Cameron: budget errors left government 'ploughing into brick

Back in mid-March, just days before his vital Budget, George Osborne was so confident of it being a success that he took himself to America to join David Cameron at a White House dinner. A chancellor with a Budget to finalise traditionally spends the week before it cloistered with his senior officials, burning the midnight oil at his desk in the Treasury on Whitehall.

“I wasn’t surprised he went to Washington,” says one of the Chancellor’s Labour opponents, who has studied him closely. “George Osborne is such a political junkie that there was no way he would be able to resist the glamour of hanging out with Obama when he should have been concentrating on getting his Budget right.”

At the time, those who questioned the wisdom of Mr Osborne’s trip were told to calm down. Relax, it will all be perfectly fine, said the Chancellor’s supporters. Many of the biggest decisions couldn’t be taken until the last minute, after consultation with the Liberal Democrats, when Mr Osborne was back from Washington. Understand, said the Osbornites, that Coalition budgets are different from budgets in which one party is in charge.

The Chancellor’s Budget was certainly different. More than six weeks on, the Government is still struggling to clear up the mess. One wit joked last week that the next Budget should be written in pencil, so that it is easier to rub out afterwards. What was supposed to be an upbeat “package for growth” has destroyed Mr Osborne’s carefully cultivated reputation as his party’s master strategist. The Chancellor today is a diminished figure trying to figure out a way to get back on track.

The measures "at the heart of the budget" remained in place, he said – lifting the threshold at which people start to pay income tax and cutting the top rate of tax from 50p to 45p.

It has been reported on the ConservativeHome website that Osborne, as the Guardian reported before the budget, wanted to cut the top rate of tax down to 40p but was blocked in the final negotiations by Cameron and the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg. Osborne had intended to say the government would cut the top rate to 40p by the end of the parliament.

Some of the current tensions between No 10 and 11 flow from the dispute, even though those tensions are mild compared with similar rows in the Labour era.

But the Mail on Sunday has reported that Osborne's parliamentary aide, Sajid Javid, warned him him that the budget, including the granny tax, would be a disaster. Osborne had told him it was too late to change anything.

A Conservative MP writing on condition of anonymity in the same paper accused Osborne of being a part-time chancellor with little grasp of the detail. The author also claimed that Osborne's supporters in parliament were alienating colleagues by acting as his "narks" (informants).

The anonymous MP writes: "It is completely wrong for whips to be answerable to a particular minister, instead of the prime minister. But that is 'Gideon's Gang' for you. His prospects of succeeding Cameron are receding fast: shares in Osborne have fallen through the floor."

Some form of capital spending package is being prepared by the Treasury either in the form of Treasury guarantees for spending backed by pension funds or a straight capital spending programme. The Bank of England may sanction a further round of quantitative easing this week if service sector figures slide further this week.

A YouGov poll for the Sunday Times found only 18% think Osborne is doing a good job while 58% think he is doing a bad job. That compares with a 34%/60% rating for Cameron. The public is evenly divided on whether the U-turns show a listening or incompetent government.

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Alex Salmond booked for Brave premiere

Mr Salmond will undertake a series of engagements in Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Francisco which will focus on innovation, tourism and jobs.

During the four-day trip, he will meet US politicians and businessmen.

Mr Salmond will also attend the world premiere of the animated film Brave, which has a mythical Scottish setting.

The Scottish government estimates that the Disney/Pixar film, which is due to open at the Los Angeles Film Festival, could boost the Scottish economy by £140m.

The premiere will bring together Disney/Pixar and tourism agency VisitScotland, who are collaborating on a global marketing campaign to showcase Scotland across the world.
Inward investment

The first minister will then travel to Sacramento, where he will outline to US politicians the importance to the Scottish economy of sustained investment by global California-based corporations.

Mr Salmond will also promote Scotland's record in attracting investment from US and major global companies in a speech to the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco.

Salmond will see the first showing of the Disney-Pixar venture, which stars Kevin McKidd and Kelly Macdonald, when he visits California to try to drum up tourism and business investment.

He said: “The US offers huge potential, and Scotland and Scottish companies are ideally placed to take advantage of the outstanding opportunities that are available. The animation film Brave, for example, is expected to boost the Scottish economy by £140 million, and the unique collaboration between Disney-Pixar and VisitScotland to showcase Scotland across the world is a fantastic example of maximising economic benefit from the strength of our nation’s global brand.”

In Sacramento, Salmond will meet Californian politicians to promote the Scottish economy. He will also deliver a speech to the Commonwealth Club of California, described as the oldest and largest public affairs forum in the US.

