May launches racial equality review of public services
‘Theresa May has ordered a year-long audit of all public services to ensure ethnic minorities and the white working classes are not being treated unfairly. The root-and-branch review will consider whether people are treated differently by schools, hospitals and the courts because of racial background. The huge administrative exercise will put extra pressure on public services at a time of crisis, with the NHS in deficit and schools overcrowded. Mrs May said the plan would help tackle ‘burning injustices’ and reveal ‘difficult truths’ about how race affects the level of service people receive. It will consider whether someone’s skin colour affects how quickly they get a GP appointment or how well they do at school – and whether they are more likely to be tasered.’ – Daily Mail
- It’s a gimmick – Daily Mail Leader
- It will reveal ‘difficult truths’ – The Sun (£)
- She’s staying true to her word, says Downing Street – The Times (£)
>Today: ToryDiary: May begins her promised war on ‘burning injustices’
She will invoke Article 50 without a parliamentary vote
‘Theresa May will not hold a parliamentary vote on Brexit before opening negotiations to formally trigger Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, The Telegraph has learned. Opponents of Brexit claim that because the EU referendum result is advisory it must be approved by a vote in the Commons before Article 50 – the formal mechanism to leave the EU – is triggered. However, in a move which will cheer Eurosceptics, The Telegraph has learned that Mrs May will invoke Article 50 without a vote in Parliament…Mrs May has consulted Government lawyers who have told the Prime Minister she has the executive power to invoke Article 50 and begin the formal process of exiting the European Union without a vote in Parliament. Her decision will come as a blow to Remain campaigners, who had been hoping to use Parliament to delay or halt Brexit entirely.’ – Daily Telegraph
- Set out a plan and a timetable now – The Sun Says (£)
- Parliament must respect the verdict of the people – Daily Telegraph Leader
- O’Donnell searches for a way to avoid Brexit – The Times (£)
- He wants a regulator of political campaigns – The Times (£)
- Smith accuses Corbyn of voting Leave – Daily Mail
- Politicians are responsible for Brexit – Ed Conway, The Times (£)
Nelson: Be honest with us and ditch the ‘tens of thousands’ target
‘The “tens of thousands” target will come to be just as toxic for Mrs May as it was for Mr Cameron. This week we heard that the figure is bobbing away near its record high, with net migration from the EU having TREBLED over the past six years. Brexit won’t help. It will take two to three years for Britain to leave the EU — and any new system will take years to have any effect. So by the 2020 election, Mrs May risks being the woman who has spent ten years missing this target. The existence of this target is a nonsense, a deceit that the Cabinet allows to be perpetrated on the public. And leaving the EU won’t transform things.’ – Fraser Nelson, The Sun (£)
- Osborne and May wanted a tougher deal on migrants, but Cameron demurred, Balls reveals – The Times (£)
- The EU is still failing to deal with the Syrian migrant crisis – The Guardian Leader
British consumers didn’t let Project Fear put them off spending
‘Upbeat British families went on a spending spree ahead of the EU referendum as they brushed off scare stories over Brexit, official figures showed yesterday. Households spent a record £291.4billion between April and June – up three per cent on the same period last year. This is the biggest increase since 2007 before the financial crisis struck and was the key driver of economic growth of 0.6 per cent in the second quarter of the year.’ – Daily Mail
- Consumer confidence bounces back – Daily Telegraph
- Sterling rally continues – Daily Telegraph
The Sun asks whether the NHS is sustainable
‘There is no magic money tree. The Tories have already injected massive sums, with more promised — yet big cuts to care are still on the cards. Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn talks of renationalising every aspect of healthcare. But his crazy economics would bankrupt Britain and the NHS with it. It should be obvious that the days of the health service, as it is currently run and funded, are numbered. Let’s rethink it and improve it for the next 50 years.’ – The Sun Says (£)
- There may be trouble ahead… – The Guardian
Parris: Get on with boundary reform
