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Monday 26th January 2009Britain's leading conservative blog Today's top ConservativeHome features ToryDiary: The most dangerous thing in Britain is the nothing-to-lose Labour Party George Osborne and Francis Maude promise rewards to money-saving civil servants Seats and candidates: Roger Evans answers your questions about getting selected Cllr Lynda Needham on Local government: Recycling everything in North Hertfordshire Tony Sharp on Platform: Reject compensation for families of terrorists for the sake of society Suli Shah on CentreRight: Bust banks are better than nationalised banks WATCH: Advice from ConservativeHome.com to Labour's John Prescott Highlights from the weekend WATCH: David Cameron is asked if he will investigate whether Britain has been visited by extra-terrestial life  ToryDiary: David Cameron is heading for a landslide win Mark Field MP on CentreRight: MPs must set the lead on public sector pensions by agreeing to a one-third reduction in their own benefits Monday's newslinks Tories 15% in new poll - The Independent | Yesterday evening's ToryDiary "Unlike a soufflé, Gordon Brown managed to rise twice. A third time is most surely beyond him." - Bruce Anderson in The Independent A leader in The Independent: "There is a risk of complacency when their programme remains sketchy and half-baked. As yet, there is little sense that they have any real answers to the downturn, and little evidence that they have the tools in their locker to repair the devastated public finances that confront whoever wins the election. For now, however, they are the favourites to be left to clear up after the current economic maelstrom." Trevor Kavanagh: Labour had its chances but now deserves to be ditched "When this Government is ditched, as it so richly deserves, it won’t be able to complain it never had a fair chance. After 12 long years, Labour can’t say they had too little time to make back-door Socialism work. Having used landslide majorities to bully their experiment in social engineering into every nook and cranny of our daily lives, they cannot pretend they had one arm tied behind their back. After inheriting a robust economy, they cannot claim they had no money. They could have used that time, power and cash to carry out all their 1997 election vows." - The Sun Matthew Taylor: Labour should announce a unilateral political ceasefire "How about declaring a unilateral political ceasefire? Brown's implicit message could be 'we are reconciled to the possibility of losing the next election, what matters now is not the political skirmish but the battle against the economic crisis'. Not only is this a more seemly and inspiring posture for the times – and one which might tap into the Dunkirk spirit the nation needs right now – it encourages an electorate, for whom politics is far from a priority, to suspend judgement until next year. The strategy would only work if it was authentic. Ministers would need to put point scoring to one side. And even if it failed, at least this would be an honourable path to defeat." - The Independent Lords Committee urges Government to stop tipping off media on big stories - BBC The number of Government press officers has jumped by three-quarters under Labour - Telegraph Newspapers claim tension between Clarke and Cameron lines on the economy "Ken Clarke, shadow business secretary, contradicted his party leader on Sunday by stating that he did not think there was a “realistic possibility” of Britain being forced to go to the International Monetary Fund to prop up its economy." - FT "Ken Clarke yesterday mocked claims that Britain will go bust – contradicting party leader David Cameron in a new gaffe." - The Sun > Yesterday's ToryDiary: Ken Clarke cannot see Britain joining Euro in his lifetime Labour's cash-for-peers scandal "If true - and sadly the evidence is very compelling indeed - Labour is guilty of public corruption. This episode reinforces the already widespread feeling that a diseased culture of greed has become endemic in the Labour Party... Brown must stand by to strip them of the party whip if there turns out to be an iota of truth in these allegations - and to call in the police if necessary. Otherwise he will be personally contaminated by this disgusting affair." - Peter Oborne in the Daily Mail "There were calls for the law to be changed to allow unelected peers to be removed from the House of Lords if they are found guilty of breaking anti-corruption rules." - Telegraph Council staff get access to massive database on every child in England - Daily Mail The charities raising money for Gaza won't audit their spending properly - Andrew Roberts in The Times And finally... Gordon Brown hates being portrayed as fat "Gordon Brown hates being portrayed as fat in cartoons, it emerged yesterday. The burly PM, whose New Year’s resolution was to get fitter, has moaned that newspaper cartoonists always draw him as a large, hulking man. The cartoonists say Mr Brown complains in person. Dave Brown, of The Independent, said: “I met him briefly once and he said ‘You draw me far too fat. I’m not that fat’.” The Guardian’s Martin Rowson added: “He said, ‘Why do you draw me so fat?’ I think I said it was because he IS fat.”" - The Sun Our main sites Homepage. ToryDiary. Seats and candidates. Local government. Parliament. Platform. CentreRight. International. PlayPolitical videos.

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