Morning Report – June 10th

The talk of Westminster this morning is the “news” that Brown wanted rid of Blair. As Mark has said this morning, this is six year old news that wasn’t even a secret at the time.

So we’ve dug beneath “Project Volvo” (sidenote, not the world’s finest title), and tried to find some actual news this morning. So here’s what you could have been reading, had we not been transported back to 2005 by someone’s keen desire to harm Ed Balls…

Vince Cable has announced that the government won’t bail out Southern Cross if – as is entirely possible – the care home giant goes under. That would mean that thousands could lose their jobs, but even more importantly, thousands of vulnerable people could be left without care, or be forced to move home, because of a market failure. And yet the government have confirmed they won’t act. Unions have attacked Cable as out of touch with the public mood – that’s an understatement…

Tom Watson has ratcheted up his battle with News International, writing for the Guardian on the toxic culture around phone hacking. Fellow former Labour ministers who have accepted out of court settlements with News International after having their phones hacked “could do with a spine replacement”. That’s tough language, but this is a personal battle for Watson, and he’s not done yet. Did Watson’s intervention persuade Peter Mandelson to speak to the police over potential e-mail hacking? Who knows, but it’s a welcome development.

And the government has conceded to the SNP on borrowing powers for the Scottish government, which some fear may pave the way for independence. An initial plan to allow some bowwing by the SNP government was planned for 2013 – now it has been brought forward to 2011. Is Salmond strong then? Or is it that the man sent to negotiate – Nick Clegg – is exceptionally weak?