ConservativeHome

New Year's Eve 2008

7pm ToryDiary: Happy 2009!

6.30pm Douglas Murray on CentreRight: The extremists behind London's anti-Israel demonstrations

4.30pm Ben Rogers on CentreRight: Victims of intimidation

3.45pm Local Government: Wokingham Council bans jargon

3.30pm ToryDiary: Gaffes of 2008

12.15pm ToryDiary: Ones to Watch in 2009

11.15am: Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: "Government opts not to regulate" and other headlines you haven't seen recently

ToryDiary: Speech of 2008

Local Government: Non-jobs of the Year

Nick Seaton in Local Government: Stop this Big Brother threat to our children

WATCH ITN's 4-minute political review of 2008

Cameron accuses Brown of bombing us to bankruptcy

"David Cameron ridiculed Gordon Brown's call for Britain to adopt the Blitz spirit yesterday by accusing him of 'bombing' the country to the brink of bankruptcy. The Prime Minister has claimed that the looming recession is a test of character similar to that faced during the Second World War. In his New Year message to his Tory faithful, however, Mr Cameron turned the suggestion back on Mr Brown, claiming that his 'tax and debt bombshells' were to blame for the economic crisis." - Daily Mail

"The Conservatives must understand, and enunciate, three things: that those in socially unproductive roles in the public sector may also lose their jobs; that spending and borrowing will, in these conditions unprecedented in most of our lifetimes, have to fall; and that increases in taxation, in whatever form they take, will serve only further to depress an economy rather than to give it the kick start for which it is crying out." - Simon Heffer in the Daily Telegraph

> Yesterday's ToryDiary included the full text of David Cameron's New Year message

Jeremy Hunt: Lottery good causes cash diverted to Olympics

"A quarter of all money raised for good causes through the national lottery has been spent on the Olympics or on administration the Conservatives have claimed... Mr Hunt said that the good causes – which include grassroots sport, the arts and the British film industry – will have to wait until March 24 for "lottery freedom day" when the cost of the Olympics" - Daily Telegraph

Liam Fox: Labour failing to give our forces adequate training

"Armed Forces personnel are being sent into war zones without proper training because of cost-cutting, the Conservatives have claimed. Ministry of Defence figures show that 30 per cent of training exercise cancellations in the past year were put down to "savings measures"... Dr Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said the figures were another sign of Labour's failure to prioritise defence spending at a time of severe need." - Daily Telegraph

Tory anger over knighthood for top Treasury civil servant

"The Treasury’s top official, who was at the helm during the boom before the credit crunch, has been knighted for his role in dealing with Britain’s deepening financial crisis. The move, as the pound plunged to a record low against the euro and after another slide in house prices, prompted protests that the honour was premature and self-congratulatory... Michael Fallon, a Tory member of the Commons Treasury Select Committee, said: “This award looks premature: they haven’t solved the banking crisis yet or brought stability to the financial system.” John Redwood, the Conservative backbencher, said: “We don’t want to be claiming victory until the battle is won. This battle isn’t over.”- The Times

Chris Grayling: The DWP can't even protect its own staff

"More than one assault takes place in Jobcentres every day, official figures have revealed... The Tories, who obtained the figures, warned the risks and costs of violence against staff were set to increase as more people lose their jobs and need state help. Chris Grayling, the Tory shadow work and pensions spokesman said the situation was "nothing short of a disgrace". - Daily Telegraph

Tory attack on "nanny state" parental advice on children's alcohol consumption

"Rather than telling parents how to bring up their children, they should be looking at the wider issue of the damage their 24-hour drinking policy has caused to society. There is no doubt that parents should act responsibly when giving alcohol to their children but this is common sense. This is yet another example of this Government’s nanny state behaviour by telling people what they should be doing in their own homes." - Mike Penning quoted in the Daily Mail

Tories' plan to raise cash for regeneration of big cities

"Britain’s big cities could be given powers to raise millions for regeneration by selling loans on money markets if the Conservatives win the General Election. The idea is one of a series of radical measures in a local government shake-up being considered by Eric Pickles, the shadow communities secretary." - Birmingham Post

75p "insult" to pensioners in care homes - Daily Mail

Private firm may track all email and calls - Guardian

Labour considers car speed-limiters - Independent

Ministers' pension pot soars to £7.4m - The Sun

"Globetrotting" MPs under fire over £1.4million "fact-finding trips" - Daily Mail

Britain still the Euro-capital of teen pregnancy - Daily Express

And finally... Tesco already selling Easter Eggs

"Shoppers at a Tesco store were stunned to see Easter eggs on sale — four days after Christmas. Customers burst out laughing as staff put out “Easter Treats” displays of daffodils and chocolate goodies on Monday. Stephen Roland, 31, said: “I couldn’t believe it. Selling Easter eggs three or four days after Christmas is ludicrous — particularly when Easter is in April next year.” - The Sun

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 30th December 2008

4.45 Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: A Statement of Conservatism

4.15pm WATCH: Government advisers recommend technology that automatically restricts cars to speed limit

3.15pm ToryDiary: Moment of 2008

12.30pm ToryDiary: Frontbencher of 2008

11.30am ToryDiary: Cameron promises to keep to his gentler, greener conservatism in New Year message

10.30am Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: "2008 was the best year for socialism since 1917"

ToryDiary: Backbencher of 2008

Local government: Eric Pickles plans purge of 'Town Hall fat cats'

Cllr Merrick Cockell on Local government: Parents, not the state, should decide if their children are placed on a national database.

Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: Caroline Kennedy is bidding to succeed Hillary Clinton as New York's junior Senator, you know.

WATCH:

• Nick Clegg promises green investment and permanent tax cuts
• President Bush's spokesman blames Hamas for situation in Gaza

Grant Shapps highlights householders' fears about mortgage and rent payments

"Yesterday the Tories seized on an opinion poll showing that 44% of mortgage holders are worried about being able to meet their mortgage payments over the next year. The YouGov survey also found that 47% of local authority and housing association tenants and 41% of private tenants are worried about being able to afford their rent. Grant Shapps, the Tory spokesman on housing, said: "Householders up and down the country and in every kind of housing are now concerned, as never before, about their ability to maintain a roof over their heads over the next 12 months." - Independent | Iain Dale

PDF of Grant Shapps' 'The New Homeless' report

Michael Gove: 15,000 teachers go sick everyday

"Teachers are calling in sick at the rate of 15,000 a day. Almost three million working days were lost last year, up from 2.5million in 1999. Some 311,000 teachers took at least one day off. Tories called the official figures 'very worrying', linking them with mounting bureaucracy and disruptive classroom behaviour." - Daily Mail

ConservativeHome comment: "This story is the splash in the Daily Mail. Yesterday James Brokenshire's knife crime story was the front page headline in The Sun. Eric Pickles' story on Labour's plans to tax 'nice neighbourhoods' led Boxing Day's Daily Telegraph. All good 'Christmas holiday period' work by our frontbench."

William Hague defends his outside interests

"Some people want politics to be totally professionalised, and for politicians to be nothing other than politicians for every single second of their lives. I have written books on history, on Pitt and Wilberforce. I think it is a net gain to politics for some of us to have interests of that kind." - The Shadow Foreign Secretary quoted in the Daily Mail

Tory grassroots want David Davis and Ken Clarke back on frontbench

Stories in The Independent and Guardian note yesterday's ConservativeHome poll of party members.

'Better the devil you don't know' when it comes to election chances

"The Conservatives' greatest asset is that they are not in power. Fortunately for them, their greatest asset almost certainly trumps their greatest liability, which is that few voters have any idea how the Tories will comport themselves if and when they regain power. For the foreseeable future, the devil that voters don't know looks like being more attractive than the one they do." - Anthony King in The Telegraph

Gordon Brown has re-iterated his opposition to any change in the law on assisted dying - BBC

"In addressing their lectures to Mr Brown, rather than their own errant flock, the Bishops are moral cowards." - Dominic Lawson in The Independent

Peter Oborne quotes some Cicero

"Writing more than 2,000 years ago, a Roman politician made the following observation: 'The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.'  These words were uttered by Cicero in 55BC. Today they are every bit as apposite." - Peter Oborne in the Daily Mail

Thirty years ago... James Callaghan attempted to stop Margaret Thatcher attending anniversary of suffragette movement

"Secret papers released after 30 years show how Labour tried to sideline opposition leader Margaret Thatcher on the anniversary of universal suffrage." - BBC

Saatchi & Saatchi's Labour Isn't Working poster caused "consternation" in Labour government - Times

Parallels between Blair and Obama

"Like Obama, he was a highly pedigreed lawyer who ran as a post-partisan change candidate. Like Obama, he broke years of what seemed, to progressives, like interminable conservative rule. Like Obama, he was nonconfrontational in style, charismatic without heat (reedy frame, wide-caliber smile), and idealistic without being ideological. His speeches also inspired and rang with logic. International leaders also embraced him and saw his victory as the dawn of a new era. The weight of the world and his own country’s expectations rode heavily, too, on his shoulders." - New York Magazine

And finally... Sarah Palin's daughter has baby boy - NY Daily News

Samuel Huntingdon, Author of Clash of Civilisations, RIP - Reihan Salam

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 29th December 2008

6.45pm Andrew Lilico on CentreRight: On the merits of an official state religion

4.30pm Seats and candidates: News of the World "misrepresented" incomplete Ipsos MORI research

3.15pm Dan Hamilton on CentreRight: How would you reform the House of Lords?

2.45pm ToryDiary: Hague calls for Israel to stop its action against Hamas

2.15pm WATCH: James Brokenshire MP discusses the thirty-year high in fatal stabbings

2.15pm Ridley Grove on CentreRight: The Right was right Dave. You were wrong.

11.15am Local Government: Worst Council of the year? Hackney's late entry

10am ToryDiary: Public expenditure control (not tax) is now the number one challenge for George Osborne

10am Louise Bagshawe on CentreRight: Reviewers wanted for Political Book of the Year

ToryDiary: Grassroots want the 'big beasts' in the shadow cabinet

Local government: Cllr Patricia O'Brien defends Suffolk Conservatives' schools policies

Robert Halfon on CentreRight: If we want an enduring peace in the Middle East, then Israel must be allowed to defeat Hamas in Gaza

Today's must-read: "Out of the Gaza bloodshed the real winner is...Iran" - Michael Burleigh in the Daily Mail

Osborne talks of trio of Tory tax cuts

"The Tories are preparing a tax cuts agenda to prove they have the right ideas to rescue Britain from the economic slump. Chief among them will be a vow to reverse Labour plans to increase National Insurance contributions by more than  £5billion after the next election. But there will also be help for savers and pensioners." - Daily Express | ToryDiary

Tories step up economic critique of Labour

[Image from Christmas Eve's Sun]

"Yesterday, David Cameron and Mr Osborne foreshadowed their winter offensive against the Prime Minister, stepping up their attacks on Gordon Brown's stewardship of the economy. Mr Cameron accused Mr Brown of "economic crimes", insisting that the Prime Minister had driven Britain to "the brink of bankruptcy". Mr Osborne said the Government's spending policies were turning the country into "a bankrupt country on the verge of becoming the sick man of Europe again with high unemployment"." - Independent

"Most Britons believe the recession will last for two years, according to a Financial Times/Harris poll."

More than 1,600 people will lose their jobs every day during 2009 - Telegraph

"More than 100,000 families are receiving benefits payments worth more than the average worker's take-home pay" - Telegraph

Business leaders want freeze in minimum wage - BBC

Michael Gove highlights massive breakdown in school discipline

"Thousands of children are being suspended from schools for offences that could warrant expulsion, the Tories have said." - Yorkshire Post

"More pupils are likely to answer male teachers back in the classroom and disrupt their lessons. Female teachers report a drop in rowdy behaviour, though they are more likely to be harangued by aggressive parents." - Independent

"Fatal stabbings have risen to their highest level in three decades, say the Conservatives" - BBC

Tory MEP slams China for its trade in dog and cat fur

"A Scottish Conservative MEP has warned China it must ban the trade of dog and cat fur if it hopes to join the "civilised" world. Struan Stevenson, a long-time campaigner against the fur trade, issued the call just days before the trade will be banned across Europe." - The Herald

The government has rejected criticism by five Anglican bishops who questioned the morality of its policies - BBC | Video

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Cameron's attacks on Labour excess supported by chorus of bishops

"Will Standpoint fall at the first hurdle?" - The Independent overviews Standpoint magazine's prospects after its first six months.

