8.45pm WATCH: Simon Hughes: Parliament won't approve the Government's housing benefit plans – some of which I oppose
4.45pm ToryDiary: We know what politicians and journalists think about fairness. We know almost nothing of what voters think about it
11.15am WATCH: Ann Widdecombe is winched from the roof wearing a pink top as she prepares to dance the tango with Anton DuBeke
10am LISTEN: Nick Clegg – my desert island luxury would be…the occasional cigarette
ToryDiary: Do Cameron and Osborne agree with Francis Maude that the Coalition should continue – even if the next Parliament has a Conservative majority?
Karl McCartney MP on Platform: It is time for a serious crackdown on uninsured drivers
Local Government: David Wedge and Colin Hilton offer tips on how to avoid outsourcing pitfalls
Steve Baker MP on CentreRight: This week at the LSE, Jesús Huerta de Soto will set out how to reform banking.
WATCH: David Lidington on the Government's view of Turkey's accession to the EU
> Yesterday in ToryDiary: Cameron seeks to shift debate from spending to growth
…As the Sunday commentators pick over the spending review
"The 2010 spending review is, in origin and immediate purpose, a response to a structural fiscal crisis. But it is also the fruit of the first systematic attempt since the late Seventies to construct a coherent and comprehensive Conservative theory of the state, society and the citizen. The fact that a group of smart Lib Dems is involved in the formulation of this new approach only adds to its singularity. The intellectual heavy-lifting is far from complete. But what this is not – emphatically – is the completion of the Thatcherite revolution, a restorationist project to finish off the work rudely interrupted by the Iron Lady’s fall in 1990." – Matthew D'Ancona, Sunday Telegraph
"Still, much as the coalition would like to promote fairness, that concept means different things to different people. Conservatives and classical liberals within the Lib Dems believe that fairness is a negative virtue, like liberty. We should be free from constraints. If you knock down the barriers, intervene early to save the children of problem families, create equal opportunities for the poor in schools, then the deserving will prosper. Get rid of the welfare disincentives to work, then the enterprising will succeed. The idea of “social justice” is vague and arbitrary." – Marten Ivens, Sunday Times
"The political calculation is that the country will be prepared to forgive the pain if Britain is clearly gaining by the time the next election is in sight. One cabinet minister says: "I don't expect people to like us, but I hope they will respect us." For that to happen, they need to be right that this approach will lead to the sunny uplands of healthy and sustained growth. It is in this respect that the coalition is most ideological. They are making a leap of faith that the private sector is ready and able to expand as fast as the state will shrink." – Andrew Rawnsley, The Observer
Nick Clegg: My desert island agony over budget cuts
"Clegg will reveal on the BBC's Desert Island Discs tomorrow that he has struggled with his conscience over the budget cuts. "I have certainly searched long and hard into my own conscience," he says. "I find it morally difficult. It's difficult for the country." The deputy prime minister rejects Twitter suggestions for track choices – including The First Cut is the Deepest or Puppet on a String – put to him by presenter Kirsty Young…Clegg also confesses he texted a friend to find out if Cameron was trustworthy before forming the coalition." – The Observer
Labour ahead in Mail on Sunday poll
"The poll shows support for Labour at 37 per cent, with the Tories at 35 and Lib Dems at a lowly ten. It puts Mr Miliband ahead of Mr Cameron for the first time since the lead he enjoyed in the afterglow of his Labour leadership victory last month. The poll highlights the risks for the Coalition: the public believes by a majority of four to one that the cuts increase the chances that the alliance will collapse. Yet Ministers will take heart from voters’ supportive reaction to benefit cuts. The only welfare proposal to provoke a negative response is that of raising the retirement age to 66 by 2020." – Mail on Sunday
> Yesterday in ToryDiary: Conservatives hit 40% with ICM
"[Germany and France] will make a joint push at a summit in Brussels to amend the controversial treaty so it incorporates a permanent system for handling financial crises such as the one that gripped Greece this year.And last night the Prime Minister was urged by Eurosceptic Tories to use the proposed treaty changes to obtain new "opt outs" for Britain – including removing restrictions on the country's ability to trade with nations outside the EU. Douglas Carswell, the Conservative backbencher, told The Sunday Telegraph: 'France and Germany will use this to get what they want – we should use it to get what we want, such as free trade.' " – Sunday Telegraph
> Yesterday in ToryDiary: Why David Cameron's unlikely to push hard next week to freeze or cut the EU budget
Clarke ready to tear up prisons plan in secret deal with Osborne
"Ken Clarke has struck a secret deal with the Treasury to tear up his new budget if controversial plans to reduce reoffending rates do not work. The justice secretary has secured a private agreement from George Osborne, the chancellor, that he will not have to proceed with downsizing prisons and closing courts if his new sentencing policies fail to reduce crime rates. The deal comes amid mounting concern among Tory MPs that the ministry of justice is going soft on crime." – Sunday Times
