4.45pm WATCH:
12.15pm Jim McConalogue on CentreRight: Is the downfall of Brian Cowen and Gordon Brown the price of denial over Lisbon?
11am ToryDiary: Nigel Farage to challenge John Bercow at General Election
ToryDiary: Totnes primary was Tories' biggest August media hit
David Davies MP on Platform: The Government must end its reprehensible policy of ministers not attending the funerals of service personnel killed in action
Hamish
Fulton has enjoyed careers in the army and business. He had never been
involved in politics but he then heard David Cameron's call for new
candidates: Why I answered David Cameron's call for new candidates when he re-opened the list in May
Local government: Should a public meeting hosted by ward councllors be an annual event? Or for a specific issue? Or not at all?
Tim Montgomerie on CentreRight: 'What English football needs is fewer English footballers'
Government claims to have rejected report which called for 10% cuts in NHS workforce – BBC
Tories 14% ahead in YouGov/Sun poll – The Sun | Yesterday evening's ToryDiary
"Mr Cameron wants people to vote Tory because they believe in his
party, not as a protest. Let him spell out his policies clearly so we
know where he stands. If Mr Cameron is set for a landslide, then let
him earn it." – The Sun Says
Boris' Deputy Mayor, Kit Malthouse claims Metropolitan Police is now working for City Hall
"The
Conservatives have wrested control of Scotland Yard from the Home
Office and now have its top officers working to their agenda, a senior
aide to the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has told the Guardian. Kit
Malthouse, the deputy mayor for policing, has declared that he and
Johnson "have our hands on the tiller" of the Metropolitan police and
have an electoral mandate to influence what it does." – Guardian
City AM praises Boris Johnson's defence of the City
"The
Mayor’s vision for London is optimistic, cosmopolitan and pro-growth;
he is turning out to be more of a Ronald Reagan than a traditional
British Tory, at least in terms of inclination. He is right to oppose
the 50p tax rate, formal limits on bonuses and the EU’s vicious attack
on hedge funds; his courage in defending such unpopular positions marks
him out as an unusual politician. It is a shame that he has no real
power over financial regulation; but let us hope he can charm some of
the anti-City crowd into seeing some sense." – Allister Heath in City AM
Gordon Brown’s $1 trillion global rescue package unravels – Times
Ben Brogan praises Cameron's clear statement on Lockerbie bomber
"Mr Cameron said yesterday that he would have let Megrahi die in
prison, a position that is clear, unequivocal, and suggests a view of
the national interest that puts principle before deals. It may not be a
policy designed to please BP, but it suggests the kind of grown-up
thinking his critics demand." – Benedict Brogan in The Telegraph
Jacqui Smith breaks ranks with Gordon Brown over Lockerbie bomber – Times
SNP defeated in parliamentary vote over handling of the Megrahi – The Herald
A double whammy of Sir Malcolm Rifkind
In The Guardian, Sir Malcolm Rifkind
reflects on Megrahi's release: "Was it a cock-up or a conspiracy? The
unfortunate truth is that it has been a cocked-up conspiracy."
In The Times, Sir Malcolm Rifkind writes on Afghanistan: "Karzai must clean up his act or be dumped."
Nick Gibb finds that three out of ten schools lack proper kitchen facilities – Guardian
City worries that George Osborne spends too much time on politics – Fraser Nelson in The Spectator
> 67% of Tory members agree Osborne should be Shadow Chancellor OR General Election Co-ordinator
Conservative modernisers to launch new website called Bright Blue – PRWeek
And finally… Tamzin Lightwater's take on Alan Duncan
"Little
Al Duncan on the phone again. Wants to know when we are going to sack
him and why we don’t just get it over with. How many times do we have
to explain? This is not how Dave operates. Dave is a Compassionate
Leader of a Modern Party where silly people who disgrace themselves are
not cut adrift and allowed to float back to the highly remunerated
world of oil trading. As Jed says: ‘The little s**t’s going to work off
the damage he’s done by being a lightning conductor for however long we
need one. Then we’ll sack him.’ It’s compassionate justice in action."
– Spectator
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