Saturday 15th May 2010
6.45pm ToryDiary: George Osborne accuses the defeated Labour Government of having "brought Britain to the edge of bankruptcy"
6.15pm ToryDiary update: Lib Dems drop three points in second post-coalition poll
5.15pm ToryDiary: Lib Dems drop three points in first post-coalition poll
12.45pm Chris Chope MP on CentreRight: Will the Conservatives fall for the Lib Dem honey trap?
11.15am Paul Goodman on CentreRight: Did civil servants applaud the new Cabinet ministers as they entered their departments last week like they did for Brown and Mandleson?
-
Theresa May signals early legislation to protect "have-a-go heroes"
- Appointments confirmed for more junior ministers
Quentin Langley on Platform: We should retain First-Past-The-Post for elections to the Commons but elect a reformed second chamber by Single Transferable Vote
LeftWatch: Ed Miliband to set out his stall for the Labour leadership today
Local Government: Unitary plans for Norwich and Exeter "definitely off" says Pickles
Melanchthon on CentreRight: 55%, Fixed-term Parliaments, elected Prime Ministers - Solutions in search of a problem
WATCH: Philip Hammond explains what he is doing to try and avert the planned strikes by BA cabin crew
William Hague says Britain will pursue 'solid not slavish' relationship with US
"Britain's new government will pursue a "solid not slavish" relationship with the US, the foreign secretary, William Hague, promised today after a meeting with the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, in Washington. But he nonetheless lavished praise on his American counterpart, calling her "inspiring". Hague made the flying visit to assure President Barack Obama's administration that the British government was committed to a close partnership, including in the long-term fight in Afghanistan, even if the Conservatives' Liberal Democrat partners have called for more distance." - The Guardian
"Foreign policy is one of the few areas of government where the Tory side of this Lib-Con coalition has free rein. That is both a pity and an opportunity. It is a pity because the multilateralist, pro-European Liberal Democrats would have been a valuable stabilising influence in the Foreign Office. But it is also an opportunity because now the Conservatives can demonstrate that they have moved beyond the dogmas of former eras and can act effectively and pragmatically in concert with all our international allies." - Independent editorial
> WATCH: Hague meets Clinton in Washington
Cameron to meet Afghan president at Chequers - Press Association
Liam Fox explains his priorities for the MoD
"Defence Secretary Liam Fox yesterday declared war on Britain's Euro allies for failing to do their duty in Afghanistan. In his first interview since taking over at the Ministry of Defence he insisted he would make it a priority to reform our role in Nato - and ensure other countries play their part. He also revealed plans for a shake-up that will delight our Armed Forces. He vowed to: put the Ministry of Defence on a proper war footing to see the job through in Afghanistan; look at laws to ban discrimination against our service personnel; improve the provision of mental health support; provide support for families of servicemen and women; oversee a defence review that finally acknowledges the end of the Cold War." - The Sun
David Cameron signals his desire to win Scotland's respect
"On his first trip since becoming Prime Minister, David Cameron has said he wants to win Scotland's respect. The coalition chief was accompanied on his visit to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh by the Secretary of State for Scotland, Lib Dem Danny Alexander... On arrival, Mr Cameron said: "I want to show my respect for the devolved institutions. I want to make the devolved institutions work and work well. I want a real agenda of respect between our parliaments." - Sky News
Cameron ditches police outriders as he says he is happy to sit in traffic - The Sun
Revolt looms over 5-year Parliament plan
"David Cameron yesterday began his first climbdown after Tory MPs broke ranks to attack his plans for fixed-term parliaments as a 'recipe for anarchy'. The Prime Minister sought to head off his first rebellion from backbenchers by insisting the controversial new rules were up for debate." - Daily Mail
"David Cameron will today face pressure from the Scottish parliament to reconsider proposals to fix the next UK election for 7 May 2015, because it could cause chaos by clashing with Holyrood elections on the same day." - The Guardian
> Sir George Young on Platform yesterday: We want fixed term for Parliament not Governments
Cheryl Gillan axes first class rail travel for Wales Office officials
"Cheryl Gillan, the new Conservative Welsh secretary, has banned all of her officials from travelling first class on train journeys. The Wales Office is thought to the first to ban first class rail travel for all staff. The move will be seen as symbolic of the need to make cost savings across Whitehall over the next few months." - Daily Telegraph
Caroline Spelman faces questions over close links to agriculture lobbying - The Guardian
Gary McKinnon lawyers lobby new home secretary - BBC
