David Cameron under pressure to reveal coalition's Europe policy

David Cameron is facing pressure from ministers and Tory backbenchers to be more open about the coalition's European policy, amid complaints the prime minister is promising more than he can deliver.

As Nick Clegg dismissed Tory hopes of repatriating powers from the EU as a "smash and grab raid", one senior Conservative warned the prime minister not to "tease" his party with unrealistic ambitions.

Conservatives raised concerns after the deputy prime minister responded to the largest Tory rebellion on Europe by saying: "We should stop tilting at windmills about threats and challenges which simply aren't there right now." Clegg's remarks came after 81 Tory MPs defied the government to support a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU. A further 15 Tory MPs are understood to have abstained, meaning that the prime minister failed to persuade more than half of his backbenchers to support government policy.

The deputy prime minister appeared to take aim at Downing Street when he dismissed the prime minister's pledge in the Commons on Monday to try and repatriate social and employment laws from Brussels. Clegg described this as "a smash and grab raid across the Channel" that was "neither justified nor in the interests of Britain". The intervention by Clegg alarmed Tory MPs who had been encouraged when the prime minister told MPs that he would still seek to implement the Tory manifesto pledge in this area.

"I remain firmly committed to ... bringing back more powers from Brussels," Cameron said.

The prime minister appeared to reinforce his point as he indicated that Britain was prepared to wield its veto in negotiations to revise the Lisbon treaty. Germany is demanding a revision to underpin tough new rules to co-ordinate fiscal policy in the eurozone.

"Opportunities to advance our national interest are clearly becoming apparent," the prime minister said. He added: "Every country can wield a veto until its needs are met."

Michael Gove, the education secretary, indicated on the Today programme that moves were being made to repatriate social and employment powers now. Asked by John Humphrys when Britain would start bringing back powers from Brussels, Gove replied: "We are working now. The government is working now."

But Tories pointed out this is not coalition policy. The coalition agreement simply states: "We will examine the balance of the EU's existing competences." Downing Street said that a unit has been established in the Foreign Office to make an assessment of these EU powers.

It is understood the prime minister will use the next round of treaty negotiations to protect Britain's position in the single market and the City of London, rather than attempting to repatriate social and employment laws. Cameron would only attempt that if there were a full-scale treaty negotiation along the lines of the original drafting of the Lisbon treaty.

Tory MPs warned that Cameron needed to be careful about making promises he could not deliver. One senior MP said: "On Europe the prime minister can only keep up the tease for so long. At some point the facade crumbles."

The prime minister defended his decision to impose a three-line whip on the referendum vote. "On politics you have to confront the big issues rather than try and sweep them under the carpet," he said during a visit to Bedford. "It wouldn't be right for the country now to have a great big vote on an in/out referendum and the rest of it."

But he attempted to reach out to the rebels. "What I would say from last night is there's no bad blood, there's no rancour, no bitterness."

Help your descendants live longer... eat well now: How a healthy diet could see your great-grandchildren benefit

Those who live to a ripe old age may put it down to healthy living, but they could actually have their great-grandparents to thank.
Scientists have discovered that a good diet and lifestyle could help a person’s children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren live longer.
A team at Stanford University in California found that altering three types of proteins can affect longevity.
By blocking or modifying them in roundworms, which have the same proteins as humans, lifespan was affected in the worm itself and in up to three generations of descendants, increasing their life expectancy by up to 30 per cent.
After the third generation – the great-grandchildren – lifespan tended to return to normal.
This is the first time scientists have found an inherited factor affecting lifespan which is not a genetic change.
The genes were not affected and in subsequent generations a longer life was inherited but their levels of the three proteins remained normal.

This is a phenomenon called ‘epigenetic’ change. This is not new, it describes the process by which the body adapts to its environment such as diet, sunlight and pollution levels but it was not known it could be inherited.
Anne Brunet, associate professor of genetics at Stanford, said: ‘Genetic traits from our parents may not be the only thing we inherit.

