Newslinks for Wednesday 23rd March 2011

8pm Two new posts on Comment -

• Howard Flight: A budget that was much as expected
• David T.Breaker: An acceptable but dull budget that's probably marginally good for us

6.30pm WATCH: Did Ken Clarke have a nap during the Budget?

ROLLING BLOG OF REACTION TO THE BUDGET

6pm Jesse Norman on Comment: This Budget is an important move towards Real Capitalism

5.45pm ToryDiary: CCHQ launches post-Budget campaign leaflets aimed at families and pensioners

4.45pm Nick Wood on Comment: There was never going to be a quick fix to Labour's economic mismanagement - and all Tories must now be braced to ride the coming storm

4.30pm Andrew Lilico on Comment: A healthily underwhelming Budget - but one that the financial markets should like

4.15pm Two Budget video clips:

• George Osborne shows off his new Budget box
• All the key announcements from the Chancellor's statement

3.30pm Jill Kirby on Comment: Today's Budget contained rather too many shades of Brown

3.15pm Matthew Sinclair on Comment: There was plenty to welcome in the Budget - but it is being paid for in some ugly ways

3pm Charlie Elphicke MP on Comment: This was a pro-jobs, pro-business Budget which exceeded its billing

1.45pm ToryDiary: Wealthier households will pay most to clear up Labour's deficit

ROLLING BLOG OF BUDGET ANNOUNCEMENTS

ROLLING BLOG OF BUDGET ARGUMENTS

1pm ToryDiary: Today's PMQs was barely even a warm-up for the main event

11.30am Local government:

• Herefordshire councillor defects to Conservatives
• No Council Tax freeze on offer from Labour-led Welsh Assembly
• Conservative councils cost £43 less than Labour, £114 less than Lib Dems

11.15am LISTEN: The BBC's Stephanie Flanders, Robert Peston and Nick Robinson preview the Budget

ToryDiary: Cameron warned to keep his focus on the economy

On Comment, ConHome's expert panel preview today's Budget:

• Charlie Elphicke MP: The Budget cannot be too pro-business
• Lord Flight: The Budget needs to make Britain more tax competitive and attractive for inward investment
• Jill Kirby: George Osborne needs to think of families as engines of growth
• Andrew Lilico: It's time to introduce that fuel duty stabiliser
• Matthew Sinclair: George Osborne should scrap the 50p tax rate and ease the burden on ordinary taxpayers
• Nick Wood: Radical steps and a cultural shift are needed to break the country's addiction to public spending

Also on Comment, Elizabeth Truss MP writes that An A-Level Baccalaureate would ensure more students attained academically rigorous qualifications

Parliament: George Osborne says operations in Libya will cost tens, not hundreds, of millions of pounds

Local Government:

• Cllr Nick Cuff: The Localism Bill should be amended to make planning more flexibile
• John Seddon: Benefit claims are too complicated for call centres and computers
• What has Nottingham City Council got to hide?
• Manchester Labour councillors condemn the Budget - two days early

ThinkTankCentral: Bruges Group paper proposes that Britain leave the EU and join EFTA instead

Gazette: Tory MPs Stephen Crabb and Edward Timpson prepare to run the London Marathon (and would appreciate your sponsorship!)

WATCH: Colonel Gaddafi makes his first public appearance since the air strikes began, declaring "We will be victorious"

George Osborne will announce an increase in the personal income tax allowance today (but by how much depends on which paper you believe)...

"Twenty-five million workers will be promised tax cuts of up to £320 a year in today’s Budget. George Osborne will increase the amount people can earn without paying tax to £8,085 next year. Everyone on less than £115,000 will benefit and – crucially – the Chancellor is not bringing down the higher rate threshold to pay for the move." - Daily Mail

"George Osborne will today unveil a surprise £205 tax cut for 23million Brits on modest wages. He will up personal allowances in his Budget for everyone not paying the higher rate of tax to ease the pain of spending cuts." - The Sun

"Chancellor George Osborne is to announce a £625 rise in income tax personal allowance that will benefit about 25 million taxpayers. Whitehall sources last night estimated that his measures will slash the average annual income tax bill by about £200 from next year." - Daily Express

...as The Times splashes with good news for first-time buyers

"First-time buyers are to be helped on to the housing ladder as George Osborne seeks to use today’s Budget to ease the pain of austerity Britain. Ten thousand people buying newly built homes will receive 20 per cent of the cost from the Government and the builder in low-interest loans to put towards a deposit. Mr Osborne hopes that the change — part of the Government’s strategy for growth — will help to support 40,000 construction jobs." - The Times (£)

