- What are the biggests threats to the Coalition?
- Should the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats field joint candidates in some seats?
- Do you support AV?
- When should Britain leave Afghanistan?
ToryDiary: Nick Clegg seems to clear David Cameron of the charge of having lie d to the '22 in order to form the Coalition
Patrick Regan on Platform: Children need positive role models - in particular father figures - if they are to be deterred from getting involved in gangs
Seats and Candidates: Anthony Ridge-Newman to contest Gower at the Welsh Assembly election
- Localism for the Fire Brigade
- Denham spent public money on fortnightly bin collection awards
- Audit Commission propose cutting Local Government pensions deficit
WATCH:
Government to scrap default retirement age of 65 next year
"Workers will be able to stay in their jobs into their seventies under new rules to be announced by the Government. Ministers said they would end the “discrimination” of the Default Retirement Age, which allows companies to force staff out as soon as they turn 65. Personnel groups welcomed the move, which they claimed would boost productivity and improve employees’ freedom to shape their careers." - Daily Telegraph
State pension is not enough to live on, Lib Dem minister admits - The Independent
Michael Gove says 'rich, thick kids' do better than 'poor, clever children'
"'Rich thick kids' end up overtaking 'poor clever children' at school, Michael Gove said yesterday. The Education Secretary complained that success at school is still too closely linked to children's family background. Privately educated Mr Gove said a ' yawning gap' had opened up between the attainment of poorer youngsters and their wealthier peers." - Daily Mail
Gove backs creation of atheist schools - The Independent
Overweight people should be called "fat", not "obese", says Anne Milton
"Doctors and other health professionals should tell people they are “fat” rather than “obese”, a health minister said yesterday. Anne Milton said the term “fat” was more likely to motivate people into losing weight. She said: “If I look in the mirror and think I am obese, I think I am less worried [than] if I think I am fat.” - Daily Express
> Last night's ToryDiary: Tell people that they are "fat" rather than "obese", recommends Anne Milton
David Cameron in hot water as he accuses Pakistan of 'exporting terror'
"David Cameron risked a diplomatic row with one of Britain’s key allies yesterday as he accused Pakistan of ‘exporting terror’. Speaking to Indian businessmen in Bangalore the Prime Minister hit out at Pakistan for trying to ‘look both ways’ and suggested it connived to allow the spread of terror." - Daily Mail
> WATCH: Pakistan must not export terror, warns Cameron
Cameron's "Smarm Offensive" in India continues
"The truth is that there is nothing in Mr Cameron's pockets or those of the businessmen who accompanied him that could excite India – not even the agreement to export nuclear technology and expertise which overturned the previous government's reluctance to export to a non-signatory of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. But the coalition government is two-faced in its approach to India. It wants more contracts, but not the people who go with it." - Guardian editorial
"Prime Minister David Cameron trumpeted a $1.1 billion defence deal with India on Wednesday, an early result of a big diplomatic push to court Indian business and tap new sources of economic growth." - Reuters
"George Osborne, the UK’s finance minister, on Wednesday called on India to break a logjam in negotiations over a free trade deal with the European Union and make an agreement by March." - FT
Osborne urges India to deregulate its insurance market - Daily Telegraph
David Cameron ambushed on Indian TV over demand to return 105-carat Koh-i-noor diamond - Daily Mail
> WATCH: Cameron and Osborne explain their hopes for deeper, stronger ties between Britain and India
Andrew Mitchell defends the ring-fencing of international aid
"My argument is that charity does indeed start at home, but it doesn't stop there," he says. As well as reducing adminstration costs by a third, the new UK Aid Transparency Guarantee, he points out, will ensure independent assessment of development spending: "The ring-fencing imposes on all of us a double duty to make sure that for every pound that is spent on the development budget from hard-pressed taxpayers, we really get 100 pence of value." - Andrew Mitchell interviewed in the New Statesman
Theresa May to scrap asbos
"Senior Labour figures mounted a last-ditch defence of antisocial behaviour orders last night after the home secretary, Theresa May, indicated she is to kill off Tony Blair's flagship measure to deal with youth crime. May said it was "time to move beyond the asbo", arguing that they were never the promised silver bullet and had too often put young people on a conveyor belt to prison." - The Guardian
> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Theresa May takes big steps forward in those famous high heels
Cameron plays down cabinet rift over non-EU migrant cap
"David Cameron is attempting to play down cabinet divisions over immigration after Business Secretary Vince Cable said a planned cap on numbers coming from outside the EU must be flexible. The prime minister told the BBC it was "perfectly legitimate" for Mr Cable to argue his case. But, he added, "we decide these things in a cabinet, in a reasonable and sensible way". - BBC
Damian Green to launch "Asylum Improvement Project" - Daily Telegraph
Benedict Brogan: Cameron is keeping his Conservative friends close, but his enemies in the Coalition closer
"A few days ago, Nick Clegg hosted a reception for his MPs and their spouses in the Downing Street rose garden. The idea was to show them the perks that power can bring, to give them a taste of life at the centre of things. The guest of honour was David Cameron, who worked the lawn hard. By the end, one Lib Dem, who would previously have crossed the road to avoid a Tory, admitted that he was starting to find the Prime Minister irresistible: "It's just so difficult to dislike him." - Benedict Brogan in the Daily Telegraph
Bruce Anderson: Cameron faces only a dinner party revolt
"Mr Cameron has huge assets. David Davis may be ever a plotter looking for a conspiracy, but not many Tory MPs would volunteer to become the masseur of his ego. The vast majority are committed to the spending cuts and to the education reforms. In both cases, success would be a title to greatness. It is probable that the only rebellion the leadership has to fear is the scent of roast beef and claret in a Commons’ dining room. Even so, the Right needs stroking, and watching." - Bruce Anderson in the FT
Andrew Tyrie wants his Treasury Committee to learn from Congressional Committees
"His ambition – ultimate and cautiously stated, but there unmistakeably – is to help build something closer to the American system of Congressional Committees. "It's a different country with a different constitution. But we do have something to learn from the Congressional Committees, who have taken over the primary role of scrutiny in the United States and have the power to call for papers, to subpoena witnesses and enjoy far greater resources," he says. That approach, he adds, is preferable to trying to grill ministers in a "noisy converted chapel which is unlikely to impress a highly-educated 21st century electora te." - The Independent
Man in court denies throwing eggs at Baroness Warsi - BBC
Spelman to announce reduction in wheelie bins - Press Association
Peter Hain: The Tories sandbagged Clegg on electoral reform - The Guardian
Labour is playing fast and loose on AV reform - Martin Kettle in The Guardian
Labour accused of naked opportunism after it vows to oppose AV referendum bill - Daily Mail
Posts
