Newslinks for Monday 27th August 2012

3.45pm WATCH: Maria Eagle MP: Justine Greening's lack of transparency over West Coast Mainline decision is "outrageous"

12.30pm Mohammed Amin on Comment: The corporate duty to avoid tax

ToryDiary: Will the real David Cameron please stand up?

Columnist Nadine Dorries MP: Louise Mensch was wrong to back The Sun against Prince Harry

Neil Carmichael MP: It's not enough to cut the deficit, we need to strengthen the 'real' economy too

ThinkTankCentral: New Centre for Policy Studies report shows widespread public misunderstanding of economic issues faced by Britain

Local government: Conservative councils are opening new libraries

LeftWatch: Tensions growing between Balls and Miliband over Labour's direction

The Deep End: The first five years of the permanent recession

Labour is urging ministers to delay signing a new West Coast Mainline contract until Parliament returns

"The party says MPs must have the chance to consider the decision to take the franchise from Virgin Trains and give it to FirstGroup for the next 13 years... The Department for Transport said it had "no reason" to delay the signing." - BBC

The Conservative MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, David Morris issued this statement overnight: “Since the Government announced that Virgin was not the successful bidder for the Inter City West Coast Mainline, I have received a huge number of correspondences from constituents. The general feeling is that my constituents are happy with the service Virgin Trains provides and it is for me as their MP to reflect that view which is why I have written to the Government to express that opinion.”

Ed Miliband yesterday came under pressure from Alistair Darling to support a third runway at Heathrow - Telegraph

Jackie Ashley in The Guardian on airport capacity: "We are now at the point when it's more important to take a decision – any decision – than to carry on mumbling... I may not agree with Jo Valentine, the chief executive of business group London First, who argued on Sunday that expansion at Heathrow was the right answer. But she is certainly right when she says: "The time for ministers to prevaricate is long past.""

Daily Mail leader: "Despite pledging to ‘take an axe’ to the bloated state sector, and light a ‘bonfire of the quangos’, the Government has barely made a dent in public spending. Almost halfway through its term, it has met a pathetic 6 per cent of its reduction targets for this Parliament... Instead of spending precious resources on job-creating infrastructure projects, youth employment initiatives, or cutting payroll taxes, we still pour unconscionable billions into maintaining the behemoth of state bureaucracy."

> Today's ThinkTankCentral: New Centre for Policy Studies report shows widespread public misunderstanding of economic issues faced by Britain

• Costs at the the Climate Change and International Development departments are RISING - John Redwood
• 100-plus civil servants pocket five-figure bonuses, despite crackdown process - Sun | Daily Mail
• An analysis by Morgan Stanley has found that the average family will have £50 less disposable income in real terms this year and £200 next year as the cost of essentials rises sharply - Telegraph

No defence for printing Prince Harry photos, says Jeremy Hunt

"I cannot see what the public interest was in publishing those," Mr Hunt told the BBC yesterday. "But we have a free press and I don't think it is right for politicians to tell newspaper editors what they can and cannot publish. That must be a matter for the newspaper editors." - Quoted by The Independent

Trevor Kavanagh in The Sun: "The national interest includes definable rights and responsibilities, like defence of the realm, democracy, a sound economy — and the inalienable right of a free people to know what is being done in their name. The Harry pictures, by themselves, may be of no great lasting importance. But the right to publish them, once they are in the public domain, is of huge and enduring significance."

A major crackdown on illegal immigrants is to be launched by the Government - Express

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: IDS and Pickles back Theresa May's fight to strengthen immigration policies

Former adviser says Lansley has caved in to fast-food industry despite "obesity epidemic" - Independent

The Campaign to Protect Rural England has claimed countryside around English towns and cities is threatened by bids to build about 81,000 homes" - BBC

"Treasury sources argue that the 1.6 million hectares of green-belt land — generally on the outskirts of urban areas — cover 3 per cent of England and could be tapped into. They are backed by groups such as the Institute of Economic Affairs. The free-market think-tank said: “Only one-twentieth of England is built on. There is an abundance of green space, yet housing is hugely unaffordable.”" - Times (£)

Damian Green: We must pass 'Danny Boyle test’

"In an article for today’s Daily Telegraph, the minister said: “To succeed, the Conservative Party must be at home in modern Britain. Much in this country needs changing and improving but we should not become nostalgists promoting a better yesterday."