Other Budget coverage

• Osborne to appeal to "squeezed middle" - The Guardian
• Budget relief on the cards for drivers after pump prices reach record highs - Daily Mail
• A checklist of what to expect in the Budget - Jim Pickard of the FT

> Pre-Budget coverage on ConHome yesterday:

• CCHQ publishes an eve-of-Budget illustrated guide to Labour's appalling economic legacy
• Lord Lamont: George Osborne must stick to his deficit cutting strategy tomorrow - but it would be reassuring to hear that he has his sights set on tax cuts in the longer term
• Andrew Griffiths MP: George Osborne should freeze beer duty tomorrow to save countless community pubs and thousands of jobs
• Ryan Bourne of the Centre for Policy Studies: What we need from tomorrow's Budget

Cuts-shy ministers to face star chamber...

"Cabinet ministers who struggle to deliver promised cuts are to be hauled before a “star chamber” and threatened with the clipping of their spending authority under Treasury reforms to bolster expenditure control. The decision to resurrect the cross-government spending committee comes as the Treasury enters a critical phase in implementing the spending review amid doubts over whether departments such as defence and health will meet budget targets." - FT (£)

...but John Redwood discovers Whitehall departments are still recruiting

"Whitehall departments are still recruiting thousands of staff, official figures revealed yesterday – despite a Government pledge to slash the number of civil servants. The figures, obtained by former Tory Cabinet minister John Redwood, show that Coalition efforts to cut the civil service payroll are being undermined by continuing recruitment drives in Whitehall. The figures reveal that nine major departments have lost a total of almost 9,000 staff between them since the General Election in May last year. But they have also decided to recruit more than 4,100 new staff – cutting the reduction in overall headcount to just two per cent." - Daily Mail

UK economy delivers double blow to George Osborne ahead of the Budget

"The retail prices index (RPI) measure of inflation hit a 20-year high in February, while the public sector borrowed a record amount, casting a pall over George Osborne's latest tax and spending plans. The data flagged up the risks around the recovery as over-target inflation combines with sluggish growth... The Government's preferred measure of inflation, the consumer prices index (CPI), shot to a 28-month high of 4.4pc from January's 4pc, the Office for National Statistics said, ahead of expectations it would come in at 4.2pc...  The RPI gauge, which some see as a better reflection of the cost of living as it includes more housing expenses, leapt from January's 5.1pc to 5.5pc, the highest since 1991." - Daily Telegraph

> Yesterday on ConHome:

• Andrew Lilico: At this Budget, the inflation target should be amended
• WATCH: The BBC reports that at 5.5%, RPI inflation is now the highest it has been for almost twenty years

William Hague: The Arab Spring is more important than 9/11

"It is not for us to choose the government of Libya — that is for the Libyan people themselves. But they have a far greater chance of making that choice now than they did on Saturday, when the opposition forces were on the verge of defeat. With our partners we have halted the advance of Gaddafi’s troops towards Benghazi and prevented his planes from wreaking havoc from the skies, and this has undoubtedly saved many lives." - William Hague writing in The Times (£)

Wave of popular uprisings in Africa could even topple Mugabe, says Hague - Daily Telegraph

Lib Dem minister admits there is no Libyan exit strategy - Daily Telegraph

• What looked like a triumph for Cameron is beginning to seem a curse - Nigel Morris in The Independent
• Though the risks are very real, the case for intervention remains strong - Jonathan Freedland in The Guardian
• Cameron urges Saudis to promote ‘sensible dialogue’ on protests - Bloomberg

> WATCH: William Hague says the military operation in Libya has already saved many lives and will continue until there is a complete and genuine ceasefire on Gaddafi's part

Whitehall "fears new era of spin under Cameron’s media chief"

"David Cameron’s chief spin-doctor is to increase his power base significantly after the exit of two of the most senior communication officials in Whitehall. As relations between the Civil Service and Downing Street deteriorate, Craig Oliver, the Prime Minister’s new media chief, will extend his influence across all Whitehall departments, mirroring the power of Alastair Campbell." - The Times (£)

Nick Clegg "set to rein in NHS reforms"

