ToryDiary: The Tory Day Two attack on the Pre-Budget Report focuses on NHS cuts and a cynical (temporary) increase in benefits
- "Darling just screwed more people than Tiger Woods": Fleet Street's verdict on Labour's high-taxing Pre-Budget Report
- The "domestic services bill" of that renowned class warrior, the Rt Hon Dr Gordon Brown MP
Brooks Newmark MP on Platform: Rwanda's accession to the Commonwealth is an encouraging sign for the organisation's future
Parliament: An update on the Save General Election Night campaign as the Commons motion on the issue is re-tabled
Local Government: Anonymous Council CEO warns of "brain drain"
WATCH: The BBC's Hugh Pym assesses how the PBR will affect us all
Tories lead attack on Labour's "tax on jobs" as Osborne accuses Darling of "criminal irresponsibility" for failing to tackle debt
"Labour's new "tax on jobs" and low earners risks provoking a backlash similar to the damaging rebellion over the abolition of the 10p tax rate, opposition parties warned Gordon Brown last night. Both the Tories and Liberal Democrats quickly rounded on the Government's plan to push up National Insurance contributions, a move that will see employers and employees who earn more than £20,000 pay an extra 0.5 per cent from April 2011... Mr Osborne accused the Government of "criminal irresponsibility" in failing to tackle record levels of debt, adding that Labour had "lost their moral authority to govern". - The Independent
Tories divided on taxing bankers' bonuses
"Conservative tensions over the banks’ “supertax” emerged as George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, decided not to oppose the windfall levy. Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, criticised the tax as a “regrettable” consequence of the government’s failure to agree a global deal on bonuses, which meant London would be “specifically penalised”.Other senior Tories also hit out at the measure, which Michael Fallon, a Conservative MP on the Commons Treasury committee, called a “diversion” from the real issue of the public sector deficit." - FT
"What was most extraordinary about the Budget was that it confirmed that the Conservatives have largely signed up to this new anti-City, soak-the-rich agenda. David Cameron is right that a sensible centre-right party should be calling for a reformed, more prudent City. But Tories have instead decided to join Labour’s revenue and prosperity-destroying hunt for those on large incomes." - Allister Heath in The Spectator
Norman Lamont: Darling is acting as if there were no crisis "Even before Mr Darling got to his dissembling about the depth of the recession, I counted eight new spending commitments, excluding the cut in bingo duty... Indeed, the whole package was based on a deceit, designed to politicise the hard choices that will inevitably follow the election." - Lord Lamont writing in the Daily Telegraph
Peter Riddell: The Conservatives can dare to be different after Labour proposals
"While Mr Darling’s measures were insufficient, his strategy has made deficit reduction common ground across the party divide. That is where he has done Mr Osborne a favour. The Chancellor has legitimised tough action to cut the deficit." - Peter Riddell in The Times
James Plunkett: A recovery will not be enough to beat the Tories - The Guardian
> Yesterday's PBR coverage on ConHome:
- Darling raises National Insurance by another 0.5%, announces £0.5bn tax on bank bonuses and forecasts £178bn deficit for this year
- Responding to PBR, George Osborne says the greatest golden rule is you can never trust Labour with the economy
- How many ducks did you spot?
- If Labour are now the anti-banker party, the Conservatives must be the job-creating, growth party
- Andrew Lilico: "At 4.75% contraction, 2009 is the worst year for the UK economy since comparable records began in 1948"
- Matt Sinclair of The TaxPayers' Alliance uncovers some of the "nasties" hidden in Darling's speech
> WATCH:
- George Osborne declares that the greatest golden rule is 'never, ever trust a Labour government with your money'
- CCHQ video takes us behind-the-scenes of George Osborne's PBR operation
Cameron forces U-turn on publication of full details of MPs' expenses
"MPs' second home expenses claims came under fresh scrutiny today after commons bosses were shamed into a double climbdown over what could be released. The total sums claimed by MPs on their second homes have been published today - allowing voters to see how their MP compares with others. Previously, MPs' receipts for such claims would have been released - but not the total figures... A committee chaired by Commons Speaker John Bercow made the U-turn after David Cameron raised the issue at Prime Minister's Question Time." - Daily Mail
> Yesterday's ToryDiary on PMQs
Chris Grayling accuses Labour of "breathtaking complacency" on immigration
"The home secretary, Alan Johnson, tonight set out the terms for a national debate on immigration, saying it was legitimate to argue for a pre-determined quota on migration but not to call for immigration to cease or for an "open door" policy... Grayling said he believed Johnson's criticism showed "breathtaking complacency and a complete lack of understanding of the pressures that uncontrolled immigration under this government is putting on our country". - The Guardian
What Dave can learn from Boris
"This tension between the two camps makes the Boris v. Dave story irresistible to the media. But Boris has been busy seasoning this stew, outflanking Cameron and Osborne on those Tory staples of tax and Europe. Among the Tory grassroots, there are now a growing number of Conservatives who like to think of the Mayor as a lodestar: a man less apologetic in his conservatism, and indeed everything else, than the leader." - James Forsyth in The Spectator
Hague reveals details of trip to Turks and Caicos slands
"William Hague, the shadow Foreign Secretary, has given details of his visit to Turks and Caicos, where the government was later mired in a corruption scandal, a day after The Independent reported that he had refused to say who he met or what he did while he was on the troubled islands." - The Independent
Derby North holds key to Tory hopes of election victory
"David Cameron will win a Commons majority if the swing voters of this Midlands town back him" - The Times
Tim Yeo: Tories can lead on climate change
"David Cameron is committed to tackling climate change. Greg Clark has outlined policies to tackle climate change during the recession and environmental concerns are visible in a range of areas, such as in our international development policies. Cameron must turn his commitment into concrete action and make climate change a priority in government." - Tim Yeo MP in The Guardian
Posts
