News digest 27 January 2012

Today’s digest opens with Unite calling on the government to intervene to help keep the Coryton refinery open and safeguard the 1,000 jobs at stake as well as fuels supplies to the south east of England. Talking of fuel there is the continuation of strike action by the jet tanker drivers who have announced another seven days of follow up action, while the first wave of the Unilever strike is nearing a close with reps boosted by the news that the Unite Welsh regional committee has donated £5,000 to the strike fund. Unilever workers yesterday left for the world economic forum at Davos, the gathering of the so-called ‘great and the good’ is being co-chaired by Unilever chief executive Paul Polman; Updates from the workers can be read on the Unite twitter feed.

And talking of the ‘great and the good’ at the opposite end of the scale is the bonus for RBS boss Paul Hester who has been awarded shares valued at almost £1 million. Will Osborne, who is speaking in Davos today, make any move to control the bonus of the boss of what is an 82 per cent owned state bank? No chance.

Cameron who was also at Davos decided to take the eurozone to task for its economic plans, although that’s a bit rich when growth has vanished in the economy and also in Davos the head of the Prudential attacks the minimum wage saying it makes it harder to employ young people, soon they’ll want us all to be interns…

The lack of action on the economy and bonuses is also echoed by research showing 700,000 manufacturing jobs have vanished since 2007 and with the Thameslink deal delayed again this shows where the government’s real priorities lie. Clegg did say he will try and hasten raising the income tax threshold to £10,000, but you can’t believe his pledges so don’t expect that to happen especially as papers also report that in the real world the cuts are biting as high street sales slump to the lowest level in three years , the number of police has fallen by 6,000 and waits at A&E are lengthening just as Andrew Lansley decides to lay into the BMA over attacks on his health and social care bill…

And while it would be time for Labour to step up to the mark, Peter Mandelson has some choice words for Ed Miliband especially as the Indie reports that even Tory MPs think the UK economy won’t get better, Labour should be listening more to people on the ground rather than advisers, but the news is getting gloomier as the days go on and Osbornomics points down for ordinary people while its business as usual for the City fat cats…

Today’s front pages
Mirror: Siberian weather to hit UK	Sun: Insult over Amy (Winehouse)
Express: Big freeze to last a month	Mail: £1 million reward for failure
Times: French poll puts City in firing line	Indie: Collapse of £30 million police corruption trial
Guardian: BBC boss to quit after eight years	Telegraph: Paying cash in hand ‘diddling the country’
FT: Cameron attacks eurozone	Morning Star: Youth deaths in custody