Triple A rating in doubt..

The man the FT calls G-Dawg had some more bad news overnight. Standard & Poor's joined Fitch in putting the UK's AAA rating under review with a negative outlook (Telegraph story here). Just as well the Chancellor appeared before the Treasury Select Committee to explain why ratings were only part of the picture given that "my job is to maintain credibility".

 

Mr Osborne's quest for credibility is taking to him to increasingly radical places. As the FT (£) reports, he has made a point of praising Mark Carney's suggestion that central banks avoid interest rate targeting and look to improve GDP instead, although he will leave public leadership of the debate to Mr Carney when he takes on his new role. George's earlier innovations come in for some uglier assessments today. The Telegraphreports that top-earners will be £1,000 a year worse off thanks to single tier pension reforms. By contrast, those relying on state working age benefits will be a cumulative £6bn worse off thanks to the cap on the rate of increase, according to the Mirror.

 

While George is battling the headwinds at home, Dave is helping Europe save its economy in Brussels. The Prime Minister is enthusiastically pushing the idea of a two tier Europe on the grounds that a tightly wound core will give him the freedom to extract concessions at the fringe of the wider grouping. It will be tough work, argues Jeremy Warner in today'sTelegraph. He believes the Euro, and hence the current form of the EU, is doomed:

 

"No one can admit failure, so they trumpet the mere fact of the euro’s survival as evidence of success. Once upon a time, the single currency was meant to be about mutual economic advancement and cooperation; today, merely getting through the next year seems purpose enough."

 

ED TO APOLOGISE FOR MASS IMMIGRATION

 

Ed Miliband will apologise for the ghettoisation caused in some cities by uncontrolled immigration under the Blair and Brown governments in a speech today in south London. According to the BBC, Mr Miliband will say that Labour did "too little " to discourage segregation in cities, and insist that universal proficiency in English is vital to the realisation of his "One Nation" ideal. Councils should be able to cut spending on translation rather than front-line services he will add. 

 

The speech has already been attacked for failing to go far enough. Sir Andrew Green appeared on this morning's Today programme to argue for an outright apology. Even so, Ed's political antennae is proving sounder than many Tories first supposed. Relying on an implosion in 2015 appears an increasingly risky strategy on its own.

 

TURING LETTER TAKES OFF

 

The Prime Minister is under pressure to give Alan Turing a posthumous official pardon following a letter to the Telegraph signed by Prof. Stephen Hawking and ten other signatories. Mr Turing died from cyanide poisoning in 1954 after being convicted of gross indecency at a time when homosexuality was still illegal, and an inquest found he had committed suicide. There is currently a Private Members' Bill going through parliament, however the Coalition turned down a request for a pardon in February and may be loath to grant it sufficient time to pass.

 

CLEGG TO SEND BROWNE TRIPPIN'

 

The Sun carries a mischief making interview with Nick Clegg on the subject of drug reform this morning. The Deputy Prime Minister argues that the war on drugs has failed and and says that "I'm anti-drugs - it's for that reason that I'm pro reform". He also implies a row with Dave over policy, adding:

 

"I told the Prime Minister that this was a missed opportunity. He knows my views on this. He and I don’t agree on this. For too long, people in politics have worried that saying something differently can somehow look like you’re being soft. It’s important now to pluck up the courage to speak out."

 

Although Mr Clegg's position is pro-liberalisation, not blanket legalisation, he has sent Jeremy Browne on a fact-finding mission to Portugal, Amsterdam, several US states and Latin America in an attempt to find sufficient evidence to persuade the Prime Minister to give way to calls for a Royal Commission on drugs. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.

 

MILLER TO BE INVESTIGATED BY WATCHDOG

 

Maria Miller will be investigated by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards following our revelation that she claimed over £90,000 in taxpayer-funded expenses for a second home in which her parents lived. The Telegraph reports that John Lyon's inquiry will decide whether there is a case to answer for the minister. We have also published a timeline of the interactions between the paper and Mrs Miller and those representing her.

 

FRACK FOR VICTORY

 

The Government is going all-in on its fracking drive. Yesterday's announcement that the Government would lift the temporary ban on fracking, imposed after minor tremors in the Blackpool area following a frack last year, signals the resumption of the search for commercial deposits after an 18-month hiatus. As a sign of it's commitment to Dave's shale "revolution", the Coalition may remove control over planning permission for major shale projects from local councils, the Independentreports. The move is being considered as part of the forthcoming Growth and Energy Bill. The Telegraph's leader calls for the Government to "confront the scare stories being peddled by opponents of shale gas", although cartoonist Adams has a different take. Countryside campaigners probably don't know whether to laugh or cry. The wind turbine is dead. Long live the hydraulic fracking drill tower.

