ConservativeHome's ToryDiary

Rifkind: Unless we address the West Lothian Question the United Kingdom is in great danger

At the Centre for Policy Studies yesterday evening Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP gave an unscripted address entitled The Unfinished Business of Devolution.  In his wide-ranging remarks he explained why his proposal for an English Grand Committee was superior to that reported to be Ken Clarke's preferred answer to the so-called West Lothian Question.  His key messages (not verbatim) are summarised below:

It is wrong to see this as Scotland V England.  The "unfinished business of devolution" is more complex than that.  Wales and Northern Ireland MPs also have an ability to vote on laws that only apply to the English.  When it comes to reviewing the Barnett formula it is important that it is not portrayed as providing justice for England as against Scotland.  There should be a more sensitive analysis of how different parts of Scotland and different parts of England need to be treated differently than now.  Sir Malcolm contended that, in some respects, the Home Counties have more in common with Edinburgh and Liverpool has more in common with Glasgow.

Devolution has changed a lot but far from everything. At least half of what is relevant to Scotland is still determined by the UK Parliament.  Public expenditure, social security, foreign policy, EU policy and immigration are still determined at Westminster.  What is more: the UK is not a federal state but power has been devolved - meaning that the Westminster parliament can at any time, in extremis, over-rule Cardiff, Edinburgh or Belfast - or even revoke devolution completely.

Scotland and Wales are not moving remorselessly to independence.  Every poll showed that support for independence was in the minority and relatively flat.  The SNP are a minority government in Scotland - outnumbered by unionist parties.  Scots voted SNP for a variety of reasons last year and in the same way many opponents of the euro voted for Tony Blair in 1997, many opponents of independence voted for the SNP.  Alex Salmond knows that his best hope for independence is a breakdown in English-Scottish relations.  That is why he opposes proposals like an English Grand Committee because such proposals tackle the injustices that, unmitigated, could eventually produce a breakdown.

Unthinking environmentalism costs taxpayers, costs jobs and costs lives

Great work by Tory Treasury spokesman Justine Greening has exposed the uselessness of Alistair Darling's 'green tax hike' on cars.  Her work has produced the main story in this morning's Telegraph:

"The "green levy" on motorists announced in Alistair Darling's first Budget will double car tax revenue to £4 billion but reduce vehicle emissions by less than one per cent, Treasury figures have showed... Justine Greening, a shadow Treasury minister who obtained the figures, said last night: "This is a massive tax hike which will have virtually no impact on the environment. Despite their claims, the Government don't expect this move to change behaviour at all - it is just another eco-stealth tax of the worst kind.""

The TaxPayer's Alliance's Matt Sinclair has already shown that we pay more than enough taxes to pay for our carbon footprint.  We need to be on high alert for more and more 'green action' that ends up costing taxpayers, costing jobs and - worst of all - costing lives.

Environmentalists have a history of putting their views before the interests of people in the developing world.  Attempts to ban DDT, for example, have only caused malaria infection problems to worsen.  Only this week the founder of Greenpeace explained why he left the organisation because of its anti-science biases.

The biggest side-effect of today's environmentalism has been the impact on food prices (again see Matt Sinclair).  Although far from the whole explanation for food price hikes Mary Riddell in The Telegraph notes how the current craze for biofuels is raising serious ethical questions:

"Filling a 4x4 fuel tank with ethanol uses enough maize to feed a human for a year. The EU quotas are a death sentence, and Brown should say so."

This week's Economist notes how higher food prices are hurting the world's poorest people:

"Famine traditionally means mass starvation. The measures of today's crisis are misery and malnutrition. The middle classes in poor countries are giving up health care and cutting out meat so they can eat three meals a day. The middling poor, those on $2 a day, are pulling children from school and cutting back on vegetables so they can still afford rice. Those on $1 a day are cutting back on meat, vegetables and one or two meals, so they can afford one bowl. The desperate—those on 50 cents a day—face disaster."

For those interested in these issues we recommend Nigel Lawson's new book - An Appeal to Reason - and also Iain Murray's new blog; The Really Inconvenient blog.  His new book exposes how liberal enthusiasms have hurt the environment and the poor.

