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Weblinks for Friday 15th October 2010

7.30pm ToryDiary: Lord Young publishes his "common sense" review of health and safety legislation, promising to "free businesses from unnecessary bureaucratic burdens"

5.15pm Andrew Lilico on CentreRight: "Over the longer term, child benefit in its previous form as a flat-rate tax allowance must surely be abolished.  Since it has now been redefined as a welfare payment, it must eventually be restricted to levels much lower down the income scale than £40,000."

5pm Latest in Parliament:

• Tory MP suggests Scotland should be in a separate time zone
• Government considering new legislation to clear Parliament Square of remaining protesters

4.45pm Local government: Council byelection results from yesterday

4pm Jim McConalogue on CentreRight: How Cash and the Eurorealists are turning the tide

3.45pm ToryDiary: What will the right-wing papers make of Nick Clegg's new "fairness premium"?

3.30pm Lee Rotherham on CentreRight: Today's strangeness from Brussels

3.15pm Gazette: Who was at David Cameron's Downing Street Party for Lady Thatcher?

1.30pm Francis Maude MP on Platform announces an independent report on open data and personal privacy: Our plans for government transparency continue apace - but we must uphold the highest possible standards of personal data protection

12.45pm Local Government: Our latest fortnightly column by Eric Pickles - "The bonfire of local government targets"

Plus Buckinghamshire sexuality quiz? "Never again," says Council leader

11.30am Parliament: The dog that didn't bark yesterday over the Government's student finance proposals

ToryDiary: Clinton and Gates worry about Britain's defence budget - as Liam Fox savages Labour's record in detail in the Times

Lord Ashcroft on Platform: Will a local following be enough to save top Lib Dems come the next election?

Local Government: Labour issued Town Halls with 74,000 pages of rules over last 10 years

Parliament: Julian Smith uses his maiden speech to make a plea on behalf of small businesses for less employment legislation

George Bridges on ThinkTankCentral: The cuts will hurt, but the latest CPS analysis suggests spending will only return to 2009 levels

WATCH: Fire Brigades Union members in London vote to go on strike over changes to shift patterns

Francis Maude announces his bonfire of quangos

"Francis Maude’s much-trailed announcement of his quango cull generated plenty of large numbers: 192 quangos are to be axed and a further 118 are to be reduced to 57 by mergers. Another 171 face “substantial” reform. In total, 648 of the existing 901 bodies will remain – but almost none have been left untouched. But Mr Maude’s statement on Thursday was almost entirely lacking in hard figures, either for numbers of jobs to be cut or the money that would be saved. That is partly because this overhaul, at breakneck speed, remains in Mr Maude’s words “a work in progress” – not only for the 40 bodies still under review but for many where outline decisions have been taken." - FT (£)

"The highest profile casualties included the Youth Justice Board, the Audit Commission, the UK Film Council, and British Nuclear Fuels. The Hospitality Advisory Committee on the Purchase of Wines, which chooses wines for Government, will also go. British Waterways and the Design Council are to become charities, while the Office of Fair Trading will be merged with the Competition Commission." - The Times (£)

"As bonfires go, this one is a little less fiery and accompanied by a rather less spectacular display of fireworks than you might have thought, listening to the soaring, boastful rhetoric of ministers and the squeals of anguish from the quangos being roasted alive. More of a damp squib really." - Sean O'Grady in The Independent

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Francis Maude makes his presence felt as the Government announces that almost 200 quangos will go

> WATCH: Francis Maude defends the abolition of 192 quangos

Kenneth Clarke warns that Western economies are still in "grave danger of collapse"

"Western economies remain in “grave danger of financial collapse” and next week’s spending review is vital if Britain is to avoid falling victim to another downturn, Kenneth Clarke, the Justice Secretary, has said... Mr Clarke, a former chancellor, said the spending review was “quite the most dramatic in living memory” and added: “There’s no one alive who remembers a crisis of this kind. I actually am one of those who believes, with a grave danger of financial collapse, we’re not out of the woods in the Western world yet." - Daily Telegraph

