News digest 22 September 2011
The digest starts with anger over plans to
exit national agreements, followed by good and bad news on
pensions. Clegg closed the Lib Dem conference with no idea of Plan
B, while the Bank of England looks at QE, PFI hospitals could be
under threat of collapse while new nurses are told they can’t care
but should not go back to the classroom. There’s a challenge over
legal aid while Gove may have to open up his private email, Halifax
offers a little extra while SABMiller snares Foster’s, Eurostar’s
on track, Bombardier gets on a shortlist and BA’s new campaign
takes off…
Pay protesters storm station
– Some 300 electricians occupied a construction site at London’s
Farringdon station yesterday over plans by rogue bosses to slash
wages by up to 35 per cent and pull out of an industry wide
agreement. Unite backed the workers and said it would ballot its
own members for strike action if companies continue to attack
national agreements (Morning Star p1,
Unite campaign).
Good and bad on pensions -
There is some good news in the Telegraph (b2) and FT (p21) from the Pension Protection Fund
which says it will reduce its levy next year by £50 million to £550
million and is on target to be self sufficient by 2030. Although
unions held fresh talks with council leaders over changes to public
sector pensions the move towards ballots continues with all the
main unions preparing the groundwork ahead of the planned day of
action on 30 November. Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said:
“Public sector workers, many of them lowly paid, are
being relentlessly and unfairly targeted by the
government.” Unions are also expected to meet
government ministers today in a separate attempt to resolve the
issue (Mirror p2, Morning Star p2,
Unite campaign).
Clegg’s challenge – Talking
of ministers deputy prime minister Nick Clegg closed the Lib Dem
conference in Birmingham with a flagship speech that was generally
well received in the hall, poorly reviewed by most tabloid papers
and flagged when looking at the detail. Clegg attacked Labour over
the economy, the Tories over the NHS (even though many in his party
voted for the bill) said people should understand why he voted to
increase tuition fees (“I failed to explain there were
no easy options”) and that the Lib Dems are making a
difference and not providing cover for the Tory’s right wing
ideological agenda of cutting back the state. And while he praised
the values of trade unions in supporting workers and fighting for
fairness he attacked unions for trying to buy influence even as he
scuttles to try and resolve his own party’s funding crisis. Nailing
his colours to the Conservative cuts’ mast the main message was
Britain faces a "long, hard road" to
economic recovery under the Plan A for austerity (Mirror p9, Sun p2, Express p4/12, Mail p8/9, Times p14/15, Indie p4-7, Guardian p6-8, Telegraph p12, FT p1/2, Morning Star p3).
Interest rates to drop? – As
economic data worsens details of the last UK monetary policy
committee meeting show members discussed whether UK interest rates
should be cut further as a means to stimulate the economy. Another
round of quantitative easing is also being considered – estimated
at £100 billion - but there are concerns over the economy’s past
performance and productivity, the shortage of credit for small
business, oil supply pressures and a contracting banking sector
(Express p2, Mail p4, Indie p37, Telegraph b10, FT p4).
‘Operation Twist’ to turn around the
economy – The US yesterday acted to stave off a fresh
slump by launching a $400 billion ‘Operation Twist’ which aims to
keep interest rates down for struggling businesses and homeowners
by buying up longer term bonds and selling off shorter term debt
(Sun p6, Express p50, Mail p4/66, Times p41, Indie p37, Guardian p1, Telegraph b1, FT p8).
Public finances worsen –
Higher government spending pushed borrowing to record levels as the
public finances deteriorated last month. Public sector borrowing
hit £15.9 billion in August prompting warnings that net borrowing
for the financial year will exceed the government’s £122 billion
target. Time for a Plan B? (Sun p7, Express p2, Mail p66, Times p47, Indie p38, Telegraph b4, FT p1/2, Morning Star p4)
Tax gap remains a chasm – HM
Revenues and Customs said Britain lost £35 billion in uncollected
taxes last year, equivalent to 7.9 per cent of GDP (Express p5, Mail p21, Guardian p10, Telegraph b5).
NHS scheme to be scrapped –
More vanishing money as the £12.7 billion computer scheme to be
ended after years of delays, technical difficulties, contractual
disputes and rising costs (Mail p1, Guardian p4).
Hospitals on the brink of
collapse – The Telegraph (p1) splashes with the
story that hospitals are being crippled by debt as the cost of the
PFI contracts becomes increasingly unaffordable and patient care is
hit.
Nurses don’t care? – The
Times (p1) reports that
the chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing argues many new
nurses arrive in hospital with poor caring skills as they spend too
much time in the classroom and not enough time on the
wards.
