Thursday 31st May 2007

6.15pm ToryDiary: Partial retreat on grammar schools

4.30pm stories from this morning's Independent (the website is back up):

• Pandora story about Lord Trimble criticising the "needless" argument about grammar schools
• Report of Conservative calls for Sir Gus O'Donnell to launch an inquiry into donations to Brown's leadership campaign
• Nadine Dorries' article on grammar schools

Michael White's verdict on Andy Coulson - Guardian

4pm BritainAndAmerica: Bush's successor will be America's first billion dollar president

4PM PICK OF THE WEB

> Guido Fawkes believes that the appointment of Coulson will help CCHQ play hardball with Brown
> The Telegraph's Richard Holt describes getting arrested in Iran for being in a car with unmarried women
> Bryan Appleyard says that if the prevailing scientific orthodoxy on global warming is correct then even massive carbon emissions cut wouldn't make any difference
> The Telegraph's Toby Harnden is excited by Fred Thompson's presidential bid
> John Redwood MP defends Osborne's speech on taking on Blair's reforms
> 'Large' of the Little and Large team reports on the LibDems' loss of credibility in Wales
> Justin Hinchcliffe picks up on some of the latest tricks by Ken Livingstone's favourite Venezuelan president
> Cllr Phil Taylor highlights why Paul Myners is the wrong man to head up the Low Pay Commission
> Burning Our Money calls for expense-abusing Sir John Bourn to resign

3pm Seats and Candidates: Dewsbury shortlist

1pm ToryDiary: Cameron recruits former News of the World editor as communications chief

12.30pm ToryDiary: Have your say in the May survey of readers

11am on Iain Dale: Tories to appoint Andy Coulson as new Director of Communications

ToryDiary: It's time to move on and First born

YourPlatform: Adam Tugwell is concerned about school transport for disabled children

Blog of the Week: This week's featured blog is that of Ed Vaizey MP. Many of his posts relate to his work as Shadow Minister for Culture rather than constituency issues but there is also a mix of random anecdotes and commentary on news and other blogs. It's all written in a personable style and the design is easy on the eye.

"SPEAKING OUT FOR EXCELLENCE AND OPPORTUNITY"

"I entered politics because I was grateful to have been given a chance in life and wanted others to have the same opportunity. In my maiden speech 10 years ago, I made it clear I wanted state schools to be so good that the independent sector would struggle to compete. When I was told this week that I had to choose between the frontbench job I loved and the freedom to speak for the children whose life chances are blighted by poor quality education, there was no real choice." - Graham Brady MP in the Telegraph

CITY INVESTMENT

"The Tories' increasing success in wooing funds from the City was underlined yesterday, when one of the UK's biggest investment trusts said it would seek shareholders' agreement to donate £60,000 to back David Cameron's bid to gain power. The pledge by Caledonia Investments, the first political donation in its recent history, was accompanied by a scathing attack on Labour." - Financial Times

THREAT FROM CLOSTRIDIUM DIFFICILE UNDERSTATED

"Government statistics have ignored thousands of cases of Clostridium difficile in Britain and misrepresent the threat posed by the potentially fatal bug, a report by a Tory MP claims. More than 25,000, or almost one-in-six, of all cases of the bug have gone unreported because the Government only logged cases in the over-65s, according to the report by Grant Shapps." - Press Association

>>> Click here for Grant's interactive "Germ Map" and here to download the report's raw data.

HEIRS TO REFORM

"David Cameron was accused of picking a "needless fight" last night as battle lines were drawn between Tory high command and the Right wing of the party." - Daily Mail

"George Osborne sought yesterday to seize the standard of post-Blairite public service reform. As the Paramount Chief cut a swath through Africa, no one commands the battleground back home. Mr Osborne’s raid is an attempt to divide Labour, but it also risks dividing the Conservative Party." - Peter Riddell in the Times

"Mr Osborne might want the new prime minister to break with public sector reform. But it is not about to happen. Mr Brown has been integral to this over the past decade. He has shown no fear of involving the private sector." - Guardian leader

"Because there is no challenge from the Socialist Campaign Group, Brown is free from bashing the last remnants of the unelectable left and therefore doesn't have to attack the values they have failed to modernise. Values that deserve our support. On the other flank he is free from Blairism." - Neal Lawson in the Guardian

WELSH LIFE PRESIDENT EXCOMMUNICATED

"A former Welsh Conservative chairman who threatened to support an unofficial candidate in May’s Assembly election has been expelled from the party, a spokesman said today. Sir Eric Howells, an honorary life president of the party, had been suspended by Tory chiefs in London in January." - icWales

