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Monday 10th November 2008 Britain's leading conservative blog Today's top ConservativeHome features ToryDiary: Brown is lovin' his recession ToryDiary: The Tory tax cut must not be a mouse Howard Flight on Platform: The Conservative response to the banking crisis and its implications Local government: Council housing. A lifetime in dependency? Peter Cuthbertson on CentreRight: "When was the last GOP ticket to win the Presidency without a Bush or a Nixon on the ballot? 1928." Watch: Tony Blair worries that expectations are too high for President-Elect Obama Highlights from the weekend ToryDiary: Tory members want Cameron to join Obama, Key, Harper and Rudd in offering tax cuts Greg Hands MP on CentreRight: Was WWI a "good war"? Local government: Does Hazel Blears want us to blog or not? Seats and candidates: Mark Menzies adopted for Fylde PlayPolitical music video: O'Reilly, O'Hara, O'Leary, Obama... there is noone as Irish as Barack Obama... Today's other newslinks Labour plan £15bn of tax cuts "Tax cuts for the poorest in society are expected to be unveiled in this month's Pre-Budget report. The cuts are expected to total up to £15 billion and will see the 10p tax band rebate extended for another year." - Scotsman Janet Daley: Tax cuts still work "There is only one lesson that both parties can justifiably take from the US election: promising tax cuts wins votes. Both parties were offering them over there: Obama to most of the population (with some dangerous exceptions among the investing and wealth-producing classes), and McCain to all of it." - Janet Daley in The Telegraph Trevor Kavanagh: Recession has exposed Cameron's sloppy thinking "Belatedly, Mr Cameron is now talking about cutting tax and putting money back into hard-pressed family budgets. But this is not cutting-edge thinking. The whole world is doing the same to stop the economy seizing up. Even Gordon Brown, who at any other time would rather swallow poison, is ready to use this month’s Pre-Budget Report to cut tax. The speed of this downturn has exposed lots of sloppy assumptions. One was the belief that, with Tony Blair gone, the Tories could sit back and wait for Gordon to hand them the keys to Downing Street. And it almost worked." - Trevor Kavanagh in The Sun A British football team at the 2012 Olympics? "Tory leader David Cameron has suggested a football team to represent Britain at the 2012 London Olympics could be decided by a home nations tournament." - BBC Shailesh Vara: The taxpayer has spent £33.47 for each submission to a consultation on the government’s forthcoming legislative programme "Shailesh Vara, shadow deputy leader of the Commons, said the government’s approach to the consultation suggested it had been a “sham exercise,” which ministers had “never intended to take seriously”. He said the decision to restrict submissions via the official website to 500 characters left limited scope for considered input. He also questioned the way the programme of events had been run, saying it was unclear how many members of the public – as opposed to the usual lobbyists – had been aware of the meetings." - FT Mandelson 'did discuss trade with Deripaska' "His spokesman said that in his former role as European trade commissioner, the subject of timber duties came up during conversations with the billionaire, who owns one of his country's biggest wood processing and lumber companies." - Telegraph Council homes for life ‘to be scrapped’ "People living in council houses will no longer be entitled to a subsidised tenancy for life under Whitehall proposals to address waiting lists. New tenants would have fixed-term contracts under the plans, with regular reviews every few years, The Times has learnt." Ban pub happy hours and supermarkets selling alcohol at a loss say MPs - BBC MPs demand decision on future of Post Office Card Account - Guardian Fugitive Lib Dem donor Michael Brown to stand trial - Telegraph Brown to warn Obama against protectionism "Gordon Brown will tonight urge Barack Obama to reject pressure from his Democratic Party to put up trade barriers to protect American jobs." - Independent Obama will begin Presidency by overturning Bush positions on oil drilling and stem cell research - Guardian And finally... Michael Gove offers the President-Elect some advice on choosing a puppy "My advice to Barack is do what we did - and get a Jack Russell/whippet mongrel. It's a very Anglo choice - reaffirming the special relationship. Its also a progressive pick. The Jack Russell is a Whig dog - named after the great reforming Victorian premier. And whippets are, in every sense, a workers' animal. Our own dog, Mars, is affectionate, resilient and loyal. And if the President-elect knows anything it's that there won't be many appointees who have all those virtues standing by him every step of the way over the next eight years." - Michael Gove in The Times

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