Monday 10 September 2012

Today's top ConservativeHome features
Bruce Anderson takes on Boris Island (and Boris) in his latest column:
  • "Boris is a strange character, far more complicated and far less likeable that the superficial impression would suggest."
  • "Stand back from the bumbling and burbling and pretence of affability and you will realise that this is a man who is wholly uninterested in other human beings except as a means to his gratification or advancement."
  • "He will do nothing to help the Tories win the next Election, unless he decides that there is something in it for him."
Today's ConservativeHome newslinks
The week of post-Olympics, pro-business measures starts with a focus on health and safety regulations
Pulp Fiction"Ministers will reveal today, at the start of a week of pro-business announcements, that companies making efforts to comply with health and safety rules will be protected from 'US-style' compensation claims. ... They will also pledge to slash at least 3,000 regulations that businesses complain have been holding them back. ... However, the idea of a 'fire at will' law has been killed off by Vince Cable, the Business Secretary." - The Times (£)
"Mr Cable told the Telegraph: 'After such an outstanding summer of British success for both TeamGB and ParalympicsGB the public are riding high on a wave of optimism. ... We need to tap into this feel good factor and renewed confidence in being British to help us fight economic gloom and create a healthier economy.'" - Daily Telegraph
Manufacturers' group accuses ministers of lacking plan for growth -Guardian
  • "If 3,500 petty rules ARE axed, The Sun will lead the cheering — from the rooftops and without a high-vis vest in sight." - Suneditorial
  • Britain’s productivity crisis is real – here are the six reasons why we have done so badly -Allister Heath, City AM
> Yesterday: 
"We've had an extraordinary summer of sport," says Lord Coe
"The former Olympian said: 'The real challenge is to maintain sustainable and meaningful change. ... I would like to think that by extending the excitement from the Olympic Games into the Paralympic Games and that exhilaration has led to a greater education. I think people will leave zz\aunderstanding a great deal more about the world they are living in.'" - Daily Telegraph
And Boris repeats the point in his Daily Telegraph column, saying that the Games represent "the best £9.3 billion that a government has ever spent"
Boris"There have been many wonderful things about this summer. Think about the messages we have been sending round the world. Think about it from an investor’s point of view. The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee showed a nation that was profoundly politically stable, with a huge and unexpected reservoir of support for the constitutional settlement. The Olympics showed that we can carry out the most difficult logistical operation demanded of any country in peacetime, and do it with efficiency and style. The Paralympics have shown that Britain remains a beacon of enlightenment." - Boris Johnson, Daily Telegraph
But what's this? The Mayor of London will hold his own inquiry into airport capacity (and it won't consider a third runway at Heathrow)
"In a move designed to highlight what Mr Johnson has described as the Prime Minister’s 'fudge-orama' over the future of aviation, the inquiry will last between nine and 12 months – reporting two years earlier than the Davis Commission which Mr Cameron set up to investigate the same issue. ... Its findings will be presented to the Davis Commission, which will not conclude until after the next election but which Mr Johnson has reluctantly decided to cooperate with because of the 'realities' of the situation." - Daily Telegraph
  • "Weekend rumours of stalking horses and Tory pretenders like Boris Johnson exaggerate the threat to Cameron" - Tim Bale,Guardian
> Yesterday on Comment, by Luke Bozier: Boris should fight for London to be open on Sundays
The Coalition's latest lending scheme could be having an effect
"Since the Bank of England launched its Funding for Lending scheme in mid-July, banks’ funding costs have fallen by 0.5 percentage points, according to one measure. ... But there is so far little sign of banks passing on lower costs to borrowers. The average best interest rate for three-year fixed rate mortgages has fallen just 0.1 percentage points since Funding for Lending was launched, according to moneysupermarket.com." - Financial Times (£)
