Monday 6 July 2015

Oxi does it..



Greece's decisive vote against the terms of its bail-out deal leads the news agenda this morning, with early results suggesting that the "no" (Oxi) campaign won by a 61-39 margin. The scale of the No vote has stunned European leaders and financial markets, and has given the reputation of pollsters - who said right until the eve of polling that the result was too close to call - a further knock. You can follow all the fall-out on our excellent liveblog here.

Yanis Varoufakis has announced his resignation as Greece's finance minister, suggesting that Eurozone leaders wanted his head before they welcomed prime minister Alexis Tsipras back to the negotiating table. "I shall wear the creditors' loathing with pride," he wrote on his blog. The eurozone is still taking in the result, with Angela Merkel meeting with Francois Hollande later today, while David Cameron and George Osborne plan to hold an emergency meeting. Others have been quicker to react, with Merkel ally Hans Michelbach lambasting Greece for choosing "a path of isolation". Italy's foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni offered an olive branch, saying: "Now it is right to start trying for an agreement again."

The "Greferendum" makes most of today's front pages. "Meltdown", says the Mail, "Europe in turmoil as Greece nears exit", we say, "Greeky Bum Time", says the Sun. "So what does Greece's no vote mean? EU leaders warned that it would see Greece crash out of the eurozone, while Tsipras insisted it would merely force them back to thrash out a better bailout deal. Greece's no vote "may appear irrational, but it is also understandable," we say. Tsipras has his mandate, he must make the best of it.


THE FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST

Ministers are set to go further in capping welfare payments than the proposed £23,000-a-year household limit set out in the party's election manifesto, George Osborne has hinted. He has also ruled out cutting the top rate of tax will not be cut to 40p, revealing that he has now found £12 billion of cuts to Britain's welfare bill. The Chancellor said the BBC had to make "a contribution" to the budget cuts, and is also set to signal that almost one in four civil servants could lose their jobs. Chris Hope has rounded up everything we know about what will be in Osborne's statement.

This comes as Boris Johnson urged the Chancellor to cut the top rate of tax to 40p and called for all workers to be paid the living wage. Writing in today's Telegraph, he said: "We should be cutting taxes all round – cutting the top rate as well as lifting the thresholds and taking the poor out of tax."

Meanwhile, the Institute of Directors has urged Osborne to radically cut back the complexity of the British tax system when he delivers his emergency budget. "He will have the scope to do some really big things and to go down as a radical Chancellor," says Roger Bootle

CORBYN ABSORBIN' SUPPORT

Labour MPs' decision to help the leftwinger Jeremy Corbyn enter the party's leadership race appears to be backfiring after Britain's biggest trade union told members to vote for him. Corbyn, who has been on Labour's hard Left for decades, only made it onto the ballot paper last month with minutes to spare after MPs lent him their votes to broaden the debate. Read more here. Corbyn's growing support could see Liz Kendall pushed into fourth place, according to the Times' Sam Coates.

U-KIP ON WAITING, PEARSON

The UK Independence Party could have to wait until 2020 before it is allowed any peers in the House of Lords – despite winning the support of millions of voters at the general election. David Cameron, the Prime Minister, has told Lord Pearson of Rannoch that he will consider new Ukip peers "over the course of this Parliament", in a letter seen by Chris Hope.

UP IN THE AIR

The government's dithering over airpor expansion is potentially costing Britain tens of billions of pounds due to lost trade to emerging economies, the Confederation of British Industry. The Mirror's Jack Blanchard has the story. "The Prime Minister has created the right conditions to make a third runway at Heathrow deliverable," writes Sir Nigel Rudd, chairman of Heathrow airport. "He can be assured that this is a new plan, ready for takeoff."

KIDS AREN'T ALRIGHT

Kids Company, the youth charity founded by the flamboyant campaigner Camila Batmanghelidjh, could face an inquiry from the charity watchdog amid concerns over how millions of pounds of public money have been spent, John Bingham reports.  The Charity Commission said it had been in contact with the group's trustees over the weekend to "urgently assess" whether concerns about supply of funding could cast doubt over its future.

TAKING THE TAXPAYER FOR A RIDE?

The Ministry of Defence has pledged to review its use of a fleet of cars that is costing £120 million each year, the Times' Callum Jones reports. Taxpayers are understood to be footing the bill for an average of 29,000 short-notice trips and 21,000 longer term leases of vehicles each month. 

