Newslinks for Wednesday 19th June 2013

6pm WATCH: David Cameron and Ed Miliband go head to head on bank regulation

4.15pm Nick de Bois MP on Comment: The use of police cautions is out of hand - they should return to being final warnings

2.45pm ToryDiary: "Prime Minister's questions is a perpetual assault by Mr Cameron on the Labour Party, of a kind which a gifted desk officer in the Conservative Research Department of the late 1980s might make. It is a professional performance, but also a rather mean-spirited and constricted one." - PMQs: David Cameron and Lynton Crosby set out to destroy the Labour Party

1pm ToryDiary: Conservative support rises among the young - presenting an opportunity we must seize

11am ToryDiary: An invitation from Grant Shapps to sponsor James Wharton's EU referendum bill

9.45am Henry Hill's Red, White and Blue column: Villiers to G8 protesters - let's see you make it to remote Fermanagh

ToryDiary: The BBC has been outpaced by reality, and has become unsustainable

Columnist Stephan Shakespeare on new polling about the Prime Minister and London's Mayor: "When we look at the words the Johnson-likers use to describe themselves, we find ‘individualistic, knowledgeable, disorganised’, versus Cameron-likers seeing themselves as ‘friendly, organised and hardworking’. Stephen Fry & Eddie Izzard v the England Rugby Team - yes, it's Boris v Cameron

Greg Clark MP's weekly Letter from a Treasury Minister: Who Bolckow and Vaughan were, and why we need successors for them today

Evan Price on Comment: The state should not decide who represents you in court

Yesterday, ethnic minority members. Today, older and young people. Majority Conservatism's series on the challenge of winning a Future Majority continues. Max Chambers: To win, Cameron must make a game-changing offer to the young middle-classes

MPsETC: Bluebirds soar in double demolition

Councillor John Moss on Local Government: Scrap rent control for local tenants

The Deep End: Post-war America: When capitalism was nice

At the G8 summit in County Fermanagh, the West tries to engineer a coup in Damascus...

“President Assad’s henchmen would be allowed a role in a rebuilt Syria, world leaders said yesterday in an attempt to encourage a coup against the dictator. Senior figures in the military, security services, and across the Government would survive after Assad had gone, G8 leaders promised at the close of the summit in Northern Ireland…David Cameron said that the G8 wanted to persuade Assad loyalists who knew “in their hearts” that he must go that Syria would not collapse into hopeless instability without him” – The Times (£)

• What’s to be gained from arming the rebels? - Roger Boyes, The Times (£)
• Miliband is standing firm on Syria, but is he caught in a trap? - Mary Riddell, Daily Telegraph

...but Putin refuses to bow to G8 pressure to cut Assad adrift...

“Peace talks aimed at bringing and end to the bloody slaughter in Syria are unlikely to take place soon after world leaders failed to make a swift breakthrough. Hopes that both sides could meet in Geneva next month appeared to be dashed today after an isolated President Putin stood up to pressure from all other seven G8 leaders” – The Times (£)

...while Cameron secures a global tax crackdown on secretive firms...

"David Cameron has ordered a crackdown on secretive firms and trusts as he heralded an historic global deal to stop tax avoidance. The news came as a Number 10’s tax adviser warned that African countries are losing twice as much in avoided tax as they are getting in aid from the West” – Daily Telegraph

• "The G8 made some progress on tax evasion but the big prize will be new rules to prevent companies shifting profits around the world" - Times Editorial (£)
• "The G8 summit in Lough Erne has been a curiously flat affair, but David Cameron is right to stress its importance" - Daily Telegraph Editorial

...and journalists watching from afar detect tensions, rivalries and downright loathing

“Officially, it has been the greatest diplomatic shindig in the world. Unofficially? A stewpot of bubbling tensions, rivalries and downright loathing. G8 they call it. G-hate, more like. Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin sat next to each other in one of the little ‘bilaterals’ which have been held at the G8 summit in County Fermanagh. Boxing gloves, please! Did two chaps ever look less thrilled to see one another?” – Quentin Letts, Daily Mail

• Cameron takes G8 break with early-morning swim – Daily Mail

> Yesterday:

• ToryDiary - Is there really any point in G8 summits - the Time Team of international diplomacy?
• Caroline Spelman on Comment: Let's hear it for a US/EU trade deal - which could account for half of global trade

Daniel Finkelstein: We must never forget our debt to America

"British people owe a huge debt to the United States that we don’t often talk about and can easily forget. And these two anniversaries provide a moment for thanks. The proper understanding of Soviet communism that has been achieved after the fall of the Berlin Wall demonstrates that fear of Soviet expansion was not fanciful and that their ambitions did extend to the subverting of Western democracy. And it also shows the poverty and oppression that would have followed had they been successful." - The Times (£)

Miller's child porn summit: £1 million - but no "opt in" porn filters

“Britain's internet giants have agreed to put extra money into the fight against sickening child abuse images – but are refusing to install automatic filters that would force users to ‘opt in’ to online pornography. At a Westminster summit, the top four internet service providers pledged an additional £1million over four years to the Internet Watch Foundation, a charity which works to remove indecent images from the web. Firms including BT, TalkTalk, Facebook and Google signed a ‘zero tolerance’ agreement on child abuse images at the summit, hailed by Culture Secretary Maria Miller as a triumph” – Daily Mail