Allister Heath: Osborne’s cuts are relatively modest

"It is time for a reality check. The public spending cuts planned by the coalition only involve reversing, over five years, a small part of the enormous increase in expenditure which took place under Gordon Brown... There are three reasons why the cuts will feel harsher than that: interest payments are surging, squeezing the rest; entitlements (such as pensions) are rising, taking away resources from discretionary, departmental spending such as defence; and the political decision to protect the health and foreign aid budgets will squeeze other departments." - Allister Heath in City AM

Jo Johnson MP and Matthew Hancock MP: Whitehall’s old era of fudged savings must end

"Retail magnate Philip Green’s report this week uncovered a “staggeringly” wasteful public sector. Basic items such as printing paper and mobile handsets are purchased at different rates. There is little effective monitoring of costs, and few incentives to spend less than the budgeted amount. In the eyes of a businessman the waste looks like an opportunity. To a public fearful of job losses and cuts in next week’s comprehensive spending review, Mr Green’s vision of painless “efficiency savings” is tantalising. The question now is whether the Treasury has the tools to deliver." - Jo Johnson MP and Matthew Hancock MP in the FT (£)

Iain Duncan Smith battles to turn around the benefits supertanker

"The work and pensions secretary has big plans but little room to manoeuvre as next week's spending review looms... Duncan Smith has described welfare as the supertanker of British politics. So far it seems he has got the engine working – but he is still a long way from getting it to point in the right direction." - The Guardian

Government's announces £4 billion "raid on the gold-plated pension schemes of the wealthy"

"The amount of tax-free income workers can pay into their pension is to be slashed. From April, ministers say the annual limit will fall from £255,000 to £50,000. And the following year the limit for pension pots will be cut to £1.5million, from £1.8million. The move, designed to save the Treasury £4billion a year, may leave high earners facing a hefty tax charge. Officials say around 100,000 will be hit – 80 per cent of whom make more than £100,000 a year." - Daily Mail

Grandparents who care for youngsters to keep pension rights - Daily Telegraph

Peter Oborne: Hard-working families are the victims of a crude political strategy pursued by ministers out of touch with ordinary people

"The Prime Minister loves to talk of fairness, and in his party conference speech in Birmingham last week spoke explicitly and very movingly of his ambition to do everything he can to support the "doers and the grafters" who sustain British society and economy. But it has become increasingly clear that Cameron and Osborne are intent on milking the doers and grafters for all they can get." - Peter Oborne in the Daily Telegraph

Simon Jenkins: Cutting from the rich and clobbering the middle, Cameron looks like a lefty

"The coalition is fast becoming the most leftwing British government since the war. It has clobbered the middle classes on child benefit. On Tuesday it accepted advice to impose a swingeing loan repayment regime on rich graduates. Yesterday it said it would wipe billions in tax relief from private pension plans. This is from a government that is the first to stand by a top-rate tax rise, to 50%, since the Labour government of 1974. Nothing is sacred. Rightwing this is not." - SImon Jenkin in The Guardian

Lord Young's Health and Safety Review to be published today

"Lord Young is to publish his full review of current rules, including proposals to force town halls to pay compensation if they wrongly ban events. It also suggests that teachers be given assurances that they are not liable for everyday mishaps and accidents during school trips and after-hours clubs... The Government is believed to have approved the report in full and will also implement a crackdown on "ambulance-chasing" personal injury firms." - Press Association

> Lord Young's speech to the Conservative conference earlier this month

> WATCH: Lord Young talks to Sky News about the health and safety culture

Control orders for terrorist suspects to stay, says counter-terrorism review

"A review of counter-terrorism legislation is expected to tell ministers that control orders for suspects should remain, but the time police can hold suspects without charge should be cut to 14 days from 28, the Guardian has learned. The review recommendations can be overturned by ministers but security services and police have so far won their argument that there is no alternative to control orders." - The Guardian

Damian Green defends lifting ban on deportation of failed asylum seekers to Zimbabwe

