Idkal

Noon on CentreRight: Behind a BNP vote

11.45am CentreRight: Andrew Haldenby reviews the main themes of Nick Herbert’s speech on public reform

11am ToryDiary: Boris more popular than Dave

11am CentreRight: Andrew Lilico reacts to the increase in inflation to 3%

Seats and candidates: Tory campaign in Crewe emphasises tax and soaring living costs

Local government: Slough was one of the few good stories for Labour on 1st May but the new Labour group has self-destructed and handed power back to the Conservatives.

CentreRight: Greg Hands MP exposes the "Immigration chaos" in Britain

Charles Tannock MEP on Platform: In defence of PR for European elections

The left-wing internet campaign, MoveOn.org, invited US citizens to make thirty second videos extolling Barack Obama.  The best ideas have recently been published.  Watch them here.

Although she mentions the next primary states, this ‘Thank you’ video from Hillary Clinton is leading people to think the former First Lady may be about to drop out of the race.

Also on PlayPolitical: John McCain produces a video that offers a third way between those who deny climate change and those who advocate a heavy-handed approach to remedying it.  Conservative bloggers question McCain spending his limited resources on such ads that do not appeal to his base.

Cameron attacks Labour’s top-down government in speech to CPRE

Full speech on tory
thatcherites.com

"David Cameron hit out at regional development agencies, the “inadequate regulation” of supermarket chains and the “big-is-beautiful” approach to public sector reform in a speech on Monday that will revive business unease about the Conservative agenda." - FT

Bar lesbians from IVF treatment in absence of father figure, say Tories

"Lesbian couples should be blocked from having IVF treatment unless they
agree that a father figure would be involved in the upbringing of their
child, the Tories said yesterday." - Guardian

"Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, told MPs on Monday he would seek to make it easier for women to have an abortion at an early stage, while lowering the time limit for late procedures." - Telegraph

“Giving barely three hours to consider the principle of human admixed embryos, saviour siblings and whether we need a father … surely that is bringing Parliament into disrepute.” - David Burrowes MP quoted in The Times

BBC accused of wasting millions on props, costumes and catering

A committee of MPs chaired by Edward Leigh MP finds the BBC wasting millions of pounds every year because of a confusing procurement system - Guardian

National school tests are distorting children’s education - Sky

Ministers round on Frank Field - BBC | Listen to Frank Field’s attack on Brown

After Ed Balls’ attacks on Frank Field, the Daily Mail talks abour "civil war" inside Labour.

The Financial Times launches full attack on the Prescott-Cherie "nobody" diaries

"One cannot but admire the hypocrisy of Mrs Blair and Mr Prescott. A woman who fiercely defended her children’s rights to privacy while her husband was prime minister now mentions the death of an unborn child. Her youngest son will struggle to live down the toe-curling revelation that he was conceived at Balmoral, the Queen’s summer holiday residence. Mr Prescott, in office, repeatedly attacked the media for its accounts of cabinet bickering. But his own depiction of the relationship between Mr Blair and Gordon Brown – Prezza – My Story: Pulling No Punches – is calculated to generate the same headlines." - FT leader

Robert Harris blames Tony Blair for Labour’s woes: "The fact that Blair isn’t around to take part in the fight over Labour’s future starts to look less like a gesture of unity and more like a dereliction of duty: a symptom of the selfishness and indifference to others that have always been the least attractive marks of his personal and political style." - Guardian

Why did the people of Maltby in Yorkshire swing to the BNP?  The Independent investigates.

Loss of God is making us miserable says report from Christian MPs

"The authors claim everyone’s wellbeing would improve if Christian values were taken more seriously in society. Gary Streeter, a Conservative MP and a member of the working party, said: "I think many policymakers sense these things, but don’t know what to do about it. "The faith communities have a great opportunity to lead here, but only if they stop carping and being against everything and start to be more positive. It is as much a message to the faith communities as other opinion formers.""- Telegraph 

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

Noon on CentreRight: Behind a BNP vote

11.45am CentreRight: Andrew Haldenby reviews the main themes of Nick Herbert’s speech on public reform

11am ToryDiary: Boris more popular than Dave

11am CentreRight: Andrew Lilico reacts to the increase in inflation to 3%

Seats and candidates: Tory campaign in Crewe emphasises tax and soaring living costs

Local government: Slough was one of the few good stories for Labour on 1st May but the new Labour group has self-destructed and handed power back to the Conservatives.