"The number of civilians killed by violence in Iraq has fallen by two thirds in 2008" - BBC

ToryDiary: Theresa Villiers deserves to stay in the shadow cabinet

Seats and candidates: 119 of 120 Tory candidates in marginal seats support repeal of hunting ban

Charlie Elphicke on CentreRight: What's your New Year message to Gordon Brown?

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 28th December 2008

5pm ToryDiary: Conservative Friends of Israel's briefing on action against Hamas

12.30pm Ridley Grove on CentreRight: What would the British government do if Dover was bombarded with missiles from Calais?

12.15am Alex Deane on CentreRight: Israel

12.15am Charlie Elphicke on CentreRight: "My New Year message to Gordon Brown is simple. Get lost. Yes, the British people should work together to build a better tomorrow . . . one that does not include you."

ToryDiary: Cameron's attacks on Labour excess supported by chorus of bishops

Seats and candidates: 'Female Tory members fear women candidates will steal their husbands'

Mark Wallace on Local government: Conservative councils should not collaborate with Labour's backdoor attempts at revaluation

Two David Cameron videos:

• David Cameron calls for "restraint" from Israel and Hamas and describes humanitarian situation as "horrific"
• Cameron talks to a family chosen by GMTV about his economic policy ideas

Yesterday evening's ToryDiary: George Osborne hints at trio of tax cuts

More speculation about Ken Clarke returning

A Sunday Telegraph report suggests a return for Ken Clarke and warns that Alan Duncan, Caroline Spelman and Andrew Mitchell are in trouble.

Andrew Lansley advises marketing agency that helps mount Government health campaigns - Mail on Sunday

Do the Tories have the guts to tackle overspending?

"Of all excessive spending, the bill for gold-plated, index-linked, final-salary, public sector pension schemes is among the hardest to justify. As the realities of our ageing society kick in, and private sector pensions crumble, state workers remain cosseted while the rest of us pick up the £1,300bn bill. Cameron recently hinted the Tories would tackle this outrageous "pension apartheid". But when the public sector unions growled, Tory spin doctors denied the story." - Liam Halligan in The Sunday Telegraph

John Rentoul: David Cameron has a handle on the future

"At least as important in the personalised election campaigns that have been typical of British politics since at least Harold Macmillan's time is a general sense of "owning the future" – an American phrase of which New Labour became fond. There is Cameron's edge. He does not just ride a bike; sometimes he uses motorbike taxis, which are the fastest way to get around London (as well as being quite green). As well as analogies from the First World War, he refers to computer games. When he explained his Tomb Raider strategy to a Daily Mail dinner recently – that he has to complete level one, decontaminating the Tory brand, to be able to do level two, to argue for Tory principles – someone asked what Tomb Raider was." - John Rentoul in the Independent on Sunday

Rory Bremner can't do David Cameron

"Has Rory Bremner finally met his match? The impressionist has built a 20-year career on his uncanny ability to conjure up the voices and mannerisms of every significant public figure. But David Cameron has so far eluded him, so much so that Bremner’s efforts have been ridiculed on the ConservativeHome website. “This is awful, awful, awful,” said one contributor. Another, more sympathetic, explained: “It’s simply the case that Cameron doesn’t have a regional accent, doesn’t have an ogre-like appearance or odd set of mannerisms, and is actually pretty normal.”" - The Sunday Times

Ad campaign ideas for the next General Election

All featured in the Independent on Sunday.

Prime Minister seeks global coalition for change with US president-elect - Independent on Sunday

"On balance, I think that if any party enjoys a brief Barack Bounce, it will be Labour. Yes, Obama and Cameron share the mantle of "novice" and speak the language of generational change. But the incoming president fancies himself a latter-day Roosevelt and will find a more-than-willing partner in Brown. They will claim that the global financial crisis favours Left-of-centre parties and requires the government interventionism that is their stock in trade. There will be plans, blueprints and grand schemes galore. For a short while – perhaps a very short while – this burst of transatlantic activity might well give Gordon a modest boost." - Matthew d'Ancona in The Sunday Telegraph

"In next week's New Year message, the prime minister is expected to urge the public to "display the same spirit" as their predecessors did in World War II." - BBC

Britain plunges down world economic table - Sunday Times

Jack Straw promises community service sentences for knife carriers - News of the World

Today's Ed Stourton settles differences with BBC - Mail on Sunday

2008 was the year man-made global warming was disproved - Christopher Booker in The Sunday Telegraph

And finally...

"As a leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition, David Cameron is used to being in the occasional tight spot – but few have been quite as claustrophobic as the one he found himself in yesterday. The 42-year-old scrambled awkwardly through a 3ft gap beneath a footbridge as he tackled the Great Brook Run – a mile-long race through mud and ‘raging torrents’ that would have done the SAS proud." - 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 27th December 2008

9.45pm ToryDiary: George Osborne hints at trio of tax cuts

3.15pm ToryDiary: Hague calls for restraint from Israel as 155 die in Gaza air raids

2pm Alex Deane on CentreRight: Heathrow

11.45am Local government: Eric Pickles warns of "nice neighbourhood tax"

11.45am Dan Hamilton on CentreRight decides that it's time to privatise Channel 4 after its Christmas message from Iran

11.30am Alex Deane on CentreRight is back in Britain... but unhappy about our climate

ToryDiary: Theresa Villiers deserves to stay in the shadow cabinet and Edward Leigh MP as you've never seen him before

Seats and candidates: 119 of 120 Tory candidates in marginal seats support repeal of hunting ban

Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: "One BBC corresponent with a blog told me that blogging was now their favourite part of their journalism.  "I get the best of both worlds," they told me, "I get the huge BBC audience and the pleasure of being a newspaper-style columnist.""

Suli Shah on CentreRight: "Ahmadinejad is a senior leader of a regime that denies its own people the most basic freedoms and has vowed to wipe out Israel in his hate filled speeches. Channel 4 should be utterly ashamed of itself."

WATCH: Channel 4 broadcasts 'Alternative Christmas message' from Iran's President

Jeremy Hunt proposes School Olympics

"Jeremy Hunt, the shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport, is considering proposals which would see schools compete against each other in a variety of events at local, county and regional levels, before a national championships was held in a major UK city." - Telegraph

Edward Garnier MP plans tribunal to ensure hunting stays ethical after repeal of Labour legislation - Times

"Record numbers turned out for the Boxing Day hunts yesterday with both supporters and opponents heaping more criticism on the ban introduced under Labour. More than 300,000 huntsmen and followers converged on the countryside to take part in or cheer on events across England, Wales and Scotland." - Daily Mail

Nick Herbert attacks Labour's record on foreign prisoners

"The Conservatives said statistics showed that for every three foreigners removed from the UK, two were freed having served less than half their sentence and with a taxpayer-funded allowance, and six more were added to the prison population." - BBC

Secret surveillance of Damian Green to be investigated

"The Met confirmed that a tape recording of Mr Green's detention was made "without his knowledge" but with the "best of intentions". In a statement, the police added that the matter would now be referred to the surveillance watchdog, the Office for the Surveillance Commissioners." - Telegraph

The Conservative Party wasted £500,000 recruiting online 'friends'

"A £500,000 Conservative campaign to build an army of online supporters resulted in only one person signing up at one of the four websites targeted, Financial Times research has revealed."

Will the Conservatives rescue the high-taxed middle classes? - Simon Heffer in The Telegraph

"We must refight the battles of the 1970s" - George Bridges sets out the Conservative task in The Telegraph

The Camerons' Yorkshire Christmas

"Tory leader Dave, his wife Samantha and the kids are staying with her father, Sir Reginald Sheffield, at his 18th century stately home, Sutton Park. The £5million house has beautiful parkland and boasts a rich collection of treasures, including paintings from Buckingham House (better known these days as Buckingham Palace)." - Paul Routledge in The Mirror (using the stay for a spot of class war).

"Tory leader David Cameron attended the Christmas service at York Minster with his wife and children, hearing Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu warn bankers against "exploitative lending"... After the service, the Archbishop spoke briefly to the Tory leader and his young sons. Mr Cameron praised the Archbishop for the "lovely service". He said: "He made us think about all those less fortunate than ourselves. It was a lovely sermon, a beautiful service and lovely singing." - Yorkshire Post

The EU spends £2.3bn on propaganda (more than Coca-Cola) - Daily Mail

Government considers cinema-style age ratings for websites - BBC

Brown's rebellious MPs

"Gordon Brown suffered more backbench rebellions in his first full year as Prime Minister than Tony Blair in his first four-year Parliament, according to research. The total of 103 revolts during the 2007-08 parliamentary session was the most inflicted on any governing party for more than 30 years." - Times

George W Bush is winning the war on terror

"Ten or twenty years from now, historians will view Bush's actions on the world stage in a more favourable light. America's 43rd president did after all directly liberate more people (over 60 million) from tyranny than any leader since Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt." - Nile Gardiner in The Telegraph

Wisdom from Oliver Kamm on Harold Pinter

"The political world that Pinter conjured up was an extravagant fantasy. In it, the Western democracies exemplified not imperfection or even moral failings, but venality and bloodlust. To Pinter, the modern US had only one point of comparison: “Nazi Germany wanted total domination of Europe and they nearly did it. The US wants total domination of the world and is about to consolidate that.” - 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.

Christmas Eve 2008

TORYDIARY: HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

ToryDiary: A timely announcement from Grant Shapps on homelessness

Local Government: Eric Pickles answers a final tranche of your questions

Local Government: Should Councils be doing more on drug rehabilitation?

WATCH An extract from the Queen's Christmas message in which Her Majesty focuses on the sombre time that many are experiencing

David Cameron gave in to Shadow Cabinet "moonlighters" after Hague threatened to quit

"William Hague threatened to lead a walk-out if David Cameron forced his Shadow Cabinet to give up their lucrative second jobs, it was claimed last night. The Tory leader planned to ban 'moonlighting' by Christmas, but has since backed down in the face of an internal revolt. Senior Conservatives revealed that up to three spokesmen, including the Shadow Foreign Secretary, were ready to quit." - Daily Mail

> Last night's ToryDiary: Hague threatened to quit if outside interests were banned

Osborne accuses Darling of "bankrupting Britain" as economy shrinks faster than expected

"Alistair Darling may be forced to revise his forecast that the economy will start to grow again from next summer amid fears that his prediction is already proving too optimistic... Fears that he will issue a more gloomy forecast increased when the Office of National Statistics (ONS) announced that the economy shrank faster than it previously thought between July and September. It said it contracted by 0.6 per cent, the biggest fall for 18 years, rather than 0.5 per cent as it originally estimated... George Osborne, the shadow Chancellor, said: "Here is further evidence that Labour is bankrupting Britain again. Not only have we been in recession for six months but it is now deeper than we thought." - Independent

Grant Shapps launches Tory anti-homelessness strategy today

"Criminals should be forced to save part of their prison pay to fund accommodation when they are released, the Tories said today as part of a new anti-homelessness strategy. Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps said the cash would be paid in instalments in a bid to end the "revolving door" that saw many reoffend because jail provided a roof over their heads... Other pledges included ensuring troops returning from the frontline were not put at the bottom of waiting lists for housing and reforming benefits to make sure people were better off by getting a job. Rough sleeping statistics would also be made more accurate, Mr Shapps said." - Daily Telegraph

Tories accuse Government of being obsessed with spin

"The Conservatives accused Gordon Brown and his ministers of being obsessed with spin, after new figures revealed the scale of the budget for "media monitoring". Statistics obtained by the party in a series of Parliamentary answers show that Whitehall departments and taxpayer-funded quangos and agencies have paid private consultancies at least £13 million to monitor news coverage since 2005. In addition, the Government has its own internal Media Monitoring department with 19 members of staff, which costs another £1 million a year to run."  - Daily Telegraph

Philip Hammond uncovers the cost of Christmas in Whitehall

"Government departments have spent £137,000 on Christmas cards, parties and decorations in the past year. The most lavish Whitehall department was one of the smallest, the Northern Ireland Office, which spent £40,000 on festivities, including £33,000 on receptions and parties alone... Philip Hammond, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, obtained the figures in a series of Parliamentary answers. He said: "It beggars belief that, with Britain in recession, Gordon Brown is happy to lavish tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money on Christmas revelries in Government departments." - Daily Telegraph

Midwifery staffing shortages put women at risk, say Tories

"NHS maternity units have hundreds of unfilled vacancies for midwives who are needed to ensure the safety of women in childbirth, figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal today.... Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, applied for information on the number of midwives and support workers at 227 maternity units in England... Lansley said: "The returns I have received from NHS trusts make a mockery of the government's promise of 1,000 more midwives by 2009. Ministers need to look at this problem urgently and take action to get plans to increase midwife numbers back on track." - Guardian

Police "secretly taped Damian Green arrest"

"The controversy over the arrest of Tory frontbencher Damian Green took a new twist today after it emerged the arresting officers were wearing sound recording equipment at the time... In a statement today, the Metropolitan police said: "A tape sound recording was made of the MP's arrest and subsequent period in police charge, without his knowledge, prior to arrival at Belgravia police station from Kent. This was authorised at superintendent level to provide an accurate record of anything that may have been said by officers or the MP over a period of nearly two and a half hours." - Guardian

Conservative treasurer admits non-disclosure of shares loan pledge - Times

Motorists to face fine and points for minor accidents - Daily Telegraph

Government adviser: Probation service is "institutionally on the side of offenders" - Times

Price of a first-class stamp to rise by 3p - Daily Mail

And finally... Has Santa got the right insurance cover?

