Monday 30th April 2007

7pm BritainAndAmerica update: America's changing religious right

6.30pm PlayPolitical update: Comedy sketch of Obama and Clinton

11.45am ToryDiary update: Best Conservative Parliamentary Blogs

10.15am ToryDiary update: David Cameron's recipe for civic renewal

BORIS JOHNSON PROVIDES THE WARM UP FOR DAVID CAMERON'S PRE-ELECTION RALLY >>>

ToryDiary: Average councillor's allowance hits £9,300

Interviews: Any questions for Andrew Mitchell MP?

Seats and candidates: Andy Jennings adopted for Greenwich and Lewisham GLA seat

The April ConservativeHome survey closes at midnight tonight.  Please click here to have your say.

AFTER BLAIR - THE LABOUR SUCCESSION

"John Reid, the Home Secretary, cleared the way for Gordon Brown's coronation as Labour leader yesterday by signalling he will not "fracture" party harmony by standing against the Chancellor...The Home Secretary's comments came amid clear signs that Tony Blair is now ready to endorse the Chancellor as his successor after he marks his 10th anniversary in No 10 tomorrow." - Telegraph

"Tony Blair will mark his decade in office this week with "big regrets" at his inability to move more quickly to reform Britain's public services, one of his closest cabinet allies has claimed." - Guardian

"Gordon Brown is the most unpopular politician in Britain. That is the Labour Party’s problem. The party is facing a landslide defeat in the local government and Scottish Parliament elections. That is Mr Brown’s problem." - Willam Rees- Mogg in the Times

DAVID CAMERON: WHERE I WOULD BE TOUGH AND SENSITIVE

"We cannot address social problems merely with state solutions. Government has a role to play in setting the framework of law and incentives that encourage the right behaviour. But the best thing that the state can do is to help build the independent institutions of a responsible society - strong families and strong communities." - Telegraph

LOCAL ELECTION FRAUD

"Some councils are refusing independent observers full access to e-voting and e-counting centres for Thursday's elections, raising the fear that the experiments will not be monitored for potential fraud and breaches of voter privacy." - Guardian

CAMERON'S TEAM APPROVE COUNCIL TAX CUTS

"Conservative councils are promising upfront tax cuts, squeezing spending and cutting back on funding for voluntary groups with the approval of David Cameron’s inner circle" - The Times

VOTE AGAINST BLAIR BUT NOT AGAINST THE UNION

"Frustration with Labour is one thing, but to swallow whole what the SNP leader calls the "golden thread" of his campaign - namely the promise of a referendum on Scotland leaving the United Kingdom in 2010 - is naive in the extreme." - Telegraph leader

MEPS VOTE TO STOP PENSIONS SCRUTINY

"Euro-MPs are on a collision course with open information watchdogs after voting to prevent scrutiny of pension perks worth £8 million every year. The European Parliament's bureau, the body that oversees the assembly's administration, has voted to prevent publication of a list naming the 475 MEPs who benefit from a pension scheme worth more than £1,400 a month to Euro-MPs with the taxpayer matching every euro personally contributed with two from the public purse." - Telegraph

GUARDIAN'S GREAT SPEECHES OF THE 20TH CENTURY - MARGARET THATCHER

"To those waiting with bated breath for that favourite media catchphrase, the "U" turn, I have only one thing to say. You turn if you want to. The lady's not for turning." - Guardian

Read Simon Jenkins' commentary on the speech - Guardian

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary... 

Sunday 29th April 2007

7.30pm PlayPolitical update: 'If your house is anything like mine...' - Comedy Central pokes fun at Earth Day antics

4pm ToryDiary update: Young English voters lead calls for Scottish independence

3.30pm Seats and candidates update: Finalists for Ealing North

Iain Dale has two interesting posts this afternoon: One on a generous apology from Peter Hitchens to David Cameron and another on the possibility of controversial policeman Brian Paddick being the latest possible candidate for the Tory nomination for London Mayor.

1pm ToryDiary update: The world has failed Darfur for four years

12.30pm ToryDiary update: Cameron versus Brown on ITV1

10.30am ToryDiary update: Previewing Thursday night's elections

ToryDiary: "Your last chance to vote against Tony Blair. Your first chance to vote against Gordon Brown." 

