8.30pm David T Breaker on Comment: Steve Hilton – traditionalist in disguise
7.15pm WATCH: Greece should leave the €uro, pursue an export-led recovery and, Boris concludes, "Bob's your uncle", problem solved
7pm LeftWatch: Ed Miliband less popular than – wait for it… wait for it… Nick Clegg
6pm WATCH: William Hague: The President of Syria "is losing legitimacy and he needs to reform or step aside"
4.30pm Julia Manning on Comment: The elderly need love, not rights
4pm Roger Helmer MEP on Comment: We are transferring new powers to the EU faster than the previous Labour administration did
3pm Lord Flight on Comment: Britain's public spending crisis is not the fault of the banks – both the Labour Government and consumers were over-spending
2.45pm WATCH: Sajid Javid MP tells BBCTV that Greece will default. He describes the €uro as a "bankruptcy machine"
1.45pm Tim Montgomerie on Comment: HiSpeed rail advocates accuse southern NIMBYs of protecting their lawns at the expense of northern jobs
1pm ToryDiary: Why would Hilton leave?
Noon ConHomeUSA: Today's Republican and American political news
11.30am Parliament: Christopher Chope makes the case for a maximum limit for unfair dismissal compensation
ToryDiary: Rebellions to the Right of Cameron. Rebellions to the Left. Rebellions as far as the eye can see.
Richard Balfe on Comment: We should not demonise the public sector unions, but continue negotiating with them in good faith
LeftWatch: Blinded by hatred. Deafened by the sound of its own anger. The world of the Left-wing commentariat.
Local government: Lib Dem councillor likens Peterborough Tories to Nazis in tweet
WATCH: Channel 4's eulogy to Brian Haw, Parliament Square's anti-war protestor
Boris Johnson eruption 1
It's time for Greece to leave the €uro
"For years, European governments have been saying that it would be insane and inconceivable for a country to leave the euro. But this second option is now all but inevitable, and the sooner it happens the better. We have had the hamartia – the tragic flaw in the system that allowed high-spending countries to free ride on low interest rates. We have had the hubris – the belief the good times would never end. We have had nemesis – disaster. We now need the anagnorisis – the moment of recognition that Greece would be better off in a state of Byronic liberation, forging a new economic identity with a New Drachma. Then there will be catharsis, the experience of purgation and relief." – Boris Johnson in The Telegraph
Boris Johnson eruption 2:
No to soft sentences
"Soft is the perfect way to enjoy French cheese, but not how we should approach punishing criminals.
It's time to stop offering shorter sentences and get-out clauses. The Met Police is currently doing the biggest project in its history, Operation Target, which is cracking down on prolific robbers and burglars after three years of falling crime in London. In little over a week the results have been superb – over 900 arrests and the recovery of firearms, drugs and tons of stolen property. I helped them launch it and took part in a dawn raid on suspected drugs dens. I can't say the people inside the raided homes were particularly pleased to see me. Nor should they smile at the prospect of jail. Prison shouldn't be about sitting on a mattress, playing video games and networking with seasoned criminals. Prison should change people and if it doesn't they shouldn't be let out." – The Mayor of London in The Sun
"The golden thread that has run through the re-evaluation of the Conservative Party under Mr Cameron’s leadership has been a new approach to criminal justice… We must not now retreat into a comfort zone that fails to solve the problems we have spent a decade analysing. There are too many people who should be in prison, but are not. Equally, there are too many people already in the prison system who should not have been sent there." – Paul Maynard MP in The Times (£)
Chris Huhne attacks Tory 'zealots' over proposed scrapping of green laws
"The energy secretary, Chris Huhne, has attacked his Conservative colleagues in government as "rightwing ideologues" and "deregulation zealots" for placing environmental regulations on a list of red tape to be considered for scrapping. In comments made at the weekend to a conference of social democrats in his party, Huhne made it clear he is opposed to environmental protection laws such as the Climate Change Act, the Wildlife and Countryside Act and the National Parks Act being included in the government's review of regulations in force in the UK." – Guardian
Cameron's attack on runaway fathers gets mixed response
On ToryDiary yesterday:
The Independent portrays David Cameron as a father running away from his policy commitments.
100 'free schools' to open in Britain next year
"New figures show almost 60 per cent of bids to open new-style schools have been made by community groups. Around a fifth come from independent schools seeking to open satellite campuses for parents unable to pay for a private education… Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, will use a speech today to insist that his “free school” policy is on track to meet initial targets." – Telegraph
"Ahead of a speech on the Government's school reform agenda, Mr Gove said: "Our critics said it was impossible to open a school in little more than a year. Several will open this September. They told us that schools wouldn't want to become academies. They are converting at a rate of two every school day. The rationing of good schools must end. Our reforms are about creating a generation of world-class schools, free from meddling and prescription, that provide more children with the type of education previously reserved for the rich."" – Express
The Independent suggests public sector pensions talks are close to collapse as ministers reiterate a hardline negotiating stance but The Times (£) argues ministers are softening their position
"Ministers appeared to backtrack yesterday in their clash with public sector unions amid warnings that millions of workers might strike over controversial reforms to their pensions. Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, angered unions last week with a plan that would raise the pension contributions of millions of public sector workers and increase their retirement age to 66 by 2020. However, the Lib Dem minister appeared to soften his position yesterday, saying the plan was merely a proposal that formed the “basis of discussions” with union bosses." – Times (£)
Government is drawing up a secret ‘war plan’ to ensure vital public services are kept running in the event of mass strike action – Daily Mail
Iain Duncan Smith faces rebellion on higher retirement age for women
"The Pensions Bill, which would see the entitlement rise from 60 to 65 by 2018, and then increased to 66 for both sexes by 2020, gets its second reading. Critics from all parties say it is unfair on about 330,000 women in their late 50s who will need to keep working. Ministers are looking at ways of softening the impact but say the changes will go ahead." – BBC
Frank Field: Iain Duncan Smith's welfare reforms lack sanctions for the work shy – Telegraph
Cameron to publish Big Society Bill setting out plans for 'personal NHS budgets' – Daily Mail
Cameron tells Salmond that he can't have exception from immigration cap
"The rebuke will come as a major blow to Mr Salmond and the SNP, who want Scotland to be 'open to all' and believe more immigrants would boost the country's economy. Mr Salmond also put forward plans to allow thousands of jobless students from abroad to remain in the country. Last night, [Immigration minister Damian Green] said: 'For too long, immigration was allowed to get out of control. This government is committed to getting immigration back to sensible levels and in a way that's good for the economy and public services. Both the UK and Scottish governments must work to ensure that Scottish graduates and the workforce gain the opportunities and skills they need to benefit the labour market. 'Unregulated access to jobs for graduates from overseas would undermine that goal.'" – Daily Mail
Will we ever really leave Afghanistan? – Benedict Brogan in The Telegraph
A Telegraph leader questions the escalating costs of the conflict in Libya: "Back in March, when military action began, George Osborne said that the cost to the United Kingdom would be “in the order of tens of millions of pounds, not hundreds of millions”. Yesterday, however, Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, contradicted the Chancellor. “The campaign is costing tens of millions, potentially into the hundreds of millions,” he said."
Campaign for High Speed Rail takes aim at southerners
"The campaign for a high-speed rail line between London and Birmingham is targeting critics with a new advertising campaign in the north of England depicting southerners as "toffs" who care more about their lawns than northern jobs." – Guardian
Julian Glover: Conservatives and Lib Dems cannot define a common purpose – Guardian
David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Co flock to pay homage at Rupert Murdoch's summer party – Guardian