Tuesday 31st March 2009

8.30pm Iain Murray on CentreRight highlights the case of a family who perished in a fire after police told neighbours not to attempt to rescue them on the grounds of "health and safety"

7.30pm Local Government: Basildon Council scraps weekend parking charges

6.15pm Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: Don't dress like a banker over the next few days

5.30pm ToryDiary: George Osborne demands Lord Myners' resignation unless he can prove he didn't lie to Parliament

4.30pm Parliament: John Bowis says patients will be able to seek healthcare across the EU

4.30pm Iain Murray on CentreRight welcomes tomorrow's pro-capitalism counter-demonstration in ther City of London

4pm ToryDiary: Liberal Democrats are stirring up "hatred" towards Israel

3.30pm Parliament: Will the UK have to deploy troops to Pakistan?

2pm WATCH:

• Sky News's Niall Paterson says "things are getting silly" on MPs' expenses as Commons authorities seek a Fees Office mole
• Details of the military operation involved in getting President Obama to London today

12.30pm ToryDiary: Submit your questions for the candidates standing to be chairman of the National Conservative Convention

11.45am Parliament: Europe Minister Caroline Flint admits she has not read the Lisbon Treaty

11.30am Mark Field MP on CentreRight: "At the very heart of the problem over allowances and expenses is the fact that repeatedly parliament has failed to bite the bullet and increase MPs’ salaries. Thereby a green light has been given to the culture of racking up the expenses and allowances system as a way of playing catch up."

11am Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: It's official - Conservative politicians are better dressed than their Labour counterparts (according to GQ magazine)

10.45am Charlie Elphicke on CentreRight: "If you are a benefits cheat, why should you feel any shame when the employment minister acts as he does? If you are a peddler of filth or a fraudster, why should you feel any shame when the Home Secretary, who is meant to uphold the criminal law, acts as she does?"

ToryDiary: 87% of Conservatives members would like Dan Hannan to have prime speaking slot at Party Conference

Deborah Thomas on Platform: Let us say proudly, “Yes, we will be a do nothing party, if the only alternative is to make things worse”

Seats and Candidates: Edwin Northover selected for Leyton and Wanstead

Local Government:

• Boris appeals for more Special Constables
• Nick Seaton: The absurd attack on Stretford Grammar School

WATCH: The BBC's Iain Watson on last night's arrest at the Commons of a man who, like him, had attended a reception hosted by Eric Pickles

David Cameron takes pay freeze as Opposition leader as MPs get 2.3% rise

"MPs are set to provoke public anger by taking a £1,500 pay rise from tomorrow at a time when many workers are facing pay cuts... David Cameron said that he and the handful of other senior opposition figures who receive a salary above the basic backbencher's pay would not take a pay rise. Sources also said the Tories believed that the ministerial pay freeze should continue for another year and that Mr Cameron would implement one if in government." - The Times

Publication of MPs' expenses prompts fresh calls for a review

"MPs claimed an average of almost £145,000 each in taxpayer-funded allowances last year - a rise of more than £8,000, new figures disclosed yesterday... Gordon Brown last night called for an independent inquiry into MPs' perks to quickly draw up plans for an alternative system. David Cameron, the Conservative leader, also agreed that the £24,000-a-year allowance needed urgent change. Mr Cameron said that the ACA was the "deeper problem" with expenses and called for "a quick review, right now -- sort it out and come up with an answer." - Daily Telegraph

Labour MP claims expenses receipts are "on sale for £300,000" - BBC

"In one sense, it is rank hypocrisy that any journalist should bash poor Jacqui Smith for inadvertently claiming her husband's porn films on expenses. As anyone with any experience of Her Majesty's Press can testify, the expenses claim is the genre where the reporter is expected to exercise whatever creative gifts he or she may possess." - Boris Johnson writing in the Daily Telegraph

"Although some have sought to make this a story about "Labour sleaze" few Conservatives have tried to do so. They know they are in line for an onslaught too. One of the reasons David Cameron has not made a breakthrough on the scale of Tony Blair in the mid-1990s is his party too is infected by the broader disillusionment." - Steve Richards in The Independent

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: The Jacqui Smith case highlights the need for an urgent review into MPs' expenses

