4.45pm ToryDiary update: The long-term is in our blood - David Cameron
4pm ToryDiary update: Not quite true, Mr Robinson
2.30pm update from BBCi: "Conservatives and Lib Dems in the House of Lords say they will continue to oppose identity card plans despite MPs rejecting their earlier objections."
ToryDiary: Left and Right, plus a sample of your comments about the A list.
ConservativeDemocracy: The latest survey is now live.
MOD-COM-CON MANIFESTO
Times: "In a move billed as his own “Clause Four” moment, Mr Cameron will put his eight core aims to a vote of all 253,000 party members to test their acceptance of his vision of the “Modern Compassionate Conservatives”. This may isolate the Right, but, like Mr Blair, he may find that what gives comfort to middle Britain will leave him with a body of internal critics dogging his every move."
Guardian: "Rightwing MPs, aware that Mr Cameron is likely to win the vote with a big majority, held fire. Conservative sources said last night that the document was more than a caving in to New Labour's agenda, saying that it emphasised the limits to state power and the importance of individual action and decision making. "The more we trust people, the stronger they and society become," the document argues."
EDUCATION REFORMS VOTE
David Willetts talks to The Independent: Mr Willetts reaffirmed that the Conservatives would be supporting today's legislation provided it still offered schools more freedoms to run their own affairs. "We want to make the Bill more consistent with the radicalism proposed by the Prime Minister when presenting the White Paper".
BBCi: "The bill would allow schools in England to seek trust status, enabling them to create partnerships with outside bodies such as universities or charities."
VOTING AGE
Conservatives: "Lowering the voting age would do nothing to address the underlying problems of political disillusionment, and would just lead to young people abstaining from an even earlier age."
Guardian leader: "It is just two years since the Electoral Commission carried out research that found 78% want the voting age to remain at 18 not lowered to 16, with 54% of the 15-19 age group themselves also opposed; that survey concluded that dropping the voting age to 16 would in fact lower, not boost, turnout because so few in the 16-18 category would actually go to the polls."
Sam Coates' British Voting Age and Chris Palmer's Political Crossroads both look at its proposals to reduce the age of suffrage. Tory Convert was at the Power Inquiry meeting.
FRENCH ECONOMIC PATRIOTISM
Telegraph leader on Dominic de Villepin's (whose rival was profiled in ToryDiary yesterday) doctrine of "economic patriotism": "The prime minister is leading his country down a blind alley. At the European level, he and his imitators should be pursued by the commission. At home, it is Mr Sarkozy's job to prevent him from ever holding elected office."
Times leader: "French corporations are aggressive players in the game of European cross-border acquisitions, gaining control of such British household names as Allied Domecq. Yet when French companies are themselves the targets of foreign bidders, French politicians play dirty pool."
Harry's Place: Galloway is interviewed by an Algerian newspaper:
- Mohammed cartoons - "MoToons" - "worse than the 11 September attacks in the US and the 7/7 incidents".
- "Respect will become one of the strongest political parties in Britain."
- "Enemies" said he was ignoring constituents in Big Brother, "praise be to God" that the money went to Palestine.
OTHER NEWS & COMMENTARY
The Herald: Bill Walker has been narrowly elected as Deputy Chairman of Scottish Conservatives.
The Liberty Central website was launched yesterday: "a meeting place for projects, campaigns and individuals who believe that our essential liberties and freedoms are, today, under threat as never before."
Telegraph: Cameron criticised over nappies: "The Women's Environmental Network called on Mr Cameron to set an example by switching to reusable nappies. Elizabeth Hartigan, the network's spokesman, said that with three children Mr Cameron would get through 15,000 disposable nappies compared with 60 reusables."
Last week's "Spoiling the Party" article by Robin Harris in Prospect magazine is now online.
Anthony Wells looked at how much the Conservatives have been percieved to move to the centre.
TownHall.com: American conservatives have another reason to be against gay marriage.
The latest ConservativeHome Members' Panel survey is now live. Please click here to answer...
- the regular round of questions...
- questions about foreign policy and...
- to submit your perspective on how Conservatives should tackle Gordon Brown.
Have we missed any important stories?
Please use the 'Comments' to tell other visitors about interesting links...