ConservativeHome's One Page Briefing

May 2008's top stories

ConservativeHome's frontpage offers a fast-moving guide to every important story that has broken that day.  This 'one page sunmmary' offers more of a bird's eye view to people who do not have time to visit this site each and every day.

Monday 19th May: In a major speech David Cameron says that Britain has "reached the limits of acceptable taxation and borrowing" and must now "create the space for cutting tax".  More.

Friday 16th May: David Cameron and Grant Shapps launch new Conservative Party Homelessness Foundation to investigate the root causes of this major social problem.  More.

Wednesday 14th May: Senior Tories including David Cameron, William Hague and David Davis tell the Daily Mail that they will support a lower time limit for abortion.  More.

Tuesday 13th May: Eric Pickles MP reports negative reaction from Crewe and Nantwich voters to Alistair Darling's £2.7bn compensation package for victims of the 10p tax reform.  More.

Sunday 11th May: Lord Forsyth, former Scottish Secretary, calls for England and Scotland to vote on the future of the Union in May 2009 in order to "lay the issue to rest" once and for all.  More.

Thursday 8th May: New opinion poll shows the Conservatives on 49%; 26% ahead of Labour.  Labour has fallen to its lowest poll rating on record.  More.

Thursday 8th May: Patience Wheatcroft, former Business Editor of The Times, and Stephen Greenhalgh, tax cutting leader of Hammersmith & Fulham begin Boris Johnson's review of City Hall spending.  More.

Wednesday 7th May: In his first major policy move as Mayor, Boris Johnson introduces ban on alcohol on London tube trains and buses.  More.

Sunday 4th May: Boris Johnson downplays green issues in statement of priorities.  Crime, transport and housing will be the top concerns for London's new Mayor.  More.

Saturday 3rd May: Conservatives achieve more than 300 gains in local council elections - ten times as many gains as Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats on a dark day for Gordon Brown. More.

Saturday 3rd May: Boris Johnson ousts Ken Livingstone as Mayor of London.   Boris wins 53.2% after second preference votes are counted. More.

April 2008's top stories

ConservativeHome's frontpage offers a fast-moving guide to every important story that has broken that day.  This 'one page sunmmary' offers more of a bird's eye view to people who do not have time to visit this site each and every day.

Tuesday 29th April: David Cameron admits that he hasn't been able to end Punch and Judy politics although he says he'll always be willing to work with other parties on areas of national interest - never opposing for opposing's sake. More.

Thursday 24th April: A YouGov poll for The Telegraph puts the Conservatives ahead by 44% to 26%; the largest Conservative lead for more than twenty years. More.

Tuesday 22nd April: The Sun endorses Boris Johnson - the first time it has endorsed a Conservative since 1997 .  70% of political insiders say The Sun is leaning towards the Tories (and today's endorsement wasn't just a preference for Boris over Ken).  More.

Tuesday 22nd April: Former Conservative MP Bob Spink joins UKIP (after denying that he would).  More.

Monday 21st April: David Cameron launches a campaign to save 1,600 local GP surgeries, threatened by closure by Governments plans to launch new, larger polyclinics.  More.

Thursday 17th April: David Cameron launches the Conservative Party's local election campaign in Dewsbury with its Vote Blue, Go Green, Save Money message.  More.

Monday 14th April: George Osborne sets out Conservative vision for the future of Britain's economy.  He warns that there will be no quick solutions to restoring stability, prudence and productivity.  More.

Wednesday 9th April: Eric Pickles celebrates the fact that the Tories are fielding more candidates in the English local elections than Labour or the Liberal Democrats.  More.

Monday 7th April: The Conservatives put Labour's abolition of the 10p tax band at the heart of the campaign for the 1st May elections although David Cameron declines to propose Tory alternative to the tax change.  More.

Monday 7th April: Michael Gove announces new powers for schools to exclude disruptive pupils including an end to parents' ability to appeal to an independent tribunal.  More.

Thursday 3rd April: In an extended speech on information technology David Cameron vows that a Conservative government will never repeat Labour's supercomputer project failures.  More.

