ToryDiary: The blogosphere has a new star in Lord Tebbit
Nick Herbert MP on Platform: I am determined to curb the power of supermarkets
Seats and candidates: John Maples will play no role in the shortlisting of candidates under the by-election rules
Cllr Jim Harker on Local government: Keeping the Grand Prix at Silverstone
CUTTING AID: Cameron ready to use aid budget for national security goals
"The Tories "will examine the scope for allocating some funding from the international aid budget" to pay for military-backed stabilisation work." - FT
"David Cameron will on Friday set out Conservative plans for a new National Security Council that would co-ordinate all defence, counter-terrorism and international development work." - Telegraph
CUTTING IMMEDIATELY: George Osborne warns that Tory cuts would start immediately- Telegraph
"Middle-class families would lose benefits worth £700million a year within days of a Tory government being elected, George Osborne declared on Thursday. The Shadow Chancellor said tax credits worth up to £545 a year to households earning £50,000 or more would be scrapped to help get the public finances under control. Child trust funds, worth £250 to every new baby, would be limited to the poorest third of families and those with disabled children." - Daily Mail
"Osborne would be due to hold an emergency budget within 50 days of the election. But the shadow chancellor believes Britain's £178bn deficit imposes such a burden on the public finances that he would not wait for the budget to implement the first round of cuts, which he would expect to make within weeks of a Tory victory." - Guardian
CUTTING ARTS BUREAUCRACY: Jeremy Hunt says Tory government would introduce administrative cost limits and encourage US-style philanthropy for the arts - Guardian
The Independent publishes reactions from the arts establishment to Tory plans
CUTTING DEFENCE: Tories will have to make deep defence cuts
"The defence community is braced for change and harsh decisions. It will be a great misfortune if an incoming Tory government fails to exploit this mood quickly, ruthlessly, and constructively — which means with a determination to set strategic priorities rather merely distribute pain equitably. Neither we nor the Tories should be in any doubt that to sustain a serious army within declared spending levels requires cutting the Royal Navy and RAF to the bone." - Spectator
CUTTING EUROPE?: If the axe has to fall it should fall on Britain's contribution to the EU - Frederick Forsyth in The Express
BUT NOT CUTTING ENOUGH...says The Economist..."The squeezes [George Osborne] identified amounted to £7 billion ($11.4 billion) a year. In 2009-10 the deficit is £178 billion. As for the rest, the Tories talk airily about the savings magically to be had from slashing bureaucracy and quangos, and from curing the country’s social ills. Meanwhile, the mask of the fiscal hawk is only one of several that Mr Cameron wears. In his incarnation as a modern, progressive Conservative, he promises to ring-fence the health budget and enact costly reforms elsewhere. In the guise of a traditional Tory, he clings to pledges to raise the threshold for inheritance tax and, despite a recent wobble, to recognise marriage in the tax system. He says he would bring down the deficit faster than Mr Brown (though not exactly how fast), yet at the same time gives reason to doubt he would be single-minded enough to do so. He and Mr Osborne have forced Mr Brown to discuss debt, yet are disappointingly quiet themselves." - Bagehot
Dennis Sewell says that the political cage fight between the Tories and the educational establishment will be the most thrilling contest of Cameron’s first hundred days - Spectator
To the dismay of Tory MPs, Gordon Brown has managed to win or draw almost all PMQs clashes for the past three months - London Evening Standard
Annabel Goldie needs to change her tactics or the Scottish Tories need to oust her - Alan Cochrane in The Telegraph
Clegg warns of threat to union if Cameron wins keys to No 10 - Herald
Stephan Shakespeare addresses entrepreneurs about Post-Bureaucratic Age - RealBusiness.co.uk
John Bercow has attacked critics of his wife's decision to run for office as "old-fashioned, cowardly and downmarket" - BBC
BBC provokes Tory anger after inviting Damian McBride to address staff on election - Times
Labour confusion over alcohol pricing"Health Secretary Andy Burnham was reportedly planning to bring in minimum pricing which would double the cost of bargain alcohol. He triggered claims Labour was backing the radical plan by saying drink was "ludicrously cheap" and that public concern was rising. But Gordon Brown slapped the idea down by insisting there were NO plans for minimum pricing." - The Sun
Met Office forecasting saves the UK £350m a year - The Met Office Chief in The Times
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