Nick Clegg weighed in to the debate on the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) report into the Budget this afternoon, taking to the airwaves to criticise the report for being “by definition partial” – yet in April, in the final TV leaders’ debate, he cited the IFS for their praising of his party’s general election manifesto.
On the Today programme this morning, Treasury minister Mark Hoban failed to answer Justin Webb’s question about the fairness of the Budget six times.
The bottom half of the income distribution will be hit more than the top half by the Coalition’s June Budget, new analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has revealed.
Another day, another outraged Daily Mail ‘benefit scroungers’ story – one which, once again, is sensationalist, tells only half the story and features the obligatory quote from Tory work and pensions minister “Calamity” Chris Grayling.
The latest quarterly survey of business confidence from the ICAEW shows business confidence down for the first time since the first quarter of 2009 – the middle of the recession.
Another day, another round of worrying headlines for the deputy prime minister, barely 100 days in office, effectively running the country in David Cameron’s absence and now facing one of his most sustained periods of pressure – from the press, Opposition and his own backbenchers over the issue of tax avoidance.
A OnePoll survey of 3,000 Newsnight viewers out today has revealed that Nick Clegg is the politician they would most like to see grilled by Jeremy Paxman.
Today’s papers were once again filled with stories of Lib Dem anger at Sir Philip Green’s appointment as a government adviser, with The Times front page reporting demands from Lib Dem backbenchers that Nick Clegg – who is said to be privately “irritated” despite publically backing Sir Philip – instigate a review of his tax arrangements.
Last weekend the Mail on Sunday broke the news that MI5 had vetoed Baroness Pauline Neville Jones’ appointment as Cameron’s National Security Advisor over concerns about her links to two dubious Russian oligarchs.
Twitter sentiment for Nick Clegg is down sharply – while David Cameron’s rating has risen slightly, in another stark illustration of the unpopularity of the ‘sell out’ deputy prime minister in the three months since the general election.
