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27 Oct 2007 06:40:11

Saturday 27th October 2007

10pm ToryDiary: Labour 1% ahead in MORI poll tomorrow

5pm news update: Clegg promises to expose Cameron as illiberal: "I'm going to set about demolishing this idea of a liberal Conservative put about by David Cameron," he declared. One of my first tasks as leader would be to cast the spotlight very, very strongly on Cameron saying 'if you are a liberal why are you leading a party which is so illiberal?'" - BBC

3pm ToryDiary: Promising nationally, acting locally now

Murdo Fraser MSP on Platform: We must not allow nationalists to drive England and Scotland apart

TheWrongMan: We haven't been cynical enough about Gordon Brown

BritainAndAmerica: Europe still wants the world to go away

Eleven times as many BBC staffers on Facebook are liberal as declare themselves conservative

The Daily Mail follows up on yesterday's ConservativeHome exclusive.

Foreign and security policy

A Telegraph leader welcomes David Cameron's foreign and security policy speech: "There is no contradiction between having strong defence and a non-interventionist foreign policy. Mr Cameron talks of "liberal conservatism", perhaps unconsciously invoking the "liberal Tory" foreign policy of Canning, which secured the national interest by judiciously nudging ahead the cause of freedom in countries that mattered strategically. It worked very well for us 200 years ago: it may work equally today."

>> ConservativeHome's review of the speech.

"A columnist advocating that we duck an international dispute realises how unimpressive the argument sounds. It hardly stirs the blood. It lacks the ring of moral certainty. But are our soldiers’ lives worth the ring of moral certainty that comes with a bold but doomed decision to try to make a difference? I suggest a braver decision: to admit that we cannot." - Matthew Parris in The Times

Britain 'wrecked' by mass immigration

"Labour has covered up its failure to control our borders by saying that our economy needs immigrants. Well, if you are determined to have a welfare state that tolerates about eight million economically unproductive people of working age – the unemployed, those in "training" and those on various benefits because they believe they are unfit for work – then of course you will. It is time someone got serious." - Simon Heffer in The Telegraph

Writing in the Daily Mail, Peter Oborne says whether it's the atom bomb or the nature of the EU, politicians keep the truth from the British people. They're still deceiving today, regards mass immigration.

Labour to retain restrictions on immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania - Times

Scotland 10 England 0: Scottish Nationalists proclaim the benefits of devolution - Independent

Interview with Nick Clegg - Telegraph

'Harry Potter lives in Thatcher's Britain'

"Harry Potter is a Left-winger and JK Rowling's books are a diatribe against Thatcherite Britain, a French philosopher has claimed. "It must be said from the start that Harry Potter is deeply political and that the books speak of today's England," Jean-Claude Milner told the Liberation newspaper. "Reading it, one can see that J.K. Rowling -- like many cultured English people -- believes there was a real Thatcherite revolution, that it was a disaster, and that culture's only chance is to survive as an occult science."" - Telegraph

The Sunday newspapers

"The Sunday newspaper is in better shape than circulation numbers alone would suggest, according to research released on Friday amid a fresh bout of soul-searching about the future business model. Readers spend an average 70 minutes with their Sunday newspaper, the National Readership Survey found. Daily newspapers, by contrast, held their readers’ attention for 40 minutes a day between Monday and Friday and 60 minutes on Saturdays." - FT

CONSERVATIVEHOME'S OCTOBER SURVEY: Have you had your say?

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

27 October 2007 in October 2007 newslinks | Permalink | Comments (7)

26 Oct 2007 08:51:53

Friday 26th October 2007

5.30pm ToryDiary: Three reasons to be cheerful...

