11.30pm WATCH Thatcher Remembered: It's 1983 – and she does the double. The Conservatives are re-elected with a landslide majority of 144
10pm Thatcher's Legacy: What she meant for women. Jill Kirby on Comment says that being a woman was intrinsic to her rise, but also intrinsic to her fall. "Always immaculately coiffed, make-up carefully applied, Mrs Thatcher
practically invented “power dressing.” The colours! The style! The
handbags! Those pictures of her sweeping through Germany in a tank, in
trenchcoat and goggles with a swoosh of a scarf. What must she have
though of the dress-down tie-less generation of male Conservatives who
now occupy the upper ranks of government?"
9.30pm Thatcher's Legacy: The expert view from outside. Professor Tim Bale on Comment argues that the success she brought the Conservatives also sowed the seeds of failure for them
8.30pm ToryDiary: This year's Party Conference should honour Margaret Thatcher
7pm WATCH Thatcher Remembered: It's 1982, Argentina invades the Falklands – and Britain wins a war
6.30pm Baroness Thatcher RIP rolling blog continues
6pm MPsETC: Parliament to be recalled for tributes to Baroness Thatcher
5.30pm WATCH: Thatcher Remembered. It's 1980, and she's under pressure to do a U-turn. But "The Lady's not for turning"
5pm ToryDiary – Paul Goodman: "The source of her greatness was a simple but strong sense of
patriotism: she rose each morning not just determined to win elections,
(though she was the party's most successful leader in that regard, and
we may not see her like again), but to reverse Britain's decline": Why Thatcher was Great
4.30pm Lord Ashcroft on Comment: Farewell, Margaret Thatcher – a colossus of British politics and a dear friend
3.30pm WATCH: Margaret Thatcher Remembered. She arrives in Downing Street as Prime Minister for the first time
1.15pm ToryDiary: Baroness Thatcher RIP rolling blog
1pm BARONESS THATCHER HAS DIED – BBC
12.45pm WATCH: Boris backwards basketball triumph
12.30pm LeftWatch: Labour split on welfare reform
10.30am Local Government: Number of Lib Dem council candidates plunges while UKIP's tally soars but Conservatives give away Surrey Council seat by failing to run a candidate
ToryDiary: IDS and Osborne complain that the BBC isn't representing the majority view on welfare
Also on ToryDiary: A week of Compassionate Conservatism on ConservativeHome
Jesse Norman MP on Comment starts our Compassionate Conservatism series: Teach
First expanded. More crime maps. The new flat-rate state pension.
50,000 young volunteers. Compassionate conservatism is working.
Alan Mendoza in our weekly foreign affairs column explains Why Bosnia holds lessons for Syria today
Local Government: Cllr Philip Atkins on The battle for Staffordshire
The Deep End: If we want stable families then men need stable jobs
WATCH: William Hague says don't play to North Korea's rhetoric
David Cameron on tour to press case for EU reform
"The European Union’s failings must not be “brushed under the carpet” by politicians, David Cameron urged last night, ahead of a whistlestop tour to France, Spain and Germany….In joint interviews with five European newspapers, Mr Cameron today argued the EU has “overreached itself with directives and interventions and interferences”.His decision to grant interviews to the French, Italian, Spanish, German and Polish press suggests the Prime Minister is trying to get backing for his reform agenda across the continent. Mr Cameron told the newspapers that he would prefer all countries to be part of a new, flexible Europe, rather than Britain seeking a looser relationship on its own." – Daily Telegraph (£)
> Yesterday: ToryDiary - A
free school. New homes. Quality childcare. Three visits Cameron should
make this week to help show what the Romans are doing for us
Disability Living Allowance replacement begins as McVey says there will be more help so those who need it most
"Major changes to disability benefits for new claimants are being introduced in the north of England. The existing system of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is being phased out and replaced by Personal Independence Payments (PIP). The government says the existing model is outdated and needs to be reformed, and that benefits are not being cut….PIPs will be introduced gradually for new claimants in Merseyside, north-west England, Cumbria, Cheshire and north-east England. Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show that more 70% of claimants get DLA for life…Minister for Disabled People Esther McVey said the PIP would give more targeted support to those who need it most. " – BBC
Osborne attacks professional pressure groups for defending benefits status quo…
"Chancellor George Osborne has said he is "in tune" with "the great majority of the country" on changes to welfare. Mr Osborne denied being "divisive" on the issue, telling the BBC's Pienaar's Politics programme that critics of the reforms had fallen into the "lazy habit of opposition". …He attacked a "professional pressure groups who exist for the purpose of defending every line item, either of the entire benefits system or of a particular benefit". They defended the status quo but made "no attempt" to provide an alternative and be "constructive", he said." – BBC
>Yesterday: Lord Bates on Comment: John Bird – the anti-poverty worker who sees through anti-poverty campaigners. He's needed in Downing Street.
