Letters From A Tory Daily views on British politics and the Conservative Party from a centre-right thinker who writes letters on his blog to politicians, journalists and many others.

BBC website, 31st July: Video websites must vet content – “YouTube has been criticised by MPs, who say it must do more to vet its content. In a review of net safety, the Culture, Media and Sport select committee said a new industry body should be set up to protect children from harmful content. It [...]

“Step aside Milipede, or I’ll trample all over you.  Don’t forget who’s in charge now that Brown has left town for a while.”
Latest odds for next Labour leader – Milipede 2/1, Harman 10/3, Straw 13/2, Johnson 6/1, Cruddas 8/1, Balls 8/1, Purnell 8/1

Dear David Miliband,
In contrast to the criticism that Jack Straw has received over the past few days for being decidely sluggish in his defence of the Prime Minister, your antics have gone largely unnoticed.  Your silence was equally deafening, and now we know why – you’re moving within striking distance of Brown as you can [...]

BBC website, 29th July 2008: Nick Clegg said “We’ve got to be ready for anything.”
BBC website, 29th July 2008: ‘Warrant issued for Lib Dem Donor’ - ”A judge has issued an arrest warrant for a wealthy businessman whose company donated more than £2 million to the Liberal Democrats.  Michael Brown, 42, is due to stand trial [...]

Dear Joan Ruddock,
I almost didn’t write you this letter today, seeing as I was laughing so hard after finding out that your job title is ‘Climate Change minister’.  Once I had fully recovered, I set about reading through your proposals and it soon dawned on me that the government is putting forward an environmental policy that [...]

“All this came to me in a flash as I opened the fridge. …It would be easier for me to lose weight than it would for Labour to lose Gordon”
- Boris Johnson in today’s Telegraph

Dear Chris Allison,
As the police force’s representative on alcohol concerns, I’m glad to see that you have finally been struck down by common sense when you came to the conclusion that the alcohol trade “repeatedly shows that it cannot be relied upon to consistently act in a responsible way.”  This revelation is hardly front-page news, but [...]

“I think it is the hot weather and the Pimms to blame. These things happen. We asked them to put their clothes back on because we do have a dress code”
- a spokesman for Guards Polo Club after three male streakers invaded the pitch during the Cartier International polo event watched by the Prince of Wales

Utter rubbish, verging on slanderous – and we think the BBC is bad!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPoaovzD6x4]

Dear Polly Toynbee,
To give your article the title of “Cardiac arrest in Glasgow” provides an appropriately gloomy feel to your piece in the Guardian today.  Labour are not extinct as the SNP would have us believe, but there are in a critical condition and need to be resuscitated.  Of course, you can’t resist the odd [...]

Like this one, for example:

…and this one, showing the 2005 result in Glasgow East…

…and this one showing the 2008 result…

There are three subsets of the population who will enjoy looking at these pictures:
1. The SNP
2. Anyone who hates Labour
3. The Conservative Party, who managed to maintain their share of the vote while Labour lost almost [...]

“The court is profoundly concerned about the very poor judgment which this child’s parents have shown in choosing this name”
- a judge in New Zealand, after declaring that the 9-year-old girl in question should be allowed to change her name from Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii (CLICK HERE for the full story and enjoy [...]

Dear Chris Leslie,
What a clever little cover.  Instead of Gordon Brown attacking MPs for having second jobs, he leaves it to you instead – a former minister who ran his leadership campaign last year.  That amazing coincidence aside, the argument is still a valid one.  I remain undecided as to whether MPs should be allowed [...]

To all those men out there who think that women’s obsession with shopping is utterly ridiculous, it may be time to reassess your attitudes – especially when you consider that one day, her ridiculous shopping habits might help to keep you out of jail.

Dear Simon Milton,
I think that a reality check is in order.  As Chairman of the Local Government Association, I was hoping that you would be as angered as I am about the news that local authorities abused anti-terror laws to launch almost 10,000 spying campaigns last year and also lodged over half a million requests [...]

“There may have been something sticky on his hands but it was only for a few seconds that he touched the prime minister.”
- (I’ll leave this completely genuine quote to your imagination)

Dear readers,
As you may remember, it was only a few days ago that I asked/begged for your support in the Witanagemot Blog Awards.  Today, I find myself in the slightly embarrassing position of asking/begging for your support for the second time within a week.  Iain Dale has just started collecting votes for the Guide to Political [...]

Dear Barack Obama,
The last 24 hours must have given you a nice warm fuzzy feeling, having got the better of John McCain on two occasions.  In my opinion, the military and international relations are two areas where McCain must be desperate to score points over you due to his experience in this area, but it [...]

They are no longer suspects and the investigation has been shelved, but does anyone else still have that lingering feeling that there was something about the disappearance of Madeleine that just doesn’t feel right?

Dear James Purnell,
It was very instructive to read your plans to make benefit claimants pick up litter and clean graffiti.  In principle, I’m happy to admit that it makes sense for people to engage in meaningful activities should they be unable to find work.  People often forget that the benefits of work go way beyond merely [...]

“He has, as so many who have met him readily testify, the sort of charm that curdles milk”
- Simon Heffer on Schools Secretary Ed Balls

If you enjoy reading this blog (which hopefully someone out there does) then I would be very grateful for your votes in the Witanagemot Blog Awards 2008.  There are lots of categories to vote in but you don’t have to vote in all of them.  CLICK HERE if you think this blog is worth a [...]

Dear Michael Gove,
I know that this furore over SATs is easy pickings for the Conservatives, but I am still dumbstruck by the sheer stupidity of the Labour Party (and that’s saying something).  Even though thousands of SATs results are delayed and teachers are saying that there are huge numbers of mistakes and inconsistencies in the [...]

“Look into my eyes, Mr Journalist, and you will soon see that the Treasury cannot start relaxing any fiscal rules because there were never any fiscal rules, it was all a dream, all a dream, all a dream…”