Good morning and welcome to The Midge, your first bite of the day’s politics from Scotland and elsewhere.
Today
- Vote on Syria tomorrow as Corbyn accuses PM of rush to war
- Out-of-hours GP services under strain
- Wales first in UK to adopt presumed consent for organ donation
- Yorkshire Ripper to be transferred from secure hospital to prison
- FM (above) learned of police spy claims “in summer”
06.00 BBC Radio Four Today headlines
Cabinet to endorse Syria vote … Psychiatrists say Peter Sutcliffe “no longer mentally ill”… Disruption in NHS England despite doctors’ strike being cancelled … Schools inspectorate reports north/south divide within England … Wales adopts opt-in plan for organ transplants … Police investigate “fat cards” intimidation on Tube.
07.00 BBC Good Morning Scotland headlines
PM set for Syria vote … Prince Charles to deliver climate change speech … Disabled man appeals over refusal to give assisted suicide prosecution guidelines … Sutcliffe transfer … Employee leaps to death at Nairobi university after emergency drill mistaken for real thing … MPs back third runway at Heathrow “if it does not add to noise/pollution” … Charity set up in memory of Scots aid worker Linda Norgrove raises £1 million.
The front pages
The Herald splashes on the Syria vote, while Health Correspondent Helen Puttick reports on a Scottish Government-ordered review of out-of-hours GP services which says patients in future might not automatically see a doctor during evenings and weekends. Inside, Paul Hutcheon reports that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon became aware of allegations of Police Scotland spying on journalists’ sources over the summer, but did not comment as a watchdog was investigating. Holyrood’s Justice Committee meets today.
The National takes the Edwin Starr approach ahead of the Syria vote, asking “Labour: what is it good for?” Absolutely nothing is the paper’s answer.
The Evening Times says a former nurse at Inverclyde Royal Hospital is facing a disciplinary hearing for alleged misconduct.
The Scottish Daily Mail leads on the out-of-hours NHS review, reporting that medic shortages led to NHS Borders flying a doctor in from Australia at a cost of £15,000 in wages.
There is no such thing as a male or female brain, reports The Times. A study carried out in Israel did not find consistent differences between the sexes.
The Daily Telegraph reports on an attack on the Scottish Government’s university governance reforms. Professor Jim Naismith, a Fellow of the Royal Society, says that this should happen in the birthplace of the Enlightenment is “a source of shame”.
The FT reports on Aberdeen Asset Management’s tenth consecutive quarter of net fund outflows. The paper says the withdrawals, caused by falling oil prices among other factors, put further pressure on chief executive Martin Gilbert.
The Guardian pictures heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill, one of 12 contenders, including Davis Cup victor Andy Murray (above), up for this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.
The Daily Express goes with Carrie Fisher’s interview with Good Housekeeping. The actor (above) says she was told by Star Wars bosses to lose 35lbs. “Nothing changes, it’s an appearance-driven thing.”
The Daily Record has a picture of Glasgow mum Mary Baird at her son’s wedding. Mrs Baird, 57, died hours later when a taxi she was travelling home in was hit by a car being chased by police.
The Sun shows a 12-tonne bin lorry operating in Glasgow city centre, despite a ban imposed after last year’s crash tragedy. “Trucking disgrace” says the paper.
Camley's cartoon
Camley on what Jeremy Corbyn calls David Cameron's rush to war on Syria.
Need to know
It is all about the numbers now. The Prime Minister believes he has enough votes to win a convincing majority on extending British air strikes from Iraq to Syria. As Michael Settle and Kate Devlin report in The Herald today, the Shadow Cabinet was told almost 100 of the 231-strong PLP backed air strikes. On the night, in a vote expected at 10pm on Wednesday following a full day’s debate (PMQs has been cancelled), it is thought some 50 Labour MPs could vote with the Government. If that is embarrassing to the Labour leader, he also faces the prospect of opening the debate by opposing air strikes, then watching his Shadow Foreign Secretary, Hilary Benn, close it by supporting them.
Talk of the steamie: the comment sections
Colette Douglas Home in The Herald says Andy Murray, who has hit the sporting heights through merit, does not need a knighthood. “What can any gong add to Murray’s success?” David Leask looks at the negative impact of declining tourism in the Islamic world. Iain Macwhirter is starting to believe Jeremy Corbyn’s tea might well be oot, while letter writers look ahead to the Syria vote.
In The Guardian, Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair’s former chief of staff, says the west needs to fight Isil - and talk to them.
The FT marks the arrival of its new owner, Japanese publishing house Nikkei, with a front page letter from editor Lionel Barber. “New owners, new partners, same pink FT,” he writes.
Philip Johnston in The Telegraph says Mrs Thatcher was ahead of her time on climate change.
In The Times, Hugo Rifkind looks at the bullying allegations surrounding the Tories.
Graham Grant in The Scottish Daily Mail reckons the first item on the to-do list of Scotland’s new police chief should be “stop carrying the can for SNP mistakes”, while Siobhan Synnot casts a critical eye over the Salmond portrait row.
The diary
- Westminster: Treasury Questions; Immigration Bill; Chancellor before Treasury Committee on Spending Review and EU reform; Westminster Hall debate, SNP on Small Business Saturday and benefit sanctions.
- City: Bank of England publishes results of stress tests on UK banks.
- London: 113,000-signature petition against excessive thinness in models to be delivered to Downing Street.
- Holyrood: Health (Tobacco, Nicotine and Care) Bill.
- London: Labour launches EU "in" campaign
Afore ye go
“It was like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
A Labour MP comes down with a touch of the Barry Normans when describing last night’s Parliamentary Labour Party meeting. Kevin Schofield, @PolhomeEditor
“So a party that says it is anti-airstrikes has just made a vote for airstrikes more likely?! Go figure.”
FM Nicola Sturgeon reacts to Corbyn’s free vote decision, Twitter
“Outstanding and majestic.”
Commons Speaker John Bercow (above) sums up Andy Murray’s Davis Cup performance.
"For some reason if you share the "happy St Andrew's day" thing on Facebook it comes up with a Romanian flag? Eh?”
Shurely shome confusion yesterday before the social media site got its Saltire act together.
"What greater rejection of those who would tear down our world than marshalling our best efforts to save it.”
President Obama makes his plea for a UN climate change deal in Paris.
“It shouldn't be such a big step but it is.”
Photographer Annie Leibovitz (above) on the new Pirelli calendar featuring, for the most part, clothed women.
“The bus was among the first ways I realised there was a black world and a white world.”
It is 60 years today since Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. The Story Behind the Bus, The Henry Ford
Thank you for reading The Midge: your first bite of the day’s politics in Scotland and elsewhere. See you tomorrow.
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