5pm Seats and Candidates: Derek Thomas selected for St Ives

4.30pm ToryDiary: Cameron distances himself from liberal interventionism

Noon ToryDiary: George Eustice likely to manage party's relations with conservative coalition

Platform: Paul Greenall presents a three-point plan to fight Labour over its EU lies

PlayPolitical: Cheney nods off as Bush addresses Cabinet and Bill and Chelsea join star-studded birthday party for Hillary

ToryDiary: There are eleven times more 'liberals' at the BBC than 'conservatives'

Columnist Theresa May: Taking Parliament to the people

Seats and candidates: 30% of all selected candidates are women

Parliament:

Tories 3% ahead in YouGov poll for Telegraph

"The Conservative Party is enjoying a remarkable turnaround in its electoral fortunes by maintaining its lead over Labour as Gordon Brown suffers from his decision to postpone the election. An exclusive poll for The Daily Telegraph puts the Tories on 41 per cent and Labour on 38. Less than a month ago, the Conservatives trailed by 11 points and were facing the prospect of a landslide defeat in an early election." - Telegraph

"Tellingly, as the figures in the chart indicate, Labour still enjoys a narrow three-point lead over the Tories in response to YouGov's "forced choice" question which asks people to choose between a Cameron-led government and a Brown-led government. Labour also leads the Tories narrowly on the crucial issue of economic competence." - Anthony King in The Telegraph

Last evening's ToryDiary on the poll.

Cameron to question Blair's Iraq war rationale in speech to CDU/CSU in Berlin - Telegraph

Could Britain have to send more troops to Afghanistan? The Independent worries.

"From the morass of Iraq to the killing fields of Afghanistan... is there no end to the demands being made of Britain's underpaid, indifferently-equipped, badly overstretched troops?" - Daily Mail

Cameron should ignore the LibDems - Iain Dale in The Telegraph

Brown's constitutional reform speech

The Telegraph offers a summary. Full text of speech via the BBC.

Nick Herbert MP's response: "This Government blindly refuses to address the problems of its Human Rights Act which has failed to protect key liberties-such as jury trial and the privacy-of our homes while hampering our ability to deal with terrorists. We have argued that the Act should be replaced with a British Bill of Rights and Responsibilities to achieve the proper balance." Quoted here.

Is Darling about to flip-flop on capital gains tax?

"Alistair Darling on Thursday signalled his willingness to offer business some concessions in the spring Budget, in the wake of the furore over his reform of capital gains tax." - FT

"The Conservatives have attacked the Chancellor for a capital gains tax "flip-flop" after he refused to rule out a rethink of his controversial Pre-Budget Report tax increase. Alistair Darling appeared to leave the door open to changing his original proposal to remove so-called taper relief from capital gains tax, by which businesses can reduce the rate they pay on their assets to just 10pc, the Tories claimed." - The Business

The Business also publishes a leader on how Britain should cope with becoming a nation of immigrants for the first time.

Labour MPs in marginal seats claim most expenses - Times

Can Brown move beyond Blair? Fraser Nelson wants to know in The Spectator

Tony Blair signs £5m memoirs deal - Guardian

On this day in 1951 Churchill returned to Downing Street - BBC

CONSERVATIVEHOME'S OCTOBER SURVEY: Have you had your say?

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

26 October 2007 in October 2007 newslinks | Permalink | Comments (8)

25 Oct 2007 09:01:40

Thursday 25th October 2007

10.30pm ToryDiary: Tories remain 3% ahead according to YouGov - but voters remain unsure what a Cameron-led government would be like

5.30pm Parliament:

5.15pm ToryDiary: 'There's nothing so ex- as an ex-MP'

12.45pm BritainAndAmerica: On the day GuardianAmerica launches... it's British Invasion II

12pm CF Diary: Daryl Williams launches his campaign for Chairman

11.30am New PlayPolitical videos:

11.05am ToryDiary: We have a winner...

10.45am ToryDiary: Restore the standing of the shadow cabinet and other frontbenchers

ToryDiary: Have your say in ConservativeHome's October survey

Columnist Louise Bagshawe writes an open letter to Frank Field, Kate Hoey and Gisela Stuart urging them to join the Conservatives.