Read the article in full.

Tim Montgomerie: It's time for the real David Cameron to stand up

"Let’s see the best of Mr Cameron in the next few months. Let’s see him out in the country, in the regions, in hostile meetings with voters explaining what he’s doing. Let’s see him with commuters, explaining why rail fares must rise so we can have a railway system fit for the next century. Let’s watch him in a village hall in leafy Buckinghamshire, blighted by the high-speed rail link, explaining why it is essential for reconnecting North and South... Each meeting will be tough. There will be very awkward moments. But if he sticks at it, his image will evolve. He’ll no longer be a PR man, at the mercy of events... He’ll get to that place, prized by every politician, where voters who disagree with their views can still respect them." - Tim Montgomerie in The Times (£)

Paralympians have more of the Right Stuff than anyone on Earth - Boris Johnson in The Telegraph

Liam Fox has been "feeding ideas" into Mitt Romney's elite core of policy advisers - Telegraph

• Mitt Romney's road to Tampa - Washington Post

Max Wind-Cowie: David Laws should not return

"David Laws' use of his expense to avoid his apparent embarrassment about his homosexuality put at risk both this government's attempt to move on from the sleaze of the past and the progress our society has made on gay rights. Returning him to the Cabinet might be the practical thing to do, but for many gay people such as myself it will nonetheless leave a bad taste in the mouth." - Max Wind-Cowie for the Huffington Post

Peter Hain says Labour should get ready to do business with Lib Dems

"Labour should prepare for coalition with the Lib Dems because it will struggle to win an outright majority at the next election, Peter Hain, the former cabinet minister, has said. In the paperback edition of his memoirs, which is being published on Tuesday, he said that voters were becoming increasingly "promiscuous" and that in the future single-party government could become "the exception rather than the norm"." - Guardian

Teachers howling with anguish over GCSE grades are betraying every pupil of the future - Max Hastings in the Daily Mail

• "Private schooling is now beyond average earners in well-paid occupations, including pharmacists, architects, IT experts, engineers and scientists" - Daily Mail

Same-sex marriage would enrich an historic institution. Those who try to oppose it are out of step with public opinion and simple fairness - Times leader (£)

"Catholic worshippers heard criticism of the Scottish Government’s gay marriage plans at Sunday services yesterday as a letter from leading bishops was read aloud in churches. The letter, which was read in all of Scotland’s 500 Catholic parishes, urged followers to continue to act against efforts to
“redefine” marriage." - Scotsman

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Newslinks for Sunday 26th August 2012

2.30pm Raheem Kassam on Comment: The BBC spends a third of £1 million concealing 'Balen Report' into its Middle East coverage

ToryDiary: IDS and Pickles back Theresa May's fight to strengthen immigration policies

Rehman Chishti MP on Comment: The public will be safer because of new sentencing guidelines on dangerous dogs

Mohammed Amin on Comment: How much tax is enough?

Local government: Now the good news... councils that ARE rewarding work, volunteering, and armed service in housing allocation

Cuts to courts system mean offenders are receiving softer sentences

"Staff in one region, Durham Tees Valley, told a survey by Napo, the union for probation and court staff, that constraints had led to offenders getting off lightly. “Possibly because of shortcuts, unpaid work requirements have been imposed where alternative, more robust sentencing was needed,” said the union’s report." - The Sunday Telegraph

Hague and Clarke most popular in Cabinet - Mail on Sunday

Peter Hitchens: "Can I put in a plea here for Ken Clarke? Mr Slippery should certainly not sack him as Secretary of State for Injustice... Far better have him doing the job than some slick fraud who makes ‘tough’ speeches about how prison works, while letting prisoners out even more quickly than Ken does."