Blood and guts protests – UK
Uncut is planning to set up a mock surgery and ask protesters to
lie in pools of blood on London’s Westminster Bridge on 9 October,
three days before the House of Lords votes on the next stage of the
Health and Social Care bill (Mirror p14, Indie p20).
Legal aid challenge – The
Indie (p18) also
reports that the charity Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA)
has issued a judicial review against the government over cuts to
legal aid for patients left physically or mentally damaged after
operations after the NHS Litigation Authority said it doubted that
‘private’ or ‘no win, no fee’ claims’ firms would not take on their
cases which could weaken clinical safety in the long term.
Claimant cuts announced before bill
passed – And the Guardian (p15) reports that the
Department for Work and Pensions is sending letters for claimants
saying their benefits may be cut from next year even though the
bill has not passed all its parliamentary stages, how nice.
Ministers to reveal personal
emails? – The Indie (p1), Telegraph (p2) and FT (p3) note education secretary Michael
Gove seems to have opened a new can or worms for ministers after
concerns over government business and decisions being hidden from
officials, could Gove be for the push in the coming reshuffle?
Murdoch execs told of hacking evidence
in 2006 – If Gove won’t reveal his sources then perhaps
News International may be able to help after the Indie (p1) says it has
uncovered new evidence about what senior figures knew about the
widespread level of hacking with more than one ‘rogue’ journalist
involved. Could more heads roll?
HP to dump another chief
exec? – Hewlett Packard’s board is considering whether to
replace chief executive Leo Apotheker after less than a year in his
job following accusations the company was floundering in its market
strategy; shares jumped 9 per cent as a result (Times p41, Guardian p27, Telegraph b1, FT p24).
A little Xtra – Better news
from the Halifax - part of Lloyds Banking Group – which is to give
savers the chance to win £500,000 a month. From December anyone
with £5,000 invested in the bank could scoop one of 1,100 prizes
(Mirror p53, Sun p52, Mail p19, Telegraph b10).
Fracking well - From Halifax
to Blackpool which could soon become Dallas-on-sea as a number of
papers report that after drilling exploratory wells a field has
been discovered that could hold some 200 trillion cubic feet of gas
(equal to the kind of reserves of big energy exporters like
Venezuela). Although there are concerns about the method of
extraction - which could cause earthquakes – it would go some way
to counteract the falling North Sea reserves (Indie p3, Guardian p1, Telegraph b1, FT p4).
Wham bar maker hit – Famous
Scottish sweetmaker Millar McCowan’s has gone into administration
putting over 100 jobs at risk. The company behind Highland Toffee
and Wham bars has faced losses despite selling some 140 million
bars a year (Guardian p29,
Morning Star
p4).
SAB Miller snares Foster’s -
Brewing giant SABMiller agrees to buy Foster's in a deal that
values Australia's largest brewer at some £6.54 billion, slightly
higher than the original offer in June. The deal is expected to be
finalised by the end of the year, although Foster’s has an A$99
million break clause if it gets a higher rival offer. The purchase
does not include the Foster's lager brand in the UK and Europe,
where it is owned by Heineken (Express p51, Mail p67, Times p45, Indie p40, Guardian p29, Telegraph b1, FT p19/21).
Eurostar on right track –
Still on the continent and Eurostar’s chief executive Nicolas
Petrovic interviewed in the Mail (p69) on his targets and the
hope for achieving 10 million passengers this year.
Shortlist for Bombardier –
Train manufacturer has been shortlisted for a top manufacturing
award rather than a contract; judges from the Institute of
Mechanical Engineers’ Manufacturing Excellence Awards are visiting
the Derby factory today (Mirror p19)
Heathrow to fall behind
rivals – BAA study shows that Heathrow will fall behind
Paris and Frankfurt to become Europe’s third busiest airport within
10 years unless the government acts to free up more capacity
(Times p49, Indie p42, Guardian p, Telegraph p4, FT p4).
BA’s new campaign takes
flight – And finally the Guardian (p40), Telegraph (p10-11) and FT (p3) have adverts with a new spirit of
harmony at British Airways as the company launched its new
advertising campaign based on the ‘To Fly. To Serve’ strapline. BA
announced it is investing more than £5 billion in aircraft, smarter
cabins and lounges. This time it will be working with cabin crew
who are expected to have a key role as the campaign is rolled out,
shows what you can do when you work with unions and not against
them, pity that our political leaders don’t seem to be
listening…
Edited by Mik Sabiers
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