George Osborne on Nationwide's takeover of Dunfermline

"A promise to guarantee the jobs of about 300 branch staff at Dunfermline Building Society was key to swinging a sweetheart deal for Nationwide Building Society to take on the viable parts of the business, The Times has learnt... opposition parties blamed the Financial Services Authority for failing to monitor Dunfermline's lending appropriately. George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, said: “Management must take primary responsibility for taking a safe building society and turning it into a high-risk property speculator — but why did the FSA allow them to do it?” - The Times

People oppose Gordon Brown's emphasis on global solutions to the economic crisis

"The public overwhelmingly wants Gordon Brown to turn his attention to the British economy rather than seek a global solution to the recession, according to a ComRes survey for The Independent... ComRes puts the Conservatives 12 points ahead of Labour, down from 16 last month. The Tories are on 40 per cent (down four points on last month), Labour 28 per cent (no change), Liberal Democrats 18 per cent (up one point) and other parties 14 per cent (up three)" - The Independent

> Last night's ToryDiary: New ComRes poll puts Tory lead at 12%

Greg Clark questions plan to sell off UK Atomic Energy Authority’s unit

"A sell-off of the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s commercial nuclear clean-up business was announced by the government on Monday, prompting Conservative accusations of a “fire sale”. The privatisation of some or all of UKAEA Limited is expected to raise about £50m ($71m) for the government, and represents one of the final sales from Britain’s state-owned nuclear industry. On Monday night, the Tories questioned whether selling the business in the “fire sale environment” of the financial crisis would reap the maximum return for the taxpayer. “Britain needs to be building up its nuclear capabilities,” said Greg Clark, the shadow energy secretary." - FT

Tory MP's fury as mother dies of superbug

"A senior Conservative MP demanded an inquiry yesterday into 'shocking' failures of care after his elderly mother died of the hospital superbug C. diff. Nigel Evans spoke out following his 86-year- old mother Betty's agonising death from the infection, which kills thousands of patients every year. He demanded to know why she hadn't been tested for clostridium difficile sooner and criticised doctors for the off-hand way in which they told the family she had died." - Daily Mail

Andrew Lansley pledges to protect nurse whistleblowers

"The Conservatives have promised to introduce clauses into the contracts of nurses and other NHS staff allowing them to ‘whistleblow’ anonymously and with guaranteed protection from any disciplinary action. Unveiling plans to fight what the Conservatives call the ‘closed culture’ in the health service, shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley pledged last week to introduce a number of measures to help NHS staff and patients expose failings within services, if his party won the next election." - Nursing Times

CPS paper: BBC should only make programmes the market wouldn't provide

"The BBC comes under fire today in a new report on public service broadcasting which accuses the corporation of being a "me-too broadcaster with a serial record of imitation". The paper by the Centre for Policy Studies said the BBC's remit should be reduced over time to include only those programmes and services which the market would not provide." - The Independent

Scottish RC Bishop praises Tories to the heavens

"One of Scotland's Catholic bishops has given his support to the Conservative Party for the next general election. Joe Devine, the Bishop of Motherwell, has written a letter to David Cameron, praising the Tory leader for his stance on family values." - Scotsman

Police use CS spray to halt Commons fight

"Police used CS spray to break up a scuffle in the Houses of Parliament last night, arresting a man who was a guest at a drinks reception hosted by Conservative Party chairman Eric Pickles." - Independent

UK troops begin Iraqi withdrawal - BBC

Canadian judge upholds ban on George Galloway - Guardian

Sarkozy threat to walk out of G20 summit - Times

Five million people now on DNA database - Daily Telegraph

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Monday 30th March 2009

10.30pm ToryDiary: New ComRes poll puts Tory lead at 12%

5.45pm Local Government: Tory councillor's transexual joke led to police warning

4.45pm Parliament: Douglas Carswell gives the useless, futile, unaccountable and smug House of Commons a Z-rating

4.15pm Policy Exchange's Ben Caldecott on CentreRight: What would Churchill have done about the environmental challenges we face?

3.45pm Iain Murray on CentreRight is distressed that Boris Johnson "has once again fallen for the hype of green jobs"

3.30pm: ToryDiary: Philip Hollobone MP still employs no staff and five Tory MPs claimed no housing allowance whatsoever last year

2.15pm Parliament: Thousands of Cubans in prison because they "may cause a crime in the future"

2.15pm Local Government:

• Westminster Council forced to waste millions on new CCTV cameras
• Haringey Council spins out of control

2pm WATCH Two videos relating to the Home Secretary's current difficulties:

• Jacqui Smith refused to speak to reporters about her expenses this morning...

