Are you pro-Brexit? Anti? In either case, you may have a Conservative candidate foisted on you with whose views you disagree – without your consent.
The former Cabinet minister, who went to prison for perjury, explains why, as a prison chaplain, he is happier than he has ever been.
Plus: Farage and my evenings. Edinburgh and my show. Notre Dame, fire, Macron – and recovery? And: Javid’s emotional intelligence.
I instinctively agreed with the Conservatives and their emphasis on hard work, enterprise, their belief in the One Nation, and their willingness to promote aspiration.
A devolved government, shut for over two years now, is a damning indictment on all the five main parties here.
“Where charity and love are, there God is. Love of Christ has gathered us into one. Let us rejoice in Him and be glad.”
It’s the classic small party dilemma – do you accept recruits and defectors, even when they come with baggage?
Our pro-active outreach efforts have built up a substantial contact book, put activists on the ground, and delivered a Tory poll lead amongst these voters.
Also: Dugdale wins lawsuit against cybernat blogger; devolution row as English hospitals shut out Welsh patients over funding; and a week in SNP bad news.
Further details enclosed.
Engage with Extinction Rebellion if you have to or want to, but you’ll be doing so with cultists. So don’t expect anything to come of it.
Occasionally, though, we need to recognise warning signs – and they is in those areas where politicians’ control and the peoples’ attitudes truly overlap.
After three decades as a Tory activist, this Prime Minister and this Government have pushed me too far.
I have had doors slammed in my face and been called a traitor. But I keep promoting a positive, localised Conservative message.
The evidence suggests it would be a damaging mistake, but Labour is pressing on regardless.
Not only is television a comfort to many older citizens, but we should not be allowing the BBC to start setting social policy.
There is a mismatch between Government announcements and Commons realities. It cannot attempt reforms without risking them being amended out of recognition.
I have spent 30 years working to restore our national independence. I’m not prepared to drop out now, not when we are so close to success.
If these reforms are introduced, the Government should think carefully about how changes to the process of divorce is matched with support for married couples.
We have embarked on our largest house-building project since the 1970s, by developing council-owned land.
The current incumbent tops the list, and is joined by five others, including two councillors.
It is mistaken to believe that the British people are collectively optimistic, happy-go-lucky, and modernity-obsessed – and on the same wavelength as those that are.
‘The home secretary urged the police to use the “full force of the law” after footage emerged of two officers dancing to music at an illegal roadblock at Oxford Circus and of another using a skateboard on Waterloo Bridge. Activists, who are plotting to escalate their activities today by targeting Heathrow airport on one of the busiest days of the year, have bragged that police do not have the resources to stop them, saying: “The hollowed-out British state is overwhelmed.” Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, a former Metropolitan Police commissioner, also criticised the handling of the protests, warning that violent crime was likely to increase over Easter weekend. In the first two days of protests the Extinction Rebellion action affected 500,000 commuters, and retailers in the West End lost £12 million.’ – The Times
Opinion and Editorial
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: And then they shall see Robin Boardman-Pattison coming in a cloud with power and great glory
‘Two MEPs campaigning for a second referendum have been re-selected as candidates for the Conservative Party. Sajjad Karim, a former Liberal Democrat who has described Brexit as ‘madness’, will be top of the party’s candidates list in the North West of England. While Charles Tannock, who co-founded the Conservatives for a People’s Vote campaign, will be on the ballot paper in London. The pair have been re-selected by the party ahead of next month’s European Parliament elections despite their calls for Brexit to be cancelled. Dr Karim, who has been an MEP since 2004, said last December: ‘The only way to stop this madness in its tracks is a Parliamentary process leading to a People’s Vote. We want to be leading in our continent ideally through the European Union and projecting ourselves to the globe and winning, not falling down with a whimper.” – Daily Mail
>Today:
>Yesterday:
‘Whitehall departments were told last week that the prime minister would “actively consider” proposals for the speech — which outlines the government’s legislative plans at the beginning of a new session of parliament — after the Easter recess ends on Tuesday. No 10 is understood to be preparing a light programme of less controversial measures including action to improve the environment and pensions. Any attempt by Mrs May to open a new session of parliament will enrage Tory MPs pressing for her removal, however. It will also require the co-operation of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and a renewal of the Conservatives’ confidence and supply arrangement… Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader now demanding that Mrs May set a timetable for her departure, urged her not to seek to present a new legislative programme. He said it was “inconceivable” that the next session of parliament could start until the Brexit issue was resolved. He said that Mrs May should introduce any urgent bills in the current session. “The nature of the Queen’s Speech is that it has the character of the prime minister written through it. Without the prime minister’s authority it is just a wish list of things that probably won’t happen,” he said.’ – The Times
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