News digest 6 February 2012
It’s a cold start to the week with much of the country
blanketed in snow which brings mixed reports with children
sleighing on the front of the Indie but travel chaos for many
others. Quite a few of the papers report on the cancellation of a
third of flights from Heathrow airport yesterday; that sees a push
for reopening the proposals for a third runway by Peter McKay in
the Mail.
Shifting from air to rail and the Morning Star leads with
reports that Britain’s railways are the worst in Europe saying they
cost more, are slower and less comfortable than on the continent
according to research from the Just Economics think tank. However
the main rail story is related to bonuses for Network Rail’s senior
staff as the government says it will vote against the £20 million
pay pot at this week’s AGM.
Even more extreme bonuses can be expected
later this week as Barclays prepares to release its latest results,
a number of papers report that Barclays boss Bob Diamond is in line
for some £11 million as the bank rakes in profits of £685,000 an
hour. The TUC is calling for tax relief for the fat cats to be
scrapped which could help to generate another billion for the
exchequer every year, while the head of the CBI condemns the
anti-business rhetoric of politicians, but don’t expect any action
from Cameron and his chums.
Talking of which the government is taken
to task by the Labour party which is finally pushing its NHS
campaign. Labour has unearthed figures that show 3,500 nurses have
been axed since the Con-Dems took power, and another 2,500 are
under threat, while the government is wasting £1.8 billion on its
proposals to rip up the NHS. Time to kill the bill.
Away from the NHS and there are mixed
messages from industry, while the FT reports that small, niche
manufacturers are doing well, the Guardian and other papers report
on the collapse in confidence among smaller firms overall as the
economy worsens and the feared double-dip nears. The FT adds one
boon for UK based producers; UK companies are now ‘reshoring’ or
starting to buy British, primarily because wages in China are
starting to rise, sterling is falling and some technical advances
make UK goods more competitive. It is also national apprenticeship
week so hopefully there’ll be more of a focus on skills and
learning a trade.
In terms of learning the new head of
Ofsted has put his foot in it by saying that 1 in 4 school heads
was below par, that will really help, and in terms of putting the
boot in the Indie reports that the civil service has been hit by an
exodus of top staff, with turnover as high as 30 per cent in some
departments; health, Defra and education have been most affected as
well as the cabinet office, is it any surprise when you look at the
bills emanating from the ministries – goodbye to the NHS; the AWB,
Sure Start centres and fair pensions for public sector
workers.
And finally if you want to put the boot in
yourself, and if you have a spare £120 million, you could buy the
esteemed Dr Martens. The iconic shoemaker is on the market after
the R Griggs group, which has owned the brand for 50 years, put it
up for sale yesterday; no news on whether a consortium of skinheads
and punks plans to place a joint bid…
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Today’s front pages
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Mirror: Amada Holden’s baby
(celeb story)
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Sun: Fabio: FA wrong to sack
John Terry
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Express: Freeze chaos to get
worse
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Mail: Now for the big
freeze
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Times: Ministers urge rail
chief to scrap bonuses
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Indie: Civil service hit by
staff exodus
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Guardian: Anti-disabled abuse
fuelled by benefit cuts
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Telegraph: Half of all
flights held at Heathrow
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FT: Glencore pays more to win
Xstrata
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Morning Star: Official: UK
railways worst in Europe
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Daily Mirror
Sun
Express
Mail
Times (no links all
stories behind paywall)
- Ministers urge rail chiefs to scrap £20 million bonus pot
(p1)
- Snowbound Britain braces for big freeze (p4-5)
- Welfare cap could hurt vulnerable, says Cameron’s adviser
(p6)
- Save 6,000 nurses by dropping health bill (p14)
- Huhne under pressure to refuse pay off (p15)
- Tesco defiant after delaying move into banking (p33) [Current
account launch delayed 12 months]
- Bigger discounts mean bigger sales, but can the high street
afford it? (p37)
- Engine of economy beginning to splutter (p37) [Small company
confidence drops]
- Apprentice benefits (p39) [National apprenticeship week starts
today]
- Telefonica chief, Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallette interviewed
(p42-43)
Indie
Guardian
Telegraph
FT (no links all stories behind
paywall)
- Glencore pays more to win Xstrata (p1)
- Rating agencies raise doubts on Scotland securing AAA status
(p1)
- Rail chief warns of Olympic failures (p1)
- Cameron pressed on bank pay (p2)
- Essex leads move towards mutuals in NHS care (p2)
- Heathrow ‘e-gates’ at risk (p3)
- Heavy snow causes havoc for travellers (p3)
- Industry switches to buying British (p4)
- Minister defends aid to Indian amid trade row (p4)
- Mood among small and medium sized companies gloomy, says CBI
(p4)
- Greece takes step closer to default (p8)
- Madrid prepares water and rail sell-off (p20)
- Findus break-up talks reach advanced stage (p21)
- Pension liabilities hit US blue-chip earnings (p21)
- RBS looks to defend SME lending record (p22)
- Niche spells success for UK manufacturers (p23)
Morning Star
Edited by Mik
Sabiers
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