'This is very important, as what we do can affect the next generation.
‘We do not know how yet but it could be diet, pollution, smoking, all sorts of medications, exposure to radiation and stress.
‘Our bodies could have a memory of the lifestyles of our ancestors.
'This shows that longevity can be inherited in a non-genetic way over several generations and that is very exciting.’
If the same connection is found in humans it would mark a major breakthrough in genetics.
These proteins altered by the scientists are found in the nucleus of all human cells, and help ‘pack’ the DNA tightly inside.
The worms also inherited hundreds of genes from their parents but it seemed to be the protein changes which influenced their life span.
Prof Brunet added: ‘We don’t fully understand what these proteins do, but they are also present in mammals and in humans which suggests they are very important.
‘This shows that longevity can be inherited in a non-genetic way over several generations and that is very exciting. We now need to do further tests to find how this works.’
A recent study by Swedish scientists looking at famine victims suggested a lack of food could affect the metabolism of their children and grandchildren.

Revealed: how NHS cuts are really affecting the young, old and infirm

Birth centres are closing, patients are being denied pain-relieving drugs and leaflets advising parents how to prevent cot death have been scrapped because of NHS cuts which are increasingly restricting services to patients, evidence gathered by the Guardian reveals.

The NHS's ￡20bn savings drive also means new mothers receive fewer visits from health visitors, support for problem drinkers is being reduced and families are no longer being given an NHS advice book on bringing up their baby.

People with diabetes and leg ulcers are seeing less of the district nurses who help them manage their condition; specialists delivering psychological therapies are under threat and a growing number of hospitals are reducing the number of nurses and midwives to balance their books.

The disclosure that the savings drive is affecting so many different areas of NHS care has prompted claims that pledges by the prime minister and the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, that the frontline would be protected despite the NHS's tightening financial squeeze cannot be trusted. One of David Cameron's election pledges was: "I'll cut the deficit, not the NHS."

Inquiries by the Guardian into the impact of the quest to deliver ￡20bn of "efficiency savings" in the NHS in England by 2015 also shows that walk-in centres are closing and anti-obesity programmes are being scaled back and hospitals reducing the number of nurses and midwives they employ, despite rising demand for healthcare and an ongoing baby boom.

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: "Andrew Lansley promised the NHS cuts to save the ￡20bn would be in bureaucracy and waste and would not come at the expense of the frontline. But the evidence we are getting on a daily basis is that the impact is on the patient and frontline services."

"Ministerial promises aren't being kept. We are getting the complete opposite of what we were promised. We were promised no cuts to frontline services and no impact on the patient's journey. Instead we are getting cuts in many, many services and the impact on the patient is huge."

Patients denied painkillers such as co-codamol and tramadol and the sleeping tablet diazepam have contacted the association recently to complain that prescriptions have suddenly been withdrawn.

One of the NHS's 10 regional strategic health authorities has banned primary care trusts (PCTs) in its area from prescribing patients a range of painkillers on cost grounds, Murphy added. Patients on oxygen due to breathing problems have seen visits from district nurses reduced, while other patients have been denied cataract, bariatric or hernia operations, she added.

Children's health experts are dismayed that parents will no longer automatically receive Birth to Five, a longstanding guide to issues such as feeding and immunisation, because the Department of Health has decided to make it an online-only publication as part of a DH purge on health promotion material. Dr David Elliman, a spokesman for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: "If Birth to Five is no longer to be available to mothers in print, only on the internet, this is bad news. I am particularly concerned that those who profit from it most will be least likely to use it. This is a false economy and is likely to increase inequalities. We would urge DH to think again."

The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths also warned that switching Reduce the Risk – a leaflet that gives parents advice on avoiding cot death – to an online-only format would deprive parents, especially those from low income and disadvantaged backgrounds, of potentially vital guidance, as many are unlikely to download it. Research credits the leaflet with helping to avoid 19,000 cot deaths since it was first published in 1991.

Jacque Gerrard, director for England at the Royal College of Midwives, said shutting birth centres such as the Jubilee, in Hull, and Heatherwood, in Ascot, where midwives rather than doctors supervise women's care, would deny mothers-to-be their right to choice of place of birth. At least six more reconfigurations of maternity services, which could result in further closures, are being discussed by the NHS.