Brown U-turns on 10p just minutes before PMQs

3.15pm: Watch Sky's highlights video and PoliticsHome's new insiders' verdict on PMQs has just been published

2pm: Once a regular feature on BBC Online; Nick Assinder's weekly PMQs sketch has returned... on PoliticsHome

EDITORIAL VERDICT: Clear win for David Cameron.  With more than 40 Labour MPs backing Frank Field's amendment - which he has now withdrawn - the PM was facing certain defeat next week.  And, as David Cameron suggested, he retreated from a confrontation with his MPs - as, last autumn, he retreated from having to face the voters.

Highlights, not verbatim (read from bottom up to):

12.15pm: Nick Clegg says that he thought penalising the poor to reward the rich was the Tories' job.  Why is the Prime Minister doing their job for them?  If the PM can't deliver on poverty what is the point of this increasingly pointless Prime Minister?  Brown responds with stats on child poverty and jobs created etc.

12.13pm: The Prime Minister says Labour is for opportunity for everyone.  The Tories are for opportunism all of the time.

12.09pm: David Cameron says that Brown's reputation will never recover.  With this Government it's all politics and never the national interest.  Under Labour there are 600,000 more people in extreme poverty.  The Prime Minister has lost authority.  The PM had to leave a meeting in the White House to beg a PPS not to resign from his Government.  [He then lists things that Labour politicians are saying about Brown.]  One Labour MP compares him to Porridge.  Another week and it will be Cheerios.  They are beginning to realise that they don't have a leader but a loser. 

12.07pm: Gordon Brown does not answer the question but says that the choice is between a Labour Government that will cut poverty and a Conservative Party that doesn't care about issues like tax credits and the minimum wage.

12.05pm: We were told, says Cameron that there would be no backdown, no rewriting of the Budget, no concessions and now we've had a backdown, rewriting and concessions.  Did he go to "panic stations" because he knew he'd lose next week's vote, just as he cancelled the autumn General Election because he knew he'd lose that, too?

12.04pm: David Cameron rises to his feet and says this session should be called Prime Minister's U-turns, not Prime Minister's Question Time.  He then pays tribute to Gwyneth Dunwoody.  She'll be sorely missed.

12.01pm: Labour MP Louise Ellman invites Gordon Brown to compensate 10p tax victims. The PM promises to find ways of helping 60 to 64 year-olds and young and part-time workers who may have been hurt by the band's abolition. 

11.45am: Facing almost certain defeat the Government has undertaken a partial u-turn on the 10p tax band - promising backdated compensation for young and old people.  This will undoubtedly introduce even more complexity into an already complex system.

Headcases

We've just added Headcases' portrayal of Nick Clegg to the PlayPolitical website.  Click here to watch the portrayals of Clegg, Cameron and Brown.  In summary: Cameron is mocked as aloof, Clegg as childish and
Brown as very boring.

Headcases broadcasts on Sunday at 10pm on ITV1.

The taxpayer gives £1.75bn extra to politics and the politicians still want more

A report from Policy Exchange has calculated that new allowances and subsidies for politics - that have grown up over recent decades - costthe taxpayer £1.75bn over the course of a five year Parliament.

'Paying for the party' by Dr Michael Pinto-Duschinsky of Brunel University identifies three kinds of taxpayer subsidy to political parties:

• Direct financial payments from the State to the parties, not least Short money.
• Subsidies-in-kind (such as free party political broadcasts) and
• Indirect subsidies (such as MPs’ allowances).

Dr Pinto-Duschinsky lists some of the key costs:

• "By 2006-07, local councillors in Britain were receiving over £216million in salaries and allowances;
• The allowances of Members of Parliament amounted to £87.6 million;
• Allowances to of members of the House of Lords came to £17.7million;
• The cost of special advisers to the UK Government was £5.9 million in 2006-7;
• An estimated £6 million went to political assistants to party groups on local councils in England; Healthy additional sums were spent on allowances to members of the regional assemblies and of the European Parliament."

Unfortunately none of Britain's mainstream political parties want to make serious cuts in the state funding of politics although the Conservatives want to axe the much-abused Communications Allowance.  David Cameron has argued for extra direct subsidy in return for a £50,000 cap on large donations and a reduction in the number of MPs.

