Tuesday 23rd October 2007

8.45pm ToryDiary: Osborne for Chairman

7.45pm BritainAndAmerica: Venezuela, Nicaragua and the USA should work towards a joint foreign policy...

7pm PlayPolitical: Hillary likely to mobilise the Republican base whoever becomes the GOP nominee

4.45pm PlayPolitical: Stephen Colbert's presidential bid

2.30pm Parliament: Browne on the backfoot at Defence Questions

2.15pm ToryDiary: Brown's squandered billions

1.15pm BritainAndAmerica: Tony Blair can't get enough of his transatlantic friends

11.30am ToryDiary: Highlights from this morning's David Cameron press conference

ToryDiary: David Cameron should not renew George Osborne's spending pledge

Columnist Andrew Lilico: The role of religious policy justifications in two kinds of liberalism

PlayPolitical:

• Two videos get to the heart of voter unhappiness with John Howard
• It's time for Justice for England?

EU Treaty

"Gordon Brown plans to force the European Union Reform Treaty through the House of Commons by denying Labour MPs a free vote on the controversial document, it has emerged." - Telegraph

Peter Riddell expects Labour to secure passage of the EU Treaty but only after further undermining public confidence in politics - Times

The Sun Says: "Bertie Ahern, accuses Mr Brown and other EU leaders of “running away” from a public vote.  In a devastating blast, Mr Ahern says: “If you believe in something, why not let your people have a say in it.”  Mr Brown hasn’t got a leg to stand on."

Chris Grayling: Labour failing to get the long-term sick back to work

"More than half of the 2.4 million people claiming incapacity benefit have been off work for more than five years, new figures have revealed.  The damning statistics contradict Government assurances that the problem of widespread incapacity claims is being tackled by getting the long-term sick back to work.  The official figures from the Department for Work and Pensions, unearthed by the Conservatives, show that the proportion of long-term incapacity benefit claimants has risen steadily in recent years." - Telegraph

Nick Herbert: Streets are less safe because of early released prisoners

"The number of violent crooks committing murders, rapes and other serious crimes while on jail early release soared 36 per cent last year, figures revealed... Last night shadow justice secretary Nick Herbert said: “Unacceptable weaknesses in the arrangements for supervising offenders remain. The streets will never be safe under a government that releases criminals early, then fails to monitor them.”" - The Sun

Michael Gove: Schools must be free of anti-gay prejudice

"I also support the right of individuals to believe, if they wish to, that homosexual behaviour is a sin.   The basic nature, the basic compact of British society is that you can believe what you like. But schools, if they are funded by the state, have to be a prejudice-free zone, they have to be zones where you respect the moral and ethical codes of the great religions, but it's also the case that there are basic minimum standards that have to be upheld.  That means when it comes to the treatment of women or to the treatment of anyone who might have a different sexual orientation from the majority, or from that prescribed as "optimal" by the faith, they have to show they are sensitive to those needs and respectful of them." - PinkNews.co.uk

Nadine Dorries attacks Evan Harris' anti-Christian prejudice

"Dr Harris's irrational and personal attack upon the integrity and professionalism of Dr Trevor Stammers - merely because he has the audacity to be chair of the Christian Medical Fellowship - is a sign of the growing intolerance and prejudice towards those who share Christian or indeed any religious beliefs in our society." - Letter to The Guardian

Labour's plan to penalise prudent headteachers

A Telegraph leader condemns Labour's cunning plan to take money from schools that have made economic use of their budgets and give that money to inefficient schools.

Home Secretary: 28 days of detention without trial may not be enough

"The Home Secretary has admitted that there has not been one single case since 9/11 when police enquiries would have been aided by holding a terror suspect for more than 28 days.  Despite the admission, as she gave evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee, Jacqui Smith insisted the Government will press ahead with plans to increase the period of detention without trial, because the police argue that terrorism cases have become far more complex and international." - Sky News

Cash-for-peerages

"The police officer who led the inquiry into cash-for-honours allegations against political parties is to be questioned by MPs later.  Assistant Commissioner John Yates is likely to be asked why a 16-month inquiry did not result in any charges." - BBC

Labour plans to abandon renewable energy targets - Guardian

How much longer will we have to put up with Scots spending so much of our money? - Max Hastings in the Daily Mail

Boing! News at Ten, with Trevor McDonald, is set to return - Daily Mail

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