Teatime newslinks for Wednesday 30th November 2011

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" 

Teatime newslinks for Tuesday 29th November 2011

OSBORNE'S AUTUMN STATEMENT

• We needed Osborne to be Thatcher today, but he was Brown - ToryDiary
• The main points of the Chancellor's Autumn Statement from the Telegraph, and what you need to know according to the Spectator
• Who were the winners, and the losers in today's Autumn Statement? 
• Panel verdict from Chuka Umunna, Sheila Lawlor and David Blanchflower - Guardian
• BBC editors analyse the Autumn Statement - BBC
• Thinktank reaction  - Talking Points

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK & FINANCIAL IMPACT ON THE HOUSEHOLD

• Osborne announces massive stimulus package whilst admitting the economic outlook is worse than thought - Daily Mail
• George Osborne opens his Autumn Statement: "Whatever it takes" will be done to protect Britain, as Europe heads towards recession - PlayPolitical
• The Chancellor admits there may be another recession in the UK - Guardian
• "George Osborne was forced today to acknowledge a grim picture of declining growth and rising unemployment for the UK in the years to come" - Independent
• Jeremy Warner: The outlook was bad, but could have been worse: "Mr Osborne has been dealt a terrible hand. Luckily for him, the Opposition offers no kind of credible alternative. Nobody believes its five point plan for growth will do the trick" - Telegraph
• Fraser Nelson: 'Osborne has made the right choice — but it's not without its costs' - Spectator
• James Kirkup: "In essence, Mr Osborne's package means economic pain for everybody, no matter whereabouts in the economy they are" - Telegraph
• Peter Hoskin: "Underpinning the whole Budget is an assumption that eurozone will sort itself out. And the excuse for that assumption is that the OBR couldn't possibly forecast the thousands of ways it could unravel" - Spectator 
• Andrew Lilico: Osborne's Autumn Statement is a message that he is going to miss his deficit reduction target - Columnists' page
• Andrew Clark: "At the centre of kick-starting Britain’s economy is the thorny issue of credit easing: at a time when scores of enterprises are going bust every day" - Times (£)
• Melissa Kite: There are no answers to our financial woes in the Chancellor's statement' - Daily Mail
• Janet Daley: "Did he truly believe that all this Brownian money-shuffling in order to spend more on gimmicky schemes was a radical programme for recovery?" - Telegraph

Teatime newslinks for Monday 28th November 2011

THE BUILD UP TO THE CHANCELLOR'S AUTUMN STATEMENT & THE ECONOMY

• The OECD warns that the UK is on the brink of a double-dip recession - Guardian I Daily Mail I Telegraph
• Benedict Brogan: The OECD prediction of recession underscores how difficult his [Osborne's] task has become: he will struggle to get to where he planned to be in 2015 at the end of the Parliament - Telegraph
• Peter Hoskin: 'The gloomy OECD predictions in full' - Spectator
• Jeremy Warner: 'OECD warns of worldwide depression if no action is taken over the euro crisis' - Telegraph
• OECD sees danger next for Italy, Spain and Belgium - Spectator
• Alex Brummer: Double-dip warning is no surprise - Daily Mail
• ToryDiary is running ten tests for the Autumn Statement 
• Jason Groves: 'The ghost of Gordon returns to haunt the Treasury - time to panic? -  Daily Mail

Teatime newslinks for Friday 25th November 2011

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT

• ToryDiary: Lib Dem insider tells Guardian that getting Tories to help jobless is "like getting a vegetarian to go and buy a kebab"
• "Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg says a £1bn plan to provide subsidised work and training placements will "provide hope" to thousands of young people. The three-year youth contract scheme will give employers subsidies worth £2,275 to take on 160,000 18-to 24-year-olds for six months." - BBC
• "The money – to be spent over three years – will provide opportunities including job subsidies, apprenticeships and work experience placements for 500,000 unemployed people." - BBC
• "Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has been rebuked by Commons Speaker John Bercow for announcing his new scheme to tackle youth unemployment to the press before MPs." - Daily Telegraph

Teatime newslinks for Thursday 24th November 2011

PUBLIC SECTOR STRIKES:

• WATCH: Danny Alexander: Planned strikes are "going to have a significant impact on our economy", costing £500m
• "Ministers have clashed with union chiefs over claims next week's public sector strikes could cost the UK £500m and lead to job losses. Downing Street has stood by the claim, saying it is a "fact" that closed schools will stop many parents going to work, which has an impact on "output"." - BBC
• "Civil servants have been asked to man ports and airports during the public sector strike planned for next Wednesday, it has emerged." - Daily Telegraph
• The unions would be mad NOT to strike - The Telegraph's Dan Hodges

Teatime newslinks for Wednesday 23rd November 2011

PMQS:

