** Europe Vote ** Clegg Anger ** 5 Days To Go ** Tony Blair Investigated ** Wind Farm Farce **
DAY OF DEFEAT
David Cameron was handed a bitter defeat by his own MPs over the EU budget last night, with Eurosceptic Tories conspiring with Labour to deliver a victory over the EU budget.
Tory MP Mark Reckless' amendment asks the prime minister to call for a cut to the EU budget when he attends the negotiations, instead of Cameron's preferred tactic of arguing for a budget freeze.
The amendment was voted through by 307 votes to 294, although the vote is not binding on the Prime Minister. The real result of Wednesday vote is to show up how little control Cameron has on many MPs in his own party.
Cameron will now go to Brussels to negotiate a budget with the other EU leaders and will have to bring back the result for a vote in the Commons. The government is assuming that MPs will not decide to veto the entire budget by voting against that. Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme this morning, George Osborne said a freeze in the Budget or a slight increase could actually be the best option. "Option A, with is go for the deal which is negotiated. The alternative will be annual budgets in the EU," he said.
Osborne also attacked Labour for being as "unprincipled" as the Tories had been in their early days of opposition after 1997. Let's hope William Hague wasn't listening next door in the Treasury.
Today's Memo is edited by Ned Simons, as Mehdi Hasan is trying to dry out our servers. Apologies if your Memo is delayed this morning. There are still bits of hurricane in the pipes.
NO HOPE
Nick Clegg has warned Tory rebels who joined forces with Labour to inflict a damaging defeat on the coalition they have "absolutely no hope" of forcing the European Union (EU) to cut spending.
A furious Clegg has turned his fire on Labour, angrily accusing them of a "dishonest" and "hypocritical" change of policy for short-term political advantage.
In a speech to be delivered to the Chatham House international affairs think-tank - not normally the scene for such nakedly partisan political attacks - he will say that Labour was well aware there was "absolutely no prospect" of achieving a real-terms cut.
BLAIR INVESTIGATED
Tony Blair's private office has been reported to tax authorities over its use of unpaid interns, after a graduate revealed he was rejected as he could not afford to work for free.
Information which purports to show the Office of Tony Blair recruiting unpaid interns for three months at a time has now been passed on to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by the Graduate Fog website.
When questioned whether the HMRC would be investigating Blair's office, a spokesman said: "We are unable to comment on individual cases. We ensure that employers comply with the national minimum wage rules across the board. Where we have reason to believe the rules are being abused we will investigate. We always act on allegations of NMW abuse."
A SPECIAL KIND OF MADNESS
In the closing days of a presidential campaign, there is often little each side can do other than hold on to their hats, reports HuffPost's Jon Ward.
The candidates play it safe, their campaigns compete to out bluster each other with conference calls and strategy memos, and each new poll enters the political bloodstream with a noticeable jolt.
But when it comes to the command centers that have pulled the levers and driven the message from President Barack Obama's campaign headquarters in Chicago and Republican Mitt Romney's campaign office in Boston, these last few days are a weird anticlimax as senior aides come to the point where they have done almost everything they can do, barring an unforeseen development that needs attention.
WIND FARM FARCE
Environmental groups reacted with horror to energy minister John Hayes' decision to brief against the construction of any more windfarms, telling HuffPost that he was being "petulant". Hayes was also slapped down by Lib Dem secretary of state Ed Davey who holds the opposite view. In a perfect piece of parliamentary timing it is energy and climate change questions in the Commons this morning. I wonder what Labour will ask about...
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR...
Ding dong - I say, what's happened to Big Ben.
US ELECTION: 5 DAYS TO GO
HuffPost currently projects Barack Obama has 277 electoral college votes to Mitt Romney's 206. Keep up-to-date with our election dashboard. NEW: Get emailed every time the HuffPost electoral outlook changes.
WHAT'S THE POINT OF PEERS?
This afternoon the House of Lords will hold a debate on: "Making better use of the skills and experience of House of Lords Members in performing core functions of the House." Or as people who work in the Lords have dubbed it, the "what is the point of the House of Lords" debate.
140 CHARACTERS OR LESS
@HuffPostUKCom David Cameron's surprising new Twitter follows http://huff.to/QU6snm
@nedsimons Did George Osborne just say Wiliam Hague was "unprincipled" while Tory leader... #r4today
@iainmartin1 Next, a Clegg speech on the EU. That'll help calm things down...
900 WORDS OR MORE
Peter Oborne in the Daily Telegraph: "The Coalition can’t keep facing two ways at once on public spending Agreement on reducing debt between the Conservatives and Lib Dems is vital if the Government is to make it through to 2015.
Martin Kettle in The Guardian: "Michael Heseltine's on the right road – so who's going to take it? The Treasury must hate the maverick former minister's report, but it should realise his ideas have deep Tory roots
Daily Telegraph leader: "The Commons has spoken for the nation on the EU The time has come for Britain to take a stand against the profligacy of the European Commission - real-terms spending must be cut."
Simon Jenkins in The Guardian: "David Cameron's pro-EU charade cannot go on much longer The PM talks tough on the European Union but claims to support it. His position is hopeless. A new deal is needed."
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