Tories

Is it a case of David Cameron huffing and puffing and trying to blow down the LibDems' house in Henley? In most by-elections where the Conservatives are defending a seat, the LibDems come up with all kinds of poetic licence. Falsehoods are par for the course. This time they have suggested two things. First that Boris Johnson, now succumbed in the penthouse suite of the Greater London Assembly as M

Henley Tories (that's Henley-on-Thames not Henley-in-Arden) have chosen John Howell, a former partner at City accountant Ernst and Young, to be their candidate at the forthcoming by-election to succeed (hopefully!) Boris Johnson. Mr Howell was chosen from a shortlist of three.All that remains now is for a date to be set. And someone to win, of course!

Jobless people will be made to get up and get out of their homes every day to take part in work-based activities, under Tory plans to shake-up benefits. As yet no mention has been made of those on long term incapacity benefit. Under-21s who are unemployed for three months will be sent to employment "boot camps" and community work programmes for those who cannot wear boots due to them being

Unsurprisingly, the Tories have won the Crewe and Nantwich by-election, with a majority of over 7,000.Harriet Harman does not think Labour's campaign had anything to do with it.I beg to differ.One wonders how secure Gordon Brown's job is. Maybe Frank Field will launch another offensive, although he did himself no favours apologising to Mr Brown.Nick Robinson views the result as a sign David Camero

Time to sharpen the knifes? With just a couple of days to go until the next disaster to hit Gordon Brown’s leadership, even the most ardent of Brownites has to start thinking how much more can we take of this? If the polls are right, the Tories aren’t just going to win a Labour safe seat [...]

According to an ICM poll for the Mail on Sunday, the Conservative candidate in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election has a good chance of winning the seat. Could the Tories be on target to snatch a win from Labour for the first time since 1982?The poll puts the Tories on 43%, Labour on 39% and the Liberal Democrats on 16%. Whatever the Labour Party may be telling the electors of Crewe it doesn't seem

Harriet Harman's blog has been hacked into.Before it gets changed, here is the spoof resignation letter."Posted by Harriet in Campaigning | April 25th, 2008 To friends, foes and fans, Below is a copy of the resignation letter that landed on Gordon’s desk this morning.I couldn’t be bothered to type a completely new one, seeing as Quentin Davies (LO-SER!) had written a perfectly good one here,I thought I’d just change the relevant sections… a swap for a swap if you like.All opinions are welcome. For an explanation of what led to this landmark decision, please read my much more interesting blog hereHarriet Harman Resignation from the Labour Party: Letter to David Cameron and statement to PressLetter to David CameronRt. Hon.Gordon Brown M.P.Leader of the Labour Party/Prime MiniserHouse

Conservative MP Bob Spink has defected from the Tories to the United Kingdom Independence Party.He told the Daily Telegraph"I have been increasingly disappointed with the Tory Party's failure to be honest with the public on a wide range of issues like pensions, crime, immigration and defence."Dishonesty over the EU constitution is the Tories' greatest failure."They heap criticism on other parties, but refuse to remove the constitution if they ever get power."Mr Spink will be the first UKIP MP.

Brenda Martin who languishes in a Mexican jail got a visit from Harpers Mouthpiece; Jason Kenney yesterday. After the media focused on her case of Mexican injustice, the Harper government has finally acted. After two years. However considering the corruption of the Mexican judiciary and cops Kenney should have simply taken a bushel of money with him and paid off all concerned, and Ms. Martin could have been winging her way home.Instead after a weak tea protest she has been promised yet another trial on trumped up charges, in thirty days. Thirty more days, perhaps Kenney should share her cell to insure she gets her trial. After all it's his government that got her put there in the first place. Despite Harpers protests to the contrary."Brenda Martin failed to receive any of this from the Can

Daily Mail - at the election that there will be a big reduction in the tax burden or that there will be big tax cuts,” he told BBC radio. From next year, owners of a Porsche Cayenne GTS or a Rolls Royce Phantom face a rise in Vehicle Excise Duty [...]

