ToryDiary: Defence Select Committee warns that defence cuts are causing "strategic shrinkage" Also on Comment: John Glen MP: Without extra spending after 2014 our armed forces won't be able to deliver full spectrum capability Local Government: Evicting "neighbours from Hell" to be made easier Defence Select Committee: Cuts mean forces are unable to properly carry out missions in Libya and Afghanistan > Yesterday on ToryDiary: The buoyant popularity of William Hague Government pulls the plug on £11bn NHS IT system George Osborne "will miss his deficit reduction target" "Tory voters believe cuts should only be temporary" "The Chancellor has embarked on a programme to slash £81bn from public spending to bring "stability to the economy" and Mr Cameron has made clear he believes the cuts should be permanent. But a survey has discovered that the majority of voters, including natural Tories, thought the savings should only be temporary." - The Independent "So much for the bonfire" - quangos have been recruiting "At least 4,500 civil servants have been taken on since the election in May last year by Government departments and quangos – three times the number that have been handed compulsory redundancy notices. The Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact and the Committee on Climate Change are among the quangos which have been busy recruiting." - Daily Mail Two in three workers see salaries cut or frozen... "Wages have fallen or remained stagnant for the majority of the population over the last six months, research shows. Two thirds have had their pay frozen or cut since January 2011, despite the rising cost of living." - Daily Mail ...But nearly 300 civil servants are paid more than the Prime Minister "The Government announced yesterday that the number of civil servants and quango chiefs on salaries of more than £150,000 had been cut by 54 from 345 in the last year saving £10million." - Daily Express Grant Shapps to allow the eviction of bad neighbours with a track record of anti-social behaviour The curious case of the £500 million of missing CGT revenue - John Redwood's Diary Sajid Javid MP: Westminster needs a debt ceiling Tim Montgomerie: Can bicycling Boris overtake austerity George? "If Boris is victorious again, he will be able to present himself to the Conservative Party as a winner. He will twice have defeated Red Ken, one of the grassroots’ most hated enemies. He will also have won in London, far from reliable territory for Tories. It won’t be difficult for him to find a route back into the Commons. Most Tory association chairmen would happily put their existing MP into the Lords or, if necessary, a coffin to have Boris represent them. No one will be more alarmed by this popularity than George Osborne." - Tim Montgomerie, in the Times (£) Ann Widdecombe: Media links are not odd Green taxes top £40 billion > Yesterday on Comment: Speaker backs launch of e-petition website - The Guardian > Yesterday on Comment: Andrew Lilico: My view of the death penalty Ed Miliband's plan to cut union control of the Labour Party Tom Watson interview: "Phone hacking is only the start. There's a lot more to come out" - The Guardian Legal change for personal CD ripping - BBC "Jonnie Marbles" jailed for Rupert Murdoch pie protest - Metro > From yesterday, WATCH: Six weeks jail for Murdoch foam pie thrower‬ Baby P killer is free on Friday - The Sun And finally… Ed Miliband's summer reading - growth, Bobby Kennedy, and leadership "On his summer reading list is a book containing tips on how to be a successful leader. Entitled Leadership On The Line: Staying Alive Through The Dangers Of Leading, it was among a stack of ten political books the Labour leader took home yesterday. Written by two Harvard professors, it gives advice on how to manage a team, suggesting a leader must be in control of his emotions and must not react defensively when people lash out in anger." - Daily Mail Comment: LeftWatch: False Economy, false conclusions. A left-wing research group complains about cuts to charities...but Labour Councils turn out be taking the lead in wielding the axe.Angie Bray MP on Comment: We now know how wasteful the last Labour government was and Francis Maude is delivering the savings for taxpayers
"The loss of aircraft carriers, planes and 30,000 front-line troops has meant the Armed Forces are struggling to do “all that is asked of them�, a critical report finds. There is “mounting concern� that the military has fallen below the “minimum utility� needed to conduct present and future operations, says the defence select committee." - Daily Telegraph
"A plan to create the world's largest single civilian computer system linking all parts of the National Health Service is to be abandoned by the Government after running up billions of pounds in bills. Ministers are expected to announce next month that they are scrapping a central part of the much-delayed and hugely controversial 10-year National Programme for IT." -Â The Independent
"George Osborne is on course to fail the Government’s main economic test of reducing the structural deficit within five years, one of Britain’s most influential think-tanks has said. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research further downgrades Britain’s growth forecasts today and predicts that the Chancellor will break his “mandate� to eliminate the structural deficit by 2015-16. The Treasury will miss the goal by about 1 per cent of GDP, the institute suggests." - The Times (£)
"The pay and perks of 291 senior mandarins and quango chiefs eclipse the Prime Minister’s £142,500 a year. Public sector workers who have had their pay frozen will be further enraged by figures which also show that one in ten of the Whitehall ‘fat cats’ saw an increase in their wages and perks." - Daily MailÂ
"Currently, court proceedings to evict those responsible for campaigns of unpleasant or vicious behaviour can take a year or more. But Housing Minister Grant Shapps will introduce a new mandatory ground for possession of a property when tenants have a track record of anti-social behaviour." - Daily Mail
"The figures speak for themselves. Over the past decade, our net public debt has rocketed from £312 billion to £920 billion (or from 31.5 per cent of GDP then to 60 per cent now). This happened because Labour chose the easy way out instead of trying to find solutions to the long-term challenges facing the public finances. It believed that the answer to every problem was to spend more money: so budgets and debt soared. A debt cap, which would restrict borrowing to a given percentage of GDP, would be no guarantee against such fiscal irresponsibility â 80“ but it would make it harder for politicians to rely on their favourite ploy of “buy now, pay laterâ€�." -  Sajid Javid, inthe Daily Telegraph
"The ministers explain policy, the journalists encourage speculation and gossip. It is therefore hardly surprising that at the most senior levels the most senior editors are involved. Prime Minister David Cameron wants a friendly press but it takes more than just meeting editors to achieve that. If there were no contact between Westminster and Fleet Street the coverage would be less well-informed. Let’s get real rather than seeking conspiracies under every headline." - Ann Widdecombe, in the Daily Express
"There is increasing controversy over the Coalition’s reliance on environmental taxation, which topped £40billion for the first time last year. Most fell on motorists, who paid a record amount of £27billion in fuel duties. Air passengers paid a further £2billion, while the levy on rubbish, landfill tax, for the first time raised more than £1billion." - Daily Mail
"He wants to curb union voting power at the party's annual conference and its sway over leadership elections. The move is aimed at making the party appear more democratic. But it will be met with fierce resistance from union leaders who will fight any attempt to weaken their historic links with the party." -Daily Mail
Dame Norma Major strikes a blow against online impersonators - Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
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