CentreRight: Greg Hands MP exposes the "Immigration chaos" in Britain

Charles Tannock MEP on Platform: In defence of PR for European elections

The left-wing internet campaign, MoveOn.org, invited US citizens to make thirty second videos extolling Barack Obama.  The best ideas have recently been published.  Watch them here.

Although she mentions the next primary states, this ‘Thank you’ video from Hillary Clinton is leading people to think the former First Lady may be about to drop out of the race.

Also on PlayPolitical: John McCain produces a video that offers a third way between those who deny climate change and those who advocate a heavy-handed approach to remedying it.  Conservative bloggers question McCain spending his limited resources on such ads that do not appeal to his base.

Cameron attacks Labour’s top-down government in speech to CPRE

Full speech on tory
thatcherites.com

"David Cameron hit out at regional development agencies, the “inadequate regulation” of supermarket chains and the “big-is-beautiful” approach to public sector reform in a speech on Monday that will revive business unease about the Conservative agenda." - FT

Bar lesbians from IVF treatment in absence of father figure, say Tories

"Lesbian couples should be blocked from having IVF treatment unless they
agree that a father figure would be involved in the upbringing of their
child, the Tories said yesterday." - Guardian

"Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, told MPs on Monday he would seek to make it easier for women to have an abortion at an early stage, while lowering the time limit for late procedures." - Telegraph

“Giving barely three hours to consider the principle of human admixed embryos, saviour siblings and whether we need a father … surely that is bringing Parliament into disrepute.” - David Burrowes MP quoted in The Times

BBC accused of wasting millions on props, costumes and catering

A committee of MPs chaired by Edward Leigh MP finds the BBC wasting millions of pounds every year because of a confusing procurement system - Guardian

National school tests are distorting children’s education - Sky

Ministers round on Frank Field - BBC | Listen to Frank Field’s attack on Brown

After Ed Balls’ attacks on Frank Field, the Daily Mail talks abour "civil war" inside Labour.

The Financial Times launches full attack on the Prescott-Cherie "nobody" diaries

"One cannot but admire the hypocrisy of Mrs Blair and Mr Prescott. A woman who fiercely defended her children’s rights to privacy while her husband was prime minister now mentions the death of an unborn child. Her youngest son will struggle to live down the toe-curling revelation that he was conceived at Balmoral, the Queen’s summer holiday residence. Mr Prescott, in office, repeatedly attacked the media for its accounts of cabinet bickering. But his own depiction of the relationship between Mr Blair and Gordon Brown – Prezza – My Story: Pulling No Punches – is calculated to generate the same headlines." - FT leader

Robert Harris blames Tony Blair for Labour’s woes: "The fact that Blair isn’t around to take part in the fight over Labour’s future starts to look less like a gesture of unity and more like a dereliction of duty: a symptom of the selfishness and indifference to others that have always been the least attractive marks of his personal and political style." - Guardian

Why did the people of Maltby in Yorkshire swing to the BNP?  The Independent investigates.

Loss of God is making us miserable says report from Christian MPs

"The authors claim everyone’s wellbeing would improve if Christian values were taken more seriously in society. Gary Streeter, a Conservative MP and a member of the working party, said: "I think many policymakers sense these things, but don’t know what to do about it. "The faith communities have a great opportunity to lead here, but only if they stop carping and being against everything and start to be more positive. It is as much a message to the faith communities as other opinion formers.""- Telegraph 

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

8.30pm ToryDiary: Right?

5pm PlayPolitical video: Is this the maddest political YouTube? Watch the English Democrats’ Crewe and Nantwich video.

