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2pm LeftWatch: Why did it take 48 days for the Government to proscribe Islam4UK after David Cameron raised the issue at PMQs?

1.30pm ToryDiary: Boris Johnson debates Alan Johnson to put the case against Proportional Representation

12.15pm Alex Deane on CentreRight marks "a great day for freedom": The power to stop and search at random is unlawful

Noon WATCH: Ed Balls refuses to repeat Alistair Darling's tough talk on spending cuts in an interview featured in a Channel Four News report

ToryDiary: Boris throws down the gauntlet to George Osborne to abolish Labour's supertax on bankers' bonuses

Also on ToryDiary: One week until ConservativeIntelligence's Tory manifesto conference

LeftWatch: Lib Dem parliamentary candidate forced to resign after pressure from Tory opponent over sexually gratuitous smears

Paul Palmer on Platform: How David Cameron could help boost philanthropy in the UK to the tune of £75 billion

Parliament: Liam Fox raises the issue of troop levels in Afghanistan at Defence Questions

Local Government:

• Gareth Anderson: How to get younger councillors
• Durham council plans care home closures

WATCH: Conservative MEP Charles Tannock challenges Baroness Ashton, the EU's new High Representative for Foreign Affairs, over her former involvement in CND

Poll shows failed coup hit Labour hopes hard

"Labour’s support has fallen to its lowest level since September as the party pays the price for disunity after the third failed attempt to ditch Gordon Brown." - The Times

"Mr Cameron and George Osborne are now most trusted to deal with the economy by 43 per cent of those questioned, up two points since October." - Peter Riddell's analysis in The Times

> Last night's ToryDiary: Tories 13% ahead in Populus poll despite half of voters thinking Cameron is on the side of the rich

20% of foot soldiers unfit to fight, uncovers Tory MP

"Almost 5,000 soldiers and officers - or 20% of army infantry personnel - are unfit for frontline combat duties, Ministry of Defence figures show... Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin, who obtained the information, told the BBC: "To have 20% of the infantry unfit for the duties they are primarily employed and trained for is quite a staggering figure. This reflects the long-term effect of sustained operations, and it's worth remembering the government may pay for extra ammunition and other costs of operations, but they don't fund the recruitment and training of personnel to replace those who are left unfit for combat." - BBC

David Cameron seeking to avoid "at least part" of Labour's NI rise

"David Cameron indicated that the Conservatives would fight the general election on a pledge to reverse at least part of a planned increase in national insurance contributions from 2011. In a hardening of the Tory position on tax, after criticism that the party is ­offering vague aspirations, Cameron promised to set out his position on national insurance long before the general election. "Yes, way before election day," Cameron said on BBC Radio 5 Live when he was asked whether he would be able to give a clear commitment on national insurance. There is due to be a 1% increase on both employers and employees in April 2011." - The Guardian

Different papers have different takes on David Cameron's speech to Demos yesterday

Parental 'warmth' more important than wealth, says David Cameron - The Guardian

"Sexualisation of children by shops, advertisers and magazines will be outlawed by a Tory government if retailers fail to heed parental anger." - Evening Standard

"David Cameron promised on Monday to offer tax breaks to same-sex couples engaging in civil partnerships, one of a raft of family-friendly measures he hopes will soften his party's image." - Reuters

"Pupils should stand up when their teacher enters the classroom as part of moves to install a culture of discipline and respect in Britain’s children, David Cameron said yesterday." - Daily Express

Labour MP Frank Field appears alongside Cameron at Tory launch - The Times

"It is encouraging that the Tories are grappling with social problems that they previously ignored, or to which they only used to propose criminal justice solutions." - Independent editorial

"The Tory leader’s traditional family policies will please his party but it risks harming his image as a force for change" - Rachel Sylvester in The Times

"Compassionate Conservatism, let alone "Progressive Conservatism" is exposed as a head-swivellingly empty oxymoron." - Polly Toynbee in The Guardian

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: We need a state that helps people who do the right thing

> WATCH: David Cameron speaks to Demos about the importance of good parenting

Cameron also announces new policy on Sure Start

"To coincide with the Demos event, the Tories also set out a new policy on Sure Start centres for parents with young children, which the party announced would be transformed in the way that the academy programme had improved many schools. Mr Cameron said that he wanted Sure Start to be returned to its original purpose of focusing on the most “disadvantaged and dysfunctional” families, with staff paid by “results” according to how many struggling parents they saw." - Daily Telegraph