Sayeeda Warsi barred by Cameron from sharing platform with extremists
"Warsi, Britain's first female Muslim cabinet minister, was told by the prime minister to cancel her appearance at the Global Peace and Unity Event…critics have pointed out that a number of speakers who are due to appear have justified suicide attacks and promoted al-Qaida, homophobia and terrorism. Paul Goodman, the former Tory communities minister, said: "The aim of the organisers is to exploit politicians by using their presence to gain muscle, influence and credibility among British Muslims. Politicians shouldn't play their game." – The Observer
British aid projects to be branded with Union flag
"British aid projects abroad are to be ‘branded’ with the Union Jack in an attempt to stem growing public anger over the amount spent on international development…International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell has promised to show taxpayers what their money is buying by flying the flag over bridges, hospitals and other projects funded in poor countries. The move follows criticism that – unlike schemes paid for by the EU – British enterprises remain unmarked, a product of the ‘old school’ diplomatic belief that it would look crass and ostentatious." – Mail on Sunday
Vince Cable in push for 'Cadbury law'
"The Government is to launch a major inquiry into "short-termism" and shareholder behaviour in the City. In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Cable said that he will reopen the "Cadbury's Law" debate – a suggestion following Kraft's £10.8bn hostile takeover of Cadbury that it should be harder for foreign companies to take over UK ones. The Business Secretary said that the consultation will also look at how remuneration levels push companies to make short-term decisions on investments and the role of short sellers and hedge funds." – Sunday Telegraph
Coalition 'plotting 44 new peers to foil Labour in Lords'
"David Cameron and Nick Clegg plan to flood the Lords with another 44 new Coalition peers to stop Labour sabotaging their policies in the Upper House, it was claimed last night. Mr Cameron reportedly intends to award 29 peerages to Tory donors and other political allies, with 15 for Mr Clegg's Liberal Democrats. By contrast, Ed Miliband will get just ten new Labour peers. It is the biggest influx from a governing party since Tony Blair handed out a record 47 peerages when Labour won power in 1997, giving his party a majority in the Lords for the first time." – Mail on Sunday
One senior Tory backbencher, Mark Field, labelled the prospective raft of new appointments 'a regrettable exercise of patronage'…. “The temptation to wield powers of patronage has become too much for the leaders of the coalition,” said Field. “It seems incongruous that while we seek to reduce the size of the Commons from 650 to 600, without any corresponding reform of the Lords, the upper house is packed with yet more political appointees.” – Sunday Times
"Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary, is expected to announce plans within days to dispose of about half of the 748,000 hectares of woodland overseen by the Forestry Commission by 2020. The controversial decision will pave the way for a huge expansion in the number of Center Parcs-style holiday villages, golf courses, adventure sites and commercial logging operations throughout Britain as land is sold to private companies." – Sunday Telegraph
Cameron walks into human rights morass
"David Cameron is planning to leave the austerity of Britain behind and fly to Thailand for a luxury Christmas break that threatens to land him in a human rights row. Reports circulating in Bangkok claim the prime minister and his family have been invited on a private trip by Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Thai premier, who studied with Cameron at Eton…The two men have followed remarkably similar political trajectories — but only one of them came to power in a successful election. Abhisit took charge of Thailand amid political turmoil and Cameron’s trip is expected to prompt scrutiny of allegations of human rights violations linked to his government." – Sunday Times
Our reforms give people on benefits the chance to show what they can achieve
"It's important that we ensure that the radical changes to our welfare state are fair. I think it's fair to set limits, so that people cannot receive more than the equivalent of the national average wage while living on benefits…I think it's fair to set limits on housing benefit, so that people on welfare do not end up able to live in better areas than those doing the right thing by finding work….It's also fair to limit the length of time that people with financial means can claim sickness benefits for, in just the same way that we do for people claiming Job Seeker's Allowance. But we also have to be fair to the most vulnerable people in our benefit system." – Chris Grayling, The Guardian
"Times are hard and David Cameron has to set an example – so he is turning No 10 into a commercial operation. The Prime Minister is offering companies the chance to convert the Downing Street gift shop into a public business, with profits split between the winning firm and the taxpayer. Goods on sale – all emblazoned with the Downing Street crest – include a teddy bear (£12), a fridge magnet (£3.25), a white apron (£10.25), oven gloves (£8.65) and prints of watercolours painted by the Prince of Wales, which sell for £20." – Mail on Sunday
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