• ...but Gordon Brown said she is doing "a great job"

1.45pm Seats and Candidates: Sachin Rajput selected for Brent Central

1.30pm Local Government: The Bradford Labour councillor seeking to oust Sir Stuart Rose

11.15am Parliament: Prime Minister Cameron and Welsh ministers would submit to Welsh Assembly questions

11am ToryDiary: The Jacqui Smith case highlights the need for an urgent review into MPs' expenses

ToryDiary:

• Should David Cameron order a temporary 5% cut in MPs' pay? Should the Tories spell out their tax plans? Would you like Dan Hannan to be your MP?
• Don Porter reflects on his time as the most senior volunteer in the Conservative Party after a total of nine years on the Board

Andrew Haldenby on Platform: Market forces will make us a healthier nation

Seats and Candidates Diary of a PPC: Leah Fraser writes about a busy week out and about in Wallasey

Local Government: Conservative-led Newport Council in dispute with local cabbies

Julia Manning on CentreRight proposes that MPs should introduce a voluntary code on pay and allowances, including an immediate pay cut

WATCH: The TaxPayers' Alliance's recipe for EU Agriculture Fudge presented by "Jamie Oliveoil"

David Cameron backs a restoration of family values in speech to Welsh Tory conference

"David Cameron, the Conservative leader, has said that the restoration of family values and a new commitment to economic and social responsibility are key to repairing "broken Britain". He promised that a Tory government would "lead by example," by paying off public debt and curbing spending while supporting parents, teachers and doctors to take the right decisions. And he delivered a hard-hitting attack on irresponsible benefits cheats and bankers, saying that the culture of relying on others and thinking only of oneself "must end". - Daily Telegraph

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Government can't ignore family break up, says Cameron

Tories could win "up to ten" Welsh seats

"The party believes it has a good chance of winning as many as 10 Welsh seats, and is keen to talk up any success here to counter any suggestion they are an “English” party... The Conservatives already hold Clwyd West, Preseli Pembrokeshire and Monmouth, and are targeting seats with small Labour majorities including Cardiff North, the Vale of Glamorgan and Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire. They are also hoping for wins in new seat Aberconwy, and in ostensibly safer Labour seats such as Clwyd South, Gower and Bridgend." - Western Mail

Conservatives raise questions over Jacqui Smith's future

"The husband of Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, made a shame-faced public apology to his wife yesterday – but not to the taxpayer – for claiming the cost of watching two pornographic films on parliamentary expenses...  Philip Davies, a Tory MP, said: "It is surely not legitimate to use Commons second-home allowances to buy blue movies. If this is true, I cannot see how she can survive."  - The Independent

"Mr Cameron said that whilst the current issue around Jacqui Smith's expenses isn't a resigning issue, she still has questions to answer over her use of the second home allowance. He also accused the Prime Minister of offering "a very confused message" about the response to the global economic crisis, saying it should be focused on getting trade going. He said of the revelations about Jacqui Smith’s use of expenses, “it’s obviously deeply embarrassing for the Home secretary and the government.” Asked whether the Home secretary should resign he said, “I don’t think this individual thing is the issue. I think she has got some questions to answer over the second home issue.” - David Cameron's appearance on GMTV recorded by PoliticsHome

Expelled (ex-)Tory donor Stuart Wheeler says party line on Europe is not firm enough

"A Conservative party donor expelled after he gave £100,000 to UKIP has accused Tory leader David Cameron of not being firm enough on Europe. Stuart Wheeler said if he was elected Mr Cameron should pledge to hold a referendum on the Lisbon treaty." - BBC

> Last night's ToryDiary: Stuart Wheeler expelled over donation to UKIP

"Yes We Cam"

"David Cameron’s credentials as Britain’s PM-in-waiting will get a mega boost this week — as Barack Obama takes time out during his historic London visit for talks with the Tory leader. Jubilant Conservatives will hail it as proof the US President thinks they are on course to win the next election. Meanwhile the meeting is poised to leave Gordon Brown livid." - The Sun

> Saturday's ToryDiary: Obama will meet Cameron on margins of G20

Villiers slams Government "con" on additional train carriages...

