Tuesday, 12 July 2011

Today's top ConHome features
Today's newslinks

David Cameron tells Rupert Murdoch: Clean up hacking mess before BSkyB -Metro

BSkyB referral set to delay decision ‘by a year’ - Times (£)

Papers
My son's medical records were hacked, says Gordon Brown - Guardian |Telegraph

  • Peter Mandelson admits that fear not principle ruled Labour's media mindset – Guardian
  • Just as we need a media that is properly regulated, we need to encourage responsible reporting - Nick Clegg for Huffington Post UK

The Independent: "A Labour leader is born"

Independent"For the first time since the two first faced each other across the despatch box, Mr Miliband is regularly besting David Cameron. He grasped, before the Prime Minister, how the Milly Dowler allegations had transformed the phone-hacking scandal in the public mind. He lost no chance to remind the Conservative leader of the liability that his former media chief, Andy Coulson, represented, hammering home the point about poor judgement." - Independent leader

Rachel Sylvester in The Times (£) agrees Miliband has had a good week: "In the past, the Tory leader has been the touchy-feely thermometer of the public mood. Now it’s Mr Miliband who seems to understand, better than Mr Cameron, the scale of public revulsion about the idea that a newspaper might even contemplate paying somebody to hack into a dead girl’s mobile phone, let alone bribe police officers to hand over confidential information."

BUT, BUT, BUT... Last night's ToryDiary: "Only 16% of voters trust the Labour leader to deliver justice on hacking. That's significantly behind Cameron who has the trust of 27%."

Cameron launches Public Services White Paper

Cameron@Davos"Union leaders reacted with fury as the Prime Minister vowed to press ahead with the biggest reform of public services for more than 50 years. The long-awaited White Paper contains plans for private and voluntary organisations to be able to bid to run every part of public service except national security, frontline policing and the judiciary." - Daily Mail

The Telegraph describes the White Paper as "a modest step" in the right direction.

The FT's Nicholas Timmins (£) sees many difficulties ahead: "The principles expressed in the paper can conflict. The drive for greater localism makes it harder to get value for money from centralised procurement – and vice versa. Large scale exercise of choice, in a way that overnight could destroy the financial viability of a big hospital, comes with massive exit costs and potential loss, not just of choice but of treatment, for other patients. Social enterprises can bring a new vitality to public services. But they too can fail. So effective failure regimes – the white paper delicately calls them “continuity of service” regimes – are needed."

> Yesterday's Parliament: Oliver Letwin sets out five principles for public service reform

MPs approve £9bn increase in IMF lending capacity

"The government won a Commons vote by a majority of 28, despite opposition from Labour and Conservative rebels... Some MPs say the UK should not be involved in such indirect bailouts as it does not use the single currency and believe it is wrong for the UK to raise its subscription to the IMF at a time of deep spending cutbacks at home." - BBC

Treasury says Greek bailout will build confidence across Europe

"Chancellor George Osborne was travelling last night to Brussels for a meeting of the EU’s 27 finance ministers today. Last night, a meeting of Eurozone ministers, to which Britain is not invited since the UK is not part of the single currency, discussed plans for a fresh bailout of Greece. A Treasury source said: ‘The important thing is to get the Greek bailout sorted out, which will spread confidence through the Eurozone.’" - Daily Mail

  • Divisions at the heart of government are costing Italy the confidence of the world - Telegraph
  • At City AM, Allister Heath examines the weakness of Italy and Spain.

Chris Huhne sets out case for energy reform

Huhne Politics Show"Today, we rely on imported fossil fuels to provide a third of our energy; in less than 15 years, it will be half... We are 25th out of 27 European countries for renewables, and have not built a nuclear power station since 1987. Most of our electricity comes from gas-fired power stations, and 60 per cent of the world’s proven gas reserves are in Russia and the Middle East... Our ageing power stations also need replacing. Demand for electricity could double by 2050, as we opt for electric vehicles and heating. If we do not do something now, supply will not keep up and the lights will go ou t." - The Energy and Climate Change Secretary writing in The Telegraph

"Energy Secretary Chris Huhne is set to publish the White Paper on Electricity Market Reform, warning that the current market is not fit to deliver the kind of investments needed to cut carbon and keep the lights on and bills down. The Government estimates that more than £110 billion of investment is needed in new electricity supplies, as ageing power stations are closed down, with a greater focus on low-carbon technology and a green economy." - Express

"This summer we will see dearer energy push our inflation rate up. Gas and electricity prices are soaring. The increase in gas prices is bad enough. The more we move away from gas generated power, the dearer our electricity is going to get." - John Redwood

Government's scientific adviser wants ministers to use foreign disasters to sell clean energy policies

"Climate-related disasters overseas should be used by the Government to persuade British voters to accept unpopular policies for cutting carbon emissions, says Sir John Beddington, the Government’s chief scientific adviser. Droughts, floods and storms in foreign countries could be used as “policy windows”, making it easier to introduce “bold actions” that would otherwise be politically unacceptable." - Times (£)

Lansley.ashxAndrew Lansley announces new medal for heroic ambulance drivers - The Sun

Lib Dem leader "killing himself" trying to balance work and family says Mrs Clegg - Telegraph

Tony Blair comes under fire for hiring unpaid interns - Telegraph

Boris Johnson to publish 'Life of London' book; The People Who Made the City that Made the World

It will explore "the cross currents of influence over the centuries between Westminster and the City, between politicians and wealth creators. For years he has researched and written about Londoners: the famous and infamous; the bizarre and bewildering, the people who made the city that made the world. In his inimitable style, he draws on a lifetime of reflections and his years of running the city, to celebrate some of the characters and characteristics which have made London what it is today." - Harper Collins

And finally... Did you realise that the €uro was a Right-Wing project?

After years of insisting that anti-€uro campaigners were right-wing, Little Englanders, a writer in today's Guardian decides that - now it's failing - the €uro "was always a right-wing project".

Posted by Britannia Radio at 09:43