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Tuesday 31st October 2006

8.45pm seats and candidates update: Sheryll Murray selected for South East Cornwall yesterday evening

EVENING UPDATES FROM PARLIAMENT

Tony Blair wins Iraq motion despite Tories siding with SNP - BBC

187 to 108 MPs reject Nadine Dorries' attempt to amend abortion laws - BBC

Dorriesnadine_4 BLOGS

ToryDiary: Nadine Dorries campaigns for 'a woman's right to know'

Jonathan Sheppard on YourPlatform: Get your tanks out of our kids lunchboxes

PEERS REJECT BAKER'S QUOTA RESTRICTION ON FAITH SCHOOLS

"Peers have voted down a plan to make newly established faith schools in England take up to a quarter of pupils from other religions.  The rejection of an amendment to the Education Bill, tabled by Lord Baker, follows ministers' decision to drop similar plans last week." - BBC

CAMERON'S 'EARLY ADULTHOOD' PLAN

"School leavers who prove they are good citizens could be allowed to drink in pubs and place bets earlier than their less responsible contemporaries, under plans advanced yesterday by David Cameron.  Promoting his theme of "social responsibility", the Tory leader said every teenager should be able to earn "early adult status" by completing approved courses in grown-up behaviour." - Telegraph

>>> Yesterday's ToryDiary on 'England expects every man will do his duty'

IRAQ VOTE

"Tony Blair faces the risk of a humiliating Commons defeat today over his refusal to allow a wide-ranging inquiry into the crisis in Iraq. The Tories, Liberal Democrats and as many as 40 Labour rebels are threatening to support a nationalist demand for a parliamentary examination of the war and its aftermath." - Independent

GORDON BROWN EMBRACES STERN REPORT

"The Chancellor eclipsed Tony Blair, who was sitting next to him on the platform, with a personal commitment that the Government will raise the priority of the environment alongside the economy and employment." - Independent

"Britain produces a mere two per cent of total global man-made carbon emissions and, as Stern himself has said, even if Britain closed all its power stations, that would be equivalent to only a year's increase in China's emissions. Last year, China embarked on a programme for building more than 560 large coal-fired power stations by 2012. Admonitions from the British Government will not stop them. It is an illusion to believe that if Britain leads, others will follow. This is a sad fantasy, I fear." - Ruth Lea in The Telegraph

Sunsays_5 "We know climate change has arrived, but there is plausible evidence that it may be beyond our control.  So why should taxpayers in smog-free Britain pay more while China builds a dirty coal-fired power station every week?  Why should we fork out 20 per cent more for a flight to Spain when chunks of Amazon rain forest the size of Wales are cleared each year?  Why should families here pay £1,000-a-year more when Russian rivers are so toxic you can set fire to them?" - The Sun Says

OTHER NEWSLINKS

"The communications regulator, Ofcom, has cleared Jonathan Ross of being "vulgar, disrespectful and unfair" to David Cameron and Margaret Thatcher on his BBC1 chatshow earlier this year.  Ross's interview with Mr Cameron on June 23 caused controversy, after the presenter asked the Conservative leader if he had a crush on Mrs Thatcher when she was prime minister and whether he had masturbated thinking about her." - Guardian

"Ministers and senior Tories confronted each other yesterday as David Cameron was urged to apologise over "grossly exaggerated claims" about NHS job losses.  The Department of Health said that "only" 903 members of staff had been sacked, in contrast to 21,000 lost posts claimed by the Conservatives and unions. But the Royal College of Nursing said ministers had released figures for confirmed compulsory redundancies only, without including voluntary redundancies, deleted posts, the cancellation of temporary contracts or other forms of job losses." - Telegraph

Tories come to Mervyn King's aid as Bank of England Governor extols economic benefits of Scotland's place in the Union - Scotsman

"MPs have been accused of conspiring against the public by handing themselves another multi-million pound expenses handout - forcing taxpayers to fund the bill for spin and propaganda.  On Wednesday, Jack Straw, the Leader of the Commons, will propose handing every MP a communications allowance - which could be worth around £10,000 a year." - Daily Mail

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