6.15pm ToryDiary: Parallels with 1995-97 (and differences)
4.30pm Seats and candidates: Labour’s John Austin MP will quit at next election
Top-up payments for healthcare and a stronger role for matron are two of the ideas in our special Platform on the future of Tory healthcare policy. Simon Chapman, Nadine Dorries MP, Andrew Haldenby and Dr Rachel Joyce all contribute.
Greg Hands MP on CentreRight wants his DNA back: "A new report shows that I am one of more than a million entirely innocent people on the DNA database, which also includes 100,000 children."
Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: Sky’s new opinion poll tracker
Three PlayPolitical videos:
Steve Richards: The Labour leadership battle has begun
"Brown is trapped in a narrative from which there is no escape. The polls will not improve greatly in the autumn and yet this period is now being seen as his defining test. Meanwhile the leadership question drowns out all other ministerial messages. Suddenly one question overwhelms all others: How to end the noise? There is a single answer. Fairly or not, and whatever the risks, only cathartic change brings the chance of calm. Miliband’s intervention makes it more likely than not that Labour will have a new leader by the end of the year." – Steve Richards in The Independent
Brown’s allies brief against Miliband
"Gordon Brown’s allies yesterday accused David Miliband of self-serving disloyalty and weakening the prime minister’s authority after the foreign secretary provoked a firestorm of speculation over his leadership ambitions with an article in the Guardian calling on Labour to find a new forward vision to defeat the Tories." – Guardian
Writing in The Sun George Osborne accuses Labour of putting political ambition before the urgent interests of the nation.
The Telegraph profiles the team behind Miliband.
A Times leader worries about his commitment to the state: "His years at Mr Blair’s side have made him a reformer, but one who believes firmly in government action. His article yesterday asserts the need for “government to act as a catalyst”, describes “the political creed of the Labour Party” as “combining government action and personal freedom” and suggests that social justice and better public services are inconsistent with deregulation and lower spending. His confidence in the State is striking."
A Government minister questions the timidity of Brown’s first year
"The only way forward now is bold Labour. What we want to see is the Gordon Brown of Bank of England independence, SureStart and Make Poverty History. I think that his responsibility is to provide the bold and decisive leadership that we now need." – Ivan Lewis MP talking to The Independent
Ian Blair hits back at attempts to oust him
"Sir Ian Blair yesterday warned that his post as commissioner of the Metropolitan police was becoming increasingly politicised and that plans by the London mayor, Boris Johnson, to take more control of the force could ultimately be damaging. The commissioner was speaking as it emerged that an aide to the mayor had to be reined in by a lawyer from seeking Blair’s suspension over allegations of cronyism." – Guardian
Tory press officer attempts to fix newspaper poll – Independent
Is the Conservative Party cooling on the green agenda?
"Green campaigners smelt a rat in May after Mr Cameron failed to mention the words "environment" or "climate change" in a 1,200-word statement about his priorities for government." – Andrew Grice in The Independent
John Whittingdale leads MPs’ call for internet firms to police ‘dark side’ of web
"The internet industry must take more responsibility for protecting young people from the "dark side" of digital content relating to abuse, violence and suicide, according to a committee of MPs… The committee chairman, John Whittingdale, criticised YouTube for not going far enough with proactive measures, beyond a pledge to take down material when it is "flagged" up by users." – Guardian
"Both Labour and the Conservatives have abandoned the less privileged and created an ‘underclass’" – John Rutherford in The Guardian
Vince Cable urges the end of higher charging for pre-payment energy users – Independent
We’ll pay a high price for free-trade failure – Peter Mandelson in The Telegraph
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