Wednesday, March 12, 2014

EU poll pledge and Crow tributes - the papers

Miliband's 'No EU poll' pledge and Tim Berners-Lee's web 'Magna Carta' call

Financial Times front page, 12/3/14 Papers, including the Financial Times, preview a speech from Ed Miliband, who'll say Labour will only hold an in/out referendum on EU membership in the "unlikely" event of plans to transfer more power from Westminster to Brussels.
Independent front page, 12/3/14 The Independent translates Mr Miliband's speech as "No referendum on the EU under Labour". He's seeking to draw a contrast with a Conservative government that "would be distracted" by renegotiating the UK's membership, it says.
The i front page, 12/3/14 The i says Mr Miliband's decision "draws a clear dividing line between the parties". Like its sister paper, it publishes a photograph of RMT union leader Bob Crow - who died on Tuesday - on its front page.
Daily Telegraph front page, 12/3/14 The Bank of England governor's comments that interest rates could hit "normal" levels of 2-3% by 2017 lead the Daily Telegraph. It would benefit savers while borrowers were "plunged into financial difficulties", the paper says.
The Times front page, 12/3/14 More than one million additional middle-income workers will pay the 40p tax rate by next year because of government plans to boost income for the low-paid by increasing the tax-free allowance, reports the Times.
Daily Mirror front page, 12/3/14 Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror accuses Conservative Defence Secretary Philip Hammond of "gifting" his wife a £600,000 buy-to-let property to avoid tax. It quotes the minister denying this was his motive. Tax avoidance is not illegal.
Daily Express front page, 12/3/14 The Daily Express says the pension industry's trade body has ordered companies to be "more honest and straightforward" with customers, after a scathing report from watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority.
Daily Mail front page, 12/3/14 An NHS investigation is examining claims that doctors are charging care homes for visits that ought to be free, reports the Daily Mail. The paper says it's believed that some homes are passing on the costs to elderly residents.
Guardian front page, 12/3/14 Marking 25 years since the plan for a world wide web was drafted, the Guardian says its author, Tim Berners-Lee, wants a "Magna Carta" to protect the "open, neutral" web from government and corporate influence.
The Sun front page, 12/3/14 The Sun follows up the story about Cheryl Cole's return to X Factor as a judge, saying that she wants boss Simon Cowell to sack fellow judge Louis Walsh and replace him with a woman. Cowell, it says, wants to keep the Irishman.
Metro front page, 12/3/14 The Metro leads on a report from an inquest which heard a man died from heart failure after contracting a septic infection which it's believed stemmed from his habit of chewing his fingernails.

Labour leader Ed Miliband uses the Financial Times to effectively rule out holding an in/out EU referendum, should his party win power next year.

And while he talks about Brussels being "at a low ebb" and in need of reform, he writes that his party's position is clear: "We strongly believe Britain's future is in the EU."

Ed Miliband

The FT notes that Mr Miliband has said he would consider a referendum if any treaty change to accommodate greater eurozone integration had knock-on effects for Britain. It says this "cautious policy" will be welcomed by many business leaders but leaves the Labour leader open to attack from critics who say he's running away from public opinion.

For the Independent, the stance "draws a clear dividing line" between the party and the Conservatives ahead of next year's election and "could boost the prospects of a Lib-Lab coalition", given it brings Labour into line with the Liberal Democrats.

The Sun describes as a "fudge" the pledge to hold an in/out vote in the "unlikely" event of a plan to transfer more powers from Westminster the Brussels. "That will never happen," says its editorial column, adding: "Vote Tory if you want a say over our future. Vote Labour if you don't."

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Dinosaur or charmer?
Bob Crow

The Daily Mirror marks the death of Rail, Maritime and Transport union boss Bob Crow by describing him as a "true working-class hero". At the other end of the political spectrum, the Daily Express accepts he was "a real man of the people". Its writer Dominic Midgley says: "The man so often demonised as the commuters' public enemy number one was, in person, a twinkly eyed charmer."

The Daily Mail's Leo McKinstry delivers a harsher assessment, describing Mr Crow as "addicted to strike action" and "a throwback to the dark days of the 70s". The writer adds: "His hard-left dogma did not sit comfortably with his love of the good life. Crow... was paid £145,000 a year [and] enjoyed fine dining in top London restaurants." Meanwhile, the Sun says the union leader had "plenty in common" with one of his enemies, former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher: "The hide of a rhino, as hard as nails and driven only by his convictions."