Related link: Douglas Carswell MP's reaction to the report

9.30am: Francis Maude has just issued this response to the PX report: "This research demolishes the Labour argument that rigid state controls should be placed on local campaigning. Given the massive increase in backdoor state funding under Labour through the likes of the Communications Allowance, there can be no case in the taxpayer having to fork out even more money purely to prevent the Labour Party going bankrupt.  Any reform of party funding must clean up politics and end the big donor culture. Given the succession of funding scandals under the Labour Government, there is a strong case for a comprehensive cap on donations - covering individuals, companies and trade unions. It is unfortunate that the Labour Party are the roadblock to reform, due to their unwillingness to end their murky funding from trade union barons."

Number Ten to fly flag of St George's tomorrow...

...alongside the Union Jack.

The Guardian has the story:

"Brown will also fly the Scottish saltire on St Andrew's Day and the Welsh dragon on St David's Day. Northern Ireland does not have an official national flag to fly on St Patrick's Day.  The move follows a review of flag-flying practices ordered by Brown when he became prime minister..."

And this bit's great:

"Downing Street said that, in accordance with protocol, the union flag would fly on the "superior" pole, deemed to be the one closest to Buckingham Palace."

What we'd rather have, Mr Brown, is an answer to the West Lothian Question or a fairer funding deal for England.

Another unfortunate Whitehall logo

First Labour brought us the swastika logo and now this, designed for the Office of Government Communications:

A quick 90' clockwise rotation shows you the problem.

Hat-tip to The Register.

The NUT won't be a Conservative government's only 'enemy within'

Until recently George Bridges was one of David Cameron's principal advisers.  On the eve of the NUT strike and shortly after their recent conference when, yet again, they adopted extremist positions, George Bridges has described Britain's leading teachers' union as "the enemy within":

"Politics, not education, drives many in the NUT. Just like Arthur Scargill, some of its activists appear to care more about class war than class discipline.  How they loved this year's conference - "one of the most Left-wing ever", gloated Socialist Worker.  The high point: a debate on whether to ban military recruitment in schools. The resolution called for "peace to be embedded in the curriculum", and a summit of teachers "including the Stop the War Coalition" to advise on military recruitment.  If we are to raise standards in education, we have to break the NUT's grip on schools.  The union is already mobilising to fight the Government's academies programme, because it is "an attempt to restructure state education along 'market' principles"."

George Bridges sets out a four point plan for overcoming the NUT - including making the important distinction that any conflict is with NUT extremists - not teachers in general.  The public sector unions have grown fat under Labour.  George is right to identify them as a serious opponent of the reforms that are necessary for improving education although David Cameron would be wise to avoid anything like the language used in this article.  David Cameron will, however, need a strategy for tackling the likely enemies of a Tory government.  The NUT won't be the only foe.  Labour may well be weak in the early months/ years of a Conservative government but leading the opposition will be the quangoes stuffed, over ten years, with Labour appointees and the Welsh and Scottish political classes.

Read George Bridge's full article.

Villiers criticises BAA's "monopolistic grip" on airports

Shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers has commented today on competition in the airport market, following a Competition Commission report on the issue:

"BAA’s monopolistic grip of so many of the UK's major airports has not been serving passengers or airlines well – as can be seen from the debacle at Terminal Five and the yearly Heathrow hassle during the summer months.

The Competition Commission’s thinking looks like a step in the right direction. Tough action is needed to inject much needed competition into the airport market and to give consumers and airlines the option of voting with their feet if the service they receive is poor."

BAA’s seven airports together account for over 60% of all passengers using
UK airports, including a near monopoly in the South East and Scotland. The Commission criticised a number of aspects of BAA's ownership of the airports for not serving the interests of either airlines or passengers.

Can the Courts force politicians to keep their promises?

Getting underway just about now in Court 3 of the Royal Courts of Justice is Stuart Wheeler's case to force the Government to give the British people the referendum on Lisbon that our politicians promised but Parliament rejected.

Stuart Wheeler:

"I believe that there is an overwhelming moral case for a referendum on whether the UK should ratify the Lisbon Treaty because: (1) The Labour Party, as well as all major parties, promised a referendum and they should keep that promise and (2) The contents of the Treaty change our constitution so fundamentally that, irrespective of whether one is for or against ratification, one should be allowed a vote.

Fortunately there is a legal, as well as a moral, basis for demanding a referendum and I have instituted proceedings against the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary, in which I seek a judicial review and a declaration that the refusal to hold a referendum is unlawful."

