Downing Street Says ... Every day the Prime Minister’s Spokesman meets a small coterie of political journalists known as ‘the lobby’ for a topical chat, or ‘briefing’.

Every day the Prime Minister's Spokesman meets a small coterie of political journalists known as 'the lobby' for a topical chat, or 'briefing'.

Downing Street Says... is an unofficial site that lets you read summaries of these briefings and add your own comments. Want to know more?

» Thursday, January 26, 2012

Morning Press Briefing from 26 January 2012

Friday 27 January 2012 Press briefing on Deputy Prime Minister speech and tax, Davos, Falklands, crime and Scotland, original source.

Deputy Prime Minister Speech and Tax

Asked whether the Prime Minister agreed that measures to increase the Income Tax Personal Allowance should be made faster, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) said tax decisions were a matter for the Budget, but that the Coalition Agreement set out the tax priorities of the Government, in particular the priority to increase the Personal Allowance [...]

Davos

Asked about whether the Prime Minister believed there was no hope for Doha trade talks, based on his speech to Davos delegates earlier, the PMS said the Prime Minister had said a year previously that 2011 was the crucial year for Doha, but progress had not been made. The PMS said the Prime Minister was [...]

Falklands

Asked whether the Prime Minister felt the Government had irritated the Argentine Government with comments on the Falkland Islands, the PMS said the Government’s position on the issue had not changed and it had not said anything different in recent weeks to what had been said previously. original source.

Crime

Asked whether there was a link between falling police numbers and statistics on violent crime, the PMS said the Government did not believe there was a direct relationship between every pound spent in Government and outcomes, and that there were opportunities for savings to be made in the police as in other public services. [...]

Scotland

Asked about the Scottish Government’s proposed referendum question, the PMS said the UK Government was holding a consultation asking for people’s views on the question or questions to be posed and would listen to views expressed in that consultation. Asked about whether the Bank of England could act as lender of last resort for an independent [...]

» Friday, January 20, 2012

Morning press briefing from 20 January 2012

Tuesday 24 January 2012 Press briefing on Chris Huhne, open primaries, stamp prices, regulation of lobbyists, Eurozone and benefits original source.

Chris Huhne

Asked if Chris Huhne would continue to be a Cabinet Minister if charged over driving offences, the Prime Minister’s Spokesperson (PMS) said that she would not speculate on this. Mr Huhne had been appointed by the Prime Minister and there is a Ministerial Code to cover these issues. Asked if being charged with an [...]

Open Primaries

Asked if the Government intended to fulfil the promise made in the Coalition Agreement on open primaries, the PMS said that if we had made a commitment in the Coalition Agreement we would deliver on it. Asked if the Boundary Review had now made it more complicated, the PMS said she was not aware of [...]

Stamp prices

Asked if the Prime Minister supported the 50 per cent increase in Royal Mail stamp prices, the PMS said that he had not made any particular comment on this issue but that the Royal Mail provides an important service for people and it is important that it remains affordable and sustainable which is why decisions [...]

Regulation of lobbyists

Asked if the Prime Minister was satisfied that regulation of lobbyists was being brought in fast enough, the PMS said that the Government had done a lot to increase transparency and this would help to raise people’s confidence in the political system. But on the issue of lobbyists she said it is important to get [...]

Eurozone

Asked for the Prime Minister’s reaction to the draft Eurozone deal which had been published, the PMS directed queries to the Treasury and advised that this was likely to be discussed at Ecofin the following week. original source.

Benefits

Asked if the Government had any qualms about the figures published that day on immigrants claiming benefits, the PMS said it was important that those people receiving benefits are receiving them legitimately. We don’t currently have systems to allow that clarity which is why the system is being changed. We want a system [...]

» Friday, January 13, 2012

Morning press briefing from 13 January 2012

Friday 20 January 2012 Press briefing on Saudi, child benefit, Scotland and who’s running the country? original source.

Original PMOS briefings are © Crown Copyright. Crown Copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland. Click-use licence number C02W0004089. Material is reproduced from the original 10 Downing Street source, but may not be the most up-to-date version of the briefings, which might be revised at the original source. Users should check with the original source in case of revisions. Comments are © Copyright contributors. Everything else is © Copyright Downing Street Says.

» Thursday, January 26, 2012

Morning Press Briefing from 26 January 2012

Deputy Prime Minister Speech and Tax

Davos

Falklands

Crime

Scotland

» Friday, January 20, 2012

Morning press briefing from 20 January 2012

Chris Huhne

Open Primaries

Stamp prices

Regulation of lobbyists

Eurozone

Benefits

» Friday, January 13, 2012

Morning press briefing from 13 January 2012

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