In the Telegraph, former GMB union official Dan Hodges writes that "posthumous plaudits" from opponents like London Mayor Boris Johnson and transport boss Peter Hendy are "in danger of giving the impression that Bob Crow was universally loved and admired. Which is something he would have found amusing." Guardian cartoonist Steve Bell captures this, sketching Mr Johnson staring at the bowels of Hell and turning to the prime minister to say: "I didn't always see eye to eye with Satan but he always fought tirelessly for his beliefs."

The Independent's Dave Brown has Mr Crow ascending to heaven on an Underground escalator, having daubed "LEFT" over the "Please stand on the right" notice.

Peter Brookes, in the Times, sketches him shouting "Everybody out!" to the angels, while the Telegraph's Adams has him with a celestial throng around a brazier, bearing placards reading: "Stop Devilish hours". Similarly, the Daily Express pictures him telling God: "The angels want a review of their pay and conditions."

In its obituary, the Times remembers him being accused of being "a dinosaur" by the BBC's Jeremy Paxman: "'Yes, but they was around for a long time,' Crow quipped."

For Boyd Tonkin, writing in the Independent, Mr Crow was in reality "a modern unionist" who used "small-scale, hi-tech unionism" to build the RMT's power. However, the writer says it packed a "much feebler punch on the high seas", adding that newspapers would seldom give him credit for having campaigned to extend the UK minimum wage to foreign-flagged ships in domestic waters.

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Origin of the web
The NeXT Cube

The Guardian marks 25 years since the world wide web was proposed with an exclusive interview with its inventor, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who tells the paper a "global constitution - a bill of rights" is needed to ensure the "open, neutral internet we can rely on without worrying about what's happening at the back door".

He's referring to corporate influence and government spying, says the paper, which reports that his plan for a Magna Carta would enshrine the principles of free speech, privacy and responsible anonymity.

Inside, the paper charts the history of the web, including the rise of blogging, online media, Twitter, WikiLeaks and - in recent years - increasing government attempts at regulation.

The Independent pictures the now-obsolete computer, a "humble black box" called the NeXT Cube, on which Sir Tim created the web. "The only hint of its importance was a tattered white sticker with the warning: 'This machine is a server: DO NOT POWER IT DOWN!!'," it says.

"There was no initial grand ambition to emancipate the world through freedom of information for all," the paper's Jonathan Owen notes. "The beginnings were much more mundane - an attempt to improve communication between the thousands of scientists involved with Cern, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research."

Meanwhile, the Sun's consumer editor Daniel Jones describes how an "idealistic invention turned into a monster" by investigating the Dark Web - an area of the internet it says is populated by drug dealers, child abusers, hitmen and hackers.

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Lunch boxing
Nick Clegg and his wife Miriam Gonzalez-Durantez sit an eat with pupils during a visit to Lairdsland Primary School in Kirkintilloch.

The Daily Mail follows up Tuesday's front page about Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg's pledge to provide free school meals to pupils aged four-to-seven in England having been described as a "fiasco" by some headteachers, who lack facilities to put it into practice.

It quotes a former adviser to Education Secretary Michael Gove as saying that officials were only given an hour's notice ahead of the policy announcement.

The Independent sees the "coalition food fight" getting personal, with claims that Mr Clegg was warned the plan was a "bad gimmick" based on "junk calculations". These were rubbished by Lib Dem Schools Minister David Laws, who described them as "complete and utter balls", it says.

The paper quotes National Association of Head Teachers vice-president Gail Larkin as saying: "This policy was a nice sound bite and took us all by surprise. It just wasn't thought through."

In its editorial column, the Times describes the pledge as a "dog's dinner" which reveals how "coalition politics can lead to poor policy".

It adds: "The consequence is that £1bn of public money has been committed to a scheme that requires schools to reconfigure their kitchens and canteens."

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Making people click

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The Times: After Yalta, we can't betray Ukraine yet again

Financial Times: The spectre of eurozone deflation

Telegraph: China's shadow banking grinds to a halt


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