WHO'LL FOLLOW ROBBO?

The BBC is thought to be looking to appoint a woman as the face of the Corporation's political news after it emerged that Nick Robinson is likely to step down. Robinson, who has been BBC political editor for the past decade, is rumoured to be likely to be moving to a presenter's role on the corporation's flagship Today programme on Radio Four. Here are more details.

DANCZUK DIVIDE

The split between Simon Danczuk and his wife Karen became a public spat after he accused her of having an affair with her personal trainer, while she denounced him as "arrogant" and an "alcoholic", Camilla Turner reports. The Labour MP for Rochdale and Mrs Danczuk – dubbed "queen of the selfie" for posting racy photos of herself online – announced a week ago that they were separating.







TOO MANY TWEETS 

@ObsoleteDogma: The fewer tries it takes you to spell "Dijsselbloem", the worse the euro crisis is.

COMMENT

From The Telegraph

Boris Johnson - Let's cut taxes for people at the top and the bottom

Tim Stanley - Greece has captured its conqueror. Now the EU should forgive and restructure the debt

Sir Nigel Rudd - This Budget need not be a Greek tragedy if Osborne has ambition

From the Politics blog

Asa Bennett - The 7 Conservatives who want to be Mayor of London

Paola Buonadonna - The EU's handling of the Greek crisis risks helping the 'better-off-outers'

Verity Ryan - If we want to tackle extremism, we need to make a better offer

From elsewhere

Mary Dejevsky - The Greeks said No – but to what exactly?

Edward Luce - The US is a helpless bystander on Greece

Emma Reynolds - Labour is calling for a more ambitious devolution agenda to every part of the country

AGENDA

12.00 Deadline for Tory nominations for London Mayor close
12.30 Lib Dem leadership contender Norman Lamb in live Q&A on Left Foot Forward
14.30 MPs quiz Theresa May in the Commons
MPs resume debate on Scotland Bill
Ukip deadline to balance books or face fine after election 'overspend'
Peers debate EU referendum and reform agenda
Sir Howard Davies discusses work of Airports Commission at evening supper event during the Runways UK conference in London
Unite meets to discuss future of its links with the Labour party at its Rules Conference in Brighton

On this day

The International Olympic Committee announced the 2012 Olympic Games would be held in London

TODAY IN PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF COMMONS

14:30: Home Office questions (topicals at 15:15)
Presentation of Bills: Bat Habitats Regulation Bill; UK Borders Control Bill; Illegal Immigrants (Criminal Sanctions) Bill; House of Lords (Maximum Membership) Bill; Benefit Entitlement (Restriction) Bill; Overseas Voters Bill; Convicted Prisoners Voting Bill; European Parliament Elections Bill; Working Time Directive (Limitation) Bill; Off-Shore Wind Farm Subsidies (Restriction) Bill (Christopher Chope, Con, Christchurch)

Main business
Scotland Bill: Committee (Day 4 of 4)
Adjournment debate: Proposed Cardiff City deal (Craig Williams, Con, Cardiff North)

HOUSE OF LORDS

14:30: Oral questions, to ask the Government:
- Lord Dykes (Lib Dem): When they expect to announce the results of their discussions about the European Union reform agenda with other member states.
- Baroness Wheatcroft (Con): Whether the effects of algorithmic trading are being monitored and sufficiently regulated.
- Baroness Bakewell (Lab): In the light of the report The UK Nursing Workforce: Crisis or Opportunity published by consultants Christie + Co on 3 June, which highlighted a serious staff shortage in care homes, what proportion of new apprenticeships will be in the care sector.
- Lord Lexden (Con): Whether they will fulfil their commitment to extend full voting rights to all United Kingdom citizens overseas before the referendum on United Kingdom membership of the European Union.

Main business
European Union (Approvals) Bill [HL]: Second Reading
Childcare Bill [HL]: Committee (day 2)
Question for short debate on what assessment Her Majesty's Government have made of the political situation in the Gaza strip (Baroness Tonge, Lib Dem) (1.5 hours)
Question for short debate on what assessment Her Majesty's Government have made of the contribution of Britain's ethnic minorities to faith communities and public institutions in the United Kingdom (Baroness Berridge, Con) (1.5 hours)