George Osborne remains under microscope

• "The Chancellor, I am told, has made clear to Mr Cameron that he wants to remain in full control of the Tories’ General Election campaign. Even if Mr Crosby, who helped Boris Johnson become Mayor of London, is brought on board, it will not happen until six months before an Election, so until then Mr Osborne remains in charge of tactics." - Melissa Kite in the Mail on Sunday
• Toby Helm claims Tory MPs are turning against Osborne but offers no sources or evidence - Observer
• Does PM David Cameron have a better choice for Chancellor? - Lisa Buckingham in the Mail on Sunday
• 75% think it's important that Government reduces the budget deficit but only 22% thinks it is making much progress - YouGov

But, says John Rentoul, it's Labour that deserves more scutiny...

"Ed Miliband and Ed Balls have been getting on particularly badly recently... The Eds' relationship could have more bearing on the outcome of the next election than the unusually strong one, in historical terms, between Cameron and Osborne. As so often in politics, it is the dog that hasn't barked that is more important than the ones that make the most noise." - Independent on Sunday

Liberal Democrats vow to block deeper spending cuts - The Sunday Times (£)

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Are Tory MPs wrong to complain about Osborne's spending priorities?

Owen Paterson is the latest in a growing list of Conservatives urging David Cameron to drop his opposition to another runway at the London airport - The Sunday Telegraph

"Shapps set out his stall yesterday by signalling his support for a third runway at Heathrow. He said “all options” for expanding airport capacity in the southeast needed to be examined to boost the economy. His intervention fuelled speculation that Cameron could move Justine Greening, the transport secretary, because of her opposition to Heathrow expansion." - The Sunday Times (£)

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: We made a silly promise not to build a third runway for Heathrow but it was a promise

Migrants who are falsely claiming benefits after coming to Britain to work, study or visit face being stripped of their welfare payments - The Sunday Telegraph

Cameron and Clegg are preparing yet another Coalition U-turn by dropping plans to let voters sack misbehaving MPs

"Tory MP Zac Goldsmith, a passionate believer in the 'power of recall' proposal, warned the Coalition of dire consequences if the pledge was scrapped. He told The Mail on Sunday: 'This was a key promise after the endless scandals around expenses. It is also the one promised reform that will directly empower people and keep politicians on their toes." - Mail on Sunday

The Commons public administration select committee, chaired by Bernard Jenkin, is expected to recommend end of automatic gongs for long service in public sector - The Sunday Times (£)

Matthew d'Ancona: Cameron should be willing to give the Liberal Democrats state funding of political parties in return for guaranteed support for the boundary review - The Sunday Telegraph

> Recent ToryDiary: Tory MPs shouldn't vote for more state funding of party politics

Michael Gove is right to want to stop grade inflation but he is tackling it in an unjust way - Andrew Rawnsley in The Observer

• The exam regulator bowed to pressure yesterday in the row over the “fixing” of GCSE results in English and ordered an urgent review - The Sunday Times (£)
• Our 'A-grade' children can't even manage a paper round - Peter Hitchens in the Mail on Sunday

Tory Reform Group warns PM: 'We must reach out to ethnic minorities'

"Mr Cameron has not made a speech on race since becoming Prime Minister, and the only pledge in the Tory manifesto to help ethnic-minority communities – a mentoring scheme in Whitehall – has never been delivered." - Independent on Sunday

Cameron's local Oxford council joins revolt over plan to devolve council tax benefits - Observer

Ex-MI5 chief urges Cameron to defy party on European Union and continue to integrate crime policies - Observer

• The people of Britain - and Europe - have seen through the great project. When will the elites catch up? - Dan Hannan in The Sunday Telegraph

"It is no role of legislators to impose their religious will on the public. If they want to keep their own Sundays special, that's fine; but we have no business trying to prevent others from spending their Sundays in whatever way they want." - Former Tory MP Geoffrey Lawler on The Guardian's Northerner blog

I'll never vote for Cameron after his bloody badger cull - Brian May in the Mail on Sunday

The Liberal Democrats have been accused of drawing up “dangerous” demands for the swift introduction of right-to-die legislation at Westminster - Sunday Express

Nick Ferrari calls for a right-to-die in the Sunday Express: "Opponents paint a Holocaust-style scenario in which the depressed and vulnerable will face mass euthanasia but their argument is hollow. Simply appoint a panel of independent clinicians who have to approve any of the tiny handful of cases that would need to be heard. In that way, the years of pain and struggle Tony and his family endured will not have been in vain."

