ConservativeHome

Thursday 30th April 2009

10pm ToryDiary: Look out for a five pronged affirmation of "new Toryism"

5.30pm WATCH: David Cameron outlines his latest thinking on MPs' expenses

12.15pm Parliament: Government deservedly loses Commons vote on Gurkhas

11.45am Local Government: Staffordshire Conservative manifesto launched

11.15am WATCH: Andrew Lansley attacks Labour for failing to get the National Flu helpline up and running

Latest from Parliament:

• The Government doesn't know about national health trends
• Healthcare in Wales undermines localism

9.45am ToryDiary: David Cameron refuses to rule out scrapping/ delaying replacement for Trident

ToryDiary: David Davis concludes that he cannot justify a wholesale upgrade of Trident, as he weighs into the debate about public spending

Jonathan Munday on Platform: The next Conservative Government must introduce a Great Repeal Act

Seats and Candidates:

• Former Lib Dem candidate Norsheen Bhatti: Why I quit the Lib Dems to join the Conservatives
• David Cameron will inherit a parliamentary party that cut its ideological teeth under the Iron Lady

Local Government:

• Jessica Crowe: Scrutiny of councils is working
• BBC survey shows councillors' allowances rise
• There is a pothole every 120 yards in this country

Star Chamber: End the Government Car Service

WATCH: Sky News asks the question: are enough preparations being made to deal with swine flu?

The Times characterises the new generation of Tories as "Greenhorns with no green credentials"

"David Cameron will head a party dominated by MPs more socially conservative and less concerned with the environment than their leader, an analysis of Conservative parliamentary candidates suggests. Mr Cameron has told close colleagues that he believes he is on course to win 140 new Tory MPs after the next election, The Times has been told. While such a net gain would give Mr Cameron an overall majority of about 15, it could place him to the left of most of his parliamentary party, in which the majority will be new to the Commons." - The Times

Profiles of some of the Tory MPs of tomorrow - The Times

Swine flu: Andrew Lansley welcomes stockpiling of anti-viral drugs and face masks

"The shadow Health secretary Andrew Lansley welcomed the Government's decision to increase the anti-viral stockpile and procure face masks for NHS staff. "We will need to explore further possible counter-measures including whether the Government will now provide anti-virals preventatively to all those who have come into contact with people who are infected; how the Government proposes to fill the gap caused by the delay in setting up the National Flu Line, which won't be ready until the autumn; and whether it will be the Government's intention to close schools for three weeks at a time if a case of pandemic flu is identified," he said." - The Independent

"Tory bigwigs at war on military spending"

"Tory plans to slash arms spending were in disarray yesterday after a revolt that could split the party. The Mirror has learned shadow defence secretary Liam Fox has emailed defence firms with a vow to fight George Osborne's bid to save £3 billion by cutting the A400M transport aircraft and another plane programme. Dr Fox told them he will fight any such cuts - a move which threatens to set the Tories at each others' throats." - The Mirror

How the civil service is planning for a Tory Government

"So far, Mr Cameron shows every sign of understanding the imperative of being prepared. At his direction, an unprecedented programme of training and planning has been underway for months, with the aim not just of turning opposition spokesmen into battle-ready ministers, but policy into legislation, and principles into fundamental changes to the very culture of government." - Benedict Brogan writing in the Daily Telegraph

Boris gives himself six and a half out of ten after a year in office

"In an interview with the Guardian to mark his first year in office, the Conservative mayor gave himself just "six and a half out of 10" for his mayoral performance to date. "If I think we are doing OK and I have a chance of being re-elected and people aren't too hacked off with me then yes, I would be absolutely crazy not to try for a second term. It's a wonderful job. It's almost certainly the last big job I will do in British politics." - The Guardian

> Saturday's ToryDiary: Being Mayor is "almost certainly my last big job in British politics"

Gordon Brown struggles to maintain his authority after humiliating defeat on the Gurkhas

"Gordon Brown was struggling to maintain his authority over Labour MPs last night after suffering a shock Commons defeat on restricting the right of former Gurkhas to settle in Britain. Twenty-seven Labour MPs voted against the Prime Minister and dozens abstained in favour of a Liberal Democrat motion that would give all Gurkhas who have served in the Armed Forces an equal right of residence... David Cameron said: “The basic presumption that people who fight for our country should have a right to come and live in our country has been set out very clearly. The Government has now got to come back with immediate proposals so that those Gurkhas who have been waiting so long for an answer can have that answer.” - The Times

The 27 Labour rebels who helped defeat the Government - The Guardian

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Tories and Lib Dems defeat Government on settlement rights for Gurkhas

MPs to vote on expenses reforms today...

"Gordon Brown's plans to reform the system of MPs' expenses will go to a series of House of Commons votes later. His proposals include more transparency over second jobs and MPs' staff being employed by the Commons authorities. But Mr Brown's plan to abolish the controversial second homes allowance in favour of flat-rate attendance expenses was dropped amid widespread opposition. The votes are seen as a test of his authority after the government suffered a surprise Commons defeat on Wednesday." - BBC

...as some Labour members reportedly fear exposure as adulterers when expenses are published

"Three Labour MPs are said to be terrified that the release of their expenses claims will expose them as adulterers and financial cheats. Four ministers are also understood to have warned party whips they might have to resign for abusing the system, when MPs' receipts are published before the summer recess in July." -  Daily Mail

Fraser Nelson: Accepting 50p tax was the trap into which David Cameron has walked

"Mr Cameron walked into Gordon’s trap, which was not that the Tory leader would oppose the measure, but that he would accept it. The Prime Minister is bequeathing to a recession-struck nation the fourth-highest top tax rate on the planet, just for the devilish joy of watching a Conservative party too timid to state the simple truth: that high tax rates make everyone poorer. Economically, it is a poison pill. The tragedy is that so many of Britain’s entrepreneurs will not hang around long enough to see whether Cameron swallows it. They know that greed is still good — for everyone. But does the Conservative prime minister-in-waiting?" - Fraser Nelson writing in The Spectator

David Willetts reflects on Thatcher and Thatcherism

"De Gaulle claimed to be driven by une certaine idée de la France. Thatcher had a certain idea of England—and it probably was England, not Britain, which was one of its problems. It was a picture of sturdy individuals with their freedoms protected by strong institutions. I remember when as a keen young ideologue I called it laissez faire and she corrected me—no, she said, a system of “ordered liberty.” Perhaps she just didn’t like French phrases." - David Willetts MP writing in Prospect

Parallels are drawn between Gordon Brown and John Major losing the grip of power...

"Gordon Brown’s premiership faces a lingering death as painful as that experienced by John Major in 1996-97 unless he gets a grip quickly. Long-serving MPs were drawing parallels last night between the two: the willingness of government backbenchers to defy their leader, a loss of prime ministerial authority and open fatalism about the party’s electoral prospects." - Peter Riddell writing in The Times

"The Prime Minister has lost his way. He has lost his place in the script... We have been here before. In fact, we have been here twice in living memory. James Callaghan and John Major seemed similarly doomed, especially in retrospect, as they limped towards their conclusions – in Callaghan's case 30 years ago this Sunday. But Callaghan retained his dignity and not even Major cut so miserable a figure as Brown does now." - John Rentoul writing in The Independent

...as another commentator identifies "the longest assisted suicide in history"...

"The death throes of the Labour Government that started with Gordon Brown's arrival in No10 and reached its terminal phase in last week's Budget, could be called the longest assisted suicide in history. Labour really is dying and Mr Brown could not have done the deed on his own." - Anatole Kaletsky writing in The Times

...and a former Sun editor declares his hatred for the Prime Minster

"I can't remember when I last felt like this. It’s probably the best part of three decades ago. I detest this Government with my heart and soul and have literally begun to hate the Prime Minister. For a decade he pocketed our hard work. Slowly, secretly, but without hesitation he stuck up our taxes. All the time he took credit for the global boom, never once criticising the bankers, the private equity guys or the hedgies. " - Kelvin Mackenzie writing in The Sun

David Cameron's mother-in-law speaks about the loss of Ivan - Daily Telegraph

Alistair Darling hints that ID cards could be dropped - Daily Mail

Hazel Blears warns that recession could spark riots and civil disorder - Daily Mail

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Wednesday 29th April 2009

10.15pm Martin Parsons on CentreRight writes an open letter to Alan Duncan demanding an apology for his remarks about Miss California on Have I Got News For You

6.15pm Local Government: From Private Eye's Rotten Boroughs

6pm WATCH: The full unedited exchanges on the Gurkhas from today's PMQs

4.30pm ToryDiary: Tories and Lib Dems defeat Government on settlement rights for Gurkhas Updated at 5.45pm with full reaction from David Cameron and Damian Green and at 6.30pm with reaction from Liam Fox

4pm WATCH: Sky News's Joey Jones reviews the highlights of today's PMQs

3.30pm Graeme Archer on CentreRight on the dangers of coherency in politics

3pm Parliament: Jacqui Lait calls for children to be protected from exploitation

2.30pm Parliament: George Osborne mocks the Government's growth projections

2.30pm WATCH: Gordon Brown goes to leave the Commons when called to make a statement after PMQs

1pm Local Government: Boris Johnson wants to hand power down to London boroughs.

12.30pm

• ToryDiary: Swine 'flu and the Gurkhas dominate exchanges at PMQs
• Daniel Hamilton on CentreRight is worried about Gordon Brown's reassurances on swine 'flu

11am Parliament: Roger Helmer: Working Time Directive opt-out is safe - until European elections

11am ToryDiary: Conservatives will mend Britain's broken economy, its broken society and its broken politics

10.45am WATCH: The Crown Blogspot's video reminding us why we should sign the petition calling on Gordon Brown to resign

10.30am Charlie Elphicke on CentreRight is impressed with the Conservative Party's female candidates

ToryDiary: Will the next Conservative Government face tougher challenges than Margaret Thatcher did in 1979?

Stephen Mold on Platform: The economic lessons we can learn from Canada

Seats and Candidates: Paul Shea selected for East Ham

Local Government:

• Glyn Gaskarth: Councils should be given more power to tackle crime
• Lib Dem councillor in Somerset denied justice by his own party
• Two Labour councillors quit the party in Blaenau Gwent

Star Chamber: Abolish the Standards Board for England

Julia Manning on CentreRight: Isn't the unfolding tragedy over the latest 'flu outbreak that it is a death sentence for the poor?

WATCH:

• Gordon Brown insists Britain is well prepared to cope with an outbreak of swine flu
• Charles Clarke attacks Gordon Brown's handling of the reform of MPs' expenses

CCHQ diverts resources to seats lower down the target list

"The Conservatives are diverting campaign money and resources away from constituencies that they believe they will easily win, as growing poll leads increase the scale of the party’s electoral ambitions. Candidates in Labour seats that would fall to the Conservatives on a swing of only a few hundred votes are being told that their seats are in a category comfortingly termed “sure win”... The increasing likelihood of victory for the Conservatives at the next election has prompted the party to consider diverting resources away from seats it believes are already in the bag to those previously regarded as unrealistic prospects." - The Times

We'll win the election, says William Hague

“It is likely that we are going to be able to win the next election... I put it no more strongly than that.” While there was no complacency in the party, he said that a trend was setting in. “However much opinion polls go up and down there is a mood of ‘this is long enough of a Labour government’ .” The Tories were psychologically prepared for government, he said. “We have the right mixture of excitement — when you have lost three elections it is quite exciting.” - Shadow foreign secretary William Hague quoted in a wide-ranging interview with The Times

George Osborne mocks Gordon Brown after the PM's economic policy is criticised in Poland

"Gordon Brown came under fire both at home and abroad yesterday over the state of Britain's finances. On a visit to Poland, he had to listen to its Prime Minister pointedly criticise countries that tried to spend their way of recession... George Osborne, the shadow Chancellor, said the Prime Minister had been given a "lecture on prudence" by the Polish premier. He added: "We are used to Polish builders telling us to fix the roof while the sun was shining, not the Polish Prime Minister as well." - The Independent

Conservatives welcome breakdown in negotiations on the working time directive

"All 26 other European Union member states are now expected to join the British opt-out which allows UK workers to work more than 48 hours a week, leaving the controversial Brussels employment legislation in tatters... Philip Bushill-Matthews, the Conservative's employment spokesman in the European Parliament, said: "The result of the breakdown of negotiations is that the opt-out remains secure – until the next attempt to undermine it. The current commission proposal for review automatically lapses, and it will be up to the commission to come up with a new proposal." - Daily Telegraph

Tories deny YouTube video shows David Cameron at 1988 rave

"The Tories were today forced to deny that a video clip purporting to show a long-haired party-goer at a 1988 outdoor rave was the party leader David Cameron. The purple-tinted video, set to a hypnotic acid house rave track, shows a man bearing a striking similarity to Cameron with shoulder-length hair and wearing dungarees." - Daily Mail

Liam Fox raises concerns over review of the reserve forces

"A radical reorganisation of the armed forces reserves, which would see them integrated more fully with regular forces and better trained, was announced by the Ministry of Defence yesterday. It will involve a cut of about 2,000 posts, mainly as a result of modern communications systems replacing traditional signallers... Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said the plans were short on detail: "Changes to the shape of our armed forces should be made within the context of a strategic defence review - one which is hugely overdue - not in this piecemeal fashion." - The Guardian

David Cameron rebuts The Times' attack on his supposed failure to promote women

"The fact is we've got more women in the Shadow Cabinet than Labour have in their Cabinet. We have more than 80 parliamentary candidates who are women. If we form a majority of just one at the next election, the number of female Tory MPs will treble to 55. Half the peers I have appointed since becoming leader are women... In my private office, four of the most senior posts are filled by exceptionally able women who I personally appointed myself." - David Cameron writing in The Times

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: The Times launches unfair attack on David Cameron's attempts to promote women

Gordon Brown faces new challenge over MPs' expenses

"Brown faced a challenge last night when the cross-party Commons standards and privileges committee announced it would table its own amendment on expenses and allowances during the debate tomorrow. The committee, whose members include five senior Labour MPs including the former ministers Paddy Tipping and Chris Mullin, will propose that the system of MPs' allowances should be referred to the standards watchdog, Sir Christopher Kelly... The Conservative frontbench is planning to abstain on the committee's amendment. David Cameron is also planning to support all Brown's plans, except the reform of allowances to subsidise MPs' second homes." - The Guardian

Stephen O'Brien criticises Government over lack of flu helpline

"Leaflets about the swine flu outbreak and how to prevent its spread are to be delivered to every UK household... But the Conservatives have criticised the government over the national flu helpline, which was supposed to be ready in early 2009. Shadow health minister Stephen O'Brien said: "The national flu line will be crucial if a pandemic were to happen in Britain, by allowing people to get the information and the anti-virals they will need to fight the flu without having to go to GP surgeries or hospitals." - BBC