EX-LABOUR MINISTERS RAKING IT IN

"But all are selling themselves short compared with Tory former ministers. Kenneth Clarke has a package well in excess of £200,000. He is non-executive deputy chairman of tobacco giant BAT, and holds non-executive directorships of the Foreign and Colonial Investment Trust and Independent News and Media. The BAT job is worth £150,000 a year, the other two £30,000 each. Labour has some catching up to do." - Guardian

DEPUTY RACE CAUSING RUCTIONS

"With six candidates in the race, each is trying to establish an early lead and a momentum that makes victory inevitable. Even at this stage, therefore, the contest has become fractious. The party whips have reminded all contenders that they must stick to agreed party policy, but the temptation to lurch to the left is strong." - Times leader

"The Blair years might as well never have existed for the deputy leadership candidates during their debate on Newsnight as they vied to see who could be more unreconstructed." - Alice Thompson in the Telegraph

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

Wednesday 30th May 2007

4pm ToryDiary: Spinning by "senior Tories" forced Graham Brady's resignation

4PM PICK OF THE WEB

This feature will replace the Best of the Blogosphere list. If you ever have a particularly good blog post email us to let us know.

> Perry de Havilland at Samizdata warns of Obama's wish for an American NHS
> Peter Bone MP, meanwhile, has published a paper for the Cornerstone Group arguing that compulsory medical insurance is the way forward for the "Stalinist" NHS. Owen Paterson MP has also written a good piece on their site today about the EU's satellite system
> Helen Szamuely at EU Referendum wants British Conservatives to have more internal and philisophical debate
> David Heathcoat-Amory MP and Dr Brian Hindley talk about the EU and its trade policy in this Bruges Group podcast
> Iain Dale is enamored with... Al Jazeera
> Mark Wallace of the Freedom Association begins writing for Libertarian UK with an interesting, if perhaps controversial, piece on applying the free market to organ donations
> Islington Conservatives announce that they have cut their shortlist down for the GLA North East selection

3.30pm ToryDiary: George Osborne on the Blair-Tory approach to public services

YourPlatform: Mark Loveday - Prezza's holiday was an insult

ToryDiary: Osborne prepares to paint Brown as lurching to the left and Tory unity at stake in "grammar school war"

GRAHAM BRADY RESIGNATION

"David Cameron was last night facing the biggest test of nerve since he embarked on his modernisation of the Conservative Party after a respected member of his front-bench team resigned in protest at his policy on grammar schools." - Telegraph

"Former Altrincham Boys' Grammar pupil Mr Brady said "duty and conscience" had compelled him to act. He told Messenger he had resigned "because it was made clear to me I could not speak outside my brief, even on a subject which is very close to my heart and I have campaigned on all my life."  - Stretford & Urmston Messenger

EX-MSP BRIAN MONTEITH TO JOIN THINK TANK - Herald

THE BLAIR LEGACY- BROWN'S PLANS

"Gordon Brown is retaining the option of privatising Channel 4 if he wins a general election against David Cameron, according to Whitehall insiders." - Telegraph

Jackie Ashley interview with Brown - Guardian

"If Brown really had courage he would have opposed [the Iraq war] when doing so might have meant something, when he and most cabinet and party colleagues knew it was a mistake back in 2003." - Simon Jenkins in the Guardian

"The cabinet only took one decision during Tony Blair's first eight months in office, the country's top civil servant at the time has revealed. And that was to delegate the matter of the Millennium Dome to the prime minister." - Guardian

Michael White assesses Blair's African legacy in the Guardian

"Cherie Blair and senior Number Ten staff are furious over some of the contents of former Downing Street spin doctor Alastair Campbell's "fantastically indiscreet" diaries, it has been claimed." - Daily Mail

DEPUTY LEADERSHIP RACE

Benn leading among grassroots - Guardian

Profile of Hazel Blears - Times

Review of Newsnight Deputy Leader debate - Times

         >>>Yesterday's ToryDiary open thread on the Newsnight debate

BUSH ANNOUNCES NEW SANCTIONS ON SUDAN

"Mr Bush said he had run out of patience with United Nations efforts to apply diplomatic pressure on President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan to end the bloodshed in Darfur that has left 200,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced." - Telegraph

THE WORLD BANK AFTER WOLFOWITZ

Bush to nominate Robert Zoellick to head World Bank - FT

Europe may regret axing Wolfowitz - Irwin Stelzer in the Telegraph

INTERNET WILL REVOLUTIONISE POLITICS

"The politician of the internet age has to admit all errors in full and early: they'll only emerge anyway. Factual slips are forbidden, too. Bloggers will find you out" - Jonathan Freedland in the Guardian

