5.15pm ToryDiary: David Cameron's new year message emphasises clean, positive politics
2.45pm LeftWatch: The British Left is developing better and better online products
1pm Local government: Analysis of latest local government results suggests hung parliament is possible
10.45am Paul Goodman MP on CentreRight: The middle class converts who want to bomb us
ToryDiary: Can you produce a better anti-Labour poster?
LeftWatch: The Labour leadership race has begun
Henrietta Spink on Platform: Huge numbers of disabled people and their carers would benefit from some sensible changes to care packages
AmericaInTheWorld: Barack Obama marks passage of his $871bn* healthcare bill
WATCH: Celebrities join Hillary Benn in new Labour campaign to defend the hunting ban
Tories will give police chiefs the freedom to scrap 'plastic policemen' (otherwise known as Police Community Support Officers)
"[Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling] will leave it up to individual chief constables to decide whether their particular police force needs PCSOs. And Home Office funding will not be ring-fenced, allowing each force to decide where it spends its money." – Telegraph
Michael Portillo: Cameron must govern as Thatcher did
"As our government seeks to borrow in this year alone at least 12% of GDP, and as Barack Obama’s America looks for a similar proportion (a cool $2 trillion or so), there must be doubt as to whether enough lenders will be willing to come forward. Britain is vulnerable to a downward revision of its national credit rating, to a run on the currency and to events in other economies that at any moment could shatter confidence… [The] model must be Margaret Thatcher’s first term, when Britain faced similar (but maybe lesser) problems. She tackled them head-on, plunging her government into unpopularity. That is when many people began to hate her, but it was also the prelude to successive election wins because she won grudging credit for doing what Britain needed to be done. I hope Cameron finds that example inviting." – Michael Portillo in The Sunday Times
Patrick O'Flynn: Fasten your seatbelts, the Tories are about to touch down
"Cameron will launch a Tory policy blitz in the New Year, with a significant announcement expected every day from January 4 onwards. We will hear more about Michael Gove’s plans to set schools free from bureaucratic control, tougher policies on immigration, more detailed plans to cut public sector waste and even some NHS reform plans. Or as David Cameron might be tempted to put it: “This is your captain speaking, sorry about that little delay. I am pleased to say we now have clearance for landing. The weather on the ground is cold, but bright and we will be touching down in a little over four months.”" – Patrick O'Flynn in The Express
George Bridges recruited to give Tories more clarity of positive message – Mail on Sunday
> ToryDiary: CCHQ strengthens team in run up to General Election with return of George Bridges
If Cameron wins he's likely to have fewer Scottish MPs than Thatcher or Major – Duncan Hamilton in Scotland on Sunday
Labour performs U-turn on love and marriage ahead of election – The Sunday Times
> ConservativeHome comment from Tim Montgomerie: "This story needs to be treated with a pinch of salt. Although Labour may be talking about stable relationships between parents there is no mention of marriage. I suspect Labour is positioning itself to be more pro-parent but not pro-marriage."
Celebs back animal rights campaign to stop "barbaric" Tories overturning Hunting Act – Mirror | See video
"Tories would love to exterminate the Beeb" – Matt Withers in Wales on Sunday
In pursuing class war, Brown and Balls are leading Britain and Labour to ruin – James Forsyth in The Sunday Telegraph
Neil Kinnock on what he think are the REAL reasons why The Sun backed the Conservatives – Observer
William Rees-Mogg: Clegg benefits most from election debates
"Clegg is the nearest to being a pure beneficiary of these discussions. His party will gain the substantial benefit of being given equal ranking in the television debates. Psychologically, the Lib Dems will gain credibility because these threeway debates make voters think the 2010 General Election is a three-horse race, and not just a two-party contest for power." – William Rees-Mogg in the Mail on Sunday
Despite the prospect of debates Andrew Rawnsley, in The Observer, predicts record low turnouts.
Nine peers and MPs are being investigated by Scotland Yard – The Sunday Times
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