News digest 13 June 2011
The digest starts with the expected
outcome of the Con-Dem coalition’s listening exercise on the NHS,
before a set of government U-turns, strikes in Southampton, the
threat of 15,000 more job cuts at Lloyds even while banks are
hitting their targets. There’s good news for the Midlands, but bad
news on farms and sibling rivalry comes back to haunt the Labour
leader, will he juggle his priorities…
NHS Future Forum – At 2pm
today the report into the NHS pause will be published by professor
Steve Field. Unite’s Rachel Maskell said: “It is time
to scrap the bill and conduct a proper review of what is needed for
the long- term needs of the NHS and our nation’s health, rather
than rush through a biased, lop-sided listening
exercise.” Many of the papers have deputy prime
minister Nick Clegg claiming the credit for watering down the
changes which are expected to see the deadline for new GP
consortiums – which will also include hospital doctors and nurses -
relaxed, and the health service regulator, Monitor, will promote
patient interests not competition. Dr Ron Singer from Unite’s
Medical Practitioners Union argues on
Left Foot Forward that the proposed amendments may actually
make the changes more toxic, so is Clegg being lined up as
Cameron’s lightning conductor after Lansley walks the plank?
(Mirror p6, Sun p2, Express p4, Mail p10, Times p9, Indie p12, Guardian p2, Telegraph p1, FT p2, Morning Star p1/9,
Unite
release)
Benefit backtrack – And
another government U-turn is trailed as a sop to the Lib Dems as
Tory ministers backtrack on the pledge to cap state benefits to a
maximum of £26,000 a year. The original pledge followed lots of
extreme examples of large workless families living on benefits
featuring in the right wing tabloids (Express p2, Mail p1, Guardian p9, Telegraph p1, FT p1).
Bins backtrack – The Mirror (p8), Mail (p4) and Telegraph (p1) also all report on
another U-turn on the return of weekly council bin collections as
communities secretary Eric Pickles came under pressure from a host
of Tory councils to scrap the pledge as cuts hit council
finances…
Strikers on the streets – And
action continues in Southampton where there will be a mass rally
through the town today against the council’s forced changes to pay,
terms and conditions. Action is also spreading as Unite members at
Lincolnshire council start action short of strike today joining
Unison members who are already on work to rule to save their jobs
(Morning Star p3
Unite
release).
MoD police cut back – And
with up to a 1,000 jobs at risk the Times (p4) reports that the
Defence Police Federation’s chair, Eamon Keating, will tell the
organisation’s conference that the cuts are irresponsible.
15,000 more Lloyds jobs to
go? – And talking of cuts, many of the papers report on a
strategic review by Lloyds Banking group boss Antonio Horta-Osario
who is looking to make a further £1 billion in savings. The
taxpayer backed bank could see another 15,000 job cuts on top of
the 27,000 that have already gone, the review is due to be
announced on 30 June, the day when many public sector workers will
be demonstrating to defend their jobs (Sun p12, Express p7/36, Mail p53, Indie p31p, Telegraph b1).
Lending targets hit – But it
looks like the banks will avoid any sanction from the business
secretary as the FT (p1) reports
that business minister Mark Frisk disclosed that the actual lending
targets are about 10 per cent below the official £19 billion a
quarter one published in the Project Merlin accord, meaning last
quarter’s lending of £16.8 billion to small and medium sized
enterprises hits the target (and bonuses can be paid).
Bad banks – And in more
banking news the Express
(p1) and Mail (p12) say
that payments to customers that were wrongly sold payment
protection insurance could come within weeks while the Mirror (p6) warns consumers about
listening to your bank saying Barclays was fined £7.7 million over
bad advice…
Barclays finalises split –
And the Telegraph (b1)
also reports that Barclays is at an advanced stage of planning so
that it will be able to quickly split off its retail business to
ring fence depositors’ money if – as likely – the Independent
Commission on Banking orders such a move.
IMF hack attack – And as
French finance minister Christine Lagarde builds her campaign to
lead the IMF, the bank reports it was under sustained attack from
hackers over the weekend (Mirror p2, Times p31, Indie p23).
Hold interest rates – And the
UK’s central bank is expected to leave interest rates on hold this
week as a number of papers report that even with rising inflation –
British Gas is expected to announce a hike in prices soon - workers
are not seeing wage rises as the jobs market worsens (Sun p12, Express p36, Mail p2, Times p11, Indie p32, Telegraph p11).
Midlands moves ahead – Better
economic news for the East Midlands which has replaced the South
East as the fastest growing English region according to the Lloyds
TSB regional PMI, although output growth slowed in eight of the
nine regions (Sun p2,
Times p31, Telegraph b2).
In fear of farms – From
manufacturing to farming and the Guardian (p4) reports that
agriculture has the poorest safety record of any industry, 750
people have died on farms in the last 16 years and there remains
gross under-reporting of non fatal injuries, the main cause of
accidents include farm transport, falls from height and dangerous
machinery.
In fear of fraternity – And
finally most of the papers report on the return of sibling rivalry
to the Labour party as criticism of Ed Miliband’s leadership
coalesces around David Miliband. Many of the papers speculate on Ed
Miliband having to take a harder line, today he makes an
announcement on council housing saying that Labour wants to become
that party that ‘rewards contribution, not worklessness.’ After
Blair’s book last week a new biography says that David and Ed are
still barely on speaking terms after the fallout of the leadership
contest, although the best quote about David’s ambitions is
actually from Diane Abbott who says: “It’s like people
forget the photo of David Miliband with a banana.”
Nevertheless is some machinating going on in the background, the
other Ed (Balls) has a big spread in the Mirror (p10) about the coalition’s
threat to the economy and the need for a ‘plan B’. Does he mean the
economy or himself? (Mirror
p8-9, Sun p1, Express p2, Mail p7, Times p3, Indie p6, Guardian p1, Telegraph p1, FT p2, Morning Star p3)
Edited by Mik
Sabiers
Subscribe to this post's comments using
RSS
Comments