3pm Ben Rogers on Platform: We have a “responsibility” to “protect” in Burma

2.15pm Seats and candidates: Another Labour MP quits

2pm Seats and candidates: Statement from Sir Robert Atkins MEP in response to News of the World story

10am ToryDiary: Labour should keep Brown in place

9.30am CentreRight: Graeme Archer notes research that shows that Tories spend less council taxpayers’ money on "free"newspapers but that they are effective in helping incumbents.

Seats and candidates: Even Labour activists are disowning their party’s campaign in Crewe

David Eyles on Platform: Is food security incompatible with a free a market?

PlayPolitical video: ITV’s Headcases’ treatment of the Tories is more savage than funny 

Why do we have fewer by-elections these days? - Peter Riddell in The Times

Will Cameron offer the same strong sense of direction that characterised Margaret Thatcher’s 1979 manifesto?

"There is a myth around that her 1979 manifesto was not especially
robust. It is certainly an interesting document in retrospect. The
section on Europe which condemned the “obstructive and malevolent
attitude” of some in the Labour Cabinet towards Brussels and which
calls for a common EU foreign policy is ironic. The core of it,
however, is unambiguous. It stated “we shall cut income tax at all
levels”. It noted that: “Any future government which sets out honestly
to reduce inflation and taxation will have to make substantial
economies, and there should be no doubt about our intention to do so.”
It was scathing about the nationalised industries and there were more
words devoted to reducing the power of the trade unions than any other
subject. Although the Tory majority that year was not vast (43), it had
immense authority behind it to introduce necessary reforms." - Tim Hames in The Times 

But Max Hastings, in The Guardian, thinks that the Tories are offering enough policy beef: "Since the local elections, there have been blasts of media hot air
about the Tories’ need to strengthen policy commitments, to underpin
their image-making with substance. This seems otiose. The opposition
has produced policies on the issues about which the public cares most -
rescuing education, capping immigration, curbing benefit fraud,
reforming sentencing. Rather than threaten radical change, for which
there is little public appetite, the Tories promise competent
administration, for which there is an intense hunger."

> Yesterday’s ToryDiary looked at six predictors of what we can expect a Cameron premiership to be like

Two political lists: The Western Mail draws up a fantasy Cabinet listing the best Welsh politicians of all time and The Telegraph lists the top fifty influences on David Cameron

Johann Hari questions David Cameron’s claim to be a progressive - Independent

Brown set to outline the need to reform social care for ageing population - BBC

William Hague criticises Gordon Brown’s decision to meet the Dalai Lama away from Downing Street - Times

A review of ‘Squandered’ - Trevor Kavanagh in The Sun

End City tax loopholes, says Clegg - FT

Families need £1,000 more just to put food on the table - Daily Mail

George W Bush’s daughter gets married - Story and photographs at NYTimes.com

From Seats and candidates: News of the World launches attack on "greedy" Tory MEPs

ToryDiary: A review of Boris Johnson’s impressive first week and Michael Forsyth calls for a referendum on the future of the Union next May

Louise Bagshawe on CentreRight: Frank Field MP threatens Gordon Brown with a no confidence motion

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

8.45pm: ICM poll puts Tories 4% ahead of Labour in Crewe and Nantwich - Iain Dale and UK Polling Report

7pm Louise Bagshawe on CentreRight: Frank Field threatens Brown with "no confidence"

3.30pm Seats and candidates: Labour MP Chris Mullin MP quits in face of the Tories’ ‘Sunderland surge’

1.15pm Seats and candidates video: Meet Edward Timpson MP… the next Conservative MP for Crewe and Nantwich?