"The four-year-old ban on sending more than 10,000 failed asylum seekers back to Zimbabwe is to be lifted, the immigration minister, Damian Green, has announced. The Home Office minister said the time was right given the improved situation in Zimbabwe after the formation of an "inclusive" government in 2009." - The Guardian

Clegg unveils £7 billion "fairness premium"

"Next week's comprehensive spending review (CSR) will include a £7 billion "fairness premium" to help children from poorer families as they go through nursery, school and university. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is to announce the move ahead of the spending review. The package will include free pre-school education for two-year-olds from disadvantaged households, a "pupil premium" providing extra cash while they are at school and a "student premium" to help them in higher education." - Press Association

"His new £7 billion fund to deliver a “fairness premium” to children from low­income homes will not be accessible to the vast majority of working families whose tax contributions fund it. Few will quibble about the desirability of backing to the hilt determined young people who wish to escape difficult circumstances and feckless parents. But doing so in a manner that discriminates against the children of responsible parents puts the coalition in perilous territory." - Daily Express editorial

Adam Smith Institute calls for "widespread privatisations"

"The coalition government should undertake "a radical new programme of privatisation", according to right-wing think tank the Adam Smith Institute. It estimates the government could raise as much as £90bn if it sold its stakes in everything from Network Rail and the Royal Mint to Royal Bank of Scotland." - BBC

Owen Paterson pledges to honour St Andrews Agreement investment funding for Northern Ireland - BBC

The Mirror wants details of Rupert Murdoch's visit to Downing Street - The Mirror

Labour MP Denis MacShane reported to police over expenses claims by Standards Commissioner - Daily Telegraph

And finally... Alas last night, the Lady was not for Returning

"Baroness Thatcher had to pull out of a Downing Street party in her honour last night after she fell ill. David Cameron had invited the former Prime Minister to Number 10 to celebrate her 85th birthday along with 150 friends and colleagues. But although a bout of flu put paid to her attendance, she demanded that the party go on. Mr Cameron read out a message from Lady Thatcher, in which she said: ‘I am so disappointed not to be with you this evening. But I hope that you will appreciate that on this particular occasion I have had to accept that the Lady is not for returning. Please, please enjoy yourselves’." - Daily Mail

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Weblinks for Thursday 14th October 2010

9.30pm ToryDiary: Boris Johnson unanimously re-selected as London Mayoral candidate for 2012

5.30pm Thomas Cawston on CentreRight: How to scale back welfare spending - and close the deficit

5pm ToryDiary: Cameron's seven vulnerabilities: (3) People don't know what the Coalition is trying to achieve

4.45pm Peter Aldous MP in Parliament: The future of the inshore fishing fleet on the East Coast

2.45pm Captions please: Cameron and Schwarzenegger on the steps of Number Ten

2.30pm Mark Field MP on CentreRight: "Reforms to our welfare state are essential. But they are also likely to cost the taxpayer considerably more than is currently envisaged."

1.45pm Parliament: David Nuttall's attempt to relax the smoking ban falls at the first hurdle - but 77 Tory MPs vote for his Bill (with 38 opposing it)

1.15pm WATCH: Francis Maude defends the abolition of 192 quangos

Noon Parliament: A small Conservative rebellion took place on Tuesday over the date of the AV referendum

11.15am Jim McConalogue on CentreRight: Bill Cash is right – we must insist Government rejects European Parliament proposals to increase the EU budget

10.45am ToryDiary: A Thatcher Birthday tribute? Francis Maude makes his presence felt as the Government announces that almost 200 quangos will go

10.15am Gazette: Happy Birthday Maggie!

ToryDiary: "We have to stop targeting that group, the people who just hit the higher tax rate."

Parliament: Despite massive whipping operation, 37 Conservative MPs vote to cut UK contribution to EU

Sir Andrew Green on Platform: The impact of recent immigration on our education system runs into tens of billions of pounds

Local Government: Opinion poll shows strong backing for localism

ThinkTankCentral: Reform warns that Coalition's child benefit plan risks bringing targeting of benefits into disrepute

Dominic Schofield in International: Spain's socialist minority government is making the late Brown Administration look fresh, decisive and visionary

Melanchthon on CentreRight: Are you a liberal or a libertarian?

