Also on ToryDiary: Party Members expect Tory MPs to "normally support" the Government in Commons votes and call on regular rebels to be disciplined Mark Field MP on Comment: Our economic mission needs an explicitly stronger moral dimension Also on Comment, Robert Leitch asks: Isn't it time to bring prostitution into the 21st Century? Local Government: ThinkTankCentral: Tim Worstall exposes the flawed and contradictory claims of UK Uncut for the Institute of Economic Affairs WATCH: William Hague welcomes last night's UN resolution authorising action against Libya Britain poised for military action against Libya after UN approves resolution "Britain is poised to join international military action to protect Libyan citizens from a "brutal" assault by Muammar Gaddafi after the United Nations approved the intervention. The Security Council voted in favour of the imposition a no-fly zone over the country and authorised member states to employ "all necessary measures" short of putting troops on the ground. Prime Minister David Cameron will chair an emergency Cabinet meeting to discuss the next steps before addressing MPs in the Commons on the latest situation. Downing Street played down suggestions - raised by France in the run-up to the vote - that action could start within hours and US officials suggested it may take until Sunday to be ready." - Press Association "Obama called French President Nicolas Sarkozy and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron after the passage of a resolution authorizing measures to impose a no-fly zone, protect civilians and impose a ceasefire on Gadhafi's military. "The leaders agreed that Libya must immediately comply with all terms of the resolution and that violence against the civilian population of Libya must cease," the White House said in a statement." - Wall Street Journal The UN resolution represents a "diplomatic coup for Cameron" "David Cameron is experiencing one of his most significant moments since becoming prime minister last May. The vote at the United Nations to take "all necessary measures" to protect civilians in Libya, allowing a no-fly zone, is little short of a personal triumph. It may well define his approach to foreign policy for the rest of his premiership." - Nick Watt of The Guardian Government U-turns on public sector "diversity audits"... "Just two months after setting out the requirement for 27,000 public sector bodies to carry out detailed “diversity audits” of their staff, the Government has signalled an about-turn. A “policy review paper” says the burden of red tape will be reduced and revised draft guidelines make no reference to private information about employees being collected or published. Dominic Raab, the Conservative MP for Esher and Walton who has led opposition to the original plans, said: “It is welcome that the coalition is thinking twice about this aspect of Labour’s Equality Act. Forcing 27,000 schools, police forces, councils and other public bodies to audit their staff for ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability and other social criteria is the last thing the public sector needs in tough financial times." - Dail y Telegraph ...as Vince Cable introduces moratorium on red tape for firms employing fewer than ten staff "He will also abolish the extension of flexible working rights planned for 300,000 families from April and publish all 22,000 regulations that effect business. Companies will be invited to pick the rules that cause the most problems in a "crowd sourcing" exercise. A Business Department spokesman said the least popular regulations would go in front of a 'Reducing Regulation Committee', chaired by Mr Cable, within "months". - Daily Telegraph Osborne's Budget should set out a strategy for radical tax reform "When George Osborne makes his second budget statement as chancellor of the exchequer on March 23rd, he seems set to outline a grand “growth strategy” to counter claims that he is more interested in cutting spending than boosting the economy. But the budget is meant to be about tax—on which, for all its radicalism elsewhere, the government has been timid. Mr Osborne should rectify that." - The Economist BoE Deputy Governor says we live in "very hazardous times" "Britain has entered a hazardous period as new question marks hang over the recovery at a time of persistently above-target inflation, a top Bank of England official said yesterday. Charlie Bean, the Deputy Governor, told The Times that it was still not clear whether the economy was passing through a soft patch or had entered “a more durable slowing” amid public worries about the Treasury’s spending cuts and tax rises." - The Times (£) The latest pre-Budget pleas > Yesterday's ToryDiary: First Budget whispers suggest a merging of income tax and NI, tax breaks for "business angels" and a hike in airport tax... Liam Fox says defence jobs may be spared if savings are found elsewhere Theresa May announces increase in control orders "The number of suspected British terrorists subject to control orders has increased to 10, the Home Secretary has said. Theresa May said three of these were living in the Metropolitan Police service area, while the remaining seven were based elsewhere in the UK. There have been two new control orders since the last quarterly update to MPs in December, she said. One further control order has been made, but not yet served, Mrs May said." -Sky News Scottish Tories gather in Perth for pre-Holyrood election conference Clegg refuses to 'lie low' with AV campaign "Nick Clegg will defy calls for him to "lie low" in the referendum for voting system reform when he speaks at the launch of the Liberal Democrats' "Yes To AV" campaign. Labour leader Ed Miliband has claimed that the Deputy Prime Minister's unpopularity made him a liability to the chances of victory in the May 5 vote. Mr Clegg will insist the issue is not about party politics, and will set out his determination to argue the case for a change to the alternative vote (AV) "with passion". - Sky News Peter Oborne: Labour’s tawdry smear tactics can’t disguise its absence of ideas Other political news in brief And finally... Nick Clegg's effort at team-building with Tory MPs ends in farce Also on Comment: Local Government: Gazette: Portrait of The Queen unveiled at Scottish Parliament after campaign by Tory MSPToryDiary: Can Cameron turn a diplomatic triumph into a military success?