 

PICKLES BACKS DOWN OVER EXTENSIONS

 

Eric Pickles has lost his appetite for 26ft extensions exempt from planning permission, one of the Treasury's bright ideas, the Telegraphreports. Mr Pickles was known to have doubts about the change pressed by the Treasury in part because there had already been a Whitehall settlement on planning reform.

 

New regulations may limit single story extensions to "considerably less" than 19ft or 26ft, depending on the property, he told House magazine. "We haven't come to a final decision about how far we will allow the permitted development to go out. The [distances] we were suggesting were pretty much a maximum," he added. Unless, of course, your extension houses fracking machinery.

 

CHURCH OF ENGLAND WOULD PREFER NOT TO USE PROTECTION

 

Relations between the state and the established church are already strained owing to the clash between theological and political imperatives on the topic of women bishops. Now they have become further heated as it has emerged that the Government did not warn Lambeth Palace before announcing its "quadruple lock" on gay marriage. As one of the locks specifically forbade the established church from offering gay marriage, this seems an odd oversight. Maria Miller was due to meet with Church of England representatives last Thursday, but cancelled at late notice. TheGuardian insists that churchmen are in "complete shock" and would have preferred the Government not to have offered its protection without a consultation.

 

With wedges springing up everywhere, Fraser Nelson argues in today'sTelegraph that the crazy world of American culture wars has arrived on these shores:

 

"Some of his party say they will not rise to Cameron’s bait, believing this to be a ploy to make them go on national television and sound like lunatics. Some are past caring, and are doing it anyway."

 

TWEETS AND TWITS

Television's Chris Bryant finds Question Time can sometimes overwhelm a man:

@ChrisBryantMP: "Oh god. Drugs with hitchens and self. Might have to go to bed." 

TOP COMMENT

In the Telegraph

Fraser Nelson - Britain is getting a glimpse of the crazy world of culture wars

 

Jeremy Warner - False hope springs eternal in the eurozone

 

Harry Mount - Good manners are oil to our social wheels

 

Telegraph View - How to get the most out of shale

Best of the rest

Philip Collins in The Times (£) - Disraeli was wrong. Coalition has worked

Philip Stephens in the FT (£) - In tomorrow's world, it's the state versus the individual

Simon Jenkins in The Guardian - North Korea's toys are not a threat - but our reaction is

Mary Dejevsky in The Independent - Wake up: these new sources of energy will change the world
THE AGENDA

TODAY: European Council summit.

12:00 pm: Lord Hunt, chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, to outline steps being taken following the Leveson report. Briefing off-camera, on the record for specialist correspondents. DAC Beachcroft, 100 Fetter Lane.

Eurozone banking union agreed..

In the early hours of this morning, EU finance ministers struck a deal on the first steps towards a banking union for the eurozone (Telegraph storyhere). The ECB won new powers to supervise the largest banks in Euro denominated countries, and intervene directly in smaller ones. Direct supervision would apply to around the 200 of 6,000 eurozone banks which have assets of over €30bn and should be implemented by March 2014. The move will hit the City, but only indirectly, as so many European banks have offices in London.

 

Even if the deal does not represent "a Christmas present to the whole of Europe", as one tired finance minister gushed, it does provide a more serene backdrop to Dave's latest European venture. The Prime Minister heads to Brussels today for a two day summit in which the EU's heads of government will be regaled with Herman Van Rompuy's vision of how closer federation between member states will look. The first steps to a super-state? Yes, argues the Telegraph, given that Mr Van Rompuy's plans are expected to include removing the rights of eurozone member states to set their own budgets.

 

Oddly, given that his tantric approach to European policy will soon climax in a speech announcing an attempt to claw-back powers, Mr Cameron is disinclined to block the proposals. The fact that Dave is comfortable with integration around the eurozone core, while attempting to pull back the boundaries at the periphery, suggests that the long-feared two-tier Europe is now an article of government policy. Still, as this morning's Times (£) reports, Britian's membership bill over the life of the EC/EU membership will soon hit £100bn, and every move from the centre is also an argument against higher contributions still. It also acts as a good prelude to the Europe speech which increasingly feels like the title of a film, with Dave as the frustrated leader trying to just spit. it. out....

 

MILLER DISPUTE WITH TELEGRAPH CONTINUES

 

Yesterday's revelation that Maria Miller's special adviser Joanna Hindley had pointed to the minister's influence over press regulation in a bid to prevent news of a £90,000 expenses claim against a home occupied by her parents has been augmented by the news that Number 10's director of communications Craig Oliver also raised Mrs Miller's role in the Leveson negotiations with the Telegraph. Number 10 have briefed their own, not entirely accurate, version of the conversation to the Guardian.