SCOTS DIVIDED ON INDEPENDENCE

"A total of 38% of more than 1,000 people surveyed said they backed independence, while 37% opposed it.  However, a remarkable 35% of Labour supporters said they backed independence and one out of five Tories followed suit - almost half of them 'strongly supporting' a divorce from the rest of the UK." - Scotland on Sunday

"The YouGov survey, the largest conducted during the campaign, gives the Scottish National Party its most convincing lead yet, with an eight-point gap in the first-past-the-post constituency vote and a five-point margin in the 'top-up' section." - Observer

TORIES SHOULD VOTE TACTICALLY TO KEEP ALEX SALMOND OUT

"The principal tactical battleground is Gordon, where Alex Salmond is standing and where the SNP is in third place. The Liberal Democrats have held it since 1983 and they do not seem to be sharing in their Labour coalition partners' meltdown. Their majority is 4,000 over the Tories, with the SNP less than 400 votes behind. If a sizeable slice of the nearly 7,000 Tory and 3,000 Labour voters last time bite the bullet and vote Lib Dem to preserve the Union, Salmond sleeps with the fishes." - Gerald Warner in Scotland on Sunday

"If political diversity is as a good a measure of a country's well being as its bio-diversity, then the whole of Scotland should be an SSSI - a site of special scientific interest - because political parties have blossomed under proportional representation and the general breakdown of political discipline." - BBC

TORIES HOPE TO WIN CONTROL OF NOTTINGHAM - BBC

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH STAGES A MODERN DAY BULLINGDON PHOTOGRAPH OF A-LIST CANDIDATES - See it here.

DAVID CAMERON USES CONNECTIONS TO GET HIS SKY TV FIXED - Mail on Sunday

CAMERON SHOULD PROPOSE A STREET WIDE WEB

"Thus the World Wide Web should be complemented by the establishment of a Street Wide Web. A plan should be put into place to enable every street in every town to have its own website. The sites could even be set up by local government in the first place, thus performing the municipal functions that Cameron would most like to see - not nannying, but enablement and encouragement." - Tim Lott in the Independent on Sunday

VICTORIA COREN POKES FUN AT DAVID CAMERON'S PHOTO OPPORTUNITY ON THE TUBE - Observer

TORY COUNCILLOR 'OUTED' ON EXPLICIT GAY DATING SITE -  Edgware and Mill Hill Times

JOHN MAJOR ON CRICKET

"England no longer owns cricket. Like radar, penicillin, electricity, the steam engine, railways, the jet engine, computers and the worldwide web, cricket is an English invention; an export as potent as the English language itself.  At one level it is a game and no more; at another it helped cement an Empire and bind a Commonwealth. Its legacy is a fellowship of cricket-lovers across continents and through generations." - Mail on Sunday

BLAIR WILL BACK BROWN WHEN HE ANNOUNCES HIS RESIGNATION - Sunday Times

EUROPE NEEDS TO LOOSEN UP

"Membership of the EU's political and economic union now holds Britain back. The EU's regulations damage business competitiveness, its protectionist policies restrict trade and Britain's increasing net budget contributions could be far better employed domestically by cutting taxes or improving public services.  Britain can have a wonderful future, but it must be freed from the EU's political and regulatory shackles." - Ruth Lea in The Sunday Telegraph

ABORTION OF THE BRITISH AEROSPACE CORRUPTION PROBE

"The Government's controversial decision to drop a fraud investigation into BAE Systems' £40bn arms deal with Saudi Arabia has caused "severe damage" to Britain's reputation for fighting corruption, MPs warned yesterday." - Independent on Sunday

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary...

Saturday 28th April 2007

9pm ToryDiary update: Ten years that ruined Britain

ToryDiary: Problem families "need the nanny state"

YourPlatform: Syed Kamall on why terrorism shouldn't be used as a sop for European integration

The left-hand sidebar of the homepage has been deleted to make it more Blackberry friendly - What do you think of the new look? Is it worth it?

