News digest 6 April 2011
Benefit cuts and tax rises start to bite
from today as the Con-Dem changes come in, there’s a surge in
services but is it government driven? Clegg challenges social
mobility, but neglects his own back yard, tuition fees are maxed to
the limit, while Lansley’s NHS reforms are getting decidedly
wobbly, Cameron says tax the rich, yes really, BA ups its surcharge
again, Pringles are snapped up and there’s a change at Carlsberg,
well probably…
Wednesday woes – From this
morning tax changes will hit millions of people across the country
as tax cuts combine with changes to benefits to hit those most in
need of help. Said Unite general secretary Len McCluskey:
"This week the government was forced to heed the
warnings that they were being reckless with the NHS. George
Osborne's economic policy is looking decidedly reckless too. Unless
this government has a serious rethink about its economic strategy …
we just need a decent alternative to austerity which is about
investment, growth and fairness." (Mirror p6-7, Sun p4, Express p1, Mail p2, Times p5, Indie p4, Guardian p6, Telegraph p1, FT p2, Unite
release)
Surge in services – But mixed
economic messages as some papers report that the services sector
saw a surprise boost in the last quarter. Some of the papers herald
this as evidence that the UK will avoid a double dip, but the
FT (p2) notes that the rise is
unlikely to last and is in part driven by a surge in public
spending ahead of the cuts, so the state is keeping the economy
going, for now (Sun p4,
Mail p65, Times p32).
Clegg’s cheek – Deputy prime
minister launches attack on inequality and the lack of social
mobility by condemning the use of connections neglecting to mention
the fact that he got two jobs thanks to his millionaire father.
Clegg was further embarrassed when he criticised the use of interns
as one of his former interns toured the studios to say how the Lib
Dems even failed to pay volunteers. The party quickly rushed in a
new code to put its own house in order (Mirror p1/6, Sun p28, Express p7, Mail p1, Times p1, Indie p14, Guardian p6, Telegraph p4, FT p4, Morning Star p5).
Tuition fees turning into
cartel – As the number of universities charging the top
£9,000 fee continues to rise, union leaders accused the government
of letting institutions run riot. Noting that out of all
universities that have declared fees so far, only one has not gone
for the maximum £9,000 annual student fee, Unite’s Mike Robinson
said: “The fee increases are a runaway train, with an
enormous financial crash at the end, that the public purse will
have to pick up.” (Mail p25, Guardian p9, Telegraph p1, Morning Star p1, Unite
release)
Legislative pause – But some
success on the campaign to stop the changes t the NHS as the
government announces a ‘legislative pause’ to consult on the
changes. Said Unite’s Len McCluskey: "There is no case
for the bill. There is no way it can be redeemed. It
will never have the trust of the people. It must be dropped now and
every emphasis put on stopping patients suffering from these
horrendous spending cuts." (Sun p2, Times p15, Indie p15, Guardian p, Telegraph p2, FT p3, Morning Star p3)
Make the rich pay more – Is
the call from prime minister David Cameron, unfortunately it
applies to Pakistan where the prime minister is on a visit, selling
education rather than arms this time as he announces £950 million
in aid to fund school places in the country, how about building
schools for the future back home? (Mirror p10, Sun p10-11, Mail p12, Times p3, Indie p22, Guardian p13, Telegraph p1, FT p4)
Project Merlin lacks magic –
Labour’s Chuka Umunna derides the coalition’s attempts to link
bonuses to lending as he published a report listing the
shortcomings of the banks’ promises to loan to small businesses, a
survey by online business directory Hotfrog confirmed the findings
as three quarters of 500 small businesses said they had not noticed
any change in banks’ approach to lending (Guardian p28, Telegraph b4).
Lloyds left alone? – Industry
insiders expect the Lloyds Banking Group will be able avoid calls
for it to be broken up. An interim report by the Independent
Commission of Banking is due to be published on Monday and is
expected to focus on fostering more competition between banks
(Times p35).
BA surcharge – On to levies
and the UK’s flagship airline slaps an extra £10 on long haul
flights as oil prices rise, this is BA’s third hike in four months
(Express p19, Indie p34, Guardian p26, Telegraph p10, FT p20).
P&G sells Pringles – From
planes to food and the world’s largest potato crisp brand gas been
sold to Kettle Chips’ maker Diamond Foods for £1.5 billion, ending
Procter & Gamble’s activities in the food sector (Sun p43, Express p62, Mail p67, Times p31, Indie p36, Guardian p29, Telegraph b1, FT p17, Morning Star p)
Calamity for Carlsberg
drinkers? – And the Sun (p31) says the lager giant has
announced it has canned probably the best known advertising slogan
in the industry. No longer will it be ‘Probably the best lager in
the world’ instead it will be ‘That calls for a Carlsberg’. A
source said the change was because some customers don’t get the
subtlety of the message which begs the question how much of the
tipple they had partaken of when asked…
Edited by Mik Sabiers
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