Other speakers include Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, a member of the Scottish Government’s Council of Economic Advisers.

The First Minister will visit Stanford University to see a venture between the institution and Strathclyde, Heriot-Watt, St Andrews and Glasgow universities.

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Alex Salmond

Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond, born 31 December 1954 is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Gordon. From 1987 to 2010 he served as Member of Parliament for Banff and Buchan in the UK House of Commons. Salmond previously held the position of leader of the SNP from September 1990 until he stepped down in September 2000.

Originally from Linlithgow, West Lothian, Salmond is a graduate of the University of St Andrews, where he achieved a Joint Honours MA in Economics and History. After earning his degree he began his career in the Government Economic Service (GES), and later joined the Royal Bank of Scotland as an energy economist where he wrote and broadcast extensively for both domestic and international media outlets.

Following the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament in 1999, he was elected MSP for Banff and Buchan, thus simultaneously representing the area as both Member of Parliament (MP) and MSP. Salmond resigned as SNP leader in 2000 and did not seek re-election to the Scottish Parliament. He did however retain his Westminster seat in the 2001 general election. Salmond was once again elected SNP leader in 2004 and the following year held his Banff and Buchan seat in the 2005 general election. In 2006 he announced his intention to contest the Gordon constituency in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, an election in which Salmond defeated the incumbent MSP and in which nationally, the SNP emerged as the largest single party. Salmond was voted First Minister by the Scottish Parliament on 16 May 2007.

As First Minister, from 2007 to 2011 Salmond headed a minority Scottish Government, but after the 2011 Scottish Parliament election the Scottish National Party, which he leads, emerged with an overall majority. Politically, Salmond is one of the foremost proponents of Scottish independence, repeatedly calling for a referendum on the issue. Salmond has campaigned on global warming and in government has committed Scotland to legislation on emission reduction and the generation of renewable energy. Other recurring campaign themes include nuclear disarmament and Salmond's strong opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Early political career

Salmond became active in the SNP when he joined the Federation of Student Nationalists at the University of St Andrews in 1973. Although a left-winger at the time he joined, he had considerable doubts as to whether or not the Labour Government would legislate for a devolved Scottish Assembly.

Salmond started his political life as a committed left-winger inside the SNP and was a leading member of the socialist republican organisation within it, the 79 Group. He was, along with other group leaders, suspended from membership of the SNP when the 79 Group was banned within the larger party. In 1981, he married Moira French McGlashan, then a senior civil servant with the Scottish Office.

Following the SNP's National Council narrowly voting to uphold the expulsion, Salmond and the others were allowed back into the party a month later, and in 1985 he was elected as the SNP's Vice Convener for Publicity.

In 1987 he stood for Parliament in Banff and Buchan and defeated the incumbent Conservative MP, Albert McQuarrie. Later that year Salmond became Senior Vice Convener (Deputy Leader) of the SNP. He was at this time still viewed as being firmly on the left of the party and had become a key ally of Jim Sillars, who joined him in the British House of Commons when he won a by-election for the seat of Glasgow Govan in 1988. Salmond served as a member of the House of Commons Energy Select Committee from 1987 to 1992.

First Minister

Having won more seats than any other party in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, the SNP initially approached the Scottish Liberal Democrats to form a coalition, but they declined to take part in negotiations.[21] This left the SNP without any possibility to form a coalition with an overall majority. The Scottish Green Party agreed to support an SNP minority administration on a confidence and supply basis.

Renewable energy

Alex Salmond in his 2010 New Year message highlighted the importance of sustainable development and renewable energy in Scotland and the required increase in powers of the Scottish Parliament needed to help harness Scotland's green energy potential and therefore take full advantage of the "renewable revolution".

Earlier in December 2009, he campaigned for climate change legislation at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen to promote Scotland's role in tackling and mitigating climate change. This included signing a Partnership Agreement with the Maldives, one of the most exposed countries to the consequences of rising sea levels.

Second term

In the 2011 Scottish Parliament election the Scottish National Party, won by a landslide and emerged with an overall majority. As a result of this Salmond now has the ability to call a referendum on Scottish independence. On the 9 January 2011 he announced that referendum would be held in Autumn 2014.
Sporting interests

Salmond is renowned for his interest in horseracing and for his support of Heart of Midlothian F.C. He was made a patron of Aberdeen University Shinty Club in 2011 after attending their 150th anniversary celebrations at the Sutherland Cup final. This was Salmond's first ever shinty game.

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Myleene Klass 'Dumped' By Hubby

Myleene Klass’ spokesman has responded to claims that her husband Graham Quinn has left her after just six months of marriage.

