Newslinks for Monday 21st March 2011

5.30pm WATCH: Bernard Jenkin and Jeremy Corbyn talk to the BBC about the Libyan campaign

4pm Parliament: Cameron explains the purpose and operation of the Coalition in Libya

3.15pm ToryDiary: George Osborne's German model

2pm John O'Connell on Comment: Empty Property Rates are an enemy of enterprise

10.45am John Baron MP on Comment: Why not let our Arab allies enforce the No Fly Zone? After all, we've already sold them the capability to do so.

ToryDiary: Should Coalition forces be targeting Gaddafi?

ToryDiary: How Osborne should set out a path to lower taxes in the budget

Lord Forsyth on Comment: The Scotland Bill is a timebomb at the heart of the Union

Lord Ashcroft on Comment: The Daily Mail and its brand

Local government:

• Relaunch for Back Boris website
• The LGA fat cats
• John Bald: The disaster of mixed ability language teaching

US praises Cameron’s leadership in securing a no-fly zone over Libya - Times (£)

Cameron left notes from Libya statement at Downing Street but ad-libbed perfectly - The Sun

Boris Johnson says Libyan Coalition should abandon its mission if it loses Arab support

"This is a UN mission that has the overwhelming support of the Arab League countries. But it is absolutely vital that we maintain that support, and that at every stage we take account of sentiment in the Arab world. If we lose such support, or if significant numbers of Muslims come to think of the Libyan tyrant as a martyr to Western aggression, then we should have the intellectual honesty to see that we are making the same mistake as last time and that we risk once again potentiating the virus of Islamist terror in our own inner cities. If it gets to that stage we should have the guts to accept that this is no longer our affair, and invite the Arab world to sort it out themselves." - The Mayor of London in The Telegraph

• "Now that British forces are engaged, we can only pray for their success, and hope that the crusade to remove a wicked despot from power ends as happily as do the best fairy stories." - Max Hastings in the Daily Mail
• In The Scotsman, Brian Monteith speculates that Libyan adventure could boost Annabel Goldie's prospects in Holyrood elections.
• David Cameron's former military adviser Lord Dannatt calls for defencew cuts review in wake of Arab uprisings - Mirror | David Davis did the same last week

George Osborne set for £8bn windfall from bounce in tax revenues and public spending cuts - Telegraph | BBC

• "The real income of the median household in the UK, right in the middle of the income distribution, will be 1.6 per cent lower in 2011 than it was in 2008. That's a loss of around £365." - Stephanie Flanders for the BBC
• "White-collar public sector workers who prospered under Labour have emerged as the true “squeezed middle” of austerity Britain, according to a Financial Times (£) analysis of income prospects."
• Allister Heath's Budget prescription: Lower tax rates, reduced employment regulations and a less restrictive planning system - City AM
• In ending the false distinction between income tax and NI, George Osborne has a chance to end the great lie at the heart of our tax system - Melanie Phillips in the Daily Mail
• Only 11% support higher fuel duty, only 12% think it will make contribution to fighting climate change - ComRes

> Yesterday's ToryDiary summary of Budget speculation

"A year ago the idea of “Boy George” as a future leader would have been unthinkable, but doubts over Mr Osborne’s ability to be a competent Chancellor are largely gone." - Tim Montgomerie in The Times (£)

Government is to scrap all health and safety laws that put an "unnecessary" burden on business

"Ministers said regulation will focus on high hazard sites and tackling rogue employers and consultants, not "tying up" the vast majority of Britain's businesses in red tape... Employment minister Chris Grayling will tell a conference in London on Monday: "Of course it is right to protect employees in the workplace, but Britain's health and safety culture is also stifling business and holding back economic growth." - Express

Coalition in Brief:

• Tory MP blasts PM over destructive NHS reforms - Independent
• Liberal Democrats, including Evan Harris, drawing up proposals to amend Lansley Bill - Guardian
• Nuclear power plants could be as dangerous for the Liberal Democrats as tuition fees - Mary Ann Sieghart in The Independent
• Only Nimbys oppose 250mph trains - Philip Hammond to Metro, while Penny Mordaunt MP wants minimum seat widths enshrined in future rail franchises - Times (£)

David Cameron has backed an hour-long blackout - "Earth Hour" to raise awareness of environmental issues - PA | Express

Tories Lord Lawson, Peter Bottomley and Mike Weatherly join new Drug Policy Reform committee

"The MPs and members of the House of Lords, who have formed a new All-Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform, are calling for new policies to be drawn up on the basis of scientific evidence. It could lead to calls for the British government to decriminalise drugs, or at least for the police and Crown Prosecution Service not to jail people for possession of small amounts of banned substances." - Telegraph

Cameron "panicking" at prospect of AV passing

"Leading Lib Dems say with some glee that Cameron is now "panicking" about the chances of a positive vote – and the mutinous Tory response that might follow, piling on top of boundary changes that few welcome and that will force all MPs to reapply for their seats... It is impossible to be overly hyperbolic about the transforming consequences of a yes vote for the Lib Dems. In a stroke it would redeem Clegg, which is why before 5 May he intends to go all out as a public supporter of the campaign." - Julian Glover in The Guardian

Yes leads No by 33% to 32% in latest YouGov poll - Anthony Wells' UK Polling Report

'Bercow makes Cameron spit blood'

"According to his aides, David Cameron is not given to tirades, even against his deadliest political enemies. But he makes an exception for John Bercow, the Commons Speaker. ‘It is very unusual for him to hate someone so much,’ one of Cameron’s inner circle told me. ‘When Bercow’s name comes up, he spits blood and says things like: “What a little s***.”" - Daily Mail

Who stopped Ann Widdecombe waltzing into the Lords? - Andrew Pierce in the Daily Mail

> In April 2009 72% of Conservative members voted yes to 'Baroness Widdecombe'

Voters don't want government to make them happy, they want government to be competent

"Evidently, David Cameron wants every new policy to pass a so-called “happiness” test to measure its impact on the general wellbeing of families across the country. I disagree. What the Prime Minister should ensure is that every pronouncement passes a series of competency criteria to ensure that the decision in question will improve services." - Tom Richmond in the Yorkshire Post

Rich countries don't need our aid, they say - Don't believe it says Paul Vallely in The Independent

Royal Bank of Scotland attacked over its involvement in financing the global coal industry - Herald

And finally... Jack Straw forgot how to drive after 13 years of chauffeurs - Telegraph