Press Review
Clarke returns to Tory frontbench
Kenneth Clarke is to return to the Conservative front bench today, in what the Times calls "David Cameron's biggest gamble since becoming leader".
The former chancellor will be appointed shadow business secretary, leaving him to take on the recently returned Lord Mandelson.
The Mail calls Clarke one of the remaining 'big beasts' of the last Tory government.
It notes that despite Labour claims that the move undermined shadow chancellor George Osborne, the lunch where Clarke's return was agreed took place at Osborne's house.
The Guardian says Clarke, a Europhile, has agreed to accept party policy on Europe. The man he replaces, Alan Duncan, has agreed to take another shadow cabinet post in today's reshuffle.
Taxpayers to bail out banks for second time
The taxpayer is to be asked to spend hundreds of billions of pounds today in a second bank bailout, the papers report.
The government will offer a massive package to guarantee lending and insure so-called 'toxic assets' held by the banks.
The Guardian says ministers have taken another step towards nationalising the entire banking industry by offering to buy shares in those institutions which want potentially unlimited insurance against losses on their assets.
Banks can also pay a fee for the insurance, but in return will have to provide formal agreements that they will lend more to businesses and individuals.
The Mail says the latest rescue package could take Gordon Brown's total commitment to solving the banking crisis to almost £1 trillion in taxpayers' money either spent or pledged since the start of the credit crunch in 2007.
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Questions over advice by Tory chief's firm
The Independent has discovered that a company run by Conservative Party treasurer Michael Spencer gave investment advice to almost half the councils hit by the Icelandic bank collapse.
Of the 116 town halls which lost money on their investments, 51 - with losses totaling £470m - had paid the firm Butlers for advice, the paper's investigation uncovers.
Watchdog criticises expenses secrecy
Sir Christopher Kelly, chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, tells the Daily Telegraph that MPs should not be trying to shield their expenses claims from public scrutiny.
He called moves to exempt claims from the Freedom of Information Act "very disappointing".
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Mandelson warns against 'politics of envy'
Lord Mandelson warned the Labour Party yesterday not to impose big taxes on the rich during the recession and revert to the "politics of envy", the Guardian reports.
Speaking at a Fabian Society conference, the business secretary described as "ugly" the view in some Labour circles that politicians can promote fairness by "dragging down" the wealthy.
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Employers forced to look for British workers
Employers are to be prevented from advertising jobs overseas under government plans to ensure British workers fill vacancies during the recession.
Home secretary Jacqui Smith is changing the rules to force thousands of nursing, primary teaching, hotel management and other "skilled migrant" jobs to be advertised in Jobcentre Plus offices.
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Council tax set for above inflation rise
The Times reports that council tax bills are expected to rise by an average of 3.5 per cent in April, more than three times the predicted rate of inflation.
Early results of the survey by the Local Government Association suggest the average band D bill will rise by £47 due to increased demand for services and a drop in income from property and investments.
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Minority sports targets missed
Research by the Liberal Democrats shows that government targets to get minority groups involved in sport and culture have been missed.
Ministers aimed to increase involvement by up to three per cent among groups with low participation rates, but has failed to hit 16 of the 20 targets set in 2004.
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Beckett attacked for predicting housing upturn
The Daily Telegraph reports that housing minister Margaret Beckett has been strongly criticised for claiming there were signs of an "upturn" in the property market.
The paper, which elsewhere carries a report suggesting house prices could rise by the end of the year, also points to a prediction from the Ernst & Young Item Club that the market has a further 16 per cent to fall this year.
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