Good morning and welcome to The Midge, your first bite of the day’s politics from Scotland and elsewhere. 

The Herald:

Top stories today

06.00 BBC Radio 4 Today Headlines

UK Government moves away from air strikes agains Isil in Syria … Crime commissioners in England and Wales considering legal action over funding changes ... English Education Secretary Nicky Morgan to boost pupil testing … Social Market Foundation warns new pension freedoms could lead to money running out … Computer games keep older brains fighting fit … and the death of Peter Donaldson, BBC Radio 4 newsreader, is announced. 

07.00 BBC Good Morning Scotland Headlines

Downing Street rejects reports it has shelved plans for air strikes on Syria … the Scottish Government needs a “new sense of urgency” to tackle the attainment gap between rich and poor, says Commission on School Reform … MSPs debate SNP motion on Trident … Britain’s global standing at risk due to cuts in diplomatic budgets, say foreign and defence experts … Private landlords urge Scottish Government to think again on new tenancy rules … and relatives of those who died or were injured in the Glasgow bin lorry crash speak to BBC Scotland for a documentary to be shown tonight at 7pm. 

The front pages

The Herald:

The Herald reports that Labour is in open revolt over the party’s new Trident policy

The Herald:

The National reckons Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale had “a bad day at the branch office” yesterday after being “slapped down” by UK Labour over the weekend vote

The Herald:

The Evening Times reports that Police Scotland are to crack down on firework throwing thugs

The Daily Telegraph says Scottish defence workers feel betrayed by union bosses over Trident vote. The Daily Express reports on a new survey saying six million pensioners are set for a lonely Christmas. The Daily Record says First Minister Nicola Sturgeon can now “use our Vow” following the UK Government’s handover of new powers over benefits. 

The Scottish Daily Mail predicts higher tax bills for Scots once benefits powers kick in. The Sun says just two glasses of diet soda a day can increase the risk of heart failure. The Guardian and The Times lead on David Cameron’s climb-down over Syrian air strikes. The Scotsman carries a picture of the Garden of Remembrance opening in Edinburgh.

The Independent says 700 children a day are now claiming asylum in Europe. Finally, the Financial Times reports that US regulators have widened their investigations over emissions testing to include Porsche and Audi.  

The Herald:

Camley's Cartoon: Alex Salmond's alma mater in monument rejection  

The Herald:

Behind The News

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale (above) looked as though she wanted to park the Trident vote and move on after the party’s historic vote at the weekend in Perth. No such luck. Yesterday, as supporters of unilateral disarmament argued that the Scottish move would now put pressure on the UK party to change policy, Shadow Defence Secretary Maria Eagle said it would do no such thing.

Today, the focus shifts to Holyrood where, as good fortune or good planning would have it, the SNP leads debate on “Trident - Welfare or Warfare”. As The Herald’s Kate Devlin and Daniel Sanderson report, not all MSPs will be backing the new line agreed in Perth.

Jackie Baillie, Dumbarton MSP for Labour and spokeswoman on public services and wealth creation, said she would be voting against her party’s position and said Scottish Labour needed a “reality check”. Ms Baillie told the paper she would be arguing for the workers at Faslane and Coulport bases. “The vote in Scotland doesn’t matter, the decision will be taken by the UK parliament and the party’s UK position is to be in favour of multilateral disarmament.”

The Herald:

The fallout over the Perth vote is also reported in The Daily Telegraph which says Unite members at the Clyde Naval bases are furious over their union’s claim that alternative employment was an option if Trident goes. They might as well “apply for jobs in Brigadoon” said a statement from shop stewards. While it was mildly embarrassing for Ms Dugdale, a multilateralist, to see the vote go against her at the weekend, it was a party conference vote and defence is a reserved matter. It becomes more difficult for her, and the UK party, to hold the line if Labour MSPs vote with the SNP at Holyrood today. 

Here is the motion to be debated: 

Keith Brown: Trident, Welfare or Warfare — That the Parliament notes with concern new analysis by the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, which suggests a dramatic increase in the projected cost of the successor Trident nuclear weapons programme to £167 billion; believes that it is indefensible for the UK Government to commit billions of pounds of public money to nuclear weapons, particularly when individuals and families across Scotland and the UK are suffering from the consequences of austerity cuts, and calls on the UK Government to cancel plans for the renewal of Trident.Scottish Government Debate: Trident, Welfare or Warfare

Decision time: 5pm

Yes, no, maybe: Calculated confusion reigns this morning over the UK Government’s position on air strikes against Isil in Syria. Both The Guardian and The Times report that plans for a Commons vote have been shelved due to fears Labour MPs will join Tory rebels in opposing military action.

The anti-air strikes position is bolstered by a report today from the Commons foreign affairs committee which says there should be no extension of British military action into Syria “unless there is a coherent national strategy that has a realistic chance of defeating Isil and of ending the war in Syria”.

Come this morning, a Downing Street was telling the BBC that reports of a U-turn were “compete nonsense”. Expect the position to become clearer when Mr Cameron responds to the Tory-dominated Foreign Affairs Committee report today.  

The Herald:

Snubs, snubs, everywhere: Yesterday we reported that SNP MP Michelle Thomson, under investigation over property dealings, had been “uninvited” from the Scottish Business Awards this month. Today, reports the Financial Times, new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (above) has uninvited himself from speaking at the CBI conference next week.

The Herald:

John Cridland, CBI director-general, said he was “really disappointed” no one from the party would be speaking at the event. Also saying thanks but no thanks is the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, which turned down the chance to display some 300 items from former prime minister Margaret Thatcher (above) including handbags, wedding dress, and a ministerial red box. The museum said it only collected items of “outstanding aesthetic or technical quality”. The items will now be sold at auction. 

The Diary

Scotland

  • Health and Sport Committee: Alcohol (Licensing, Public Health and Criminal Justice) (Scotland) Bill
  • Education and Culture Committee: Skills Development Scotland
  • Justice Committee: Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Bill
  • Welfare Reform Committee: Future Delivery of Social Security in Scotland
  • Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee
  • Chamber Business: Scottish Government Debate, Trident - Welfare or Warfare

Westminster 

The Herald:

Charles Kennedy, pictured at Glasgow University in 1981, will be remembered today 

  • Memorial service for Charles Kennedy
  • Defence Secretary and French counterpart meet to mark the fifth anniversary of increased cooperation
  • Chancellor George Osborne in Berlin
  • End of day debate on support for children of military personnel and veterans with SNP MP Martin Docherty
  • Westminster Hall debate on maternity discrimination with SNP MP Stuart C McDonald 
  • Defence Committee on potential threats in upcoming defence review
  • Foreign Affairs Committee on benefits of UK’s EU membership
  • Treasury Commitee on benefits of the EU 

Afore Ye Go

“We’ve not yet fixed a timetable but it won’t be short.”

Maria Eagle, Shadow Defence Secretary, on Labour’s defence review following Scottish Labour’s rejection of Trident renewal, World at One

The Herald:

“There will be another children’s book.”

Harry Potter author JK Rowling (above) sets a hare running on the Radio 2 Book Club. Rumours of a gifted orphan who single handedly saves the Union through magic powers are probably much exaggerated. 

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Thank you for reading The Midge, your first bite of the day’s politics from Scotland and elsewhere. See you again tomorrow.