Sunday 28th December 2008

5pm ToryDiary: Conservative Friends of Israel's briefing on action against Hamas

12.30pm Ridley Grove on CentreRight: What would the British government do if Dover was bombarded with missiles from Calais?

12.15am Alex Deane on CentreRight: Israel

12.15am Charlie Elphicke on CentreRight: "My New Year message to Gordon Brown is simple. Get lost. Yes, the British people should work together to build a better tomorrow . . . one that does not include you."

ToryDiary: Cameron's attacks on Labour excess supported by chorus of bishops

Seats and candidates: 'Female Tory members fear women candidates will steal their husbands'

Mark Wallace on Local government: Conservative councils should not collaborate with Labour's backdoor attempts at revaluation

Two David Cameron videos:

• David Cameron calls for "restraint" from Israel and Hamas and describes humanitarian situation as "horrific"
• Cameron talks to a family chosen by GMTV about his economic policy ideas

Yesterday evening's ToryDiary: George Osborne hints at trio of tax cuts

More speculation about Ken Clarke returning

A Sunday Telegraph report suggests a return for Ken Clarke and warns that Alan Duncan, Caroline Spelman and Andrew Mitchell are in trouble.

Andrew Lansley advises marketing agency that helps mount Government health campaigns - Mail on Sunday

Do the Tories have the guts to tackle overspending?

"Of all excessive spending, the bill for gold-plated, index-linked, final-salary, public sector pension schemes is among the hardest to justify. As the realities of our ageing society kick in, and private sector pensions crumble, state workers remain cosseted while the rest of us pick up the £1,300bn bill. Cameron recently hinted the Tories would tackle this outrageous "pension apartheid". But when the public sector unions growled, Tory spin doctors denied the story." - Liam Halligan in The Sunday Telegraph

John Rentoul: David Cameron has a handle on the future

"At least as important in the personalised election campaigns that have been typical of British politics since at least Harold Macmillan's time is a general sense of "owning the future" – an American phrase of which New Labour became fond. There is Cameron's edge. He does not just ride a bike; sometimes he uses motorbike taxis, which are the fastest way to get around London (as well as being quite green). As well as analogies from the First World War, he refers to computer games. When he explained his Tomb Raider strategy to a Daily Mail dinner recently – that he has to complete level one, decontaminating the Tory brand, to be able to do level two, to argue for Tory principles – someone asked what Tomb Raider was." - John Rentoul in the Independent on Sunday

Rory Bremner can't do David Cameron

"Has Rory Bremner finally met his match? The impressionist has built a 20-year career on his uncanny ability to conjure up the voices and mannerisms of every significant public figure. But David Cameron has so far eluded him, so much so that Bremner’s efforts have been ridiculed on the ConservativeHome website. “This is awful, awful, awful,” said one contributor. Another, more sympathetic, explained: “It’s simply the case that Cameron doesn’t have a regional accent, doesn’t have an ogre-like appearance or odd set of mannerisms, and is actually pretty normal.”" - The Sunday Times

Ad campaign ideas for the next General Election

All featured in the Independent on Sunday.

Prime Minister seeks global coalition for change with US president-elect - Independent on Sunday

"On balance, I think that if any party enjoys a brief Barack Bounce, it will be Labour. Yes, Obama and Cameron share the mantle of "novice" and speak the language of generational change. But the incoming president fancies himself a latter-day Roosevelt and will find a more-than-willing partner in Brown. They will claim that the global financial crisis favours Left-of-centre parties and requires the government interventionism that is their stock in trade. There will be plans, blueprints and grand schemes galore. For a short while – perhaps a very short while – this burst of transatlantic activity might well give Gordon a modest boost." - Matthew d'Ancona in The Sunday Telegraph

"In next week's New Year message, the prime minister is expected to urge the public to "display the same spirit" as their predecessors did in World War II." - BBC

Britain plunges down world economic table - Sunday Times

Jack Straw promises community service sentences for knife carriers - News of the World

Today's Ed Stourton settles differences with BBC - Mail on Sunday

2008 was the year man-made global warming was disproved - Christopher Booker in The Sunday Telegraph

And finally...

"As a leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition, David Cameron is used to being in the occasional tight spot – but few have been quite as claustrophobic as the one he found himself in yesterday. The 42-year-old scrambled awkwardly through a 3ft gap beneath a footbridge as he tackled the Great Brook Run – a mile-long race through mud and ‘raging torrents’ that would have done the SAS proud." - Mail on Sunday

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