‘We should keep our nerve but begin the inspection of each loose brick in our rambling edifice of constituencies. At the crudest and most basic level our voting system is becoming less and less fair — but at a pace too slow for daily news to notice. More than 100,000 voters on the Isle of Wight may choose a single MP to send to parliament. Half that number do the same in Wrexham. One person, one vote is at the heart of our system but voters in one part of Britain can be worth double their counterparts in another. Our constituencies have got out of kilter with our population and the disparity is growing…Now the task falls to Theresa May. The masonry has deteriorated further, the rebuild will be more painful and resistance will grow. Before the caterwauling starts, let’s remind ourselves of the justice of what she will be trying to do.’ – Matthew Parris, The Times (£)
‘I’m not wealthy,’ declares Corbyn
‘Jeremy Corbyn today said he does not consider himself wealthy, despite earning more than £137,000 a-year, owning a £600,000 home and a £1.6million pension. The Labour leader was announcing a new policy to fund the arts during a visit to Edinburgh as he said high arts such as ballet and opera should not be the preserve of the wealthy, adding: ‘I don’t consider myself high-brow or wealthy, but I still enjoy some aspects of classical music.’ He was immediately branded ‘out of touch,’ with critics pointing out he earns five times the average UK salary.’ – Daily Mail
- McDonnell accuses Labour officials of ‘rigged purge’ – Daily Mail
- His team are charging £10 to fund management of selfie queues – Daily Telegraph
- The Opposition strikes last minute conference security deal – The Times (£)
- Labour has lost the ability to spin – Philip Collins, The Times (£)
- The Greens are holding out hope for an alliance – The Guardian
>Yesterday: Iain Dale’s Friday Diary: Short-tempered Corbyn’s mask is slipping
UKIP leadership candidate calls for the BBC to be privatised
‘The BBC should be privatised so the public can stop having “left-wing propaganda rammed down our throats”, a Ukip leadership candidate has said. Bill Etheridge, the West Midlands MEP, received huge cheers last night during the race’s final hustings after he suggested the national broadcaster should be sold off. Last week Mr Etheridge contacted the police after his girlfriend posted pictures of Viagra tablets she claimed were his and accused him of having an affair.’ – Daily Telegraph
- How can it be right to put Purnell in charge of BBC Radio? – Stephen Glover, Daily Mail
French court lifts burkini ban
‘Bans on Islamic swimwear were ruled unlawful yesterday by France’s highest administrative court in a victory for campaigners who opposed decrees by the mayors of 31 coastal resorts. The Council of State said the burkini bans that began after the Nice terrorist massacre of July 14 “seriously breached the fundamental freedoms to come and go, the freedom of beliefs and individual freedom”.’ – The Times (£)
- It was a betrayal of freedom – Janice Turner, The Times (£)
- Cut the authorities a bit of slack – Jeremy Clarkson, The Sun (£)
- Liberalism isn’t liberal towards religious conservatives – Tim Stanley, Daily Telegraph
- French politicians are so bad, even Sarkozy looks credible – The Times Leader (£)
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Soldiers on the streets. Police dictating what bathers wear. France acts tough but looks powerless.
New ISIS video shows British child murdering a prisoner
‘A chilling new video from ISIS shows a British boy and four other children executing prisoners in cold blood in Syria. The grotesque nine-minute video is believed to have been recorded recently in the ISIS capital of Raqqa, in Syria, and shows the organisation is becoming even more brutal as it retreats into its heartland. The video shows five boys – believed to be from Britain, Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia and Uzbekistan, wielding handguns and wearing the desert camouflage.’ – Daily Mail
- Terrorists send new wave of attackers into Europe – Daily Mail
- Five men arrested in Birmingham at alleged ‘bomb factory’ – Daily Mail
- Student jailed for aiding Syria fighters – Daily Mail
- The UN raises concerns about Prevent – The Times (£)
News in Brief
- Secret KFC recipe revealed at last – The Times (£)
- Airline’s smart chip plan to make lost bags history – Daily Mail
- Judge tells thug: “You’re jailed. LOL.” – The Times (£)
- Avis stings customers with ‘Brexit tax’ – The Sun (£)
And finally…
Merkel ‘quite fancied’ Cameron, his biographer suggests
‘Sir Anthony Seldon believes that the former Prime Minister was able to flatter the German chancellor and in return she took a shine to him. At the Edinburgh International Book Festival he proclaimed: ‘I think she quite fancied him, actually. He charmed her, he knew how to flatter her. And let’s face it, they’re not a whole bundle of fun, the other EU leaders.” – Daily Mail