8.15pm WATCH: Obama: We've Got the Votes to Win
8pm MPsETC Conservative MPs react to the Dorries suspension
7pm ToryDiary: Could Nadine Dorries now force a by-election – and, if so, who would she support?
5pm MPsETC: CCHQ announces first ten of forty target seat selections
3.15pm WATCH: Romney casts his vote
2pm MPsETC: The culture change for MPs is not Nadine Dorries's friend, but her enemy
12.15pm WATCH: The first voters turn out in swing-state Virginia in the early morning for America's Presidential election
11am ToryDiary: Does a Conservative-led Government really want to make our tax and benefit system the least family-friendly in Europe?
Two EU-related items:
Columnist Peter Hoskin: We don’t need model politicians; we need anti-model politicians
Daniel Hamilton on International: A preview of 2012's US Senate races
Local Government: Too few Conservatives are applying for public appointments. Here's how they can do so
The Deep End: The strange disappearance of the most important man in China
WATCH: Obama and Romney make final pitch
Cameron announces two inquiries into child abuse claims
"The investigation will examine whether a judicial inquiry ordered in 1996 by William Hague, the then secretary of state for Wales, was “properly constituted and properly did its job”. Mr Hague could appear as a witness in any new inquiry. Separately, Downing Street confirmed a second inquiry into the police handling of the scandal, which could be led by a retired Chief Constable or the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre." – Daily Telegraph
> Yesterday: ToryDiary – Cameron orders full investigation into whether senior Tory minister was part of organised abuse of children in 1980s
Whatever has happened to Downing Street monthly press conferences? – Andy McSmith, The Independent
Prime Minister urged to "show some spine" on human rights abuses during Middle East tour
"David Cameron tiptoed around the issue of human rights in the Middle East amid concern among Arab allies that British criticism has overstepped the mark. Concerns have been raised over the Prime Minister’s priorities during his three-day trip, when he will attempt to help to sell fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Both regimes have faced criticism over freedom of expression, the treatment of protesters and torture." – The Times (£)
> Yesterday: WATCH – Cameron's BlackBerry rings in middle of Q&A session in Dubai
Mandelson: Blair was wrong to invade Iraq – Daily Express
Blair: I was right to invade Iraq – invest now! – The Sun
Israel and Iran hold 'positive' nuclear talks in Brussels – The Guardian
Peter Aldous MP and Oliver Colvile MP lead pro-wind farms Tory fightback
"David Cameron is poised to defend the green economy after a group of more than 20 Conservative MPs expressed their concern on the issue in a letter to Downing Street. Peter Aldous, the Conservative MP for Waveney, who organised the letter to Cameron, said investment from overseas was vital to rejuvenating UK infrastructure. He said: "It is vital the government works to encourage and incentivise investment from emerging markets in order for offshore energy to flourish and for our country to be a world leader in renewable energy." The letter comes as Cameron pushes for new Middle Eastern investment in Britain's energy production including cash for windfarms." – The Guardian
Clampdown on benefits for addicts – Daily Telegraph
Hunt's radical revamp of NHS charter will give patients right to sue over mixed sex wards
"Patients could sue the NHS if they are forced into mixed sex wards under a revamp of the NHS constitution, it emerged yesterday. The patients' charter will also enshrine in law the need for patients and families to be consulted before a patient is put on an 'end of life' pathway…A ban on mixed wards comes nearly two decades after an initial pledge by then Tory Prime Minister John Major. Just last year, half of all NHS trusts in England admitted they had placed patients in mixed rooms." – Daily Mail
Children 1: Gauke – child benefit could be restricted to two children for all families – not just those on welfare
"David Gauke, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, hinted at the reform in an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Moneybox programme. “It’s important that the welfare system works in such a way that everybody is faced with a degree of responsibility as to the children they have and whether they are able to afford that,” he said. Asked whether child benefit might be limited to the first two children, he said: “We are looking at it in terms of the welfare bill across the board as to how that might work.” – Daily Telegraph
Children 2: Timpson – children will have legal right to see both parents after divorce
"Children from broken homes are to get new legal rights to maintain relationships with both parents. Ministers unveiled changes to access laws amid evidence that huge numbers of youngsters whose families break down lose contact for ever with one parent…Children’s minister Edward Timpson said the presumption of ‘shared parenting’ would come into force next year, despite opposition from some legal experts." – Daily Mail
