ToryDiary: Three reasons to respect the Liberal Democrats
Andrew Lilico on Comment: How to reform the House of Lords
Also on Comment, Matthew Sinclair insists that The Rally Against Debt was a huge success
Local government: Cllr David Parsons, the Conservative leader of Leicestershire County Council, explains why he is standing for the Chairmanship of the LGA
International: Sarkozy may be main beneficiary of Strauss-Kahn's alleged crimes
ConHomeUSA: Huckabee is out and Romney and Gingrich seem determined to shoot themselves in the foot
Huhne facing police probe after ex-wife secretly taped minister over accusations he pressured her to take his speeding points
"The driver who allegedly helped Chris Huhne dodge a ban by taking the blame for a speeding offence is his estranged wife. Detectives will today review evidence in what could become a criminal inquiry. And Mr Huhne’s wife Vicky Pryce has told friends she is prepared to co-operate with it. They say she is ‘bitter’ about the brutal way the Lib Dem Energy Secretary abandoned her last year in favour of his bisexual lover Carina Trimingham after 26 years of marriage." - Daily Mail
Cameron to give speech, declaring personal commitment to NHS and the need for NHS modernisation
- "David Cameron is to insist that there will be few compromises on the controversial NHS bill while claiming Conservatives are defenders of the health service... Alluding to his young son Ivan's dependence on the NHS before his death, Cameron will return to a familiar formulation: "It's the most important thing to my family. That's why, over four years ago, I got up on a platform like this and said that you could sum up my priorities in just three letters, N-H-S."" - Guardian
- "In the speech at a hospital in London, Mr Cameron will say: “It is because I love the NHS so much that I want to change it, because the fact is the NHS needs to change... “It needs to change to avoid a crisis tomorrow.”" - Telegraph
- ""Sticking with the status quo and hoping we can get by with a bit more money is simply not an option," Mr Cameron will add. "There's only one option we've got and that is to change and modernise the NHS, to make it more efficient and more effective and above all, more focused on prevention, on health, not just sickness."" - BBC
- "He will also defend the highly contentious policy of abolishing all primary care trusts, whose "lack of clinical knowledge" makes them "the weakest link in the English NHS", he will claim." - Independent
Shirley Williams sets out Liberal Democrat demands on the NHS in The Guardian.
"Combining health and social care would be better and cheaper for the majority of patients" - In The Times (£) Stephen Dorrell MP, Chairman of the Health Select Committee, sets out his vision for NHS reform.
A secret review to find billions of pounds in extra savings from the Armed Forces is being conducted by the Ministry of Defence
"Potential targets include the immediate retirement of HMS Illustrious, Britain’s last surviving aircraft carrier, a £2 billion plan to purchase a new fleet of armoured vehicles, and a £16 billion plan to buy a new generation of jets. Programmes will be axed or delayed unless the Treasury agrees to additional funding." - Times (£) | BBC
Cameron's promise of a legally binding 'military covenant' means little if spending cuts and ill-advised wars continue - Jackie Ashley in The Guardian
Tories, not Clegg, will be charged with selling Lords reform
"Nick Clegg is to play down his role as a champion of Lords reform for fear of appearing more interested in changing the constitution than in daily concerns. The Deputy Prime Minister will announce historic proposals this week to replace the Lords with a mainly elected and much smaller chamber... Lord Strathclyde, the Tory Leader of the Lords, and Mark Harper, a junior Tory minister in the Cabinet Office, will be sent out to sell the plans to the public." - Times (£)
Messing with the Lords will make Clegg look out of touch, at a time when most voters are worried about losing their job - Mary Ann Sieghart in The Independent
"A leading academic has said Nick Clegg faces an uphill battle to recover his credibility as a political leader... "Clegg is now seen as an inauthentic leader. It is something that may never go away."" - Express
Fathers are to be given the right to as much as five and a half months’ paid leave after the birth of a child
"David Frost, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said the consultation “flies in the face” of Downing Street’s business-friendly rhetoric. He said: “Any changes by the Government to parental leave will further complicate the system and fly in the face of its commitment to reduce the burden of employment legislation on business.” A spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses added: “They are making something that is already quite complicated more complicated. It might actually prevent small businesses taking someone on.”" - Telegraph
Coalition in Brief:
- The Energy and Climate Change Select Committee's report accused ministers of disguising the subsidy of nuclear power - Independent | BBC
- Police Federation leader accuses coalition of 'campaign of denigration' - Guardian | BBC
- Sinking ever deeper into Libyan quagmire - Daily Mail leader
Charlie Elphicke MP close to victory on his 'Big Society' vision for sale of Port of Dover
"Mr Elphicke, backed by Dame Vera Lynn, who sang the second world war song “The White Cliffs of Dover”, argued that the port should instead become a “people’s port”. Townspeople would buy shares and have a big say in its operation. Mr Hammond said the arguments of the “people’s port” campaigners had “found favour” with the government and the reopening of the consultation would allow a re-examination of communities’ role in trust port privatisations. Future privatisations would be considered only if there was “signific ant community participation”." - FT (£)
The world must speak up over the detention of Ai Weiwei - Boris Johnson in The Telegraph
Mr Cameron has recently showed a regrettable tendency to react opportunistically to the media - Melanie Phillips to the Daily Mail
Stephen Glover reflects on Simon Heffer's departure from The Telegraph
"I shall miss him – not just because a remarkable character has, at least temporarily, been hauled from the stage, but also because he offered readers a service barely provided by any other right-wing journalist in Britain. It is not every columnist who is feared and loathed by a prime minister. He was feared and loathed because he was good at what he did – criticising Mr Cameron. I am sure he spoke to the hearts of many Telegraph readers." - Stephen Glover in The Independent
Mail and Guardian unite against pay inequality
- High pay commission forecasts top earners' slice of national income will rise from current 5% to 14% by 2030 - Guardian
- The fat-cats paid 145 TIMES more than their workers - Daily Mail
The internet is the path to Britain’s prosperity; This country is still one of the world’s leaders in technology, innovation and inventions - Eric Schmidt of Google for The Telegraph
ToryDiary:
- A week of praise for David Cameron
- Liam Fox talks about the Military Covenant and Libya, and Alex Salmond talks about the Scottish independence referendum, on the Politics Show
- Theresa May talks about the Queen's visit to Ireland, Osama bin Laden, Police cuts, and elected Police Commissioners on the Andrew Marr Show
- Huhne and Cameron over-rule Osborne and Cable and put green targets before economy
- Why the Government is missing deadlines
- If Cameron can convince on the NHS and crime he is on the road to a majority, says mega poll of 10,000 voters
On Comment:
- Tim Montgomerie: Why doesn't the Right march?
- Ruth Porter: Older MPs and leaders does not necessarily mean better MPs and leaders
- Kevin Davis, who fought David Laws at the last election, asks: When will the voters get to judge David Laws?
- Sarah Ingham: Is writing the military covenant into law a mistake?
Gazette: Guy Opperman MP diagnosed with a brain tumour - by Daniel Poulter MP
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