• End this filth – The Sun Says
• Maria Miller defends “incredible importance” of DCMS – Daily Telegraph
• Saatchi caution “not enough” say campaigners – The Times (£)

Britain should reap the rewards of GM crops

“In a speech tomorrow, Owen Paterson, the Environment Secretary, will call for a renewed debate about the use of GM, which is severely restricted in the European Union…around the world more than 170 million hectares of land are under GM crops, sustained by 16 million farmers in 28 countries, with no reports of apparent damage to health or the environment…Mr Paterson’s attempt, therefore, to get the EU to reopen this subject is eminently sensible, yet it has provoked outrage among eco-campaigners” – Philip Johnson, Daily Telegraph

Banking 1) Banking Commission raps Osborne over interference with nationalised banks

“The UK government has ‘interfered’ in the running of the part-nationalised banks in a manner that is ‘clearly not acceptable’, a sweeping parliamentary review into the failings of the British banking system has concluded. The rebuke, prompted by government pressure on Royal Bank of Scotland over bonus payouts and regulatory capital increases, comes only days after the bank’s chief executive, Stephen Hester, was ousted following Treasury pressure” – Financial Times

• Far-reaching recommendations on banking hit home – Financial Times Editorial
• Osborne told by Banking Standards Commission that bosses of collapsed banks should be sent to jail - The Independent
• Reckless banking should be a criminal offence – Philip Augar, Financial Times
• Pay cuts imposed on top civil servants could lead to exodus of talent - Guardian
• House prices rise by £9,000: average value soars to £238,000 – Daily Express
• Make the bankers pay - Daily Mail Comment
• The Government and the banks must rise to the challenge - Ed Balls, Politics Home (£)

Banking 2) Osborne to set out plans for nationalised banks in his Mansion House speech this evening

"The Chancellor will use a speech at the Mansion House this evening to indicate that the sale of the Government's 40 per cent stake in Lloyds can start before 2015. And he made clear that offloading the 81 per cent stake in RBS can only begin if taxpayers will get their money back. Mr Osborne also confirmed that he had played a key role in ousting RBS chief executive Stephen Hester because he wanted a new man in place to guide privatisation."

Latest Cameron-Boris poll: 30 per cent would back Cameron-led Tories at next election, 36 per cent Boris-led Tories

"Supporters of Boris Johnson prefer Jeremy Clarkson, Jimmy Carr and the rock band Muse, while backers of David Cameron like Margaret Thatcher, Prince William and listening to Just a Minute on BBC Radio 4, research shows. The survey also suggested that 30 per cent of voters would back the Conservatives at the next election if Mr Cameron is in charge, compared with 36 per cent if the Mayor of London takes over, according to an analysis by the polling company YouGov." - The Times (£)

> Today: Columnist Stephan Shakespeare - Stephen Fry & Eddie Izzard v the England Rugby Team - yes, it's Boris v Cameron

Latest Generation X poll: the Conservatives double their support among the youngest cohort of voters

"Pollster Bobby Duffy, who is leading Ipsos MORI's work on generational analysis, said many in Generation Y seemed to have a more individualised outlook. "They believe people need to take greater personal responsibility rather than looking to the state – perhaps reflecting the fact that they have had less support themselves than other recent generations. "The Conservative position on many aspects of policy therefore appeals more directly to this sense of stopping 'something for nothing'," Duffy said, adding a proviso that the extent of Tory support from the young shouldn't be exaggerated." - The Guardian

Cover-up over 16 baby deaths at Morecambe Bay hospitals

“Health bosses are today accused of covering up their failure to investigate a hospital where up to 16 babies died through neglect. Despite multiple warnings about Morecambe Bay hospitals, a Care Quality Commission inspection gave the trust the all-clear in 2010. Even when a CQC official produced a dossier showing the inspection was flawed, bosses told him to destroy it to protect the commission’s reputation” – Daily Mail 

Plans for open primaries abandoned, Sarah Wollaston claims

"Plans to introduce 'open primaries' in 200 parliamentary seats before the next general election are being abandoned because David Cameron believes they lead to 'awkward' MPs in the Commons, a Tory backbencher has claimed. Dr Sarah Wollaston, the MP for Totnes, said that she believed that Downing Street had shelved the idea of open primaries over fears that they may favour ‘outspoken’ candidates” – Daily Telegraph

God goes but Queen remains as Guides adapt Promise

“Girl Guiding has severed its ties with God and country — at the heart of the movement since it was founded more than a century ago — after a radical rewriting of its historic ‘Promise’ that is designed to appeal to a new generation of members. From now on, Guides will pledge ‘to be true to myself and develop my beliefs’ instead of ‘to love my God’. ‘My country’ has been replaced by ‘my community’. But the Queen survived the cull, so girls will still promise to ‘serve’ her and subsequent monarchs when they take their oath” – The Times (£)

Fury as union boss accuses Kate Middleton of “having babies to get state handouts”

“The leader of one of Labour’s biggest union backers sparked fury tonight after likening Kate Middleton to ‘young women having babies to get state handouts’. Unison boss Dave Prentis took aim at the heavily pregnant Duchess of Cambridge in a speech attacking government cuts to welfare. Labour leader Ed Miliband was urged to distance himself from the ‘outrageous’ attack just weeks before she is due to give birth” – Daily Mail

News in brief

• US and Taliban agree to peace talks - Guardian
• David Steel's abortion concern - Daily Mail
• Another night of demonstrations in Brazil - Guardian
• DWP will look again at disability benefits - The Independent
• Nigel Farage’s trip to Scotland disrupted by protests – Daily Telegraph
• Teenage couple killed by train in apparent suicide pact - Independent
• Met Office warns of a decade of wet summers – The Times (£)

> Please use the thread below to provide links to news topics likely to be of interest to ConservativeHome readers and to comment on political topics that haven't been given their own blog. Read our comments policy here.

