Britannia Radio

Today's Top ConservativeHome Features ToryDiary: The quiet march of Philip Hammond Columnist Jesse Norman MP: A tale of two tariffs - and unfair utility costs in tough economic times David Burrowes on Comment: There must be safeguards for religious freedom in the Same Sex Marriage Bill. And a referendum. Local Government: John Bald on Reforming Education - more steps on a long, hard road The Deep End: The main problem with our banks is that they don’t have enough money (of their own) Today's ConservativeHome Newslinks Gove and Hammond back leaving EU "David Cameron is struggling to maintain Tory discipline over Europe after cabinet loyalists Michael Gove and Philip Hammond said on Sunday they would vote to leave the European Union if a referendum were to be held now." - The Guardian "Mr Gove, in an interview yesterday, said that he supported the Prime Minister’s plan to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with Europe before holding a poll. However, he admitted that he would vote “no” if a referendum were held today. “Life outside would be perfectly tolerable. There would be certain advantages,” he said.  Mr Hammond echoed his remarks, saying yesterday that it would be “defeatist” to leave the EU without attempting reform." - The Times (£) "If he cannot negotiate a new deal, Chris Grayling, Iain Duncan Smith, Owen Paterson, Justine Greening, Francis Maude, Theresa Villiers and Oliver Letwin would all reportedly favour an EU exit." -Daily Mail "If there was a referendum now, Michael Gove and Philip Hammond would vote to come out. Until recently, if someone of their seniority said we should leave the EU, it would have caused a political earthquake. It’s a sign of how things have changed that their words have been seen as speaking for the majority. Even a few weeks ago, anyone who said they wanted to leave the EU was called a nutter. This month, the idea of leaving the EU became part of the mainstream." - The Sun Says > Today: ToryDiary- The quiet march of Philip Hammond Boris urges Tory MPs to back vote for EU referendum.. "I personally back legislation now to make sure that referendum goes ahead. It will be a good thing for everyone, because we will all have to focus not on the feud – so toxic, so delicious, so gloriously fratricidal – but on what is actually right for the country; on the nuts and bolts of what we are trying to achieve." Boris Johnson, Daily Telegraph EU loophole allows migrants spouses to enter UK without checks - Daily Mail ...as Labour for a Referendum is launched "The leader of the Labour for a Referendum campaign, party donor John Mills, said: ‘We all want to see Prime Minister Ed Miliband in 2015 and the best way to ensure that happens is by telling the people we too will give them a say on the EU.’ Labour MPs who support the campaign are said to include Ronnie Campbell, Rosie Cooper, John Cryer, Ian Davidson, Natascha Engel, Frank Field, Roger Godsiff, Kate Hoey, Kelvin Hopkins, John McDonnell, Austin Mitchell, Grahame Morris and  Graham Stringer. One Foot in the Grave star and Labour campaigner Richard Wilson is also backing the campaign." - Daily Mail "Ed Balls, shadow chancellor, said this year that Labour must not allow itself to be “caricatured” as an anti-referendum party, saying “we’ve absolutely not ruled out a referendum”. However, when asked to clarify his views on Sunday, Mr Balls would not commit either way. He told Sky News that pledging a referendum was “the wrong thing to do now”, but conceded that Labour should not “set our face against consulting the British people”." - FT Which referendum? asks Redwood "There are four possible referenda on offer at the moment and in discussion in Westminster. 1. There is Mr Cameron’s proposal,a  referendum in 2017 on the question Do you wish to accept the new relationship with the EU we have negotiated, or leave the EU?, to be legislated for now. 2. There is the UKIP favoured In/Out referendum as soon as possible. 3.There is the Mandate referendum now, on the question Do you want the Uk government to negotiate a new relationship with the EU based on trade and political co-operation?, to be followed by an In/Out on the ne w terms 4.There could be a hybrid, offering voters a choice between In/Out and renegotiate." - John Redwood's Diary Tory rebels demand referendum on gay marriage "Tory rebels are demanding a referendum on gay marriage – and have threatened to wreck the Coalition’s attempts to make it law if they do not get their way. Up to 150 MPs are said to support a call for a national vote on same-sex weddings to ensure that such a historic change in legislation goes ahead only with full public support." - Daily Mail  > Today: David Burrowes on Comment: There must be safeguards for religious freedom in the Same Sex Marriage Bill. And a referendum. No "silver bullet" for UKIP warns Pickles “My chums in the Conservative Party have got to realise there is no silver bullet for Ukip. There is nothing that we can do in terms of 'this is the policy, this is the action that will make the big difference’. The only way you can beat Ukip is a concerted effort to stay connected.” - Eric Pickles interviewed in the Daily Telegraph "Mr Pickles admits that the Conservative Party, like all parties, risks a “disconnection” from ordinary people...In the early Fifties, the Tories boasted three million members; today that number has declined to around 130,000....the Tories could do a better job of increasing participation and embracing people from different backgrounds." Editorial, Daily Telegraph Cameron in the U.S 1) He has talks with Obama "The prime minister has arrived in Washington for talks with US President Barack Obama... David Cameron is expected