Tuesday 10th October, 2017

Good morning

Brief overview: Theresa May prepares for a no-deal outcome in Brexit negotiations. The NHS faces increasing strain from ‘lifestyle diseases’ linked to obesity and smoking.

Outside of the headlines: The Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, prepares to address the region’s parliament and may potentially declare independence from Spain following last week’s disputed referendum.

Further evidence emerged of Moscow’s weaponisation of social media to influence both US and EU elections. A Financial Times investigation found Russian-bought Facebook ads cost $100,000 and reached 10m Americans, targeting swing states with propaganda on everything from race to guns to gay rights.

Excerpt of the day: Max Weber’s thesis defence

via Yoni Applebaum

Cartoon of the day:

The Daily Mail

Owned by: Daily Mail and General Trust, owned by Jonathan Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere

Editor: Paul Dacre

Political leaning: Right / far right

Daily circulation: circa 1,490,000

Brexit stance: Pro-Brexit

Today’s leading headline: Bad lifestyles crippling NHS

The official NHS watchdog has warned that unhealthy lifestyles are putting ‘unprecedented pressures’ on the NHS. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found that illnesses caused by lifestyle choices — ‘obesity, diabetes, cancer and dementia’ are putting huge amounts of strain on the already strained system. The Mail reports that both staff levels and funding have fallen for the NHS.

Afterthought: The current figure for how much ‘lifestyle illnesses’ cost the NHS is around £11bn annually. For perspective benefit fraud, which the paper is fixated by, costs the country around £1.3bn a year. Both effect the economy negatively, but receive vastly different treatment by the media.

Let’s add some more data into the mix. The polling firm Ipsos MORI asked the public about the potential for charging people for illnesses that are “caused by their lifestyle”. Only 44% of those polled thought it would be acceptable to charge for lifestyle related illnesses.

Simultaneously, a 2013 survey found Britons believe 24 per cent of all benefits were claimed fraudulently, 34 times greater than the official 0.7 per cent estimate. An interesting example of how the media can channel public anger.

The Daily Telegraph

Owned by: Telegraph Media Group, owned by Sir David Barclay and Sir Frederick Barclay

Editor: Chris Evans

Political leaning: Right

Daily circulation: circa. 460,000

Brexit stance: Pro-Brexit

Today’s leading headline: May draws up plans for a no deal on Brexit

The Telegraph covers the news that Theresa May is currently drawing up plans for a Brexit scenario in which no deal is achieved. During the Commons debate, the prime minister told MPs that she wanted a free trade deal with the EU signed by March 2019. The paper believes this will ‘heap pressure’ on the EU to secure a trade deal for themselves.

May published early drafts of the legislation as a move to ‘focus minds’, the Telegraph reports. The move has been viewed as the PM toughening her stance ahead of next week’s visit to Brussels; May is reported to be disappointed with how little negotiations have moved forward from her speech in Florence.

Afterthought: May publishing the drafts of the no-trade legislation is a step in a direction. Who knows if it’s the right direction, but at least it’s a step in a direction. Separately, Pete North of LeaveHQ remained pessimistic a deal would be reached.

Negotiations have reached sloth levels of progress, and a spokesman for the EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker yesterday stated that negotiations would not continue until divorce talks where concluded.

The Times

Owned by: News UK, Rupert Murdoch’s company.

Editor: John Witherow

Political leaning: Centre right

Daily circulation: circa. 446,000

Brexit stance: Neutral / slightly pro-Brexit

Today’s leading headline: Top medic demands end to junior doctor job title.

The term ‘junior doctor’ is on the verge of retirement after a campaign to remove the title, labelled ‘confusing and demeaning’, received support from Dame Sally Davies, the chief medical officer. The Times reports that junior doctors are seeking the removal of the term as it is ‘belittling’. Instead, the restoration of the terms senior house officer and registrar are being proposed; both are ‘currently still widely used informally’ the paper reports.

Afterthought: Poor morale is a serious internal problem in the NHS, which is why this issue is being taken to seriously. Junior doctor is the name for a doctor training to be a consultant. They already have their medical degrees and are often the most senior in the hospital out of hours.

The Guardian

Owned by: Scott Trust Limited, run by a board with a policy of non-interference.

Editor: Katharine Viner

Political leaning: Left

Daily circulation: circa. 161,000

Brexit stance: Anti-Brexit

Today’s leading headline: Global cost of obesity to hit $1.2 tn by 2025

Lifestyle diseases today form the focus of the Guardian’s front page. The paper reports that increased rates of obesity is set to cost $1.2tn globally by 2025. The increasing rate of the disease means that more than one third of Brits are on track to be obese by 2025. The disease is directly linked to a ‘soaring number of cancers, heart attacks, strokes and diabetes’.