Newslinks for Tuesday 18th June 2013

8pm WATCH: George Osborne on the "dress-down" G8 summit

4.30pm Andrew Lilico on Comment: The Establishment and its values is what stands between civilisation and anarchy or oppression

2.30pm Bob Blackman MP on Comment: Britain shouldn't fail on heart failure

1.15pm ToryDiary: If Cameron's popularity is achieved at the expense of his party, the latter can't be Built To Last

11.30am ToryDiary: Is there really any point in G8 summits - the Time Team of international diplomacy?

10.45am LeftWatch: Whitby Labour Councillor fathers child with alien queen - wife "unhappy"

9.30am Rob Wilson MP on Comment: Widening university access should not mean political interference in admissions

ToryDiary: "Ken Clarke speaks off the cuff about the EU without first getting the go-ahead from Downing Street, but writing about it in the Daily Telegraph this morning will have been a different matter.  It is impossible to believe that his piece, in which familiar arguments for Britain's membership of the EU are set out, will not have been cleared in advance." - The hands are the hands of Clarke, but the voice is the voice of Cameron

Garvan Walshe's Foreign Policy Column: The Wars of Ottoman Succession - why we need a strategy to deal with enduring instability in the Middle East

Caroline Spelman on Comment: Let's hear it for a US/EU trade deal - which could account for half of global trade

Max Wind-Cowie continues our Future Majority series on MajorityConservatism: We will win ethnic minority votes by backing outsiders - and learning from Boris

MPsETC: Cameron's coming reshuffle will be a reshuffle for women

On Local Government, Cllr Susan Hall asks: Why do the media ignore Labour's local government splits?

The Deep End: The libertarians finally get their fantasy island

Leaving the EU would be to indulge damaging isolationism, writes Ken Clarke

"There always has been something of the romantic in the British soul. We can’t fail to be stirred by Charge of the Light Brigade visions of Britain standing alone against the odds. It is the same sentiment behind the idea of exchanging the EU for Nafta. But, in the end, we are a practical race. We know that the empire on which the sun never set was created by intrepid, relentlessly outward-facing adventurers and administrators, not isolationist John Bulls. That “Brexit” would mean curtains for our ability to have any leadership role in world-defining plays like these free-trade agreements would greatly disturb us." - Ken Clarke, Daily Telegraph 

•  Miliband should resist temptation of a referendum - Donald MacIntyre, The Independent
• EU-US trade talks open, as the French fall out with Brussels - FT (£) 
• Make privacy part of the talks - Yochai Benkler, FT (£) 
• UK agrees City regulation deal with the EU - FT (£) 
• Brussels declares that the Euro is safe. Again. - Daily Telegraph

>Today: ToryDiary - The hands are the hands of Clarke, but the voice is the voice of Cameron

>Today: Caroline Spelman on Comment: Let's hear it for a US/EU trade deal - which could account for half of global trade

Last chance for Syria - Cameron puts pressure on Putin at the G8

"At a tense G8 Summit dinner, the Prime Minister was expected to warn that the world was at a “clarifying moment” in attempts to end the civil war. British officials said Mr Cameron had concluded that President Putin’s continuing support for the regime of tyrant Bashar Assad had become the primary obstacle to an international deal. Insiders said the Russian leader faced being isolated in a “frank discussion”." - Daily Express

• Cameron leading West's Putin ambush - The Times (£) 
• PM's 5 point plan for a G8 agreement - The Sun
• We must not stand by as Syrian burns - The Times Leader (£) 
• Interventionists are living in the past - Gideon Rachman, FT (£) 
• A show with a whiff of North Korea - Ann Treneman, The Times (£) 

>Today: Garvan Walshe's Foreign Policy Column - The Wars of Ottoman Succession - why we need a strategy to deal with enduring instability in the Middle East

Miller invites internet companies for another summit on extreme images...

"Maria Miller has summoned 13 companies, including Google, BT and Microsoft, to a summit in Whitehall on Tuesday. They will be told that “widespread public concern has made it clear that the industry must take action”. Ms Miller will ask the companies to draw up specific plans by the autumn. However, the search companies and internet service providers attending the 90-minute meeting say they feel the criticism is unfair because they have been blocking illegal content for years." - FT (£) 

• The day for action on child abuse imagery - Daily Mail Leader 
• Is it down to companies, Government or parents to protect children? - Matt Warman, Daily Telegraph 
• Tech industry accuses Maria Miller of using summit to boost her image ahead of the reshuffle - The Times (£) 
• Rights groups warn Miller of censorship risk - FT (£) 

...while anger grows over Stuart Hall's 15-month sentence for sexual abuse

"The Attorney General has already been forced to agree to review the sentence after being inundated with complaints. He was last night examining whether it was 'unduly lenient' and should be referred back to the Court of Appeal. Politicians and child protection charities were among those who condemned the former BBC presenter's sentence, saying it sent the wrong message to victims of historic sex abuse following the Jimmy Savile scandal." - Daily Mail

• He should have got longer - Daily Express Leader
• A sickening new low for Britain's soft justice system - Sun Says
• Two thirds of those caught downloading child abuse pictures avoid jail - Daily Mail 
• Five special jails for sex offenders - The Times (£) 
• Disgust at Ian Brady's taxpayer-funded campaign for right to die - Daily Mail

It costs £45bn - but will the pension triple lock survive the election?

