Newslinks for Saturday 30th June 2012

8.30pm ToryDiary: ZIG! Yesterday, Cameron opposed In-Out referendum. ZAG! Tomorrow, Cameron praises renegotiation referendum

3.15pm ToryDiary: Government orders independent review of inter-banking lending rate abuses

Noon ToryDiary: How we could still be given an in/out EU referendum by David Cameron

ToryDiary: The lady wasn't for turning. But the gentleman is. And, as Lord Lawson argues, this risks the Government's credibility.

Tobias Ellwood MP on Comment: The modern soldier is also an aid worker, a classroom builder, a fireman - as well as a fighter.  As the transformation now sweeping the army will help prove. 

MPsETC: Song written by David Morris MP performed for Armed Forces Day

Local Government: Cambridgeshire takes action to reduce flooding

WATCH: Allister Heath says he can't defend the bankers this time

David Cameron re-signals his opposition to an In-Out EU referendum.  But he doesn't rule out a poll on renegotiation.

Mr Cameron did not rule out some sort of vote on European issues eventually, but insisted that he would not give the British people the option of leaving the EU outright. "I completely understand why some people want an in/out referendum, why they wanted it yesterday, why they want it today,” he said. "Some people just want to get out: I completely understand that but I don't share that view, I don't think that's the right thing to do.” - Daily Telegraph

• "David Cameron placed himself on a collision course with the Tory right when he mounted a passionate defence of Britain's membership of the EU and rejected out of hand an "in or out" referendum..."The problem with an in/out referendum is that it only gives people those two choices. You can stay either in with all the status quo or you can get out. Most people in Britain want a government that stands up and fights within Europe .." Guardian
• "Hours after 100 Tory MPs demanded that he legislate for a referendum because “the cost of membership is too high”, the Prime Minister told his party that greater engagement was important and that Britain was already winning key arguments. - The Times (£)
• "His decision yesterday to explicitly rule out an In/Out referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union will shake the faith of millions about whether he has the right stuff to save our country. Mr Cameron claimed most Britons agree with him that Britain should remain inside the EU. The opinion polls do not bear him out. If he is confident of his case then why does he not hold a referendum to prove his point?" - Daily Express leader
• "Many Tories are worried that increasingly Eurosceptic voters could switch to the UK Independence Party unless the Prime Minister toughens his stance. There are also fears that Ed Miliband could offer an opportunistic pledge to hold a referendum in order to outflank the Tories." - Daily Mail
• "David Cameron says he has secured from eurozone leaders "explicit commitments" to protect the EU single market....he said nothing the eurozone does to stabilise its currency should impact on the single market." - BBC

>Yesterday:

• WATCH: As Cameron rules out an EU referendum that's In/Out, John Baron MP explains why over 100 Conservative MPs want an EU referendum of some kind
• Syed Kamall MEP: Britain and Europe are at a fork in the road - and our withdrawal may soon be in the offing

Ed Miliband seeks to outflank Downing Street by calling for a public inquiry on banking

"Labour leader Ed Miliband has called for a public inquiry into banking after a series of scandals in the sector." - BBC

• "But Cameron declined to endorse the call by Ed Balls for a "proper, independent, arm's length inquiry" to be held into Britain's banking industry. "I never reject anything Ed Balls says," he joked after he was asked by the Guardian whether he endorsed the shadow chancellor's view." - Guardian
• For over the past five years, we have witnessed an unprecedented public crisis in the great pillars of state: the banks, the police and Parliament. Why? Because in more and more cases, naked greed seems to have been the driving force for many self-serving individuals in these institutions - George Carey, Daily Mail
  That said, the real crisis we are facing is not a financial but a moral one. And it is a direct result of the something-for-nothing culture which is poisoning our society.
• "Barclays are bankers. We hate bankers. Whatever it is they’re said to have done, we’re pretty sure it was dreadful and they’re undoubtedly guilty of doing it. The whole lot of them. We started being angry with them even before the exact nature of their dark deeds was revealed." - Matthew Parris The Times(£)
• "Ed Miliband believes the public want those who caused economic hardship and misery grilled under oath. He’s wrong. What they want is for the guilty men and women to have their collars felt. To spend millions of pounds of public money forensically examining what went wrong would be folly. It could also convince thousands of excellent bankers, needed to aid the recovery, to leave the UK altogether." The Sun Says
• "How ripe that the bankers continue to have the same open access to Downing Street enjoyed by the union barons in the 1970s, successfully lobbying to preserve their bonuses and water down the Vickers’ plan for banking reform. Indeed, the more billions the British taxpayer has spent on bailing out the banks, the more contemptuously their executives have treated the public." - Daily Mail leader

Miliband sings the Red Flag - but just two verses - Daily Mail

>Yesterday:

