Britannia Radio

Britain's leading conservative blog Thursday 6th August 2009 Today's top ConservativeHome features ToryDiary: Will the next Tory leader be chosen by an open primary election? (And if they are what is the point of being a Tory member?) Rolling blog on the Conservative Party's biggest summer media hits Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: Alan Sugar is a prat. He's a dipstick. He's a wally. (As well as not having an enormous intellect). Local government: Is it time to scrap free bus passes for pensioners? Cllr Michael Freer on Local government: Big efficiency savings planned in Barnet Tony Lodge on Platform: Telecare can help save our health and social care system WATCH: Do you look at the stars through a telescope or a microscope? Does a woolly hat or a CD reflect light better? Is a grilled fish or battered sausage healthier? ...Michael Gove MP explains why he is putting exam papers online. ITN report: John Bercow under fire for £20,000 refurbishment of Speaker's flat Four highlights from yesterday afternoon's ConservativeHome Parliament: Should the House of Lords leave moral issues as the unique preserve of the Commons? ToryDiary: Liam Fox lambasts Government over "inexcusable" failure to get armoured trucks to Afghanistan as quickly as possible Seats and Candidates: Eric Pickles is bullish about the party's chances of "love-bombing" the Liberal Democrats out of swathes of the West Country Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: The Times erroneously reports there is something of the knight about Anthony Steen Today's other newslinks Grant Shapps: 'Postcode lottery' remains for couples seeking help on IVF "Couples seeking to start a family using IVF treatment still face a postcode lottery in obtaining help on the NHS, new figures reveal today... Grant Shapps, the Tory MP who carried out the research and whose three children were born following IVF treatment, said it was clear that a postcode lottery remained in place. "Budgets are tight and the NHS must set it s priorities, but it is wrong to raise expectations in couples who are desperate to start a family only for them to find out later that they won't get the real help they expected," he said. "Going through IVF is mentally and physically exhausting enough without these additional pressures." - Independent Liam Fox blasts Gordon Brown for suppressing report on defence procurement blunders "The report by Bernard Gray, a former adviser to the Ministry of Defence, was due to be published last month but was delayed after ministers announced that work would begin on a strategic defence review... Liam Fox, shadow defence secretary, said: “We have a catalogue of bureaucracy, incompetence and timewasting. Gordon Brown, as chancellor, was never w illing to fund Tony Blair’s wars; now that he is prime minister, he is trying to cover up his mistakes.” Mr Fox called for the report to be published as soon as possible. “We also need as full a disclosure of MoD finances as possible, as the next government is already facing a massive shortfall. Labour must not be allowed to operate a scorched earth policy on defence.” - FT | Guardian Charles Hendry attacks Labour's method for doubling nuclear power industry - FT Chris Patten and Tony Blair emerge as rivals for EU foreign minister role - FT Fraser Nelson on how the Conservatives should "escape" their NHS spending commitment "[Cameron] has not yet said how long health spending will be protected for. He should make it a year (if that) and then begin the cuts. Better still, he can say he intends to protect ‘frontline’ health services and get to work rolling back the vast bureaucratic apparatus. He can justify this by citing the finest of Keynesian principles: when the facts change, it is excusable to change one’s mind." - Fraser Nelson in The Spectator > ConHome has already recommended the exact same change in the Tory policy Tories need Osborne to concentrate on doing one job - ConHome's Tim Montgomerie in the Yorkshire Post Michael Howard's acceptance of another company directorship suggests he may not be joining Cameron's Cabinet - FT Lessons from Totnes "The victory of Dr Wollaston, despite the news headlines, was not a victory for anti-politicians or anti-politics. Rather, it was a victory for a different style of politics. Voters clearly want their MPs to be much less partisan, much more open-minded and pragmatic in the way they deal with issues. Certainly, the yah-boo politics that flourishes in the chamber of the Commons and many council chambers across the country is unappealing and won’t work for any aspiring MP in a primary system." - Nick Bye, one of the defeated primary candidates, writing in The Times Nick Clegg announces his election campaigning team - BBC "Time for a break from quantitative easing" - Allister Heath in City AM Signs point to Britain being on the cusp of economic fightback - The Times The Institute for Public Policy Research calls for incentives for highly skilled immigrants - BBC 'One million immigrants to leave Britain because of economy' - Telegraph The rumours of Britain's death have been greatly exaggerated - Gerald Warner in The Telegraph