ConservativeHome: Friday 13th June 2008

Lee Rotherham on the lost principles of the EU Laeken Declaration
Alex Deane's "random thoughts"
Peter Cuthbertson urges the UK to ignore the discredited UN HRC

1.45pm PlayPolitical video: Brown can't suppress a smile as he discusses David Davis' resignation

1.15pm Dr Crippen on CentreRight: "A wide raging brief to cover imprisonment without trial, the erosion of juries, CCTV, the uploading of personal medical records to central government computers, Oyster Card monitoring, DNA records, finger printingâ¦ the list is sadly endless. The Conservative Party needs to eschew lowest common denominator populism and show itâs real libertarian credentials. And David Davis is the man to do that."

12.45pm ToryDiary: The only nation that had a chance to vote on Lisbon, has voted "no"

Tim Montgomerie on Commentisfree: "Some commentators are writing that Davis' resignation presents Labour with an opportunity to get back into the political game. That's nonsense. There is no great division in the Conservative party. Cameron's choice of successor for Davis, Dominic Grieve, takes exactly the same view on 42 days. Cameron's leadership is as safe as the crown jewels. Voters aren't going to forget Labour's failures on crime, tax and the cost of living very easily. The Conservatives have a lot of work to do before they can be sure of returning to government, but the heroic stand of Davis will only add to the sense that the centre right of British politics is now where all the action is."

10am Andrew Lilico on CentreRight: Detention without charge - some key distinctions

ToryDiary:

Parliament: Theresa May leads questioning of Harriet Harman on deals with DUP and Dominic Grieve sets out his stall on the ECHR in his post-2005 maiden speech to Parliament

"Given Syriaâs relationship with Iran, its interest in the Lebanon, the legacy of the Iraq invasion, and the impenetrability of the countryâs political system, itâs impossible to be optimistic about a new settlement between Syria and the West. But the liberal democracies in general, and Britain in particular, themselves have a choice. We can either isolate Syria, or engage with it."

Platform: Paul Goodman MP concludes that engaging with Syria is better than isolating it

PlayPolitical video: Watch David Cameron's statement, reacting to David Davis' resignation

David Davis: I'm fighting to defend our basic freedoms

"The truth is that, while 42 days marks a watershed, it is only the latest in the steady, insidious and relentless erosion of our freedoms over the past decade. We will soon have the most intrusive ID card system in the world. There is a CCTV camera for every 14 citizens - despite growing evidence of their ineffectiveness as deployed. We have the largest DNA database in the world, larger than any dictatorship, with thousands of innocent children and millions of innocent citizens on it." - The former Shadow Home Secretary writing in The Telegraph

Ex-Sun Editor told Today that he may run against David Davis

Kelvin Mackenzie said that Rupert Murdoch wants him to run and that he's far more worried about being blown up on the tube than there being too much CCTV. No hyperlink.

The Sun hammers David Davis this morning: "This was no noble cause. It was a shabby act of treachery. Mr Davis, a second-rate but ferociously ambitious politician, has not forgiven his rival for thrashing him in the Tory leadership race two years ago. Serially disloyal, he had talked privately about knifing Mr Cameron and seizing the crown when the moment was ripe."

Labour refuse to contest by-election - The Independent

The reaction of the newspaper leader writers

"Mr Davis's criticisms of the growth of CCTV surveillance, the DNA database and the Government's plans to set up a national ID card scheme are all absolutely justified. So is his disgust at the Government's extension of the permitted period of detention without charge for terrorist suspects, which was whipped through the Commons this week. The latest Criminal Justice Bill is indeed a "monstrosity", as Mr Davis put it." - Independent leader

"Mr Davis's resignation may have been reckless, misguided and highly disconcerting for the political establishment - but, driven by principle, it is none the less laudable for that." - Telegraph leader

"By resigning, Mr Davis has shown contempt for the principle of Cabinet solidarity, without which parties cannot effectively govern or hold each other to account. He has shown indifference to Parliament's primacy in passing laws (however flawed). And he has raised serious questions about the judgment of the rest of the Tory front bench for tolerating him for so long. Mr Cameron and the nation have this consolation: Mr Davis has won the headlines that he clearly craves, but he has disqualified himself as a future home secretary." - Times leader

"Voters loathe unnecessary by-elections. The Lib Dems and even the BNP say they will not stand a candidate. If Labour follows suit, Mr Davis's victory could seem Pyrrhic indeed. So, while we applaud everything Mr Davis is campaigning for, and wish him all the luck in his battle to protect British freedoms, we worry â as a friend â that, in this instance, his courage may have been greater than his judgment." - Daily Mail leader

Never part of the inner circle, is Team Cameron glad that David Davis has gone?

"This extraordinary decision may have more to do with the possibly testy relationship between Mr Davis and Mr Cameron. But it will provide an unnecessary distraction from the Tory task of maintaining the summer heat on Labour. For the next five weeks, the attention of Westminster will focus as much on the internal affairs of the Tories as on the problems facing the Government." - Michael Brown, friend of David Davis, in The Independent

"The news cast a long shadow over a summer party the Tory leader was throwing at his London home for senior friends and colleagues, not including Mr Davis. There was fury at the shadow home secretary for creating a distraction from Gordon Brown's seemingly unending difficulties. Senior Tories saw the move as a stunt - albeit one motivated by high principle. Mr Davis's desire to be the centre of attention has long been a source of quiet amusement and irritation." - James Chapman in the Daily Mail

"Every morning at nine, Mr Cameron meets key aides and shadow ministers including William Hague, Michael Gove and George Osborne. Mr Davis has always been put out that he is not invited." - Telegraph

"Mr Davis has never been a team player. He prefers individual sports such as mountaineering to group games. A self-confessed Alpha Male, he has a climbing wall in his barn in Yorkshire and has been known to give colleagues Action Man dolls for Christmas." - Rachel Sylvester in The Times

The Guardian welcomes Dominic Grieve's appointment

"Yesterday's appointment of Dominic Grieve as his successor is a heartening sign, for Mr Grieve understands like few other Tories that there can be no backsliding on human rights." - Guardian

Conservatives back drive to fast-track nuclear reactors - FT

Home improvers face new tax

"Homeowners who want to build extensions on their houses are being charged Â£1,000 per room by council planners. The charges - dubbed a 'bedroom tax' - must be paid before town halls give permission for home improvements." - Daily Mail

Ray Collins, a senior Union official, is new Labour general secretary - BBC

Review of last night's TV drama, Margaret Thatcher's 'Long Walk To Finchley'

"At odd times, I managed to suspend my disbelief long enough to start enjoying the story, but was always jerked back to consciousness by some clunking implausibility. As a serious enquiry into the most influential woman in the past century of British history, this was a non-starter. But as an ice-breaker, the start of a conversation about Thatcherism that doesn't degenerate into yah-boo-sucks, it was unmissable." - Robert Hanks in The Independent

Watch it here on BBC's iPlayer.

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