ConservativeHome's ToryDiary

No more croquet for No Jobs

The US may have announced a major diplomatic initiative on Iran but that's not the topic leading the news bulletins...

Earlier this evening - responding to the news that 'John Croquet Prescott' is giving up Dorneywood - Tory Chairman Francis Maude issued this statement:

"At last John Prescott has done the right thing. It is just a pity he has taken so long to do it.  But John Prescott’s absurd antics are ultimately not what matters to people - they are not really interested in what Minster moves in and out of what house.  What they are concerned about is the health service being run properly, tax credits being administered in the right way and having foreign prisoners deported. John Prescott is merely a symptom of a Government that is falling apart at the seams.”

Just interviewed on Newsnight, a more partisan Mr Maude admitted that it was in the interests of the Conservative Party for Mr Prescott to stay in post as long as possible.  Quite true.  Mr Prescott, Ms Hewitt and dear Sir Ming are probably the Conservative Party's top allies at the moment.

Heffer: Cameron will live to regret insulting right

David Cameron and Simon Heffer do not get on.  Today's Heffer column in The Daily Telegraph is only the latest round of the Heffer Vs Cameron series.

Simon Heffer believes that the Tories should now be 16% ahead given "Labour's meltdown" and the weakness of the Liberal Democrats under the "utterly inept" Ming Campbell.   He thinks that Labour will recover somewhat under Gordon Brown and that the LibDems will ruthlessly ditch Ming.  Where will this leave the Tories, he asks?

Mr Heffer argues that the Tories need to do more to positively address Britain's failures under Labour.  He highlights illegal immigration, the pensions disaster, Labour's economic mismanagement and the 'Sovietisation' of parts of Britain in terms of dependence on the state:

"Perhaps Mr Cameron's most harmful assumption is this: that, in the end, the Tory public, and the supposedly Tory press, will have nowhere else to go, so he can muddle along in the middle and end up in Downing Street. If the Conservative Party were any longer Tory, he might have a point - but it isn't. I am alarmed by the number of readers who write to me to say they have voted, or will vote, BNP. The entirely respectable UKIP now stands at four per cent in the polls, and almost all its support is precious votes taken from the Conservatives. Above all, the abstention party goes from strength to strength. Mr Cameron wilfully does nothing to counter these forces, except occasionally to insult them. However unlikely it may now seem, he and his party will live to regret that."

Mr Heffer's style of attack is probably what Max Hastings was thinking about when, in yesterday's Guardian, he wrote:

"Every time a neanderthal columnist attacks the Tory leader in a rightwing newspaper, I find myself wondering how much the Cameron camp paid for the privilege."

Mr Hastings appears to think that Mr Cameron's greatest strength is that he is prepared to ignore people like Mr Heffer:

"His greatest strength stems from a recognition that the British people have changed immeasurably, that the past has no message for them. If the Tories are to hold power again, the endorsement of bankers and retired colonels will never suffice. Just as Blair triumphed in 1997 because he knew old Labour was finished, that the unions had become an embarrassment, so if Cameron gets to Downing Street it will be because he takes no heed of Conservative geriatrics, and woos new Britain. It is the big tent all over again: "We're a party for everyone - young and old, sick and healthy, rich and poor. Margaret Thatcher's great achievement was to convince the British people that this country's best days were not in the past. We've got to do the same - to give the message that our best days are still ahead.""

Tory MP calls for a review of abortion laws

Two abortion stories hit the headlines over the weekend.  One concerned the rapid growth in so-called "bedroom abortions" via the controversial 'EMA' abortion pill.   The pill is controversial because of worries over its safety.  The other story, broken in The Sunday Times,  concerned the revelation that "more than 20 babies have been aborted in advanced pregnancy because scans showed that they had club feet."

There have been calls for the police to investigate termination of unborn babies with webbed fingers or club feet.  The 1967 Abortion Act allowed for abortion when there was a risk of "severe" physical or mental handicap but these 'defects' can be easily corrected by splints, plaster casts, minor surgery or physiotherapy.

Conservative MP Bob Spink has told today's Daily Mail that Britain's 40-year-old abortion laws need to be reviewed:

"It is nearly 40 years since the 1967 Abortion Act was passed and science has made tremendous advances.  Public opinion has changed, partly as a result of huge improvements in the imaging of the unborn child.  Parliament is not reluctant to grapple with the issue.  A Communications Research survey showed that nine in 10 MPs want the abortion law to be reviewed continuously in the light of advances in medical science... There is a political will to act - in the last election, all three party leaders called for a review of the timing of abortion - so why has action not been taken?"

***
Related link: Making abortion rare.

Have your say!

