Three Graphs That Skewer Europhile Myths.....WATCH: Labour MP Simon Danczuk Duffs Up Owen Jones

Bercow’s Greatest Hits | Telegraph
Washington Post Trash Guardian | Speccie
Miliband Tells MPs Not to Criticise Owen Jones | Dan Hodges
Labour Rules Are Crystal Clear | Politics Home
Ramadan Ding Dong | The Commentator
Why MPs Should Not Receive a Pay Rise | Alex Wickham
Indy Gove Smears Unravel | Toby Young
Curse of Cameron | London Loves Business
Pay MPs Less and Make Them Part-Timers | Dan Hannan
MPs Can’t Take Pay Hike & Freeze Public Sector Pay | Paul Staines
Odds Stacked Against Tories For 2015 | Ben Brogan

TUESDAY, JULY 2, 2013

Burn More Fossil Fuels to Save the World

Life on earth will cease to exist and Armageddon will strike because of too little – rather than too much – carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, so say scientists. Astrobiologist Jack O’Malley-James of the University of St Andrews told the National Astronomy Meeting that as the sun grows hotter, more and more carbon dioxide will be taken away from the earth’s atmosphere, making the planet uninhabitable for photosynthesising plants and therefore herbivorous and then carnivorous animals. As things stand we currently have a mere two billion years left before the end of the world, though theoretically that date is being drawn ever nearer by the drive to cut greenhouse gases and so further reduce CO2 levels. Fire up the coal furnaces and get fracking to save the planet…

Three Graphs That Skewer Europhile Myths

At the beginning of the last decade over 60% of Britain’s goods exports was to EU countries. Over the last twelve years that percentage has fallen to 50%, as our goods exports to the rest of the world has increased from under 40% to 50%.

What’s more, Britain’s trade deficit with the EU is far greater than its deficit with the rest of the world. The idea they wouldn’t trade with us if we leave is farcical.

Thirdly, Europe is becoming less important in world trade. In 1990 the EU was 27 per cent of world output. By 2016 it will be just 18 per cent of world output, a pretty significant fall.

Food for thought come Friday.

Via notourbiggestmarket.org

Labour Wars: Labour Sources Hit Back at Hodges

More Labour wars today as Dan Hodges accuses Miliband of ordering Labour bigwigs not to attack St Owen of Jones. According to Hodges, orders have gone out from on high in Labour that Owen is not to be criticised, lest he was to go for Ed’s jugular:

“…just about the only person who hasn’t properly felt Jones’s progressive wrath is Ed Miliband himself. And Labour’s leader wants things to stay that way. In particular, he’s desperate to keep him onside over his stance – or non-stance – on welfare. “Ed’s terrified of being attacked on welfare,” said one MP. “At the last PLP meeting he did a presentation of polling on the key battleground issues. There was no polling on welfare. Nothing. Ed just doesn’t want it seen as a battleground issue.”"

Hodges alleges that Lord Wood, Ed’s consigliere, has been charged with handling Owen and keeping him off of Ed’s back. Something Guido has heard before but people around him insist is not true. A Labour source puts the boot in:

“Don’t worry. Dan’s USP of being 100 per cent wrong 100 per cent of the time is still intact. It’s nonsense to claim we have told people not to criticise Owen Jones.”

So it’s official: fire away reds.

WATCH: Labour MP Simon Danczuk Duffs Up Owen Jones

Labour wars on today’s Daily Politics as rising star Simon Danczuk went for Owen Jones. He doesn’t like it up him:
Fight…

H/T @liarpoliticians

Huge BBC Pay-Offs Could be Matter for Police

Tory  MP Rob Wilson tells the Telegraph:

“I have therefore written to the National Audit Office today asking whether it has further information it can share about the process by which pay-offs were made and whether any element of fraud or other criminal wrongdoing associated. Based on the reply I receive, I will consider whether there are grounds to refer this matter to the Police.”

