ConservativeHome's ToryDiary

What will Fleet Street do with Cameron's "moral neutrality" speech?

We blogged Cameron's "right and wrong" speech four hours ago.  We found it a thoughtful and morally serious speech.  It stated the obvious truth that personal behaviours contribute to social challenges.  So long as we continue to deny that we are only condemning more people to tough lives.  James Forsyth at The Spectator seems to agree.

Looking at The Telegraph's headline coverage, however, one has to wonder if 'Fleet Street' is capable of providing thoughtful and morally serious coverage:

If David Cameron sticks at this message he can win the debate.  He's fundamentally right about the causes of social breakdown and he's certainly not saying that he wants to abandon people to the consequences of their choices.  He has talked about helping people make right choices and building "a nation of the second chance" where people are never abandoned.  The core virtue of this approach is that it is honest and compassionate.  God help Britain if it is rejected.

6.30pm: Julia Manning on CentreRight also applauds DC's speech.

Encouraging healthy relationships is a government priority

Further to our earlier post, David Cameron fleshed out his approach to supporting marriage in his speech to the Relate Institute a couple of hours ago.

He started off by criticising those politicians who avoided talking about relationships, saying that not tackling the issue of relationships undermines the 'grittier' issues that they focused on instead like education, healthcare and tax cuts. "Politics is behind the public on this" he said, noting the popularity of the TV programme Supernanny, Britain's 700 agony aunt columns, and MumsNet.com. "Politicians have feared looking old fashioned, but where has it got us? UNICEF said we are the world's worst place in the developed world for children to grow up in". Here are the other key points to draw from the speech:

Just like life, it's not all about money - One role of the speech was to meet head-on the critics who think that the Conservatives think that promoting the family - "the best institution in the country" - is all about money, with regard to the promised tax break: "I don't want anyone to think I have a mechanistic view of these things, it's as much about the message than the money". You can have "all the tax breaks and flexible working in the world, but if the warmth of a family is eroding away it will mean very little". He went on to recognise that this whole area is not very comfortable territory for politicians, as our previous post covered.

Investment in relationship education set to be new weapon in Cameron's battle against family breakdown

Last week support for David Cameron's pro-family agenda came from an unlikely source; The Guardian's Michael White.  The Conservative leader develops his agenda today in a major speech to the annual conference of Relate, the relationship guidance charity.

Here is a key section of Mr Cameron's speech, as reported in the Daily Mail:

"The number one challenge in this country today is to strengthen our society. There is no more important way of doing that than strengthening families, and there's nothing more important to families than the strength of their relationships. This isn't comfortable territory for politicians. Our relationships break down and fail just like other people's, arguably more so. This goes to the heart of people's personal lives  -  and some might say the best thing politicians can do is keep their noses out. But I think that's a bit of a cop-out. Politicians are the ones who take taxpayers' money and write billions of pounds worth of cheques to deal with the costs of family breakdown. So I think politicians have a responsibility to do what we can to bring these costs down."

Mr Cameron will note that Relate's annual budget is only £24m but that the costs associated with family and other forms of breakdown are estimated at £20bn pa.  He will call for more investment in early relationship support rather than waiting until relationships are already in crisis.  He will also say that sex education in schools should also include relationship education.

Iain Duncan Smith's Social Justice Policy Group noted that relationship education has been proven to reduce divorce and break-ups among couples. The SJPG proposed a nationwide programme of relationship education, offering opt-in support to couples and parents at all key life stages.

The Conservative Party has already promised to introduce recognition of marriage in the tax system (paid for by higher green taxes); the elimination of the 'couple penalty' in the benefits system (paid for by welfare reform); and, as set out by Maria Miller MP, more flexible parental leave arrangements and a universal health visitor service.

The Daily Mail's leader writers welcome today's speech as Mr Cameron "taking another vital step on the road to power."  Gordon Brown's recent votes on fatherhood and abortion have caused a perhaps decisive souring in Mail Editor Paul Dacre's relationship with him.

Grayling targets English language skills of unemployed minorities

In a speech today Chris Grayling, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, will lay much of the blame for Britain's large pool of unemployed, unskilled labour on Gordon Brown's immigration policies:

"I think Gordon Brown has used the influx of migrant workers as a way of ducking the issue of welfare reform, and as a result, has left millions of people stranded in poverty who could and should have been helped back to work over the last decade. After all his rhetoric on poverty, he has failed to deliver the sea change he has promised. And immigration has provided him with a safety net for the economic impact of that failure."