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

Tuesday 29th May 2007

Open thread on the Newsnight Deputy Labour leadership debate >>>

10.15pm ToryDiary: Graham Brady's resignation letter

7.30pm ToryDiary: David Cameron's letter to Graham Brady

4.30pm ToryDiary: Graham Brady resigns

THE PICK OF THE BLOGS

• Daniel Finkelstein rebuffs Janet Daley's latest comments on grammars whilst the BBC's Political Editor give his verdict on the ongoing debate
• Blamerbell Briefs asks who should be the Welsh LibDem leader, and when they should be elected
• Interesting email to Iain Dale from Ben Stewart of Greenpeace about not debating global warming
• More evidence of the dumbing down of the NHS through "health care professionals" on NHS Blog Doctor
• The next century is China's, Dan Hannan says, but we should worry about its politics more than its economics

4pm Seats and candidates: CCHQ announces 18 more seats for selection

ToryDiary: 44.1% (The British state is about to get bigger than Germany's)

Interviews: Any questions for Matthew Elliott of The TaxPayers' Alliance?

David Heathcoat-Amory MP on YourPlatform: We need Cameron in No.10 to stop the EU constitution:

"The Conservative Party has promised that any further transfer of powers to the EU will require a referendum here. Since any treaty coming out of the present negotiations is bound to include such further transfers, we are therefore committed to a referendum.   If Britain is to remain a self governing state we need David Cameron in No 10, and the sooner the better."

NEWSPAPERS PREDICT SACK FOR GRAHAM BRADY IN SUMMER RESHUFFLE

"David Cameron is expected to fire a Tory frontbench rebel for breaking the party's line by defending grammar schools.  The Conservative leader ordered the chief whip to severely reprimand Graham Brady, the Europe spokesman, yesterday. Mr Cameron is thought to have stopped short of axing him immediately in case it reignited the row on education policy, but senior Tories expect Mr Cameron to drop the MP for Altrincham and Sale West when he reshuffles his frontbench team to take on a new cabinet under Gordon Brown." - Guardian

The Telegraph's Toby Helm profiles Graham Brady.

>>> Yesterday's ToryDiary debate on Graham Brady's intervention

SWIRE ADDS TO PRESSURE ON CHANNEL 4 OVER DIANA VIDEO

"This kind of coverage must be deeply distressing to Princes William and Harry.  We would expect more from a public service broadcaster than showing sensationalist material in this way.  It is difficult to see who will be served from broadcasting such sensational and private material.  The best thing Channel 4 can do for the British public and Diana's family is simply not to broadcast this programme." - Hugo Swire quoted in the Daily Mail

>>> Yesterday's ToryDiary on Channel 4's future

NEW LABOUR IS NOT RIGHT-WING

Highly redistributionist New Labour hasn't been right-wing says Peter Hitchens in a piece for The Guardian.  As the parties congregate on the centre ground he says (far from the first time) that time is ripe for a right-wing revolt.

LOCALISM IN EDUCATION

Douglas Carswell MP and Dan Hannan MEP continue the new Telegraph series on localism with ideas for education.

LORD ASHCROFT SPEAKS UP FOR VC HERO DENIED ENTRY TO BRITAIN

"Tory Peer and Victoria Cross expert Michael Ashcroft has joined the fight to bring a veteran Gurkha hero back to Britain.  Tul Bahadur Pun, 84, was awarded the VC - the highest honour for military gallantry - after single-handedly storming Japanese machinegun positions during the Second World War.  But despite his astonishing bravery he has been banned from coming to live here because he does not have "strong ties with the UK"." - Daily Mail

THE INDEPENDENT SUMMARISES THE PITCHES OF THE LABOUR DEPUTY LEADERSHIP CANDIDATES.

BROWN SHOULD BE BOLD WITH HIS CABINET RESHUFFLE

"A bold remaking of the cabinet would see David Miliband sent to the Treasury or the Foreign Office and, at the very least, seven or eight new entrants to the cabinet. The names of the up-and-coming are already familiar: the two Eds – Balls and Miliband – James Purnell, Liam Byrne, Caroline Flint, Pat MacFadden and Andy Burnham among them." - Philip Stephens in the FT

RACHEL SYLVESTER DOES NOT THINK THAT MING IS ABOUT TO FALL ON HIS SWORD

"There is no treachery underway. The main rivals to succeed Sir Menzies - Nick Clegg and Chris Huhne - seem to agree that the Lib Dems would look careless if they lost another leader so soon. As one frontbencher put it: "The last things the voters remember about us is that Charles Kennedy was drunk, Simon Hughes was gay and Mark Oaten had been doing unspeakable things with a male prostitute. We need a period of stability." - Telegraph

Traffic was good over the bank holiday weekend - perhaps the rain kept you at your computers?  Much of the traffic clearly originated from the USA, however.  Thousands of Americans visited the BritainAndAmerica site and the post that explored the role of the British media at the next US presidential election.