MAJOR'S "POLITICAL FUTURE IS BEHIND HIM"

"The Conservative Party’s difficulties in finding a suitable candidate for London Mayor were exposed last night as Sir John Major declined David Cameron’s invitation to stand. Mr Cameron gave a surprisingly enthusiastic endorsement of the idea of the former Tory Prime Minister throwing his hat into the ring. But it emerged that the two had not discussed the proposal and last night Sir John’s office said that he believed his “political future is behind him”." - Times

>>> Yesterday's LondonMayor post

SCOTTISH LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE

"Scots Tory leader Annabel Goldie has slammed plans to replace the council tax with a local income tax. She argued many families would be left worse off by the system proposed by the Lib Dems and SNP. She said: "Every day plans for a local income tax become more discredited." Her attack came the day after ex-banking chief Sir Peter Burt, who carried out a review of local government finance, criticised the Labour, Lib Dem and SNP policies." - Daily Record

LABOUR'S PAIN MUST CONVERT INTO TORIES' GAIN

"The measure of Tory success will not be the blueness of the non-metropolitan map south of a line from the Severn to the Wash. This election will underline the north-south divide that is fast turning Britain into the western equivalent of the Ukraine. (A visitor from outer space would assume that voters on either side of it belonged to a different religious or ethnic group.)No, the measure of the Conservatives' strength will be their proportion of the national vote." - Telegraph leader

SHORTCUT TO POWER IN THE CITIES?

"One of the Conservatives' many policy commissions is Michael Heseltine's cities taskforce: in reality, a stalking horse for city mayors. As the academic Tony Travers put it, when it comes to regaining power in the cities the Tories can take the stairs or the lift: with only a marginal number of councillors in the major conurbations, and 19 MPs in the north, they can either spend 20 years working the wards or opt for elected mayors and take control overnight." - Tristan Hunt in the Guardian

"Ray Mallon pulls out his grey underpants as soon as we meet. "I leave lots of things here in the office just in case," grins the busy elected mayor of Middlesbrough as he points to other attire neatly stored in a small office wardrobe.Before long he will throw me another surprise by revealing he is not a fan of the elected mayoral model the government is so keen to promote." - Guardian interview with Ray Mallon

RURAL COMMUNITIES TO HAVE LAST WORD

"The Scottish Conservative Party's manifesto reflects the fact that, during the last parliament, several of its MSPs had strong links with farming and the countryside. Alex Fergusson is one of that number, though he is no longer an active farmer. He very much favours a policy for the countryside where there is less government interference." - Scotsman

ELECTORAL COMMISSION CALLS FOR PHOTO ID VOTING

"The commission (and ministers) should be less intrigued by technological novelties, such as electronic voting, and more concerned about ensuring that the basics of the familiar system are executed competently. All who are entitled to vote on Thursday should take the chance to do so. But it should be the last time when they do not have to prove who they are." - Times leader

BROWN AND CAMERON ON TV TOMORROW

"ITV1 political flagship The Sunday Edition has scored a notable coup - winning interviews with chancellor Gordon Brown and Conservative leader David Cameron for this Sunday's show. Andrew Rawnsley interviewed Mr Brown, while Sunday Edition co-presenter Andrea Catherwood spoke to the Tory leader in pre-recorded interviews today." - Guardian

AUSTRALIAN LABOR LEADER'S SPEECH BACKFIRES

"Mr Rudd's speech was high on rhetoric but light on substance. By ridiculing Mr Howard as being stuck in the days of black and white television, Mr Rudd has shown Labor has failed to move on from Paul Keating's depiction of Mr Howard as 'yesterday's man, yearning for the era of the Morphy Richards toaster, the Qualcast mowers, the Astor TV console, armchair and slippers.' It is the wrong message because, unlike Labor, the electorate can tell the difference between substance and spin. The evidence does not support Labor's charge that Australia has become a less egalitarian, less fair society over the past 11 years under Mr Howard. The opposite, in fact, is true." - The Australian leader

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary...

Friday 27th April 2007

9pm LondonMayor update: John Major's "political future is behind him"

6.45pm BritainAndAmerica update: The Bush surge might deliver security, Harry Reid's retreat will only bring defeat warns Lieberman

4.30pm BritainAndAmerica update: The Democrats once supported the Iraq war...

William Hill's latest Scottish elections betting.