Bob Spink becomes UKIP's only MP

Just a short while after he lost the Tory whip, Bob Spink has decided to join UKIP.

Mr Spink told The Telegraph:

"I am delighted to join the Ukip team, helping to fight for Britain's interests in Europe and for better policy on the issues that really matter to people. I have been increasingly disappointed with the Tory Party's failure to be honest with the public on a wide range of issues like pensions, crime, immigration and defence. "Dishonesty over the EU constitution is the Tories' greatest failure.  They heap criticism on other parties, but refuse to remove the constitution if they ever get power.  The public see this as opportunistic and hypocritical, but sadly, it is typical of Westminster politics.  It is little wonder the public hold politicians in such contempt."

Some predicted that Mr Spink would join UKIP but he initially denied it.  At 11.14am on 17th March Bob Spink left this comment on ConservativeHome:

"I am a principled Conservative and intend to stand as that at the next election.  I can be more influential as an Independent Tory, pushing for stronger policy on pensions, Europe, crime and immigration, and against corruption and bad local planning decisions and I will redouble my fight for local infrastructure and for Castle Point people... no change there then!"

Mr Spink also spoke on Radio 4's Today programme earlier today.

11am: Jim McConalogue on CentreRight congratulates Bob Spink on his defection.

Voters prefer Darling to Osborne in ICM poll

The latest ICM poll for tomorrow's Guardian puts the Conservatives 5% ahead; a much smaller lead than has been suggested in other recent polls.

Although just 26% of voters think that Alistair Darling is the best Chancellor of the contenders from the three main parties - that's better than George Osborne.  20% of voters pick Mr Osborne and despite insiders' esteem for Vince Cable, the LibDems' Treasury spokesman is on just 13%.

David Cameron, in contrast, has established a clear lead over Gordon Brown as preferred Prime Minister.  He leads Mr Brown by 37% to 29%.  Nick Clegg is best PM in the minds of 8% of ICM respondents.

Ken Clarke to recommend that MPs from Scotland and Wales should retain final say on English laws

Philip Johnston writing for The Telegraph suggests that Ken Clarke's Democracy Taskforce hasn't only, as expected, rejected an English Parliament but it has also rejected Sir Malcolm Rifkind's plan for English Votes for English Laws.

What will emerge from the Taskforce, Johnston predicts, is "a compromise" that will retain a final say on laws that only affect England for MPs from non-English constituencies.  MPs from English seats will have an exclusive right of amendment but nothing more:

"It is a compromise between those who want English votes for English laws and those who would leave things be.  Legislation affecting only England, an education Bill, for instance, would receive a second reading by the entire Commons; but its committee stage, where the measure is subjected to line-by-line scrutiny and can be amended, would be for English MPs only.  When the Bill came back to the Commons for its report stage and third reading, all MPs would again have a vote. But the Government would be bound to accept amendments agreed by the committee, or risk losing the legislation."

At the end of last year there was Scottish Tory relief when David Cameron appeared to emphasise "Unionism" rather than Englishness.

Related link: On today's frontpage there are links relating to Alex Salmond's ambitions for the SNP to hold the balance of power after the next General Election.

David Cameron launches campaign to save 1,600 GP surgeries

The 10p tax band and post office closures are the two trickiest issues for Labour on the doorsteps at the moment.  David Cameron aims to add a third today with a warning that 1,600 GP surgeries are under threat from Government plans to create a national network of "polyclinics".

The Government believes that the wider range of services that "polyclinics" will provide - including pharmacy and diagnostic services - as well as longer hours will compensate for any decline in the number of local surgeries.

Speaking to the King's Fund Mr Cameron will say: "Communities which have lost their post office, their local shops and their local police station, are now going to lose their doctor."  See Telegraph report.

Related link: Julia Manning's campaign to 'Give GPs a break'

3.15pm: John Crippen on CentreRight - Polyclinics - supermarket medicine for the poor

Are the Conservatives planning a £700m rescue package for the 10p tax victims?

It's notable that George Osborne on BBC1's Andrew Marr programme and David Cameron on Radio 4's World at One both mentioned that it would cost £700m to combat the worst effects of Labour's abolition of the 10p tax band.  Up until now the Conservatives have avoided getting into any debate about what they would do to help the low income families clobbered by Gordon Brown's 2007 Budget changes.

