Gordon Brown has insisted that he has much in common with Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights. The Guardian. Today apparently marks the 50th anniversary of the beloved parking meter. The Times. Ministers are to bribe people out of their apathy when it comes to local elections by offering them the chance… read more…

Gordon Brown asks Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for campaign advice. The Times. About a third of classrooms in England and Wales will be closed today due to the teachers' strike. BBC. A bill which would force all peers to pay UK taxes is to be debated today. ePolitix. Chinese… read more…

After a bumper weekend of massive poll leads and oblique policy statements, David Cameron is to show just how little work has really gone into Tory tax planning by dusting off the 2005 David James review of public spending: David Cameron is to salvage a Tory plan to cut government… read more…

George Osborne's heard the drums on tax, and by God he's doing something about it. Not like Gordon Brown. Oh no. No way would Gordon Brown set up a committee to park an intractable problem. Only the modern, can-do Conservatives can be that direct! And as if that wasn't enough,… read more…

The shift on Tory thinking on matching Labour spending continues apace in half-term. Today, the Daily Mail are reporting that any pledge to match spending would be very short-term: David Cameron is to signal that the Tories are making no long-term pledge to match Labour's spending commitments. Senior sources insisted… read more…

Andrew Pierce and Toby Helm are obviously helping out with Tory mood music this morning, with a story that Cammers and Boy George are preparing a rethink on spending: David Cameron is prepared to drop his pledge to match Labour's spending increases after the next election to pave the way… read more…

Our obsession with Tory spending plans continues to grow. Latest evidence: a fascinating Daniel Finkelstein comment piece riffing on Fraser Nelson's Coffee House post which argues that George Osborne should simply drop his pledge to match Labour spending plans: Cameron is doing nothing original in aping Brown’s spending plans. This… read more…