News digest 5 October 2011
The digest starts with a cabinet flap over
cats and human rights while Lansley lays into unions over the NHS
as Hammond boozes it up while avoiding Bombardier workers. BAE
workers are riding to the rescue, health workers are on strike,
while some GPs already want you to pay for treatment, building
starts stop, but there’s a new port on the way, Apple’s fans are
disappointed but bank shares are sinking and the economy is under
pressure but Cameron has a plan to pay off debts and take even more
growth out of the economy…
Tory party conference: Cats and
conundrums – Day three of the Tory party conference saw a
bumbling, but well received, address by London mayor Boris Johnson
before home secretary Theresa May put her foot in it by trying to
attack the Human Rights Act with claims that that an illegal
immigrant avoided deportation because of his pet cat. May said the
ruling illustrated the problem with human rights laws, but
England's top judges said she had got it wrong, justice secretary
Ken Clarke said he had been "surprised"
by the claim and could not believe it was true while human rights
campaigners told her she should get "her facts
straight". All seems a bit fishy to me…
Tory party conference: Lansley’s list
- As NHS waiting times rise the health secretary Andrew
Lansley addressed conference by thanking NHS staff for their work
and singled out nurses for special praise. He then listed what he
considered his achievements (5,000 less managers, more money for
mental health, not much else) and then went on the attack blaming
Labour for mishandling the NHS in Wales and said of people
objecting to his changes "Labour and their trade
union puppet masters can push out all the lies they like, but we
will fight back" while saying bringing change to the
NHS was “the right thing to do” does beg
the question why wasn’t it all in the manifesto? (Mirror p10, Sun p8-9, Express p4-5, Mail p10-11, Times p1/14-16, Indie p8-11, Guardian p8-11, Telegraph p12-15, FT p2, Morning Star p5).
Tory party conference: Hammond boozes
while Bombardier is on the brink – On the
day 1,400 train makers faced the sack transport secretary Philip
Hammond was taken to task for going to a party as guest of honour
at the Conservative Home do rather than meeting the workers that
had travelled to Manchester. Unite’s Mark Young is quoted in the
Mirror (p5) saying:
“We are fighting for the future of rail manufacturing
in this country but this government won’t back
us.”
Tory party conference: BAE
riding to the rescue? - BAE workers from Brough,
facing redundancy after MoD defence cuts, are cycling 110 miles to
the Tory party conference to urge defence secretary Liam Fox to
support the 3,000 highly skilled workers whose jobs are at risk
(Mirror p5, Unite
release).
Fox’s friend – And still on
defence and the Guardian
(p2) reports that a close personal friend of the defence secretary
Liam Fox has been presenting himself as an official adviser and
seemingly gained access to the Ministry of Defence even though he
does not have security clearance.
Huhne in court? – The
Telegraph (p17) reports
on a High Court case that could see Huhne in court as the energy
secretary’s new partner takes legal action over as series of
articles published in the Daily Mail.
Police to work to rule – The
Mail (p17) reports that
anger over pay freezes and job cuts could see rank and file police
officers launching a nationwide campaign of non-cooperation to
force the government to back down. Goodwill gestures such as
arriving early to don uniforms, being on standby or taking
voluntary training courses could all be canned unless the
government sees sense.
Health workers on strike –
And the Morning
Star (p7) reports that in Northern Ireland some 8,000 Unison
members are taking action over cuts to the budget which could see
as many as 4,000 health workers lose their jobs by 2015.
Pay for treatment – NHS
doctors are now telling patients they can pay to get treatments no
longer provided by the NHS (due to rationing) stoking fears of
privatisation of the NHS by the back door (Mail p8, Times p5, Telegraph p1, Unite
release).
Building starts stop – From
health to construction and the number of building firms going to
the wall rose 11 per cent in the past three months while the
construction PMI dipped to 50.1 last month as higher energy bills
and spending cuts brought projects to a halt (Mirror p40, Sun p44, Mail p70, Indie p34, FT p4).
