The five things you need to know on 24 May 2013...

RIP LEE RIGBY

RIP Drummer Lee Rigby, who was named yesterday evening as the victim of Wednesday's barbaric and brutal murder in Woolwich. The soldier, aged 25 and cherished by his colleagues for his sense of humour and compassion,...

"Whosoever killeth a human being... " says the Qur'an, in the 32nd verse of its fifth chapter, "it shall be as if he had killed all mankind, and whoso saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind."

Thus, the two...

David Cameron is in a worse position as Conservative Party leader than John Major was even at the height of the former prime minister's Europe troubles, according to Major's former press secretary.

Sir Christopher Meyer, who served as Downing Street spokesman between 1994 and 1996, told the Huffington Post UK...

Then ten things you need to know on Tuesday 21 May 2013...

1) DAVE'S LOVE LETTER TO THE LOONS

Under fire from his activists and backbenchers, under pressure from Ukip, the prime minister is - finally! - in full damage limitation mode. The Daily Mail reports:

"David Cameron...

'Tis the season of apologies - specifically, grovelling apologies by some of our finest academic brains for homophobic remarks they've made in public. The Cambridge University theologian Dr Tim Winter, one of the UK's leading Islamic scholars, apologised on 2 May after footage emerged showing him calling homosexuality the "ultimate...

The ten things you need to know on Monday 20 May 2013...

1) PUTTING A SMILE ON NIGEL'S FACE

The 'loongate' controversy is really starting to hurt David Cameron - and help Nigel Farage. From the Telegraph's splash:

"Conservative activists have begun defecting to the UK Independence Party...

The five things you need to know on Sunday 19 May 2013...

1) SWIVEL-EYED LOONS, EH?

How many references to 'swivel-eyed loons' can you count on the front pages this morning?

"'Swivel-eyed loons' storm engulfs PM," screams the Mail on Sunday.

'Swivel-eyed loons' hit back at the PM,...

The ten things you need to know on Friday 17 May 2013...

1) A PRE-ELECTION DIVORCE?

With just two years to go till the general election, and the coalition in turmoil over Europe (see point 2, below) and civil liberties, among other issues, there's a rather tasty splash on the...

The ten things you need to know on Thursday 16 May 2013...

1) THE GREAT EU PROTEST VOTE

So, Dave, how are all those carrots and concessions on Europe working out for you? From the Telegraph splash:

"Half of all Conservative backbenchers have voted to criticise David Cameron's...

The ten things you need to know on Wednesday 15 May...

1) DAVE'S RED LINE

Today, the Commons speaker John Bercow will make a decision on whether or not to call a vote on the Tory eurosceptics' amendment to the Queen's speech (remember, the one which expresses 'regret' at the...

The five things you need to know on Sunday 12 May 2013...

1) TORY CIVIL WAR OVER EUROPE. PART 774.

Question: Which of these two Sunday newspaper splash headlines could have been penned anytime between 1992 and 1997?

"Tory civil war erupts over Europe vote" (Sunday Times)

"Tories...

The ten things you need to know on Friday 10 May 2013...

1) CRACKS IN THE COALITION

48 hours after the Queen's Speech, how coalitious is the coalition? Not very, is the answer, according to a story on the front of today's Guardian:

"[T]he coalition has...

The ten things you need to know on Wednesday 8 May 2013...

1) A MODEST SPEECH FROM HER MAJESTY

From the Times:

"The Queen will open a new session of Parliament by announcing a comparatively modest legislative agenda after Downing Street pared back its proposed list of Bills.

"Amid complaints...

The ten things you need to know on Tuesday 7 May 2013...

1) LET'S GET OUT OF EUROPE

Poor Dave. Last week, the Tories were trying to fend off the UK Independence Party surge in the county council elections and work out how to win back disaffected Europhobic voters from...

The five things you need to know on (bank holiday) Monday 6 May 2013...

1) DEPUTY SPEAKER STANDS ASIDE. FOR NOW.

From the Guardian:

"Nigel Evans is to stand aside on a temporary basis as deputy speaker of the House of Commons as he fights 'completely false' allegations...

The former chair of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), Adair Turner, has called on the government to be "more cautious" about austerity and expressed concerns that there could be another financial crash in the next "10 or 15 years".

Speaking to the Huffington Post UK's political director...

Is it too late to stop Syria's descent into hell? Since the uprising against the despotic Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011, 70,000 people have lost their lives, one million refugees have fled across the border into the neighbouring countries of Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, and four million Syrians -...

The ten things you need to know on Sunday 5 May 2013...

1) DEPUTY COMMONS SPEAKER ARRESTED FOR RAPE

It's Nigel Evans MP.

"Top Tory arrested for rape," declares the Sunday Mirror.

"Deputy speaker in rape arrest," says the Sunday Times.

"Top Tory arrested over 'rape',"...

The one thing you need to know on Friday 3 May 2013...

THE 'CLOWNS' STRIKE BACK

They were mocked and dismissed as "waifs", "strays", "fruitcakes", "closet racists" and "clowns". Their candidates kept getting caught making anti-Semitic, racist and misogynistic remarks online. Their policies were panned as extreme, incoherent and...

The ten thing you need to know on Thursday 2 May 2013...

1) DAVE'S EURO CAMBLE

Polling stations are now open across England for council elections and for a parliamentary by-election in South Shields. The big question in the world of politics, especially centre-right politics, is: does the prime minister/Tory...