There was no enumeration done between the 2004 an 2008 election despite thousands of new people coming to the province to gain from the current boom. Instant Albertans, you only have to live here for six months to be eligible to be called an Albertan and vote, became eligible to vote during that time. But did the Tired Old Tories do a new enumeration. Nope. So massive amounts of voters found themselves having to fill out forms at polling stations identifying where they live. On line attempts to register also failed.I scrutineered the advance poll in Edmonton Strathcona and again election night and watched as frustrate voters were directed to identify themselves with a picture id and a power bill showing where they lived. In many cases these folks had voted in the last provincial and fede

Shane McCracken @ Gallomanor has thrown me a sideways question. Sideways because he's linked to me from "some others in local Govt IT" (n.b. Shane, I'm 'web' not 'IT', there's a difference) whilst discussing David Cameron's call that 'councils should be publishing data using common standards so that the public and other groups can re-use the data to compare councils and provide services'.He links to the e-Government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF) and Simon Dickson's comments - which I'll sum up as 'it's difficult'.Basically, Cameron is on the right track but probably for the wrong reasons.I've consistently argued that the problem with egov in the UK is it's 'walled garden', that it operates without consideration of the wider web, doesn't behave like the wider web and - largely because

William Hague has gone further than simply calling for a referendum on the European Reform Treaty and has demanded a referendum on all transfer of power to the European Union. The Times reports: The Shadow Foreign Secretary told the Tory conference that referendums should become automatic on any further changes in Britain’s relationship with the European Union. This would put Britain in a similar position to the Irish Republic...In his speech Mr Hague repeated his pledge that a Tory government returned in an election this autumn would hold a referendum on any treaty to emerged from current EU talks, saying that all the main parties gave manifesto commitments in 2005 to hold such a poll. He went farther, saying the next Conservative government would amend the 1972 European Communities Act to require a referendum on any future treaty that transferred powers, known as competences, from Britain to Brussels.Mr Hague said: “Our hostility to more power for its commissioners and courts lie

A higher tax on domestic flights and a moratorium on airport expansions are among some of the key proposals a Conservative policy group announced Thursday as part of the political party's commitment to fighting climate change. Tory leader David Cameron had commissioned the Quality of Life Policy Group to develop ideas to back up his much-trumpeted pledge of protecting the environment. The report's recommendations are not binding but the co-authors John Gummer and Zac Goldsmith believe the suggestions -- such as a "showroom tax" for less fuel efficient cars while smaller and 'cleaner' vehicles would get tax relief -- will help transform Britain into a "world leader on green growth".

After months of leading in public opinion polls, the Conservatives under David Cameron are now in second place behind the Labour government of newly installed Prime Minister Gordon Brown. (more…)

They were showing the top 50 most bizarre plays on some cable station last night, and one clip reminded me of Stephen Harper. The receiver had caught an amazing pass and was running hard towards the end zone. His smart moves and great speed caused him to pull away from his opposition. It looked like the play was a sure thing.Then, inexplicably, he turned left. And he got tackled short of the goal line.Advisers in the current Conservative party have enjoyed a reputation as smart political thinkers. To reverse the negative 'Bush Jr.' image of Scary Stephen Harper into a redefined image of a strong leader and good family man took considerable skill. To position the minority Tories to take a possible majority was unthinkable a short time ago, but for a while polls had shown that to be achievable.Now, those same strategists are either being shut out of the decision-making process, or they have collectively misplayed their last few hands. The government has, over the past few months, all b

It's been a week of Canadian politicians using hockey as a platform for possible election. First the Doan saga, and now this: Manitoba's provincial election campaign has turned its attention to hockey with the Conservatives promising to bring the NHL back to Winnipeg.Standing alongside former Winnipeg Jet Thomas Steen, Tory Leader Hugh McFadyen said he'll work with the private sector to bring back the team, who left Manitoba a decade ago.McFadyen won't say how much taxpayer money he'd be willing to put up, but says the government could follow Manitoba Hydro's example and raise money by issuing bonds.He also says he would consider a special lottery to raise money as well as a players tax similar to one implemented in Alberta at one time.The Tory leader says an NHL team would make Manitoba more attractive to young people and help stem the tide of university graduates who leave for Alberta.From Sportsnet.A pretty ballsy call from these guys, and a great idea. However, if these stat

In a move that has stunned the House of Commons, the Conservatives have supported of a Bloc Quebecois motion calling for "absolute limits on greenhouse gas emissions to meet the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol".The Bloc motion calls for the government to urgently set absolute targets for cutting greenhouse emissions so as to achieve the objectives of Kyoto, and as a preliminary condition for establishing a carbon exchange market in Montreal.The Canadian Press is reporting that the motion was passed unanimously earlier this afternoon in the nation's capital - a move that appears to be a complete flip-flop in Tory policy. As early as last week, Environment Minister John Baird had stated that meeting Kyoto would ruin the Canadian economy, and the Conservatives have consistently opposed hard caps on greenhouse gas emissions.However, more controversy is afoot. There are rumblings out of Conservative corners that they voted in favour of the Bloc motion because it was presented in French