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Conservatives question the Government's readiness to respond to a flu outbreak

Boris Johnson promises Olympic benefits for Londoners

"Boris Johnson promised yesterday that a combination of mobile swimming pools, "street athletics" and outdoor "green gyms" would help Londoners realise the benefits of the 2012 Olympics as part of a £30m investment plan. The mayor of London also promised hundreds of initiatives at local level, and to sweep away bureaucracy to allow Londoners to use discounted facilities across the capital to boost sports participation." - The Guardian

> Yesterday in Local Government: Boris Johnson launches sports programme

Simon Heffer: You had to be there to grasp the scale of Margaret Thatcher's revolution

"Her arrival as prime minister, 30 years ago next Monday, and the breaking of the discredited consensus that it effected, remain the most positive and important events in our post-war history. If anyone tells you otherwise, then (either literally or metaphorically) they weren't really there." - SImon Heffer writing in the Daily Telegraph

Peter Riddell: David Cameron's plans for power can be changed by reality of office

"The present Tory Opposition is preparing assiduously, with an implementation team headed by Francis Maude. Former ministers and civil servants have supplied advice, while briefing sessions have been organised for the Conservatives by the Institute for Government, an independent charity concerned with improving the effectiveness of administration... Yet he [David Cameron] knows that even the best prepared plans will look different in the harsh reality of office." - Peter Riddell writing in The Times

Alice Miles: Tory plans are muddled and baffling

"The Tory programme lacks all coherence. Take, for instance, the party's commitment to protect the rising budgets for health and international development, while looking for spending cuts elsewhere, as highlighted by the Shadow Chancellor George Osborne at the weekend. It is utterly baffling." - Alice Miles writing in The Times

Janet Street-Porter: I don't want MPs lecturing us about thrift

"David Cameron, once a PR man, is a master of the soundbite, but hijacking the word thrift is rich coming from a group of workers (MPs) still arguing about whether they should be allowed to vote on their own pay, and be reimbursed for second homes... David Cameron talks about removing tax credits from the middle classes and implies that he will raise taxes, but why should ordinary individuals pay more when the waste in government and their inept attempts to harness new technology have cost billions?" - Janet Street-Porter writing in The Independent

Revolt grows over treatment of Gurkhas - Daily Mail

Peter Hain: We need to wake up and tackle BNP poison head on - The Guardian

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Tuesday 28th April 2009

10pm Ruth Lea on CentreRight: The Labour Government is dishonest, self-serving and rotten to the core

6pm Local Government: Boris Johnson launches sports programme.

5pm ToryDiary: You know the game's up for Labour when... Jarvis Cocker says a Tory victory is "necessary"

4pm WATCH: Speaking in Warsaw, Gordon Brown defends his plans on MPs' expenses

2.30pm Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: Eric Pickles reveals his top five websites

1pm Parliament: Lord Tebbit on the cost of illegal immigration

12.45pm ToryDiary: Conservatives question the Government's readiness to respond to a flu outbreak

12.15pm Seats and candidates: Lord Portillo?

11.30am Parliament: Dominic Grieve: "Prison crisis is entirely of the Government's own making"

11.15am Mark Field MP on CentreRight: "Conservatives appreciate that raising tax now even on the wealthiest in our communities risks prolonging the UK's economic downturn"

11am Parliament: When should pupils be expelled from schools?

10.15am Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: The battle of the petitions

10am Charlie Elphicke on CentreRight: Beware triumphalism!

ToryDiary:

• The Times launches unfair attack on David Cameron's attempts to promote women
• Eric Pickles' video takes us inside CCHQ...

Mark Brooks on Platform: Because of male cancers, boys' education, male suicides... We need a Minister for Men

Star Chamber public spending saving idea 7: No more UK aid for India

Local government:

• One in ten Manchester Council staff on long term sick leave
  
• Labour member told she is "too white and Jewish" to stand for Birmingham Council
• Profile of West Sussex in advance of June 4th's elections
  

New ComRes poll puts Tories 19% ahead - Independent | Yesterday evening's ToryDiary

Click on the image on the right to enlarge a Telegraph chart of their YouGov polls >>> 

David Cameron demands referendum on new EU constitution from Gordon Brown - Telegraph

> Put the EU-turn widget on your own website
> Yesterday's ToryDiary: David Cameron launches new campaign for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty

Unlike Geoffrey Howe, George Osborne will wield the axe from day one

"The Thatcher government sparked outrage in 1981 by cutting spending and raising taxes in the midst of recession. Some 364 indignant economists famously called for a change of course. As it happens, one of them was Mervyn King, now governor of the Bank of England. George Osborne, Mr Cameron’s shadow chancellor, has a rather different take. The mistake was not to have acted sooner. The 1981 Budget should have been unveiled in 1979. The implication is that a Cameron government would act swiftly and decisively to restore the public finances." - Philip Stephens in the FT

Cameron's 'Austerity' speech was in total contrast to his first speeches as leader - Michael Brown in The Independent

Is the Thatcher era over?

"One of Mrs Thatcher’s most famous phrases was: “There is no alternative.” As yet, no major political figure in Britain or the western world has really articulated a coherent alternative to the free-market principles inherited from Thatcherism. Until that happens, the Thatcher era will not be definitively over." - Gideon Rachman in the FT

Margaret Thatcher backs The Sun's campaign for justice for Gurkhas - The Sun

Scottish Tories hold family and social justice conference

Scottish Tory leader Annabel Goldie's remarks are captured by The Herald: "A family can be a single mum or dad who looks after and takes responsibility for a child, where they provide a loving and caring environment. But mothers or fathers who ply their kids with alcohol or don't make them go to school or don't make sure they are in by a reasonable hour or are not concerned by their child's behaviour are not good parents. The family is the natural building block in any society. If these foundations are unstable, society is unstable, and that instability is self-perpetuating."

Chris Grayling's backing for knighthood for Ryan Giggs covered in The Sun - MustBeRed.com

LABOUR REBELLION 1: Stephen Byers attacks his own party for "cynical move" on 50p tax - BBC
LABOUR REBELLION 2: Cabinet rebels want ID cards scrapped now - Independent
LABOUR REBELLION 3: Scottish QC defects to Tories over Labour failure on crime - Telegraph

LABOUR RETREAT 1: Brown on his daily allowance for MPs plan - BBC
LABOUR RETREAT 2: Jack Straw abandons Titan prison plans - BBC
LABOUR RETREAT 3: Jacqui Smith scraps giant email database plan - Daily Mail | Video

...But one lady woman is not for turning:

"Harriet Harman yesterday published her landmark equalities bill, defying business by insisting that all companies with more than 250 employees publish the average pay of male and female staff by 2013. The proposal, part of a sweeping review of more than 100 pieces of British equality legislation, was condemned by the CBI, the Engineering Employers Federation and the British Chambers of Commerce." - Guardian

Polly Toynbee salutes the Harman Bill (but wishes it had happened in 1997) - The Guardian

Theresa May said yesterday that she was unconvinced by Ms Harman's reforms - PoliticsHome

Edwina Currie: Equality is fine, but this absurd bill will be a disaster for women and Britain - Daily Mail

Photograph of the climate protestors who glued themselves to Commons statue - Sky

HAVE YOU SIGNED THE 'BROWN MUST GO' PETITION?

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Monday 27th April 2009

9pm ToryDiary: A Conservative majority of 170!

6.30pm WATCH: Nicholas Soames MP objects to use of Winston Churchill by UKIP

5.45pm ToryDiary: "One BBC journalist told me that his colleagues and editors were now more interested in an announcement from George Osborne than from Alistair Darling."

5.15pm Latest from Parliament:

• Mark Hoban speaks out in favour of co-operative and community societies
• Nick Hurd uncovers Government waste - in the Insolvency Service

5.15pm WATCH:

• Jacqui Smith ditches plans for a giant Government email database
• Gordon Brown describes Afghan-Pakistan region as "crucible of global terror"

2.15pm ToryDiary: Boris attacks 50p tax band as an "assault on London"

1.15pm WATCH: Alan Duncan: If you read that Miss California has been murdered you'll know it was me

11.15am ToryDiary: David Cameron launches new campaign for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty

10.30am WATCH: Video of David Cameron's full thirty minute Cheltenham speech

10am Julia Manning on CentreRight: What the Government needs to do to protect Britain from Mexican swine flu

ToryDiary: Ten reasons why Tory MEPs are 'delivering for Britain'

Howard Flight on Platform: How we should regulate the UK's financial services industry

Seats and candidates: Diary of a PPC: Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire)

Local government: Is town twinning a good thing?

Star Chamber:

• Cancellation of the A400M transport aircraft and the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FTSA) would save £3bn
• John Redwood identifies 17 EXISTING Tory spending cut commitments

Coverage of David Cameron's "age of austerity speech"

 Britain will become the 'sick man of Europe' again unless debt crisis is dealt with, warns Cameron - Sky

"In his gloomiest speech since taking over as Tory leader in 2005, Cameron said that the dire state of the public finances meant that he would be judged as prime minister by his success in dealing with the debt crisis." - Guardian

"David Cameron warned public sector workers to prepare for a painful pay squeeze from next year because an incoming Tory government would have to take "incredibly tough decisions" to cut Britain's debt mountain. The Conservative leader said the financial crisis was so severe that Britain needed to undergo "massive change" as it entered an era of belt-tightening." - Independent

"Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, who remains Mr Cameron's closest ally, champions spending cuts over tax rises and promises detailed plans to ensure he has a proper 'mandate' to wield the axe. He believes business tax cuts, in particular, are vital to ensure that Britain begins pulling itself out of the economic nightmare. But Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley promises the budget for the NHS will be protected. That would imply massive cuts elsewhere or significant tax increases." - Daily Mail

> ConservativeHome's ten point summary of the things that mattered from the Cheltenham Spring Forum

Bruce Anderson: David Cameron must be willing to tell voters things they don't want to hear

"Although David Cameron was right to avoid the trap which Labour was setting, and to refuse to turn the next election into an argument about the new super-tax, he will have to refight some of the intellectual battles which Mrs Thatcher seemed to have won. He opposed 42-day detention, even though the polls indicated that it was popular. He should also defy the polls on the question of a low-tax economy. In these troubled times, a politician brave enough to tell the voters that their first instincts were wrong could earn their respect for displaying leadership." - Bruce Anderson in The Independent

Melanie Phillips: Cameron must cut taxes and spending

"Despite the rousing cry of David Cameron yesterday - a 'return to traditional public spending control', a 'new culture of thrift in government' - the concern remains that a Tory Government will merely provide yet more of the same old, same old. If this country is to recover and flourish once again, it needs to produce more wealth and to live within its means. That means significantly reducing public expenditure and reducing taxes, not just for the wealthy but across the board." - Melanie Phillips in the Daily Mail

If taxes have to rise...

Roger Bootle, writing in The Telegraph, has a suggestion: "If taxes have to rise, I have a modest suggestion which could help. Rather than doing this in the usual way, instead make people contribute to government funding. In return for increased "taxes", give them a certificate, a gilt if you like, which entitles them to a stream of interest payments, which could be used to reduce their tax bills in future."

Lib Dems ‘drifting into wilderness’ says defector to Tories, Norsheen Bhatti - Times

Saturday's Seats and candidates post: Lib Dem parliamentary candidate defects to the Conservatives

Alan Duncan may face police probe for talking about murdering someone on prime-time television - Daily Mail

Margaret Thatcher's successors ruined the prosperous Britain she created - Edwina Currie in The Telegraph

The political importance of Samantha Cameron

"Sustaining her husband’s commitment to public services, serving as a one-woman focus group or casting a retailer’s eye over his project, Sam Cameron shapes the current brand of Conservatism in a number of subtle ways. Perhaps the strongest, however, is her taste in people. There are Conservative colleagues of her husband whom she likes — Andrew Feldman, Michael Gove, Steve Hilton. And there are those of whom she is less fond. An invitation to Dean, the family’s beautiful constituency home, for the weekend is as much in her gift as his." - Times

Brown's reform of MPs' expenses "dead" says Cameron as Labour backbenchers revolt - The Sun

Clegg u-turns on demand to stop MPs buying second home - Express

Harriet Harman to publish Bill that will force employers to reveal pay of men and women - BBC

John Reid could return in summer reshuffle of government - Mirror

Government minister Lord West places bet on Labour losing election - Telegraph

10,000 people have signed 'Brown must go' petition - Guardian

HAVE YOU SIGNED?

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Sunday 26th April 2009

10pm WATCH: "Impatient" David Cameron says government must deliver "more for less" in "age of austerity"

8.15pm ToryDiary: Ten conclusions from the Cheltenham Spring Forum

7.30pm WATCH: Dan Hannan attacks Gordon Brown for being unwilling to accept criticism

4.30pm ToryDiary: It was right to raise taxes when Britain last faced a debt crisis says Cameron

3.45pm ToryDiary: Highlights of George Osborne's speech to Spring Forum

12.15pm ToryDiary: Osborne wants mandate from electorate for specific spending cuts

Local Government: Mark Wallace asks Icelandic banks: Will Councils really get a refund?

11am WATCH: Dan Hannan addresses fringe meeting of The Freedom Association

11am Peter Whittle on CentreRight: The culmination of London's St George's Day celebrations were dismal

ToryDiary: Let's hope there's a secret plan

Alex Marsh on Platform: Can we at least discuss the moral case for low taxation?

