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PUBLIC SECTOR STRIKES

"Public sector workers around the UK are staging a strike over pensions in what unions say could be the biggest walkout for a generation. Thousands of schools are closed and hospital operations have been cancelled. Courts and government offices are among disrupted services." - BBC
"David Cameron has said the strike by public sector workers is proving "a damp squib" with many key services continuing to operate." - BBC
"For anyone who remembers the virtual house arrest under which one was held by public sector strikes in the 1970s, this is a non-event. ... The Government has obviously picked the right fight. The political clout of the trade unions is going to suffer a serious blow from this unimpressive display." - Janet Daley
Lord Tebbit: "The Coalition is packed with public relations men. So why haven't they been able to sell pension reform to the British public?"
Daniel Knowles: "Strikers, a whiff of extremism and an aloof prime minister: I taste the 1920s"
One No. 10 worker on strike is a press officer who has been leading the govt's anti-strike communications - Paul Waugh
Guardian liveblog of the protests
Priti Patel MP on Comment: The support trade union leaders have from the people they claim to stand up for is at an all time low

PMQS REACTIONS

ToryDiary: Cameron attacks Ed Miliband as "weak, irresponsible and left-wing" during fiery PMQs
Ed Miliband declares class war: The FT's Kiran Stacey - "Most of the exchanges at PMQs today were fairly predictable... But there was a fascinating undercurrent running throughout this session, one that took us back to the politics of the 1970s and 80s."
"Perhaps the most notable thing about today's session was that Miliband sounded more effective on the strike than he did on the economy. Relentlessly mocked for his ambiguous stance on the walk-out, he come off the fence today and turned in one of his best PMQs' performances of the year. The lesson, once again, is that it pays to be bold." - New Statesman
WATCH: David Cameron calls Ed Miliband "irresponsible, left-wing and weak"

EUROZONE

FSA "urges British banks to prepare for the collapse of the euro" - Daily Mail
The Daily Mail's Tim Shipman tweets in Downing Street's latest Eurozone thoughts: "There's a very serious situation in the financial markets. We are experiencing a credit crunch."
"Central banks from developed nations Wednesday took coordinated action to shore up the global financial system as Europe's rolling debt crisis continues to trouble markets. The action... makes it easier for European banks that hold dollar-denominated securities or make dollar loans to access U.S. currency, but doesn't address the fundamental problems related to European government debt that now plague the financial system." - WSJ Europe
"This move means that eurozone banks, which are struggling to fund themselves in any currency privately, can still provide dollars to their depositors – many of whom are fleeing Europe. It ought to stop dead the credit freeze between Europe's banks that has been growing for much of the last three months." - Daniel Knowles
"European stocks rallied for their longest stretch of gains in seven weeks as the Federal Reserve and five other central banks lowered the cost of dollar funding and China cut its reserve ratio for banks." - Bloomberg
S&P downgrades 37 banks under new model FT (£)

IRANIAN EMBASSY ATTACK

"The UK is to expel all Iranian diplomats following the storming of its embassy in Tehran, Foreign Secretary William Hague has announced. He said he had ordered the immediate closure of the Iranian embassy in London." - BBC
Nile Gardiner: Following the British Embassy attack, "constructive engagement" with Iran’s regime should end now
"William Hague merely shakes his puny fist and squawks about ‘serious consequences’ when an attack on the British embassy takes him by surprise in this thirty years’ invisible war - which is now rapidly reaching its terrifying denouement." - Melanie Phillips

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