Newslinks for Tuesday 17th September 2013

MIDNIGHT ToryDiary: EXCLUSIVE - CCHQ declares Conservative Party membership to be 134,000

6pm ToryDiary: Danny Alexander can't bring himself to celebrate wealth creation

3.15pm ToryDiary: "The political and economic failure of the European project is starting not only to sway the European electorates, and it seems popular scepticism is starting to seep into the seats of power, as it has eventually done in Westminster." Euroscepticism is rising on the Continent, but is it enough to aid Cameron's renegotiation?

2.30pm Adam Afriyie MP on Comment: United, the Conservatives can deliver victory

2.15pm Local Government: "Cllr Hall was elected the new Leader last night by 31 votes to 24 after a number of Independent Labour councillors abstained or voted for her. She and her team are capable and determined and well aware of the need to apply strong Conservative principles to achieve better value for money for local residents." Conservatives take over Harrow Council

1.30pm LeftWatch: "Boot Vince out of the party - and the SDP lot" - that Lib Dem divide isn't going away

11.30am Andrew R.T Davies on Comment: Why is Wales's First Minister so silent about Scotland's referendum?

11am Local Government: "Our taxes should not be going into the coffers of Mr Serwotka's outfit. The Communities Secretary is right to be putting a stop to it, and other Government Departments should do the same." Pickles is beating the Pilgrims

9.45am Local Government: John Bald Maria Montessori would have backed revival of phonics

ToryDiary: Lib Dems in Glasgow cannot hide harmony in Downing Street

In his weekly Foreign Affairs Column, Garvan Walshe warns Israel to Beware Egypt’s ambitious General al-Sisi

Graham Stuart MP on Comment: Bad advice is blighting the careers of thousands of young people. Here’s how to do better.

Local Government: Localism saves money

The Deep End: The sinister purpose of academic jargon

LibDem Conference: Vince Cable keeps his red lines private

“Vince Cable stunned colleagues last night by declaring that the Coalition could break up before the election and indicating that he has private ‘red lines’ that would prompt him to walk out of the Cabinet. In an act of open rebellion, the Business Secretary made a bid to be Chancellor in a Labour government and savaged his Tory coalition colleagues. Mr Cable said it is ‘a possibility’ that the power sharing deal with the Tories will collapse before 2015 – directly contradicting his leader Nick Clegg, who has repeatedly said the Coalition will survive until polling day. The veteran minister also faced Tory anger last night after dismissing his Conservative colleagues as ‘nasty’, ‘callous’ and ‘ugly’ opportunists” – Daily Mail

• Cable is the most disloyal and dishonest politician of our times – Stephen Glover, Daily Mail
• Now it’s the Lib Dems who talk of power and the Tories who plot – Benedict Brogan, Daily Telegraph
• Nick Clegg is becoming the heir to Blair – Rachel Sylvester, The Times (£)
• Lib Dems can reconcile head with heart – Guardian Editorial
• Lib Dems accidentally leak tax document – Daily Telegraph
• Lib Dems plan tax rises for the “very wealthy” – Daily Telegraph
• Lib Dems wage war on motorists – Daily Mail

>Today: ToryDiary: Lib Dems in Glasgow cannot hide harmony in Downing Street

Sale of Lloyds shares seen as vote of confidence in UK

“The UK government on Monday launched the reprivatisation of Lloyds Banking Group with the sale of £3.3bn of shares in the bank, marking a momentous turnround in the UK’s fortunes after the financial crisis. Five years to the day since Lloyds’ disastrous takeover of HBOS, which led to its £21bn bailout, the Treasury is set to make a profit of at least £60m on the sale of 6 per cent of the bank. The sale – the UK’s second-biggest share placing ever – is a milestone in Lloyds’ recovery…It is also a potent symbol of the UK’s return to health after a catastrophic failure in financial markets brought the banking industry to the brink of collapse in October 2008” – Financial Times

