Britannia Radio

Today's top ConservativeHome features

ToryDiary: The Tory plan is for tax cuts "in the third year of the next parliament"

Adam Holloway MP on Platform: It is too late to completely defeat the insurgency we have built against ourselves in Afghanistan

Seats and Candidates: The battle for the London marginals

Local Government:

• Councils' pensions deficit hits £53 billion
• Sunderland Conservatives propose 10% Council Tax discount for pensioners
• Rugby, West Lancashire, Fareham and South Ribble freeze Council Tax

Parliament: Stewart Jackson exposes the "culture of bullying" which existed in John Prescott's department

LeftWatch: Unite's Derek Simpson told Tory union emissary to "get lost"

WATCH: David Cameron pays tribute to Michael Foot

Highlights from yesterday

ToryDiary: Cameron welcomes the agreement on election debates

CentreRight posts:

• Mark Wallace: The absurdity of having political leaflets confiscated by the parliamentary authorities
• Roger Helmer: Thanks for the coal, WWF
• Lawrence Kay: Escaping the poverty trap

Today's newslinks

Tory rating unchanged in YouGov daily tracker - The Sun | Last night's ToryDiary

David Cameron to be subject of a one-off pre-election interview with Sir Trevor McDonald

"David Cameron will allow a glimpse behind the scenes of the Conservative election campaign for a one-off television special with the veteran broadcaster Sir Trevor McDonald. The Tory leader will be filmed as he attends Parliament and holds campaign events over the next week before the hour-long programme is aired on Mothering Sunday – March 14. It comes after Gordon Brown granted a highly personal interview to Piers Morgan, the celebrity talent show judge, in which he discussed the death of his daughter and rows with Tony Blair, which was screened on Valentine’s Day last month." - Daily Telegraph

Liam Fox joins attack on MoD's procurement programme

"The Ministry of Defence is wasting hundreds of millions of pounds a year on buying equipment, often taking decisions to delay projects without understanding their full implication, according to a highly critical parliamentary report published on Thursday. The Commons defence committee report on equipment also accuses witnesses from the department of giving “disingenuous” information on a huge shortfall in its budget... Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said: “It is clear that the MoD’s procurement programme may as well have been operating in Wonderland.” - FT

William Hague "hid Lord Ashcroft's tax status for months"

"The turmoil at the top of the Tory party over the tax affairs of Lord Ashcroft escalated last night as the former leader, William Hague, admitted he had known "for a few months" that the peer had renegotiated the terms under which he took his place in the House of Lords." - The Guardian

"Senior Tories including Mr Hague had been increasingly pressed over Lord Ashcroft’s tax status in recent years, often giving carefully-worded responses which suggested that he had abided by all the requirements made of him before becoming a peer. So the news that the shadow foreign secretary, who was the party leader in 2000 and instrumental in securing Lord Ashcroft his peerage, was unaware of the facts until recently will surprise Tories." - Daily Telegraph

Lib Dem candidate accused of "the attempted purchase of a parliamentary seat" - The Independent

Hague floored Harman at yesterday's PMQs

"Hague came off weak ground and flattened her. It was the right mix of information, invective, argument, wit and yelling. He hasn't been as good as this for years. Mind you, he hasn't been the underdog for years." - Simon Carr in The Independent

> Yesterday's PMQs open thread

"Gordon's Greatest Hits" have cost each family £50,000

"Gordon Brown's economic blunders have cost every family in Britain £50,000, the Tories claim today. The party says Mr Brown is personally responsible for a series of mistakes that have shattered the economy. They include selling Britain's gold reserves at a record low, raiding pensions for up to £150billion, making catastrophic tax credit errors, racking up over £1trillion in debt, and giving up our EU rebate. In total, the Tories say, the blunders  -  which they call 'Gordon's greatest hits'  -  added up to a total loss of £1,287billion." - Daily Mail

Labour will accuse the Tories of wanting to "turn back the clock"

"Labour will try to undermine David Cameron's "vote for change" pitch at the general election by warning that a Conservative government would "turn back the clock" rather than take Britain forward. Ministers have agreed to highlight Tory plans to end the ban on fox hunting, cut inheritance tax and reward marriage in the tax system in Labour's election campaign in an attempt to question Mr Cameron's credentials as a moderniser." - The Independent

Obituary of ex-Labour leader Michael Foot - Tribune

> Yesterday's LeftWatch: Michael Foot has died

UKIP expels West Midlands MEP - The Times

And finally... Labour candidate cannot spell the name of her own village

"A Labour Party candidate was left red-faced when it turned out that the name of her home village was misspelt on her campaign leaflets. Emilie Oldknow stated on 8,000 leaflets that she was born in Rainsworth but in fact no such place exists. The 29-year-old Parliamentary candidate for the Nottinghamshire constituency of Sherwood actually comes from Rainworth... Mark Spencer, the Conservative candidate for Sherwood, farmer and businessman, said the error was evidence of Ms Oldknow's inexperience. ''Anybody can make a typo but I can't foresee circumstances where I would put out a leaflet spelling my home village wrongly,'' he said." - Daily Telegraph