Tuesday 1st April: David Cameron delivers a major speech on the future of NATO.  He calls for less caveats and for all NATO nations to help pay for the costs of those nations that undertake the lion's share of any military action.  More.

March 2008's top stories

ConservativeHome's frontpage offers a fast-moving guide to every important story that has broken that day.  This 'one page sunmmary' offers more of a bird's eye view to people who do not have time to visit this site each and every day.

Monday 31st March: David Cameron says that Boris Johnson has twice the energy and charisma of Ken Livingstone as the Tory candidate for Mayor's campaign formally launches.  More.

Sunday 30th March: Shadow Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt announces a consultation that could end the BBC's monopoly of the licence fee.  Up to £250m of licence fee revenues could be given to new and existing media groups for public service broadcasting.  More.

Friday 28th March: The Conservative Party announces the results of its MEP candidate selection process - a process engineered to favour incumbents and women.  More.

Wednesday 26th March: William Hague argues for an immediate inquiry into the events leading up to the Iraq war.  Some Labour MPs did rebel but the Conservative motion was defeated.  More.

Tuesday 25th March: Conservatives launch plan to take up to 640 failing schools out of local authority control in first Queen's Speech.  Schools will be transferred to city academies, charitable trusts, and parent co-operatives.  More.

Monday 24th March: Conservatives launch report into the rising cost of living under Labour with David Cameron promising a "long-term fix" to the nation's public finances.  More.

Sunday 23rd March: Former MEP Richard Balfe has been appointed as the Conservatives' envoy to the Trade Union Movement.  30% of Union members vote Conservative, says Mr Balfe.  More.

Thursday 20th March: David Cameron meets Republican presidential nominee John McCain and champions the "moderate conservatism" they share.  More.

Thursday 20th March: Responding to the Government's national security strategy David Cameron calls for a powerful national security council to coordinate foreign and domestic policy, more action against extremists and an inquiry into the Iraq war. More.

Monday 17th March: The Daily Mail reports that David Cameron wants to keep the "disability exception" within the abortion law that allows termination of unborn babies beyond the normal limit if they have some form of disability.  More.

Sunday 16th March: In an interview for The Sunday Telegraph Philip Hammond, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, appears to suggest that taxes may not be reduced until the second term of a Conservative government.  More.

Saturday 15th March: A YouGov survey for The Sunday Times puts the Conservatives 16% ahead - the largest Tory lead for two decades.  More.

Saturday 15th March: David Cameron uses his speech at the Spring Forum in Gateshead to say that stronger families are the key to tackling Britain's most intractable social problems and to delivering smaller government.  More.

Thursday 13th March: David Cameron invites ITV's cameras into his home to film his family at breakfast and at play. The move comes before the Party's Spring Forum and a focus on family policy.  More.

Wednesday 12th March: Bob Spink MP leaves the parliamentary party after the Conservative machine refuses to side with him against members of his local association who have been seeking to deselect him.  More.

Wednesday 12th March: Responding to Alistair Darling's Budget, David Cameron pins the real blame for rising taxes and borrowing on Gordon Brown.  'The Prime Minister who got us into this mess cannot possibly be the man to get us out of this mess,' he tells the Commons.  More.

Tuesday 11th March: Michael Fallon MP is the ConservativeHome.com Parliamentarian of the Year following an online vote of more than 8,000 readers.  More.

Friday 7th March: In a bid to tackle the problem of binge drinking George Osborne proposes a shift in the burden of taxation away from low strength alcohol and towards alcopops and super strength beers and ciders. More.

Tuesday 4th March: Conservatives establish a Military Covenant Commission under the chairmanship of author Frederick Forsyth.  The Commission will examine ways of improving the care of serving members of the forces, their families and veterans. More.

Monday 3rd March: Nick Herbert MP promises a 'rehabilitation revolution' with prison governors being financially incentivised to reduce reoffending.  The Tories also plan to provide 5,000 more prison places and establish a Victims' Fund through which prisoners will make reparations.  More.

Sunday 2nd March: A Conservative Government will end discriminartion in electoral geography by ensuring that constituency seats are of more-or-less equal size by no later than the end of the next decade.  More.

