Also on ToryDiary: Tory members recommend greater autonomy for Scottish Party Chris Grayling MP on Platform: We will make work pay Local government: Neil King for Mayor of Tower Hamlets Melanchthon on CentreRight: Insurance and equalities don't mix In an interview with the News of the World, Cameron insists his cuts won't hurt as much as people think - News of the World "No Government, of course, is perfect, and there are still grounds on which to criticise Mr Cameron and his team. He insists that he is, and will remain, a radical, modernising leader, and this is unarguably true. But we, and others, believe that this radicalism should also include a re-evaluation of the ring-fencing of wasteful spending in health and international development. In addition, there are question marks over the Coalition’s policy on law and order, in particular Kenneth Clarke’s liberal attitude towards sentencing. Yet even the most traditional Tory should be happy with the overall direction that Mr Cameron has charted. For his vision he has set out is clear, comprehensible – and profoundly Conservative." - The Sunday Telegraph leader "Welfare benefits for the unemployed and low paid could be brought together under a new universal credit system planned by the coalition government. Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said the reforms would simplify the welfare system, save money and ensure "work always pays". The aim is to move everyone off the old benefits system over about 10 years." - BBC "Millions of parents could lose their entitlement to child benefit under proposals to pay for sweeping reforms to the welfare state. The Treasury is drawing up plans to stop the benefit for children over the age of 16, saving about £2 billion a year. It is currently paid until they are 18. The money would help to pay for a radical programme to ensure the unemployed are no longer better off on benefits than in jobs. If George Osborne, the chancellor, agrees to the changes, which are still being thrashed out, the parents of almost 2m teenagers will no longer receive child benefit payments worth up to £1,055 a year." - The Sunday Times (£) > Yesterday evening's ToryDiary: Ten things you need to know about historic Tory plans for welfare reform 51% of voters say immigration is top issue facing Britain - Sunday Express "His policy is to ignore the deficit, which will be a disaster for this country, and it’s a massive gaping hole of credibility in his entire approach. The Labour Party’s just decided to vacate the centre ground completely and give up on what most people accept is absolutely necessary. Inasmuch as they have plan to attack the deficit it’s to have 50 per cent of it done by tax rises – that’s another £35bn of tax rises that he is threatening to put on. If he’s trying to tell me that the squeezed middle won’t be the people who pay that, well then, he must think we’re all stupid, which by the way is what the last Labour Party leader used to do. But I’m not complacent. I always take my opponents extremely seriously.” - The Prime Minister quoted in The Sunday Telegraph Labour will attack the Coalition from every vantage point it can find - Janet Daley in The Sunday Telegraph "Journalists, especially those who attend party conferences, tend to overestimate the importance of leaders' speeches. It was an indifferent speech, but carried a simple message that Labour was moving on from the past. More important, perhaps, was Miliband's long interview with Jeremy Paxman on Wednesday night, not because many people were watching but because it showed that he can sail through that kind of media test with the kind of unrufflable charm that helped get Cameron where he is today." - John Rentoul in the Independent on Sunday David Cameron and George Osborne have scrapped spending £4,000 of taxpayers’ money on Downing Street Christmas trees and will buy them themselves - Mail on Sunday Elected police chiefs will give people the visible policing they want - Nick Herbert in The Sunday Times (£) Fifty people probably had the opportunity to leak Liam Fox's "secret" letter to the PM - Observer Scottish Tories consider coalition deal with SNP at Holyrood - Scotland on Sunday 32 Smith Square will re-open this week as 'Europe House' - The Sunday Telegraph David Miliband's friends blame Peter Mandelson's concrete boots for defeat- Independent on Sunday Andy Burnham tipped to be Shadow Home Secretary - The Sunday Telegraph And finally 1... Ann Widdecombe on Strictly Come Dancing "The Prime Minister has also been equipped with a new set of socks for conference after the embarrassment of appearing on ITV’s This Morning in a holey pair. Government’s determination to get value for money, the new socks were purchased from Marks & Spencer, not some fancy Jermyn Street shop." - James Forsyth in the Mail on SundayWEEKEND CONFERENCE SPECIAL ConservativeHome's programme is here for more.
ToryDiary: David Cameron wraps himself, his Party and his Government in the Union Flag
"Mr Duncan Smith is to be congratulated for his doggedness. Many would have quit politics after the pounding that he took as party leader. But he stuck with it and is on the brink of mending a broken welfare state." - The Sunday Times leader (£)
"Clarke, chancellor from 1993 to 1997, believes the chance of the UK being sucked into another recession is "below 50%", but insists that the risks remain substantial. "I do not rule out the risk of a double-dip recession caused by some fresh wave of global fear and crisis," he says. Even though he warned before the election that over-aggressive cuts could harm the recovery, Clarke insists he is fully signed up to the coalition government's programme. But he says it does not guarantee a return to sustained growth because of global forces beyond its control." - Observer
The Prime Minister should concentrate on preparing the ground for the spending review instead of attacking 'Red Ed’ - Matthew d'Ancona in The Sunday Telegraph
"Ann Widdecombe found herself compared to a warship on her much-anticipated Strictly Come Dancing debut, but provided viewers with plenty of entertainment... Bruno Tonioli struggled to keep his face straight as he delivered his verdict, opining: 'It was like watching the Ark Royal taking on the stormiest of seas. The ride was bumpy but you made it into port.' Alesha Dixon and Len Goodman also managed some compliments for Ann, but Craig Revel Horwood dismissed her performance as 'a bit local authority'." - Metro
Sunday, 3 October 2010
IDS and Osborne reach historic agreement on welfare reform
Boris Johnson rally at 6pm today
Sunday's top stories and newslinks
Posts