The May survey of opinion amongst Tory members, supporters and observers is now live.  In addition to the regular questions there are special questions this month on the party's relationship with the Liberal Democrats.

Please cick here to take part in the survey.

Cornerstone fires localist versus A-list debate

Today sees the latest publication from the Cornerstone Group of socially conservative Tory MPs (the membership of which now equals about forty).  Previous publication topics have included higher education and exiting the EPP.

David Burrowes is the author of 'Pick 'em local and Pick 'em early' - a timely contribution to the debate on candidate selection currently raging within the Conservative Party and something of a challenge to the approach enshrined in the party's A-list.

At the last election David defeated Stephen Twigg with a swing of 8.7%.  The Enfield Southgate seat was low down on the list of Tory targets (number 114) but David took the seat - once held by Michael Portillo - with the biggest swing of any victorious Conservative candidate.  David is in a good position to recommend how to achieve a good election result. 

'Pick 'em local and Pick 'em early' reflects David's own experiences and an analysis of the common factors in the performance of Tory MPs who "achieved at least double the national average swing".   Those common factors are summarised in the blue graphic on the right.

Local candidates and strong commitment to the locality are the big themes in David Burrowes' analysis.  He makes a strong case for radical localisation of power as a principal way in which to address the sense of powerlessness that is driving voter apathy.  He uses the example of local phone masts to illustrate how the people of his own constituency have come to feel disempowered:

"Many constituents are frustrated that the first wave of masts was built with comparatively little public consultation or consideration for their local health or environmental concerns. Their protests have grown louder with the third generation phone upgrade which has ushered in another wave of mast building more densely spread than the first. Phone masts appearing on constituents’ doorsteps has vividly brought home their lack of control over their local area."

David Burrowes believes that compassionate, values-based local activism is a big part of the response to the reduction in voter turnout from 77% in 1992 to just 62% last year.  He also thinks that it is the way to elect more Conservative MPs.

David Burrowes believes he was able to repeat the same success that saw Andrew Rosindell achieve 2001's standout Tory result (in Romford):

"In 2001 one of our best results was in Romford where Andrew Rosindell bucked the national trend and regained the seat from Labour. Andrew’s success was no doubt formed from a proven track record over a number of years as a local champion. I recognised this point and similarly was able to lean on my position as a local councillor of 11 years in Enfield Southgate. I was well placed to voice constituents’ concerns about their locality and act as a focal point for campaigns on highly localised issues."

Any questions for you?

Over the next few days we will be posting the questions for the May survey of the ConservativeHome Members' Panel.  In addition to the regular tracker questions (on satisfaction with David Cameron and the top ten members of the shadow cabinet) it would be helpful to have your suggestions for a few special questions.  What questions would you like to ask your fellow Tories?

Recent special questions have focused on:

• State funding of political parties
• Ranking of the international challenges of economic competition, terrorism and climate change
• Repatriation of powers from Brussels
• The key principles of Built To Last
• The Iraq war.

Related link: Can you trust ConservativeHome's surveys?

Knife control (or lack of)

The widespread possession of knives amongst youths is yet another failure of the Home Office, and it appears to be doing little to stop them being sold, other than high-profile initiatives such as the knife amnesty - which only came after the tragic stabbing of Kiyan Prince.

Recent Home Office figures show that no-one has had a custodial sentence for selling knives since 1997, and only nine were arrested for the offence in 2004 - six of whom got off with a fine.

Most knife-carriers are 16 year old boys doing it for their image, although Norman Brennan - a police officer and founder of the Victims of Crime Trust - wants automatic sentences of five years for people carrying knives bigger than three inches without good reason.

Last week David Davis said that:

"Knife crime is a serious problem. A quarter of twelve to sixteen-year-olds have admitted to carrying knives and for each and every gun crime death there are three stabbings. We believe there must be tougher sentences for people carrying knives."

The Conservatives proposed an amendment to the Violent Crime Reduction Bill to raise the maximum sentence for selling a knife to an under-16 to five years but it was rejected by Ministers. They are raising the age to 18 but there is no indication they will enforce that more effectively than the status quo.

Deputy Editor

Britain still on course for hung parliament

The next General Election might be four years away.  In those four years the Labour Party might implode.  The economy may slow.  The LibDems may get a new leader.  The Tories will have presented their policy group reviews.  There is a long way to go until the next General Election (Gordon Brown cutting and running is looking less and less likely) but David Cameron is not yet popular enough to take the Tories into a majority government.  That fact is underlined by an analysis by Professor John Curtice for today's Sunday Telegraph:

"Mr Cameron's poll lead indicates a four-and-a-half point swing from Labour to the Conservatives since the General Election. The Liberal Democrats, on 18 per cent, are five points down.  If these movements were replicated across Britain, the Tories would still win only 284 seats. Not only would this leave them well short of the 324 seats needed for an overall majority, they would still be three behind Labour."