"Overcrowding will worsen on several of Britain's busiest rail lines because the Government has quietly cancelled plans for more than 300 additional carriages... Theresa Villiers, the Shadow Transport Secretary, said: “Three consecutive transport secretaries have promised these extra carriages, and now it turns out to be a con. With passengers struggling with sub-cattle-class overcrowding and sky-high fares, the least they can ask is for Labour to live up to its claims on extra carriages.”  - The Times

...as decline in tube use threatens its revamp

"London Underground carried 1 million fewer passengers in January, as City job cuts threaten to widen a multibillion pound funding gap in the tube network. The decline in journeys brought warnings of financial problems for the London mayor, Boris Johnson." - The Guardian

Boris's green economy could create thousands of jobs

"Up to 15,000 jobs could be created each year in London by 2025 as a result of Boris Johnson's plans to cut energy and tackle climate change, says a report. The report, by Ernst & Young, bases its figures on the mayor's plans to make buildings more energy-efficient and building waste and recycling plants." - BBC

Patrick Mercer welcomes "smart ID cards" for veterans

"Four million former servicemen and women are to be given veterans' cards to ensure they get priority treatment for NHS healthcare and housing, and discounts for services such as transport... The Conservative MP Patrick Mercer, former commanding officer with the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment, said: "It is about bloody time. At last, a reasonable, sensible minister [Kevan Jones] who listens to ideas from across the political spectrum." - The Independent

Philip Johnston highlights Ray Mallon's Centre for Social Justice report on policing

"The study, carried out by a team chaired by Ray Mallon, the former Middlesbrough police commander nicknamed Robocop, found that one question kept popping up: "What do we want the police to do?" The report correctly concludes that before there is any more talk about structural reform, this basic question needs to be answered." - Daily Telegraph

Bruce Anderson: Cameron was "shrewd" on 45p

"David Cameron has refused to reject Labour's plans for a 45 pence top rate. He is not going to fall into a black hole trap. Messrs Brown and Darling would like to spend half the election campaign pitching into the Tories for a couple of billions in tax cuts, thus distracting attention from the vast budget deficits and the soaring national debt. Mr Cameron has upset some Tories. But it was a shrewd move" - Bruce Anderson in The Independent

Czech PM Mirek Topolánek: A fiscal stimulus would not be prudent for EU countries - The Times

Husband and wife Labour MPs build up £250,000 nest egg on taxpayer - Daily Telegraph

Zac Goldsmith answers Independent readers' questions - Independent

Nationwide rakes over Dunfermline Building Society - BBC

Berlusconi seeks more power after party merger - The Times

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Sunday 29th March 2009

8.30pm Harry Phibbs on CentreRight: How many anti smoking officers does the NHS employ?

6.45pm ToryDiary: Stuart Wheeler has been expelled according to The Telegraph

6.15pm WATCH: Stuart Wheeler encourages Conservatives to support UKIP during interview for the Politics Show

6pm Graeme Archer on gambling and Stuart Wheeler: "The haunted faces of men, outside the numerous bookmaker shops that my impoverished borough boasts, is one of the most depressing in urban life. Yes, yes, I know, free will, no, of course I would not ban it, but look at the face of the man who has lost his money, again, and tell me you do not think: someone is making money from this misery."

2.15pm ToryDiary: Government can't ignore family break up, says Cameron

1.45pm ToryDiary: Pro-Europe Tory MP calls for Stuart Wheeler to be expelled

12.30pm ToryDiary: Eric Pickles must expel Stuart Wheeler

10.45am WATCH: Jacqui Smith in new furore as her husband claims for adult movies from parliamentary allowance

ToryDiary:

• "There are no plans to remove Stuart Wheeler from the Conservative Party"
  Updated at 11am with news that CCHQ is still considering whether to suspend Mr Wheeler
• Conservatives will slash government advertising spend by £250m

Tim Loughton MP on Platform: Labour's ContactPoint child protection database should be scrapped

Mark Wallace on Local government: Westminster council has abandoned its common sense, low tax principles and even good manners in introducing a bike parking tax

Local government: How should councils reduce absentee-ism?

Peter Cuthbertson on ConservativeInternational discusses "the uneasy, and underexplored tension between the free economy, social change and the small state": "It is easy to imagine the tensions and questions that this trilemma raises being central to conservative debates across the English-speaking world in years to come - if they aren't already."

