ConservativeHome

Saturday 31st January 2009

9.30pm Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: "The transformation in Iraq is remarkable"

9pm ToryDiary: Do you support free movement of labour across Europe?

12.30pm WATCH: UKIP video calls for restrictions on free movement of labour within EU

10am ToryDiary: Tory MEPs lead the way in Europe with publication of their expenses

ToryDiary: British jobs for Italian workers today but there'll be Italian jobs for British workers tomorrow 

Peter Whittle on CentreRight believes that we should support the protests at the Lindsay oil refinery: "The growing protests by groups of workers over the use of foreign labour is evidence perhaps that working people, battered into submission for years by a contemptuous governmental, cultural and media establishment, are finally turning. Enough, they are saying, is enough."

Jack Pershke on Platform: Can we mend our military?

Local government: Councils threatened with legal action over lack of rape support

International: US Republicans elect African American as their new Chairman

WATCH: David Cameron talks to Sky News about Tory thinking on a fiscal stimulus

The Financial Times warns that Tory peers face many potential conflicts of interests

"Two-thirds of David Cameron’s front-bench team in the Lords have paid outside jobs, some of which present a potential conflict of interest with the peers’ official parliamentary roles, analysis by the FT has revealed. Labour attacked the Tories’ slew of second jobs on Friday as the escalating row over peers’ outside interests increased pressure for re form of the second chamber." - FT

Cameron calls for bankers to look after the poor

"Cameron said that the City should switch its focus from developing the complex derivative products that caused the crisis to providing help for the less well off. "Our financial system boasts people so bright they've created financial instruments beyond even their own understanding. Now they need to use those talents to help the poorest build assets." - Guardian

"The Conservative leader said his government would put families before profit. He declared war on firms that undermine family life by making staff work long hours and vowed to crack down on those polluting the environment." - The Sun

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Cameron calls for "bright" bankers to use their talents to help poor
> Andrew Lilico on CentreRight: Cameron's State Socialism

Peter Mandelson warns against protectionism

"Both politicians and businesses have to be utterly clear that the solution to the contraction in global growth is not protectionism or a reversal of global economic integration. This does not have to be as simple as the erection of new tariffs. The decision by globally active banks to withdraw lending from their international operations can be just as damaging to the dynamic that drives long-term global growth." - Times 

Matthew Parris: The English patient may not get better

"What if, by the end of the winter of 2009-10, those green shoots fantastically conjured up by Baroness Vadera this month, really do begin to appear - but only in America? What if China and India, after catching a cold, bounce back quite fast as clients' economies begin to recover - but not ours? What if the economic trough into which Germany, France and other Northern European economies are also slipping, proves shallower for them, and their recovery comes faster? What if by spring next year the United States is demonstrably powering the global economy out of recession - yet we British still languish? What if our near-addictive past reliance on financial services hampers the restarting of the domestic economy here, because it is the City that has taken the most direct hit?" - Matthew Parris in The Times

More than half of all hardened and violent criminals are escaping a prison term - Telegraph

Simon Heffer wonders how a young man who is illiterate could have gained seven GCSEs - Telegraph

Darling and Smith face axe after Labour does badly in European Elections - Daily Mail

Tony Blair calls for Hamas to become part of Middle East Peace Process - Times

Peter Oborne: We must not "escalate" in Afghanistan - Daily Mail

And finally... David Cameron is interviewed by James Harrington, aged 12 - 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.

Friday 30th January 2009

8pm Andrew Lilico on CentreRight questions 'Cameron's State Capitalism'

4.30pm Local Government: Council byelection results

4.15pm ToryDiary: Cameron calls for "bright" bankers to use their talents to help poor

2.45pm Local Government: Gordon Brown promises huge council house building programme

2.45pm WATCH:

• George Bush Snr makes naughty joke (And Bill Clinton, speaking afterwards, says he wouldn't have got away with it!)
• Gordon Brown's phone rings during press conference

1.45pm Local Government: Let councillors vote by mobile phone from the pub says Blears.

1.30pm ToryDiary: William Hague launches 'Commission on Transport in the north'

11.15am Parliament: Paul Goodman worried by anti-Semitic attacks

10.30am Parliament: David Lammy is dreadful at questions to Department for Innovations, Universities and Skills

10am Seats and candidates: John Bercow calls for all-women and all-BME shortlists

ToryDiary:

• Tories consider '21st Century Domesday Book' that would define Labour for a generation
• In defence of Steve Hilton

Lord Strathclyde on Platform: The House of Lords is clean and decent but must act against Labour sleaze

Seats and candidates: Search for 100 Peers: Lurline Champagnie

Local Government: Cllr John Peach on Reforming Children's Services in Peterborough

International: Benjamin Netanyahu warns against a nuclear Iran sheltering terrorist regimes

Nicholas Boys Smith on CentreRight: How overregulation could threaten economic recovery

Tories 11% ahead in YouGov poll

"In the autumn, the Prime Minister enjoyed a seven percentage point lead over David Cameron when the public were asked which party was most trusted to restore the country's economic fortunes. However, the position has reversed and the Conservatives now have a seven-point lead over Labour on economic competence." - Telegraph | Yesterday's ToryDiary

SNP confident of passing budget on second attempt - BBC

Liberal Democrats' change of heart makes the difference - Scotsman

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Were the Scottish Tories right to back the SNP budget?

Tories plan annual mental health checks for returning soldiers

"Military veterans would be offered annual mental health checks under Tory plans to combat soaring numbers suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and drink problems... Liam Fox, the shadow Defence Secretary, accused the Government of giving a low priority to former service personnel. He said: "You simply can't trust to luck the psychological well-being of people who have been willing to risk life and limb for our security. We must not allow these people to slip through the net."" - The Independent

Damian Green reveals high cost of detaining foreign prisoners before deportation - Telegraph

"Suddenly every party is in favour of high speed rail" - Steve Richards in The Independent

Labour plan broadband for every home by 2012 - BBC

> Jeremy Hunt reacts on CentreRight: "David Cameron has pledged that a future Conservative government will aim to get superfast broadband to the majority of the population within 5 years. After delivering the satellite and cable revolution last time, it looks like it will once again be a Conservative government that takes Britain's digital industries forward."

Brown orders council house building programme

"The biggest council house building programme for decades was ordered by Gordon Brown yesterday as he urged town halls to rescue the construction industry and help to kick-start the economy." - Times

Flagship Labour welfare programme 'failing'

"A flagship £1bn government programme to find jobs for people on sickness benefit is running 73 per cent short of its target, an unexpectedly bad outcome that will test political consensus about expanding private welfare provision." - FT

Iceland to be fast-tracked into the EU

"Iceland will be put on a fast track to joining the European Union to rescue the small Arctic state from financial collapse amid rising expectations that it will apply for membership within months, senior policy-makers in Brussels and Reykjavik have told The Guardian."

The Telegraph: The euro will struggle to survive the recession

"The one-size-fits-all inflexibility of the eurozone deprives single currency members of the vital weapons of devaluation and monetary policy with which they can at least try to ameliorate the impact of the global downturn." - Telegraph

Barack Obama slams "outrageous" Wall Street bonuses - The Sun

"Obama cares about Europe. Britain he can take or leave." - Martin Kettle 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.

Thursday 29th January 2009

11.15pm ToryDiary: New YouGov poll puts Tory lead at 11%

11pm Latest on CentreRight:

• Andrew Lilico: Why would I have any interest in the Chief Medical Officer's opinions on good parenting?
• Martin Parsons: Aid agencies need to work harder at avoiding political bias

8.15pm ToryDiary: Were the Scottish Tories right to back the SNP budget?

6pm Jeremy Hunt on CentreRight: Digital disappointment

5.45pm Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: How can an MP of 12 years' standing accidentally vote the wrong way?

4.30pm Parliament: MP of the day - John Hayes for standing up to anti-Semitism

4.15pm Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: The Muslim Council of Britain finds a new excuse to boycott Holocaust Memorial Day

2.30pm Latest from CentreRight:

• Andrew Lilico is stupefied about something he heard on this morning's Today programme
• Charlie Elphicke responds to Matthew Sinclair's earlier post on aviation

12.30pm Parliament: Theresa Villiers opposes third runway at Heathrow

12noon Parliament: Cheryl Gillan wants more done about job losses in Wales

11.30am Matt Sinclair on CentreRight: What is the Conservative position on flights?

11.15am ToryDiary: Further rebuke for Derek Conway

11am ToryDiary: The journalist behind the recent Ken Clarke stories explains himself

ToryDiary: Is it time to reform the House of Lords?

ToryDiary: Send us your questions for Theresa May, the new shadow work and pensions secretary

Dr Mark Thompson on Platform: We need a new approach for IT procurement in government

Seats and Candidates Search for 100 Peers: Simon Mort

Local Government:

• Tim Passmore: The Queen has not been relegated in Mid-Suffolk
• What response should be given to Council motions on Gaza?
• Tory councillor refuses to remove Page 3 topless calendar

International:

• James McGrath becomes Deputy Federal Director of Australia's Liberals
• Not one Republican votes for Obama's "porkulus" bill
• Stephen Harper survives as Canadian Prime Minister after introducing large stimulus plan

WATCH: President Obama on his Economic Recovery Plan

Tories taunt Gordon Brown over "the true cost of Labour failures" as IMF predicts economy will shrink by 2.8% this year

"It has been a constant refrain, an accompaniment to every storm warning of economic trouble ahead: “Britain is better placed to ride out the global downturn than the rest of the world.” But Gordon Brown’s claim was blown away yesterday when the International Monetary Fund marked Britain down to suffer a worse recession than any other developed nation. “This is the day when the British people were confronted with the true cost of Gordon Brown’s failures,” George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, said." - The Times

"Alistair Darling must use the Budget in April to rescind the two main measures of November's ill-judged pre-Budget report – the temporary cut in VAT and the planned 45 per cent top tax rate. The first has been ineffectual, the second will be harmful. The IFS correctly observes that we can only balance our books by raising taxes or cutting spending. Raising taxes in a recession is not an option. The Government must emulate every business and family in the land and reduce its outgoings. With a planned spend next year of £640 billion, it cannot credibly claim there is no scope for savings." - Telegraph leader

Tories backed by 28 Labour rebels in last night's vote on Heathrow expansion...

"The government last night narrowly ­survived the first parliamentary test of its decision to expand Heathrow airport... The Conservative motion was a word-for-word copy of the early day motion tabled by Labour MP John Grogan before Christmas – a tactic they believed would recruit maximum numbers of Labour MPs to their ranks – but in the event 28 went through the division lobbies with the opposition, with the government's majority slashed to 19." - Guardian

...as Villiers clear the way for more flights from small airports

"The Conservatives said yesterday that they were willing to expand airport capacity in the South East despite the party’s environmental opposition to a third runway at Heathrow. Luton, City Airport or Southend could be allowed increased numbers of flights or an extra runway under the Tories, even though they argued against Heathrow’s expansion on the grounds that it could jeopardise the target of cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. Theresa Villiers, the Shadow Transport Secretary, did, however, repeat her opposition to expansion at Gatwick and Stansted and to a new airport in the Thames Estuary." - The Times

Theresa Villiers and Greg Clark taking part in live webcast on climate change, the environment and Heathrow at 11.30am this morning - conservatives.com

Scottish Tories back SNP budget - but it is defeated by the Presiding Officer's casting vote

"The SNP had the support of the Scottish Conservatives for their £33bn budget, and thought they had bought off the two Scottish Green MSPs with a last-minute promise of a £33m programme of home insulation. But it wasn't enough, and the vote was tied 64 to 64. The presiding officer voted with the status quo – which in this case he interpreted as meaning he should vote against the bill" - The Guardian

"Labour's actions today are grossly irresponsible and quite frankly pathetic. It is political posturing at its very worst, which could cost Scotland £1.8bn and will only increase uncertainty during Labour's recession. The Scottish Conservatives fought hard to secure nearly a quarter of a billion pounds worth of concessions from the SNP Government to help in these difficult economic times. Labour secured nothing. Gordon Brown has created a recession, Iain Gray has just made it worse. When will Labour learn to put the national interest before narrow party interest. Labour is all at sea with minority government, it has no compass and no hand at the helm." - Scottish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie quoted in The Herald

"The absolute mayhem, bordering on farce, at the Scottish Parliament yesterday as the SNP's budget was kicked into touch by two of its members, for whom nobody had ever cast a vote, is the price we were always likely to pay one day for our new devolved democracy." - Alan Cochrane in the Daily Telegraph

Tories to encourage school trips to farms

"Pupils would be able to go on class trips to the farmyard and "adopt an animal" to teach them where their food comes from under Tory plans. Layers of "cotton wool" which prevent schoolchildren from being taken on trips would be shredded so that teachers are not afraid to organise trips, according to Shadow Farming Minister Jim Paice... Mr Paice called for action to teach youngsters about their food to "explode some myths" - Yorkshire Post

Edward Leigh: Too many cannot read and write

"An "unacceptably" high number of people in England cannot read, write and count properly, MPs have warned. The Public Accounts Committee said in 2007 51,000 pupils left school without a GCSE of at least D-G in maths and 39,000 left without this in English... CPA chairman Edward Leigh said: "This is a dismal picture, both for the many who face diminished prospects in what they can achieve in life and for the competitiveness of our country in the world economy." - BBC

Tory peer accused of misusing Lords to boost her own firm

"A Conservative peer who owns a political networking consultancy was last night facing allegations that she had misused parliamentary facilities to promote her own business. Lady Cumberlege, a former minister in John Major's government, yesterday admitted failing to declare "punctiliously" her financial interests during House of Lords debates." - Guardian

Inaccurate Government statistics cause fresh embarrassment

"The Government faced fresh embarrassment over its ability to handle statistics yesterday after it was forced to delay publication of two sets of data because of inconsistencies. The Ministry of Justice was due to publish quarterly sentencing figures today and quarterly probation statistics tomorrow but postponed both after officials discovered inaccuracies... Shadow Justice Secretary, Dominic Grieve said: "This is further evidence of disarray in the publication of regular statistics on criminal justice - it comes as yet another blow, both to the government's credibility and public confidence." - Daily Telegraph

