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Friday 7th August 2009Britain's leading conservative blog Today's top ConservativeHome features ToryDiary: Tory members support a right-to-die in principle but fear the practical consequences Adam Buckley with Ben Caldecott and Gavin Dick on Platform: Even forgetting the challenge of climate change, clean energy is still worth it Seats and Candidates: Hartlepool Conservatives select Alan Wright to take on Labour MP Iain Wright Local Government: Retention of Ken Livingstone's Diversity Officers at City Hall is NOT a statutory requirement WATCH:  A selection of video clips featuring Philip Hammond - the man tipped to be a very powerful Deputy Chancellor to George Osborne Bill Clinton describes his role in freeing the journalists held in North Korea Yesterday's highlights on ConservativeHome ToryDiary: Tory members agree Osborne should be Shadow Chancellor OR General Election Co-ordinator Parliament: Every MP costs £247,000... 60% of 2005's Tory MPs were privately educated... CentreRight posts: Tim Montgomerie: Labour makes it costlier and costlier for low income couples to live together Jill Kirby is confused by Grant Shapps' campaign against the postcode lottery in IVF provision Alex Deane is unconvinced by the Government's latest pronouncement on renewable energy Today's other newslinks David Willetts accuses Government over college-building in marginal seats "The Government has been accused of "playing politics" with education after it emerged that 13 colleges rescued from a multi-billion pound funding crisis are all in Labour constituencies... David Willetts, the shadow universities and skills secretary, said: "It is inconceivable that the only college building projects which are necessary with an election due next year are the ones that happen to be in Labour areas. We are calling on ministers to reassess the criteria for college rebuilding so that it is fairer and more transparent." - Daily Telegraph Philip Hammond fears quantitative easing will fuel inflation "The Bank of England announced that it would pump another £50 billion into the economy to ensure continued recovery... The move prompted the Tories to warn of the risk of inflation when Britain emerges from the recession. Philip Hammond, the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: “Every extension of the QE programme also adds to the longer-term risk of fuelling inflation when the economy recovers.” - The Times Liam Fox lambasts Defence minister Quentin Davies over "shambolic management" over procurement decision of fighter engines "A defence minister has been accused of "shambolic management" and "destabilising the industry" over plans to ditch a multi-million pound contract for Rolls Royce fighter engines... Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary... accused Mr Davies, who defected from the Tories to Labour two years ago, of "destabilising industry and demoralising the military" because the MoD was "casually talking about reopening contracts". "No one seems to know what they are procuring. It's a complete fiasco," said Dr Fox." - Daily Telegraph Troops' laser training programme put at risk by the Treasury - The Times The Economist picks up on our survey of the likely next intake of Conservative MPs "The diversity of Tory hopefuls—there is likely to be the biggest influx of new Conservative MPs in decades—is one thing. Their ideology is quite another... Almost all support recognising marriage in the tax system and 85% want a lower time limit for abortion. This social conservatism is matched by right-wing views on taxing and spending: two-thirds want inheritance tax abolished and more want defence protected from spending cuts than any other area". - The Economist > Last month's post on our survey of future Tory MPs Jewish Chronicle editor accuses Michal Kamiński's detractors of "using a false charge of anti-Semitism for political gain" "Mr Kamiński is a mainstream, centre-Right politician who would, were he British, fit naturally into the Atlanticist, free-market wing of the Conservative Party. As the first MEP from Eastern Europe to lead a group in the parliament he is, in many ways, a beacon: a man who was brought up under Communism but who hero-worships Thatcher and Reagan, and a living representation of the freedom brought by the collapse of Communism... There is simply no evidence that Mr Kamiński is an anti-Semite, only a series of politically motivated assertions." - Jewish Chronicle editor Stehen Pollard writing in the Daily Telegraph > Tuesday's ToryDiary: Timothy Kirkhope rebuts the smears against Michal Kamiński London-Birmingham rail link plans take Tory victory into account "Plans for a high-speed rail link from London to Birmingham via Heathrow are being drawn up on the basis that a third runway will not be built, in anticipation of a Conservative victory in the general election. High Speed Two, the company charged with proposing a north-south route, is working on a business model that features a Heathrow station but does not factor in a new runway at the UK's largest airport, reflecting Tory policy to block expansion." - The Guardian Theresa Villiers says Government is over-reliant on speed cameras "Police forces with the most speed cameras have the worst road safety records, it was revealed yesterday... Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said: "Labour's over-reliance on speed cameras has left their strategy for preventing road collisions seriously flawed. Many are questioning whether fixed speed cameras are being used as life savers or revenue raisers." - The Sun Damian Green: Ministers have failed in crackdown on "bogus" foreign students "Ministers are trying to locate nearly 4,000 foreign students who are living in Britain after coming to the UK to study at bogus colleges, it emerged last night... Despite the Government's claims to have tightened up the student visa system, they have failed to crack down on high numbers of "bogus" students who are already here, said the Tories' immigration spokesman, Damian Green." - The Independent Michael Gove on what The Sun brands "ex-sham-inations" "Shocking evidence of dumbing down in exams has been uncovered by a Sun investigation. Kids taking SATs tests at 11 face an array of easy questions... Last night shadow education secretary Michael Gove vowed to put things right if the Tories are elected. He said: "Dumbed-down exams leave youngsters ill-equipped for the world of work." - The Sun > WATCH: Michael Gove on restoring trust in our exam system Whitehall director general of schools attacks "profoundly shocking" failure on 'neets' "A senior civil servant has criticised Britain's "profoundly shocking" failure to help young people who are not in education or jobs. Jon Coles said that he had seen research suggesting that, in one area, one in seven "neets" - not in education, employment or training - died within 10 years of falling out of the system... The Conservatives said his comments were an admission that Labour had "failed to get to grips" with the problem of neets. Michael Gove, the shadow schools secretary, said: "The prospects for those young people that are not in education, training or employment are truly shocking." - Daily Telegraph MPs are in top 3% of earners "Greedy MPs' attempts to plead poverty were shot down yesterday by a new study that puts them in the top 3% of earners... Research by the Taxpayers' Alliance shows they still take home more than 19 out of 20 voters." - Daily Mirror Boris forced to remove shed which breached planning rules "The Mayor of London has had to take down a shed at his family home because he failed to apply for planning permission before building it. Council officers ordered Boris Johnson to remove the shed from a balcony at his home, a Grade II listed building in a conservation area of Islington, North London." - The Times Frederick Forsyth: Bring back the Ombudsman "When did you last hear of the ombudsman righting a wrong? It was a brilliant idea, now knackered and eviscerated by triumphant petty officialdom. The Tories should restore this idea and make it a reality. a local champion, servant of common sense not political correctness, with real power. Not just to listen and tut-tut but with the right to be completely independent of bureaucratic power." - Frederick Forsyth in the Daily Express The NHS is unsustainable without change "Andrew Lansley, seems intent on auditioning to be the Tory Frank Dobson, in which all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds... These are serious problems, but the solutions are not hard to enumerate, even if they are difficult to swallow. We cannot afford all that we can do so healthcare will have to be rationed further. We can do this by price, by availability or by time." - Times editorial Steve Richards: Neither Harman nor Mandelson will lead Labour "If Labour loses the election, the focus will be on the next generation even if the party does not have a single credible younger candidate yet... If there is a leadership contest next summer neither Harman nor Mandelson will be Brown's successor; neither will even stand in a contest. The closest they will get to No 10 is their temporary occupancy during Brown's summer break." - Steve Richards in The Independent The Mirror's Paul Routledge wants to throw more and more money at the NHS "The closer the election gets, the bolder the Tories get. They think the people are on their side in demands for public spending cuts... That’s what the Tory game plan is: to deceive people into thinking that NHS spending can be slashed without hurting us as individuals and consumers of its services. It can’t. Less money means worse service." - Paul Routledge in The Mirror Boris Johnson: Why electric cars are the future of motoring - What Car? magazine David Miliband backs Totnes-style primaries - BBC Government would guarantee aristocracy full title on ID cards - The Guardian Harriet Harman's husband "being lined up for safe seat" - Daily Mail