Campaigners for sick babies have warned that a reduction in the number of nurses at a third of neonatal units in English hospitals could result in deaths. "The lives of England's sickest babies are at risk by needless cuts to the neonatal nursing workforce," said Andy Cole, the chief executive of the baby charity Bliss.

Bliss used freedom of information laws to investigate staffing levels in neonatal units. Despite the charity identifying a shortfall of 1,150 nurses in those units last year, some 140 posts have been lost since then through redundancies, recruitment freezes and redefining some staff roles. One in five units also said that they intend to reduce their total of neonatal nurses in the next 12 months.

Ipswich hospital confimed that it plans to shed 250 staff as part of a drive to reduce its 3,800-strong full and part-time workforce in order to help it confront "a serious and urgent financial challenge" and make ￡16m of efficiency savings during this financial year. Those being made redundant by the end of the year include both clinical staff and non-medical support staff. It is shrinking its workforce despite emergency and elective care admissions having risen in the last three years.

The cash squeeze affecting the hospital is so acute that it has no plans to replace a specialist nurse who retired last week who helped about 50 patients suffering from multiple sclerosis manage their conditions. "The MS nurse specialist post is under review. We do however have a serious and urgent financial challenge to face and are going through a period of consultation on a number of posts," said a hospital spokeswoman.

The spokeswoman said the ￡16m target was the result of NHS organisations in England having to make 4% efficiency savings this year towards the ￡20bn goal and the service's Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP), which also wants healthcare providers to become more efficient in order to free up resources to cope with the demands of an increasingly elderly population.

Christina McAnea, head of health at Unison, the union representing 400,000 NHS staff including nurses and paramedics, said the emerging cuts were "a shocking indictment" of the government. The public will not be fooled by David Cameron's hollow words ever again.

"Just over a year in office, and the damage to the NHS is clear to see: birth centres closing, patients left in pain, public health programmes dwindling, district nurse visits being cut, health workers losing their jobs. Waiting lists are rising, and the health bill no-one wants will change our health service beyond recognition, throwing the doors open to privatisation on a never before seen scale," she said.

Janet Davies, director of nursing at the Royal College of Nursing, warned that cuts made in the next three years may be more painful for staff and patients than those in this financial year. "While the cuts we are currently seeing are fairly worrying, we have even more concern about the future, because the task to cut costs and make savings will only get harder. Some trusts have managed to make savings this year in a sensible way that hasn't directly affected patient care. But next year the increased pressure, because the NHS has to make three more years of savings for the three years after this, it's harder to identify where innovation and reduction in waste can make savings.

Sir Bruce Keogh, the NHS medical director, said hospitals and PCTs should not be using the ￡20bn efficiency drive to cut services to patients. "There is no need for NHS organisations to cut services that their local population requires. The NHS will receive an extra ￡12.5bn over the next four years and in future we want it to focus more on designing services around patients.

"Even with this significant increase in funding, the growing pressures of an ageing population and the rising costs of drugs and other treatments means that the NHS still needs to save up to ￡20bn by 2015. This is not about cuts – it is about becoming more efficient, so that even more money can be spent on providing high quality care for patients, not less.

"We are clear that there should be no blanket bans for treatments, that the NHS must be sensitive to individual circumstances and have systems in place for exceptional cases so individuals can get the most appropriate treatment for them."

Occupy Wall Street protests reveal liberal tensions

The Occupy Wall Street protests spreading across the country are mobilizing liberal activists who have been largely sidelined in the national debate since helping to elect President Obama three years ago.

This should be a relief to the White House, which is eager to excite a Democratic base that has grown disappointed in the president and less excited about reelecting him.
But it is unclear whether this sudden burst of energy on the American left will help Obama and other Democrats. The protests are gaining steam around a set of economic grievances and a wariness of both parties’ reliance on corporate campaign money — and Democratic officials are wondering how, or whether, they can tap into a movement that seems fed up with all brands of partisan politics.

That tension has been evident in recent days in debates raging online and in person at demonstration sites across the country.

An Obama strategist from Florida, Steve Schale, posted on his Facebook page that “clamoring for change is hollow unless you vote.” He linked to an image from the liberal Think Progress blog calling on activists to “Occupy the Polls.”