Mr Grayling will also target the high proportion of UK ethnic minorities who are out of work.  "Speaking English," reports The Telegraph, "will be an "essential" requirement, with job centres and voluntary groups offering language lessons to those whose prospects are hampered by an inability to communicate."

Young people will be required to attend employment 'boot camps' after three months on benefits.  Mr Grayling will speak to the Centre for Policy Studies later today and is expected to say: "There is no excuse for a young, able-bodied person to be outside the labour force."

These latest announcements follow a series of other welfare reform proposals in January.  Savings from reducing welfare dependency will be ploughed into eliminating the couple penalty in the benefits system - a penalty that discourages poorer parents from living together.

83% of Conservative MPs voted for 22 weeks (80% of Labour MPs voted against)

Research by the BBC for Radio 4's World at One programme reveals the significant party divide hidden behind last night's free votes on the need for fatherhood and for a lower abortion limit:

• 92% of Conservative MPs backed Iain Duncan Smith's call for fatherhood to be recognised when decisions about fertility treatment are being made.  82% of Labour MPs were opposed to such a recognition.
• A very similar divide was clear when it came to the unsuccessful attempt to reduce the time limit for abortion.  83% of Tory MPs favoured a lower limit and 80% of Labour MPs opposed it.  Tory MP after Tory MP gave speeches last night in favour of increased protection for the unborn child.

If the Conservatives win the next election and if new MPs vote in similar proportion to the way their existing parliamentary parties vote then it is very likely that a tougher regime for abortion will be introduced.

The only clues to the next Conservative intake's views on social issues come from a November 2007 survey of candidates by ConservativeHome.com.  Abortion wasn't addressed but euthanasia and gay adoption were.  Candidates were divided on a right-to-die for very sick people but largely in favour of Catholic adoption agencies being free to deny placing children with gay couples.

Embryology Bill is wrong to devalue fatherhood

One of the most controversial elements of the Embryology Bill is the ending of a requirement for test tube babies to have a registered mother and father.

A YouGov survey for the Centre for Social Justice finds overwhelming support for the idea that fathers shouldn't be written out of the law.  See Mail on Sunday report.

YouGov found that eight out of 10 people believe a child has a right to two parents and that six out of 10 believe that a child should have male and female parents.

Iain Duncan Smith said:

“This move by Gordon Brown has huge symbolic significance. It will not make any practical difference to lesbian and gay couples, but if passed it will send a dismissive message about the family and about the importance of fathers in the upbringing of children. We should be including fathers in; not including them out.”

Other poll findings:

• 61% believed that it was very important or fairly important for children to know the identity of their biological parents. Only 10% said it was not important at all.
• 79% said that there should NOT be an absolute right enshrined in law for everyone to have an IVF child if they wish.
• Only 24% thought that the law should recognise the partner in a same-sex couple who has a child through assisted reproductive treatment in the same way as a biological parent.

The video below from Passion for Life makes the case that 'it takes balls to be a father':

Tories promise to tackle root causes of homelessness with new Foundation

Speaking yesterday at the launch of the Conservative Party's new Homelessness Foundation, at the Crisis charity, David Cameron said: "Homelessness isn't just about literally having no roof over your head.  We're also ignoring what's called the 'hidden homeless'.  That's the people who move from one sofa to another, night after night, with no stability and no security.  And it's the families who are forced to live in crowded conditions in hostels and B&Bs while they wait to be re-housed."  David Cameron's full remarks are here.

The Foundation will look at how public policy might be reshaped to tackle homelessness in all of its forms.  There will be a particular emphasis on the root causes of homelessness.  Grant Shapps, Tory housing spokesman, told ConservativeHome that he had invited all of the leading charities to join the Foundation and all had accepted.  John Bird of The Big Issue (to which Iain Duncan Smith has become a contributor) will be one of the advisors.  Also involved are Thames Reach Bondway, Homeless Link,  Shelter, Crisis (which has Tory origins), the Simon Community and St Mungo's.  It really is a sign of the times that these charities are willing to sign up to a Conservative research organisation.

The Foundation's Advisory Board looks vulnerable to being captured by the big, established charities in our view but Grant insists that smaller groups, following different approaches, like Aquila Way in Gateshead, will also be involved.