George Osborne in 11th hour fight against EU hedge fund directive
"George Osborne will go to Brussels on Tuesday to fight Britain's corner in the mounting row with the rest of Europe over hedge fund regulation. Mr Osborne, in his first big challenge as Chancellor of the Exchequer, will have to persuade MEPs to reject parts of the proposed Alternative Investment Management Directive ahead of a crucial vote on Tuesday." - Daily Telegraph
Coalition urged to move fast with deep cuts to halt finance crisis
"The Treasury has drawn up plans to accelerate deep spending cuts over the next two to three years to reduce the £164 billion deficit while there is still support for the coalition. David Cameron and Nick Clegg are being urged by officials to bring forward their manifesto plans to reduce spending so that up to £60 billion of departmental cuts would be implemented by 2013, The Times has learnt." - The Times
Sir James Sassoon to be ennobled and appointed Treasury minister - Sky News
David Cameron's coalition is off to a green start
"The coalition agreement between the two parties has no less than 20 environmental commitments, nearly twice as many as in any other area. Unsurprisingly, it pays particular attention to the low-carbon economy, vigorously promoting energy saving and renewable energy over fossil fuels, high-speed rail and electric cars over air travel. Heathrow's third runway will be scrapped, no new ones will be built at Stansted or Gatwick, and there will be tougher curbs on coal-fired power stations." - Daily Telegraph
> Video from yesterday: David Cameron declares his ambition to build "greenest government ever"
Bruce Anderson: How David Cameron recast British politics
"From the outset, Mr. Cameron offered his supporters the hope of victory. If he sometimes frightened them, there was always the consolation that he was frightening their opponents even more. This was never a cautious, skeptical, traditional Tory. The youngest British Prime Minister for 200 years has a radical temperament and the instincts of a cavalry commander." - Bruce Anderson in the Wall Street Journal
Charles Moore: David Cameron's coalition, born of failure, may make the new politics succeed
"Is Mr Cameron bravely reaching out for national unity to confront hard times, or is he pulling a fast one? I suppose the traditional Disraelian answer would be: both. But one must hope that he does not try to be too clever. A subset of Cameron supporters tend to score his successes by how much he distances himself from Margaret Thatcher and how regularly he disrespects his core support. For them, coalition is a mid-air transfer which allows him to jettison the old space-capsule." - Charles Moore in the Daily Telegraph
Now Mr Cameron's 'liberal conservative' credentials can be tested - Andrew Grice in The Independent
Let us not mistake a coalition for a merger - Daily Telegraph editorial
Peter Riddell: Cameron has resisted a new leader’s greatest pitfall: fiddling around - The Times
Nick Clegg: I know the coalition deal has offended some Lib Dems
"I know the birth of this coalition has caused much surprise, and, with it, some offence. There are those on both the left and right who are united in thinking this should not have happened. But the truth is this: there was no other responsible way to play the hand dealt to the political parties by the British people at the election. The parliamentary arithmetic made a Lib-Lab coalition unworkable, and it would have been regarded as illegitimate by the British people." - Nick Clegg writing in The Guardian
Vince Cable told Gordon Brown he opposed Con-Lib coalition deal
"Vince Cable told Gordon Brown repeatedly that he did not want to go into coalition with the Conservatives, according to insider accounts of the talks that reshaped British politics. Dr Cable, the deputy Liberal Democrat leader, used a series of telephone calls with Mr Brown to emphasise that he regarded a deal with the Tories as the least palatable option for his party, The Times has learnt. The pair spoke sometimes twice a day over the course of last weekend and in the hours leading up to David Cameron and Nick Clegg’s historic deal, which prompted Dr Cable’s appointment as Business Secretary." - The Times
Cable gets tough on banks - FT
Woman arrested over stabbing of Labour MP Stephen Timms - Sky News
Ken Clarke is sworn in as Lord Chancellor
"Ken Clarke made his entrance to the court flanked by a series of men with weird and wonderful titles including the clerk of the crown and a gold mace-wielding assistant serjeant-at-arms. The procession was also an opportunity for a rare sighting of a "purse-bearer" – most of whose outings in England are confined to state openings of parliament... It may not have been his intention, but the one thing Jack Straw, the last holder of the office, will be remembered for among staff at the Royal Courts of Justice is refusing to wear his shoulder-length wig. There was no such rejection of tradition by Clarke, who looked perfectly at home in his wig, elaborate lace collar and gold brocade gown complete with silk stockings and brogues." - The Guardian
Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.
Comments