Iain Martin: David Cameron can be a great PM - or a footnote

"What should be dawning on Cameron is that there will be no possibility of a mediocre Blairite ramble through a decade in power and on into a world of overpaid public speaking. He can do what needs doing and become a great prime minister. Or he can duck tough choices and be chased from office – just as Gordon Brown is going to be." - Iain Martin in the Daily Telegraph

The Lords "cash for amendments" scandal is a parable for the end of New Labour

"There is a powerful allegorical quality to the Lords scandal. The chamber so brutally attacked by New Labour as the embodiment of all that was wrong with Britain in 1997 may yet come to embody all that is devious and corrupt about New Labour in its death throes. Yet there is a crucial difference. In 1997, sleaze was brilliantly used by Labour to divert attention from a near-miraculous economic recovery. Now, it simply the latest squalid addition to a compendium of abject failure." - Fraser Nelson in The Spectator

"Rise of the Red Tories"

"The crisis is an opportunity to sweep away the rotten postwar settlement of British politics. Labour is moribund. But David Cameron has a chance to develop a "red Tory" communitarianism, socially conservative but anti-big business" - Philip Blond in Prospect magazine

> Tim Montgomerie: Introducing "Red Toryism"

US House passes Obama's fiscal stimulus package without Republican support - BBC

Standards Committee to publish new report on Derek Conway today - BBC

Britain opens door to 36,000 Gurkha veterans after policy U-turn - Times

Half a million Poles "will stay in Britain despite recession" - Telegraph

Chief medical officer to issue strict guidance on children's alcohol consumption - BBC

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

Wednesday 28th January 2009

5pm Latest from Parliament:

• Geoff Hoon ludicrously blames Theresa Villiers for Railtrack
• Maria Miller calls on the Government to reduce gender pay gap
• Ken Clarke tears into Government on automative loan package

4pm ToryDiary: Nick Herbert explains how rural areas are feeling the effects of the recession

3pm WATCH: Gordon Brown and David Cameron's exchanges at today's PMQs

2.30pm Latest on CentreRight:

• Suli Shah: The BBC was wrong on the DEC Gaza Appeal
• Lawrence Kay of Policy Exchange: A bail-out with no guarantee of success
• Jill Kirby: Gordon's hubris to nemesis

12.45pm Local Government:Does The Queen have her portrait up in your Town Hall's foyer?

12.30pm ToryDiary: The economy dominates another session of PMQs

ToryDiary: Talk of a Tory landslide is premature and counterproductive

Theresa Villiers on Platform: The Government have failed to make the case for a third runway at Heathrow

Seats and Candidates Search for 100 Peers: Stuart Wheeler

Local Government:

• Municipal Lingo No.3 - Investment
• Council boss "kept depression secret"

CentreRight:

• Julia Manning: Chaos theory denies grandparents adoption rights
• Louise Bagshawe: The charming Cherie Blair

WATCH: Ken Clarke makes his Commons debut as Shadow Business Secretary responding to yesterday's announcement on government support for the car industry 

David Cameron pledges to strip corrupt lords of their peerages

"A Conservative government would change the law so that members of the House of Lords could be stripped of their peerages for breaking new anti-sleaze rules, David Cameron told The Independent yesterday. The move came as it emerged that the four Labour peers at the centre of the "cash for amendments" allegations are expected to lose the party whip." - The Independent

The full interview with David Cameron - The Independent

> Last night's ToryDiary on David Cameron's pledge

...And Labour also wants to expel corrupt peers

"We should be able to take a range of actions as necessary, including being able to suspend peers immediately while an investigation is being carried out, and longer periods of suspension if cases are proven, and the option not of removing peerages - not in the gift of the House - but of even longer and perhaps permanent exclusions in extreme cases. If the current allegations are proven, we may need as well to consider emergency sanctions if warranted." - Lords leader Baroness Royall writing in The Guardian

Earl of Onslow: We need old lags in the Lords

"I'm a Conservative. I like anything that looks like an ox cart but pulls like a Ferrari, and I think the House of Lords is a perfect example. It is an institution with immense virtues. The majority of people there are there on their honour, and they behave honourably. That is why everybody is so upset about the allegations. It really hurts." - The Earl of Onslow writing in The Independent

Liam Fox: The way we treat our armed forces is a national disgrace

"A decade of Labour's neglect has left our Army overstretched, undermanned, and in possession of worn-out equipment due to the ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The unfunded liability associated with this will total billions of pounds. This is not an assumption, but a fact." - Liam Fox writing in The Independent

Ken Clarke gets good reviews on his return to the Despatch Box

"Mr Clarke does not so much stand at the despatch box as dance a country reel with the thing. He dashes up to it, holds it momentarily, turns to the left, the right, steps away and bows... His style, devoid of soundbites and refreshingly under-rehearsed, is quite unlike anything else seen at present in the Commons. To find him here in the post-Blairite Commons is like seeing on a modern motorway a 1960s Bristol, all crinkled leather seats, mahogany dashboard and spoked steering wheel." - Quentin Letts in the Daily Mail

"Ken Clarke was back on the frontbench. The bull was out of the barn and back in the china shop. He was roaring, stamping, charging and plopping down steaming lumps of ordure wherever he felt like it. I haven't seen the Tories so happy since Gordon Brown claimed to have saved the world." - Simon Hoggart in The Guardian

> Yesterday's Tory Diary on Ken Clarke's return

Philip Hammond uncovers civil servants' £4.5 billion pension boost

"Civil servants have clocked up £4.5 billion of extra pension entitlements in the past year, the Conservatives have revealed. The figures, buried in obscure Government accounting documents, show that pension pots for civil servants are nearly 30 per cent higher than they were 12 months ago. Philip Hammond, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, who obtained the figures, said: "These huge unfunded public sector pension costs are storing up yet more problems for the future at a time when Britain is already facing a £1 trillion debt mountain." - Daily Telegraph

Sir Nicholas Winterton speaks out against Tory-UUP alliance

"It is only a rejuvenated and purposeful Conservative and Unionist Party, in alliance with the Democratic Unionist Party here in Ulster, which is in a position to highlight the threat to our nation posed by the Government's reckless and ill-thought-out constitutional vandalism... I am concerned that the arrangement now being entered into between the Conservatives and Unionist Party and the Official Unionists (UUP) in Northern Ireland will divide the vote in marginal constituencies and serve only to let in Sinn Fein." - Sir Nicholas Winterton quoted in the News Letter

PM told to curb "blizzard" of initiatives

"Gordon Brown has been warned by Labour ministers and MPs to stop churning out initiatives to tackle the recession, amid fears that voters are turning against the prime minister’s handling of the downturn. Ministers and Labour MPs have warned Downing Street that people are becoming confused by an apparently endless stream of measures to fight the recession and have lost track of how much they cost and whether they are working." - FT

Tory council replaces portrait of the Queen in council chamber with modern art - Daily Mail

The tide is turning for an energy revolution - Tony Lodge writing in the Yorkshire Post

Government aide resigns over Heathrow policy - Guardian

Minister: Labour foreign policy has aided radicalisation among Muslims - Daily Telegraph

Sir Paul Stephenson to be named new Met Police chief - BBC

Ministers consider revival of local authority mortgages - Guardian

SNP's budget hangs in the balance as opponents refuse to strike deal - Scotsman

David Blunkett to remarry - Times

Iceland set to be led by world's first lesbian Prime Minister - Pink News

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

Tuesday 27th January 2009

10pm ToryDiary: David Cameron pledges to introduce sanctions for peers who break the rules

9.45pm Andrew Lilico on CentreRight is still considering the BBC's decision not to show the Gaza appeal

6.30pm Parliament: Theresa May promises to hound James Purnell on welfare reform

5.30pm ToryDiary: William Hague repeats call for Iraq Inquiry but should the Cabinet minutes be published?

4pm ToryDiary: Ken Clarke responds to car industry statement at the Despatch Box

2.45pm ToryDiary: Ken Clarke is wrong to oppose Tory policy on marriage

2.15pm ToryDiary: A Tory Government would consider capping Government IT contracts at £100 million

2pm Latest from Parliament:

• Michael Gove and Damian Green question school standards
• Government can't say how much "Big Brother database will cost
• Baroness Byford tackles Government on hill farm payment fiasco

12.45pm Local government: Liberal Democrats exploit Gaza in local election campaign and No ball games?

10.15am Charlie Elphicke on CentreRight: Should the CSA be scrapped?

10am Graeme Archer on CentreRight: How to be a Happy Homosexual

9.45am Louise Bagshawe on CentreRight: Carla Jones, Facebook "Friends" and politicians

9.30am WATCH: President Obama gives first television interview to Al-Arabiya TV

9.15am Dale Bassett on CentreRight: Just tinkering with welfare is a huge missed opportunity

ToryDiary: "Multiracial Britain is a success but immigration is too high"

Mark Harper MP on Platform: As the recession hits, we must not neglect the forgotten unemployed

Seats and Candidates Search for 100 Peers: Sir Graham Bright

Local Government: Councillor listens to iPod during prayers

WATCH: David Cameron discusses the recession with Jeff Randall on Sky News last night

Tories regain lost ground as voters lose faith in Labour's handling of the economy

"Voters think that Gordon Brown's high-profile battle to turn around the economy is doomed, according to a new Guardian/ICM poll. Only 31% think the prime minister's strategy will make things better. Most, 64%, think it will either achieve nothing or even make the situation worse... The deepening crisis has left the [Labour] party facing heavy defeat. Overall Conservative support is up six points since last month's Guardian/ICM survey. At 44% it is only one point below its 25-year ICM high. Labour is on 32% and the Liberal Democrats are on 16%." - The Guardian

> Last night's ToryDiary on the poll

Tories brace for dire inheritance

"A future Conservative government would be defined by how it deals with the worst economic inheritance “in the history of Britain”, George Osborne said on Monday, as he set out his party’s plans for a cull of inefficient mandarins. The shadow chancellor issued an implicit threat to senior civil servants who fail to deliver the departmental savings stipulated by Tory ministers. A Conservative government would write a new clause requiring “fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers” into top officials’ employment contracts." - FT

"The Conservatives are preparing for the worst: rightly so, since any new government next year will inherit dire public finances. Their new approach is going in the right direction, but it is still only a partial answer... David Cameron and George Osborne have recognised the severity of the fiscal challenge by announcing that the Tories will not match Labour’s new plans for next year and beyond. Labour’s response has been to drone on about cuts, but this no longer works given how bad the situation now is. The difference between the slower long-term growth in spending proposed by Labour and the unspecified lower rate implied by the Tories will be no where near enough on its own to bridge the gap." - Peter Riddell in The Times

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Independent waste watchdog will pounce on suspected inefficiencies under a Tory government

David Cameron calls for criminal actions against bankers

"David Cameron last night expressed disbelief that financial watchdogs were not pursuing criminal investigations against banks and bankers who have caused the financial crisis. He compared the vigorous nature of inquiries in America to the lack of action among the City authorities. It is the furthest the Conservative leader has gone in demanding closer examination of any potential illegal behaviour by bankers." - Daily Telegraph

Peers face suspension in House of Lords ‘laws for sale’ inquiry

"The House of Lords embarked on a hasty damage-limitation exercise yesterday by preparing new powers to suspend any member found to have broken the rules in the “cash for peers” crisis. Four Labour peers who allegedly offered to change the law in return for fees of up to £120,000 could be barred from the chamber and forced to forfeit their £350 daily allowance if they are suspended. Two of them, Lord Taylor of Blackburn and Lord Snape, stood up after an emergency statement in the Lords and offered pre-emptive apologies in case they are found to have done anything wrong." - The Times

"Peers are being paid to advise more than 200 companies, public bodies and pressure groups, research by The Independent has discovered. The disclosure of the massive number of consultancy arrangements will intensify pressure for tighter controls on the House of Lords in the wake of the "cash-for-amendments" storm." - The Independent

The dying days of Labour are upon us

"The sleaze scandals, as they did during the dying days of the last Conservative government, will now emerge thick and fast, as disillusioned officials risk their liberty by leaking documents that should have been freely available, and journalists, scenting blood, close in. Labour will be driven from office with the same howls of execration that saw off the Tories in 1997." - George Monbiot writing in The Guardian

Tories voice opposition to further information-sharing in new Justice Bill...

"Dominic Grieve, the shadow Justice Secretary, said the plans would "drive a coach and horses through the traditional relationship between the state and individuals" to serve a "nebulous case of public good". He warned that the Bill would allow ministers to share medical records with organisations that had no link to people's health. Mr Grieve said that clauses "tucked away" at the back of the Bill would give ministers "carte blanche to expand data sharing between officials across Whitehall, with local authorities and even with companies in the private sector". He added: "This should be done with great caution and should not be open sesame to a vast increase in government power." - The Independent

...and new national children's database

"Parents, security experts and opposition parties have voiced alarm that 400,000 people are to be given access to a new national database containing details of all 11 million children living in England. ContactPoint, which has so far cost £224 million, will hold the name, address, date of birth, parents' details, GP and name of school of all English children aged under 18... Michael Gove, the Shadow Education Secretary, said that with information unlikely to remain fully secure, children could be left in more danger. “ContactPoint will increase the risk of abuse to vulnerable children. The Government has shown it cannot be trusted to protect the information in large databases,” he said." - The Times

Edward Leigh warns of fresh NHS IT delays

"The introduction of computerised NHS patient records in England could be hit by more delays, MPs warn. The Committee on Public Accounts has thrown fresh doubt on a 2015 deadline for the ambitious project. Its chairman [Edward Leigh] said that even in trusts already using parts of the system, staff were unimpressed and the cost to the NHS was uncertain: "Essential systems are late, or, when deployed, do not meet expectations of clinical staff, estimates of local costs are still very unreliable, and, despite action to secure their commitment, many NHS staff remain unenthusiastic." - BBC

Cameron in "UFO files" promise

"David Cameron has vowed to lift the lid on what the Government knows about UFOs if he becomes PM. The Tory leader gave a personal guarantee that he would be “entirely open and frank” and publish any secret files that may exist on close encounters." - The Sun