“This is a private matter and as such we ask that everyone respects Myleene’s privacy at this time,” he said.

Friends of the TV presenter revealed that not only had Graham left Myleene but he chose to do so on her 34th birthday back in April, which was nice of him.

The couple only got hitched in October after a long engagement.

“Their wedding day was the happiest day of her life but now it’s all over,” a friend said. “It came as a massive shock to Myleene and she’s heartbroken.”

Myleene and Graham, who met when he was employed as a security guard for her band Hear'Say, had two daughters together during their 11 year relationship – four year old Ava and 14 month old Hero. She took them to the Sainsburys Jubilee Family Festival yesterday, where she was presenting.

But according to The Sun, Myleene was left heartbroken when Quinn ended the relationship on her birthday in April.

A friend is quoted by the newspaper as saying: "She's heartbroken. It's an awful situation.

"She's shocked at the sudden way Graham left. It's going to take her a long time to recover."

A further source claims the split "came as a massive shock" to Myleene and added: "Graham has barely been in touch since. It seems he work up one day and realised he didn't want to be married any more.

"Her friends are angry with him, especially as she's been left holding the babies. It's an awful situation."

Yesterday Myleene put on a brave face for the cameras as she co-hosted Hyde Park's Jubilee Family Festival.

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Test Tube: London Underground name free Wi-Fi Olympic tube stations

Transport for London confirmed that Leicester Square, Liverpool Street, Oxford Circus, King's Cross, and Stratford would be among the first set of stations to receive internet access.

Virgin Media, who won the contract in March, are on track to deliver the service to 80 stations by the start of the Games following a successful trial.

Members of the public will soon be able to browse the web and check e-mails using their smartphones from station ticket offices, escalators and platforms.

The service will be free during the Olympics and then available to customers through a pay-as-you-go offering later in the year.

London Underground’s director Gareth Powell said: 'Our customers will soon be able to connect to the internet for live travel information while they are on the move through stations.

'Bringing a next generation Wi-Fi service to one of the world’s oldest underground transport networks is progressing as planned and the forthcoming service is testing well.

"The first stations include some of our busiest and most well-known destinations and we're on-track for a successful launch this summer all delivered at no additional cost to fare payers or tax payers," stated Powell.

"Our customers will soon be able to connect to the internet for live travel information while they are on the move through stations," Powell added.

To mark the launch of the service, Virgin Media has already introduced an online portal having real-time TFL service information, a journey planner, commuter news and entertainment.

In fact, the first tweet from the underground was already posted by BBC's technology correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones. The tweet read, "Historic first tweet from deep under London using @TFLofficial @virginmedia new tube wifi service - testing, testing".

However, apart from a few limited services such as journey planner, entertainment and news content, other services are paid.

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London 2012: Heathrow Airport has built a new terminal for athletes arriving for the Olympic Games

Heathrow operator BAA is threatening to sue the Government if it continues to rule out considering a third runway as an option to expand airport capacity in Britain.

BAA believes that a point-blank refusal by the Government to look into building a new runway would be a breach of ‘proper process’, say company sources.

The firm has consulted lawyers and believes it has a good case to get the Government to consider the expansion.

It believes there is a precedent for the Government to change its mind as two councils successfully mounted a judicial review in 2002 against Labour’s refusal to consider the case for expanding Gatwick airport.

David Cameron and Transport Secretary Justine Greening are insisting that all options – a new island airport in the Thames estuary and extra runways at Stansted and Gatwick – are legitimate subjects for discussion, but a third runway at Heathrow has been ruled out.

No flights will leave from the Games Terminal. Instead athletes and games officials will go through check-in and security there before being taken by bus to their departure terminals.

BAA has said it expects 13 August to be among the busiest the airport has ever experienced.

Nick Cole, head of Olympic and Paralympic planning at Heathrow, said: "I am delighted to take over the Games Terminal, which will help us meet the challenge of record numbers of passengers and bags that we are expecting on the days after the closing ceremony."

The new Olympics Terminal has been officially handed over to Heathrow Airport's operators, BAA.

The temporary structure, put up in a staff car park, will cater for athletes and officials involved with London 2012 and be used for the three days after the closing ceremony on 12 August before being decommissioned.

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Jubilee crowds gather despite rain

Tens of thousands of people are lining the Thames in London despite the rain, hoping for a grandstand view of the Queen at the head of the Diamond Jubilee river pageant.

The Queen's barge will carry her from Albert Bridge to Tower Bridge, escorted by 1,000 boats and ships of all shapes and sizes.