Martin Parsons on CentreRight: Home Secretary advocates free speech for Islamists the same day as government restricts free speech for Christians

Conservatives 13% ahead in ICM survey for The Sunday Telegraph - Last night's ToryDiary

Anti-EU donor Stuart Wheeler gives £100,000 to UKIP - Observer | Last night's ToryDiary

Tory spokesman says party policy won't be influenced by donors

"Our policies on Europe are robust and we are committed to a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Conservative policy on Europe - as on other matters - is decided by David Cameron and his Shadow Cabinet and not by any donors." - A Tory spokesman quoted in the Independent on Sunday

Stuart Wheeler: The EU is more expensive than the recession

"The well known economist Patrick Minford and the merchant banker Ian Milne put the cost at about £1,000 per annum for every man, woman, child and baby in this country. Others think it is far more. Let us stick with £1,000 i.e. £4,000 for a typical family of four which, if it has only one breadwinner, has to live on an average of about £17,000 a year after tax." - Stuart Wheeler in The Sunday Times

George Osborne: Britain in worse situation than America

"Paul Volcker, President Obama's senior economic policy adviser, said a few days ago that the banking crisis "is probably worse in the UK"... We borrowed even more than America. Our households became more indebted, our banks were more highly leveraged, and our housing bubble was bigger." - The Shadow Chancellor writing in the Independent on Sunday

William Hague under attack for his use of taxpayers' allowances

"William Hague claimed £61,995 in taxpayers’ cash to help pay for a £1million second home in London – while pocketing around £800,000 a year from part-time jobs." - Sunday Mirror

'How Jacqui Smith's husband watched pornographic movies... paid for by the taxpayer' - Mail on Sunday

"The whole wretched panoply of allowances should be ended and replaced with a strict scheme of legitimate and modest expenses backed with checkable receipts. And if MPs are to be paid more, then let the money be found by reducing their numbers and so increasing their quality." - Mail on Sunday leader

"Instead of closing up loopholes and clamping down on excesses [MPs] have simply SCRAPPED the strict rules that have tripped MPs up, sparking the recent wave of scandals." - News of the World

Britain has colluded with torture - David Davis in The Observer

France Maude benefits from company that benefits from government advertising - The Sunday Telegraph

(But Mr Maude opposes more government advertising so ConHome can't see what TheSunTel is making an issue of).

'Robocop' Ray Mallon: Police efforts to deal with anti-social behaviour are being crippled by Government diktats

In a report for Iain Duncan Smith's Centre for Social Justice, "Mr Mallon, who became famous for his zero-tolerance policing as a Detective Superintendent in Hartlepool and Middlesbrough, warns that officers are in the grip of an ‘arrest or ignore’ culture." - Mail on Sunday

Annabel Goldie: Prisoners in Scottish jails should all face mandatory drug testing - BBC

Scotland's largest building society collapsed after incurring losses last year estimated at £26m - BBC

Darling wants to use Budget to top up tax credits for lowest earners - Observer

Germany suspected of leaking draft Brown plans for $1.4 trillion G20 stimulus - Sunday Telegraph

"Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, last night led the assault on the prime minister’s “global new deal” for a $2 trillion-plus fiscal stimulus to end the recession. “I will not let anyone tell me that we must spend more money,” she said." - Sunday Times

"The G20 will “agree” some fluffy nonsense. When Brown can’t get agreement in his own government, what hope of a 20-nation deal?" - Fraser Nelson in the News of the World

Army launches campaign after three soldiers apparently commit suicide in Iraq - Sunday Telegraph

> Liam Fox recently made a speech on the mental health services within the military

Rise of sea levels is 'the greatest lie ever told' - Christopher Booker in The Sunday Telegraph

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Saturday 28th March 2009

4.45pm ToryDiary: Stuart Wheeler defects to UKIP with £100,000 donation

4pm ToryDiary: ICM finds Conservatives 13% ahead and public split on timing of inheritance tax pledge

3.30pm CentreRight: Tim Montgomerie explains why he won't be celebrating tonight's Earth Hour

3pm ToryDiary: Cameron will meet Obama on margins of G20

12.30pm ToryDiary: Opposing the VAT cut was my toughest call says Osborne

10.15am WATCH:

• Greg Hands MP comments on the Chilean leader's claim that her country used the good times to prepare for the bad
• Boris Johnson talks to WebCameron about Mayor's Question Time