"Nick Clegg told a meeting of his MPs in Westminster yesterday that he would now be "taking the lead" within government to rein in its programme of reform for the NHS. The Liberal Democrat leader said he was determined to ensure changes were made to the health and social care bill, the clearest sign that he will personally negotiate with the health secretary, Andrew Lansley. A senior party source said that the Lib Dem leader had decided to "front up" the issue with the Conservatives." - The Guardian

NHS manager numbers finally falling after 66% rise under Labour - Daily Telegraph

Foreign students to be cut by up to 100,000 as Theresa May announces clampdown on fake colleges

"Home Secretary Theresa May said the 'radical' clampdown would close fake colleges and block entry for those who cannot speak good English. There will also be tougher restrictions on non-EU students staying in the country after their course finishes - including a rule that they must find a job that pays at least £20,000 a year. Mrs May told MPs that while the coalition wanted to attract the 'brightest and best' to the UK, the visa system became 'broken' under Labour." - Daily Mail

• Non-EU students need A-level English to get a visa in new crackdown - The Times (£)

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Theresa May reveals details of how the Government is cracking down on bogus student visas

Other political news in brief

• Theresa May to rein in Equalities watchdog - Daily Mail
• Portugal edges towards 'inevitable' bailout from EU partners - The Guardian
• West Midlands Chief Constable warns of danger of reforming DNA database rules - The Times (£)
• UK announces £6 million funding to tackle piracy - The Independent
• BBC budget cuts will see programmes axed, more repeats and the return of "Pages from Ceefax" - The Independent

And finally... Samantha Cameron depicts the Downing Street rat for charity sketch

"Samantha Cameron has finally captured the Downing Street rat – in a drawing to be auctioned for charity. The Prime Minister’s wife, 39, did an art foundation course at Camberwell College Of Arts before studying Fine Art for her degree at Bristol University. And her skills are on show in the picture of her family’s new cat, Larry, looking on as the rodent scurries in front of the country’s most famous front door." - Daily Mail

Newslinks for Tuesday 22nd March 2011

9.15pm WATCH: William Hague says the military operation in Libya has already saved many lives and will continue until there is a complete and genuine ceasefire on Gaddafi's part

7.30pm Local Government: Boris bootcamp

6pm Gazette: Andrew Rosindell celebrates his successful 9-year campaign to have the Union flag fly permanently from Parliament

5pm Andrew Griffiths MP on Comment: George Osborne should freeze beer duty tomorrow to save countless community pubs and thousands of jobs

4.45pm Charles Tannock MEP and Greg Hands MP: Kashgar - a Chinese city under threat of destruction

4pm ToryDiary update: Theresa May reveals details of how the Government is cracking down on bogus student visas

3.15pm LeftWatch: CCHQ publishes an eve-of-Budget illustrated guide to Labour's appalling economic legacy

2.15pm Ryan Bourne of the Centre for Policy Studies on ThinkTankCentral: What we need from tomorrow's Budget

12.45pm Tim Montgomerie on Comment: Who would sell T-shirts like THIS? Who would wear them?

12.30pm Parliament: Kris Hopkins soberly warns the Commons that there is "nothing glorious or romantic about war"

Noon Andrew Lilico on Comment: At this Budget, the inflation target should be amended

11.30am WATCH: The BBC reports that at 5.5%, RPI inflation is now the highest it has been for almost twenty years

10.45am Amy Selman on Comment: Why I will be filling in my Census form

ToryDiary: Theresa May to announce crackdown on bogus student visas

Also in ToryDiary: Would you like to join ConservativeHome as Assistant to the Editors?

Lord Lamont on Comment: George Osborne must stick to his deficit cutting strategy tomorrow - but it would be reassuring to hear that he has his sights set on tax cuts in the longer term

Also on Comment:

• Murdo Fraser MSP: Lord Forsyth is wrong about the Scotland Bill - We should welcome more accountability for how politicians raise the money they spend
• Nadine Dorries MP: Abortion guidelines need to be drawn up by an independent body which is accountable to Parliament

Parliament:

• A sole Tory MP joins the 15 MPs voting against military action in Libya
• MPs quietly voted to freeze their salaries last night

Local Government:

• Local elections 2011: The battle for Blackpool
• Cllr Daniel Astaire: Getting rough sleepers off the streets in Westminster

WATCH: President Obama says that the US wants Gadaffi to leave power and predicts that the transition will take days, not weeks

William Hague insists Libya action is legal...

