ToryDiary: How the Conservatives will "embed behavioural thinking throughout government"
LeftWatch: Labour's headline-grabbing eco-homes tax incentive has benefitted just 24 people
Seat and Candidates: Final six for Suffolk Coastal
Parliament: Theresa Villiers accuses the Government of lagging behind other countries on airline passenger security
Local Government: Tory-controlled Somerset freezes council tax
- Lord Bates: It was Conservative peers who defended the attack on religious freedom this week
- Melanchthon: Why we invaded Iraq and what we should be asking now
WATCH: An innovative way of promoting economic theory...
- Charles Tannock MEP: Reflections from Auschwitz-Birkenau on the 65th anniversary of its liberation
- Julia Manning: There was never any evidence of a link between MMR and autism - it is a contemporary, disastrous myth
- Graeme Archer resurrects his proposal to choose the House of Lords by random selection akin to a jury
- Robin Simcox: The Iraqi "war for oil" fallacy
- Patrick Nolan: A better system of parental leave requires real reform, not more spending
Cameron wants early deficit cut, despite economy fears
"David Cameron will strike a patriotic note in his address to the world economic forum in Davos today, promising he will “take on the role of flag waver for British business” if the Conservatives are elected. In front of an audience expected to include former US president Bill Clinton and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Cameron will extol Britain’s “proud history” as a nation of traders and entrepreneurs." - City AM
Britain must 'rehabilitate economic reputation', says Cameron - Daily Telegraph
"Even if the official statistical picture for the last three months of 2009 does brighten, the prospects for the first quarter of 2010 are unprepossessing. For one thing, the recent cold snap may have hindered production. For another, there may be payback for a boost to consumer spending late last year." - The Economist
> Last night's ToryDiary: David Cameron commits a Conservative Government to start making cuts later this year - even if the economy contracts again
George Osborne: We have no plans to break up universal banks
"In an interview at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Mr. Osborne said he didn't advocate a return to the Depression-era Glass-Steagall Act, which separated investment and commercial banking. "I fully understand that modern universal banks need to offer their customers investment-banking services," he said." - Wall Street Journal
Boris Johnson appeals to bankers not to leave the City for Switzerland - Reuters
Liam Fox blasts Labour economic mismanagement for leaving black hole in defence budget
Afghanistan Conference sets five-year exit plan
"A process of reintegration for the Taleban was the centrepiece yesterday of the London conference on Afghanistan, which also set a tentative timeline for a transition of authority to the Afghan Government and a withdrawal of Western troops. A communiqué issued at the end of the conference set a period of five years for Afghan troops to take control of security in the country, but President Karzai said that such a process might take 15 years." - The Times
> Video from yesterday: Liam Fox says that the Afghan Government should talk to the "reconcilable elements" of the Taleban
Tony Blair goes before the Chilcot Inquiry today
The key questions Blair will face - The Independent
"I had no doubts that the war was legal because I have little time for international so-called law. In my view the war was legal because Parliament decided it was... The crime Chilcot should be investigating is not the invasion of Iraq but the total, comprehensive and needless bungling of the rebuilding of that country, and the virtual destruction of the well educated, more or less secular middle and professional classes which has left the way open for the radical extremists Saddam had kept under control." - Norman Tebbit blogging for the Daily Telegraph
Tories accuse Labour of kicking Commons reform plans into long grass
"Commons leader Harriet Harman has urged MPs not to be "suspicious" after claims she is trying to block reforms aimed at beefing up the powers of backbenchers. Ms Harman said she backed the Wright committee's proposals, which include electing committee chairmen and giving MPs a greater say in what they debate... Shadow leader of the House Sir George Young told MPs: "There is now a widespread suspicion that the government has created an approach that is simply designed to fail." - BBC
> Yesterday in Parliament: Sir George Young suggests that Harriet Harman is trying to block Commons reforms by using procedures giving a veto to any individual MP
Teaching about gay equality should be 'embedded' in schooling, says David Cameron
"David Cameron has said that teaching children about equality for gay people and the importance of civil partnerships should be "embedded" in Britain's schooling. In another sign of his departure from the Tory past, Cameron again apologised for supporting section 28 and said that teaching about equality was an important way of combating homophobic bullying." - The Guardian
> Video from yesterday: David Cameron says that Section 28 was a mistake and that children should be taught about homosexual relationships and the value of civil partnerships
Can Sweden teach our schools a lesson?
Richard garner visits Hampton Community College for The Independent
Cadbury should thrive under Kraft, says Ken Clarke
Tory backbencher accuses immigrant of 'importing medieval views' about women
"A Tory MP was plunged into a race row after he accused some ethnic communities of importing 'barbaric and medieval' views about women into Britain. David Davies, a member of the Home Affairs select committee, was accused of a 'crass misunderstanding' of the issues after his comments over a rape by 14-year-old Asian Balal Khan." - Daily Mail
Bromsgrove grassroots Tories angry at association chairman's agreement to CCHQ-imposed candidate shortlist
"Members of Bromsgrove Conservative Association have hit out at the organisation's apparent decision to ask the party's London office to supply a list of six candidates to replace Julie Kirkbride... In a report on the influential Conservative Home website, Jonathan Isaby wrote that sources at Tory headquarters had told him the Bromsgrove Association had 'requested' the selection be done under by-election rules, meaning Central Office supplied the six-name shortlist with no local input... We asked Bromsgrove Conservative Association chairman Alan Dent to confirm or deny this fact, but he declined to comment." - Bromsgrove Standard
Lunchtime deadline looms for Northern Ireland deal - Belfast Telegraph
The first two MPs to win expenses appeals identify themselves - BBC
Quangos are a luxury we don't need, and certainly can't afford - Jeff Randall in the Daily Telegraph
How Labour used the state to punish working families - Patrick O'Flynn in the Daily Express
And finally... David Cameron pips Jeremy Clarkson to first place in best Prime Minister poll
"Sun columnist and Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson would make a better Prime Minister than Gordon Brown, say voters. Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson and actor Stephen Fry also beat Mr Brown into fifth place. Tory leader David Cameron topped the list. The result is yet another blow for Mr Brown, who is one of the most unpopular PMs in history." - The Sun
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