Damian Hinds MP on Comment: The seven key truths about social mobility MPsETC: Lord Forsyth likens Lords reform to the Austin Allegro's square steering wheel Local government: "Democracy in Tower Hamlets is not only under attack through widespread electoral fraud but also intimidation. So it is a relief to see that police officers will be on duty outside every Polling Station in Tower Hamlets during the election for Mayor of London tomorrow..." WATCH: Louise Mensch debates Murdoch findings with Jon Snow on Channel 4 News Political divide as Tories shy away from harsh judgment on Rupert Murdoch - Guardian "Labour MPs will now push for the House of Commons to censure the News Corporation chairman after accusing him in the report of “wilful blindness” about the extent of criminality at the News of the World. But the Conservatives will resist any Labour efforts to include key criticisms from the report in a Commons motion." - Times (£) The Mail attacks the BBC/Guardian/Labour onslaught on Murdoch: "The Mail, in alliance with the BBC, the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian, the Daily Mirror, BT and Channel 4, opposed News Corporation taking total control of BSkyB and creating a monopolistic behemoth. But that should not detract from the contribution which Sky TV – along with the film and publishing parts of Mr Murdoch’s empire – has already made to the entertainment industry or the pleasure it has given to millions. If vengeful Labour MPs drove him out of business, the public would be left with a barren media world dominated by the state-subsidised BBC and the Guardian." "Mr Johnson offered only a lukewarm endorsement of Mr Cameron. Asked if the Prime Minister was a vote winner, he paused and then failed to answer the question. ‘I’m sure that all sorts of people win me votes or lose me votes,’ he said. Pushed to take a stand, Mr Johnson said: ‘He’s obviously a vote winner.’" - Daily Mail I'm "pro-pasty" says Boris in White Van Man appeal to Sun readers "The London Mayor distances himself from the Chancellor’s botched Budget. He declares he is “pro-pasty” and attacks Mr Osborne’s real-terms pay cut for war-weary troops, saying the move “strikes me as a bit tough”. And the renegade Tory also reveals he urged Mr Osborne to think again and “not to whack up fuel duty”. In defence of White Van Man, he vows to force London councils to lower “extortionate” parking fines." - The Sun Livingstone and Labour aim to paint Boris blue in final days -Livingstone campaign "In a last-minute intervention ahead of tomorrow's mayoral election in London, Mr Miliband launched an outspoken attack on Mr Johnson. He told The Independent: "Boris Johnson's strategy for these mayoral elections is based on pretending he is not a Tory. He tries not to be seen in public with David Cameron and most of his election literature makes no reference to him being the Conservative candidate. But Boris Johnson has proven to be a typical Tory as mayor, raising fares, cutting services and standing up only for the powerful or wealthy in London."" Ken Livingstone 'earned up to £1.2m over past three years and used tax loophole to save £220,000' - Daily Mail - Has Ken Released His Taxes Yet? Labour supporter Dan Hodges explains why Livingstone's tax hypocrosy and his anti-Jewish remarks have led him to support Boris - Telegraph Labour has three aims beyond London "(1) Take control of six English councils which are run by the Conservatives either alone or with the Lib Dems. The list is headed by Birmingham where Miliband launched his campaign for the local elections last month. The other councils are Derby, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Wirral, Plymouth and Southampton. (2) Win control of councils in parliamentary seats the party must win if Miliband is to make it to No 10. These are Carlisle, Harlow, Norwich, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Reading and Rossendale. (3) Ensure that the SNP does not gain control of Glasgow which Labour has controlled for the last three decades." Identified by Nick Watt in The Guardian. Labour insist they are confident of holding on to Glasgow - Scotsman "Mr Miliband has quietly made 30 visits to regional constituencies including Derby, Carlisle and Reading in the run-up to the polls, honing his favoured approach of question and answer sessions rather than soap box speeches or walkabouts. Aides believe that this technique will serve him well in the run-up to the general election when the three main candidates go head-to-head in a repeat of the transformative 2010 TV debates." - FT (£) Nick Clegg claims that voters are listening to the Lib Dems again - BBC Chris Grayling launches fresh attack on costly health and safety laws - Express Opening up access to academic research will put more data and power in the hands of the people who pay for it - David Willetts in The Guardian 800,000 more taxpayers caught in 40p band since Cameron came to power - Daily Mail British aid that assists coercive population control offends British values even as it harms the people it is supposed to help - Wall Street Journal Arrogance, not poshness is Cameron's problem, says Ann Widdecombe - Express Simon Jenkins: Cameron lacks Margaret Thatcher's work ethic and grip "When Thatcher's NHS upheaval got out of hand in 1988, she immersed herself in the detail and took personal charge of scaling it back. She would never have let cowboy builders rewrite her planning system. She would have read every line of George Osborne's recent budget, and seen the recklessness of cutting taxes on the rich while raising them on grannies, charities and churches." - Simon Jenkins in The Guardian Sandra Parsons: Why doesn't Cameron get angry about online porn, family breakdown or unemployment? "Unlike some, I don’t blame his Eton schooling or wealthy background. No, his problem is that he’s surrounded himself with a self-serving elite whose members also attended private schools and Oxbridge, and aren’t short of a bob or two. Smug and out of touch, they see politics as a game of power and intellectual one-upmanship rather than an opportunity to improve other people’s lives." - Sandra Parsons in the Daily Mail "Two big, fat overwhelming things are true about this Government: two things that describe it and limit it; two things that have vastly more explanatory power than anything else I have seen advanced as an explanation of its current political problems. First, the Prime Minister’s party does not have a parliamentary majority. To govern he needs to make a fresh deal every day with a political force very different from his own. And second, the Government has no money, the economy isn’t growing and the public are paying off debts and seeing their standard of living deteriorate." - Danny Finkelstein in The Times (£) The Electoral Commission confirms that no rules were broken in Cruddas donors affair - BBC Runaway Lib Dem donor, Michael Brown, returns to UK to immediate seven-year jail term - Guardian MPs offered iPads in exchange for old computers and to cut paper costs - Daily Mail House of Commons staff are being ordered to top up MPs' wine glasses less frequently at functions in crackdown on Westminster's drinking culture - Guardian MPsETC: On Comment:Boris Johnson has claimed he is “different” from the Conservative-led government -Telegraph
Damian Green announces eighty extra immigration officers as Cameron orders Home Office to get a grip on Heathrow queues - BBC
Danny Finkelstein: Two things explain this Government's woes
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Wednesday, 2 May 2012
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