Thursday 26th January 2006

BLOGS

ToryDiary:

• Boris "inclined" to back Assisted Dying Bill
• Cameron objects to Brown's flag-waving understanding of Britishness
• And Remembering Darfur.

Iain Dale's top 25 political blogs

VICTORY FOR DAVID CAMERON AT PMQs

Andrew Gimson in The Telegraph: "Mr Cameron said that Mr Blair had gone into politics to "soak the rich and ban the bomb" but had ever since been "sucking up to the rich and dropping bombs"... The Prime Minister shot back at the Tory leader: "When he talks about consistency in politics, I think he should be a little wary."  That was fine but Mr Blair then plunged into a carefully researched list of all the policies Mr Cameron had abandoned.  This played into the Tory leader's hands. The longer Mr Blair went on, the more he demonstrated that in his opinion the Conservatives really had changed. It was as if the Prime Minister were doing his opponent's work for him."

KYOTO ENVIRONMENTALISM

Developing earlier LibDem-Conservative co-operation on global warming ePolitix.com reports the following:

"The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and nationalist parties are today launching a joint call for action on climate change.  In an unusual move, the four parties are set to unveil details of their "cross-party consensus" on how to address the threat posed by a warming planet.  Shadow environment secretary Peter Ainsworth, Lib Dem spokesman Norman Baker, SNP energy spokesman Mike Weir and Plaid Cymru's Elfyn LLywd will hold a joint press conference to set out their proposals.  They are likely to include a call for greater transparency about Britain's carbon dioxide emissions and any progress being made towards the Kyoto targets."

LIBDEM - CONSERVATIVE RELATIONS

The Guardian: "The Tories yesterday attempted to capitalise on the Liberal Democrats' troubles by appealing to their voters to change party, arguing it is the only way to remove Labour from power.  The call, from the Tory chairman, Francis Maude, will add to nervousness in Lib Dem ranks about the damage they have suffered in recent weeks. Senior party figures are anxious about the negative coverage which has dogged the party thanks to the departure of Charles Kennedy, following his admission of alcoholism, and Mark Oaten's resignation as home affairs spokesman over allegations of involvement with a male prostitute."

Independent: "A prominent Liberal Democrat has said that some senior figures in the party may defect to the Tories because David Cameron has positioned them on the political centre ground.  Harold Elletson, a former Tory MP who joined the Liberal Democrats in 2002, said some Liberal Democrat MPs were considering whether to switch to the Tories - and hinted that he might rejoin his old party."

Herald: "Simon Hughes yesterday revealed he would consider a coalition with either Labour or the Tories if either party was willing to legislate for electoral reform at Westminster.  Anxious to stem any haemorrhaging of Liberal Democrat support, Mr Hughes attempted to quash the notion that he was a left, rather than a right-wing candidate for the leadership."

25 YEARS AFTER THE SDP WAS FORMED

Times leader: "If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the SDP’s founders can feel smug about its impact. Tony Benn has accused new Labour of being an “SDP Mark II” and in this (at least) he is broadly correct, even if neither Tony Blair nor (especially) Gordon Brown would care or dare to admit it. There is also a sense in which David Cameron, although he would hardly state it to The Daily Telegraph, is fishing in similar waters. He too wants to be viewed as “ tough but tender”, a champion of market economics and social reform."

GEORGE GALLOWAY EVICTED

Guardian: "George Galloway tonight became the fourth person to be evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother house as he admitted he had failed in his aims during almost two weeks of reality TV."

ON DEMAND TV

BBC Chairman Michael Grade uses an article for The Times to talk about 'The However-you-want-it Show':

"In this new broadcasting world there are no fixed schedules. Channels become much less important. Search engines guide viewers to the content they want. Content is available in many different versions on many different platforms. Programmes no longer have to fit the scheduler’s imperative of 30 or 60-minute slots — they can be any length viewers want. And almost anyone can be a content-provider, from a big Hollywood studio to someone capturing a news event on their mobile phone camera."

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO 'DON'T BE EVIL'?

Wired.com: "Online search engine leader Google has agreed to censor its results in China, adhering to the country's free-speech restrictions in return for better access in the internet's fastest growing market."

Independent: "The leading internet company Google has become the latest technology company to founder against the Great Firewall of China with the news that it will censor its search engine to give it greater access to China's fast-growing market."

HILLARY CLINTON

New York Sun: "Senator Clinton's emergence as the early and perhaps prohibitive favorite for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 is fueling anxiety among Democratic strategists and operatives who are worried she would lose to a Republican in the general election.  Recent polling underscores some of those worries. In a CNN/USA Today/ Gallup poll made public yesterday, 51% of voters said they would definitely not vote for Mrs. Clinton if she chooses to run for president in 2008. In a separate nationwide poll conducted this month for a spirits company, Diageo, and a political newsletter, the Hotline, 44% of all voters and 19% of self-described Democrats said they viewed the New York senator unfavorably."

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