ToryDiary: Cameron pitches for Liberal Democrat voters while diverting resources to once safe Labour seats On Platform, Howard Flight recommends that David Cameron focus on the economy in the final two weeks of the campaign Seats and candidates: Snapshots of the third week of the campaign from ConservativeHome's panel of candidates Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: The FT publishes the spending cuts that the political parties will not Also on CentreRight, Martin Ackroyd makes the important point that Nick Clegg is not in charge of his party: "Nick Clegg may be a nice chap, but he doesn’t have the power to agree anything. The Lib Dem constitution is set up so that, before any coalition could be formed, there has to be the agreement of the majority of Lib Dem MPs and the thirty or so members of the party’s Federal Executive (and if not with 75% approval of those two constituencies, via a special conference and then a ballot of all members, if the special conference didn’t give two-thirds backing)..." LeftWatch: First the Liberal Democrats had a fake nurse in their election literature, now a fake policeman Conservatives target twenty more Labour seats as they plot new path to a majority "Mr Cameron has ordered an aggressive “decapitation” campaign to try to snatch up to 20 seats that the Tories had previously thought unwinnable, including two held by Cabinet ministers. If successful, the party leadership believes the strategy could help the Conservatives achieve an overall majority of MPs. Today, with 10 days to go until polling day, Mr Cameron will take his election campaign to Southampton, where the Tories hope to unseat John Denham, the Communities Minister, who holds a majority of about 9,000. Ed Balls, the Children’s Secretary, is also a target." - Telegraph "The Tories are trying to exploit what they see as waning Labour support, with the party placed third in several polls, and are backing up their pitch with 2,200 new posters with around the country from Monday." - BBC The issues of education, poverty and Europe should attract left-wingers to the Conservatives - Bruce Anderson in The Independent Peter Hain says Liberal Democrat activists won't support LibCon pact "The more I look at the prospect of a Con-Lib coalition, the more I think it is not sustainable for long. The pressures of hostile Liberal grassroots and the visceral differences between the parties would bust it up. There's no way Cameron would really concede change to the voting system – rather, he would pull the plug at a time of his choosing, blame Clegg and Cable for "chaos", and call a second election. A bored and irritated electorate would then probably punish the Lib Dems." - Jackie Ashley in The Guardian Only by coming second could the LibDems strike a hard bargain in hung parliament talks - John Curtice in The Independent In The Telegraph, Boris Johnson blames Mandelson for believing that Brown could talk up Nick Clegg without damaging Labour. 65% of British Chambers of Commerce members were concerned about a hung parliament - Guardian We mustn’t underestimate the importance of immigration, even down here in the West Country - William Rees-Mogg in The Times Andrew Pierce highlights the 'nutters' that Nick Clegg sits with in the European Parliament - Daily Mail Harry Phibbs got there first with this post on CentreRight: Nick Clegg's Euro allies are the real nutters Lord Tebbit urges bigger campaigning role for Tory big beasts - Daily Mail Tories 'could put climate change agreement at risk' - Independent Cameron blocks peerage for Anthony Steen - Western Morning News Alan Johnson is positioning himself to lead Labour's possible coalition talks with Nick Clegg Brown has attacked the Tories over reports they may introduce "top-up fees" for nurseries - BBC Ed Balls has been given a £60 fine for driving while using a mobile phone -BBC Alex Salmond is urgently raising £50,000 to fight SNP's exclusion from election debates - Guardian "According to Crown Publishers, "Decision Points" will offer "gripping, never-before-heard detail" on such historic events as the September 11, attacks and the 2000 presidential election along with Bush's decision to quit drinking, his relationship with his family and other personal details." - Telegraph The main party leaders' faces appear on special pizzas - The Sun Steve Hilton and Peter Mandelson photographed in dress down mode - Daily MailMark Wallace on Local government: We need parent power
"The Liberal Democrats are a centre-left party, and on issues like securing the recovery, political reform, fairness and helping the poor, their members have far more in common with us than Cameron and his agenda of DIY public services and big cuts in public services. I don't think [Clegg's] party will want to see him do a deal with Cameron." - Peter Hain quoted in The Guardian
"The Lib Dem approach would send a message to the world that you can come to Britain illegally and get away with it. And their policy to send immigrants to specific regions is simply unworkable and unwanted. Just who on earth do they think is going to police the movement of immigrants between one region and another?" - The Shadow Home Secretary quoted within a Daily Mail story that suggests that 2.2 million illegal immingrants could have the right to s tay in Britain under Nick Clegg's leadership.
"In a sign of worsening tensions within Labour’s campaign, the Home Secretary drew attention to his support for AV plus, a system of voting reform closer to the change being demanded by the Lib Dems than that offered in Labour’s manifesto. “Because I am a supporter of proportional representation and have been for a long time, I obviously don’t have this horrified approach to how a more balanced parliament would work,” he said." - The Times
"Children's Secretary Ed Balls has been fined after police caught him talking on his mobile while driving. His wife, fellow Cabinet minister Yvette Cooper, and their three kids were all in the car at the time. Safety campaigners last night blasted Mr Balls - Gordon Brown's closest ally - for risking the lives of his family as well as other drivers." - The Sun
Monday, 26 April 2010
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