5.30pm The Alternative Queen's Speech 7: Anti-Congestion Bill
4pm The Alternative Queen's Speech 6: Affordable Energy Bill
2.30pm The Alternative Queen's Speech 5: Fairness to UK Taxpayers' Bill
1pm The Alternative Queen's Speech 4: Make Prison Work Bill
11.30am: The Alternative Queen's Speech 3: Rail Improvements Bill
10.30am: The Alternative Queen's Speech 2: Promotion of Competition Bill
ToryDiary: The Alternative Queen's Speech offers popular, pro-poor and broadly-based legislation
On Comment: The Alternative Queen's Speech Part 1 – British Bill of Rights Bill
Columnist Bruce Anderson: Conservative MPs who approach every problem with an open mouth should remember that careless talk costs votes
Majority Conservatism: Ministers mustn't be allowed to park the problem of voter fraud just because Boris won
Local Government: John Bald – Good news on phonics
MPsETC Update as MPs continue to speak out post-local elections and pre-Queen's Speech: Brian Binley MP urges PM to "smell the coffee". Bob Stewart MP calls for "sanity"
The Deep End: The moral, intellectual and literal bankrupcy of vulgar Keynesianism
WATCH: Francois Holland – People of France, thank you for allowing me to become your President
Cameron "to lurch to the right in Queen's Speech"
"The Prime Minister will begin the fightback this week with a Queen’s Speech that will focus “on the things that really matter” by offering help to “striving” families and moves to create jobs. He will unveil measures that he hopes will please disgruntled Tory backbenchers and appeal to core voters. Mr Cameron will also delay the controversial High Speed 2 rail link, water down plans to reform the House of Lords and avoid new laws on foreign aid and gay marriage." – Daily Express
Oh yes it will! Clegg Guardian article insists: The Lords must be reformed
"And, yes, injecting some democracy into the House of Lords. For more than a century, we have been debating the commonsense idea that the people who obey the laws of the land should elect the people who make them. Instead of getting ourselves tied up in knots in Westminster about this, we just need to get on with it." – Nick Clegg, The Guardian
Oh no it won't! Cameron Telegraph article doesn't mention the Upper House at all
"Even the difficulties of our economic situation and the tough but necessary decisions the Government has had to take cannot fully explain the results. The message people are sending is this: focus on what matters, deliver what you promise – and prove yourself in the process. I get it." – David Cameron, Daily Telegraph
(The Prime Minister also writes: "I am sceptical of those who claim to draw the answer to every problem from a loud ideology.")
- Osborne confirms Lords reform not a priority on Marr – The Guardian
- "Charities attacked the Prime Minister after he dropped measures including plans to enshrine overseas aid spending increases in law" – The Independent
- Drug drivers to face jail time under new law – The Guardian
- Queen’s Speech to target red tape and pay – Financial Times (£)
David Davis & John Redwood Alternative Queen's Speech unveiled today on ConservativeHome
"David Davis, Mr Cameron’s former leadership rival, is on Monday putting together “an alternative Queen’s Speech” calling for lower taxes, fewer burdens on employers, public spending cuts and tougher policies on Europe and law and order. The policy prospectus for the ConservativeHome website is likely to provide a rallying point for those Tory MPs warning that the real Queen’s Speech on Wednesday is likely to be an insipid document by comparison." – Financial Times (£)
"Their proposals include bills to take more workers out of the 40p tax bracket and slash Capital Gains Tax from 28 per cent to 20 per cent. A Fairness to UK Taxpayers Bill would introduce road charging for foreign truckers who use British roads and foreign visitors to British museums. It would also require NHS trusts by law to make foreign patients pay up – putting an end to health tourism into the NHS." – Daily Mail
- After the elections, a right turn for David Cameron – Tim Montgomerie, The Guardian
Former Chief Whip Lord Ryder says no-one knows what Cameron stands for, "only one MP has put in no-confidence letter" – Daily Mail
- Chorus of protest against church VAT rise – Financial Times (£)
- Clock’s ticking – Sun Editorial
- Discontent dims the glamour of the Cameroons – Andrew Gimson, Financial Times (£)
- Saddle up, Dave, and take charge – Trevor Kavanagh, The Sun
- Zombies of British Tea Party long to lurch further right – Ian Birrell, The Independent
- Nadine Dorries is right about what the public wants – Leo McKinstry, Daily Express
Yesterday:
- ToryDiary: Is this the Conservative Party or the Judean People's Front?
- ToryDiary: BBC bulletins leading with Nadine Dorries' latest attack on David Cameron's leadership
- Columnist Nadine Dorries MP: Jettison Lords reform; Jettison gay marriage; and focus on jobs, crime and household bills
- Syed Kamall MEP on Comment: "In everything that we do and say, we need to persuade them that the values of the modern Conservative Party are in line with people's beliefs."
- Brandon Lewis MP on Comment: UKIP cost us control of Great Yarmouth Council
- Local Government: UKIP factor in local elections likely to grow
- Local Government: London still has a Labour majority. How can this change?