WATCH: William Hague urges Britain and Russia to resolve their differences through diplomacy during a visit to Moscow

Francis Maude to abolish nearly 200 quangos today

"Nearly 200 public sector bodies are set to be axed in a “bonfire of the quangos”, ministers will announce. However they are expected to say that the move will save only a few hundred millions of pounds. Instead, Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, is expected to stress that the move will make the public bodies more “transparent and accountable” in a Commons statement this morning." - Daily Telegraph

"Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union, said: "Cutting these bodies will worsen public accountability and will have a huge impact regionally, economically and socially." - The Guardian

"Britain’s competition regime is to be revamped in a shake-up under which the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission will merge. The restructuring of the competition bodies, to reduce costs and speed up investigations, will probably be one of the most contentious cuts to public bodies to be announced on Thursday in the government’s “bonfire of the quangos”. - FT (£)

"There will be few tears shed today when Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude sets alight his long-promised bonfire of the quangos... The cull seems far less draconian, however, when we learn that more than 400 are expected to survive unscathed." - Daily Mail editorial

Police forces reportedly facing "deep cuts" to number of frontline officers as Theresa May finalises budget settlement

"Britain's police forces are expected to have to make deep cuts in officer numbers after a Treasury decision to protect Home Office spending on counter-terrorism above all else, the Guardian has learned. Theresa May, the home secretary, is believed to be very close to a final settlement on her budget that protects counter-terrorism funding from immediate cuts, though not from the effects of inflation over the next four years." - The Guardian

IoD urges Osborne to be "more radical"

"The Institute of Directors (IoD) urged the Chancellor to ditch the protection which the Government has promised to the NHS and overseas aid budgets, in order to preserve investment in transport, energy and IT infrastructure." - Press Association

Coalition considers cuts to cold weather payments

"Millions of pensioners could be left unable to pay heating bills this winter after it emerged the Coalition is considering slashing cold weather payments. The £25 benefit is handed out if the temperature in the claimant’s area falls below zero for seven consecutive days – and is considered vital by countless poor families and elderly people. Yesterday David Cameron declined to deny rumours that his Government may slash the payment by two thirds, to only £8.50 – at a time when energy bills are soaring." - Daily Mail

Government moves to sell off Royal Mail

"The government began moves on Wednesday to sell off upto 90 percent of state-owned letters delivery business Royal Mail, with the remaining stake reserved for the company's staff. Introducing a bill to parliament, the government said it would take on a pensions deficit which had been valued by trustees at £10.3 billion." - Reuters

Whitehall spent £1bn on wasteful consultancy contracts, says audit office...

"The government spent more than £1bn on consultants and temporary staff last year, hiring them on wasteful contracts and failing to manage them properly, according to the spending watchdog. Although spending on consultants fell slightly in the last four years, the National Audit Office concludes the government is not getting value for money because it does not keep tabs on what they do once they are hired." - The Guardian

...and the waste didn't end in May

"The coalition took out 50 new contracts with consultants worth £10 million in less than 12 weeks despite the Chancellor’s clampdown on outside experts in May, the public spending watchdog discloses today. George Osborne announced in May that any new contract over £20,000 had to be deemed an “operational necessity” and approved by ministers... But a highly critical report from the National Audit Office claims that in the 12 weeks after the Chancellor promised to cut costs on consultants, dozens of new contracts were approved." - The Times (£)

Hague warms up Russian relations

"Britain and Russia "have had some serious differences" in the past but should seek to resolve their issues through "dialogue and diplomacy", Foreign Secretary William Hague said yesterday as he sought to rebuild the UK's battered relationship with Moscow." - The Independent

