4.45pm Parliament: How good are school meals?
4.45pm Local Government: Trafford Council leader Cllr Susan Williams welcomes the No Vote in the Manchester Congestion Charge Referendum
4.30pm Parliament: Eric Pickles asks the most written questions in 2007-08
4.15pm Parliament: Philip Bushill-Matthews backs opt-out for EU Working Time Directive
3pm ToryDiary: Ken Clarke warns of "drastic" increases in taxation without large public spending savings
1pm Matt Sinclair on CentreRight: Cllr Ken Meeson’s unjustified attack on the TaxPayers’ Alliance
1pm WATCH: Cameron says banks have partly collapsed under the weight of their own irresponsibility
10.30am ToryDiary: Cameron: We won’t treat the richest any differently from the poorest
10.30am Mark Field MP on CentreRight: The need to offer change AND security
ToryDiary: Ken Clarke is a deadly weapon that Cameron should not use
ToryDiary: IDS warns that failed asylum seekers are being forced into prostitution
Martin Callanan MEP on Platform: Now is not the time to be limiting our working time
Local government: The TaxPayers’ Alliance is unfairly rubbishing good councils like Solihull
Today’s must-read: A February election? – Trevor Kavanagh in The Sun
Business leaders write to the Financial Times calling for Government to adopt Tory idea of National Loan Guarantee Scheme
"At the heart of this recession is a lack of credit. Unless we urgently get credit flowing again the recession will be deeper and longer than otherwise, and sound companies will unnecessarily go to the wall. In these extraordinary times the Conservatives are right to propose a National Loan Guarantee Scheme to underwrite lending to businesses. This policy gets to the heart of the problem and is a more important priority than a temporary tax cut. The government must introduce such a scheme by Christmas." – Business leaders to the FT
In another speech on the economy David Cameron to attack Brown’s record – FT
Head of Barclays warns of 30% drop in house prices – BBC
Treasury says protecting the currency is ‘not a first-order issue’ as Euro readies to overtake sterling in markets for the first time – Independent
Nick Clegg calls for greening of the fiscal stimulus
"He will lay out plans to divert the Government’s planned economic stimulus to environmentally friendly projects as he tries to break the dominance of Labour and the Conservatives. He will argue that Britain must invest in environmentally friendly projects to ensure the country pulls out of the looming recession on the road towards a low-carbon economy." – Independent
Gove: Number of children taught in schools of over 1,500 pupils has more than doubled under Labour
"Michael Gove, Tory shadow children’s secretary, said: "Smaller schools are popular with parents because it is easier for teachers to foster an ethos of respect and learning. All the evidence is that some of the most difficult problems with behaviour are found in very large schools where the head can’t possibly know all the pupils." – Telegraph
Stephen Glover: The Times cools on Cameron – Independent
Royal Mail needs cutbacks to fill £7bn pensions hole – Guardian
> Yesterday’s ToryDiary: Government to rule out Royal Mail privatisation
"From knife crime to immigration, you can never believe a Labour statistic" – Philip Johnston in The Telegraph
Pakistan source of most UK terror threats
"Gordon Brown yesterday revealed 75 per cent of UK terror plots are linked to Pakistan. The PM asked the Muslim country to unite with Britain to “cut off” terrorists. He demanded help in breaking the “chain of terror” linking militants’ hideaways in the country “to the streets of Britain”. He revealed how three-quarters of the most serious plots have links to al-Qaeda in Pakistan." – The Sun | BBC | Times
Quotation of the day
"We’re cutting our defence spending again. Just as we did in the Thirties. We’re living through a financial crisis again. Just as we did in the Thirties. But 2008, as well as being the year of a world financial crisis, was also the year a resurgent Russia attempted to snuff out democracy on its borders, the year we failed to remove Mugabe even after his people voted for change, the year we failed to prevent the Sudanese Government continuing its genocide in Darfur and the year we failed to stop the Burmese Government continuing its genocide against its own people. Osama bin Laden famously argued that when people see a strong horse and a weak horse, they will follow the strong horse. He is only too willing to test our strength again, and again. Which is why I ask, what lessons from the Thirties do we still have to learn?" – Michael Gove in The Times
And finally… Pierce Brosnan to play Tony Blair in film of ‘The Ghost’
"Politics is said to be showbiz for ugly people, but a sexual thriller is to portray “Tony Blair” and his Downing Street circle in a flattering light. In the cinema adaptation of Robert Harris’s novel, The Ghost, the former prime minister – or a character suspiciously similar – will be played by Pierce Brosnan, star of four James Bond films. The director will be the Oscar-winning Roman Polanski, while “Cherie” is to be played by Olivia Williams, who starred alongside Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense." – Times
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