ToryDiary: Boris’ first week

Neil Reddin on Platform: Shifting the centre rightwards

Martin Parsons on CentreRight: A Conservative government should…replace the term ‘Islamophobia’ with ‘Muslimophobia’

PlayPolitical video: McCain says it’s "nonsense" that he didn’t vote for George W Bush

Nick Clegg calls for aid to be parachuted into Burma

"The Lib Dem leader told BBC Radio 4’s The World at One: "I think the time is now coming, drawing very close to taking the most drastic step of all, which is dropping aid directly into Burma, irrespective of the wishes of the Burmese regime.  "This, of course, in practical terms is not an ideal solution because you’re dropping aid from the air, it doesn’t guarantee it gets to the people who need it.  "But I think it would be an important step to show that the international community is simply not going to stand idly by."" - BBC

John Redwood blogs that only negotiation will succeed in bringing aid to the stricken.

News from Crewe and Nantwich

"Gordon Brown has been warned that "class war" attacks on the Tories are backfiring.  Senior ministers are said to be dismayed over attempts to mock the Conservative candidate in the upcoming Crewe by-election for being a "toff."  Labour activists, dressed in top hats and tails, have been sent to shadow Edward Timpson - son of John Timpson, the founder of the key- cutting chain - on the campaign trail." - Daily Mail

The Independent finds Labour supporters in open revolt.

Jonathan Isaby notes the Tory strategy of getting out their vote in Nantwich and outlying areas.

> Click here if you can join other ConservativeHome readers on Sunday 18th May for an action day in Crewe.

An overview of David Cameron’s week - Rosa Prince in The Telegraph

Greg Clark MP highlights doubling of ‘garden-grabbing’ in last decade - Daily Mail

New Tory councillor resigns over allegations he lied about cancer - Guardian

Brown and Cameron both opt for state schools - Scotsman

Peter Oborne: Does Cameron understand that politics has changed?

"Voters have woken up to the fact that the Clinton governing method, as adapted by Tony Blair and now attempted by Gordon Brown, doesn’t work. They have lost faith with the recycled initiatives, the bogus announcements and the structural dishonesty.  If Cameron carries on with this flawed methodology, he may win office at the next election, but he will ultimately fail in government." - Peter Oborne in The Daily Mail

Jon Cruddas MP warns that Labour is being ‘out-thought’ by David Cameron

"Labour must re-establish its belief in equality. Equality is the moral
standard of fraternity. It is the ethical core of social justice. It
holds that each person is irreplaceable and of equal worth. As the dust
settles on these elections, Labour needs to rediscover its soul." - Guardian

Unhappy Labour supporters let rip on party website - Independent

Peter Hyman suggests Gordon Brown makes David Miliband his Chancellor - Times

Serialisation of Cherie Blair’s autobiography begins in The Times

"Tony Blair would have resigned ahead of the 2005 general election if
Gordon Brown had not dragged his feet over the pace and direction of
public service reform, Cherie Blair claims today.  In an interview
with the former premier’s wife which accompanies extracts from her
forthcoming memoirs, she also says Blair is advising Brown on how to
win the next election, and she says Blair believes Brown can beat David
Cameron." - Guardian

"The former Prime Minister’s wife tells how Mr Blair had a “crisis of confidence” over the Iraq war and feared that he had become an electoral liability.  But he decided to stay and fight for his domestic legacy because Mr Brown was “rattling the keys above his head”." - Telegraph

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

7.30pm PlayPolitical video: John McCain’s ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ message

3.45 PlayPolitical: Cameron tells Bob Geldof and the IoD that change is possible, and tours the BackBoris call centre

3.30pm CentreRight selections: Peter Cuthbertson notes that Americans are advocating Boris as President; Peter Franklin fears the Union is doomed if bendy Wendy is its cheerleader and, more seriously, Andrew Lilico discusses regulatory impact assessments.

12.15pm Seats and candidates: CCHQ mustn’t delay Henley by-election

Noon ToryDiary: ‘New Labour has already won the next election’

Seats and candidates: Fancy a coach trip to Crewe and Nantwich?

Daniel Kawczynski MP on Platform: Conservatives should abolish Proportional Representation for GLA and EU elections

ToryDiary: Tory MPs queue up to offer Brown some advice

Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: Portillo didn’t vote for Boris

A YouGov poll for The Sun gives the Conservatives a 26% lead

Yesterday evening’s ToryDiary has more.

