7.45pm WATCH: David Cameron attacks Labour's "utterly despicable" campaign in Norwich North
7.15pm Seats and Candidates: Jackie Doyle Price's task in Thurrock is made easier as Andrew Mackinlay announces he will step down Updated at 8.30pm with tribute to Andrew Mackinlay from Jackie Doyle-Price
6.15pm WATCH: Harriet Harman accuses the Conservatives of arrogance over the Norwich North result
5pm Latest on CentreRight:
4.30pm WATCH: Chloe Smith makes her acceptance speech as the newly-elected Conservative MP for Norwich North
4.15pm Melancthon on CentreRight makes two quick observations about the Norwich North result
4pm ToryDiary: David Cameron congratulates Chloe Smith MP and brands Labour's Norwich North campaign "utterly despicable"
3pm Seats and Candidates: An almanac of statistics and historical comparisons relating to the Norwich North by-election
2.45pm Reform's Chief Economist Patrick Nolan on CentreRight: What should a plan to reduce unemployment contain?
2.30pm Jonathan Isaby on CentreRight: The BBC needs a new independent academic commentator on elections
2pm WATCH: The Returning Officer declares the result in Norwich North
1.45pm Alex Deane on CentreRight shares some random thoughts
12.55pm CHLOE SMITH ELECTED MP FOR NORWICH NORTH
12.15pm Graeme Archer on CentreRight wonders how our favourite childhood characters would vote
9.45am ToryDiary: Rolling blog of the Norwich North by-election count
ToryDiary: Former Tory Chancellors warn of the need for spending cuts
Seats and Candidates: Tories quietly hopeful of victory in Norwich North
Matt Woods on Platform: How the Conservatives stand to gain from talking up the Greens
Parliament: Stephen Hammond complains that the Government delayed a major announcement on the railways until day two of the summer recess
David T Breaker on CentreRight: If we are to ask our soldiers to be the best, then we must buy the best equipment – even if it's not British
WATCH: Daniel Finkelstein of The Times on when by-elections can make a real difference to politics
Chloe Smith poised to win Norwich North for the Conservatives later today
"The Tories are set to sweep to victory today when counting starts in a crunch by-election – giving them the youngest MP in Britain. Last night Chloe Smith, 27, looked to be cruising to victory in the Norwich North poll. The result will be a huge filip to David Cameron's Tories as they try to seize control of No 10." – The Sun
"The Conservatives are quietly confident of success in the Norwich North by-election despite "very low" turnout by voters angry at politicians over the expenses scandal. All parties have played down their prospects of success, but David Cameron has made a series of high-profile visits to the city and the party was yesterday predicting victory by a modest margin." – Daily Telegraph
> ConservativeHome will be providing full coverage as the votes are counted this morning, with a result expected around lunchtime.
David Cameron says he lies awake worrying about uncontrolled immigration
"Uncontrolled immigration has been 'damaging' for Britain and would be capped by a Tory government, David Cameron said last night. He attacked Home Secretary Alan Johnson for declaring he 'did not lie awake' worrying about immigration that means Britain's population will rise from its current level of 61million to 70million in the next few years. 'Well, I do,' the Tory leader said. 'I thought it was an extraordinary statement to make'." – Daily Mail
Andrew Lansley attacks Government response on swine flu as "too little, too late"
“There is still far too much confusion about access to diagnosis and treatment for swine flu. Already, the Government’s new flu line service is unable to cope with demand. The website informs visitors they’re too busy to deal with their request, and reports that staff manning the service lack the medical expertise or training to offer a flexible response. It’s clear that this interim service is simply too little, too late." – Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley quoted in The Times
> This week in Parliament: Andrew Lansley criticises Labour for conflicting advice on swine flu and the delayed launch of national pandemic flu line
The Guardian praises the Conservative Open Primary in Totnes
"With ballot papers for every voter, the Tory Totnes primary is a particularly ambitious attempt to reconnect… If one party opened itself up nationwide, the others would look like they were running scared of the electorate if they failed to do the same. Totnes could be starting a revolution." – Guardian editorial
> Last week in Seats and Candidates: Totnes Tories shortlist three candidates
FSA chairman attacks Tory plans for its abolition
"Tory plans to scrap the Financial Services Authority were given short shrift from its chairman Lord (Adair) Turner yesterday. At the FSA's annual meeting, Turner insisted he would remain focused on key issues such as ensuring Britain's big banks increase their capital cushions." – Daily Mail
"What it [George Osborne's plan to abolish the FSA] does not address is the problem, greatest in Britain and Switzerland, that the financial sector is increasingly dominated by a handful of banks too big and complex to be allowed to fail. The state has big stakes in two of them. Mr Osborne says an incoming Tory government would ask competition authorities to investigate this concentration. His plans stop short, as do Mr Darling’s, of cutting big and dangerous banks down to manageable size." – The Economist
Sir John Major: We're letting down our injured servicemen
"If we cannot afford to care for our wounded with generosity, then
we should not expose them to risk. But we do. And, in a good cause, we
always will. As a nation, we expect our Armed Forces to serve their
country. Some pay the ultimate sacrifice for doing so. Others make a
physical or mental sacrifice with which they live for the rest of their
lives. As a nation, we must ensure that we bear the cash price of
caring for them. We owe them no less." – Sir John Major writing in the Daily Telegraph
David Blair: The Conservatives must revisit thier opposition to increasing defence spending
"The Conservatives are publicly committed to replacing the Trident
nuclear deterrent and adding four infantry battalions to the Army. All
these are hugely expensive items – and they are probably unaffordable
under the present defence budget. But the Tories have refrained from
promising an increase, an understandable decision given our economic
woes, and the long history of waste in military procurement projects.
If they have the will to maintain Britain's global role, however, they
should revisit this decision if they win power." – David Blair,
Diplomatic Editor of the Daily Telegraph
Boris decommissioning Bendy Buses
"A group of bendy buses are being taken out of commission in London by mayor Boris Johnson later. The nine vehicles, operating on Route 507, will be replaced by new buses after their final day of service." – BBC
Andy McSmith on the Boris v Dave rivalry
"Boris Johnson and David Cameron are being pulled in different directions. The Conservative leader wants to win a general election, which means trying to get across the message that the Conservative Party is not exclusively the party for the comfortably off. Johnson has to consider the Londoners who voted him into office, who by national standards are well off. So when Cameron talks of a "broken society", Johnson calls it "piffle". When Labour introduces a 50p tax rate for the highly paid, Johnson wanted the Tories to promise to scrap it, because there are a lot of highly paid people in London, including Johnson himself, who dismissed the £250,000 a year he receives from journalism, on top his £140,000 salary, as "chickenfeed". – Independent
Three Eurosceptic Tory MPs claimed more than £500,000 in Brussels farming subsidies
"Three Conservative Eurosceptic MPs have received £500,000 through controversial Brussels farm subsidies over the past two years. The MPs are among nine who are named in a More4News investigation as running farms which have received more than £750,000 from Common Agricultural Policy over the past two years." – Daily Telegraph
Martin Bright wants to see a 21st Century Enterprise Allowance Scheme
"In March, I set up New Deal of the Mind, a coalition of people from the "creative industries" committed to encouraging new thinking in the face of the recession. Now we are publishing a report for the Arts Council calling for an EAS for the 21st century. We believe this would encourage the innovation and entrepreneurship needed to dig us out of this terrifying economic hole. On the face of it, the EAS was a crude ideological attempt by the Thatcher government to bribe people to come off the dole and become mini-capitalists. But it ended up giving a massive boost to culture, art and design." – Martin Bright in the Daily Telegraph
Berlusconi under pressure over new sex scandal
"More tapes have been released of purported conversations between Silvio Berlusconi and a high-class prostitute as the sex scandal engulfing the Italian PM continues. L'Espresso, a leftist news weekly, has been releasing the recordings of the alleged conversations between Mr Berlusconi and the escort over several days in an apparent effort to embarrass the conservative premier." – Press Association
> Tim Montgomerie's recent CentreRight post: Berlusconi's private life says something about his character
Transport Select Committee proposes voluntary road pricing scheme – Telegraph
19-year-old Canadian woman falls foul of legislation designed to combat forced marriages – BBC
And finally… Harry Potter is a Lib Dem
"[Harry Potter actor] Daniel Radcliffe, who celebrated his 20th birthday yesterday… expressed a strong dislike for Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Conservative leader David Cameron, declaring his intention to vote for the Liberal Democrats at the next General election. "I rather like Nick Clegg," he said. "If all the people who liked [the Lib Dems] voted for them we could change politics overnight and we could have a proper three party system." – Daily Telegraph
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