Sunday Papers: Chris Huhne Bites Back And Simon Cowell Breaks Up

Chris Huhne Bites Back.. And The Rest Of The Sunday Papers
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It's one of those Sunday mornings where the papers all go their own way and there's no dominant story. Lots of policy issues are debated and discussed, but the Independent on Sunday manages to move the Chris Huhne speeding points story on a step further. It reports that the Energy Secretary believes Number 10 is guilty of "dirty tricks", saying a senior aide to David Cameron has been briefing against him.

It's not about the speeding ticket probe, it's actually in connection with the leaked cabinet document written by Michael Gove, suggesting a new yacht for the Queen to mark her diamond jubilee.

Huhne's not the only person who'd be forgiven for having a sinking feeling. A widespread suspicion that the Houses of Parliament are slowly falling to bits is given added weight by the Mail on Sunday, which claims that Big Ben is in danger of falling over. The paper says it might cost £1bn to properly restore Parliament and stop the whole building sinking into the swampy ground it sits on.

Many of the Sunday papers are looking ahead to how Parliament will handle some of the government's biggest policy items, including a looming report from the Health Committee in the Commons on NHS reforms. Both the Observer and the BBC carry reports that MPs are to be extremely damning of Andrew Lansley's agenda. If the reports are correct then Lansley will be feeling even more isolated. Doctors and nurses already oppose the reforms. If the Health Committee - led by a Tory and dominated by coalition MPs - rejects the reforms as well, Lansley's opponents will be delighted.

The Lib Dems are struggling to point to any new policies going through at the moment which have their stamp on them, so Vince Cable appears determined to keep his mansion tax idea alive, despite many Tories in cabinet clearly being opposed to it. In his interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Cable makes the case for a tax on the homes of the wealthy, although many might question whether a £1m house is nowadays that rare a thing.

As a bit of light relief from the rough-and-tumble of politics, the Sunday Mirror suggests that Simon Cowell might be on the verge of becoming single, and the Sunday express looks to massive pay-outs for energy customers. Apparently the meters haven't been read properly. Whether the paper would support the expected roll-out of smart meters in light of this is unclear. HuffPost suspects not.