> WATCH: David Cameron making that pledge on UFOs

Sir Ian Blair and Boris Johnson: animosity revealed in letters over De Menezes

"The full scale of the animosity between Sir Ian Blair, the former head of Scotland Yard, and Boris Johnson, the London mayor who ousted him from office, has been disclosed in an exchange of private letters. Mr Johnson's suggestion in a radio interview that police who shot dead innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes were "trigger happy" led to a stinging rebuke from Sir Ian, who demanded that he retracted the "offensive" and "outrageous" comments... At the time of his resignation, Sir Ian said he could not continue in the role having lost the mayor's confidence. The letters show that their relationship may never have recovered from a heated exchange in November 2007, while Mr Johnson was a London mayoral candidate." - Daily Telegraph

Decision over new Met Police chief "already made" - Independent

Absent parents may lose passports - BBC

 Watchdog condemns Home Office over sponsorship of ITV policing show - Daily Mail

Frank Field: The young jobless should work for their benefit - Guardian

Iceland's Conservative PM announces his cabinet's resignation - BBC

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

Monday 26th January 2009

9.45pm ToryDiary: Gay rights groups attack Tories for protecting right to make "temperate criticism" of homosexuality

7.15pm ToryDiary: Tories 12% ahead in new ICM survey

2.15pm ToryDiary: Independent waste watchdog will pounce on suspected inefficiencies under a Tory government

2.15pm Andrew Lilico on CentreRight: It would be risky for the BBC to broadcast the Gaza appeal

1pm CentreRight updates:

• Tom Greeves rejects Lyndon Johnson's maxim and urges the sack for political enemies
• Graeme Archer: "Failure to doubt is one of the hallmarks of our failing government and one of its least appealing attribute"
• Charlie Elphicke: Beware triumphalism and hubris

Noon Parliament: Tobias Ellwood criticises DCMS annual report

10.15am Parliament: Geoffrey Van Orden speaks out against Mugabe

ToryDiary:

• The most dangerous thing in Britain is the nothing-to-lose Labour Party
• George Osborne and Francis Maude promise rewards to money-saving civil servants

Seats and candidates: Roger Evans answers your questions about getting selected

Cllr Lynda Needham on Local government: Recycling everything in North Hertfordshire

Tony Sharp on Platform: Reject compensation for families of terrorists for the sake of society

Suli Shah on CentreRight: Bust banks are better than nationalised banks

WATCH: Advice from ConservativeHome.com to Labour's John Prescott

Tories 15% ahead in new poll - The Independent | Yesterday evening's ToryDiary

"Unlike a soufflé, Gordon Brown managed to rise twice. A third time is most surely beyond him." - Bruce Anderson in The Independent

A leader in The Independent: "There is a risk of complacency when their programme remains sketchy and half-baked. As yet, there is little sense that they have any real answers to the downturn, and little evidence that they have the tools in their locker to repair the devastated public finances that confront whoever wins the election. For now, however, they are the favourites to be left to clear up after the current economic maelstrom."

Trevor Kavanagh: Labour had its chances but now deserves to be ditched

"When this Government is ditched, as it so richly deserves, it won’t be able to complain it never had a fair chance. After 12 long years, Labour can’t say they had too little time to make back-door Socialism work. Having used landslide majorities to bully their experiment in social engineering into every nook and cranny of our daily lives, they cannot pretend they had one arm tied behind their back. After inheriting a robust economy, they cannot claim they had no money. They could have used that time, power and cash to carry out all their 1997 election vows." - The Sun

Matthew Taylor: Labour should announce a unilateral political ceasefire

"How about declaring a unilateral political ceasefire? Brown's implicit message could be 'we are reconciled to the possibility of losing the next election, what matters now is not the political skirmish but the battle against the economic crisis'. Not only is this a more seemly and inspiring posture for the times – and one which might tap into the Dunkirk spirit the nation needs right now – it encourages an electorate, for whom politics is far from a priority, to suspend judgement until next year. The strategy would only work if it was authentic. Ministers would need to put point scoring to one side. And even if it failed, at least this would be an honourable path to defeat." - The Independent

Lords Committee urges Government to stop tipping off media on big stories - BBC

The number of Government press officers has jumped by three-quarters under Labour - Telegraph

Newspapers claim tension between Clarke and Cameron lines on the economy

"Ken Clarke, shadow business secretary, contradicted his party leader on Sunday by stating that he did not think there was a “realistic possibility” of Britain being forced to go to the International Monetary Fund to prop up its economy." - FT

"Ken Clarke yesterday mocked claims that Britain will go bust – contradicting party leader David Cameron in a new gaffe." - The Sun

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Ken Clarke cannot see Britain joining Euro in his lifetime

Missed chance to help cities beat the recession - Jesse Norman in the FT

Labour's cash-for-peers scandal

"If true - and sadly the evidence is very compelling indeed - Labour is guilty of public corruption. This episode reinforces the already widespread feeling that a diseased culture of greed has become endemic in the Labour Party... Brown must stand by to strip them of the party whip if there turns out to be an iota of truth in these allegations - and to call in the police if necessary. Otherwise he will be personally contaminated by this disgusting affair." - Peter Oborne in the Daily Mail

"There were calls for the law to be changed to allow unelected peers to be removed from the House of Lords if they are found guilty of breaking anti-corruption rules." - Telegraph

Council staff get access to massive database on every child in England - Daily Mail

The charities raising money for Gaza won't audit their spending properly - Andrew Roberts in The Times

And finally... Gordon Brown hates being portrayed as fat

"Gordon Brown hates being portrayed as fat in cartoons, it emerged yesterday. The burly PM, whose New Year’s resolution was to get fitter, has moaned that newspaper cartoonists always draw him as a large, hulking man. The cartoonists say Mr Brown complains in person. Dave Brown, of The Independent, said: “I met him briefly once and he said ‘You draw me far too fat. I’m not that fat’.” The Guardian’s Martin Rowson added: “He said, ‘Why do you draw me so fat?’ I think I said it was because he IS fat.”" - The Sun

ToryDiary: David Cameron is heading for a landslide win

Mark Field MP on CentreRight: MPs must set the lead on public sector pensions by agreeing to a one-third reduction in their own benefits

WATCH: David Cameron is asked if he will investigate whether Britain has been visited by extra-terrestial life

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 25th January 2009

9.15pm ToryDiary: Tories 15% ahead in ComRes poll

6.15pm Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: Beating the BNP

6pm ToryDiary: Comparing the views of party members and party voters

6pm WATCH: Ken Clarke's first TV interview since returning to Tory frontbench

3.30pm WATCH: Andy Burnham urges BBC to screen Gaza appeal and Baroness Royall responds to ethics charges against Labour Lords

11am Louise Bagshawe on CentreRight: "Damian Green, in the course of doing his duty as an Opposition spokesman, was arrested, his house raided, his love letters read, held for multiple hours... Labour peers are on tape offering to amend legislation for cash. The Metropolitan Police's response to that will be very interesting, won't it?"

10am ToryDiary: Ken Clarke can't see Britain joining Euro in his political lifetime

ToryDiary: The Tories are heading for a landslide victory

J P Floru on CentreRight: With its 45p tax plans, New Labour is as dead as a dodo

Manish Singh on Platform: Setting up "Bad Bank" would have been a better solution

Mark Wallace on Local government: Why do Councils need to call in consultants?

WATCH: David Cameron is asked if he will investigate whether Britain has been visited by extra-terrestial life

Today's must-read: Norman Lamont on Brown as the arsonist rather than a firefighter

"The longer this crisis lasts the more ridiculous seems the Prime Minister's oft-repeated boasts about "the longest period of expansion since records began" or the longest growth "since the eighteenth century". Now we can see this illusion was built on a mountain of debt by individuals and banks." - The former Chancellor in The Sunday Telegraph

'The Tories must attack the banks' misbehaviour'

"Cameron should bite the bullet and publicly slate the all-powerful banks themselves for continuing to systematically hide their losses – a reality that means the crucial inter-bank market remains frozen, blocking credit lines to firms and households and holding the rest of the economy to ransom." - Liam Halligan in The Sunday Telegraph

The future of David Davis

"David Davis told the BBC that he was "ambivalent" about being in any future Tory government, but said if he was offered a job he "would imagine" accepting it.  Mr Davis explained that "the most important job" in his life was being Public Accounts Committee chairman, "actually focusing the power of Parliament on government, holding them to account", and that he "might go back to something like that"." - BBC

Self-styled 'Red Tory' Philip Blond recommends a new role for post offices as banks to local communities - Sunday Times

Ken Clarke’s free trips to F1, rugby and opera - courtesy of tobacco giant - Mail on Sunday

"My message is for all those Tory activists, Tory MPs and MEPs (you know who you are) who tell me in whispers that they can’t really stand Mr Cameron but back him because he might get the party back into office. I have to ask them, office for what purpose? No government containing Mr Clarke could offer anything better than a repeat of the Major years." - Peter Hitchens in the Mail on Sunday

More on Eric Pickles' lovebombing of Liberal Democrat voters

"As well as courting the Labour working classes, Mr Pickles is leading what he calls a "lovebombing" of Liberal Democrat voters, especially in the South-west. This involves telling people who care about civil liberties and the environment that they have a better chance of getting what they want by voting Tory." - The new Party Chairman interviewed by the Independent on Sunday

Brown just doesn't get it on MPs' expenses (but Cameron does) - Blairite John Rentoul in The Independent on Sunday

Andrew Mitchell adds Tory voice to calls for BBC to broadcast Gaza appeal

"Andrew Mitchell, the shadow international development secretary, who was this weekend making a visit to Gaza, Israel and the West Bank, said it was up to the BBC, but added: "We believe that they should allow the broadcast to proceed so that the British public, who have proved themselves so generous during recent emergencies in the Congo and Burma, can make their own judgment on the validity of the appeal." - The Shadow International Development Secretary in The Observer

Britain unable to meet half of Obama's request for extra troops for Afghanistan

"President Barack Obama has asked Britain to supply up to 4,000 extra frontline troops to help a planned American surge of forces in Afghanistan, defence sources say. The request poses a dilemma for Gordon Brown because the Ministry of Defence (MoD) believes it can only spare 1,700 extra troops." - The Sunday Times

Fraser Nelson warns that Obama's view of Britain depends upon Brown delivering on Afghanistan - News of the World

Boris Johnson unveils £40bn Heathrow-on-Sea - The Sunday Times

"I don’t think I’m a sex god. I’m 16-and-a-half stone and losing the battle with my weight. That’s just not good is it?" - The Mayor of London in the course of an interview with the Mail on Sunday

 And finally... Does The Telegraph know something we don't?!

We think they meant the shadow cabinet :)

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 24th January 2009

11.15pm Simon Chapman on CentreRight: This crisis is not a failure of market economics

4pm ToryDiary: Now it's John Prescott's turn to launch a Labour-supporting website

12.30pm ToryDiary: Daniel Kawczynski MP persists in his complaint about police's arrival in his office

ToryDiary:

• Tories condemn "repugnant" proposal to pay £12,000 to families of dead IRA terrorists
• Chris Grayling vows "zero tolerance" of small crimes

Seats and candidates: The ConservativeHome Selection Surgery with Roger Evans

Robert Halfon on CentreRight: A different definition of 'Love Bombing'

Today's must-read: Gordon Brown's City Ministers launches strong attack on bankers

"With figures yesterday pointing to a longer and deeper recession than feared, lasting into 2010, Lord Myners says that banks have been mismanaged and delivers the strongest attack so far on those responsible. He also reveals that the banking system was close to collapse before the first bailout was announced. “We were very close on Friday, October 10. There were two or three hours when things felt very bad, nervous and fragile. Major depositors were trying to withdraw — and willing to pay penalties for early withdrawal — from a number of large banks.”" - Times

How many Tory MPs will rebel on Heathrow?

Philip Davies, Peter Lilley and Ann Widdecombe are among potential rebels according to The Independent.  Chris Grayling and Alan Duncan are said to be unhappy in the shadow cabinet.

Liberal Democrat peer targets Lord Ashcroft's tax status in economic debate

"In yet another attempt to target the likes of Tory peers Lord Ashcroft and Lord Laidlaw, Lord Oakeshott, a Liberal Democrat peer, said during a debate that the UK was facing an economic "war" and compared non-domiciled peers to draft-dodgers." - Herald

Tory hedge fund donors made £12m short-selling on Barclays as its share price plummeted - Daily Mail

"The Tory heavyweight" - The Independent profiles new Party Chairman Eric Pickles

Gordon Brown wins race to be first European leader to speak to President Obama - BBC

International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander complains to BBC about decision not to broadcast Gaza appeal - Times

Should Labour be more regretful about recent economic mistakes?

