Thursday 31st January 2008
7pm CentreRight updates:
- Conor Burns compares Dan Hannan to a chav with an ASBO;
- Matthew Elliott on the fact that the number of local government employees earning £50K+ a year is rising three times faster than in the economy as a whole;
- Peter Whittle wonders if we're back to 70s-style decline but with social problems dominating;
- Dan Hamilton on the non-existent "EP" element to the EPP-ED;
- Douglas Carswell MP thinks the EPP have shot themselves in the foot;
- Greg Hands MP reviews the call for transparency from EU leaders;
- Jill Kirby on the Tesco clubcard model for public service reform;
- Tim Montgomerie reports the closure of Teveres cafe.
5pm BritainAndAmerica: All you need to know Jan 31st
4pm CF Diary: Christian May argues for a campaigning-focused CF
1pm ToryDiary: Dan Hannan to be kicked out of the EPP for highlighting despotism in the European Parliament
"As taxpayers, we are being asked to invest, in the form of guarantees, up to £50 billion (or is it £100 billion?) to keep afloat a busted company. The Prime Minister tells us that he does not expect to call on us for real cash because the business is sound. But he, his Chancellor, his FSA, the Bank and all their advisors know this is untrue. If a company issued a prospectus on grounds even remotely as misleading as this, the issuers would probably be going to jail."
Platform: John Moir, former Financial Director at Lloyds of London, on the big lies about Northern Rock
ToryDiary: What should the British Government do to persuade young Muslims that they should reject terror and embrace the British way of life? and Dale confronted
Parliament: Boris Johnson quickly corrects the Prime Minister's 'inadvertent misleading of the Commons'
This morning on CentreRight:
- Greg Hands MP reveals that Gordon Brown has never mentioned Ken Livingstone's name in Parliament
- Peter Franklin offers some typically astute comments on the hare and tortoise debate
- Samuel Coates calls for more MPs' employment details to be made public
Conservatives look at banning all MPs from employing their children
"Proposals to ban the children of MPs from being paid out of public funds for working for them are being considered by the Conservatives in the wake of the Derek Conway affair, party sources said last night. Conway, who paid up to £77,000 to his sons Freddie and Henry to act as his research assistants, announced yesterday that he would stand down as MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup at the next election." - Guardian
"MPs were challenged last night to break their centuries-old tradition of self-governance and submit their use of public money to checks from an outside body. Sir Christopher Kelly, the standards watchdog, said there was a case for a ban on MPs hiring family members as he intervened in the row over payments by the Tory MP, Derek Conway, to his sons." - Times
Speaker Michael Martin's wife has spent thousands on taxis and flights - Times
Conway's son's close friend, another student, was also on the payroll - Times
I'd rather have Derek Conway as my father than Nigella Lawsona as my mother - Bryony Gordon in the Telegraph
Should MPs' expenses be under tighter control? - Independent
Attacking Ministers over NHS drug deal
"The Conservatives last night accused the government of "dreadful incompetence" after health ministers admitted letting pharmacists make £811m in excess profits dispensing NHS prescriptions. Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, said parliamentary answers showed pharmacists in England exceeded an agreed maximum profit by 60% in 2005-6 and 102% in 2006-7." - Guardian
The "coping classes" need the hares
"In this climate, the issue for David Cameron is not whether he sets out a precise, tightly costed programme of savings and tax cuts right now: that would be counter-productive. What matter are his instincts, aspirations and ability to communicate in an easily understood manner that he will get the public finances in order, look to strip out waste and reallocate resources when he can let those who work hard keep more of their own money." - Telegraph
It's all in the genes
"Choosing whether to vote Conservative or Labour could all be in the genes, scientists have claimed. They say opinions on a wide range of issues, from religion in
schools to nuclear power and gay rights, are influenced by biology -
and can be stubbornly resistant to reason." - Mail
Immigration to add a Coventry to UK population every two years
"Britain's immigrant population will top nine million in a little over two decades - an increase of more than two thirds - a leading Blairite think-tank has said. The Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) used data from the United Nations to forecast that there would be 9.1 million migrants from abroad by 2030 compared with 5.4 million today. The increase of 3.7 million is the same as adding a city the size of Coventry to Britain's population every two years." - Telegraph
Competing media operations over stop and search
"The Conservative party leader must have been thrilled on Tuesday night when he heard that the Sun's splash headline for yesterday on his "exclusive" plans to relax the rules on stop and search read: "Police, Cameron, Action." Downing Street was less than thrilled." - Guardian
"David Cameron gives an interview to a national newspaper outlining plans to make it easier for the police to stop and search suspects in an attempt to curb violent street crime. Given the rate of gun and knife deaths among young people, notably in London, such action is clearly desirable. Barely is the ink dry on the article than Downing Street pops up with similar proposals of its own. The purpose of this intervention? To spike the Tories' guns." - Telegraph leader
Is stop and search a good idea? - BBC
Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary...