Roman Catholic priests are to read out a letter in each of the Church's parishes in Scotland criticising the Scottish Government for plans to introduce gay marriage - BBC

Fighting to save the Union - Alistair Darling talks to the Independent on Sunday about leading the campaign to stop Alex Salmond breaking up the UK

The Houses of Parliament could close for up to five years under plans for a £3 billion refurbishment

"The Commons and Lords would be evacuated for the first time since the second world war while the Grade I-listed building is overhauled after decades of delay. Under one option, MPs would meet in a replica chamber under Big Ben while the antiquated plumbing and electrics, and the asbestos-riddled interior, of the Palace of Westminster are replaced. The House of Commons commission, chaired by John Bercow, the Speaker, has asked a group of MPs, peers and officials to report on options to save the building." - The Sunday Times (£)

And finally... Every time the PM heads to the West Country, something goes awry - The Independent on Sunday asks if the PM can beat "the curse of Cornwall".

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Newslinks for Saturday 25th August 2012

10.30pm LISTEN: Our promise is HOPE! Our promise is REWARD! Our promise is OPPORTUNITY! Listen - if you dare - to the new theme tune of the Australian Liberals

10pm ToryDiary: We made a silly promise not to build a third runway for Heathrow but it was a promise

11.30am Mohammed Amin on Comment: A land fit for billionaires

ToryDiary: Are Tory MPs wrong to complain about Osborne's spending priorities?

Also on ToryDiary: Captions please

Guy Opperman MP on Comment: Five policies that will help the Tories win in the North

Lord Ashcroft on Comment: The reaction to my gay marriage report was an interesting study on how research can be selectively interpreted or misunderstood

Local government: Labour and Lib Dem councillors are still trying to scupper Bedford Free School

WATCH:

• David Cameron, Boris Johnson and Lord Coe all talk about the Paralympic Games
• Michael Gove denies political interference in GCSE grades, after number of A*-C grades fell for first time

Revised economic show the economy contracted by 0.5% during the last quarter, less than the 0.7% announced last month - BBC

A Treasury spokesman said: “Britain is dealing with some very deep-rooted problems at home and a very serious debt crisis abroad and that is why the healing of the economy is proving to be slow and difficult.” - Express

> Amber Rudd MP yesterday: "Let’s now get on with the essential task of freeing up businesses and encouraging entrepreneurs, to build real growth back into the economy."

Bankrupt Greece yesterday begged Germany’s Iron Chancellor Angela Merkel for “breathing space” - The Sun

The Daily Mail: "The brutal truth is that Greece, whose economy is shrinking at a rate of more than 6 per cent a year, has no realistic hope of recovery until it is freed from the straitjacket of the one-size-fits all euro."

Patrick O'Flynn: We're already borrowing enough

"Some opposition MPs will cling to the strange idea that borrowing just a few billion more would make all the difference to the success of the economy, as if the £550billion extra this Government plans to borrow over five years was not enough. If more public borrowing made a country richer we would be one of the medal winners. Borrowing is just delayed taxation. It all has to be paid back one day." - Patrick O'Flynn in The Express

Headteacher attacks Michael Gove over marking 'butchery' - Guardian

Leading private schools waded into the row over a sudden drop in GCSE grades today amid mounting calls for an inquiry into this year’s exam results - Telegraph

Grant Shapps: Britain must consider building a third runway at Heathrow if it is to remain a “great trading nation”

"Mr Shapps also indicates today that he is opposed to emerging Treasury proposals to deregulate further the planning system. The minister, tipped for promotion in the forthcoming reshuffle, says there is no need to build on the green belt as some have suggested." - Telegraph

"Willie Walsh, chief executive of International Airlines Group, which controls British Airways, said he saw the lack of progress on aviation as a "disgrace". "I don't believe this government has the political will to address the issues," he said. "David Cameron seems a lot happier clapping and cheering for gold medals than dealing with tough, long-term economic challenges."" - Quoted in The Independent

Graeme Archer in The Telegraph: We need new houses built on fields, not these 'mixed-use’ Soviet estates