""We haven't got our language right," one senior [Labour] figure told me. "We've got to be more open about what went wrong on our watch. Then we can move on and focus on the choice between us and the Tories about how to put it right."" - Andrew Grice in The Independent

Government shelves plans to introduce all black shortlists for parliament

"The Labour MP Keith Vaz said without the special measures it could take decades before the Commons looked like the country it is supposed to represent. Vaz, who chairs Labour's ethnic minority taskforce and who sits on Labour's national executive committee, said: "They have not put it in the bill because they thought they would not get it through parliament, but I think we would have. It has the support of the Liberal Democrats and I don't think the Conservatives would have opposed it because it does not compel any party to have it, it just stops it from being unlawful.'" - Guardian

Labour plan to base council tax bills on social background - Daily Mail

BBC report Brian Wheeler records ten lessons from spending a week with MEPs - BBC

Special Relationship still counts in the Barack Obama era - Christopher Meyer in The Telegraph

And finally... Simon Heffer rants against the Scots

"The sooner the bunch of Scots who govern us are booted into history the better. I don't say that the English would be any better, but at least we would be paying for our own mistakes rather than someone else's. Never has the case for English independence from the Scots been so overwhelming. Sadly, I suspect that in the present state of penury England will be saddled with them for another 302 years of high-end welfarism at least." - Simon Heffer in The 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 23rd January 2009

6.15pm Mark Field MP on CentreRight: MPs must set the lead on public sector pensions by agreeing to a one-third reduction in their own benefits

6pm WATCH: Why on earth didn't Labour prepare for the bust? asks George Osborne

4.45pm AmericaInTheWorld: Obama approves first controversial military action of his Presidency

1.45pm Local Government: 22% increase in Council staff on over £50,000 a year

1.45pm WATCH: Deputy Mayor Kit Malthouse discusses opposition to the third runway at Heathrow and the idea of a 'Boris Island airport'

1.15pm AmericaInTheWorld: Barack Obama's first executive order requires closure of Guantanamo

1pm Parliament: Written answers round-up

12.30pm ToryDiary: George Osborne targets Labour's "endless announcements" as fears grow of recession worse than the 1980s

11.30am Parliament: Alan Duncan does Business Questions then calls for disclosure of MPs' expenses

10.45am Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: Thank God that Barack Obama wasn't aborted

10am Parliament: Julian Lewis MP says MPs should NOT face disclosure of rejected expense applications

ToryDiary: The self-evident nonsense of Gordon Brown

John Leonard on Platform: Don't reduce our representation at Westminster

Local government: What makes a city an investment destination? and BNP defeated in Bexley by-election

Seats and candidates: Search for 100 Peers: Don Porter

"Arrogant", "disrespectful", "aggressive", "condescending"
Simon Chapman on CentreRight reflects on David Miliband's recent trip to India

Michael Fallon: Treasury must declare the true cost of bank bailout or face consequences from ratings agencies

"Michael Fallon, the senior Conservative on the [Treasury] committee, said there was concern among MPs over the lack of information available at a time when the Treasury balance sheet was changing almost by the week. He said: “Public companies are required to publish quarterly data on their accounts and, given the scale of public investment, the taxpayer deserves no less information from the Treasury. Mr Fallon said that it was in the Treasury’s interest to get the figures out. “Eventually they will run into trouble with credit rating agencies if they are not clear about the extent of liabilities on the public purse.”” - Times

Cameron: Britain could run out of money very soon

"In his strongest remarks to date on the financial crisis, the Tory leader said if the Government continued on its present course, 'the money will run out'. He refused to predict when national bankruptcy could occur but warned it could come 'very soon'." - Daily Mail

Grayling warns that Labour has no answers to rise in acquisitive crime in "credit crunch crime wave"

"Burglaries, fraud and robberies at knifepoint have risen steeply, in the first sign that the recession is fuelling an increase in crime.... Chris Grayling, the Shadow Home Secretary, said: “The statistics show the harsh consequence of Gordon Brown’s economic downturn. This is made much worse because the Home Secretary clearly has no idea how to deal with this credit-crunch crime wave.”" - The Times | Independent

A health service memo - leaked to the Conservatives - says Labour is "rattled" over the "failure" to eradicate mixed-sex wards - BBC

Ed Vaizey MP on the licence fee

"While we support the licence fee, and believe it is the best way to fund the BBC for the foreseeable future, we believe the level of the licence fee is at the top end of what is acceptable to the public." - Ed Vaizey MP in The Independent

The success of British broadcasting has been as much thanks to competition as to subsidy, argues Jeremy Hunt in The Telegraph

Left reacts to avid Cameron's 'Progressive Conservatism'

"Cameron's speech may have sounded as if it was about political philosophy. Yet it was at least as much a speech about politics. In particular, it was a speech about how Cameron wants to govern. Towards the end, Cameron makes it clear - I paraphrase - that he wants to campaign for office as a progressive conservative and then, in office, to govern as a progressive conservative. The parallel with Blair's "campaign as New Labour, govern as New Labour" is hard to miss." - Martin Kettle in The Guardian

"Cameron has set out his stall. He is a leader who believes in a small state and that by doing less his government will succeed in bringing about progressive outcomes. The economic crisis has reinforced his view rather than challenged it: "The recession doesn't vindicate big government... It hammers the final nail in the coffin." You will hear a different take from those banks, rail companies, car manufacturers and others who are pleading for the Government to do more." - Steve Richards in The Independent

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Introducing 'Red Toryism'

Daniel Kawczynski MP 'rushed' to complain about police before getting his facts together

"Michael Martin, the Speaker of the House of Commons, has ticked off Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski who complained about the police entering his office without a warrant. He told Mr Kawczynski that he ought to have waited to get his "facts together" before rushing to tell the Commons about the incident in a late night intervention." - Telegraph | The Herald

High marks for Alan Duncan from Quentin Letts reviewing his first Business questions - Daily Mail

The Commons Standards and Privileges committee finds Peter Hain guilty of "serious" failures - Sky

Backlog of asylum cases doubles - BBC

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

Thursday 22nd January 2009

6.30pm Latest on CentreRight:

• Tom Greeves: Presidential oaths of office over the years
• Andrew Lilico: Don't be too quick to dismiss "Red Torysim"

5.45pm ToryDiary: Eric Pickles gears up to lovebomb the Liberal Democrats (again and again and again)

5.30pm WATCH: Hillary Clinton starts work as US Secretary of State

4.45pm ToryDiary: Introducing 'Red Toryism'

3.30pm Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: Jacqui Smith as Labour leader? Don't bet on it

3.15pm Local Government: From Private Eye's Rotten Boroughs column and Clarke appointment prompts Tory councillor's defection to UKIP

3pm Parliament: No guarantee of rail construction jobs for British workers

1.15pm ToryDiary: Theresa Villiers to ensure MPs can vote on Heathrow expansion

12.30pm Parliament: Lord Lucas wants better regulation of bailiffs

11.30am Local Government: Cllr Robert Light on Lab/Lib Dem coalition takes charge at Kirklees after opposing parental choice

11.15am Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: Good on Alan Duncan!

10.45am ToryDiary: David Cameron to set out the four aims of "Progressive Conservatism"

10.45am Parliament updates:

• Lord Roberts asks what the Government will do to reduce unemployment
• Peter Atkinson petitions that the Government has wrongly valued Northern Rock shares
• Owen Paterson calls on the Government to tackle gun crime in Northern Ireland

9.45am Alex Deane on CentreRight: When I first liked Barack Obama

ToryDiary: Business leaders warm to the idea of a Conservative Government

Zehra Zaidi on Platform: The EU pesticides ban will result in lower yields and higher prices

Seats and Candidates Search for 100 Peers: Brian Walden

Overnight postings on CentreRight:

• Nile Gardiner: Cameron should reject Clarke's Obama warning
• Simon Chapman: Obama leaves no more excuses for anti-American westerners

Local Government: Municipal Lingo No. 2 - "Housing Units"

WATCH:

• President Obama swears the oath of office... again
• A hilarious Daily Show clip satirising the similarity between the rhetoric of Bush and Obama

International: US Republicans urged to abandon "narrowness" and "losing fight" on gay rights

AmericaInTheWorld: "Barack Obama's campaign and election story was bigger media event than 9/11"

Ken Clarke's six-week old off-the-record comments have been "twisted by Labour"

"Ken Clarke's reported warning that David Cameron risks being seen as a "right wing nationalist" by Barack Obama are old comments which Labour has twisted to distract from its failure to address Britain's economic problems, the Conservatives said. The new shadow business secretary warned that new US president Barack Obama would not want Britain to be run by a "right wing nationalist", in a speech urging greater engagement with Europe last month before he returned to the front benches. Labour seized on the comments last night as evidence that Mr Clarke's presence in the shadow cabinet would deepen Tory divisions over Europe. But the Tories said that it was "absurd" to interpret the speech as criticism of the Conservative leader, and insisted that Mr Clarke accepted the party's policy against joining the euro." - Daily Telegraph

> Last night's ToryDiary

The Guardian's parliamentary sketchwriter is delighted to see Ken Clarke back on the frontbench...

"The important topic at prime minister's questions yesterday was, naturally, the return of Kenneth Clarke to the Tory frontbench. He sprawled there looking cheerful, like a man enjoying a pie after a hard day's bird-watching. You felt his contentment would have been complete if he'd been allowed a pint and a cigarillo." - SImon Hoggart in the Guardian

...as is Ann Widdecombe

"The long overdue return of Ken Clarke to the Conservative front bench is a tribute not only to his own qualities but also to David Cameron's leadership." - Ann Widdecombe in the Daily Express

Fraser Nelson interviews new shadow home secretary Chris Grayling

"I had an inkling when I read in the Sun on Monday that I’d be moved," he says... No one is in the slightest doubt why he was promoted. Mr Grayling has a reputation of being the deadliest hitman on the Tory front bench. He has been behind many of the most embarrassing Labour moments, exposing the NHS’s appalling treatment of Margaret Dixon in the last election campaign and orchestrating the disclosures which led to David Blunkett’s resignation." - Spectator

Ed Vaizey: BBC stars' salaries should be revealed

"Ed Vaizey, the shadow culture minister, will use a speech at today's Oxford Media Convention to call for greater transparency in the amounts paid to top stars such as Jonathan Ross. "The BBC actually pushes up the price of talent with its interventions," Mr Vaizey will say. "So we will ensure that the BBC publishes fully audited accounts which will include details of the salaries of all its top talent. The BBC should be prepared to defend salary and indeed all expenditure decisions it makes." - Daily Telegraph

Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski protests over police demand to see constituency correspondence

"A Conservative MP claimed police entered his Commons office yesterday without a search warrant demanding to examine private constituency correspondence" - Independent

> Last night's ToryDiary

Interest rate cuts have robbed "innocent" savers of £22billion, say Tories

"Savers have lost an astonishing £22billion as a result of interest rate cuts. The plunging income from interest on nest eggs has left them the "innocent victims" of the recession, the Tories said. They urged ministers to temporarily abolish the starting rate and basic rate of tax on savings income to help raise their returns. Tory Treasury spokesman Philip Hammond told MPs that the "welcome relief" of falling interest rates for homeowners and businesses came at a price because it penalised all those dependent on savings and investments for their income." - Daily Mail

David Mundell: Make English take Scottish banknotes

"An attempt to make shops in England take Scottish banknotes was launched yesterday. The Conservative MP David Mundell said his private member's bill aimed to end the "confusion" among some businesses in England about the status of Scottish banknotes." - The Scotsman 

Boris visits Hillingdon to debate Heathrow expansion

"Hundreds of angry residents packed out a theatre in Hayes to debate the proposed third runway at Heathrow Airport. With tensions at boiling point following the government's decision to allow the controversial expansion plan, Mayor of London Boris Johnson held a question time for residents to air their views." - ThisisLocalLondon.co.uk

Four in ten serious criminals being let off with a caution

"The number of cautions being given to violent criminals has risen by 82 per cent in just five years. Cautions given to burglars have increased by a quarter over the same period while cautions for robbers and sex offenders have gone up by almost half. Shadow police minister David Ruffley, who unearthed the most recent rises, said: "Police cautions are being used instead of prosecutions. More serious offenders are facing 'cautions not court'." - Daily Telegraph

FSA chairman demands change in banking system

"There must be profound changes in the banking system if a repeat of the current crisis is to be avoided, the Financial Services Authority has said. Lord Turner, head of the City watchdog, said parts of the regulatory system were "seriously deficient." - BBC

Iain Martin demands dramatic action to break a national cycle of despair

"As a free-marketeer what I am about to say pains me. But there had best be a full nationalisation of the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds/TSB/HBOS. The former is regarded by the market as broken and we own 70 per cent of it, anyway. The latter is in nearly as much trouble. Let us stop pretending they operate as independent institutions. The alternative is to just let them die. However, the atmosphere is so febrile there would be queues round the block at all banks. We are well beyond the point at which it might be safe to conduct an uncontrolled experiment in chaos theory." - Iain Martin in the Daily Telegraph

Brown backs down over plan to keep MPs' expenses claims secret

"Gordon Brown was forced yesterday to retreat over controversial proposals to keep details of MPs' expenses claims secret by exempting them from the Freedom of Information Act. The move, which met with delight from freedom of information campaigners, followed the collapse of a deal between Labour and the Conservatives which would have been certain to succeed in getting the order passed by the Commons. The Tories tried yesterday to deny the existence of a deal or understanding but this was firmly refuted by government and Labour backbench sources. A vote was due today but the U-turn was announced in the Commons as it became clear the wave of hostility against the plan was growing." - Guardian

Peter Oborne: No wonder MPs don't want us to see their expenses - a lot of them are just plain criminal

"There are a very large number of Labour MPs, right up to Cabinet Minister level, who are corrupt. They have unhesitatingly used the very generous system of MPs' expenses to fill their own pockets. They know that if the details are ever published, the public outrage would be so great that they could be forced to resign. Indeed, in a number of cases they would be open to criminal investigation." - Peter Oborne in the Daily Mail

Mandelson to decide on fitness of ex-KGB man to own the Evening Standard - Times

Obama "set to close Guantanamo" - BBC

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

Wednesday 21st January 2009

10.45pm Ruth Lea on CentreRight: "Back in 1992 after the pound’s welcome departure from the ERM, [Gordon Brown] said “a weak currency arises from a weak economy which in turn is the result of a weak Government.” There is simply no better way to encapsulate our current economic woes."

9pm ToryDiary: Police entered ANOTHER Tory MP's office

7pm AmericaInTheWorld.com: The 'special US-UK relationship' will survive early tests

6.15pm ToryDiary: Tories will get more pro-European in office, says Ken Clarke

5.30pm Local Government: Bin Tax binned

1.45pm Parliament: Oral answers round-up from Wales

12.45pm Parliament: Lord Blaker says Southern African Development Community is feeble on Zimbabwe

Noon ToryDiary: £1m is just "small beer" for Labour

ToryDiary: David Cameron captures the national change of mood on the economy at PMQs

11.30am WATCH: A four minute video attacking Labour's nannying, "Orwellian" Britain

11am Parliament: Caroline Spelman says business rates are too high

10am Latest on CentreRight:

• Tim Montgomerie: The ill-mannered Left
• Tom Greeves: The late James Callaghan on the economic crisis
• Louise Bagshawe: No Tory MP should get away with hiding expenses

ToryDiary:

• Who else should be in the shadow cabinet?
• All Tory MPs will be ordered to fight Labour attempts to keep expenses secret

Dominic Raab on Platform: Exposing this Government's assault on our historic liberties

Seats and candidates: Search for 100 Peers: Professor Karol Sikora

Andrew Lilico on CentreRight: What Gregory House has to teach us about the banking crisis

The Financial Times welcomes Ken Clarke's return

"George Osborne, shadow chancellor, has not had a good war. Mr Clarke, by contrast, has sounded less shrill and more weighty. Of course his title cannot be “shadow shadow chancellor”, but he will surely make his presence felt well beyond his formal responsibilities. Already he has warned that standing on a platform of tax cuts would be asking for trouble. This is a bracing dose of realism." - FT leader

Unemployment increase today will take total close to two million - Sky

Treasury minister warns that banking crisis could last for ten years - The Sun

...but the Commons fails to debate the economic crisis: "The last time MPs debated the state of the economy was on November 26, when the Conservatives forced an emergency three-hour debate on Alistair Darling's pre-Budget report. In the intervening two months, the value of the pound has plunged, tens of thousands of jobs have been lost, Woolworths has gone bust and the Government has been forced into a second, colossally expensive bail-out of a crippled banking system. Voters are rightly furious at the behaviour of the banks and the billions in taxpayers' money being poured into them. Yet the people who are paid to give voice to that anger, Members of Parliament, have been largely silent. The failure of the House of Commons to rise to the challenge of our most serious post-war economic crisis has been shameful." - Telegraph leader

Simon Heffer warns Gordon Brown that voters' rage is coming

"The public has rumbled Mr Brown, and he is the focus of their anger. As worse horrors occur in the months ahead voters will have more yet to remember him by. He can, in his dishonourable way, avoid accountability for another 16 months if he wishes. Yet the longer he waits to take his punishment, the worse it will be. If he doubts that, let him ask John Major." - Simon Heffer in The Telegraph

Nick Clegg: Prepare to scrap the pound - FT

"In an interview with the Financial Times, he said public opinion could “turn on its head” and swing against the pound as the “sheer brutality” of the crisis prompted the public to yearn for the stability offered by the eurozone."

