Lord Ashcroft on Comment: Today, Remembrance Day, let us recall the bravery of the fallen Andrea Leadsom MP on Comment: The work has begun on how we might repatriate powers from the EU International: Downunder, Tony Abbott champions a more muscular conservatism On our Columnists' page, Bruce Anderson writes: At least with the middle classes, the threat of prison works Local Government: Labour oppose adoption performance tables LISTEN: Jailed former Tory peer Lord Taylor, pledges to make amends, but says: "I can't change the past" ConHomeUSA VIDEO: Rick Perry appears on Letterman to laugh at himself over memory failure Phillip Hammond visits troops in Afghanistan for the first time, where he is due to an attend an Armistice Day ceremony with 3,500 soldiers Despite Britain's experience of war, veterans are still not being looked after properly, says Fraser Nelson "Today is our national day, when we quietly remember those who died to assure Britain’s freedom – and who are still risking their lives for their country. Now, more than ever, remembrance is about helping the living as well as saluting the dead. And there is all too much work to do" - Telegraph Cameron reassures Merkel by saying UK renegotiation demands will be modest Cameron plans to stop Britain being "railroaded" by French plans to form a breakaway union, which would greatly diminish Britian's European influence Cameron says Britain is "contingency planning" for a possible split in the €uro during a "very alarming time for the world economy" As €urozone crisis threatens to push the UK back into recession, 30 City leaders tell Osborne to cut the 50p tax rate to save the economy "In a letter to the Chancellor, more than 30 of the City’s top figures agree that the “current turmoil in southern Europe” means that the Government must take “immediate actions” to boost confidence. They call for the immediate scrapping of the 50p rate to attract entrepreneurs to Britain and a £1,000 increase in the tax-free personal allowance" - Telegraph Iain Duncan Smith says it is wrong that people claim benefit without providing evidence, after figures reveal 200,000 received disabiliy benefit last year, without being personally assessed "The number of people claiming the allowance has grown from 1.1 million in 1992 when it was introduced to 3.2 million today. Critics say lax checks have allowed many undeserving people to claim the benefit" - Telegraph Cameron considers a UK led referendum on Scottish independence, in order to stop the SNP dictating the terms "Some of the Prime Minister's aides want him to organise a Scottish independence referendum, set and run by Westminster – and they are in discussions with Labour to seek cross-party support. They believe this referendum could be held in 2012 or 2013 – much sooner than the 2014-15 timetable favoured by Scotland's SNP First Minister, Alex Salmond – and it would contain a straightforward Yes/No question on independence" - Independent Transport minister Norman Baker may implement tighter laws on scrap metal merchants to stop rail cable theft "Scrap-metal dealers who sell stolen signalling cable may face tighter laws to end a trade that has affected four million train passengers, the Transport Minister said yesterday. Norman Baker said that laws may be reviewed after Joan Ruddock, the Labour MP for Lewisham Deptford, London, said that commuters in her area had suffered 13,837 minutes of delays and 232 cancellations because of cable theft" - Times (£) Former Tory minister, Sir Timothy Raision, who died on 3rd November, is remembered by Tam Dalyell - Independent Ulster Unionist Leader, Tom Elliott, rejects a proposal that his party disbands and becomes the Northern Ireland wing of the Tory party - Belfast Telegraph James Murdoch insisted to the Hacking Inquiry that he had not misled Parliament, and that the full extent of hacking had been kept from him by senior News of the World executives "During two hours and thirty-seven minutes of questioning yesterday, Mr Murdoch was accused by one MP of being a “mafia boss” and confronted by another over misreporting by The Sun of the Hillsborough disaster 22 years ago. He conceded that News International, which also owns The Times, could not rule out closing down The Sun if it emerged that its journalists had hacked phones.He made an apology to his chief accuser, the Labour MP Tom Watson, about new revelations that the company put him under surveillance" - Times (£) > Please use the thread below to provide links to news topics likely to be of interest to ConservativeHome readers and to comment on political topics that haven't been given their own blog. This thread is moderated but during working hours (that's 6am to 10pm for ConHome) comments will usually be delayed no longer than sixty minutes. Read our comments policy here. ToryDiary: David Cameron announces £95 million lifeline for small businesses On our Columnists' page, Jill Kirby says that David Cameron should apply his Big Society message to Europe and repatriate powers and sovereignty On Comment: MPsETC: There is a momentum "to tackle the challenges affecting the adoption process", says Jessica Lee MP Chris Nicholson on TalkingPoints: Here's how we can lift one million people out of income tax next April Local Government: WATCH:ToryDiary: Cut childcare red tape, says Liz Truss
Hammond said: "I'm pleased to be visiting our troops in Afghanistan for the first time and witnessing at first hand the courageous work they are carrying out. They are undertaking a hard but vital job to protect UK national security. British troops are making significant progress in Helmand to rid the country of a brutal insurgency that is a threat to our country and the people of Afghanistan" - Press Association
"Angela Merkel said to David Cameron: either you allow us to go ahead with treaty change at 27 or others [Nicolas Sarkozy] will want a separate treaty with separate institutions for the 17. She said she did not want that but others did. Relations between Cameron and Merkel have improved since then after the prime minister indicated that Britain accepts the need for treaty change and will table relatively modest demands." - Guardian
"France and Germany are understood to want to strengthen the union between eurozone countries with new taxes and legal measures to stop nations borrowing and spending too much in future. Weaker countries such as Greece could even be barred from the new eurozone, under radical suggestions from some of those involved in discussions over the plan. It comes amid growing concerns that France could be the next nation to become embroiled in the single currency crisis" - Telegraph
Cameron said: The “future of the euro” was now an issue that should be considered. “Italy is the third largest country in the eurozone,” the Prime Minister said. “Its current state is a clear and present danger to the eurozone and the moment of truth is approaching. If the leaders of the eurozone want to save their currency then they, together with the institutions of the eurozone, must act now" - Telegraph
Simon Jenkins warns of the "imposition of German 'discipline'", stating that only a new Europe, built on the ruins of the old, could restore sovereignty "Historically, its [Europe's]strength has been its diversity, a high street not a hypermarket of nationalisms. Each time a centralised power has denied this and struggled to impose "union", the outcome has been catastrophe, followed by the need to restore and reassert the sovereignty of nations. This time round, the catastrophe has remained economic. It could yet be a near-run thing" - Guardian
"A staggering 94 per cent of new claimants for Disability Living Allowance started receiving their payments after only filling out paperwork. Official figures released last night revealed that 16 per cent of new claimants received the benefit – worth £70 a week – after merely filling out a claim form. A further 36 per cent provided supporting evidence, while another 42 per cent provided a GP report" - Daily Mail
A "solid", but "underwhelming" performance for Ruth Davidson in her first FMQs as Scottish Tory leader - Scotsman
Friday, 11 November 2011
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