Afterthought: This is problem facing countries in every wealth bracket. The US is on track to spend around $4.2tn on treating diseases linked to obesity, Brazil around $251bn and Germany $390bn. Lower income countries with already stretched health services now must prepare for the influx of ‘lifestyle diseases’ on the horizon.

The i

Owned by: Johnston Press, whose CEO is Ashley Highfield

Editor: Oliver Duff

Political leaning: Centre

Daily circulation: circa. 264,000

Brexit stance: Neutral

Today’s leading headline: May plans for no deal with EU

In a similar vein to the Telegraph, the i reports on the news that May has started preparations for a no trade deal with the EU. This involves measures to ‘prevent gridlock at borders’. Head of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn chastised the government for making ‘no real progress’ after 16 months.

Afterthought: The good news is at this rate of progress we will potentially get to see both a Conservative and Labour government fail at handling Brexit negotiations.

via Bob Moran

The Daily Mirror

Owner: Trinity Mirror. Its chairman is David Grigson, formerly the chief financial officer at Reuters

Editor: Lloyd Embley

Political leaning: Left

Daily circulation: circa. 716,900

Brexit stance: Anti-Brexit

Today’s leading headline: Don’t let NHS die on its 70th birthday

The Daily Mirror leads with a rallying cry to help the NHS back from the brink of ‘catastrophe’ brought on by ‘Tory cuts’. The paper paraphrases the findings of the CQC who warn that under its current model, the NHS looks set to collapse next year on its 70th birthday.

Afterthought: Polling consistently shows the NHS is what makes Brits proudest to be British. The problems facing the system are numerous: underfunding and poor morale, inability to attract more doctors due to low wages and long hours, and the systematic outsourcing of various parts to private investors all accelerate its decline.

Financial Times

Owner: The Nikkei, which is based in Tokyo.

Editor: Lionel Barber

Political leaning: Centre

Daily circulation: circa. 193,211

Brexit stance: Neutral/slight anti-Brexit

Today’s leading headline: May details no-deal trade plan as high-stakes Brexit tussle looms

May’s trade plans for a no-deal outcome are covered in today’s Financial Times. Addressing MPs, May said she believed profoundly that it is ‘in all our interests for the negotiations to succeed’; however preparations must be made for all outcomes. The paper reports that the move will be viewed in Brussels as ‘a welcome outbreak of realism’.

Afterthought: May needs next week to go well.

via YouGov

Whilst the public still supports her over Corbyn as being a better Prime Minister, the gap is extremely narrow.

Internally, the party is in a level of turmoil that is causing a new crisis every week.

via Grant Shapps

The Sun

Owner: News UK, owned by Rupert Murdoch

Editor: Tony Gallagher

Political leaning: Right / far right

Daily circulation: circa. 1,611,464

Brexit stance: Pro-Brexit

Today’s leading headline: Poster girl for terror

The Sun reports today that an accomplice of the 21/7 terror attacks managed to rise though the ranks of London’s Southward council despite her criminal past. Mulumbet Girma was chosen to grace the covers of the council’s pamphlet promoting apprenticeships. Girma has now been sacked.

Afterthought: An awful oversite from the council.

Top trending stories from across the web

Al Jeezera

Owned by: Government of Qatar.

Political leaning: Often accused of having the state interests overshadow their independent integrity.

Top article: Erdogan: US decision to halt Turkey visa ‘saddening’ (link)

BBC

Owned by: The British public.

Political leaning: Strict regulation to make it impartial. Centre.

Views: 70 million unique views per week.

Top article: Condom-detecting fingerprint test ‘set for court use’ (link)

Guido Fawkes

Owned by: Paul Staines, a libertarian political blogger, also writes for the Sun on Sunday.

Political leaning: Right/far right. Clickbait.

Views: 100–250 thousand views per day.

Top article: Cringeworthy Rudd Memes Worse Than Activate

The Canary

Owned by: Six editors and around 25 writers. Editor-in-chief is Kerry-anne Mendoza, prior ties to the Guardian.

Political leaning: Left/far left. Very pro Corbyn. Clickbait — pays its writers on a click per pay basis, encouraging them to produce work that will go viral.

Top article: You may have missed it, but Jeremy Corbyn just appointed a fresh face to his shadow cabinet [VIDEO] (link)

Final Thought

News shouldn’t tell you how to feel. The news should present facts, and allow you to formulate your own opinion. Regardless of your political affiliation, try and read beyond the headlines that most of these papers push on you, from the left and the right.

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