“The government will set out the vast parts of public life which would be affected by Britain’s crashing out of the EU acrimoniously when it publishes the first tranche of no-deal contingency plans next Thursday. Whitehall departments are finalising a batch of technical notices that will explain how the government plans to keep different sectors of the economy running if the UK leaves the bloc at the end of March without a deal. The 84 papers will cover topics ranging from animal breeding to seafarer certification, according a list leaked to the website Buzzfeed.” – The Times
“It is now beyond doubt that the political class in Westminster and many of their media allies do not accept the EU referendum result. They refuse to acknowledge the wishes of the majority of those who took part in that historic plebiscite of 2016 by voting to leave the European Union. As far as I’m concerned, this is the worst case of Stockholm syndrome ever recorded. … A vital part of making this decision was based upon a tangible instinct to leave the single market. Yet under Theresa May’s fraudulent Chequers plan, the people have instead been offered a form of regulatory alignment. What is more, nothing will be done to take back control of our borders, our fishing rights or our ability to be a global trader for many years to come. Theresa the Appeaser has produced a set of ideas that are nothing more than a cowardly sell-out. With all this in mind, now is the time for action.” – Daily Telegraph
“Shoppers will be spared direct taxes on plastic products after the government decided to reduce consumption of single-use plastic by targeting manufacturers. Philip Hammond, the chancellor, will announce new taxes in the autumn budget designed to encourage manufacturers to use more recycled plastic in their products and discourage them from using packaging which is hard to recycle, such as black plastic food trays. The Treasury had previously suggested that there could be new taxes on coffee cups and takeaway boxes, pointing to the success of the 5p charge on plastic carrier bags that has reduced their use by more than 80 per cent.” – The Times
“Phillip Hammond was last night accused of abandoning savers as the Government’s savings arm prepares to slash the pay out on its best Isa – just weeks after the Bank of England hiked rates. National Savings & Investment (NS&I) is poised to cut its easy-access Direct Isa rate from 1 per cent to 0.75 per cent on September 24. Currently, 387,000 people hold £4.6billion in Direct Isa accounts – an average of almost £12,000 each. The rate cut means instead of earning £120 a year in interest, the average saver will get just £90. A decade ago its top Isa paid 5.8 per cent – £696. Experts have criticised NS&I, which raises money for the Treasury and also administers premium bonds, for failing savers who have suffered a decade of poor returns.” – Daily Mail
“The prisons minister has pledged to resign unless ten jails targeted for special measures to tackle drugs and violence show a reduction in assaults. Rory Stewart made his commitment after announcing a £10 million package of measures intended to drive up standards in ten of the most challenging prisons in England and Wales. … Mr Stewart told the BBC Breakfast programme yesterday: “I will quit if I haven’t succeeded in 12 months in reducing the level of drugs and violence in those prisons. I want to make a measurable difference. I believe that this can be turned around and I want you to judge me on those results and I will resign if I don’t succeed.”” – The Times
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>Today: ToryDiary: Like the Scots, the Welsh Conservatives face a once-in-a-generation strategic opportunity
“All my life, Britain has lived in the shadow of terror. On October 5, 1974, three days after I was born, the Provisional IRA bombed two pubs in Guildford, killing five people. A month later they struck again, killing 21 people in two more pub bombings in Birmingham. Ever since, with grim regularity, the attacks have continued. No sooner had the IRA laid down their guns in the late Nineties than Britain became a target for Islamist extremists. Suicide bombers killed 52 people on the London transport system in July 2005. More Islamist militants murdered Fusilier Lee Rigby in horrific circumstances in Woolwich in 2013. Another Islamist murdered four pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and a policeman guarding Parliament in March 2017. A few weeks later, eight people were killed and dozens wounded in London’s Borough Market.” – Daily Mail
“Corbynistas today mocked a Labour Jewish MP for saying a disciplinary probe into her ‘anti-Semite’ jibe at Jeremy Corbyn made her feel like a Jew in Nazi Germany. Dame Margaret Hodge, who lost family in the Holocaust, said learning she was under investigation after the encounter made her think ‘as if they were coming for me’. But she has faced an onslaught of derision from Mr Corbyn’s supporters on Twitter who have posted outlandish comparisons to mock her. The users, including an aide to the Labour MP and Corbyn ally Laura Pidcock, have made the hashtag #HodgeComparisons trend on Twitter.” – Daily Mail
“Recently the NHS was called upon by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to preserve the fertility of young trans people by banking their sperm and eggs. … But where is the ethical debate and long-term research into how Lupron — a prostate cancer drug used “off label” on children — affects brain development at puberty? Or into the impact of massive, lifelong doses of testosterone on young natal women’s health? Or into where this enormous surge in children diagnosed with gender dysphoria (ie feeling they are in the wrong sex body) is coming from? In particular, why are 1,806 of the 2,509 adolescents (72 per cent) referred in 2017-18 to the Tavistock NHS gender identity service girls? Such is the power of the trans lobby to damage academic careers with accusations of transphobia that few dare challenge new orthodoxies.” – The Times