The media assess Ed Miliband's first outing at PMQs

"Ed Miliband made a pitch for the support of “middle income Britain” in his first clashes with David Cameron at Prime Minister’s Questions today. In what appeared to be a well-judged tactical move, the new Labour leader used the first PMQs since his election to spell out his opposition to plans to remove child benefit from families which have a higher rate taxpayer from 2013." - Sam Coates in The Times (£)

"Miliband had the best gag, about how Cameron might have wished for the threatened BBC blackout during the tumultuous Tory conference last week. By the volume of Labour-versus-Tory cheers at the end, Ed Miliband looked to have won the first clash inside the chamber. Most independent observers scored it as a win for him, too." - Tom Newton Dunn in The Sun

"It was Ed Miliband's first prime minister's questions, and he wasn't bad at all. This clearly came as a surprise to many of his backbenchers, who've been chuntering on for weeks about union members foisting on them a lefty who looks like a nervous panda on his gap year." - Simon Hoggart in The Guardian

"His performance was a reminder of how easy Cameron has had it as a leader, facing Blair when his party wanted him out, Brown mainly in a state of despair following the non-election in 2007 and finally Harriet Harman as a stand-in. It felt yesterday as if battle had been joined at last, although not without big dangers for Miliband too. One Labour frontbencher expressed concern to me afterwards that Miliband was in danger of getting on the wrong side of the debate about fairness, both in relation to child benefit and tuition fees. We shall see." - Steve Richards in The Independent

>Yesterday's ToryDiary: Child benefit issue gives Ed Miliband victory during his first PMQs

> WATCH: Highlights of Ed Miliband's PMQs debut

New sentencing guidelines could mean 3,000 fewer jailed for assault

"New guidelines could mean 3,000 fewer people each year being jailed for assault, the Sentencing Council has said. The proposed changes could save the prison service more than £16m a year and the probation service £3m." - BBC

David Cameron picks Marines colonel to advise on military - The Times (£)

David Cameron and General Petraeus to meet in London today to discuss Linda Norgrove's death - BBC

Fifa boss Sepp Blatter in Downing Street discussion about England's 2018 World Cup Bid - The Sun

A recent pronouncement by Grant Shapps has upset the Mail's Stephen Glover

"In a little reported speech on Tuesday, Mr Shapps warned middle-class families that they should not rely on the value of their homes to fund their retirement. He said — admittedly without supplying any details — that the Government would try to ensure that property prices will rise more slowly than incomes so as to avoid another housing boom. ‘People should think of homes as a place to live rather than a pension,’ he informed the Housing Market Intelligence Conference." - Stephen Glover in the Daily Mail

Clegg urges MPs to think hard before opposing fees rise

"Nick Clegg has urged his MPs to look at "all the facts" before deciding whether to oppose a rise in tuition fees. The deputy prime minister said he would "understand" if fellow Lib Dems felt they could not back it, after signing a pre-election pledge not to do so." - BBC

Sir Menzies Campbell joins Lib Dem revolt against rising tuition fees - The Guardian

Stephen Pollard: At last Cameron's Tories learn to love Baroness Thatcher

"This evening David Cameron will celebrate Baroness Thatcher’s 85th birthday by hosting a reception at 10 Downing Street for the former prime minister. Her successors as leader of the Conservative Party have all at various points tried to distance themselves from her – not least Mr Cameron himself....  So it is especially welcome that tonight Mr Cameron will honour her contribution to the country. Because far from being ashamed of her legacy Conservative politicians should cherish it and learn critical lessons from her experience." - Stephen Pollard in the Daily Express

Nick Clegg defends five-year fixed-term parliaments - The Guardian

Lib Dem MP bailed after assault complaint - The Independent

How Alan Johnson spent £17,000 on 19 office chairs - The Sun

EPP organsies £350,000 "study break" to Madeira for 400 MEPs and staff - Daily Telegraph

And finally... The Queen cancels Christmas to save money

"Faithful royal staff were devastated last night after the Queen axed the Buckingham Palace Christmas party in a cost-cutting drive. Hundreds were looking forward to the lavish bash as it is the one time they can mingle with senior Royals. But Her Majesty was determined to show solidarity with a nation struggling with hardship and called it off after consulting senior courtiers... Some 1,200 guests were due at the £50,000 party, scheduled for December 13." - The Sun

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Weblinks for Wednesday 13th October 2010

6.45pm WATCH: Highlights of Ed Miliband's PMQs debut

5.30pm ToryDiary: The Coalition is changing the Liberal Democrats more than the Liberal Democrats are changing the Coalition. Discuss...