• WATCH: Mervyn King: "Something went very wrong with the British banking industry and we need to put it right."
• ToryDiary: It's time for MPs to scrag the bankers
• Columnist Bruce Anderson:  Wrong, Ed Balls, wrong.  It was the Old Boy System that kept the City clean
• WATCH:  City AM editor Allister Heath on "a disaster for the City's reputation"

Lord Lawson says there are too many U-turns

"The U-turn on the charities tax, he said, was worth making because it was a mistake. But the pasties, caravans etc? ‘The other things, if it had been me, I would have carried on with. I think they're perfectly justifiable and the idea that you might be in disarray or retreat is not something that you want anybody to think.’....once decided, certain decisions ought to be adhered to. ‘If I had been in his shoes I would not have deferred the petrol tax. I think it is now essential that, in January, he does do it.’ " - Fraser Nelson Coffee House

Egypt's new Muslim Brotherhood President takes oath of office - Sky News

Charles Moore argues that the army is shrinking and "trying to look modern, the Tories played down defence" 

"The MoD these days is a demoralised department with too many second-rate officials and little ability to fulfil its historic role as the United Kingdom’s strategic military headquarters. Few politicians today have a background in defence. Many take it for granted. Some are even actively hostile." - Daily Telegraph

• Battalions with foreign bias face axe in Army cuts - Daily Telegraph
• Thousands expected to turn out for armed forces day - BBC

>Yesterday on Comment: Housing Minister Grant Shapps MP:  Armed forces must be at the front of the housing queue

Government study exposes respondents views on porn - The Independent

No pleasing some people, or rather Sun People: the newspaper names George Osborne as its "villain of the week"

"The Sun was delighted when the Chancellor finally pulled the above U-turn on fuel duty this week. But it was the duplicitousness with which he did it that wins him our weekly wooden spoon. ...Osborne then entirely disappeared from view, Macavity-syle, to dispatch woefully under-briefed junior Treasury minister Chloe Smith to be flayed alive on that night’s TV shows, notably by Newsnight’s Jeremy Paxman." - The Sun

‘Safety net’ in draft Bill on assisted suicide - The Times (£)

The Guardian profiles the Conservative MP fuel duty campaigners as "The Tory rebels who put principles before party loyalty"

"Nuttall is no bleeding-heart liberal: he's a Tory MP, steeped in an older and more rugged strain of Conservatism than that of his current leader. "I just like to stand up for everybody who believes in free enterprise and freedom of choice and giving people the opportunity to improve themselves, by giving them a choice without government dictating to them," he says. "I never had the chance to go to grammar school, but I am the opposite of all those socialists like my predecessor, who went to Bury grammar school but wanted to abolish it." - The Guardian

• These Tory women are narcissists, not feminists - Tanya Gold, The Guardian

Tory peer calls for ban on smoking in cars - Scotsman

Graeme Archer is left angry by Ed Miliband's "depersonalised nostra culpa on immigration"

"The fury arises from the way Labour treated those who voiced disquiet about the rapidity and the extent of the changes. Murmur your concern over primary schools where most children didn’t speak English at home; worse, notice that you were the only native English speaker on your bus – and the Left called you racist." - Daily Telegraph

Britain tops EU asylum list - Daily Mail

Lord Prescott's office lavished spending on hotels and in restaurants all around the world

"Charlie Elphicke, a Conservative MP, said: “These figures show that his office was too casual with taxpayers’ money and now he is standing to be a police commissioner. How do we know he will be effective with the police budget and more careful with public money in future. He needs to explain whether this spending at Links of London and the London Eye was for public or personal benefit.” - Daily Telegraph

>Yesterday on Local government:

• Coming to the heart of England - the largest open primary seen outside the capital
• Theresa May and Nick Herbert must stand firm on police reform

Simon Heffer praises David Cameron showing "real Tory values" on eduaction and welfare - Daily Mail

Commons committee calls for it be easier to sack MPs with forced by-elections - BBC

Donations flood in for Romney after Obama court victory - Independent

And finally...

1)"Get me my lawyer!  Get me my expensive American lawyer" - Tony Blair interview, Financial Times (£)

2) Could Blair return as Prime Minister? - Guardian

2) Beware his leadership ambitions - Patrick O'Flynn, Daily Express

> Please use the thread below to provide links to news topics likely to be of interest to ConservativeHome readers and to comment on political topics that haven't been given their own blog. Read our comments policy here.

Newslinks for Friday 29th June 2012

8.30pm WATCH: As Cameron rules out an EU referendum that's In/Out, John Baron MP explains why over 100 Conservative MPs want an EU referendum of some kind

6pm WATCH: Mervyn King: "Something went very wrong with the British banking industry and we need to put it right."

