News digest 28 November 2011
The digest opens with more on the day of
action followed by a trail for tomorrow’s comprehensive spending
review. Safety legislation is culled as part of the growth plans
and there’s a backlog of benefit appeals, PFI has proved costly and
government cuts targets are being missed, as the Leveson inquiry
calls Guido Fawkes prisons may soon be silent and while the euro
remains on the critical list the Lib Dems look for some
solace…
Day of action draws closer –
Ahead of millions of workers taking action this Wednesday the war
of words is gathering pace. As a poll commissioned by BBC News suggests more
than six out of 10 people quizzed believe public sector workers are
justified in going on strike over pension changes, Unite general
secretary takes the government to task in the Guardian (p28) saying:
“This is an unusual strike in an unusual crisis … the
action is popular and the public understand the workers’
case.” while in the Morning Star (p1/8-9) her
slams ministers’ attempts to scapegoat workers. The Morning Star also has a
detailed pull-out on the Unite sector conferences currently
underway in Brighton. The Mirror (p14-15) looks at six workers
taking strike action summing up the switch of ‘pay more, get less
and work longer as the shift to CPI cuts 15 per cent from pension
pots added to the ‘contribution increase’ and the later retirement
age. Boris Johnson proves he remains out of touch in the Telegraph (p27) saying he
understands the issues but then says the strike should not go ahead
and parrots the turnout line yet again. The Sun (p2) calls TUC general secretary
Brendan Barber ‘militant’ and the Express (p2) focuses on 12,000
highly paid civil servants rather than the millions on lower sums
and the Mail (p1) follows
a similar line to the Sun. The Times (p9) and Indie (p8) report on the threat
from Francis Maude to withdraw his ‘improved offer’ if the deal is
not accepted while the Telegraph (p4) reports that
police are ‘upset’ about being asked to cover; not good enemies for
the government to make. The FT
(p3) also features workers’ voices but the final word goes to Len:
“Wednesday’s strike is a beginning not an end. Unless
the government starts negotiating seriously there will be more
action, more turbulence … Wednesday is when millions will stand up
for themselves.”
Unilever could face walkout –
And proof that it is not just the public sector where there are
concerns over changes to pensions as the FT (p19) trails the ballot at Unilever
over the closure of the company’s final salary pensions scheme
which closes today. There’s an awful lot of pressure building…
Plan P for panic? – Standing
at the despatch box on Tuesday will be chancellor George Osborne
ready to give the latest update on the UK economy. Amidst all the
gloom and the slow move towards a double dip Osborne is expected to
announce a £30 billion infrastructure plan to build more schools,
improve roads and rail and get lending out to small companies.
Osborne is also expected to announce a cap on rail rises, to defer
the fuel duty increase and raise the bank levy. He however said he
would stick to the deficit reduction target and is looking for an
extra £5 billion of cuts to fund his spending (Mirror p11-12, Sun p15, Express p4, Mail p8/49, Times p8-9, Indie p1/52, Guardian p1/8-9, Telegraph p1, FT p1, Morning Star p3).
Look after your own health -
Employment minister Chris Grayling is to announce that one million
self employed workers will be exempt from health and safety
legislation as plans to scrap up to half the laws on workplace
safety are pushed through (Sun p2, Mail p11, Telegraph p4, FT p4).
Civitas attacks equality
legislation – Right wing think tank says workplaces are
spending up to a £1 billion ever year to comply with equality
legislation (Mail p11,
Telegraph p6).
Benefits appeals backlog –
The Times (p1) splashes
with more problems for the government as appeals against changes in
benefits are soaring meaning ministers have been forced to hire
more than 80 new judges to deal with benefit claimants challenging
the withdrawal or reduction of benefits.
Britain’s social
mobility among world’s worst – The Telegraph (p6) reports on a study
by charity Sutton Trust has found that the chances of British
children doing well are more closely linked to their parents’
education than other major economic powers, only the US rated
lower.
Poor PFI deals – The Mirror (p20), Mail (p28-29) and Telegraph (p13) trail tonight’s
BBC programme on the NHS and private finance initiative built
hospitals highlighting the poor deal for the taxpayer.
NHS overcharged – The
Times ( 35) reports the
NHS is wasting millions in deals with drug giants.
Health chiefs told to hold back
funds – And in the midst of all the cuts and pressures on
the NHS the Mirror (p21)
reports that local health chiefs should reserve two per cent of
their budgets, some £1.74 billion, to pay for the health service
reorganisation ordered by health secretary Andrew Lansley.
Cuts targets missed – And the
Telegraph (p8) reports
ministers are failing to hit their own savings targets and says
that data the government wanted to make available so ‘departments
could be held to account’ is impossible to compare as different
departments publish different data sets.
Unpaid interns may be illegal
– The Guardian (p13) says
MPs may be breaking minimum wage laws by offering work to unpaid
interns.
Fawkes called up over leak –
The Indie (p13) and
Guardian (p5) report the
bête-noire of many a politician Guido Fawkes – AKA Paul Staines –
has been called to the Leveson enquiry after evidence was released
on a blog three days before it was due to be heard.
Cell phones to be jammed –
The Sun (p34) says justice
secretary Ken Clarke is to put phone jamming equipment in prisons
to deal with the use of illicit phones in prisons.
Thomas Cook to cut 1,000
jobs– 200 travel agencies to close with the loss of 1,000
jobs as the travel firm struggles to deal with its debts (Mirror p11, Express p36, Mail p49, Times p35, Indie p54, Guardian p24, Telegraph b2, Morning Star p2).
Farepak fees hit £8.2 million
– The Telegraph (b1)
reports five years after the company went bust the fees for dealing
with the administration have now overtaken the amount customers
could receive back.
EU still on the brink – Many
papers report that the funding crisis continues as Europe’s banks
are starting to face pressure in terms of bond sales. An EU-US
summit hosted by president Obama today has the eurozone crisis on
the top of the agenda, and it looks like the IMF may make some €600
billion in bail out funds available, but contingency planning for a
possible collapse in the euro is becoming more prevalent around the
world (Mail p2, Times p25, Indie p53, Guardian p26, Telegraph p1, FT p1/13).
De La Rue restores its
reputation? – There is one company that could benefit from
a swathe of new (old) currencies. The Telegraph (b4-5) interviews the
chief executive of the banknote printer, Tim Cobbold, over changes
since he was appointed to deal with printing irregularities that
cost his predecessor his job and lost the company’s biggest
customer.
Lib Dems in search of
soundbites – And finally the Times (p7) follows up a Mail on
Sunday report that deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has hired
‘brand advisers’ to try to revive his party’s flagging fortunes
with talk of ‘the process of transition from being the third
party’, well they never did have much sense of direction…
Edited by Mik
Sabiers
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