Professor Curtice examines the reasons why the current electoral system disadvantages the Tories and spotlights the four regions where the Conservative Party needs to make electoral breakthroughs.

This government couldn't run a booze-up in a brewery

Iain Dale and Guido Fawkes are doing great work highlighting Labour sleaze with their Little Red Book but will it be Labour's endless incompetence that will be engraved on the tombstone of this government?

Yesterday's newspapers were full of more stories of Labour incompetence.

The Mail highlighted overpayments to benefit claimants.  The Sun spotlighted the latest 'Home Office lunancy'.

Here are some examples of incompetence that I most remember:

1. 1,000 foreign prisoners are released without being considered for deportation
2. 500 convicts released from mental hospitals
3. Failure to pay single farm subsidies on time threatens farm bankruptcies
4. Record spending on the NHS can't prevent debt crisis and redundancies
5. Sharp rise in tax credit fraud
6. Ministry of Defence overspends
7. Sex offenders in our schools
8. IT projects that never work...

As the first instalment of our ChameleonArmy programme, ConservativeHome will be launching a new website on Wednesday - dedicated to Labour incompetence.  What other incompetencies would you suggest that we highlight?

Comrade Cameron

BBC Online has just provided a further preview of David Cameron's Desert Island Discs interview (due for broadcast at 11.15am tomorrow morning after the Archers omnibus (Where is Edward by the way?  Poor, poor Clarrie.)).

Mr Cameron tells Sue Lawley that he may have been approached by the KGB whilst he was on a gap year between Eton and university.  This is how the BBC tells the story:

"[David Cameron] met a friend in Moscow and went to Yalta on the Black Sea coast, where two Russians speaking "perfect English" had turned up on a beach mostly used by foreigners.  "They took us out to dinner and interrogated us in a friendly way about life in England and what we thought and politics," he said.  "We were obviously very careful and guarded in what we said but later when I got to university my politics tutor said that was definitely an attempt.""

We already knew about Mr Cameron's liking for Ernie The Fastest Milkman In The West.  Other music choices are:

• Tangled Up In Blue - Bob Dylan
• This Charming Man - The Smiths
• On Wings of Song - Mendelssohn
• Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
• Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead
• Perfect Circle - REM
• All These Things I've Done - The Killers

Mr Cameron also talks about his severely disabled son, Ivan:

"Mr Cameron also spoke of the shock in finding out about his son Ivan's disability.  He said the news hit "almost like mourning the loss of something, because you are mourning the gap between your expectation and what has happened," he said.""

Margaret Thatcher will be delighted with the Tory leader's choice of luxury: a crate of whisky.   If he'd chosen vodka we would have had to start worrying about that KGB contact.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage Cookbook is Mr Cameron's mouth-watering choice of book.  As Amazon.co.uk points out, the book is much more than it seems from the title:

"Although it calls itself a cookbook and does contain a large number of fine recipes, the book's scope is much broader. Really, this is more like one of those "Enquire Within on Everything" volumes 19th-century settlers used to take to the outback with them, full of instructions for mixing whitewash, worming dogs and making a bag pudding. Starting with vegetables, proceeding to livestock and fish (River Cottage does indeed have a river and is only five miles from the sea) and concluding with the wild food, floral and faunal, of the hedgerow, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall explains how he grows, gathers, kills and cooks his own food."

Matthew Parris urges Tories to say nothing on Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan

Matthew Parris wants to hear the "sound of silence" from the Tories on Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.  Mr Parris thinks that the Tories should "say nothing" on the global issues that have caused such harm to Tony Blair's standing.  An opponent of the Iraq war from the very beginning, his column for last week's Times worried that Mr Cameron's Tories were a "Europe-hating and Pentagon-loving party".  Mr Parris believes that Mr Cameron has surrounded himself with hawkish neoconservatives.  He points his pen at George Osborne, Liam Fox, Michael Gove and the Shadow Foreign Secretary, William Hague.

I can't really see why Mr Parris is worried.  Mr Cameron already seems to have pre-empted his advice and said almost nothing about foreign policy since becoming leader (unless, of course, it is about the environment).  Nothing proactive on the EU.  Nothing on Iran.  Nothing on Darfur.  Little on Iraq.  It has been for William Hague (on diminishing American moral authority) and Liam Fox (on Iran and energy security) to do the limited running on Tory foreign policy.