ToryDiary: Cameron must be first to champion the anti-politician mood

Seats and candidates: Candidates receive poor service from CCHQ

Matt Woods on Platform: A glut of government advertising could point to an early general election

International: Berlusconi's new People of Freedom party aims to dominate Italian politics

Local government:

• Powys save money (I) with plan for joint Council/Health Board Chief Exec
• Powys save money (II) by turning some street lights off
• Cllr Paul Bettison says Bracknell Forest is encouraging residents to be more energy efficient during the recession
• Cllr Daniel Moylan says Taxpayers Alliance protest "fizzles out"
  

Chile's leader inadvertently echoes Tory attack on Brown's failure to prepare for good times

"Chile President Michelle Bachelet said her government had been able to introduce a significant fiscal stimulus because it had "saved in the good times". Although the comments came as she praised the Prime Minister's leadership, it sounded uncomfortably like David Cameron's charge that he did not "fix the roof while the sun was shining"." - Sky News

George Soros: Britain may have to seek IMF rescue - Times

"Don't panic" - The FT's leader-writers warn against over-reacting to events like this week's failed gilts auction

Peter Oborne: Brown's G20 dream is in tatters

"For the past three months, Gordon Brown has truly cared about only one event: the G20 economic summit he will host in London next week. He resolved that he would use this gathering of world leaders to save the global economy, salvage his own diminishing reputation and provide Labour with a launchpad to win the next General Election... The last few days have seen a series of brutal, debilitating and totally unexpected humiliations as one world leader after another has come out and rubbished his idea of extra spending." - Peter Oborne in The Daily Mail

David Cameron's Friday letter to email subscribers sees the Mervyn King warning as "defining"

The Tory leader also uses his email to praise Dan Hannan's "brilliant" speech - conservatives.com

Dan Hannan is not a Cameroon - Julian Glover in The Guardian

David Cameron backs reform of Royal Rules of Succession

"It does not make sense in the 21st century to say that men have priority over women when it comes to inheriting the throne. It does not make sense to say that the king cannot marry a Catholic. So we do need change but we have to recognise that the Queen is not just our queen. She is also the Queen of all the Commonwealth countries that have her as their head of state, so this is not an easy change to make. There is a lot of talking and listening that has to be done first." - David Cameron quoted in The Independent

Sayeeda Warsi explains what makes her a Conservative

"The vision that if you work hard then you can be anything you want. Dad always said what this country does is provide you with the opportunity to move on from the situation you started in. He said you will embarrass me the day one of you comes home and decide not to take a job and sit at home and sign on instead." - Sayeeda Warsi interviewed in The Guardian

Andrew Grice: The Tories should thank Mervyn King from saving them from a bigger tax row

"Mr Cameron got lucky this week because the spotlight moved on from his party's stance on death duties to the Government's economic woes. He should send a thank-you note to Mervyn King, the Bank of England Governor and a fellow Aston Villa supporter, who declared there was no scope for another big fiscal stimulus in next month's Budget. The Tories should learn lessons from their inheritance tax wobble. It showed how quickly their policies can "become the story" – and that they need to have clear answers ready. As the election nears, they won't be able to muddle through." - Andrew Grice in The Independent

David Norgrove, former adviser to Margaret Thatcher, takes £500 a day job to oversee Low Pay Commission - Guardian

Simon Heffer: The Tories should put Labour in the dock by calling votes of confidence and for reductions in culpable ministers' pay - Telegraph

Matthew Parris writes the goodbye speech that Brown should now deliver

"I took the helm just as we faced a time of unprecedented anxiety and economic trouble. I said I'd steer and I did. I took the hard decisions. I know they were right. The worst is over, and I'm confident Britain will understand this in the years ahead. But in politics if you do wade in, if you do get to grips with difficult and unpopular measures, if you do tell unwelcome truths, you must become associated in the national mind with times of crisis and trouble. The page my name heads is a dark page. I would love to be the man who turns it. But it would be better if the baton now passes, and a fresh figure takes us onward. This is the sacrifice I must make.” - Matthew Parris in The Times

Gordon Brown says Falklands sovereignty not up for discussion in his talks with Argentina - BBC

Forty MPs have signed motion calling for delay in next week's planned rise in fuel duty - Telegraph

Thirty years ago the Callaghan government lost a vote of confidence in the Commons

Lord (David) Steel remembers that vote in the Daily Mail.

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.