Local government:

• Contaminated recycling costs Council Taxpayers £12 millon
• Councils spend £1.5million on junkets
• Our guide to June 4th's elections continues with a focus on Hertfordshire

Second YouGov poll in two days confirms 18% Tory lead - Yesterday evening's ToryDiary

David Cameron to promise "massive change" in speech to Tories in Cheltenham

"There is only one way out of this mess and that is through massive change. I'm frustrated it's not happening. I'm impatient to get on with it." - A preview of Mr Cameron's remarks in The Sunday Telegraph

"David Cameron will today make a scathing attack on what he will call Labour's "economic incompetence" that has left Britain in its deepest recession since the Second World War.  He will tell the Conservative Spring Forum that Gordon Brown's administration has wasted billions of pounds of taxpayers' money, and left the country with its highest debt in history." - Sky News

Observer: Neither main party is saying what it will cut

"Severe cuts are coming one way or another. The difference between Labour and the Tories is simply that the government is being dishonest about the coming austerity while the opposition is being macho about it. But neither side wants to talk about where the cuts will actually be made." - Observer leader

Andrew Rawnsley: New Toryism has been killed by the spending squeeze too - Observer

Boris denies breach with Cameron

"He denied, in an interview with the ConservativeHome website, a report in the Times' that he "despised" Mr Cameron, saying the report was "obvious tripe" and "fantasy". He also played down recent reports that he is planning to be prime minister saying that being London mayor is "almost certainly my last big job in British politics"." - BBC

> Yesterday's ConHome exclusive

Cameron accused of "sanctions-busting jolly" to apartheid-era S Africa when he was 23 - Independent on Sunday

David Cameron dares Gordon Brown to hold TV debates - The Sunday Times

Nadine Dorries MP to sue over McBride emails

"Nadine Dorries, the MP for mid-Bedfordshire, confirmed last night that she would take legal action over what she has insisted were false allegations made about her. The announcement comes only days after Dorries demanded - and received - a public apology from Gordon Brown in the Commons, raising the intriguing possibility that Brown's own words could form part of her evidence." - Observer | BBC

Iain Duncan Smith backs Alex Salmond's scheme to charge minimum of 40p per unit of alcohol - Sunday Times

Brown faces humiliating defeat on expenses

"Gordon Brown was last night forced into a humiliating retreat over MPs' expenses to avoid defeat in the Commons. Ministers are now frantically seeking a compromise deal after accepting that the proposed flat-rate allowance for attending parliament, announced with great fanfare five days ago in a ground-breaking YouTube video, would be rejected in a vote. One cabinet aide said the government faced a "humiliating defeat" if it put the measures to a free vote, adding: "Even our lot won't have it."" - Observer

Peers for cash set to be suspended

"Two Labour peers at the centre of the lords for hire scandal have been found guilty of misconduct by a sleaze inquiry and face suspension from parliament, according to senior House of Lords sources." - The Sunday Times

The Mail on Sunday "shames" the public buildings that did not fly St George's flag on Thursday - Mail on Sunday

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Saturday 25th April 2009

11.15pm ToryDiary: Tory lead constant at 18% in new YouGov Poll

9.45pm Seats and Candidates: Lib Dem parliamentary candidate defects to the Conservatives

6pm ToryDiary exclusive: Being Mayor is "almost certainly my last big job in British politics"

5.30pm ToryDiary: Jeremy Middleton elected chairman of the National Conservative Convention

4.45pm ToryDiary: Hague throws rhetorical kitchen sink at the "decomposing political muckheap" that is Labour's frontbench

3.30pm ToryDiary: Freeing schools, restoring discipline and teaching by ability: a brief guide to Conservative education policy

3pm Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: Should the Conservatives help the Damian Green whistleblower to get a new job?

2.30pm ToryDiary: Lansley promises to secure spending on healthcare as part of a ten point SAVE OUR NHS plan

11.30am ToryDiary: David Cameron reaffirms his desire to have MPs from Northern Ireland in a Conservative Government

10am Dr Crippen on CentreRight: Cutting the NHS health care budget - it can be done

ToryDiary:

• Michael Gove announces plans for primary academies
• Philip Hammond steadily rises up the shadow cabinet league table

Jack Perschke on Platform: The next Conservative Government must delegate power and trust people to do the right thing

Local Government:

• Cllr David Parsons looks ahead to the county council elections in Leicestershire
• Conservative-run Lincoln Council halves sickness absenteeism

WATCH:

• Michael Gove explains why he wants to extend the academy programme to primary schools
• Gordon Brown hits back at David Cameron's criticism of the Budget

David Cameron to pledge that a Tory Government will deliver "more for less"...

"David Cameron will tomorrow promise a revolution in the way that central government operates if he becomes Prime Minister, so that the state delivers "more for less" in Britain's "age of austerity". Addressing his party's spring conference in Cheltenham, the Tory leader will call for a "change of culture" so that the public sector takes its share of the burden, in order to bring down the record borrowing figures revealed in this week's Budget." - The Independent

...and put an end to politicians' "snouts in the trough" practices...

"David Cameron will pledge to 'change the culture of government' and end the 'snouts in the trough' practices that have dragged Parliament into disrepute. The Tory leader will promise voters to do away with the publicity-seeking and greed that has gripped ministers and MPs under Labour. In a speech designed to set the tone he hopes to strike in power, Mr Cameron will tell the Tory spring conference in Cheltenham tomorrow that ministers must work to save taxpayers' money, rather than dreaming up new schemes to spend it." - Daily Mail

...as he expresses his desire to scrap 50p tax

"David Cameron yesterday said he wants to scrap Labour’s 50p supertax on the rich — but it will take time. Chancellor Alistair Darling unveiled the new tax on everyone who earns over £150,000 in the Budget. Tory leader Mr Cameron said he wanted to tackle other taxes first. He added: “We don’t like the 50p, but it’s got to get in the queue of taxes we want to get rid of.” - The Sun

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: David Cameron agrees public has a right to know Tory spending plans... but is the party waiting on the IMF to order austerity?

George Osborne: The Budget has unravelled quicker than any in living memory

"Just two days ago, the chancellor said his figures for this quarter would be similar to the last quarter - in fact they are worse. This is worrying as it means the recession will be deeper and people will suffer more. This budget has unravelled quicker then any in living memory as we discover a secret tax bombshell, hidden spending cuts and fantasy forecasts on which the government's whole plan for recovery is based." - George Osborne quoted in The Guardian

The Tories face a dilemma over what to say about how to deal with the public debt...

"Mr Cameron and George Osborne, shadow chancellor, believe the Tories lost the last three elections because they were successfully depicted by Labour as “hatchet-faced” cutters of public services. Their preferred model is the 1979 election manifesto of Margaret Thatcher, which gave a sense of the general approach of a Tory administration but little hint of the painful monetarism and privatisations that followed." - FT

...but Matthew Parris has a suggestion

"To the question “What are you going to cut?”, Mr Cameron's implicit answer should be: “You tell me. No, really: you tell me. We Conservatives have the steel to do this, and you know we must. Now let's talk openly, without scaremongering or posturing, about how and what and when." - Matthew Parris writing in The Times

William Hague to lambast Gordon Brown over Lisbon Treaty

"William Hague is to accuse Gordon Brown of "debasing the coinage of politics" by not holding a referendum on the European Union's Lisbon Treaty. The shadow foreign secretary will say Labour has squandered voters' trust by not giving them a say on EU reforms. He will use a speech ahead of European elections to argue this is a betrayal of Labour's manifesto promise of a referendum on the failed constitution." - BBC

Francis Maude attacks Government's £4 billion management consultancy bill

"All the management consultants in the world cannot put this broken Labour Government back together. At a time when Whitehall needs to tighten its belt because of the nation's ruined public finances, Labour ministers are burning £4billion of taxpayers' money on consultants to tell them what to do. This is another sign of a government that has completely lost its way." - Shadow Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude quoted in the Daily Mail

Lawrence Robertson is less than happy at Brown's proposals on MPs' allowances

"A senior Tory MP has attacked Gordon Brown's plans to overhaul expenses because he does not want to become 'poorer'. Shadow Northern Ireland minister Laurence Robertson, who has claimed nearly £1million in expenses since 2001, insisted that MPs should be properly compensated for working long hours away from home... The former businessman stressed that he did 'not intend to become personally poorer' at this stage of his career."- Daily Mail

Damian Green condemns Government over Gurkha decision...

“Gurkha veterans accused the Government of betrayal yesterday after the Home Office issued new rules that would allow only a small number of the former soldiers to settle in Britain.... "The Government is trying to evade the effects of a very clear court judgment,” Damian Green, the Tory immigration spokesman, said. “This is an insult to the Gurkhas.” - The Times

> Yesterday's ToryDiary

...as his Home Office mole is sacked

"A civil servant arrested for leaking Home Office documents to Conservative MP Damian Green has been dismissed. Christopher Galley, who had signed the Official Secrets Act, was sacked from the Immigration Nationality Directorate for gross professional misconduct. Mr Galley and Mr Green were told last week they would not be charged, after a five-month inquiry." - BBC

The Independent profiles some of the rising stars who have been selected as Conservative candidates - The Independent

Is the vice girl claiming Tory clients a fantasist? - Daily Mail

Boris Johnson: The Tory John the Baptist?

"Meet the Tory John the Baptist. If you happen to be in Cheltenham this evening and see a man in a leathern girdle and sandals leading a group of ecstatic Conservatives, say hello to Boris Johnson, who today presents himself as a mop-haired pathfinder showing his flock the way to the promised land of power. The London Mayor will be the star turn at the Tory spring conference where, after a Budget week that has overturned political assumptions and revived old ideologies, he will deploy a right wing message of lower costs and fierce opposition to higher taxes." - Benedict Brogan interviews Boris Johnson in the Daily Telegraph

> Last night's ToryDiary: Boris "despises" Cameron says The Times

Charles Moore: As we approach the 30th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher's government, we must remember the lessons she taught

"In the course of her time as prime minister, she more than halved the top rate of income tax, and cut the standard rate by a quarter. She was perfectly capable of putting up taxes out of immediate necessity (in 1979, she all but doubled VAT), but always the direction was clear... In all three elections from 1997, Labour promised not to raise the top (or the standard) rate. It was because of Mrs Thatcher's success that this was so." - Charles Moore writing in the Daily Telegraph

Giles Coren: Me, I've always been a Labour man. Until now.

"I did Any Questions on Radio 4 last week. I bombed pretty badly because I don't know anything about anything, but I had a lovely three-hour car ride back to London with the Tory party chairman, Eric Pickles. We turn out to have a shared love of westerns, except that Pickles has real depth of knowledge as well. And a bit of northern soul, too. A big, decent, modest sort of a man, with real hinterland. Whereas Caroline Flint, the Labour minister on the panel, seemed little more than a malfunctioning fembot." - Giles Coren writing in The Times

George Osborne among the mourners at Clement Freud's funeral - Daily Telegraph

Channel 4 Dispatches on Boris prompted over 100 complaints - Broadcast Now

Tony Blair reportedly believes 50p tax to be a "terrible mistake" - Daily Telegraph

Blairite ex-spin doctor Lance Price writes: "Will the last person to leave Gordon Brown's Britain turn out the lights?" - Daily Telegraph

Iceland to hold parliamentary election - BBC

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Friday 24th April 2009

11pm ToryDiary: Boris "despises" Cameron says The Times

6pm AmericaInTheWorld: Hillary Clinton says inconsistent American foreign policy is partly to blame for rise of Taliban in Pakistan

5.30pm Simon Chapman on CentreRight: How do they find bread for "the News Sandwich"?

4pm AmericaInTheWorld: Obama accelerates his 'America has changed' message

3pm WATCH: David Cameron says latest GDP figures prove that Darling's Budget forecasts were over-optimistic

2.30pm Parliament: Murdo Fraser calls for portrait of the Queen in Scottish Parliament

1pm Seats and candidates: 72% of Conservative members say yes to 'Baroness Widdecombe'

12.15pm ToryDiary: Joanna Lumley, campaigning for Gurkhas, says she is "ashamed" of Labour

11.30am Latest from Parliament:

• Greg Clark: "Britain's energy policy is a horror show"
• The Government has failed on fuel poverty

10am Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: How should you vote in the European Elections?

ToryDiary: David Cameron agrees public has a right to know Tory spending plans... but is the party waiting on the IMF to order austerity?

Keith Anderson on Platform: Banks should have to pay a premium for the privilege of being "too big to fail"

Star Chamber: What do readers think of Vince Cable's savings plan?

Local government:

• Yesterday's by-election results
• Essex Tories launch £30bn Bank
• June 4 elections: East Sussex

Ridley Grove on CentreRight: Will a Cameron landslide bury the Labour party AND Tory backbenchers?

Tories storm to 18% lead in YouGov poll - Telegraph | Yesterday evening's ToryDiary

£45bn hole in Britain's public finances

"The Institute for Fiscal Studies warned that even big spending cuts in health and schools may not be enough to fill the structural deficit in the nation's finances. Robert Chote, the institute's director, said that by 2017-18 the loss through tax increases and cuts in public spending would be equivalent to £2,840 a year for every family in the country - only half of which has been accounted for by the government." - Guardian

"”Debt freedom day”, when the national debt returns to sustainable levels, will not be reached until 2032 - another 23 years away, the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies said." - Telegraph

Labour delay cuts to schools and hospitals... until after the next election - Daily Mail

Bronwen Maddox examines the implications of the fiscal hole for Britain's foreign policy - Times

The Sun attacks Labour's dishonesty

"It's a hallmark of Labour Budgets that you have to wait for the smoke to clear before you realise how badly your pocket has been picked. And so it proves again. Chancellor Alistair Darling’s sums mean a secret tax rise of £1,400 lies in store for every family after 2014, says the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies. That’s on top of the £1,000-a-family tax burden Mr Darling has just imposed by hiking petrol, drinks and smokes." - The Sun Says

Daily Mail: David Cameron must show that he has the courage to cut spending

The Chancellor has shown that he does not have the courage to make the cuts required to set Britain on the road to balancing its books. After that rousing Budget performance, Mr Cameron's priority must be to show that he and the Tories do." - Daily Mail leader

"The Conservatives have had an easy ride. That has to stop." - Martin Kettle in The Guardian

Tory priority will be to stop 0.5% increase in National Insurance

"The Conservatives are unlikely to withdraw the new 50 per cent higher rate of income tax - despite pressure building within the shadow Cabinet for the punitive new tax to be scrapped. If possible, David Cameron would abandon the new higher rate but this is unlikely to be affordable for several years. Mr Osborne said yesterday that his "priority" was to block the 0.5 percentage point increase in National Insurance which Labour is planning to introduce from April 2011. The rise will hit anyone earning more than £20,000." - Telegraph

"In defiance of its 2005 election manifesto, Labour now intends to levy a 50 per cent rate from April next year on those with incomes of more than £150,000 a year. As fiscal policy, this is flawed. It is not broadly based enough to raise significant revenue and may even reduce the taxes raised from the wealthy if they curtail spending and consult their accountants." - FT leader

Iain Martin: David Cameron has taken over Tory economic policy

"The central question, with the country in such a deep funk, is this: are the Conservatives capable of putting our affairs in order? Do they have the right stuff? They are certainly mastering the art of sticking it to Labour – but that is not enough. However, those looking for a fully formed economic programme before polling day are not going to find it. The Treasury does not know what the state of play will be next month, say the Tories, so how can they be expected to judge what spending and taxation will need to be in 2010? David Cameron's colleagues report that this year the Tory leader has effectively taken over the party's economic policy. The penny does appear to be dropping, gradually, that if the country is going to pay off any of the debt he decries as an obstacle to recovery, then spending will need to fall steeply." - Iain Martin in The Telegraph

Scale of recession to be revealed today

"Analysts forecast that gross domestic product (GDP) will have slipped by 1.5% from January to March, having dropped 1.6% between October and December 2008." - BBC

Damian Green's Home Office mole certain to be sacked from civil service - Telegraph

I'm prepared to be PM, says Boris Johnson

"Boris Johnson's rivalry with David Cameron intensified yesterday when the London Mayor said he could one day try to become Prime Minister. Mr Johnson hinted he might not stand for a second term in his current role and would be prepared to lead the country. In a newspaper interview, Mr Johnson likened himself to the ancient Roman nobleman Cincinnatus, who was plucked from his farm to become dictator." - Daily Mail

Yesterday's ToryDiary: Boris Johnson: Tax cutter and... future Prime Minister?