That might get Mark Thompson back from New York…

Watson’s Chickens are Coming Home to Roost

A bad day for Tom Watson, as his role in Labour’s current woes emerges. Guido has been saying it for weeks. As the Telegraph points out this morning: “If Ed Miliband wants to become prime minister in 2015 he needs to sack Tom Watson.” They lift the lid on how toxic the Mafia-man works behind the scenes. When he takes time out of tweeting pictures from Glasto, that is:

“Part of Tom Watson’s problem is that he is a man in the right place at the wrong time – an old-school Brownite machine politician in an era when the political machines are grinding to a halt. “I was in the room at the first meeting Tom had with us after being appointed campaign coordinator,” says one party insider. “His first words were, ‘You’ve got to understand, I know more about political campaigning than any of you’. You just can’t do that. No one’s impressed by that talk any more.” Which isn’t strictly true. Ed Miliband was impressed by it, which is why Watson was given carte blanche to expand his influence over selections, campaigns and broader political strategy.”

The BBC’s James Purnell put it, Watson is a “cancer at the heart of the Labour Party”. As Rachel Sylvester says in the Times, Miliband “must prove that he is strong enough to stand up to the macho politics of fixing and back-room deals. The world has moved on. Labour must adapt too — or it will die.” A good start would be for Ed to release the full Labour inquiry into what went on in Falkirk. If Watson will let him…

Third of MPs Earn Between 400% to 700% of Average Earnings

First the facts and figures; MPs are paid a handsome £66,396 plus another £14,582 if they chair one of the 39 Select Committees. If they number among the 169 MPs who are ministers they also receive extra payments to compensate them for the burdens of the Red Box. If they make it to Cabinet they add an additional £68,827 – more than doubling their MP’s salary to £134,565. In short whereas the basic pay of an MP is more than triple the average £19,000 income of UK workers, almost a third of MPs are earning between 4 and 7 times average earnings. This is of course before any outside earnings are taken into account.

Read the rest of The Thunderer…

REVEALED: Tape of What Boris Actually Said at Gay Pride Event

On LBC this morning Boris denied the charge that he joked “you can take your partner up the Arcelor” at a speech about gay pride last week.

“I did not say those words and I think any tape would readily confirm that.”

So what did he actually say? Guido has uncovered footage of the speech in question to clear up the mystery once and for all:

“…up the orbit”. All taken in jest by the audience…

Via @granttucker

Indy Splash Scooped By the Indy

“Education for sale: Gove plans to let firms run schools for profit” bleats today’s Indy mega exclusive splash, citing a leaked memo giving the inside line on DfE policy:

“A memo prepared for Mr Gove by senior DfE staff last October revealed that expansion of the academies and free schools programme would “not reach much beyond 5,000 [schools]” unless additional central resources were found. The Education Secretary was urged to begin planning a “fundamental shift” in academies’ status before the 2015 election.”

Just the one problem: the Indy were unfortunately scooped on their “exclusive”… by the Independent on Sunday six months ago. Headlined “Secret memo shows Michael Gove’s plan for privatisation of academies”, the old Sindy story clearly came from the same leaked memo:

“The minutes, seen by The Independent on Sunday, state: “it is difficult to see how we could manage expansion of the academies and free schools programme much beyond 5,000 without increasing central resource.”"

Another roaring success for the new editor…

Peter Bone Off On One Again

Ignore Free Schools, the EU and the reshuffle. The big news today is the vote for chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group against human trafficking this evening. Peter Bone is off on one again. This time at Labour MP Fiona Mactaggart’s decision to challenge him for the chairmanship, accusing her in a letter to colleagues of “trying to turn the APPG into a party political group, which will promote a left-wing agenda”. Bone says “It would be outrageous if a left-wing Labour MP turned the group into a vehicle to attack the Prime Minister”, adding “You might also like to be aware the Ms Mactaggart has taken little interest in attending group events”. High stakes…
Mactaggart has hit back, insisting that “I would want to continue the cross party approach”. She denies that she “asked for any support from Party whips” and amusingly suggests she would have the support of the Prime Minister. Guido awaits the 5pm vote with baited breath…