“Eurosceptic Tory MPs are pressing David Cameron to toughen his position on the EU and immigration in order to neutralise the threat from Ukip. The Prime Minister has already promised to set out more details of his proposal to renegotiate looser ties with Brussels. But he could ‘take the legs’ out of Nigel Farage’s party by campaigning for an ‘out’ vote in a referendum on EU membership if he fails to claw back significant powers, say MPs.” – Daily Mail
>Yesterday: Ed West on Comment: Tim Montgomerie has ten reasons for not voting for UKIP. Here are ten of mine for doing so.
“Nigel Farage has said UKIP can become a major force in Parliament at next year’s election after its victory in the Rochester and Strood by-election. UKIP’s leader said Mark Reckless’s win made him think the party could take twice as many seats as it had thought.” – BBC
>Yesterday:
“Prime Minister David Cameron says he is “absolutely determined” to win back Rochester and Strood, after UKIP’s victory in the by-election. The PM said the result was closer than predicted and voters could be won back to the Conservatives. He warned that supporting UKIP risked a Labour victory at the general election” – BBC
“A Conservative MP who is close friends with Mark Reckless has been named as the favourite to become the next Tory backbencher to join the UK Independence Party. Philip Hollobone, who attended Dulwich College at the same time as Nigel Farage, was the subject of mounting speculation after he introduced Mr Reckless to the House of Commons as he was sworn in as a Ukip MP following his defection from the Tories and by-election victory in Rochester and Strood. Mr Hollobone only added to that speculation by voting against the Government in favour of Labour’s private member’s Bill on the NHS.” – Daily Telegraph
“The Mail implacably believes that Mr Cameron is best placed to secure the economic recovery. But, if he is to stay in office, he must urgently change strategy. Rather than just talking about the EU and immigration, he must take decisive action to regain control of Britain’s borders….He must appeal to the Ukip defectors by advancing the date of the promised EU referendum to six months after the election— and show the rest of the continent that the prospect of a British exit is real unless meaningful reforms are effected. Most crucially of all, he must stop sneering at Ukip supporters and try to form an electoral pact with Nigel Farage’s party, before it is too late.” – Leader Daily Mail
“Today, prices are high and many wages are still depressed. But Mr Cameron could offer concrete pledges on reducing taxes – financed by sensible, targeted savings to the annual budget. Combined with laying out clear promises on everything from EU negotiations to empowering NHS users, the Tories can show that their practical approach to government is in fact no less ambitious than Mrs Thatcher’s – that they aspire to build a Britain of individuals and families who live with dignity and the freedom to better decide how to spend their own money.” – Leader Daily Telegraph
“Ed Miliband tried to end Labour’s disastrous ‘elitism’ row yesterday by insisting he admires the working classes. UKIP’s second poll victory over the Tories had been eclipsed by a Labour frontbencher apparently sneering at a white van driver whose modest home is decked with England flags. Mr Miliband bizarrely declared he felt ‘respect’ on seeing a white van and insisted it was right for Emily Thornberry to resign over her tweet.” – Daily Mail
“As soon as I saw the tweet my blood ran cold. ‘We’re not going to win here but look at these oiks voting for Ukip,’ it screamed. You could almost hear distant mocking laughter coming from an Islington dinner party. In years gone by this would never have been a story. When Labour’s front bench was filled with the likes of John Prescott, David Blunkett, Mo Mowlam and Alan Johnson people knew the party understood the realities of working people. Now they’re not so sure. Too much bland Metropolitan smoothness and not enough grit is confusing voters.” – Simon Danczuk MP The Sun(£)
Yesterday:
“Michael Gove today accused the BBC of ‘political game-playing’ after he was repeatedly asked about the Prime Minister’s failure at the ballot box. In a hostile exchange on Radio 4’s PM, the Chief Whip told presenter Eddie Mair he was playing a game of ‘political snakes and ladders’ rather than asking about issues of substance.” – Daily Mail
“A deal to electrify railway lines in the south Wales valleys will have a “huge” impact, the prime minister says. The UK government will fund the upgrade of the Swansea-London mainline by 2018, and will pay almost half an estimated £500m to electrify the Valley lines. The Welsh government expects to meet its share from cost savings and increased revenue. The agreement settles a bitter dispute between Westminster and Cardiff Bay over who should foot the bill.” – BBC
“BENEFITS cheats are being shopped to the authorities at the rate of one every minute. Some 600 calls are made to a special fraud hotline every working day, new stats show. The flood of tip-offs led to nearly 60,000 fraud probes being launched in the last year. Work and Pensions Minister Mark Harper said: “Hard-working taxpayers have had enough of fraudsters taking money which is meant for genuine claimants, which is why we’re seeing so many people taking action by calling the hotline.” – The Sun(£)
“Record numbers of patients are being admitted to hospital wards from A&E, in further evidence of an overcrowding crisis. Last week there were 108,301 emergency admissions – mostly elderly – from A&E. This was the most since figures were first collected four years ago. Data also showed 6,587 of them had to wait on trolleys for between four and 12 hours – twice as many as in the same week last year.” – Daily Mail
>Yesterday: Thomas Cawston on Comment: The Efford Bill would increase complexity in the Health Service
“I’ve come to believe that the trademark “right-wing” is a liability in this country. “The right” is damaged goods. I don’t know why. Arguably it’s unfair. Arguably what we could call the right in Britain has made an immensely positive contribution in modern history. So why does “he/she is on the right/a rightwinger” induce a slight shudder in so many? Why do you know in your bones that the media headline “Tories lurch to the right” is not an election winner?…We tend to think of leftwingers as more fools than knaves, often well-meaning but misguided. We are readier to see rightwingers as bad people personally: people whose own motives, as well as political ideologies, are suspect.” – Matthew Parris The Times(£)