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Tueday 23rd December 2008Britain's leading conservative blog Today's top ConservativeHome features Tim and Jonathan would like to wish all recipients of the Conservative Daily a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year as this is the last daily email of 2008. You will next receive it on Monday 5th January, although rest assured that ConservativeHome will remain active and updated through the festive season, apart from Christmas Day and Boxing Day. So be sure to check back regularly for all the latest news about the Conservative Party and British politics from a Conservative perspective. ToryDiary: Shadow cabinet to retain outside interests after all ToryDiary: Tory lead would increase to 17% if spending restraint became the issue Eric Pickles in Local Government: I'll have a pearl-handled revolver waiting in my drawer for the first civil servant who suggests another local government reorganisation Nick Seaton in Local Government: Blame Professor David Hargreaves for the problems in our schools Dr Kieron O'Hara on Platform: David Cameron on Personal Responsibility Is David Cameron the best Conservative leader since 1997? Should David Davis be brought back into the shadow cabinet? What should be the Tories' number one public spending priority? Is it time that Britain became a secular state? These and other questions are waiting for your answers within the final ConservativeHome survey of 2008.... Today's newslinks David Cameron drops plan to ban the Shadow Cabinet having outside interests "David Cameron has dropped plans to force his shadow cabinet to axe their lucrative outside jobs in the new year, following threats of a revolt by senior Tories. Conservative strategists remain concerned about the potential political damage the “part-time” nature of the shadow cabinet could cause. The onset of recession will add weight to Labour jibes that Mr Cameron’s “two-jobs team” is not devoting its full attention to mitigating the impact of the downturn." - FT Voters revolt over taxes "Voters are turning their back, for the first time in more than a decade, on Labour's promise to spend more on public services because of the prolonged economic downturn, a poll for The Independent suggests today... The survey suggests that David Cameron would win a huge majority if tax and spending became the key dividing line between the two main parties at the next general election... The poll also reveals the end of the "bounce" enjoyed by Gordon Brown during the early days of the financial crisis. The Tories are on 39 per cent (up two points on last month), Labour on 34 per cent (down two), the Liberal Democrats on 16 per cent (down one point) and other parties 11 per cent (up one)." - Independent > Last night's ToryDiary on the new poll Tories unveil "very worrying" level of violence in schools "Police officers were called to deal with violence in schools more than 7,000 times in the last year, according to figures revealed by the Conservatives today. The Tories asked each police force in England how many times they were called on to school premises for an attempted or actual violent crime. "Teachers, parents and children are all too aware of the threat of violence in schools and the corrosive effect it has on creating a safe learning environment," said Michael Gove, the shadow schools secretary. "There will always be the odd occasion when teachers need to call on the police for support with a serious incident but at the moment they do not have sufficient powers to nip discipline problems in the bud." - Guardian How the economic crisis has exposed the limits of Cameron's reforming zeal "His decision early in his leadership to back Blair's reforms of secondary schools was the most vivid and potent example of what might have proved a spectacular realignment in British politics. The realignment did not happen. The economic crisis has unified, albeit precariously, the previously feuding Blairites and Brownites against the Tories. Instead of some Blairites keeping their fingers crossed that Cameron wins, the likes of Mandelson and co are working around the clock to make sure that he does not." - Steve Richards writing in The Independent Bob Quick faces call to stand aside over his slur on Tories "The future of Britain's most senior anti-terrorism officer was in doubt last night as an extraordinary row between the Tories and the Metropolitan Police intensified. Bob Quick faced awkward questions about his suitability for such a sensitive post following an angry outburst against the Conservatives. He accused them of corruption and of trying to scupper his investigation into Home Office leaks and the Tory MP Damian Green. Despite issuing an 'unreserved' apology for his comments, senior Tories questioned Mr Quick's emotional and suggested he should stand aside from the inquiry." - Daily Mail "The irony of the latest public spat between the Tories and a senior policeman is that it followed a concerted Conservative charm offensive. When David Cameron appointed Dominic Grieve as Shadow Home Secretary in June, one of his instructions was to start mending fences broken by his impetuous predecessor." - Times > Yesterday's ToryDiary on the Bob Quick story Grayling:  Tax 'con' hits low paid "Gordon Brown was accused of pulling a "con trick" yesterday after figures in the pre-budget report showed that increasing numbers of low income workers face high marginal tax rates which will discourage them from seeking higher paid jobs. The shadow work and pensions secretary, Chris Grayling, said figures "buried" in the pre-budget report showed a doubling in the number of families who would pay a marginal tax rate of more than 90%." - Guardian Methadone prescriptions to addicts double in two years "These figures show the continuing failure of the Labour Government to adequately tackle the problem of drug addiction, with methadone prescriptions more than doubling in the last two years alone. Labour's lack of leadership on drugs has led to an explosion in methadone prescription, which all too often does little to help achieve abstinence." - Shadow health minister Mike Penning quoted in the Daily Telegraph Absent parents owe their children £4bn thanks to CSA reform failures, say Tories "Absent parents owe their children almost £4billion, thanks to ministers' failure to reform the Child Support Agency, Tories say. The uncollected debt is rising steadily, figures revealed by the Conservatives reveal, despite the Government's boasts to have sorted out the organisation's problems." - Daily Mail Tory peer cleared of road rage attack - Daily Mail Labour peer could face jail over texting at wheel before death crash - Daily Express Unite: Jaguar must get bailout money - Times Branson condemns "horrific" superbug rate - Sky News Government buildings emit more CO2 than all of Kenya - Guardian BBC World Service in peril - Letter from Greg Hands and others in the Daily Telegraph Cameron to visit estate where Shannon Matthews lived - Yorkshire Evening Post And finally... Condoleezza Rice on how playing the piano helps her deal with being Secretary of State "While you're playing Brahms or Mozart you can't think about anything else. Everything else has to clear out of your mind and you're just in that moment. In doing that you have an opportunity to really clear your mind of anything extraneous and you have an opportunity to clear the stress, because instead of worrying about what you're going to do tomorrow, or what that paper's done, or what that negotiation is going to do, you have a chance to be within yourself in a different place in your mind, and a different place in your soul." - The Independent Our main sites Homepage. ToryDiary. Seats and candidates. Local government. Parliament. Platform. CentreRight. International. PlayPolitical videos.

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