Despite cold and wet conditions the capital filled steadily as the countdown has begun to the water-borne extravaganza that will carry the Queen through London at the heart of the procession.

Organisers have remained upbeat about the day ahead, as have members of the public who have been flocking to the Thames armed with umbrellas and raincoats.

The Prince of Wales is patron of the pageant that will be launched later following two years of trials, rehearsals and planning.

Charles and his wife Camilla ventured out into the rain earlier to join a Big Jubilee Lunch street party in London's Piccadilly.

The prince, wearing his trademark double breasted suit, and Camilla, dressed in a raincoat, stopped to chat to revellers in the street and even sat down with them.

London Mayor Boris Johnson was upbeat from Putney Pier, declaring the rain had passed as he geed-up the crowds around him.

"I want you to know the rain has stopped, hasn't it?" the politician said, turning to a crowd behind him while being interviewed by BBC News.

He added: "It's going to be a fantastic day, I've no doubt about that at all.

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Myleene Klass

 Myleene Angela Quinn,born 6 April 1978 is an English singer, pianist, media personality and occasional model. She was formerly a member of the defunct British pop band Hear'Say. Her net worth was estimated at £11 million in April 2012.

Almost a year after the Hear'Say break-up on 13 May 2003, Klass signed a five-album deal with Universal Classics and Jazz.[citation needed] Promotion started with the release of the main promotional single "Toccata and Fugue" to TV channels and was the first ever classical piece to appear on British music television channel The Box.[citation needed] She also appeared in the video for "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" with The Girls of FHM, which went to No. 10 in the UK Singles Chart.

Klass' album, entitled Moving On, was launched on 20 October 2003 at Harrods, London. The album included reworked versions of popular classical pieces such as Fauré's Pavane, Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and Satie's Gymnopedie No.2. Moving On also included music from Oscar-winning films Gladiator and The Piano. New arrangements for piano of more contemporary works were also included on the album, namely Linkin Park's "Crawling" and Daniel Bedingfield's "If You're Not the One". In its first week of release Moving On peaked at No. 2 in the UK Classical Chart, behind Hayley Westenra. It peaked at No. 32 in the UK Albums Chart. By mid December 2003, the album had been certified gold.[citation needed] On 15 May 2004, Moving On was nominated as Peoples' Album Of The Year in the Classical BRIT Awards. The award went to Bryn Terfel's platinum-selling record Bryn.

Presenting

In August 2005, Klass was signed as a presenter for the ITV music show CD:UK alongside Lauren Laverne and Johny P with her first appearance shown on 17 September 2005. However, CD:UK was axed in March 2006 because of poor ratings. On 27 November 2005, beside Brian Dowling, Klass presented the Variety Club Showbusiness Awards which were broadcast on LIVINGtv. Also in 2005, Klass appeared as a guest panellist on the topical discussion show The Wright Stuff on a number of occasions. During December 2005, Klass helped present the E4 spin-off from Channel 4's hoax television show Space Cadets. During Christmas 2005, Klass appeared in a celebrity version of the BBC's acclaimed quiz show Mastermind.
On 9 June 2006, Klass hosted City Showcase's Classical Night, supporting the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra at Rochester Castle Gardens along with the Opera Babes on 22 July, and appearing at Music On Fire at Sandhurst on the 22 September. On 6 August 2006, Klass was as a guest reporter on BBC One's popular Sunday morning religion and ethics show Heaven & Earth with Gloria Hunniford. Klass's report, billed as the feature of the week, was on the Pope's astronomer. On 22 September 2006, Klass was seen discussing her own dramatic weight loss with Peaches Geldof in a report on Tonight with Trevor McDonald concerning body image issues. Since 2006, Klass has been seen an occasional reporter and sometime guest on the LK Today section of GMTV. With Andi Peters, Klass presented the Five Friday night series, The All Star Talent Show broadcast between 8 September 2006 and 13 October 2006. From 10 October 2006, Klass co-presented LIVINGtv's Ghost Towns beside popular medium and ex-Most Haunted star Derek Acorah. As part of the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain awards, broadcast on ITV, Klass visited Kabul in Afghanistan to present troops with their prize.[citation needed] Klass's report of the trip was then broadcast during the ceremony shown on 7 November 2006.On 17 December 2006, Klass was part of the Outside Broadcast team for the ITV talent show The X Factor. Klass reprised her role in the following year's X Factor, this time in Wales.

