ConservativeHome

Saturday 4th July 2009

9.15am Local Government: Should council sue parents who lie to get their children into good school?

ToryDiary: CSJ report to provide "Tory blueprint for the family"

Ian Loader on Platform: Why penal reform should be a Conservative issue

Seats and Candidates: David Cameron direct mails every Norwich North voter

Graeme Archer on CentreRight: "The civility of the swimming pool depends on the unspoken assumption that no one individual will seek to dominate any lane. By looking out for the swimmer in front of me, if he or she does the same, the whole pool benefits and my own interests prosper more than they would in a more selfish pool." How multiple, overlapping, horizontal identities maximise freedom of choice for individuals, who define themselves by the actions they choose for themselves.

WATCH: Sarah Palin announces her decision to resign as Governor of Alaska

Homophobia claim stokes war of words between the Tories and Labour

"A furious political row over homophobia intensified last night when the Conservatives accused two openly gay ministers of “stirring up hatred and division” after they claimed that many Tory MPs were homophobic... The Conservatives are keen to stress that their prospective election candidates include a number of gay people, including the party’s vice-chairman, Margot James, and that the next generation of Tory MPs will be more socially liberal. In a survey of 144 prospective parliamentary candidates in winnable seats for the ConservativeHome website, 62 per cent said that same-sex couples should be given the same benefits as married couples, while 31 per cent disagreed." - The Times

"I don't really care whether there will ever be a gay Prime Minister or which party they will be from. For all I know, we may have already had one. I do know that I am now thoroughly bored with writing on this subject. Which proves being gay is now accepted as normal – even by the homophobes. So let's cancel Gay Pride and "move on".- Michael Brown writing in The Independent

Alan Duncan calls Labour's homophobia accusations "a sick scare story" - Pink News

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Gay Labour vs Gay Conservatism

> Yesterday's post detailing the results of ConservativeHome's survey of candidates

Government and Opposition both plan "bonfire of quangos"

"The Treasury has called for a crackdown on quangos, which are costing taxpayers billions each year... David Cameron is also expected to announce his own “bonfire of the quangos” in a speech on Monday. “Taxpayers need to be sure they are getting value for money,” said a Conservative spokesman. “David Cameron has made it clear that he thinks there are too many of these non-accountable organisations.”   - The Times

Osborne defends Conservative stance on private equity

"George Osborne last night hit back at accusations that the Conservatives will come down hard on private equity firms if they win the next election.  The Shadow Chancellor told the Mail it was never his intention to phase out the UK's favourable tax treatment of debt - the bedrock of the buyout industry. 'We are not considering the abolition of tax relief on debt interest. This is not our policy and it has never been our policy,' Osborne said." - Daily Mail

Grayling highlights "wholly inadequate" visa checks

"Officials are spending an average of just 11 minutes checking visa applications from Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Tories have claimed. The introduction of a new system for handling visas means only 11 entry clearance officers have processed more than 66,000 requests over seven months amounting to 43 applications each every day - or one every 11 minutes, the party said. Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said the revelations showed the system was "wholly inadequate" but the Home Office said the calculations were "totally wrong". - Press Association

Hague condemns Iranian treatment of British embassy staff

"Iranian employees of the British Embassy in Tehran face the prospect of a show trial after the regime said that they had admitted conspiring against the Islamic Republic... The British Government said that the charges against the arrested local staff were “wholly without foundation” and William Hague, the shadow Foreign Secretary, called a show trial of British embassy staff in Tehran "utterly unacceptable".  - The Times

Lieutenant-Colonel's death reignites equipment row

"The death of the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards has reignited the row over the lack of vital military equipment for British troops in Afghanistan. The Government has been accused of providing too few transport helicopters, forcing soldiers to travel by road, the main target of Taleban attacks... Liam Fox, the Shadow Defence Secretary, blamed the lack of helicopters on Mr Brown’s refusal to supply adequate funds for the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan when he was Chancellor. “Gordon Brown denied the Armed Forces the funds they needed,” he said." - The Times

Matthew Parris: Victory is impossible in Afghanistan - The Times

The Telegraph accuses Alan Duncan over mortgage claims

"Alan Duncan, a senior Conservative MP, has claimed tens of thousands of pounds in mortgage interest on his designated second home – even though he had owned the property outright for more than a decade, The Daily Telegraph can disclose... Last night, the shadow minister admitted that he had switched the mortgage on his London home to the Rutland property in 2004. However, he explained that he had taken out a loan against his million-pound London town house to purchase the Rutland house in 1992." - Daily Telegraph