 

Mrs Miller is already under investigation by the parliamentary expenses watchdog over the claim on her parents' home. The Telegraph also discloses today that she did not declare a home rented from a major Tory donor despite it being possible for the arrangement to represent a perceived conflict of interest.

 

WARSI DEMANDS ANSWERS ON GAY MARRIAGE

 

Baroness Warsi has written to Maria Miller demanding answers to questions posed by the "large volume" of correspondence she has received over gay marriage in her role as Minister for Faith. The Mailreports that Lady Warsi has asked specifically for reassurance over the limitation of "unintended consequences" stemming from the Bill, particularly in terms of legislative and financial support for churches if they are sued. The paper's editorial objects to the proposals on different grounds, however. It's the wrong law at the wrong time, it argues, and "there are much more important issues to engage [Mr Cameron's] considerable talents".

 

LATEST AFFORDABLE HOME PLAN: CUT IMMIGRATION

 

Immigrants push up house prices, Theresa May argued yesterday, delighting tabloid headline writers everywhere. Over a 20 year period, mass immigration added around 10pc to house prices, she claimed, although as the FT (£) reports an analysis by the Migration Analysis Committee earlier this year suggested the impact was somewhat lower. Mass immigration or a house price collapse. Which is the lesser of the two evils? Over to you, middle Britain.

 

DAVEY TOLD TO GET FRACKING

 

The Prime Minister's desire to place Britain "at the heart of the revolution" when it comes to fracking for shale gas has, to date, been somewhat obstructed by the ban on, er, fracking. As the Telegraphreports this morning, however, Ed Davey, who will announce the plans in a statement to the Commons this afternoon, is an avowed sceptic and is likely to demand tough regulations if the move goes ahead.

 

CARNEY TOLD TO RELAX ON INFLATION

 

The Bank of England could receive a new mission statement and a new target related to the size of the economy, the Telegraph reports this morning. George Osborne is also being prodded by advisers in the Treasury to encourage further QE in a bid to improve the dismal growth outlook. Bold, or buck-passing, depending on your cynicism level.

 

UNEMPLOYMENT DOWN...AND UP

 

Good news for the Government on the unemployment front as the number of people out of work declined by 82,000 in the three months to October, hitting 2.51m. On the other hand, as the Independent reports, a separate ONS survey suggested that 100,000 people fewer were actually in work in October. Some of the out-of-work may be going on disability living allowance, the Sun suggests that the number of claimants has nearly trebled since 1992, one of the reasons why 60pc can expect to lose some or all of their benefits once the face-to-face interview system comes into place.

 

SHOCKING NEWS DU JOUR

 

Michael Gove is in dispute with the teaching unions, however implausible that may sound. The Guardian reports that the Education Secretary has written to head teachers at every state school in England urging them to take "robust" action against teachers taking "irresponsible industrial action". Predictably, the unions are furious that their "measured response" is under fire from Mr Gove. Anyone would think they didn't get on.

 

QUESTION TIME

 

Question Time is in Bristol tonight. The panel will consist of: Justine Greening, Stella Creasy,Will Self, Peter Hitchens, and Lord Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer.

 

TWEETS AND TWITS

Iain Stewart with a warning to all budding politicos. Being an MP isn't all fact-finding trips to the Maldives and expensing your parents' house. Sometimes you have to go to Germany:

@Iainastewart: "The glamorous side of political life! Heading to LHR at 0430 for a day visit to Frankfurt as part of transport cttee inquiry into airports " 

TOP COMMENT

In the Telegraph

Peter Oborne - The cowardice at the heart of our relationship with Israel

 

Sue Cameron - Sir Jeremy's Civil Service just isn't working

 

Jeremy Warner - It's time the Old Lady was given more generous growth objectives

 

Telegraph View - A timely example of state interference

Best of the rest

Martin Kettle in the Guardian - The English, bereft of history, have lost their self-respect

Steve Richards in the Independent - Why Cameron prefers tantric to wham bam thank you, mam

Chris Giles in the FT (£) - Osborne should heed Carney's not so subtle message

Stephen Glover in the Daily Mail - Immigration and Labour's unforgivable betrayal of the British people

THE AGENDA

09:00 am: Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg gives evidence to Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee. Grimond Room, Portcullis House, London.

09:30 am: Home Office to publish draft anti-social behaviour Bill.

09:45 am: Commons Public Accounts Committee takes evidence on award process for West Coast rail franchise. Witnesses: Philip Rutnam, Permanent Secretary, Department for Transport, and Clare Moriarty, Director General Corporate, Department for Transport. Committee Room 15, House of Commons.

