Monday 19th November 2007
10.30pm PlayPolitical: Gordon Brown promised British jobs for British workers... a Republican presidential hopeful is promising American jobs for American soldiers.
5pm: BritainAndAmerica: Iain Murray has some thoughts for Thanksgiving Week
1pm ToryDiary: Patrick Mercer on the "appalling" reaction of Tory supporters to his working for Brown
12.30pm PlayPolitical: "Calamity Clegg" - A three minute must-watch video of Clegg and Huhne getting stroppy with each other on BBC1
Noon ToryDiary: Nominations for Lifetime Achievement
ToryDiary: The good news is that Labour is in trouble (the bad news is that so is Britain) and Conservative Movement Awards 2007/08
Columnist Stephan Shakespeare: Politics is still a matter of life and death
Jack Perschke on Platform: Why voting Blue has always meant going Green
Two more Australian ads on PlayPolitical:
No mobile phones in the classroom, says Michael Gove
"Mobile phones would be banned from the classroom under a crackdown on school discipline by the Tories. The measure is contained in an education policy document intended to help hand back power to teachers." - Daily Mail
"The Conservatives are to try to seize the education choice agenda from Labour this week by proposing that most schools be freed from the control of local authorities along the model of city academies." - The Guardian
Yesterday's ToryDiary: Tories "happy" for fight with education establishment in order to implement national reading test for six and seven year-olds
William Hague answers Independent readers' questions
Asked 'What was your biggest mistake as Tory leader?', William Hague replied: "I think I underestimated how many times you have to say something before anybody really notices. As a result, I moved too rapidly from one approach to another, thinking whatever I had tried just didn't work, when sometimes it just needed persistence."
Read the whole Q&A here.
LibDem leadership race turns ugly...
"In a rowdy exchange on the BBC One programme The Politics Show, Chris Huhne accused Nick Clegg of “flip- flopping” on issues such as Trident and school vouchers, but he denied helping to produce a dossier compiled by his campaign team titled “Calamity Clegg”, which detailed alleged policy shifts by his rival." - Times
"Senior Liberal Democrat officials are to consider a complaint by leadership contender Nick Clegg over a document describing him as a "calamity"." - BBC
Strong recommendation to go to the BBC page above and watch the Clegg-Huhne clash... Can someone please post it on YouTube? Now done - it's on YouTube!
...as do relations between Brown and Miliband
"David Miliband's relationship with Gordon Brown was under strain last night after Labour insiders blamed him for a campaign to "destabilise" the Prime Minister. A Whitehall row over spin was in danger of escalating after the Foreign Secretary was accused of reviving his ambitions to challenge for the leadership." - Daily Mail
"Mr Miliband insisted he and the Prime Minister were working hand-in-hand... Mr Miliband said in a radio interview: “It is absolutely wrong to suggest there is any breach. “I am proud to be serving under Gordon’s leadership. And he and I — talking very often, working together very closely — are giving Britain a foreign policy that is clear and coherent.”" - The Sun
Brown goes green in fightback speech
"Gordon Brown will call today for urgent action to combat climate change at home and abroad as he tries to regain the political initiative for the Government. His first big speech on the environment as Prime Minister comes amid growing disquiet over the direction of his premiership and Labour's poor performance in the polls." - Independent
Lord West in new security row
"Lord West, the security minister, was at the centre of a fresh row last night after he was accused of contradicting the head of MI5 by saying that the terrorist threat against Britain would soon be "steadily declining". His comments appeared to challenge recent remarks by Jonathan Evans, the director general of MI5, who said this month that the terrorist threat had not yet reached its peak." - Telegraph
Tim Yeo plans to move the clock
"A leading Tory has relaunched his attempt to move British time forward by an hour, using his high position in the ballot for private members' bills at Westminster and risking renewed opposition from Scotland." - The Herald
Labour MPs seek revival of English regions plan to tackle West Lothian Question - Scotsman
Bill for Northern Rock rescue could reach £45billion - Daily Mail
Darling to address Commons later today on Rock's future - BBC
It is time to revive Britain’s interest in the Commonwealth - Times leader
"MPs have warned that "important work" being undertaken by the Foreign Office is at risk from Treasury spending restrictions." - ePolitix.com
Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary...