Three other weekend highlights: David Willetts answered your questions on grammar schools, David Gauke MP asks if Gordon Brown has broken his own statistical rules and David Davis highlighted Labour's ineffective authoritarianism.

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

Monday 28th May 2007

2.15pm ToryDiary: If Brown doesn't privatise Channel 4, the Conservatives must

1.45pm ToryDiary: Brady escapes with reprimand after second attack on grammar schools policy

"On Thursday [Iain Dale] highlighted the fate of a VC winning Gurkha who has been denied the right to live in this country because he couldn't demonstrate close ties with the UK. Since then the publicity surrounding the case of Tul Bahadur Pun has been extraordinary..."  Lee Rotherham, meanwhile has called for VC and other heroes to be honoured in Trafalgar Square.

12.30pm BritainAndAmerica update: British media could swing the next US election

ToryDiary: Willetts opens door to selection by race to tackle segregation

David Gauke MP on YourPlatform: Has Gordon Brown broken his own rules on statistics?

GRAHAM BRADY BREAKS RANKS ON GRAMMARS

"David Cameron is facing a fresh challenge to his authority with a member of his frontbench team producing new evidence showing that grammar schools dramatically improve the exam results of a whole neighbourhood.  Graham Brady, the Shadow Europe Minister and a former grammar school pupil, has passed data to The Times showing that GCSE results are significantly better in areas that have an element of selective education – with ethnic minority children benefiting most." - The Times

JANET DALEY BLASTS 'GRAMMAR STREAMS'

"The two Davids, Cameron and Willetts, profess themselves most concerned with the truly deprived pupils who are underachieving so dramatically in our schools - which means working-class boys in the roughest urban schools. Do they have any idea of the social repercussions that would follow for such a boy who found himself in the top stream of an inner-city school? You might as well force him to wear a tutu." - Telegraph

"David Cameron has said he wants his three children to go to state schools rather than having an elite private education." - The Independent

Writing in The Independent Peter Inson is dismissive of Alan Johnson's plans to compel private school teachers to work in state schools.

DAVID DAVIS LEADS ATTACK ON LABOUR'S PLANS FOR NEW POLICE POWERS

In a Telegraph piece which notes Peter Hain's opposition to the proposals, the Shadow Home Secretary is quoted as saying: "The driving imperative of these draconian announcements appears to be more of a wish to project the reputation of John Reid and Mr Blair in their last weeks in office, than a need to protect the British public."

"Yes, civil liberty and security are a balancing act. Yes, security must have more weight because the right to life is the most fundamental civil liberty of all. But it has to be real security, not measures which simply play to the gallery.  In any event, the idea that we are all going to have our collars felt by police officers hauling us out off the street to answer their questions is a trifle implausible. When was the last time you encountered a police officer on foot patrol? Quite." - Melanie Phillips in the Daily Mail

A leader in The Telegraph urges examination of the small print of Reid's proposals

>>> Yesterday's ToryDiary spotlighted David Davis' critique of Labour's record on civil liberties

BRUCE ANDERSON BELIEVES THAT THE LEADERSHIP'S FAILURE TO CONNECT WITH THE PARTY'S TRADITIONAL SUPPORTERS MAY BE COSTING 5% IN THE OPINION POLLS - The Independent

EUREFERENDUM WARNS THAT THE TORIES MAY SOON BE WRONGFOOTED ON DEFENCE BY GORDON BROWN.

HUGO SWIRE CALLS FOR CHANNEL 4 PROGRAMME ON DIANA'S DEATH TO BE SCRAPPED - The Guardian

DETAILED YOUGOV SURVEY ON GORDON BROWN'S STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

"Gordon Brown will enter Downing Street next month weighed down by both many voters' accumulated distrust and dislike of New Labour and the limitations of his own public personality.  However, the findings of YouGov's latest survey for The Daily Telegraph suggest that considerable numbers of voters credit the next prime minister with experience, competence and great intelligence. People may not fancy a night at the pub with him but many respect his abilities."

LABOUR'S NEXT STEALTH TAX

"More than one million photographs of hundreds of thousands of homes have been taken by council tax inspectors, it emerged yesterday.  The photographs are stored on a massive central database kept by the Valuation Office Agency, ministers disclosed.  The revelation may revive fears that, despite official denials, Labour is still preparing for an England-wide property revaluation which will result in council tax bills soaring yet again." - Telegraph

PETER TATCHELL AMONGST GAY RIGHTS ACTIVISTS BEATEN AND ARRESTED IN MOSCOW - The Guardian

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