ToryDiary: Cameron ready to gamble and force early referendum on Scottish independence Also on ToryDiary: Cameron must say "no" if IMF wants more money for €urozone Columnist Bruce Anderson: Prisons can work better Dr Madsen Pirie on Comment: Employees of small and medium businesses should be given the status of self-employed people under contract MPsETC: MPs and peers raise £85,000 for Diamond Jubilee tribute to Queen Elizabeth II Local government: First new grammar school for 50 years PM threatens a second EU veto... as French go it alone on bank tax "The Prime Minister said countries calling for a levy were welcome to implement it within their own borders – but added that to impose it across the EU without the backing of other major economies would harm businesses and jobs." - Daily Mail | Express Cameron and Osborne have concluded that abolishing 50p tax is politically impossible in near future "Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs is preparing a report for the Chancellor on the proceeds raised from the 50p rate, introduced by Gordon Brown in 2010... the HMRC report is expected to show a “surge” in revenues totalling hundreds of millions of pounds from the first year — undermining the economic case for scrapping the levy." - Telegraph Cameron ready to seize control of the Scottish independence vote and force it to be held early, not on Alex Salmond's timetable - Scotsman "The Government will publish legal advice this week suggesting a poll ordered by Holyrood could only be ‘consultative’... Mr Cameron is now planning to amend the law to allow a binding referendum, but within a fixed time period" -Daily Mail The Cabinet will meet later at the London Olympics site, to mark 200 days until the start of the Games - BBC "Bernard Jenkin, chairman of the Commons Public Administration Select Committee agreed that there was a dearth of commercial skill in Whitehall but also a lack of political leadership. “Civil servants are buying IT systems they don’t understand and negotiating long-term contracts which leave them locked into systems suppliers with few options for innovation,” Mr Jenkins said. “We have professional scientists and professional statisticians in Whitehall. So why isn’t there a professional procurement cadre across the Civil Service?” - Times (£) HS2 is being put at risk by slow-footed ministers - Lord Adonis in The Times (£) > Yesterday evening's ToryDiary: HS2 could be a massive moment for Tory prospects in northern England 190 families receive £60,000 a year in benefits - Daily Mail "These households — 20 of which have 12 KIDS each — are eligible for an astounding £1,177 every week. Benefits include Jobseeker's Allowance, Child Tax Credits, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and Child Benefit." - The Sun First new grammar school in 50 years is being planned by Tory-controlled Kent - Daily Mail "Eight academy schools in financial difficulty were rescued by a Department for Education quango over the past 18 months at a cost of £10.7m, intensifying concerns in Whitehall that state schools moving outside the local authority system were not being adequately supervised by officials." - FT (£) James O’Shaughnessy, until recently David Cameron’s director of policy, has been hired by a lobbying company to provide insights into Tory thinking to corporate clients - FT (£) The Coalition's crackdown on fat cat pay is very cheering for the Left - Jackie Ashley in The Guardian > Yesterday's ToryDiary: David Cameron begins fight for fairness agenda Alan Johnson and Alistair Darling fire warning shots at Ed Miliband Alan Johnson says Labour must set out how it would tackle deficit, and notes we “can’t hide the fact the public remains suspicious about Labour” - Mirror "Alistair Darling, the former Chancellor, said Ed Miliband still needs to develop a “credible and compelling” economic position. He said that Labour has got a “lot more to do” and added that the party needed to be “further ahead” in the opinion polls." - Telegraph Miliband now doing worse than Clegg: Only 20% think Labour leader is doing good job but 21% say same of Clegg - Daily Mail (Although, as yesterday'sSunday Times (£) noted, more people think Clegg is doing a bad job). Blair's company paid just £315,000 tax on income of more than £12m -Independent Meryl Streep defends Iron Lady film "If I'd made a film about Margaret Thatcher and she had something wrongwith her lungs no one would have raised a hue and cry. But it's because it is mental frailty she is afflicted with that is what terrifies us most". - FemaleFirst Why are taxpayers still funding the unions? - Jesse Norman MP for The Telegraph Britain is suffering from a ‘sensitivity inquisition’ where throwaway jibes, like Cameron's remark about Ed Balls - become national scandals - Melanie Phillips in the Daily Mail MPs call for two alcohol-free days each week and clearer guidelines on drinking - Guardian | Independent At 100, the ANC has lost its way - Independent leader | Read Cameron's tribute to ANC Wind power 'does not give value for money' as it is unreliable and requires back-up gas stations - The Daily Mail on a new report from Ruth Lea "David Cameron boasted in an interview he has "finished" the addictive game, which sees players destroy pigs by firing birds from sling-shots... The Sun's Gaming Editor Lee Price praised the PM. He said: "Forget getting into No 10. Completing Angry Birds could be David Cameron's greatest achievement yet."" - The Sun ToryDiary: LeftWatch: Launching the Do Not Underestimate Labour Association Columnist Ruth Lea: Ruth Lea: Britain should aim for a Swiss-style free trade relationship with the EU, the Commonwealth and North America William Hague MP on Comment: If reforms continue we are ready to build a new relationship with Burma Michael Nazir-Ali on Comment: Let us care for the ill and vulnerable - not help them to die Local government: WATCH: David Cameron leaves door open for extra €30bn for IMF to rescue single currency - FT (£)
Analysis of 70 National Audit Office reports identifies £31 billion of waste in just two years
"If Louise Mensch wants to be taken seriously as a feminist, then posing in an expensive Dolce & Gabbana leather skirt like a dominatrix, as she did in GQ magazine last month, was a rum way to get her message across" - Janet Street-Porter in the Daily Mail |ConservativeHome background report
And finally... Cameron has completed EVERY level of hit app Angry Birds
Monday 9 January 2012
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