'President Tony Blair' shows no reticence to talk about foreign policy.  He delivered the third of three speeches on global challenges yesterday.  At the heart of the speech was the contention that there is no longer any difference between the national interest and the interests of the international community.  He argued that domestic concerns about immigration, energy security, environmental change and terrorism all had international roots:

"Nations, even ones as large and powerful as the USA, are affected profoundly by world events;  and not affected, in time or at the margins but at breakneck speed and fundamentally.  Why is immigration the No.1 domestic policy issue in much of Europe and in the US today?  What are the solutions?  The answer is that globalisation is making mass migration a reality;  and only global development will make it a manageable reality.

Which is the issue that has rocketed up the agenda of most political leaders in a way barely foreseen even 3 years back?  Energy policy.  China and India need energy to grow.  The damage to the environment of carbon emissions is now  accepted.

It doesn't much matter whether the issue is approached through energy security or climate change, the fact is we need a framework, internationally agreed, through which the developing nations can grow, the wealthy countries maintain their standard of living and the environment be protected from disaster...

The terrorism we are fighting in Britain, wasn't born in Britain, though on 7th July last year it was British born terrorists that committed murder.  The roots are in schools and training camps and indoctrination thousands of miles away, as well as in the towns and cities of modern Britain.  The migration we experience is from Eastern Europe, and the poverty-stricken states of Africa and the solution to it lies there at its source not in the nation feeling its consequence."

William Norton's Movies Review

PORTRAIT OF A LADY
Film of the Henry James novel.  A free-thinking young woman travels the world in a luxurious lifestyle insulated from the everyday worries and concerns of ordinary people, collecting beautiful objets d'art and mixing with brilliant artists, witty conversationalists, members of the House of Lords and cold scheming amoral diabolical seducers.  Also, a few property developers wanting to build shopping centres in south east England.  How does she manage it?  Well, it turns out she auctions off autographed government reports into the apparent suicide of civil servants, that's how.

Starring: Nicole Kidman as the deluded, out-of-touch central character who's lost her sense of moral judgment.

CH verdict: All right-thinking people will be appalled by the behaviour of the woman at the centre of this drama, and we have to question the taste and values of the producers in wanting to present this spectacle to the public.  This is one of the extremely rare occasions where we are calling not just for a boycott but for an outright ban.  Have your own say here.

NUMBER 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU
A film about laughable adolescent behaviour.  The Cabinet go off on a team-bonding exercise.

Starring: a bunch of kids who aren't going anywhere fast.

CH verdict: This was a bold attempt to modernise Shakespearean drama - but whilst the cast think they're doing "The Taming Of The Shrew" the audience know it's turning into "Hamlet".

CCHQ launches fundraising campaign

With David Cameron at 37% to 38% in the opinion polls, CCHQ has chosen a good time to launch a funding drive across the whole party membership.

My invitation to give arrived in this morning's post.  The fundraising letter is posted on the right (click the graphic to enlarge it).

The heart of the appeal begins at paragraph three and all of the 'core vote' buttons are quickly pushed.  There is talk of...

"Labour have given new powers to the European Union"

"They have created Regional Assemblies which noone wants."

"Highest tax burden in British history."

"Huge damage on our pensions system."

"Foreign criminals... released onto Britain's streets rather than being considered for deportation."

Later on there are references to "a sustainable environment" and candidates "representative of modern Britain" but the letter is primarily negative and designed to get Tory activists to open their chequebooks.

I'll send off a small cheque but it won't be big enough to get me into one of the donor clubs that the mailing also advertises (image on right):

• A £2,000 annual fee will get you membership of 'team 2 thousand' - "a lively programme of drinks receptions, dinner and discussion groups" with the Leader and Shadow Cabinet.
• Also for £2,000 you can join The Entrepreneurs Forum.  The Forum meets in London's West End and in the City with leading industrialists and prominent City figures "to expose Labour's red tape, bureaucracy and excessive taxation".
• "Key players within the property industry" can become part of Lord Young's Property Forum for £5,000 and can then discuss property issues over breakfast.
• The Front Bench Club passports you into 'team 2 thousand' events but the £5,000 membership fee also provides "the opportunity to meet and debate with Shadow Cabinet Ministers at a series of private political lunches and receptions".

Association Chairmen give green light to A-list

More4 News has surveyed fifty chairmen of Conservative Associations for tonight's 8pm programme.  The fifty chairmen represent Tory activists in over half of the party's top eighty target seats and these were their responses to three questions posed by More4 News:

(1) Do you agree with the policy of selecting PPCs from an A list in key marginals and conservative held seats?