Downing Street says its proposed daily allowance will encourage MPs to turn up to Commons - BBC

"Gordon Brown's plan to pay MPs about £150 a day to "clock in" at Westminster was in crisis last night after it was denounced by senior Labour backbenchers and the parliamentary sleaze watchdog. The Prime Minister could be forced to withdraw the contentious scheme, which would replace the discredited £24,000-a-year second homes allowance, in order to avoid a humiliating defeat in the Commons next week." - Independent

David Blunkett to return to head Gordon Brown's 'compulsory voluntary scheme' (!) project - Guardian

Policy Exchange: Allow weak universities to fail

"Struggling universities should be allowed to fail or be taken over by private companies, a think-tank report suggests today. It warns that there is a real risk of some universities, particularly in London, not being able to survive in the current climate." - Times

And finally...

Our PPC in Colne Valley Jason McCartney celebrated St George's Day yesterday by distributing a very patriotic cake in Holmfirth.  He took donations for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.  More pictures here. Yesterday we also reported Tories celebrating St George's Day in Bradford and, of course, Boris in London. 

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

St George's Day 2009

9.45pm ToryDiary: Tories soar to 45% and 18% lead in first post-Budget poll

8.45pm ToryDiary: PoliticsHome predicts return of 20% plus Tory leads

8.30pm Parliament: George Osborne's response to the Budget

6.15pm ToryDiary: Boris Johnson leads London's St George's Day celebrations

6pm ToryDiary: Three priorities for George Osborne's first budget

5pm Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight compares the Conservative MEP selection process with that employed by Silvio Berlusconi in Italy

3.30pm WATCH: Sir Christopher Kelly says Gordon Brown's "quick fix" on MPs' expenses "is not the answer" as he launches his own inquiry on the matter

2.30pm JP Floru on CentreRight: The Government is chasing the golden geese off the farm as it milks the middle classes

2.15pm Seats and candidates: Celebrating St George's Day in Bradford

1.45pm Parliament: John Redwood on the "Damian McBride memorial Budget"

1.15pm Parliament: Ming Campbell calls for debate on Damian Green

12.30pm WATCH: That Gordon Brown webcast has been edited and set to music: Enjoy "Gordon Brown - the dance of the comedian"

11.15am ToryDiary: Boris Johnson: Tax cutter and... future Prime Minister?

11am Parliament: Daniel Hannan goes into bat for British expats

10.15am WATCH Two clips of this morning's post-Budget interviews on Sky News:

• Alistair Darling is asked: Why can't you stop spending?     
• George Osborne is challenged over what spending cuts he would make as Chancellor 

ToryDiary: Is George Osborne's caution an electoral tactic or part of his DNA?

David T Breaker on Platform: Do we English really need St George's Day to remind ourselves of who we are?

Seats and Candidates:

• Where are the original A-Listers now? The 27 who are still looking for a seat
• Mark Coote explains how this weekend's Conservative Spring Forum in Cheltenham will boost his campaign to win the constituency from the Lib Dems

Local Government: 

• "Local Government Officer" suggests where the axe must fall in town halls
• Cllr Tim Stoddard previews the county council election campaign in Cumbria
• Fraud is rife in Barking and Dagenham

CentreRight :

• Mark Field highlights some of the pressing issues we face in the wake of the Budget: "The nagging sense of insecurity amongst the majority of the UK workforce that the spoils of globalisation are being spread inequitably will grow and has the makings of serious social unrest."
• Suli Shah: The bond market will finish Brown

Elizabeth Truss on Star Chamber: Charge commercial interest rates on student loans

WATCH: BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson highlights how Labour has broken its manifesto pledge on tax

David Cameron's Budget Day attack on the "Government of the Living Dead"

"David Cameron drew the battle lines for the General Election yesterday, dismissing Gordon Brown as the 'clapped out' leader of a 'government of the living dead'. Speaking on what he called a 'day of judgment', the Tory leader said the collapse of Britain's finances means Labour's claims of economic competence are 'dead, over, finished'. Mr Cameron accused the Prime Minister of presiding over 'the fastest rise in unemployment in our history, the worst recession since World War Two and the worst peacetime public finances ever known'." - Daily Mail

"David Cameron’s was the performance to watch. His response to Alistair Darling’s Budget was that of a politician on the threshold of Downing Street. As the red ink cascaded from the chancellor’s speech you could understand Mr Cameron’s easy confidence. But why, you wondered as Mr Darling piled deficit on debt on deficit on debt, would the Conservative leader actually want to win this particular election?" - Philip Stephens in the FT

"His performance was eerily reminiscent of Tony Blair in his heyday, up against John Major, a broken prime minister, and Norman Lamont, a chancellor that lacked conviction." - John Rentoul in The Independent

David Cameron's response to the Budget in full - Daily Telegraph

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: David Cameron responds to the Budget - Any claim Labour made to economic competence is dead, over, finished

What was in the Budget?

A summary of all the key measures announced by Alistair Darling - BBC

There is widespread hostility to the Budget in today's editorials...

"This was a Budget that tinkered at the edges of Britain's problems, while refusing to look the truth in the face. Thanks in no small part to Alistair in Wonderland, whoever wins the next election will be handed a lethally poisoned chalice. On yesterday's showing, it won't be Labour." - Daily Mail

"In the past year we tumbled into recession, bailed out the banks and funded a fiscal stimulus. Yesterday we looked to the Chancellor to say how it would be paid for. The orchestra assembled. The audience settled expectantly. The conductor tapped his baton on his music stand. A hush fell. And from the stage came the shrill, thin sound of a penny whistle." - The Times

"...there is another side to the burial of New Labour and it was exploited to such lethal effect by David Cameron in his response. Three terms of a government that started out committed to prudence and sound economic stewardship are ending in a catastrophic deficit that bespeaks the very opposite. Mr Darling's projections for a return to growth may turn out to be less utopian than they seem today, but the levels of debt that are forecast to persist until 2017, even by his – presumably best-case scenario – threaten to impoverish into the next generation a country that should be rich." - The Independent

"If we were not to get any sign of contrition from Mr Darling for the Government's economic mismanagement – for only part of this train wreck can be blamed on the banking crash – we at least had a right to expect some inkling of how the Government intends to pay it off. This is where yesterday's statement became utterly unconvincing." - Daily Telegraph

"Mr Darling took a massive gamble with Britain’s future yesterday. He bet that his own hugely-optimistic forecast of rapid economic recovery will prove correct and pay off Labour’s debts. And what terrifying debts they are: The biggest borrowings in our history which by 2012/13 will be £240billion MORE than Mr Darling predicted only last November. Since he got that forecast so wrong, why should we believe the Chancellor now — when experts like the IMF queue up to disagree?" - The Sun

...and a variety of columnists plunge the knife into Alistair Darling

"Labour's record should speak for itself: destroying wealth, raising unemployment, presiding over waste. Now, though, it seeks to pursue a policy to retain power that puts in the party's sights the very productive and self-reliant people on whom the country must depend for a recovery. It represents a savage and pointless attack on those without whom Britain is sunk. Mr Darling's failure, like that of the Government he serves, is abject. This is Mr Cameron's moment. And it is not just victory that awaits him if he seizes it, but success." - Simon Heffer in the Daily Telegraph

"This is a horror story. But it could, of course, be worse: the economy may not recover as hoped; losses on support for the banks could, as the International Monetary Fund suggests, be far bigger than the 3.5 per cent of GDP now expected; and, above all, the creditworthiness of the British government could come into question, with devastating consequences. The government is flying on a wing and a prayer." - Martin Wolf in the FT

"Yesterday's Budget statement was a demeaning mixture of bogus initiatives, outright dishonesty and low political stratagem. At a time of crisis, this pathetic Chancellor offered gimmick rather than substance and preferred comforting falsehoods to the difficult and uncomfortable truth." - Peter Oborne in the Daily Mail

"This was a cheap budget delivered in a manner unworthy of a man with the title of chancellor of the exchequer. There was no strategy, just a series of cheap and recycled announcements. It was a political budget in that he shamelessly appealed to the Labour party's happy little band of envy warriors." - Iain Dale writing in The Guardian

Matthew Parris outlines "the fight the Tories cannot afford to duck"

"If, as Mr Cameron said in a fine, fighting Budget response, Britain's public finances are in deep trouble, it must follow that tough measures are needed to rescue them. Any opposition with a moral claim to form the next government must now confront the Government on how Britain is to finance its spending, and how ambitions for our public services can be brought back into line with our capability to finance them. What and how can we cut? What and how can we restructure? How can we protect and build on Margaret Thatcher's and John Major's legacy of resistance to vindictive, destructive taxation?" - Matthew Parris writing in The Times

Cameron rejects Brown's proposal of a daily allowance for MPs

"The Opposition parties yesterday rejected Gordon Brown's plan to scrap lucrative Parliamentary allowances and pay MPs a daily rate to turn up to work. Following a meeting described as "heated" in the Prime Minister's office in the House of Commons, David Cameron, the Conservative leader, announced his own scheme to reform the controversial system of second home allowances. Under the separate Tory proposals, all receipts would have to be published online within 28 days and expenditure limited to items such as rent, utilities, mortgage interest payments and council tax." - Daily Telegraph

> Last night's ToryDiary: The Tory leadership will oppose Gordon Brown's reform of MPs' expenses

Nadine Dorries challenges Brown for a personal apology over Smeargate

"THE PM was challenged yesterday to apologise in person to a Tory MP who was one of the targets of the planned Downing Street email smear campaign. Gordon Brown was asked directly by Nadine Dorries to say sorry to her for the actions of his sacked No 10 aide Damian McBride." - The Sun

Education ministers under fire over evidence to Sats inquiry

"Evidence provided by education ministers to an official inquiry was “fiction”, the former head of Whitehall’s qualifications authority has claimed" - FT

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Michael Gove demands "profound apology" from Ed Balls over the collapse of last year's Sats tests

Inquiry to be held into anti-terror operation in the North West - The Times

Jacob Zuma poised to be next South African president - Guardian

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Wednesday 22nd April 2009

11pm Martin Parsons on CentreRight: Labour have squandered what Churchill fought to defend

9.30pm Matthew Sinclair on CentreRight: The Budget is full of holes, with some seriously bad news hidden in the small print

8.15pm WATCH: Giving his initial reaction to the Budget, George Osborne highlights the fact that the IMF has already issued more pessimistic growth forecasts and that tax rises will affect the many, not the few

7.45pm ToryDiary: The Tory leadership will oppose Gordon Brown's reform of MPs' expenses Updated with quotes from David Cameron and at 8.30pm with further details of David Cameron's alternative proposals

5.45pm ToryDiary: Tory activists target commuters with 'Labour's spent' leaflets Updated with photos of activists hitting the streets

5pm Budget Day Panel reaction on Platform: Jill Kirby describes the Budget as "an insult to our intelligence" and "an insult to families"

4.30pm Budget Day Panel reaction on Platform: Matthew Sinclair of the TaxPayers' Alliance suggests that the distributive effect of the so-called "sin taxes" is to impose a punishing burden on the poor

4.15pm Budget Day Panel reaction on Platform: Harriett Baldwin says that we risk another run on the pound if foreign investors now go elsewhere and borrowing costs increase

4pm Budget Day Panel reaction on Platform: Nick Bourne says that the people of Wales face a double whammy of spending cuts

3.45pm Budget Day Panel reaction on Platform: Dan Lewis bemoans the creation of a new quango and is sceptical about an increased subsidy for offshore wind power

3.30pm ToryDiary: New Labour is D.E.A.D.

3.30pm Budget Day Panel reaction on Platform: Charlie Elphicke describes the Budget as "economic madness" and "an exercise in denial" as the deficit per household hits £7,000 next year

3.15pm WATCH Two clips from David Cameron's response to the Budget in the Commons:

• He attacks Labour's "decade of debt"
• He tears into Alistair's Darling growth forecasts as "a work of fiction"

2.45pm Budget Day Panel reaction on Platform: Andrew Lilico says that the Budget was neither austere nor realistic, and that large tax rises on high earners are not the right solution

2pm CentreRight: Alex Deane's views on climate change are confirmed by the news that Antarctica is cooling  

1.45pm ToryDiary: David Cameron's response to the Budget - "Any claim Labour made to economic competence is dead, over, finished."

1.30pm Parliament: Conservative peers take apart the Government's economic policies

1.15pm ToryDiary: Live blog of the Budget statement

12.30pm: ToryDiary: David Cameron and Gordon Brown trade pre-Budget blows on the economy at PMQs

Noon: Parliament: So where HAS money to combat violent extremism gone?!

11.30am Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: Why does the BBC need a Budget Day helicopter?

