ToryDiary: The new Prevent policy won't succeed without an enforcer. I nominate Lord Carlile.
Andrew Bridgen MP on Comment: Failure to introduce the NHS reforms would be tantamount to caving in to innovation-stifling Stalinists whose views have perpetuated poor health outcomes for too long
Also on Comment, Gareth Johnson MP writes that Equal access to IVF treatment on the NHS should be ensured across the country
Local Government:
- Cllr Jonathan Glanz: Why are Labour defending rent subsidies for the richest in society?
- Success story in Evening Standard's literacy campaign
- Pensioner told to drag out TV herself - on health and safety grounds
Parliament: Conservative peers are statistically less silent than the average
Gazette: Peter Cruddas appointed Co-Treasurer of the Conservative Party
Cut taxes to boost economy, IMF tells George Osborne...
"The IMF yesterday gave broad support for the Chancellor's plans to reduce the government deficit by cutting public spending and insisted that there was no need to change course at the moment... Some economists have said that, if the economy does stall, Mr Osborne should be prepared to relax his programme of cuts to borrow more and spend more. By contrast, the IMF said that in such a scenario, the economy should be stimulated with a combination of more “quantitative easing” from the Bank of England and “temporary tax cuts” for businesses and low-income hous eholds." - Daily Telegraph
...as the Chancellor accuses the BBC of bias
"George Osborne was unrepentant after he accused the BBC of bias in its reporting of the economy and the government's recovery plans. The chancellor told the Radio 4 Today programme's Sarah Montague that her negative depiction of the economy was typical of that bias. He cited three recent examples when, he said, the broadcaster focused on bad news and the most gloomy statistics." - The Guardian
- Allister Heath: The IMF is right to back UK austerity - City AM
- The Chancellor has got the deficit reduction right, but needs to deliver a more aggressive growth strategy - Daily Telegraph editorial
- Stephen Pollard: The ignorance of those who say Osborne's plan isn't working - Daily Express
- Steve Richards: Osborne limits media appearances, but is obsessed with the media - The Independent
> Yesterday on ConHome:
- ToryDiary: IMF endorses George Osborne's fiscal consolidation strategy and counsels against adjusting macroeconomic policy
- Andrew Lilico: Stick to the course, Mr Osborne. Don't let Ed Balls bore you into submission
- Mark Littlewood: Osborne doesn’t need Plan B, but he does need Plan A+
- LeftWatch: So who exactly were those supposedly impartial economists attacking the Government at the weekend?
- LISTEN: On the Today programme, George Osborne defends his economic strategy, reminding listeners that there is flexibility in his plans
- WATCH: Acting head of the IMF John Lipsky endorses the Coalition Government's economic policy
Cameron to give waiting time pledge to boost ailing health reforms
"David Cameron will concede today that NHS waiting lists might rise despite his reforms, as he begins the task of selling his reshaped health plans. The Prime Minister will set out his proposals after changes to the radical reform programme of Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, which was criticised by health professionals and patient groups. Mr Cameron will make five “guarantees” to the public, including a broadly worded promise on waiting times." - The Times (£)
"David Cameron and Nick Clegg are planning to issue a prompt response next week to a report on the future of the government's NHS reforms amid fears that voters will not tolerate any further delays." - The Guardian
- Cameron to deliver five guarantees on the future of the NHS today - BBC
- Public supports NHS plans but don't trust Tories to deliver them - PoliticsHome
> Dr Rachel Joyce on Comment last night: What should come out of the listening exercise on NHS reform?
More than 70 per cent of NHS trusts break rules to deny IVF and save money - The Independent
Millions wasted chasing ‘wrong’ terrorist threats
"Millions of pounds have been squandered overseas on anti-extremism projects that produced no security benefits, while crucial efforts to counter home-grown terrorism remain underfunded, the Government will admit today. The new Prevent strategy for fighting the al-Qaeda ideology, a copy of which has been seen by The Times, promises to “significantly scale up” work in prisons and with recently released terrorist prisoners." - The Times (£)
- Doctors asked to identify potential terrorists under government plans - The Guardian
- New crackdown on home-grown terror will broaden definition of Islamic 'extremism' - Daily Mail
- Dean Godson: The Prevent test for Islamists is just fair play - The Times (£)
Keep your Arab Spring migrants, May tells France
"Theresa May promised "strong practical action" yesterday to prevent migrants fleeing the turmoil in North Africa from reaching Britain. The Home Secretary, visiting France to inspect cross-Channel border controls, said there was no evidence yet that refugees from the Arab Spring had arrived in this country." - The Independent
Coverage of the keynote speeches delivered at yesterday's ConservativeIntelligence conference:
Liam Fox denies 'six-month Libya 'deadline'...