A former Obama volunteer from central Florida, Madison Paige, retorted on Schale’s page that voting alone couldn’t fix the system, saying, “We have to be willing to do the hardest work — and that means taking a look in the mirror when necessary.”

At Occupy D.C., the McPherson Square encampment inspired by Occupy Wall Street, a shouting match erupted this week when a woman describing herself as a longtime Democratic campaign worker encouraged the young protesters to express their concerns by voting, only to be told that voting wasn’t enough.

Those contentious moments help illustrate the difficulty facing Democratic officials as they try to capitalize on the sudden emergence of liberal energy that is growing fast — but expanding largely separate and apart from traditional party institutions.

Some party allies are trying to help. Unions are providing legal advice, food and Internet service in some locations, with labor leaders intervening late Thursday on behalf of protesters in a dispute with New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I) over the use of a Wall Street park.

Party and White House officials are watching mostly from the sidelines.

“We don’t know: Is this a sustaining movement or is it a flash of anger?” said one House Democratic leadership aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal thinking.

John Podesta, who as president of the liberal Center for American Progress is a close White House ally, said the party establishment is waiting to see what happens next. “They’ve opened up an important space for a national conversation, but where it goes from here depends on the staying power of the organizing effort,” he said.

The dilemma mirrors the choice that confronted Republican Party officials in 2009 as the tea party movement found its footing and began challenging establishment figures in the GOP hierarchy. Over time, a series of establishment groups such as FreedomWorks began coordinating with the activists, and the tea-party insurgency began to more closely resemble the energized GOP base.

One of Warren Jeffs' dozens of wives escapes the FLDS after 'being drugged during her first attempt to leave'

One of the dozens of wives of polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs enlisted the help of the authorities to escape the sect's home-base in Arizona.
Washington county sheriff's deputies helped the 25-year-old woman leave the base and flee to another home in Utah.
Detective Nate Abbott said deputies arrived on a 'keep the peace' call at about 3pm.
'She asked for assistance in leaving the community, and a deputy responded and facilitated that request,' he said.
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the woman had been living with her parents and then fled to the home of Willie Jessop, who is the former spokesman for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Isaac Wyler, a former sect member who still lives in the community, said the sheriff’s deputies helped diffuse what had become a stand-off with FLDS men outside Mr Jessop’s office after a manhunt was launched.
Sources also told ABC 4 News that local town marshals and FLDS security surrounded the business of Willie Jessop, where the young woman had sought refuge.
The woman was then taken to a shelter.
Mr Jessop - who is currently supporting a prophet to replace Jeffs - told the Tribune: 'It’s all about the welfare of a girl who sought help. We’re keeping this focused on what’s in the best interest of the young lady.'
He revealed it was he who contacted authorities on the woman’s behalf, but declined to provide other details about the incident.
'She came to me under duress for some help. We’ve got her help. She’s deciding what she wants to do and how we can help facilitate that. One hundred percent of the focus now is on whatever is in her best interests.”
Colorado City and its sister community of Hildale are the home base of Jeffs’ Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The sect, which has about 10,000 members, practices polygamy in arranged marriages that have sometimes involved underage girls.
Leaving the devout, insular community has historically been difficult for FLDS members in part because it essentially severs all ties with family and friends.
This is allegedly not the first time the woman tried to escape and the Washington County Attorney’s Office is investigating.
They are looking into allegations he was held against her own will and even drugged.
Jeffs, 55, is currently serving a 130-year sentence in an East Texas prison for sexually assaulting two of his many under-age brides when they were 12 and 15.
According to court documents he has at least 78 plural wives.
DNA evidence presented during the trial proved Jeffs had fathered a child with a 15-year-old child bride.
Graphic audio recordings were played on which he was said to be heard sexually assaulting a 12-year-old and instructing other minors on how to please him sexually.
By submitting to his sexual needs in sessions Jeffs branded 'heavenly' or 'celestial', the girls were told they were thereby pleasing God and helping to atone for the sins of their community.
'If the world knew what I was doing, they would hang me from the highest tree,' Jeffs wrote in a chilling journal entry from 2005 - one of thousands of pages of notes seized by authorities.
Shortly after he was imprisoned after swiftly being convicted, he went on hunger strike and was in a medical-induced coma.