8pm WATCH: Alistair Darling and George Osborne on bonuses for bankers
7.15pm ToryDiary: Sharing the proceeds of getting Britain out of the red
4.30pm Andrew Lilico on CentreRight: Striking off a foster parent because a 16-year-old in her care converted to Christianity is a disgrace and should not be tolerated
1.15pm Ridley Grove on CentreRight: Should Osborne be setting the pay of bankers?
12.15pm Local Government: Paying "bribes" to Council tenants to move out can make sense.
9.45am ToryDiary: George Osborne’s thoughts on the economy this Sunday morning
ToryDiary: How a Cameron Government would cohabit with an SNP administration in Scotland
Tim Montgomerie in Seats and Candidates: The Tory grassroots deserved better than the insulting A-list
Tim Loughton MP on Platform: Has Child Protection become more about protecting the system than protecting vulnerable children?
Mark Wallace in Local Government: The rainy day for which councils have been saving is here
WATCH: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele attacks President Obama’s fiscal stimulus plan
Tories lose their nerve in provocative poster campaign attacking "Mandy Antoinette"
"This is the provocative poster attacking Peter Mandelson which the Conservatives were poised to launch – until they lost their nerve. A French-owned advertising firm hired by the Party seized on last week’s comments by the Business Secretary, in which he suggested that Britons who were protesting about foreign workers should go abroad to look for employment. He is portrayed as the French Queen Marie Antoinette, and wears an ostrich-feather cap and fingers a rose as he says airily: ‘Let them eat cake…and look for a job in Belgium’." – Mail on Sunday
Labour changes line of attack against David Cameron
"It is rare that a Labour cabinet minister pays a compliment to David Cameron. So when Alan Johnson, the health secretary and working-class hero, says nice things about the Old Etonian Conservative leader, you sit up and take notice. “Cameron’s likeable,” Johnson said in an interview with The Sunday Times. “He’s articulate. He’s a nice guy.” Does Cameron really believe in the National Health Service? “I am sure he is genuine about the NHS,” said Johnson… No 10 spin doctors privately admit that attempts to paint Cameron as a bicycling chameleon, uncaring toff or insincere estate agent have failed… Now the strategy is shifting. The message is that Cameron may be a pleasant chap but he is a prisoner of an unreconstructed rightwing party that would destroy essential public services if it ever won power." – Sunday Times
Tories would not wind up unit investigating unsolved terrorist crimes in Northern Ireland
"A Conservative government would retain the Waking the Dead-style detective unit in charge of investigating past unsolved terrorist crimes from Northern Ireland’s Troubles… Owen Paterson, the shadow Northern Ireland secretary, told the Observer that in power the Conservatives would keep the team in business. Paterson also repeated his pledge that a Tory government would scrap plans under Eames/Bradley to hand over £12,000 to relatives of everyone who died in the Troubles, including families of dead terrorists." – Observer
Grayling attacks Government plans for travel database
"The government is compiling a database to track and store the international travel records of millions of Britons. Computerised records of all 250 million journeys made by individuals in and out of the UK each year will be kept for up to 10 years… Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said: "The government seems to be building databases to track more and more of our lives. The justification is always about security or personal protection. But the truth is that we have a government that just can’t be trusted over these highly sensitive issues. We must not allow ourselves to become a Big Brother society." – BBC
Carol Vorderman snubbed Brown to head Maths Taskforce for Cameron
"Gordon Brown was left red-faced last night after it was revealed how he lost out to David Cameron in the race for Carol Vorderman’s political affections. The former Countdown star posed for pictures in the snow with the Conservative leader last week as she vowed to lead a Tory crusade to tackle people’s fear of maths. But The Mail on Sunday has learned that Ms Vorderman, 48, turned down an almost identical offer from the Prime Minister." – Mail on Sunday
Vorderman interview in the Sunday Times
BBC drama suggests the Queen convinced Margaret Thatcher to resign
"According to her biographers it was Lady Thatcher’s own Cabinet ministers whose frank private advice caused her to resign as prime minister. But a new BBC drama will offer a radically different account by suggesting that the final push came not from politicians but from the Queen… It portrays the nation’s first female premier as defiantly ignoring her colleagues’ suggestions that she step down… and it is only after her weekly meeting with the Queen that Lady Thatcher decides to resign." – Sunday Telegraph
Neil O’Brien: How the Tories can win working-class votes
"If Cameron wins the election, he could become very unpopular very quickly. So he needs a crystal clear message about how a Conservative government will spread opportunity and benefit ordinary working-class voters. Margaret Thatcher said she supported “the workers not the shirkers”. John Howard, the former Australian prime minister, talked about supporting the “battlers” in the hard-working class. Likewise, Cameron needs to invent his own blue-collar conservatism." – Policy Exchange Director Neil O’Brien writing in the Sunday Times
Jill Kirby: Parents beware – do-gooders want to push you aside
"The Good Childhood report has been billed as a “landmark”. Yet its two most powerful evidence-based conclusions – that family break-up is bad for children and babies benefit from maternal care – have found no place in its policy recommendations. The evidence is clear: the welfare of children lies first and foremost in the hands of parents. Enhancing the role of teachers, care workers, psychotherapists, “birth ceremony” officials and all the other agents of the state will not change that central fact. The authors of this report seem to be trapped in the anti-family culture of which they complain." – Jill Kirby writing in the Sunday Times
John Rentoul: Cameron isn’t finding common cause with Gordon Brown’s policy critics on the Continent
"The Tories think that they have won an argument when they have scored only debating points. Every quotation from a foreigner that they cite turns out not to be a firm handhold but a straw." – John Rentoul in the Independent on Sunday
Sunday Times leader on Cameron’s stated intention of sending his children to state schools
"Mr Cameron’s pledge to send his children to state schools may be political symbolism, but it is important nonetheless. It sends a message that he has a personal stake in state education and so the Tories, too, have a stake in making state education as good as the private sector. But it is a tough ask and they will have to come up with more to achieve it. " – Sunday Times editorial
> Yesterday’ ToryDiary
Labour support falls to lowest level since bail-out
"Support for the Labour Party has dropped to its lowest level since Gordon Brown’s bank bail-out last autumn, according to a new opinion poll. The ICM survey for The Sunday Telegraph puts Labour on 28 per cent, only six points ahead of the Liberal Democrats (22 per cent) and 12 points behind the Tories (40 per cent). The poll also shows voters are increasingly concerned about Alistair Darling’s handling of the economic crisis. Just over half (51 per cent) say he should be sacked as Chancellor." – Sunday Telegraph
> Yesterday’s ToryDiary on the poll
The rise of the EU quangos
"They say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Well perhaps the
EU’s newly acquired taste in aping Britain’s growing quango state is a
compliment we could well do without." – Dan Lewis writing in the Sunday Telegraph
Speaker in new secrecy row – Sunday Telegraph
Treasury orders probe into banks – BBC
Key Labour employment plan close to collapse – Observer
"Lodger" Jacqui Smith claims £100,000 in housing allowance as she claims sister’s house is main home – Mail on Sunday
"Lords-for-hire" peer grabs £70,000 housing perk – Sunday Times
Sarkozy "determined" to help Blair become President of Europe – Mail on Sunday
Canadian Conservatives’ poll lead narrows – Reuters
Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.