Thursday 28th January 2010

8.30pm ToryDiary: David Cameron commits a Conservative Government to start making cuts later this year - even if the economy contracts again

6.30pm Charles Tannock MEP on CentreRight posts Reflections from Auschwitz-Birkenau on the 65th anniversary of its liberation

5.30pm Parliament: Sir George Young suggests that Harriet Harman is trying to block Commons reforms by using procedures giving a veto to any individual MP

4.15pm ToryDiary: What was missing from ConHome's 'Closing the deal' series?

3.15pm Julia Manning on CentreRight: There was never any evidence of a link between MMR and autism - it is a contemporary, disastrous myth

3.15pm WATCH: Liam Fox says that the Afghan Government should talk to the "reconcilable elements" of the Taleban

2.45pm ToryDiary: Alan Duncan spotted at Cornerstone party

2.15pm Seats and candidates: Does Operation Black Vote have a problem updating its website?

2.15pm Graeme Archer on CentreRight resurrects his proposal to choose the House of Lords by random selection akin to a jury

2pm Local Government: Political opponents block London Assembly Tories' attempt to cut all political groups' budgets

2pm Seats and candidates: BBC reports on the Liberal Democrats' number one Tory target; Eastbourne's Nigel Waterson

1pm Robin Simcox on CentreRight: The Iraqi "war for oil" fallacy

Noon Parliament: Francis Maude attacks the Government for doubling the cost of the 2011 census and calls for it to be scaled back and made less intrusive

11.30pm Patrick Nolan on CentreRight: A better system of parental leave requires real reform, not more spending

9.45am WATCH: David Cameron says that Section 28 was a mistake and that children should be taught about homosexual relationships and the value of civil partnerships

ToryDiary: William Hague demands that the Chilcot Inquiry be given "unfettered access" to all Iraq documents

LeftWatch: Where did all the stimulus go?

Mark Field MP on Platform: The safeguards for "assisted dying" are illusory

Seat and Candidates Search for 100 Peers: Gyles Brandreth

Parliament: Have we really got "the laziest MPs for 30 years"?

Local Government:

• Conservatives may give councils the power to set benefits
• Labour's one party state in Newham faces challenge

WATCH: Barack Obama makes jobs his priority for 2010 in his first State of the Union Address

Cameron and Osborne must listen to their backbenchers — or face revolt

"By rights, Tory MPs should adore the men who are about to end their 13 years in the political wilderness. Three successive leaders have led the Tories to defeat. Now, Mr Cameron is about to take them to victory in a campaign masterminded by his shadow chancellor, Mr Osborne. But talking to backbench MPs, one is struck by the lack of love for either of them. The reason for this is simple: the infantry feel underappreciated and ignored."- James Forsyth in The Spectator

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Team Cameron need to build better relationships with MPs, journalists and other key friends

Cameron winning female vote for Tories

"David Cameron is attracting a spectacular surge in support among mothers as women turn their backs on Labour, according to a new survey. The shift towards the Tories is a boost to party strategists after targeting young female voters. Backing for Labour is slumping in particular among mothers from lower income, northern and lone parent families. The survey of 6,000 mothers by the parenting website Netmums found 34 per cent support for the Tories among mothers, compared with 18 per cent for Labour and 15 per cent for the Liberal Democrats. Thirteen per cent said they were still undecided." - The Independent

Andrew Lansley slams surge in NHS managers

"Tory health spokesman Andrew Lansley will tell a nursing conference today that he is particularly worried because the number of NHS managers has risen three times faster than the number of nurses under Labour. 'Conservatives are committed to recruiting additional health visitors and to ensuring that efficiency savings in the NHS and cuts in bureaucracy are invested back into frontline services,' he will add." - Daily Mail

Tories pledge to publish Shannon Matthews care report in full

"The Conservatives pledged last night that an incoming Tory government would publish the full report into social workers’ disastrous dealings with the family of Shannon Matthews, the kidnapped schoolgirl who was drugged and held captive for 25 days by an accomplice of her mother." - The Times

Top Tories will attend World Economic Forum in Davos

"David Cameron will be joined this week in Davos by shadow chancellor George Osborne and party stalwart William Hague as they seek to win support from the global business elite ahead of challenging incumbent U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his Labour Party in a general election this summer." - Wall Street Journal

Boris steps down as Police Authority chairman

"Mayor of London Boris Johnson said on Wednesday he would stand down as head of the capital's police authority, reversing an election pledge that he would personally take charge of the fight against crime. "I think it would be a good thing we changed the chair of the MPA (Metropolitan Police Authority) and I am proposing to stand down," he told a questions session at the London Assembly. Johnson's dual role as mayor and chair of the MPA had been criticised for overly politicising the police authority, responsible for appointing the capital's senior officers." - Reuters

Is it time for political realignment in Northern Ireland?

"With Unionist votes likely to split three ways in coming elections and the consequent ascent of Sinn Féin to become Northern Ireland’s largest party, the talk is once more of the need for a political realignment. The — no longer — secret talks hosted by Lord Cranbourne, the most Unionist member of John Major’s cabinet may have been about improving relations between Northern Ireland’s two largest rival Unionist parties but the perception is otherwise." - The Times

Brown outlines three-point plan and final deadline for Northern Ireland - The Guardian

Stormont probe into Peter and Iris Robinson suspended pending police investigation - BBC

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: The recent talks with the UUP and DUP were all about trying to bolster peace and security in Northern Ireland

Tories expose how 10 welfare claimants have been overpaid by more than £1 million

"Whitehall figures obtained by the Conservatives yesterday showed that the Department of Work and Pensions is owed a total of £1,046,514.16 in over paid Income Support from its 10 biggest debtors... Shadow Work and Pensions Minister Andrew Selous said: “It is unforgivable that while taxpayers are tightening their belts, the Government is racking up more debt through poor administration. Ministers urgently need to get a grip.” - Daily Express

Tories appoint shadow ministers to ‘Wales-proof’ party’s agenda

"The Conservatives have begun appointing shadow ministers with responsibility for “Wales-proofing” the party’s agenda for government. Each department would have a minister with a specific duty to ensure Wales is not inadvertently left out of key legislation." - Western Mail

Ben Brogan: The significance for David Cameron of Lord and Lady Ashcroft - Daily Telegraph

Tentative recovery comes with pitfalls for both main parties - Michael White in The Guardian

£230 million annual bill to house asylum seekers - Daily Express

Scientists in stolen e-mail scandal hid climate data - The Times

MPs in line for retrospective pay rise under post-expenses scandal reforms - The Guardian

Peers to be forced by law to pay taxes in the UK - or quit Parliament by Autumn - Daily Telegraph

And finally... Stressed Treasury staff told: Don't worry, do it tomorrow

"Treasury officials have been told to ‘shelve problems’ to help keep their stress levels down in the face of Britain’s dire public finances. A 70-page guide to ‘stress awareness and management’ advises officials to put off difficult decisions to another day if they are causing them anxiety... The Tories seized on the document last night as an allegory for Labour’s approach to tackling Britain’s record budget deficit, which is based on putting off painful cuts in public spending until after the election. Tory frontbencher Grant Shapps said: 'It is a clearly a very stressful environment to work in but this document just underlines the Government’s inability to focus on the important issues’." - Daily Mail

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