Syed Kamall MEP on the Platform explains why we won't truly grasp the implications of the EU constitution for a generation

"New European treaties do not signify the end-state of the Union’s institutional architecture. The Commission and Courts exploit them to provide the impetus for further institutional upheaval and to act as a catalyst for further integration."

PMQs

"As soon as David Cameron demanded a "personal apology" for the chaotic Scottish elections, Gordon Brown began a frantic shuffling through his papers, as if somewhere within them he would find the perfect retort. But when he spoke, he began by admitting there were decisions "which could have been better made", a feeble opening which produced a storm of derision from the Tory benches." - Telegraph sketch

"He saw the enemy and the enemy was English. Forget Braveheart. This was Daveheart, and a betrayal of everything that Mel Gibson stood for. Gordo could not believe what he was hearing. Daveheart was accusing the Labour Party of betraying the Scottish voter." - Times sketch

"In a heated exchange at Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Brown said that all parties should share the blame for the mistakes made in the Scottish election, which led to 140,000 ballot papers being rejected." - Times

"A U-turn is being prepared by Gordon Brown over a plan to claw back surpluses in school budgets, after the proposal provoked furious disagreement from head teachers and parents. Mr Brown was attacked at the despatch box yesterday by David Cameron, the Tory leader, who said the scheme to "confiscate" 5 per cent of the £1.7bn in school surpluses had been criticised by head teachers as "unjust and ill-conceived"." - Independent

"Mr Cameron said he did not know how the prime minister had the "gall" to accuse him of misleading anyone. He called for Mr Alexander to explain himself to MPs and be stripped of his current responsibility for elections. Earlier today Mr Alexander apologised for his role in the Scottish elections fiasco." - Guardian

Devoscepticism

"Welsh Conservative MP Stephen Crabb has launched a blistering attack on devolution and his own party’s support for it. Writing on the website conservativehome.blogs.com, the MP for Preseli Pembrokeshire says the “devolution experiment” is leading to “socialism and separatism”." - Western Mail

Yesterday's Platform article by Stephen Crabb

A new form of inquisition

"The real danger is that we are entering a new era of the heresy and heretic hunting – whether it's ITV bosses booting out some middle-aged has-been from a reality TV show for his homophobic row about shirt-lifters, or Bellamy's own admission this week that he's been branded a heretic for his unfashionably sceptical views on man-made climate change. Not only have certain issues become taboo in a way that touches the totalitarian, we demonise those who don't conform." - Claire Fox in The Independent

Bill Rammell MP responds to Robert Halfon's letter

"Corporations have always made donations to political parties at national level. But the Ashcroft money is being poured into a small number of marginal constituencies in an attempt to buy the seat. Most of the donors have no interest in or connection to the constituencies. More worryingly, Ashcroft and the other corporate donors are hand-picking which candidates they support, raising questions about their independence should they be elected." - Guardian

Bin tax binned?

"Defra was expected to announce as early as Thursday it would go ahead with bin charges - a document outlining the plans has been seen by the BBC. But Defra said no final decisions had been made on the charges, aimed at boosting recycling rates in England."

Parliamentary debate of abortion law is overdue

"Slamming the door shut on debate in this way is ill-advised. Few issues are capable of polarising public opinion as starkly as abortion. What is significant about the public mood at the moment is that the efficacy of the law is being questioned by many who broadly support a woman's right to choose." - Telegraph leader

"The framers of the original Bill were moved by compassion, not by the mores of permissiveness. Abortion was only ever, they said, to be a last resort. That principle has been dangerously undermined." - Times leader

The Government has no understanding of farming

"The problem for British stock farmers is the stranglehold of politicians. Cereals this summer have fetched better prices, partly because wheat and barley are world commodities. Livestock depends on favourable governments that appreciate that animal husbandry plays a key part in maintaining landscape as well as feeding voters. Proper contracts with butchers and supermarkets could help, but best of all would be a pro-active minister who knew which end of a sheep the lamb came out." - Michael Wigan in The Telegraph

