ToryDiary: How much of a Euro-sceptic is William Hague?
Also in ToryDiary: Conservative backbench committees to be in place by end of July
Adam Afriyie MP on Platform: Positive discrimination has no place in the selection of candidates for roles in politics, business or even the pulpit
Parliament: Helen Grant uses her maiden speech to explain why aspiration, family and enterprise are the keys to social mobility
Glyn Gaskarth in Local Government: Give councils control of health budget
David Green on CentreRight: The Consequences of Kenneth Clarke's Crime Policy
Dominic Raab MP on CentreRight: Our Supreme Court should have the final say on human rights - not abdicate to Strasbourg
WATCH: Samantha Cameron to unveil waxwork of the Prime Minister at Madame Tussaud's
Michael Howard leads backlash over move to lock up fewer criminals
"The former Tory party leader Michael Howard clashed with Ken Clarke after the justice secretary ditched two decades of his infamous "prison works" policy and outlined a radical plan for a "rehabilitation revolution" in prisons in England and Wales. Howard, citing David Cameron's general election account of his mother's experiences as a magistrate, argued that short prison sentences were vital for the courts to deal with serious and persistent offenders who failed to respond to other remedies." - The Guardian
“I’ve read his speech. I’m not convinced by it. I think that in order to protect the public, serious and persistent criminals need to be put in prison... Ken Clarke and I are very old friends, we don’t always agree on things. He was wrong on the euro and I think he’s wrong on one or two things in this speech." - Michael Howard quoted in the Daily Express
What others are saying about the policy
"Going to jail is not seen as a particular problem — for many youngsters it is part of the pattern of estate life. But while they don’t fear jail, they do relish the chance to go straight. This is the crucial characteristic recognised in Ken Clarke’s bold new strategy for reducing reoffending." - Jonathan Aitken in The Times (£)
"The declaration from Ken Clarke that prison does not always work and is often a waste of money comes like a blast of fresh air in an arid climate. His words were important as a statement of intent but also cast light on the failings of New Labour and the tentative character of the government that replaced it." - Steve Richard in The Independent
"A pledge to send fewer criminals to prison was not what voters expected when they backed the Tories at the election... Mr Clarke needs to reassure us that experimenting with community sentences will not mean thugs, muggers, burglars, knife yobs and the like escaping prison." - Sun editorial
"There are times, Orwell wrote, in which telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. It almost felt that way yesterday, when the justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, made a speech about jail that dispatched failed orthodoxies which have locked up penal policy for the best part of a generation." - Guardian editorial
More may have to pay own legal costs - Daily Telegraph
> Yesterday's ToryDiary on the prison policy announcement
> WATCH: Justice Secretary Ken Clarke summarises why he wants to reform the justice system
Nick Clegg leads search for unnecessary laws and regulations to abolish
"Nick Clegg is to ask the public to nominate laws and regulations they would like to see abolished. The deputy prime minister is launching a Your Freedom website, at which people will also be able to propose ways to reduce bureaucracy." - BBC
"Over the last decade, thousands of new rules and regulations have amassed on the statute book. And it is our liberty that has paid the price. Under the cover of pretending to act in our best interest, the state has crept further and further into people’s homes and their private lives. That intrusion is disempowering. It needs to change... So today we are taking an unprecedented step. Based on the belief that it is people, not policymakers, who know best, we are asking the people of Britain to tell us how you want to see your freedom restored." - Nick Clegg writing in the Daily Telegraph
> Last summer on CentreRight Douglas Carswell MP appealed for help in writing a Great Repeal Bill
Leaving Afghanistan early would betray British loss of life, warns Liam Fox
"British Forces will be among the last to come home from Afghanistan and any premature withdrawal would be a “betrayal” of soldiers who have lost their lives, Liam Fox said yesterday. Days after David Cameron indicated that he wanted to bring home British Forces by 2015, the Defence Secretary flew to Washington to urge the international community to “hold their nerve” over the conflict." - The Times (£)
> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Liam Fox reaffirms why British troops remain in Afghanistan and explains that their return is dependent on national security needs
Benedict Brogan: A new foreign policy is taking shape under David Cameron, but is it Tory or Lib Dem?
"Mr Cameron's initial steps on the world stage have been studied closely by those curious as to what British foreign policy will be in the hands of a politician of icy self-confidence and little enthusiasm for the grand international projects that excited his predecessors... We begin to see the thrust of Mr Cameron's foreign policy: a traditional, problem-solving Tory approach to a conundrum that cannot be wished away, as the previous government found. It marries a Conservative desire to defend the institutions of the state with Lib Dem beliefs in the imperative of human rights." - Benedict Brogan in the Daily Telegraph
George Osborne needs 2 million private jobs rise to balance public sector losses
"Predictions that the private sector will employ an extra 2 million workers in the teeth of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s drew sharp criticism from economists and unions who accused the government of relying on "heroic" figures for future employment rates. Figures from the government's independent spending watchdog yesterday showed that ministers are relying on a surge in private sector employment to wipe out steep cuts in public sector job numbers and job losses in industries reliant on public sector contracts." - The Guardian
"David Cameron and Labour's acting leader, Harriet Harman, clashed sharply at Prime Ministers' Questions yesterday over the extent to which cutbacks in public spending will increase unemployment." - The Independent
> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Cameron and Harman clash over future (un)employment levels at PMQs
Tory MP proposes law to ban wearing burqas and balaclavas
"A Conservative MP is attempting to pass a law which would ban people from wearing burkas and balaclavas. Philip Hollobone has put forward parliamentary legislation to regulate the use of "certain facial coverings" in public. The Kettering MP said this "would obviously have a big impact for those who wear full-face Islamic veils". - BBC
"There is no realistic prospect of the measure becoming law. Mr Hollobone came 17th among backbenchers who drew lots for the right to sponsor private members' Bills, which means it is highly unlikely ever to be debated. Even if it was, it would be doomed to fail without government support." - The Independent
> Yesterday's coverage of the proposed burqa ban on ConHome:
- Phillip Hollobone MP on why the burqa is not an acceptable form of dress
- Paul Goodman puts the case against banning the burqa
- Full list of Private Member's Bills being proposed by Tory MPs
Treasury blocks move to ditch quango
"Moves by Conservative members of the coalition to abolish a quango that oversees the financial health of housing associations have been blocked by the Treasury. Eric Pickles, the communities secretary, and Grant Shapps, the housing minister, have been keen to burnish their credentials as leading quango busters and last week, Mr Shapps told the magazine Inside Housing that the Tenants Services Authority (TSA) was “toast”. - FT
Theresa May apologise to Commons for press getting briefed before Parliament
"Home Secretary Theresa May has apologised after a key immigration policy pledge appeared in the media before being announced to MPs... Mrs May said she "deeply regretted" that this had happened." - BBC
Tory minister Simon Burns apologises for branding the Speaker a "sanctimonious dwarf" - The Independent
Judges reject government appeal over stop-and-search
"The Home Office says it is reviewing counter-terrorism laws after a European court decided the government could not appeal against a ruling that said random stop and searches were illegal." - BBC
> Alex Deane on CentreRight yesterday: Britain loses appeal in European Court - good
Andrew Lansley: Jamie Oliver turned children off school dinners
"TV chef Jamie Oliver was rapped yesterday for turning kids off school meals. His drive to improve pupils' diets flopped, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley claimed. The minister told the British Medical Association "lecturing people is counterproductive". - The Sun
"I've never lectured in any of my campaigns. To say it hasn't worked is an insult to the hard work of hundreds of thousands of dinner ladies." - Jamie Oliver quoted in the Mirror
MPs blast expenses scheme chiefs - BBC
BBC told it must reveal salaries of biggest names - Daily Telegraph
David Kelly 'couldn't have slit his wrist as he was too weak' - Daily Mail
Former BP chief Lord Browne to lead business-like Whitehall efficiency drive - Daily Telegraph
And finally... David Cameron reveals how he wooed Nick Clegg
"The Prime Minister said he and Deputy PM Nick Clegg had a cosy supper together to help them forge their coalition. “Nick came over to my house and I cooked him supper,” said Cameron, 43. “It wasn’t anything particularly creative, it was just ham, baked potatoes and salad or something,” he said in an interview with Real Radio Yorkshire. “I love cooking. One of the things I’m going to miss is not doing so much cooking.” - Daily Express
Parliament: “Child of Thatcher“ Chris Kelly and Enoch Powell’s Sikh successor Paul Uppal make their maiden speeches
Andrew Lilico on CentreRight: On engaging with the serious debateWATCH: Sky News' Joey Jones analyses the key exchanges from today's PMQs
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