10:00 am: Culture Minister Ed Vaizey to visit the, new Newspaper Storage Building of the British Library before it is filled with robotic shelving and becomes the home of the UK national newspaper collection. British Library, Boston Spa, West Yorkshire. Words and video planned

10:00 am: George Osborne gives evidence to Commons Treasury Committee on Autumn Statement. Thatcher Room, Portcullis House, London.

10:30 am: Charles Clarke, Lord Heseltine and Lord Reid give evidence to the Commons Political and Constitutional Committee on the effectiveness of ministerial reshuffles. Grimond Room, Portcullis House, London.

06:00 pm: Jon Cruddas speech on "the good society" to Centre for Social Justice. SJ Berwin, 10 Queen Street Place.

Green calls for realism over Europe..

The Conservative dream of returning to a common market level of participation in the EU is a "fantasy", Damian Green will say this afternoon in a speech on European policy. The Telegraph reports that Mr Green will add: "this is a fantastic vision precisely because it is a fantasy. What is in this for those on the other side of the negotiation?". Rather than head for the exits, Britain should aim to reform the EU from the inside, he will conclude.

 

This is also the plan of the German government, which has been pressing the case for British engagement with the EU. Frau Merkel has been pressing Mr Cameron to stay the course, while Dave has also been warned that he risks leaving the UK with "no voice" in Europe by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble whose remarks at a dinner party were notable for their "ferocity" towards the British government theTimes (£) reports.

 

Eurocrat rage is not confined to the British government, either. The SNP will be forced to make an emergency statement on EU membership rightsin the Scottish parliament tomorrow after being bluntly told that not only would the country need to reapply for EU membership, but that it would not inherit any of Britain's opt-outs. The Guardian reports that Nicola Sturgeon will now make a statement in response to what is beginning to look like a concerted EU campaign against independence, albeit with Spain in mind, not Britain.

 

QUADRUPLE LOCK PLEASES...NOBODY

 

Maria Miller announced the substance of the Coalition's gay marriage legislation yesterday. The major talking point was a "quadruple lock" designed to assuage those who opposed the measures on religious grounds. These safeguards include a statutory ban on gay weddings in the Church of England and Church in Wales, as the Telegraph reports. This alone was sufficient to defeat the point of the exercise, according to the Independent, whose front page grumbles that there will be "one law if you're straight - another if you're gay" (although it does balance this with a Nick Clegg op-ed). It was also sufficient to induce a state of fury on the Conservative backbenches, as Michael Deacon's sketch makes clear. Brian Binley is so cross that he has written Dave an open letter explaining why his policies will cost the party the next election:

 

"We appear to be living from 'headline' to unplanned reaction, and the chaos is harming the party’s reputation with our voters. It is not just the standing of the leadership which is imperilled through this approach, but our entire political credibility."

 

Of course, UKIP are pleased with the dissent in the Tory ranks. TheGuardian reports that the artists formerly known as "the Conservative Party in exile" will put gay marriage at the heart of their 2014 European election manifesto in the belief that it will "rip apart" the Tories. It's opportunistic, but a shrewd move. As Iain Martin writes in today'sTelegraph, Dave can't keep on upsetting all of his people, all of the time.

 

LABOUR TO OPPOSE BENEFITS CAP

 

Labour will oppose George Osborne over his cap on the rate of growth of benefit levels, the FT (£) reports. Ed Balls believes that around 6,000 families per Conservative constituency will see themselves worse off in real terms as a result of the cap. Mr Balls' remarks came in the Commons as he began his fightback after his Autumn Statement stammer. Sample line from yesterday: "These are the very families who pull up the blinds and go to work...". Much done, much still to do, as another Labour man once said.

 

MILLER AIDE WARNED TELEGRAPH OVER EXPENSES STORY

 

Maria Miller's special adviser Joanna Hindley "flagged-up" the Minister's involvement with the Leveson report in a bid to persuade the Telegraph not to publish yesterday's revelations regarding her expenses claims, we report this morning. Mrs Miller was yesterday reported to the MPs' standards watchdog after it emerged that she claimed more than £90,000 from the taxpayer for a second home where her parents lived.

 

ED M "PROUD" TO BE THE WALLACE OF BRITISH POLITICS

 

In a Grazia interview reported in today's Times (£), Ed Miliband embraces the Wallace jibes, conceding that "he has a nice dog". He also praised his wife for "quite rightly" prioritising her career (as an environmental barrister) over his. Perhaps she figures she will be in a job longer.