Yes: 32
No: 9
Undecided: 9

(2) Do you approve of David Cameron having a quota of 50% women and 10% black and ethnic minorities on the A-list?

Yes: 26
No: 16
Undecided: 18

(3) Do you think that David Cameron's policy will damage the credibility of the Conservative party?

Yes: 4
No: 38
Undecided: 8

On the face of it these numbers from chairmen look reasonably good for David Cameron and they contrast with ConservativeHome's January finding that 60% of Tory members disapprove of the 50/50 nature of the A-list.  It might be that the passage of time has softened opposition to the A-list.  It might be that Association Chairmen are disproportionately loyal to CCHQ's wishes.

The danger for Mr Cameron is that the opposition to the policy of nine Association Chairmen - is typical of some other Association officers and will develop into a fuller resistance to the A-list.  This seems less likely if CCHQ continues to adopt the softly-softly approach that we have seen in the last two days:

• The fact that at least two local candidates have been permitted to apply for the A-list seat of South Northamptonshire suggests that CCHQ is willing to allow some flexibility in how seats use the A-list.
• And yesterday's special by-election arrangements for Bromley & Chislehurst.

His name was Davey and he rode the fastest push-bike in the West

David Cameron appears on Desert Island Discs this weekend and his choice of Benny Hill's "innuendo-laden comic song" Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West) has certainly attracted the most comment.  Daily Mail columnist Richard Littlejohn has written a Cameroon version of Ernie in his column today.  An extract can be read on the right.  There's lots more of the same from Mr Littlejohn but you'll have to buy a copy of The Mail to read it...

Mr Cameron's other choices include:

• This Charming Man by The Smiths
• Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
• Tangled Up In Blue by Bob Dylan.

Politicians talking up their hinterlands is now essential electioneering.  Revealing what has been downloaded onto your MP3 is as important as kissing babies.  Gordon Brown was recently talking about his enthusiasm for the Arctic Monkeys.  Like David Cameron and George W Bush before her, Hillary Clinton has just revealed her iPod picks.  The mix on her iPod, bought by Bill for her birthday, "includes Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” and “Take it to the Limit” by The Eagles," according to MSNBC.

Ming toughens crime policies as his rating slides

If today's YouGov poll makes good reading for David Cameron - the post-May 4th lead having been confirmed - it makes very worrying news for Menzies Campbell.   "Only eight per cent of YouGov's sample," writes Anthony King, "would like to see him in Downing Street - the lowest recorded for any Lib Dem leader since the Liberal Democrats effectively replaced the old Liberal-SDP Alliance in 1990."

The LibDem leader will attempt to reverse his party's decline with a speech on crime today.  The speech will distance the party from some of the 'soft' policies associated with Charles Kennedy's leadership.  Sir Menzies (who has also appointed a new spin doctor) will call for a violent crimes register, no automatic release for prisoners who are halfway through their sentences and the deportation of undesriable foreign offenders.  The toughening of policy is partly the work of the new LibDem home affairs spokesman, Nick Clegg.  Mr Clegg would be the candidate most likely to replace Sir Ming as LibDem leader if the party continues to struggle.  A Clegg leadership, combined with a tougher policy on crime, would position the party for some sort of pact with the Tories in the event of a hung parliament.  Despite all of the progress being made by David Cameron, a minority government looks more likely than for a generation.

Below the headline numbers the most encouraging YouGov finding comes on economic competence.  One year ago Labour enjoyed a 22% advantage on the economy.  That advantage over the Tories has shrunk to just 2% today and may explain the increasing likelihood that Gordon Brown may face a serious challenge for the Labour leadership.  Labour's retreat is not just on the economic front.  Anthony King again:

"A year ago Labour led the Conservatives on no fewer than 14 of the 18 issues, with the two parties tied on a 15th. The Conservatives at that time led on only three: immigration, law and order and council tax.  Now Labour leads on only nine of the 18 with the Tories ahead on the other nine."

The blots on the landscape from the YouGov poll come from the rise of the minor parties.  The Greens on 4%, UKIP on 4% and the BNP on 3% contribute to a 14% total for Britain's 'other parties'.

Tories "very sceptical" of immigration amnesty

Shadow Immigration Minister Damian Green has told ConservativeHome that Conservatives are "very sceptical" about the merits of an amnesty for illegal immigrants.  Mr Green was commenting a few days after an intervention by Labour Treasurer and TGWU Deputy General Secretary Jack Dromey.  Mr Dromey has called for an amnesty for the black economy workers and their family members who are "living in fear" in Britain:

"It is true that there are probably half a million here without documents. The question is what we do about that?  They live in fear of a knock on the door and they are exploited by too many employers... What we need therefore is a sensible approach which does not criminalise those good men and women. You can't deport half a million workers.  Who would clean? Who would cook? Who would pick in our fields? The time has come for a debate around an amnesty for those workers."