"Pensions Minister Steve Webb has raised doubts whether the system – and its crippling £45billion cost – will survive beyond the General Election in May 2015. Critics said yesterday the revelation was a ‘travesty’. The ‘triple lock’ promise appeared in the Coalition agreement – but there is no legal obligation to keep this pledge beyond the next election…Yesterday Downing Street refused to say whether David Cameron would stick with the new system after the next election, but added that his Government can take credit for its introduction." - Daily Mail 

• Coalition planning radical restructure of private pensions - FT (£) 

Britain spends more on international aid than any other G8 country

"Tory MP for Shipley, Philip Davies, a longstanding critic of the Government's foreign aid commitments, said: 'Other countries are making more sensible decisions about their priorities given the tough economic times we are in. We are now the mugs of the world. We're spending money we haven't got. They are making sure their spending across the board is being cut, not just on domestic things. I'm afraid it proves that our argument that if we do it everyone else will follow suit is just pure humbug.'" - Daily Mail 

• Baffling foolishness, not admirable generosity - Daily Express Leader 
• Skint voters won't be happy - Sun Says 

Councils plead poverty while splashing the cash

"Even in the poorest areas, senior local government officers are paid astronomical salaries in comparison with most of those they are employed to serve. Their gold-plated, inflation-proof pensions are padded with money which could be spent on schools, or social services or employing a few more dustmen. The biggest racket is the system of ‘allowances’ which means it is not uncommon for councillors to receive £20,000 a year from the public purse. Some council leaders are on £50,000 plus." - Richard Littlejohn, Daily Mail 

• Council gives gardeners an award…then orders them to scrap their plants - Daily Mail 

Gove savages Labour's new education policy

"Mr Gove said: ‘Labour’s policy on free schools is so tortured they should send in the UN to end the suffering.  'On the one hand Stephen Twigg says he will end the free school programme, but on the other he says he would set up “parent-led” and “teacher-led academies” – free schools under a different name.  'When is a free school not a free school? When Stephen Twigg is trying to appease the teaching unions.'" - Daily Mail 

• Confusion over Twigg's proposals - FT (£) 
• Schools are failing bright pupils - Peter Hill, Daily Express
• Childcare faces £2 billion cut in spending review - The Times (£) 
• Rachel Sylvester takes a look at Osborne's Star Chamber - and the National Union of Mandarins - The Times (£) 
• Union approval looms large in Labour's decision-making - Daily Telegraph Leader
• Miliband is broken, and nothing can fix him - Dan Hodges, Daily Telegraph

>Yesterday: LeftWatch - Stephen Twigg, the cack-handed beautician, offers education an incoherent makeover

Janan Ganesh has kind words for Britain's political class

"After the second world war, as British colonies around the world grew restless for independence, politicians in London might have fought to preserve the empire. Instead, they allowed the “winds of change” to blow, saving the country blood, treasure and dignity. Not all European empires retired so painlessly. There was nothing inevitable about the British approach: it required leadership by a political class that could have taken the other, uglier road. Their handling of the fiscal crisis might come to be seen in a similar way." - Janan Ganesh, FT (£) 

Borisstan: The Guardian imagines London's future

"By the summer of 2030, David Cameron wasn't a name that meant much to most Britons. Ed Miliband? He barely rated a mention from the Will Straws and Euan Blairs now running the Labour dynasty. Yet there was one early-21st-century politician who could claim a permanent legacy. Little urchins would break off from intense communion with their iJobs™ to pull off a passable impersonation. "Cripes!" They'd say, while ruffling their hair. "Crikey!"" - The Guardian 

>Today: MajorityConservatism: We will win ethnic minority votes by backing outsiders - and learning from Boris

News in brief

• Illegal immigrants' driving licences to be seized in new crackdown - The Sun 
• Estuary airport would close Heathrow, warns Heathrow - FT (£) 
• 400,000 households avoid paying the licence fee thanks to BBC iPlayer - Daily Mail 
• NHS executives act to reduce weekend deaths - The Sun 
• New restrictions on banks lobbying ministers - Daily Telegraph 
• Cameron will visit Kazakhstan despite human rights record - The Independent 
• Private sector companies set to take over police cells - FT (£) 

And finally...

Whips, beware! Now Nadine fancies going on Strictly - and backs Boris for leader

"She said there is ‘no doubt’ that Mr Johnson will be leader of the Tory Party. ‘He’s won two major elections, and nobody else in the party matches that at the moment. We would be idiots not to have Boris. He’d take the party back to the highlands again pretty easily.’" - Daily Mail 

> Please use the thread below to provide links to news topics likely to be of interest to ConservativeHome readers and to comment on political topics that haven't been given their own blog. Read our comments policy here.