10.45am Parliament: John Baron continues campaign on behalf of nuclear test veterans

10am WATCH: ITN sets today's Budget in the context of others delivered over the last three decades

9.45am ToryDiary: Unemployment rises to 2.1 million 

ToryDiary:

• 

  Michael Gove demands "profound apology" from Ed Balls over the collapse of last year's Sats tests
• Should the NHS, defence and international development be Tory spending priorities? How should Conservatives fight the BNP? Does Ann Widdecombe deserve a seat in the House of Lords? Take part in this month's readers' survey

Platform: Cut growth in spending? Abolish BERR? Reform the tax credits system? ConservativeHome's expert panel outlines its hopes for the Budget

Seats and Candidates: Where are the original A-Listers now? The 27 who have been selected for target seats

Andrew Haldenby on Star Chamber: Cut doctors' pay by 10%

Local Government:

• Richard Rogers denounced over Chelsea Barracks plans
• Kate Davies: Tory housing proposals must also tackle welfare dependency
• Tower Hamlets Tories want a portrait of the Queen in the town hall

Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: Chris Grayling backs campaign to honour Ryan Giggs with a knighthood

WATCH:

• George Osborne tells Jeff Randall that an incoming Conservative Government's first priority will be to get the public finances under control
• The BBC's Stephanie Flanders considers the parlous state of the public finances

Public borrowing set to soar in Darling's Budget

"Alistair Darling will be forced to issue more than £200bn worth of government bonds this financial year – well above market expectations – as he concedes in Wednesday’s Budget that the public finances have plunged deeply into the red. With public borrowing set to soar to £170bn-£180bn, the chancellor will have to tap the market for an issuance of gilts that will be well over £50bn higher than the Debt Management Office estimated last month." - FT

It's going to be a "Budget for jobs" (as long as you're not a civil servant)

"Thousands more Civil Service jobs will be lost over the next four years as departments struggle to find £45 billion in “efficiency savings” by 2013-14. Alistair Darling will claim to be introducing a “Budget for jobs” today with a £2.5 billion package that includes a guarantee of work or training for every young person out of work for more than a year." - The Times

IMF and Treasury row over cost of banking crisis

"Labour was embroiled in an extraordinary row over the cost of the banking crisis with the International Monetary Fund last night. On the eve of today's Budget, the respected organisation had issued a devastating warning that the catastrophe will cost every person in Britain £3,000.  But in an unprecedented move, the organisation last night dramatically withdrew its forecast after it was disputed by the Treasury." - Daily Mail

Budget expected to include car scrappage scheme

"Chancellor Alistair Darling will announce a £2,000 handout to buyers of new British-made vehicles when they trade in bangers ten years old. The taxpayer will chip in £1,000 — with the other grand coming from manufacturers who sign up to the scheme." - The Sun

The challenge for the Conservatives

"Whatever is announced will pose a challenge to George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, as well as to Labour MPs. Mr Osborne has indicated that he would not seek to stop the tax rises on the better-off, but would like to prevent the national insurance increase if he could. Today he may have to set out his line on much more." - The Times

Ken Clarke tops poll of business leaders' top politicians

"According to ComRes, the proportion of businessmen who have confidence in Mr Darling and Gordon Brown has doubled in the past month – to 22 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. However, they still trail their Tory counterparts. David Cameron enjoys the confidence of 61 per cent of business leaders and the shadow Chancellor George Osborne 41 per cent... The politician with the highest "confidence rating" is Kenneth Clarke, the shadow Business Secretary, on 69 per cent – almost twice as high as his opposite number Lord Mandelson (35 per cent)." - Independent

Some of the biggest banks refuse to take part in Governnment mortgage scheme - Daily Telegraph

Deflation has returned - Guardian

Coverage of Gordon Brown's sudden announcement on MPs' expenses

"MPs are set to receive a tax-free payment of almost £25,000 every year simply for attending Parliament, under controversial proposals announced by the Prime Minister yesterday.The current system of claiming expenses to fund a second home will be replaced with a new daily "allowance" which MPs will receive for attending the House of Commons." - Daily Telegraph

"David Cameron said that the daily rate was not his preferred option. The Conservatives are concerned that the system could be “corrupted” by MPs and want assurances that the taxpayer will benefit from the changes." - The Times

"The speedy timetable was seen by MPs of all parties as an attempt by the Prime Minister to move on from the twin controversies of lavish expense claims and the "smeargate" revelation of a planned Labour dirty tricks campaign against senior Tories... Mr Brown also sought to turn the spotlight on the Conservatives by calling for MPs with second jobs to disclose every payment, who paid them and how many hours they worked. MPs will also have to provide receipts for every claim for office costs, travel and communications." - Independent

"More than 50 MPs in outer London constituencies will be the main losers under Gordon Brown's plans to reform parliamentary allowances and expenses... Tory MPs claimed yesterday that this reform was designed by Brown to penalise them. One said: "This is an example of Brown's utter ruthlessness. It is a trap for us. Labour MPs, who represent areas well outside London, will see little difference in their allowances. This is about hitting Tory MPs in the home counties." - Guardian

Gordon Brown to meet the Tory and Lib Dem leaders to discuss the plans later today - BBC

> Yesterday's ToryDiary posts:

• MPs to vote on interim proposals on expenses and allowances "as early as next week"
• David Cameron welcomes many of Brown's proposals on MPs' allowances - because he proposed them in the first place

> WATCH: Gordon Brown's webcast announcing the proposals

Row brews over Northern Ireland politicians' expense exemption

"A potential exemption for Northern Ireland MPs from the Prime Minister's proposed changes to expenses has been branded a sop to Sinn Fein... Ulster Unionist MEP Jim Nicholson slammed the decision to even consider treating Northern Ireland differently from other regions of the kingdom. He said, "It is nothing less than a blatant and hugely expensive sop to Sinn Fein's absentee MPs." Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Owen Paterson added: "All elected MPs should attend under the same conditions." - UTV

> Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight yesterday: Northern Irish MPs should not be treated differently from their mainland counterparts

Chris Grayling blames failure to tackle binge drinking for rise in violent crime

"The number of people needing hospital treatment after violent assaults has risen by 21,000 in the past year, according to new research which blames the first increase in years on binge drinking. An estimated 960 people-a-day are hospitalised nationwide having suffered serious attacks, figures from Accident and Emergency departments show... Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, said: "This report shows how Labour's attempt to tackle alcohol related crime and antisocial behaviour has failed." - Daily Telegraph

Ex-Tory MEP fighting to clear his name in expenses row

"A Tory MEP expelled from his political group last year for alleged "gross misconduct" over expenses claims has launched legal action in the European Court in a bid to clear his name. Den Dover announced the move after being attacked in the European Parliament chamber by fellow North West MEP Chris Davies as "no better than a thief"... On Tuesday night he dismissed the issue as "a big fuss and bother" and insisted he would fight a "robust" case in court." - Daily Express

William Hague calls for ceasefire in Sri Lanka

“We are deeply concerned about the desperate humanitarian crisis in northern Sri Lanka and the suffering of innocent civilians who have been trapped by the fighting... We call for an immediate ceasefire on both sides to allow the civilians to leave the conflict area, to be monitored by international observers including the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross... The only way forward is a negotiated settlement that satisfies the concerns and legitimate aspirations of all Sri Lankans and preserves democracy in the country.” - Statement issued yesterday by shadow foreign secretary William Hague

Polls open in South African general election - BBC

Ex-union leader Jack Jones dies - The Times

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Tuesday 21st April 2009

7.45pm WATCH: David Cameron and Nick Clegg react to Gordon Brown's proposals on MPs' allowances

4.45pm Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight notes the strange coincidence that late opening at Job Centres ceases tomorrow, Budget Day, when the latest unemployment statistics are released

3.45pm ToryDiary: David Cameron welcomes many of Brown's proposals on MPs' allowances - because he proposed them in the first place

3pm Parliament: Chris Grayling: "Home Office made wildly exaggerated claims about leaks"

2.15pm WATCH: MPs examine police tactics at G20 protests

1.30pm Robert Halfon on CentreRight: Michael Martin, the Speaker of the Commons, is soft on terrorism

1pm Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: Northern Irish MPs should not be treated differently from their mainland counterparts

12.15pm ToryDiary: MPs to vote on interim proposals on expenses and allowances "as early as next week" Updated with further details revealing that the Government doesn't want the rules to apply to Northern Irish MPs

11.45am Parliament: Philip Hollobone: "We spend far too much time in this country celebrating cultures other than our own"

11.30am WATCH: Gordon Brown's Downing Street webcast posted this morning in which he says that the system of MPs' expenses and allowances must be tightened up urgently - and voted on next week

11.15am Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: Will Alistair Darling say sorry tomorrow?

10.30am ToryDiary: New Ipsos Mori poll puts Tory lead at 13%, with Lib Dems gaining ground

ToryDiary: Updated post records that the Conservatives are increasingly winning the public's trust to handle the economy

David Willetts MP on Platform: It makes no sense to be paying out unemployment benefits to young people when they are hungry to learn

Seats and Candidates: Where are the original A-Listers now? The 18 who have been selected for Conservative seats

Lucy Parson on Star Chamber: The civil service should adopt a four-day week for four days' pay

Local Government:

• Nick Seaton: Are schools neutral on the difference between right and wrong?
• £750,000 consultation exercise produced 269 replies
• Westminster councillor Danny Chalkley insists scrapping parking meters will not hit the poor

WATCH:

• Lord Mandelson defends Labour's economic record in a 13-minute pre-Budget interview with Jeff Randall on Sky News
• Diplomats walk out of speech by Iranian president Ahmadinejad attacking Israel at UN anti-racism conference

David Cameron calls for a general election to coincide with the European election...

"David Cameron yesterday challenged Gordon Brown to call a June general election, saying Britain urgently needed a new Government to think long term and “wipe the slate clean”. - Daily Express

"I am ready. I have always said: 'Bring it on — let’s have an Election.' I want to give people in this country the chance to vote for change, so I am absolutely ready for it — just name the day. We are all going to the polls on June 4 for the European elections. Why don’t we double up?" - David Cameron quoted in The Sun, after appearing on Jon Gaunt's SunTalk online radio show

...and repeats his anger over "Smeargate"

"I was incredibly angry about it and I said that at the time. It wasn't some sort of tactic, me wanting the Prime Minister to say sorry. I felt really bloody angry about it and I wanted him to acknowledge that and he did. I think the fact that he has said sorry is important, but what he has to do is work out what is going on in 10 Downing Street, because what we seem to be being told is that it is some sort of lone gunman operating alone. There has been no inquiry, no investigation, no one seems to be looking at his email inbox and actually getting to the bottom of who knew what, who was involved in this." - David Cameron quoted in the Daily Telegraph

Damian McBride faces move to expel him from Labour - The Herald

Labour accused over Red Rag-style attack blogs in Scotland and Wales - The Times

Budget set to include £1 billion rescue plan for the housing market

"Alistair Darling will unveil an emergency £1bn package for Britain's housing market tomorrow with a fund to build council houses, extend the stamp duty holiday on buying, and restart work on projects mothballed during the recession. Amid speculation last night that the chancellor plans to restrict tax relief on pension contributions in order to fund a modest overall boost to growth, government sources said a key part of the package would be a five-point programme to build homes and support property owners." - The Guardian

"Tens of thousands of home owners have been evicted from their homes since Gordon Brown first announced a package of measures to help them, new figures show. Exclusive calculations given to the Daily Telegraph suggest up to 28,000 households across Britain have had their homes repossessed despite the measures being announced last December... Grant Shapps, the shadow housing minister, said: "The Prime Minister just doesn't seem to appreciate the urgency of the situation in the housing market. People are suffering now, and looking for urgent help... Once again the Government is trying to spin a headline rather than providing real help during the recession." - Daily Telegraph

IFS warns that 45p tax rate risks cutting total revenue

"Government plans to raise the tax rate for higher earners will fail to raise the £1.6 billion expected and could even lose the Treasury money, a leading think tank warned today. The calculation from the Insitute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) has emerged only two days before one of the most hotly anticipated Budgets in decades, when the Chancellor is expected to reveal the deteriorating state of the public finances." - The Times

Lib Dems propose increase in income tax threshold

"A personal tax-free allowance of £10,000 was pledged yesterday by the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, who predicted that it would make the low-paid £700 a year better off... The new, enlarged personal allowance would be paid for by abolishing tax concessions for the better-off and closing loopholes." - The Independent

More Budget previews from the commentariat

"Suddenly the political divide is not as straightforward as it was. Labour's fiscal expansionism versus Tory spending cuts becomes a more subtle split with Darling seeking to stress that he will cut too, while also finding room for an investment package with a green tinge, a Budget for growth as Peter Mandelson has put it, but a Budget with cuts as well: another convoluted third way, perhaps." - Steve Richards in The Independent

"Labour is fond of deriding the Tory opposition as the “do nothing party”. But tomorrow it will be Labour which is revealed as the “can’t act, won’t act” party." - Damian Reece in the Daily Telegraph

"The public does not yet realise how much pain it faces to get the public finances back on track. Statements about long-term fiscal rectitude, and modest downpayments, are not enough." - Peter Riddell in The Times

"Whichever way you look at it, tomorrow's Budget is going to be a horror story. No amount of 'greenwash' in the shape of incentives for more fuel-efficient cars, or verbal optimism about prospects for recovery, will be able to detract from the depth of the slump and its unprecedented impact on the public finances." - Alex Brummer in the Daily Mail

Tories "consider" scrapping Trident replacement

"The Tories are having... discussions about how widely they should wield the axe. I am told that some senior figures are seriously considering proposing to scrap the £60 billion replacement for Trident nuclear submarines - although they know this will be fiercely resisted by the defence spokesman Liam Fox." - Rachel Sylvester in The Times

Caroline Spelman accuses Treasury and FSA over council losses in Icelandic banks

"Whatever gloss is put on the news, it is unacceptable that local taxpayers will have lost £200 million. This will ultimately feed through to higher council tax or less investment in frontline services. It is a scandal that the Financial Services Authority and the Treasury knew that Icelandic banks were risky, but sat on their hands and kept quiet. Labour Ministers must take personal responsibility for this public policy mistake, given they created a flawed regulatory system and said nothing." - Caroline Spelman quoted on Ananova

Philip Stephens: Time for Cameron to write his prospectus

"Mr Cameron may well judge that time for a change is a sufficiently resonant tune to propel him into Downing Street. He could be right, but cannot be sure. At some point the media will tire of beating up the government. They will ask to see the Tory prospectus. Mr Cameron would do well to set his mind to writing one." - Philip Stephens writing in the FT

Government plans cut in speed limits - BBC

Rural Britain to miss out on super-fast broadband - Daily Telegraph

Andy Burnham left confidential documents on a train - The Sun

Former US VP Cheney calls for release of memos showing results of interrogation efforts - FOX News

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Monday 20th April 2009

8.45pm Parliament: John Redwood reveals Labour's contempt for parliamentary scrutiny

6.45pm ToryDiary: ICM suggests Tories are losing a little support

4pm ToryDiary: Boris fulfils promise to hang portrait of The Queen at City Hall

3.45pm Patrick Mercer MP on Platform: We need a radically different approach to countering terrorism

1.45pm ToryDiary: What is the most electorally effective Tory policy and the most transformational Tory policy?

1.45pm Dan Lewis on CentreRight: George Osborne has the potential to be one of the great Chancellors of history

1.15pm Seats and candidates: Over the weekend there were adoptions in West Ham and Dwyfor Meirionnydd

11.30pm Local Government:

• London boroughs face 2,250 shortage of primary school places in September
• Councils waste millions on "topple tests" for gravestones

11am Alex Deane on CentreRight: "Perhaps "heads down" is the right approach on "climate change", even if one thinks the whole thing's a myth."

