10pm WATCH:
6.15pm ToryDiary: Ten things that happen in Manchester
4.45pm ConHome verdict on David Cameron's speech: Compassionate conservatism is for real
LIVE BLOG OF DAVID CAMERON'S SPEECH FROM JUST AFTER 2PM.
1.30pm Seats and Candidates: Yet another Labour MP in a top Tory target
calls it a day as Claire Curtis-Thomas announces her retirement at the
general election
12.45pm ToryDiary: Eric Pickles pledges to sack any party workers involved in dirty tricks during the election campaign
11.45am Seats and Candidates: Glasgow North East by-election set to take place on November 12th
10.45am ToryDiary: Gove, Miller and Willetts set out an agenda to help children and families
ToryDiary: Cameron will take Britain to the mountain top in his Manchester speech
Zac Goldsmith on Platform: Reversing Labour's Stalinist
tendency to police, regulate and ban will create a more responsible and
successful society
Local government: Haringey Council chief praised Sharon Shoesmith as a "heroine", Labour Group leader in Stoke suspended after hoax phone call and Why is Leicestershire County Council trying to grab a village school?
J P Floru on CentreRight: It's time to privatise the Royal Mail
MUST WATCH: Amazing… Serious… Impressive… Tory delegates are asked to describe David Cameron in one word
LISTEN: Jonathan Isaby discusses the next generation of Tory MPs on Radio 4's Today programme
George Osborne is in talks with international credit agencies in a mission to reassure that Conservatives are "deadly serious" about curbing deficit – Times
Cuts and pay freezes 'just the beginning’, Tories admit – Telegraph
"The Conservative leadership would aim to push through an emergency
budget, including spending cuts and a possible rise in VAT, with the
support of the Liberal Democrats if David Cameron fails to secure an overall majority in the Commons at the general election." – Guardian
YouGov's daily tracker poll has the Conservatives up 2% after George Osborne's speech. It also finds approval for Grorge Osborne's pay squeeze but the public is divided on the decision to make people retire one year later >>
Michael Gove promises to dissolve education establishment in sign of confrontation with unions to come – Guardian
"All failing schools would be identified for takeovers by new heads
within 100 days of a Tory election victory, Michael Gove promised
yesterday. Britain’s worst schools would be reopened as academies
within 18 months of the general election, the Shadow Schools Secretary
said. Mr Gove also promised to allow all schools to bid to become
academies, with the freedom to set their own curriculums and hire and
fire teachers. The best schools would be automatically approved for the
change, he said." – Times
A leading article in The Independent welcomes the Tory pledge for 10,000 extra university places
"The move is smart on a number of counts. Politically it is astute for
the Tories to position themselves as the friends of higher education at
a time when public spending cuts are threatened. Until now it is the
Labour Party that has been portrayed as the universities' supporter.
The announcement acknowledges the importance of higher education to the
British economy and to getting young people off the dole and into work.
Offering graduates an incentive to pay back loans is a clever way to
raise the money to pay for the extra places. This gives people who
might not normally vote Conservative a reason to do so." – Independent leader
Matthew Parris criticises General Dannatt's behaviour
"What would be his reaction
to a junior officer going public with doubts about his own leadership? The
military top brass — serving and retired — are beginning to behave like shop
stewards. They’ll get an easy cheer (I predict) from the Tory defence
spokesman, Liam Fox, who speaks today. It’s said here that the Tories plan
to recruit General Dannatt as an adviser. But if Dr Fox becomes Defence
Secretary he’ll inherit a situation in which military chiefs think it
appropriate to attack the elected Government whenever they don’t get their
way" – Matthew Parris in The Times
Hopes fade that Czech Republic might stop Lisbon
"David Cameron's hopes that the Czech Republic would give him an
excuse to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty were fading last night. It emerged that a legal challenge against the treaty's validity was being 'fast-tracked' through the Czech courts. This means the country's Eurosceptic president Vaclav Klaus could be
forced to ratify the European Constitution before the end of the year." – Daily Mail
Conservatives deny they plan to slash the number of MPs in Wales – Western Mail
The Tories must walk progressive if they want to talk progressive – New Statesman leader
"The Pink turns blue" – The Guardian reviews the Tories' gay pride party
Warning of exodus from Team Boris in run up to General Election – Guardian
Boris Johnson accused of cronyism
"Boris Johnson has been accused of breaching rules on public appointments after
trying to appoint a key ally to a top London arts job, The Times has
learnt. The Mayor of London tried
to install Veronica Wadley, former editor of the Evening Standard,
which championed his campaign for the mayoralty, to run the Arts Council in
London. He recommended her for the job despite the shortlisting panel
judging that she was insufficiently qualified to take the role." – Times
"A Tory Party member was arrested after being accused of failing to pay
the bill on a £150 bottle of champagne at the party's conference in
Manchester." – Manchester Evening News
Ben Bradshaw accuses BBC of "fawning" coverage of Tories
"A Cabinet minister was yesterday accused of bullying the BBC after he
used Twitter to accuse it of bias in favour of the Tories. Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw said coverage of George Osborne's party conference speech was 'fawning and feeble'" – Daily Mail
Royal Mail workers likely to vote for strike action – BBC
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