In a move that has stunned the House of Commons, the Conservatives have supported of a Bloc Quebecois motion calling for "absolute limits on greenhouse gas emissions to meet the objectives of the... Earth-centred news for the health of air, water, habitat and the fight against global warming

If I'm not mistaken, this could be the first poll in some 14 years that have the Conservatives as the leading party in Quebec: 31% Conservative, 30% Bloc, 21% Liberal. It's within the margin of error, but it's a sign of good things to come. Less than two years ago the Bloc was openly musing about breaking the 50% barrier, and polls consistently showed that until the Conservatives came from almost non-existance into now, for the first time in recent memory, the leading federal party in the province.In other news, more bad news for Dion:A Liberal strategist, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there is widespread anger at the deal in caucus, which Liberals feel could be used against them in a federal election. The strategist said the decision was another strike against Dion, whose leadership has come into question in recent months."The only reason this was not the final straw is because of the threat of an election," the strategist said.I wonder what these Liberals hope to gain b

Back in September the Conservative's released their much ballyhooed Clean Air Act. Meant to be the centre piece of their so called green plan, the proposed legislation was immediately panned by the media and opposition parties as a piece of industry friendly rhetoric that does nothing to combat global warming or improve air quality.Today, that bill was sent back to parliament, drastically rewritten by a special committee to include short-term, mid-term and long-term targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions; a commitment to a system of international emissions carbon trading; and penalties of $20 per ton for any company that exceeds their emissions target. Harper's rented mule has returned as a thoroughbred that will make substantial progress towards reducing greenhouse gases, holding industry accountable and addressing global warming.The Conservative response? Hint at elections and release a new set of attack ads.In a clear demonstration of their environmental leadership, next

The government could save more than £600 million a year if it used more open source software, the shadow chancellor has estimated. George Osborne said the savings would cut 5% off Whitehall’s annual IT bill. He called for a more “level playing field” for all software companies, and urged “cultural change” in government. Read [...]

A special committee of the House of Commons will table a report telling the Conservatives to end of federal tax breaks to oil sands development and implement hard caps on the sectors greenhouse gas emissions."The mounting environmental and social costs associated with oil sands activities ... make it increasingly clear that it would be irresponsible to continue on a `business-as-usual' course. It is time to being the transition toward a clean energy future," says the report, dated Feb. 28 and marked "Confidential."The opposition dominated natural resources committee drafted the report calling for an end to the $1.4 billion in tax subsidies that go to the oil industry and asserts that for every dollar the government invests in the oil sands, the private sector kicks in just $1.18 - a ratio the committee says should be roughly 3:1 on the side of private investment.However, the report was delayed in being released, and now that MPs are to begin their two week spring break it risks coming

As was the case during an earlier reading in October, the federal Conservatives were embarrassed by opposition parties who successfully banded together to pass a bill forcing the government to meet its international Kyoto commitments. The Liberals, Bloc and NDP all voted in favour of the private member bill, passing it through Parliament by a vote of 161 - 113 Wednesday evening.The bill, which was introduced 10 months ago by Liberal backbencher Pablo Rodriguez, gives the government 60 days to table a detailed plan outlining how Canada will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.The bill is expected to easily pass through the Liberal dominated Senate and come into full legal force. Once this occurs, the Conservatives could face a potential challenge in the courts or a non-confidence vote in Parliament if they fail to act on it.Whether or not the Conservatives face these consequences will largely depend on the opposition's desire for an election. However, even if the Conservative minorit

So David Cameron smoked some dope when he was fifteen and got caught. Does anyone really care? Should anyone care? I don't think so. After all, I think everyone of us has done something when we were fifteen which perhaps we shouldn't have. The problem here is that the popular media is making a much bigger deal of it than they perhaps should be. We are now reaching the period in time when people in the wild and free era of the sixties and seventies are reaching the top of their political careers and we are going to see an awful lot more of this sort of thing in the future. So lets get a sense of perspective on it now. To quote the immortal words of the counselor on South Park "Drugs are Bad, hmkay?" I personally don't particularly care whether David Cameron smoked dope when he was fifteen. I don't even care if he did it when he was studying at university. If he was finishing off a speech in the House and going home to hit the bucket bong a couple of times I might be a bit concerne

Following on from an earlier question about the Consevative Party’s stance on ID cards, it would appear that the Tories are seeking to have official warnings given to any commercial enterprises concerned with implementing the scheme in order to make it clear that they would scrap it when in office. See the story at Politics.co.uk including:- Mr Davis [Conservative Shadow Home Secretary] has written to the cabinet secretary, Gus O’Donnell, warning that he must act now to ensure the taxpayer does not lose out if the ID scheme is cancelled early because the Tories come into power. “In light of these risks, I urge you to consider very carefully the government’s position, in advance of the roll-out of the scheme later this year,” he wrote. “As a matter of financial prudence, it is incumbent upon you to ensure that public money is not wasted, and contractual obligations are not incurred, investing in a scheme with such a high risk of not being implemented

