Wednesday 12th October 2005

12.45pm update on the Leadership blog: Could David Cameron be 'Braziered' on drugs? 

BLOGS

Simon Chapman uses Your Platform to make the case for Dr Fox.

Two new posts on the Leadership blog: (1) The news that Theresa May has declared for David Cameron and (2) A comparison of the policy platforms of the two Davids in the contest.

CONSERVATIVE NEWS & COMMENTARY

Liam Fox makes his leadership pitch in a op-ed piece for The Daily Telegraph: "For too long, the Tory party has been too inward-looking to be relevant. We must regain our self-confidence. Then we can practise what we preach within the party, for example by devolving power from the centre and having stronger constituency parties and campaigns. We must ensure that we have more women in Parliament.  But none of that will matter if we lack a vision for our country. I will give them that vision. And we will win."

The Independent examines the implications of Sir Malcolm Rifkind's exit from the race.

Matthew d'Ancona sees echoes of the 2001 tactics that derailed Michael Portillo's leadership bid in the 'Cannabis Cameron' row: "The "Cannabis Cameron" row is a huge distraction, designed to derail the Tory modernisers as an equivalent strategy did their predecessors in 2001. It is, in every sense of the word, a smokescreen." - Telegraph

Daniel Finkelstein in The Times: "The things for which Tory modernisers are most mocked — going around without a tie, drinking cappuccinos in Notting Hill, organising focus groups, recognising how Tony Blair has changed politics and being sufficiently nice to homosexuals — are not risible at all. Dressing like the rest of Britain, sounding like the rest of Britain, setting as policy priorities the things that voters care about most and relating better to upper-middle-class people in metropolitan areas are important."

BBCi and the Daily Mail note the leadership hustings that begin later today with a grilling from the right of the party.

The Independent's Pandora Diary suggests that The Queen does not want to be greeted by Mark Thatcher, "a convicted criminal", at Mrs T's 80th birthday party.

The Guardian's Hadley Freeman is unimpressed with David Cameron's plans for a 'pasta party'.

The Telegraph lists the "best offers from bookmakers"  on the Tory leadership race.

Oliver Letwin and Lib Dem MP Norman Baker have written a joint article for The Independent on climate change and the need for more aggressive policy action.  Lib-Con co-operation is not new for Mr Letwin.  When he was Shadow Home Secretary he worked closely with LibDem Simon Hughes in opposing certain David Blunkett initiatives.

OTHER COMMENTARY

Der Spiegel reviews Angela Merkel's "surprising rise to the top."

Newspapers are unhappy at the BBC's request for an above-inflation increase in the licence fee (see this Telegraph leader and this Times leader) and The Guardian predicts that The Treasury will reject it.

OTHER NEWS

Britain accuses Iran of running training camps for people who bomb UK troops in Iraq - Independent.

"Britain's Churches are in such serious decline that if they were shops, they would have been declared bankrupt long ago, Lord Carey, the former archbishop of Canterbury, said last night.  In a bleak assessment of the future of Christianity in this country, he said that the Churches were approaching meltdown and the "last rites" could be administered at any moment..." - The Telegraph

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