David Cameron meets Mrs Newlove

The wife of Warrington man Garry Newlove, who was murdered by youths outside his doorstep last summer, spoke alongside Cameron today at a summit on strengthening families. Cameron said:

"We need to build stronger families and more responsible communities, so that kids grow up knowing the difference between right and wrong. Most important of all, parents need to take the responsibility of parenthood seriously. That is a harder and longer task than sorting out the criminal justice system. It is a task for a generation."

Helen Newlove ultimately blames a breakdown in morals and family life for her husband's death. Cameron paid tribute to Mrs Newlove's commitment to speaking out about the underlying social problems that lead youths on the path to crime, saying he'd find it hard to think of anyone who is more remarkable that he's met in the last two and a half years as leader...

Stronger families = social justice + smaller government

We've already noted some of the themes of David Cameron's Gateshead speech but its main theme was the family.  Here is a key section:

"If we Conservatives are serious when we say we want a smaller state and lower taxes, we have to have a serious plan for making it happen. And the truth is this: you won't end up with sustainably lower taxes unless you cut the real costs of government. And the real costs of government are the social problems that cause public spending, and the state, to grow and grow. And the whole point is that we Conservatives know that government cannot solve these problems on its own. So when, for example, we discuss this with business, here is the argument I will make. You in business - you want the same things I want: less tax, less red tape. I want to help you cut your costs, the costs imposed by government. But to do that, you're going to have to help me cut my costs - the costs on society imposed by some of the things that business does.

That's why this family-friendly stuff is Conservative - seriously Conservative. It's about solving our social problems for the long term. Reducing demands on the state. And showing that the way to do it is through social responsibility, not state control."

Social, economic and compassionate conservatives should all be able to unite in support of this agenda.  Family breakdown is a leading cause - perhaps the leading cause - of failure at school, of criminality and economic underachievement.  If we are successful in building up the family and other components of civil society we will have a real chance of making sustainable reductions in the size of the welfare state.

It's lazy thinking to believe that economic liberals should always be social liberals.  Strong social structures underpin low tax economies.  Weak social structures produce the range of problems that invite increasing government interventions and the tax burden that funds those interventions.  It's not yet clear that David Cameron has the right policies to renew the family but he's right to state its central importance to nearly everything conservatives hold dear.

The need to focus on reducing the demand for government, rather than its supply, was David Willetts' breakthrough contribution during the Tory leadership race of 2005.

ITV News films Cameron, the family man

Tomorrow we'll be publishing a poll of Tory members which shows very strong belief in the potency of Brand Cameron.  82% of members agreed with the following statement:

"David Cameron is our best asset. We do better when he's in the news. The party needs to build its appeal around him. He must feature constantly in our leaflets, television broadcasts and internet campaigns."

Just 15% disagreed.

Mr Cameron and his advisers appear to have reached the same conclusion but they've taken it one step further.  The Conservative leader has given ITV's Julie Etchingham behind-the-scenes access to his family life.  The screen captures below from News at Ten (similar footage was shown at 6.30pm) show the level of access that ITN's cameras had to the morning routine of the Tory leader's family:

David Cameron to unveil latest report from David Willetts' childhood inquiry

David Cameron will unveil a report today that will outline new ideas for improving the lives of children.  It will include - as noted briefly yesterday - a suggestion of maternity nurses for new parents.  The nurses will be available for the first few days of parenthood at six hours each day.  They will help give advice to new parents, including on such basic matters as breast-feeding and bathing.

The Camerons are known to have benefited from such nursing support themselves and the Conservative leader is keen to examine whether a model of nursing used in Holland - called 'kraamzorg' - can be imported into Britain.  The Telegraph estimates that the scheme would cost at least £180m per year.

The children's manifesto is partly a response to last year's UNICEF report which put Britain at the bottom of a list of 21 nations in terms of child well-being.  The recommendations stem from an inquiry into childhood that is being chaired by David Willetts.

The children's report - 'More Ball Games' - will, reports the Daily Mail, also highlight "Tory pledges to extend flexible working to all parents, abolish the so-called couple-penalty in the benefit system, scrap health-and-safety red tape to make school trips easier, and introduce more "parkies" to patrol parks and playgrounds."

Mr Willetts is a particular champion of recruiting a small army of park rangers to provide a safe place for children to play.  He told The Guardian:

"If playgrounds are places where gangs gather, or are strewn with syringes and broken glass, it is not surprising that parents do not feel confident about letting their children out to play.  The very places where children should be able to play freely, public playgrounds, are where 40% of gangs meet."