Newslinks for Monday 17th June 2013

9pm WATCH: Cameron and Obama join children to paint a picture at the G8‬

5pm ToryDiary: "There is the prospect of millions of new shareholders between now and the next election." Economics and politics both justify George Osborne getting a move on with bank privatisation

4.15pm LeftWatch: Stephen Twigg, the cack-handed beautician, offers education an incoherent makeover

3.15pm Peter Smith on Comment: The Comprehensive Spending Review - and why government should target the targets

2.30pm ToryDiary: "When I was waiting for my first daughter to be born in Queen Charlotte's Hospital I spent a lot of time looking out of the window at Wormwood Scrubs Prison - I reflected on its fine architecture but also on the poor asset management of having a prison so close to central London." Why does one prison cost £108,000 a place while another £26,000?

11.30am Matthew Elliott on Comment offers Five language rules for the Right

11am WATCH: Cameron and Putin press conference

10.15am ToryDiary "Obama and Cameron are doubtless gambling that arming those factions - or threatening to - will drag Assad to the peace table, but how likely is this to happen?  Even if it did, would British troops not be called upon to play a part in policing an unstable and fissile settlement (at a time when they are more stretched than ever)?" There is no British national interest in being dragged into Syria's sectarian war

ToryDiary: Caveat emptor - Boris is not a standard issue Conservative

Columnist Marina Kim: My vision of Gove with a whip and my view of how schools could be better

Nick Herbert MP on Comment: The civil service reform we need

On Majority Conservatism, Sunder Katawala kicks off a series on the challenges to the Party of winning an election in a Britain that's more diverse than ever: The Future Majority challenge to the Conservatives

Local Government: Trevor Ringland says Northern Ireland Conservatives will fight culture of over-government, waste and bureaucracy in Town Halls

The Deep End: The world’s most inconsistent political position: anti-austerity and pro-EU

Putin warns Cameron against arming Syrian rebels...

"The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, rounded on Britain on Sunday, accusing David Cameron of betraying humanitarian values by supporting Syrian rebels with “blood on their hands”. In harsh and undiplomatic language, Mr Putin accused the UK and other Western powers of attempting to arm rebels who “kill their enemies and eat their organs”. He insisted that Russia would continue to arm what he said was the recognised “legitimate government” in Syria and called on other countries to respect the same rules." - The Independent

>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Cameron: No "moral equivalence" between Assad regime and the Free Syrian Army

...as does Clegg..

"Clegg told the BBC's Andrew Marr show: "At this point we're not providing arms. If we wanted to, we would do it. We clearly don't think it is the right thing to do now or else we would have decided to do it"....he added he did not want to get embroiled in a military conflict, saying: "Such a move would not be acceptable to the British people."" - The Guardian

...as does Boris...

"How is it supposed to work? How are we meant to furnish machine guns and anti-tank weapons to one set of opposition forces, without them ending up in the hands of men like the al-Qaeda-affiliated thugs who executed a child for telling a joke? The answer is that we have no means of preventing such a disaster, any more than we can control what kind of “government” the rebels — if they were successful — would form in Damascus." - Boris Johnson Daily Telegraph

...as does former army chief Lord Dannatt....

"General Lord Dannatt, the former head of the Army, said ministers must not forget the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan when the UK became bogged down in bloody conflicts. He warned: 'If we have learned anything from the last few years it is that we don't get involved in another intervention without having a very clear idea of what we're going to do, who we're going to help, what the plan is and what the exit strategy is. Surely we've not forgotten the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan so quickly.' - Daily Mail

...as does the Daily Mail

"Such was the scale of the opposition that, by last night, the Prime Minister appeared resigned to abandoning the idea. This may be an embarrassment for the Foreign Office, which was desperate to offer support to the pro-intervention President Obama. But make no mistake: it is the right decision for Britain. Ramping up the violence in Syria – and potentially arming our enemies in the process – risked becoming a mistake of truly catastrophic proportions." - Leader Daily Mail

PM's concern for his children over internet porn

"David Cameron yesterday admitted he fears online porn could harm his children. The Prime Minister says he worries when any of his three children ‘grab hold of the iPad’ because they risk seeing obscene images. ‘The world has changed so fundamentally with the internet that we’ve got some real threats there to our children and also from this appalling scourge of child pornography,’ he said. ‘We’ve got to take a lot of action.’ " - Daily Mail

Hospitals that fail to respect patients' rights will be take over

"Doctors and nurses are to be issued with eight “commandments of care” in a radical overhaul of standards, to ensure they treat patients properly. Patients will be told to kick up a fuss if the new minimum standards — to be displayed in every ward and GP surgery — are ignored. Hospitals will be taken over by outside experts, bosses will be sacked or units shut down if the new charter of rights is consistently breached, the health inspectorate will warn." - The Times (£)

Sir George Young "to stay as Chief Whip"

"David Cameron is to spring a surprise in his forthcoming Cabinet reshuffle by keeping his 71-year-old Chief Whip. Many Tory MPs and ministers had thought the Prime Minister would ask fellow Old Etonian Sir George Young to return to the backbenches, creating an opening for a senior figure from the Right of the party. But friends of Sir George, affectionately known as the “bicycling baronet”, said he was expected to stay put." - The Times (£)