Labour MPs blame Tories for Commons vote that interrupted Obama's big speech - Guardian

Gordon Brown's hope of early summit with Obama fade - FT | John Kampfner

"He may be the President who contains America's overseas adventures to ensure that what it starts, it can finish, who manages its transition from sole superpower to the sharing of world leadership, who understands the constaints imposed on the state and public purse by the colossal financial crisis that is engulfing us, who prefers moderation to the enumeration of a new doctrine. Mr Obama's election has widely been seen as ushering in a new era of ambition and optimism. Prepare for quite the opposite." - Daniel Finkelstein in The Times

Home Office distances itself further from Damian Green raid

"The top Home Office civil servant warned the Metropolitan police they had better have sufficient evidence when officers told him they intended to search the offices and homes of Conservative MP Damien Green as part of a Whitehall leak inquiry. Sir David Normington told MPs at the Commons home affairs committee yesterday he was "extremely surprised" when Scotland Yard rang to tell him the search of the shadow immigration minister's parliamentary office was under way and in a second phone call that he had been arrested." - Guardian

Public Accounts Committee seeks transparent criteria for selecting peers - BBC

Tessa Jowell’s estranged husband ‘took $600,000 bribe from Silvio Berlusconi’ - Times

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

Tuesday 20th January 2009

7pm Tom Greeves on CentreRight: The BBC should learn that it's rude to interrupt

6pm ToryDiary: David Cameron claims similarity between the Tory and Obama messages

5.45pm AmericaInTheWorld: "Let it be said by our children's children that... we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

4.30pm Robert H Halfon on CentreRight: Mandy’s mate is right: Labour’s ‘do nothing’ jibe at the Tories is backfiring

3.45pm Parliament: Jeremy Hunt says Lottery should return to the original good causes

3.15pm Parliament: Philip Bushill-Matthews criticises ECJ ruling on holiday rights for the long-term sick

2.45pm Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: Please read this Chris Grayling

1.30pm ToryDiary: Ken Livingstone will be turning in his political grave

1pm CF Diary: New CF website

11.30am ToryDiary: That hush is the sound of unity

Dan Lewis on CentreRight: The UK is finished... sell any sterling you might have

10am Parliament: George Osborne says first Government bank bail-out failed

Local Government: Nick Seaton on Thirteen Questions school governors should ask headmasters.

ToryDiary: Grassroots give a big thumbs up to the reshuffle

Neil O'Brien on Platform: It's like the Thatcher revolution never happened

Simon Chapman on CentreRight: "The reasoning behind the Party's decision to park Health reform is that the Broken Society is the first-term priority and there's a limit to the number of fronts it can fight on at any given time. And with Michael Gove at Children Schools & Families, Chris Grayling at the DWP, and Nick Herbert at Justice, it was clear and reassuring to see that reformers had been placed in the key portfolios. That's now been unpicked, and Michael Gove alone is left in post."

AmericaInTheWorld: Barack Obama gives 'Anything is Possible in America' speech from Lincoln Memorial

Today's must-read: The Conservatives have put ideological purity behind them

"For more than a decade some in the Tory Party have considered ideological purity - particularly over Europe - more important than winning power. They chose their leaders on the basis of their Euroscepticism rather than their electability, they fought campaigns to save the pound when the voters were interested in saving their schools. With the appointment of Mr Clarke, Mr Cameron has shown a ruthless commitment to electoral success rather than political ideology." - Rachel Sylvester in The Times

David Cameron claimed to have assembled his "strongest possible Shadow Cabinet", ready for a General Election - Telegraph

The Cameron-Osborne double act has been replaced by a bigger, broader team

"Until yesterday, they ran the Conservative Party as a shared project, so much so that some complained the pair left no room for others to shine. Now it is a team effort, with a number of impressive bruisers arrayed alongside Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne like a gang of burly minders guarding two London dandies. Last week William Hague was anointed as deputy leader ‘in all but name’ and he has now been joined by the hefty pair of Mr Clarke and Eric Pickles." - Ben Brogan in the Daily Mail

Cameron addresses charge of elitism

"David Cameron answered the charge of elitism yesterday by handing key jobs to populist figures as he gave his Shadow Cabinet a more common touch and harder edge." - Francis Elliott in The Times

"Mr Cameron also promoted Mark Francois, the strongly Eurosceptic spokesman on Europe, to the Shadow Cabinet in an attempt to reassure activists that there would be no change of direction on the issue. Tory sources said the elevation of Mr Francois, who was educated at an Essex comprehensive school and Bristol University, was further evidence of Mr Cameron's determination to appoint shadow ministers from a broader social background." - The Independent

Can Clarke be controlled?

"Jolly Ken Clarke is back in frontline politics. If he can keep his mind on the job and his mouth shut on Europe, he will be a formidable match for Business supremo Peter Mandelson. But we won’t hold our breath. Lord Mandelson knows he has only to mention the euro or the loathed EU Constitution and all Ken’s New Year’s resolutions will go up in cigar smoke." - The Sun Says

What about John Redwood and Michael Fallon?

"Mr Cameron could have done more to beef up his economic team. He has two highly talented backbenchers – John Redwood and Michael Fallon – who both understand the financial crisis and can deliver a credible, and comprehensible, critique of the Government's failings. Such individuals are a rare commodity these days and their talents need to be better used." - Telegraph leader

And what about David Davis?

"Some on the right might be disappointed that Mr Clarke's return has not been balanced by a recall of David Davis to the front-bench. Mr Davis neither sought nor was offered such an opportunity. Whether he would have accepted any post is doubtful. But this is a moment for all good men and women to come to the aid of the party. That Ken Clarke has recognised this is a tribute to Mr Cameron's determination and readiness for government." - Michael Brown (friend of David Davis) in The Independent

Croydon 'IRA councillor' Maria Gatland speaks about Tory return - Croydon Guardian

Vince Cable: The first bailout failed

"It is clear that the conditions set by the Government over the original capitalisation was a sham. No effective monitoring and controls were put in place to ensure that the money went where it was intended. The banks do not even seem to have been required to give a full, transparent declaration of their bad loans." - Vince Cable in The Times

MPs are to debate how to get more women, disabled people and ethnic minorities into Commons - BBC

"It cannot be right that the House of Lords is now more ethnically diverse than the House of Commons, the head of Britain's equalities watchdog warned yesterday." - 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.

Monday 19th January 2009

8.30pm ToryDiary: New Ipsos-Mori poll gives Tories a 14% lead

6pm Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: Ken Clarke back on the Opposition front bench - but not for the first time

5.45pm Andrew Lilico on CentreRight: Bailout II - the terror continues

5.15pm: ToryDiary: Final confirmation of all changes made today to the front bench

5pm Helen Thomas on CentreRight: Bank bailout, take two

4.15pm WATCH: David Cameron explains why he has made the changes he has to the shadow cabinet

3.30pm ToryDiary: Are you pleased that Eric is Chairman? Has Ken's return blunted the party's Euroscepticism? Will President Obama help Brown or Cameron? 

> LIVE BLOG OF TORY RESHUFFLE NEWS

1.45pm ToryDiary: ConHome's observations on the reshuffle - more punch but less reform

1.30pm Tom Greeves on CentreRight: Ken Clarke for Prime Minister?

1.15pm WATCH: Ken Clarke speaks about his return to the frontbench

12.15pm Parliament: Struan Stevenson says recreational fishing must not come under control of Common Fisheries Policy

11.45am Local Government: Boris saves the Kenbassies

10.45am Parliament: Written answers round-up

10.45am ToryDiary: ERIC PICKLES IS NEW PARTY CHAIRMAN

10.15am Parliament: Eric Pickles forces Government to tell pubs about business rate cut entitlement

ToryDiary: First reactions to the return of Ken Clarke

ToryDiary: Osborne backs Labour's "trillion pound bailout"

Local Government: "Tory Treasurer's advice cost local councils £470m"

Local Government: Average council tax rise of 3.5% projected

Seats and Candidates Search for 100 Peers: Sir Kenneth Bloomfield

Platform: Regina E Herzlinger, former adviser to John McCain, previews her new Bow Group paper promoting consumer-driven healthcare in the UK

WATCH: Two videos featuring the man of the moment

• ITN report on Ken Clarke's return to the frontbench
• Clarke gives his take on the economy and "Greengate" in an interview with Andrew Marr last November

"Big Beast" Ken Clarke is back in business

"Kenneth Clarke returns to the Conservative front bench today in David Cameron's biggest gamble since becoming leader. The former Chancellor becomes the new Shadow Business Secretary and will take on the recently returned Lord Mandelson, though as MP and peer respectively the two will not face each other in Parliament. Mr Cameron decided to risk the wrath of the Tory Right, and to face down reservations among some of his closest supporters, in the interests of bolstering his frontbench team with one of the few Conservative heavyweights remaining in the Commons." - The Times

"George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, is understood to have instigated Mr Clarke's return to frontline politics. The appointment was sealed at a lunch at Mr Osborne's London home between Mr Cameron, Mr Osborne and Mr Clarke." - Daily Telegraph

"Clarke, one of the most popular politicians at Westminster, has told Cameron he will not seek to change the party's line on Europe and will accept collective cabinet responsibility. He is understood to recognise that the refusal to accept the euro, and the call for a referendum on the Lisbon treaty, is the party's settled will. He will however be allowed to express his private views on Europe, since no one is expecting him to change those. Until now, Clarke had expressed a lack of interest in front line politics, partly because he did not want the daily drudgery and was not keen to divest himself of his outside business interests." - Guardian

Profile of the new shadow business secretary - BBC

> Last night's ToryDiary announcing Ken Clarke's appointment

Other reshuffle moves to be announced later today

"The current shadow Business Secretary, Alan Duncan, will not be moved out of the cabinet, with Tory sources saying he has been offered a "senior Shadow Cabinet role". Mr Cameron believes there have been unfair and concerted attempts to undermine Mr Duncan, who will be given a new portfolio... Speculation that shadow Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt would replace Caroline Spelman is wide of the mark. The grassroots supporters' new favourite Eric Pickles, currently the Communities Secretary shadow, will miss out on the position. Ms Spelman is expected to remain in the role." - Independent

Boris defends taxpayer-funded stay at Tory conference

"Boris Johnson, the Tory mayor of London, has said it was right that public money was used to pay his hotel bill at last year's Conservative party conference. Labour MPs on Sunday criticised Mr Johnson after it emerged that Greater London Authority paid almost £2,000 for hotels for the mayor and his staff at the Conservative meeting in Birmingham in October. Mr Johnson said attended the conference in his capacity as mayor, which justified the £1,955 bill for taxpayers." - Daily Telegraph

> Yesterday's ToryDiary

Shapps blasts Beckett over housing market "upturn" claim

"The Government has lost all touch with reality. Experts say 75,000 families may be evicted from their homes this year, yet the housing minister actually seems to believe that life is getting better." - Grant Shapps quoted in the Daily Telegraph

Jeremy Hunt answers Independent readers' questions on a variety of topics

"David Cameron rightly expects all members of his Shadow Cabinet to put every ounce of energy they can into defeating this disastrous government, so no one should have any interests that deflect them from this." - Jeremy Hunt answers a question about outside interests in The Independent

New bail-out for banks to be announced

"The government will take another step today towards nationalising the entire banking industry by offering to buy shares in those institutions which sign up to a scheme offering potentially unlimited insurance against losses on their assets. In a second, and desperate attempt, to get credit flowing through the economy, ministers will try to put tougher conditions on the banks being bailed out to force them to lend more money to businesses and households." - Guardian

"Barclays may have to accept government stakes to take part in the £200 billion scheme under which the taxpayer could foot a potentially unlimited bill for bad debts such as sub-prime lending in America... Lloyds TSB, which completes its merger with HBOS today, was also in talks with the Government over whether it would swap expensive “preference” shares for a larger number of ordinary shares." - Times

"All hopes of Gordon Brown managing to save the world with October's great banking bail-out have proved tragically misguided. The £37billion injected into the banks last autumn might have helped save the financial system from instant meltdown. But its effects have proved at best temporary, and now the money has disappeared without trace. The consequences of this failure are grim indeed. Britain now faces, for the first time in history, the prospect of national bankruptcy." - Peter Oborne in the Daily Mail

"Voters have so far been confused by the banking crisis, according to polls and focus groups. They have broadly accepted Mr Brown's argument that the problems started in America and have given him credit for taking necessary and decisive, if unpalatable, action. This stoical response may not last. The more that the Government, and so the taxpayer, is drawn into guaranteeing the banking system, the more people will hold Mr Brown responsible for turning things around, and blame him and Labour if this does not happen." - Peter Riddell in The Times

Don't overdose the sickly patient, Doctor Brown

"There is, I fear, a real risk that politicians, in seeking an overnight cure, will overmedicate the economy, creating more problems than they solve. We need Government to focus on where it can make a difference - stepping up efforts to get the banks lending again, stabilising public finances, using productive capital projects to stimulate the economy and ensuring regulation encourages rather than strangles job creation." - SImon Wolfson writing in The Times | Search for 100 Peers: Simon Wolfson