2.30pm Local government: Pickles scraps LAAs - and slams Islington for paying invoices twice

12.45pm Alex Deane on CentreRight: Is YOUR MP part of a move to control EU spending?

12.45pm WATCH: Remembering the Thatcher years, a BBC video to mark the former PM's 85th birthday

ToryDiary: Child benefit issue gives Ed Miliband victory during his first PMQs

11.30am Parliament: 34 Conservative MPs say the EU shouldn't get extra money at a time of cuts

9.45am Local government:

• At least 75 councils are now publishing their spending online
• The bureaucrats' guide to procurement

9.30am LeftWatch: Alan Johnson leads revolt against Ed Miliband at first Shadow Cabinet meeting

ToryDiary on Cameron's seven vulnerabilities: (2) The squeezed middle

George Eustice MP on Platform: How we should rebalance the law in favour of enterprise

Natalie Evans on ThinkTankCentral: Policy Exchange unleashes a broadside against the proposed Alternative Vote system with the publication of AV – "the system no one wants"

Parliament:

• George Osborne confirms intention to eliminate deficit by 2015 in first Commons clash with Alan Johnson
• Tory peers make the case against Lords reform

Cllr Benjamin Dennehy on Local government: Every councillor should have a good website

Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: Allister Heath's daily lesson in economics

WATCH: Vince Cable announces an increase in tuition fees

Education budget may be squeezed as price of settlement for poorer pupils and military

"David Cameron faces a stark trade-off between buying more military hardware, cutting benefits and providing more financial help for poorer pupils, as the battle over public spending reaches its endgame. The Treasury is close to striking spending deals with most government departments, leaving the toughest decisions of the £83bn spending cull to the very end. They are expected to cover just three areas: defence, welfare and ­education." - FT (£)

"The government plans to cut "non-essential" education projects including youth clubs, after-school music and art activities and child safety projects to meet its commitment to increase funding for disadvantaged children under a pupil premium." - Guardian

Navy to get aircraft carriers despite defence cuts - Guardian

Senior RAF officers say cuts 'could make Britain's air space vulnerable to attack' - Telegraph

Grant Shapps says "lottery" in house prices must end

"Mr Shapps stressed he did not want to see ‘a dramatic fall in house prices’. ‘I think we need a market that’s boring, where the pressure of making what could be the single biggest financial decision of your life, is based on your needs and desires, not on whether you feel lucky. ‘Buying a home shouldn’t be like playing the lottery.’" - Daily Mail

Andrew Lansley considers NHS whistle blowing charter

"Doctors and nurses would be given a contractual right to "blow the whistle" on malpractice in hospitals without fear of being sacked or disciplined, under plans to improve NHS safety. Ministers also want to set up an independent "whistleblowing watchdog" to which staff could turn if their concerns were not addressed." - Independent

Tory rebels fail to delay AV Referendum

"A bid by rebel Conservative MPs - including David Cameron’s former leadership rival David Davis - to delay the voting reform referendum proposed next May has been defeated in the Commons. Voting was 326 votes to 264, a healthy Government majority of 62, and opponents of the referendum will now have to defeat the Government in the House of Lords if they are to delay the vote." - Sky News

William Hague makes first trip to Moscow, refusing to set aside Litvinenko murder - BBC

Radical reforms promised by Andrew Mitchell for development fund at centre of expenses storm - Daily Mail

Tuition fees fallout

"The business secretary, Vince Cable, is struggling to stem the first serious revolt within the Liberal Democrat party since the formation of the coalition after he backed a doubling of university tuition fees." - Guardian