"Labour has almost no representation in the south after it lost Reading council. [John] Denham called the fight to win back support in the south "crucial"." - Telegraph | Denham writes for The Guardian

Britain needs an emergency tax-cutting budget - Telegraph leader

David Cameron: Conservatives are the champions of progressive ideals

"A painful reality is dawning on Labour MPs: in its longest unbroken period in office, Labour has done little to advance progressive ideals. A government that promised social justice and economic efficiency has in fact delivered neither, to the dismay of the Labour Party. Instead, it is the Conservative Party that is the champion of progressive ideals in Britain today."- The Conservative leader writing for The Independent

Cameron appoints close friend to be new Tory CEO

"Andrew Feldman, currently a deputy treasurer, will take charge of the party’s national headquarters from July, The Times has learnt. The Tory leader is thought to have assured Caroline Spelman, the party chairman, that she will retain control of the voluntary sector and candidates and that Mr Feldman will report to her." - Telegraph

Networked from birth - John Harris looks at the high number of privately-educated Tory frontbenchers, Guardian

News from the Mayor’s office

Boris Johnson to meet New York Mayor, Michael Bloomberg - BBC

Guto Harri to be Boris’ communications chief - ToryDiary

"The transition is being handled by Nick Boles, the urbane former head of the Policy Exchange think tank and a dead cert to be a Cameron Cabinet minister. He’s assisted by a canny Australian, James McGrath, who has toiled away at Central Office. They will keep Boris on the straight and narrow and ensure that his orders are carried out to the letter. Both have the steel needed to charm, and, where necessary, confront." - Iain Dale in The Telegraph

The Guardian profiles Ray Lewis, Boris Johnson’s deputy mayor

The party needs to put itself at the forefront of a progressive alliance that can inspire the electorate - Ken Livingstone writing in The Guardian

Alex Salmond offers Commons pact to Conservatives - Herald

Brown furious as ITV asks about sick son - Independent

Gordon Brown’s £1bn boost to Ulster - Telegraph

Driving and cheap flights mean that Britain’s carbon footprint is rising - Times

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day. 

8.30pm ToryDiary: Right?

5pm PlayPolitical video: Is this the maddest political YouTube? Watch the English Democrats’ Crewe and Nantwich video.

3pm Ben Rogers on Platform: We have a “responsibility” to “protect” in Burma

2.15pm Seats and candidates: Another Labour MP quits

2pm Seats and candidates: Statement from Sir Robert Atkins MEP in response to News of the World story

10am ToryDiary: Labour should keep Brown in place

9.30am CentreRight: Graeme Archer notes research that shows that Tories spend less council taxpayers’ money on "free"newspapers but that they are effective in helping incumbents.

Seats and candidates: Even Labour activists are disowning their party’s campaign in Crewe

David Eyles on Platform: Is food security incompatible with a free a market?

PlayPolitical video: ITV’s Headcases’ treatment of the Tories is more savage than funny 

Why do we have fewer by-elections these days? - Peter Riddell in The Times

Will Cameron offer the same strong sense of direction that characterised Margaret Thatcher’s 1979 manifesto?

"There is a myth around that her 1979 manifesto was not especially
robust. It is certainly an interesting document in retrospect. The
section on Europe which condemned the “obstructive and malevolent
attitude” of some in the Labour Cabinet towards Brussels and which
calls for a common EU foreign policy is ironic. The core of it,
however, is unambiguous. It stated “we shall cut income tax at all
levels”. It noted that: “Any future government which sets out honestly
to reduce inflation and taxation will have to make substantial
economies, and there should be no doubt about our intention to do so.”
It was scathing about the nationalised industries and there were more
words devoted to reducing the power of the trade unions than any other
subject. Although the Tory majority that year was not vast (43), it had
immense authority behind it to introduce necessary reforms." - Tim Hames in The Times 

But Max Hastings, in The Guardian, thinks that the Tories are offering enough policy beef: "Since the local elections, there have been blasts of media hot air
about the Tories’ need to strengthen policy commitments, to underpin
their image-making with substance. This seems otiose. The opposition
has produced policies on the issues about which the public cares most -
rescuing education, capping immigration, curbing benefit fraud,
reforming sentencing. Rather than threaten radical change, for which
there is little public appetite, the Tories promise competent
administration, for which there is an intense hunger."