Michael Gove accuses Government of piling bureaucracy onto headteachers

"Labour was accused of tying schools in red tape last night amid plans to give every child a legal “guarantee” of a good education. Under a new education Bill, all schools in England will be forced to meet a series of 38 promises covering one-to-one tuition, extra PE, more cultural visits and and a pledge to provide healthy eating... Michael Gove, the Conservative shadow schools secretary, said ministers were piling fresh bureaucratic burdens on head teachers." - Daily Telegraph

Tory MP Brian Binley ordered to repay £1,500 after expenses investigation - Daily Telegraph

Outgoing Tory MP Peter Ainsworth gives a valedictory interview to his local newspaper - GetSurrey.co.uk

Tory treasurer Michael Spencer sells £45m of shares in ICAP - Daily Telegraph

Peter Robinson sidelined in Northern Ireland

"The Northern Ireland First Minister, Peter Robinson, yesterday stepped aside temporarily as his party staged a damage limitation exercise in the wake of the sex and financial scandals surrounding his wife. It is unclear whether he will return to office following a break which could last up to six weeks, or whether he is being eased out in stages... An Assembly minister, Arlene Foster, has been drafted in for a period of up to six weeks as acting First Minister. " - The Independent

"The Ulster Unionist Party predicted that the DUP was paving the way for Mr Robinson to leave politics altogether. Sir Reg Empey, its leader, said: “At this crucial time in the political process we now have two lame duck first ministers, neither of whom can make the decisions necessary to ensure proper, working devolution." - The Times

> WATCH: Arlene Foster tells the Northern Ireland Assembly that she is temporarily taking over Peter Robinson's duties as First Minister

Brown tries to rally jittery Labour MPs

"Gordon Brown has told jittery Labour MPs that he is 'not a team of one' as he insisted economic recovery would win the party a fourth term. The Prime Minister went out of his way to demonstrate a more collegiate leadership style following last week's abortive attempt to oust him from Downing Street." - Daily Mail

Alastair Campbell to face Chilcot Inquiry today - BBC

Sarah Palin joins Fox News

"2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is joining Fox News as a contributor, the news channel announced Monday. The former Alaska governor, whose book, Going Rogue: An American Life, became a bestseller weeks before it was released and remains No. 2 on the New York Times bestseller list, has signed a multi-year deal to offer her political commentary and analysis across all Fox News platforms" - Fox News

And finally... David Cameron brushes off criticism from David Tennant

"Conservative leader David Cameron has brushed off the news that Doctor Who star David Tennant is not a fan of his. Mr Cameron told BBC Radio 5 live: "You can't win them all, can you?" He admitted he had not watched much of the recent series of the long-running programme, saying he grew up with Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker as the Doctor." - BBC

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

8.15pm ToryDiary: Tories 13% ahead in Populus poll despite half of voters thinking Cameron is on the side of the rich

6.30pm Today's General Election brief: A good day for Nick Clegg

6pm WATCH: Arlene Foster tells the Northern Ireland Assembly that she is temporarily taking over Peter Robinson's duties as First Minister

4.30pm Seats and Candidates: Labour MP opts against defending marginal Erewash

3.15pm WATCH: David Cameron speaks to Demos about the importance of good parenting

3pm Mark Wallace on CentreRight: We must fight this last battle to clean up MPs' expenses

1.45pm LeftWatch: Labour dirty tricksters are suspected of circulating an anonymous letter purporting to come from a Tory MP

1pm Parliament: David Burrowes highlights the life-saving resource of umbilical cord blood

12.15pm ToryDiary: We need a state that helps people to do the right thing

11.15am WATCH: Nick Clegg announces that he is ditching various long-held Lib Dem policies because they are unaffordable

10.30am JP Floru on CentreRight: Gordon Brown killed aspiration by a thousand cuts

9.30 am Charles Tannock MEP on CentreRight: Why London should not say a farewell to arms

ToryDiary:

• David Cameron announces three policy changes to encourage enterprise
• Tories 12% ahead in new YouGov survey

Sajid Javid on Platform: Capitalism is essential for our prosperity and liberty

LeftWatch: Harriet Harman's Equality Bill puts her on collision course with all major religions

Seats and Candidates:

• The Year for Change begins for Adeela Shafi in Bristol East with a campaign launch with Theresa May and lots of disruptive snow
• Alex Williams selected for Stretford and Urmston
• Anthony Ridge-Newman selected for Ynys Môn

Local Government: 100 achievements of Boris Johnson as Mayor of London

ThinkTank Central:

• 2020Health calls for end to cosmetic surgery on NHS and fines for people who repeatedly use casualty departments as result of alcohol misuse
• Douglas Carswell MP rejects idea of government think tank to evaulate public policy

WATCH: Islam4UK cancels plans for a march through Wootton Bassett

David Cameron pledges to stop Britain's population hitting 70 million...

