News digest 18 April 2011
As people gear up for the bank holiday the
digest kicks off with the latest on the AV and election campaigns,
Unite calls for sector forums in Scotland and Cameron’s ‘Big
Society’ is taken to task, as are his words on the NHS, PFI ploughs
on, typical for a bank holiday weekend there’s transport trouble,
but not at BA, the government may drop best before dates while the
Telegraph has found some new government leaks…
AVing a go – The battle
between the yes and no campaigns over the AV referendum is gearing
up. Ed Miliband is featured on the front page of the Indie and says the vote is
about the voting system and not Nick Clegg. The Mirror (p6) focuses on the spat
between Cameron and Cable while the Sun (p6) says ex Labour home
secretary John Reid will share a platform with Cameron later today,
the polls are mixed but currently show the No vote in front, but
there are fears over a low turnout on the no side (Mail p12, Times p3, Guardian p4, Telegraph p1, Morning Star p14).
Election watch – Most of the
papers also focus on the forthcoming elections, there’s some Labour
bashing from most of the right wing papers calling on Labour
councils to spend their reserves to save libraries and other
services (Sun p4, Express p2, Mail p1, Telegraph p1) while the FT (p2) focuses on campaigns in Surrey and
Cardiff and the Guardian
(p10) has an in-depth look at the Scottish elections…
Time for sector forums – Is
the call from Unite ahead of the Scottish TUC conference this week.
Unite has launched a ‘Making Devolution Work’ discussion document
to drive real change in the Scottish economy (Morning Star p3, Unite
release).
Cam’s scam – And then its
back to national issues and the Mirror (p6) and Guardian (p8) both feature the
harsh words from the archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols,
who says that Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ has no teeth and must not be
used to mask cuts.
NHS delay? – And Cameron is
also taken to task about changes to the NHS bill. In what looks
like a means to kick the issue into touch during the election
Cameron has said that consultants can join GPs in the commissioning
consortia and that the changes planned mean the bill could be
delayed for years (Mirror
p2, Mail p12, Telegraph p4).
Delay interest rate rises –
The Item Club has called for interest rate rises to be delayed
saying any increase could have “disastrous” consequences for the
economy (Sun p2, Express p9, Times p3, Guardian p21).
PFI ploughs on – And despite
chancellor Osborne claiming that private finance initiative
projects are poor value for money, the Guardian (p9) and Telegraph (p8) report that the
coalition has gone ahead with 61 projects worth over £6.9 billion
in the past year.
All out at the Jobcentre –
The Express (p2) and
Morning Star (p1)
report on the second wave of strikes by PCS members over the
‘target-driven’ culture at centres across the country.
Green laws labelled as red
tape – And despite Cameron’s supposed green credentials
the review of red tape has alarmed environmentalists as the
Guardian (p1) reports laws
including the Countryside Act which protects animals, birds and
parks could be axed under the review, even the Climate Change Act
could be in danger…
MOT changes to cost jobs –
And in more joined up thinking the Times (p41) reports that
government plans to relax the rules on MOTs for cars could see
40,000 jobs go in garages across the country…
Going nowhere – And a fire on
the M1 means the Easter traffic chaos story is early, the damage
from a fire in a scrap yard under the motorway will take at least
until the end of the week to fix (Sun p11, Express p27, Mail p5, Guardian p7, Telegraph p1).
Going nowhere
II – But the Times (p39) warns that drivers
may have to stay at home as the oil price nears $110 a barrel.
Going nowhere
III – And the Sun (p1) leads with pictures of
Harrier jets waiting to be scrapped even though Britain is
struggling to get enough firepower to attack Gaddafi in Libya.
Going somewhere? – The
Guardian (p20) reports
that talks are to resume between BA and Unite tomorrow
Ballot opens – But the
Times (p34) trails
trouble at Swissport Cargo Services as the ballot for strike action
over the use of agency workers and the imposition of new contracts
begins, BA is not involved.
Little rise for manufacturing
– The Telegraph (b2) say
the average increase in wages in the manufacturing sector is just
2.4 per cent as manufacturers keep the lid on wage deals.
Trouble at mill – The future
of the Mir steel plant in Newport could be in doubt after a legal
challenge cast doubt over its ownership (Times p38).
Trouble at top – Glencore
float also facing friction as rumours that Lord Browne bowed out of
taking the chair at the last minute (Times p33, Telegraph b1).
All change at Asda – And the
Times (p33) also
reports that Asda has overhauled its management as it focuses on
online sales and in financial services as it looks to close the gap
with Tesco.
Best before date to go – And
ministers are considering scrapping best-before and sell-by dates
to stop the amount of food thrown away, some £13.7 billion worth is
chucked in the bin every year (Mirror p8, Express p18, Mail p13).
Whitehall leaks - And no need
to fish through government dustbins for information as the Telegraph (p1) reports that
incompetent handling of government data has seen confidential
documents published online for all to see, the MoD, Department for
Health and Department for Local Government all forgot to properly
redact documents that were posted online after freedom of
information requests, secrets about nuclear submarines were
available for all to see…
Edited by Mik
Sabiers
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