- Five very early reasons to be hopeful about Cameron's re-election chances
- Will there be a Conservative revolt over the Government's hybrid student finance plans?
Neil O'Brien on Platform: If David Cameron wants the Big Society to be his big idea, it needs to be better defined - and more conservative
Mark Wallace in Local Government: Voters need the right to leave their councils
LeftWatch: Ed Miliband appoints more than 20 new MPs directly to the shadow frontbench
Michael Bates on CentreRight: The case for observance of the Olympic Truce
LISTEN: Mary Ann Sieghart profile the new shadow foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper
500,000 to lose sick pay as welfare reforms bite
"Nearly 500,000 people on long-term sickness benefit will have to take up jobs or have their welfare payments cut by a third. The move, expected to save up to £4 billion, is part of the Government’s plan to find economies of at least £16 billion from the £195 billion welfare budget by 2014-15. Incapacity benefit, which has cost the taxpayer £135 billion in the past ten years and goes to 2.1 million people, is one of the largest items of welfare spending." - The Times (£)
"Today, in Aberdeen and Burnley, thousands of people who were abandoned to a life on incapacity benefit by the last Labour Government will be receiving letters asking them to come in for a medical reassessment. Trained, independent, medical specialists will carry these out, looking to see what people can do. This is not about forcing sick and disabled people who cannot work into employment, but about giving thousands of people the opportunity and support to move from the margins of society into mainstream employment." - Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith writing i n The Times (£)
"Young voters think benefits should be cut to help plug the UK's deficit, a poll for BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat suggests. The ComRes survey of 1,004 18 to 24-year-olds found 76% thought jobless payments should be cut and 68% said housing benefit had to be reduced." - BBC
Tory backbenchers unlikely to rebel over AV referendum date after rethink
"Tory rebels will this week lift their threat to the date of next year’s proposed referendum on voting changes — because they believe May 5 offers the best chance of stopping the alternative vote (AV) system... A reassessment by the “no” campaign believes that a stand-alone referendum on a different date would give Labour and the Liberal Democrats a single cause over which to unite. Turnout would be much higher among the AB social groups who are more likely to support change." - The Times (£)
"AV is loved by no one, and distrusted by many. Most commentators have discounted the chances of a yes vote next May. But they are being too hasty. It is true that a negative outcome is more likely than a positive one, but defeat is neither inevitable nor something to wish for." - Guardian editorial
> Last week on ConHome: David Cameron tells ConservativeHome that Tory backbenchers mustn't "wreck" AV Referendum Bill
Report by Sir Philip Green to reveal how millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money is wasted
"More than £6 billion could be shaved from public spending by eliminating wasteful state spending on mobile phones, stationery, photocopying and empty office space, one of the country’s leading businessmen has told ministers." - Daily Telegraph
"Sir Philip Green, the owner of Topshop and Bhs, will tell ministers they can cut swathes of waste from public services. His report, to be published later today, will say that the Government has consistently failed to make the most of its scale, buying power and credit rating. Sir Philip was appointed by the Prime Minister in August to review Government efficiency, focusing on the procurement of goods and services such as IT, travel, print and office supplies, and the management of the Government's property portfolio." - Press Association
Osborne ready to 'close deal' on spending review
"With the Comprehensive Spending Review a little more than a week away, Treasury officials say that some of the biggest departments in government have yet to agree with the Treasury on the scale of cuts they will make... The coming few days will see "intensive" discussions between the Treasury and those departments that have yet to agree on cuts of anything up to 40 per cent in some areas." - The Independent
"George Osborne flew back to London from Washington on Sunday to join in the final effort to make the numbers add up. Aides said the chancellor drew encouragement from a discussion at the Group of Seven finance ministers on Friday night, who praised his courage and resolve to cut spending. He was also cheered by the appointment of Alan Johnson as shadow chancellor, believing Mr Johnson’s weekend move to soften Labour’s commitment to halve the deficit over four years showed it was not serious in tackling Britain’s problems." - FT (£)
David Cameron's secret plan to cut UK's £149bn debt by selling off property - Daily Telegraph
Prime Minister appeals to military chiefs not to cut Territorial Army - The Times (£)
Different papers take different angles on the new Equality and Human Rights Commission report on fairness
"Millions of “dutiful, middle-aged” couples who care for their parents and teenage children will be “chronically disadvantaged” by the demands of Britain’s ageing population, a report has found... Without action now, the “burden” of caring for older relatives will destroy the “bond of affection” at the heart of family life, the Equality and Human Rights Commission says." - Daily Telegraph
"Opportunities remain “permanently closed” to many minority groups, according to a comprehensive national report on equality. Others seem to have an “access all areas” pass issued at birth, researchers have found." - The Times (£)
"The proportion of black people in prison in England and Wales is higher than in the United States, a landmark report released today by the Equality and Human Rights Commission reveals." - The Guardian
Campaigners question why local government bosses are almost all white - The Guardian
Melanie Philips: "Fairness is the new Tory mantra. Why then are they so unfairly bashing the middle classes?"
"The child benefit proposal itself breaches the most elementary understanding of fairness. It is deeply unfair, for example, that a family with one stay-at-home parent will lose this benefit if the sole earner earns more than £44,000, while a family with two working parents earning up to £88,000 will keep it. Next, it offends against any real idea of social justice that young women should continue to receive what is effectively a financial incentive to have one baby after another, regardless of whether or not the fathers stick around, while traditional, responsible families are penalised. It is also being keenly resented as the last straw by people who have felt unfairly picked-on for years." - Melanie Philips in the Daily Mail
Lords reform could take up to 10 years
"Nick Clegg's hopes of securing an elected House of Lords before the next general election are facing a setback amid fears that the sweeping change could take up to 10 years to complete. The Deputy Prime Minister, who is in charge of constitutional reform, has forced an elected second chamber up the Coalition Government's list of priorities. But Conservative ministers are increasingly doubtful that the first peers could be elected on the same day as the next general election in 2015, as the Liberal Democrats hope." - The Independent
Is David Cameron going to ennoble Andrew Feldman? - Andrew Pierce speculates in the Daily Mail
> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Cross-party group of peers, led by Betty Boothroyd, plot to wreck Coalition plans for an elected Lords
David Cameron in U-turn over solar panels
"David Cameron has reneged on a pre-election promise to reward early adopters of solar panels and other domestic green energy generation, it has emerged." - The Guardian
'Big brother' health database is cut back to basics in shakeup of 50million patient records - Daily Mail
Met chief asks Theresa May to protect police from lawsuits
"Sir Paul Stephenson, the commissioner of the Metropolitan police, has privately lobbied the home secretary to make it harder for people to take legal action against his force, the Guardian has learned. Critics say the plans amount to an attempt by the police to put themselves beyond the rule of law and undermine constitutional safeguards against abuses of power. The Met's chief says money is being wasted on speculative claims, with lawyers gaining large fees that would be better spent fighting crime." - The Guardian
Ed Miliband backs child benefit for millionaires...
"Asked whether he would condone handing out Government cash to the super-rich, the new Labour leader said he was against any move towards underminining the universal principal. "I'm in favour of that yes, and I'm in favour of it because it's a cornerstone of our system to have universal benefits, and frankly there aren't that many millionaires in this country," he told BBC1's The Politics Show." - Daily Telegraph
...and rules out personal tax rises
"I'm not proposing rises in personal taxation beyond those set out by Alastair Darling, definitely not, but what I am saying is if, for example, the banks can pay more or you can clamp down on tax avoidance, you should do so". Miliband has spoken of doubling the bank levy." - The Guardian
> Yesterday's LeftWatch: Millionaires should get child benefit, says Ed Miliband
Lunacy of the asylum scandal
"Up to 2,000 failed asylum seekers are being allowed to stay in the UK every week thanks to a “back-door amnesty”. - Daily Express
And finally... After Cameron's Cuties, The Sun announces the arrival of "Mili's Fillies"
"Ed Miliband last night unveiled his plan to take on the Coalition - with girl power. Labour's new leader appointed a clutch of young female MPs to his frontbench team. Many of the women - dubbed "Mili's fillies" - are being thrust into the frontline just six months after becoming MPs at the last election. They include glamorous ex-GMTV reporter Gloria de Piero, who becomes shadow culture minister. Luciana Berger gets the energy job, while Liz Kendall is shadow health minister." - The Sun
- New ICM opinion poll gives the Tories a post-conference bounce
- Chris Huhne shows why politicians shouldn't usually give interviews (especially during the spending review run-up)
- Marcus Booth: We must recognise and restore the rights of the people of the Chagos Islands
- William Cullerne Bown: The issue of student fees could be the Coalition's first real crisis
- Derrick Murphy poised to become leader of Norfolk County Council
- Cllr Daniel Astaire: Fixing broken families using local solutions and a payment by results model
- Cllr John Andrews: Councils should do more on rural broadband
Charles Tannock MEP on CentreRight on Pakistan: a state perilously close to the edge
Melanchthon on CentreRight: Continuous assessment versus exams
ThinkTankCentral: Iain Duncan Smith and Theresa May nominated to be 'Reformer of the Year'
WATCH: One minute highlights of Ann Widdecombe dancing the Salsa
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