Sunday newspaper round-up: Universal basic income, Brexit polls, Port Talbot

5th Jun 2016 22:37

(ShareCast News) - Labour is considering backing the idea of a universal basic income - a radical transformation of the welfare state that would ditch means-tested benefits in favour of a flat-rate payment. John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, who is keen to find policies to match his slogan of a "new economics," will appear at the launch of a report on the proposal from the leftwing campaign group Compass in the House of Commons on Monday evening. - The GuardianThe leave campaign has picked up momentum and taken a three-point lead over remain in the latest Observer/Opinium poll on the EU referendum. The Brexiters now stand on 43%, while 40% say they support the campaign to keep the UK in the union. The poll suggests the remain camp has lost four percentage points in the last two weeks, during which Boris Johnson and Michael Gove have relentlessly campaigned on the theme of immigration. - The GuardianThere are fresh hopes that Britain's steel sector could be saved after bidders for Tata's loss-making UK operations pledged their long-term commitment to keeping the plants open. It is understood that at least one of the shortlisted bidders for the sprawling steel empire centred around the Port Talbot plant in South Wales is looking at a five-year to 10-year plan to turn around the business. - The Sunday TelegraphSir Philip Green is desperately trying to find a deal for the BHS pension scheme to avert an industry-funded bailout. The Topshop owner, who has endured a hailstorm of criticism over the collapse of the department store chain, is understood to have approached the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) for help in presenting a restructuring plan to the pensions watchdog. The 11th-hour dash has been met with scepticism from both agencies. "He's clutching at straws," said a source. - The Sunday TimesThe advertising giant WPP is braced for a major revolt this week over chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell's record-breaking £70m pay package. It is understood that more institutional investors than last year are expecting to protest against the ad man's bonanza at its AGM on Wednesday than last year, when 22% rejected WPP's remuneration report. - The Sunday TelegraphShell could show fresh signs of financial strain from its takeover of rival BG this week as it lays out plans for deeper cost-cuts and a potential delay in the mammoth asset sale launched by the oil giant to help pay for the £35bn deal. Chief executive Ben van Beurden is under increasing pressure to justify the blockbuster acquisition, which he pulled off despite the plunging oil price. Crude closed on Friday at $49 a barrel, less than half its 2014 high. The company revealed this month that profits for the first three months of the year - the first period that included BG's operations - had slumped by 83%. - The Sunday TimesMike Ashley will go before MPs to "defend the good name" of Sports Direct on Tuesday in a change of plan just days after he said he would defy a parliamentary summons. The billionaire founder of the retail chain has written to the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) committee to say that he had a change of heart after careful consideration over the weekend. - The GuardianFarmers are leading a backlash against the Government's latest cut to green energy subsidies, warning it will deprive the struggling agricultural sector of a valuable source of income. In a consultation quietly published late last month, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) proposed slashing subsidies for anaerobic digestion (AD) plants. Anaerobic digesters take organic materials, such as crops or agricultural waste, and break them down using bacteria to produce "biogas" and fertiliser. - The Sunday Telegraph