“All those who have been unemployed for three years will have to do some work or training in return for their benefits – or attend a jobcentre every day – under tough measures to be laid out in detail by George Osborne today.” – The Independent
“Benefits will be stripped from the long-term jobless unless they work full time picking up litter, removing graffiti or preparing meals for the elderly. George Osborne will today announce details of the US-style ‘work for the dole’ programme, starting within six months and affecting 200,000 welfare claimants.” – Daily Mail
“Foreign criminals, terrorists and illegal immigrants will be kicked out of Britain before they get the chance to claim their human rights are being breached. In a massive shake-up of immigration law, Theresa May today tells the Daily Mail the Government plans to ‘deport first, and hear the appeal later’ – after they have been put on a plane home.” – Daily Mail
“Mr Farage indicates that he would not stop agreements in individual constituencies, an intervention that threatens to split the Conservatives during the party’s annual conference in Manchester. Although he claims that UKIP is diametrically opposed to Mr Cameron, he says that there are many MPs who take a different view from the Tory leadership, naming Peter Bone and Jacob Rees-Mogg.” – The Times (£)
“Britain will seek to end the doctrine of “ever-closer union” in Europe, William Hague said yesterday. The Foreign Secretary made this the first formal demand in Britain’s renegotiation with Europe in an attempt to answer calls from Eurosceptics for details. The main target of the speech was to reform the demand in EU treaties to “lay the foundations of an ever-closer union among the peoples of Europe”.” – The Times (£)
“Two retired soldiers have been ejected from the Conservative Party conference hall after heckling Philip Hammond over defence cuts. The pair were protesting at plans to axe the second battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.” – BBC
> Yesterday: WATCH: Philip Hammond’s speech is interrupted by hecklers
“The Prime Minister said that he will “back up” schools and courts that ask people to remove Muslim veils. He said that he does not believe there should be a ban on wearing the niqab, which conceals the whole face, in all public places. However, in an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Marr programme, Mr Cameron said he would consider issuing new guidelines to judges, teachers and immigration officers telling them when they can ask people to remove their veils.” – Daily Telegraph
> Yesterday: David Cameron on Comment: Welcome to the Conference and thank you for your work for the Conservative cause
“Before the start of the Tory party conference, the Prime Minister signalled he may remove the UK from the jurisdiction of meddling Strasbourg judges if he wins a majority at the next election. He said: “People should be in no doubt, under a Conservative-only government led by me, there will be the ability to throw out of our country much more rapidly people who threaten us and our way of life.” ” – Daily Express
“Michael Gove is changing league table rules in England to try to stop schools from “gaming the system”. The education secretary says schools encourage pupils to take GCSEs early so they can “bank” good grades – simply entering them for retakes if they fail.” – BBC
“Mr Shapps told the conference that Lady Thatcher would have been proud of the Coalition and its achievements. “If Margaret Thatcher were here today, you know what she would have been proud of? The 1.4 million private-sector jobs created under this government. A tax cut for 25 million ordinary working people; 2.7 million of the lowest paid removed from income tax entirely. Mortgage rates low, council tax frozen, benefits capped, the deficit down, immigration down and crime down.” – Daily Telegraph
“Of course there are wonderful step-parents, but it is simply statistical fact that parents’ solicitude for children generally exceeds that of step-parents — let alone that of fleeting ‘partners’. So yes, marriage should be encouraged in the tax system; and I suspect Labour’s fury with Cameron is mere displaced anger that the public is on his side.” – Dominic Lawson Daily Mail
“The money currently earmarked for high-speed rail could be used to help to build more affordable housing. If government didn’t require private builders to fund a large slice of affordable housing in every development, they would build more homes. A bigger government investment in affordable housing will, in the long run, also save money. A more sensible housing market will reduce the demand for housing benefit, currently costing taxpayers £17 billion a year — and rising.” – Tim Montgomerie The Times (£)
“Conservative MPs who packed into the main conference hall at Heythrop Park in Oxfordshire at their awayday this month learned an important
lesson about their Australian campaign director: Lynton Crosby is not one for deference.” – The Guardian
“Britain might be lagging in some respects, but once our programme was under way we would certainly not be lagging in lagging. Above all, we were going to achieve the number one objective of the scheme: we were going to help cut the cost of heating people’s homes and help stabilise fuel bills. I was interested in the plan as a way of helping the planet and helping people in tough times. As for Ed – well, it was, frankly, a bit disheartening. He wasn’t remotely interested.” – Boris Johnson Daily Telegraph
> Today: Jesse Norman on Comment: Reflections on Ed Miliband
“DAVID Cameron likes to cook, can dance Gangnam style, excels at karaoke and — apart from the time he left one of them in the pub — manages to look after his three young children without incident.” – The Sun (£)