"Immigration would be cut by as much as 75 per cent under a Conservative government to prevent Britain's population hitting 70million, David Cameron said today. He said he wanted to see annual net immigration levels fall from the 200,000 figure of recent years to the 'tens of thousands' seen under the Thatcher and Major governments." - Daily Mail

"Mr Cameron is on to something. The only means open to the Government to limit population is to limit immigration. If the Tory leader is serious he will put it into his party’s election manifesto — and it will be hugely popular." - Andrew Green writing in The Times

...and promises to act quicker than Labour in cutting the deficit

"Conservative leader David Cameron has said his party will "go further" than Labour in cutting the UK's £178bn budget deficit, if they win power. The government has pledged to halve Britain's deficit over four years, but Mr Cameron told the BBC: "We need to make more progress more quickly." - BBC

> Yesterday's ToryDiary covering David Cameron's interview with Andrew Marr

John Maples become the second Tory MP to disenfranchise his local party in choosing a shortlist to succeed him

"John Maples, the deputy Conservative chairman who claimed expenses on his family home while staying at a private members’ club, has announced he will stand down from Parliament. The 66-year-old former defence minister who is currently responsible for candidate selection said that it was “the right time” for him to retire as MP for Stratford and Avon." - Daily Telegraph

> Last night's ToryDiary: John Maples MP to retire

How does Philip Hammond describe George Osborne in five words?

"Right on all key issues" - Philip Hammond answers readers' questions in The Independent

Richard Reeves: A test of character for David Cameron

"At the heart of Cameron's political philosophy are the conjoined ideas of social responsibility and commitment. But the "big society" which he optimistically hopes can replace the "big state" is one which has to be composed of big people – people who are willing both to discipline themselves and to sacrifice some of their own interests for those of others. In other words, people of character." - Richard Reeves writing in the Daily Telegraph

Peter Robinson will not survive a week, says David Trimble

"Lord Trimble said that Peter Robinson's career as Northern Ireland's first minister could not survive the financial scandal involving his wife and her former lover, predicting the crisis would spark elections in Northern Ireland... Trimble also predicted that elections to the Northern Ireland assembly would see the new Ulster Unionist-­Conservative ­alliance emerge as the single biggest unionist party." - The Guardian

How the Robinson scandal could lead to the collapse of devolution - Lord Bew writing in The Times

Deafening silence among fellow DUP members angered by Iris Robinson revelations - Belfast Telegraph

Iris Robinson accused of having three more lovers as she is expelled from DUP - Daily Mail

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: The Conservatives and Unionists may hold up to ten seats in Northern Ireland after the General Election

Private companies should require a time-limited permit to dig up the roads - Boris Johnson in the Daily Telegraph

Nick Clegg ditches key Lib Dem pledges

"Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg is expected to shelve some of his party's most cherished policies in a speech setting out his election priorities. The BBC has been told Mr Clegg is set to to downgrade policies on personal care for the elderly and childcare." - BBC

Grant Shapps laments the number of people paying their mortgage on credit cards

"The fact that one million households are now resorting to credit cards to help pay their mortgages is a damning indictment of this Government's lack of real help for hard-pressed families." - Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps quoted in the Daily Telegraph

All of Brown's Cabinet now want him to lose the next election

"It is hard to exaggerate the dislike which the Prime Minister arouses among senior Labour figures. This explains an interesting phenomenon: the way in which most left-wing commentators have written off Gordon Brown. After all, Labour is only around 10 points behind: not an unbridgeable gap. But those who are closest to Mr Brown know too much about him. They can no longer take him seriously as a Prime Minister or an election-winner." - Bruce Anderson in The Independent

Labour can only win with a radically different vision - James Purnell writing in The Guardian

Who would want to replace Brown now? - William Rees-Mogg in The Times

Brown and Cameron are like drowning men locked in a fatal embrace - Melanie Phillips in the Daily Mail

There's no hope left for Labour, so Brown might as well go for broke with his election pledges - Charlie Brooker in The Guardian

Speaker's Conference urges urgent action to increase number of women MPs

"Mandatory quotas for the number of female parliamentary candidates could be set unless there is a significant increase in the number of women MPs at the next election. A cross-party review concludes that legislation may become necessary to force political parties to field more female candidates." - The Times

"Rather than promoting a bogus diversity agenda and encouraging laziness and absenteeism, Mr Bercow should be urging all parties to seek out the very best, brightest and most committed candidates for the next Parliament." - Daily Mail editorial