 

MAY TO SPEAK ON MIGRATION

 

The impact of mass migration on national demographics was laid bare in yesterday's census release. As the Mail reports, only 44.9pc of Londoners are White British and 13pc of the population as a whole is now foreign born. Against this backdrop, Theresa May will give a major speech this morning at Policy Exchange in which she is expected to relax rules on how long PhD students can remain in the country after their studies finish. The FT (£) has an interview in which she adds that she will also announce a study of ways to make the UK a less attractive destination for low skilled EU migrants. There is a lot on visa fast-tracking too, and clearly the point is to hit back at Cabinet critics who claim she is a roadblock to growth as she won't relax regulations to win the Chinese pound.

 

THERE IS A GREEN HILL NOT FAR AWAY THAT'LL SOON BE CITY WALLS

 

David Cameron appeared in front of the Commons Liaison Committee yesterday. He backed planning minister Nick Boles' call for greenfield building, although he denied having a target in mind for the development of rural land. The Telegraph reports that Dave was also keen to be part of the shale gas "revolution" as the alternative was artificially high energy bills. Nothing to do with green energy subsidies, then...

 

CARNEY MAY DROP TARGET

 

The Bank of England's new Governor may drop the CPI inflation target which guides its interest rate decision making, the Times (£) reports. Mark Carney said in a speech in Toronto that a GDP related target would be "more powerful than employing the thresholds under flexible inflationtargeting". However, given that bond investors prize low inflation rates, and the Chancellor (pictured in all the papers today looking completely at ease at a Starlight Christmas party) prizes low bond yields, Mr Carney's idea is likely to receive a very cautious reception at 11 Downing Street. 

 

TWEETS AND TWITS

Pat Glass, never one for hyperbole. Or punctuation, for that matter:

@PatGlassMP: "Northern Group of Labour MPs told chancellors cuts will be equivalent of a nuclear strike on the working poor" 

TOP COMMENT

In the Telegraph

Iain Martin - Does he not care who he's losing?

 

Mary Riddell - Britain's monumental housing crisis is the scandal of our age

 

Ruth Dudley Edwards - The rioters shouldn't worry - Ulster is safe

 

Telegraph View - Culture wars are an unwelcome import

Best of the rest

Matthew Norman in The Independent - And instead of Mr Cameron, a tub of lard...

Alice Thomson in The Times (£) - We should all give our backing to fracking

Douglas Murray in the Daily Mail - Yes, immigration can bring huge benefits. But on this scale and at this speed, it's too much to cope with

Jonathan Powell in the FT (£) - Out of Europe, Britain would be a weak tax haven

THE AGENDA

08:30 am: Leveson lecture. Lord Justice Leveson will deliver a public lecture on news gathering at the University of Melbourne, which will be screened in the UK. This will be followed by a panel discussion on his commentary, the inquiry and its impact on politics, media, society and business. Finers Stephens Innocent LLP, 179 Great Portland Street, W1W 5LS.

09:30 am: Chairman of Statistics Authority Andrew Dilnot gives evidence to the Commons Public Administration Committee. Committee Room 16, House of Commons, London.

09:30 am: Home Secretary immigration speech. Policy Exchange, 10 Storey's Gate, London, SW1P 3AY.

12:00 pm: Prime Ministers Questions. House of Commons.

12:30 pm: Publication of report on murder of Pat Finucane, with David Cameron's response in statement to House of Commons. The report of the review by Sir Desmond de Silva on the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, shot by loyalists in February 1989 is due to be published. Stormont Hotel, Belfast.

02:15 pm: Commons Treasury Committee takes evidence from banks and think-tanks on Autumn Statement. Grimond Room, Portcullis House, London.

03:15 pm: Commons Public Accounts Committee takes evidence for its post-Olympics review. Committee Room 15, House of Commons, London.

04:10 pm: Eric Pickles and ministerial team before DCLG select committee. Thatcher Room, Portcullis House, London.

06:30 pm: Universities minister David Willetts speech to the Politeia think-tank. East India Club, 16 St James's Square, London, SW1Y 4LH.

Communications bill changes needed..

BREAKING NEWS: James Brokenshire, security minister at the Home Office has been on the Today programme discussing the Government's options following the news that Nick Clegg wants to send the draft Communications Bill "back to the drawing board". He

 

"We accept the substance of the joint committee's report. They have accepted there is a need for us to make this legislation.

 

"The deadline, effectively, is the police saying they need this legislation to happen. We know that there is work to be done and I absolutely accept that. We've been working through this and noting the points that have been said and work is already advanced on making some of the changes."