Prepare for a Conservative revolution. No, seriously

"Surveying the panoply of current Conservative policies, the revolution I foresee is one of values – the values that determine our social policies, and how our institutions are run. In welfare, tax, health, law and order, the Conservatives advocate profound change. The balance will be tipped away from rights to responsibilities. Families will get explicit support in the tax system. The presumption will be that the man in Whitehall does not always know best. The legal system should unequivocally support the victim, not the criminal. But perhaps the greatest cultural change promises to be in our schools." - George Bridges writing in the Daily Telegraph

British bureaucracy is growing out of control

"There is roughly the same number of employees in the Home Civil Service (about 480,000) today as there was in 1979, despite 30 years of supposed rationalisation, value for money blitzes and efficiency drives. Post-Thatcher Britain was meant to have less government, especially after the nationalised industries were privatised, yet we have more than ever with extra tiers in Brussels, Scotland, Wales and London as well as dozens of central agencies, quangos and regional bodies." - Philip Johnston in the Daily Telegraph

Obama tells rally of hope for US at pre-inauguration rally

"US President-elect Barack Obama has told a huge crowd of supporters at a pre-inauguration rally in Washington that "anything is possible in America". As the US fights two wars and tackles an economic crisis, Mr Obama said he was "hopeful" the US would overcome its toughest challenges in generations. He was speaking at a welcome concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, ahead of his inauguration on Tuesday." - BBC

"Mr Obama has already said that the recession will be the biggest problem for his new administration. That is likely to prove correct. Many people already feel that expectations have risen into the stratosphere, and that the new President will never be able to meet them. I do not share that view. If anyone can renew the progress of the American people, it will be Barack Obama. He has the courage and the convictions of the great presidents." - WIlliam Rees-Mogg in The Times

Employment minister: Jobless total will rise further - BBC

Standards watchdog condemns latest secrecy move on MPs' expenses - Daily Telegraph

More on Lord Marland's bid to chair the ECB - Times

Angela Merkel's CDU begins 2009 with victory in key state poll - Independent

And finally... Lord Tebbit and Tony Benn are united - in their desire to honour Sir Keith Park

"In a combined political career stretching to the best part of 100 years, the two of us have rarely agreed on anything. But on one issue we have discovered common ground – the need for a permanent memorial in London to Sir Keith Park, the Battle of Britain hero. London is the city that he helped save and the Sir Keith Park Memorial Campaign is shortly to submit an application to the planning committee of Westminster City Council to erect a memorial statue to this great man. It is an application that we both fervently support because it would give long-overdue recognition to a man whose achievements have never been properly recognised in this country." - Lord Tebbit and Tony Benn writing in the 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.

Sunday 18th January 2009

10pm ToryDiary: Ken Clarke is back... as Shadow Business Secretary

5.30pm On CentreRight, Tim Montgomerie posts his fourth 'What Bush Got Right' entry: An improved US-India relationship

5.15pm WATCH: Gordon Brown calls for Gaza peace deal

3pm Andrew Lilico on CentreRight: Why neither loans nor recapitalisation nor underwriting is going to correct matters

2.30pm ToryDiary: Has Theresa Villiers subtly shifted Tory aviation policy today?

12.15pm ToryDiary: Hague repeats Cameron's messages on the reshuffle

10.15am ToryDiary: Boris defends taxpayer-funded stay at Conservative conference

ToryDiary: Tory peers under fire over low attendance at votes in the Lords

Seats and Candidates Search for 100 Peers: Sir Desmond de SIlva QC

Dr Lee Rotherham on Platform: The hard sell of EU propaganda - the hidden case of Slovenia

Cllr Simon Renwick in Local Government: Why is Conservative Councillors Association membership compulsory?

Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: Blogging for "Scunthorpe Man"

WATCH: Obama - and Washington - prepare for Tuesday's inauguration

Another batch of Sunday papers full of speculation about Ken Clarke being appointed to the shadow Cabinet in a reshuffle this week

"David Cameron last night faced a growing rebellion over plans to give Kenneth Clarke a shadow cabinet job, with even a close ally warning it would be a “disaster”. The Tory leader will this week announce a reshuffle of his front bench. Clarke, the former chancellor, is expected to become shadow to Lord Mandelson, the business secretary... Prominent right-wingers yesterday launched attacks on Clarke for his pro-European views. John Redwood, a former cabinet minister, wrote in his blog: “Peter Mandelson would like nothing better.” - Sunday Times

"Former Chancellor Ken Clarke is under fire from fellow Conservatives after saying David Cameron would be 'asking for trouble' if he promised tax cuts at the next Election - then suggesting he would like Shadow Chancellor George Osborne's job. His controversial comments are at odds with recent tax-cutting pledges by the Tory leadership, and came as Mr Cameron put the finishing touches to plans for a frontbench reshuffle." - Mail on Sunday

"David Cameron is to go ahead with a reshuffle as early as this week amid private fury at the long-running inquiry into party chairman Caroline Spelman. The Conservative leader has vented his frustration at the length of time a standards inquiry has taken to examine Mrs Spelman's financial affairs. It is understood that Mr Cameron will not await the outcome of the investigation and will go ahead, whether or not she is cleared." - Independent on Sunday

"Since the Conservatives were last in power, the party's assorted leaders have undertaken 10 reshuffles of the shadow cabinet. Not a single one made a difference to their prospects... In contrast, David Cameron finds himself in a novel position. The reshuffle he is about to unveil, possibly as early as tomorrow, matters. It will be judged according to an entirely different standard from the games of musical chairs conducted by his predecessors. In the aftermath, the question will be: does this have the look and feel of a government-in-waiting?" - Iain Martin in the Sunday Telegraph

> Relevant ToryDiary posts:

• Reshuffle "within days"
• Speculation is out of control
• Ken Clarke likely to return to shadow cabinet
• Protests at suggestions of a job for Ken Clarke

New polls confirm "Brown bounce" is well and truly over

"Brown bounce is over and the deepening recession is taking its toll both on the government’s popularity and that of the prime minister, according to a Sunday Times poll. The YouGov poll of more than 2,000 people, carried out online on Thursday and Friday, shows a sharp jump in the Conservative lead over the past month. The Tories are now on 45%, 13 points ahead of Labour’s 32%, with the Liberal Democrats on 14%. A month ago the Tory lead had shrunk to just 6%. The latest lead, which is the biggest in a YouGov poll since early October, suggests that the rise in popularity Brown achieved for putting in place the banking rescue has been replaced by the normal slide in popularity governments suffer in recessions." - Sunday Times

"The Conservatives have opened up a nine-point lead over Labour amid signs that voters are beginning to blame the Government for the economic downturn, an IoS poll shows today. With figures likely to confirm this week that Britain is officially in recession, the ComRes survey puts David Cameron's party into an election-winning position. The Tory advantage is a leap from a one-point lead a month ago, when the "Brown bounce" was helped by a 2.5 per cent cut in VAT in the pre-Budget report." - Independent on Sunday

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

Boris under fire for using public funds on Tory conference hotel

"Boris Johnson was under fire yesterday, after it emerged that he used taxpayers' money to pay for his hotel room at the Conservative Party conference last year. The Mayor of London spent £1,955.25 on accommodation for himself and a small group of advisers at the luxury Hyatt Regency hotel in Birmingham. Rules governing the Mayor's conduct state that Greater London Authority money must not be used improperly for party political purposes. His office insisted that using public funds was justified because Mr Johnson was attending the conference in September in his capacity as Mayor, giving a speech to delegates." - Independent on Sunday

Tory MP Simon Burns to go on trial for careless driving - Mail on Sunday

Scottish Tories call for a war on Government waste

"The SNP is to be urged to declare a war on Government waste that would save the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds when the horse-trading over its Budget intensifies next week. A plan for two new public spending watchdogs designed to hold the Government and the Scottish Parliament to account has been drawn up by the Conservatives." - Scotland on Sunday

"The Scottish Conservatives have offered to support the SNP’s budget in return for the establishment of a £20m fund to regenerate run-down city centres." - Sunday Times

Eric Pickles on the warpath over attempt to introduce bin tax without a Commons vote

"The Government has quietly adopted powers enabling it to introduce national pay-as-you-throw rubbish taxes of up to £100 without a vote in parliament... The Tories discovered the bin tax measure in a little-noticed clause of the Climate Change Act. “New taxes are being imposed by arrogant and out-of-touch rulers, showing contempt for the democratic process. The imposition of extra-parliamentary taxation is a constitutional outrage,” said Eric Pickles, shadow communities and local government secretary.” - Sunday Times

Dominic Raab on the growing power of the state

"Over the past 12 years the police have clamped down on freedom of speech, restricted public demonstrations and stifled peaceful protests, using an array of new powers bestowed by a blizzard of legislation, hastily enacted by parliament on the flimsy pretext of national security. Wave upon wave of anti-terrorism measures have been introduced by an increasingly authoritarian government, including proposals to extend police detention without charge that even the former head of MI5 describes as draconian." - Dominic Raab writing in the Sunday Times

Jeremy Hunt blasts Andy Burnham over £3,000-a-head dinner party

"Ministers have been condemned for throwing a £3,000-a-head dinner party - to discuss the economic slump. Culture Secretary Andy Burnham ran up the £60,000 bill so he could discuss the effect of the credit crunch on 'creative industries' with 20 guests... Shadow Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: 'Hosting a £3,000-per-head party at taxpayers' expense during a recession is an insult to all of Britain's hard-working families. It shows Labour are completely out of touch with what is happening in Britain'." - Mail on Sunday

Virus "sends RAF e-mails to Russia"

"The Ministry of Defence is investigating a major breach in security amid claims that all e-mail traffic from a number of RAF stations has been sent to a Russian internet server. The e-mails were allegedly diverted to the Russian sender by a worm virus that entered the MoD systems 12 days ago bringing down computers and blocking e-mail communications across the military. The allegations have been relayed to Mark Pritchard, a Conservative MP, by an official who is concerned that the MoD is failing to take cybersecurity seriously. Pritchard said the official “told me he could not say whether there was any evidence of active Russian involvement but that e-mail traffic from some RAF stations was sent to a Russian internet server”. - Sunday Times and Mick Smith's blog

Tory MP Andrew Tyrie calls for inquiry into Speaker's conduct over "Greengate" - Independent on Sunday

Lord Marland is frontrunner to become chairman of the English Cricket Board - Sunday Times

Brown ready to risk billions on debt insurance for banks - Observer

Margaret Beckett makes spurious claim about indications of an "upturn" in the property market - Sunday Times

Ministers scrap plan to widen motorways - Observer

Mandelson: British bosses are incapable of business success - Mail on Sunday

The Milibenns and Harriet's Headbangers: Fraser Nelson's guide to the Gangs of New Labour - News of the World

Vince Cable opens up about being disowned by his father over marrying an Asian - Observer

And finally... Zac Goldsmith strikes gold on Obama victory

"Millionaire environmentalist  Zac Goldsmith has won around £150,000 on a series of long-term bets that Barack Obama would become American President. According to a source, he staked around £5,000 at odds of 20/1 as long ago as autumn 2007, when Obama was still an outsider even to be the Democrats' candidate. The would-be Tory MP - who turns 34 on Obama's inauguration day on Tuesday - is believed to have staked a four-figure sum at around 14-1 when Obama won the Iowa caucus on January 4 last year." - 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 17th January 2009

7.45pm: ToryDiary: ComRes poll for Independent on Sunday has Tory lead at 9%

6.45pm ToryDiary: Sunday Times/YouGov poll puts Tory lead at 13%

4.45pm Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: The Times's contribution to the Tory marginal seats campaign

10.45am WATCH: The Telegraph's Andrew Pierce pours scorn on Lord Mandelson, John Prescott and David Lammy

9.30am Latest in Local Government:

• Mark Wallace on Icelandic bank investment: What went wrong in Charnwood?
• Nottingham and Norwich Councils housing scandals
• Tendring Labour councillor "used violent and abusive language"

ToryDiary: Tory fundraising duo use Telegraph interview to promise to "blow Labour out of water"

Seats and Candidates Search for 100 Peers: Tony Caplin

Mark Harper on Platform: Beat the recession with a local business workshop

Greg Hands on CentreRight previews the first electoral test of 2009 for Angela Merkel's CDU

WATCH: Impressionist Jon Culshaw reflects on eight years of impersonating President Bush

Coverage of David Cameron's environmental policy announcement

"An "environmental revolution" in energy policy under a Conservative government would save the average household £160 a year from the cost of electricity and gas, David Cameron has promised. The Conservatives outlined plans to modernise the national grid to deliver power more cheaply, subsidise home insulation projects, and make more use of green technologies including electric cars and off-shore windfarms. Publishing his party's "Plan for a Low Carbon Economy," Mr Cameron said that changes in the way that Britain generates, distributes and consumes electricity will save families significant amounts of money as well as benefiting the environment." - Daily Telegraph

"Under the flagship scheme, the Government would underwrite loans taken out by the energy companies for the massive investment programme, estimated to be worth a staggering £2.6billion a year. A typical home would have £1,700 of improvements to be paid back at about £70 a year. However, fuel bills would fall by £230 a year - a total gain of £160." - Daily Mail

"The Heathrow runway decision has just gifted David Cameron exactly what he needed. His wilting green oak tree is suddenly bursting with acorns as he trumpets his "environmental and energy" revolution, perfectly timed for Heathrow week. He wears the green halo, and nothing the government does between now and the election is likely to reclaim it." - Polly Toynbee in The Guardian

> Yesterday's ToryDiary posts on the launch and the policy

Ken Clarke: "Anybody who stands at the next election on a platform of tax cuts is asking for trouble."

