Wednesday 2nd June 2010

9.30pm WATCH: Hilarious Music Video - Is Fatboy Slim a DJ? by Boris Johnson vs 2 Anonymous DJs

7.30pm ToryDiary: Alan Duncan predicts that David Laws will "bounce back" as he muses on the issue of sexuality and politics

7pm WATCH: David Cameron tells the Commons of his alarm and shock at today's shootings in Cumbria

6.45pm Parliament update: Anne McIntosh and Andrew Turner added to the list of budding Select Committee chairmen

4.15pm Parliament: Hague attacks Israel's "unwise" blockade of Gaza

3.30pm ToryDiary: An assured first PMQs for David Cameron

2pm Parliament: Nick de Bois and Henry Smith mark themselves out as localists in their maiden speeches, while Angie Bray raises the issue of dangerous dogs

12.15pm Mark Wallace on CentreRight: Shareholder activism is a welcome addition to our democracy

12pm Parliament: Why David Cameron should answer Prime Minister's Questions twice a week

10.30am Andrew Lilico on CentreRight: Problems in the Eurozone and their implications for the UK

10am Alex Deane on CentreRight: The naughty side of NICE

ToryDiary: Were the Tory greybeards victims of the Coalition jobs carve-up?

Also on ToryDiary: Andrew Lansley rejects minimum unit pricing of alcohol

Jamie Murray Wells on Platform: Raising Capital Gains Tax would punish those investing sensibly for their future

Local Government: Would Oona King beat Boris?

Parliament: Full list of the Conservative races for Select Committee chairmanships

Melanchthon on CentreRight: The Gaza flotilla tragedy - a couple of distinctions

WATCH: Israel begins deporting activists detained after the raid on the flotilla heading for Gaza

David Cameron prepares to face first PMQs

"David Cameron is preparing to give the answers at Prime Minister's questions in the House of Commons for the first time since taking office. The new PM is likely to be challenged by Labour about £6bn spending cuts the government has announced for this year. Some Tory MPs may ask about a planned rise in capital gains tax, amid fears it will hit people who invested in shares and property for retirement." - BBC

"Today David Cameron faces his first session of PMQs as Prime Minister. He can — if he wants — make it a very big moment for politics and for himself. He should refuse to pretend that every member of his Government agrees about everything. He should be grown up about the nature of coalition and the origin of compromises. He must insist that his Government stands and falls together, but it should not do so on a pretence." - Daniel Finkelstein in The Times

> ConHome will be covering PMQs which, for one day only, will take place at 3pm today

Intensive Afghan talks held at Chequers yesterday

"David Cameron has held "intensive" discussions about Afghanistan with some of his most senior ministers and advisers. The Prime Minister convened the Government's National Security Council (NSC) at Chequers, his country retreat, for what was described by Downing Street as an "extended session" on the conflict." - Press Association

Clegg urges Israel to lift 'untenable" Gaza blockade

"Nick Clegg urged Israel to lift its “unjustifiable and untenable” blockade of the Gaza Strip as world leaders welcomed a United Nations Security Council statement calling for a credible and transparent investigation into the attack by Israeli commandos." - The Herald

"Up to 40 Britons were still being held at a prison in the Israeli desert city of Be'er Sheva last night, among nearly 700 foreign nationals from the Gaza flotilla, although Israeli officials said they would be expelled from the country swiftly... William Hague, the foreign secretary, said 31 British nationals and another 11 with dual nationality were known to have been detained." - The Guardian

Israel to release activists immediately - Daily Telegraph

> Yesterday on CentreRight:

• Jeremy Brier: Israel's double-bind as more ships head to Gaza
• Paul Goodman: A few deaths on a boat in the Middle East are a sideshow of a sideshow

David Willetts: Universities need glaziers and golf experts, too

"It is easy to scoff at golf course management. But think of it instead as a business studies course for a particular industrial sector – and one that is growing. Last year, Birmingham's Applied Golf Management Studies course had 109 applications for 25 places. It requires minimum A-level grades of ABB. Its graduates all secured jobs at an average salary of £22,000 – higher than the university as a whole. To me, the only Mickey Mouse degree is one that is mediocre, or sloppy. Rigour and excellence are not confined to intellectual pursuits. They're just as evident and necessary in craftsmanship, in technical spheres, in manufacturing." - David Willetts in the Daily Telegraph

Voters 'not sure what Lib Dems stand for'

