11.30pm Simon Chapman on CentreRight: The Patient’s Passport is on its way back
6.15pm Peter Cuthbertson on CentreRight: This Speaker is doing genuine harm
4.30pm Peter Franklin on CentreRight: Carbon capture may be expensive, but courtesy costs nothing
2.45pm Local Government: Pickles comments on the "non-cooperation" story
2pm Parliament: Blears rejects Fabricant’s invitation to tour brownfield sites together on their motorbikes
Tune in to Cameron Direct tonight at 7.10pm to watch Cameron live with an audience in Selby
12pm ToryDiary: PMQs liveblog
12pm CF Diary: Tory Bear’s survey and Welsh Farm
11.15am Local government: Three minutes of Eric Pickles; a video diary from the LGA Conference
11am Local Government: Parliamentary office rallies people to campaign for Labour in local elections
10am ToryDiary: Tory members say David Davis was wrong to resign (but David Cameron should have him back)
"It may offend the sensibilities of those who happily munch on sea bass and sip Sancerre at their favourite Italian eatery in Islington or Notting Hill, that ordinary people could possibly vote for a party that wishes to repatriate foreigners and whose leader denies the holocaust. But that is the reality."
Platform: Ali Miraj says it’s perfectly rational for the white working class to vote BNP when they are ignored by the political elite
Local Government: Stephen Greenhalgh asks What three things define your Council as a Conservative Council?
Seats and Candidates: James Brokenshire MP selected for Derek Conway’s seat
PlayPolitical: Barack Obama aims to ‘steal’ the Christian vote from the Republcians
Clarke’s West Lothian proposals
"Scottish MPs would be stripped of some voting powers over laws relating
solely to England under Conservative plans unveiled on Tuesday offering
the latest answer to the thorny “West Lothian question”." – FT
"A Labour minister has hinted that the Government could adopt a Tory plan to bar Scottish MPs from amending laws for England. Michael Wills, the constitutional affairs minister, suggested that ministers are prepared to look at the proposals for constitutional reform drawn up by Kenneth Clarke, a former Tory chancellor." – Telegraph
"Nor do I think that they have faced up to the enormous
difficulties facing the Speaker in deciding which are UK matters and
which purely English. They so often impinge on each other that there is
bound to be bickering. Mr Clarke’s proposals might be an answer,
if there was goodwill all round. But there is not goodwill all round.
On the contrary, there is maximum ill-will." – Tam Dalyell in the Times
"It is not a perfect solution by any means, but then
perfection in this context is probably unachievable. However it does
address the potentially divisive democratic deficit created by the
devolutionary settlement; it also has the particular benefit of being a
subtle change that goes with the grain, rather than a big-bang
solution. Parliament as an organism generally benefits from such incremental modifications." – Telegraph leader
> Rifkind calls for amendment to Clarke’s proposals
> Cameron likely to accept Clarke’s proposals
Border Protection Service
"Britain needs armed border police who can hunt terrorists and
illegal immigrants across the country, David Cameron said yesterday. Unveiling
his plans for a 34,000- strong force, the Tory leader said he supported
a call by former Met commissioner Lord Stevens for a Border Protection
Service." – Mail
> Lord Stevens’ border protection report launched
Some Labour MPs to vote with Tories against VED
"Alistair Darling faces more public anger over tax after the
Conservatives calculated his plans to backdate vehicle excise duty will
hit at least 2.3m people. The new duty, which is designed to
penalise more polluting vehicles, is controversial because it
retrospectively applies to some cars bought since 2001. A handful of Labour rebels have threatened to join the Tories in
Wednesday’s vote for a removal of the backdating element of the scheme." – FT
Pickles tells Tory councils to play hardball with the government
"The Conservatives have told the party’s council leaders to stop
cooperating with the Labour government in anticipation of David Cameron
winning the next general election. The campaign is part of a
new Tory strategy "to say no" to demands from the centre, and has drawn
fierce criticism from ministers, who believe it is "political hubris"
and assumes Labour has lost the election two years before polling day." – Guardian
> Our Local Government section covered this a few weeks ago
"He’s made the Tories the dominant force in local government – and now he’s drawing up plans to wipe Labour off the council map. Peter Hetherington meets Eric Pickles…" – Guardian
Not enough to rely on public weariness with Brown
"It is unclear as yet what real choices the Conservatives will offer voters on
tax, healthcare and the environment, or whether Mr Cameron can galvanise
Tory activists to make his rebranding of the party more than that, to the
point that it represents Middle England as new Labour did by 1997. He has
not done so yet. His challenge is to offer British voters a real choice. The Tory modernisers
have time – too much, they may think. But they also have more work to do
than they imagine." – Times leader
Do we need a cultural welfare state?
"As in America, tax breaks should be used to bring
money into the arts, so that individuals and not committees of
bureaucrats decide on funding. Merit will then out. Those "artists" who
feel the state owes them a living… would have to
learn the difficulty of having no merit. State
funding in its present form encourages this poison in our culture and
in our society. One day, we might have a Culture Secretary with the
sense, and the moral vision, to reform it." – Simon Heffer in the Telegraph
And finally…
"I accept your offer not to vote for me again, I do not want your vote so you can
stick it wherever best pleases you." – Labour MP David Clelland responds in writing to a constituent concerned about civil liberties
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