Poll suggests Greens are on course for first Commons seat - The Independent

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

9.15pm Seats and candidates: John Maples MP to retire

6.45pm Today's General Election Brief: Tories turn up the volume on immigration

3.15pm Melanchthon on CentreRight: Respect for and equality before the law

3pm Seats and candidates: Zac Goldsmith hits back at The Sunday Times

2.15pm ToryDiary: The Conservatives and Unionists may hold up to ten seats in Northern Ireland after the General Election

1.15pm WATCH:

• Peter Watt, former Labour General Secretary, tells Sky News about the "shambles" of Gordon Brown's leadership
• Alastair Campbell on the alleged airbrushing of David Cameron for a Tory poster campaign

10.15am ToryDiary: Cameron tells Marr that he wants net immigration cut to the "tens of thousands"

Paul Goodman on ToryDiary: Fairer seat size must be a Conservative priority (or re-election will be a tall order)

Seats and candidates: The Conservative Party's top Liberal Democrat targets

George Lee on Platform: Britain should denounce China a little less and try to understand it a little more

On Local government Mark Wallace welcomes Boris Johnson's 'Google Government' initiative, the London DataStore

LeftWatch: Labour's mismanagement of big state projects has cost £22bn

Man who ran Labour Party reveals chaos at No 10 in devastating new book - Mail on Sunday

The Mail on Sunday's verdict on Labour: "This is not so much a government in crisis as a crisis pretending to be a government."

> Yesterday evening's LeftWatch: Former General Secretary of the Labour Party makes sensational attacks on Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown vetoed the purchase of vital military helicopters for Afghanistan - The Sunday Times

PM reveals poem that inspired him to defeat Cabinet coup - News of the World

Conservatives 10% ahead in ICM poll - The Sunday Telegraph | Yesterday's ToryDiary

Tories plan scholarships for children of fallen troops - BBC | Yesterday evening's ToryDiary

CCHQ accused of hiding donations for Zac Goldsmith

"The Conservative party hid donations of £40,000 from Zac Goldsmith, his brother Ben and two billionaire brothers in an apparent breach of the law. The donations were recorded on official records as coming from Unicorn Administration, an intermediary company that helps run the finances of the super-rich." - The Sunday Times

Paul Goodman has raised concerns about the appointment of a former Muslim student leader as a Government adviser on faith issues - Sunday Express

Lord Hurd is "seriously unwell" - Sunday Express

Why I oppose the Tory policy on marriage - Vince Cable in The Mail on Sunday

"If the Conservatives, or Labour for that matter, are serious about supporting families, their priorities should be increasing the supply of affordable homes and helping men in blighted areas get back into work. Britain's marital breakdown is about much more than just tax." - Ruth Sunderland in The Observer

William Rees-Mogg: It's the nature of Labour to spend too much

"It is not caused by individual human error, but by fundamental characteristics of the Labour Party. Labour has always depended on a constituency, including the trade unions, which believed tax and spend was in its best interest." - William Rees-Mogg in the Mail on Sunday

Ed Balls: The recession would have been worse if we had listened to the Conservatives

"People know that if we had taken David Cameron and George Osborne's advice and stood back and done nothing – less regulation, less intervention, lower public spending, less state support for jobs and public investment – unemployment would be higher and the recession deeper and we would not be looking forward to recovery this year. People know that the lesson of this recession is that they need an active government on their side and not a laissez-faire government leaving them to sink or swim." - Ed Balls in The Independent on Sunday

Labour can still win the battle of ideas - Ed Miliband in The Observer

Christopher Booker: Britain's discredited Met Office is also responsible for climate change predictions

"We saw Met Office spokesmen trying to explain why it had got its seasonal forecasts hopelessly wrong for three cold winters and three cool summers in a row. The current cold snap, we were told with the aid of the BBC – itself facing an inquiry into its relentless obsession with “global warming” – was just a “regional” phenomenon, due to “natural” factors. No attempt was made to explain why the same freezing weather is affecting much of the northern hemisphere (with 1,200 places in the US alone last week reporting record snow and low temperatures). And this is the body on which, through its Hadley Centre for Climate Change and the discredited Climatic Research Unit, the world’s politicians rely for weather forecasting 100 years ahead." - Christopher Book in The Sunday Telegraph

'If we had replaced our fossil-fuel power stations and with wind power, we would be facing an emergency rather than an inconvenience' - Dominic Lawson in The Sunday Times

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.

