Midnight ToryDiary: Cameron must act quickly and introduce strict new caps on donations to political parties
10.45pm ToryDiary: Sunday Times says Tory donor invites donors to buy meetings with Prime Minister for £250,000
9pm ToryDiary: Voters oppose the "granny tax" and 50p rate cut, but back raising the income tax threshold for lower earners 10pm updated with YouGov figures
5.45pm MPsETC: Labour wouldn't reverse the 50p cut, and all parties agreed it was temporary: Tory MPs note Labour's opportunism
4pm Ben Howlett on Comment: The Chancellor's Budget will help to create an aspirational society for young people
2.15pm ToryDiary: Boris distances himself from the Budget, and proposes a London-only early intervention scheme
11.30am LeftWatch: Leading Conservative columnist comes out against Boris Johnson
10.30am WATCH: William Hague: "We're not expecting Mrs Assad to try to travel to the United Kingdom at the moment"
ToryDiary: A defence of the 'Granny Tax'
Building a Conservative Majority (14): A new Party Chairman with the authority to rethink Tory electoral strategy
Lord Flight on Comment: The Budget represented a very modest step in the right direction to regaining Britain's competitiveness
Also on Comment – Peter Young: The HMRC's report into the former 50p rate provides the evidence for substantial tax cuts
MPsETC: The Parliamentary Diary of Gavin Barwell MP reflects on the Queen's visit and a 'Budget for work'
Also on MPsETC: Sir John Stanley MP announces his retirement
Local government: Conservatives pick local entrepreneur as candidate for Mayor of Liverpool
WATCH: David Mundell MP: Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson "will turn round our fortunes"
David Cameron "increasingly confident" he will win Scottish independence referendum
"David Cameron is growing increasingly confident the UK government will win its battle for a single-question referendum asking the Scottish people to simply vote Yes or No to independence. The Scotsman has learned the Prime Minister is prepared to let the SNP delay the poll until its preferred date of October 2014 in the knowledge he will win the crucial argument in favour one straightforward question. Senior No 10 sources suggest Mr Cameron’s belief that he will outflank Alex Salmond on the framing of the ballot paper has been bolstered by the SNP’s cave-in on the Scotland Bill." - Scotsman
Scottish Conservative conference news roundup
Some Tories question Obsorne's handling of the Budget after "granny tax" receives bad press
"Senior… MPs yesterday expressed anger over George Osborne's Budget raid on pensioners suggesting the Chancellor had been politically inept in his handling of the issue… MPs, normally supportive of Mr Osborne, questioned his strategy of trying to portray the freeze in pension allowances "simplifying the tax system". They said while they were broadly supportive of the substance of the policy… its presentation had been botched, resulting in two days of bad headlines for the Government." – Independent
Continued newspaper criticism of Osborne's Budget
> From yesterday:
Tim Montgomerie: George Osborne cannot be both Chancellor and chief strategist for the Conservative Party. Michael Gove should be appointed Party Chairman
"Who could be a powerful party chairman for Mr Cameron? Someone who enjoys both his confidence and also Mr Osborne’s. Someone effective in the media. Someone in tune with MPs and the grassroots. Someone who understands the striving class who are, at best, lukewarm about the current Conservative Party. Someone with the brains to devise a plan to win two million more votes. Someone with the courage to question if the current Tory strategy relies too much on the frailties of Ed Miliband as it once relied on the frailties of Gordon Brown. Step forward Michael Gove." – Tim Montgomerie (£)
Hundreds of thousands ‘will get caught’ in 40p tax net
"The hundreds of thousands of people who will be sucked into the 40p tax bracket in the coming years will find it impossible to use the range of sophisticated avoidance measures routinely exploited by the wealthy, tax experts have warned." – Independent
George Osborne must clarify income, says Ed Miliband
"Ed Miliband has challenged George Osborne to “come clean” over his income after the Chancellor insisted he did not earn enough to benefit from a lowered top rate of tax… the Labour leader suggested Mr Osborne had “a good accountant” and warned that, although he had no details of the Chancellor’s arrangements, he must “account for his own situation”." - Daily Telegraph
> From yesterday - WATCH: Channel 4's Michael Crick investigates whether George Osborne is a 50p taxpayer
Minimum alcohol pricing measures seen as an attempt to bury bad Budget news
> Yesterday on ToryDiary: Cameron claims minimum price for alcohol could save 9,000 lives over next decade
Ken Clarke wants to let serious offenders be able to wipe their criminal record clean
"The soft-touch Justice Secretary wants to change the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act to let more serious criminals wipe the slate clean. Anyone jailed for between 30 months and four years will have their offences struck from their criminal record after seven years. Those currently jailed for more than 30 months have it on their record until they die. It means they have to alert potential employers when they apply for a job." – The Sun
Boris wants "strategic oversight" of London's schools to prevent the riots happening again
"Ministers could take back control of more than 100 laws on crime and policing from the EU, it has emerged." – The Sun
The Prime Minister backs calls to rename Big Ben landmark Elizabeth Tower after the Queen - Daily Mail
> Yesterday on MPsETC: Tobias Ellwood MP campaigns for Parliament's Big Ben Tower to be renamed for Queen's Diamond Jubilee
Google 'operates a magic roundabout' of tax avoidance in Britain, says Charlie Elphicke MP – Daily Telegraph
Douglas Alexander: Labour could form coalition with Lib Dems after next election – Daily Telegraph
Labour attacks £500m NHS budget clawback – Guardian
Jonathan Freedland: I've backed Ken Livingstone for mayor before, but due to his attitude towards Jews, this time I just can't do it
"I can no longer do what I and others did in 2008, putting to one side the statements, insults and gestures that had offended me, my fellow Jews and – one hopes – every Londoner who abhors prejudice. Back then I tried to shrug off Livingstone's quip to property developers the Reuben brothers that they could "go back to Iran and see if they can do better under the ayatollahs", even though telling immigrants to go back to where they came from is the language of a pub racist from the 1950s." - Jonathan Freedland
Brussels offers Britain €7.7bn to adopt financial transactions tax
"The European Commission has tried to entice David Cameron into adopting the controversial financial transactions tax (FTT) by pledging to cut Britain's contributions to Brussels by €7.7bn (£6.4bn). In a move that has astounded British MEPs, Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the EC, announced that the levy could halve European Union members' contributions." – Daily Telegraph
Rewritten planning laws 'ease concerns’
"A new definition of “sustainable development” will offer more balance between economic, environmental and heritage issues. A requirement that building should go ahead on “brownfield” land ahead of “greenfield” will also be made more explicit." - Daily Telegraph
300,000 oppose gay marriage in biggest petition since election – Daily Telegraph
Aircraft carrier costs will be half what you think, US tells ministers – Daily Telegraph
And finally… So, you think you're having a bad hair day? Meet the inch-long 'Cow Killer Ant' with a Boris Johnson barnet - Daily Mail
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