Tim Montgomerie backs Boris as the next Tory leader

"The mayoral and parliamentary calendars don’t make a Boris Johnson leadership likely in the near term but at some point it would be a good bet for his party to embrace its only proven vote-winner. His record as Mayor is mixed and his politics are complex but Boris reaches voters that no other Tory has reached in 20 years." - Tim Montgomerie The Times (£)

> Today: ToryDiary - Caveat emptor - Boris is not a standard issue Conservative

Halve the number of Government departments says Raab

"Next week, the Chancellor will announce the outcome of the public spending review. Still hunting for savings, the Treasury could find £10billion per year by halving the number of government departments and strictly enforcing its 1% public sector pay cap. That would enable us to pay down the deficit faster and cut business taxes to boost growth." - Dominic Raab Daily Telegraph 

>Yesterday:

• ToryDiary: If Cameron is to defuse Leigh's criticisms, he must get on the front foot over renegotiation
• In his first major piece since being awarded a knighthood, Sir Edward Leigh says that the Centre-Right Steering Group of Conservative MPs are questioning the path the leadership is taking: After a weak Queen's Speech, we could lose the next election - unless we change cou

Telegraph asks: Why no more open primaries?  

"Open primaries have been good for the constituents of Totnes and Gosport but made trouble for David Cameron – and not just in Parliament. Another Conservative office-holder who was selected in a primary open to all was one Mayor Boris Johnson." - Leader Daily Telegraph

Maude planning "hire and fire" for civil service and more Ministerial appointments

"Civil Service mandarins are to be put on fixed-term contracts and ministers given the power to hire teams of political advisers paid for by the taxpayer, in the biggest shake-up of how Britain is governed
for decades. Under proposals, expected to be announced next month, Cabinet Ministers will be able to personally appoint teams of external experts, political advisers and seconded civil servants to run new expanded private offices." - Independent

• Another proposal, that permanent secretaries should serve fixed terms that are renewable on the basis of performance, is also likely to be supported, the Financial Times understands, when ministers make a further announcement in July. Mr Maude praised the IPPR’s recommendations as going “with the grain of our Westminster system”. The report was also welcomed by Sir Jeremy Heywood, cabinet secretary, and Sir Bob Kerslake, head of the civil service." - Financial Times

Fallon hands out £25 million aerospace subsidies

"The government will vow to help Britain capitalise on fast-growing global demand for new aerospace technologies when it unveils plans for up to £25m of research funding at the Paris air show. ..Business and energy minister Michael Fallon will use the biggest event in the industry calendar, where manufacturers hope to secure billions of pounds worth of orders, to outline how companies can compete for funds." - The Guardian

UK "spied on allies" at G20

"Foreign politicians and officials who took part in two G20 summit meetings in London in 2009 had their computers monitored and their phone calls intercepted on the instructions of their British government hosts, according to documents seen by the Guardian. Some delegates were tricked into using internet cafes which had been set up by British intelligence agencies to read their email traffic. The revelation comes as Britain prepares to host another summit on Monday – for the G8 nations, all of whom attended the 2009 meetings which were the object of the systematic spying." - The Guardian

David Davis says failed Co-op bid for Lloyds shows cost of political meddling

"The Treasury must now come clean about the extent of its influence over how these banks are run. There are suggestions that the RBS board wanted to keep Stephen Hester in charge but was overruled by the Treasury. The circumstances surrounding the Co-op bid point to the invisible hand of HMT. The Treasury should explain its role in the branches bidding process." - David Davis The Times (£)

Labour "will allow more free schools"

"Labour is preparing to drop its blanket opposition to free schools in a further major change in policy. Labour will say that parents should be allowed to set up their own schools provided that there is a strong demand for places in their area....In a speech today, Stephen Twigg, the shadow education secretary, will also set out plans to extend to all schools the freedoms currently enjoyed only by academies and free schools." - Daily Telegraph

• "Under Labour's plans some 5,300 unqualified teachers will be given two years to take their qualifications or face the sack. A Department for Education source said the move would lead to the loss of many 'brilliant teachers' as well as falling foul of the courts. The source said 'it would be stupid to stop brilliant teachers who want to be able to switch from private to state schools from doing so'." - Daily Mail

Policy Exchange report says larger prisons would save £600 million a year

"Britain is wasting £600million a year by not replacing old prisons with new mega jails. Brixton, Wormwood Scrubs, Pentonville and Dartmoor are among 30 that should close for good, a report today insists. Housing lags in modern Titan prisons is revealed to typically cost half as much — meaning the jails budget can be slashed by a fifth. A dozen of them would be needed — at a cost of £3.75billion — but the study says they would pay for themselves in just seven years." - The Sun

News in brief

• Councils spend £262 million on gagging clause pay offs - Daily Mail
• Lloyds closer to privatisation that RBS - Financial Times
• Councils threaten to turn off the lights -  Daily Mail
• Lord Rennard quizzed - BBC
• Cut Credit Union red tape says Civitas - Guardian
• Czech Prime Minister resigns - BBC
• Google Chairman calls for simpler corporate taxes - Financial Times

And finally...Cameron leaves  £50 tip for £45 meal

"For a man once criticised for  not leaving a tip, David Cameron was leaving nothing to chance  on one of his ‘date nights’ with wife Samantha. After the couple shared a meal costing about £45, Mr Cameron  left £50 for staff at a pizza restaurant in a show of generosity that left fellow diners wondering whether  he had saved on his bill with a discount voucher. The Prime Minister was dining in Soho after watching a portrayal of himself  in the West End play The Audience, and happily posed for a photograph with two women diners." - Daily Mail 

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Newslinks for Sunday 16th June 2013

7.30pm LeftWatch: Which Left-wing economist predicted that unemployment would be four or five million by now?