 

COMING APART OVER COMING TOGETHER

 

Maria Miller appeared in the Commons yesterday to answer an urgent question on gay marriage, she will be back to make a full statement at 12:30 this afternoon. The gist will be that the Coalition, at a leadership level at least, are committed to enacting legislation, and soon. Whether Dave's masterplan to show the world the caring, sharing face of Conservatism will eventually bear fruit remains to be seen. At the moment, the modernisers and traditionalists are slugging it out in the fashion of David Davies and the Pink Pounder (Telegraph story here).

 

Dave's decision to have a fight over this one is causing him damage on the backbenches. MPs complain that he is choosing battles over issues that in their minds are marginal - gay marriage, planning, minimum alcohol price - when he should be focusing on the economy. What is more, even if he does secure passage for the Bill through the Commons, the Lords will be a different proposition. The FT (£) reports that Stewart Jackson has been trying to point out that the Coalition will not, by convention, be able to use the Parliament Act to force legislation through the Lords as gay marriage was not a manifesto commitment, meaning the entire exercise could be in vain. 

 

It isn't just the Tory backbenches stirring for a fight. It is clear from both the Mac cartoon and Quentin Letts' sketch that the Mail is prepared to go to war on the issue.  Then there is the public. Half a million of them signed a petition opposing gay marriage as part of the Government's consultation. Around 64,000 supported the proposals. So much for the biggest "listening exercise" in British history.

 

FIGHT CLUB LATEST: CLEGG V MAY

 

The Home Secretary's "snoopers charter" has created a rift between her and Nick Clegg, with the Lib Dem leader insisting that the Coalition go "back to the drawing board", according to the Guardian. Mr Clegg is concerned by the findings of a parliamentary scrutiny committee which found the £1.8bn price-tag "fanciful and misleading". In addition, the "request filter" feature on the new system would capture huge volumes of communications data, another factor in Nick's thinking. Mrs May will try and plead her case in the New Year, but the Bill is dead in its current form.

 

DAVE GOES "TANTRIC" ON THE EU

 

At least his experiences in the Coalition have given Dave a taste for breaking bread with the enemy. Yesterday he was thge guest of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, managing a Jackie Milburn moment, claiming not to have voted in the X Factor since being badgered into dialling for Will Young by his daughter. Mr Young won a completely different talent show. So far, so Tony. The Telegraph's Michael Deacon says it was one of the Prime Minister's "jazz answers". He just makes it up as he goes along.

 

The meatier segment of Mr Cameron's address dealt with Europe, not least his oft delayed European speech which is rumoured to be in the pipeline for the New Year. He is, he assured us, taking a "tantric" approach - "it'll be even better when it does eventually come". As I write in my column today, though, it is getting to the time when European policy can no longer be a laughing matter, even if he's just stalling for time:

 

"We would benefit from hearing what he wants for Europe, but he might prefer to say nothing about what he will do until we have a clearer idea of what Europe will become."

 

SHAPPS ATTACKS

 

It has been a while since a new Conservative attack line on Labour, so Grant Shapps' article on ConservativeHome this morning can be taken to signal a new direction. Whereas previously Ed was wonkish and professorial, he is now a policy vacuum. Millions of pounds of public grants for policy development have yielded no new policies at all, according to Mr Shapps. In contrast, he points out that when in opposition under Mr Tony, at the same stage of the cycle Labour had already produced a policy on mini-bus regulation. Money well spent.

 

BARROSO CLOSES THE DOOR

 

The SNP are right that there is still a debate over whether an independent Scotland would automatically enter the EU. The problem is, they are the only ones arguing that it would. Yesterday José Manuel Barroso came down firmly on the side of the noes, telling the BBC that Scotland would need to negotiate entry as a new state (FT (£) report). If the SNP still want to argue the point, perhaps Alex Salmond should forward his legal advice from earlier this year, ahem.

 

MAUDE UNDETERRED ON CIVIL SERVICE REFORM

 

Government plans to give ministers control over senior civil service appointments will be forced through despite opposition from Whitehall. Francis Maude is sticking to his guns despite the opposition of the Civil Service Commission and its head, Sir David Normington. The Guardianreports that the Coalition may legislate on the changes if they continue to meet institutional resistance.

 

PATTERSON SPARKS FEARS OF FRANKENFOODS

 

If Owen Paterson's remarks on GM food have no other legacy, there is always the resuscitation of the Mail's "Frankenstein Food Watch" to keep the march of the mutant crops at bay. Rather than a knee-jerk response, however, our leader column argues that "mankind has always modified its food sources, and has increased crop yields in the process". Mr Paterson is slowly winning converts for his bio-revolution.

