Top story: As strong and stable as money can buy
Good morning, it’s Warren Murray with the news you need.
Theresa May is facing a barrage of protest from Britain’s regional leaders after locking in a parliamentary majority with £1bn worth of promises to the Democratic Unionist party of Northern Ireland. The deal only buys two years’ worth of “confidence and supply”, after which it will be reviewed, and critics say it amounts to a blank cheque for the DUP.
The Labour first minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, has described the agreement as a “straight bung to keep a weak prime minister and a faltering government in office”, while his SNP counterpart in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, says the “grubby, shameless” arrangement tears up fair funding rules for Britain’s devolved regions. May will also drop plans to weaken the pension “triple lock” and means-test winter fuel payments for older people – both of which had become politically untenable anyway because of the election result. Here’s a breakdown of what the deal says and what it really means. Martin Kettle argues the true cost is much higher than the £1bn price tag.
Consumer confidence in the UK has collapsed since the snap election, according to a YouGov poll. The steep fall has been almost as severe as the dive that followed the Brexit vote. Households fear the unstable situation in parliament will hit the value of their homes and living standards, when they are already struggling against high inflation and low wage growth.
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Syria chemical weapons – The White House has this morning warned that the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad may be preparing another chemical attack and will pay a “heavy price” if it goes ahead. The unexpected announcement seemed to catch the US military by surprise and analysts are scrambling to assess its basis. Syria’s ally, Russia, is likely to bristle at the threat of a sequel to the April cruise missile attack ordered by Trump against an air base near Homs. The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, has tweeted: “Any further attacks done to the people of Syria will be blamed on Assad, but also on Russia and Iran who support him killing his own people.”
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Travel ban ruling – The US president’s travel ban has been allowed to go partially into effect. The nine-judge panel of the supreme court said the 90-day ban on visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, and 120-day suspension of the US refugee resettlement programme, should be allowed where someone lacked a “credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States”. The highest US court lifted parts of lower court orders blocking what has been criticised as a “Muslim ban”. The Trump administration claimed the verdict as a victory, but the judges’ decision is somewhat technical and questions remain about the ban’s effect and how it will be enforced – as well as what it means for refugees.
Meanwhile three-quarters of the world has no confidence in Donald Trump to do the right thing as a leader, according to a Pew Research survey, while fewer than 49% now have a positive view of America. That compares with 64% who had confidence in Obama as president and supported America’s role in the world.
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EU worker drain looms – Nearly half of highly skilled EU migrant workers in Britain are thinking of leaving because of Brexit, according to a survey. The accounting company Deloitte has found a third of non-British workers overall might leave in the next five years, and 48% said it had become a less attractive place to settle because of Brexit. Britain faces a “skills deficit” in the short to medium term unless it compensates by “upskilling our domestic workforce” and making sure immigration programmes meet the needs of the economy, says Deloitte. Groups representing EU citizens living in the UK say they are “bitterly disappointed” by the terms of Theresa May’s offer to protect their rights after Brexit.
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Fireprone cladding scrapped – Experts are demanding more details on the findings from fire tests on aluminium composite cladding. As government testing continues, samples of cladding from 60 buildings in 25 areas of the UK have been found to be combustible. Reynobond PE, the cladding used on Grenfell Tower, has been discontinued and pulled from sale worldwide. The maker, Arconic, said there was too much “inconsistency of building codes across the world” to ensure it was being used for its intended purpose. According to leaked emails, Arconic knew the cladding was being used on Grenfell despite its own guidelines deeming it unsuitable for buildings taller than 10m.
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Counting out her money – The government has increased the Queen’s pay to £82m to help fund a £370m refurbishment of Buckingham Palace. The Crown Estate made a profit of £328.8m in the year to the end of March 2017 and the government is raising Her Majesty’s share – known as the sovereign grant – to 25% for the next 10 years. Buckingham Palace accounts also reveal the royals spent £4.5m on travel last year. Per mile, the royal train favoured by the ageing Queen and Prince Philip was the most expensive option, costing up to £900,000. The government’s Voyager “state jet” has been increasingly used by the royals for overseas trips, which the palace says is working out cheaper than charter flights.
Lunchtime read: The science of making big money
Get someone else to write the stories for your magazine for free – and then charge them to read it. The stunningly simple business model fuels the £19bn global industry of scientific journals, where profit margins can run to 36% compared with a fraction of that for consumer magazines.
But the issues run much deeper than exaggerated profits. These journals are an overbearing influence on the direction of science itself, writes Stephen Buranyi – their editors prize new and spectacular results, which influences researchers’ fields of study and career decisions. “If I don’t publish in Cell, Nature or Science, I won’t get a job” is a common refrain. In the face of such a distorting influence, is it time to set science free?
Sport
Underdog Team New Zealand have won the oldest trophy in world sport, the Auld Mug, after completing a 7-1 America’s Cup win over Oracle Team USA in Bermuda.
A big-money battle between Sky and BT is likely to push the broadcasting deal for English cricket past the £1bn mark and put the BBC in pole position to secure the free-to-air rights put up for sale by the ECB. John McEnroe has reopened a timeworn debate by saying that Serena Williams would “be like 700 in the world” if she played on the men’s tour. And the Rugby Football League has confirmed it is in discussions with a number of leading Super League players about becoming centrally contracted with the sport’s governing body.
Business
A quietish day so far on the Asian markets with Japanese stocks edging up towards two-year highs. Reuters reports that investors are expecting comments from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen to support the Fed’s projection for one more interest rate rise this year. Yellen is speaking at London’s Royal Academy today.
Overnight the pound was buying €1.14 and US$1.27.
The papers
The deal between the Tories and the DUP leads many – but surprisingly not all – front pages.
The Telegraph has the headline: “£1bn for the DUP is ‘just the start’” and says the deal may end up costing the country far more “because the DUP will be ‘back for more’”. The Times, like the Briefing, characterises the deal as a £1bn “bung” and says Theresa May has forced every English voter to pay a price for her staying in power.
The Guardian notes the deal has provoked a backlash from politicians in Scotland, Wales and parts of England who want more money for their regions. The Mirror calls the arrangement a “grubby cash deal” under a headline that reads “May’s £1bn bribe to crackpots”.
The Mail – a vociferous supporter of Theresa May – ignores the deal on its London edition front page. Instead it looks back to the election and says headteachers of schools are being accused of trying to “sway the general election” by sending out letters that warn of the “dreadful” state of school funding. The Sun has a story about two people having sex in prison.
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