Thursday 25th August 2005

"Doctors and religious leaders have spoken out against it.  A group of leading lawyers says it's close to lunacy and a police chief described it as 'my idea of hell'.  Yet the Government is adamant that it's right to let people drink as much as they like by letting pubs and clubs stay open all day if they choose..."

...1.30pm update: David Davis: 24 hour drinking would be a disaster for Britain - Newcastle's Evening Chronicle

1.30pm update: David Cameron to quit Tiger Tiger pub chain - Leadership Blog

Blogs

Leadership Blog: Jackie Ashley makes the case for Ken Clarke

Conservative Commentary & News

"The Conservatives could quite easily capitalise on a mood of tired irritation with Labour by the next election. For the first time in more than a decade, the economy might well be a point of weakness. Clarke, who was the last Tory chancellor and feels he built the foundations for the sustained growth Gordon Brown inherited, is the man to exploit that..."

...Jackie Ashley: Ken Clarke could be the Tories' Mo Mowlam - Guardian

Matthew d'Ancona: Davids Cameron and Davis are thinking big; Ken Clarke is only thinking of himself - D Tel

Ken Clarke is yesterday's man - Letter to The Guardian

Yesterday's "controversial" Cameron speech positions him firmly on Centre-Right - D Tel

David Willetts "very encouraged" by response to his possible leadership bid - BBCi

David Willetts: The low-paid are the victims of textile protectionism - FT (subscription required)

Sir Malcolm Rifkind (with Alex Salmond): Don't let Labour scrap Scotland's regiments - Scotsman

'Progressive Conservatism' website launched - reported on PRWeb

Other Commentary

Times' leader: The experience of animal rights terrorism suggests that laws are only as good as the energy committed by the police to track criminals

"In Italy, Silvio Berlusconi has consciously encouraged an anti-euro movement designed to blame Italy’s problems on Romano Prodi, the man who took Italy into the single currency, who happens to be his main political opponent in the forthcoming general elections. In the Netherlands, France and Germany, the euro has started to be blamed for inflation, economic instability and unemployment — and while some of these charges may not be intellectually sustainable, nobody can dispute that the European Central Bank has performed poorly, certainly in comparison with the US Federal Reserve Board, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan or the emasculated German Bundesbank..."

...Anatole Kaletsky: Europe's economic performance has gone from bad to worse under the euro - Times

Iraq's draft constitution reflects a remarkable spirit of enlightenment among the country's factions - Wall Street Journal

Marvin Olasky: Jesus wouldn't assissinate Hugo Chavez - TownHall.com

An introduction to libertarianism - TechCentralStation.com

Other News

Labour peer, Lord Haskins, gave £2,500 to successful LibDem general election candidate - Times

500 eminent scientists declare support for animal research - Guardian

ITV will scrap Jonathan Dimbleby's Sunday interview programme in December - Independent

French Socialists may split over attempts to turn party anti-capitalist, anti-European and anti-globalist - Independent

Have I missed any important story?
Please use the 'comments' option to tell other visitors about interesting links...