News digest 18 November 2011
The digest opens with a resounding yes to
action over public sector pensions. The other main story of the day
is the government offloading Northern Rock where Branson has got
himself a good deal. Cameron is slammed by the CBI and escapes to
Berlin as the MoD is taken to task over value for money or lack of.
Bombardier’s boss calls on the government to act while police force
out the Occupy protesters and there’s a surprise rise in retail
sales, but is it all down to the Poles?
Public sector pensions - Unite votes
yes – Hundreds of thousands more workers will join the day
of action on 30 November. Unite yesterday announced its members
voted three–to-one in favour of strike action over changes to
public sector pensions. The turnout was 31 per cent. Unite general
secretary Len McCluskey said: "Yet again public sector
workers are telling the government that ‘enough is enough’ ... on
30 November we fully expect millions of public sector workers
and their supporters to show their disgust at the government's
plans. If the government seriously wants to avert a long dispute
and heal the divisions it is causing, it needs to get back round
the table with some sensible plans for solving the problems it
alone has caused." (Mirror p37, Sun p2, Express p11, Mail p, Indie p28,
Guardian p20, Telegraph p12, FT p4, BBC, Sky, Unite
release)
Branson buys Northern Rock –
North east based bank sold to Virgin Money for £747 million. The
Telegraph (b4) reports
that “audible cheers” were heard from
staff at the bank’s Newcastle headquarters, but the vast majority
of papers focus on the price with the Mirror (p110) headlining its story
as ‘Rock Bottom’ noting that the government pumped in £1.4
billion to prop up the bank so has lost as much as £650 million on
the deal as it currently stands, that will be good for balancing
the books. Virgin Money has at least committed to no further
compulsory redundancies for at least three years, the retention of
branches and also making Newcastle the operational base for Virgin
Money. All in all looks like Branson has negotiated another good
deal with Osborne, but then
Branson did back the Tory cuts in the 2010 election… (Sun p4, Express p2/23, Mail p13-14, Indie p8, Guardian p8-9, FT p1, Morning Star p1, Unite
release)
CBI slams Cameron – The
Sun’s (p68) business pages
says CBI chief John Cridland has slammed the government’s economic
plans saying the government is prepared to find money for weekly
bin collections but not to back a CBI scheme to find jobs for
100,000 young people (Guardian p40, FT p4). The Mirror (p15) looks into the impact
of government actions in more detail and says the axing of Labour’s
Future Jobs Fund and the removal of funds to guarantee work or
training for young people out of work for over six months accounts
for half of the rise in young unemployed, seems like complacency
and Cameron go hand in hand…
Cameron escapes to Berlin –
Youth unemployment in Germany is 9.2 per cent compared to Britain’s
21.9 per cent rate. UK prime minister David Cameron heads to Berlin
for talks with German chancellor Angela Merkel, but not about jobs
more about pressures in the eurozone. Cameron is expected to offer
backing for EU reforms but is still fighting against the Robin Hood
tax. It will be another nervous few days for the eurozone as bond
yields continued to rise yesterday, Italy’s new prime minister
Mario Monti warns of ‘sacrifices’ and Spain’s general election
campaign draws to a close. The real story is that a two-speed
Europe is starting to emerge and a leaked German memo hints at
radical plans for tighter fiscal union. That would require a treaty
change but Cameron is running scared of his commitment and trying
to say Germany would block any UK referendum or is another U-turn
on the way? (Mirror p9,
Sun p2, Express p9, Mail p2, Indie p10, Guardian p4, Telegraph p1, FT p1, Morning Star p6)
Lansley U-turn on waiting
times – Actually, just 18 months into its existence
and the Con-Dem government is almost in double figures for U-turns.
The latest shift is a new time limit for patient waiting times
after figures showed that there had been a 40 per cent rise in
patients waiting 18 weeks for treatment (Mirror p11, Sun p2, Mail p9, Guardian p1/16-17, Telegraph p6, FT p3).
MoD spent £600 million on
consultants – The Mirror (p4) and Guardian (p31) report that cash
supposed to be used on equipment was instead spent on hiring
hundreds of outside specialists and consultants, even worse
documents showed that defence officials made little or no effort to
ensure that the contracts offered value for money. New defence
secretary Philip Hammond said he was aware of the issue, but the
reality seems to be that too many cuts made the department reliant
on outside suppliers costing more in the long run, remind you of a
certain government’s growth plan?
Bombardier chairman calls on
government to act – The Guardian (p41) reports the
outgoing head of Bombardier’s British train manufacturing
operation, Colin Walton, has warned the future of the Derby plant
and 1,500 jobs depends on securing two government contracts for
trains for CrossCountry and also for Southern. Down to transport
secretary Justine Greening to make the right decision, believe it
when I see it…
Police slam May’s plans – The
Mirror (p4) also reports
that police chiefs yesterday slammed home secretary Theresa May’s
plans to axe asbos saying they would make it harder to keep order,
especially after riots.
Fortnum protesters convicted
– Ten members of UK Uncut have been convicted of aggravated
trespass after more than 150 protesters occupied Fortnum &
Mason in March, all 10 will appeal and will no doubt be helped by
the judge who said ‘history will vindicate your act’ (Indie p25, Guardian p15, Telegraph p5).
Occupy forced out – As the St
Paul’s protesters remain encamped with the threat of eviction
hanging over them the US police are getting more aggressive in
moving off the Occupy Wall Street protesters and clearing the
streets of New York (Mirror
p14, Sun p2, Indie p45, Telegraph p4, Morning Star p1).
Surprise retail sales rise –
High streets in the UK offered a mixed picture as UK retail sales
unexpectedly rose by 0.6 per cent in October according to the
Office for National Statistics. The figure was boosted by
promotions and discounting by retailers but accountants Deloitte
said the next two years will be tough for retailers, and many
analysts questioned the accuracy of the government figures
(Mirror p62, Mail p93, Indie p66, Telegraph b2, FT p4).
UK car production
jumps – 14 per cent increase in production last month with
British factories producing 128,654 new cars (Indie p69, Morning Star p5).
Axe Air Passenger Duty – Four
top airlines yesterday urged ministers to axe the tax on trips
saying it was damaging UK tourism and trade (Mirror p62, Sun p4, Guardian p41).
Iceland sale
frozen for now – Auction of food retailer
has been put on the back burner as second round bids have put back
to January 2012; the price tag is some believed to be £1.5 billion
(FT p18).
Diageo’s double – The
FT (p18) reports foreign markets
continue to support drinks maker Diageo. US consumers trading up to
premium drinks have driven double digit growth at the company.
SABMiller to restrict rises –
The Express (p78), Indie (p68) and FT (p18) all report the brewer is to hold
back on price increase in some of its biggest markets; the company
nevertheless reported a 10 per cent rise in first half revenues to
£9.9 billion and has gained from an advance in demand for Polish
beer Tyskie in the UK - they sell a lot in my neck of the woods in
west London, perhaps that’s why retail sales have risen?
Edited by Mik
Sabiers
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