"Foreign Secretary William Hague said: ‘We have been clear that the world would not accept Gaddafi’s brutality against his own people. This resolution is the expression of that resolve. It is a positive response to the call by the Arab League last weekend for measures to protect and safeguard the civilian population of Libya and it is the culmination of a great deal of hard work in the last few days. This resolution calls for an immediate ceasefire. For an end to violence. We have said all along that Gaddafi must go. It is necessary to take these measures to avoid gr eater bloodshed’... Malcolm Rifkind, a former foreign secretary, said: ‘I’m absolutely delighted. Without action of this kind, Benghazi would have been a bloodbath'." - Daily Mail
"David Cameron was looking a more seasoned figure on the international stage last night than his critics would have believed likely even a week ago. By forcing the diplomatic pace over Libya, by gambling when many counterparts were playing safe, he can claim a decent slice of the credit for the passage of last night’s resolution." - The Times (£)
"Small firms in Britain would benefit from a three-year moratorium on new regulation under a plan the government was set to announce on Friday to cut business red tape and boost the economy. At a speech to the Federation of Small Businesses annual conference in Liverpool, Business Secretary Vince Cable will outline how the government plans to review regulation to cut bureaucracy, a media brief from Cable's office said." - Reuters
"Liam Fox, the defence secretary, has told unions that if they can find convincing ways of cutting the Ministry of Defence's budget then thousands of threatened civilian jobs might be saved. Union leaders say they were told there was no "political imperative" to lose 25,000 ministry jobs, the figure set out in last year's strategic defence and security review, and that ministers would look seriously at any fresh proposals to reduce the number of compulsory redundancies. A meeting between the two sides has been scheduled for next week to discuss ideas." - The Guardian
"David Cameron will today insist the Conservatives “are delivering for Scotland”, and claim confidence is returning to the British economy, suggesting “hard-grafting Scots” will have to rise early and work late to help the UK grow jobs and wealth. In an article for The Herald, the Prime Minister, ahead of a keynote speech to the Scottish Conservative Party conference in Perth, boasts how the Tories are working for Scotland at Westminster, citing the restoration of the earnings link to pensions, introducing the immigration cap, reforming welfare, aboli shing ID cards, doubling the operational allowance for British troops and rebating fuel duty for people in the Highlands and Northern Isles." - The Herald
"Speaking as the conference was getting under way, Scottish leader Annabel Goldie said politicians must be honest about the tough financial situation, while offering hope for the future. She argues the Tories were behind key Scottish government policies, including boosting police officer numbers by 1,000, rates relief for small businesses and a new, national drug strategy. "Over four years, the Scottish Conservatives have delivered a £2bn package of measures for Scotland," said Miss Goldie. "We have made Scotland safer, fairer, more competitive and more secure. In short, a better Scotland." - BBC
"Serious evidence is starting to emerge that Ed Miliband, the new Labour leader, is making the same errors which ultimately doomed poor Kinnock. To his credit, Miliband has recovered from a poor start. He has established a high-calibre team around him. Likeable and talented, he is fast growing into his job, and indeed I would expect him to improve further. Nevertheless, he has so far failed to develop anything resembling a worthwhile alternative political analysis. Like Kinnock, he is concentrating only on being the voice of opposition, as the events of the past few days show with disconcerting clarity." - Peter Oborne in the Daily Telegraph
"A planned charm offensive by Nick Clegg to build ties with new Tory MPs has backfired spectacularly. A getting-to-know-you meeting was a "disaster from beginning to end", said one Conservative, after the Deputy Prime Minister failed to turn up and guests had to dash off down Whitehall - twice - for Commons votes. Angry MPs eventually abandoned the event at Mr Clegg's office overlooking Horse Guards Parade." - Last night's Evening Standard
Jeremy Hunt MP on Comment: Why local TV is vital in the context of our localist agenda
Friday, 18 March 2011
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