"Ken Clarke has never been one to keep his opinions to himself. And today he dishes out more advice, of the kind that might not please his leader David Cameron, who is mulling over whether to bring him back into the shadow cabinet." - Guardian

Maria Miller warns of a generation of mothers being "left to flounder alone"

"A generation of new mothers is in crisis, the Tories have warned. More than half are said to show signs of post-natal depression as they are increasingly left to fend for themselves after giving birth. Maria Miller, Conservative families spokesman, warned women were floundering because they did not have the traditional family support and advice their own mothers could rely on." - Daily Mail

Dominic Grieve on the "recession crimewave"

"Robbery and burglary are on the rise across the country, almost doubling in some areas, according to figures that provide the first evidence that the economic downturn is fuelling crime... The shadow Home Secretary, Dominic Grieve, said: These figures are alarming. We already know, from leaked government memos between the Home Office and the Prime Minister, that ministers feared a rise in acquisitive crime due to Gordon Brown's recession. These figures appear to be bearing this out." - Independent

You home is your castle, says senior judge

Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge called for tougher sentences after stressing that domestic burglary must always be treated as a “serious criminal offence”. Declaring that a person’s home should be re­garded as their castle, he threw out claims from six burglars appealing against their sentences... Philip Davies, Tory MP for Shipley, said: “This is music to my ears and is outstanding news. Finally, we have someone speaking up for the victims of crime and for law-abiding citizens. I hope his message is heard by every judge in the land.” Tory MP and Daily Express columnist Ann Widdecombe said: “This is excellent news and is exactly what Home Secretaries have wanted from our judges.” - Daily Express

Ken Livingstone explains why he still turns up at City Hall to watch Boris from the public gallery

“I could go to the cinema for 10 quid but I can pop into City Hall and get two hours of pure entertainment for free. I thought I could have poked him in the eye on Wednesday, he was being so irritating.” - Ken Livingstone quoted in the FT

Michael Portillo on the benefits of an established church

"The paradox is that having an established church underlies the separation of religion and politics in Britain. Of course, a few Anglican bishops sit in the House of Lords, but that cannot honestly be described as giving them significant political power. As Alastair Campbell said, when Tony Blair's religiosity was under scrutiny, "we don't do God" in British politics. Blair waited until he had left office before converting to Catholicism, because the British electorate is largely suspicious of leaders who look to Heaven for guidance. By contrast, while in the United States religion and the state are kept separate by the Constitution, politicians talk about God all the time. Americans have just elected a black president, but it is still unimaginable that they would vote in a professed atheist." - Michael Portillo writing in the Daily Telegraph

New bank bailout planned - Times

Forced retirement at 65 could be outlawed - Daily Telegraph

Hazel Blears in Gaza extremism warning - BBC

Union leader's secret £200,000 package of pay and perks - Times

Nick Clegg: School leavers will bear the brunt of Gordon Brown's economic mismanagement - BBC

Slow start to inquiry into untruthfulness at Holyrood - Scotsman

And finally... David Cameron stars in online anti-Heathrow expansion game

Completely independent of the Conservative Party and without David Cameron's approval, an online game created this week highlights the Tory leader's opposition to the construction of a third runway at Heathrow. You control David Cameron as he uses dynamite to blow up the cement mixers helping to build the runway...

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 16th January 2009

4.45pm Tom Greeves on CentreRight: Why I don't vote UKIP

4pm WATCH: Gordon Brown has a go at ping pong (he's not very good)

2.30pm ToryDiary: David Cameron promises money saving environmentalism

2.30pm Julia Manning on CentreRight: Bush was right on stem cell research

1.30pm Parliament: Lord Malloch-Brown says Irish should not stop Lisbon Treaty

12.15pm Seats and candidates: Selection processes begin for 21 more seats

11.15am Parliament: Daniel Hannan says EU human rights agenda is crowding out democracy

10.30am Charlie Elphicke on CentreRight: Should MPs on the fiddle be expelled?

10am Seats and candidates: Charlotte Leslie's Diary of a Tory candidate

ToryDiary:

• Eric Pickles wins grassroots' confidence to be next Party Chairman
• David Cameron to launch new environmental policy this afternoon via a webcast

Seats and Candidates Search for 100 Peers: Matthew Parris

Sean Garman on Platform: In defence of a national loan guarantee scheme

Local Government: Tories narrowly miss snatching a Labour council seat in Haringey

Latest posts on CentreRight:

• Stephan Shakespeare: Easy changes to save many lives in the NHS to be implemented “within a year”. Why not a week?
• Nile Gardiner: Miliband Wins Weak-Kneed Speech of the Year Award
• Andrew Lilico: On global downturns and Gordon's uncharacteristic humility

WATCH: Highlights of President Bush's Farewell Address

Theresa Villiers leads opposition to Heathrow expansion - and warns that a Tory Government would cancel contracts

"The Government was warned last night that it faced a long and bitter struggle to secure the expansion of Heathrow after giving the go-ahead to controversial plans for a third runway. Theresa Villiers, the shadow Secretary of State for Transport, warned building companies not to sign contracts. She said: "Make no mistake: we will find a way of stopping this from happening. Anyone out there thinking about signing up to this does so at their own risk." Having taken legal advice, the Conservatives are convinced that an incoming government would have the power to scrap all contracts agreed between the airports operator BAA and its sub-contractors, although compensation might have to be paid." - Independent

"Some opposition politicians believe there may be huge electoral gains from campaigning against Heathrow... The subject also poses risks for David Cameron, with some senior frontbenchers, including Patrick McLoughlin, Alan Duncan and Chris Grayling, all thought to be supporters of a third runway. Meanwhile, the Mayor of London proposes creating a new airport on wetland, something Mr Cameron opposes." - The Times

> Yesterday's ToryDiary

The sketchwriters have a field day with John McDonnell's "Mogwli moment"

"He picked up the Mace. He did not grab it but lifted it gingerly, as if his real purpose might be to dust under it. For a few long tantalising seconds, the elaborate golden object rested on his palms, held out almost as an offering. It looked wrong. Surely Mr McDonnell should be waving the thing about, brandishing it as Michael Heseltine had in 1976. That was a Tarzan moment. This, however, was a Mowgli moment." - Ann Treneman in The Times

"The natural use for the mace, to hit Mr Hoon over the head, was not open to Mr McDonnell, but he had already caused a tremor to run through the Chamber: the shock not just of someone breaking the rules, but of seeing a man beside himself with emotion." - Andrew Gimson in the Daily Telegraph

Tory call for ban on second jobs for police

"A political row has broken out after the Conservatives said they would consider preventing police officers from having second jobs. Shadow police minister David Ruffley said it was "hard to see" justification for police doing supplementary work... Police minister Vernon Coaker accused Mr Ruffley and other Conservatives of double standards, saying many on their frontbench had "well-paid jobs" in addition to being MPs." - BBC

Peter Ainsworth: End crippling water bills for churches and community groups

"The Government must step in to stop vital community organisations being "unfairly clobbered" by exorbitant new water bills, the Conservatives have said... Some churches, Scout troops and sports clubs – which were previously exempt from surface water drainage charges – have seen their water bills rise by as much as 1,300 per cent to reach £5,000 a year... Peter Ainsworth, the Shadow Environment Secretary, said: "In a severe economic downturn the last thing voluntary bodies, community groups and churches need is a hefty new bill due to changes in the way their water is charged. These buildings are often the hub of the local community and provide vital support networks." - Daily Telegraph

Welsh Tories announce expenses clampdown

"The Welsh Conservatives are promising to introduce 'robust guidelines' for their assembly members expenses claims. An allowance committee will write the rules, following criticism of claims by party leader Nick Bourne, including one for an iPod which he has since repaid. A statement after a shadow cabinet meeting in Cardiff Bay said Tory AMs gave their leader "unanimous support". Mr Bourne maintains he has faced a "witch hunt", and said all parties need to address issues surrounding expenses." - BBC

Boris Johnson's new ambassador for young people admits trying cannabis in his youth

"A Tory member of the London assembly who was appointed by Boris Johnson to tackle youth crime has admitted using cannabis in his youth. James Cleverly, the member for Bexley and Bromley, gave an interview with the London Paper yesterday in which he described trying "a little bit of dope" in his younger days." - Guardian

Two budding Tories with a hinterland in television

"Step forward Jimmy Buchan. The 49-year-old Scots skipper, best known for his starring role in the BBC's Trawlermen television series, now hopes to trade 30 years' experience of high seas and storms in the country's most dangerous profession for the perpetually turbulent environment of Parliament. - The Scotsman | Jimmy Buchan selected for Banff and Buchan

"A former reality television contestant has been chosen by the Conservatives to contest the Waddon by-election caused by the untimely death of Croydon mayor Jonathan Driver. Clare Hilley, a 25-year-old trainee solicitor, starred on the BBC1 show Castaway in 2007. But she is no stranger to politics, having unsuccessfully contested two local elections, before her foray into television." - Croydon Advertiser

Government minister almost worked for John Major's administration

"Lady Vadera, the business minister and one of Gordon Brown’s closest allies, discussed a job working in John Major’s Conservative administration, the FT can reveal. The talks happened when Lady Vadera was working for UBS Warburg, the investment bank, in the early 1990s. A “mutual City contact” introduced her to Sarah Hogg, at that time head of the Number 10 Policy Unit in Mr Major’s government." - FT

MPs defy the judges to keep ‘John Lewis’ expenses list secret

"Details of MPs’ claims for plasma televisions, furniture and cleaning bills will be kept secret after Harriet Harman bowed to backbenchers’ pressure to stop expenses claims being published. MPs are preparing to pass a new law next week that will exempt them from parts of the Freedom of Information Act, meaning that they will never again be forced to publish receipts for their claims, in defiance of an order by the High Court." - Times

UUP Assembly Member in attack on Tory "liberalistos" - Belfast News Letter

Boris announces two new 2012 advisors - BBC

Treasury plans 'bad bank' to buy toxic assets - Daily Telegraph

Ex-military top brass brand Trident "useless" - Guardian

Eurozone interest rates cut to 2% - BBC

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

Thursday 15th January 2009

9.45pm Local Government: Labour councillor quits over Heathrow

5.30pm Parliament: Syed Kamall says Government is encouraging abuse of cross-Channel shoppers

5.15pm Matt Sinclair on CentreRight: "Eventually, we will need to have a reckoning over whether the Conservative Party is in favour of letting ordinary Britons enjoy a holiday abroad, or not."

5pm Parliament: Francis Maude reveals that the civil service is not advertising jobs properly

4.45pm WATCH: John McDonnell explains why he lifted the Commons Mace in protest at third runway for Heathrow

3.45pm Charlie Elphicke on CentreRight: No more Heathrow runways

2.15pm Local Government: Kennet Tory councillor facing chop? and Wigan councillor defects to Tories

1.15pm Greg Hands MP on CentreRight: The German stimulus package is more inspired by us than by Labour

11.30am Local Government: Eight out of ten Town Halls adding staff and LGA faces revolt over Baby P stance

11am Parliament: Anthony Steen wants to save Hope Cove lifeboat

10.45am ToryDiary: Theresa Villiers vows to stop third runway at Heathrow

10am Andrew Lilico on CentreRight: Ridiculous assault or legimitate spin over "green shoots"?

9.30am Parliament: Alan Duncan slams Government on loan guarantees

ToryDiary: Tory reshuffle likely "within days"

Nick Cuff on Platform: There are alternatives to expanding Heathrow

Mark Field MP on CentreRight: Gordon Brown should worry when voters reach the angry stage

Cllr Jean Pearson on Local government: Mole Valley offers £75 council tax discount for those who insulate their lofts

Seats and candidates: Search for 100 Peers: Sir Simon Milton

WATCH: Labour minister Baroness Vadera sees some 'green shoots' of recovery

Third runway at Heathrow to get go ahead from Brown - BBC

"The latest figures confirm that demand for air travel is falling; those saying that Heathrow is operating at
99 per cent capacity are out of date. The number of passengers using Heathrow was down 1.4 per cent last year and at Gatwick demand declined by 2.4 per cent. At Stansted, the fall was 6 per cent. Across the sector, the downturn is accelerating and, even when the recovery comes, will the craze for air travel resume at the old rate? Certainly, there will be far fewer bankers flying to New York to seal silly deals which load their companies with debt and cripple the economy." - Iain Martin in The Telegraph is against a third runwa

"UK greenhouse gas emissions from aviation are rising faster than those of any other sector. To sanction a policy which actively promotes their expansion, in the very year when the international community is desperately trying to put together a treaty to cut emissions back hard, and Britain has officially adopted the target of cutting back its own emissions by 80 per cent, is political nonsense." - Independent

Pickles plan to cut number of council chief executives lacks support among Tory councillors - Local Government Chronicle

Tory activists in Bradford ‘used empty homes in postal vote scam’ - Times

Quentin Letts on the "fake" John Bercow; "A work of artifice" who is creeping around Labour MPs in his bid to become Speaker

"In an apparent bid to endear himself to Labour MPs (whose votes might swing the choice of next Speaker), Mr Bercow assumed his greasiest tone to tell the House: 'It would be unconstructive, flippant and just plain wrong to dismiss a commitment to greater social mobility as being somehow a commitment to a class war.'  What a fake speaking manner he has, over-elaborate, the accent polished like Cyril Fletcher's old armchair in That's Life. His remark was surely designed to slap Mrs May round the chops with a wet haddock.  Those who set greater store than me by the principle of party solidarity might go so far to say that Mr Bercow's sally was strikingly disloyal." - Quentin Letts in the Daily Mail

Mandelson fails to quell Labour's growing Royal Mail revolt - Independent

David Miliband: 'War on terror' rhetoric was a mistake

"The foreign secretary, David Miliband, today argues that the use of the "war on terror" as a western rallying cry since the September 11 attacks has been a mistake that may have caused "more harm than good"." - Guardian

Brown meets Sarkozy and then Merkel for economic policy strategy talks - Sky

"Customers buying new cars will get loans from the taxpayer under a controversial plan to rescue the beleaguered motor industry." - Times

Barack Obama ready to let gay Americans serve openly in miltary - Telegraph

Andrew Roberts: Bush was right

"Mistakes are made in every war, but when virtually the entire military, diplomatic and political establishment in the West opposed it, Bush insisted on the surge in Iraq that has been seen to have brought the war around, and set Iraq on the right path. Today its GDP is 30 per cent higher than under Saddam, and it is free of a brutal dictator and his rapist sons." - Andrew Roberts in The Telegraph | Andrew Roberts for the Lords?

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 14th January 2009

3,30pm WATCH: Highlights of the exchanges at today's PMQs

2.15pm Latest on CentreRight:

• Dan Lewis: President Bush's least observed mistake
• Suli Shah: The end of the euro?

