‘Wages will rise if Britain votes to leave the European Union and the number of EU migrants coming to the UK falls, the head of the “in” campaign has admitted. Lord Rose, the former head of Marks & Spencer who is leading the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign, told MPs on Wednesday that if a British exit leads to restrictions on EU migrants, then “the price of labour will, frankly, go up”.’ – Daily Telegraph
Editorials:
>Today: ToryDiary: Snapshots of the EU referendum campaign so far
‘When businesses gather at the British Chambers of Commerce annual conference today, they should ponder the costs of giving away permanent control of so many vital policies. They should ponder the costs of having the European Commission…controlling British commercial policy for decades to come. They should consider how the eurozone’s trajectory will make this worse. A vote to leave is not “a leap in the dark” — it is a leap from a ship heading, like the Titanic, towards a huge iceberg. We have a chance to take back control.’ – Priti Patel, The Times (£)
>Today: ToryDiary: How do you rate each Cabinet Minister? Please take our monthly survey.
‘These past few weeks have highlighted one dilemma that Cameron will have to resolve before the real campaign starts. Does he want to go all-out to win the referendum, or pull his punches in hope of reunifying his party afterwards? If he opts for the latter, he will have to make clear that he respects intellectually those arguing for Brexit. He will also need to avoid associating himself with some of the sillier arguments being pumped out by the pro-EU lobby.’ – James Forsyth, The Spectator
>Yesterday:
‘Nato has accused President Putin of weaponising the migrant crisis in an effort to push Europe to the brink of collapse. As Britain was told to pay £63 million to help Greece to cope with soaring numbers of trapped incomers, Russia and Syria were blamed for intensifying the tension between allies. “Together, Russia and the Assad regime are deliberately weaponising migration in an attempt to overwhelm European structures and break European resolve,” General Philip Breedlove, Nato’s top commander in Europe, said.’ – The Times (£)
>Yesterday: David Davis on Comment: With the EU referendum looming, the Government must give us reliable immigration figures
‘TV viewers slammed the Government’s ‘outrageous’ announcement today that it will close a loophole allowing people to watch BBC iPlayer without a TV licence…He said he would press ahead with changes to the law and the loophole – which is thought to cost the BBC around £150 million a year – is expected to be closed within months, meaning iPlayer viewers who do not have a licence will face fines of up to £1,000. But viewers reacted angrily to the news and vowed to abandon BBC programmes altogether in favour of private TV streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.’ – Daily Mail
‘Almost 300 GP surgeries in England face closure because of financial pressures and nearly half have doctors planning to leave the NHS, according to a BMA survey. The poll, which received responses from about a third of all surgeries, paints a bleak picture of the prospects for general practice with just one in 20 reporting that its finances were in a strong state.’ – The Guardian
‘It is unwelcome, but understandable, that the State pension age may have to rise again. The current system cannot fund our ageing and soaring population. But if Brits who do want to retire before they’re 81 have to fund it themselves, the Chancellor must let them. Instead he seems intent on clobbering those saving to do just that.’ – The Sun Says (£)
‘Conservative councils are preparing to sue the government over a proposed third runway at Heathrow. Four Tory authorities close to the west London airport have issued a legal warning to David Cameron, saying that an escalation in the number of flights would be “irrational and unlawful”. Lawyers acting on behalf of Hillingdon, Richmond upon Thames, Wandsworth and Windsor and Maidenhead councils have told the prime minister that court proceedings will be launched unless he categorically rules out expansion of Heathrow.’ – The Times (£)
‘The major accusation levelled at Momentum is that is is a sort of Militant 2.0 — Labour MP Wes Streeting has said that Momentum “increasingly looks, acts and sounds like the new Militant tendency in the Labour Party and that is not what we need.” Journalist Mark Wallace went along to a meeting held by Lambeth Momentum and described seeing members of the Socialist Party, the successor to Militant, handing out leaflets at the event. “People from Militant were literally walking around the room giving out leaflets and trying to plant questions in the audience. The Momentum organisers didn’t give a second thought that Militant were there … They [the Socialist Party] see Momentum meetings as a pool of opportunity,” he told us.’ – BusinessInsider
>Today:
>Yesterday: WATCH: Cameron mocks Corbyn’s appointment of Varoufakis as Labour’s new economic adviser
‘Teachers should complain less about their workload and badly-behaved children and remember they are in a “noble” profession and that they can be “very wealthy individuals”, the chief inspector of schools has suggested. Sir Michael Wilshaw said that elsewhere in the World “the status of teaching is high” and it is considered a “great profession to be in”. However he said that in Britain “so much that we hear is negative” as he urged the Government to publicise the fact that teachers can “do very well financially”.’ – Daily Telegraph
‘Speaking at his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago Club as the final votes were being tallied Mr Trump turned to his next task: asserting his authority over a party that is tearing itself apart. Adopting a conciliatory tone the tycoon insisted that he was “a commonsense conservative” and “a truth teller”. “I’m becoming diplomatic,” he said.’ – The Times (£)
‘A coroner rebuked the grieving family of a young Conservative activist who committed suicide for describing their son’s former boyfriend as a murderer. The father of Elliott Johnson, 21, had said this week that his son’s ex-lover, Andre Walker, would not be welcome at a pre-inquest hearing and likened it to “the murderer returning to the scene of the crime”…Tom Osborne, the senior coroner, said that he had been shown comments made by a family member. “It’s unacceptable,” he said. “Can I reiterate that everyone who has an interest in these matters is entitled to attend. Everyone in my court is entitled to be treated with respect.”’ – The Times (£)