3.15pm ToryDiary: It's time to say something nice about Ken Clarke (and again about Francis Maude)

1.30pm Updated ToryDiary: It's time for MPs to scrag the bankers

11.15am Local Government: Coming to the heart of England - the largest open primary seen outside the capital

11am Adam Afriyie MP on Comment: Ideas to boost innovation

ToryDiary: It's time for MPs to scrag the bankers

Columnist Bruce Anderson:  Wrong, Ed Balls, wrong.  It was the Old Boy System that kept the City clean

On Comment:

• Housing Minister Grant Shapps MP:  Armed forces must be at the front of the housing queue

•  Syed Kamall MEP: Britain and Europe are at a fork in the road - and our withdrawal may soon be in the offing

Local Government: Theresa May and Nick Herbert must stand firm on police reform

The Deep End: Spoiled, immature, out-of-control – and that’s just the parents

WATCH:  City AM editor Allister Heath on "a disaster for the City's reputation"

David Cameron puts Bob Diamond under pressure to quit

"Barclays' chief executive, Bob Diamond, is fighting to keep his job after the prime minister said accountability for the bank's admission that it had manipulated key interest rates should go right to the top of the bank." - The Guardian

• Bank law gaps our fault says Labour peer - Daily Telegraph
• After this scam, the banks must be split - Lord Lawson, The Times (£)
• Mark Garnier, a Conservative Treasury select committee member and one of the MPs due to cross-examine Barclays' chief executive Bob Diamond about his personal knowledge of the scandal, said: "I think we may be heading towards something like Leveson." - The Guardian
• "The Conservatives spent the day reminding us that while all this rigging of interest rates was going on, the City Minister of the time – Ed Balls – boasted of his “light touch” approach to regulation. In turn, Labour spent the day reminding us that during the same period, the Conservatives had demanded a touch that was lighter still." Michael Deacon Daily Telegraph
• "If Diamond didn’t know such flagrant abuse was going on under his nose, he should have done. Either way, his position is untenable." The Sun Says

>Yesterday:

• WATCH: George Osborne: "The FSA report is a shocking indictment of the culture at banks like Barclays"
  
• MPsETC update: Steve Baker MP calls for Barclays CEO Bob Diamond to resign
• MPsETC update: David Cameron's full statement raises the prospect of tougher regulations to tackle Barclays scandal: "We’ve already taken a lot of action to make sure we regulate our banks and financial services appropriately, but if there’s more that needs to be done, we’ll do it."
• WATCH: Ed Miliband calls for criminal charges to be brought against Barclays scandal figures
• MPsETC : Coverage of George Osborne's statement to the House
• MPsETC : David Cameron has released a statement, asking: "Who was responsible? Who was going to take responsibility? How are they being held accountable?"
• MPsETC: Andrew Tyrie calls Barclays scandal "absolutely shocking, as bad as one can imagine"

Writing in City AM, Allister Heath says it is "very, very bad news"

"Just when it seemed the industry was on the mend, this latest blow could set it back years. And this time those institutions being targeted actually deserve the opprobrium they are getting. The behaviour of a small minority of staff was disgusting, and should have been checked by senior management." - Allister Heath City AM

ConservativeHome's exclusive about backbenchers demanding a referendum on EU membership is followed up

"Almost 100 Tory backbenchers have signed a letter to the Prime Minister telling him he must give the British people a say on Europe after the next general election... The letter was organised by John Baron, the MP for Billericay, who said that mainstream Conservative opinion now backs a referendum." - Daily Telegraph

• "In his letter Mr Baron says he believes "there is a consistent majority in this country who believe that the European Union meddles too much in our everyday lives". It adds that "no-one in this country under the age of 55 has had the opportunity to express their view on this signally important matter"." - BBC
• "The Conservative Home website reported that nearly 100 MPs want a referendum in the next parliament. The move came as the prime minister signalled to eurosceptics that he would fight hard to preserve Britain's £2.7bn annual EU rebate in forthcoming budget negotiations." - Guardian
• "Nearly 100 Conservative MPs have written to the Prime Minister telling him, in effect, to take heed of the Daily Express by announcing a referendum on Britain’s relationship with the European Union." - Daily Express

Cameron could use veto at EU summit

"David Cameron has indicated that he is prepared to wield Britain's EU veto again as he seeks to protect the City of London in negotiations to shore up the eurozone." - The Guardian

>Yesterday: ToryDiary: 100 Tory MPs call for Cameron to prepare legislation for EU referendum