Following a link which came up regarding the New Labour plans to introduce ID cards, there seems to be some confusion about where the Conservatives stand on this one. Kristofer Wilson - Nuneaton Conservative has a story entitled Conservatives launch campaign against ID Cards. This is what he has to say:- Finally, our frontbench [h]as a cast-iron pledge against the abominable Big Brother idea that is the ID Card. This is an area where there is a consensus across political divides where we are all against the notion of the state having all our details on one card which means that anyone who is clever enough can access all of our details. No problem with that, other than the fact that he quotes the article from The Guardian in full, which was written by David Davis, the Conservative Shadow Home Secretary, and nowhere in the article does he seem to mention ID cards. The article is about the proposed increase in detention from 28 to 90 days for terrorist suspects, without the need to bring

The Conservatives have vowed cough up $30 million for the protection of BC's Great Bear Rainforest. The announcement comes nearly 12 months after environmentalists, native leaders, and the BC provincial government reached a historic agreement for the preservation of the area.The federal dollars will join $60 million already contributed by private foundations, and an additional $30 million from the BC Liberals, to form a $120 million pool for the creation of a new protected area three times the size of Prince Edward Island.Moving forward, the future of the forest will largely depend on the enforcement of the ecosystem based management system that will govern logging in the area, as the strict protected area will only cover about 1/3 of the total forest area. This was a controversial part of the agreement, and as recently as 2005 the David Suzuki Foundation published findings that showed widespread clear cutting and negative impacts from logging in the region's most productive salmon

Following through on their goal to paint their party in a greener light, Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn and newly appointed Enviroment Minister John Baird have announced 58 million dollars per year for four years for the development of clean energy technologies. Meanwhile, in what I'm sure they would insist is an irrelevant side point, the Tories continue to funnel 1.4 billion in tax subsidies to the booming oil and gas industry.

A 4,000 sample size poll conducted by Ipsos-Reid between Nov. 7 and Nov. 29 revealed that the Conservatives would have substantial leads regardless of who became Liberal leader. Check out these fantastic numbers:- If the Liberals are led by Michael Ignatieff, the Conservatives under Harper would get the support of 38 per cent of voters, while the Liberals would stand at 25 per cent, the NDP under Jack Layton would get 18 per cent, the Bloc Quebecois led by Gilles Duceppe would have nine per cent, the Green party under Elizabeth May would have six per cent, while four per cent don't know how they'd vote.- If the Liberals are led by Bob Rae, the standings would be as follows: Conservatives (38 per cent), Liberals (27 per cent); NDP (18 per cent); Bloc (nine per cent); Greens (four per cent); Don't know (four per cent).- If the Liberals are led by Stephane Dion, the results would be: Conservatives (35 per cent); Liberals (27 per cent); NDP (19 per cent); Bloc (nine per cent); Greens (s

David Chernushenko, the senior deputy to the leader of the Green Party, has been named to the National Roundtable on Environment and the Economy, a panel that advises the federal government on environmental policy.A written statement from Conservative environment minister Rona Ambrose stated:"With their knowledge and experience, Mr. Chernushenko, Mr. Haig and Dr. Jaccard, will be able to examine the environmental and economic implications of issues brought to the NRTEE and offer judicious advice on how to reconcile these often competing interests with a view to moving society towards a cleaner and healthier Canada."CTV seems to think that it is an attempt by the Conservative government to show that they are consulting across partisan lines:"The move is seen as an attempt by the Tories to deflect some criticism over their handling of the environment file.By reaching across party lines, the Conservatives can claim that they are seeking out all viewpoints and policy advice to cut down on

Really excellent Thomas Homer-Dixon column in the Globe and Mail today, though with a sorrowful conclusion: We (in Canada) need a federal government with a sense of urgency about the problem, the guts to act, and the commonsense recognition that government must play a major role in Canada's response. Instead, right now, we have a federal government with its head stuck in the tar sands. Link via- Desmogblog

An interesting post by Cicero today reflects on The Strange Death of the Scottish Conservatives: Once, the Conservatives stood for a distinctive policy- "The Union". The idea that despite the legal, educational and cultural differences, despite the fact of government being devolved to the Scottish Office, the government of Scotland was in no way legally distinct from the government of the United