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: As the growth row over Heathrow goes on, don't forget the one over housing - and building on the Green Belt

David Cameron told he has a 'moral duty' to return Asil Nadir's party donations - Independent

Countdown to the reshuffle

"David Cameron is to revive a tradition championed by Margaret Thatcher and John Major by revamping the government whips' office to give it greater authority over the parliamentary party... Michael Fallon, the Tory deputy chairman, is expected to be rewarded for his work fire-fighting on behalf of the government on the airwaves with a promotion to chief whip, party chairman or leader of the house." - Guardian

There's no point in a reshuffle, says Simon Heffer, if the Chancellor isn't moved: "Mr Osborne is safe not only because he is Mr Cameron’s friend and crony. He is safe because Mr Cameron has bought so heavily into the failed policy that he believes to fire the Chancellor would undermine the Government’s credibility, and Mr Cameron’s. And if there can’t be a change at the Treasury I can’t, I’m afraid, see the point of having a reshuffle at all. For without a new Chancellor, it will be just a silly season diversion." - Daily Mail

Ten rising stars of the Coalition include Maria Miller, Grant Shapps, Michael Fallon, Hugh Robertson, Anna Soubry, Ed Timpson, Sajid Javid - Guardian

A group of Conservative MPs are trying to seize the political agenda with some of the most rightwing ideas the party has seen in decades – and many are taking them seriously - Andy Beckett in The Guardian profiles Dom Raab, Kwasi Kwarteng, Priti Patel, Chris Skidmore and Elizabeth Truss

Government arranges for uniformed youth services - including Scouts, guides and police cadets - to set up in deprived areas in £10 million initiative

"At least 2,700 adult volunteers will be trained to lead the 400 new groups to be established in areas such as Hackney, Birmingham, Manchester, Bradford and Middlesbrough. The aim is to provide 10,000 more places for youths, including offenders, disruptive schoolchildren, children in care and the unemployed. But the cash for “uniformed” groups suggests that ministers favour more disciplined organisations over less-established local services." - Times (£)

Tories turned off by 'extreme' Republican party, says Brooks Newmark - Telegraph

Number 10 under fire after Prime Minister hosts king of Bahrain in 'beneath the radar' meeting - Daily Mail

'Come to Britain for free NHS treatment'

"Ministers have vowed to tighten rules over abuse of the NHS by foreign visitors after a woman reported flew in from Nigeria especially to have her baby in a British hospital... She was said to have gone straight from the airport to Wythenshawe Hospital, where she told staff that there were complications with her pregnancy. She received treatment costing a total of £10,000, but immediately after giving birth left without having paid anything." - Times (£)

In The Express, Stephen Pollard calls for a crackdown on tourist abuse of the NHS.

Tory police candidates must find £5,000 deposits while Labour fund theirs - Telegraph

Liberal Democrat Tim Farron calls for debate in parliament after ePetition in favour of Virgin Trains keeping West Coat mainline reaches 100,000 - BBC

"Yesterday, Louise Ellman, chairman of the House of Commons Transport Committee, wrote to Ms Greening asking her to hold off signing the final contract. Mrs Ellman wrote that the West Coast ruling raised "important issues about the basis on which decisions on major rail franchises are made"." - Independent

The Financial Times urges Liberal Democrats to keep faith with Nick Clegg

"Amid the scorn directed at Mr Clegg from all sides, his virtues are easily forgotten. He did the right thing in 2010 by entering the coalition: a minority Tory government would not have lasted and a coalition with Labour was never mathematically viable. For all his squabbles with his governing partners, he has never wavered on the central issue of deficit reduction. Lib Dems who fret at their party’s supposed lack of influence in government should remember that Mr Clegg has blocked countless Tory policies (including, sadly, some good ones) and secured a dramatic rise in the income tax threshold to £10,000 by 2015." - FT leader (£)

Alex Salmond has pledged to break up BBC Scotland under independence and create a new national broadcaster that utilises the corporation's existing staff and assets

"The First Minister said in a speech at the Edinburgh International Television Festival that a new public sector broadcaster would be modelled on Ireland's RTE station if his Government wins the 2014 referendum. The new Scottish broadcaster would still take popular BBC programmes such as EastEnders but have a more distinctive voice through nationally focused shows, added Mr Salmond, citing the success of the Gaelic-language channel BBC Alba." - The Herald