Before today the Tory leadership has simply concentrated on attacking Labour.  George Osborne (on Marr) accused Labour of losing its moral compass and David Cameron (on TWTW) talked of a "premeditated attack" on low income Britons.  The attacks are now being complemented by mention of this £700m figure, however.  With Parliament returning this week and discussions underway about how the Conservatives might work with rebels like Frank Field to force the Government to review policy, we may be on the verge of a Tory plan to do something positive for some of the poorest members of society.  Now that really would be something to celebrate...

How should David Cameron target "Tony's Tories"?

Melissa Kite identifies this new 'Tony's Tories' group of target voters in The Sunday Telegraph.  CCHQ wants to woo the three million 29 to 40 year-olds who voted for Tony Blair but haven't taken to Gordon Brown:

"A senior Tory strategist explained: "People think of winning back votes we lost in '97 but that's an outdated approach - we need new Tories. We need a large number of people who have never voted Conservative. We need around three million first-time Tory voters." The strategy goes a long way to explaining why Mr Cameron has repeatedly dismissed the idea of promising tax cuts as a vote winner. Strategists point out that the thirtysomethings they hope to convert have never voted for a politician in return for a tax-cutting pledge and are unlikely to start now. Their concerns are more likely to be housing, transport, the environment, crime, education and the NHS. Much of the current mood music of Tory campaigning is aimed at people in their 30s.The words "change" and "new" are used repeatedly by Mr Cameron and other frontbenchers to convince them that this is a different party from the one they rejected in the late Nineties."

In the same newspaper, however, Professor John Curtice writes that a small government message may be exactly what these voters want:

"There is some reason to believe that this 'New Labour generation' might be particularly sympathetic ideologically to the Conservative message.  Over the last ten years public opinion in Britain as a whole has become less keen on big government and attempts to create greater equality - and the attitudes of younger people particularly reflect this change of mood.  For example, according to the British Social Attitudes survey, just 39 per cent of those aged under 35 believe the government should spend more on things like health and education and put up taxes if necessary to pay for it.  In contrast just over half (51 per cent) of those aged 55 and over take that view.  Equally, just 26 per cent of younger people think the government should spend more on welfare benefits for the poor at the cost of putting taxes up, compared with 47 per cent of those aged over 55.  The 'New Labour generation' wants to be able to want to get government off its back and so be free to 'get on'."

PS We've crossed swords with Melissa Kite before on reshuffles and don't particularly want to revisit all of that but her article today warns that Oliver Heald might be demoted.  For the record: Mr Heald went to the backbenches a year ago.

Populus put Labour in double-digit deficit for the first time

The Sunday Mirror has a Populus poll, conducted on Wednesday and Thursday, that puts Labour a full ten points behind the Conservatives for the first time.

From The Sunday Mirror: "Just 29 per cent believe Mr Brown is the best man to steer us through the crisis, compared with 31 per cent for Mr Cameron."

Best Book: Peter Oborne's book The Triumph of the Political Class

Peter Oborne's acclaimed The Triumph of the Political Class was voted by readers of ConservativeHome as their best book for 2007/08.

Building on The Rise of Political Lying, it is a devastating critique of the British political establishment as an isolated and self-interested elite that has little real experience outside of politics and is more interested in political branding and tactics than policy substance or ideology.

You can order it online here.  You can read an excerpt here.

The other two worthy books shortlisted for this award were Wasting Police Time by the blogger PC David Copperfield, and Scared To Death by Christopher Booker and Richard North.

* More than 8000 people voted on the 2008 ConservativeHome Movement Awards. The previous award announced was writer of the year, which went to Fraser Nelson.

Call for papers on the Conservative Party

As the Conservative Party continues to make progress corporate affairs companies are increasingly hiring Conservatives, world leaders are increasingly keen to meet with the Conservative Party leadership, and academics are devoting more time to studying the Party and its beliefs.

In light of that, Professor Phillip Cowley, Dr Andrew Denham, Dr Steven Fielding and Dr Tim Bale are organising a one-day conference in Nottingham at the end of the year (Dec 12th) to discuss "how likely is a Conservative victory at the next election and how 'Conservative' is Cameron's party?".

They are interested in papers dealing with any aspect of the party's development, but especially those that place developments within the party in a comparative and historical perspective and those touching on the following themes: Ideology, Electoral strategy, Campaigning, Europe, National Identity and the Constitution, The Market and Social Justice, America and the War on Terror, Party cohesion and division, Financing, and Feminisation.