• David Cameron's inner Maoist - Iain Birrell, The Guardian

Eurozone agrees on bank recapitalisation - BBC

Bomber Command memorial finally unveiled

"Given how long it has taken to get this splendid memorial built – 67 years in fact – no one could blame the dear old Lancaster for being a couple of minutes early with its payload of poppy petals. For all those gathered down below, including the Queen, a thousand veterans, row upon row of widows and hundreds of children who never knew their father, this was the day when Britain finally and formally acknowledged its debt to the 55,573 men of Bomber Command who never came home."- Robert Hardman Daily Mail

>Yesterday:

• Lord Ashcroft on Comment: Today is an occasion to savour - the new Bomber Command Memorial means a terrible wrong has finally been righted
• Dr Andrew Murrison MP on Comment: The lateness of today's memorial to Bomber Command is a standing rebuke to government

Grant Shapps is changing the law to give housing priority to armed forces families

"The move, which comes ahead of Armed Forces Day tomorrow, is part of a massive shake-up of social housing to ensure the most deserving are rewarded." - The Sun

Francis Maude to make more data public

"Official data on everything from cancer survival rates to the performance of local schools will be made available to the public under new plans. Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude says the Open Data White Paper will make public services more transparent." - BBC

Right-wing commentator Fraser Nelson joins small but beautifully-placed army of columnists in pushing David Cameron around on the pages of a superbly-resourced right-wing media operation...oh, hang on a minute

"For years, people have been trying to define Osbornism, but it’s beginning to look like Groucho Marx got there first. “These are my principles,” the great comedian once declared. “And if you don’t like them: well, I have others.” " - Fraser Nelson Daily Telegraph

> Yesterday: Lord Ashcroft responds to Peter Oborne's article about him and ConservativeHome in this morning's Telegraph

Sir George Young calls for "other side of the story" over former Tory MP accused of being Czech spy

"Cabinet minister Sir George Young said only one side of the story about ex-Tory MP Ray Mawby had been put forward. He said it was "imperative" the other side was "also put forward in the interests of friends and family". - BBC

• "A Tory MP sold information to the communists at the height of the Cold War to pay for his secret gambling habit. Ray Mawby lived a double life while serving as a minister in Sir Alec Douglas-Home’s government in the 1960s." - Daily Mail

MPs switchboard to move to Southampton - BBC

Penny Mordaunt calls for Minister for older people - BBC

"Opening the debate, Conservative MP Penny Mordaunt argued that this would ensure that the cabinet would take into consideration the impact on older people of every policy decision. "Too often policy is made with the fit, the able bodied, the internet savvy and the average user in mind," the MP for Portsmouth North said." - BBC

McGuinness apology for 3,000 deaths during Troubles - The Times (£)

Lord Fink faces investigation for hosting AmEx charity dinner

"The Conservative Party treasurer is to face a full Parliamentary inquiry into allegations that he broke anti-sleaze rules. The Independent and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism revealed earlier this month that Lord Fink, who has given more than £2m to the Tories, sponsored a private dinner in the House of Lords for paying American Express cardholders." Independent

Labour 1) Libyans take Straw to court over 'rendition' - The Independent

Labour 2) Our Lords Reform isn't a blank cheque - Sadiq Khan, Politics Home (£)

> Please use the thread below to provide links to news topics likely to be of interest to ConservativeHome readers and to comment on political topics that haven't been given their own blog. Read our comments policy here.

Newslinks for Thursday 28th June 2012

8pm WATCH: Robert Halfon MP: Fuel duty cut will mean "billions of pounds will be pushed back into the economy"

6pm Dennis Lennox on International: The Supreme Court did its job, now it's up to the people to decide the fate of Obamacare

5pm WATCH: George Osborne: "The FSA report is a shocking indictment of the culture at banks like Barclays"

4pm Lord Ashcroft on Comment: Today is an occasion to savour - the new Bomber Command Memorial means a terrible wrong has finally been righted

3pm Dr Lee Rotherham on Comment: The discoveries I made while writing my new EU book baffled even me - and I'm an experienced Eurosceptic hand

2.30pm MPsETC update: Steve Baker MP calls for Barclays CEO Bob Diamond to resign

2pm MPsETC update: David Cameron's full statement raises the prospect of tougher regulations to tackle Barclays scandal: "We’ve already taken a lot of action to make sure we regulate our banks and financial services appropriately, but if there’s more that needs to be done, we’ll do it."

1.45pm Lord Ashcroft responds to Peter Oborne's article about him and ConservativeHome in this morning's Telegraph

1.15pm WATCH: Ed Miliband calls for criminal charges to be brought against Barclays scandal figures

1pm MPsETC update: Coverage of George Osborne's statement to the House

11.15am MPsETC update: David Cameron has released a statement, asking: "Who was responsible? Who was going to take responsibility? How are they being held accountable?"

