Hello and welcome to The Midge, your first bite of the day’s politics in Scotland and elsewhere.
Today
- Working mothers hit by Osborne benefit change
- EU to change asylum seeker policy
- Tory minister calls Sturgeon bluff on indy ref
- Forth Road Bridge closure inquiry begins
- Indy campers call for UN support
- Palin endorses Trump
06.00 BBC Today headlines
EC migrant policy … Questions over refugee housing … Palin … Gun battle in north west Pakistan … Defence ministers meet in Paris over Isis.
07.00 BBC Good Morning Scotland headlines
Asylum seeker changes loom … Forth Road Bridge inquiry … Pay growth in Scotland lags, says think tank … Retail sales down slightly.
The front pages
Exclusive: Kate Devlin in The Herald reports that benefit changes will leave Scots working mothers worse off by 2021. On the wing, the paper reports that Commons leader Michael Grayling reckons the FM will not call a second referendum because the oil price collapse has left a “financial black hole”. Inside, pro-independence campers at Holyrood are calling for the UN to monitor their fight against eviction, reports Daniel Sanderson.
Exclusive: The National homes in on North Sea oil, reporting that experts have called for the industry to be devolved to safeguard the resources still there.
The Scottish Daily Mail says a “stealth tax” is set to hit the pensions of 1.5 million.
The FT leads on European Commission plans to scrap the agreement under which refugees have to stay in the first place they arrive. The paper says the move will shift responsibility from the poor south to the richer north. It could pose problems for David Cameron ahead of the Brexit vote, reckons the Independent.
The Telegraph reports that Leslie Evans, the Scottish Government’s Permanent Secretary, has told spokespersons to mind their Ps and Qs when speaking on behalf of the FM. The edict follows a row over the phrase “cannon fodder” being used to comment on a Sunday Herald story about a school cadet scheme.
The Times reports that refugee families in Middlesborough have been put in homes with the red front doors, leaving them vulnerable to attack. The firm responsible for the properties says it was not deliberate and the doors will be repainted.
The Daily Record has the story of a vice empire, run from Fife, which had brothels in eight Scottish towns and cities.
House prices in Scotland are rising at twice the rate of properties in England and Wales, says the Daily Express.
The Sun looks at the growing boycott of the Oscars over its all-white best actor nomination list. Black stars are telling the Academy to “Foxtrot Oscar” says the paper.
Camley's cartoon
Camley takes a chilly view of benefit changes
Need to know
Tina Fey is far too busy these days to impersonate Sarah Palin, one time vice-presidential candidate and Tea Party darling, so it was a safe bet that the woman who turned up in Iowa to “stump for Trump” was the real deal. “Are you ready for a commander-in-chief who will kick Isis ass?” asked the former governor of Alaska in a voice that surely had dolphins and other creatures straining their necks to see where the piercing noise was coming from. Will it make a difference to Trump ahead of the Iowa caucus? Not among mainstream voters, but it has put him in the headlines today and kept rival Ted Cruz out, so job done again for the Trump PR team.
Diary
- Holyrood: Forth Road Bridge closure inquiry begins; Public Audit Committee on NHS 24; Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee takes evidence from members of the Longannet Task Force.
- Commons: Prime Minister’s Questions; 10 minute rule bill from SNP MP Owen Thompson on moving nuclear weapons.
- Davos: PM attends World Economic Summit. Speech tomorrow.
- Paris: International conference of defence ministers on countering Isis.
- London: LBC Alex Salmond radio-phone in, 4pm.
- Lords: Constitution Committee inquiry into Union and devolution with ex-heads of Civil Service Gus O’Donnell and Bob Kerslake.
- Edinburgh: Dr Catherine Calderwood to produce her first annual report since taking up the role of Scotland's Chief Medical Officer.
Talk of the steamie: the comment sections
SNP MSP Kenny MacAskill in The Herald says criticism of the party is not treason, while Maurice Smith looks at the real chances of a high-speed Glasgow-Edinburgh rail link.
Alastair Campbell in the Guardian writes about the “one big mistake” Tony Blair and Sir Alex Ferguson have in common - handling their succession.
In the Times, Alice Thomson wonders if Jeremy Corbyn is right about Trident.
Lisa Armstrong in the Telegraph reckons women should vote with their purses against retailers charging them more for the same goods as men.
Afore ye go
“It is the second time that I have challenged his exit poll. I will never do it again, ever, ever.”
Former LibDem leader Paddy Ashdown (above) recounting the moment on election night when he promised to eat his hat if the exit poll from Prof John Curtice of Strathclyde University was correct. It was.
Five
The number of hats Mr Ashdown has since eaten. One was cloth.
Donald Trump has been endorsed by one of the country's most prominent hate groups - his ex-wives.
Conan O’Brien
18,802
The civilian death toll in Iraq between 1 January 2014 and 31 October last year. The UN called the violence “staggering”.
“Political polling has been manipulated by people with money, whether it’s Lord Ashcroft or newspapers or the media, and it can change the course of history.”
Lord Foulkes (above) arguing for tighter regulation of polling. BuzzFeed
McChocolate Potatoes
AKA chips with chocolate on them, coming to a McDonald’s near you on January 26 - if you live in Japan. The Sun
“Many have remarked that the ground campaign was the best ever and, while there are inevitable geographical variations, our staff and activists did us proud.”
Margaret Beckett takes a Pythonesque look on the bright side of life in a report into Labour’s 2015 general election defeat.
“I don’t know Pamela Anderson, I’ve never seen Baywatch, and I don’t believe her coming here will add much to the parliamentary debate.”
Socialist MP Geneviève Gaillard “welcomes” the animal rights activist and former actress to France’s National Assembly. There, like campaigner Brigitte Bardot before her, she spoke in favour of a bill that would ban the force feeding of geese and ducks to make foie gras. France Bleu radio.
8,657
The number of children in Flint, Michigan exposed to lead-contaminated water. A state of emergency has been declared. Following an appeal from Flint native and filmmaker Michael Moore the US President has visited the mainly African-American city.
“Corbyn is in a unique position: he knows that the media is trying to portray him as slightly mad, but can’t mention this without sounding completely insane.”
Frankie Boyle (above), The Guardian
"We simply cannot allow the corporate greed of the coal, oil and gas industries to determine the future of humanity.”
Leonardo DiCaprio trades acting for environmental campaigning at the World Economic Forum in Davos
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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