The issue of an amnesty is currently tearing the US Republican Party apart and it is also a live issue in Italy thanks to comments from the new immigration minister and member of the Communist Refoundation Party.

The dangers of an amnesty are highlighted in a MigrationWatch report published today.  The report "finds that in comparable countries where amnesties have been tried the only effect has been increased numbers at each amnesty."  It is feared that those given amnesty may quickly be replaced by new immigrants willing to work in the informal economy at below the minimum wage.  Spain, for example, has granted six amnesties.  The first amnesty twenty years ago granted residency to 44,000 people.  The most recent and sixth amnesty - in 2005 - involved 700,000 immigrants.

Eighteen months ago, in estimates based on the 2001 census, the Home Office suggested that the UK's illegal immigrant population was something between 310,000 and 570,000.  MigrationWatch estimates a current illegal population of 515,000 to 870,000.

Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of Migrationwatch, said that "amnesties make a bad situation worse":

"They are also extremely expensive for the tax payer.  For a start, an amnesty would add half a million people to the housing lists as the local authorities would become responsible for their housing. It is also quite wrong in principle to reward illegal behaviour with full access to the welfare state."

Sir Andrew, noted the Home Office's poor record at enforcing Britain's laws on illegal immigration.  He recommends a policy of "attrition through enforcement" where a combination of stricter embarkation controls and tighter access to schools and welfare services will discourage illegal immigration.

Redwood, Tebbit and Widdecombe lead support for Roger Helmer MEP

This morning, one year after Roger Helmer MEP was expelled from the Conservative Group in the European Parliament, ConservativeHome reprints this open letter to Timothy Kirkhope MEP, leader of the Tory MEPs, from Richard Hyslop, Chris Palmer and Andrew Woodman of the Reinstate Roger campaign:

"A year ago today, Roger Helmer, Conservative MEP and Member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands had the whip unfairly removed from him in the European Parliament. At the time, Roger was fulfilling the clear Conservative European Manifesto commitment on which he was elected, by fighting against possible corruption in the EU Commission as detailed in the last Reinstate Roger ConservativeHome piece here. However, despite a full year, and numerous letters from literally hundreds, if not thousands of Conservative party members to both Timothy Kirkhope MEP and the Conservative chief whip, the issue of Roger’s suspension has gone unresolved.

Since his suspension, Roger has continued to serve the people of Britain and the East Midlands to the best of his abilities – most notably when he unmasked Tony Blair during a well televised EU Parliamentary debate in December 2005, and exposed the Prime Minister for the ardent and passionate Europhile that he really is.

Not only has Roger show loyalty to the people of this country, but to both the Conservative party and its leader David Cameron too. Recently Roger Helmer commented, “I have been humbled by the overwhelming support I have received from Conservatives across the East Midlands, and up and down the country, since these events blew up last year. It is time for Conservative MEPs to put recent disagreements behind us and to close ranks behind David Cameron.” This is in direct comparison to behaviour from the likes of loose-cannons Caroline Jackson MEP, Edward McMillan-Scott MEP and Christopher Beazley MEP who have publicly criticised David Cameron, the party, and the pledge to leave the EPP, which only gives fuel to our enemies.

Tories were first on earnings link

Later today the Government will confirm that it intends to raise the retirement age and restore the link between pensions and earnings.  This morning's Today programme noted that it was Mrs Thatcher who broke the link a quarter of a century ago.  Today did not remind its listeners, however, that the Tories had already made the policy shift nearly three years ago.

In his last major act as Tory leader, Iain Duncan Smith made the policy change in a bid to revive the savings culture and deliver social justice for pensioners.  Devised by David Willetts the commitment was savaged at the time by Labour as "a cruel deceit on pensioners" and as "unsustainable".  Despite an otherwise nightmare Tory conference the very popular restoration of the earnings link helped give the Tories a 6% lead in a YouGov poll and was due to be rolled out in a massive programme of regional events and mailshots.  Michael Howard had next to no enthusiasm for the policy and when he became leader he did not pursue that programme or ever seriously promote the £5bn commitment.

Philip Hammond MP, Shadow Work & Pensions Secretary, has attacked the failure of Labour's new pensions package to provide fairness for women.  Commenting on the fact that 'only' 30 years of National Insurance contributions are now required for a full basic state pension for women retiring from 2010, Mr Hammond told ePolitix: "It does not seem fair that a woman retiring on a April 1, 2010 will get a full state pension based on 30 years' contributions, but that a woman retiring on March 31 with the same contributions will be condemned to a lifetime on a partial pension."

