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Monday 8th DecemberBritain's leading conservative blog Today's top ConservativeHome features ToryDiary: Is it time for another Tory Speaker? Jeffrey Peel on Platform: Changing Northern Ireland's political landscape Seats and Candidates: Judith Pattinson selected to fight Workington again Dan Hamilton on CentreRight agrees with Dr Crippen: It's time to get our nurses back to nursing Weekend highlights from ConservativeHome Rachel Joyce explains how to cut costs while protecting vital services: "We need to reassure the public that there will be savings in wasteful projects and bureaucracy, but at the same time the public need minimum guarantees to exemplify that we are still serious about having high quality public services." William Mason's recipe for saving £15bn of taxpayers' money: "In our report for the Centre for Policy Studies, Jonathan McMahon and I have set out how huge layers of bureaucracy and regulation can be swept away.  We challenge a notion of central control that is deeply embedded within the consciousness of too many involved in politics and working in Whitehall. In particular, we do not accept the idea that for the public to have the standards they want, policing, medicine, education and social care need to be run centrally from Whitehall." Eric Pickles returns to Crewe: "In the centre of town a shop window next to a white portcullis stands the name Edward Timpson MP in bold letters. Ex canvassers will remember this as the central campaign office which Edward has taken over has his main constituency office. The last time I had seen it the room had been packed with blue balloons. I am back for the first time since the exciting days of early summer to officially open the office." Other candidates selected over the weekend Derby South - Jack Perschke Camborne and Redruth - George Eustice Durham North West - Michelle Tempest Bolton South East - Andy Morgan Today's newslinks Speaker weakened yet further as Commons debates Damian Green's arrest today "The future of Michael Martin, the Speaker of the House of Commons, was in the balance last night after David Cameron suggested that he no longer had confidence in him. Support for Mr Martin was falling away as he faced a cross-party assault on his integrity over his handling of the police raid on the office in the Palace of Westminster of Damian Green, the Shadow Immigration Minister. Calls for his departure grew after a former Deputy Speaker, Lord Naseby, said he was “amazed” that Mr Martin had failed to stop the police entering the office without a warrant." - The Times "Mr Martin's spokeswoman indicated he would be prepared to carry on as Speaker after the next election, but stressed he would listen to the concerns of his constituencies in the House of Commons and his Glasgow parliamentary seat. Critics reacted with alarm, as a survey of backbenchers carried out by the BBC found 32 of the 90 MPs who took part said they had lost confidence in Mr Martin, with 50 believing he was "culpable". Some MPs warned that backbench critics of the Speaker would try to vote down his reappointment if he tried to retain his job after the next election." - Independent "Whether it was chaotic mishandling of the first order by the police, the Home Office, and the House of Commons authorities, or the inevitable consequence of a weakened Commons and over mighty Executive, or something even more sinister, we may never know. Whatever the cause, it must never, ever, happen again." - David Davis writing in the Daily Telegraph "The Green affair is not just about Speaker Lenthall and Charles I and what happened in 1642. I am angry because it is about the confidentiality of my constituents' correspondence and matters of national interest in 2008. MPs individually are not above the law, but Parliament encapsulates the law on behalf of the voters. This must be protected." - Bill Cash writing in The Times "Michael Martin may, as his critics complain, be vain, greedy, touchy, stupid, nasty to his staff and out of his depth in the chamber. But none of these is a resigning offence. He is on trial now, not because he is unpopular but because he has failed spectacularly to discharge his primary function: to defend the prerogatives of his chamber." - Telegraph leader Further coverage of David Cameron's successful trip to Belfast at the weekend "As David Cameron bustled his way around Belfast on Saturday, the icy incline up to the Stormont Hotel seemed suddenly symbolic. For political parties moving their moorings, as with the recast connection between Ulster Unionists and Conservatives, can also prove a slippery slope. Given the open-to-all opportunity to question the potential next Prime Minister (though people had to apply online) the atmosphere at the ‘Cameron Direct’ event could have been distinctly frosty. But Cameron came, he thawed and, mostly, he conquered." - Belfast Telegraph "Mr Cameron reiterated that if the alliance is formally agreed that the "new force" will contest every Westminster constituency, which would rule out a pact between Ulster Unionists and the DUP to try to take the SDLP seat of Alasdair McDonnell in South Belfast and of Sinn Féin's Michelle Gildernew in Fermanagh South-Tyrone." - Irish Times > WATCH: David Cameron in Belfast talking about the new Tory-UUP alliance Grayling to announce new approach to breaking benefits dependency cycle today "Shadow work and pensions secretary Chris Grayling will announce a new "whole family" approach to ending benefit dependency and "generational worklessness" where the children of jobless parents grow up unable and unwilling to get work." - Daily Telegraph Cameron stamps on 'recession rhetoric' "David Cameron is determined to impose tight controls on his party’s “recession rhetoric”, Conservative insiders say. The Tory leader will disown any comments by his MPs that might suggest they do not care about victims of the downturn and force high-profile offenders to apologise, the insiders said." - FT Being good won't do. Cameron must become a great prime minister "Cameron has carried himself impressively through the first months of this [economic] crisis. But he must find it as sobering as we do to contemplate the prospect that we shall need not merely a good prime minister to steer us out the other side, but a great one. The challenge that he will inherit is greater than that which Thatcher faced in 1979." - Sir Max Hastings writing in The Guardian Tory campaign centre in Coleshill faces axe "A high-tech Conservative Party campaigning centre in Warwickshire is to close with the loss of 40 jobs. The site, at Coleshill, was equipped with sophisticated computer technology used to identify target voters across the country, and played a key role in the party’s 2005 general election campaign." - Birmingham Post > Yesterday's ToryDiary: CCHQ's deteriorating financial position Labour GLA leader lodges complaint about Boris - BBC Irish will hold second Lisbon referendum next year - Daily Telegraph Alarm as Labour praises the euro - Express Downturn will wipe out Labour's anti-poverty gains - Independent Wealthy Lib Dem peer quits party over tax policy - Times Straw to overhaul Human RIghts Act - Daily Mail Frontline police officers in decline - Daily Telegraph Report suggests scrapping history, geography and religious studies from primary curriculum  - Times Anti-airport protesters cause chaos at Stansted this morning - BBC Brown, Sarkozy and Barroso in London summit today - AFP And finally... How purple became the new colour of politics "Purple has become the go-to colour for political gravitas. By which I mean, Gordon Brown is wearing it, on his ties... But it is not just him. Darling is also in purple. In October, Brown and Miliband were in purple on the same stage, in Brussels. The broadcaster Adam Boulton decided it was the "colour of recession". Or maybe they normally ring each other up, to check they won't clash or match, only because of the recession they can't afford to." - Guardian Our main sites Homepage. ToryDiary. Seats and candidates. Local government. Parliament. Platform. CentreRight. International. PlayPolitical videos.

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