5.30pm Tobias Ellwood MP on Comment: Friday's daylight savings Bill demonstrated the urgent need for reform of Friday debates
3.30pm MPsETC: Conservative backbenchers halt effort to move clocks forward
2.30pm WATCH: Chris Grayling: "We were in the extraordinary position of simply not being able to answer questions" about benefits tourism
12.45pm Rehman Chishti MP & Cllr Rodney Chambers on Comment: There are better solutions to the UK's aviation needs than an airport in the Thames Estuary
10.45am WATCH: Baroness Warsi: Sir Fred Goodwin represented a break in the link between hard work and reward
ToryDiary: Has the Coalition retreated on recalls and open primaries?
John O'Sullivan on Comment: The possible consequences of the British veto that never was
Local Government: Aylesbury Vale District Council should duck out of Council Tax rise
WATCH: Iain Duncan Smith: Benefits cap is "not about punishing people"
Cameron accused of watering down lobbying crackdown as new rules 'full of loopholes'
"David Cameron was last night accused of watering down plans to regulate political lobbyists. Ministers yesterday published a long-awaited consultation document that proposes lobbyists – including trade unions and charities – should be registered. … The plans rule out a code of conduct for lobbyists and do not cover those who work directly for companies." – Daily Mail
UK rejects German 'olive branch' of exchange tax
"Britain has rejected an olive branch aimed at bringing the country back into the European financial fold, following David Cameron's historic veto on proposals for greater economic integration. … German economic minister Philipp Roesler on Friday floated a European "bourse tax" as a compromise to a wide-ranging financial transactions tax … it might be similar to the 0.5pc stamp duty on share trades already in place in Britain, which is levied on the investor." – Daily Telegraph
William Hague: Falkland Islanders must be masters of their own fate
"Britain has always been open to discussions with Argentina, and that, of course, remains the case. There are many areas on which we can co-operate: on joint management of fish stocks, on hydrocarbon exploration and on strengthening air and sea links between the Falklands and South America… But we will never negotiate sovereignty without the consent of the islanders. Self-determination is an established principle in international affairs, embedded in the UN Charter." – William Hague for the Times (£)
Failing secondary schools placed on list of shame – Daily Telegraph
Nick Gibb: The game is up for schools that put league tables before real learning
"We are determined to stamp out any incentives to “game” the system whereby some schools focus just on those pupils who will affect their league table position. … we want to show how well secondary schools educate those children who left primary school still struggling in the 3Rs. The new tables will have a column showing the proportion of such children who went on to achieve five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C" – Nick Gibb for the Daily Telegraph
The Independent profiles Michael Gove: Minister on a mission
"But, as an amateur and a radical, he is engaged in the most difficult exercise of all: deflation. Making exams harder will reduce grades. Making inspections tougher will show more schools doing less well. No professional would take this suicide mission on. The amateur spirit – a belief in education for its own sake, and a love of learning, of knowing things for the pleasure of knowing them – is there at the core of Gove's structure. That can be deduced by watching him." - Independent
Andrew Mitchell: International aid makes Britain safer and richer
"“Our security in London and Birmingham is not just provided by soldiers and tanks and fighter jets, it is also provided by training the police in Afghanistan, by building up governance structures in the Middle East and by getting girls into school in the Horn of Africa. Those things are all part of what makes us safer.” By addressing instability and conflict “upstream”… Britain can avert the future security threats that even the poorest countries can pose to the richest." – Daily Telegraph
Nadine Dorries's sexual abstinence lessons bill withdrawn
"A controversial bill calling for teenage girls to be given compulsory lessons in sexual abstinence was pulled at the last minute from the House of Commons order of business on Friday. The bill, proposed by Nadine Dorries… would have required schools to offer extra sex education classes to girls aged 13 to 16, which would have included advice on "the benefits of abstinence"… Dorries refused to say whether she had withdrawn it but a bill can only be removed with the permission of the MP who proposed it." – Guardian
Conservative MPs told to spend six days helping Boris re-election campaign - The FT (£)
Has Tories' independent-minded MP put the party off open primaries? – Independent
Patrick O'Flynn: David Cameron has started the year with a patriotic flourish
"After being introduced to a Mark One Cameron, who hugged hoodies and huskies and replaced the Tory torch of freedom logo with a tree, voters may remain a tad sceptical about a Mark Two Cameron who wears a Union Jack waistcoat. The Prime Minister has a key question to answer, namely is this John Bull or just bull? Before the end of this parliament we shall know the answer but in the meantime we can certainly enjoy the show." - Patrick O'Flynn for the Daily Express
Director of Public Prosecutions to rule on Huhne case
"The final decision on whether to charge Chris Huhne over claims that he dodged speeding points will be taken by the country’s most senior prosecutor, sources have confirmed to The Times. Keir Starmer… will oversee a ruling on the Energy Secretary, who could face a charge of perverting the course of justice after Essex Police gained the right to access dozens of e-mails." - The Times (£)
Nick Clegg joins chorus of disapproval over Sir Fred Goodwin knighthood
"The deputy prime minister's intervention means that all three major political party leaders have called for the former RBS head to lose his honour. Clegg said: "I sympathise with those who think it a travesty for a man who did so much damage to the British economy and made so much money in the process to retain his knighthood.."" – Guardian
Charles Moore: Let Sir Fred Goodwin keep his knighthood to remind us of our collective folly
"It is actually much better if Sir Fred stays Sir Fred, because it is a lasting reminder of collective madness. He was knighted, as recently as 2004, for “services to banking”. No MP, no banking analyst, no City journalist protested. In retrospect, it looks as funny as Gaddafi’s Libya holding the chair of the UN committee on human rights (which it did), but no one laughed at the time. … Like the masters of the credit crunch, they sincerely believed in what they were doing. Unfortunately, they were wrong. But their honours are like fashions… and need to be studied in the same way." – Charles Moore for the Daily Telegraph
We need a bigger public sector, says Ed Miliband
"Mr Miliband said: “I think we can create jobs in the public sector. We can give help to the private sector too.” He was then asked whether he was backing an “increase in the size of the public sector”, to which he replied: “Well, we’re not short of things to do in our country. When we look around and we think about the jobs that could be created for our young people both in the public sector and the private sector – we’re not short of things to do.”" – Daily Telegraph
Labour attack on 'nasty' Tories after number of immigrants on benefits are revealed – Daily Mail
Daylight saving bill scuppered by MPs - Guardian
Peter Oborne: We’ve all heard of the 'underclass’: now its mirror image – a super-rich elite that is equally cut off from the rest of us – is defining the political debate – Peter Oborne for the Daily Telegraph
Staffing crisis in casualty wards forces NHS bosses to turn to military medics - Daily Mail
TV will screen pro-abortion adverts as private clinics get go-ahead for media promotion
"Private clinics that carry out abortions for profit are to get the go-ahead to promote their services with TV and radio adverts. Advertising watchdogs will trigger a storm of controversy by announcing the decision on Monday after years of argument, the Mail can disclose." – Daily Mail
Rail fares to rise up to 8% above inflation in next two years - Guardian
Woolworths workers win fight for compensation – Guardian
And finally… The mystery of Ed Miliband's 'bizarre' sunken nose
"He has admitted he’s no sex symbol. Now Ed Miliband’s appearance has come under scrutiny again – this time for the shape of his nose. A recent photograph seems to show a change in the Labour leader’s profile, giving him a sunken look more often associated with boxers and rugby players." – Daily Mail
> Please use the thread below to provide links to news topics likely to be of interest to ConservativeHome readers and to comment on political topics that haven't been given their own blog. Read our comments policy here.