PMQs: Blair grilled on Home Office, again

Extensive tributes were paid to Eric Forth, whose seat behind David Cameron and in between David Maclean and Andrew Mackay was left free to symbolise the great Parliamentarian's absence. Blair said he was a "redoubtable opponent, caustic at times, fearless and principled always, often witty... a thoroughly decent man".

DC asked about immigration reform, quoting Blair who had said in 2004 that the immigration department had been transformed. He also lambasted him for blaming past governments - "he'll be blaming Sir Robert Peel next". The House laughed through Blair's defence, causing the speaker to reprimand the House twice - even threatening to end the session if members didn't stop hissing.

Menzies Campbell seemed to a have a frog in his throat a la IDS. Menzies got the usual sarcastic cheer and as usual started on a sombre note by not only paying tribute to Eric Forth, but by starting his question with a reference to the Dunblane shootings.  His second question was snappier, pointing out contradictory statements by Tony Blair and John Reid about whether the Home Office was "fit for purpose" or not.

Cameron asked if Gordon Brown would take on the non-tribal politics displayed in the Education Bill, causing Blair to praise his record. Repeating his line on the reshuffle, Cameron scored points by asking if Gordon was doing such a good job, why didn't Tony let him take over.

In response to a question from Malcolm Moss about John Prescott's privileges, Blair said he had no intention whatever of discussing the reshuffle, and in response to Robert Goodwill's question about the signing of the Hutton report he merely said that "no offence was intended".

His standard style of answering questions was being scorned by members more than ever today.

Deputy Editor

Tory lead doubles with Brown in charge

David Cameron now enjoys a solid 5% lead in ConservativeHome's poll of polls.  The increased advantage reflects the best showing for the Conservative Party in a Guardian/ ICM poll for 13 years.  David Cameron's Conservative Party enjoys a 4% lead over Labour.  Party strategists will also be delighted that Tory policies on health, education and the economy enjoy more support from women than do Labour policies.

The poll is also disappointing for the LibDems.  Ming's party is down 4% in the first ICM poll since the local elections.

This poll - if replicated at a General Election - still puts the Tories needing to form some sort of pact with the LibDems but the man who really should be worried from this poll is Gordon Brown.  Despite the fact that he is seen as more trustworthy than the Prime Minister, the Guardian survey reveals that, with Brown as leader, the Tory advantage would grow from 4% to 9%.  "This," notes Mike Smithson at PoliticalBetting.com, "is the tenth poll in a row from the three main pollsters where the Tories do better against Labour when the Cameron-Brown voting intention question is put." 

Postscript: With thanks to 'Coffee Monster', a regular ConservativeHome visitor, the Poll of Polls also incorporates the results of an early May MORI survey for the FT which had been overlooked previously.

The Little Red Book of New Labour Sleaze

A public service announcement from Guido Fawkes:

"Three weeks ago as a fresh wave of New Labour sleaze washed up over the rotting body politic like yesterday's sewage, Tony Blair again made another attempt to make out that it was not as bad as the bad old Tory days. But it is worse I thought. At least the Tories didn't get up to hanky-panky on government premises, in government time at our expense with the taxpayer getting screwed as well as the semi-naked junior civil servant. Someone should really document it all so that the next time Tony claimed he was a "straight kinda guy" they would have the evidence to prove him wrong.

Intoxicated with that idea I emailed Iain Dale, knowing he had been keeping a close eye on developments and knows a thing or two about books. The next morning he replied with a publishing timetable. It was his idea to garner a chameleon army from the British political blogosphere into co-authoring it quickly to catch the zeitgeist. The book thus introduces a wealth of diverse new writers to the book reading public, as for most of our blogging co-authors this is the first time they have been in print on paper as opposed to pixels on screen.  The multiplicity of authors meant it could be produced in two weeks - meaning it will be in Waterstones this week.  An incredibly quick turnaround by Iain who has masterminded the production of this enterprise brilliantly.

We have calculated that New Labour over nine years has produced a scandal a month on average, with little time off for good behaviour, nevertheless within the pages we document everything; shady bungs from businessmen, lying lobbyists, ministers on the make, expenses fiddled and Loans for Lordships made. So next time Tony Blair stands up to say New Labour is "whiter than white", you can throw this little red book at him."