The SNP’s message has become oddly blurred - Alex Massie in The Scotsman

What Galloway and Akin say about rape says so much more about them - Jonathan Freeland in The Guardian

And finally... Mr Commieron, Boris brands Tory leader a 'Politburo PM' - Sun

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Newslinks for Friday 24th August 2012

3.30pm ToryDiary: As the growth row over Heathrow goes on, don't forget the one over housing - and building on the Green Belt

2.30pm Lord Ashcroft on Comment: Prince Harry is a force for good - so let’s not persecute him over his Las Vegas antics

1.30pm Amber Rudd MP on Comment: More reasons to be positive about the UK economy

Noon David Rutley MP on Comment: It's not just the size of the state that matters, but its shape

ToryDiary: Iain Duncan Smith prepares to cut winter fuel payments - by temperature-testing them. Why not means-test them?

SteveHiltonGuru on Comment: A Boris leadership shouldn't be considered a fait accompli - there will be plenty who oppose him

MPsETC: Louise Mensch defends Sun's decision to print naked photographs of Prince Harry but nearly all Tory MPs are silent on issue

Cllr Nickie Aiken on Local Government: How councils can still help drive up school results

The Deep End: Never mind plan B, here’s plan H – a helicopter drop of made-up money

Gove doesn't want to bring back O-levels

"Education Secretary Michael Gove last night rowed back from plans to bring back O-levels to replace GCSEs. Speaking to BBC News, he insisted his aim was to strengthen and reform GCSEs and ruled out any idea of a two-tier system with a second rung of exams along the lines of the former CSEs for less-able pupils. A leak earlier this summer suggested he wanted a return to O-levels and a "son of CSE" for the less able." - Independent

• First fall in GCSE grades for 24 years - Times (£)
• Anger at GCSE 'manipulation' as top grades fall for first time ever - Independent
• After decades of exam inflation, yesterday’s GCSE results herald a return to credibility - Anthony Seldon for the Daily Telegraph
• The best teachers should be properly rewarded - Daily Telegraph editorial

> From yesterday: 

• WATCH: Michael Gove: After seeing David Cameron as Prime Minister, "I know I couldn't" do the job myself
• WATCH: Stephen Twigg MP: "Yes, we want rigour in [GCSE] marking, but it's got to be fair"

More Justine Greening/Heathrow reshuffle speculation

"David Cameron is coming under increasing pressure to appoint a new transport secretary in next month’s cabinet reshuffle after the prime minister shifted his support towards the expansion of Heathrow – a policy implacably opposed by incumbent Justine Greening. ... One senior Tory added: “It would be bizarre to keep her in that job when her position over aviation is now the polar opposite of the prime minister and the chancellor.”" - FT (£)

• Greening gave up successful career to enter politics - FT (£)

Government stands firm on tax reforms

"The Treasury yesterday refused to back down on plans to reform corporation tax for multinational companies, despite accusations from backbench MPs and charities that it will severely harm developing countries. In March George Osborne said that UK firms would no longer pay “top-up” tax on income earned in countries with low-tax regimes. The aim was to convince multinational firms to remain domiciled in – or return to – Britain." - City AM

> Yesterday on ToryDiary: Is Osborne really stepping back from electoral strategy?

IDS to introduce "temperature test" to fight European rules on winter cash for expats

"Iain Duncan Smith... is fighting “ludicrous” European rules that mean the winter fuel payment must be made to an estimated 440,000 British pensioners living abroad. Taxpayers face a £100 million bill for the annual hand-out to people who have retired to the Continent in order to live in sunnier climes. Mr Duncan Smith announced yesterday that he intended to introduce a new “temperature” test to prevent pensioners receiving the benefit if they live in warm countries and do not need extra money to spend on winter fuel." - Daily Telegraph

• Pensioners are not hurt by quantitative easing, says Bank of England - Daily Telegraph

> Today on ToryDiary: Iain Duncan Smith prepares to cut winter fuel payments - by temperature-testing them. Why not means-test them?