3.45pm LeftWatch: Twigg would ban "unqualified" teachers from free schools - but not from Eton

2.45pm Local Government: Council leaders should keep calm and carry on cutting

1pm ToryDiary: Wind farm subsidy equivalent to £100,000 per job

11.45am ToryDiary: Cameron: No "moral equivalence" between Assad regime and the Free Syrian Army

ToryDiary: If Cameron is to defuse Leigh's criticisms, he must get on the front foot over renegotiation

As the G8 prepares to meet near Enniskillen, Theresa Villiers, the Northern Ireland Secretary, writes on Comment: We're hosting the G8, and have a new deal. Why Northern Ireland is great - and can be even better

In his first major piece since being awarded a knighthood, Sir Edward Leigh says that the Centre-Right Steering Group of Conservative MPs are questioning the path the leadership is taking: After a weak Queen's Speech, we could lose the next election - unless we change course

Cameron "faces defeat" over Commons vote on Syria...

"David Cameron has been warned that he faces an embarrassing defeat in the Commons if he tries to win parliamentary agreement for Britain to arm Syrian rebels. The prime minister and William Hague, the foreign secretary, are keen to help the forces fighting President Bashar al-Assad, but Conservative whips have told Downing Street there would be little chance of winning a vote for such a move. The Tory whips calculate that up to two-thirds of their MPs oppose deeper British involvement and Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs would also be likely to vote against." - Sunday Times (£)

• "Seventy-one officers, including six generals, have defected from the Syrian army to Turkey, a Turkish official said on Saturday, the biggest single mass desertion of senior soldiers from President Bashar al-Assad's security forces in months." - Reuters

...as he meets Putin to discuss the issue...

"David Cameron is due to hold talks in London with Russian President Vladimir Putin - expected to focus on the Syria conflict - before the two leaders fly to Northern Ireland for the G8 summit. Mr Putin has made no secret of his opposition to the US supplying the rebels with weapons. Mr Cameron will also have a one-on-one meeting on Monday with US President Barack Obama before the G8 summit." - BBC

• "Cameron’s problems are a lack of appetite for action among  Western leaders and that his own voters are weary of grim news from the Middle East. Moreover, Putin – with his desire to again make Russia a counterweight to the West – continues to send military equipment to Assad. Samantha Cameron is as keen as her husband to raise public awareness of Assad’s barbarity. In March, she told close friends that she hoped her visit to Syrian refugees in Lebanon would alert this country to the awful plight of the Syrian people." James Forsyth Mail on Sunday
• "Cameron will support US plans to impose a no-fly zone over parts of Syria, as he attempts to convince world leaders to act against the “dictatorial and brutal leader” President Bashar al-Assad during the G8 summit in Northern Ireland this week." - Independent on Sunday
  

  ..and Iran plans to send in 4,000 Revolutionary Guards

"The Independent on Sunday has learned that a military decision has been taken in Iran – even before last week’s presidential election – to send a first contingent of 4,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guards to Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad’s forces against the largely Sunni rebellion that has cost almost 100,000 lives in just over two years." - Robert Fisk Independent on Sunday

Boris to draw up "balance sheet" on leaving EU...

"Boris Johnson has raised the prospect of Britain leaving the European Union by ordering advisers to draw up a balance sheet of the pros and cons of the effect on the City. The mayor of London has given his chief economic adviser the task of sounding out key City figures on the potential impact of withdrawal. Gerard Lyons, a former bank economist, is to produce an economic and financial report focusing on how London would fare if Britain’s relationship with Brussels changed, looking at a number of possibilities, including exit." - Sunday Times (£)

>Yesterday: MPsETC: MEP candidates and hustings for the North East, North West and Yorkshire

•  David Mowat MP on Comment: Despite low & falling emissions, we could be fined. Welcome to the crazy world of EU environment policy

...as Zac praises "magic" Boris...

"Tory MP Zac Goldsmith has fuelled doubts over David Cameron’s leadership, saying he lacks vision and praising ‘magical’ Boris Johnson as his potential successor....He said: ‘I’m a big fan of Boris, I make no secret of that. It’s very plausible to imagine him being the leader of our party one day, and I
think he’d be a very good one.’ He added: ‘I see him as a very serious figure as he’s unique in British politics .  .  . whatever that magic is, he’s got it.’ " - Mail on Sunday

...while ComRes poll shows Boris far more popular than Cameron

"Boris Johnson’s popularity is outstripping that of the Conservative Party and David Cameron, a poll for The Independent on Sunday reveals today. In a survey which will fuel the rivalry between the Mayor of London and the Prime Minister, Mr Johnson enjoys a favourability rating of 44 per cent, compared with  Mr Cameron’s 23 per cent, the ComRes poll shows." - Independent on Sunday

Hunt to give hospitals Ofsted-style inspections

"It is understood that the new system will be designed to provide patients with an easily understood barometer of the standards of care in their local hospitals. Hospitals judged to be risking patients' health will be put into special measures – where experts force managers to change their habits, as happens now with failing schools. The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, believes the current system – under which trusts and care homes are merely told whether or not they meet certain minimum standards – encourages a "tick-box mentality" that leads to poor care." - The Observer