"The legality of military action in Libya is "not in the slightest doubt", Foreign Secretary William Hague said as he claimed United Nations resolution 1973 would not have happened without British intervention. Mr Hague sought to allay fears the UK had rushed in to Libya, claiming his staff had "moved heaven and earth diplomatically" before the decision to use force was taken." - Press Association

...as the Government and military appear to disagree over targeting of Gaddafi...

"A breach within Britain's political and military leadership has opened up as David Cameron argued that the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, may be a legitimate target while the chief of the defence staff, Sir David Richards, said he was "absolutely not". The clash fed concern on the third day of the air assault that the hastily assembled international alliance is struggling to paper over disagreements about its ultimate war aims, the future role of Nato and the legitimacy of the rebel groups." - The Guardian

• Government at war with Army over whether to target Gaddafi - The Independent

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Should Coalition forces be targeting Gaddafi?

...and a YouGov poll finds the public split over the military intervention

"Britain is split over the war on Colonel Gaddafi's regime, a poll for The Sun has revealed. Voters are also divided on whether the Libyan leader should be assassinated. The YouGov survey shows 45 per cent support the action to stop the dictator's attacks on his own people. But 36 per cent think the war is wrong, while 19 per cent don't know. Asked whether Gaddafi should be personally targeted by Allied air strikes, 46 per cent said he should, but 30 per cent disagreed." - The Sun

Lord Tebbit: David Cameron deserves credit for his swift action on Libya

"It would be ungenerous, indeed it would be ignoring reality, not to acknowledge that what began as no more than a Cameron-Sarkozy initiative has now brought on board the Americans, the Arab League and indeed the Security Council of the UN. That is some considerable achievement and the Prime Minister deserves great credit for his determination in driving it forward." - Lord Tebbit on his Daily Telegraph blog

Today's Budget speculation

• George Osborne to clamp down on tax avoidance - The Guardian
• Osborne to unveil private jet flight tax - BBC
• Chancellor hopes £100m pothole fund will restore nation’s optimism - The Times (£)
• Green bank to get go-ahead on fundraising - FT (£)

Allister Heath: Inflation means bigger Budget cuts

"What if inflation turns out to be much higher than the Treasury is assuming? Such an outcome would reduce the real value of spending by more than the four per cent described above, thus accelerating the cuts – or it could allow Osborne to spend more in cash terms, thus partly appeasing his critics, while still reducing spending by the same amount in real terms and satisfying the markets... There is another reason why inflation will matter tomorrow, whether Osborne admits it or not." - Allister Heath in City AM

• Households robbed of £900 as inflation heads towards 6 per cent - The Independent

Patrick Nolan: Here's how Osborne should reduce the tax gap

"If the coalition is serious about reducing the tax gap they should move to a simpler tax system with a broader base and lower rates. Two key changes could help with this. 1) The coalition should scrap the zero-rating and reduced rating of VAT on products... 2) The coalition should scrap their plans to increase the personal tax allowance and lower the threshold for the 40p rate." - Patrick Nolan of Refrom writing for the Spectator Coffee House blog

• Dominic Lawson: The public spending 'massacre' is a lie - The Independent
• Osborne wins backing of business as Labour slumps - The Independent

Pickles scraps employment code

"The Government has unveiled controversial plans to scrap an employment code which unions argued gave "vital" protection to public sector workers. Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles said he intended to scrap the Local Authority Two Tier Code, saying the move would "level the playing field" and reduce costs. Employers would no longer be required to offer employment to new recruits on terms and conditions "no less favourable" than those of transferred employees, potentially reducing the cost to the taxpayer of providing public services and encourage job creation, the minister told a CBI meeting." - Press Association

Boris Johnson announces £70m fund to make London greener

"London is set to become greener, with a £70m fund to finance the development of low-carbon waste and recycling facilities in the capital... Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, said the fund could generate hundreds of green jobs, save 28,000 tonnes of carbon and divert 245,000 tonnes of waste from landfill." - The Guardian

• Green London Assembly Member to challenge Boris for the Mayoralty next year - Press Association

Children 'should read 50 books a year', says Gove

“Recently, I asked to see what students were reading at GCSE and I discovered that something like 80 or 90 per cent were just reading one or two novels and overwhelmingly it was the case that it included Of Mice and Men. Here [in the US] , kids at the end of primary school are being expected to read 50 books a year. I think we should, as a nation, be saying that our children should be reading 50 books a year, not just one or two for GCSE.” - Michael Gove quoted in the Daily Telegraph

