Tuesday 4 September 2012

Today's newslinks
David Cameron embarks on his first major reshuffle
Cameron pale blue tie"David Cameron has embarked on his first major government reshuffle that will see a comprehensive clear-out of cabinet ministers who have failed to deliver successful change and the promotion of a new generation of fresh faces. The prime minister, who hopes to announce his new cabinet by Tuesday afternoon, has started to telephone ministers with the news that only those who can play a decisive role in the next delivery phase of the government can expect to keep their places in the cabinet." - < a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/sep/03/david-cameron-reshuffle-cabinet-coalition" target="_blank">Guardian
"Aides said that the changes across most government departments would herald a “new generation” who had shown that they could deliver results. “This is the delivery phase of government,” they added." - Times (£)
  • David Cameron's reshuffle cull targets ministers who failed to deliver change - Guardian
  • What Cameron must achieve in the reshuffle - Times (£)
  • 'Thrasher' Mitchell to be Cameron's Chief Whip - Independent
  • Health Secretary likely to be shock casualty in Cameron's reshuffle - Daily Mail
  • Cheryl Gillan may lose Wales Office - BBC
> Today: 
> Coverage from yesterday:
Reshuffle comment:
  • Tebbit2Cameron can't rid himself of the disloyal Clegg. So what good will a reshuffle do? - Lord Tebbit for TelegraphBlogs
  • Clegg’s veto of fairer seats is more important than the reshuffle - Allister Heath for City AM
  • The decisions that the PM will announce will be taken in some way to define and reveal him - Patrick Wintour for theGuardian
  • David Cameron’s reshuffle today will be secateurs in the Rose Garden rather than a Night of the Long Knives - Rachel Sylvester for the Times (£)
  • In the past three decades, only two reshuffles have made a big difference to the fate of a government - Steve Richards for the Independent
  • First the wait, then the call, then the clear-out. Moving ministers is painfully inefficient - Chris Mullin for the Times (£)
  • You’re sacked! And thank you for taking it so well... - Oliver Pritchett for the Daily Telegraph
Stop the excuses, start the tax cuts, says David Davis
DAVIS DAVID"David Davis called for a swath of tax cuts and the scrapping of business red tape as he warned the Chancellor that he would not be excused if he failed to take drastic measures to kick-start growth. In a withering critique of the Government’s economic performance, Mr Davis accused ministers of seeking excuses, such as the eurozone crisis and the debt inheritance from Labour, rather than solutions. “An alibi is not a policy,” he said. “There is a risk that by focusing on parcelling out blame we accept our circumstances with too much fatalism.”" - Times (£)
  • Mr Cameron’s old rival shows him the way - Daily Telegraph editorial
> From today - Alex Deane on Comment: A vitally important speech by David Davis
> Coverage from yesterday:
Gove admits GCSEs were unfair... but says Labour is to blame
"Education Secretary Michael Gove yesterday admitted pupils who sat GCSEs this year were treated unfairly  – but insisted he cannot intervene. He said new-style GCSEs inherited from Labour, which split courses into bite-size modules, were 'not best equipped to ensure that all students could perform well and be treated fairly'." - Daily Mail
Daily Telegraph continues series in which "leading young Tory MPs" set out their ideas for growth
TrussThe second entry today is by Liz Truss: "Britain’s history is rich in science, from Isaac Newton to Alan Turing to Tim Berners-Lee. ... Our universities produce more citations per researcher than the US, China, Japan and Germany. There are signs that the next generation sees where value lies: maths at university and A-level is increasing. But small change is not enough. Taking the tough option will have to become mainstream if we are to continue to lead the world in science. Our economic future depends on it."
  • Imagine the loss if the M25 closed and we bulldozed Bexleyheath. Now imagine the gain if we built new ones - Simon Wolfson for the Times (£)
Government 'planning new benefits cut'
"Ministers are considering slashing £71-a-week from the income of sick and disabled benefit claimants if they refuse to take part in work-related activities, it was reported last night. The move planned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is designed to reduce weekly Employment Support Allowance by up to 70 per cent to those who won't try to get back into the workplace" - Independent
  • Fines for workshy sickness benefit claimants to double - Daily Telegraph
Government push to reform planning laws could backfire, warns senior planning officer - Daily Telegraph
Policy Exchange says local public sector pay bargaining would save £6bn a year - Scotsman
> From today - Matthew Oakley on ThinkTankCentralHow a northern pay-restraint-for-more-infrastructure deal would work
George Osborne booed at Paralympics
OSBORNE GEORGE BLUE"If he was hoping for some signs of improvement on recent poll findings showing that he is the most unpopular member of the government, George Osborne was in for a rude awakening at the Olympic Stadium. A chorus of boos rang out from the crowd at the announcer's mention of Osborne's name shortly before the chancellor presented medals to the winners of the Men's T38 400m, in which Mohamed Farhat Chida of Tunisia took gold." - Guardian
  • ...as Cameron is there to cheer on world record-breaking Ellie Simmonds - Daily Mail
The Lib Dems would keep more seats with Vince Cable as leader rather than Clegg
"Cable Vince March 2011The Liberal Democrats would win almost twice as many seats at the next election under Vince Cable as they would under Nick Clegg, according to a ComRes survey... According to ComRes, the Liberal Democrats would win 18 per cent of the vote with Mr Cable as leader, compared to 14 per cent under Mr Clegg. Under [Cable], they would hold 39 of their 57 seats on a uniform swing, while under [Clegg] they would be left with only 23 MPs." - Independent
Janan Ganesh: Clegg's anti-Tory strategy has tainted not just this coalition, but coalitions in general
Clegg on Marr"The Lib Dems have flaunted disagreements with Mr Cameron... Only their commitment to the government’s fiscal strategy has remained admirably adamantine. Yet none of this ornery behaviour has lifted the Lib Dems’ dismal poll ratings. ... What it has done is taint not only this particular coalition but coalition as a concept. Voters now overwhelmingly say they favour single-party government. As an existential threat to the Lib Dems, this is as menacing as the fact that they are struggling to score 10 per cent in the polls." - Janan Ganesh for the FT (£)
> From yesterday: 
Clegg confirms Lords reform bill to be dropped
"Mr Clegg confirmed to MPs that the bill will be dropped because Labour and back-bench Conservatives refused to back a timetable motion to prevent it being talked out. The statement confirmed his announcement over the summer, which has also seen the Liberal Democrats pull out of a deal to back boundary changes to House of Commons constituency seats" - Scotsman
Mary Riddell: The cracks between Ed Miliband and Ed Balls could swallow Labour’s hopes
Miliband PAC"Labour, unlike the Coalition, is free from deadly conflict. The danger is that the stasis caused by trying to accommodate two marginally different doctrines results in a political version of locked-in syndrome. Coalition blood-letting should offer no comfort to the Opposition. The consequences of paralysis can be just as fatal as those of war." - Mary Riddell for the Daily Telegraph
> Yesterday on LeftWatch, Tim Montgomerie explains how the Left went bad
Border Agency blamed for student visa 'chaos' - Independent
  • University begins legal action after being banned from taking overseas students following Government immigration probe -Daily Mail
Young and low-skilled workers hit hardest as 'underemployment' rises - Guardian
More violence in Belfast, 50 policemen injured - BBC
EU to impose gender quotas on boardrooms - City AM
Highlights from yesterday
ToryDiary:
MPsETC:
On LeftWatch, Tim Montgomerie explains how the Left went bad
WATCH: