Britannia Radio

Monday 18th May 2009Britain's leading conservative blog Local councillors rally to "hard working" Andrew MacKay's defence Today's top story is on Local government: Andrew MacKay MP wins backing from local councillors ToryDiary: The Conservatives could be Rantzen-ed if we do not clean house before a General Election Melanchthon on Platform: MPs have not been unethical in their expense claims, and should stand up for themselves Seats and candidates: Peter Lyburn's week as candidate for Perth and North Perthshire is dominated by the Scottish Conservative Conference coming to his constituency Michael Bates (Lord Bates) joins CentreRight today with a post on the BNP's incompatibility with Christianity WATCH: Michael Martin will make statement today in last ditch effort to save his Speakership Pro-life hecklers interrupt President Obama's speech at Catholic university Weekend highlights from ConservativeHome... ToryDiary: Why Guido, Tebbit and Hitchens are wrong to urge people to shun the Tories on 4th June and Lord Tebbit compares MPs milking the system to "welfare junkies" Edward McMillan-Scott MEP on Platform: Which electoral system should we use in Britain to elect MEPs? WATCH: Nick Clegg has become the first party leader to call for the Commons Speaker to resign Repayments are not enough says Martin Bell, there must be resignations and deselections Today's other newslinks The Sun calls for an election NOW "Politicians finally got the message yesterday. Voters have had enough of this Government, enough of greedy MPs, enough of a Commons Speaker who has turned the Mother of Parliaments into the mother of all shyster politicians. The word on the street was loud and clear: We want an election and we want one now." - The Sun Says Michael Martin makes last ditch bid to save his job "Michael Martin will make a last desperate attempt to save his job as Speaker today after both main opposition parties declared his position untenable. Faced with a clamour of calls to resign, he revealed that he was to rush forward reforms to the discredited system of MPs’ expenses, which he will present to the Commons." -Times Denis MacShane urges Michael Martin to resign so that we can have a new Speaker by the summer - Guardian "There are clear signs that he has already lost the confidence of a large number of MPs – those who have done nothing wrong are feeling particularly aggrieved. If Mr Martin tries to cling on, the House of Commons will face only further torment. If he harboured any respect for the institution he has so badly let down, he would go, and go now." - Telegraph leader On day ELEVEN of expenses-gate we learn that not only were the expenses rules set by MPs but they were bent by the Commons authorities... "The Government has launched an investigation into reports that House of Commons officials colluded with MPs to allow them to make vastly inflated claims on their mortgages." - Sky News "An inquiry will be launched into claims a Labour MP [Ben Chapman] was given permission to claim allowances for mortgage interest he no longer paid, says Downing Street." - BBC "Ian McCartney, the former Labour Party chairman, spent £16,000 furnishing and decorating his designated second home but paid the money back two years later." -Telegraph Lord Falconer says criminal investigations into MPs could take two years - Telegraph Nadine Dorries' confusing defence of her own expense claims - Guardian "Britain faces a “dangerous month for our democracy”, David Miliband, the foreign secretary, said on Sunday. His warning came amid signs that the row over Westminster expenses could translate into rising support for fringe parties in June’s elections." - FT Face the facts... Most MPs are decent people, not crooks - Bruce Anderson in The Independent Tory MEP candidates will sign truth and transparency pledge "Tory candidates in June’s European elections will have to sign a pledge to reveal precisely how they spend taxpayers’ cash. Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague insists on full disclosure to end the tide of sleaze in Brussels. He told The Sun all 72 candidates will be ordered to sign the pledge today. They will then have to publish a breakdown of office costs. They will also be told to publish expenses claims online, update them every three months and publish online details of all meetings with pressure groups." - The Sun Andy McSmith: Labour is dying but it won't die "Labour could be overtaken by the dedicated eccentrics who make up the UK Independence Party. Nothing like that happened in Michael Foot's day... In the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher was told that the party was dying but she was not fooled. "The Labour Party will never die," she declared. She knew Labour has a mass of devoted members for whom the party is their life. They will keep it going no matter what. The Labour Party is not dead; but it is heading for a near-death experience." - Andy McSmith in The Independent Commons Defence Cttee: Britain is vulnerable to terrorist attack from the sea because no single body is responsible for protecting the UK's coast "Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox said: "It is clear from this report the government has not given sufficient attention to the role of the armed forces in its domestic security policy. The lack of clarity about the role of the MoD in terms of maritime security needs to be addressed. This is why we need a Strategic Defence Review to identify the roles the armed forces will be needed for."" - Quoted by the BBC