Speaking to ConservativeHome earlier Mr Willetts said that a desire to recapture public space for children was at the heart of his thinking.  Many parents were afraid that public spaces weren't safe for their children.  This often led poorer families to keep their children at home - entertained by the television and computer games - with wealthier families transporting their children to very supervised forms of 'flat play'.  This had to change, he said, with equitable access to safe, public space.  David Willetts has just joined the CentreRight.com team and will be writing his first post on this subject later.

Related link on today's Platform: David Abbott asks 'Could national service mend our broken society?'

11am: PDF of David Cameron's speech_on_childhood.

Tories emphasise police reform, lower taxation and help for new parents on 'momentum Sunday'

Tories regaining the initiative (1): Action on crime

In an article for The Sunday Telegraph David Davis promises:

• "Dramatic reductions in the current 29 central government targets for the police. In their place, we would introduce directly-elected police commissioners, to make police forces directly accountable to their local communities."
• "As part of wider reform, a Conservative government will abolish "statutory charging" in straightforward magistrates court cases, restoring discretion to the custody sergeant and eliminating the reams of paperwork that police prepare for the Crown Prosecution Service. This will free up to a million police hours per year, allowing officers to re-focus on fighting crime."
• "We will allow defendants at police stations to appear before magistrates by video for a range of hearings, cutting the time wasted on travel to and from court and waiting for a case to be heard."

The ICM survey for The Sunday Telegraph shows that the Tories enjoy a 48% to 26% lead over Labour on who voters trust on crime.

Tories regaining the initiative (2): Lower taxation

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, George Osborne promises to 'plot a path away' from Labour's CGT hike:

"There is not the scope at the moment for a big overall cut in taxes. But we shouldn't be raising taxes. The Government has got this crazy plan for a £700 million increase in capital gains tax, which hits entrepreneurs. There is no other country in the world that thinks the answer is to increase taxes on enterprise. We are going to plot a path away from that."

Later this week the shadow Chancellor will unveil a report that details how Britain is becoming less and less competitive.  He will also adopt some of the pro-enterprise recommendations contained in John Redwood's competitiveness report.

Tories regaining the initiative (3): Maternity nurses for all

Tories are considering offering six-hour-a-day maternity nurses to provide advice on everything from bathing to breastfeeding in the first week of a new baby's life.

Michael Gove writes about this proposal for The Observer.  The BBC has more on the policy.

Tories to review rape laws

5pm update: CWO Chairman introduced Cameron by saying she admired the challenge he put to Brown at conference to call an election, and that "If you have the women on your side you really can't go wrong!". Cameron then said that he had great diet advice: make a speech that everyone tells you is the most important one of your life, and don't use notes. He said he was advised to "ride the dip" during the summer's problems and that sometimes it felt like a journey to the centre of the Earth!

The audience was shocked by his recounting of the sad story of Lindsay Armstrong, and murmured strong approval when he cited the fact that half of young men believe there are times when forced sex is okay as an example of moral collapse. The hall was packed with over 700 women. In addition to David Cameron's end-of-day speech speakers included William Hague on human rights and Sir Christopher Meyer being interviewed by Iain Dale.

1.30pm: Read PDF of Cameron's full CWO speech.

At 5.7% of all cases reported to the police, Britain has the lowest conviction rates for rape in Europe, according to research by the Conservatives.

The research will be unveiled later today by David Cameron when he addresses the Conservative Women's Organisation in a speech he will deliver at the QEII Conference Centre in London.  Amber Rudd, our Hastings and Rye candidate, will be writing a report on the conference for ConservativeHome in the next day or two.

The Conservative leader will note studies that "have shown that as many as one in two young men believe there are some circumstances when it's okay to force a woman to have sex."  "To my mind," he will say, "this is an example of moral collapse."

The speech is covered throughout the newspapers but is splashed in the Daily Mail.  In addition to calling for cultural change to address "over-sexualisation" of British society, Mr Cameron will argue that consent should be taught as a central feature of sex education in schools.  In a further sign of his growing importance to the Tory leader, Nick Herbert, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice will oversee a review of legislation on rape to ensure that punishments are "proportionate to the crime".

