Sunday 30 June 2013



Today's ConservativeHome Top Features
"It is in Britain’s interests to help countries that see low levels of religious freedom and high levels of religious violence to build stable and free societies. Only such societies can engage healthily with the rest of the world. Only such societies will be able to solve issues of militancy, radicalisation and religiously motivated violence." - Baroness Berridge on Comment: Religious freedom should be at the heart of this Government's foreign policy
Today's ConservativeHome Newslinks
Paterson goes into battle to support shale gas
"Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said: ‘The gas volumes in the survey are astounding: this is a natural bonanza which we must grasp. Rather than be persuaded by scare tactics, we need to look at  the facts. Do we really want to deny the British public a clean, affordable, home-grown energy supply which could free us from dependency on unstable regimes and which would give a huge boost to our industry?'" - Mail on Sunday  
Good news for the Chancellor
Osborne"So why does Osborne’s statement mark an historic moment? He’s abandoning the key flaw in democracy: that it sets politicians in competition with each other to promise too much. They’re then forced to borrow, passing the bill on to the future. That’s how we have a massive debt, and how a generation that had free university tuition, were home-owners and who could expect a comfortable pension, has given way to one that owes money for its fees, pays rent and has no savings.  Osborne promises to spend less, not more. He offers only tears, sweat and blood. Realisti cally, that’s our future. But you heard it from him first." - Michael Portillo, Mail on Sunday 
Standing ovation as Daniel Kawczynski MP becomes the first openly bisexual MP
"Mr Kawczynski, 41, who was born in Poland, has made history as the first MP to make it known that he is bisexual. Shrewsbury Tory chairman Robert Osborne, who was at the meeting, said last night: ‘It was a very brave thing for Daniel to do and he did it with great aplomb.  He received huge support from members of the association and there was never a shadow of doubt that he would." - Mail on Sunday 
Gove issues civil servants with Golden Rules for writing good English
GoveFlag"Gove is not the only one to be infuriated by the quality of the letters drafted in his name. One colleague was horrified to find that a reply he was meant to send to the Prime Minister began: ‘Good to here from you.’ Another found his name was being spelt incorrectly. But Gove is surely the only Minister who would urge his staff to read ‘George Orwell and Evelyn Waugh, Jane Austen and George Eliot, Matthew Parris and Christopher Hitchens’ to improve their prose." - James Forsyth, Mail on Sunday 
Cameron says soldiers could stay in Afghan support roles until 2020
"The prime minister spoke out after military sources raised the alarm about security in Afghanistan after 2014. Sources said they have concluded that Afghan forces will need highly technical military advice on providing close air support, the distribution of food and fuel, and on medevac facilities. There were concerns recently in Sangin when an Afghan brigade had to call off a mission after running out of fuel. British military commanders have been able to make their assessments after Nato handed control of security for the whole of the country to Afghan forces this month." - The Observer 
Adam Afriyie: Allow patients to pay for NHS care
NHS_Logo"The NHS must always remain free at the point of delivery for British citizens. This is a fundamental principle. However, the sensible, pragmatic way forward to save the NHS is to enable people to choose where they have treatment and choose whether to pay for that treatment. I’m not advocating that everyone must make a choice. I don’t believe in disrupting the NHS as it stands simply to enable it. In any new system the default position must remain: people must be able simply to go to the GP and follow the NHS route to treatment. But I think that we can make it easier for people in all walks of life, from the busy mother to the time-poor small-business owner, to access and pay for health services at a time and location that suits them." - Sunday Times (£) 
Safety campaigners want every parent's house inspected by social workers
"Social workers will routinely go into new parents’ homes to check for dangers such as staircases and sharp table edges, under ‘intrusive’ plans drawn up by safety campaigners. They argue that the hour-long visits could prevent thousands of serious injuries every year – but critics believe they would be an invasion of privacy." - Mail on Sunday  
Phlip Hammond prepares for cyberwarfare
"Hammond described cyberwarfare as a “game changer” and argued that such activity must be incorporated into “mainstream military thinking”. “It’s a new tool of warfare, essentially, just as the flying machine was in 1915.” Speaking about the potential for Britain to launch its own cyberattacks, he said: “It’s a new capability. We should explore the boundaries of it.” Chancellor George Osborne last week announced that total spending on intelligence would go up from £1.9bn to £2bn, with cybersecurity a key priority." - Sunday Times (£) 
Candidate Map
YouGov points to a hung Parliament for the first time this year
"Labour has entered the danger zone. For the first time this year YouGov’s figures point to a hung parliament rather than an outright victory for Ed Miliband. Until now our surveys have indicated modest overall majorities when votes are translated into seats. Judged against past oppositions that have gone on to gain power, such as Labour before 1997 and the Conservatives before 2010, Labour’s performance has been below par." - Peter Kellner, Sunday Times (£) 
Shock as Douglas Hurd opposes a referendum and supports Euro membership
"Lord Hurd, the former foreign secretary, has become the latest Tory grandee to warn against his party's growing Eurosceptic tendencies. In a wide-ranging interview with the Observer, the peer attacked the views of Michael Gove, a Eurosceptic cabinet minister, as "backward-looking", predicted that Britain will consider joining the euro within the decade, and said he was opposed in principle to holding a referendum on the UK's relationship with the European Union while "reluctantly" accepting it was now inevitable." - The Observer 
Unite union accused of using Militant Tendency tactics and widespread infiltration
Miliband Labour Left"The allegation came amid a row over claims Unite broke party rules to try to get its nominee picked as Labour’s candidate in Falkirk, Scotland. Labour leader Ed Miliband was forced to suspend the local party last week, days after The Mail on Sunday revealed how a Labour Party inquiry upheld claims of foul play by Unite. The union was accused of recruiting ‘rent-a-mob’ supporters in Falkirk to rig the selection process." - Mail on Sunday
News in brief
Yesterday on ConservativeHome
Jamie Gardiner on Comment: "The unofficial mascot of the Scottish Conservative conference was a man in a rat costume outside the entrance. 'Go home English Tories,' he bellowed to general bemusement...what is shocking is that, in more temperate language and minus the costume, many Scots would sympathize with the rat." Why the Scottish Conservatives need to pick a fight with the national Party

Posted by Britannia Radio at 10:11