Free schools will not teach creationism, says Gove's Department

"The Department for Education has said Michael Gove is "crystal clear that teaching creationism is at odds with scientific fact" after a warning that the government's new free schools could be exploited by fundamentalist churches looking to promote a literal interpretation of the Bible." - The Guardian

Other political news in brief

• David Cameron says no to £7,000 pay rise for senior judges - Daily Mail
• Cameron says UK is "extremely disturbed" by events in Yemen - Reuters
• Andy Coulson falls on his feet with media consultancy role - The Guardian
• Record satisfaction with NHS even among Tory voters - Daily Telegraph
• Equality commission to face 'major surgery' - The Guardian
• MEPs resign over bribes-for-amendments scandal - The Times (£)

And finally... David Cameron's top parenting tip

"My one tip – one thing that I do that I find I get a huge benefit from, and lots of fun – is cooking with the children. Particularly simple things like making pancakes. It’s just a fantastic thing to do – you make a lot of mess, you have a lot of fun, and there’s a point to it as well." - David Cameron quoted in the Daily Mail

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

Newslinks for Sunday 20th March 2011

8pm ToryDiary: Conservative leaders in Europe set out views on Turkey, the €uro, climate change, 'variable geometry' and the Tobin tax

3pm LeftWatch: Five reasons why Labour can't be complacent

1pm WATCH: Ed Miliband confirms Labour backing for action in Libya

ToryDiary: Has Osborne leaked his whole Budget to the Sunday newspapers?

Bill Cash MP for Comment: I am informed that the Human Rights Act will not be repealed and there will be no proper reform of our position towards the European Convention on Human Rights

Rupert Myers, also on Comment, asks: Is Mike Huckabee a man to watch?

Local government: Government urges councils to review funding for union posts

WATCH: Outside of 10 Downing Street, Cameron announces that British forces are in action over Libya

Ian Birrell: On Libya we are seeing the real Cameron

"Take a look at his actions in opposition. In Burma, he urged emergency air drops after the military junta restricted access for aid groups after a dreadful cyclone.  In Georgia,he flew to Tblisi to show solidarity with a democracy in the face of Russian aggression.  And, once in office, he was unafraid to criticise Israel, even during a trip to Turkey. Unlike some Cabinet colleagues, however, Cameron is not a neo-conservative who believes it is his mission to impose democracy upon the world; indeed, he was highly sceptical about the Iraq War in private. But what he has shown this week, just as in opposition, is that when forced by events to make a choice, he comes down on the side of taking action to stop atrocities. This is, after all, someone who has said his formative political experience was travelling in Eastern Europe as a student and sensing the excitement at the fall of the Berlin Wall. His heroes are the Italian freedom fighter Giuseppe Garibaldi and Lord Palmerston, the Prime Minister famous for gunboat diplomacy and supporting a wave of revolutions that swept Europe in 1848." - Ian Birrell, Cameron's former speechwriter, in the Mail on Sunday

Matthew d'Ancona: Cameron rescues interventionism from the shambles of Iraq

"Whatever happens now, the Prime Minister has already achieved something remarkable, which is to reclaim the interventionist principle from the quagmire of Iraq. Those who say that the last few days have seen the PM at his most Blairesque are missing the point. In every detail, he has tried to prepare for military action in a fashion demonstrably different to Blair’s strategy in 2002-03. True, as I disclosed last week, Cameron was willing to take action without a UN resolution, and rightly so. But he always grasped that the first British military intervention since Iraq would benefit hugely from explicit UN authorisation – if only to distinguish it from the Second Gulf War. He understood that regional support in the form of Arab League approval was essential. Whereas the prelude to Iraq saw Europe harshly divided into “Old” and “New”, it is the “cheese-eating surrender monkeys” of France who have been Cameron’s closest ally in coaxing Barack Obama out from under his security blanket." - The Sunday Telegraph

• Fraser Nelson at The Spectator: Cameron has shown leadership and clarity that the world will not forget
• Andrew Rawnsley warns of "an unpredictable and hazardous road" ahead on Libya - Observer
• If Colonel Gaddafi does not fall soon it's hard to see a happy ending - John Rentoul in the Independent on Sunday
• "Politics seems to have become a sort of mental illness. We have no bloody business in Libya, and no idea what we hope to achieve there." - Peter Hitchens in the Mail on Sunday