"With all those children’s addresses, Santa is at risk of a huge claim — as well as a red face — if any of his notebooks slip out of the sleigh and into the wrong hands. One gust of wind and it’s claim time... With millions of chimneys to climb down in the UK alone, Santa is the world’s most vulnerable celebrity and his limbs and white beard would be worth far more. Some underwriters may require a diet warranty to ensure he is fit for purpose."  - The Sun

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 23rd December 2008

7pm ToryDiary: Hague threatened to quit if outside interests were banned

3.45pm Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: Remembering Mandelson's first resignation ten years ago today

2pm Graeme Archer on CentreRight: The sacred and profane love machine

1.15pm Local Government: Eric Pickles answers more of your questions

11.45am WATCH Shadow schools minister Nick Gibb on the escalating problem of violence in schools

11.15am Greg Hands on CentreRight: The troubled BBC World Service

10.30am Matthew Sinclair on CentreRight has some of his own observations on a bailout for Jaguar Land Rover

ToryDiary: Shadow cabinet to retain outside interests after all

ToryDiary: Tory lead would increase to 17% if spending restraint became the issue

Eric Pickles in Local Government: I'll have a pearl-handled revolver waiting in my drawer for the first civil servant who suggests another local government reorganisation

Nick Seaton in Local Government: Blame Professor David Hargreaves for the problems in our schools

Dr Kieron O'Hara on Platform: David Cameron on Personal Responsibility

David Cameron drops plan to ban the Shadow Cabinet having outside interests

"David Cameron has dropped plans to force his shadow cabinet to axe their lucrative outside jobs in the new year, following threats of a revolt by senior Tories. Conservative strategists remain concerned about the potential political damage the “part-time” nature of the shadow cabinet could cause. The onset of recession will add weight to Labour jibes that Mr Cameron’s “two-jobs team” is not devoting its full attention to mitigating the impact of the downturn." - FT

Voters revolt over taxes

"Voters are turning their back, for the first time in more than a decade, on Labour's promise to spend more on public services because of the prolonged economic downturn, a poll for The Independent suggests today... The survey suggests that David Cameron would win a huge majority if tax and spending became the key dividing line between the two main parties at the next general election... The poll also reveals the end of the "bounce" enjoyed by Gordon Brown during the early days of the financial crisis. The Tories are on 39 per cent (up two points on last month), Labour on 34 per cent (down two), the Liberal Democrats on 16 per cent (down one point) and other parties 11 per cent (up one)." - Independent

> Last night's ToryDiary on the new poll

Tories unveil "very worrying" level of violence in schools

"Police officers were called to deal with violence in schools more than 7,000 times in the last year, according to figures revealed by the Conservatives today. The Tories asked each police force in England how many times they were called on to school premises for an attempted or actual violent crime. "Teachers, parents and children are all too aware of the threat of violence in schools and the corrosive effect it has on creating a safe learning environment," said Michael Gove, the shadow schools secretary. "There will always be the odd occasion when teachers need to call on the police for support with a serious incident but at the moment they do not have sufficient powers to nip discipline problems in the bud." - Guardian

How the economic crisis has exposed the limits of Cameron's reforming zeal

"His decision early in his leadership to back Blair's reforms of secondary schools was the most vivid and potent example of what might have proved a spectacular realignment in British politics. The realignment did not happen. The economic crisis has unified, albeit precariously, the previously feuding Blairites and Brownites against the Tories. Instead of some Blairites keeping their fingers crossed that Cameron wins, the likes of Mandelson and co are working around the clock to make sure that he does not." - Steve Richards writing in The Independent

Bob Quick faces call to stand aside over his slur on Tories

"The future of Britain's most senior anti-terrorism officer was in doubt last night as an extraordinary row between the Tories and the Metropolitan Police intensified. Bob Quick faced awkward questions about his suitability for such a sensitive post following an angry outburst against the Conservatives. He accused them of corruption and of trying to scupper his investigation into Home Office leaks and the Tory MP Damian Green. Despite issuing an 'unreserved' apology for his comments, senior Tories questioned Mr Quick's emotional and suggested he should stand aside from the inquiry." - Daily Mail

"The irony of the latest public spat between the Tories and a senior policeman is that it followed a concerted Conservative charm offensive. When David Cameron appointed Dominic Grieve as Shadow Home Secretary in June, one of his instructions was to start mending fences broken by his impetuous predecessor." - Times

> Yesterday's ToryDiary on the Bob Quick story

Grayling:  Tax 'con' hits low paid

"Gordon Brown was accused of pulling a "con trick" yesterday after figures in the pre-budget report showed that increasing numbers of low income workers face high marginal tax rates which will discourage them from seeking higher paid jobs. The shadow work and pensions secretary, Chris Grayling, said figures "buried" in the pre-budget report showed a doubling in the number of families who would pay a marginal tax rate of more than 90%." - Guardian

Methadone prescriptions to addicts double in two years

"These figures show the continuing failure of the Labour Government to adequately tackle the problem of drug addiction, with methadone prescriptions more than doubling in the last two years alone. Labour's lack of leadership on drugs has led to an explosion in methadone prescription, which all too often does little to help achieve abstinence." - Shadow health minister Mike Penning quoted in the Daily Telegraph

Absent parents owe their children £4bn thanks to CSA reform failures, say Tories

"Absent parents owe their children almost £4billion, thanks to ministers' failure to reform the Child Support Agency, Tories say. The uncollected debt is rising steadily, figures revealed by the Conservatives reveal, despite the Government's boasts to have sorted out the organisation's problems." - Daily Mail

Tory peer cleared of road rage attack - Daily Mail

Labour peer could face jail over texting at wheel before death crash - Daily Express

Unite: Jaguar must get bailout money - Times

Branson condemns "horrific" superbug rate - Sky News

Government buildings emit more CO2 than all of Kenya - Guardian

BBC World Service in peril - Letter from Greg Hands and others in the Daily Telegraph

Cameron to visit estate where Shannon Matthews lived - Yorkshire Evening Post

And finally... Condoleezza Rice on how playing the piano helps her deal with being Secretary of State

"While you're playing Brahms or Mozart you can't think about anything else. Everything else has to clear out of your mind and you're just in that moment. In doing that you have an opportunity to really clear your mind of anything extraneous and you have an opportunity to clear the stress, because instead of worrying about what you're going to do tomorrow, or what that paper's done, or what that negotiation is going to do, you have a chance to be within yourself in a different place in your mind, and a different place in your soul." - The Independent

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 22nd December 2008

8.30pm ToryDiary: ComRes brings Christmas cheer for David Cameron

6.30pm WATCH: Rory Bremner's impersonation of David Cameron still needs a lot of work

5.45pm Ridley Grove on CentreRight: Some observations on a bailout for Jaguar Land Rover

1pm ToryDiary: Is David Cameron the best Tory leader since 1997?

10.30am Peter Franklin on CentreRight points to new evidence that shows tax and benefits do impact decisions about family life

ToryDiary: David Davis calls for Bob Quick to substantiate his allegations against Tories or be replaced for inquiry into Damian Green

Dr Nick Randall on Platform: The challenge for Conservatives in the north

Local government:

• Local people may have the chance to name local places: David Beckham Park... the J K Rowling Library... the Bruce Forsyth School...
• Should Council's have "Film Units"?

Alex Deane on CentreRight: "Many of the newest solar panels are manufactured with a gas that is 17,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide in contributing to global warming."

Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: Another proof that the recession is killing green politics

WATCH: "Zimbabwe is mine" says Mugabe

Tories demand full apology from Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick

"The Conservative Party is demanding a full apology from one of Britain's most senior policemen after he claimed they had mobilised the press against him. Met Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick claims they tried to undermine his inquiry into Home Office leaks, which led to the arrest of MP Damian Green. Mr Quick later withdrew suggestions they had behaved in a "corrupt" way." - BBC

Andrew Mitchell: Collapse of £ slashes value of British aid

"Figures from the Conservatives show that the pound's fall over the past 18 months has effectively reduced the value of British aid by up to £334 million. Since June 2007, when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, the pound has depreciated against the dollar by 22 per cent. This has had a knock-on effect of hitting the value of the pound in some of the world's poorest countries." - Telegraph

And slightly less importantly: "Brits living in continental Europe have to put up with shrinking wallets and a touch of condescension" - Rosemary Righter in The Times

Tories promise new network of rape crisis centres

"David Cameron has pledged the Tories will crack down on rape and domestic violence. The plans include opening 15 rape crisis centres, teaching children about sexual consent as well as training police on people trafficking, stalking and “honour-based” attacks." - The Sun

Boris invites Sainsbury's CEO to be Olympics adviser

Boris Johnson has approached Justin King, chief executive of J Sainsbury, to become his principal adviser on the London 2012 Games - FT

Labour's hasty retreat on high interest charges for emergency loans - BBC | Victory for Chris Grayling

Accelerated Government spending programmes will provide 100,000 jobs claims Brown - Telegraph

"Britain faces an unemployment "bloodbath" in the new year with many tens of thousands of jobs axed in the public and private sectors, according to a cabinet minister. Senior government figures are braced for a dramatic lengthening in dole queues in the first quarter of 2009, as employers delay announcing redundancies until after Christmas." - Independent

Mandelson may approve £500m grant to Jaguar Land Rover - Scotsman

The world is in a very bleak midwinter - The Independent's Bruce Anderson overviews a depressing global scene

ToryDiary: How to revive Tory membership

ToryDiary: Forget the talk of an early election

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 21st December 2008

4pm ToryDiary: Chris Grayling is an example to his colleagues | Watch him in action today

2pm ToryDiary: Any questions for you?

1.15pm Local Government: From The Sunday Telegraph's Waste Watch column

ToryDiary:

• How would you revive Tory membership?
• Britain fails the Crockery Shop Rule in Iraq

Mark Wallace on Local government: It's right that we elect the police

Alex Deane on CentreRight: Perhaps these are the final days of Zanu-PF and their evil dictator of a leader...