Tory peer hits back over expenses "smear"

"A Tory peer referred to the police over expenses says it is part of a campaign of "attacks and innuendo" by an MP. Lord Hanningfield claimed the unnamed MP was determined to "blacken my name" over education policy in Essex, where the peer is council leader." - BBC

Former MP Archie Norman on businessmen in politics

"Politics can be exasperating. It is very different from business. My timing was not ideal, but you have to take the time God gives you and make the most of it. I would encourage people with a background in business to enter public life, but also to recognise that it is a different world requiring different talents. You can't just swan in and carry on as you would in the outside world... I would like to think if I was still in politics I could be a member of the shadow cabinet today, but my time as an elected politician is over" - Archie Norman interviewed in the Daily Telegraph

Ex-Mitterand adviser claims Thatcher was defeated at Fontainebleau

"Margaret Thatcher's famous budget rebate "victory" in Europe 25 years ago was actually a defeat which left her broken and in tears, it has been claimed. French economist Jacques Attali was a senior adviser to President Francois Mitterrand when Prime Minister Thatcher demanded "my money back" at an EU summit in Fontainebleau in 1984. Now 65, he says she lost the rebate battle because she had to accept only half of her "embarrassing" demands." - Press Association

Tories must prove they can be trusted with power

"The Opposition still has an electoral mountain to climb if it is to win power outright. It is by no means certain that the peak will be scaled. The public needs a clearer idea of the instincts and values that the Conservatives will bring to office. The party has been sound recently on the need for tough controls over spending and has made promising noises about the prospect of lower taxes. Yet it is not that long since David Cameron and George Osborne were talking about "sharing the proceeds of growth" and matching Labour's spending plans. " - Daily Telegraph editorial

Anne McElvoy: The Tories swing north

"Hazel Blears insists that there is no real Tory "empathy or understanding" with the north and that it is more resistant to a revival of Conservatism because of the long memories of 1980s hardship. But that isn't borne out by Ipsos-Mori's aggregated regional research, which we analysed for the programme. It shows the Conservatives outpolling Labour even more in the north-west than nationwide. So while Blears should hang on to her Salford fiefdom, neighbouring seats are much more endangered." - Anne McElvoy in The Guardian

Andrew Grice: Tories fear "scorched earth" policy by Government

"An incoming Tory government would hold a wide-ranging defence and national security review but senior Tories fear it could be pre-empted by defence contracts signed before the election. Ministers won't tell them what's going on. Similarly, the Tories fear ministers might approve huge IT contracts, for, among others, the police and the Flexible New Deal for the jobless, that might be virtually impossible to unstitch. The Tories are convinced they can save billions by switching from top-down super-computers to smaller but compatible networks." - Andrew Grice in The Independent

Labour may raise NI contributions to fund care homes - Independent

How Sarah Brown is raising her profile via Twitter - Guardian

Tony Blair appears in public with a black eye - The Sun

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Friday 3rd July 2009

5pm Seats and candidates: Another classic misleading Liberal Democrat bar chart

4.30pm Local Government: Another Council byelection result

4.15pm Jim McConalogue on CentreRight: Bill Cash receives overwhelming support

3.30pm Dr Patrick Nolan on CentreRight: Funding future care requires individual responsibility

1.15pm ToryDiary: Gay Labour Vs Gay Conservatism

11.45am Charlie Elphicke and CentreRight: Correcting years of anti motorist policies

11am Local Government: Council byelection result

ToryDiary: Michael Gove insists teachers "must be better"

Damian Hinds on Platform: Forget ID cards - it's the National Identity Register we have to worry about

CONHOME'S SURVEY OF 144 TORY PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATES

Seats and candidates: Pro-nuclear, gay friendly, barely Unionist, very Eurosceptic... meet the next generation of Tory MPs

Local government: Cameron calls on councils to be more transparent

Parliament:

• John Bercow breaks his own rule by leaking announcement to media before making it to the Commons
• Alan Duncan accused of "bad taste" after suggesting Gordon Brown vandalises despatch box

WATCH:

• Cameron is a bit of a lefty... says England's former number one tennis star
  
• Uncomfortable Brown sings 'Old Macdonald had a farm'