Sunday 2nd March: Team Cameron briefs The Observer that in government the Conservatives will "aspire" for one-third of all ministers to be women by the end of the Parliament.  More.

Saturday 1st March: David Cameron speaks to Welsh Conservatives about voter distrust of politicians - "Let's be clear what they think of us: "you lie and you spin, you fiddle your expenses and you break your promises."" - and outlines nine main ways of addressing the problem.  More.

February 2008's top stories

ConservativeHome's frontpage offers a fast-moving guide to every important story that has broken that day.  This 'one page sunmmary' offers more of a bird's eye view to people who do not have time to visit this site each and every day.

Friday 29th February: 27 Tory MPs from the 2005 intake write to The Telegraph suggesting that voters should be able to recall (ie sack) ethically questionable MPs between General Elections.  This 'anti-politician' move is seen as part of an effort by the Tory leadership to put the party on the side of the voter and against the establishment.  More.

Thursday 28th February: CCHQ moves quickly to dispel the idea that the Tories plan to outspend Labour on health.  The idea stemmed from an interview that Shadow Health Secretary gave to The Times.  More.

Wednesday 27th February: £0.5m Tory advertising campaign highlights ten policy promises to the British people.  The party also invites voters to become a 'Friend' of the Conservatives for as little as £1.  More.

Monday 25th February: David Cameron tells The Daily Mail that he supports a lower abortion limit, to 20 weeks.  More.

Wednesday 20th February: The Conservatives received more than £10m of donations in the final quarter of 2007; double that of Labour.  77% of Labour's money came from the unions.  More.

Monday 18th February: David Cameron and Margaret Thatcher unveil a sculpture of the former British Prime Minister that will sit in the reception of Tory headquarters.  Mr Cameron described the Iron Lady as the greatest peacetime PM of the 20th century. More.

Monday 18th February: David Cameron emphasises food security in major speech to National Farmers' Union. Highlights of speech.

Sunday 17th February: George Osborne promises to oppose Labour's decision to nationalise Northern Rock.  The Shadow Chancellor describes the decision as fatal to Labour's reputation for economic competence.  More.

Saturday 16th February: BBC Political Editor presents extensively-researched documentary for Radio 4 on 'What Does David Cameron really think?'  Highlights of programme.

Friday 15th February: Speaking to Policy Exchange George Osborne announces that he has asked former Chancellor Geoffrey Howe to head a drive to simplify Britain's tax system.  A new Office of Tax Simplification would be established.  More.

Thursday 14th February: William Hague sets out an action plan for Darfur including a no-fly zone and prosecution of Sudanese leaders for human rights abuses.  More.

Wednesday 13th February: Boris Johnson puts crime at the heart of his bid to become the next Mayor of London.  More.

Monday 11th February: The Telegraph reports that the Tory leadership is seeking an "elegant retreat" from its controversial policy of matching Labour on public spending.  More.

Thursday 7th February: Nick Clegg emphasises civil liberties, education reform, the environment and localisation as basis for any possible LibDem support for a minority Conservative government.  More.

Wednesday 6th February: Scotland's minority SNP government secures passage of budget after Scottish Tories win £114m of concessions on extra police officers, more drug treatments and business tax relief.  More.

Wednesday 6th February: Philip Hammond MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, writes for ConservativeHome defending Tory plans to match Labour on spending until at least 2010/11: "A period of economic uncertainty, such as we are now experiencing, would be exactly the wrong time to raise taxes or cut the growth rate of spending."  More.

Tuesday 5th February: David Cameron announces that frontbenchers  "must name their staff, reveal the number of staff they employ, the position they fulfil and whether they work in Westminster or the constituency."  More.

Sunday 3rd February: David Davis promises to sweep away restrictions on police officers' ability to arrest certain types of offender without referring them to the Crown Prosecution Service.  George Osborne promises to 'plot a path' away from Labour's Capital Gains Tax.  Michael Gove writes about the possibility of a Tory Government supplying one week of support from a maternity nurse to new parents.  More.

Friday 1st February: David Cameron is planning to send his oldest daughter to a state school but George Osborne plans to send his two children to an £11,000pa private school.  More.

Friday 1st February: After the Derek Conway controversy David Cameron orders his frontbench to declare if they employ relatives from parliamentary allowances.  More.