11am WATCH: UK recession to last for twelve more months, say experts

9.45am Back to 1979 on the ToryDiary: "Labour are relying on diversionary tactics - continual lies and smears"

ToryDiary: More than a quarter of the original A-List are no longer seeking a parliamentary seat

Seats and candidates: Where are the original A-Listers now? The 27 who are no longer looking for a seat

Diary of a PPC: Gareth Johnson of Dartford

Elizabeth Truss on Platform: How to cut public spending by £30 billion and pave the way for a smaller state

Patrick Nolan on Star Chamber: Abolish universal Child Benefit and provide more targeted child welfare payments

Local government:

• Councils set to get most of the Icelandic bank money back
• Labour in Lancashire campaigns for the Royal Mail (but uses TNT)
• Falkirk Council employs Toothbrush Assistant

International: "Europe's left is failing to gain from capitalism's crisis"

Darling will admit that Britain facing 'worst recession since World War II' - Telegraph

"Chancellor Alistair Darling is expected to announce some £15bn of spending cuts over the next few years when he delivers his Budget statement." - BBC

Former Labour leader, however, Neil Kinnock calls for a funding boost for the "defining" war on child poverty - Guardian

Business can cut spending without hurting customers and Government must do the same - Simon Wolfson of Next, and advisor to the Tory leadership in The Times

St Albans has highest average income tax - Daily Mail

Mandelson signals return of industrial policy... with a green tinge

Lord Mandelson's new interventionism will "lead to hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers' money being used to fund the expansion of "green" industry. Projects funded could include wind, wave and nuclear power, and electric and hybrid cars. Digital communications, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, aerospace, business services and electronics may also be in line for such "green" funding. As well as providing direct aid, all government departments will shape tax and regulatory policies to help these firms." - Interviewed in The Independent

Tories announce £600m plan for British science and engineering

"in science and technology, encourage thousands of youngsters into further education and support apprentices. The money would be paid for through cuts in public spending elsewhere in Whitehall, Mr Osborne said." - FT | Yesterday evening's ToryDiary

Greg Dyke - once wooed by Tories to be a London Mayoral candidate - to head a Creative Industries Review for David Cameron

"The panel also includes Elisabeth Murdoch, chief executive of the Shine Group, a television production company, and daughter of Rupert Murdoch, the media tycoon. Other members include Lucian Grainge, chairman of Universal Music Group International, Charles Dunstone, founder of Carphone Warehouse, and Brent Hoberman, co-founder of lastminute.com." - FT

Bruce Anderson: Most MPs are NOT corrupt, idle and useless

"Most MPs work hard, and there are plenty of able people in the Commons. The expenses system is a mess, largely because all recent governments have found it politically easier to increase MPs' allowances rather than their salaries. This does not mean that many MPs are charging £116,000 to live with their sisters, while their husbands, paid as researchers, are watching pornography at the taxpayers' expense (you could not make it up). MPs should be entitled to a small staff. If they maintain two residences, there ought to be an allowance for the second one. Finally, it is in all our interests that they be adequately paid. The current system will have to be reformed, but in such a way as to ensure that Parliament remains open to those who want a reasonable middle-class standard of living, some of which could be earned by outside interests. We do not want to end up with ascetics and fanatics, interspersed with those who have private means." - Bruce Anderson in The Independent

I'll name and shame four top Tories, claims prostitute with links to George Obsorne - Daily Mail

Culture Secretary Andy Burnham will order Whitehall to fly St George's flag on Thursday - The Sun

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Tories see England and St George as winning theme

Philip Johnston: Labour ministers wake up to the Britain they have created

"We have Phil Woolas saying that immigration has been allowed to grow so high that the BNP is picking up votes; Hazel Blears has discovered that political correctness has gone too far; Jack Straw has accepted that sharing people's private data across Whitehall might not be a good thing; David Blunkett, of all people, has voiced his concerns about too much surveillance; and sundry ministers have tut-tutted about the amounts of red tape and regulation that businesses and charities have to cope with, as though these were imposed by some outside force. You have to rub your eyes with amazement." - Philip Johnston in The Telegraph

Alice Mahon explains why she resigned from Labour

"New Labour have done such a good job of demolishing our democratic structure that I realised there was nothing I could say or do to change things from within. There was only one thing for me to do and that was to resign." - The former Labour MP for Halifax writing for The Independent

MPs say care system is "catastrophic" for the prospects of abused or neglected children - Telegraph

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

New ConservativeHome comments system

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Sunday 19th April 2009

8.15pm ToryDiary: Tories urge £600m investment in a new generation of scientists and engineers

2.15pm ToryDiary: Darling may be about to set second supertax trap for Tories

12.45pm WATCH: Tories are enjoying economic bad news, says Mandelson

Noon Robert Halfon on CentreRight enjoys the new In The Loop film: Labour's Alan B'Stard

11.45 am Local Government: Let's use bandstands again

10.45am ToryDiary: Tories see England and St George as winning theme

ToryDiary: Updated post records that Cameron is now leading Brown on nearly all personal quality measures

THE STAR CHAMBER:

• Welcome to the Star Chamber - A page, edited by Phil Taylor, dedicated to finding savings in public spending
• We start with a proposal to halve the cost of ministerial Special Advisers

Seats and candidates: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 reasons to vote Conservative

Fiona Hodgson and Glyn Strong on Platform: We must not let women's rights be eroded again in Afghanistan

Mark Wallace on Local government: A lack of “joined up government” in Newcastle

Greg Hands MP on CentreRight: Let's be clear about what Northern Rock (Guernsey) Limited is - it is a UK taxpayer-owned bank, encouraging UK taxpayers to avoid paying UK taxes

Labour slide in opinion polls:

• 19% behind in the Mail on Sunday | Yesterday evening's ToryDiary
• 17% behind in The Sunday Telegraph | Yesterday evening's ToryDiary

Today's top story: The Labour Party's general secretary attended a meeting on online strategy with the men caught up in the e-mail smear campaign row - BBC | News of the World

"Ed Balls ‘ran’ Labour’s smear unit" - Schools Secretary Ed Balls is also caught up in Smeargate web according to The Sunday Times

And a leader in the Mail on Sunday concludes: "As Mr Brown’s Government steps deeper into the mire with each day that passes, all we can hope is that we are soon allowed to head to the polls to vote his maladroit police state into oblivion."

Former Labour MP Alice Mahon quits party

"Alice Mahon, a well-respected leftwinger who retired at the last election, said she was quitting the party after half a century because Labour no longer stood for what she believed in. She said she was "shocked and absolutely scandalised" by attempts by Gordon Brown's close aide Damian McBride to smear David Cameron and other Tories over their personal lives." - Observer | Video

Will the Conservatives be any different?

Peter Oborne says the party has failed on expenses but David Cameron still has an opportunity to prove that he'll govern differently - The Observer

Cameron must resist the control freakery of Brown and Blair - Iain Martin in The Sunday Telegraph

Francis Maude used “second home” expenses to pay for a £345,000 London flat just 70 yards from a house he owns in London - The Sunday Times

Vice madam to name four top Tories in tell-all book - Sunday Mirror

Could McBride come back in the PR industry?

"Charles Lewington, the managing director of Hanover Communications and a former press secretary to John Major, thinks not. "I am loath to kick a man when he is down but he demonstrated a clear lack of judgement and professionalism," he says, "I fear his reputation is so badly damaged that only a long period building churches in Rwanda will restore it." - Independent on Sunday

PR firms are in a rush to recruit Tories with access to the Cameron circle - Observer

Labour MP Phil Woolas: I'd much rather you voted Tory than BNP - Mail on Sunday

BNP hides its skinheads to woo voters - The Sunday Times

Darling may 'beef up' 45p tax hike

"Darling is also considering new postelection tax rises, which could include beefing up the planned supertax on higher earners. Last year the chancellor announced the introduction in 2011 of a 45% top rate of income tax for people earning more than £150,000. Darling has come under pressure from Labour colleagues to reduce this new top-rate threshold to £100,000 – a move that would lead to higher tax bills for 500,000 high earners." - The Sunday Times

Other Budget stories

"We should not be overtaxed because Labour has overspent." - A great line from George Osborne in The Sunday Times

"There need to be significant cuts in future years in spending and unfortunately, probably tax increases for years ahead." - Norman Lamont in The Sunday Telegraph

Alex Salmond warns Labour it will suffer at polls if public spending is slashed - Observer

The British Chambers of Commerce wants freeze in minimum wage and cuts in corporation tax - BBC

The events and policies of Margaret Thatcher's tumultuous, divisive 11-year premiership are affecting us even now, says Andrew Anthony - The Observer

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

New comments system

Over the weekend we are introducing a new comments system.  It will be operational across ConHome by tomorrow night and is already operational on this front page.  By registering for a TypePad account your comments can, in future, be accompanied with a photo.  That photo could be your mugshot or anything you choose.  Others will be able to click on your name and access any biographical information that you attach to your profile.  Three other benefits of the new system include comment numbering, a simple facility to reply to others' comments and to delete your comment if you are unhappy with it... but this delete option only lasts a few minutes.  People will still be able to leave comments exactly as before if they do not want to register.  Please 'play' in the thread below!

Saturday 18th April 2009

9.45pm The News of the World is connecting the General Secretary of the Labour Party with Damian McBride's smeargate operation

9pm ToryDiary: BPIX gives Tories 19% lead

8pm ToryDiary: 17% lead for Conservatives in first post-McBride poll

5.45pm Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: Brown humiliated in grassroots Labour poll

5.45pm WATCH: Former Labour MP Alice Mahon quits party

4.30pm ToryDiary: Eddie George has died

4pm ToryDiary: Theme of Spring Forum will be 'Routemap to Recovery'

10am WATCH: Greg Clark and George Osborne explain Tory plans to make Britain a global green leader

ToryDiary: Sir Malcolm Rifkind makes the case against his own hope for a nuclear free world

Seats and candidates: Ann Widdecombe deserves a seat in the House of Lords

James Cleverly on Platform: Cutting the budget for the armed forces reserves is short-sighted and cowardly

Local government:

• Tory Council deploy cattle to deter vandals and gypsies
• From Private Eye: Did Councils consent to Ministerial subletting?
• Councillor donates bananas to school

Dr Crippen on CentreRight: Must we threaten our children to improve their health?

Labour attack Tories for adding defence and schools to possible candidates for spending cuts - Independent | The Sun

New Tory green initiative on development

"Developers should be able to offset the damage of building over wildlife by buying up areas of countryside or "conservation credits" elsewhere, according to the Tory leader." - Telegraph

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Nick Herbert to investigate practicalities of charging housebuilders to invest in compensatory environmental protection

Ed Miliband plans clean coal scheme worth millions - Guardian

Young people need jobs and homes before they commit to marriage - David Willetts in The Times

Police who arrested Damian Green trawled his private e-mails looking for information on Shami Chakrabarti - Times

"The villain is now Damian McBride. Mr Green thinks that the comparison between the two cases is revealing. “There is a huge contrast between the amount of effort put into investigating and arresting me and the very cursory investigation of what Damian McBride was doing, and I think people should reflect on that contrast.”" - Damian Green in The Times

'It was like being burgled': Wife of MP Damian Green tells of the day anti-terror police raided her home - Daily Mail

Jacqui Smith should resign - FT leader

"Last night the Tories said Ms Smith is “running scared” if she does not make a Commons statement. Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said that the past few weeks had been a “chapter of chaos” in the Home Office. He added: “Jacqui Smith should be making a wide-ranging statement so MPs can question her about everything that’s going wrong. If she doesn’t she’s running scared.”" - The Sun

Day 8 of Smear-gate

""If the Conservatives get into power at the next election they will owe as much to Guido as anyone in Conservative Central Office. But once they are in power, they'd better expect to get just as rough a ride from him as their predecessors." - Matthew Elliott of The TaxPayers' Alliance, quoted in a Telegraph profile of Guido Fawkes

"Labour's anti-women smear campaign has now backfired. Voters don't like to see women attacked. As a result, the profile of Nadine Dorries has been enhanced, making it more likely she will get a top job in any Tory government." - Amanda Platell in the Daily Mail

"Mr Brown, for all the faults exposed this week, might well hold the upper hand over David Cameron in a straight choice on the economy. But it will be harder now to portray Mr Cameron and George Osborne as inexperienced, short-term tacticians with no long-term strategy who treat politics as a game, as Labour had intended. Instead, Downing Street had to admit Mr McBride had resorted to "juvenile" tactics, making Mr Cameron look more substantial and Mr Brown the grubby tactician." - Andrew Grice in The Independent

David Cameron, in his weekly email, calls it 'A defining week in the history of this Government'.

Labour abandons parliamentary selection after ballot box appears tampered with - BBC

Gordon Brown Disappearing Initiatives - Matthew Parris reviews Labour's now-you-see-it-now-you-don't approach to policy announcement, The Times

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Friday 17th April 2009

6pm Daniel Kawczynski MP on CentreRight: We must review the list of countries eligible to receive British overseas aid

5.30pm WATCH: David Davis explains why people are increasingly opposed to the surveillance state

4.15pm ToryDiary: Nick Herbert to investigate practicalities of charging housebuilders being to invest in compensatory environmental protection

4pm ToryDiary: Boris Johnson to unveil portrait of the Queen at City Hall on Monday

2pm WATCH: Two clips from Sky News' interview with Chris Galley, who leaked Home Office documents to Damian Green:

• Chris Galley insists that he only leaked four documents - not twenty, as the police wanted him to admit
• He says that he would do the same thing again

12.30pm Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: Was Hammersmith and Fulham Council right to fine me?

11am Parliament: Conservative MEPs illustrate the increasing burden of Brussels red tape under Labour

ToryDiary: 

• All but The Mirror may desert Labour
  
• George Osborne will only guarantee that hospitals and overseas aid are protected from spending cuts Updated at 1pm with response from CCHQ

Mark Pritchard MP on Platform: The increased use of Sharia Councils in Britain is bad news for women and undermines social cohesion

Seats and Candidates: Euro election candidate Rupert Matthews reports that the EU is not the most burning issue on the doorstep in the East Midlands

Local Government:

• Councils' snooping powers reviewed
• Tories narrowly miss snatching a council seat in West Somerset
• Labour councillor quits in racism row

Brian Jenner on CentreRight: Tory speechwriters need a story and that story should be a story of national recovery

WATCH: Damian Green tells Newsnight that the police threatened him with "life imprisonment"

Also on PlayPolitical: President Obama releases Bush-era memos on the treatment of terror suspects by the CIA

Jacqui Smith under mounting pressure over Damian Green affair

"Pressure was mounting on Home Secretary Jacqui Smith last night after Tory frontbencher Damian Green was told he would not be prosecuted for receiving leaked documents. The Crown Prosecution Service ruled that Mr Green’s arrest and the £5million police investigation had been utterly unjustified." - Daily Express

"The collapse of the inquiry represented a humiliation for Jacqui Smith, the home secretary, and raised concerns that police are using the charge of misconduct in public office to silence whistleblowers. The government faces further embarrassment today with the publication of a police report into the methods used to raid Green's home and office which is expected to criticise of aspects of the arrests and searches." - The Guardian

"The increasingly habitual use of the full power of the state to attack opponents of the government, be they whistleblowers or political rivals, is inimical to our entire liberal democratic tradition... If we took the law literally, namely "misconduct in public office", this week we might end up arresting the Home Secretary." -  Former shadow home secretary David Davis writing in The Independent

Damian Green: The lessons to be learned from all of this

"I have now come through the surreal phase of my so-called criminal investigation, and it is time to start looking at the lessons it can teach us about how government works in this country. The most important, because it is the most unfashionable, is that parliamentary democracy still works... The second lesson is that the Government's reaction was a model of how not to do it... The third lesson is that ministers really must stop invoking "national security" as justification for all the Government's most intrusive activities." - Damian Green writing in the Daily Telegraph 