Construction dispute deepens
– The Morning
Star (p9) follows up on the
Unite campaign to defend national agreements and wages as the
dispute goes nationwide (Unite
release).
New port in Thurrock – Good
news on the high seas as one of Dubai’s richest firms is splashing
out £650 million to create Britain’s biggest deep-sea port on the
banks of the Thames in Thurrock (Sun p44, Mail p74, Times p51, Telegraph b2).
Petrol sales drop – The
Mirror (p40) and Sun (p6) report rather worse news
for drivers as they are being squeezed by high petrol prices and
the downturn with the result that petrol sales have actually
declined by 15 per cent over the past three years.
Four year Ford deal agreed –
The FT (p25) reports better news
across the pond as Ford has agreed a four year deal with the United
Auto Workers union which could see the US carmaker create 5,750 new
jobs as well as move a step closer to paying a dividend.
Air duty attacked – In the
air and the Express (p2)
and Mail (p73) report the
latest figures on air passenger duty which showed that a total of
£226 million was paid in June, 25 per cent more than last year. IAG
boss Willie Walsh also waded in saying the government lacks an
aviation strategy and that current policies were doing ‘significant
damage to the aviation industry’ adding that the UK lost 7.4
million passengers last year.
Waitrose to create 10,000
jobs – The Sun (p2)
and Express (p50) report
better news on the high street as the supermarket group announced
plans for a £1 billion investment over the next three years
including 100 new shops and adding a new distribution centre in
Chorley, Lancashire.
iDisappointment – But Apple
iPhone customers were disappointed by the latest Apple launch which
saw a rejigged iPhone 4 rather than a new iPhone 5. The iPhone 4S
has a better camera, HD video and also voice recognition software
called Siri which allows you to ask questions and it will provide
answers. The voice in the US will be female but in the UK it will
be male, and no it’s not Stephen Fry (Mirror p4, Sun p26, Express p15, Mail p17, Times p20, Indie p16, Guardian p14, Telegraph b4, FT p1/19).
Fujitsu strike suspended –
Better news at IT firm Fujitsu Unite has suspended industrial
action at operations in Manchester after an agreement was reached
during last minute discussions which are hoped will produce an
improved offer (Unite
release).
Take a pay cut to save workmate’s
jobs – The Express
(p3) reports on the news that 62 per cent of office workers would
rather take a pay cut than see colleagues lose their jobs and
nearly half would sacrifice their lunch break to get more work
done. The Telegraph (p10)
covers the same story but instead talks of the ruthless four in 10
workers that would stab you in the back.
Take a hit to save the banks
– A number of papers look at the latest bank to look in need of a
rescue as the Franco-Belgian bank Dexia faces more problems with
plans to hive off a ‘bad bank’ a la Northern Rock (Mail p73, Times p47, Indie p33, Telegraph b2, FT p24).
Shares sink on banking fears
– And all the papers report on the latest pressures in the eurozone
as Italy is downgraded by the credit agencies again, the FTSE fell
below 5,000, banking stocks shake on fears of exposure to Greek
debt and Greece edges towards a default (Mirror p21, Sun p2, Express p4, Mail p4/70, Times p41, Indie p33, Guardian p1/24-25, Telegraph p1/b1, FT p1/6, Morning Star p6).
Cameron to turn ship around –
And that brings us back to the Tory party and prime minister David
Cameron is expected to close conference with a speech on the
economy where he will call on people to pay off their debts (not
sure how giving more money to the banks will help the economy grow
as banks are not lending at the moment), insisting his plans will
work and that: "If we correct the mistakes and take on
the vested interests of the past, I know we can turn this ship
around." Is that the best idea as when the Con-Dems
took power the economy was growing and the deficit was falling
while as the latest revision to figures today shows the economy is
flatlining. Cameron is due to speak at about 14:30 (Sun p1, Mail p1, Times p14, Guardian p1, Telegraph p1, FT p2).
Edited by Mik
Sabiers
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