Drug shooting galleries "not ruled out"

One of the main concerns that dogged David Cameron's leadership bid was his liberal approach to drugs, frequently highlighted in relation to his alleged drug use at university. His views, as expressed on the Home Affairs Select Committee, include:

• The UN should consider legalising drugs
• Hard-core addicts should be provided with places to practice their habit
• The state should prescribe heroin to addicts
• Ecstasy should be downgraded from Class A
• Radical options on Cannabis law should be considered

Visiting a drug users' drop-in centre in London run by Turning Point, Cameron today left the option open of providing legal "drug consumption rooms" - such as those in Switzerland:

"I certainly wouldn't rule them out because anything that helps get users off the streets and in touch with agencies that can provide treatment is worth looking at"

This coincides today with the publication of a report funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which concluded that "well-designed and well-implemented drug consumption rooms would have an impact on some of the serious drug-related problems experienced in the UK".

What that impact would be in the long-term is open to debate - "harm-reduction" policies do often help alleviate extreme "individual harm" but have a habit of spreading "general harm" across more people.

Deputy Editor

It's crime, stupid

Back on reshuffle day I speculated that Tony Blair was positioning the likes of Reid, Alan Johnson (who apparently impressed Labour backbenchers last night in his presentation of education policy) and Hazel Blears to stop a Brown premiership.  Yesterday, encouraged by other bloggers (here and here), I put £10 on John Reid becoming Labour's next leader yesterday, at odds of 8-1.  To stop Brown, however, Mr Reid has to deal with the crime-ridden inheritance that he has been bequeathed by his Home Office predecessors.  That inheritance is summarised in this morning's Sun as The 7 Deadly Sins...

In an open letter to John Reid in today's Telegraph, Michael Howard - the most successful Home Secretary of modern times - gives Mr Reid some advice on how to master his department.  More than anything else Mr Howard stresses the importance of hard work and long hours: "It means rolling up your sleeves and applying yourself to the unglamorous business of making sure that officials are doing what they are meant to do. A lot of it is rather boring. It can be a very hard grind. And it is not the stuff of tomorrow's headlines or eye-catching initiatives."

That reference to eye-catching initiatives is particularly important.  As the former Tory leader points out, Tony Blair's premiership is littered with eye-catching initiatives that were designed for the following day's newspapers but were never backed up by a serious implementation strategy.  Tony Blair, Michael Howard writes, "has never bothered to understand or apply himself to the serious business of government - or "process", as he dismissively labels it. But "process" is how things get done."  I don't know if there is already a law that captures this importance of "process" but there should be.  Politicians love to be associated with new initiatives but change to an organisation is always hugely disruptive.  The projected benefits of any change must clearly outweigh the costs associated with that disruption.  A good rule of thumb (if it doesn't make me sound too much like Sir Humphry Appleby) is to exhaust ways of making an inadequate system work better before overhauling/ replacing that system.

Reading Michael Howard's latest intervention reminds me of one of the great things that currently characterises the Tory position: UNITY.  According to an ICM poll for BBC on local elections night, more voters (64%) think Labour divided than think Tories are divided (48%).  Unity is one of the three points of the iron triangle of political success.  David Cameron is in the hugely fortunate position of having his three predecessors inside his tent pissing out.  A Tory leader hasn't been in such a good position for many years.

Returning to crime... the popular focus on Labour's Home Office shambles coincides with the launch of The Urban Crime Rankings by the Reform think tank.  A BBC news report lists Britain's top seven crime blackspots:

• Vehicle crime: Nottingham
• Rape: Portsmouth
• Assault: Leicester
• Burglary: Stockport
• Robbery: Manchester
• Gun crime: Bradford
• Murder: Nottingham

If anyone at CCHQ is reading this post I'd suggest those locations were some good places to launch some hard-hitting campaigns on crime (and a northern fightback?).

Liam Fox: A strategy for keeping the lights on

Liam Fox, Shadow Defence Secretary, has given a 'big picture' speech this morning on energy security and the way Britain's defence capacity must underpin that security ('Over_A_Barrel'_speech.pdf).  Key sections of the speech are quoted below:

Labour's financial starvation of Britain's armed forces: "This year we will spend only 2.2% of our GDP on defence – the lowest proportion of our national wealth contributed to security since 1930."  Related link: The whole British army will be able to fit in the new Wembley stadium.

The three underpinnings of long-term energy security: "We are all competing for the same natural resources to feed the economic system. The potential for terrorists or even nation states to interrupt this supply to cause widespread – rather than just local – disruption increases enormously... In the years ahead energy security, economic security and national security will be inextricably linked. If we want to ensure that we can keep the lights on in Britain then we need to develop a comprehensive energy strategy. It is simply a matter of risk management. Such a strategy will need to have three components: diversity in the type of fuels we use; diversity in the geographical sources of those fuels and the security structures that will guarantee the safe transport of these fuels."