John Stevens on Comment: The Conservative Party cannot be the Conservative Party until it deals with the issue of Europe
"Britain's attempts to make radical changes to the European Court of Human Rights were in tatters last night after experts said they amounted to little more than ‘tinkering’. Justice Secretary Ken Clarke insisted he had secured a ‘substantial package of reform’ that would mean fewer cases went before the court in Strasbourg and British judges would be left to decide outcomes more often. But he was undermined by Sir Nicolas Bratza, the British judge who heads the Strasbourg court, who said proposals to rein it in significantly had been removed." - Daily Mail
"Andrew Rosindell, a Thatcherite, said he would not vote for any measure that would remove Lady Thatcher from parliament. The former prime minister was appointed to the House of Lords in 1992." -Guardian
"Yesterday Lord Ashcroft, the party's former deputy chairman, called for, "a competent government with a grip on events". Writing on the ConservativeHome website, he said ominously: "The main problem is not so much that people think the Conservative Party is heading in the wrong direction, it is that they are not sure where it is heading. And that includes me." -Independent
Friday, 20 April 2012
Today's ConservativeHome top features
Columnist Bruce Anderson on Freedom of Information and the war on terror:"After such knowledge, what forgiveness?"
Local government: The Councils that Labour need to gain to be doing well
Also on local government: Labour are leaving Wales behind
WATCH:
ConservativeHome's newslinks
Home Office in disarray as Abu Qatada faces imminent release
"Mrs May had to make an emergency appearance in the Commons to account for the disarray. She insisted that the Home Office had been correct in its interpretation of the three-month deadline before which he could appeal against a ruling of the European Court of Human Rights. But she did not produce any evidence of advice from government lawyers to support her claim, or any proof of correspondence from the European Court of Human Rights." - Times (£)
Clarke hails EU court reform despite its leader saying nothing has changed - Telegraph
Four Conservative ministerial aides say they will resign their positions to resist plans for a mainly elected upper house - Guardian
"The weekly private meeting of the 1922 Committee was described as a "bloodbath" after Tory MPs queued up to demand the Prime Minister veto Nick Clegg's flagship proposals for an 80 per cent elected second chamber." -Independent
> Yesterday's ConHome report: 'Worse than Maastricht' - Tory MPs warn that Lords reform could split the party
Cameron has launched a fierce attack on Scotland’s “old-school, centralising, power-hoarding establishment” and backed calls for English reforms in education and the public sector to be enacted north of the Border as well- Scotsman
IMF Chief Christine Lagarde urges UK to increase bailout contribution
"The UK is a founding father of the IMF. John Maynard Keynes [the British economist] was one of the two patrons. And the UK is there for international grave situations. It’s always been there. It’s always been a very loyal partner when it’s tough. But it’s in their interest. Because if the key partners of a country like the UK are in very bad shape they are bad clients. They can’t pay their bills. They can’t trade properly. And it’s not in the interest of the UK to have a weak euro." - Quoted in the Daily Mail
But USA's NPR notes that US Treasury Secretary isn't opening the American taxpayers' wallet - "What we did not want to see is people [looking] to the IMF as a way to substitute for a more forceful European response. Europe is a relatively rich continent. It absolutely has the financial resources to manage this problem. It's got to play the dominant financial role."
The size of Britain’s schools problem is rapidly outgrowing the size of Michael Gove’s solution - Fraser Nelson in The Telegraph
David Cameron praises children who rise when adults enter the room- Telegraph
Anxious to appease true-blue Conservatives angry at George Osborne's botched Budget, ministers have been ordered to serve up right-wing policies - Independent
Cameron considers recruiting TaxPayers' Alliance's Matthew Elliott to Number 10 - Telegraph
Where is David Cameron going?
> Read Lord Ashcroft's article: UKIP is a threat but a Conservative Party with a clear sense of direction can see it off
Lords proposed move to Salford meets with cautious welcome -Guardian
Chris Grayling, with his welfare cuts, is a neoliberal small statist - Polly Toynbee in The Guardian
The Institute of Economic Affairs said closing the Department of Culture, Media and Sport could save around £1.6bn a year - Daily Mail
John Redwood praises Boris Johnson on tax, spending, EU and crime
"Boris has his own following. Many people admire his entertainment value. They think an Olympics with him in charge would be more fun than under the other candidates. He also knows how to touch the core Conservative vote. He has called for a tougher approach to the EU in general and its regulatory tendencies in particular. He has called for lower general taxes." - John Redwood's blog
Labour peer Lord Sugar has urged people not to vote for his party's candidate Ken Livingstone - BBC
MPs may get another week away from House of Commons - Express
Science, capitalism and globalisation are what will rescue us - Allister Heath at City AM ends the week on an optimistic note
And finally... David Miliband is photographed in Downing Street by the Daily Mirror...
"David Miliband has realised he is standing in front of a sign proclaiming “Downing Street”. Tense aides twigged the danger of headlines about the defeated Labour leadership contender’s lingering ambitions too late to stop a photo being taken... The former Foreign Secretary is on a whistle-stop local election blitz of the West Midlands..." - Daily Mirror
Highlights from yesterday's ConHome
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