"Defence Secretary Liam Fox has denied that military action in Libya has a six-month deadline. In a speech, Dr Fox said the Strategic Defence and Security Review had allowed for "one long enduring mission like Afghanistan" and one shorter programme "of about six months' duration"... "We are there for the long haul to protect the Libyan people," he added. Military action in Libya had been "extraordinarily successful", Dr Fox added." - BBC
- Britain's £6 million-a-week bill for bombing Gaddafi's military machine - Daily Mail
- Fox warns of more cuts to armed forces - The Independent
...as Andrew Mitchell declares Britain to be a "development superpower"
"International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell admitted the Coalition was facing ‘bracing’ criticism over its decision to increase aid spending by 34 per cent to £12billion at a time of austerity at home. But he insisted the money was achieving ‘brilliant’ results and making Britain admired around the world... Addressing a foreign policy conference in London, Mr Mitchell said: ‘Just as the Americans are a military superpower, we are a development superpower – we are in the lead." - Daily Mail
Dominic Grieve issues Twitter injunction warning
"People who use Twitter to breach privacy injunctions may face legal action, according to the government's senior law officer. Attorney General Dominic Grieve said that individuals could be prosecuted for contempt of court for publishing sensitive material... Mr Grieve told the BBC he would take action himself if he thought it necessary to uphold the rule of law." - BBC
Ken Clarke under fire from taxman over legal fee reforms - The Guardian
Rachel Sylvester: Cameron used to talk about devolving power to people but as PM is concentrating power at the centre
"Yesterday Mr Cameron backed national guidelines for retailers, broadcasters and councils to prevent the sexualisation of children. Today the Home Office publishes plans to tackle extremism that will include controls on universities and Muslim groups. The Department for Environment and Rural Affairs will set out plans to protect designated wildlife sites. Meanwhile, ministers are about to force through a huge housebuilding programme on public sector land. “All political parties are decentralisers in opposition and centralisers in government,” one strategist says." - Rachel Sylvester in The Times (£)
David Cameron set to visit Northern Ireland for first time in a year - Belfast Telegraph
Student numbers could be cut to cover spiralling cost of loans
"Tough quotas on student numbers may have to be introduced to avoid the creation of a spending black hole under plans to raise tuition fees at English universities to a maximum of £9,000, a powerful committee of MPs has warned. Ministers underestimated how many universities would charge the maximum fee and now face an annual bill to fund the interest-free student loans that is "several hundred million pounds" higher than anticipated, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) reports." - The Guardian
Prospect of widespread public sector strikes moves closer - Press Association
> Video from yesterday: Vince Cable is booed and heckled at the GMB conference when he moots the possibility of strengthening anti-strike laws
Political news in brief
- Cameron gives TV four months to crack down on pre-watershed sex and violence - Daily Mail
- Police meet CPS over Huhne motoring offence allegations - Daily Express
- May retail sales dip as customers 'reluctant to spend' - BBC
- Pensions disaster for one in two workers - Daily Express
- Six million may be missing from electoral roll, claims Labour MP - The Guardian
Portugal's new PM promises aggressive reform...
"Portugal Prime Minister-elect Pedro Passos Coelho vowed on Monday to cut public spending and sell public companies to meet requirements imposed under a €78 billion bailout as soon as he takes over the country's government, but a tight deadline could make his task difficult." - Wall Street Journal Europe
...as only five EU nations are left with Left-wing governments
"Only five left-wing governments remain in the European Union after debt-ridden Portugal voted to boot out the Socialists at the weekend... The only five remaining left-led governments among the EU’s 27 member states are Spain, Greece, Austria, Slovenia and Cyprus." - Daily Mail
And finally... Sarah Palin suggests that she'll be passing through London next month
"I am going to Sudan in July and hope to stop in England on the way," she said. "I am just hoping Mrs Thatcher is well enough to see me as I so admire her." - Sarah Palin quoted in The Independent
Rob Hayward in Seats and Candidates: The suggested parliamentary boundaries from Lewis Baston are incoherent, full of oddities and far from impartial
Local Government: Street decluttering referendums planned
Ryan Bourne of the Centre for Policy Studies on ThinkTankCentral: Britain has been falling down the international competitiveness league tables and the Coalition must learn some urgent lessons if it is to reverse that decline
International: David Cameron congratulates Europe's newest centre-right Prime Minister, Portugal's Pedro Passos Coelho
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