News digest 28 March 2011
The digest starts with further coverage of
Saturday’s march, while the government sails on with its cuts,
take-home pay is falling, high fees become the norm, the roads
empty, pubs close, but the rich may get a tax cut. There’s anger
over AV, Clegg lays down a challenge while on the international
front the Libyan crisis worsens and Japan is hit by another –
fortunately weaker – earthquake…
March for the Alternative –
Coverage of Saturday’s march is featured across most of the papers.
The Mirror (p8-9) calls it
the real coalition and estimates that up to 450,000 were on the
march which took most people over four hours to wind their way
though London’s streets to call on the government to think again.
However the Sun (p10),
Express (p19) Mail (p8-9), Times (p6-9) all focus on the
small group of rioters while the Indie (p6-7) looks at
recriminations afterwards. It’s left to the Guardian (p12-13) to highlight
that the coalition is sticking to its guns, the Telegraph (p4) bashes Miliband
and the BBC while the FT (p2) also
stresses the issues for Miliband. The Morning Star (p1-3)
quotes Unite general secretary Len McCluskey receiving repeated
roars of approval: “Unless they drop their cuts and
drop the NHS bill, this will be their poll tax…” and
calling for the campaign to move to the next stage “Let
our battle cry ring out around the country – fight and fight again
until justice is achieved.”
Cuts bite – And many of the
papers report on tonight’s BBC Panorama which has uncovered the
fact that UK workers are now £1,000 worse off than in 2009 as pay
cuts and freezes combined with rising inflation have hit take home
pay for ordinary working people, and this is before the coalition
cuts start to bite (Sun p2,
Express p4, Mail p8, Indie p10, Telegraph p12).
Fees rise – And both the
Times (p4), and
Guardian (p10) report that
75 per cent of universities have said that they will charge the
maximum £9,000 a year for students, despite the fact that the
government said this level of fees would be the exception. In
another case of non-joined up thinking this will also cost the
treasury more as the government pays the fees up front and only
claims the money back after students graduate…
Forced off the road – And the
Sun (p6) says rising fuel
prices have forced a fifth of car drivers off the road according to
government figures…
Calling time – And bad news
if you want to escape for a swift half as the Sun (p2) and Express (p27) says one pub is
closing every day as the cuts bite…
Mansion tax under review –
And while thousands marched business secretary Vince Cable talks up
the review of the 50p tax rate which the coalition wants to
abolish, saying that mansion tax on the most expensive homes may be
brought in as an alternative, what’s the bet the 50p rate is
abolished but the tax never comes in (Mirror p21, Sun p2, Mail p4, Times p14, Guardian p1, Telegraph p2).
Lloyds deal – The Sun (p2), Express (p44) and FT (p20) say the bank is close to agreeing
a £20 billion loan deal that will help it offload some 600
branches; the bank needs to plug a debt gap before it can sell the
business and branches. The Mail (p58) also notes that a
group of small investors – Lloyds Action Now - plan to sue the bank
over the merger with HBoS which they say cost them up to £2
billion.
Carbon tax challenge – And
the Times (p33) says
the government’s carbon tax – announced during last week’s budget -
will generate a supply shortage according to power station
chiefs…
Alternative vote anger – And
the Times (p16) and
Indie (p15) both report
that climate change secretary Chris Huhne has launched a broadside
at fellow cabinet member Baroness Warsi over the AV campaign
accusing her of gutter politics, this from the main who coined the
phrase calamity Clegg…
No tomatoes – Talking of
whom, Nick Clegg is interviewed in the FT (p3) and on his popularity says that no
one is hurling tomatoes at him yet, well that would be childish
wouldn’t it, and says his party now holds a commanding
position…
Fib Dems? – Back in the real
world a Lib Dem MSP, Hugh O’Donnell, quits the party saying it was
“neither Liberal nor Democratic” and the Mirror (p20) puts the boot in noting
Clegg is considering changing the name of the party to shore up its
standing as rumours of a challenge to his leadership rise.
Libyan rebels advance – Back
on international affairs most of the papers report on the latest in
Libya with air strikes targeting Gadaffi’s tank columns as worries
start to rise of a drawn out conflict that could lead to
instability across the region (Mirror p6, Sun p10, Express p19, Mail p10, Times p1/6-9, Indie p1/4-5, Guardian p1/4-5, Telegraph p8-9, FT p3, Morning Star p5).
easyJet chief under fire –
The Telegraph (b3)
reports that easyJet’s chief executive has defended the company’s
decision to launch a new route to Jordan in the midst of
anti-government protests, while the FT (p21) notes that the company is looking
to expand into the business market by upping its offer for
travellers between London and Switzerland and France.
Fear over fume leaks – And
Mirror (p16) reports a
former Qantas pilot has claimed that people are getting sick on
planes contaminated by fume leaks, citing some 270 incidents
recorded since 2006.
Confusion over leaks – And as
another earthquake – fortunately weaker - hits Japan fears over
radiation continue. Shades of Chernobyl cover ups are appearing as
the government takes the company to task, it is still too early to
tell what the impact really is but 600 workers are continuing to
try and prevent the disaster getting worse (Mirror p22, Express p24, Times p25, Indie p26, Guardian p16, Telegraph p15, FT p8, Morning Star p6).
Edited by Mik
Sabiers
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