News digest 5 May 2011
It’s election day so good luck to all the
Unite and Labour candidates out there, Boris fails to do some
joined up thinking over strikes as Cameron and Clegg are
challenged, economic news is rather dire as incomes are squeezed,
house prices drop and shops close, the deficit is not being
effectively dealt with, while the City seems to be back to normal
as the Glencore float nears...
Virtual council canned –
According to a report in the Guardian (p6) plans by Tory run
Suffolk council to contract out all services have been placed under
review, perhaps there’s an election on…
Get out and vote – Yes, it’s
local election day across the country with Labour hoping to gain
1,000 seats out of the 9,300 being contested today. The Welsh
Assembly and Scottish parliament also see elections as does
Northern Ireland, only London is left out. Labour should do well in
Wales but it is not looking so good in Scotland, and yes, there’s
also a referendum on piecemeal electoral reform today (Mirror p8-9, Sun p10-11, Express p2, Mail p1/6-7, Times p1/22-23, Indie p1, Guardian p1/4-5, Telegraph p1, FT p4).
Strike challenge – And as the
RMT announces a series of strikes on the tube network later this
month, London mayor Boris Johnson wades in saying strikes should be
invalid if less than 50 per cent of workers vote for action. Boris
Johnson ‘won’ the mayoral election with 42.48 per cent of the vote
so I presume he will resign. The call is seen as a challenge to
Cameron as Boris still has eyes on Downing Street (Sun p16, Express p35, Mail p19, Times p13, Telegraph p2, FT p3).
Clegg challenged – There are
hints energy secretary Chris Huhne may resign after the referendum
and a couple of the papers report that Huhne is seen to be
manoeuvring against deputy prime minister Clegg for the Lib Dem
leadership, he was the one who coined the phrase ‘Calamity Clegg’
after all (Sun p8, Mail p11).
Surge in shop closures – As
DIY chain Focus looks close to collapse after a rescue deal fell
through – impacting 4,000 jobs - a report by Deloitte shows a 30
per cent rise in the number of shops going into administration in
the first quarter of 2011; the government’s hike in VAT and the
squeeze on incomes is blamed (Mirror p10/55, Sun p45, Express p65, Mail p75, Times p47, Indie p32, Guardian p28, FT p18).
Pay squeezed – And a report
from Income Data Services shows that 90 per cent of pay deals over
the last three months were below inflation piling further pressure
on ordinary working people’s finances (Mail p2, Telegraph p2, FT p2).
House price horrors – Two
separate reports reveal the housing market remains in the doldrums
with price levels expected to drift lower rather than see any rise
in the coming year with a warning that it could take five years for
the sector to recover (Mirror p55, Sun p45, Express p27, Mail p19, Guardian p31).
Recovery weakening –
Latest data from the National Institute for Economic and Social
Research has downgraded growth prospects for the UK economy once
again as business lending slows, the construction sector declines
and unemployment rises, the result is the deficit will not be
reduced as fast as the government had hoped, perhaps it’s time for
‘Plan B’ except the government does not have one (Mail p73, Times p49, Indie p32, Guardian p12, Telegraph b4, FT p2).
BAE may cut more jobs – Even
though it has shed some 15,000 jobs in the past two years defence
group BAE Systems says it may cut more staff as reduced UK military
spending hits sales (Express p65, Mail p75, Telegraph b3).
BMW boost – Better news for
the German car company which has seen a surge in demand for its
Mini and Rolls Royce marques (Times p53, Guardian p30, Telegraph b3).
BA action – But more trouble
at BA, on the day it launches its ad campaign tied to the London
Olympics the Times (p4)
and Telegraph (p11)
report on an employment tribunal over the sacking of a BA purser
over the posting of messages on Facebook and YouTube.
New RBS probe? – Sir David
Walker has been hauled in to look at the RBS investigation in what
may be the first indication that the FSA report - which cost £7
million – may never be published and instead a new report put
together, presumably with the right line on senior bankers
(Mail p73, Indie p36, Guardian p27, Telegraph b3, FT p17).
Back to normal for the City –
More coverage of the Glencore float priced at £36.5 billion; it
will create hundreds of millionaires and five new billionaires. How
many hospitals, schools etc could that pay for? So much for we’re
all in this together (Mirror
p15, Sun p45, Express p65, Mail p73, Times p16, Indie p31, Guardian p27, Telegraph b1, FT p1).
Still on alert – And finally
on the international front there’s more coverage of Osama bin Laden
with authorities in the US and UK on heightened alert for possible
reprisals while some of the papers highlight the worsening
situation in Syria and the ongoing attacks on Libya (Mirror p1/5-7, Sun p1/4-7, Express p5-6, Mail p10-12, Times p1/6, Indie p4-10, Guardian p1/8-11, Telegraph p1/4-7, FT p5/8).
Edited by Mik
Sabiers
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