Police told Green he faced life in prison over leaks - Daily Telegraph

> Yesterday's ToryDiary posts:

• Damian Green will NOT face charges over Home Office leaks
• Damian Green wants his DNA back

Gordon Brown finally apologises for the Damian McBride affair

"Gordon Brown finally said sorry yesterday for the plan to smear senior figures in the Conservative Party that forced the resignation of his close aide Damian McBride. But as the Cabinet met in Glasgow, some ministers expressed concern that Mr Brown had prolonged the controversy by refusing to issue a personal apology for six days. "He should have killed this off at the start by saying sorry. It has not been handled well," one said." - The Independent

"The Tories should be on guard against voters thinking they are stretching out this scandal beyond its natural limits. But the fact that even the Prime Minister's apology is not taken at face value tells you much about the extent of the damage done. That damage is severe and will endure." - Iain Martin writing in the Daily Telegraph

> Yesterday on ConservativeHome:

• ToryDiary: Gordon Brown says sorry for Smeargate
• Watch the video of Gordon Brown uttering the words "I am sorry"

Chris Grayling welcomes review of snooping powers

"The government has allowed Ripa [the Regulation of Invetigatory Powers Act] to become a snoopers' charter. It was supposed to be there to tackle terrorism and serious crime. Instead it's being used by both the government and hundreds of local authorities to pry into all kinds of different parts of people's lives. It has to stop." - Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling quoted on the BBC website

Conservative London Assemblyman blames G20 protestor for "police assault"

"A Conservative London assembly member today claimed a woman allegedly assaulted by a police officer at a vigil in honour of the man who died after being attacked by police at the G20 protests in London had been to blame for the incident. Brian Coleman, the Tory assembly member for Barnet and Camden, made his comments after video footage emerged of the woman, who has been named as Nicky Fisher, being struck by a police officer outside the Bank of England." - The Guardian

> Yesterday's ToryDiary

The Queen is more trusted than any politician

"The Queen is Britain’s most trusted public figure, leaving Gordon Brown and other politicians trailing in her wake, a study showed yesterday... Politicians emerged as the least trusted public figures in the poll of 2,000 Britons, which found that one in three do not trust any of them. Of the remaining two-thirds, more said they trusted Tory leader David Cameron to keep his word (21 per cent) than Mr Brown (12 per cent). London Mayor Boris Johnson was in second place in the political selections with 20 per cent." - Daily Express

Jeff Randall has a few Budget suggestions for Alistair Darling

"Stop paying child benefit to top-rate taxpayers... Scale back Labour's target of 50 per cent university attendance... Cull government consultants, especially in the National Health Service... Dismantle the impossibly complex system of tax credits... Stop incapacity benefits for healthy people... Freeze public-sector pay... Cancel Labour's propaganda unit, which masquerades as a Government information bureau... sack the army of spin doctors amassed by Labour to keep a once-impartial civil service on message." - Jeff Randall writing in the Daily Telegraph

Guido Fawkes rails at lobby journalists...

"From the start of this era of spin the lobby pack have been willing accomplices... Cowardice and cronyism run right through the lobby, who are fearful of being taken off the teat of prepackaged stories served to them. That is not journalism; that is copytaking. The many stories filed this week that reveal just how horrible Mr Brown's cabal have been are of mere historical interest. They would have been brave if they had been written before McPoison was toppled." - Guido Fawkes writing in The Times

...as his influence is hailed by Steve Richards

"The creator of the Guido Fawkes website, Paul Staines, is in my view one of the most influential figures in the British media. One day this week I heard five items on the Today programme that followed up his stories or his observations. Politicians have not learnt how to cope with an individual who has as much impact as entire newspapers." - Steve Richards writing in The Independent

Mandelson tells public: Cheer up

"Lord Mandelson sparked fury last night by telling people to cheer up and stop being "so darned pessimistic". The Business Secretary was branded "dishonest and insensitive" after complaining that Brits were too negative and should look at the "up side". - The Sun

> Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: Mandelson's gaffe has something of the Tom Harris about it

William Hague and Michael Ancram plan European election campaign visits to Gibraltar - Gibraltar Chronicle

Prince's Trust Thatcher fundraising lunch with women2win broke charity law - The Scotsman

Former Tory councillor Daniel Smy jailed over £35,000 expenses scam - Bournemouth Daily Echo

Taxpayers must bail out MEPs' pension fund to the tune of £105 million - The Times

Partners of lesbian mothers to get "paternity leave" - Daily Telegraph

Obama exempts CIA "torture" staff - BBC

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Thursday 16th April 2009

8.45pm Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: Mandelson's gaffe has something of the Tom Harris about it

6pm WATCH: Peter Mandelson taken for a ride in an electric car

5.45pm AmericaInTheWorld: US Defence Secretary suggests military strike on Iran's nuclear capacity would be counter-productive

4pm ToryDiary: Damian Green wants his DNA back

3.30pm Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: Gordon Brown would appear to have taken my advice

2.15pm WATCH: Gordon Brown says, on camera, "I am sorry about what happened" over Smeargate

1.30pm ToryDiary: Tory GLA member attacks G20 protestor for aiming to make money from her alleged mistreatment by police

12.45pm WATCH: Damian Green's statement in full, welcoming the decision not to charge him over the Home Office leaks

Noon ToryDiary: Gordon Brown says sorry for Smeargate (finally) 1.45pm Update Nadine Dorries still isn't satisfied, whilst George Osborne says it's a little late

11.15am ToryDiary: Damian Green will NOT face charges over Home Office leaks Updated with reaction from Damian Green and Jacqui Smith

10.45am ToryDiary: George Osborne announces ten new green policy initiatives

ToryDiary: Does the Government now have "a moral duty" to cut public expenditure"?

David Davies MP on Platform: Don't rush to condemn the police who prevented the G20 protests from becoming a full-scale riot

Local Government:

• Paul Canal: The BNP must be confronted, not ignored
• Andrew McConnell: Bedford Council should tell residents where their money goes
• Tory council sends traffic wardens on politeness course

Parliament: When has Gordon Brown actually said "I am sorry"?

Greg Hands MP on CentreRight: Why Germany can take some pride in how it has dealt with its Nazi past

WATCH: The Times' Energy and Environment Editor Robin Pagnamenta explains why the newly-announced nuclear plants won't be ready for a decade

Home Affairs committee: Civil servants exaggerated national security threat in the Damian Green affair

"The damage to national security by a series of Home Office leaks was exaggerated by Government civil servants as they urged police to launch an investigation which led to the arrest of Tory MP Damian Green, an influential group of MPs conclude. Senior civil servants were accused of using "hyperbolic" language in a letter to Scotland Yard which claimed "considerable" damage had already occurred because of some of the leaks. The Conservatives last night called for an "urgent response" from the Government." - Daily Telegraph

"Bungling police who raided a Tory's Commons office were branded "Keystone Kops" in a report by MPs yesterday. Officers only managed to arrest shadow minister Damian Green by calling his leader David Cameron to find out where he was. The controversial raid was run by Bob Quick, who quit as anti-terror chief last week after accidentally revealing plans to arrest al-Qaeda suspects." - Daily Mirror

"Tory immigration spokesman Damian Green is waiting to learn if he faces prosecution over the controversial Home Office leaks inquiry. Crown Prosecution Service officials are expected to announce their decision on Mr Green who was arrested in November in connection with a series of embarrassing leaks from the Home Office." - ITN

> ToryDiary: CPS to rule on the Damian Green case at 11am this morning

Tory fury at 'whitewash' inquiry into "Smear-gate"...

"The head of the civil service faced accusations of a 'whitewash' last night as he rejected calls for an inquiry into the Downing Street dirty tricks scandal... But last night the Conservatives took the unusual step of lodging a formal protest with Sir Gus after he appeared to accept without investigating the facts for himself that McBride had acted alone." - Daily Mail

"The Conservatives on Wednesday dismissed moves to tighten up rules for government special advisers as insufficient, after the head of the civil service rebuffed their calls for an investigation into the Damian McBride scandal... Senior Tories are furious at Mr Brown’s response to the episode, which they depict as a failure of leadership." - FT

The stink of a cover-up hangs over Downing Street - The Sun

Derek Draper "cut adrift" by Labour - The Times

A Blogger's Notebook - Guido Fawkes in The Spectator

> Yesterday on ConservativeHome:

• ToryDiary: The Cabinet Secretary replies to Francis Maude's letter on "Smear-gate"
• Jonathan Isaby: The Cabinet Secretary's response is inadequate

...as Gordon Brown still refuses to say sorry

"George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, has called on Gordon Brown to apologise to him and his wife over the Downing Street email slurs. In his first comments about the scandal, in which a Downing Street adviser suggested that false rumours be spread about leading Conservatives, he said the couple had tried to ignore the affair for the sake of their young children." - Daily Telegraph

A lesson from Margaret Thatcher in saying sorry - Matthew Parris in The Times

The apology Gordon should have written - Daily Mail editorial

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: George Osborne calls on Gordon Brown to say sorry

Fraser Nelson: The McBride affair is a portent of the coming struggle for Labour’s soul

"In theory, Damian McBride’s resignation was simply the departure of a spin doctor, already relegated to a ‘back-room’ role. But nobody with the slightest knowledge of the Brown court believes that for a second. This is a moment of deadly, perhaps terminal, peril for the Labour government." - Fraser Nelson in The Spectator

The Downing Street email scandal has left Gordon Brown hideously exposed to enemies within his own party - Mary Riddell in the Daily Telegraph

Iain Duncan Smith on the "death of the traditional family"

“One in 12 children will experience their parents breaking up by the age of five if those parents are married. But that figure is one in two if the parents are cohabiting. Marriage is not just a piece of paper.” Mr Duncan Smith called for the tax system to favour those who choose marriage over living together. “It is not our job, as politicians, to lecture, but the problem has been caused by successive UK governments centring on the child, and forgetting the parent,” he said."  - Iain Duncan Smith quoted in the Daily Telegraph

David Willetts discussed the issues raised in the ONS report on the Today Programme

Conservative MEP Richard Ashworth calls on French fishermen to end their blockade of Channel ports

"Thousands of truckers and tourists found themselves blocked on both sides of the Channel today after French trawlermen demanding higher cod quotas blocked key ports on France's northern coast for a second day. ... Richard Ashworth, the Conservative MEP for southeast England, urged the fishermen to call off the protest. "People across southern England will be thinking, ’Here we go again’. Every time the French blockade a port it makes our lives across southeast England miserable -- that’s why the French do it," he said. "It is not fair for French fishermen to take out their frustrations onus and turn the M20 into a lorry park." - The Times

Listen to Richard Ashworth talk about this on this morning's Today Programme

Boris boosts the campaign for an illegal immigrant amnesty

"A London rally demanding an amnesty for illegal immigrants living in the UK will be staged during May bank holiday after receiving backing from Boris Johnson. Strangers into Citizens, a three-year national campaign by an umbrella group of civic bodies, has seized on the Tory London mayor's support for an "earned amnesty" for illegal immigrants who have been living in the city for several years." - The Guardian

How taxes have gone up under Labour

"A Telegraph survey shows that for the typical taxpayer on average income the percentage of income paid in various forms of tax has increased from 32% to 35%." - Daily Telegraph

Planned UK nuclear sites revealed - FT

Police officers can almost double their salary through overtime - Daily Mail

Government plans £5,000 sweetener to get consumers buying electric cars - The Guardian

BBC Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen censured over Israel coverage - The Independent

Cabinet meets in Scotland today for the first time in 88 years - The Scotsman

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Wednesday 15th April 2009

7.30pm ToryDiary: CPS to rule tomorrow on the Damian Green case

5.45pm WATCH: Culture Secretary Andy Burnham is heckled by Liverpool fans at the service commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy

2.45pm Tom Greeves on CentreRight: Why class WILL matter at the next general election

2.15pm ToryDiary: George Osborne calls on Gordon Brown to say sorry

1.45pm Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: The Cabinet Secretary's response on "Smear-gate" is inadequate

Noon WATCH: A Channel 4 News cameraman spots a rat in Downing Street (cue jokes about sinking ships...)

11.15am ToryDiary: The Cabinet Secretary replies to Francis Maude's letter on "Smear-gate" Updated with full text of Sir Gus O'Donnell's letter

10.15am Graeme Archer on CentreRight: "The police, particularly in London, appear to have forgotten that they police only with our consent. They are not the armed wing of the state."

10am Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: Gordon Brown could have closed down the "Smear-gate" story days ago

ToryDiary: Has the the "Tory toff" attack line now been removed from Labour's arsenal for good?

Dr Phillip Lee on Platform: The McBride Affair shows how Labour turned Cool Britannia into Cruel Britannia

Local Government:

• How to strengthen the Conservatives' home ownership agenda
• Tory councillor suspended for describing gays as "sexual deviants"
• Westminster Council scraps parking meters

WATCH:

• President Obama warns of more economic pain during 2009...
• ...and introduces the White House's new "First Puppy"

David Cameron blames Brown for allowing the culture of plotting in Downing Street...