Ronald Reagan was famously known as The Great Communicator but paralysis over Libya has landed Barack Obama with the title The Great Vacillator - Andrew Roberts in the Mail on Sunday

The President's reluctance to act over Libya signals a new worrying direction for the United States - Janet Daley in The Sunday Telegraph

Danny Alexander buts lower income tax at heart of Wednesday's Budget

  "There is nothing more fundamentally liberal than saying those who work but receive least reward should pay no tax. That's why when the government unveils its budget on Wednesday we will set out further real progress towards our goal of taking anyone earning less than £10,000 out of tax altogether." - The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, writing in The Observer

Profiling George Osborne, Martin Ivens, in The Sunday Times (£) notes the Quad: "Today the ambitious chancellor’s hand can be detected everywhere in Whitehall. His programme, Wednesday’s budget included, is nodded through the four-man quadrilateral, or “quad” on which he sits. It is the real seat of power, an inner cabinet that also includes the Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury."

Tory MP and GP Sarah Wollaston warns that NHS reforms may go "belly up"

"Commissioning consortia will be overwhelmed trying to adapt to their new roles. Someone needs to get a grip or we will continue to haemorrhage the best staff as a result of intolerable uncertainty and pointless morale-sapping denigration. It all risks going 'belly up' rather than 'bottom up'." - Sarah Wollaston writing for The Sunday Telegraph

Andrew Lansley accused of burying poll showing record satisfaction with NHS - Observer

Grant Shapps to strengthen squatting laws to make it a criminal offence - The Sunday Telegraph

The Housing Minister in The Sunday Telegraph: "Let me be clear: squatters are not above the law. I can assure homeowners that we understand the strength of public feeling about this issue and that's why we are urgently taking steps to lock the door to so-called "squatters' rights" once and for all."

"Chris Huhne says he still backs government's 'three-pronged' energy approach but Fukushima could make nuclear unviable"

"Huhne, a Liberal Democrat, said that Britain was in a very different position from Japan, which was vulnerable to strong earthquakes and tsunamis. The UK also used different types of reactors. But he conceded that the Japanese disaster was likely to make it more difficult for private investors to raise capital to build the eight new reactors planned by the government." - Observer

The scandal of seizures by social workers of children from responsible parents is bigger than Tim Loughton, Children's Minister has stated - Christopher Booker in The Sunday Telegraph

The Sunday Times: Civil service obstructing ministers

"The unco-operative approach of some officials has driven ministers to take unconventional measures to circumvent them. One said he had asked for a briefing on a policy only to receive a single side of A4 paper. He was so desperate for information that he discreetly contacted a pressure group, which handed him a full dossier. It later emerged the group’s data had also been sent to his officials. Another minister has started showing his civil servants’ reports to private sector experts because he is worried he is being selectively briefed. He said: “Do I take my civil servants’ briefings at face value? No. Then I go outside to someone in the sector and say, ‘Is this kosher?’ and they say, ‘Absolutely not’.”" - The Sunday Times (£)

Scottish Tory leader Annabel Goldie in pensioner pledge - BBC

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Goldie's four key messages to Scotland's voters

Ed Miliband says Labour win in Scotland could hasten end of Tory-LibDem Coalition - BBC

"In his address to the Scottish Labour conference yesterday, the UK leader claimed that a Labour win and a Liberal Democrat defeat at Holyrood could force the Liberals to "come to their senses" and make them realise they had made a "terrible mistake" in joining the Tories in government." - Scotland on Sunday

Tories and LDs struggling in new Scotttish survey - Sunday Herald

• Liberal Democrats could lose 12 of their 57 seats because of boundary review (says trouble-making Labour research) - The Sunday Times (£)
• Union leaders are to target Liberal Democrats in a campaign to slow down the speed and scale of public spending cuts - Independent on Sunday
• The latest YouGov poll has the LibDems on 9% and the Conservatives 6% behind Labour
• Clegg: I won’t use AV No vote as excuse to quit Coalition - Mail on Sunday

Three senior MEPs agreed to table amendments damaging consumer protection across the EU in return for secret payments - The Sunday Times (£)

Now MEPs can use UK taxpayers' cash for propaganda to keep Britain in the EU - Mail on Sunday

Lord Ashcroft to unveil new exhibition of special forces medals - The Sunday Express

In an essay for the Express Lord Ashcroft tells the remarkable stories behind three of the men who won them for their bravery.