to highlight the benefits to Britain of a trade agreement between Europe and the UK." - BBC "David Cameron will tell Barack Obama in the White House on Monday that he believes Vladimir Putin may be prepared to adopt a more flexible approach on Syria. The prime minister will tell the president, in talks being convened ahead of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland for June, that he was greatly encouraged by his meeting with Putin at the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Friday." - The Guardian Cameron in the U.S 2) He calls for free trade "An Africa that can trade will be a lion of global growth. But a single truck still needs to carry up to 1,000 documents just to travel between the countries of the Southern African Development Community. So there is a huge prize to be won if we can sweep away trade bureaucracy, and a deal to do this at the WTO Bali conference in December could be worth $70 billion to the global economy." David Cameron, Wall Street Journal  Hunt says elderly patients to have personal NHS worker to manage their care "Every vulnerable elderly person in England will have a personal NHS worker who will be responsible for co-ordinating all their heath and care needs, the Heath Secretary Jeremy Hunt promises today. Warning in an interview with The Independent that dementia has replaced cancer as the biggest challenge facing the NHS, Mr Hunt said that the NHS must entirely overhaul the way it looks after elderly patients." - The Independent Gove says Clegg atacked childcare reforms to fend off leadership threat "Nick Clegg only questioned plans to allow nursery staff to look after more children to shore up his position as Lib Dem leader, Michael Gove has said. The Tory education secretary said Mr Clegg had to "show a bit of leg" to his party but really backed the scheme. Mr Gove suggested Lib Dem peer Lord Oakeshott was behind a plot to "destabilise" Mr Clegg and install his ally Vince Cable as party leader." - BBC > Yesterday: ToryDiary - Gove blames Lib Dem leadership plot for Clegg's U-turn on childcare Tim Montgomerie says Christianity pulls the Republican Party into the mainstream "The truth is that the Republican Party needs American Christianity much more than American Christianity needs the Republican Party. The average American evangelical shops at Walmart, while the average Republican donor thrives on Wall Street. As well as being more familiar with the life struggles of Main Street America there are also one or two more churchgoers than donors." Tim Montgomerie The Times (£) Lord Sainsbury won't fund Labour under "average" Miliband "The multimillionaire businessman and philanthropist who has given more than £12 million to the Labour Party has branded Ed Miliband an “average” politician, with an uninspiring political vision. In a rare interview, Lord Sainsbury of Turville, who bankrolled Labour through the Blair and Brown years, told The Times that he had no intention of donating to the party again." - The Times (£) Home Office tour to study drug policy "A Home Office study of international drug laws is to get under way this week with a visit to Portugal to look at the long-term impact of its policy of limited decriminalisation. The Liberal Democrat minister Jeremy Browne, who is leading the review, is to look at drug policy in about 10 countries and will later this month go to Denmark...Browne will visit Sweden, whose zero-tolerance take on drug policy and abstinence-driven approach to drug treatment have been advocated by Tory champions of a more restrictive approach." - The Guardian Economy "looking up" "The UK economy may be on its way back to full health, with jobs and growth both set to keep on growing steadily over the coming years according to a swathe of surveys and spending data published today." - City AM "In an upbeat survey, the Confederation of British Industry forecast a one per cent expansion in the country’s national output – the Gross Domestic Product – this year, followed by two per cent in 2014. The forecast will cheer Chancellor George Osborne by suggesting that the UK has avoided falling into a triple-dip recession." -Daily Express "The UK’s culture is becoming increasingly entrepreneurial, with ever more people wanting to become their own boss, regardless of risk, preferring loose networks to rigid hierarchies and labour rights; the rise of this culture of independence, individualism and self-reliance is a genuinely exciting trend....it has further to go. Research from the Department for Business suggests that if Brits were as entrepreneurial as Americans we would have nearly 1m more firms." - Allister Heath City AM Miliband told Balls must go "Senior Labour figures are urging Ed Miliband to move Ed Balls to the job of shadow Foreign Secretary. They want his former leadership rival to be sacked as shadow Chancellor — as he is seen as a vote-loser....Instead, they want party policy chief Jon Cruddas in his place." - The Sun Red Ed's only hope is Blue Labour - Tom Newton Dunn The Sun Small firms cash incentive for staff to become military reservists - BBC Gordon Brown to speak at Labour launch against Scottish independence - Metro And finally...Chris Huhne and Vicy Pryce released from prison - but will be tagged "Former cabinet minister Chris Huhne and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce have been released from prison after serving part of their jail terms for perverting the course of justice." - BBC Yesterday on ConservativeHome ToryDiary: Theresa May is absolutely right to take on police corruption  Gove blames Lib Dem leadership plot for Clegg's U-turn on childcare WATCH: Rod Liddle investigates whether anyone would miss us if we did leave the EU