WATCH: Obama's scientific team are strong supporters of consensus on global warming

Chris Grayling compares Brown to a "loan shark" after Government considers 26.8% interest for emergency loans to low income households

"Thousands of people are losing their jobs every week, and it is nothing short of extraordinary that the Government's answer is to propose abandoning interest-free emergency loans, and start charging 27% a year instead. Gordon Brown and James Purnell are behaving like loan sharks." - Chris Grayling quoted by the BBC

"The maverick Tory" - Profile of David Davis in The Observer

Nick Bourne has few fans among Welsh Tories

"There are others in the Assembly group who would like to see him go. To that list you can probably add the entire 2007 intake. In fact, excluding Chief Whip William Graham and Shadow Economic Development Minister David Melding, it’s difficult to see which Tories in the Senedd would take a bullet for their leader Outside it’s even chillier. Of the three Welsh Tory MPs, David Davies (Monmouth) would gladly dance a merry jig on Bourne’s political grave and Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) would not shed a tear. Only David Jones (Clwyd West) is not actively anti-Bourne, and that’s because he basically deems the Assembly an irrelevance anyway. David Cameron is hardly going to come out fighting for him." - Matt Withers in Wales on Sunday

Brown's ex-aide Charlie Whelan suggests June 2009 would be "ideal" time for Election - Sky

"Unemployment is rising faster in Labour's most vulnerable seats and in the constituencies of nearly the entire Cabinet." - Independent on Sunday

"Recession will hit middle classes hardest" - George Bridges in yesterday's Telegraph

State will be lender of last resort for Jaguar after owners have exhausted funds warns Mandelson - Observer | BBC

Killer fact of the day

"The number of people who have been on benefits for more than five years has increased nearly 30% under Labour." - The Sunday Times

Dominic Lawson questions the wisdom of more and more regulation

"The sad truth, however, is that even the most capable and well-financed regulators will not anticipate every act of fraud, just as the best police force can’t prevent every burglary. The other eternal truth, which both Williams and Cameron really should know, is that regulation is the opposite of morality. The more regulations there are, the more it is believed that none of us can trust another to behave well. That probably does describe the situation in the financial world right now; but it is an illusion to think that trust can be restored by more regulation." - Dominic Lawson in The Sunday Times

Death always beats the UN to the world's troublespots - Mary Riddell in The Sunday Telegraph

And finally...

That Jacqui Smith is doing a fabulous job, her HUSBAND writes to newspaper - Mail on Sunday

Lord Tebbit is writing a book for children starring an "illegal immigrant" dog, Ben - Sunday Telegraph

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond is the butt of the jokes at this year's Christmas pantomimes - Scotland 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 20th December 2008

4.15pm ToryDiary: Tories lead attack on sale of Aldermaston

1pm Local Government: Unrest in Bedford

Noon Parliament: Equitable Life statement promised to Daniel Kawczynski... again

11.30am ToryDiary: "If I was asked, I'd certainly think about it."

ToryDiary: Forget the talk of an early election

Eddie Lister in Local Government: How Wandsworth Council is using micro-chipping to tackle aggressive dogs

Harry Benson on Platform: Labour’s family policy – new beginnings or same old hang-ups?

WATCH: David Cameron talk about the role of the BBC as a public service broadcaster

Increasing Tory poll lead suggests Brown "revival" has  been halted

"The Daily Telegraph/You Gov poll has the Conservatives on 42 per cent of the vote with Labour on 35 per cent and the Liberal Democrats on 14 per cent. More than half the British public are dissatisfied with the Government's record. Last month, a poll taken in the immediate aftermath of the pre-Budget Report had the Conservatives recording only a four point lead. However, as the ramifications of his multi-billion pound "fiscal stimulus" package of public spending and tax cuts has been digested, public opinion is now shifting away from Mr Brown's administration." - Daily Telegraph

> Last night's ToryDiary: Latest YouGov/Telegraph poll has Tory lead rising to 7%

Tories warned on civil service briefing leaks

"Gordon Brown yesterday finally gave his approval for David Cameron and the shadow cabinet to hold meetings with Britain's most senior civil servants to brief them on Tory plans for government. But the prime minister, who believes the Conservatives have been running moles at the heart of Whitehall, warned Cameron not to leak details of the meetings." - Guardian

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Gordon Brown will grant David Cameron access to the civil service in the New Year

Cameron promises two-year council tax freeze

"One of the first things we would do is freeze the council tax, because after your mortgage that is one of the big bills that you have to pay, and we have identified savings in the government - the stuff they spend on advertising and consultants - and use that money to freeze your council tax for two years to try and help at this time." - David Cameron quoted in the Herald

Scottish Tories demand urgent action to curb drug drivers

"Moves to speed up the introduction of roadside drug-testing were today demanded by the Scottish Conservatives. Bill Aitken, the party's justice spokesman, said the problem demanded "urgent" attention: "It has been suggested as many as one motorist in ten leaving Glasgow city centre after 2am on a Saturday or Sunday is driving under the influence of drugs." - Scotsman

New Routemaster a step closer as Boris Johnson unveils winning designs

"Heralding a “greener, lighter and less noisy” modern bus, the Mayor of London promised that the new version of the Routemaster would be trundling the streets of London by 2011... Despite some scepticism surrounding the project, Mr Johnson said he was confident that safety issues and cost could be overcome." - The Times

> Yesterday in Local Government: Boris unveils winners of competition to design a new Routemaster bus

Brown ignores CBI's call for help for British car manufacturers

"Gordon Brown ignored renewed calls from business leaders to save the car industry yesterday, just as America’s ailing automotive giants were offered a $17.4 billion (£11.6 billion) bailout. The Prime Minister insisted that the responsibility to help carmakers lay with their owners." - The Times

"We've been through these arguments before, and not so very long ago, and I thought we'd concluded that bailouts were not the answer." - Matthew Parris writing in The Times

Former MP Gyles Brandreth asked to join David Cameron's speechwriting team - Telegraph

Brown gives strongest hint yet in support of third Heathrow runway - Guardian

John Hutton compares the Taleban to the Nazis - Times interview

Barclays boss: "No recovery soon" in bank credit - BBC

Opec chief urges "confused" Brown to cut fuel taxes - Daily Mail

Aldermaston sold to Americans - Independent

The extraordinary bond between Gordon Brown and Lord Mandelson - Andrew Pierce in the Daily Telegraph

Gordon Brown caught dozing at energy summit - Sun

Chaos in South Korean parliament as politicians brawl - plus the Top 10 political punch-ups - Daily Mirror

And finally... Rory Bremner welcomes the return of some characters to the political frontline this year

"Who can doubt that the loss of Tony Blair, John Prescott, David Blunkett, Charles Kennedy, Ming Campbell and Michael Howard in little over a year, and their replacement by the likes of Nick Clegg, John Hutton and Ed Miliband is a hard blow to mimics and caricaturists the length and breadth of the country?... In such straitened times, we're pathetically grateful for a William Hague, a Ken Clarke, a John Major or a Ken Livingstone. If Boris Johnson is Christmas for comedians, Mandelson is manna from heaven." - Daily 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.

Friday 19th December 2008

10.30pm ToryDiary: Latest YouGov/Telegraph poll has Tory lead rising to 7%

4.30pm ToryDiary: Gordon Brown will grant David Cameron access to the civil service in the New Year

4pm ToryDiary: Raising the prospect of a hung Parliament

2.45pm WATCH: Gordon Brown outline his Government's aims, aspirations and plans for 2009 at this morning's press conference

12.45pm Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: Expect to see less of Gordon Brown in 2009

12.30pm Parliament: Peer of the day - Baroness Rawlings for a well-balanced speech on India

11.15am Parliament: James Gray asks about HIV/AIDS prevention in Africa and Asia

11am Local Government: Boris unveils designs for a new Routemaster bus

10.30am Parliament: Tory MPs pose good questions to the Treasury

10am Local Government: Labour county councillor in Lancashire joins Tories

ToryDiary: Lessons from the Damian Green affair for Tory strategy

Parliament: Bernard Jenkin's unanswerable question about British troops leaving Iraq

Eveleigh Moore-Dutton in Local Government: Why don't more women councillors become MPs?

Local Government: Yesterday's by-election results - including a Tory hold on the toss of a coin

Alex Deane on CentreRight: Democrats manipulating election results

WATCH: Gordon Brown announce the timetable for withdrawal of our troops from Iraq next summer

Watch your words, Cameron tells Shadow Cabinet

"Careless talk costs votes, David Cameron told his Shadow Cabinet as he tried to head off Labour claims that his party is uncaring by telling frontbenchers to stop making insensitive remarks about the recession. Such comments by senior Tories had allowed Labour to distort the Tories' economic policies, he said." - Independent

Brown rules out early inquiry into Iraq war

"Gordon Brown was last night facing a row after he ruled out an early inquiry into the Iraq war and indicated he may resist holding one when the bulk of British troops return home in the summer." - Guardian

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: David Cameron reiterates call for inquiry into the Iraq War as Brown announces British troop withdrawals

Osborne: Savers and pensioners are the forgotten victims of Labour's recession

"While the Prime Minister may have forgotten about savers, the Conservatives have not. We would suspend the annuity rule. We would accept the Ombudsman's report on Equitable Life. We would increase the threshold for inheritance tax, so that the vast majority of responsible families who save for their children will be exempt from estate duty. And we would avoid adding recklessly to the national debt and constrain the growth of government spending." - George Osborne writing in the Daily Telegraph

Taxpayers' money will be lent directly by the Government to struggling businesses

"The Conservatives have been advocating their own loan guarantee scheme. They   will seize on the Government's adoption of a version of their plan to claim   that they are offering solutions which ministers then take on board." - Daily Telegraph

Government document says married parents are best for children

"Labour has finally admitted that married parents are better for children than parents in live-in partnerships, and that they stick together more than twice as long. Broken families and missing parents are bad for children and for the country, ministers said, in a Government paper on the state of family life that marks a U-turn on previous party thinking." - Daily Mail

Gordon Brown and Archbishop of Canterbury in moral clash on credit crunch

"The Government cannot walk by on the other side when people are suffering, Gordon Brown told the Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday in an extraordinary tussle for the moral high ground. The Prime Minister delved into the New Testament to deliver a surprising riposte to Dr Rowan Williams, who had likened the Government's plans to boost spending to an “addict returning to the drug”. - The Times

iPod claim row Assembly Members pay back money

"Two assembly members who were criticised for claiming their iPods on expenses have have paid the money back to the Welsh assembly. Leader of the Welsh Conservatives Nick Bourne and his Tory colleague Alun Cairns claimed a total of £398 in office costs. They have now reimbursed the assembly and have also donated money to charity." - BBC

> Last night's ToryDiary: Welsh Tories reimburse Assembly for their iPods

Boris to unveil new Routemaster design this morning - Autocar

Tory peer accused of road rage attack - The Times 

Mandelson and Treasury at odds over bailout for Jaguar - Independent

Fears increase over the economy as borrowing reaches new high - The Times

Cash-strapped parents desert private schools for the state system - Daily Mail

Ministers forced to apologise for dire handling of Equitable Life collapse - Daily Mail

Brown battling to keep lid on Cabinet split over Royal Mail sell-off - Mirror

Taxpayers foot the bill for costly Stormont makeover - Belfast Telegraph

And finally... Government spent £500k in five years on official wine cellar

"Almost £500,000 of taxpayers' money has been spent on wine for the official Government cellar over the past five years, ministers have revealed... The wine is used for official receptions and ministerial dinners but the largesse of the cellar has been criticised by opposition politicians. Details of spending on the cellar were slipped out by the Government as MPs left for their three-week Christmas break. Gillian Merron, the Foreign Office minister said that the Government wine cellar was made up of around 35,000 "fine" wines and 2,000 "reception" or "beverage" wines." - Daily 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.

Thursday 18th December 2008

9.45pm ToryDiary: Welsh Tories reimburse Assembly for iPods

5.45pm Parliament: Tory MPs join Speaker's Conference on minority representation in Commons

4.45pm Parliament: More than a million people take jobseeker's allowance

4.15pm Latest on CentreRight:

• Jonathan Isaby presents some pictorial evidence as to why the Government might want to expand Gatwick instead of Heathrow
• Andrew Lilico saves his professional reputation from a "classic Grauniad gaffe"

2pm Parliament: Michael Howard asks the Speaker to explain himself over Damian Green case

2pm WATCH: Nick Clegg reviews his first year as LibDem leader

12.45pm Parliament: Struan Stevenson calls for an EU ban on fish discards

Noon ToryDiary: David Cameron reiterates call for inquiry into the Iraq War as Brown announces British troop withdrawals

10.45am ToryDiary: Theresa Villiers says that Conservatives would oppose Gatwick expansion

10am Robert Halfon on CentreRight: 900 days in captivity and not one Red Cross parcel

ToryDiary: Time to make the police democratically accountable?

Caroline Righton on Local government: Does the Newquay Airport fiasco mean Cornwall is the worst LibDem Council in the country?

Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: Should the Church of England be disestablished?