2:30pm ToryDiary update: Nick Bourne AM responsible for coalition decisions (except with Labour)

12.45pm ToryDiary update: April survey of readers' opinions

12pm PlayPolitical update: Hillary & Co take on Bush in an animated adventure

11am Seats and Candidates update: First female GLA candidate selected

LondonMayor: Report of Romford Hustings

ToryDiary: Will Blair resign before Thursday's elections and Tory lead trimmed as Lib Dems edge up

YourPlatform: Douglas Carswell calls for a Tory rethink on defence

CF Diary: Clare Hilley back from the Island

CONSERVATIVES CHASE MISS STAFF ROOM

"David Cameron has identified "the people in a staff room of an ordinary primary school" as his key target voters at the next election. Staff Room Woman now follows on from Essex Man, Sierra Man and Worcester Woman as the slice of the public whose support will be most fought over." - Daily Mail

           >>>Yesterday's ToryDiary: Please Miss, vote for us

DON'T BUILD ON OLD RAILWAYS

"Disused railway lines should be protected from development because they may have to be re-opened to relieve overcrowded roads, according to the Tories. Chris Grayling, the Shadow Transport Secretary, said that the lines in most urgent need of protection were the Lewes to Uckfield line in East Sussex, the Oxford to Milton Keynes line, the Woodhead tunnel route between Manchester and Sheffield and the Leamside line in the North East." - Times

IAIN DALE: IMPORTANCE OF THE FEMALE VOTE

"Here's something for Polly Toynbee to ponder on. It's a startling fact that if women had never had the vote, Britain would have had a continuous Labour government since 1945.Whenever the Tories have won an election, the women's vote has been crucial. In 2005, 38 per cent of women voted for Tony Blair, while only 32 per cent voted Conservative. Small wonder that, in the ensuing Conservative leadership contest, both candidates put the women's vote near the top of their shopping lists." - Telegraph

DAN HANNAN: MERKEL'S HONESTY NOT THE BEST POLICY

I am clutching in my hot, trembling hands the most extraordinary document I have come across in eight years of Euro-politics. It is a letter from the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, to her fellow EU heads of government. In it, she proposes a scheme to bring back the European Constitution under a new name - or, as she artlessly puts it, "to use different terminology without changing the legal substance". - Telegraph

CHRIS HUHNE ON CONSERVATIVES ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENT

"Friends of the Earth has just analysed the manifesto of the Scottish Conservatives and given it nought out of 10. That is an even worse result than the analysis of the Conservative party's voting record in the European Parliament - where much environmental law is determined - at the time of the 2004 elections. The Tories were not just the least green party in Britain, but the least green in the whole of Europe." - Guardian

COUNCIL TAX REVALUATION BY STEALTH

"The Government was accused yesterday of undertaking a council tax revaluation by "stealth" in England, despite claiming that it had been shelved.The Conservatives said that information given in answers to Parliamentary questions showed that valuation officers were compiling an electronic database logging details of every home in the country." - Telegraph

DAVID DAVIES MP CALLS FOR CONSERVATIVE/LABOUR COALITION IN WALES

"Monmouth MP David Davies, who has been an AM for eight years and won the parliamentary seat in the general election two years ago, said that based on their current political standpoints, the Tories and Labour were probably better suited to a coalition." - ICWales

CALL FOR COMPANIES TO PULL OUT OF SUDAN

"Pressure on companies to leave Sudan was stepped up yesterday when the front benches of both Conservatives and Liberal Democrats backed moves for companies to withdraw from the country.   Shadow International Development Secretary, Andrew Mitchell, and Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesman, Michael Moore, along with backbenchers from across the political divide, expressed support for Sudan Divestment UK and asked the Government to look into ways of changing the behaviour of national and international businesses in the face of continuing atrocities in Darfur." - Sudan Disinvestment

GREG HANDS - "BEFORE I WAS AN MP"

"I was once a migrant worker, working in McDonald's in West Berlin in the 1980s," declared Greg Hands, Conservative MP for Hammersmith and Fulham, in a debate on employment rights for Bulgarians and Romanians". - Telegraph Spy

CAMERON GETS SUPPORT FROM THE OTHER GOLDIE

"Goldie, who also played EastEnders gangster Angel, told Mr Cameron: "I've listened to a lot of politicians and you are the only one who makes any sense." - Belfast Today

DID CONSERVATIVES COPY THE NEW LOGO FROM SHIRLEY PORTER? - Guardian Diary

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary...