Newslinks for Monday 22nd April 2013

7.30pm On Comment, Nick Wood writes about today's Business for Britain launch: Cameron secures a powerful ally in the quest for the right approach to Europe

5pm WATCH: David Cameron defends the Coalition's plans for training nurses

3pm ToryDiary: David Cameron doesn’t need to legislate for an aid target to meet his aid target

2.45pm Local Government: Conservative councillor resigns after racist comments

12.30pm Mohammed Amin on Comment: A Government register of hate preachers

10.30am Alex Morton on Comment: How to build better homes – for both younger and older people

Today's morning selection leads with two posts about the new Business for Britain campaign:

• ToryDiary: A warm welcome for Business for Britain
• Alan Halsall on Comment: We need a better business deal in Europe. That's why I'm backing Business for Britain

Also on Comment, Robert Halfon continues our special series on Compassionate Conservatism with... the Conservative case for overseas aid 

Garvan Walshe writes this week's Foreign Policy column: The Boston bombings show Islamist terrorism’s weakness, not its strength

Local Government:

• Setting the bar: What would be a good result for UKIP on May 2nd?
• Richard Tracey: Ban the tube strikes

The Deep End: It’s not just nurses – ministers are also trapped in a bureaucratic cage

Senior Conservatives believe that Britain will narrowly avoid a triple-dip this week

"Ministers are privately confident that official figures out this week will show that the economy grew in the first three months of the year, following a contraction at the end of 2012. ... That optimism is shared by City economists, who expect figures to show that the economy grew by around 0.1 per cent." - Daily Telegraph

• "...three years into government, with output sluggish at best, and the deficit and debt still rising, the Chancellor finds himself under more personal pressure than at any time since he moved into Number 11." - Alex Brummer, Daily Mail
• "Mr Osborne, rightly, shows no inclination to bend. When the IMF team arrives in London they will not find a man paralysed by doubts. They are likely to find, instead, a Chancellor convinced that the pace of deficit reduction is appropriate, given the still daunting size of the deficit." - Times editorial (£)
• "There may well be methodological problems with the GDP figures that need to be addressed, such as whether or not they properly reflect the rapid growth of small businesses. But Mr Osborne must not be driven off course, even if they do suggest the country has entered a triple-dip recession." - Daily Telegraph editorial
• "The past week has dented Mr Osborne's reputation; but it should be a chastening one for economic policymakers in Brussels, Frankfurt and Washington, too." - Guardian editorial

But is the Government united on the economy? Sir Jeremy Heywood reveals the "four plans for growth" at the top

"Britain’s most senior civil servant has laid bare stark differences at the top of Government over how to revive the flagging economy. Sir Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary, revealed a 'diversity of views' in the highest ranks of Cabinet at a recent private meeting with bankers. ... The four most senior members of the Cabinet all champion different projects and policies, he revealed, stoking fears that the coalition may have lost focus." - The Times (£)

• "Banks have put a damper on George Osborne’s hopes that an expansion of the Funding for Lending Scheme will spark a rush of credit to small and medium-sized companies as the chancellor finalises plans to revamp the programme." - Financial Times

Further coverage of Business for Britain, which launches today

"Business for Britain will be at the Prime Minister’s elbow, encouraging him to be bold in his demands for a more competitive EU. If he delivers, it won’t just be Britain that will prosper. The European mainland’s record number of unemployed people will benefit too." - John Caudwell, The Times (£)

> Today:

• ToryDiary: A warm welcome for Business for Britain
• Alan Halsall on Comment: We need a better business deal in Europe. That's why I'm backing Business for Britain

A new "technical baccalaureate" is announced today

"Teenagers studying vocational qualifications will be able to take a new 'technical baccalaureate' to showcase their practical skills, the government has announced. ... It will be introduced this autumn, the Department for Education said, and will be aimed at those hoping to work in roles such as lab technicians, construction or information technology." - Financial Times (£)

David Cameron drops pledge to write foreign aid increase into law, reports the Times

"David Cameron has ruled out enshrining his controversial increase in aid spending in law this year, fuelling fears that he is preparing to ditch the pledge. ... The Queen’s Speech next month will omit the promised legislation to fix international development spending at 0.7 per cent of national output, The Times understands." - The Times (£)

> Today, by Robert Halfon MP on Comment: The Conservative case for overseas aid 

As cyber-security experts advise him to drop the Communications Data Bill

"Sweeping plans to hand the security services the power to snoop on e-mails, website visits and social media sites are dangerous and must be abandoned, David Cameron has been warned. ... Cyber-security experts have written to the Prime Minister saying that the proposals 'will be expensive, will hinder innovation and will undermine the privacy of citizens'." - The Times (£)

Is the Tory leadership gearing up for a "living standards election" in 2015?

"An ally of David Cameron’s chief policy adviser will this week publish a paper, 'We Deserve Better', recommending ways for consumers to more easily compare prices and switch suppliers in key utility markets. ... The proposals by John Penrose, former parliamentary aide to Oliver Letwin, could pave the way for similar measures to be included in the 2015 Tory manifesto." - Financial Times

• "Controversy around Britain's energy industry will intensify on Monday amid revelations that the former head of a low-tax-paying power provider has been hired to help oversee HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and a warning that a new price regime demanded by the regulator, Ofgem, could still mean consumers paying £55m more a year than they should." - Guardian

Poll suggests that the Government's countermeasures will deter Romanian immigrants

"Benefit restrictions are likely to deter Romanian migrants from coming to Britain, a poll has found. ... Seven in ten of the Romanians who are thinking about moving to live in Britain would reconsider in the light of the new system. ... Among Bulgarians, however, there was little evidence they would change the minds of those planning to move to Britain." - Daily Mail

• Border force ‘ignores tip-offs’ MPs are told - The Times (£)

Elizabeth Truss attacks "chaotic" nurseries and the effect they are having toddlers

"Nurseries are breeding a generation of toddlers with no manners, the education minister has warned. ... Elizabeth Truss condemned ‘chaotic’ pre-schools that allow children to do what they want all day long, leaving them unable to sit still and listen by the time they get to primary school. ... In an interview with the Daily Mail, she said many nurseries were filled with toddlers ‘running around with no sense of purpose’." - Daily Mail

David Gauke unveils HMRC's new £45 million tax computer

"A £45 million super-computer has helped Revenue officials grab back an extra £2billion from tax-dodgers. ... Inspectors can trawl a billion pieces of information to spot criminal gangs or super-rich evaders within minutes. ... Treasury minister David Gauke said Connect would make sure everyone paid their dues." - The Sun

The Government rejects Baroness Grey-Thompson for post-Olympics role

"Baroness Grey-Thompson, Britain’s trailblazing Paralympian, has been rejected by the Government from a key role in delivering the 2012 legacy. ... The decision to overlook the candidacy of Lady Grey-Thompson, who had the backing of Lord Coe and was Mr Bitel’s main rival, is likely to spark a political row." - The Times (£)

Cough up or lose out, child poverty advisers tell the Government

"In their first interview since taking over as chairman and deputy chairman of a new Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, Alan Milburn and Baroness [Gillian] Shephard told The Independent that there was no chance of the Coalition hitting its target, enshrined in law by the previous Labour government, to abolish child poverty by 2020." - Independent

"A cross-party group of MPs has warned the Government against plans that critics say will create a 'Dad’s Army’ defence force for Britain’s nuclear deterrent bases" - The Times (£)

Rob Wilson (along with other MPs) wants an investigation into the Leveson lawyers' affair

"Tory MP Rob Wilson, parliamentary aide to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, has sent a letter to the judge urging him to examine the implications of the relationship. ... He wrote: 'In the interests of transparency and in maintaining public confidence in the complete integrity and impartiality of your inquiry, I strongly urge you to make inquiries and to get to the bottom of this matter without delay.'" - Daily Mail

• "From the start, there was a disturbing closeness between the inquiry team and Hacked Off, the lobby group trying to fetter the Press." - Melanie Phillips, Daily Mail
• "This is the Leveson Effect. It has begun to suffocate the crucial flow of information that distinguishes a free country from a police state." - Trevor Kavanagh, The Sun

Tory councillor John Cherry resigns over race remarks

"A Tory councillor was forced to resign last night after suggesting inner-city children from a ‘coloured area’ would not be welcome at a proposed new school in the countryside. ... John Cherry, 73, said the youngsters could ‘escape into the forest’ and trigger a ‘sexual volcano’ because they had been ‘plucked from their natural surroundings’." - Daily Mail

The Telegraph continues its serialisation of Charles Moore's Margaret Thatcher biography

"No one in her office was in charge of coordinating the work of government. She did not believe that the bureaucracy should be reshaped from top to bottom, but rather that it should be regalvanized. 'It was not,' according to Richard Ryder, who ran her private office, 'the Maoists arriving at No 10'." - from Charles Moore's biography of Margaret Thatcher, Daily Telegraph

• "Margaret Thatcher biography reveals passions across the years" - Michael White, Guardian

Boris Johnson: We can’t afford to ignore our dynamic friends in the East

"The Qataris are wearing M&S underwear beneath their kanduras. They are eating in Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants. They are driving Land Rovers and phoning with Vodafone – and last year the UK exported goods worth a record £1.3 billion to Qatar alone; not bad for a place with only 1.8 million people. It was a joy to hear the natives speak spontaneously of their affection for Britain." - Boris Johnson, Daily Telegraph

Tim Montgomerie: To beat the Left, Tories must aim for its heart

"In the Conservative vision of government, the State is less like Santa Claus and more like a parent. Success involves citizens becoming independent and fulfilling their potential. This State will always catch people if they fall. A generous safety net should never be an afterthought for Conservatives but a proud and central duty." - Tim Montgomerie, The Times (£)

Ed Miliband wants to revamp the NHS, and he'll explain how in an announcement today

"Ed Miliband wants to restructure the services in far-reaching proposals that would result in elderly patients being cared for at home rather than in hospitals. Mr Miliband will say in an announcement today that the only way to make healthcare spending sustainable is to bring social care within the NHS. He will appoint a commission charged with finding how such a merger of budgets, powers and decision-making could be achieved." - The Times (£)

"Labour has warned of a risk to patient safety after figures revealed a significant rise in the use of private sector ambulances by some trusts. ... Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said people would be stunned that 'blue-light 999 services' were being privatised without proper debate." - Daily Mail

• 2,600 NHS workers earn more than David Cameron - Daily Mail
• Two in three nurses fear their patients are at risk of neglect in their own hospital - Daily Mail

> Yesterday:

• LeftWatch: Miliband risks being written off as irresolute
• NHS spending should be paid for by ring-fenced NI contributions

"Senior Labour figures blasted leader Ed Miliband yesterday for holding a secret meeting in his office for an hour with firebrand leftie George Galloway" - The Sun

"David Watts, the chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, told theTelegraph that Mr Miliband’s standing is being affected by principled but 'unpopular' decisions on issues like welfare" - Daily Telegraph

The Communication Workers Union urges Mr Miliband to renationalise Royal Mail, or risk losing donations - Daily Telegraph

• "If Mr Miliband finds himself beholden to trade union funding, he might reflect that he has, in effect, asked for it." - Times editorial (£)

Should Labour stick to Tory spending plans? The Times asks Neal Lawson and Dan Hodges - The Times (£)

• "Labour lacks a plan, as shown by its failure to capitalise on Osborne’s current misfortunes" - Jeff Randall, Daily Telegraph

Must work harder, says Margaret Hodge to her fellow MPs

"A senior MP has urged Parliament to extend its hours, saying it feels as if politicians 'are hardly working'. ... Margaret Hodge, who chairs the public accounts committee, says MPs are spending too much time in recess and too little time scrutinising policy." - Daily Mail

The Boston bombers may have been driven more by a warped desire for notoriety than by real fanaticism, writes Gaby Hinsliff

"What’s odd is that he sounds disturbingly like any other 22-year-old trying to get fame by posting attention-seeking clips on YouTube. It’s just that his channel, like that of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, dealt in jihadi rantings, not skateboarding dogs." - Gaby Hinsliff, The Times (£)

"Atrocities such as the Boston bombing are hard to tackle, but gun crime isn't" - Gary Younge, Guardian

• "Britain is at risk from 'extremist Islamic' exiles from the North Caucasus who have been allowed to live in the UK, claimed an advisor to the Russian government last night." - Daily Mail

> Today, by Garvan Walshe: The Boston bombings show Islamist terrorism’s weakness, not its strength

> Yesterday's video to WATCH: "There will always be those who use religion as a basis to commit these heinous acts"

News in brief:

• Four in ten students may default on their loans - Daily Mail
• "Two in three black and Asian people deem police 'institutionally racist'." - The Sun
• Pensioners should pay more tax, argues Fabian Society - BBC

> 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 Sunday 21st April 2013

8pm MPsETC: Alun Cairns MP wins London Marathon*

6.30pm WATCH: Warsi on the Boston bombing: "There will always be those who use religion asa basis to commit these heinous acts"

1pm LeftWatch: Miliband risks being written off as irresolute

ToryDiary: One in three Tory members think Cameron is the heir to Blair

John Glen MP and Jeremy Lefroy MP on Comment: NHS spending should be paid for by ring-fenced NI contributions

* Sort of.

Miliband poised to reject Government spending plans - opening up a 1992-type "Labour's Double Whammy" election in 2015...

“Miliband…wants to run a big Election campaign, making the case for radical economic change. He won’t be able to do that if he spends months refusing to say whether he will accept Osborne’s spending numbers.  If Miliband does go down this route, he’ll be in for a fight. Both Coalition parties believe, with some justification, that the public still doesn’t trust Labour not to spend too much. One senior Downing Street figure declares that ‘the screw is going to come down on them hard’. They will attack Labour for wanting to repeat Brown’s mistakes.” James Forsyth, Mail on Sunday

• Labour lead over Tories cut to six points, but UKIP surges - Observer
• Labour's mid-term wobble - Observer
• Labour MPs thump Miliband over "naive" secret meeting with Galloway - Mail on Sunday
• Labour plans student-style 'salary loans' for the unemployed - Observer
• One nation under Ed – but what would he actually do? - Rafael Behr, Observer
• Dave and Ed, the scaredy-cats avoiding a real fight - Adam Boulton, Sunday Times (£)

...But, meanwhile, "Threat of triple-dip recession puts more strain on Osborne"

“Economists say growth in the first quarter will have been 0.1% at best. There are fears, however, that last month’s cold weather and falling construction output might actually have caused the economy to contract. Gross domestic product shrank by 0.3% in the final three months of last year. Britain first went into recession in early 2008, coming out in 2009. There was a second recession from late 2011 until mid-2012. A third recession — defined as another two quarters of falling GDP — would put more strain on the chancellor” – Sunday Times (£)

• Osborne vows to marshal G20 nations to fight tax evasion - Observer
• MPs revive plan for "Bad Bank" - Sunday Times (£)
• Weak growth torments Osborne - David Smith, Sunday Times (£)

Cameron rages at Zac Goldsmith

"The Prime Minister vented his fury after being given no choice but to climb down over proposals aiming to make it easier to build home extensions without planning permission. ‘Who does that man think he’s accountable to?’ Mr Cameron raged when Mr Goldsmith went back on a pledge to Ministers and led a Tory revolt in the Commons." - Mail on Sunday

Euro-sceptic "Business for Britain" campaign to launch tomorrow - in anticipation of an In/Out referendum during the next Parliament

"Scores of companies are throwing their weight behind Business for Britain, a campaign group that is demanding a better deal on jobs, growth and other policy areas from Brussels. The list of individuals backing the campaign will be published tomorrow and will range from FTSE 100 directors to the owners of smaller businesses."- Sunday Times (£)

Matthew Elliott: Why we're launching Business for Britain

"Today we face a similar situation, with a small group of self-appointed business spokesmen making radically pro-EU statements, skewing the national debate. That’s why tomorrow a campaign will be launched called Business for Britain. The successor to Business for Sterling, it will bring together more than 500 people, from FTSE 100 directors to family-owned businesses that are the backbone of our economy, to articulate the demand that this government, or a future one, gets a better deal from the EU: for jobs, for growth, for Britain." - Matthew Elliot, Sunday Times (£)

• The debt-ridden EU stares bankruptcy in the face - Christopher Booker, Sunday Telegraph

> From December 2011: Paul Goodman's ToryDiary - Why Britain needs a Business for Britain Campaign

Coalition set to lose a quarter of its seats in council elections as UKIP soar

"Analysis carried out by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher, both professors at Plymouth University, suggests that Labour will gain 350 council seats, while the Tories will lose 310 and the Liberal Democrats 130. The election experts predict the “most unpredictable local contests for years” due to the impact of UKIP, which is fielding almost as many candidates as the Lib Dems." - Sunday Times (£)

• Main political parties baffled by the rise of UKIP - Andrew Rawnsley, Observer

Now badger-killing monster Owen Paterson is photographed brandishing two squirrel traps

"The dead animals’ heads are inside the devices, while their bodies and bushy tails hang limply below. ‘I’m not sure what was more shocking – the dead squirrels or the smile on Owen’s face,’ said one Conservative who has seen the picture. ‘If the animal rights mob saw it they would have a fit. Owen insisted that we look at the photo and then he said, “Look at this – these traps are the real deal. No squirrel is going to get out of that.” - Mail on Sunday

"But please, Mr Gove, Sir, children are dead beat by 3.30pm"

“I was just learning to come to terms with my disturbing love of many of Michael Gove’s education reforms — learning by rote, knowing times tables and so on — but now he’s gone and blown it by suggesting that school days should be longer and school holidays shorter. No, they shouldn’t. It would be a disaster. Children are knackered by 3.30pm, as any parent will attest” – India Knight, Sunday Times (£)

• Anthony Seldon agrees with India Knight - Mail on Sunday
• Villagers attack super-head over Gove plan to bring inner-city pupils to plush village - Mail on Sunday

Lord Ashcroft will give half his fortune to charity

“The billionaire and Tory peer Lord Ashcroft is to pledge at least half of his £1.2bn fortune to charity as he joins a philanthropic movement led by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, America’s two richest men. The former Tory treasurer, who has given the party £10m but will not help to fund its general election campaign, will next month sign up to the Giving Pledge, a public commitment by billionaires to give away the majority of their wealth” – Sunday Times (£)

Boris calls for “Thatcherite zeal” to cut down on strikes

“London Mayor Boris Johnson has joined calls for the PM to ban strikes unless they are backed by 50 per cent of those entitled to vote. He told The Sun: ‘The idea that a strike can be called by a majority of those that vote, rather than a majority of all those balloted, is farcical. It often results in a strike backed by just one in 10 members, antagonising commuters and costing billions. I’d urge the Government to act with Thatcherite zeal and legislate against strikes supported by less than half of all union members.’” – Sun on Sunday

• “David Cameron must listen to Boris Johnson” - Sun on Sunday Editorial

> Today: ToryDiary - One in three Tory members think Cameron is the heir to Blair

Paul Goodman: Thatcher's Legacy - Why Tories must win hearts and minds in Bolton

“There is a sense within the Tory tribe that their leader is at last trying to be the heir not to a Labour prime minister, but to the Conservative one whose funeral rites he helped to lead. Hence the claims that No 10 is examining schemes for wider share ownership – an echo of the popular capitalism of Lady Thatcher’s day…the swing seats which the Conservatives must win to gain David Cameron the majority that eluded him three years ago… are concentrated in urban and suburban areas in the Midlands and North, where the public sector is comparatively large and social attitudes relatively conservative” - Sunday Telegraph

> Yesterday: Chris Green on Comment: Immigration control, extraditing criminals, welfare reform, cutting fuel bills, the EU - the doorstep issues in Bolton West

In the second set of extracts from his authorised biography of Margaret Thatcher, Charles Moore describes how Margaret Thatcher took on the men and won the Tory leadership

“It is possible that Mrs Thatcher was also ambitious enough to be dropping a hint, at a time when such things were considered a source of shame, that Heath was homosexual. Many at the time believed that he was. WF Deedes [former Tory minister, then editor of The Daily Telegraph] noted a private conversation with Mrs Thatcher in 1976: “M. seems convinced TH is a homosexual. (Women have more accurate instincts than we.) I said charitably: "an instinct sublimated in boats!’” -  Sunday Telegraph

• Liam Fox will call for the Tories to follow Thatcher on eve of local elections - Sunday Telegraph
• The Chancellor's grief at Lady Thatcher's funeral won't sway his critics, but many found it both genuine and moving - Jane Merrick, Independent on Sunday
• Thatcher V BBC struggle finally laid to rest - Sunday Telegraph
• Leaders need convictions and courage - Janet Daley, Sunday Telegraph

Charles Clover: our debt to Thatcher the scientist

“The left and the greens don’t like to admit that Thatcher did more than any other world leader to legitimise environmental concerns. The right now finds her espousal of the science of global warming embarrassing. The climate change deniers say she recanted that belief, while not being quite able to nail the evidence for it. Thatcher’s scientific training convinced her that the hole in the ozone layer was a serious man-made problem." – Sunday Times (£)

Stephen Hammond wants MPs to have a £40,000 pay rise

"Mr Hammond’s proposal would take a regular MP’s salary from around £65,000 to £105,000 — a 38 per cent hike — while his own salary would rocket to more than £130,000. The Transport Minister also insists their pay should rise by at least 2.5 per cent every year — while their gold-plated pensions are protected" - The Sun on Sunday

News in Brief

• Younger Tsarnaev partied after massacre - Mail on Sunday
• London Marathon security increased - The Guardian
• Clinic fuels false MMR fears - Sunday Times (£)
• UK ban on political advertising may be lifted - Independent on Sunday
• Magistrates going soft on sentencing - Sunday Express
• Julian Fellowes explains popularity of Downton Abbey - Sunday Telegraph

> 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 Saturday 20th April 2013

10pm ToryDiary: One in three Tory members think Cameron is the heir to Blair

5.45pm ToryDiary: It isn't too early to draw conclusions about the terror in Boston

Noon: Peter Walker on Comment: Police Commissioners. Don't let the bad news from Cumbria drown out the good news from Sussex, Leicetershire, Yorkshire...

Tory Diary: Pickles dismantles Osborne's new conservatory

Earlier this week, ConservativeHome championed a "Conservatism for Bolton West". Now its candidate has his say. Chris Green on Comment: Immigration control, extraditing criminals, welfare reform, cutting fuel bills, the EU - the doorstep issues in Bolton West

Osborne to Fitch: We've shown flexibility by "not chasing the debt target"

"Speaking on the sidelines of the IMF spring meetings in Washington, Mr Osborne was defiant. “I don’t feel a particularly strong political challenge to our economic policy,” he said. “I don’t feel under particular pressure politically because I don’t see anyone coming up with a credible alternative.” Fitch blamed weak growth and the disappointing results of austerity for its decision to downgrade the UK’s triple A credit rating to double A plus." - Financial Times (£)

• Chancellor launches legal challenge to Financial Transaction Tax - Daily Telegraph
• Tyrie's Treasury Select Committee accuses Osborne of failing to answer 19 key questions about the Help to Buy scheme - The Guardian
• Tyrie challenges Chancellor on BoE remit - Financial Times (£)

"We'll fight for the pound in your pocket." Cameron launches local elections campaign...

"Mr Cameron said: “And then you come home and there, on the door mat, is the council tax bill. “There is a clear moral imperative to keep that tax down. That’s why we said to councils of all colours – even when money is tight, we’ll give you extra cash to freeze council tax.” Mr Cameron claimed the elections were a “real choice” between “red or blue” and accused Mr Miliband of swinging to the Left. “There are some councils – some Labour councils – who just don’t get it,” insisted Mr Cameron." - Daily Express 

> Yesterday: Local Government - Conservatives launch local election campaign

…and, elsewhere, is angry about the party's local election campaign plans

"A Cabinet source said the Prime Minister had been ‘distinctly unimpressed’ after Mr Shapps addressed a private meeting of Conservative ministers on preparations for the final fortnight of campaigning up to the May 2 poll. Mr Cameron demanded to know why, when he is doing at least half a dozen campaign visits a month, some members of the Government appeared set to do none." - Daily Mail

Simon Heffer asks: Will Cameron turn Thatcherite?….

"One of the influential voices urging a change of direction is the party's chief election guru, Lynton Crosby, an Australian pollster with a long record of success and reliable instincts about voters' concerns. He is rightly worried about the number of traditional Tories who've become disaffected by the so-called 'modernising' agenda, with policies such as the legalisation of same-sex marriages." - Simon Heffer, Daily Mail 

…And Patrick O'Flynn answers: he wants to!...

"David Cameron has, rather late in the day some might say, been seized by the virtues of conviction politics and bold leadership. He has realised that all the high points of his career - the winning of the Tory leadership, the staving off of a massacre in Benghazi, the use of the British veto in Brussels, the imposition of a ceiling on benefits payments - have been characterised by strong and audacious decisions: to stand, to act, to block and to cap." - Daily Express 

...So is a new Downing Street 'share-owning democracy' plan evidence of intent?

"The Daily Telegraph understands that advisers to David Cameron are to study ways of making it cheaper and easier for households to invest in British companies, especially newly-founded firms. Ministers are also considering using the potential privatisations of state-owned firms like RBS and Royal Mail to give voters shares. Some Conservatives believe that boosting share-ownership should sit alongside helping more people buy their own homes in party promises to create an “aspiration nation”. - Daily Telegraph

• Does David Cameron have the stomach for a fight like Lady Thatcher did? - James Kirkup, Daily Telegraph
• If David Cameron wants to show he is Lady Thatcher’s heir, he should understand that taking tough decisions brings political rewards - Daily Telegraph Editorial

> Today: Chris Green on Comment - Immigration control, extraditing criminals, welfare reform, cutting fuel bills, the EU - the doorstep issues in Bolton West

Miliband compares himself to Thatcher and says that the centre has moved left

"Mr Miliband’s comments coincided with reports that Labour intends to fight the next election promising to spend more than the Conservatives after the 2015 election, including on housing and other capital schemes.  Although Labour denied that any decisions on post-election spending had been taken, the party’s rhetoric suggests it would increase state spending on infrastructure and settle a longer timeframe for balancing the books." - Financial Times (£)

Balls denies planning to outspend Tories post-2015

"The Shadow Chancellor said it was “wrong” to suggest that he had decided to cut the deficit at a slower rate than George Osborne after 2015 to avoid some of the deep cuts the Tories will make to public spending. He refused, however, to reveal how Labour would approach spending after the next election, and appeared to suggest that he had not yet decided on the speed at which he would cut the deficit." - The Times (£)

• Phone-in caller shreds Shadow Chancellor - Daily Mail
• Clegg will use Welsh party conference to launch attack on Labour policies - Wales Online

Charles Moore's official biography of Margaret Thatcher begins its serialisation in the Telegraph.  Here he is on the making of a Prime Minister.

"Others will judge whether, so far – volume two will contain the greater part of her time in office – I am succeeding. All I want to say here is that, in Margaret Thatcher, one is dealing with such extreme apparent contradictions that the subject is much more difficult and much more interesting than any other politician since Churchill. She was undoubtedly the most truly conservative person (though Jim Callaghan ran her close) ever to reach No 10 in the era of universal suffrage." - Daily Telegraph

Moore reveals the story of Thatcher's first boyfriend - the romance, the dances, the carnations, the blue dress...

"The first [dance], and best, was the Randolph Ball at the Randolph Hotel: “We had a marvellous time … Tony hired a car and we drove out to Abingdon to the country Inn 'Crown and Thistle’. I managed to borrow a glorious royal blue velvet cloak which match [sic] the blue frock perfectly.”...Asked about it 60 years later, Tony remembered buying the carnations from Moyses Stevens. When reminded of Margaret’s blue dress, he suddenly broke down in tears and said: “It was a very special evening.” - Daily Telegraph

• Lady Thatcher's authorised biography sparks excitement and scepticism - The Guardian
• Athletic Amanda Thatcher said to have undertaken missionary work in China - The Times (£)
• Scargill: the former comrades who call him names, the mistress who called him "Honey Bear" - Daily Mail
• Thatcher death party organiser made £150,000 on her council home which she bought under former PM’s right-to-buy scheme - Daily Mail

> Yesterday:

• Iain Dale's Friday Diary - Amidst the silence of St Mary's Undercroft, I touched Margaret Thatcher's coffin - and said thank you
• Lord Lexden on Comment: If we study how Conservatives honoured Disraeli, we will learn how they can honour Margaret Thatcher

Pickles masterminds home improvements compromise

"Rather than have to suffer imposing ground floor extensions, neighbours will be able to object and refer the proposals to the local council. However, the rights will only apply to people who are immediate neighbours with an adjoining property, and not others who live a couple of doors down. The changes were unveiled by the Communities secretary in a letter to rebel Tory MPs who have been fighting the plans in the House of Commons." - Daily Telegraph

> Today: Tory Diary - Pickles dismantles Osborne's new conservatory

"Hunt may look sat though he wouldn't say boo to a goose, but he's aggressively taking on the doctors"

"In some of the bluntest criticisms I have ever heard from a Health Secretary about a major part of the NHS, Hunt went so far as to brand the current GP contract "disastrous".  In effect Hunt wants to pay GPs by results, docking them money if too many of the patients on their books keep pitching up at casualty…The aggressive approach of Hunt, who does not look like he would say boo to a goose, is what Sir Humphrey Appleby might term "very brave"." - Patrick O'Flynn, Daily Express

Timothy Garton-Ash: To stay in Europe, vote Conservative

"So I would lay a bet that such a referendum would result in a majority for staying in. This would be Britain’s “Nixon to China” moment. But here’s the other half of the paradox: that outcome would split the Tories. A significant minority of the parliamentary party, its national membership and its voters could not accept that the Conservatives – of all people – had led the country into a historic vote to stay in the hated EU…The result could be a split in the Tory party comparable to that which occurred over the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. If, therefore, your priority is the unity of the Conservative party, you should vote Labour or Liberal Democrat. If you want Britain to make up its collective mind about staying in the EU, rather than remaining Europe’s fence-sitting mugwump, vote Conservative." - Financial Times (£)

• We've got enough criminals so keep Kosovo out of Europe, says UKIP MEP - Daily Telegraph

Words, words, words: Daniel Hannan on the incomparability of Shakespeare

"Foreign writers – especially Germans – often feel that Shakespeare is really one of them, that he was somehow accidentally born in the wrong country. In much the same way, leftists sense in their bones that he was a radical, rightists that he was a Tory. GK Chesterton was convinced that he was a Catholic. And, in a sense, they're all right. Or rather, as Eliot himself put it, the most anyone can hope for is to be wrong about Shakespeare in a new way." - The Guardian

News and Comment in brief

• FBI interviewed bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev two years ago: claim - Daily Mail
• Bercow under fire for 'shutting down' questions about his tax bill for grace and favour apartment in Parliament - Daily Mail
• MPs get plugs to charge phones in debate - The Sun
• Regulator to tighten childcare rules - Financial Times (£)
• Scotland 1: Darling supports Lamont’s income tax plan - Scotsman
• Scotland 2: Economics at heart of English-Scottish union - Financial Times 
• Neil and Christine Hamilton win apologies over phone hacking - Daily Mail
• Residents could get franking profits, says Government adviser Lord Browne - The Times (£)
• More than half the population of Libya may need aid by the end of the year - The Guardian
• IRA victim Brush ‘can’t back Maze plan’ - Newsletter
• Measles epidemic claims first death - Daily Telegraph
• Fleet Street swoops on romance between top Leveson lawyer and top hacking victims lawyer - The Sun (and elsewhere)
• Smaller blogs escape post-Leveson rules - The Independent
• My great achievement: no MP has completed the marathon faster - Matthew Parris, The Times (£)

> 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 19th April 2013

5pm Andrew Lilico on Comment: Abandoning all respect for property rights won't end happily

1.15pm ToryDiary: Hindu Voters = Natural Conservatives

12.15pm ToryDiary Hard-working children deserve a summer holiday

11.30am Lord Lexden on Comment: If we study how Conservatives honoured Disraeli, we will learn how they can honour Margaret Thatcher

ConservativeHome leads with two items drawn from a new Lord Ashcroft poll:

• ToryDiary: 71% of Conservative voters support multiculturalism
• Lord Ashcroft on Comment: 45 years on, do ethnic minorities remember "Rivers of Blood"?

Iain Dale's Friday Diary: Amidst the silence of St Mary's Undercroft, I touched Margaret Thatcher's coffin - and said thank you

Local Government:

• Conservatives launch local election campaign
• John Bald: Freeing education from the grip of the Quangos
• Councillor Eddie Martin: The battle for Cumbria

The Deep End: The lost tribes of British politics – day five: the palaeo-conservatives, Blue Labour and the Red Tories

UK and IMF square up for high noon on austerity as George Osborne defends Plan A

"The Chancellor is said by aides to be prepared to “aggressively” defend his policies when an IMF team arrives in London to make an annual assessment of the British economy, and is prepared to defy their recommendations if necessary.  Mr Osborne fears that an anti-austerity faction is winning an internal IMF power struggle and that the Fund will hand the opposition Labour party a propaganda tool by formally urging him to relax his fiscal plans. – Financial Times (£) 

• Carney: Britain is a crisis economy - Daily Telegraph
• Plan B now! - Polly Toynbee, The Guardian
• The IMF is flunking the financial crisis - Jeremy Warner, Daily Telegraph

> Yesterday: ToryDiary - Yesterday’s jobs figures were foreseeable but still troubling

Michael Gove says that long school summer holidays should be consigned to history

"The Education Secretary said it was wrong that terms were still scheduled for a time when children were needed to help out on farms and most mothers stayed-at-home. And he warned of more strikes ahead, accusing unions of lacking ambition and putting the needs of teachers before those of children in their care.  – Daily Mail 

Fraser Nelson: could the Education Secretary’s schools revolution be just another false start?

"Mr Gove was simply saying aloud something that most of the Cabinet wonder in private: that if the bookmakers are right, and Mr Miliband wins the next election, will the Coalition have a legacy? Some Cabinet members refer to a “2015 strategy”, which is nothing to do with an election and everything to do with tying the hands of a future Labour administration. What defensive mechanisms are in place, to defend the best of the Coalition’s achievements? With education, another question looms: what if Mr Gove were to be moved to another department? Would his reforms continue? – Daily Telegraph

Hunt pledges to halt health tourists

"A plan being drawn up by Jeremy Hunt would only allow people entitled to live in the UK to get full NHS numbers. Foreigners who are not British residents would instead get temporary numbers that only allow access to emergency care. It comes weeks after a top surgeon warned health tourists are costing the NHS billions a year." - The Sun 

Reckless to May: You've surrendered to Europe over Abu Qatada

"In a heated exchange during a Home Affairs Committee hearing, the MP for Rochester and Strood told her: “The reason we have not been able to get rid of Abu Qatada is because you have refused to test the law on this. “The problem is you are refusing to seek to send him back because you prefer to put yourself down before Strasbourg and have this continuing craven surrender to the European court when even our own court says under the European Convention he can be sent back.” - Daily Express

• Home Secretary slams police over compensation - The Sun
• Qatada saga - Sun Editorial

Loughton to Cameron (via the House Magazine): Number 10 is "unhelpful" and Cameron "oblivious"

"Mr Loughton, who lost his job in last September’s reshuffle, disclosed the shortcomings in the way the Prime Minister’s officials and closest advisers and operate in an interview with the House magazine. “I’m sure he was quite oblivious to some of the things that were going on and there should be much more regular meetings between ministers and Number 10 and the PM,” he said." - Daily Telegraph

Lord Ashcroft's latest evidence of Conservative failure with ethnic minorities

"Lord Ashcroft said: ‘We must do better than this – both because we should be a party for the whole country, and because we will find it increasingly difficult to win a majority without them…he released details of a poll showing that ethnic minority voters share the Tory creed that ‘if you work hard, it is possible to be very successful in Britain’. But when asked which party shares their values, they opt for Labour by a margin of more than two to one." - Daily Mail

> Today:

• ToryDiary: 71% of Conservative voters support multiculturalism
• Lord Ashcroft on Comment: 45 years on, do ethnic minorities remember "Rivers of Blood"?

Labour bets the house with pledge to outspend Tories: Miliband rejects lesson of 1997 when Tony Blair promised to match the Tories' budget limits

 "Labour is preparing to fight the 2015 election on a bold but risky pledge to spend more than the Conservatives. Ed Miliband and Ed Balls will reject the more cautious approach – adopted by Tony Blair in 1997 – of sticking to the Tory government’s public spending limits in favour of a “new economic settlement” for Britain." - The Independent

• Labour rumpus over trade union Euro-seats grab - The Times (£)
• Compass urges Obama-style approach - The Guardian
• Miliband mimics Labour's soapbox - Daily Mail
• Voters think he's David, not Ed - Daily Express
• Small solutions should be Miliband's big idea - Philip Collins, The Times (£)

Lord Howe: Thatcher was like Napoleon...

"He cited Napoleon saying that the greatest happiness to befall any politician was that 100 years from their death they would still have enemies. “Margaret would hope for and expect no less,” he wrote in an obituary for The House Magazine. Lord Howe said that it remained “a source of deep sorrow” that her “misjudgments” on Europe and the poll tax had cost her the support of her Cabinet." - The Times (£)

• Heseltine urges action on business support - Financial Times (£)

...But as Cameron prepares to launch the Conservative local election campaign, a Cabinet Minister says that he must ditch modernisation and go Thatcherite

"Mr Cameron won the leadership promising to modernise the party, but one Cabinet minister said it should now “move on” to more “traditional” Conservative issues such as welfare reform and immigration control. “The 'toxic’ issue has been neutralised,” the minister said. “Now we can move on to the red meat Conservative issues.” - Daily Telegraph

• Mark Thatcher says that his mother would have profoundly moved by funeral - Daily Telegraph
• Clegg says that Osborne's tears show he's human... - Daily Mail
• Blair could get same treatment, says Francis Maude - Daily Mail
• Miner McLoughlin hits out at Thatcher critics - Daily Telegraph

Samuel Brittan: There IS no such thing as society

"Thatcher meant, I believe, that people should first try to solve their own problems and those of their families and friends, and only as a last resort rely on government. The government is simply a mechanism with which people can help each other and force would-be free riders to make a contribution. I interpreted her remarks as an expression of methodological individualism (although I pity any speech writer who sought to persuade her to say those words)." - Financial Times

• Live in Boston: bomb suspect held after shootout. Developing - The Times (£)
• Huge gas explosion in Texas - Daily Express
• Four jailed for UK terror plot - Financial Times
• Musharraf placed under house arrest - Daily Telegraph
• Cameron's adviser backs GM crops call - Daily Mail
• Hedge fund chiefs are Conservative donors - The Guardian

> 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.