Midnight LeftWatch: Ed Miliband can't even win in Labour's old heartlands 9pm ToryDiary: The Tories' boom years in local government are over 4.30pm David Skelton on Comment: Elected mayors could make the North less reliant on Whitehall and Westminster for jobs and growth 2.15pm Simon McVicker on Comment: It’s time for the Government to stand […]
Chris Skidmore is the Member of Parliament for Kingswood. Follow Chris on Twitter. Today sees the publication of the latest Free Enterprise Group report, The Social Care Market: Fixing a Broken System. We know that long-term care for the elderly will present one of the greatest challenges for the future: the number of over-85s will double by […]
Frank Manning is the Campaigns Coordinator for the Young Britons’ Foundation, a non-partisan, not-for-profit educational, research and training organisation that promotes conservatism in schools, colleges and universities. Follow Frank on Twitter. After the spectacle of the televised Culture, Media and Sport committee meeting on Tuesday, the usual MPs were trending on Twitter. Tom Watson, continuing on […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Lots of endorsements for Boris Johnson in today's newspapers. Four years ago the first big sign that The Sun was deserting Labour came with its 2008 endorsement of Boris Johnson. It endorses Boris again today and more importantly gives him a big opportunity to make his pitch to White Van […]
Andrew Bridgen is Member of Parliament for North West Leicestershire. Follow Andrew on Twitter. The result of the election for the next French President will undoubtedly have an impact on the UK both politically and economically. With a socialist being the likely winner, first instincts are that this would be bad news for the Conservative […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter In day two of yesterday's debate in the House of Lords about reform of the Upper House, Lord (Michael) Forsyth was in very good form. First of all he compared Lords reform to the Austin Allegro: "I wonder whether your Lordships remember the Austin Allegro. The Austin Allegro was probably […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Chris Grayling launches a renewed effort to tackle Britain's Health and Safety culture today. In remarks to business leaders he will stress the importance of making Britain more competitive: "We have a simple and straightforward choice. If we want people to have jobs, we have to recognise just how different […]
Damian Hinds is MP for East Hampshire and chairs the all-party parliamentary group on social mobility. Follow Damian on Twitter. Social mobility – the extent to which where you end up in life is about your talents and efforts rather than your background – is relatively low in Britain, and has been for quite a […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter In the Commons yesterday, a debate was held on whether to suspend Sunday trading restrictions for the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer. The Bill passed through the House, with only extremely minor rebellion from the Tory benches. This was surprising because there was some consternation felt by […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter The legislative session which began in 2010 is finally coming to an end. In the session, nearly 40 Bills have been passed, a number of them significant Bills which helped deal with Labour's legacy. Listed below are some of the session's key achievements, which I have summarised from a Conservative […]
David Burrowes is the Member of Parliament for Enfield Southgate. Follow David on Twitter. Before I became a politician, I worked as a criminal defence solicitor in a small, north London practice. We dealt with issues that are typical to towns up and down the country. Many of the clients I saw – if not most of […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter Full marks to the Guardian for inventiveness. It has tracked down Jeremy Hunt's lambada teacher this morning. And full marks to him, too. Joseph Koniak (check out his website) avoids saying anything disobliging about the Culture Secretary, who has a sprung dancefloor at home on which to "cut the […]
8pm WATCH: Boris Johnson: "There's a difference between me and the former Mayor Ken Livingstone – I am a Mayor who unites" 6.30pm MPsETC: Only three Tory MPs rebel against move to relax Sunday trading laws for the Olympics 4pm Katie Perrior on Comment: Ring, ring! It's Boris calling for your vote… 2.45pm MPsETC: The 37 Acts the […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter David Cameron cannot avoid the first major Cabinet reshuffle of his Government this year. The most natural time to have it is after the local elections. Jeremy Hunt's troubles over the BSkyB bid more or less coincide with them. This yoking-together of the two are a reminder of how […]
Liz Truss is Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk. Follow Liz on Twitter. Yesterday on ConservativeHome Tim Montgomerie worried about pre Queen’s Speech rumours about “extended rights for paternity leave” as being “stuck in the pre-crunch era”. Journalist Gaby Hinsliff referred to it on Twitter as “worryingly fast becoming a policy with no friends”. Yet […]