- MPsETC: Ken Baker and Richard Ryder call for Cameron to appoint an MP as Tory Chairman
- MPsETC: Julian Brazier MP becomes 20th Tory MP to call for some sort of change of direction/ focus following the local election results. See ConHome's full record of MPs' reactions
- WATCH: MPs Brian Binley, Jackie Doyle-Price and Tim Yeo offer some post-elections advice to David Cameron
- WATCH: George Osborne hits back at Nadine Dorries, saying she's disagreed with him and Cameron for seven years, opposing all Tory modernisation
Prime Minister faces Rebekah Brooks Leveson text evidence this week
"David Cameron’s aides will pore over his text messages to Rebekah Brooks this week amid fears he will be embarrassed by fresh revelations about his links to the Murdoch empire. The Prime Minister, with his lawyers and special advisers, have set up a unit to study the texts to the former News of the World editor to search for ‘landmines’." – Daily Mail
- I was right to keep Murdoch at arms' length, says Cable – Daily Express
Lord Feldman cuts party ties to Conservative Arab Network – Daily Telegraph
He's back! Re-elected Boris returns to Telegraph column asking: "Why do foreigners get all the jobs?"
"In one of his first acts since being re-elected as Mayor of London, Mr Johnson today calls for “an honest and unflinching” investigation. He promises to “expose the roots of the problem” and examine whether immigrants were prepared to work harder for less money or whether “native Londoners” had the wrong attitude to certain jobs. Over the past two years unemployment has been rising and more than one in five 16 to 24-year-olds is currently out of work." – Daily Telegraph
- So Boris is more popular than Cameron. But he won't make PM – Mary Ann Sieghart, The Independent
Europe revolts against austerity. Sarkozy becomes the 11th leader to be swept from power by Eurozone crisis as Hollande wins in France…
"The future of the EU was thrown into turmoil last night after France elected its first Socialist leader for 17 years. Francois Hollande ousted Nicolas Sarkozy as president and promised to reverse his policy of austerity measures. Mr Hollande, an advocate of economic growth through tax and spend, is also likely to end Germany’s grip on EU policy…He has vowed to stand up to the fiscal pact forged by the pair, calling for spending to stimulate growth rather than austerity." – Daily Express
…And the establishment parties fall short in Greece
"The menace to the single currency was compounded when voters in near-bankrupt Greece also rejected plans to impose tough financial discipline. The far Right looked set to grab its first seats, saying: ‘The day of national revolution has begun against those who are selling us out and looting the sweat of the Greek people.’..Greece’s conservative New Democracy and socialist PASOK parties risked falling short of the 151-seat majority needed to form a coalition government." – Daily Mail
What will be the effect on the Euro?
- "The latest crisis could cause the collapse of a €105 billion (£90 billion) EU-IMF bail-out deal" – Daily Telegraph
- Financial markets reel after French and Greek results – The Guardian
Cameron is left exposed after support for Sarkozy
"The ousting of Nicolas Sarkozy last night was a humiliating diplomatic setback for David Cameron – who months ago publicly backed his re-election. British diplomats will race to forge links with the new French President Francois Hollande, whom the Prime Minister has ostentatiously snubbed, to shore up recent agreements on defence and nuclear power." – Daily Mail
Brussels aims for migrant pensions – Daily Express
> Yesterday: International – Austerity-sceptic Hollande wins in France — and anti-austerity parties gain in Greece
Comment:
- Europe’s Rebels – The Times (£)
- Piling debt on debt – Daily Mail Editorial
- A left-wing leader to strike fear into the hearts of France's rich – Nabila Ramdani, The Independent
- Britain is shackled to the corpse of Europe – Daniel Hannan MEP, Daily Mail
- The only solution to the eurozone crisis – Wolfgang Münchau, Financial Times (£)
May scheme to cut checks on low-risk travellers
"Theresa May is to order a pilot scheme aimed at cutting queues at Britain’s airports by relaxing checks on low-risk British and other EU travellers, but the home secretary’s initiative is unlikely to start before London hosts the Olympic Games in the summer. David Cameron, prime minister, ordered action to cut waiting times at Heathrow and other airports at last week’s cabinet and the home secretary has held talks with airlines and airport operators to try to find an urgent solution." – Financial Times (£)
- Airports crisis 'risks letting in smugglers’ – The Times (£)
Jesse Norman: The £250 billion failings of PFI
"As I argue in a pamphlet published today by the Centre for Policy Studies, the main reason why any big procurement project fails is simple: a bad client. In the case of PFI, hospital trusts, local authorities and ministries were frequently rather bad clients…They often lacked the necessary commercial and negotiation skills, were naive about using outside advice, and did not adequately understand the risks. The result was a field day for consultants such as PwC, which alone advised on some 200-400 PFI transactions." – The Times (£)
More than 11,000 households on benefits are as well off as higher rate taxpayers – Daily Mail
Oliver Letwin takes in lodgers at his London home – Daily Telegraph
CLG Select Committee says that ensign funds, local authorities and private landlords should be given new incentives to help fill the UK’s widening housing gap – Financial Times (£)
Thousands of jobs at risk after PM abandons solar subsidies – The Independent
Labour strikes post-election power deal with Tories over East Lothian and Inverclyde councils – Scotsman
Calls for IDS to be sacked over "callous" Remploy comments – Wales Online
Boundaries of new Northern Ireland super-councils revealed – Newsletter
Argentine Ambassador brands Falklands a "colonial enclave" – Daily Express
More MPs need help with drink (and drug) problems, says Bercow – Daily Mail
Student reveals how he tricked Miliband into bong photo – The Sun
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