Tories set to revive part-sale of Royal Mail - FT

Cameron: Cutting now will reduce later pain

"David Cameron has urged the government to start making budget savings now to ease the pain of what he said were inevitable deep spending cuts later. The Tory leader said: "I do think that one of the ways to avoid very deep cuts in the future is to make a start now. I do think it is wrong to be going into 2010 with actually quite aggressive spending increases for 2010 when we should be starting to make savings now."" - The Herald

The Tories need to find the bottle to cut public spending says Lord Lawson - City AM

Cameron urges councils to be more transparent

"David Cameron has told council leaders they need to be more open about how they spend public money, urging a "new era of Google government". Councils should publish details of spending on items as small as £500 to inform the public and identify future savings, the Conservative leader said." - BBC | Express

David Cameron has reiterated his demand that councils are given a general power of competence - Local Government Chronicle

Is the Conservative party planning to revolutionise the corporate tax system, when it comes into power?

"Yes, definitely... maybe" says The Telegraph's Tracy Corrigan

The Guardian (with zero acknowledgment) and The Independent report on ConHome's exclusive about an Osborne/Cameron HQ in Downing Street

"The creation of a Downing St HQ would mean that George Osborne, the shadow Chancellor, would break from tradition and be freed from the confines of the Treasury in order to retain his influence over the party, which he currently wields from his office two doors down from his leader, in parliament's Norman Shaw South building... Mr Osborne's involvement at the heart of the party's strategic planning has meant that Philip Hammond, the shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has been handed much of the number crunching, searching for areas in which money can be saved and the inevitable spending cuts will have to come." - Independent

"In a sign of the influence of Barack Obama on Tory thinking, a mini "West Wing" would be created in Downing Street which would see Cameron work alongside George Osborne, his closest ally. Osborne would, as expected, be appointed chancellor, giving him a base in the Treasury. But he would spend much of his time in a remodelled version of Gordon Brown's war room in No 12 Downing Street – which would be given a different name – as he and Cameron work to ensure there is no repeat of the tensions which bedevilled Blair's time in office." - Guardian

> Sunday's ToryDiary: Cameron considers joint Downing Street HQ with Osborne

George Osborne faces probe into his use of the parliamentary second homes allowance - FT

> On his Telegraph blog Ben Brogan sees the complaint against Osborne as "political" and suggests Tories will target senior Labour figures next: "The truce that appeared to be preventing this kind of political stunt is well and truly off."

Police investigate Tory peer, Lord Hanningfield (Leader of Essex Council), over £100,000 expenses - Independent

Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw has said "a deep strain of homophobia still exists on the Conservative benches" - BBC

Cheers ring out as David Cameron lays Tory history of homophobia to rest - Andrew Pierce in The Telegraph

> Wednesday's ToryDiary: Gay campaigners can be proud of their achievements says Cameron

The new Conservatism can create a capitalism that works for the poor - Philip Blond in The Guardian

Gordon Brown has criticised "crude" personal attacks in politics - BBC

Darling issues warning to bankers about return to bonus culture - BBC

"There is nothing wrong about bonuses per se; it makes sense to compensate people through a mix of a base salary and a performance-related component. Incentivising staff is a good thing; and there is nothing better than pecuniary incentives. A blanket ban on banking bonuses would merely lead to an exodus of talent to smaller boutiques and hedge funds; a total ban on UK bonuses would kill London and send our best and brightest to other, more enlightened jurisdictions. But bonuses must be structured correctly: they shouldn’t be paid out today for investments that turn out disastrously in a year’s time; clawback mechanisms need to be available." - Allister Heath in City AM

Freedom of information regulator accused of excessive delays - Guardian

"A shocking 72,000 patients a year are being killed by safety blunders in the NHS" - The Sun

The age when the powerful can act unilaterally is over - Paddy Ashdown in The Independent

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Thursday 2nd July 2009

5pm Matt Sinclair on CentreRight: Tory transport policy goes up in fiscal smoke

11.45am ToryDiary: Should Mr Osborne be preparing a campaign to expose Brown's secret tax rises agenda?

10.15am CentreRight:

• Charlie Elphicke defends George Osborne against an attack from The Telegraph on corporate taxation
• "You literally can’t find a journalist to say that Brown isn’t lying when he says spending will rise."

ToryDiary: A patriotic plea to David Cameron

James Cleverly on Platform: How we are working to reduce youth offending rates in London

Local government: Is Surrey Council socialist?

