ToryDiary: William Hague must continue to act reasonably over the Julian Assange affair Columnist Bruce Anderson: Macmillan had the best known reshuffle of all time, but Mrs Thatcher had the most successful reshuffle Lord Bates on Comment: Boris is right about investing in infrastructure but it's the North where the need is greatest MPsETC: Cllr David Sims on Local Government: Labour have failed Corby The Deep End: All aboard the libertarian Titanic! William Hague stands firm over Julian Assange's extradition "Last night Mr Hague defended his actions. 'Given our need to fulfil our obligations under international law to deliver a suspect for questioning on serious offences, we have ensured that the Ecuadorian authorities have a complete understanding of the full legal context in this country,' he said. ... 'It is a matter of regret that instead of continuing these discussions they have instead decided to make today’s announcement. It does not change the fundamentals of the case. We will not allow Mr Assange safe passage out of the UK, nor is there any legal basis for us to do so.'" - The Times (£) Comment: > Yesterday's video: William Hague: Ecuador's decision to give asylum to Julian Assange changes nothing - we will extradite him Michael Gove caught up in a fresh row over playing fields As the newspapers respond to yesterday's A-Level results "More than a quarter of a million university applicants are stuck ‘in limbo’ after a drop in A grades triggered an unprecedented scramble for places. ... Nearly 95,000 applicants were last night waiting for universities to decide on their applications – up seven per cent on the same point last year. ... A further 165,000 were preparing to enter clearing – the system to distribute spare courses to students." - Daily Mail Comment: > Yesterday: Andrew Dilnot welcomes the resurrection of his social care plans; John Redwood warns about their effect > Yesterday: Andrew Lansley hails "fantastic" improvement in cancer care -Independent Theresa May approves another trial into risk-based immgration control "Theresa May, the Home Secretary, has approved the easing of 100 per cent checks on every passenger just eight months after the row over relaxed passport checks led to the resignation of Brodie Clark as head of the Border Force." - The Times (£) Concern that secret inquests will be introduced after all — but ministers deny it "Justice Secretary Ken Clarke promised the idea had been abandoned ... But MPs and peers now say a clause has been quietly slipped into the Justice and Security Bill, which is going through Parliament, allowing ministers to revive it. ... Ministers deny this is the case." - Daily Mail Peter Hoskin: This is a year of wonder — David Cameron must live up to it "The David Cameron that chimes with post-Olympics Britain is the one who gave a speech in Manchester talking about the 'industrial revolution' of the internet. It is the one whose Government pushed a further £50 million towards Nobel prize-winning research into graphene. ... This is not about picking winners, nor necessarily about spending taxpayers’ money, but it is about celebrating and enabling some very British qualities: entrepreneurialism, generosity and invention." - Peter Hoskin, The Times (£) Coverage of yesterday's Lord Ashcroft poll of Corby voters > Yesterday: 2005 intake to be "rewarded" in reshuffle "The Prime Minister believes that the so-called 2005 intake including Stephen Hammond, Keith Simpson, Andrew Murrison and Tobias Ellwood should enter the Government in the shake-up expected next month. ... A well-placed Downing Street source said: 'The Prime Minister is very conscious of the work the 2005 intake did during the years in opposition and their loyal service for the Government. This group will be well rewarded in the reshuffle.'" - Daily Telegraph > Yesterday's Tory Diary: Who's likely to go up, down, out and sideways in September's reshuffle? Andy Coulson and others appear in court over phone hacking charges MPs accused over right-to-die "Tony Nicklinson and another 'locked-in syndrome' sufferer named only as Martin accused the courts of condemning them to a life of 'misery' and 'torture'. ... Three High Court judges ruled that it was not the place of the courts to 'usurp the function of Parliament' by effectively changing the law. Mr Nicklinson said MPs are 'cowards' and would never change the law." - Daily Telegraph Report to make recommendations for boosting the private rented housing market "A long-awaited review of the private rented housing market will next week urge ministers to drop the requirement for developers to include 'affordable homes' in their schemes in exchange for a guarantee that the properties will be let rather than sold." - Financial Times (£) David Blunkett reveals that he will be donating his brain to science when he dies - Independent Unions consider pouring cash into the leftwing thinktank Class -Guardian Israel is preparing for a ground attack on Iran before Christmas, warn British spies - Sun MPsETC: David Davies - a Tory MP to be proud of WATCH:"Ecuador yesterday agreed to grant his plea despite Britain threatening to storm the embassy by scrapping its diplomatic immunity. ... Deputy PM Nick Clegg was said to have scotched that idea — 'furious' that our envoys abroad could be jeopardised." - Sun
"Michael Gove has ignored the opposition of the School Playing Fields Advisory Panel to approve sell-offs five times in the past 15 months, documents show. It has also emerged that the number of sales given the go-ahead by Mr Gove is far higher than the amount admitted by the Coalition this month. ... Mr Gove apologised for publishing the wrong figures, saying he had been given incorrect information by his officials." - Daily Telegraph
"Unemployed graduates, all 130,000 of them, will be richly entitled to such resentment. Theirs may well end up being known as the transition generation, those sold university education for a hefty fee, before they were able to know what they were buying. But there is an upside to all this. If a degree is no guarantee of success in modern Britain, then the lack of one is no guarantee of failure." - Fraser Nelson, Daily Telegraph
"Mr Redwood points out that in the South East, where care home costs are very high, families will still run up huge bills before the cap kicks in since they could only claim for the care elements of the cost. ... John Redwood said: 'I welcome a lot in the Dilnot proposals, and I agree with the consensus that we need better care for the elderly.' ... But he added: 'If you look at the distribution of the public spending that Mr Dilnot is proposing, the biggest share goes to the top one-fifth of income earners.'" - Daily Mail
"Lord Ashcroft, a former deputy chairman of the party, said the Tories would 'almost certainly' lose the Corby seat and could face the same result in similar contests with Labour at a general election. ... Polling commissioned by the peer gave Labour a 15 point lead to take the marginal seat, with Ed Miliband's party on 52%, the Tories on 37% and the Liberal Democrats on 7%." - Daily Telegraph
"[Andy Coulson] and six other figures connected with the News of the World appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court accused of plotting to hack the voicemails of up to 600 people. ... Yesterday all seven were granted bail pending a further hearing at Southwark Crown Court on September 26, when Mrs Brooks will also appear." - Daily Mail
Friday, 17 August 2012
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