“Zac Goldsmith cannot have a veto over airports policy, a Conservative MP has warned as the row within the party over Heathrow expansion escalated. Crispin Blunt, the MP for Reigate near Gatwick, said the delay until next summer was “disgraceful vacillation” and an act of “political cowardice”. Mr Goldsmith denied “holding a gun” to David Cameron’s head by promising to quit if Heathrow gets a new runway. But the London mayoral candidate did speak to the PM before the decision.” – BBC
>Yesterday: Nigel Evans on Comment: Airport expansion. If prevarication was an Olympic sport, we would win the gold, silver and bronze medals
“Our prime minister likes announcements, is suspicious of movement, and under pressure tends to take the line of least resistance. He will bend rather than snap. It happens that this willowy stubbornness has proved the best possible quality for our country’s leadership after the disintegration of the last Labour government. But something different will soon be needed. With “Europe” out of the way I have a horror Mr Cameron will sink into a sort of benign puffiness. Perhaps he shares that horror? For the sake of his own reputation I trust he will go.” – Matthew Parris The Times(£)
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: The Daily Mail’s support for Brexit is a major victory for the Leave campaign
“Justice Secretary Michael Gove has ordered an investigation into Muslim preachers in prison amid growing fears they are radicalising thousands of dangerous inmates. Justice officials believe some imams have tried to secretly indoctrinate vulnerable young lags. Others push “a culture of separation” inside jails, leaving them extremist hotbeds. The problem has grown so big that there are now serious concerns that ex-con radicals now pose a terror threat.” – The Sun
“Ministers are getting cold feet over a controversial attempt to limit Freedom of Information requests after a bitter public backlash, The Sun can reveal. A review into the transparency policy was launched in July in a bid to shield sensitive government conversations from the public eye. But the move has been met by a tidal wave of protest. Senior ministers say they are now “decidedly unenthusiastic” about making any changes to the current policy.” – The Sun
“Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has addressed a fundraising dinner for the Stop the War coalition, despite calls from some of his MPs not to attend. Mr Corbyn said the group was a “vital force” and “one of the most important democratic campaigns of modern times”, which had brought “hundreds of thousands of people” to protests. Campaigner Andrew Murray is replacing Mr Corbyn as Stop the War chairman. He described the Labour leader as part of the campaign’s backbone.” – BBC
“Britain could launch military action in Libya next, Government sources have said amid fears that Islamic State militants will use their new stronghold along a stretch of the Mediterranean coast to target Europe. Ministers at the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence say they are “extremely concerned” by the rapid rise of Isil and other extremist groups in Libya and are considering plans for intervening to tackle the threat.” – Daily Telegraph
“Tony Blair was not trying to “save” Colonel Gaddafi when he spoke to the dictator at the height of the Libyan conflict in 2011, he has told MPs. The former prime minister confirmed he had “two or three” phone conversations within 24 hours with Gaddafi, having cleared it with David Cameron. His aim was to get the dictator out of Libya “so that a peaceful transition could take place”. But he conceded that the Gaddafi regime was “not sustainable”.” – BBC
“Ruth Davidson has predicted the Scottish Conservatives will make “great progress” at next year’s Holyrood election after the party’s candidate rankings for half the Scottish Parliament’s regions were unveiled. Around 300,000 party members and supporters were given the chance to select the order in which regional seats will be assigned to candidates next May, under Holyrood’s complicated proportional representation system. As predicted, Ms Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader, finished top of the rankings in the Lothian region, meaning she is all but guaranteed to be elected next May.” – Daily Telegraph
“The founders of the European Union wanted it to give Christendom modern democratic form, but this is now nearly invisible. The leader of the union’s largest Christian Democrat party, Angela Merkel, has let more than a million mainly Muslim immigrants into her country this year alone. The East German pastor’s daughter is surely a much nicer person than Donald J Trump, but I wonder if she is not doing more actual harm to the future of the West.” – Charles Moore Daily Telegraph
“We are left uniquely isolated and vulnerable as the only country in the world with a legal target for reducing emissions, thanks to our Climate Change Act of 2008. No other country will be breaking its own law if it misses its target. But we have a binding target to reduce emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. We have repeatedly boasted that we are setting the world an example – but the world seems disinclined to take notice.” – Owen Paterson Daily Telegraph
“Not surprisingly, Feldman is expected to play a central role in any Osborne leadership campaign. As such, it would be a disaster for the Osborne camp if he were forced to quit as chairman as he comes under severe pressure amid allegations that he failed to deal properly with accusations about the bullying of young party activists, which ended with the suicide of one of the victims. I am convinced that in normal circumstances, Feldman would have stepped down as chairman. However, Cameron and Osborne are determined to keep him at all costs. That is why the escalating and toxic row about bullying by a so-called Tatler Tory is so politically significant.” – Peter Oborne Daily Mail
>Yesterday: ToryDiary:Feldman’s endurance is damaging CCHQ’s effectiveness