Modelling

In November 2004, Klass posed for Loaded magazine. After she appeared in a shot for Maxim magazine in February 2006, it was revealed in April 2006 that Klass charted at Number 78 in the FHM 100 Sexiest Females of 2006, after not being included the previous year. Klass had previously been featured at Number 84 in 2002, 33 in 2003 and 43 in 2004. Klass was chosen as the new face of Ortak Jewellery. In January 2007, it was announced that Klass had signed a multi-million pound deal with Marks and Spencer to model clothes and swimwear for the new season. As the new face and body of Marks and Spencer's Spring and Summer Collection, Klass now appears in both print and television advertising, including one modelled on Ursula Andress' first appearance in Dr. No.
Miscellaneous work

In early 2006, Klass was cast as one of the three women starring in the long-running play The Vagina Monologues and performed in Bromley, Richmond and Brighton. Her run was then extended to include all dates in Nottingham.[36] She has also participated in the Serbian version of The Vagina Monologues in April 2006 in Belgrade. Olympic champions joined Klass on 13 December 2006 to launch Lucky Dog, a new London 2012 National Lottery scratchcard. In 2008 Klass began designing a range of baby clothes for Mothercare called Baby K. Klass also writes a regular blog for the pregnancy and parenting website Gurgle, which is owned by Mothercare.Myleene Klass is the official godmother of the cruise ship Carnival Splendor. Klass is an EDF Energy / Team Green Britain Ambassador and took part in the launch of the EDF London Eye on 27 January 2011.

Personal life

Klass lives in Cuffley, near Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, with her husband, Graham Quinn. On 1 April 2007 she announced she was pregnant, with the baby due on 7 September. As a result she delayed her wedding until 2008.Their daughter, Ava Bailey Quinn was born on 16 August 2007 at 13.45 GM weighing 5 lb 9 oz (2.5 kg) Klass' spokesman said: "Myleene presented The One Show and felt a bit weird on the way home. She went to the hospital to get checked out and they told her she was in labour". Klass has published a book about her experiences of being pregnant, entitled "My Bump and Me: From Morning Sickness to Motherhood – An Honest Diary of My Pregnancy". Klass gave birth to a second daughter Hero Harper, on Friday 25 March 2011. On 21 October 2011, Klass and Quinn married, with only 16 people in attendance.
As of May 2009, Klass had an accumulated wealth of £7.5 million.
In December 2005, Klass was attacked by a group of teenagers in a newsagent in Bermondsey. Klass had a bag of chips dropped on her head, and was pushed to the ground. The teenagers attempted to take photos of Klass on their mobile phones. On 1 May 2006, Klass was involved in a head-on go-karting crash at a Red Bull charity go-karting event in Cardiff, South Wales. In January 2010, Klass claimed she received a warning from Hertfordshire Police for brandishing a kitchen knife (through a window) at a group of teenagers who entered her garden while she and her daughter were alone in the house – she stated she was "utterly terrified" and "aghast" at the response by the police. Hertfordshire Police have denied making any such warning and stated that the law allows householders the proportionate use of force to protect themselves. It has subsequently been reported that it was Klass' agent or publicist who notified the police of the incident and who then passed on the story to the Sun Newspaper's reporter, Emma Cox. Klass was once gunged on Live & Kicking.

Klass has been an amateur astronomer for most of her life, having been taught the basics by her father. She was one of only a handful of celebrities, engineers and scientists who were at the UK National Space Centre control centre for the touch-down of the UK Mars probe Beagle 2 in the early morning of Christmas Day 2003. Since then she has been a keen supporter of the UK's work in the European space program. In March 2006, Klass publicly criticised the proposed closure of the London Planetarium and explained on television how to view Venus in the early morning. She also appeared on Channel 4's Richard & Judy to discuss the book Moondust, which follows the lives of the first men on the moon, and in 2007 attended the televised party on BBC1, held at the home of Sir Patrick Moore in Selsey to mark the 50th anniversary of Moore's monthly programme, The Sky at Night. Klass is now studying astronomy with the Open University.

Charity work

As part of World Vision's 24 hour Famine appeal, Klass visited Sierra Leone to see how World Vision was working to help villages build up their lives. She has also been the face of various charity campaigns such as stop text bully and ChildLine, and most recently help aid the Niger famine appeal by manning the phone lines.

At the Cathedral Church of St John the Baptist, Norwich on 24 June 2005, Klass performed a selection of tracks from her Moving On album, as well accompanying some local school children in a concert of classical standards. The Cathedral summer concert was organised to raise funds for an extension of the church building. Part of this performance was recorded by MTV, who were following Klass at the time for a show called The Price Of Fame. The programme was later broadcast by VH1 and also by ITV1, where it was only shown in the London region. The recording by the music channel was acknowledged by Klass during the evening.

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