"Lib Dem deputy leader, Simon Hughes, warned that the Browne proposals must not be the "last word" on tuition fees. Ex-leader Sir Menzies Campbell said he will not break his promise to oppose a rise in fees." - The Sun

"Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, admitted that he and fellow Lib Dem MPs would have to break their election pledge in light of today’s economic climate. But he alarmed some Conservative MPs by saying that wealthy parents should be penalised if they paid tuition fees up front to avoid a repayments system that would charge high-earning graduates more." - Times (£)

"Lord Browne says the strong must contribute more. That is right. But it misunderstands the fear of high debt among those whom he considers strong, but who are not. It is now up to business, if it has regard to its own future, to forge a partnership with the best universities, and see that the talent of our young people is not squandered." - Simon Heffer in The Telegraph

The cartoonists have fun at Vince Cable's expense: Steve Bell in The Guardian and Dave Brown in The Independent

> Yesterday's Parliament blog: Vince Cable tells Commons that, given fiscal situation, opposition to tuition fees is "no longer feasible"

> Yesterday's LeftWatch blog: The Liberal Democrats' remarkable u-turn on tuition fees

Fifa president Sepp Blatter to meet David Cameron as England's bid to host 2018 World Cup reaches final phase - BBC

Ed Miliband will face David Cameron at PMQs for first time - BBC

The latest daily YouGov poll has Labour going backwards since Ed Miliband became Labour leader with the Tory advantage widening to 7%.

Nick Boles wants David Miliband, Andrew Adonis and James Purnell in Coalition's big tent

"If President Obama can keep Republican Robert Gates as secretary of state for defence, does Britain have to forfeit the remarkable talent of David Miliband? Can the coalition afford to do without the passionate expertise of Andrew Adonis as it completes his quest to connect Britain's great cities with high-speed rail? Must we try to build the "big society" without the help of James Purnell, who saw that the spirit of reform was leaving Labour long before anyone else?" - Nick Boles in The Guardian

And finally...

Lord Heseltine, John Major, Chris Patten and Nick Clegg won't be at David Cameron's Downing Street party for Lady Thatcher - Independent

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Weblinks for Tuesday 12th October 2010

9pm LeftWatch: The Liberal Democrats' remarkable u-turn on tuition fees

7.15pm WATCH: Outside his home, ready to bike to work, David Willetts talks to BBC reporter about tuition fees

5pm Parliament: David Nuttall MP explains why he is introducing a Ten Minute Rule Bill to relax the smoking ban

4pm Parliament: Vince Cable tells Commons that, given fiscal situation, opposition to tuition fees is "no longer feasible"

3pm ToryDiary: "We are seeing the fastest rate of school reform in English history"

2pm Paul Goodman on CentreRight: Why the Conservative Party should have nothing to do with the East London Mosque

12.15pm Local government: The BBC profiles the cost-cutting Hammersmith and Fulham council

Noon ThinkTankCentral: The moral and economic imperative of reducing worklessness

ToryDiary on Cameron's Seven Vulnerabilities: (1) Prisons policy

Nik Darlington on Platform: Our universities need extra funding and they are not going to get it from the taxpayer

Donal Blaney on CentreRight: "Why should the overtaxed and underpaid tea lady or the dustman pay for a child from a wealthier family to spend three years partying under the guise of studying an all too often worthless degree?"

Local government: £44 million of unnecessary council jobs identified

Seats and candidates: New, enthusiastic Tory MPs are the seventh reason why Cameron can be hopeful about 2015

Lord Browne to recommend end to caps on tuition fees

"Virtually all taxpayer funding will be removed from the majority of degrees and students will have to borrow tens of thousands of pounds to cover the doubled cost of courses. Universities will have to charge at least £7,000 a year to cover the loss of central government funding and some elite degrees are expected to cost up to £12,000 a year." - Telegraph

"The Browne report emphatically rejects a graduate tax to fund universities and examines its pitfalls in great detail. State funds for teaching in universities will be cut dramatically in next week’s spending review, with public funds concentrating on research. Top universities will need to charge higher fees to replace lost teaching grants, which may be cut by £3 billion." - Times (£)