"David Cameron, the Conservative leader, has said that Gordon Brown bears personal responsibility for the No 10 email scandal. The Prime Minister was guilty of allowing a culture to develop inside Downing Street in which those around him felt comfortable plotting to smear opposition politicians. Mr Cameron went on to dismiss Mr Brown's call for a tightening of the code of conduct for advisers to prevent a repeat of the events which led to the resignation of Damian McBride from his post as a senior aide at Number 10 last week." - Daily Telegraph

> Yesterday on PlayPolitical: David Cameron's first on camera reaction to the McBride Affair

...as do a string of former Labour ministers

"Four former Labour ministers came forward last night to blame Gordon Brown for creating a culture which allowed his former aide Damian McBride to draw up plans to smear senior Conservatives. The ministers criticised his style of leadership, suggesting that Mr McBride was carrying out his wishes rather than acting as a freelance operator. They joined David Cameron in demanding an urgent shake-up of the Downing Street machine." - The Independent

"Harold Wilson asserted that the Labour party was a moral crusade or it was nothing. The McBride affair has left Labour members looking at nothing. That is the reality check that McBride has wrought on the party." - Frank Field MP in The Independent

Nadine Dorries: Brown's non-apology letter is "totally devoid of emotion or sincerity"

"I have read and reread my letter and I am frankly in a state of disbelief. It is totally devoid of emotion or sincerity. It feels like it was written by a robot. It is not an apology. I am disappointed as it does not reflect the seriousness of a situation in which one Mr Brown's hand-picked lieutenants, his right hand man, who worked in the heart of 10 Downing Street, was fabricating deeply hurtful stories about me." - Nadine Dorries MP quoted in the Daily Telegraph

"Red Rag" smear website was registered at the House of Commons - The Times

Derek Draper "considering quitting LabourList" - Daily Telegraph

Tom Watson calls in his libel lawyers

"Cabinet Office Minister Tom Watson — who was mentioned in the email — yesterday launched a desperate bid to save his career by hiring top libel lawyers Carter Ruck... Carter Ruck said in a statement: “Our client has confirmed to us that he was not copied in on any of the emails exchanged between Mr McBride and Mr Draper, nor was he aware of them or their content. Our client had no involvement in or knowledge of the Red Rag website.” - The Sun

Telegraph: Labour loses its last shreds of credibility

"This refusal to shoulder responsibility means that the furore over Mr McBride's obnoxious emails is proving stubbornly resistant to the normal vagaries of the news cycle, and the damage to the reputation of both Mr Brown and the Government will be all the greater. That is the paradox of this affair. An attempt to drag the Tories through the mud has succeeded instead in exposing the moral and political vacuity of Labour." - Telegraph editorial

"Mr McBride bullied and smeared people for years to that very end, and if Mr Brown says he didn't know about it, then I for one do not believe him. Mr McBride is just one of a number of moral defectives who are put to that task, inside and outside Number 10. Mr Brown should say sorry because he not merely invented some of these people – notably Mr McBride – but he also tolerated and, by omission, encouraged their behaviour" - Simon Heffer writing in the Daily Telegraph

Times: Brown's response is "worse than inadequate"

"The Prime Minister’s response to his disgraced adviser’s behaviour is worse than inadequate. There is no suggestion that Mr Brown knew about the malevolent e-mails until the story broke, but there are two reasons why he should apologise directly to those whom Mr McBride maligned. First, the quality of public life has been tarnished by actions taken in Downing Street. Second, Mr Brown is the principal figure in government, and it is in the nature of leadership to be accountable for things that go wrong." - Times editorial

David Cameron reiterates that the NHS remains a top priority...

"David Cameron told Midland hospital campaigners during a visit to the region that improving the National Health Service remained one of his top priorities. Mr Cameron was speaking as he met campaigners at Stafford Hospital which was condemned last month for providing appalling standards of care... Mr Cameron said: “I am standing here in front of a hospital where there was the most appalling set of circumstances and people being treated incredibly badly. That is the priority for me, the NHS. That’s the priority for the British people.” - Birmingham Post

...and floats a plan to have nurses cold call patients with advice

"Women could be cold called by nurses to ask them to attend breast cancer screening under plans unveiled by the Conservatives... Following successes in America, the Conservatives also want trials of outreach centres where nurses in call centres proactive phone patients in target areas to talk about their health and promote services available to them. This could mean informing them about local breast cancer screening." - Daily Telegraph

Nick Gibb calls for trouble-making pupils to be excluded - not repeatedly suspended

"The number of persistent troublemakers suspended from school has soared in the past four years, figures released by the Conservatives reveal. Nearly 900 children were suspended from school more than 10 times in the year 2007-08, compared to just 310 four years previously, they show... Nick Gibb, the Conservatives' schools spokesman, said: "Suspending a pupil from school over and over again does a child no good at all. If a child has been seriously disruptive or violent they should be properly removed so they can get the specialist help they need." - The Independent

Theresa May dismisses Labour plan to cut benefits for alcoholics

"The government has had more than a decade to sort this problem out so this is too little too late. Purnell has failed to say when this will happen, how much it will cost and who it will exactly help." - Shadow work and pensions secretary Theresa May quoted in The Guardian

Chris Grayling raises more questions on student visas

"Thousands of bogus students remain free to enter Britain despite new laws aimed at tightening controls on immigration... the vast majority of non-EU students will not be interviewed by the Home Office but admitted on the basis of written applications and evidence of sponsorship, educational qualifications and bank statements. Chris Grayling, the Shadow Home Secretary, said: “The more we learn about the way the Government has managed our student visa system, the more question marks there are.”  - The Times

Irwin Stelzer: The Tories offer "an increasingly well articulated and distinct alternative to the present government"

"It is reasonable to ask whether the Tories have anything useful to say about the nation's current difficulties. And it seems that they do. Whether Cameron is right to argue that a policy of borrow and spend will prove disastrous for a country such as Britain, which is not blessed with the reserve currency that might permit America to spill so much red ink, we won't know for a while. But we might just be witnessing a please-everyone PR man morphing into a brave politician and potential PM." - Irwin Stelzer writing in the Daily Telegraph

Andrew Alexander: The next Chancellor has the opportunity of an epoch

"To a genuine Conservative (if one can be found), the job of Chancellor this time is the opportunity of an epoch: not just a chance to cut government spending itself, but to cut back the size and role of the state... But this is a special moment. The public is not just braced for major cuts: opinion polls show it is eager for them." - Andrew Alexander in the Daily Mail

Welsh Tories attack £1.2 million bill for "wages of spin" at Assembly - Western Mail

Collapse in the pound promises 20% pay rise for British MEPs - Daily Mail

Second police officer suspended over G20 protests - BBC

Obama sees glimmers of hope in US economy - Daily Mail

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Tuesday 14th April 2009

6pm WATCH: David Cameron gives his first 'on camera' reaction to 'Smeargate'

5.30pm Alex Deane on CentreRight: A Government minister believes that association with the USA is "poison"

3pm ToryDiary: Francis Maude asks eight questions of the Cabinet Secretary

2.45pm Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: Blogs don't necessarily encourage ghetto thinking

2pm Alex Deane on CentreRight: Currency speculation

10.30am Matt Sinclair on CentreRight: At the TaxPayers' Alliance, we've just released a new calculator that allows people to work out the amount they're paying in green taxes and regulations...

10.30am WATCH: Nadine Dorries MP tells ITN that Gordon Brown's letters of regret are inadequate

10am Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: In defence of blogs

ToryDiary:

• Another Labour scandal is the persistence of NHS superbugs
• And 'smeargate' still has legs on its fourth day

Dominic Grieve on Platform: It's the interpretation of the Human Rights Act that's the problem - not the ECHR itself

Seats and candidates: Annunziata Rees-Mogg (Somerton and Frome) writes the weekly Diary of a PPC

Local government:

• Fourteen Council officers in Lancashire suspended over email jokes
• Nick Seaton of the Campaign for Real Education warns that The teachers unions have support amongst the educational establishment

Alan Milburn, David Miliband and Ivan Lewis were all Labour victims of McBride's briefings - Dominic Lawson in The Independent

The Independent: Brown has lost his reputation for good character

"[Brown's] long association with Mr McBride casts aspersions on his remaining claims to public respect: the widespread belief that he takes a high-minded approach to politics and his reputation for common decency. Neither the adjustment to the code for special advisers – always an awkward presence in Whitehall – nor private letters of regret to the injured parties can undo what has been done. Character, deceptively perhaps, had been Mr Brown's strength. Now he looks like all the rest." - Independent leader

Brown should be judged by the company he keeps - Robert Colvile in The Telegraph

Andy McSmith: I warned them that McBride was bad news - Independent

Rachel Sylvester: The bullying and laddish Brown team

"It's not just Mr McBride who is the problem. There is a laddish and bullying atmosphere to the cabal of advisers and MPs surrounding Mr Brown. Small talk revolves around football. Briefings take place in pubs and karaoke bars. The alleged coup against Tony Blair was planned over balti and beers." - Rachel Sylvester in The Times

Steve Richards: Suddenly Brown has fewer attacking options

"Brown’s capacity to attack the Conservatives has suddenly narrowed. There are entirely legitimate issues about the unconvincing political back story of Cameron and Osborne which are partly connected to their wealth and privileged backgrounds. Arguably there is a superficial frivolity about their approach to politics that is a product of their pasts. I am not suggesting that such assertions are necessarily right or definitive, but they are fair game. It is a game that Brown will not be able to play easily now. Suddenly the Conservatives are much safer than they were or deserve to be." - Steve Richards in The Independent

Michael Brown: David Cameron will have to dispense 'nasty' economic medicine

"Having spent four years shedding the image as the "nasty party", Mr Cameron is obliged to administer the nastiest economic medicine ever prescribed by any government since the Second World War." - Michael Brown in The Independent

Tim Montgomerie: The new media still needs the old media but we are only at the beginning of a revolution

"It is true the new media cannot yet succeed without the traditional media's co-operation. Guido did not publish McBride's emails on his blog but handed them to Sunday newspapers. The citizen journalists who exposed alleged police brutality on their cameras needed this newspaper to bring popular attention to the assault on Ian Tomlinson. But the traditional media should not see this need for co-operation as a reason for complacency. This is just the start of the web's political impact. My own blog reaches 10,000 people and the blog costs me just 50p a day to run. If the economics of blogging has ended the monopoly of comment, other monopolies are likely to end soon too." - Tim Montgomerie in The Guardian

"In the end, the difference between quality newspapers and even serious blogs is that your default reaction to a newspaper piece should be that it is true, whereas your default reaction to a blog post should be that it might be true, but it might equally well be a pack of lies. Rather like government smear campaigns." - Stephen Pollard in The Times

Red Tory Philip Blond renews his attack on supermarkets - FT

Brown to timetable Iraq inquiry so that it won't report until AFTER General Election - Guardian

Hazel Blears will announce measures to make it easier for local groups to turn empty shops into galleries or advice centres - BBC

Nick Clegg calls for immediate meeting on MPs' pay and allowances - Independent

Pay in the recession

Union leaders are demanding that Labour increases the minimum wage during the recession - Telegraph

Teachers are demanding a 10% pay rise, defying calls for restraint amid the recession - Telegraph

The Government pressures Network Rail to reduce or cancel directors' bonuses of more than £1 million - Times

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Monday 13th April 2009

8.30pm ToryDiary: Boris says Labour has lost the moral authority to govern

5.15pm ToryDiary: Brown to write letters of personal apology to the targets of McBride's smears

4.15pm Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: Sky's political blogs aren't pulling their punches

1.30pm WATCH: Nadine Dorries says Gordon Brown is ultimately responsible for Damian McBride's behaviour

1pm Four years of ConservativeHome

10.30am WATCH: Nadine Dorries MP tells Sky News that she is talking to lawyers about Labour attempts to smear her

ToryDiary: The winners and losers from Fawkes v McBride

Local government: Town halls should prepare to tighten their belts

Martin Sewell on Platform: We must trust the professional judgments of those involved in child protection (and not shackle them to procedures designed to protect the bureaucracy)

Ridley Grove on CentreRight: The Right should not get too close to Guido Fawkes

Cameron demands apology from Brown

"Gordon Brown was coming under intense pressure last night to apologise personally for the 'e-mail smears' scandal. David Cameron was said to be 'absolutely furious' that the Prime Minister had failed to make clear there was no truth in the allegations about senior Tories which a key aide planned to make public." - Daily Mail

"To the Prime Minister's left, right and at his feet, the bully boys sit around the fire wondering whose life and career they can destroy next. And whilst they fiddle and concentrate their efforts on ensuring Gordon Brown retains office at whatever cost, Rome burns." - Nadine Dorries MP in The Independent

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Pressure builds on Brown to apologise for the McBride affair

Jackie Ashley: Gordon Brown's vicious side is now clear to the whole country

"It's too late for the prime minister to shrug off McBride with expressions of surprise and horror, as if he'd been walking around with a portly vulture on his shoulder for years without noticing. McBride was as inner circle as it gets. If the prime minister didn't know what he was up to, he should have done." - Jackie Ashley in The Guardian

Are there more damaging McBride emails to come?

"There are rumours of further e-mails that could be used to embarrass not only government figures but journalists as well. Members of the media are said to be named in e-mails from Mr McBride, which could raise questions over how close some journalists became to No 10." - Sam Coates in The Times

Iain Dale offers some advice to Gordon Brown

"If Gordon Brown really wants to bring about a new era at Downing Street, he can do several things – take away Alastair Campbell's pass which gives him free access to the building; reshuffle Tom Watson out of Number Ten; but most significantly of all, tell Derek Draper his services as editor of LabourList are no longer required." - Iain Dale in The Telegraph

Alastair Campbell: Tories don't want the debate to be about policy

"David Cameron and George Osborne are unfit to govern, not because of any old photos, real or imagined, or visits to clinics, but because they don’t know what they want to do with power and are simply hoping Labour hand it over on a plate. They are never happier than when talking about process and personality, as a means of avoiding policy and principle, so Mr McBride has played right into their hands, even if Iain Dale is going over the top in trying to say it makes Gordon Brown look like Richard Nixon." - Alastair Campbell in The Times

In the Daily Mail Peter Obone says Alastair Campbell is the real author of Labour's squalid style of politics.

Lance Price: The tittle-tattle of blogs

"When you are in government, seeking to defend your record and persuade a sceptical electorate of your fitness to carry on, the risks of engaging in the kind of tittle-tattle favoured by many blogs will always outweigh any possible advantages. It is frustrating seeing yourselves slagged off with apparent impunity on a minute-by-minute basis, but getting down and dirty with your opponents is no solution." - Lance Price in The Guardian

Why Conservative blogs are proving ever more popular - Matthew Taylor in The Guardian

"The other most successful British blogs are also on the centre-right. They are independent in that they are not owned by large media companies, and are very often simply the product of an inventive brain, good contacts and access to a laptop." - Iain Martin in The Telegraph

"Labour lacks the high-profile equivalent of a Conservativehome – a site for party activists that focuses at least as much on policy discussion as gossip. Somewhat ironically, it is this void that Mr Draper was drafted in to fill with Labourlist – an initiative now overshadowed by a misconceived attempt to wage a dirty political war using the web." - Jean Eaglesham in the FT

David Cameron's plan to trim the House of Commons by 10% is welcome but should go further - Telegraph leader

Union members should be comfortable with the Conservative Party

Richard Balfe, the Conservative Party's envoy to the trade union movement, told The Times: "There is no plan in the Conservative party to repeal any of the trade union rights. If there were, Peter Mandelson could be relied on to do that for us. He is no more friendly to trade unions than any average Tory minister from the past. If you look at David Cameron’s policies on parental leave and family friendly issues we will probably be in the market for extending trade union rights in that area.”

The Times also publishes a feature on Richard Balfe's work: Why some unions still see red when wooed by Richard Balfe

Alan Johnson to warn that Tory plans could produce indebted hospitals

"Johnson will say: "David Cameron says he cares about the NHS but the danger is in the detail." The plan, he says, puts essential NHS services at risk of repossession. "The Tories talk tough on controlling debt but their own plans would risk unleashing billions of pounds of uncontrolled debt into the heart of our NHS, with nobody to step in if hospitals went bust". Under Cameron, hospitals "would be used as collateral for raising unlimited debt"." - Guardian | FT

'Compulsory voluntary work'!

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged to ensure every young person has done 50 hours of voluntary work by the time they are 19 years old - BBC

Speaker Martin under fire for £8,000 taxpayer-funded 'jolly' with his wife to Dubai - Daily Mail

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.