"Voters have delivered an ominous warning to the Liberal Democrats, with nearly two-thirds saying they are not clear what the party stands for since it went into coalition with the Conservatives. A ComRes poll for The Independent found that public opinion is divided on the merits of the power-sharing deal between David Cameron and Nick Clegg, but that voters overwhelmingly back the replacement of the first-past-the-post electoral system." - The Independent

> Last night's ToryDiary: New ComRes poll shows the public don't like hung parliaments - but they apparently want a voting system which would never give one party a majority

Ken Livingstone to run for London mayor again

"Ken Livingstone is to run again for the London mayoralty, two years after he was ousted from City Hall. He began his campaign to become Labour’s 2012 mayoral candidate yesterday. Claiming that he has the “necessary recognition” to defeat the incumbent Boris Johnson, Mr Livingstone, 64, will challenge Oona King, the former MP for Bethnal Green & Bow, in September for the Labour candidacy and the chance to oust Boris Johnson in 2012." - The Times

David Lammy rules himself out as candidate in race for London mayor - The Guardian

> Yesterday's LeftWatch: Ken Livingstone officially launches bid for London Mayoral candidacy on anti-Government agenda

Alistair Darling backs David Miliband for Labour leader  - The Mirror

Simon Hughes leads race for Lib Dem Deputy leader - Reuters

MoD savings drive "to hit equipment"

"The Ministry of Defence is set to review about 20 equipment procurement projects, worth £10bn in total, as part of its drive to cut costs.  The move follows a statement by the Treasury last month that all large procurement decisions announced by the previous Labour government that required the department’s approval would have to be re-submitted." - FT

Ashdown backed for EU Balkans job - The Times

Sir Jock Stirrup could be asked to quit defence post early

"The salary of Britain’s top military commander came under scrutiny yesterday after it emerged that he earns £100,000 more than the Prime Minister.Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the Chief of the Defence Staff, earns £245,000 a year plus perks — £80,000 more than the heads of the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force and the Army... There is already speculation that Sir Jock will be asked to stand down this summer or early autumn, well before his retirement date next April. His successor is unlikely to command the same salary, given David Cameron’s determination to cut public sector pay." - The Times

Housing association bosses who earn more than David Cameron

"Some 50 housing association bosses earn more than the prime minister, housing minister Grant Shapps said yesterday as he pledged to "shine a light" on salaries paid from the public purse. The information was released on the same day that the pay and perks of senior civil servants earning more than £150,000 (which is more than the prime minister) were published, in the first step of a pledge to remove the "cloak of secrecy" from – government information." - The Guardian

We must tighten belts of public sector fatcats - Corin Taylor in The Sun

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: The pay of the 172 civil servants earning more than the Prime Minister is revealed

David Laws could make a speedy return following 'swift' inquiry into expenses claims

"A commons inquiry into the expense claims involving David Laws and his secret lover is set to be swift, paving the way for the ex-Treasury minister’s speedy return to the government. Mr Laws – regarded as one of the coalition government’s top performers before his dramatic departure from the Cabinet at the weekend – will be investigated by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, John Lyon, after referring himself to the Commons watchdog." - Daily Mail

"The Conservative candidate who contested the parliamentary seat held by David Laws said last night that the minister’s campaign was based on a “pack of lies”. Kevin Davis said that Mr Laws’s successful re-election attempt was built on the “premise that he was a squeaky clean MP on expenses”. The “premise has now turned out to be a lie”, said Mr Davis yesterday, adding that the Liberal Democrat MP should apologise to both his elections rivals and the constituency." - Daily Telegraph

"I haven't got much time for Lib Dem politics but I have even less for the wretched practice of proclaiming private sexuality all over the nation’s airwaves so I feel sorry, indeed very sorry, for David Laws." - Anne Widdecombe in the Daily Express

David Laws hopes his constituents will back a political comeback - The Guardian

Sun criticised over 'gay cabinet ministers' poll - The Guardian

Capital gains tax rise 'is just a sop to the Lib Dems': It will generate very little money, say experts - Daily Mail

Chris Huhne warns of £4bn black hole in nuclear power budget - The Guardian

Japanese PM quits to boost party fortunes at poll - Reuters

And finally... Nick Clegg explains how ministerial life fits around family life

"I'm very lucky because David Cameron has young children. We agreed the other day we were going to slightly delay the start of the cabinet meeting to allow us both to take our children to school, which is a reflection – if any was needed – of the fact that we are both of the same generation in this new politics." He adds that he is "very rigid in saying 'no' to endless dinner invitations, to try to make sure I'm back home regularly to put the kids to bed". - Nick Clegg interview in The Independent

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