Paper proposals - a title, details of authors, along with a paragraph description - should be submitted by 1st September 2008 to Steven Fielding (Director, Centre for British Politics): [email protected].

Gwyneth Dunwoody has died

Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody has died.  She will be missed by all sides of the House.  She was the longest-serving female MP and fiercely proud of her Labour identity but also her independence of her party's leadership.  She was often a strong critic of Tony Blair and Mr Blair suffered his biggest-ever rebellion when he tried to end her chairmanship of the Commons' Transport Select Committee.

Lots of politicians have paid tribute to Ms Dunwoody but her son's words are most powerful:

"She defended people who didn't have anyone else to defend them."

She created many headaches for Labour during her life and her death creates a new one for Mr Brown.  Her Crewe and Nantwich seat has a projected majority of 7,494 over the Conservatives.   That's a majority that would probably be too much of an ask at a General Election but in current circumstances the seat may be vulnerable.  During Blair's rise in the 1990s Labour was certainly overturning larger Conservative majorities.

In normal by-election procedures the Conservative Party would intensively manage a selection process but our candidate is already in place; Edward Timpson of the shoe family has been in place for nearly a year.

9.45am: Commenting on the death of Gwyneth Dunwoody David Cameron, Leader of the Conservative Party, said: “I was saddened to hear about the death of Gwyneth Dunwoody. She was courageous in her political beliefs and an inspiration to many. Her defiance and willingness to stand up to the establishment was truly admirable. She will be a sad loss to the House of Commons.”

11.30am: Tribute from David Lidington MP

2.15pm: Nadine Dorries MP's tribute

Ministerial aide resigns over 10p band

Laura Kuenssberg (above) has just broken the news on BBC 24.

We understand there is a sweepstake amongst senior Conservatives as when the first minister would resign after 1st May.  It's come earlier than anyone thought.

5.50pm: The Sheffield Hillsboro Angela Smith has quit - not the Basildon Angela Smith.

6.10pm: Jonathan Isaby - "The BBC is reporting that Angela Smith is resigning as parliamentary private secretary to Yvette Cooper over the impending abolition of the 10p rate of income tax. A principled stance, some may say, but it would seem that she has taken over a year to find her principles. Gordon Brown announced the change in his final budget as Chancellor in March 2007, and this how the Sheffield Hillsborough MP reacted to that Budget on her website at the time: "Chancellor Gordon Brown today delivered a Budget for British families," she said. "This budget is good for Sheffield, good for the country and good for ordinary working families.”

7.45pm: George Osborne responds - "Gordon Brown’s government is unravelling by the hour. Yesterday, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said the Government needed to sharpen up its act. Today a senior Labour peer has, in his own words, stabbed the PM in the front, and now a member of the government is to resign because Gordon Brown’s tax con is hitting Britain’s poorest families. At a time of economic uncertainty, the public are now asking whether Gordon Brown has the authority to lead the country through difficult times."

9.15pm: After talking to Gordon Brown, Angela Smith has decided not to resign.

10pm: Statement from George Osborne: “The astonishing news that a member of the government and aide to a Treasury minister can publicly threaten to resign over Gordon Brown’s tax policy and yet remain in the government is evidence of how his authority is disintegrating.”

Fraser Nelson, ConservativeHome Writer of the Year, on David Cameron as Prime Minister of England

Another great column by Fraser Nelson in this week's Spectator and this seems to be a good time to announce that The Spectator's Political Editor is the Writer of the Year according to the more than 8,000 people who voted in ConservativeHome's 2007/08 movement awards.  Fraser beat The Telegraph's Jeff Randall and ConservativeHome's very own Graeme Archer.

Fraser's focus this week is the success with which Alex Salmond is progressing his plans for Scotland to become independent.  He paints a picture of a small Conservative majority that passes English votes for English laws and then focuses on passing laws that are only focused on England because on those issues David Cameron would have a much larger majority as Prime Minister of England than as Prime Minister of the UK.

"What would put rocket boosters under the issue," continues Fraser Nelson, "would be reform of England’s financial ties with Scotland. Government figures show a £13 billion annual subsidy from England to Scotland."  In the recent ConservativeHome survey of Tory members we asked: What should the next Conservative Government do with the Barnett formula that sees some transfer of taxpayers' money from England to Scotland?