WATCH: William Hague and Harriet Harman spar at yesterday's PMQs

Dentists overcharging patients up to £109 million a year, claim Tories

"Not only have millions been left without a dentist, but now we learn that those who do have one are often being charged more money than they should be. The blame here lies with Labour's botched dental contract, which incentives dentists to increase the number of charges to patients and has led to such drastic cuts in the number of people being able to find an NHS dentist." - Andrew Lansley quoted in The Daily Telegraph

Demands for Iraq War inquiry as Brown says troops will be out by July

"Politicians from across the political divide will today demand an inquiry into the cost, causes and conduct of Britain's operations in Iraq as Gordon Brown returns home after announcing the final withdrawal of troops from the country by July. Opposition parties believe Mr Brown may allow the long-delayed inquiry to begin next summer but that it will not report until after the next general election, which could be as late as June 2010. Mr Brown will make a statement on Iraq to Parliament today." - Independent

Troubles for Labour as CWU considers splitting from the party...

"Labour faces losing a big union backer as the rebellion against Lord Mandelson’s plans to sell part of the Royal Mail gathers force. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) will ask its 250,000 members to approve a formal split from the party if the Business Secretary presses ahead." - Times

...a ministerial aide quits...

"Jim McGovern said he had quit as parliamentary private secretary to business minister Pat McFadden in protest at the government’s plans for the Royal Mail announced on Tuesday." - FT

...Labour MEPs defy Government on 48-hour working week...

"Twelve of the 19 Labour MEPs backed Mr Cercas' proposals to ban British workers from voluntarily choosing to work more than 48 hours a week after 2011, whatever their personal or professional circumstances... Pat McFadden, the Business Minister, discussed the defeat with employment ministers in Brussels, and insisted the UK will not accept the MEPs' decision." - Telegraph

...and Labour dissent over Heathrow expansion increases

"Forty Labour MPs have backed calls to put plans for Heathrow's third runway to a Commons vote. In total 80 MPs have signed a motion from Labour MP Martin Salter asking the government not to proceed with the controversial plans." - BBC

Peter Riddell: Labour infighting has begun - Times

Secret plans revealed for second Gatwick runway

"A new runway could be built at Gatwick rather than Heathrow or Stansted under plans secretly being developed by companies bidding to buy Britain’s second largest airport. The Times has learnt that BAA has sent bidders a confidential memorandum with a section entitled “Gatwick builds a second runway”.  - Times

Is Gordon Brown frightened of elections?

"Despite being at or near the top of his profession for two decades, the PM has no track record in fronting election campaigns. There are so few images of his public electioneering because he has done very little of it. Curiously, amid the speculation about the possibility of the PM going to the country as early as February (the 26th is the date the Tories have circled with blue pencil as a possibility), there has been virtually no consideration of a rather important question: will Prime Minister Brown be any good in a general election campaign?" - Iain Martin writing in The Daily Telegraph

Questions over the attendance of Independent Conservative MP Andrew Pelling at a Labour fundraiser

"Croydon MP Andrew Pelling feared he might be kicked out of the local Conservative group after members raised concerns about him attending a Labour fundraiser. Mr Pelling went to a fundraising dinner for Councillor Gerry Ryan at the Croydon Hilton on November 14 where former Mayor Ken Livingstone was a guest speaker." -  Croydon Guardian

NIck Clegg's first anniversary as Lib Dem leader

"He has told friends he has found the job of leader more difficult than he imagined when he took it a year ago. There is thinly disguised frustration at the jibes a leader must face and the daily struggle to be heard, particularly through a media dominated by the battle between the two major parties. He has found that being a young, telegenic, articulate performer is not enough to drive home his ambition of breaking the two-party system. Private polling for the party in the summer summarised the problem. Those voters who knew who he was regarded him as honest and sincere, but many had no opinion of him and said he had little prospect of being able to implement his ideas." - The Independent

Peers claimed £18.4 million in expenses last year

"Members of the House of Lords received more than £18million in tax-free expenses last year, the latest official figures reveal. Peers pocketed more than £4million just for turning up and another £6million to cover overnight stays in London. Many automatically claimed the maximum possible almost every time they visited Parliament – nearly £320 a day – which works out at £47,360 a year based on the 148 sitting days." - Daily Mail

Boris moots scrapping of congestion charge... - Daily Mail

...and unveils £3 billion rescue package for London - The London Paper

Tories urge Brown to respond to Equitable Life inquiry - FT

New Conservative candidate in Watford "confident" of victory - Watford Observer

Jaguar in discussions with Government for a state bailout - Daily Mail

Sir Freddie Viggers announced as new Black Rod - BBC

Agony aunts to advise Ed Balls - Express

Sarah Brown speaks of "pain" of parents' marriage break-up - Daily Telegraph

And finally...  The explosive risk of Christmas crackers

"A woman of 22 was banned from buying a box of Christmas crackers — because shop staff feared she was too young under the 1875 Explosives Act. Art student Heather Welsh was stunned when she was told the crackers were classed as explosives as they contained a tiny amount of gunpowder." - The Sun

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 17th December 2008

5.15pm Parliament: Lord de Mauley open to partial privatisation of the Royal Mail

4pm Parliament: Working Time opt-out under threat from European Parliament

3.30pm Greg Hands MP on CentreRight: Harriet Harman's "we need debt to rise" gaffe

1pm Parliament: John Bowis gives lukewarm welcome to EU climate and energy package

12.30pm ToryDiary: Tory lead at 4% in MORI poll

Noon: Live blog of PMQs

11am ToryDiary: The Woolies moment is coming... and then the 'It hasn't worked' moment

10am Parliament: Andrew Lansley criticises the government for misusing hospitals' knife wounds data

ToryDiary: David Cameron is giving too many speeches

David Cameron MP on Platform: The state must not disown asylum seekers

Parliament: Tory MPs Peter Luff and Hugo Swire call for reinstatement of the Today programme's Ed Stourton

Local government: Yes we can. St Edmundsbury freezes Council Tax.

Seats and candidates: A search for one hundred peers

Alex Deane on CentreRight: A more flexible (and harsher) drivers' licensing scheme

WATCH: Police 'to drop' investigation into Damian Green

Tories slip below 40% in ConHome poll of polls - Yesterday evening's ToryDiary

Gordon Brown is in Iraq - Daily Mail (It will be Hague V Harman at today's PMQs)

Daily Mail warns Cameron against gesture politics... on welfare reform

"In the past, this paper has warmly supported Mr Cameron's pledge to swing the balance of the tax-and-benefits system in favour of couples who stay together. But can he explain how this sits with his new insistence that single parents are 'especially' in need of our help? At best, the Tory leader is sending out mixed signals. At worst, he is indulging in the politics of meaningless gestures." - Daily Mail leader

[Tory leader denounces welfare plans as 'macho posturing exercise' - Independent]

The Financial Times warns Cameron against gesture politics... on bashing bankers

"Against a background of headlines about an alleged $50bn fraud, it is unhelpful for the Tory leader’s speech to conflate poor decisions and possible criminal behaviour. There is a clear distinction, which his speech failed to recognise consistently. Those who may have broken the law should face proceedings. But this is a world away from fuelling the populist mood that favours jail for all bankers involved in bad decision-making." - FT leader

[Nine reasons to go and hug a hedgie  - FT]

The coming economic pain

"Another sharp rise in unemployment to be announced today will be followed by a "bloodbath" of job cuts in the new year, ministers fear." - Independent

"Unemployment is likely to rise above 3 million in the current recession, the Bank of England's labour market expert, David Blanchflower, warns today." - Guardian

"How low can we go in sterling slump?" - Dan Lewis in the Yorkshire Post

Damian Green's arrest was "heavy-handed" says police

"Police are preparing to drop their inquiry into the Tory immigration spokesman Damian Green after a highly critical independent report. The head of British Transport Police, Ian Johnston, is believed to have suggested the Met's conduct in the MP's arrest was unnecessarily heavy-handed." - Daily Mail

Ally of Welsh Tory leader tried to bury story of taxpayer-funded iPod - Western Mail

Gordon Brown faces "huge" Labour revolt against plans to sell 25% of Royal Mail to a foreign competitor - FT | The Herald

SNP refuses to cut overpaid pensions - Scotsman

A key vote in the European Parliament later could see an end to Britain's opt-out of European laws limiting the working week to 48 hours - BBC | Martin Callanan MEP's view

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 16th December 2008

11pm ToryDiary: Tory support slips below 40% in ConHome Poll of Polls

5.45pm Professor Nick Bosanquet on CentreRight: From credit crunch to product crunch?

5.30pm ToryDiary: Maurice Saatchi to be new Chairman of CPS

5pm WATCH: Mandelson tells Lords about future of Royal Mail

4.45pm Local Government: LGA Chief Executive "takes leave"

4.15pm Parliament: Expenses for Lords just published

4.15pm Parliament: Giles Chichester claims that imperial measurements are safe

2.30pm ToryDiary: Not the biggest divide in the world

12.30pm WATCH: David Cameron attacks Labour's welfare plans for single parents

11.15am Parliament: George Osborne and Chris Grayling slate the Government's economic and welfare plans

10.45am Graeme Archer on CentreRight joins the debate about election timing

10.15am ToryDiary: During his monthly press conference David Cameron promises to oppose Labour's "shameful" policy on single parents with young children and that public spending will still rise under a Conservative Government 

9.30am Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: No journalist would have thrown a shoe at Saddam

ToryDiary: Labour pour cold water on early election speculation

Local government: Why is Tory Suffolk Council closing a good school and saving a bad one?

Dan Novak on Platform: It is time to end the Nanny State and let Brits be Brits

Two videos:

• Peter Hain's resignation... the nationalisation of Northern Rock... The 10p tax fiasco... Boris Johnson's victory... David Davis' resignation... Labour lose Glasgow East by-election... Peter Mandelson returns... Government borrowing hits £118bn... Damian Green arrested... A six minute review from Telegraph TV of 2008's political events.
• Tessa Jowell's gaffe: Recession will be deeper than any we have known

The Sun welcomes Cameron's Day of Reckoning speech

"Our banks and building societies were run like casinos under the noses of regulators who never raised a warning finger. Even after driving them on to the rocks, shameless chief executives walk away with fat pensions and barrow-loads of cash. Mr Cameron wants to know why NOBODY here is being held to account. It is a question Prime Minister and ex-Chancellor Gordon Brown MUST answer." - The Sun Says

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: We won't treat the richest any differently from the poorest says Cameron
> Watch highlights from the speech

Brown to target David Cameron as untrustworthy

"Gordon Brown has vowed to ruthlessly “target” David Cameron in his battle to win the next election, top party insiders revealed yesterday. The Prime Minister has decided the Tory leader is his party’s Achilles heel — and has agreed a strategy to paint him as untrustworthy." - The Sun

Peter Riddell: Tory economic policy still lacks clarity

"The Tories have not clarified their economic message. They oppose a further fiscal stimulus, including the VAT cut, because it will increase an already excessive level of borrowing. But their response to Labour charges of inaction can seem imprecise. Guaranteeing bank loans, which the Government will do to some extent anyway, may not sound enough. The lack of a clear alternative may put off wavering voters." - Peter Riddell in The Times

"The striking thing about the turnround in the polls has been not so much the improvement in government’s standing but the softness of Conservative support. Mr Cameron has little margin for error." - Philip Stephens in the FT

George Osborne seizes on comments from Tessa Jowell that Britain faces recession "deeper than any that we have known" - BBC

"Britain will be more severely affected by the global downturn because of its dependence on the City of London, the chancellor, Alistair Darling, warned yesterday." - Guardian

Nick Bourne attempted a political fightback last night amid claims of growing threats to his leadership of the Conservative Assembly group - Western Mail

Thousands face pension cut after overpayment blunder - Times | FT

Edward Leigh leads attack on £57m efficiency drive that cost £81m - Independent

Bob Holman on asylum seekers

"In Glasgow I met two young men from Zimbabwe, sleeping on public benches. Sometimes they get a sofa in a friend's house, but mainly they sleep in shop doorways. I asked them why they did not return home. They replied that "this is better than torture". Statutory bodies cannot spend on asylum seekers whose claims have been rejected, even if they are destitute. It is hard-pressed voluntary bodies who give food, clothes and sometimes shelter. But it's never enough, and many become commercially and sexually exploited." - Bob Holman writing in The Herald about the background to yesterday's CSJ report on asylum seekers

> Yesterday's ToryDiary on the CSJ's report on asylum seekers
> Access the report via this page on the CSJ website

Rachel Sylvester on Peter Mandelson's "skilful" repositioning of Labour

"Slowly but surely, Lord Mandelson is trying to steal back the mantle of “change”. Within days of rejoining the Government, he told journalists travelling with the Prime Minister to the Gulf that “people are crying out for change”. In a speech tomorrow he will elaborate on his call for a new “industrial activism” with greener jobs and more high-tech manufacturing. His aim is to reposition Labour as the party of modernity - standing shoulder to shoulder with the change-maker Barack Obama on the recession - leaving the Tories languishing as the reactionary “do-nothing party” that will let the country go to the dogs. It is an audacious shift of strategy for a party that has been in power for more than a decade. It is a masterly piece of spin. It is Labour's only hope. The problem will come when it clashes with the deep dark reality of recession." - Rachel Sylvester in The Times

Teenage pregnancies go UP (despite free contraception and sex education for five-year-olds) - 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.