> Yesterday’s ToryDiary looked at six predictors of what we can expect a Cameron premiership to be like

Two political lists: The Western Mail draws up a fantasy Cabinet listing the best Welsh politicians of all time and The Telegraph lists the top fifty influences on David Cameron

Johann Hari questions David Cameron’s claim to be a progressive - Independent

Brown set to outline the need to reform social care for ageing population - BBC

William Hague criticises Gordon Brown’s decision to meet the Dalai Lama away from Downing Street - Times

A review of ‘Squandered’ - Trevor Kavanagh in The Sun

End City tax loopholes, says Clegg - FT

Families need £1,000 more just to put food on the table - Daily Mail

George W Bush’s daughter gets married - Story and photographs at NYTimes.com

From Seats and candidates: News of the World launches attack on "greedy" Tory MEPs

ToryDiary: A review of Boris Johnson’s impressive first week and Michael Forsyth calls for a referendum on the future of the Union next May

Louise Bagshawe on CentreRight: Frank Field MP threatens Gordon Brown with a no confidence motion

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

8.45pm: ICM poll puts Tories 4% ahead of Labour in Crewe and Nantwich - Iain Dale and UK Polling Report

7pm Louise Bagshawe on CentreRight: Frank Field threatens Brown with "no confidence"

3.30pm Seats and candidates: Labour MP Chris Mullin MP quits in face of the Tories’ ‘Sunderland surge’

1.15pm Seats and candidates video: Meet Edward Timpson MP… the next Conservative MP for Crewe and Nantwich?

ToryDiary: Boris’ first week

Neil Reddin on Platform: Shifting the centre rightwards

Martin Parsons on CentreRight: A Conservative government should…replace the term ‘Islamophobia’ with ‘Muslimophobia’

PlayPolitical video: McCain says it’s "nonsense" that he didn’t vote for George W Bush

Nick Clegg calls for aid to be parachuted into Burma

"The Lib Dem leader told BBC Radio 4’s The World at One: "I think the time is now coming, drawing very close to taking the most drastic step of all, which is dropping aid directly into Burma, irrespective of the wishes of the Burmese regime.  "This, of course, in practical terms is not an ideal solution because you’re dropping aid from the air, it doesn’t guarantee it gets to the people who need it.  "But I think it would be an important step to show that the international community is simply not going to stand idly by."" - BBC

John Redwood blogs that only negotiation will succeed in bringing aid to the stricken.

News from Crewe and Nantwich

"Gordon Brown has been warned that "class war" attacks on the Tories are backfiring.  Senior ministers are said to be dismayed over attempts to mock the Conservative candidate in the upcoming Crewe by-election for being a "toff."  Labour activists, dressed in top hats and tails, have been sent to shadow Edward Timpson - son of John Timpson, the founder of the key- cutting chain - on the campaign trail." - Daily Mail

The Independent finds Labour supporters in open revolt.

Jonathan Isaby notes the Tory strategy of getting out their vote in Nantwich and outlying areas.

> Click here if you can join other ConservativeHome readers on Sunday 18th May for an action day in Crewe.

An overview of David Cameron’s week - Rosa Prince in The Telegraph

Greg Clark MP highlights doubling of ‘garden-grabbing’ in last decade - Daily Mail

New Tory councillor resigns over allegations he lied about cancer - Guardian

Brown and Cameron both opt for state schools - Scotsman

Peter Oborne: Does Cameron understand that politics has changed?

