APOCALYPSE CLEGG
Lord Ashcroft's
latest poll of Lib-Con marginal seats makes grim reading for the Liberal Democrats. That Liberal MPs defending seats in Labour territory are in trouble is priced in - as
James Forsyth explained a few weeks back, around a third of Liberal Democrat MPs are "cut off behind enemy lines and there is nothing that can be done to save them" - but this poll suggests that they will lose at least a dozen seats in Conservative territory too. This suggests that rather more of the army is in jeopardy than they might expect. When you look at the contact numbers, there's some evidence that the Liberal dictum of "where we work, we win" may have some weight to it: the higher the proportion of voters who say they have heard from the Liberals locally, the more well-placed they are to hold onto the seat. Even so, it suggests that there is no sign of a coalition dividend for the Liberal Democrats - and that the price they pay for taking out the shares in the first place may be greater than they think.
FREE(ISH) SCHOOLS
"Governors told to abide by 'British values'" is the Guardian's splash today. New rules will mean that governors of academies and free schools in England can be dismissed by the Secretary of State if they do not uphold "British values". Those values are given a name, too: religious tolerance, respect for the law, democracy and equality. "Community leaders" warn that it could bar Muslims from becoming trustees or governors. No one has yet seen fit to ask these self-appointed "community leaders" why exactly they think that tolerance, respect for the law, democracy and equality are incompatible with the religion of Islam.
PIPS BLASTED
The introduction of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has been a "fiasco", Margaret Hodge has warned. MPs in the Commons Public Accounts Committee have given the replacement for the Disability Living Allowance a rollicking, with delayed assessments and late payments a feature of the handdover. Steven Ford, the chief executive of Parkinson's UK, has described the handover as "utterly shambolic". "Disabled people 'let down' by benefit 'fiasco'" is the FT's take. The Sun reports it as a blow for Iain Duncan Smith. Meanwhile, the man himself is in the Mail reporting that the pilots for the Universal Credit are on track and are helping to drive the boost in employment among British-born workers. The scheme's aims are admirable, certainly, but, considering the troubling "reset" rating awarded to the programme by the Major Projects Authority and the failings reported today, it will fuel fears that there is a troubling gulf between the idea and the implementation at the DWP.
COME FLY WITH ME (TO MARGATE)
Helen Grant's interview with the House Magazine has the papers aflutter. She suggests that people waiting for passports should stay at home instead - before going on to say that she has no fear of live interviews. Christopher Hope
has the story.