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Friday 15th May 2009Britain's leading conservative blog There is nothing British about the BNP ToryDiary: Stapler-hurling Brown launches negative ad against Conservatives There's nothing British about the BNP Daniel Kawczynski MP on Platform: The prosecution of Yvonne Fletcher's killer is a prerequisite to Libya's full re-engagement with the West Local government: Should councillors show leadership on MP deselections? WATCH: Margaret Beckett heckled on Question Time after "mealy-mouthed" defence of expense claims Tories 19% ahead but faltering in European Elections intentions The Sun/ YouGov: 19% Tory lead Yesterday's ToryDiary: Tories 41%, Labour 22% Today's other newslinks MPs turn fire on Andrew Walker, the Commons man who approved claims - Times Andrew Mackay may face private prosecution after taking £140.952 for non-existent second home - Independent "The Daily Mail today backs a move to bring to justice MPs whose flagrant abuse of expenses has shamed Britain. We are joining forces with the Tax-Payers' Alliance to launch a campaign for the private prosecutions of backbenchers and ministers who have pocketed thousands of pounds through dishonest claims." David Cameron's office pre-empted Andrew Mackay's resignation "Andrew MacKay was in a relaxed mood on Wednesday afternoon when he dropped into David Cameron's suite of offices at Westminster to hand over a thick bundle of papers containing his parliamentary expenses. "Don't worry, there are no swimming pools there," the veteran MP joked as he became the latest in a series of shadow ministers and senior advisers who agreed to open up their expenses for inspection... late on Wednesday night, MacKay received a phone call which marked the gravest moment in his career since he was first elected to parliament at the age of 27 in a byelection. A senior official in Cameron's office said the claims on his second home appeared not to meet the "reasonableness" test set by the party leader. MacKay was told that Cameron, who had been alerted at 8pm, was alarmed by his expenses." - Read more of Nick Watt's piece in The Guardian "A window was smashed at Tory JULIE KIRKBRIDE'S constituency office in Bromsgrove, Worcs, as her husband — fellow MP ANDREW MACKAY — quit as leader David Cameron’s aide yesterday." - The Sun > Yesterday's ToryDiary: Two-thirds of Conservative members say Andrew MacKay should cease to be Tory MP Tory James Clappison claims £100,000 but owns 24 houses - Telegraph Justice Minister Shahid Malik was able to run up the highest expenses claim of any MP - Telegraph Ann Widdecombe provides the quote of the day... Read her full piece in The Independent Brown has an opportunity to be as bold on expenses as he was during banking crisis "David Cameron is a serial political apologist, saying sorry, sacrificing an aide and obliging his shadow cabinet to pay back their most egregious claims, like medieval Christians buying indulgences. Mr Brown, by contrast, has blathered on about committees, seeming defensive and reactive rather than leaderly. Still, like the banking crisis which gave him a bounce last autumn, the expenses furore and the liminal feeling it has reinforced offer him a shot at redemption. To exploit it, he must be at least as bold as he was in the bank bail-out. Self-flagellating is not sufficient expiation: the price of the bra must be cut, the newspaper redesigned, or, in this case, politics overhauled." - Bagehot Labour Lords: Bribery peers get six-month suspension - Independent The Scottish Conservative Conference Osborne warns that Scotland will face its share of budget cuts, Fox says submarine-based nuclear deterrent WILL be replaced - Scotsman Annabel Goldie promises to mend Scotland's 'broken devolution' - The Herald Famous names lend Conference some star quality - The Herald Annabel Goldie takes swipe at The Telegraph: "She appealed to the public to judge the Tories “not on your perceptions of the echoes of the past” but on what they were achieving today, especially in the Scottish Parliament. She even called The Guardian in aid of her cause, saying that that newspaper had said the Tories in Scotland were “rejuvenated and doing well”. She then added: “One day The Daily Telegraph may even clock it as well.”" (Quoted by Alan Cochrane) Tories decentralising within England "Caroline Spelman, the Tory communities spokeswoman, said she would oversee an “across-the-board removal of the regional tier of government”. Most RDAs would be abolished, with powers returned to town halls, although the north-east might decide to retain its popular agency. Instead of regional government, Ms Spelman’s party promises a new “localism”, entrusting limited new powers to local councils, including the ability to cut business rates and creating “enterprise partnerships”. David Cameron, Tory party leader, who shares Mr Blair’s enthusiasm for US-style mayors, would hold simultaneous referendums on creating an elected mayor in 12 big cities. However, resistance from sitting local councillors will remain a powerful drag on the idea." - FT The Times is the latest newspaper to question Tory MEPs' prospective allies "David Cameron’s new allies in Europe are set to include a homophobic Polish party, Czechs who have just passed the Lisbon Treaty and Nazi-supporting Latvians. A senior MEP confirmed yesterday that the Conservatives had signed up pledges from the requisite seven countries to form a new group in the European Parliament after next month’s elections." - Times