- David Cameron reaffirms his support for the NHS as the party begins unveiling its manifesto
- Fifteen reasons why even Peter Hitchens and Simon Heffer should vote Conservative
LeftWatch: Lib Dem candidate condemned for "sexually gratuitous" and "outrageously rude" attacks on political opponents
Imtiaz Ameen on Platform: Islam4uk's planned march through Wootton Bassett must be banned
Seats and Candidates Search for 100 Peers: Michael Howard
Local Government: Labour hypocrisy on TfL fare hikes
Stephan Shakespeare on CentreRight: You don’t need a mandate to do the right thing
ToryDiary posts:
Paul Goodman writes his first piece as Contributing Editor to ConservativeHome: "If you want change, you'll have to vote for it - and that means voting Conservative."
- Conservatives launch 'Year for Change' campaign
- Ken Clarke refuses to rule out VAT increase as Tories inch towards more honesty on their deficit plans
- George Osborne is not for turning on inheritance tax
- Cameron promises to invite other main party leaders into war cabinet if he becomes Prime Minister
- Thatcher's lessons for Cameron
- Conservatives 10% ahead in final poll of 2009
- Buckingham Tories ordered by CCHQ to campaign for John Bercow or stay silent
- John Gummer becomes the latest Suffolk MP to announce his retirement
- Any Conservative MP retiring now will leave their local party members having to choose from a CCHQ shortlist of three candidates
- Andrew Bridgen, Tory candidate for Leicestershire NW, leads tributes to David Taylor MP, who died on Boxing Day
Adeela Shafi: Supporting the family is essential if we are to rid this country of the burgeoning knife and gun culture
- Azeem Ibrahim: The NHS must change and we must not be afraid to say so
- Lorraine Mullally: The Conservatives must do better than Labour at representing Britain's interests in Europe
- Zehra Zaidi: Gordon Brown has questions to answer about the Iraq War and Sir John Chilcot should put them before the general election
- Matt Showering: How Labour's welfare system punished me for trying to take responsibility and not depend on the state
LeftWatch posts:
- Gordon Brown's recession is the worst ever for business failures
- Charles Clarke makes another plea to Labour to ditch Gordon Brown
- Polly Toynbee's warning to Labour: Get rid of Brown or you are toast
- The Director of Public Prosecution's socialist past
- The Government fines universities for trying to meet its target on student numbers
- The British Left is developing better and better online products
- Mark Wallace of The TaxPayers' Alliance has a list of New Year resolutions for councillors
- Analysis of latest local government election results suggests a hung parliament is possible
CentreRight posts:
- Stephan Shakespeare: Here's the beef at the heart of Project Cameron
- Ben Rogers: Britain has become a hub of Islamic radicalisation and a menace to the world
WATCH:
David Cameron vows to lead the country out of Labour's mess
"We cannot go on like this. This is no time for business as usual. This is no time for more of the same. There is only one way out of this mess and that is through massive change. The most urgent task is to bring the deficit down... so we can start to regain our position as a world-leading economy. We have to strengthen families and reform schools so we can start to build the big society. And we need to give people real power and control over their lives so we can have a political system to be proud of.” - Extracts of the speech David Cameron will give this morning cited in the Daily Telegraph
Conservatives cry foul over Labour's use of civil service to attack Tory policy
"As the Tories publish the first chapter of their election document, Labour will release a 100-page dossier that attempts to undermine the credibility of the Shadow Chancellor by claiming that he has failed to keep control of spending pledges. The document has been prepared with the help of Treasury civil servants, who were asked to analyse Tory policies in parliamentary answers and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests... Michael Fallon, a Tory member of the Treasury Select Committee, said: “The Treasury should not be doing these kind of costings. It should be left to independent bodies who have a far better track record on forecasting.” - The Times
Osborne accuses Brown of dishonesty over failure to acknowledge need for cuts
"Gordon Brown was last night accused of “fantasy” economics for failing to accept the reality of Britain’s dire situation and for claiming that tax rises would pay off Britain’s record deficit... George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, said Mr Brown had again failed to accept the reality of the true position and that Labour would have to cut spending. Mr Osborne said: “Gordon Brown has absolutely nothing new to say at the start of this year for change. Indeed it's worse than that: he has slipped back into repeating his dishonest nonsense that Labour will go on spending, when his own Treasury figures reveal Labour cuts." - Daily Telegraph
Grayling accuses Brown of "playing politics with terrorism"
"Gordon Brown was accused of playing politics with terrorism last night after a row over a Number 10 announcement on Yemen. The Tories blasted him for "exaggeration and spin" over a press release saying he had "agreed" with President Barack Obama to fund an elite anti-terror unit in the state. On TV yesterday, Mr Brown admitted he had "not recently" had ANY talks with the US leader on it... Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling said: "For a Prime Minister to play politics with the issue of terrorism is a disgrace." - The Sun
Theresa May blasts Labour over housing benefit dependency
"A staggering £20billion will be paid in housing benefit this year as the effects of the recession push up the welfare bill. Official figures show the handouts are expected to rise by 15 per cent - despite a pledge by ministers to crack down on excessive claims... Theresa May, the shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said: 'Labour's failure over the past decade to take the tough decisions on welfare reform is coming back to haunt them. Housing benefit can provide valuable help to people in work or pensioners, but the reality is that these figures are symptomatic of a wider trend of benefit dependency'." - Daily Mail
David Cameron: Progressive Conservatism will mean a fairer, greener society
"We are progressive Conservatives. Our goal is a fairer, safer, greener country where opportunity is more equal. It's because we are progressives that we will protect the NHS. We recognise its special place in our society so we will improve it for everyone. It's because we are progressives that we will support aspiration so that people from every background, not just the rich, have the chance to get on in life." - An extract from David Cameron's speech on Saturday republished in The Independent
Bruce Anderson: David Cameron has won the body language battle
"Gordon Brown will try to fight the third re-running of the 1997 election, accusing the Tories of planning to slash the NHS, destroy state education and condemn OAPs to starvation. David Cameron has spent four years trying to ensure that those lies will never reach cruising altitude: four successful years. He has won that body-language battle. The voters will simply not believe that a government led by Mr Cameron would destroy the health service." - Bruce Anderson in The Independent
Position of UUP MP Sylvia Hermon still unresolved
"The future of the Ulster Unionist Party’s only MP was still undecided last night as Lady Sylvia Hermon confirmed a two hour meeting with party leader Sir Reg Empey over its link-up with the Conservatives did not reach a firm conclusion. Lady Hermon previously said the tie-in announced last year left her “deeply unhappy,” casting doubts on whether she will represent the party in this year’s General Election." - Belfast Telegraph
Gordon Brown portrays himself as election underdog...
"Gordon Brown has characterised the coming battle between Labour and the Conservatives as one that pitches aspiration against austerity. He also appeared to let slip a strong hint that there would be no snap General Election in March by saying he believed there would be another Budget before going to the country. The Prime Minister, in an interview with BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, made a fresh attempt to portray himself as the underdog by repeatedly referring to himself as a fighter and denied that there was dissent in his own ranks going into the campaign." - The Herald
...as he says that Eton attacks on Cameron were "a joke"...
"Attacks by Gordon Brown on David Cameron’s Eton education were “a joke”, the Prime Minister claimed, before again raising the subject of elitism as part of a continued attack on Conservative “privilege.” - Daily Telegraph
...and makes overtures to the Lib Dems
"Gordon Brown made an unprecedented overture to the Liberal Democrats yesterday amid growing expectation that Nick Clegg's party could hold the balance of power after the general election... Asked about the possibility of a coalition with the Liberal Democrats in the event of a hung parliament, Mr Brown struck an uncharacteristically emollient note towards the party." - The Independent
"Clegg has already suggested he would feel obliged to support whichever party "won" an indecisive election. It's unclear (and could matter) whether he meant won the most votes or the most Commons seats, but this seemed to make him a potential Tory partner. His own party loathes that idea and, privately, Clegg himself much prefers a Labour deal. Yet could he possibly prop up an unpopular, tired-looking Labour prime minister who had failed to win a clear mandate? That seems unlikely." - Jackie Ashley in The Guardian
Ed Balls to seek election debate with Michael Gove
"While the leaders' TV debates will inevitably draw the attention, I hope we will see the cabinet and shadow cabinet debating too. This week I will ask my opposite numbers to agree dates, and will propose that we invite parents, teachers, governors and pupils – the people who will be affected directly by the election choice – to ask the questions." - Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls writing in The Guardian
People are often frustrated by a complicated justice system when all they want is an apology - Boris Johnson writing in the Daily Telegraph
David Miliband builds up war chest in advance of leadership battle - Daily Telegraph
Labour fears Tony Blair will be an election liability - The Times
BBC claims that its privatisation would lose the country billions - Guardian
And finally... Gordon Brown tops a poll
"Gordon Brown has been named the worst-dressed man of the year by the British edition of men's magazine, GQ. The prime minister topped the rankings for being "anything but a prime example of British style," the magazine said." - BBC
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