Children 3: Clegg plans to subsidise 'nightmare’ costs of child care
"The Deputy Prime Minister said it was absurd that hundreds of thousands of women felt it was not worth returning to work after having a baby because child care was so expensive. In the first of a series of “informal” emails to party supporters, the Liberal Democrat leader disclosed that he would be lobbying in Whitehall for more money to be spent on reducing the cost of nursery places. One policy likely to be considered is increasing the state-funded free child care allowance for three- and four-year-olds from 15 hours a week to 25." – Daily Telegraph
Select Committee warns that skills must not be lost in apprenticeship dash for higher numbers – Financial Times (£)
Boris and Cameron clash over "living wage", as Downing Street warns Miliband plan could be illegal under EU law
"In an intervention that will embarrass Mr Cameron, London Mayor Boris Johnson announced that the Living Wage in the capital will be increased by 25p an hour to £8.55. The rate outside London was increased by a similar amount yesterday to £7.45 an hour. Someone earning the new London rate would make almost £5,000 a year more than someone working 40 hours a week on the National Minimum Wage of £6.19 an hour." – Daily Mail
> Today: ToryDiary – The best way of raising workers' wages isn't to force employers to pay more. It's to get the state to tax less
> Yesterday:
The Fire Brigade Union’s 'They slash, you burn’ campaign is not just offensive, but inaccurate as well – Andrew Haldenby, Daily Telegraph
Osborne and Schäuble lead G20 leaders in call for clampdown on multinational tax avoidance
"George Osborne has recruited the world’s largest economies in a drive for tighter global rules to prevent multinational companies avoiding tax. Finance ministers from the G20 countries called last night for proposals on how to stop big corporations shifting their profits around the world to minimise their tax bills. They have asked the OECD to accelerate plans to strengthen tax standards and to report in February. The call came after Mr Osborne and his German counterpart, Wolfgang Schäuble, used the G20 summit in Mexico to call for tougher international tax standards." – The Times (£)
> Today:
> Yesterday: ToryDiary – Reckless talk costs confidence
Maude to unveil government digital plan – Financial Times (£)
On the first anniversary of her leadership, Ruth Davidson promises income tax cut
"Ruth Davidson has used a keynote speech marking the first anniversary of her becoming leader of the Scottish Conservatives to attack what she claims is an “overbearing” SNP government that “overtaxes” people. She also said her party could campaign for a tax cut of more than 1p when new powers come to Holyrood. Ms Davidson said the Scottish Government “spends too much in our name”, as she set out the clearest policy direction for her party since she became leader." – Scotsman
Obama and Romney battle down to the wire as America votes today
"After more than one million television ads, countless appearances and three contentious debates, the 2012 presidential election remained on a knife's edge with both candidates seeking to shore up support in states crucial to their chances Tuesday. President Barack Obama cheered on backers in Wisconsin, Ohio and Iowa on Monday, evidence that his campaign aimed to build a firewall in the Midwest to try to block his Republican rival. He plans to await the election returns at his base in Chicago." – Wall Street Journal (£)
Frank Luntz: Why Mitt might win AND lose
"So what do I think will happen? Indeed, I think Romney will win the popular vote by a very narrow margin — less than one per cent. But Obama has the Electoral College advantage. It’s up to Ohio (which has 18 electoral votes). Obama has spent his money wisely on the swing states, with the most going to Ohio, and he’s up in the polls. You cannot drive ten miles in any area of the state without coming across an Obama office — and the president himself has practically moved in. And if Romney loses Ohio, it’s very hard to see him winning America." – The Sun
> Today:
Leveson Inquiry did ask David Cameron to provide evidence of News International communications on 'a range of issues' – The Independent
Ash crisis 1) Taxpayers face £10m bill to pay victims – Daily Mail
Ash crisis 2) Zac Goldsmith accuses Labour of negligence – The Times (£)
Family of murdered prison officer decline McGuinness funeral offer – Newsletter
And finally…The inevitable happens: Nadine Dorries is off to the Australian jungle for a month for "I'm a Celebrity"
"Sources say the Mid Bedfordshire MP will be paid “a maximum of £40,000”. She will be the first serving MP on the ITV1 show, which starts on Sunday. Ms Dorries, 55, is set to miss the EU budget vote and Mr Osborne’s UK mini-budget. She also faces a carpeting from Tory Chief Whip Sir George Young as she didn’t ask permission for the trip. Tory sources said she just said she was “going away for a few weeks”." – The Sun
> Today: MPsETC – About to appear on ITV1's 'I'm A Celebrity', Nadine Dorries MP is about to become one of Britain's best known Tory MPs
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