PS Last Friday The Daily Mail's Ben Brogan wondered if David Cameron would address the issue of abortion in his CWO speech.  In his blog post he said that the Prime Minister will probably "follow the science and stick with the status quo" on the abortion time limit.  Ben also said that Mr Brown "may hope for signs that the Conservative frontbench is out of synch with public opinion".  I fear that both of Ben's two points are very debateable:

1. The science on the abortion time limit is contested with the majority of MPs on the science and technology committee saying that the current time limit is right but two Tory MPs dissented from that majority.  Ben's own newspaper recently editorialised in favour of the dissenters.  There is international evidence that a foetus can survive outside of the womb before 24 weeks.
2. Ben's second point on public opinion is also contentious.  Recent evidence suggested that the public could be persuaded of tighter abortion laws: "81% supported a "compulsory cooling-off period between diagnosis of pregnancy and abortion."  68% supported "a substantial reduction in the upper time limit for abortion to around 13 weeks, bringing us into line with our European neighbours.""

Highlights from David Cameron's immigration and population speech

Further to our earlier post, key sections of David Cameron's population speech are pasted below (full text here).

During the Q&A after the speech, Mr Cameron declined to say how much he wanted net immigration reduced but promised that Conservatives would seek a "substantial" change.  He ruled out any attempts to influence the number of children that families choose to have.  He dismissed suggestions that this speech - his first on immigration and related issues - amounted to a shift from the centre ground.  These issues, he said, concerned everyone - from the right, left and centre.

Immigration must be reduced: "We need policy to reduce the level of net immigration.  And we need policy to strengthen society and combat atomisation.  The right approach, as I will argue today, has three components.  First, a sober and forensic understanding – and a total acceptance of - the facts: the scale and nature of this challenge.  Second, action to ensure that our population grows at a more sustainable rate.  Third, action to prepare properly for that sustainable rate of growth."

Population growth is accelerating: "Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest that our population of 60.6 million today will grow to nearly 63 million by 2011, 65 million by 2016, and more than 71 million by 2031.  These projected increases are on a different scale to what we have seen in the recent past.  In the last twenty years, our population grew by around four million.  Over the next twenty years, it’s projected to grow by around nine million – more than twice as fast."

Natural demography is a secondary factor in population growth: "Only around thirty per cent of the projected increase in our population by 2031 is due to higher birth rates and longer life-spans... more than two thirds - of the increase in our population each year is attributable to net migration."

Sources of immigration: "In 2005, the latest year for which detailed figures are available, 145,000 migrants to Britain were from the European Union, mostly from the new accession countries in the east, and accounting for around thirty per cent of the total.  91,000 were British citizens returning to live here.  Another 189,000 came from the Commonwealth.  And 140,000 from elsewhere in the world.  But these bald figures do not give a very clear picture of what is happening.  We must not confuse stock and flow.  What matters in terms of our overall population is not who comes, but who stays."

Immigration has largely been positive for the economy: "When it comes to the economic effects of immigration, I would summarise the position as follows.  Broadly, immigration has a positive impact on our economy.  But there are negative effects too, and any responsible population strategy must distinguish between them, avoiding a broad-brush approach in favour of policy responses that are appropriately tailored to the varying economic effects of immigration, and which seek to share the costs and benefits fairly."

Cameron promises coherent strategy to manage net immigration and its consequences

Later this morning David Cameron will deliver a speech on population and immigration.  He'll be addressing the Policy Exchange think tank.  I'll be there and will report with more afterwards.

It is expected that Mr Cameron will say that Britain needs a much more coherent strategy to cope with Britain's rising population.  Britain's population is projected to rise by more than ten million over the next 25 years (although population projections are notoriously unreliable).

He is expected to highlight the need to...

• Curb net immigration.  The Conservative Party has proposed an annual cap on immigration from outside the EU but has limited powers to control immigration from within the Union.
• Improve border controls.
• Invest in family life so that we reduce the pressure on the housing stock caused by splits in households.
• Improve the skills base of British workers so there is less demand for qualified workers from overseas.

The Conservative leader will say that the Blair-Brown failure to get to grips with Britain's demographic challenges is a large part of the reason for frustratingly slow progress in the NHS, schools and in housing:

"This country faces a choice. Some people argue that the demographic changes I've talked about are just an inevitable part of the modern world and that policymakers had better get used to it. This assumes that we can't do much about family failure, we can't get significant numbers of people off benefits and into work, and that we use immigration to deal with our capacity shortages. That is Gordon Brown's choice. But I don't think it's sustainable - for a simple reason."

Mr Cameron's focus on immigration - the CCHQ's advance press notice promises a speech on The Challenges of a Growing Population - is a triumph for the traditionalists advising him.  Certain leading modernisers will have opposed this speech and they have been over-ruled.

