Dr Vince Cable, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader and Shadow Chancellor, has come under attack from his own party over proposed tax reforms. Vince Cable’s proposals for cutting spending, published by Reform last week, also received further coverage on the fourth day of the Liberal Democrat party conference (Times; Guardian).
In the ongoing debate about student loans, Reform’s Back to black paper is referred to, in which it was suggested that the government should charge commercial interest rates on loans, saving the taxpayer £1.2 billion per annum (Burning Our Money).
Gordon Brown follows Barack Obama’s lead announcing a cut in the number of Trident submarines. The Prime Minister aims to replace only three of the four submarines (Times; Guardian; Independent; Mail; Express; BBC Online; Mirror).
Gordon Brown will this weekend signal his support for high speed rail in an attempt to lower carbon emissions without jeopardising economic growth (Guardian; Independent).
David Cameron, the leader of the opposition, has distanced his party from a Thatcherite 1980’s style approach to cuts in the public sector, saying that “cuts are something we need to do with the public sector, not to the public sector” (FT; Daily Telegraph).
The Confederation of British Industry has announced that it thinks the recession will be over by Christmas. The business lobby group has published its forecast today saying the UK will emerge from the recession by the end of this month, as consumers rush to the shops ahead of next January’s increase in VAT. However the CBI also warned that recovery will be slow, living standards may drop and interest rates may rise to 2 per cent as inflation increases (Telegraph; Times; Guardian; Independent; BBC Online).
Around 1,400 jobs will be axed at Vauxhall Car Company following the takeover of Opel by Canadian car firm Magma (Daily Mail).
Willie Walsh, head of British Airways, has announced a plan for investing in a new carbon- cutting industry which would also result in higher passenger fares (Sun).
Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, has emerged as the leading candidate for a deputy role in a new European financial watchdog (FT; Times).
Goldman Sachs announced yesterday that they expect the pound to strengthen by about 8 per cent over the next three months, saying that the UK economy is actually in better shape than it first looked (City A.M.).
Lord Turner, Chairman of the Financial Services Authority, last night accused those of choosing to ignore the “near death experience” of the markets as the real enemies of the city and told bankers to return to their “core functions” (City A.M.; FT; Times; BBC).
Research into disability at work by Radar, a disability campaign group, shows that high earning staff are three times less likely to disclose mental health problems compared to lower earning counterparts (FT).
A poll by YouGov, the research and consulting organisation, has found that 10 million British people are unaware that they are obese and at risk of health problems as a result (Daily Telegraph).
All children’s medical records should be checked when they start school to identify whether they have had vaccinations for MMR and other illnesses, the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence has recommended (Daily Telegraph).
Hospital death rates rise by 6 per cent in the first week of the junior doctors’ change over in August, research from Imperial College London has shown (Daily Telegraph).
Schools Secretary, Ed Balls, has promised tough action on failing academies. Ed Balls today promised to take tough action on failing academies, threatening to replace governors and sack sponsors in schools where standards remain consistently low (Guardian).
The number of underperforming schools in England has fallen sharply since 1997, with a 40 per cent year on year reduction in the number of schools below the 30 per cent threshold for pupils achieving at least 5 good GSCE’s (BBC Online; Sun).
Professor David Hargreaves, a former senior government advisor, has called for a “Facebook Generation” of teachers, arguing that older heads and senior management have little understanding of “Generation Y” – teenagers and those in their twenties who have been bought up with the internet. The problem is not standards, says Hargreaves, but getting kids to engage with learning (Independent).
Harriet Harman, Women and Equalities Minister, has launched a “crusade” to improve the conviction rate of rapists, declaring that rapists “are getting away with it time and time again” (Mail).
Gordon Brown has been honoured in New York as “world statesman of the year”. The Prime Minister was last night hailed as a hero for “stabilising” the world economy and showing “compassionate leadership” (Guardian).
Baroness Scotland, the Attorney General, has come under pressure from Cabinet colleagues to resign following her breach of immigration rules (Daily Telegraph).