Friday 14th July 2006

11.30am ToryDiary update: Will a left-wing challenge to Brown be good for Cameron?

BLOGS

LabourDoNotDo.com: Useless and costly home seller packs

ToryDiary: Little heat left in David Cameron's hottest potato

Louise Bagshawe on YourPlatform: Is Wychavon District Council the best Tory council in England?

William Norton reviews The British Moment: Fighting Back For A Principled Foreign Policy

Seats and candidates: Damian Collins selected for Folkestone & Hythe

REACTION TO EPP DELAY

The Conservative leader signs 'The 2009 Declaration' with Mirek Topolanek, leader of the Czech Civic Democrats >>>

"Mr Cameron doubtless calculates that out there in the real world, where elections are won and lost, the minutiae of party groupings in the European Parliament do not generate much interest.  It will, however, give an embattled Labour Party some priceless ammunition to hurl at the Tories.  A politician who breaks a pledge is a juicy target." - Telegraph leader

The Daily Mail thinks that David Cameron has made the right decision.  Things are going well for the Tory Party, it writes: "Wouldn't it be madness to risk another bout of internecine warfare on Europe, when the issue of the EPP matters not a jot to the wider electorate?"

"Geoff Hoon, Labour's Europe spokesman, hit out at the "broken promise", adding: "When it comes to matters of policy judgment, David Cameron gets it wrong."  Lib Dem party chief Norman Lamb said: "How can we trust him to keep any promises?"  And Tory MEP Caroline Jackson said delaying the decision was like saying, "I am going to divorce you but I am going to live in the same house as you for the next three years."" - Mirror

"Conservative leader David Cameron has today signed a joint declaration with the Czech Civic Democratic Party to form a new European parliamentary group, ending speculation that he may collude with Poland’s homophobic Law and Justice Party." - PinkNews.co.uk

DOWNING STREET IS ACCUSED OF LEAKING DESMOND SWAYNE EMAILS

"David Hill, the Prime Minister's director of communications, played a key role in organising the leaking of the e-mails to a series of national newspapers, sources said last night... Mr Cameron's aides are braced for further leaks in the coming days.  No 10's involvement was condemned last night by Mike Penning, the Conservative MP for Hemel Hempstead. He said: "This shows that the Government is so desperate to deflect attention from its own troubles that it has descended to dirty tricks and the politics of the gutter, something Tony Blair has always said he would never do." - Telegraph

BROWN WILL FACE LEFT-WING CHALLENGE

"A left-wing Labour MP [John McDonnell, the chairman of the socialist Campaign Group and MP for Hayes and Harlington] is expected to announce today that he will challenge Gordon Brown for the leadership of the party whenever Tony Blair quits as Prime Minister." - Independent

CASH-FOR-PEERAGES ROW

"The majority of witnesses interviewed by police investigating the "cash-for-peerages" row were Conservatives, MPs were told yesterday.  It is believed those interviewed include the Tories' main fundraiser, Jonathan Marland, the party treasurer, who was included in the working list of peers by David Cameron, the Tory leader, in April, and knew the identities of Tory donors." - Independent.  The same link takes you to a profile of Deputy Assistant Commissioner John Yates, the policeman conducting the investigation.

"Blair's love of millionaires is Labour's tragedy" - Roy Hattersley in The Times

OTHER NEWSLINKS

Former Tory MP Archie Norman is impressed with David Cameron's modernisation of the Tories - BBC

"The area where Mr Cameron can make most hay with Mr Brown’s record is in his excessive trust in the state as an agency of social change. ‘Only the state can guarantee fairness,’ said a leading Brownite recently. This approach remains the weakest flank of his beliefs. It leads him to create — or expand — state agencies to levels where, when things go wrong, the amounts involved are vast. The massive tax credit frauds and overpayments revealed this week are so large because he insists on making his various projects so all-encompassing." - Anne McElvoy in The Spectator

Canadian PM looks forward to meeting Tony Blair - his political idol - Globe & Mail

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