10.30pm LeftWatch: Former General Secretary of the Labour Party makes sensational attacks on Gordon Brown

9.45pm ToryDiary: Tories promise scholarships for the children of military dead

9pm WATCH: Conservative MP David Davies ('the Tory Tornado') wins another charity boxing match

6.15pm Martin Parsons on CentreRight: This week seven Islamists refused to follow court procedure by standing up when the judge entered court...

5.45pm ToryDiary: Conservatives 10% ahead in ICM/ Sunday Telegraph poll

5pm Melanchthon on CentreRight: "If we say: "The terrorists have no compunction about murdering our people, so we should have no compunction about torturing them" the terrorists win a battle.  If we say: "We know that most of the terrorists come from particular races and are Muslim, so all such people should be sbject to additional checks to get on planes or attend football matches or enter the Houses of Parliament", the terrorists win a battle..."

10.45am Parliament: Tories under Cameron less likely to vote against principle of Labour legislation

10am Seats and candidates: ConHome launches fundraising campaign to defeat Liberal Democrat MPs

ToryDiary: Chris Grayling moves to fix the weakest link in Britain's borders

Syed Kamall MEP on Platform: A belief in reducing taxes and trusting people to make responsible choices goes to the heart of Progressive Conservatism

Local government: Councils face severe shortage of salt as extreme weather continues and New Fenland leader chosen

LeftWatch: The vast majority want higher taxation of the rich, says Toynbee in rebuke to Mandelson

WATCH:

• Channel 4 News reports on the circumstances that led to the arrest, in 2008, of Steve Hilton
• David Cameron campaigns in Wales

Today's top story: Darling and Mandelson win internal Labour battle on cuts

"Alistair Darling has warned that Britain faces its toughest spending cuts for 20 years if Labour continues in office. The Chancellor, indicating a dramatic shift in his party’s election strategy, tells The Times today that severe spending restraints are “non-negotiable” if he is to bring down the £178 billion budget deficit. The remarks suggest a big victory for Mr Darling and Lord Mandelson." - The Times

David Cameron ready to take on the unions

"The Conservative leader said that, if he became prime minister, he would be “very happy” to strengthen laws to stop unions staging walkouts over his plan to freeze wages for at least a year as part of efforts to get to grips with the public deficit. He warned union leaders that they faced “a very determined, robust, sensible, reasonable group of people”." - Telegraph

> Recent ToryDiary: Unions have £25m war chest to "unleash hell" on Tory government

Trident replacement and Navy's aircraft carrier project are vulnerable under Tory government

"If a future Conservative government is in Afghanistan for the long term, Mr Osborne will have to find other savings from the defence budget. The Navy’s proposed £5 billion aircraft carrier project is, as a result, in play. Mr Osborne will not say whether he would scrap it, but he offers little enthusiasm for the project. Likewise, the future of the Trident nuclear capability is under discussion. The Conservatives would not abandon Britain’s nuclear capability, but there is a discussion over whether the cruise system could replace Trident. It would limit Britain’s nuclear flexibility, but save billions of pounds." - Report in Times that emerges from interview with William Hague and George Osborne during their visit to Afghanistan

Daily Mail wants more courage and coherence from David Cameron

"Under [David Cameron], the Tories have developed plenty of policies, from fashionable environmentalism to greater rights for householders to protect themselves against violent burglars. But without a Big Idea to bind their programme together, they will look more like a team of middle-managers, reacting to each day's headlines, than a potential government guided by firm principles... It won't be nearly enough for Mr Cameron to appear on posters, air-brushed and tie-less, promoting the need for change. He must have the courage to give voters coherent and convincing reasons why he is the man to lead the country." - Daily Mail leader

Tories would give heads more power to fire weak teachers - Guardian

> Yesterday's ToryDiary: Tories "would give heads more power to fire weak teachers"

Anti-Hilton campaign attributed to old-school Conservatives who feel they are being marginalised by Cameron and his inner circle - Guardian

"What Hilton has managed to do brilliantly is take traditional Conservative values and place them in a modern setting. What is less clear is whether he will flourish in government if the Conservatives win. If he does, the Cameron government will be more experimental than most voters have realised so far." - Steve Richards in The Independent

David Cameron answers questions from Welsh voters - Western Mail

John Bercow has accused "nasty, cowardly and chauvinistic" Tory MPs of criticising his wife in order to undermine him - Independent

> Yesterday on Parliament: Speaker Bercow defends his wife's right to her own opinions - and backs the campaign to Save General Election Night

Geoff Hoon could face a vote of no confidence from his constituency - BBC

Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary and visit PoliticsHome.com for breaking political news and views throughout the day.