Monday 15th December 2008

4.45pm Parliament: How good are school meals?

4.45pm Local Government: Trafford Council leader Cllr Susan Williams welcomes the No Vote in the Manchester Congestion Charge Referendum

4.30pm Parliament: Eric Pickles asks the most written questions in 2007-08

4.15pm Parliament: Philip Bushill-Matthews backs opt-out for EU Working Time Directive

3pm ToryDiary: Ken Clarke warns of "drastic" increases in taxation without large public spending savings

1pm Matt Sinclair on CentreRight: Cllr Ken Meeson's unjustified attack on the TaxPayers' Alliance

1pm WATCH: Cameron says banks have partly collapsed under the weight of their own irresponsibility

10.30am ToryDiary: Cameron: We won't treat the richest any differently from the poorest

10.30am Mark Field MP on CentreRight: The need to offer change AND security

ToryDiary: Ken Clarke is a deadly weapon that Cameron should not use

ToryDiary: IDS warns that failed asylum seekers are being forced into prostitution

Martin Callanan MEP on Platform: Now is not the time to be limiting our working time

Local government: The TaxPayers' Alliance is unfairly rubbishing good councils like Solihull

WATCH: Sir John Major has accused the government of "over-cooking" the economic crisis to justify the rising level of borrowing

Today's must-read: A February election? - Trevor Kavanagh in The Sun

Business leaders write to the Financial Times calling for Government to adopt Tory idea of National Loan Guarantee Scheme

"At the heart of this recession is a lack of credit. Unless we urgently get credit flowing again the recession will be deeper and longer than otherwise, and sound companies will unnecessarily go to the wall. In these extraordinary times the Conservatives are right to propose a National Loan Guarantee Scheme to underwrite lending to businesses. This policy gets to the heart of the problem and is a more important priority than a temporary tax cut. The government must introduce such a scheme by Christmas." - Business leaders to the FT

In another speech on the economy David Cameron to attack Brown's record - FT

Head of Barclays warns of 30% drop in house prices - BBC

Treasury says protecting the currency is 'not a first-order issue' as Euro readies to overtake sterling in markets for the first time - Independent

Nick Clegg calls for greening of the fiscal stimulus

"He will lay out plans to divert the Government's planned economic stimulus to environmentally friendly projects as he tries to break the dominance of Labour and the Conservatives. He will argue that Britain must invest in environmentally friendly projects to ensure the country pulls out of the looming recession on the road towards a low-carbon economy." - Independent

Gove: Number of children taught in schools of over 1,500 pupils has more than doubled under Labour

"Michael Gove, Tory shadow children's secretary, said: "Smaller schools are popular with parents because it is easier for teachers to foster an ethos of respect and learning. All the evidence is that some of the most difficult problems with behaviour are found in very large schools where the head can't possibly know all the pupils." - Telegraph

Stephen Glover: The Times cools on Cameron - Independent

Royal Mail needs cutbacks to fill £7bn pensions hole - Guardian

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Government to rule out Royal Mail privatisation

"From knife crime to immigration, you can never believe a Labour statistic" - Philip Johnston in The Telegraph

Pakistan source of most UK terror threats

"Gordon Brown yesterday revealed 75 per cent of UK terror plots are linked to Pakistan. The PM asked the Muslim country to unite with Britain to “cut off” terrorists. He demanded help in breaking the “chain of terror” linking militants’ hideaways in the country “to the streets of Britain”. He revealed how three-quarters of the most serious plots have links to al-Qaeda in Pakistan." - The Sun | BBC | Times

Quotation of the day

"We're cutting our defence spending again. Just as we did in the Thirties. We're living through a financial crisis again. Just as we did in the Thirties. But 2008, as well as being the year of a world financial crisis, was also the year a resurgent Russia attempted to snuff out democracy on its borders, the year we failed to remove Mugabe even after his people voted for change, the year we failed to prevent the Sudanese Government continuing its genocide in Darfur and the year we failed to stop the Burmese Government continuing its genocide against its own people. Osama bin Laden famously argued that when people see a strong horse and a weak horse, they will follow the strong horse. He is only too willing to test our strength again, and again. Which is why I ask, what lessons from the Thirties do we still have to learn?" - Michael Gove in The Times

And finally... Pierce Brosnan to play Tony Blair in film of 'The Ghost'

"Politics is said to be showbiz for ugly people, but a sexual thriller is to portray “Tony Blair” and his Downing Street circle in a flattering light. In the cinema adaptation of Robert Harris’s novel, The Ghost, the former prime minister – or a character suspiciously similar – will be played by Pierce Brosnan, star of four James Bond films. The director will be the Oscar-winning Roman Polanski, while “Cherie” is to be played by Olivia Williams, who starred alongside Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense." - 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.

Sunday 14th December 2008

9pm WATCH: An Iraqi journalist throw shoes at President Bush during a press conference in Baghdad

8.15pm ToryDiary: Details of proposed Conservative reforms to Network Rail

7.45pm ToryDiary: Government to rule out Royal Mail privatisation

11.30am ToryDiary: Welsh Tory leader Nick Bourne under pressure

10.15am ToryDiary: Sir John Major attacks the Government's handling of the economy

ToryDiary: Damian Green's case set to be dropped

Shadow International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell on Platform: A silver lining in the climate talks cloud?

Ridley Grove on CentreRight: David Cameron gets it right after getting it wrong

International: US Republicans see veto of auto bailout as first step toward restoring economic reputation

WATCH: Gordon Brown in surprise visit to our troops in Afghanistan yesterday

Damian Green's "bungled" leaks case faces axe...

"Scotland Yard is preparing for the criminal case against the Tory MP Damian Green to be dropped because senior officers believe it may never reach court. Sir Paul Stephenson, the acting Metropolitan police commissioner, last week discussed with senior advisers the option of abandoning the case. Two Met insiders said the Yard expected the case to be dropped because of the bungled and possibly unlawful way in which his House of Commons office was searched. Either the police would drop the case or the Crown Prosecution Service would withdraw it when Green answered bail in February." - Sunday Times

"The prospect of charges being brought against Mr Green appeared to recede last week when a report suggested that Met officers had breached guidelines and good practice, and may have been heavy handed in their approach." - Sunday Telegraph

...as Douglas Hogg demands a new inquiry into the matter

"Michael Martin, the Speaker of the House of Commons, faces a parliamentary sleaze inquiry into whether he abused the privilege of his office by letting police search an MP's office. The Conservative MP Douglas Hogg has asked for a debate on a motion to refer the police raid on the shadow immigration minister Damian Green's office to the Commons select committee on Standards and Privileges." - Sunday Telegraph

Tory lead increases to 6% in YouGov poll...

The Conservatives are on 41%, Labour 35% and the Lib Dems 15% in a new YouGov survey - Sunday Times

...while it remains static at 1% in a ComRes survey

"The ComRes survey shows that 37 per cent of those polled said they planned to vote Tory at the next election. The level of Tory support is six points down on the figure recorded in a similar survey a month ago. At the same time, Labour support has risen four points to 36 per cent, closing the Tory lead from 11 points to one. Labour support has increased particularly sharply among the bottom social group DE, where a Tory lead has been transformed into a 20-point Labour advantage in four weeks." - Independent on Sunday

> Last night's ToryDiary posts on the YouGov poll and ComRes poll

Tories pledge to remove bonuses for poor performance by Network Rail executives

"A major shake-up of the rail system planned by the Tories will put passenger representatives on the board of Network Rail and give the rail regulator the power to impose swingeing financial penalties on senior staff for underperformance. Outlining the Tory proposals, Theresa Villiers, the shadow transport secretary, said: "When Gordon Brown set up Network Rail, he created a company that is accountable to no one. When things have gone wrong, they have got off scot free. And even when they have been fined, it is the taxpayer who has been left to pick up the tab. This is just not good enough." - Sunday Telegraph

Nicholas Soames: Brown is not fit to lick my grandfather's boots

"Gordon Brown invoked the wartime spirit of Winston Churchill yesterday when he made a surprise pre-Christmas trip to the Afghanistan front line just hours after bombs killed four British troops in the area... But the comparison to Winston Churchill prompted a ferocious response from Tory MP Nicholas Soames, Churchill’s grandson. "He is not fit to lick my grandfather’s boots," said Mr Soames. "One is a party hack and the other is our greatest-ever national leader. My grandfather led a charge at the Battle of Omdurman; Brown didn’t even have the courage to call a General Election." - Mail on Sunday

Nick Herbert lambasts Jack Straw over £130milllion office refurbishment

"A Government that prioritised public safety might have used this money to prevent the early release of prisoners. Instead they've spent a staggering sum on a new palace for the Lord Chancellor. When ministers are demanding cuts in prison and courts budgets, such lavish spending on their own offices will intensify questions about the value of a new department which is clearly failing to live up to its own name." - Nick Herbert quoted in the Sunday Telegraph

Chris Grayling expresses doubts over Government's planned training budget hike

Millions of pounds is to be spent helping workers made redundant find new jobs—or get fresh skills.... “It would need £23billion to keep just 100,000 people inmeaningful work.” Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Chris Grayling also dismissed the new aid package, saying: “All of this looks like too little too late." - News of the World

Government under fire for failing to abide by its own rules on HIPs

"The former grace and favour home of David Blunkett has been advertised for sale without a Home Information Pack, in direct contravention of the Government's own proposed rules... Grant Shapps MP, the shadow housing minister, said: "This is a devastating vote of no confidence in the Government's own regulations. Actions speak louder than words, and even Gordon Brown and the Government department in charge of HIPs think they are a waste of time when selling David Blunkett's former grace and favour house. It is the height of Whitehall hypocrisy for Gordon Brown to be exploiting the HIP loopholes that Labour Ministers have pledged to abolish for everyone else." - Sunday Telegraph

Tories obtain figures showing poorer pupils dropping out after grants fiasco

"Figures obtained by the Conservatives show that up to 16,000 students feel they have no choice but to quit if their education maintenance allowance (EMA) is further delayed... "Thousands of the most deprived teenagers are missing out and may drop out of college altogether because of the chaos surrounding this year's payments," said Nick Gibb, the shadow schools minister. "We urgently need to make sure every eligible teenager receives their EMA payment before financial hardship forces them out of education." - Observer

The role of Tory MP Greg Hands in this week's German attack on Gordon Brown

"Last week, as news broke of a startling interview with Peer Steinbrück, the German finance minister, Hands put his linguistic skills to good use... On reading Steinbrück’s comments, Hands immediately called an old friend, Steffen Kampeter, a German MP and economic adviser to Angela Merkel, the chancellor, to ask what he thought. As it happened, Kampeter had just given an interview to Der Spiegel magazine giving full support to Steinbrück – and was more than happy to issue a statement in English so the British public could also hear his views on what he described as a “complete failure of Labour policy”. - Sunday Times

Michael Portillo: Ken Clarke is the deadly weapon Cameron daren't use

"There is no doubt that if he became shadow chancellor the Tories’ credibility would soar. His return to the team would wipe the smirks from Labour faces as surely as Mandelson’s reenlistment shook the Conservatives a few weeks ago. Labour could then hardly taunt the Tories as Etonian toffs, for nobody looks less Bullingdon club than Clarke." - Michael Portillo writing in the Sunday Times