The speech comes after renewed public anxiety about the level of immigration into Britain.  The issue regularly tops the list of voter concerns.  Simon Heffer and Peter Oborne both wrote about the subject (in characteristically strong terms) on Saturday.

Also well worth reading is the leader in last week's Business.  These were the concluding paragraphs:

"The biggest danger associated with immigration is that it becomes an excuse not to tackle the deep seated problems that have been created by the welfare culture, with migrants used as substitute labour while a British-born underclass is paid not to work. It is a national scandal that, while youth unemployment is increasing, 43% of the Eastern European workers arriving are aged 18 to 24.

Immigration has been at the heart of Britain’s success; newcomers continue to make huge and essential contributions to culture, the arts, the professions, sports, academia and, of course, business. Over the past few years, immigrants have fuelled Britain’s economic renaissance; long may it remain so.

But it is also undeniable that the country is buckling under the strain; to avoid the public turning against migrants, the government must make Britain more like America: a country that accepts that it is a nation of immigrants, seeks to integrate them and builds new homes and schools to accommodate them. Pretending that levels of immigration are much more modest than they really are, or that they are not causing any problems, is no longer a tenable strategy."

Reducing the level of low-skilled immigration into Britain and investing in our own young workforce must be at the heart of the Conservatives' promise of an integrated 'population strategy'.

Jill Kirby, champion of marriage and lower taxation, is new Director of Centre for Policy Studies

One of the most interesting weekend stories appeared in Saturday's Telegraph.  In yet another example of Copycat Labour we learnt that Chief Secretary to the Treasury Andy Burnham conceded that there were moral arguments for using the tax system to encourage marriage.  Had he cleared this with Harriet Harman, I wonder?  The feminist Ms Harman has attacked David Cameron's support for marriage as 'back to basics in a open necked shirt'.

If Mr Burnham is genuine it is hugely to be welcomed.  The evidence for the importance of marriage for the upbringing of children is overwhelming and a cross-party consensus in favour of rebuilding the family would be very valuable for child welfare and for the war on poverty.

There are many people who can be credited for making marriage fashionable again within policy circles.  Guy Hordern of the Renewing One Nation project (2000 to 2003) is one person who has campaigned on these issues for at least twenty years.  Dr Samantha Callan, who chaired Iain Duncan Smith's family policy taskforce, is another.  One of the first and most effective champions was Jill Kirby (pictured).  Jill has authored a number of papers for the Centre for Policy Studies that have set out the case for rebuilding the two parent family and marriage, in particular.  Her Broken Hearts paper (pdf) was, perhaps, the breakthrough publication.  Over the last six years Jill Kirby has chaired the CPS' working party on social and family policy.  She was also a member of Lord Forsyth's Tax Reform Commission.

The CPS, founded by Margaret Thatcher and Keith Joseph in 1974, has announced that Jill Kirby is to replace Ruth Lea as its Director when Ruth steps down on 5th November.  Ruth, will stay as a CPS Board Member, but will focus upon developing Global Vision - the campaigning think tank established earlier this year to advocate a looser UK-EU relationship.  Jill has promised to defend the CPS' principles and contend for a Britain where the frontiers of the state are rolled back and families enjoy more control over their own lives.  I regard Jill as a friend and am personally thrilled at her appointment.  I have no doubt that she'll be a very successful and innovative Director.

On Friday ConservativeHome set out some of the challenges facing centre right think tanks.

Only millionaires will pay inheritance tax under a Conservative government

More soon.  Click on the image on the right to enlarge the leaflet that was distributed immediately after George Osborne's well-received speech.

1.40pm: Mr Osborne's plan to lift the inheritance tax threshold to £1m was announced this morning to rapturous applause from Conservative Party members.  This is "the death knell for death taxes," he declared.  It is the third big tax and spending policy announced by the Conservatives that grassroots activists will look forward to selling on the doorsteps.

We've also had the abolition of stamp duty for first-time buyers on all homes up to £250,000 in value.  There was also Saturday's promise to abolish the penalty that penalises 1.8 million two-parent families raising children.

None of these tax cut promises will be funded by the proceeds of growth, however.  They will be funded by a combination of savings from welfare budgets and from a new £25,000 once-a-year poll tax on  businesspeople classed as "non-domiciled" in the UK; non-doms.

