Theresa Villiers on Platform: Heathrow expansion would not benefit Britain's wider business community Tim Archer from Poplar & Limehouse in Seats and Candidates writes this week's Diary of a PPC: It is worth voting Conservative in London's East End WATCH: Michelle Obama expresses surprise at how much fun she's having as First Lady John Whittingdale celebrates the "immense" political achievements of the Iron Lady Conor Burns on the modesty and authenticity of Margaret Thatcher David Torrance debunks the myths about Thatcher and Scotland Tim Montgomerie on the big political differences between 1979 and now Michael Brown vividly remembers the day when he was first elected to Parliament Lord Hurd on the start of an amazing eleven years Bernard Jenkin on an election night of mixed emotions in his household Michael Ancram on how he defeated Gordon Brown John Bercow records how Margaret Thatcher advised him to join the YCs Lord Alton on the fundamental change which Margaret Thatcher represented A selection of snapshots from the BBC's coverage of the 1979 General Election "David Cameron is set to urge voters to tell Gordon Brown "enough is enough" as he launches the Tories' local election campaign. He is to accuse the PM of running the country "into the ground" with "eye-watering borrowing". People have the opportunity to bring about "glorious change" at the council and Euro polls on June 4, he will say. In a speech at a community centre in the North East, Mr Cameron will say: "With every Conservative vote, the message will be simple: Enough is enough. You're the past." - Press Association Labour could face a complete wipeout in the local elections "The few scraps of power Labour does have in shire England are all vulnerable. The party is defending just four councils: Derbyshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire. All four will be lost if the swing against Labour reflects that currently registered by the opinion polls. And never before has a party suffered a complete wipe-out on local election day." - Professor John Curtice writing in The Independent UKIP set to struggle at June election... - Daily Telegraph ...but both main parties fear a BNP surge "Both the Conservatives and Labour fear that support for the BNP will impact on their own chances of success in next month's European elections... senior shadow cabinet ministers are privately concerned that the BNP could lessen David Cameron's own chances of a resounding success on 4 June. One senior Conservative MP close to the Tory leader said they were refusing to talk publicly about the threat because it would give the BNP the publicity they crave." - Daily Telegraph > Last night's ToryDiary: Desperate Labour MP blames Tories for rise of BNP Cameron/Osborne well ahead of Brown/Darling on ability to run the economy "Confidence in the ability of Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling to manage the economy properly has plunged to a new low since the Budget... The Populus poll, undertaken for the Edelman public affairs group between Wednesday and Friday, shows that only 26 per cent rate the Brown-Darling team as better able to run the economy... David Cameron and George Osborne are now well ahead as the better team, on 42 per cent." - The Times "Alistair Darling's rose-tinted forecast that Britain's economy will rapidly return from bust to boom was dealt another blow last night. The European Commission downgraded its predictions for the UK - saying it expected output to shrink by 3.8 per cent in 2009. Tory Treasury spokesman Philip Hammond said: 'Yet another impartial commentator is discounting Alistair Darling's projections for the UK economy as grossly optimistic. Until our Government recognises the size of the hole we're in, and finds the courage to stop digging, we will not get Britain back on the path to sustainable growth'." -Daily Mail David Cameron could inflict a humiliating defeat on the Government over Royal Mail privatisation "Gordon Brown was facing a critical test of his faltering authority last night as Cabinet warfare erupted over plans to sell off part of the Royal Mail... Left-wing ministers are urging him to shelve the sell-off, arguing he cannot afford a row with 150 Labour MPs who have signed a Commons motion opposing the move. They also fear pressing ahead leaves Mr Brown's fate in the hands of Tory leader David Cameron. If Mr Cameron pulled the plug on his party's backing for the Royal Mail sell-off at the last minute, the Prime Minister would face a humiliating defeat that could force him to quit Downing Street." - Daily Mail Philip Stephens brands Boris Johnson "an ambitious mayor who lacks ambition" "Mr Johnson, it must be said, is never short of publicity. He invariably has something to say, and is ever in reach of a microphone in which to say it. Politics for the mayor is a branch of showbiz. “Boris” is a brand. By and large, he adds a welcome dose of good humour to politics, even if the classicisms have begun to pall. Yet for all the media attention, the mayor has somehow contrived to be less than visible when it comes to the big strategic issues facing the nation’s capital." - Philip Stephens writing in the FT > Last week's ToryDiary: Boris@1 The Guardian wants more details on Conservative spending plans "The recent Tory spring conference brought a new Tory buzzword - austerity - and a Cameron speech overt in its commitment to reducing spending... Tory cuts could be very deep in all but two departments (health and aid). Yet the party has until recently denied there would be any at all. It wants to avoid handing Labour a shadow budget to snipe at. But it would be illegitimate to win power without telling voters the truth." - Guardian editorial "The days when Tony Blair wooed artists and musicians at Downing Street are ancient history but, despite riding high in the polls, the Conservative party has so far struggled to win over many cool backers. Now the Tories could finally gain the cultural credibility they crave with reports that Tracey Emin, once a virulent critic of Thatcherism, is close to entering Cameron's big tent." - The Guardian Graham Stewart predicts Tracey Emin's relationship with the Tories will not last "The Conservatives ought not to appear too desperate for her affections. Time-honoured dating techniques still apply. Play it cool. Don't call her for a bit. When you do hook up, don't pretend to be something you're not. The chances are, she'll be repulsed when she sees how you really dance. Worse, she will definitely tell her friends." - Graham Stewart writing in The Times Gordon Brown tries to regain initiative with education announcement - and attack on David Cameron's austerity "Gordon Brown will launch a fightback today as he tries to silence his Labour critics by showing that his Government has not run out of steam and fresh policy ideas. In a speech in London, the Prime Minister will announce that parents will get new powers to trigger local authority inspections of under-performing schools, which could be closed or merged. Promising more investment and reform in education as part of Labour's "politics of opportunity and growth", he will accuse David Cameron of the "politics of austerity and defeatism". - The Independent Brown will "plough on" until the election - The Mirror Michael Brown: Gordon Brown remaining PM is central to a Tory election victory "If there were to be any suggestion of a change of Labour leader, I suspect that David Cameron and the whole of the Tory Party will be massed outside Downing Street with the oxygen mask and the resuscitation unit. Mr Brown's continuing presence as Prime Minister is absolutely central to a huge Tory win next year." - Michael Brown writing in The Independent Ireland to hold second referendum on Lisbon Treaty "in the autumn" - Irish Times
Tuesday 5th May 2009Britain's leading conservative blog
Lord Forsyth leads the tributes to Margaret Thatcher at a thirtieth anniversary dinner in GlasgowDavid Cameron heading for the North East to launch local elections campaign
Tories highlight European Commission's downgraded UK output forecast
"Are the Tories having their Cool Britannia moment?"
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
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