Women "feel alienated by David Cameron"

“Should David Cameron lose the next election, it will be because women deserted him. That is the stark finding of a piece of research this week showing the extent to which Mr Cameron now has a problem with women. Mr Cameron has not always had a problem with women. Three years ago, when the public perception was of a normal ‘kinda’ guy who took his children to school and made it home for bath-time, 36 per cent of women backed the Tories, compared to 31 per cent for Labour. But a new Ipsos Mori survey for Mumsnet this week showed that only 29 per cent of women support the Tories, compared to a figure for Labour of 42 per cent” – Melissa Kite, Daily Mail David Cameron: we must preserve the memory of the Holocaust - Daily Telegraph

Tim Loughton condemned for attack on childless Sarah Teather

“Tory MP Tim Loughton has been vilified for saying that Sarah Teather was a bad families minister as she had no family of her own…He described his frustration that Ms Teather had refused to take seriously his arguments for a married tax allowance. ‘The person who was actually in charge of family policy amongst the ministerial team at the DfE was Sarah Teather. Which was a bit difficult because she doesn’t really believe in family,’ Mr Loughton told the Conservative Renewal conference in Windsor. ‘She certainly didn’t produce one of her own. So it became a bit of a family-free zone. I think that is a huge disappointment” – The Times (£)

Iain Duncan Smith warns Tories to stop “finger-wagging” at the unmarried and the poor

“Conservative must stop ‘finger-wagging’ at the unmarried and the poor, Iain Duncan Smith declared yesterday. He warned the ‘harsh punitive language’ used by some in the past had wrongly given the impression the Tories did not care about poverty. The Work and Pensions Secretary added that the party would win more support for marriage if it stopped attacking people whose ‘lifestyles don’t fit’. Mr Duncan Smith said voters responded better to ‘less finger-wagging, more arm around the shoulder’ when talking about social issues” – Daily Mail

• Daniel Pelka tortured and killed after social work blunders – The Times (£)
• Bishop attacks Michael Gove on use of food banks – The Times (£)

The Sun calls for a partial ban on wearing the veil 

“British justice must be transparent. And religious belief cannot trump the law of the land. That is why Judge Peter Murphy was dead right to demand that a Muslim woman remove her full-face veil to give evidence at her trial…The Sun also believes niqabs have no place in hospitals or schools…We would ban veils in other areas too, such as airports and banks, where covered faces are a security threat…The Sun believes that in a British street people should wear what they like” – The Sun Says

• Judge compromises over niqab - Guardian
• Veils in court are a barrier to justice – Daily Telegraph Comment
• Spare us a national debate over veils – Simon Jenkins, Guardian

Euroscepticism rises in Germany, France, Italy and Spain

“There has been a sharp increase in Euroscepticism among four of the big European Union players, according to a new poll…While most people questioned still consider membership was good, there was a significant increase in those saying it was bad for their country, according to the French daily La Croix. In Spain, 37 per cent of respondents said EU membership was a bad thing, up from 26 per cent in June 2012, rising to 43 per cent in France (from 38 percent), 44 per cent in eurozone powerhouse Germany (from 36 per cent) and 45 per cent in Italy (from 39 per cent)” – The Times (£)

• Ignore the doomsayers: Europe is being fixed – Wolfgang Schäuble, Financial Times
• There is an alternative to Angela Merkel – Andrew Gimson, The Times (£)
• Miliband and Clegg should not promise an EU referendum – Janan Ganesh, Financial Times
• EU wants to ban Union flag from being displayed on meat reared in Britain – Daily Mail

News in brief

• Thirteen dead in shooting spree at US Navy HQ – Guardian
• Ban Ki-moon says gas attacks in Syria were “war crime” – Daily Telegraph
• Billy Connolly has prostate cancer and Parkinson’s disease - Independent
• Costa Concordia declared vertical – Daily Telegraph

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