Nigel Fletcher on Parliament: Why George Osborne has been barred from seeing the government spending database - and why future Oppositions (of all political hues) must be given access to it

Also on Parliament: John Bercow and Theresa Villiers blast Government after Commons is last to hear of nationalisation of East Coast Rail Franchise

Melanchthon on CentreRight is not prepared to apologise for Section 28: "It's not the job of the state to promote alternative lifestyles, and that is what Section 28 says local authorities must not do (and it is all that Section 28 says they must not do)."

Also on CentreRight a blog from Donata Huggins: David Cameron says that social action projects will help us fix our broken politics

WATCH:

• "I've always told the truth, I've always told the truth" says tetchy Gordon Brown in BBC interview
• John Prescott welcomes 'Nationalised Express'

Labour has been accused of another U-turn after Lord Mandelson said the partial sell-off of Royal Mail will not proceed in the "current circumstances" - BBC

Government defeated on Parliamentary Standards Bill

"By 250 votes to 247, the Commons voted to drop the part of the legislation that would have allowed lawyers to use what MPs had said in Parliament against them in court." - Sky News

The Financial Times' verdict on yesterday's PMQs:
"Game, set and match to the Conservative leader"

"David Cameron and Gordon Brown’s spat over public spending becomes more intense and bitter by the day, and the pair have been at it now for three weeks. But at the end of Wednesday’s prime minister’s question time it looked like game, set and match to the Tory leader as Mr Brown made a series of errors." - FT

"It seems to be obvious to everyone except the Prime Minister that spending has to be reined in." - Anatole Kaletsky in The Times

Osborne defends himself against Mandelson's attacks

"The Business Secretary claimed Mr Osborne had told a "deliberate untruth" by alleging that the Opposition was being denied access to government figures on public spending. He said the allegation had been flatly rejected by the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell. "There is a very unattractive pattern of behaviour that is starting to emerge with George Osborne, of innuendo in pursuit of a smear," he said. Mr Osborne stuck to his guns, insisting the Tories had been denied the chance to inspect a database detailing public expenditure in 12,000 key areas. He said they had requested sight of the Combined Online Information System at two meetings but were rejected." - Independent

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Balls and Mandelson launch co-ordinated attempt to blunt Tory leadership's attacks on Gordon Brown's dishonesty

Telegraph attacks George Osborne's corporate tax policy

"On company taxes, Mr Osborne seems ready to cut corporation tax further, despite burgeoning budget deficits. That shows sound instincts, for it will help the recovery enormously. However, we strongly disagree with the shadow chancellor over his apparent desire to "fund" such cuts by scrapping tax relief on debt interest. For a party trying to restore its reputation in the business community, this is an inexplicable proposal. This form of relief makes an enormous contribution to entrepreneurial activity in this country. Take it away, and the risk-takers and wealth-creators on which the recovery will largely depend will be knocked back." - Telegraph leader

All roads lead to George Osborne's office

"The extent of Mr Osborne’s importance to the Cameroon project was revealed this week in a report by Conservative Intelligence, a new group headed by Tim Montgomerie, founder of the influential conservativehome.com website. A former Tory staffer himself, he spoke to 50 of the party’s key players in order to produce a diagram of where power lies. Mr Osborne’s name was mentioned to him far more often than that of Mr Cameron himself. On an operational basis, all roads do seem to lead to the shadow chancellor’s office." - Fraser Nelson in The Spectator

> See the diagram of power within Cameron's 'West Wing'

The Independent predicts victory for the Conservatives in Norwich North

"It is a safe bet that by the end of this month, 27-year-old Chloe Smith will be the new, Conservative MP for Norwich North. She lives in the centre of Norwich, just outside the constituency border, grew up in the town, and went to Swaffham comprehensive school, where she is a school governor. Her parents and grandparents also live locally. One of her grandmothers still works, commissioning and marketing postcards. Her father was a furniture maker, her mother was a state schoolteacher, and one grandfather was a vicar." - Independent

Ben Brogan: No politicians are speaking up for Britain's armed forces

"At a time when a new US president is studiously avoiding playing favourites with European leaders, preferring instead to judge them by their actions and their willingness to share the burdens abroad, our politicians are preparing to eviscerate our defence capacity. No wonder that, in Washington, mutterings about Britain's long-term seriousness are getting louder." - Ben Brogan in The Telegraph

Warning of 10-15% reduction in defence budget - FT

Edward Leigh MP warns against perverse incentives for councils to speed planning decisions - BBC

Ed Balls accused of abandoning academy schools - Times

Allister Heath: All the attention yesterday was on trains but we need more investment in our roads