2pm Seats and Candidates: Craig Piper selected for Caerphilly

1.30pm Parliament: Conservative MPs put spotlight on Belarus

1.15pm Local Government: Tory whip restored to ex-IRA member on Croydon Council

12.45pm Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: Bush's fightback against judicial activism

12.30pm: The economy dominates the first PMQs of 2009

10.30am Latest in Parliament:

• Shailesh Vara uncovers lax data security at the MoD
• Timothy Kirkhope wants to keep the pound

10.15am ToryDiary: Who should be the next Party Chairman?

10.15am Local Government: Middle East conflict features in Haringey Council byelection

ToryDiary: David Cameron enhances the role of his "deputy", William Hague

Jonathan Isaby in Parliament: Returning after its 24-day recess, the Commons rises early two days running - without a word of debate about the economy

Stewart Jackson MP on Platform: Exposing Labour's insidious transfer of powers to new quangos and bureaucrats

Seats and Candidates Search for 100 Peers: Andrew Roberts

Cllr Neil Reddin in Local Government: How do you keep cutting costs after the first term? The example from Bromley

WATCH: George Bush awards Tony Blair the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Government to announce "pale imitation" of Tory loan guarantee scheme

"David Cameron is preparing to denounce Labour's latest move, the credit guarantee scheme due to be announced by Lord Mandelson, the business secretary, this morning, as a pale and over-complex imitation of the £50bn scheme he has championed since November. The Cameron scheme has been the riposte to Labour claims that the opposition offers a do-nothing response to the recession." - Guardian

"Shadow chancellor George Osborne said the government appeared to be offering a belated version of the £50bn scheme floated by the Tories several weeks ago. "Let us hope that they will properly implement this Conservative policy rather than a pale imitation, or else they run the risk of repeating the mistakes of their expensive temporary VAT cut and achieving nothing," he said." - BBC

Yet more speculation about a shadow cabinet job for Ken Clarke

"David Cameron is preparing to face down the Conservative Right and hand Ken Clarke the business brief to raise the party’s profile during the recession, The Times has learnt. The Tory leader believes that the former Chancellor is the only senior Conservative, other than himself and George Osborne, who can command the media spotlight." - The Times

"He would never confront Mr Mandelson in person as they sit in different Houses. I do not see what benefit Mr Cameron would gain from having him back in the Shadow Cabinet, as opposed to his current role heading the democracy task force defending Parliament, and perhaps the occasional frontbench apparance in big debates. Mr Clarke can gain public attention. But there are risks in his outspokenness." - Peter Riddell in The Times

> Last night's ToryDiary: Reshuffle speculation is getting out of control

Cameron recommits to vote on Lisbon Treaty

"Britain will have a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in October if the Tories win a 2009 snap election, David Cameron declared last night. The Tory leader and his shadow foreign secretary William Hague vowed to put the hated constitution to a national vote in the autumn." - The Sun

Theresa May casts doubt on proposed social mobility law

"The Government thinks social inequality can be solved by passing a law. You don't make people's lives better by telling them they have a legal right to a better life. You do it by tackling the root causes like family breakdown and poor education." - Theresa May quoted in the Independent

Backing for David Cameron's plan to reduce the number of MPs

"When belts are being tightened across the country, there is no reason why Parliament should not do the same. At best, a leaner, fitter House of Commons should be the result, along with a fairer system of representation. Perhaps he could think about introducing fixed parliamentary terms as well." - Independent editorial

"Reduced by at least 10 per cent, Mr Cameron argues that Parliament can do just as good a job (which may not be saying much) "without any trouble at all". We agree and suggest Mr Cameron applies this rule of thumb to the whole of the public sector. And why stop at 10 per cent?" - Daily Telegraph editorial

MPs' pensions set to increase

"MPs are set to help themselves to even more lavish pensions using taxpayers’ cash. New figures have revealed that an extra £2.2million was poured into their scheme last year compared with 2003 – a rise of almost 25 per cent... Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Philip Hammond said last night: “We need to end the pensions apartheid that exists between the public and private sectors. Moving new MPs on to a defined-contribution scheme is a crucial first step in any wider reform of public sector pensions.” - Daily Express

Welsh Tory leader Nick Bourne sets out his agenda for 2009...

"Mr Bourne announced he would be making a series of speeches on key policy areas, such as the economy and public services, in the coming weeks... Mr Bourne also said he would be talking to Plaid and the Liberal Democrats this year to sound out "potential dancing partners" for coalitions after the next election in 2011. He said: "That is important in looking forward as to how we can ensure there is an alternative to Labour domination in Wales." - South Wales Evening Post

...as there is further controversy over his expense claims

"Nick Bourne claimed yesterday he was the victim of a “witch-hunt” and condemned the controversy which has surrounded his recent expense claims. Mr Bourne accused his fellow AMs of making “massive” expense claims for things like meals, but said these had gone unquestioned... The pressure intensified yesterday when it emerged he appeared to claim more than £1,800 from public funds to run a website that did not exist." - Western Mail

Daniel Finkelstein: The kinder Conservatism of David Cameron is not just a slogan. It's central to Tory strategy and applies in bad times too

"One of David Cameron's constant refrains is that he believes in a stronger society, but not a stronger State... In place of much state coercion and regulation, there will be a stronger society based on voluntary initiative. This is an ambitious idea at the best of times, but will be severely tested in a harsh economic climate. But it cannot work at all without the right prime ministerial leadership. It needs Mr Cameron to be gentle, socially concerned, caring. Kind and efficient become essential partners, rather than political choices." - Daniel Finkelstein in The Times

Police seek new rights for searching rail passengers - Guardian

Mervyn Davies of Standard Chartered Bank to be ennobled and made trade minister - Daily Telegraph

Straw revives controversial plans to hold inquests in secret - Daily Mail

Ministers seek to revitalise affordable homes market - Guardian

BNP links to immigration service staff - Independent

Brown faces backbench revolt over Royal Mail - Daily Telegraph

And finally... Labour councillor used pseudonym to praise own work

"A councillor came under fire today for using a pseudonym to praise his own work. Ben Grower posted comments under several aliases on the Daily Echo's website. But the newspaper in Bournemouth, Dorset, decided to name and shame the councillor after he posted praise for himself under the name Omegaman. In one post about plans to build Europe's first artificial surf reef in Boscombe, the Labour councillor wrote: "At least two councillors seem to be concerned about this mess. Well done Cllrs Ratcliffe and Grower." - 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.

Tuesday 13th January 2009

11.15pm ToryDiary: Reshuffle speculation is getting out of control

6.30pm Dale Bassett on CentreRight: Social mobility cannot be achieved by decree

4pm WATCH: Four minute American video that argues that fiscal stimulus schemes have failed from 1930s America to 1990s Japan.

3.30pm Alex Deane on CentreRight defines "proportionate" in the context of Gaza

3.15pm Parliament: Robert Sturdy bemoans EU pesticides ban

Noon Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: What is proportionate?

10.15am Parliament: MP of the day - Charles Walker for his speech on mental health

9.45am ToryDiary: Does The Telegraph have an infiltrator?

ToryDiary: Cameron ready to cut Commons by 60 MPs and make all seats of equal size

Peter Luff MP on Platform: We need fewer but more powerful select committees

Parliament: Liam Fox says we should be celebrating when the US military "takes out" al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan

Nick Seaton on Local government: Bring back geography lessons

Seats and candidates: Search for 100 Peers: Simon Wolfson of NEXT

WATCH:

• George W Bush discusses his regrets during final White House news conference
• Sky's Jeff Randall can't get an apology from Alistair Darling for economic mistakes
• David Cameron attacks Labour's "foolish" VAT cut

Tories 10% ahead as Brown bounce fades - Times | Yesterday evening's ToryDiary

David Cameron defends Alan Duncan

"In an Financial Times interview, the Conservative leader said Mr Duncan’s decision to go on a parliamentary skiing trip, rather than attend the Tories’ recession tour, came after he had been on duty over Christmas. “I don’t think it’s fair to criticise him – he works extremely hard,” said Mr Cameron. The Tory leader dismissed suggestions that he thought only a minority of his 31-strong shadow cabinet team had the experience and skills to serve in government. “It’s complete and utter rubbish,” he said. “People in my shadow cabinet are there because they’re good.”"

More of the FT interview here.

Westminster's right-leading insiders recommend against return for Clarke

"David Cameron should not bring Ken Clarke back on to the Tory frontbench. That’s the strong verdict of right-leaning members of the PHI100 whose members include senior Tory MPs and key party strategists. But in a notably split judgement, left-leaning and liberal members of the expert panel think that the Tory leader would  strengthen his top team by including the former Chancellor."- Andrew Rawnsley on PoliticsHome

New Tory debt campaign

"Every baby born in Britain will be saddled with a £17,000 debt thanks to runaway Government borrowing, Tory leader David Cameron claimed yesterday." - The Sun

> ConservativeHome's verdict on the campaign: "Almost perfect"

Labour is considering £20bn loan guarantee scheme for small businesses - BBC

George Osborne issued this statement: "With Conservative policies to help get unemployed people back into work and guarantee business lending now being adopted by the government, it is clear that the Conservatives are setting the serious policy agenda for the recession. We have been calling on Gordon Brown to introduce National Loan Guarantee Scheme for two months and while the Prime Minister has dithered dozens of businesses and thousands of jobs have been lost. Let us hope that they will properly implement this Conservative policy rather than a pale imitation, or else they run the risk of repeating the mistakes of their expensive temporary VAT cut and achieving nothing.”

£10,000 in loyalty payments for good teachers in England's toughest schools - BBC

The Blairites return to the heart of Labour and make peace with Brown - Nick Watt in The Guardian

The Times' Rachel Sylvester still sees fundamental disagreements between the Blairites and Brown.

[Guardian image].

It's certainly not all rosy in the Labour family: Also in The Guardian is a report that Hilary Benn, Ed Miliband, Harriet Harman and John Denham all object to Brown's likely green light for a third runway at Heathrow.

The Telegraph backs a third runway for Heathrow.

A new low for Liverpool's Derek Hatton

"Left-winger Derek Hatton has made an astonishing attack on Baroness Thatcher, saying it was a 'shame' she had ever been born. The former deputy leader of Liverpool Council criticised the former Prime Minister's mother for 'not believing in abortion'." - Daily Mail

 And finally...

The 22 books you need to be like the Camerons - Guardian

The Independent also chooses its favourite features from the Cameron home.

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 12th January 2009

8.45pm WATCH: Tim Montgomerie and Derek Draper appear on Channel 4 News to discuss political blogging

8.15pm ToryDiary: "Gordon Brown bounce fades as Conservative return to huge poll lead"

5.30pm WATCH: George Osborne critiques Labour's policies for the recession

4.45pm ToryDiary: Almost perfect

4.00pm Local Government: Tameside Council's "Boob Jobs on the rates"

3.45pm CentreRight:

• Andrew Lilico is inclined to believe that a National Loan Guarantee Scheme is a "terrible idea"
• Matt Sinclair joins other CentreRighties at London's anti-Hamas rally

11.30am ToryDiary: Dad's Nose. Mum's Eyes. Gordon Brown's Debt.

10.45am Louise Bagshawe on CentreRight: "Ken Clarke is a superstar. I have no idea whether David Cameron intends to bring him back to the shadow Cabinet, or for that matter whether he wants to come. We would go into the Euro over my cold, dead body, but seeing a giant of a politician like Ken Clarke in a front bench role wouldn't cause me a second's anxiety."

ToryDiary: Cameron and Osborne are close to a winning economic message (and a project for government)

Howard Flight on Platform: It's time to tell the blunt truth about how we can recover from Labour's economic mess

Seats and candidates: The 45 Tory MPs most likely to retire before the next General Election

Seats and candidates: Search for 100 Peers: Tim Rice

Local government: Doncaster Council's social work scandals

Helen Rainbow on CentreRight: Government propaganda is unlikely to produce a healthy 2009

Tories will scrap GCSE and A-level coursework to stop cheats - Daily Mail | Yesterday's ToryDiary

More speculation about Ken Clarke's return to shadow cabinet

"Lord Kalms, a former party treasurer and the founder of the Dixons retail empire, told the Financial Times: “We should not be looking for yesterday’s men. I would find a better choice who represents modern Conservatism to stick up against [Lord] Mandelson than old buffer Ken Clarke, who’s had better days.”

"They like Ken's outspoken, bumptious, no-prisoners language, his floridly un-PC face and his outrageous self-confidence. He is the Saga generation's Boris. As for Davis, he's enjoyed for similar reasons - a gutsiness, that wicked smile, a certain sense of danger." - Jackie Ashley in The Guardian

> Yesterday's ToryDiary on Clarke's likely return

David Cameron admits that he was wrong about public spending during Marr interview - Times

The Daily Mail examines the contents of David Cameron's home | Yesterday's ToryDiary summary of Andrew Marr interview

Cross-party group of MPs formed to back new London airport on Thames Estuary

"The proposal, which would divert flights away from London, was mooted by the London mayor, Boris Johnson, but is gathering support against the government's apparent determination to expand Britain's biggest airport." - Guardian

Gordon Brown holds Downing Street jobs summit with businesses and unions - BBC

The summit will focus on a £500m job creation and training package - Sky

More Blairities return to Brown's side

"Alan Milburn, who will lead a government drive to boost social mobility, said a working-class child growing up in Britain today has less chance of reaching the Cabinet than he did." - Independent

"First Peter Mandelson ended his 14-year feud with Gordon Brown and joined his Cabinet. Now he has renounced his sins as a spin doctor and pronounced the death of Labour's "command and control" strategy to silence internal dissent. Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, made the announcement in his first blog on a new website for Labour supporters, www.labourlist.org. It will feature a cartoon-like image of him, using his real voice. The website is the brainchild of Derek Draper, a former aide to Lord Mandelson who is now a psychotherapist." - Independent

Lord Mandelson writing for LabourList: In new media command and control doesn't work: we need to embrace and engage

Bruce Anderson examines the many causes of the decline of Parliament - Independent

ToryDiary: 10% of people who will vote Tory in a General Election will vote UKIP in June's Euro elections

ToryDiary: Summaries of key planks of Conservative foreign policy

Bernard Jenkin MP on Platform: The issue at the heart of the Damian Green affair is privilege

Charles Tannock MEP on CentreRight: Russia's gas diplomacy underlines the need for a common EU external energy security policy

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