….as Labour try to toughen their message…
"Labour’s deputy leader, Harriet Harman, conceded some taxpayers felt “resentful” about claimants who did not try to find a job as it emerged Labour was studying proposals to link benefit payments to past contributions to the state. The shift comes as a new welfare system for disabled claimants comes into force today, alongside a £500-a-week cap on the amount of benefit a household can receive." – The Independent
…although not enough to quell revolt…
"Ed Miliband is facing the biggest revolt of his Labour rule as his MPs last night openly attacked his stand against benefits reforms….Sources said there is also increasing fury within the Shadow Cabinet with Miliband’s refusal to take a tougher line on welfare." – The Sun
"Mr Duncan Smith slammed Labour’s campaign against cutting housing benefit for tenants with spare bedrooms, saying:…. “The phrase ‘bedroom tax’ is a misnomer, it’s a Labour Party name. They never talk about under-occupancy or a spare room subsidy. Evan Davis (presenter of Radio 4’s Today) keeps asking everybody all through the programme, ‘Should Iain Duncan Smith resign?’ “What for? Because that’s what the Labour Party was asking for, so he had to repeat it. It’s a joke.” – The Sun
Hague urges calm over North Korea
"British Foreign Secretary William Hague has called for calm over the North Korean crisis. Despite the "paranoid rhetoric" from Pyongyang, it was important to remain "firm and united," he, said warning of the dangers of a "miscalculation" by North Korea." – BBC
Miliband says gives councils more power to stop bookmakers and pay day lenders
"An overhaul of planning laws to prevent payday lenders, pawnbrokers, bookmakers and fast-food outlets from swamping high streets will be pledged by Labour today. Payday lenders are taking advantage of the retail crisis to open businesses in town centres, tempting the unemployed and low-paid with loans at extortionate interest rates, Ed Miliband will warn." – The Independent
Clegg to "quash" talk of coalition with Labour…
"Nick Clegg will quash the idea that he is working towards building a new alliance with Ed Miliband when he launches a strong attack on Labour for "selective amnesia" over its time in office. In a deliberate attempt to dismiss speculation that he would like to form a coalition with Labour after the next election – prompted by their joint work on the Leveson press reforms – the deputy prime minister will suggest on Monday that the party is not ready for government." – The Guardian
…but also attacks "profilgate" Tory councils
"Nick Clegg will attack the Tories for wasting millions of pounds on “vanity projects” today in a warning to his coalition partners that they will be targeted in the forthcoming council elections….“Despite all their stated differences, a vote for Labour or the Tories will be a vote for the same thing,” Mr Clegg is expected to say in Cornwall today. “Their record in local government shows that even when millions of families are feeling the pinch, they’ll both squander taxpayers’ money on waste, inefficiency and their own vanity projects.” – The Times (£)
HMRC workers to strike – BBC
MPs demand former HBOS chief should have pension cut
"The man accused of sowing the “seeds of destruction” that led to the taxpayer rescue of one of Britain’s biggest banks was under mounting pressure last night to give up part of his pension. MPs from both sides called on Sir James Crosby, the former chief executive of HBOS, to sacrifice some of his £20 million pension pot — worth £700,000 a year — with the bank. …Brooks Newmark, a Tory member of the Treasury Select committee, added: “Morally, given that he screwed up and following the opprobrium that has been directed at him, he shouldn’t be entitled to it.” – The Times (£)
Tim Montgomerie says David Cameron could learn from Manchester United
"The attraction of left-wing heroes and ideals helps explain why left-wing parties tend to bounce back even after, for example, creating massive Glazer-sized debts. They are forgiven poor performances because their hearts are thought to be in the right place. Perhaps David Cameron — as well as Sir Alex Ferguson’s managerial competitors — could learn from the United way." Tim Montgomerie in The Times (£)
Philpott forced to work at last
"Sponging Mick Philpott is getting his first job in ten years — as a jail Mr Mop. The benefits king, who killed six of his kids, faces having to scrub his prison wing, The Sun can reveal. He will be handed a bucket to earn £14 a week. Refusal will see him punished. A source confirmed last night: “Bone idleness is no excuse. It will come as quite a shock.” Vile Philpott, 56 — caged for life last week for torching his Derby council house as his children slept — will be told to get cracking as soon as he is off suicide watch at top-security Wakefield Prison in West Yorks." – The Sun
Boris says the British need to revive the work ethic
"It is economically illiterate to blame Eastern Europeans for getting up early and working hard and being polite and helpful and therefore enabling the London catering trade to flourish. There isn’t some fixed “lump of labour” that means these jobs would otherwise be done by native Britons. The chances are that there would be fewer restaurants, since the costs would be higher and the service less good and the reputation of London as the world capital of posh tucker would be less exalted than it is today." – Boris Johnson Daily Telegraph (£)
Human rights Quango gives druids and vegans special workplace rights
"Druids, vegans and green activists should be given special treatment at work, according to ‘lunatic’ advice from the equalities watchdog. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) warns employers that they risk ‘potentially costly legal action’ unless they allow staff to follow their ‘religion or belief rights’ in the workplace….Brian Binley, a member of the Commons business, innovation and skills committee, said the economy could not afford such ‘frivolous nonsense’. …Fellow Tory Philip Davies called for the quango to be scrapped….Dominic Raab warned that the guidance could lead to a flood of vexatious legal claims." – Daily Mail
Portugal cuts welfare spending
"Portugal’s prime minister says the government will have to cut spending on health, education and social security to keep the country’s €78bn bailout programme on track. Pedro Passos Coelho made a televised address on Sunday after the constitutional court rejected austerity measures considered essential to meeting mandatory deficit targets." – Financial Times (£)
May warned not to opt out of EU intelligence gathering – The Times (£)
Opponents of Scottish independence raise £1.2 million – The Independent
And finally…Jonathan Aitken's tips to Chris Huhne on prison life
"Chris Huhne, the ex-cabinet minister jailed for perverting the course of justice, has exchanged letters with disgraced former MP Jonathan Aitken. Aitken, who spent seven months in prison in 1999 for perjury, spoke of the correspondence on Radio 4's Broadcasting House programme. He said a letter from Lib Dem Huhne suggested he was "in good shape". Huhne wrote that he found the first two jails he had been in "fascinating," said Aitken." – BBC
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