• Union donations silence Labour over pensions strike, claims Cameron - Times (£)
• Milband accuses Cameron of creating a "lost generation" of young people - Telegraph
• Cameron condemns public sector pension strike - Reuters
• Cameron says parents should take children to work during strikes - Telegraph I Guardian I Daily Mail
• 'After wobbling a few months ago Cameron is king of PMQs again' - ToryDiary
• Benedict Brogan: "PMQs today crystallised a growing problem for Ed Miliband. His economic message is not being taken seriously" - Telegraph
• Lloyd Evans: "If Roman Abramovich owned the Labour party, Ed Miliband would be toast by now. The floundering opposition leader gave the sort of inept, predictable and ill-organised performance at PMQs that would get a manager sacked in the Premiership" - Spectator
• James Forsyth: "Today's PMQs was a preview of the debate we'll be having after next week's autumn statement" - Spectator
• David Cameron at PMQs: "Youth unemployment in this country has been rising since 2004" - PlayPolitical
• Jon Craig: Is Cameron guilty of stirring it, or sorting out the debate on strikes? - Sky News

Teatime newslinks for Tuesday 22nd November 2011

EDUCATION

• Ofsted warn that nearly a third of schools are 'not good enough' - Telegraph
• Nick Gibb: “We will not let mediocre performance continue unchecked and we are clear that there will be no hiding place for schools that are not making the progress they should” - Times (£)
• Leading independent girls' schools reject calls to sponsor academies - Times (£)
• Yesterday's education Topical Questions: 'Michael Gove, our mutual friend' - MPsETC
• David T Breaker: "We need the educational tug of war to end, and both sides to realise each other's merits as well as faults, and the failings of both, to develop a system that is strong on learning and on the development of individuals" - Platform

PARTY FUNDING REFORMS

• They won't happen, says James Forsyth, "the Tory party - which was for a while attracted to additional state funding - has now ruled it out completely. Unlike Clegg's statement saying it shouldn't be done while economic times are so tough, the Tory rejection of it is not time limited" - Spectator
• Priti Patel MP: 'State funding of political parties cannot be morally justified to the public and to party members' - Platform
• Sir Christopher Kelly warns that another party funding corruption scandal is inevitable unless the political parties show some leadership and back radical changes in funding - Guardian

Teatime newslinks for Monday 21st November 2011

THE ECONOMY & HELP FOR FIRST-TIME BUYERS

• Cameron tells the CBI conference that there is no “silver bullet” to fix the economy and return the country to growth - Telegraph
• Speech to the CBI conference suggests that the Government is preparing for grim growth forecasts next week - Guardian
• Cameron: Deficit harder to clear than first thought - Telegraph
• Head of CBI, John Cridland, says that firms who take on British teenagers instead of foreign workers, should be given subsidies - Daily Mail
• First-time buyers could get government-backed 95% mortgages - Guardian
• Cameron aims to boost ‘people’s dreams’ with help for first-time buyers - Evening Standard I Telegraph
• Building project will boost growth, says Grant Shapps - Telegraph
• Matt Griffith: ‘This new housing strategy won’t save the ‘lost generation’ - Guardian
• Some banks and building societies says they were coerced into backing the Government’s mortgage scheme - Guardian

Teatime newslinks for Friday 18th November 2011

CAMERON AND MERKEL MEET

• ToryDiary: Merkel says nein, nein, nein to Cameron
• "David Cameron and Angela Merkel have acknowledged differences over the eurozone crisis but stressed they have the "same plan" for European growth. The UK PM and German chancellor met in Berlin to discuss the eurozone crisis and issues including Iran and Syria." - BBC
• "They were all smiles and jokes and on first name terms, but ... it was clear they had failed to resolve any of the key differences on how best to drag Europe out of its debt-ridden quagmire." - Guardian
• "I think it’s very good that they have a friendly relationship because I think Britain needs to start putting forwards its proposal that we need a looser relationship as they plunge into political union and tight budget control from the centre." - John Redwood MP on Merkel and Cameron - PolHome (£)
• Britain v Germany: who's better off? - Guardian interactive guide
• MPsETC: Bundesbank should deploy its £130 billion of gold reserves if Germany wants to save €uro, says John Baron MP

Teatime newslinks for Thursday 17th November 2011

THE ECONOMY

• Osborne says "the sale of Northern Rock to Virgin Money is an important first step in getting the British taxpayer out of the business of owning banks" - BBC
• Northern Rock deal is the "best available", says Osborne - Telegraph
• Taxpayers lose at least £400m on sale of Northern Rock (and keep the bad bank) - ToryDiary
• Benedict Brogan: 'Northern Rock brings a small ray of sunshine amid the gloom, but No 10 still looking for ways to be cheerful' - Telegraph
• Steve Doughty: Northern Rock sale has cheated the taxpayer out of millions – but left us with £21 billion of bad debts - Daily Mail
• Janet Daley: "The Chancellor needs to cut direct taxation, by raising the thresholds for both standard and higher rate income tax, if he wants to promote actual growth" - Telegraph
• Peter Hoskin: "Osborne's calculation will be that it's better to sell now, at that price, than keep hanging onto the Rock. It will help him argue that the banking sector is returning to normalcy" - Spectator
• Some advice for Osborne from Arthur Laffer, Lord Tebbit and Dominic Raab MP - Spectator
• Miliband sets out 5 point plan for more responsible capitalism, and calls on the Government to change its course on the economy - Guardian
• Milband urgers U-turn on the economy - BBC
• Ed Miliband: "The Government appears to be out of touch with the real challenges the economy faces" - PlayPolitical
• Lord Owen accuses George Osborne of "denigrating" Labour's economic legacy - Guardian
• Daniel Knowles: 'Our greatest social problem: there are no jobs left for the dim' - Telegraph