Also on ToryDiary: Another poll puts the Conservatives 9% ahead LeftWatch: Cabinet Minister, Andrew Adonis, argues that Labour and Liberal Democrats are natural coalition allies Ross Carroll on Platform: The next Conservative Government must aid the development of a dynamic and sustainable private sector in Northern Ireland Seats and candidates: If the Tories get 1.5million more votes than Labour, Mr Brown would still win MORE Commons seats Local government: The battle for Bristol, The battle for Sefton and Which councils could the Conservatives lose on May 6? LeftWatch: Labour has given Unite's Charlie Whelan a parliamentary pass > Last night's ToryDiary: Cameron says richest public sector worker should not get paid more than twenty times poorest public sector worker "David Cameron’s efficiency chief has told him to cut the public payroll by up to £2bn within a year of the general election, a saving that could lead to the loss of up to 40,000 jobs across the public sector. In an interview with the Financial Times, Sir Peter Gershon, the former government adviser who has provided the blueprint for the Conservative leader’s efficiency plans, disclosed for the first time how the party’s proposed £12bn savings should be achieved." - FT "If instead the efficiencies are not there to be had, the Conservatives will have other awkward questions to answer. In particular, will they cut services such as schools? And if not, will they instead raise VAT, thereby taxing not just those who are in work, but also those without it?" - Guardian leader The FT's verdict: "Can the Conservatives release the extra £6bn in cash they claim? Absolutely. They say they will cut the money off departmental budgets. But can they do it without reducing employment and halting some existing programmes? Absolutely not. As Uwe Reinhardt, professor of political economy at Princeton is fond of saying: "Every $1 of waste is $1 of someone's income"." "The Tories need to beware: they are now the only party not to have fully and explicitly ruled out a hike in Vat after the election (they say they have no plans to put the tax up, but that isn’t quite the same thing). The Liberal Democrats have been quick to put out a vicious attack poster campaign claiming that a looming Tory Vat increase will cost everybody £389 a year. This is demagogic nonsense, as is their factually incorrect line that the only people who would get a tax break under the Tories are millionaires. This is simply not true. But there is only one sensible way forward. The Tories should go the whole hog and pledge not to put up Vat at all after the election – and if that means that all of the necessary fiscal tightening comes from reductions in expenditure, then so much the better. The tax burden is much too large already." - Allister Heath in City AM "Gordon Brown pushed through next year’s planned rise in national insurance against the advice of senior Treasury officials who argued instead for an increase in VAT." - Times "Deutsche Bank said Conservative plans to cut public spending were more credible to financial markets than Labour’s proposals. In a comprehensive analysis, the bank said Labour’s failure to set out firm plans to cut government debts was unsettling the financial markets. If Gordon Brown were re-elected or in the case of a hung parliament, the cost to the Government of raising money could rise, bank analysts said." - Telegraph A Tory spokesman says party largely happy with Digital Economy Bill and will not seek to change it should it gain power in the election - City AM Has Calamity Chris Grayling been cast into the cold? - Andrew Pierce in theDaily Mail > ConHome Election Gallery: Chris Grayling lends his support to Kris Hopkins in Keighley and Ilkley Scientists say Tory 'lack of vision' will damage economy - Independent Brown AND Cameron have so far ducked the Jeremy Paxman challenge -Guardian Fink Tank model shows Tories winning 318 seats — short of majority -Times "Mrs Cameron steps out on her own in a curious subset of what can only be called the Duchess of Cornwall role of being nice to poor people." - Anne Perkins in The Guardian Is Balls heading for a Portillo moment? - Independent > Antony Calvert launches new fundraising website in his bid to give Ed Balls a "Portillo moment" "The Liberal Democrats are to pledge to stop banks charging excessive penalties for customers going over their overdraft limit. The party's manifesto for consumers will also contain measures to limit charges for bouncing a cheque and cap the interest rates on credit cards." - Express Social networking website Facebook has been brought in to get unregistered voters into the polling booth - BBC "It is believed the actor plans to marshal the youngsters into a fleet of Minis, from which they will pull off audacious feats of community service, before an Alpine coach trip with their elderly charges goes horribly wrong." - Marina Hyde in The Guardian Michael Caine vowed yesterday to vote Tory in the General Election - The SunToryDiary: 'Like leaving Wayne Rooney on the bench'
International: Homosexuality, environmentalism and the real reasons why the British Conservatives are back
Seats and candidates: Please help raise £1,000 to make Philip Milton the next MP for North Devon
"Public sector chiefs earning hundreds of thousands of pounds a year would have their salaries cut back by a Conservative government under a radical scheme to link their earnings to the lowest-paid workers in their organisation, David Cameron announces today." - Guardian
Liberal Democrat poster warns on VAT bombshell if Tories win.
"The £6 gallon arrived at Britain’s petrol pumps yesterday as motorists continue to be hammered by Labour. Unleaded hit an average of 119.9p a litre for the first time ever, breaking the previous July 2008 record of 119.7p." - Express
Friday, 9 April 2010
Today's top ConservativeHome features
Highlights from yesterday
The Shakespeare Report: The value of daily polling is we can pick up trends more quickly
Today's newslinks
David Cameron: Public sector chiefs will be forced to take pay cut
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