‘Dominic Raab, seen as one of the brightest stars of the 2010 Conservative intake but long denied a job after rebelling over Europe and human rights legislation, was made justice minister. He will work with the new Justice Secretary Michael Gove on scrapping Labour’s controversial Human Rights Act and replacing it with a British Bill of Rights. The Prime Minister also handed jobs to members of the so-called ‘Curry Club’, a group of Tories who prided themselves over their ability to sniff out policies put forward by the leadership that will go down badly with voters. They included Tracey Crouch, the popular MP for Chatham and Aylesford who worked as chief of staff to Mr Cameron’s former leadership rival David Davis.’ – Daily Mail
>Yesterday:
‘Brandishing a copy of the Tories’ election manifesto, Mr Cameron said: “This document, the programme, we have a mandate to deliver on – all of it. “This will be a different government, not a coalition government, so we have proper accountability. No trading away of things. When you vote for something, you get it, so we can restore trust in government.”’ – The Sun (£)
‘Major new powers — blocked by former deputy Nick Clegg during the Coalition — are to be handed down to police and councils to finally silence hate preachers and close down where they meet. And for the first time, Mr Cameron will insist the government will finally get off the fence to demand every British citizen signs up and abides by a series of five key British values. The clampdown will be fast-tracked through Parliament this year in a Counter-Extremism Bill, which will be one of the centre piece’s of the Queen’s Speech in two weeks time, No10 will also announce.’ – The Sun (£)
‘The Prime Minister will tell Angela Merkel and other EU leaders he now has a ‘mandate’ from the British people for reforms designed to slash the numbers coming from Europe. His official spokesman said proposals to ban them from claiming any benefits, including tax credits, for four years were now ‘set in stone’ – as are plans to allow the deportation of jobless migrants after six months and moves to ban them from sending child benefit home to children living abroad.’ – Daily Mail
‘We must — and will — resist calls for the mandatory relocation or resettlement of migrants across Europe. Such an approach would only strengthen the incentives for criminal gangs to keep plying their evil trade — and reduce the incentive of member states to develop their own effective asylum systems. So I disagree with the suggestion by the EU’s High Representative, Federica Mogherini, that “no migrants” intercepted at sea should be “sent back against their will”.’ – Theresa May, The Times (£)
‘Business Secretary Sajid Javid has vowed to push ahead with tough anti-strike laws to prevent unions holding Britain to ransom. In the biggest crackdown on industrial action since the 1980s, the Tories plan to make public sector strikes illegal unless at least 40 per cent of eligible staff vote for it and turnout in the ballot is at least 50 per cent.’ – Daily Mail
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Maude, Soubry – and why the Conservatives mean business
‘New communities minister Greg Clark faces the difficult task of fulfilling his party’s election promise to get more people on to the housing ladder without fuelling a renewed property bubble. The appointment of the MP for Tunbridge Wells marks a striking change of tone compared with his predecessor, Eric Pickles.’ – FT
>Today: Local Government: A tribute to Pickles – the CLG Secretary who championed Council Taxpayers over vested interests
‘The future of the BBC licence fee is in doubt as ministers contemplate the biggest shake-up of the corporation’s funding since it was founded in 1922. Downing Street said last night that David Cameron plans to revive moves to decriminalise the non-payment of the £145.50 a year fee. Other senior ministers believe the fee is increasingly outdated and could be pared back, with anything other than core BBC services paid for by subscription.’ – Daily Mail
>Today: Andrew Allison on Comment: Here’s a BBC reform plan for Whittingdale – including the end of the licence fee
‘These people know what they think but they don’t particularly want to advertise it. It’s not really anyone else’s business. They’d like people to share their views but they aren’t going to spend a lot of time persuading others. These aren’t shy people. They are sociable, successful, frank.’ – Daniel Finkelstein, The Times (£)
>Today: ToryDiary: It’s time to make a radical offer to the old coalfields
>Yesterday:
‘Senior Conservatives are urging David Cameron to ‘call the SNP’s bluff’ by giving Scotland complete financial independence. Cabinet sources say the newly re-elected Prime Minister should hand Nicola Sturgeon the full control of tax and spending that she insists she wants. Miss Sturgeon, whose party won a landslide victory north of the border, appeared to be taken aback in a TV interview at the weekend when it was suggested Scotland might rapidly be handed ‘full fiscal autonomy’. – Daily Mail
>Today:
‘The shadow business secretary, Chuka Umunna, has confirmed he will be standing for the Labour leadership, saying he will have no truck with those who say the party faces 10 years out of office. Umunna travelled to Swindon, where the party failed to win two key seats, to make his announcement on his Facebook page. He said he had spoken to half of the Labour candidates who had been defeated in the party’s 80 key seats, as well a large number of parliamentarians and those he described as stakeholders.’ – The Guardian
>Today: Daniel Hannan MEP’s column: How the Left’s hatred devoured its own election campaign
>Yesterday: WATCH: Umunna declares his run for the Labour leadership
‘Nigel Farage and Douglas Carswell — the two most senior figures in the anti-EU party — were at loggerheads over how to use £3.5 million in Commons funding for opposition parties. Ukip is eligible for the fund, worth £650,000 a year until 2020, for the first time in its history after winning its first MP at a general election and securing 3.9 million votes nationwide. Mr Carswell, the former Conservative who defected to Ukip last summer, said yesterday that the party should not be “on the gravy train” and should reject roughly half the cash.’ – The Times (£)
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: ConHome/TaxPayers’ Alliance Conference sketch: Exit Douglas Carswell, pursued by a bear
‘Prince Charles’s letters to ministers will be published today after they lost a court battle to keep them secret. Ex-Attorney General Dominic Grieve has said they reflected the royal’s “most deeply held personal views and beliefs’’. The 27 notes, dubbed the “black spider memos” because of his handwriting, were sent to seven government departments in 2004 and 2005.’ – The Sun (£)