11am Local government: Conservative councillor resigns over Housing Benefit proposals

10am MPsETC: Andrew Tyrie calls Barclays scandal "absolutely shocking, as bad as one can imagine"

ToryDiary: 100 Tory MPs call for Cameron to prepare legislation for EU referendum

Columnist Andrew Lilico: What it means for Cameron to face a Prince-in-Waiting

Andrew Lansley MP on Comment: I will not let patients suffer because of Labour's hospital mismanagement

Dr Andrew Murrison MP on Comment: The lateness of today's memorial to Bomber Command is a standing rebuke to government

Local Government: 

• Councillors with union financial interests will be excluded from voting on pilgrim pay
• Glyn Gaskarth: Councils should pay for policy advice

The Deep End: The politics of poverty and the poverty of politics

WATCH: Boris Johnson: "We're confident that we're as ready as any Olympic city has ever been at this stage"

Lords reform rebels threaten the biggest revolt in Tory history as 100 backbenchers warn they will not hand Lib Dems power in Upper House

"A group of about 100 backbenchers, nicknaming themselves ‘The Sensibles’, are vowing to vote down the proposals, warning they will not hand the Liberal Democrats the balance of power in a reformed upper house in perpetuity. Downing Street sources concede they are expecting ‘blood on the walls, floor and ceiling’ over legislation which threatens to put Coalition relations under unprecedented strain. ... Sources close to the Prime Minister... denied Conservative MPs were being given ‘a nod and a wink’ that they could rebel over Lords reform without suffering consequences. But one senior MP said when he told a party whip in charge of discipline that he intended to vote against, he was told: ‘Good.’" - Daily Mail

• "Officers of the 1922 Committee of Tory MPs were shocked by the Prime Minister's hardline stance at a private meeting on Tuesday, when they warned him he faced strong opposition on the party's back benches to the plan" - Independent
• Lords reform 'would end radical PMs' - Guardian

> From yesterday:

• ToryDiary: Patrick McLoughlin grants an interview without coffee to J.Alfred Prufrock MP to discuss Lords Reform
• MPsETC: Backbench Tory MPs make clear their opposition to Lords reform proposals
• Baroness Nicholson on Comment: A democratic Lords may mean disabled people have a weaker voice
• WATCH: David Cameron: "We've been discussing [Lords reform] for a hundred years, and it really is time to make progress"
• WATCH: Nick Clegg gets on his soapbox to preach Lords reform to the (not so) masses

Lords comment

• "Don’t tell me we’re rushing into Lords reform. My family was in this fight 400 years ago" - Laura Sandys MP for the Times (£)
• "Pressing ahead with Lords reform will make the coalition look weak, divided and out of touch with voters’ real concerns" - Times (£) editorial
• "Sensible changes to the House of Lords are the answer – not a Bill that would create far more problems than it solves" - Lord Kakkar for the Daily Telegraph
• "Mr Clegg’s proposed reform would not make the country more democratic, nor would it ensure the passage of good laws or the administration of wise governance." - Daily Telegraph editorial
• "The Mail urges every MP who cares about this country to join the Tory rebels." - Daily Mail editorial

Tory MPs attack Osborne for making them look foolish after fuel duty u-turn

"Some expressed irritation that Mr Osborne, after U-turns on successive Budget measures, had again left them defending a tax rise until he changed his mind. “I don’t mind marching to a tune but what’s annoying is when the tune keeps changing. Then you look a bit of a wally,” one minister said." - The Times (£)

• "It takes a special kind of genius to turn good news for millions of motorists into a public relations disaster. Yet this is the feat pulled off by the Chancellor on Tuesday – with much help from junior Treasury Minister Chloe Smith" - Daily Mail editorial
• ""This would never have happened under Alastair Campbell," one Tory said" - Guardian
• At a time of crisis, we need more experience at the top than this - Steve Richards for the Independent

> From yesterday:

• ToryDiary: Reacting to fuel duty decision, 78% of Tory members want more tax cuts funded by faster spending cuts
• MPsETC: Is Robert Halfon MP David Cameron's passport to Essex Man?
• WATCH: Treasury Minister Chloe Smith's difficult Newsnight interview on the fuel duty u-turn

William Hague wants a Whitehall audit of the application of EU law in Britain

"William Hague... wants to launch a comprehensive audit of the impact of European Union law on Britain this summer, an exercise that could fuel a Conservative drive to repatriate powers from Brussels. ... The proposed study of the “balance of the EU’s existing competences” is contained in the coalition agreement, and Mr Hague wants to get on with it this summer. But Mr Clegg has yet to sign off on the scope and timing of the exercise." - FT (£)

• Merkel heads to Brussels for crucial euro summit - BBC
• 'A backdoor bailout': UK to pledge another £1billion to prop up EU's stricken economy - Daily Mail
• Strasbourg insider becomes UK's next human rights judge - Daily Telegraph

> From yesterday - Bill Cash MP on Comment: We need a referendum on the proposed Fiscal Union

Gove targets under-perfoming councils

"Leeds and Middlesbrough councils are said to have been chosen because they have been less co-operative with ministers in tackling under-performance in their schools... If they still do not co-operate, Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, has the power to sack the governing body and impose his own interim executive board to run the school before it becomes an academy." - Independent

Tim Montgomerie: Cameron must define himself in a way that pulls him closer to blue-collar Britain

"The left’s vision of the good society has long been clear: Labour will build the New Jerusa­lem by pouring ever more taxpayers’ money into the welfare state. In this age of austerity, that vision has reached the end of the road. In its place could be a Tory vision of social progress built on traditional schooling, incentives to choose work rather than welfare and, I would add, strong families. A Conservative Party that can combine this social message with economic competence might even start winning elections again." - Tim Montgomerie for the New Statesman

Grant Shapps: Twitter allows me to escape being shut up by civil servants

"In Government, where the problem isn't getting coverage but ensuring that it's actually in your own words, Twitter enables me to bypass some of the excessive bureaucracy that goes with the Whitehall Government machine. You see, even if I don't actually send that Tweet in my own words, Officials know that I could. So the balance of power is subtly shifted in favour of the Minister" - Grant Shapps for the Daily Telegraph

Baroness Warsi is cleared of serious ministerial code breach

"Conservative Party co-chairman Baroness Warsi has been cleared of any serious breach of the ministerial code over an official trip to Pakistan. The prime minister's adviser found she was guilty of only a "minor" breach for failing to declare she had been accompanied by her business partner. Lady Warsi, who has apologised to David Cameron, said it was time to "move on"." - BBC

David Willetts warns universities in foreign grades scandal - Daily Telegraph

• Universities must learn from this investigation - David Willetts for the Daily Telegraph

Tory MP Raymond Mawby sold information to Czech spies - BBC

"ConservativeHome is now home to a well marshalled and (thanks to Ashcroft) superbly resourced rebel force, more effective by some distance than the Maastricht dissidents who shook John Major’s government 20 years ago... In recent months Lord Ashcroft and his small but beautifully placed army of editors, columnists and pollsters have started to push David Cameron around. On issue after issue – Europe, welfare, education, taxation – Mr Cameron has edged away from the political centre towards the Right. The transformation of David Cameron personally from the family-friendly, tree‑hugging moderniser of his early days as Tory leader to today’s veto-wielding wind-farm slasher is one manifestation of Lord Ashcroft’s success." - Peter Oborne for the Daily Telegraph

Tony Blair would like to be Prime Minister again

"Tony Blair yesterday said he would like another stint as prime minister, but accepts it is unlikely to happen. Mr Blair said he did not want to leave office when he quit in 2007 ... When he was asked whether he would accept another term as PM if it was offered, he replied: “Yes, sure, but it’s not likely to happen is it, so…”" - Scotsman

Alex Salmond steps back from Scottish independence campaign

"Alex Salmond has handed over control of the campaign for Scottish independence to a former BBC News executive and an ex-Labour MP in an effort to distance it from the Scottish National party" - Guardian

• "Salmond said yesterday the SNP’s fundamental argument for independence was not an economic one when he addressed some of the world’s leading thinkers in Edinburgh." - Scotsman

Lord Ashcroft: Three heroes of Bomber Command we must never forget

"The target had been damaged earlier but by the day of Learoyd’s mission the Germans had strengthened their defences. This was apparent as soon as the first four aircraft tried to hit the target: two were destroyed and the other two were badly damaged. Learoyd, 27, showed exceptional courage by dropping to a dangerously low level to have a better chance of hitting the target. His attack at 150ft was the most dangerous of all. His aircraft was repeatedly hit and large pieces blown away but he pressed home his attack with skill. He brought his wrecked aircraft home and because the landing flaps were inoperative and undercarriage indicators out of action, he waited for dawn before landing, without causing injury to his crew." - Lord Ashcroft for the Daily Express

MoD ‘wastes £6.6bn on unused kit and supplies as it axes thousands of frontline troops’ - Daily Mail

Mass of government data on public services to be published - Guardian

Banks rigged interest rates: Barclays fined £290m after damning emails reveal how greedy traders fiddled figures to make fortunes - Daily Mail

• Libor manipulation scandal is a disastrous own goal for City - Allister Heath for City AM

One in four hospitals, clinics and care homes fail to meet basic standards for patient safety and quality of care - Independent

And finally 1... 'Sod off you Scottish git!' Gordon Brown's closest aides told to hurl abuse at him on day he replaced Blair as PM so he was prepared for power - Daily Mail

And finally 2... Captain Crow's cruise: On the deck of a riverboat, beer in hand, the union hardliner plotting strikes that could hit the Olympics - Daily Mail

> Please use the thread below to provide links to news topics likely to be of interest to ConservativeHome readers and to comment on political topics that haven't been given their own blog. Read our comments policy here.

Newslinks for Wednesday 27th June 2012

7.45pm WATCH: Nick Clegg gets on his soapbox to preach Lords reform to the (not so) masses

6pm Bill Cash MP on Comment: We need a referendum on the proposed Fiscal Union

5.45pm MPsETC update: More backbench Tory MPs react to Lords reform proposals

5pm ToryDiary: Reacting to fuel duty decision, 78% of Tory members want more tax cuts funded by faster spending cuts

4.45pm WATCH: Maria Miller: People respect that this Government is taking tough decisions, especially cutting welfare

4pm Angie Bray MP on Comment: In praise of the expanded National Citizen Service as it enters its second year

3pm Peter Cuthbertson on Comment reviews "Chavs" by Owen Jones: "In Jones’ world, the working class is almost entirely passive in its politics, gullibly believing whatever myths are concocted by right-wing politicians and press barons"

2.15pm WATCH: David Cameron: "We've been discussing [Lords reform] for a hundred years, and it really is time to make progress"

2pm ToryDiary: Owen Paterson welcomes Queen's handshake with Martin McGuinness

1pm ToryDiary: PMQs: Miliband fails to land any blows, even as Cameron is unable to explain fuel duty u-turn

11.30am MPsETC: Ahead of PMQs, backbench Tory MPs make clear their opposition to Lords reform proposals

10.30am Local government: Taxpayer funded groups fighting Cameron's welfare reform proposals

10.15am WATCH: David Cameron heckled at Olympics event

ToryDiary: Patrick McLoughlin grants an interview without coffee to J.Alfred Prufrock MP to discuss Lords Reform

Also on ToryDiary: The end-June ConHome survey is ready and waiting for you

Columnist Jill Kirby: Now Cameron's opened up clear blue water on welfare, let's see him do the same for families and marriage

Charlie Elphicke MP on Comment: Why I'm introducing a British Bill of Rights and Responsibilities

Baroness Nicholson on Comment: A democratic Lords may mean disabled people have a weaker voice

MPsETC: Is Robert Halfon MP David Cameron's passport to Essex Man? (II)

Local Government: £2.3 billion of Council Tax arrears in England

The Deep End: OPEC (Oil Prices Explain Crisis)

WATCH:

• Treasury Minister Chloe Smith's difficult Newsnight interview on the fuel duty u-turn
• Turkish Prime Minister: "We are warning the Syrian regime not to make the mistake of testing our determination"

Lords reform Bill to be tabled today

"A parliamentary bill to introduce a mainly elected House of Lords will be published on Wednesday after receiving "strong support" from the cabinet, Downing Street has said." - BBC

"Ministers aim to make the Bill law by the spring but a defeat on the timetable would pave the way for as much as four or five weeks of debate in the autumn, which would swallow up time needed for other business." - Belfast Telegraph

• "Conservative MPs claim they have been told it will ‘not be career-ending’ if they vote against Coalition plans being unveiled today to replace the House of Lords with a mainly elected Senate." - Daily Mail
• Nick Clegg tells colleagues Lords reform is game on - Guardian
• "[Ed Miliband] announced that the Opposition would support the Bill to reform the second chamber next month, on its second reading. Although Labour will vote against the Government's immediate attempt to cut short debate on the measure." - Independent
• Lords reform gives Ed Miliband a glorious chance to make mischief - Mary Riddell for the Daily Telegraph

> From yesterday:

• ToryDiary: Cameron's welfare speech was timed to help him over Lords reform (on which the Government is in trouble).  Will the gambit work?
• Columnist Andrew Lilico: A thought experiment regarding electing the Lords

Tanks for that! George Osborne u-turns on fuel duty rise

"George Osborne scrapped a 3p rise in fuel duty yesterday in yet another Budget U-turn. The Chancellor said the move – greeted with delight by campaigners and motoring groups – reflected the ‘very difficult economic times’. A duty rise in January had previously been axed and the latest freeze knocks £2.10 off the cost of filling up a typical family car." - Daily Mail

• The Chancellor should be applauded for postponing the fuel duty increase - Daily Telegraph editorial
• George Osborne branded a coward after Tory minister's "Newsnight disaster" - Guardian

> From yesterday - WATCH: Chloe Smith asked if the 3p fuel duty cut is an unfunded tax cut, a U-turn, a fiscal stimulus... or all three?