Speaking on Radio 4's World at One, Oliver Letwin conceded that many of the savings would only be delivered progressively - over a number of years.  This could mean some delay in full delivery of the tax cut pledges.

8pm: This from Matthew Elliott at The TaxPayers' Alliance: "When taxpayers listen to George Osborne's speech on TV tonight, they'll be very pleased with what they hear. It contained some excellent announcements. The flat fee on non-doms makes the package add up, but before it's implemented in practice, I think the Conservatives should look very carefully at whether it could drive the entrepreneurs out of the country who are making London the world's financial centre and keeping our country afloat."

Damian Green proposes action against forced marriages

Shadow Immigration Minister Damian Green MP has today announced ideas to tackle forced immigration (he wrote for The Observer earlier today):

• That there should a prerequisite declaration of intention to marry abroad.
• That there should be a time requirement before those who have been previously married to a spouse from overseas are allowed to bring in another spouse from overseas.
• That potential spouses coming to the UK should take the ‘Life in the UK’ citizenship test.

Mr Green issued the following statement:

“The continuing existence of forced marriages in modern Britain is a stain on our social fabric. It is the extreme and unacceptable end of the clash of values between a plural democracy which values individual human rights and belief systems that regard women as second class citizens. Shockingly, forced marriages are not isolated events.

The Government’s Forced Marriage Unit does some good work but more effective action is needed. The Conservative Party has a number of proposals which we are putting out to consultation this week to minimise the incidence of forced marriage."

Action against forced marriage - as suggested by Louise Bagshawe - was one of the first policies to be approved as part of the 100policies.com process.

Nick Herbert responds to Law Commission's cohabitation proposals

The Law Commission today published a report proposing reform of the law affecting cohabiting couples property and finances when their relationship ends. The main thrust of the proposals is that couples without children who have been cohabiting for two years or more should be able to make a financial claim.

Nick Herbert, The Shadow Justice Secretary, has responded to the Law Commission's proposals saying:

"We will consider these proposals carefully.  However, they need to be tested against the key objectives of strengthening families and protecting children.  Our concern is that creating new rights for cohabitants in an attempt to ensure fairness - 'marriage lite' - could undermine the institution which gives children the most stability.

"It must be possible for couples without children to remain financially independent, if that is what they choose, without complicated and expensive legal arrangements.

"The proposals raise fundamental questions about the correct legal framework to govern families and people living together.  There needs to be a proper debate about these issues before the Government decides to introduce legislation."

Members divided on tax allowance for same sex couples

Only 564 members answered this question compared to the 1,417 who answered the questions highlighted earlier today.  The question was added to the survey a number of hours after the survey had gone live - following David Cameron's suggestion on Channel 4 News that any married couples' allowance would also benefit same sex couples who had entered civil partnerships.

37% of the respondents agreed with David Cameron that any allowance should benefit such same sex couples but 49% did not agree that gay couples should receive the allowance.  A further 10% of this population of 564 disagreed with any tax allowance for married or same sex couples.

Grassroots welcome IDS' recommendations with one notable exception...

Over the last four days 1,417 Tory members have given their opinions on twelve of the main recommendations of IDS' social justice report.  Ten of the twelve recommendations secured clear and supportive majorities.  The most popular recommendation - with 95% support - was action to eliminate unfairness to two-parent families within the benefits system.  The controversial proposal of higher taxation of alcohol was rejected by 59% of those surveyed.  The only other recommendation to fall short of a majority was the proposal to give the option of frontloading child benefit.  Although 49% agreed with the proposal, 30% disagreed.

ConservativeHome intends to poll members on the main recommendations of all of the policy groups.

Later today we will publish members' views on extending the married couples' tax allowance to gay couples.

The couple who are 'better off' living apart

If you want a real life example of how Gordon Brown's tax and benefits system is corrupting morality you need look no further than today's News of the World.  Reporter Philip Whiteside profiles the example of a couple that have chosen to split up because they are £878 a month better off as a result.  This is the problem that Iain Duncan Smith's social justice report was attempting to begin to address.  Read the full story here.

The Sunday Telegraph has a poll that shows a clear majority believing that it is right for Government to support marriage (57% to 35%) but a smaller majority in favour of using tax allowances to do so (49% to 44%).

Cameron supports tax breaks for same sex partnerships

David Cameron, just interviewed by Jon Snow for Channel 4 News, has said that any tax break for married couples that the Tories introduce will also benefit gay couples within civil partnerships.

