Saturday 29th March 2008
2pm ToryDiary: LibDems are to the left of Labour
Platform: Tom Mludzinski on nuclear disarmament
Seats and Candidates: The story of MEP candidate selection
PlayPolitical: Barack Obama denies Democrat contest has got dirty
Have you voted in the March survey yet?
The prospect of Boris beating Livingstone
"The race is far from over but in Downing Street there is a weary anticipation that the incumbent will lose. Some will claim that Mr Brown’s allies are seeking to depress
expectations and rally opposition to the Tory candidate in talking up
the threat to Mr Livingstone." - Times
"The symbolic effect would be huge. Not since 1979 would there have
been such a big gain by the Tories from Labour - and a gain at the heart of world-famous territory that Labour believes it owns. Mayor Boris would represent generational change in favour of the Tories
more strikingly than anyone since Margaret Thatcher misquoted Francis of Assisi on the steps of Number 10 nearly 30 years ago." - Charles Moore in the Telegraph
Cameron's speech on the economy
"Britain is heading for tougher economic times, yet Gordon Brown has
failed to prepare for the downturn, David Cameron has warned." - Telegraph
"Tory leader David Cameron yesterday promised a new era of “economic dynamism” in his efforts to woo business leaders." - Express
Brown stressing over polls
"Equally worrying to ministers and Labour MPs is the state of mind of the messenger himself. Desperate
to improve Labour's fortunes, Mr Brown is hardly sleeping. His
fingernails bitten to the quick, he barks down the phone at callers and
most mornings has fired off dozens of bad-tempered emails to officials
before 5am. Anecdotes abound of Mr Brown roaming
Number 10 in the middle of the night grumbling about why the doors to
the Cabinet room are locked." - Toby Helm in the Telegraph
How Harlow's 'GMTV families' are deserting Brown - Telegraph
The ditherer tag hurts Brown
"Every week Mr Cameron plugs away with his “dither and delay” strategy and it
is beginning to stick. For, like all the best slurs, there is truth in it.
Just as alarmingly for No 10, there also seems to be an almost uncanny
growing resemblance between Mr Brown and Mr Bean." - Ann Treneman in the Times
The increasingly bearable lightness of being George Osborne
"The japes and one-liners, along with his age, at first made him seem
mischievously slight. They also called into question the key quality
that any shadow chancellor needs to project, especially if he wants to
lure voters from the known quantity of an incumbent government at a
time of economic gloom: sober judgment.
Yet even some of his opponents concede that Mr Osborne has matured since taking on the job in 2005." - Economist
Cameron having a couple of pints of bitter
"On the face of it, re-opening a pub wouldn't appear too onerous task for a self-styled "man of the people". But somehow Tory leader David Cameron managed to make having a
mid-afternoon pint look more uncomfortable than a grilling in the House
of Commons" - Mail
The Church and politics
"Atheists and believers do not have to be locked in destructive political
combat. Politicians listen to scientists, to the military, even to
economists. If politics is to play its role in overcoming evil, then it must
also listen to the Church. For 2,000 years the Church has grown as an
“expert in humanity”, notably thanks to her patient listening in the
confessional, in her apostolate with the sick and the poor, and in her
experience of persecution." - Former PPC James Mawdsley in the Times
The Speaker must go
"It is not his misinterpretation of procedure that
disqualifies him, nor his touchiness, nor his partisanship - though,
taken cumulatively, all these have served to undermine his position.
Nor should he resign over rows concerning his wife's use of his
allowances. Such rows are undignified and distracting, but not hanging
offences.No, the reason Mr Martin should step down is that he is meant to be the representative and agent of parliamentary supremacy." - Telegraph leader
Terrorists released to ease overcrowding
"Urgent changes were made to the Government’s early-release scheme for
prisoners last night after the disclosure that two terrorists had been freed
before the end of their sentences. The two releases are embarrassing for ministers. Next week Parliament is to
debate giving police powers to detain terrorist suspects for up to 42 days." - Times
"The decision to award early release to a man jailed for a terrorist offence was attacked by the Conservatives yesterday. The Ministry of Justice confirmed Yassin Nassari, who was arrested
at Luton Airport with blueprints for a rocket in his luggage, was freed
17 days early." - Herald
Cameron calls for inquiry into humiliating T5 opening - Guardian
Meet the single mum who is the BBC's new Economics Editor - Mail
British planes strafe Basra - Times
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