January 2008's top stories

Thursday 31st January: Cohesion spokesman Paul Goodman MP rejects major changes to foreign policy in a speech on how Britain should persuade young Muslims away from terror and separatism.  Mr Goodman suggests that the British Government should consider investing in moderate mosques and Muslim publishers.  More.

Wednesday 30th January: Derek Conway issues a statement saying that he will not be standing as a Conservative candidate at the next General Election.  More.

Wednesday 30th January: In a major interview with The Sun, David Cameron unveils that Tories want to sweep away restrictions on police officers' ability to stop and search people on the streets.  More.

Tuesday 29th January: David Cameron expels Derek Conway from the parliamentary party after Mr Conway is found guilty by a Commons committee of employing his son but the work being almost invisible.  More.

Tuesday 29th January: David Cameron meets CDU leaders and calls for preachers of hate like Yusuf al-Qaradawi banned from Britain.  More.

Thursday 24th January: How bold should the Conservatives be?  ConservativeHome begins a debate on whether the Conservative Party needs a more hare-like or more tortoise-minded strategy.  More.

Tuesday 22nd January: William Hague gives powerful Commons performance as he attacks Labour for failing to grant the British people a promised referendum on the EU Treaty.  More.

Tuesday 22nd January: George Osborne accuses Labour of imposing a second mortgage on every British household because of its mishandled rescue package for the Northern Rock bank.  More.

Sunday 20th January: Conservative candidate Richard Cook supports IWantAReferendum.com's aims to hold referenda on the Lisbon Treaty in consituencies held by anti-referendum MPs.  More.

Tuesday 15th January: Shadow Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt wins agreement from Labour that new Olympics-related raid on Lottery's good causes fund will be last of its kind.  More.

Monday 14th January: At his latest monthly press conference David Cameron unveils new draft ideas from Ken Clarke's Democracy Taskforce that will help to restore trust in politics.  Proposals include £10m cap on General Election spending, independent review of MPs' pay and closure of parliamentary pensions scheme to new members.  More.

Monday 14th January: ConservativeHome launches campaign for George Osborne to not renew his pledge to match Labour on spending when it expires in 2010/11.  The campaign for slower public spending growth wins backing from the TaxPayers' Alliance and Michael Fallon MP.  More.

Sunday 13th January: George Osborne comes under fire for failing to fully declare £500,000 of donations to fund his Shadow Chancellor's office.  Other shadow cabinet ministers are angry that they receive so little support in comparison for their frontbench duties.  More.

Friday 11th January: George Osborne gives major speech on Gordon Brown's economic record.  The Shadow Chancellor accuses the Prime Minister of having squandered years of economic plenty by not preparing Britain for tough times ahead.  More.

Thursday 10th January: ConservativeHome suggests that more political appointments to the Whitehall machine might be necessary if the next Conservative government is to succeed in adequately implementing its manifesto promises.  More.

Wednesday 9th January: Nick Herbert MP and Oliver Heald MP respond favourably to ConservativeHome's campaign for fairer sized constituency seats.  The campaign aims to ameliorate the situation whereby the Conservatives need a very large lead in the opinion polls before winning a parliamentary majority of one.  More.

Wednesday 9th January: The Tories who are excited about Barack Obama's presidential election bid; 'The Obamacons'.  More.

Monday 8th January: Chris Grayling unveils plans to impose a two year limit on Jobseekers' Allowance and then require the unemployed to undertake workfare-style programmes.  More.

Sunday 7th January: David Cameron promises News of the World readers that he'll take 200,000 people off incapacity benefit.  More.

Wednesday 3rd January: In an unusual restriction of his ability to reshuffle his frontbench, David Cameron tells the Today programme that Andrew Lansley will be his Secretary of State for Health should the Conservatives win the next General Election.  More.

Tuesday 2nd January: LibDem councillor defects to the Conservatives - giving the party its first representative on Manchester City Council for a long time.  More.

Monday 1st January: ConservativeHome profiles George Osborne - arguing that his significance to the Tory leader cannot be underestimated and that his decisions on the economy will be essential to Tory progress this year.   More.