By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. Earlier this week, I reported on the 13 groups of constituencies in the running to be the next location for the People's Pledge European referendum campaign. The first referendum was held in the marginally Conservative Thurrock constituency (89.9% agreed with a referendum). Yesterday, the People's Pledge announced that the […]
7.30pm ToryDiary: Only 51% of Tories support withdrawal from the European Union – and 26% would consider voting UKIP 2.30pm Andrew Smith on Comment: Labour’s reshuffle is a swing to the left, but it will put more pressure on our areas of weakness 2pm LISTEN: Chuka Umunna: Apart from Italy, Britain is the only G8 member to have […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter It was as long ago as end-December that we last asked Tory members to say whether they were satisfied or dissatisfied with members of the Cabinet*. Since then there have been some big political developments. The three most notable changes are big drops in the approval ratings for the Prime […]
An interesting survey from the Times Educational Supplement shows that some councils are cutting back on their subsidies to the teaching unions for "facility time" by up to 50%. This is the arrangement where staff have their salary paid by the Council Taxpayer even when they are working as full time union officials. The academies […]
Alistair Renshaw is a chartered surveyor and chairman of the 'No to Retro Tax' campaign, which campaigns against the use of retrospective legislation in the UK. The American statesman and senator from Massachusetts Daniel Webster once wrote that an unlimited power to impose tax involves, necessarily, the power to destroy. There has been much written […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter “There is a small minority of Pakistani men who believe that white girls are fair game and we have to be prepared to say that. You can only start solving a problem if you acknowledge it first… This small minority who see women as second class citizens, and white women […]
With the election of Francois Hollande Keynesian folly is back to the fore. Down here, socialists continue to hoodwink the long-suffering population into believing that the government’s spending cuts cause the continuation of the economic crisis. BBC journalists repeat it as if it is mere fact. Those profiting from state profligacy in Greece shout it […]
During this interview on the launch of his new parenting support programmes Mr Cameron said, among other things: He wishes he personally had had parenting classes; He had read you are meant to praise your children seven times more often than you criticise them; He resisted the idea that he had to concentrate 100% on […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter After this week's 1922 elections we have an inclusive and representative body for backbenchers. Perhaps the same could now happen for the frontbench and David Cameron's Number 10 operation? There are a number of key reasons why Cameron does not command as much loyalty as a Tory leader should. One […]
4.45pm ToryDiary: A small minority of Pakistani men, warns Sayeeda Warsi, see women as "second class citizens" and white women as "third class citizens" 2.30pm J P Floru on Comment: Expansionary government spending "needs to be paid for through taxes, money printing, or debt (deficit-spending). The first destroys private sector jobs; the second creates inflation […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter The Prime Minister is on breakfast TV this morning to promote his vision that, one day, all of us – not just those from difficult backgrounds – will be able to access government-backed help for new parents if they choose. He is unveiling three new features of this help this […]
As a father to a severely autistic son, Christopher Stevens knows what a learning disability actually involves. He is, therefore, well placed to comment on the shocking statistic that 21 per cent of British children have been labelled with ‘Special Educational Needs’. Writing in the Daily Mail he reveals the reality behind the figures: “In […]
Lord Flight is a former Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury who is now chairman of Flight & Partners Recovery Fund. If I were of a conspiratorial nature I might think that the Government is wasting everybody’s time with pointless and unpopular House of Lords’ reform proposals and other minor issues as a smokescreen to support […]