 

TWEETS AND TWITS

Parliament scrutinises away:

@BillEstersonMP: "Tory MP Mark Pawsey just asked a government minister if he thought a government policy was a good idea. What a tough question " 

TOP COMMENT

In the Telegraph

Ben Brogan - Like tantric sex, our wait for a European policy goes on and on

Philip Johnston - On drugs, the law lags behind public opinion

Geoffrey Dear - Let's do away with this insult to free speech

Telegraph View - Leaders' debates are good for democracy

Best of the rest

Rachel Sylvester in the Times (£) - It's more like a souk than a rose garden now

Janan Ganesh in the FT (£) - Politicians are failing to grasp the point of business

Ross Clark in the Daily Express - Why we must not surrender in the war against drugs

Steve Richards in The Independent - With this ring...the Tories edge into the future

THE AGENDA

09:00 am: Education minister Elizabeth Truss to give a speech on international test results. The speech comes on the day research is published looking at pupil performance in reading, maths and science. Microsoft Ltd, Cardinal Place, 80-100 Victoria Street.

09:30 am: Commons Energy Committee takes evidence on shale gas. Committee Room 6, House of Commons.

09:30 am: Commons Treasury Committee takes evidence on the autumn statement from OBR chairman Robert Chote. Wilson Room, Portcullis House.

10:30 am: Commons Culture Committee takes evidence on press regulation from PCC chairman Lord Hunt. Thatcher Room, Portcullis House.

10:30 am: Work and pensions minister Steve Webb speech on child maintenance reforms. Henry Fawcett Primary School, Bowling Green Street.

10:30 am: Big Brother Watch press conference on draft Communications Bill. Speakers include Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia and Dacid Davis. Smeaton Room, 1 Great George Street. 

12:30 pm: Maria Miller statement to launch Government's gay marriage proposals. House of Commons.

02:00 pm: Commons Environment Committee takes evidence on tree health and ash dieback. Committee Room 15, House of Commons.

04:00 pm: Prime Minister David Cameron gives evidence to the Commons Liaison Committee. Questions will focus on the issues of the future direction of policing and the criminal justice system and "green government". Grimond Room, Portcullis House.

Tories at war (again)

The carousel of issues on which Coalition policy diverges violently from the passions of the Tory base clicks round again. Next in the frame, gay marriage. This morning's papers witness a concerted campaign by Tory modernisers to win over backbenchers and grass-roots activists. They also feature plenty of evidence that their exhortations have fallen on deaf ears, not least David Davies who told BBC Wales that the plans were "barking mad" (Telegraph report here).

 

Dave realises his position in the party is a weak one, hence the concerted effort to give the pro-campaign some impetus over the weekend. In this morning's Times (£) column backing the leadership, Tim Montgomerie pushes the Freedom to Marry group which was announced in a letter to the Sunday Telegraph. The organisation was responsible for releasing news of John Major's backing on the issue yesterday.

 

The Prime Minister has convinced himself that he is on the side of the Angels on this issue, while his advisers are taking comfort from consistent polling data appearing to support his position. The danger, though, as Mike Smithson writes, is that it splits the party and the cost in terms of activists is not worth the benefit in terms of the gay vote. As Bruce Anderson writes on ConservativeHome, there is also a feeling that the party is abandoning its role as a defender of social institutions lightly. It might allow the leadership to get the law passed, but at what cost to the party machine and, as importantly, the party's role?

 

PRIZE FOR EU

 

The EU's best and brightest travel to Oslo today to collect the Nobel peace prize. As the Telegraph explains, the statuette will go to the EU museum (the catchily titled "House of European History") while the $1m cheque will go to projects for children in war zones. While Herman Van Rompuy, Jose Manuel Barroso and the gang celebrate, Dave will be perfecting a speech he's planning for next week. In the FT (£), George Parker says that the Prime Minister's vision of Britain in Europe will set out a programme of concessions which he will attempt to win from Brussels, followed by a referendum vote on the new, looser relationship in the next parliament. The question is whether that referendum will include an exit option (Boris insists it will, see below).

 

One thing's for certain - it's decision time. "The speech" has been a long time in coming. As the Daily Mail's editorial puts it: "the Prime Minister has little time to lose. The country is angry with Brussels and impatient for reform." Perhaps what the paper refers to as a "nauseating...orgy of self-congratulation" in Oslo will focus his mind.

 

LABOUR TO OPPOSE BENEFIT CAP

 

George Osborne has done all he can to force Labour into voting against his electorally popular cap on the rate of increase of working age benefits. In separating the measure from the raft of other legislation required as a result of the Autumn Statement, he will force the question upon them. It looks like they will take the bait. As the Telegraph reports, Chuka Umunna said yesterday that the party would "struggle" to support measures which would "hurt" working families and those "striving" to get jobs. Strivers. Weren't they Dave's demographic? Whatever happened to the squeezed middle?