C4's Cathy Newman reported that John Bercow and Tim Yeo are likely to lead any backbench opposition to the plan and that both Oliver Letwin and George Osborne have doubts about the cost of any tax breaks.  The danger for David Cameron of long delaying any announcement on tax breaks for marriage is that Bercow and others may begin to build a block of opposition to the idea.

In his interview Mr Cameron said that Iraq had been "a foreign policy disaster" but the Tories did not support an arbitrary timetable for withdrawal that would only give terrorist insurgents something to shoot at.

11pm: Tomorrow's Times is reporting that some in the shadow cabinet have doubts about the marriage policy although Cornerstone are strongly in support.

Big welcome from centre right press for IDS' report

The traditionally right-of-centre newspapers give a warm welcome this morning to yesterday's policy recommendations from Iain Duncan Smith.  Although there is some discussion of the breadth of the report, the main focus is on the promises to help families.

Daily Mail (not online): "For ten years, Gordon Brown has presided over a tax and benefits system that not only destroys incentives to work, but positively encourages parents to live apart, while penalising those who stay together.  Mr Cameron's determination to redress that balance not only makes good sense for Britain; it makes good politics for the Tories too.  If he has the sense to match properly costed policies to his brave words, he'll find he's on to a vote-winner."

Daily Telegraph: "The outcomes for children raised by two parents living together are far better than for those raised by single parents, and couples are far more likely to remain together if they are married rather than cohabiting... This is clearly a sphere in which Mr Cameron feels comfortable and to which he can bring sincere personal conviction. It may well be his key to a successful opposition strategy."

The Sun (not online): "For the first-time, the Tories have carved out vote-winning territory beyond the reach of New Labour.  They promise to use the tax and welfare system to reward marriage... A stable and happy marriage offers the best family environment for children... Now - instead of suggesting we pay more for our booze, museums and cheap flights - the Tories are backing marriage.  And that has to be a good thing."

Daily Express (not online): "David Cameron is right to set a political course that encompasses tax breaks for married parents.  Marriage should be encouraged because children thrive when they grow up in stable, two-parent families.  Labour's welfare state tinkering has led to parents lower down the income scale being much better off if they split up.  That cannot be right."

Leaders in The Guardian and Independent are critical of the marriage recommendations although The Independent is impressed with much of the report: "This voluminous report is for the most part admirably free of preconceptions, and contains ideas that would deserve consideration by a government of any complexion."

David Cameron writes for the Mail about his commitment to marriage.

188 policy ideas to tackle poverty

Just returned from the press conference at which Iain Duncan Smith and his team of policy advisers presented the Breakthrough Britain report.  You can access a full copy here.  Perhaps inevitably the journalists' questions focused on the proposal for a tax break for married couples.  My guess is that this one recommendation will dominate the rest of the day's news cycle.  Here are my own contextual thoughts:

• The financial support for married and two parent couples is important because there are currently penalties for couples who live together and get married.  These penalties may not affect the lifestyle decisions of comfortably-off people but they matter when you are struggling to make ends meet.  We should not only look at these issues through middle class eyes.
• Breakthrough Britain does not pretend that a tax allowance alone will repair marriage.  Unlike previous Tory policies on families there are many other pro-family proposals including recommendations to review family law, provide couples with relationship education, Frank Field's option of frontloading child benefit, more help for carers and Cabinet-level representation for the family.
• The family breakdown section of the report is just one of six sections.  Breakthrough Britain is clear that we won't tackle poverty unless we also tackle the problems of addiction, indebtedness, worklessness and educational failure.  The sixth section focuses on the voluntary and charitable sector and its role in building 'the nation of the second chance'.
• Some of the best policies in the report are, for me: extension of the right-to-buy, simplification of child benefit, requirements for lone parents to be available for undertake 20 hours of work when their youngest child reaches five, payment of welfare-to-work providers according to results-based contracts, premium pay for inner city teachers, 'Pioneer Schools' free of LEA control and based on the US charter schools model and with funding voucherised, stricter classification of cannabis, a move towards abstinence-based drug rehab, measures to strengthen credit unions, greater funding of debt advice services, financial education for 14-year-olds, simplification of Gift Aid, a V-card reward scheme for young volunteers, the piloting of Community Growth Trusts (of which more soon) and fairer treatment of faith-based organisations.

In total there are 188 policy recommendations.  If you want to read them all please download this pdf.

Iain Duncan Smith set out the big picture ideas behind his report on YourPlatform earlier today.