Matthew d'Ancona: David Cameron can't do anything about recession but must say the right things

"One of the greatest problems facing the Tory leader is the enduring expectation that the Conservative Party should always be "doing something". It is a simple constitutional fact – and one that frustrated Mr Blair intensely – that an Opposition can do more or less nothing, beyond delivering speeches, appearing on the Today programme and holding the Government to account (thereby, as Damian Green discovered, risking arrest by Special Branch)." - Matthew d'Ancona writing in the Sunday Telegraph

Daniel Hannan: Why Eurocrats believe that No means Yes

"This is becoming like the closing scenes of Terminator. However many times you kill the European Constitution, it keeps lurching to its feet again. Blam! Fifty-five per cent of French voters say "Non". Zap! Sixty-two per cent of Dutch voters say "Nee". But the automaton keeps advancing, its flesh burned away, its charred metal skeleton stamped with the words "Lisbon Treaty". Then – pow! – 53 per cent of Irish voters vote "No". The machine is briefly swallowed by orange flames. Then, after a short lull, the red lights go on in its skull and, once again, it starts clawing its way forward." - Daniel Hannan writing in the Sunday Telegraph

Nigel Lawson: Climate change summits like Poznan and Brussels will cost us the earth

"It is quite clear that, short of a breakthrough in the technology of non-carbon energy – which may happen, but may not – the only cost-effective response to any feared global warming is to adapt to the consequences. The dirty little secret is that, so far this century, there has been no recorded global warming; as the Met Office the other day pointed out, sotto voce, 2008 has been, globally, the coldest year of all. That has not stopped the flood of claims of increasing evidence of "climate change" all around us." - Lord Lawson writing in the Sunday Telegraph

Croydon councillor Maria Gatland writes about the unveiling of her IRA past

"Look at Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, both of whom helped to run the IRA. If they could make such a profound political transition, surely I could, too? I had never killed anyone and I had never been to prison. McGuinness was helping to govern Northern Ireland and I was just a Croydon councillor." - Maria Gatland writing in the Sunday Times

Russian "honour" awarded to Thatcher was a fake - Mail on Sunday

Claims that David Cameron believe the shadow cabinet to be too well fed - Mail on Sunday

Gordon Brown in India and Pakistan for talks - BBC

Pound slips below euro on Britain's high streets - Observer

Hilary Benn breaks Cabinet ranks over Heathrow expansion - Sunday Times

Exams chief quits over SATs fiasco - Independent on Sunday

Royal Mail faces £7bn pension gap - Observer

Shaun Woodward adds to his property portfolio with a £5 million Mustique villa - Mail on Sunday

And finally... The Tories uncover the Downing Street menus the Government didn't want us to know about

"The food on sale to Gordon Brown and his advisers would be familiar to many office workers: chicken and leek pie, ricotta and spinach-stuffed pasta, Thai turkey curry, and white chocolate parfait. Remarkably, however, this menu can only be made public for the first time after government officials lost a bruising battle to try to keep it secret... It was only after using Freedom of Information legislation - normally reserved for far weightier matters - that the Conservatives managed to unlock the culinary secrets of Downing Street." - Sunday 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.

Saturday 13th December 2008

9.45pm ToryDiary: YouGov poll for the Sunday Times puts Tory lead at 6%

8.45pm ToryDiary: New ComRes poll has Tory lead remaining at 1%

7.15pm Seats and Candidates: Richard Harrington selected for Watford

1.30pm Graeme Archer on CentreRight: Jean Charles de Menezes was not the 53rd victim of the 7/7 bombers

11am Local Government: More Council byelection results

11am Dan Hamilton on CentreRight: The paranoia of (Labour MEP) Ms Mary Honeyball

10.45am Seats and Candidates: Alberto Costa highlights his opponent's use of public funds to send out political propaganda

10.30am WATCH: Gordon Brown claims triple triumph at EU summit

ToryDiary: Should MPs be preparing for such a long Christmas recess?

Nicholas J. Rogers on Platform: The case for a Conservative policy on airships

Local government: Elected Mayor? Surrey says no.

Tories demand apology and truth in knife crime figures spin row

"We are not going to get anywhere with a government giving us dodgy statistics and deliberately disobeying what its own Statistics Authority is saying. It really is an appalling way to behave. The Prime Minister has got to own up to it, he's got to apologise for it and he's got to make sure it never happens again." - David Cameron quoted on the Sky News website

"If Government ministers have sanctioned the selective and manipulative spinning of these statistics, it is reckless and irresponsible. Labour should immediately publish the full figures so that we can see the truth." - Shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve quoted in the Daily Telegraph

Cameron focuses Tory minds on policies in case election called

"Tory high command is gearing up for a possible General Election as early as March 2009. Senior party sources have revealed to The Herald that David Cameron has ordered his front-bench team to put the finishing touches to a raft of policy ideas that will begin to be rolled out early in the New Year and which will be aimed, in part, at countering the "do nothing" label Gordon Brown has pinned on the Conservatives." - The Herald

Anger at length of MPs' Christmas break

"It's totally outrageous and absolutely wrong. We still need to properly debate the economic situation. There are so many issues, so much legislation that needs scrutiny, and all we get is a longer holiday." - Tory MP Peter Luff quoted in the Daily Telegraph

Tories attack Labour failure over to widen access to NHS dentistry

"In the face of drastic reductions in patient access, an increase in tooth extractions and a worrying fall in the number of complex treatments, Labour remains complacent. Rather than conducting a meaningful evaluation of planned reforms prior to 2006, this ludicrous new contract was imposed without adequate piloting." - Shadow health minister Mike Penning quoted in the Daily Express

Manchester rejects congestion charge

"The government's plans for road pricing across the UK were in disarray yesterday after Manchester resoundingly rejected plans to introduce a congestion charge. In a referendum, the proposal was defeated by a majority of 4 to 1, meaning there is now little chance of a pay-as-you-drive scheme being introduced for at least a decade... The city's yes campaign may not have been helped by the decision of Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, to abolish the western extension of the capital's charging zone. It is expected that other cities that had been considering schemes, including Cambridge, Bristol and Leeds, will abandon their plans." - Guardian

Andrew Mitchell highlights the forgotten crisis in Chad

"When Gordon Brown took over as Prime Minister last year he stood alongside President Sarkozy and made a personal pledge that Darfur would be a priority. But since then there has been little effective action and Darfur did not even merit a mention his response to the Queen's Speech. Although the crisis in the region has faded from the headlines, it has actually internationalised, crossing over the borders of Chad and the Central African Republic." - Andrew Mitchell writing in the Daily Telegraph

Emergency rescue plan for British motor industry

"A financial rescue package for Britain’s motor industry was being put together last night, mirroring efforts in Washington to save America’s three big carmakers from collapse." - The Times

Irish referendum could re-open calls for Lisbon poll in Britain

"Ireland confirmed on Friday that it would press ahead with a second referendum on the European Union’s Lisbon reform treaty, but only after protracted late night negotiations to try to stop the plan reigniting controversy over the treaty in Britain. Ireland won a number of concessions intended to make it easier to secure a Yes vote, reversing the Irish rejection of the text in June. But British negotiators feared that any apparent rewriting of the Lisbon treaty to appease Irish voters could spark demands for renewed scrutiny of the text in the UK in the run-up to the next general election." - FT

The diplomatic row between Britain and Germany continues...

"The simmering row between the UK and Germany took another twist yesterday when Britain took the rare step of protesting to a friendly EU country over its finance minister's description of Gordon Brown's £20bn fiscal stimulus plan as "crass Keynesianism". Sir Michael Arthur, the British ambassador to Berlin, telephoned the German finance ministry to express Britain's displeasure after Peer Steinbrück intervened in a sensitive area of British politics" - Guardian

...as Angela Merkel signs up to EU economic rescue deal

"Ms Merkel, the German Chancellor, gave her support to an EU-wide recovery plan costing €200 billion (£180 billion) across the 27 member states, suggesting that she is planning to increase the level of tax cuts in Germany in the new year as the recession deepens." - The Times

Peter Oborne: David Cameron has now proved himself worthy of becoming Prime Minister

"There is a moment in every rising politician's life when he or she needs to prove themselves as more than an adroit tactician. After this week, no one will be ever again be able to say that David Cameron is just a smart public relations operator with a nice wife and a pretty face. He has started to shape the political weather and react in a serious way to the greatest challenge of our time. One day historians may come to judge that this week was the moment when the Tory leader at last proved himself worthy of occupying the great office of Prime Minister." - Daily Mail

Matthew Parris: How the "do-nothing party" can triumph

"Something must be done! is an age-old cry. From politicians the age-old response is: “Something can be! Vote for us and we'll do it.” In what circumstances, then, could “Nothing can be done about the recession!” prove a vote-winner?" - Matthew Parris in The Times

The high cost of democracy on Sark

"Residents of Sark were coming to terms with the loss of their livelihoods yesterday as islanders absorbed the cost of their journey from feudalism to democracy. The anger and uncertainty about the future may even have exceeded that of the acrimonious election campaign, after the news that the billionaire Barclay brothers were shutting down their operations and withrawing their investment." - The Times

De Menezes verdict: Did the police lie? - Independent

Frank Field: The Government's economic strategy is dangerously inadequate - Daily Telegraph

Tony Blair discusses his conversion to Catholicism for the first time - BBC

"Heartless" postmen to strike on Friday - Daily Mail

Slap on wrist for Jack Straw over late donation - Independent

"Dizzy" Lib Dem MP calls out fire brigade because her boiler was making noises - Daily Mail

Greek Prime Minister rejects calls for early election - BBC

Sinn Fein and DUP united... in support of X Factor finalist - Belfast Telegraph

And finally... Another accolade for Boris this week: Best Celebrity Hair in Britain

"He was voted as having the best celebrity hair by 1,300 people in a poll to mark Brylcreem National Men's Hair Week. Mr Johnson said: "I'm baffled but delighted by this award. Thank you very much to everyone who voted for me. I'm afraid that other people probably pay more attention to my barnet than I do and over the years I've had various suggestions for what to do with it including a Mohawk. However, the Johnson hairstyle is, I fear, impossible to imitate, as it is a product of random and competing forces of nature." - Daily 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.

Friday 12th December 2008

3.30pm ToryDiary: Choose Brown's 'We Not Only Saved The World' gaffe as your mobile ringtone

2.15pm Andrew Lilico on CentreRight: Tax cuts or spending increases as a fiscal stimulus

1.15pm Parliament: Gordon Brown breaks his promise on Equitable Life

12.45pm Parliament: Michael Gove on hilarious form

12.15pm J P Floru on CentreRight: One penny spent by the state is one penny not spent by you

Noon Parliament: Timothy Kirkhope says the Lisbon Treaty hasn't changed

11am Parliament: How much has the public sector grown under Labour?

