Hello and welcome to The Midge, your first bite of the day’s politics in Scotland and elsewhere.

The Herald:

Today

  • Chief of crisis-hit NHS 24 quits after six months
  • Google boss cites Scotch in his tax defence 
  • MPs slate Evel as unpopular, complex and set to be scrapped
  • Dundee University hit by £10m deficit
  • Contracts to be imposed on junior doctors in England
  • When Alex met Moira… 

06.00 BBC Radio 4 Today

Met head signals change in approach to child abuse claims … Hunt to impose new contract on doctors … Health charities say NHS England winter woes spreading to summer … New Jersey governor Chris Christie quits Republican race …  Vice-chancellor pay averages £270k … BT to launch “junk voice mail” service to beat nuisance calls. 

07.00 BBC Good Morning Scotland

Smith Commission members back SNP in fiscal framework fight … MSPs to back deadline extension … Evel report … Plans to close Cornton Vale outlined … World’s longest surviving heart transplant patient dies 33 years after surgery. 

Front pages

The Herald:

Exclusive: In The Herald, health correspondent Helen Puttick reveals that Ian Crichton, appointed to head NHS 24 last August, is leaving for a job in the private sector. The phone line’s new IT system has been hit by multiple delays and is £40m over budget. 

The National welcomes a £4.25m tourism drive centred on the personality of Scots. 

The Herald:

The Evening Times reports that the family of an eight-year-old Glasgow boy killed by a falling gravestone are calling for a Fatal Accident Inquiry into his death. 

The Guardian highlights a report from the Syrian Centre for Policy Research which estimates 470,000 people - 11% of the population - have been killed in the conflict. 

The Scotsman confirms that scientist Mary Somerville will be the new face on the RBS £10 note. 

The Times claims UKIP was aware that at least 14 of its candidates in elections last May had violent pasts, but let them stand anyway. 

The Telegraph goes with David Cameron’s claim that an independent Scotland would have faced “calamity” due to falling oil prices. 

The FT reckons stock market turbulence makes a second rate rise by the Fed less likely. 

The Daily Record reports on a mentally ill Scot who killed himself after his benefits were stopped by mistake. 

Camley's cartoon

The Herald:

Camley flushes out the problem with Scotland’s blocked sewers. 

Need to know

The Herald: Google: What are people looking for in our area?

Form an orderly queue, ladies and gents, for the Commons show of the day. Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee are Google chiefs and HMRC, both attempting to explain why the billions-earning multinational is paying just £130 million in back taxes. Google CEO Matt Brittin gave a hint of what will be said in a piece in the Telegraph in which he enlisted Scotch in his defence. Tax should be paid where a product is designed and created, writes Matt Brittin, not where it is consumed. In support of his argument he enlists the “99 million cases of Scotch whisky sold worldwide”. Google is an American company, says Mr Brittin, ergo that is where it pays most of its tax. As for that £130m bill, it was not a “sweetheart deal” he insists. Google pays 20% corporation tax, he says, same as any other firm. If it is any consolation to Google, at least they will not be facing Margaret “You do do evil” Hodge this time. Ms Hodge stood down this year to be replaced by former Labour minister Meg Hillier. 

Diary

  • Commons: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee report on English Votes for English Laws; Google before the Public Accounts Committee on corporate tax deals.
  • Holyrood: FMQs; Community Justice Bill; Burial and Cremation Bill. Edinburgh: Health Secretary Shona Robison to mark construction milestone at £48 million Royal Edinburgh Hospital campus.
  • Edinburgh: Monty Python Terry Gilliam to unveil quote inspired by Don Quixote as part of the Words on the Streets scheme. 
  • London: Hilary Benn speech and Q&A on Europe.
  • Commons: Downing Street: Prime Minister hosts Business Ambassadors roundtable and reception. 

Talk of the steamie: the comment pages

Iain Macwhirter in The Herald finds voter anger is the energy fuelling the US presidential nomination process, while John McLellan reckons changes to tenancy rules could lead to a headache for landlords. 

Chris Giles in the FT says Britain has become the 2% society - the standard UK pay rise since 2010. 

Andrew Tickell in the Times asks for realism about the problems refugees face. 

Emma Barnett in the Telegraph says watch out for NGMs - “Nice Guy Misogynists”. They don’t seem like “full fat sexists”, writes Barnett, but privately their views on women are outdated. 

Afore ye go

The Herald:

“The first time I kissed Moira I think she was a Conservative.”

Mr Salmond gives his other half a mention on his LBC radio show when asked about a YouGov survey showing birds of different political feathers are increasingly unlikely to flock together. 

The Herald: Michael Fabricant has tabled an amendment designed to derail the High Speed Rail Bill

"I have just been advised by experts that if we leave the EU the Angel of Death will take the first-born of each family."

Tory MP Michael Fabricant declares himself unmoved by efforts to scare him into the “in” camp on Brexit. 

The Herald:

“DAWN OF THE BRAIN DEAD: Clown comes back to life with NH win as mindless zombies turn out in droves”

The New York Daily News gives its own inimitable front page verdict on Trump’s win in New Hampshire.

The Herald:

“Paper will close soon!”

The Donald takes to Twitter to hit back

The Herald:

"I want to get rid of frankly this grievance agenda and let you get on with a governing agenda and then we can see what you're made of.”

David Cameron challenges the SNP in the Commons

The Herald:

1.3%

The pay rise, amounting to nearly £1k, coming MPs way in April. The public sector pay cap is 1%. MPs currently earn 74k following an earlier 10% hike. 

The Herald:

"In a few years hopefully I will have saved up enough for a deposit.”

Despite earning 74k, Tory MP William Wragg (above) says he is part of the “boomerang” generation who have to live with their parents because they cannot afford to buy.

The Herald:

$28.8 million

The price paid by Oprah for a 23-acre equestrian estate in California. Horses are not included in the price. CNN

The Herald:

"He was wearing an 'I love the unions' badge because he loves the unions.”

A spokesman for Jeremy Corbyn states the bleedin’ obvious on the Labour leader’s choice of lapel wear at PMQs.

The Herald:

“The Obamas complained that the Wi-Fi in the White House is weak. That’s why, as of this morning, President Obama and his family have moved into a Starbucks.”

Conan O’Brien

The Herald:

The first flushing lavatory for women opened in Bedford Street, London, this day in 1852. Rumours that there is still a long queue while the gents is empty are perhaps unfounded. 

Thank you for reading The Midge. See you tomorrow.