Liberal Democrat MPs must compromise on university funding, says Cameron - The Sun

Steve Richards: George Osborne won't deliver 25% cuts

"I am willing to bet the size of the deficit that the Coalition doesn't reduce public spending by 25 per cent in this parliament as it is pledged to do. I do not believe it will get anywhere near that target... There was much evidence in the public speeches at last week's Conservative conference that senior Tories support the idea of spending cuts but not the specific consequences. Lauded for his "boldness" in the summer by some mighty newspapers, Osborne is being attacked now for daring to cut child benefit. Cameron and Osborne counted on the support of the Tory newspapers as they began their crusade. But newspapers are like departmental ministers. They support cuts in theory and then discover a very strong case for spending when faced with specific examples." - Steve Richards in The Independent

Sir Philip Green identifies £20bn of savings

"Whitehall waste has reached “staggering and shameful” levels costing the taxpayer billions of pounds a year, a devastating report revealed last night. Huge buildings with annual rental values running into millions are left empty while even junior civil servants make personal calls on mobile phones given out by the Government." - Express

"The retail magnate Sir Philip Green was asked by David Cameron to shine a light into the darkest corners of Whitehall, and there is no denying he has uncovered staggering levels of waste. His assessment is that he could save £20billion without cutting a single public sector job – trimming £700million from the jaw-dropping £2billion telecoms bill alone." - Daily Mail leader

"Responding to Sir Philip’s recommendations, Mr Cameron said it was a “solid” report that identified how much money had been wasted. He told a press conference that public spending had increased in recent years, yet “crazy” decisions had been made about property, computers and other goods and services." - Times (£)

Benefit claimants set to lose hundreds of pounds from move from RPI to CPI measure of prices - Guardian

More poverty in working households than workless households

"There are now more children living in poverty among working families than in homes where no-one has a job, analysis revealed yesterday. It found that the number of children who live below the official poverty line even though at least one of their parents goes out to work has jumped by a third – 80,000 – in just ten years." - Daily Mail

"The apparent resilience of public sector wage growth compared with the private sector largely reflects the nationalisation of two of Britain’s biggest banks along with an explosion of low-paid jobs in the private sector since the recession. When the effects of these changes are stripped away, pay for public sector workers has risen broadly in line with that of the private sector over the past year." - FT (£)

The EU gets more money as everything else is cut

"Are we really going to sit back and watch the EU spend more of our money while we are having to cut back the Royal Navy, axe child benefits, postpone school building schemes, throw thousands out of work and close down dozens of quangos? The argument in favour of more spending is that the infrastructure and regional development projects funded by the EU are actually good for growth and will help economic recovery. But why can't some of that money be spent directly by the countries providing it rather than expensively laundered through Brussels?" - Philip Johnson in The Telegraph

> Yesterday on CentreRight by Alex Deane: European spending should be cut, just like other budgets

Hague defends unsuccessful attempt to rescue Linda Norgrove

"William Hague today defended the decision to try to rescue Linda Norgrove, after David Cameron revealed it is now thought the British aid worker was killed by US troops rather than her captors. In a statement to MPs in the Commons this afternoon, the foreign secretary paid tribute to the US forces in Afghanistan who had "risked their lives to rescue a British subject" after her kidnap, and cautioned against a rush to judgment." - Guardian

Alan Milburn disagrees with Ed Miliband on child benefit for higher rate taxpayers

"Alan Milburn, the Blairite former Health Secretary, who is advising the coalition on social mobility, sees it as a symbolic policy. “We have to be frank with people and show our mettle,” he told me. “In times of plenty, giving child benefit to high earners is a luxury the country can afford; in times of want I don’t think it is. We would be wrong to oppose it. I can’t see it having an adverse impact on social mobility.” - Quoted by Rachel Sylvester in The Times (£)

AV referendum set to be on May 5 next year after all - FT Westminster blog

BBC has aired its Panorama investigation into the financial affairs of Lord Ashcroft - Independent

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