 

PATERSON BACKS FRANKENSTEIN FOODS

 

Owen Paterson has signalled his approval of genetically modified foods, arguing that GM crops have "real benefits". The Telegraph reports that Mr Paterson is "confident" the Prime Minister will find the right moment to back GM produce in Europe. In his interview with me on Saturday, Mr Paterson said that he "want[s] to get our country back" from Europe. Perhaps a case for acting unilaterally?

 

FRACKING GOOD IDEA, BORIS

 

David Cameron plans an in/out referendum on Europe in the near future, friend and confidante Boris Johnson told the world in a Sky News interview yesterday (our story is here). In his Telegraph column today, Bo-Jo notes that fracking would probably turn both George Osborne's and Owen Paterson's constituencies into industrial hubs. Pointedly, he finds space to praise the latter for being "dead right" in putting jobs above parochialism. Mr Osborne's mention is, presumably, omitted for reasons of space.

 

LABOUR BEAT PRESS TO THE PUNCH

 

Labour will publish their six-clause draft bill on press regulation today, acting ahead of the Coalition and the newspaper industry. The Guardianhails Labour's "six pillars of wisdom", but given minimal public interest in a statutory solution and none at all from Number 10, they may as well be six pillars of salt.

 

THE LIFE OF AN EX-ICON

 

Formerly the "poster girl for the Coalition", the Guardian's G2 sectionfinds Baroness Warsi content in her now role as Faith and Communities Minister. "I feel like a round peg in a round hole," she tells the paper, although as her interviewer notes, her contentment is probably still contingent on being "valuable" rather than "useful" to the party.

 

NORMINGTON BATTLES MAUDE PLAN

 

Francis Maude's scheme to allow secretaries of state to choose their own senior civil servants will be rejected by Sir David Normington, head of the Civil Service Commission, this week. The FT (£) reports that the mandarin will object to the further politicisation of the civil service. Mr Maude may legislate anyway, but as Dave showed when he barred the appointment of David Kennedy at the Energy Department, political considerations are never far from the surface, even in the current system.

 

SUNDAY BEST - IN CASE YOU MISSED THEM
From James Forsyth in the Mail on Sunday:

"Michael Gove argued that Lib Dem MPs needed to be put on the spot about whether they wanted Cameron as Prime Minister at the next Election. He argued that one of the trump cards Tory candidates had to play was that voting for them was the only way to guarantee that Cameron, not Ed Miliband, would be PM."

From Andrew Rawnsley in the Observer:

"We will see whether Conservative MPs are quite so enthusiastic for shale gas when they have to explain that to their constituents. We will also see how shire Tories take to the prospect of their pretty patches being invaded by huge convoys of juggernauts and disfigured by gas wells. Intensive drilling is incredibly disruptive." 

From John Rentoul in the Independent on Sunday

"Osborne has stolen Miliband's 'squeezed middle'. The effect of his new measures last week is to take from both the rich and the poor and to give to households in the middle of the income distribution. Thus he forced Labour into its historic stance of defending the poorest, in low-paid work and on benefits. I forecast that this, however worthy, will not be a good position for the Labour Party at the time of the election."

TWEETS AND TWITS

Ok, it's from Friday afternoon, but this must still be the political tweet of the year. Helen Flanagan is starstruck after meeting Ed Miliband:

@helenflanagan1: "@NadineDorriesMP babe your mate kept pestering me for a picture last night and boring my ear off I was like zzz" 

TOP COMMENT

In the Telegraph

Boris Johnson - Ignore the doom merchants, Britain should get fracking

Tim Loughton - Marriage matters, and it should be rewarded

Alex Spillius and Zoe Brennan - The Scot destined to lead Germany

Telegraph View - The EU takes the prize for being out of touch 
Best of the rest

Trevor Kavanagh in The Sun - We are wallowing in Labour's debt so why is Ed blocking cuts?

Melanie Phillips in the Daily Mail - When Russell Brand and Richard Branson are helping shape drug policy, something's gone horribly wrong

Leo McKinstry in the Daily Express - Economy is being strangled by the costs of welfare

Leader in the Financial Times (£) - A coalition caught on a ringfence

THE AGENDA

02:00 pm: Liam Fox speech to Open Europe and Rusi on EU, followed by Q&A. Royal United Services Institute, Whitehall.

03:15 pm: Commons Public Accounts Committee takes evidence on franchising of NHS trusts. Committee Room 15, House of Commons.

04:00 pm: Commons Transport Committee takes evidence on aviation strategy. Thatcher Room, Portcullis House.

06:00 pm: Tim Loughton speech. Tory former children's minister to call on government to introduce tax breaks for marriage. Centre for Social Justice think-tank event One Great George Street, London.