Maria Miller demands protection for children from online porn

"On Tuesday I will hold a summit at the heart of Westminster where I will throw down the gauntlet to companies such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter. These are companies that, in these modern times, lie at the heart of our everyday life and at the heart of our children’s everyday lives. I will say that things need to change, that enough is enough, and when I do my children will be at the forefront of my mind, as they always are." - Maria Miller Mail on Sunday

Change in EU referendum wording agreed

"David Cameron has agreed to change his controversial EU referendum blueprint amid fears the original plans could unfairly produce a ‘stay in’ result. The Prime Minister has bowed to Eurosceptic pressure and revised the crucial ‘in/out’ question to be put to the nation if he wins the next Election.
The alteration will see voters asked if the UK should ‘be’ in the EU, rather than ‘remain’ as in the original wording." - Mail on Sunday

Cameron to "look again" at GM food

"The Prime Minister said he wanted to foster a “pro-science culture” in the UK, and this started with a shift in Britain’s attitude towards so-called GM food, dubbed "Frankenstein food" by its critics. The comments come ahead of a major speech by Environment secretary Owen Paterson on Thursday next week which is set to signal a change in GM policy." - Sunday Telegraph

Matthew d'Ancona on the ambition of Theresa May

"Last week, Theresa May’s conviction that she could do the top job became fully public. The Home Secretary's speech to the Reform think tank was not the first time she had unveiled such a wide-ranging personal manifesto. In March, she strayed far beyond the borders of Home Office policy in an address to ConservativeHome’s “Victory 2015” conference. That could have been explained away as a one-off, a broad-based rallying cry at a campaign event. But May’s speech last week, ostensibly on the subject of public-service reform, spread its thematic wings with no less audacity.." - Matthew d'Ancona Sunday Telegraph

Sarah Wollaston MP says you have to be awkward or you are ignored

"The way bills are put through parliament is ridiculous, she says. "I am never put on a delegated legislation committee on something which I could contribute to. The classic case was when I was put on one on double taxation in Oman. I know nothing about double taxation in Oman." - Interview The Observer

Byrne warns Labour against coalition with Lib Dems

"Labour could form a minority government rather than join a coalition if there is a hung parliament at the next election, according to a member of the shadow cabinet. Liam Byrne, a former chief secretary to the Treasury, believes his party could achieve more without entering into a partnership with the
Liberal Democrats if it wins the largest number of seats but fails to secure a majority in 2015." - Sunday Times (£)

Twigg says Labour would sack unqualified teachers in state schools

"More than 5,000 untrained teachers who have been allowed to work in academies and free schools under Michael Gove's education reforms will be sacked if Labour wins the next election, unless they gain a formal qualification within two years. The proposal is one of several to be announced by the shadow education secretary, Stephen Twigg, as the opposition joins battle with Gove." - The Observer

Hoey challenges Ed Miliband over EU referendum vote

"Ed is inherently very pro-EU. But he has got members of his shadow cabinet who, without doubt, would like to see us change our position. I think the strength of his leadership will be to show he does realise it is untenable to continue with this position. A good start would be to say that he is very happy with Labour MPs going along on July 5 to vote for a referendum." Kate Hoey The Sun on Sunday

• "The case for a referendum on Europe is overwhelming. The only issue is when it’s best to hold it. The Tories may be squabbling but they are united on the idea of a referendum. For a man who wants to be PM, however, Labour leader Ed Miliband seems to have contempt for ordinary people." - The Sun Says

Wind farm industry subsidised at £100,000 a job

"A new analysis of government and industry figures shows that wind turbine owners received £1.2billion in the form of a consumer subsidy, paid by a supplement on electricity bills last year. They employed 12,000 people, to produce an effective £100,000 subsidy on each job." - Sunday Telegraph

News in brief:

• Labour 9% ahead on YouGov for Sunday Times- YouGov
• Labour also 9% ahead on  Opinium for The Observer -The Observer
• Labour also 9% ahead on ComRes for the Independent on Sunday -Independent on Sunday
• Government to act on TV violence - Sunday Express
• Council leaders sign "fight the cuts" letter - The Observer
• Councis waste £34 million on limos and junkets - The Sun on Sunday
• Abolish 11-plus says top headmaster - Sunday Telegraph
• Sir Gerald Howarth is advisor to PayDay lender - Independent on Sunday
• Prince of Wales warns of GM food "risk" - Sunday Telegraph
• Rouhani wins election in Iran - The Observer
• David Miliband bans brother's supporters from leaving party - Mail on Sunday
• David Lammy says the Left doesn't care about fathers - The Observer
• More plebgate arrests - Sunday Telegraph
• Action agreed on tax havens - The Observer
• Balls spent £1,663 of taxpayers money on Italian meal out for his team - The Sun on Sunday

And finally... Tory sex scandal: Disraeli had love child whose descendants live in New Zealand

"Benjamin Disraeli, Queen Victoria’s favourite prime minister, had a love child, whose descendants are living in New Zealand, according to new evidence. Catherine Styles, 76, a pianist and actress based in Auckland, has written a memoir in which she claims her grandmother, also called Catherine, was Disraeli’s secret daughter. She was born in March 1866, when Disraeli was 61." - Sunday Times (£)

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