Your answers were clear:

• Only 7% wanted it left as it is.
• 37% wanted to reduce the transfer.
• 49% wanted it eliminated.

The Tories, ahead in the polls, may not want to touch the issue but its potentially as potent as inheritance tax.  Voters respond best to action against unjust taxes.  By promising to phase out even half of the subsidy the Tories could say that they'll use the proceeds to pay for lower taxes on poorer workers - correcting, say, the injustice of the abolition of the 10p tax band.

PlayPolitical: English Democrats' London broadcast

What would you like to see happen to The Telegraph's Comment pages?

Many congratulations to Iain Martin.  Iain has been appointed the new 'Head of Comment and Community' at The Telegraph.  This involves responsibility for overseeing comment on the Daily and Sunday newspapers plus all of the community blogging.  He's a great guy and we wish him luck.  We certainly hope he prospers - there have been, we think, eight comment editors at The Telegraph in as many years (and the inconsistency has been very evident).

Iain Martin won't be short of advice over the coming weeks but let's use this thread to get the advice going.

The temptation will be to dumb down - like the rest of the newspaper.  Our principal hope would that that would be resisted.  We'd like to see The Telegraph's Comment pages become the home of British conservatism (note the small 'c').  They should be pages alive with discussion about reclaiming powers from Europe, how to improve our nation's schools, how to lower the tax burden and about distinctively conservative solutions to poverty.  They should be articles linked to campaigns.  The internet is dissolving the walls between what is a newspaper, a campaign organisation and a political party.  Let's see The Telegraph lead the way through those changes.  In short Telegraph Comment should play the role that The Wall Street Journal's 'Opinion Journal' has played for the American conservative movement.  For years The Telegraph was the Conservative Party's in-house journal.  With party politics in retreat and single issue politics growing, it should become the home of small 'c' conservative thinking.  Give the Barclay Brothers something to be proud of - a jewel in the crown of campaigning opinion journalism.

The thought-leaders of British conservatism should regularly populate the comment pages: David Green, Allister Heath, Jill Kirby, Douglas Murray, Ruth Lea included.

Use the Comment pages to engage with the culture wars.  Peter Whittle of the New Culture Forum would be perfect for that task.

Other advice to Iain: Please try and get Mark Steyn back and see if you can poach James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson from The Spectator.

In other media news: Jenny Scott is leaving The Daily Politics to become Head of Press at the Bank of England.

Darling: We're doomed if we don't sharpen our act

If you haven't seen Headcases' portrayal of Alistair Darling watch it here.  The Chancellor is seen running around the greyed out Gordon Brown shouting "we're doomed".

The real Mr Darling is in China and has just said this to Reuters:

"We have got to make sure that in other areas we sharpen ourselves up, that we have a clear message of what we are about."

George Osborne has leapt on the remarks as an "unprecedented attack" on Gordon Brown's government:

“Even Gordon Brown never criticised Tony Blair in public.  What started as anonymous briefings from backbenchers has now burst into the open with a public attack on Gordon Brown from the second most important person in the government. If the government is fighting itself, how can it fight for Britain?”

Saving small shops: Use 'em or lose 'em

David Cameron has welcomed the interim findings of the Party's Small Shops Commission:

"Small shops are the lifeblood of local economies and provide a lifeline to local residents – and their survival is vital. The problem today is that the Government doesn’t seem to care. The rising burden of tax and regulation is forcing many of our local shops into the ground. And Labour now intend to remove the ‘needs test’ from planning rules. This was crucial in safeguarding local shops, as it forced out-of-town shopping developments to show there was a real need for them in the area. With this gone, local shops will come under even more pressure.

We need less of Labour-controlled Hackney council, who sold off the freeholds on many of the much-loved local shops and cafes in Broadway Market to property developers. And more of Conservative-controlled Wandsworth Council, which took a landmark decision to support shops in Northcote Road near Clapham Junction after several long-established businesses were forced out.

It really is that simple when it comes to local shops: use them or lose them. If we care about our communities, and the local, independent retailers that give them their character, then it's our responsibility to support them - not just by signing petitions and joining campaigns, but with our cash."

Click here to download the Disappearing Britain report.

Update: WebCameron now has a video of Cameron meeting the organisers of WedgeCard...