Tim Montgomerie 81% of Tory members think AV shouldn't pass unless 40% of voters turnout in the referendum. 27 Tory peers agree – including Lords Tebbit and Howe, Forsyth and Lawson, and their leader Norman Lamont. They joined together with Labour and other peers to vote (again) for the 40% threshold. Last time the amendment […]
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles is proposing that there should be a full vote of councillors to approve staff salaries over £100,000. Hear him interviewed on Today here. But the Local Government Association (LGA) have attacked the idea. Sir Steve Bullock, chairman of the LGA's Local Government Group Workforce Board, said: "It is right that pay for […]
7.30pm WATCH: Cameron defends youth unemployment figures 4.30pm Patrick Nolan on Comment: Time to bite the bullet on paying for long term care 3.45pm ToryDiary: Chris Grayling fights back over Labour's record on youth unemployment – half a million jobless pupils 3pm – Parliament: 27 Tory peers help defeat Government on 40% threshold for referendum […]
The Daily Mail continues their campaign for lower councillor allowances today by highlighting councillors whose allowances can reach over £100,000 a year by serving on different bodies. Steve O'Connell is a Conservative member of the London Assembly for which he is paid £53,439. He is also the Cabinet Member for Community Safety on Croydon Council […]
by Paul Goodman MPs met on Monday to discuss the future of an All Party Group on Islamophobia. What took place sounds complex (according to reports) but was essentially simple. One body of Parliamentarians – all Conservative – voted for Engage to be removed as the secretariat to the group. Another body (mostly Labour) voted […]
by Paul Goodman This morning's Guardian looks forward to a rebellion over the Government's health reforms at the Liberal Democrat spring conference. A lot's written about Conservative Commons revolts. (I've a piece in the same paper about the new breed of maverick Tory MPs. So it's a good moment to remember that Liberal Democrat MPs, […]
Lord Flight is a former Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, who is now chairman of Flight & Partners Recovery Fund. There is an obvious need for the private sector of the British economy to recover and grow faster to take up the slack in the economy; to […]
Charlie Elphicke is MP for Dover. The Prime Minister’s Big Society initiative has the power to make a fundamental change to the way we live. The situation in Dover is a concrete example why this change is needed. To the people of Dover, the port is an important facility. Yet people feel it has done […]
Tim Montgomerie Earlier today in the House of Commons, Liam Fox clashed with his opposite number after The Sun revealed the sacking of 38 long-serving soldiers via email and, yesterday, The Telegraph reported that a quarter of the RAF's trainee pilots were to be "culled". Dr Liam Fox MP, Secretary of State for Defence: "As […]
This morning The Times featured(£) the progress made in building the Big Society in Windsor and Maidenhead. The Council leader, Cllr David Burbage criticised Liverpool Council for their "political gesture" in opposing the initiative. The report detailed what the Big Society means in Windsor and Maidenhead: In practice it means that “Adopt a street” — […]
Congratulations to Cllr Robert Gordon, the leader of Hertfordshire County Council, who has been elected the new Chairman of the Conservative Councillors Association. He takes over from Cllr Sir Merrick Cockell, the leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea who had served in the post for three years. The rest of those standing on […]
Mark Littlewood is Director General of the Institute of Economic Affairs. This is an edited version of remarks he gave at yesterday's 'Going for Growth' conference, hosted by ConservativeIntelligence. Going for growth is the key challenge for the Coalition. In fact, pretty much all their eggs are in the growth basket. If GDP does not […]
Matthew Elliott is Campaign Director of NO to AV. When I started as Campaign Director of NO to AV last September, my friends started sending me literature from the Yes campaign. “Make MPs work harder!” claimed one leaflet. “Stop the expenses scandal!” claimed another. “Shouldn’t the founder of the TaxPayers’ Alliance be working for the […]
by Paul Goodman The MP for the island is a happy man this afternoon. The Government's conceded that the Isle of Wight will join the Western Isles and Orkney & Shetland in being exempted from the standardisation of constituency sizes. This is the right move for the island as well as for Turner: no part […]
Mohammed Amin is Vice Chairman of the Conservative Muslim Forum but is writing in a personal capacity. If the first past the post (FPTP) voting system did not exist, we would not dream of inventing it. Apart from the simple case when there are only two candidates, FPTP has the fundamental flaw that it requires […]