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Caroline Strafford
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I would be happier if the political parties did not nominate their own candidates.
Should the Party run candidates for election as Police Commissioners?
By Paul Goodman Follow Paul on Twitter The first tranche of elections for police commissioners is expected to take place next spring. A reader asked recently whether the Party intends to stand candidates for them - and, if so, how the selection process will work. There is obviously an option at...
Why not start all public employee pensions at 65 instead of 50 for firemen, teachers, council employees, civil servants, and also the armed forces. All these people when they take such early retirement rush off and get another full time job. Can the country really afford this? Of course, this suggestion will be unpopular with those who are affected, but for the sake of our financially strapped country, it would be fair. State pensions don't start at 50. Another difficult suggestion would be to find a proper way of testing if all the people with disability pensions are really disabled. Has the NHS really failed so many people that patients are permanent disabled? I don't think so, but are doctors under pressure to say people are disabled?
Vince Cable would save £14bn with measures including public sector pay freeze
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable has today said the "time for generalities is over" and set out £14bn of spending cuts in a paper for the Reform think tank. They are listed below: Overall freeze in public sector pay (saving £2.4 billion a year) including a 25% reduction in the ...
I was quite surprised that a friend of mine who lives in the constituency said Bercow is well regarded locally as he looks after constituents problems, and they are proud that he was elected Speaker.
Nigel Farage MEP to challenge John Bercow at next General Election
The Telegraph's Andrew Porter has the scoop. Quite an interesting one this one. Given that there won't be an official Conservative candidate will Tories be able to vote for Mr Farage? Jonathan Isaby wouldn't approve but I'd be tempted to vote UKIP if I lived in Buckingham. It would be one way ...
Tim
Could you please insert somewhere that party members and not the party machine should select candidates. (I think Cameron will find this difficult to say!)
If councillors want to set an example, how about reducing councillors' expenses, particularly those of committee chairmen. Also why on earth are county councillors being given pensions? Cut out that perk immediately.
When you get to defence, could you please say that we will bring our troops home from Afghanistan. They are being asked to perform an impossible task which is not in British interests. They are also being sent to fight with inadequate resources. We are all proud of our armed forces it goes without saying.
Draft #1 of a speech for David Cameron to give at the Party Conference
Throughout this week, 31st August to 6th September, ConservativeHome is reaffirming some of our core themes. We started yesterday with our hope that the next Conservative government will act to renew a sense of British history and pride. Jeremy Hunt MP explores that theme today - examining sport...
It may be tradition that the Speaker of the House gets a peerage when he or she retires. But then it is not normal for a Speaker to be forced out of office. So just why is failure being rewarded? Surely that isn't British?
One more thought. Is there no limit as to the amount of peers allowed in the Upper House?
Bring on elections to the new Senate. A referendum to see if the public are happy with a new elected upper House at the General Election would clear the air.
Michael Martin's peerage was quietly announced today
I am not a regular reader of the London Gazette, so am grateful to the Twitter feed of Nigel Fletcher, who alerted me to the news in today's edition that the man who was the first Speaker to be ousted from that job for three hundred hears has nonetheless been rewarded with a peerage. That's ri...
Well done Ali. This is a very thought provoking article. Since I believe that half the Shadow Cabinet benefited from grammar schools, why would they wish to prevent others from achieving excellence?
It is abundantly clear that not everyone has the same intelligence, and this country needs to encourage excellence, whilst not forgetting under achievers. Bright children are held back when educated with slow learners who need extra help.
Buckinghamshire has wonderful grammar schools but now needs an extra one. In a democracy if the people want such a school, and they do around here, just what is wrong with that?
Ali Miraj: Creating new grammar schools, abolishing the 50% student target and performance-related pay for teachers: all part of a plan to reform the education system
Ali Miraj has served as a Councillor, is a two-time parliamentary candidate and was a Board Member of two of the Conservative Party's policy commissions. He has been a governor of two schools. What hope does a child from an inner city comprehensive have of becoming a British Sonia Sotomayor – ...
I disagree with every world of Carl Menson's comment.
You only have to talk to ordinary members of the public to find out that the reputation of MPs is still extremely low. I say that with sadness as I have always believed that to be an MP was a privilege and serving one's country. If MPs want to earn a lot of money, then they should find another career.
One word of warning, MPs did not find it easy to find other employment when a lot of them lost their seats at the '97 election.
Sir Patrick Cormack is just plain wrong
Guest post from Mark Wallace, TPA Campaign Director Fresh from his attempt to become Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Patrick Cormack is in the headlines for advising Sir Christopher Kelly’s Committee on Standards in Public Life to double the pay of MPs in return for abolishing all allowance...
An excellent artice from Howard Flight.
Howard Flight: The number of independently-minded MPs of stature can be virtually counted on one hand
Howard Flight was MP for Arundel and South Downs between 1997 and 2005, is a former Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, and is now chairman of Flight & Partners Recovery Fund. The MPs’ expenses scandal has damaged the reputation of, an...
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