10am Parliament: Theresa May calls for a debate on the economy

10am Local government: LibDem North Yorkshire County Councillor joins Tories

9.45am Local Government: Council byelection results

9.45am Parliament: Alan Duncan calls for a delay in VAT payments

9.45am Seats and candidates: Andy Stranack adopted to take on Harriet Harman

ToryDiary: Another bad day for the EU

International: German CDU joins attack on Gordon Brown's unfunded fiscal stimulus (as Angela Merkel becomes 'Frau Nein')

Local government:

• Mark Wallace: Councils each spend £1m pa on public relations
• Cllr Jill Tuck responds to the media firestorm over her council's use of surveillance powers to investigate paper boys

Antonia Cox on Platform: What the aircraft carrier delays tell us about Labour’s defence failures

WATCH: Ireland is asked to vote again on Lisbon but an unpopular government in Dublin will struggle to secure a 'yes'

David Cameron gives a wide-ranging interview on Woolsworths, economic strategy and his shadow team - Telegraph   

> WATCH HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE INTERVIEW

Telegraph praises Tory economic strategy

"Mr Osborne, in his response to the pre-Budget report last month, and David Cameron, in his LSE speech this week, have shown that they have now found the language to expose the enormous risk in the Government's recovery strategy. These rushed and panicky measures, built on an ever-growing mountain of debt, threaten to make the recession deeper and longer." - Telegraph leader

US car bail-out fails in Senate - BBC

Peter Luff MP warns of 'energy crunch'

"The UK now faces the very real risk of an 'energy crunch' in the coming years, as vital investments are delayed as a result of the recession. We have concluded that the Government's faith in the market to deliver new gas storage, generating capacity and other infrastructure is misplaced." - Peter Luff quoted by Sky

Cheryl Gillan MP tops 2008 private members' bill ballot - ePolitix

Gordon Brown delays consent for Civil Service handover talks - Times

"The plan by David Cameron, the Conservative leader, to prepare his party for government faced a setback on Thursday when it emerged that Gordon Brown was holding up moves by the shadow cabinet to meet top mandarins from next month. The Tories claimed that it breached a written pledge made more than two years ago by Tony Blair, when prime minister, to Mr Cameron that such meetings could begin well ahead of the last possible date for an election." - FT

Jacqui Smith warns of a mass influx of Zimbabweans to the UK amid cholera outbreak - BBC

Miliband rejects calls for EU troops to avert humanitarian catastrophe in Congo - Guardian

More comment on the Cameron family Christmas card

"In today's beauty contest of political life, it is not enough just to be clever and good. You must be a clever, good, handsome, virile, caring type of Dad-man with ostrich egg calves and the ability to look pious yet cosy on the front of a Christmas card.  So far, the latter is something that only the baby Jesus has managed, but David Cameron ain't giving up yet. In contrast, Gordon Brown is away in a manger with the fairies. In this slick and shallow world, he hasn't got a prayer." - Jan Moir in The Daily Mail

> Video: The Times' Ben Macintyre compares the family Christmas cards of David Cameron and Tony Blair

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 11th December 2008

9pm Watch: The Times' Ben Macintyre compares the family Christmas cards of David Cameron and Tony Blair

7.15pm Local Government: From Private Eye's rotten Boroughs column.

6.30pm Ruth Lea on CentreRight: Not much fraternal love in Brussels

6.15pm Parliament: Neil Parish MEP blames UK Government for EU fine

5.30pm Parliament: Electoral Commission reopens investigation into Lib Dem donation

5pm Parliament: Graham Stuart calls for better flood defences for the Rivers Humber and Hull

3pm International: Is Poland the EU's 'new Britain' (or the 'new Ireland')?

1.45pm ToryDiary: Jeremy Hunt MP takes further step towards heart of Project Cameron as party's 'online spokesman'

1.45pm Simon Chapman on CentreRight: 53% of Irish voters don't matter says Barroso

Noon Parliament: David Mundell supports Scotland's place in the Union

11.30am WATCH: L is for Labour, L is for Lice (but not to be taken too seriously!)

11am Paul Goodman MP on CentreRight: Ministers fail to answer my questions on Britain's sharia courts

10.15am WATCH: Ed Balls responds to German Finance Minister's attack on UK's fiscal stimulus

ToryDiary: What is the 2009 equivalent of Labour isn't working?

ToryDiary: Tories prepare to 'protect' youngest single mothers from Labour

"WE ARE NOT COURTIERS AND CRONIES"
Local government: Richard Ashton says Political Advisors have a worthwhile role in winning the battle of ideas

Three videos:

• Boris promises to sit in dark for an hour during March 2009's 'Earth Hour'
• Gordon Brown tells Commons that he opposes legalisation of assisted suicide
• Michael Ignatieff, new Liberal leader, urges Canada's Conservative government to copy Gordon Brown's stimulus plan

Amy Selman on Platform: Is the rise of American-modelled libertarianism in the UK a consequence of an escalating EU?

Today's must-read: "Pensioners' savings should not be taxed"

"The Daily Telegraph today launches a campaign for the savings income of pensioners to be exempted from tax. We are not talking about a small number of well-heeled people here. Nearly nine million of the country's 11 million pensioners receive some form of income from savings and investments. For more than five million of them, it provides at least half their income. And the overwhelming majority are of modest means. According to the Government's own figures, eight million pensioners receive investment income worth an average of £51 a week. This is now being reduced dramatically..."

Nein, nein, nein

"Gordon Brown's multibillion pound economic rescue plan has been dismissed as ineffective and expensive by Germany's finance minister." - Telegraph | Independent

"The assumption appears to be that fiscal stimulus will automatically revive private spending. But this belief contrasts with data that show there is considerable uncertainty about the size and nature of the stimulus required to cause spending to increase." - Leszek Balcerowicz and Andrzej Rzonca in the FT

Borrow, spend and then plug the black hole with heavy taxation of petrol - Anatole Kaletsky in The Times

Existing infrastructure projects are getting behind schedule - FT

The Bank of England economist who attacked colleagues for not cutting interest rates has quit - Sky

"It is still highly unlikely that Britain will go to the IMF, but the highly unlikely has been happening rather a lot recently." - Fraser Nelson in The Spectator

Peter Riddell: Labour depend upon early signs of economic renewal

"Mr Brown reckons that the public will respect a decisive government. But that depends on initiatives having a visible, positive impact next year." - Peter Riddell in The Times

Another 'GOAT' leaves Brown's 'big tent'

"Lord Lester, a Liberal Democrat and distinguished human rights lawyer, quit as the prime minister's adviser on constitutional reform a month ago. In a scathing attack yesterday, he revealed for the first time how he felt tethered by the government, describing its record on human rights as "dismal and deeply disappointing"." - Guardian

Jacqui Smith to create local intelligence profiles on the activities of extremists - ePolitix

The real reason of the Damian Green affair is that we need elected police chiefs

"For the better part of a decade, we’ve campaigned to place the police under elected sheriffs. Some of our chief constables, we contended, had cast off the cables that once attached them to public opinion. They were concentrating on speed cameras and hate crimes and community relations when the rest of us wanted them to concentrate on being unpleasant to scoundrels. The best way to align the police’s priorities with everyone else’s, we argued, was to place our constabularies under locally elected representatives." - Douglas Carswell MP and Dan Hannan MEP in The Spectator

'Snogging Boris'

"Even the most hard-core Left-wingers say Boris Johnson is the only Tory they’d ever consider snogging." - Daily Mail

And finally... the Cameron family Christmas card

"This year, David Cameron’s card features a photograph of his family taken after a birthday party. He has opted for black and white, lending extra authenticity, rather than the colour of the Blair tradition. The Tory leader gazes into the eyes of his son Ivan. His daughter Nancy is wearing her party dress, while the youngest, Arthur, appears to be in the grip of a major birthday-cake high. Samantha Cameron wears the rictus smile of a woman who would like the photographer to go so that she can have a drink." - Ben Macintryre in 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.

Wednesday 10th December 2008

11pm Mark Field MP on CentreRight: A right to die or a duty to die?

5pm Ben Caldecott on CentreRight: Britain’s inadequate energy policy must be transformed

4.45pm Local government: Tories back powers for local authorities to stop lap dancing clubs

2.15pm AmericaInTheWorld: Obama confirms intentions to renew America's relationship with Muslim world

1.30pm Parliament: Lord Renton asks the Government about its relations with Muslims

12.30pm: WATCH GORDON BROWN'S 'WE NOT ONLY SAVED THE WORLD' GAFFE

12.30pm Simon Chapman on CentreRight: Does it matter what causes death if it's going to happen anyway?

ToryDiary: Today's PMQs focuses on bank lending

11.30am Andrew Lilico on CentreRight: Economic contraction accelerating

11.30am Local Government: Tory Council bans swearing

ToryDiary: Do we need a 'no cuts here' list?

ToryDiary: Jeremy Clarkson meets Boris Johnson

Matthew Elliott on Platform reviews Jesse Norman's Compassionate Economics

Local government:

• Jacqui Lait MP on how the Government is making the planning system less democratic
• Conservative-run Hampshire Council have banned a lollipop man from sticking tinsel to the top of his Stop sign

Peter Cuthbertson on CentreRight catches an advance screening of the Frost/Nixon film

Two video picks:

• Alan Johnson explains why he wants shops to stop displays of cigarettes
• Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich arrested after allegedly attempting to 'sell' Barack Obama's open Senate seat

The Mail: We like the new, austere David Cameron

"For Labour, Gordon Brown pumps up state spending and borrowing to truly terrifying levels - and hopes that with a little help from higher taxes (though not until after the election, of course) the future will take care of itself. Meanwhile, a new-look Tory leader is rising to challenge him. All but gone is the old David Cameron, the touchy-feely environmentalist who believed in 'sharing the proceeds of growth' (what growth?). In his place is emerging a figure of more substance, who condemns Labour's 'economic crimes' and warns: 'Taking action to control public spending is an urgent priority - right now.'" - Daily Mail leader

"Tory leader David Cameron’s call for caution over sky-high borrowing may conflict with expert opinion that we must spend our way out of recession. But isn’t he right to worry about the national debt which is now set to DOUBLE in the next four years? Should we not be concerned that state borrowing will soar to £1 TRILLION — which must be repaid in higher taxes?" - The Sun Says

> Watch Cameron deliver a key part of his austere message

The Times: How Tory economic policy changed

"The decision to drop the pledge to match Labour’s spending plans and to oppose the widely expected “fiscal stimulus” was taken at a meeting in the Tory leader’s Commons office overlooking the Thames in the week before the Pre-Budget Report. At the meeting were George Osborne, Matthew Hancock, his chief of staff and a former Bank of England executive, Oliver Letwin, Tory policy chief, Ed Llewellyn, Mr Cameron’s chief of staff, and Andy Coulson, Mr Cameron’s director of communications." - The Times' insidery guide to changing Tory economic policy

After months of fumbling the Tories now have a sound economic policy but it won't be easy to sell - Times leader

The Tories have made progress in explaining their economic policy but still have further to travel - Independent leader

UK output slumps

"Output from factories, power stations, mines and the North Sea plummeted in October by 1.7 per cent, leaving it 5.2 per cent down from levels a year earlier. The speed at which the economy is shrinking has doubled to at least 1 per cent in the past three months, from an already severe 0.5 per cent officially reported for the third quarter, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research." - Times

Darling considers extension of taxpayer guarantees to cover business lending - FT

Daniel Finkelstein: Brown should call an election soon or face a very heavy defeat

"The probability of a clear Labour triumph at the next election may not be very good, but it is far higher now than it will be at any time in the future. This is a Government that has presided over an economic catastrophe. How long does it think the current position - in which voters value experience and authority - will last? And when it comes to an end, boy will it come to an end." - Daniel Finkelstein in The Times

James Purnell to unveil welfare reform plans - BBC

Statement from Chris Grayling: “These are Conservative ideas and they will need Conservative votes to overcome the likely Labour rebellion. The real tragedy has been the wasted decade when Labour promised change but failed to deliver it.”

Ed Miliband seeks bigger state role in energy supply - Times

UK troops will be out of Iraq by June... to be replaced by Americans - Guardian

180,000 asylum seekers set to stay in UK because of human rights laws - Telegraph

Boris Johnson loses fourth advisor

"In another blow to the Tory Mayor's credibility, [David] Ross became the fourth of Mr Johnson's personal appointees to leave their post in eight months. He resigned his seat on the board of Carphone Warehouse, the telecoms company he co-founded, on Monday after he admitted using his shareholding as collateral for personal loans – in a potential breach of City rules." - Independent

Butt out! The Telegraph rejects Labour's latest attempt to reduce smoking

"We are weary of the social authoritarianism of this Government. The smoking ban in public places was imposed with a lack of flexibility that has driven many pubs to the wall, further undermining village and community life. A ban on handguns in response to a single atrocity left law-abiding shooters unable to practise their sport, put many traders out of business and did nothing to stop the rise in crimes involving firearms. An attempt to prohibit foxhunting left the law more confused than ever. Health advice and education are acceptable; but we have had enough of legislation designed to nationalise behaviour of which Labour disapproves." - Telegraph leader

> J P Floru on CentreRight: Lads' mags and cigarettes: New Labour, new tyranny

Green Queen greets Damian Green

The Sun has photographs of The Queen meeting Damian Green and Ann Widdecombe at a Buckingham Palace reception for MPs yesterday evening.

And finally...

A self-deprecating joke from David Camerpon: "My daughter was asked what I did by the deputy editor of the Times. She said, 'My daddy reads the newspapers for a living. Sometimes when I'm watching cartoons on television, he switches over and watches himself instead'." (Re-told by Simon Hoggart in 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.