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

25 October 2007 in October 2007 newslinks | Permalink | Comments (16)

24 Oct 2007 08:36:55

Wednesday 24th October 2007

4.10pm ToryDiary: Win a bottle of bottler

3.45pm ToryDiary: "EU flag may fly over Tories old Smith Square HQ"

3pm ToryDiary: Rifkind accuses "Europhobes" of "posturing" in demanding a post-ratification referendum

2.15pm ToryDiary: Hamas must renounce violence before talks can begin says Trimble

ToryDiary: Live PMQs blog from noon

12pm Seats and Candidates: Mark Jones selected for Aberdeen South and Mark Versallion selected for Stretford & Urmston

11am PlayPolitical: Backstage at Cameron's press conference and How to make a negative ad

10am Parliament:

Baroness Neville-Jones and Baroness Warsi both made their maiden speeches in the Lords yesterday and both during a debate on Afghanistan. Baroness Warsi focused on the plight of women since the toppling of the Taliban regime and Baroness Neville-Jones on the UK military mission.
David Mundell MP attacked Douglas Alexander's handling of the Scottish elections fiasco and concluded that a minister should never again be responsible for elections procedures and his own party's campaigns.

Columnist Peter Franklin says politics is no longer showbiz for ugly people

Platform: Stephen Crabb MP on how devolution is causing socialism and seperatism

"Eurosceptic anger" over not promising a retrospective referendum

"David Cameron risked inflaming his party yesterday when he tacitly admitted that it would be too difficult to hold a referendum on the EU reform treaty once it comes into force. The Tory leader is under pressure from MPs and activists to pledge to give the British people a vote on the treaty even if it has been ratified by all 27 EU member states." - Times

Independent / Sun / FT / Telegraph

Politics is a long-term game

"Political time horizons now need to be at least 18 months to two years ahead, not a few weeks or months. An increasingly self-confident David Cameron showed yesterday that he understands this shift, as Sir Menzies Campbell did last week in resigning as Lib Dem leader." - Peter Riddell in The Times

Liberal conservatives

"David Cameron yesterday sought to capitalise on Liberal Democrat woes by presenting his party as the home for liberal conservatives, offering fresh thinking in the next few months on school diversity, welfare reform, prison failure and greater accountability of local councils." - Guardian

Having the bottle to cut taxes

"As part of the new rhetoric about taxation and spending that the Tories need to find, they should start by saying this: that they are not in future going to pursue spending as an end in itself, but are going to pursue value. They should stop promising to spend, and start promising to rationalise." - Simon Heffer in The Telegraph

Expensive equality superquango

"Labour's new human rights 'superquango' will cost taxpayers £22million more to run than the three bodies it replaced. The Tories last night criticised the cost of the new commission. Theresa May, party spokesman on equality, said: "People who work in the public service have a duty to spend money responsibly'." - Daily Mail

National population projections

"Of Gordon Brown's much vaunted 3 million new houses by 2020, one and a quarter million will be needed for new immigrants. It is not only a matter of bricks and mortar. The very glue of our society is being weakened under the impact of rapidly growing communities of very diverse cultures - some of whom have little intention of integrating with us." - Andrew Green in The Telegraph

40th anniversary of the Abortion Act

"Lord Steel, architect of the 1967 Abortion Act, says today that abortion is being used as a form of contraception in Britain and admits he never anticipated "anything like" the current number of terminations when leading the campaign for reform." - Guardian interview

North-South divide moves north

"Worcester woman, the marginal voter assiduously courted by the Conservatives, will wake up today and discover that she now lives in the north as a result of an academic exercise that obliterates the Midlands." - SocietyGuardian

Rüdiger von Wechmar

"German diplomat who, as ambassador to Britain, dealt deftly with the tense relationship between Thatcher and Kohl" - Times obituary