Columnist Bruce Anderson: Which of these two budget speeches is Osborne more likely to deliver? Mark Menzies MP on Comment: In defence of the Union - a cause for common concern Local Government: Shadow Cabinet member backs free school WATCH: Ten years of Policy Exchange Cameron's back to work tsar quits... "Emma Harrison dramatically quit yesterday following a string of fraud allegations against her firm. She said she was stepping down immediately as the Prime Minister’s ‘family champion’ to avoid becoming a ‘distraction’. Her company A4e, which earns hundreds of millions of pounds from Government contracts, is at the centre of two police investigations." - Daily Mail Expelled former UKIP MEP Nikki Sinclair arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud the European Parliament - Daily Mail More Prime Minister news and comment: > Yesterday: WATCH - Cameron gives upbeat assessment of Somalia's prospects at London conference ...And Downing Street officials step in. Prime Minister pressing longer curfews and more tag plans on Ministry of Justice. More law and order news and comment: Net migration into Britain rose to 250,000 last year Prime Minister's father-in-law plan to force through Lords reform "Peers have threatened to repeatedly send reform legislation back to the Commons, and even block other legislation in protest. But Mr Cameron is considering preventing that by including a reform Bill in the Queen’s Speech, expected in May, passing it through the Commons and then suspending it when the Lords rejects it for the first time. The Government would announce at that stage that it intends to use the Parliament Act to force the proposals into law at the start of the next session in 2013." - Daily Mail Commons booze n' violence Fleet Street special: Hague joins local rally against NHS cuts "William Hague is to join a mass protest against NHS cuts — despite publicly backing Andrew Lansley's health reforms. The demo is in the Foreign Secretary's North Yorkshire constituency on May 5. Mr Hague opposes plans to cut kids' care and maternity services at Friarage Hospital in Northallerton. The Richmond MP will add-ress up to 5,000 protesters at a rally and march in the town." - The Sun I'll make it illegal to block mixed-race adoption, says Gove Chancellor "moves on wealthy who dodge paying homes taxes" "George Osborne is set to disappoint Liberal Democrats who are pressing him to deliver a massive windfall in the Budget from tighter stamp duty rules. The Chancellor is poised to make it harder to move properties offshore and so dodge tax by transferring ownership into companies — but the sums recouped will fall far short of the near £1 billion a year that Nick Clegg’s team is looking for to help to fund tax cuts for low earners." - The Times (£) Yesterday: Police called in over sex selection abortions. Nadine Dorries calls on NHS watchdog to act - Daily Telegraph The Commons agrees 5.2% increase in benefits as millions prepare for wage freezes - Daily Mail Former poet laureate warns that two thirds of rural England will be at the "mercy of developers" - Daily Telegraph Blue Labour guru Maurice Glasman drops plan to write Sun on Sunday column on the advice of Ed Miliband - The Guardian And finally…Samantha Cameron pounds the streets in black tracksuit bottoms, a black t-shirt and green hooded top - Daily Mail On ToryDiary Paul Goodman warns of a "backlash from natural Conservative voters" if spending isn't cut further - and in consequence there's too much budget tax-rise pain to bear Comment: Local Government: WATCH: Cameron gives upbeat assessment of Somalia's prospects at London conference 11.45am ConHomeUSA: Race tilts back towards Romney after Santorum gets poor reviews for debate performance "David Cameron is planning tough new community punishments under which criminals face draconian restrictions on their movements. Offenders would be sentenced to “virtual prison”, curfewed for 16 hours a day with the threat of being taken back to court if they break the terms of their house arrest. Judges and magistrates would also be given powers to confiscate criminals’ passports and driving licences as part of the sentence. No 10 officials set out the plans during negotiations with Kenneth Clarke, the Justice Secretary, over toughening up non-custodial sente nces." - The Times (£)
"Britain's population soared by a quarter of a million in just 12 months thanks to immigration, official figures revealed yesterday... The figure has shot up from 235,000 for the year to June 2010, just after the Coalition came to power. The data, which shatters the Government’s promise to slash immigration, comes as the UK’s population races towards 70 million. Fewer people are emigrating while increasing numbers continue to settle here." - Daily Express
“There are too many ****ing Tories in here" - Joyce's words before he allegedly head-butted Stuart Andrew and punched a Labour Whip. He faces three assault charges.“There was blood spilled. It was like the Wild West in there,” one MP said. Mr Joyce was suspended from the Labour Party yesterday pending a police investigation into assault allegations. The 51-year-old backbencher, a former Scottish judo champion, was alleged to have head-butted and punched Tory MP Stuart Andrew in Parliament’s Strangers’ Bar, which is subsidised by taxpayers…Witnesses said five Commons security officials struggled to restrain him and a glass door was smashed as they hauled him away." - Daily Express
"The law is to be changed to stop councils blocking mixed-race adoptions as part of radical reforms to ensure children are removed from unfit parents more quickly. Education Secretary Michael Gove said there was ‘horrifying’ evidence that youngsters were being left in dangerous homes for too long. Mr Gove, who was adopted at four months, said he wants many more children to be adopted before the age of one." - Daily Mail
Friday 24 February 2012
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