Britannia Radio

Tuesday 3rd March 2009Britain's leading conservative blog Today's top ConservativeHome features ToryDiary: 'The Left must rescue Cameron from the Tory Right' Chris Holmes on Platform: Who will save the savers? Seats and candidates: Robert Halfon's Diary of a PPC Parliament: Left-wing MPs sign up to Tory's call for bankers to publish expenses Local government: Cllr David Potts: Fighting for lower tax in South Tyneside Nick Seaton: Scrap the school admissions lottery now Tories 16% ahead in new ComRes poll and back in the lead on economic competence Tories 16% ahead - Independent | Yesterday's ToryDiary Today's other newslinks Ivan Cameron's funeral to be held today - BBC George Osborne wants tougher pursuit of financial wrongdoing "The Shadow Chancellor has suggested that the [FSA] may be forced to hand its prosecution powers to a group such as the SFO. Last week Lord Turner of Ecchinswell, head of the authority, promised a tougher approach and said the pressure for the previous “light-touch” regulation had come in part from senior politicians." - Times 'The decline of UKIP' "Senior Tories shudder no longer. As Ukip prepares last-ditch defences ahead of this June's Euro elections, the party has been dogged by scandal and infighting. Mr Kilroy-Silk has long departed in acrimony and the current leader, Nigel Farage, has faced bitter recriminations over the party's direction as it enters polls that will determine whether it continues to exist as a serious political unit." - Independent Brown to meet Obama today "The BBC's political Editor Nick Robinson says the prime minister will hold half an hour of personal talks with Mr Obama on Tuesday in Washington. Mr Brown will be the first European leader to meet President Obama." - BBC "Gordon Brown sought a decisive break with the Bush-Blair era by heralding a special relationship that places economic harmony ahead of military cooperation. Before flying out of Britain for a meeting with President Obama today, he said: “Past British prime ministers have gone to Washington to talk about wars. I’m going to talk about stability for the future.”" - Times "Gordon Brown is currently in America meeting Barack Obama in the White House for the first time. He wishes to be influential on American foreign policy and to be afforded access to the top table of international diplomacy. Yet, unless there is a significant increase in defence funding, he will have no right to sit there." -Telegraph leader Labour strategists worry about Brown's economic grandstanding "There is now a growing sense of frustration among some Cabinet ministers and strategists that the Prime Minister is keener to focus on what they call the “vision thing” than on more immediate decisions about the bank insurance scheme or the Private Finance Initiative or the Royal Mail." - Rachel Sylvester in The Times Alistair Darling: We made mistakes on the economy - Telegraph Labour promises crackdown on voting fraud "The government has announced it will introduce individual electoral registration to help curb voting fraud. Justice minister Michael Wills said the switch from household registration would be a "radical and unprecedented move" for the country." - BBC Nicholas Watt examines Harriet Harman's leadership ambitions - Guardian MPs have voted to change the law to keep their home addresses secret -Telegraph Family breakdowns have been encouraged by the "marriage penalty" of Labour's benefits reforms - Telegraph Gideon Rachman: I renounce my Euroscepticism "If Europe starts rolling back the four freedoms [free movement of goods, people, services and capital], the implications will stretch well beyond economics. Protectionism and nationalism are close cousins. The principles of consultation, co-operation and open borders within the EU have helped to repress the old, nationalist demons." - FT