Fraser Nelson: Our jobs market is broken – and Germany may have the answer

"The most powerful insight of the Hartz reforms was that Germany’s real problem wasn’t the supply of jobs but producing a supply of willing workers. The federal government could borrow all it wanted, but resurfacing the autobahns wouldn’t have much effect if it couldn’t find enough Germans to do the work. Better to cut taxes on low-paid work and create a proper incentive for people to take the jobs that were actually going." - Fraser Nelson for the Daily Telegraph

• It’s time the Government got serious about our long-term growth - Paul Johnson of the IFS for the Daily Telegraph

David Cameron says Team GB Paralympic athletes 'geared up' to overhaul Beijing medal record - Daily Telegraph

• Celebrate Paralympians, but remember they needed state help to get there - Polly Toynbee for the Guardian

David Cameron meets Bahrain's king in low-key talks

"The prime minister discussed opportunities for British businesses in the Gulf state during the meeting, his third with the king, that was not given the usual prominence by No 10 officials. But the prime minister also raised human rights when he pressed the king to implement in full the recommendations of a commission of inquiry that was set up after the violence in Bahrain in 2011." - Guardian

Chris Grayling finds more pernicious health and safety rules to scrap

"Women have been needlessly banned by health and safety officials from heating up baby food in cafés and taking children to a local allotment, a Government panel has found. ... Chris Grayling, the employment minister, said: “It’s hugely frustrating when excuses are being made in the name of health and safety. The Myth Busters Challenge Panel is helping the man and woman on the street to fight back against the jobsworths.”" - Daily Telegraph

Daniel Hannan MEP: Far from considering Orwell 'Left-wing’, we conservatives rather admire the writer - Daniel Hannan MEP for the Daily Telegraph

MPs: stripping train line from Sir Richard Branson may not be good for taxpayers

"The decision to strip Sir Richard Branson of the West Coast rail line will be investigated by parliament’s spending watchdog over fears the move will not offer “value for money”. The Public Accounts Committee will scrutinise the Government's plans to hand the contract to First Group amid concerns the higher bidder will not deliver all the improvements it promised for £5.5 billion." - Daily Telegraph

Quangos spend millions on lobbying the Government - Daily Telegraph

Asil Nadir money should be returned, ex-Tory treasurer says - BBC

Ian Birrell: The Lib Dems don't need a new leader. They need a point

"After two torrid years in office, a fundamental question hangs heavy over the Liberal Democrats: what is the point of them these days? The party has long been ill-defined, split between social democrats on the left and market liberals on the right. In many ways, their brilliance as they grew under successive leaders over the past four decades was this blurred brand, ensuring disgruntled voters of any persuasion could see their own views reflected back when looking at the party." - Ian Birrell for the Independent

• Clegg has betrayed Lib Dems - says Lib Dem Policy Committee member - Linda Jack for the Guardian

> From yesterday: 

• Mark Gettleson on Comment: A Liberal Democrat meltdown could kill Tory chances at the next election
• LeftWatch: Cameron thinks Clegg's leadership "very precarious". Are more concessions to Liberal Democrats on the way?

Blair's £400,000-a-year bill to taxpayers - Daily Mail

Labour MP drives 200 miles without wheel nuts - Guardian

• RBS may be bigger Libor culprit than Barclays, says MP - Guardian

MPs and peers have blown a staggering £230,000 of taxpayers’ cash on art - The Sun

Forces’ morale plunges as cuts bite

"The Ministry of Defence’s latest continuous attitude survey showed morale in all three services had fallen in the two years since the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), with the army particularly hard hit. Overall, across the three armed services, the proportion describing morale as high was only 15 per cent, down from 18 per cent last year and a ten-point drop from 2010." - Scotsman

• Special Forces ready on border to take out Assad’s chemical weapons - Times (£)
• Scandal of soldiers denied a pension - Times (£)

> Yesterday on ToryDiary: Cameron and Obama inch closer to intervention in Syria

Greek PM says country 'to sell off islands' in bid to avoid bankruptcy - Daily Mail

• Germany and France keep the onus on Greece - City AM
• Obama asks eurozone to keep Greece in until after election day - Independent

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