ToryDiary: On St Andrew's Day, Boris wants extra investment in London as the price for the capital's subsidy of Scotland
Lionel Zetter on Platform: Gordon Brown handing the reins of power to David Cameron could be the ultimate "Hospital Pass"
Seats and candidates: Four women, three lawyers, three doctors, two ex-military among those selected to replace thirteen retirees and Trevor Ivory's Diary of a PPC
Welcome to Think tank central: This new ConservativeHome page kicks off with profiles of the Centre for Social Justice, Policy Exchange and the TaxPayers' Alliance
On Local government Harry Phibbs defends £100K+ salaries for council CEOs: "It so happens that I suspect that if a Council is to have a Chief Executive at all then paying someone under £100,000 a year to do the post would not constitute value for money."
He also notes that Surrey Council has banned alcohol from County Hall
Parliament: It's time for an across-the-piece, step change, rollout of new language in public sector documents
We hope you like the new mastheads at the top of ConservativeHome's pages. They are all posted here if you want to see them in one place.
Greg Clark: Local residents who accept wind farms will get lower energy bills under the Conservatives
"As well as lower gas and electricity bills for up to 25 years, residents would be invited to share in the proceeds of business rates paid by wind farms for six years after they were built." - Telegraph
Zac Goldsmith should be fired over non-domicile tax, says Liberal Democrats - Times
Tory Treasurer hopes for speedy abolition of 50p tax band and corporate tax falling to close to 20p - FT
Soaring state deficits could force David Cameron to water down plans for tax breaks for married couples - Daily Mail"Worrying noises are emanating from Tory HQ. In particular, it is said that allowing couples to combine their taxfree allowances – at a cost of around £5billion a year – may prove unaffordable. Yes, State spending must be slashed – but, with the cost of family breakdown estimated at £20billion a year, what could be more important than standing up for marriage?" - Daily Mail leader
Nuclear family is broken forever says the head of a Government-funded parenting group - Telegraph
Ed Balls is drawing up new plans to tackle family breakdown that will promote any stable relationship, not just the superiority of marriage - Guardian
Bruce Anderson: In emphasising society David Cameron is not repudiating Thatcherism but moving beyond it - Independent
Tory AM calls for more co-ops and credit unions to help people of Wales through recession - Western Mail
Madeleine Bunting: There is nothing ordinary about David Cameron"Every job Cameron has had has entailed the intervention of some connection or another. Conservative central office straight down from Oxford? A mysterious caller from no less than Buckingham Palace. Carlton Communications? A discreet intervention from Samantha's mother." - Madeleine Bunting in The Guardian
Lord Pearson's planned deal with Tories causes outrage among UKIP grassroots - Times
"The new leader of the UK Independence Party, Lord Pearson, claimed more than £100,000 in publicly-funded expenses on the basis that his £3.7 million house in London was his second home while also owning in a 12,000-acre estate with servants in Scotland." - Telegraph
William Rees-Mogg (or, given yesterday's news, should that be Bill Mogg?) writes about the battle for victory in the Somerset seats by being fought by his children: "In the Somerset marginals a vote for UKIP will help to elect Lib Dem candidates to Westminster. Yet voters in the West Country are predominantly Eurosceptic, as are all the Somerset Conservative candidates. This will be a very hard-fought battle and in the marginals a few votes lost to UKIP could decide the outcome."
Council bosses ready to leave in fear of Tory curbs on pay and perks - Times
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Labour will set out £9bn of savings across Whitehall tomorrow - FT
Vince Cable will announce their tax plans today - BBC
Alex Salmond to publish White Paper making case for Scottish independence - BBC report | Nick Robinson interview
But, says The Herald, all other parties are set to deny him a referendum: "Labour leader Iain Gray said Mr Salmond was “out of touch”, Annabel Goldie of the Scottish Conservatives said it was “monumental waste of parliamentary time” and the LibDems’ Tavish Scott said the SNP’s “pet project” was a waste of £12 million of public money. With all three of the main opposition parties firmly set against the wishes of the minority SNP administration, the Bill is sure to fall at the first hurdle."
The BNP's Nick Griffin betrays Gibraltar "The BNP would hand the key outpost of Gibraltar to Spain in an astonishing betrayal of its 30,000 British citizens. The move would also deprive the UK of a naval base - defended bitterly for more than 300 years - of huge strategic importance. Party leader Nick Griffin, elected as an MEP in June, made the offer at a fascist rally in Madrid last week to suck up to European extremists." - The Sun
More on NothingBritish.com.
Malcolm Turnbull likely to be replaced as Australian Liberal leader tomorrow - ABC | ConservativeInternational
International: Right-wing pundits attempt to set agenda for Republican Party
ToryDiary: David Cameron's first official portrait
AmericaInTheWorld: The BBC's world affairs correspondent presents a one-sided account of the UK-US relationship
Matt Sinclair on CentreRight warns a Conservative government against pursuing a combined environmental and energy policy agenda "that would constitute perhaps the greatest financial assault on the interests of the poor in British history".
WATCH: Jon Culshaw's latest impersonations of David Cameron and Boris Johnson
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