Philip Hammond expected to announce that the Government has sold off Ark Royal as scrap metal for £3 million
Philip Hammond"Tory MP Patrick Mercer said: ‘This is an immensely sad day for the country and especially the Royal Navy. There has been an Ark Royal in the fleet for centuries and now the name seems to have perished along with all her achievements.’" - Daily Mail
The Government is discussing whether the UK's security services need to rebalance their efforts towards new threats such as cyber espionage
"'The issue on ministers’ minds was what the security scene would look like in, say, 2025,' a Whitehall figure said. 'Will we look back and say that, in the decade after the Olympics, the jihadist threat remained the central security preoccupation for the UK? Or will the next decade come to be dominated by other issues, like the return of state-on-state challenges from Russia and China.'" -Financial Times (£)
Newspapers making hay out of the fact that Grant Shapps edited his own Wikipedia page
"But sources close to Mr Shapps, 43, insisted the changes were simply made to correct inaccuracies, many of which had been added by 'mischief making' opponents." - Daily Telegraph
Legal advice commissioned by the Coalition for Marriage suggests that teachers could be sacked for refusing to endorse gay marriage - Daily Telegraph 
Chair of the UK Commission on Employment and Skills calls for a move to employer-led training - Financial Times (£)
Ken Macdonald QC: As Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling must rise above politics and have the guts to say "you're wrong"
"Because central to his brief is the stewardship of our courts, of fair and impartial adjudications between citizens in bitter dispute and, perhaps more importantly, between individuals and a State intent upon locking them up. The Justice Secretary’s job is clothed in the rule of law and he has to show that, when it comes down to it, he can reach for non-partisan judgment and be trusted to do the right thing." - Ken Macdonald QC, The Times (£)
Gaby Hinsliff: Rampant bulldozing isn't a growth strategy
"Other countries don’t put up with this dithering, barked David Cameron, which is true enough. China didn’t build two new power stations a week by fannying around with parish councils. But somehow the idea that we can build ourselves out of recession, in defiance of a eurozone debt crisis, one mock-Tudor semi at a time doesn’t feel plausible." - Gaby Hinsliff, The Times (£)
> Yesterday's column by Nadine Dorries: It's time to defend the green belt
Melanie Phillips is unimpressed with Anna Soubry, whom she describes as "Mr Cameron's latest nightmare" and the "Minister for Death" - Melanie Phillips, Daily Mail
And, unsurprisingly, the Independent's Owen Jones doesn't much like Jeremy Hunt, either - Owen Jones, Independent
According to Andrew Pierce, the new Tory group being launched tomorrow is regarded by many as "a snub" to Mr Cameron's leadership- Andrew Piece, Daily Mail 
Casting ahead to the 2015 election, no party leader likes what he sees- Gavin Kelly, Guardian
Vince Cable and Ed Balls get chummy on the Andrew Marr show
Cable"Mr Cable confirmed that he favoured higher taxes for the wealthy. Asked about his idea for a mansion tax on expensive properties, which Labour now supports, he added: 'I was delighted that Ed Balls has signed up. I have not been embarrassed to call myself a person of the centre left.' ... Mr Balls said: 'Vince should be listened to on banking reform and on the economy. I could work with Vince.'" - Daily Telegraph
The TUC conference is under way — and its participants are considering a general strike - Daily Mail
How much did Tony Blair make in three hours for brokering a multi-£billion mining deal? A cool $1 million - Daily Mail 
On average, public sector workers work three hours a week less than their private sector counterparts, but earn £3 a week more, suggests the think-tank Reform - The Sun
A report by the Royal United Services Institute suggests that some Taliban leaders are ready to negotiate a ceasefire in Afghanistan, and accept a continuing US presence in the country - Guardian
And finally... Boris's former wife says that she "can’t help still loving him" - Daily Mail
The weekend's highlights on ConservativeHome
ToryDiary:
Columnist Nadine Dorries MP: It's time to defend the green belt
Comment:
Local government: 
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Posted by Britannia Radio at 08:47