"Road transport accounts for 82 per cent of passenger travel and around 63 per cent of freight traffic. A reliable road network is therefore particularly crucial for our quality of life and our economic competitiveness. Yet the UK has fewer miles of motorway per car than all other major European economies and less than half the EU average." - City AM

The Sun blasts Labour's record on crime

"Our jails are overflowing, knife crime is rampant and people are frightened on the streets. Yob rule is replacing the rule of law. That's Labour's legacy." - The Sun Says

John Denham expresses concern that Labour is focusing on its core vote at the expense of the middle class - Telegraph

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Wednesday 1st July 2009

6pm WATCH: Queen addresses Scottish Parliament on its tenth anniversary

2pm ToryDiary: Gay campaigners can be proud of their achievements says Cameron

1.30pm WATCH: Gordon Brown promises an Orwellian "zero % increase" in public spending!

1pm ToryDiary: Balls and Mandelson launch co-ordinated attempt to blunt Tory leadership's attacks on Gordon Brown's dishonesty

12.30pm ToryDiary: Brown makes "zero % rise" gaffe at PMQs

ToryDiary: David Cameron's 'West Wing'

Shane Frith on Platform: Why you should support the campaign to amend the smoking ban

Seats and candidates:

• Lots of councillors... lots of lawyers... lots of people who have fought for their seats more than once... meet the next parliamentary Conservative party
• Tory candidate demands by-election in Leyton and Wanstead as Labour MP Harry Cohen quits over expenses

Local government:

• Should council officers be allowed to wear shorts and T shirts in this weather?
• Tory-controlled Kent increases councillor allowances by 8%
• "Health and education are the two services that have been most
  generously funded over the past decade but they are among the most inefficient services."

WATCH:

• George Osborne tells Nick Robinson that Gordon Brown is denying him crucial information about public spending
• Ed Balls attacks Cameron's "bullying" style at PMQs

Chris Grayling attacks Labour's retreat on ID cards

"They have spent millions on the scheme so far - the Home Secretary thinks it has been a waste and wants to scrap it, but the Prime Minister won't let him. So we end up with an absurd fudge instead. This is no way to run the country." - The Shadow Home Secretary quoted by Sky News

"Has Alan Johnson scrapped the ID scheme or not? The answer is no, though the claims made on its behalf are being significantly downgraded." - Philip Johnston in The Telegraph

Daily Mail reviews Tory economic policy and gives it a thumbs up

"Shadow Chancellor George Osborne's blueprint to rescue the economy under a Tory government includes the transformation of the tax system, a new public-spending regulator and the demolition of much of Gordon Brown's financial regulation regime." - Daily Mail

"A decent start" - The Daily Mail's verdict on George Osborne's economic policy

Labour ministers doubt the Prime Minister's line of attack on Tory 'cuts' as critics say party must accept big spending days are over - Independent

"Data over the summer will continue to confirm that the global recession is abating and in some cases ending – but investors should not count on anything other than a very weak recovery." - Allister Heath in City AM

Simon Heffer: Cameron is uninterested in ideas

"When I ask those close to Mr Cameron about who advises him on economic policy from outside, I draw a blank. When I ask what think tank proposals excite him, the response is similar. Mr Cameron very much likes things that are suggested to him by the focus groups with which he remains obsessed. He is less taken with proposals from think tanks... It has been said that Mr Cameron has hardly anyone around him who is older than he is because he feels insecure with them. Some have hinted that despite his first-class degree and his veneer of almost arrogant self-assurance, he is unwilling to open his mind to others on the Right who might harbour a different point of view from his own on policy, because he fears being drawn into a debate." - Simon Heffer in The Telegraph

Max Hastings: Neither party is thinking seriously about defence

"This week’s report on Britain’s security from the Institute for Public Policy Research deserves to land with the impact of a bomb among the decision-makers of both major political parties. Neither party currently offers a credible vision for the nation’s defences, or acknowledges the brutality of the economic choices. " - Max Hastings in the FT

"The German Constitutional Court has suspended ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, in what Mark Francois has described as a “warning shot” to Gordon Brown." - conservatives.com

'The shad-dough cabinet'

The Sun has a slideshow of shadow cabinet ministers and their outside earnings

SNP's Alex Salmond more popular in Scotland than either Gordon Brown or David Cameron - BBC

Michael Martin became peer yesterday but Lords Appointment Commission warned against it - Guardian | Times

Homecoming British soldiers abused again by anti-war protestors - Daily Express

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.