George Osborne: My fuel duty cut shows the Government is on the side of Sun readers

"I will always do what I can to help drivers whenever we can afford to. So we will now stop the fuel duty rise that was due in August and freeze it for the rest of the year — something I know The Sun has been campaigning hard for. There will be more good news in April when the amount you can earn tax free will increase by £1,100 to £9,205. Now we will have frozen fuel duty for 21 months — proof again that this Government is on the side of Sun readers." - George Osborne for the Sun

> Coverage from yesterday:

• ToryDiary: Osborne's fuel duty news and his Treasury golden rule: never, ever allow oneself to be outsmarted by Ed Balls
• WATCH: George Osborne scraps 3p fuel duty rise
• LeftWatch: Ed Balls gets a thumbs-up from The Sun for backing cut in petrol duty

Michael Gove announces 377 failing primary schools will become sponsored academies

"Gove yesterday called for a massive expansion of the Government's free schools and academies programme, claiming the present education system was not "morally defensible". As a result, every failing primary school and those already given "notice to improve" by inspectors – 377 in all – will become sponsored academies in the next year." - Independent

• Michelle Rhee: 'Witchfinder general' of America's classrooms flies in to give Gove her gospel - Independent

Benedict Brogan: David Cameron’s game of tease over an EU referendum has left his party badly divided

"Europe has proved itself to be a story of disappointed expectations for Conservatives. Mr Cameron no longer has the credibility required with his party to survive another disappointment. And the voters can tell when a politician is offering them something from a position of weakness. If he plans to let us down, he should do so now." - Benedict Brogan for the Daily Telegraph

• Angela Merkel rules out eurobonds for 'as long as I live' - Daily Telegraph

Daniel Finkelsten: Psychology suggests we tend not to regret our toughest decisions. So austerity could still be a vote-winner

"Most people... do believe austerity is necessary and right. They don’t think that there is much alternative. The Government must work all the time to reinforce this feeling and the solidarity of those who hold it. When cuts are made that hit people hard, the temptation for the Government is to argue that the impact is overestimated. The correct strategy is the opposite. It is to emphasise that the cost is indeed great and to thank those making the sacrifice." - Daniel Finkelstein for the Times (£)

David Willetts: More focus needed on agricultural research, including GM

"David Willetts said a new approach was needed to ensure basic science from Britain’s “world class” research institutions is quickly converted into improvements for farmers. Failure to do so would not only see Britain lose its position as a leader in agricultural science but profoundly affect the developing world where rapid advances are needed to feed the growing population, he said." - Daily Telegraph

• A Tory MP supporter of "Frankenstein food" incorrectly claims healthy broccoli sold by Marks and Spencer is genetically modified - Daily Mail

Nick Clegg announces extra help for young jobless in 20 troublespots - Guardian

Clegg: Eurozone banking union musn't threaten single market

"On Thursday we will urge eurozone states to be bold in their approach to a banking union but alive to the risks to the single market. We will not be a part of this deeper banking union but we have a strong interest in its success. Yet we have just as strong an interest in making sure its success does not come at the expense of the EU’s greatest success: the single market. ... I want to see the UK standing tall in Europe, not forced to the sidelines or, worse, out the door, for reasons of clout and also for jobs." - Nick Clegg for the FT (£)

> From yesterday: Luke D Coffey on Comment: On Trident the Liberal Democrats are dangerously wrong

Unison and GMB join forces to fight state spending cuts

"Two of Britain's most powerful trade unions, Unison and the GMB, are joining forces in an anti-austerity alliance that will combine the resources of organisations representing nearly two million public and private sector workers. The GMB and Unison will campaign together on issues ranging from housing benefit to public sector pension reforms" - Guardian

Sir Mervyn King says Britain is ‘halfway through’ recession - Scotsman

• Welfare soars 12% while workers end up £1,000 worse off - The Sun
• Falling tax receipts show that we’ve forgotten Laffer’s lesson - Allister Heath for City AM

Jersey threatens independence after a "barrage of regulatory clampdowns" - Guardian

• Don’t let EU curb our bonuses, plead bankers - The Times (£)

More than 20 NHS trusts are in financial crisis with combined debts of nearly £130m - Daily Mail

• Health watchdog concerned over NHS trust failing to meet care standards - Guardian
• The NHS is paying for Labour’s dodgy PFI deals - Daily Telegraph editorial

The Queen and McGuinness to shake hands - Belfast Telegraph

• "The idea of the Queen shaking an ex-IRA leader’s hand may feel like a defeat. It isn’t" - The Times (£) editorial
• Despite the Queen's handshake with Martin McGuinness there is little reconciliation - Sir Simon Jenkins for the Guardian

Big Ben to be named the "Elizabeth Tower" in Jubilee tribute - The Times (£)

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