pope's] visit. But the great majority will want to make him welcome." - The Times
"The business secretary, Vince Cable, last night distanced himself from speculation that he is about to intervene in the controversial full takeover of BSkyB by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation despite being urged by the industry to look at avenues such as calling in media regulator Ofcom to investigate the impact of the proposed transaction." - Guardian
Thursday, 16 September 2010
Today's leading ConHome features
Today's other newslinks
Highlights from yesterday
Posts