"Voters have woken up to the fact that the Clinton governing method, as adapted by Tony Blair and now attempted by Gordon Brown, doesn’t work. They have lost faith with the recycled initiatives, the bogus announcements and the structural dishonesty.  If Cameron carries on with this flawed methodology, he may win office at the next election, but he will ultimately fail in government." - Peter Oborne in The Daily Mail

Jon Cruddas MP warns that Labour is being ‘out-thought’ by David Cameron

"Labour must re-establish its belief in equality. Equality is the moral
standard of fraternity. It is the ethical core of social justice. It
holds that each person is irreplaceable and of equal worth. As the dust
settles on these elections, Labour needs to rediscover its soul." - Guardian

Unhappy Labour supporters let rip on party website - Independent

Peter Hyman suggests Gordon Brown makes David Miliband his Chancellor - Times

Serialisation of Cherie Blair’s autobiography begins in The Times

"Tony Blair would have resigned ahead of the 2005 general election if
Gordon Brown had not dragged his feet over the pace and direction of
public service reform, Cherie Blair claims today.  In an interview
with the former premier’s wife which accompanies extracts from her
forthcoming memoirs, she also says Blair is advising Brown on how to
win the next election, and she says Blair believes Brown can beat David
Cameron." - Guardian

"The former Prime Minister’s wife tells how Mr Blair had a “crisis of confidence” over the Iraq war and feared that he had become an electoral liability.  But he decided to stay and fight for his domestic legacy because Mr Brown was “rattling the keys above his head”." - Telegraph

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

LIVE CHATROOM NOW ONLINE

9pm ToryDiary: Guto Harri to be Boris’ communications chief

7.45pm ToryDiary: YouGov puts Conservatives 26% ahead

5pm PlayPolitical video: Watch Alex Salmond get the better of Wendy Alexander at Scottish First Minister’s Questions  

3.30pm ToryDiary: Cameron presses Brown again on his split with Wendy Alexander

1pm ToryDiary: Boris launches full audit of City hall finances

Noon ToryDiary: Tories relaunch promise to abolish stamp duty for most first-time buyers

Dominic Grieve QC MP on Platform: Is "Britishness" useful or redundant?

ToryDiary: Labour’s Scottish nightmare

Parliament: David Cameron initiates Westminster Hall debate on flooding

PlayPolitical videos:

• Michael Gove tells Telegraph TV that the party has big ideas on crime, families, schools and welfare
• Clinton’s Communications Director explains why Hillary is fighting on

Telegraph and Mail welcome tougher classification of cannabis and Boris’ booze ban

Gordon Brown made a brave and justified decision on cannabis - Daily Mail leader

"For more than four decades, social liberalism has had a largely unfettered run in this country. The tilt towards permissiveness which began during Roy Jenkins’s tenure at the Home Office in the mid-Sixties has largely shaped the way we live… Yesterday, two things happened that may just start to turn that tide…" - Telegraph leader

"Recognising that downgrading cannabis was a mistake is a step towards mending Broken Britain." - Sun Says

> Video: RMT union leader mocks Boris’ public transport booze ban

> Video: Home Secretary Jacqui Smith tells the Commons why she is toughening the classification of cannabis

> ToryDiary: Boris moves quickly to impose alcohol ban on London’s tube and buses

> Peter Franklin: Who decided to downgrade cannabis in the first place?

Boris promises to give crime maps to Neighbourhood Watch groups - Guardian

 George Osborne backs Telegraph petition against new motoring taxes - Telegraph

What should David Cameron do next?

In an article for The Telegraph
Iain Martin advices David Cameron to present a balanced team, not just
Etonians; against premature triumphalism; and of conducting themselves
ethically as money starts moving again to the Conservatives

ConservativeHome Editor Tim Montgomerie argues for measures to ‘lock in the base’, reach into Labour’s heartland and create an online supporters’ base - The Guardian

Labour is £20m in red and its lenders are due to be repaid - FT

Mandelson: Scrapping 10p band was "very big mistake" - BBC

Peter Riddell examines latest Populus poll’s findings on tax - Times

MPs spend £100,000 to keep expenses secret - Telegraph

 What if Scotland did become independent? - Andrew Roberts looks forward to 2025 in the Daily Mail

MPs attack "inept" handling of junior doctors recruitment crisis - BBC

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.