http://www.wikio.com/search=Francis Maude Wikio - Francis Maude http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=69070112 LONDON: There is, apparently, a scramble among British MPs and Ministers to attend the U.S. Democratic Convention in Denver this week, with leading figures from all the three main parties desperately wanting to be seen at what is promised to ... Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:17:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=69070112 2008-08-26T22:17:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68564951 ToryDiary: Accommodation in Birmingham Jeremy Hunt MP on Platform: What I learnt in China PlayPolitical videos: Barack Obama attacks John McCain for owning seven homes and a Swift Boat-style ad hits Barack Obama for links to 1970s terrorists AmericaInTheWorld: There... Fri, 22 Aug 2008 02:04:50 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68564951 2008-08-22T02:04:50Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68349333 London, August 20 : A new survey has revealed that the "sicknote" culture costs Britain about 3.8billion pounds a year. Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:00:52 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68349333 2008-08-20T12:00:52Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68324081 Christopher Hope writes in the Daily Telegraph: Sensitive data for more than four million people was lost by Government departments in the past year, on top of the high profile loss of child benefit records. Following the loss of details for 25 million child benefit claimants in November, Whitehall departments have begun including information on personal information [...] Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:17:35 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68324081 2008-08-20T08:17:35Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68303274 BRITAIN'S "sicknote" culture is costing the nation around &#1633.8billion a year, it was revealed yesterday. Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:20:27 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68303274 2008-08-20T03:20:27Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68302859 THE true cost of Britain's public sector "sicknote culture" emerged yesterday as a new report revealed that days off work cost taxpayers &#1633.8billion a year. Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:00:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68302859 2008-08-19T23:00:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68273234 The ‘sicknote culture’ in the public sector is costing the taxpayer a record £5.2billion a year in lost working days. Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:54:51 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68273234 2008-08-19T20:54:51Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68292943 The ‘sicknote culture’ in the public sector is costing the taxpayer a record £5.2billion a year in lost working days. Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:54:51 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68292943 2008-08-19T20:54:51Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68259170 The 'sicknote culture' in the public sector is costing the taxpayer a record £5.2billion a year as huge numbers of workers take days off. Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:16:34 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68259170 2008-08-19T19:16:34Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68244502 Public sector workers took an average of two working weeks off in sick leave last year a survey shows. Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:30:22 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68244502 2008-08-19T15:30:22Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68231530 Ministers were today urged to end the 'sicknote' culture among public sector workers after new figures showed that absenteeism is costing the taxpayer a record £3.8 billion a year. Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:51:58 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=68231530 2008-08-19T11:51:58Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=67834751 David Hencke: The Policy Exchange report has given the Tory leader an ideal opportunity to distance himself from an embarrassing connection Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:30:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=67834751 2008-08-15T09:30:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=67820444 ConservativeHome now carries out its shadow cabinet surveys just once every two months. The latest ratings are below with most recent on the right and reflect the votes of 1,587 members. For new readers the percentages equal the number of... Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:32:16 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=67820444 2008-08-15T05:32:16Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=67801623 Policy Exchange – widely regarded as David Cameron's favourite think-tank – was founded in 2001 to keep the modernising flame burning in Conservative ranks after the right-winger Iain Duncan Smith was elected leader. Thu, 14 Aug 2008 23:00:01 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=67801623 2008-08-14T23:00:01Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=67526009 Yesterday, the Financial Times reported that David Cameron is beginning to prepare his party for victory in 2010: Mr Cameron has approved a 45-minute session on “preparing for government” to start the crucial final day of his party’s conference in Birmingham. Oliver Letwin and Francis Maude, shadow cabinet members charged with overseeing the transition to Downing Street, will lead the platform session, according to an advance copy of the conference agenda. The duo is billed to reveal more about the Tories’ proposed shake-up of Whitehall. Mr Letwin and Mr Maude will “set out the framework within which each government department will be expected to operate and deliver our manifesto commitments”, the agenda states. The strategic decision to emphasise preparations for power, despite a general election being unlikely before 2010, reflects the Tory leadership’s conviction that the conference will consolidate their grasp on power. Mr Cameron is acutely aware that his double-digit lead over Labour appears fragile, with polls showing half the public does not know what he stands for. The Birmingham event is designed to reassure those voters. “This conference is a very, very, very important one for the party . . . it’s got to set a very clear idea of where we’re going,” Eric Pickles, the shadow local government secretary, told the FT. He contrasted this autumn’s event with the frequent conference “disasters” of the Tories’ final “fractious” term in office and subsequent long stretch in opposition. While it is sensible for the party in the position of the Conservatives to consider the prospect of entering government and preparing for such an eventuality, this "preparing for government" session leaves the party open to accusations of hubris. If the Conservatives cross the line from sensible preparation for power into supercilious presumption of power, they may find the electorate turning against them. Voters dislike parties and individuals who assume they will win power: Hilary Clinton discovered this too late and Gordon Brown has had a similar case of nemesis. If the Conservative prepare too publicly and too vocally, David Cameron might find history comparing him to David Steel in 1981 and Neil Kinnock in 1992. That is not the only problem the Conservatives could face now they are the predicted victors of a 2010 General Election. The second is hinted at in the same article in the Financial Times : Conservative frontbenchers warn that their party needs to beware the temptation to revive its internal disputes. Asked if indiscipline could prevent the party assuming power, Mr Pickles said: “It depends how much we want to become the government . . . We’ve been a tad soft for the last 10 years.” Once the party begins planning its next spell in government, internal divisions will rise to the fore. There is a real chance that what the party decides in the next two years will become British policy in the period thereafter. Therefore, there is more at stake in policy debates than there was when a Conservative victory was less likely. When the Conservatives start debating what to do in government, rather than how to get there, their old rivalries will once again return. The recent skirmishes over the party's policy towards the Lisbon treaty will appear minor once members and MPs expect policies to be enacted. Mr Cameron might relish the lead that Labour's ineptitude has generated for him, but he too could yet squander his chances of power. Arrogance, presumption and fratricide are all vices that the Conservatives could indulge in over the next two years. To do so would be folly from their perspective; from across the floor, it might give Labour another chance to win back the lead they so carelessly squandered. Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:02:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=67526009 2008-08-12T17:02:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=67482605 The Conservatives are not taking victory at the next election for granted and still have a "long way to go", David Cameron has insisted. Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:12:18 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=67482605 2008-08-12T12:12:18Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=67261812 Francis Maude has written a MY WEEK diary in the Sunday Times , telling of his week teaching English in Rwanda. He's out there with Andrew Mitchell and his group of 100 Tory activists, candidates and MPs. It brought back a lot of memories for me of my trip there last year. Andrew asked me to go with them again this time, and, believe me, I was tempted. It was one of the most memorable weeks of my life. If Andrew's political career ended tomorrow he could look back with pride at what he and his entourage have achieved in their time in Rwanda. They have left a lasting legacy in a country which has pulled itself up by its bootstraps after its terrible experiences of the mid 1990s. Makes you proud to be a Conservative. Sun, 10 Aug 2008 10:32:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=67261812 noreply@blogger.com (Iain Dale) 2008-08-10T10:32:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=67017697 Senior civil servants have held a series of informal private meetings with members of the shadow Cabinet amid increasing signs that Whitehall is actively preparing for a Conservative Government after the next election. Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:27:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=67017697 2008-08-07T18:27:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=66532694 Government departments have spent more than £55 million on office furnishings since 2005, according to official figures highlighted today by the Conservatives. Sun, 03 Aug 2008 23:00:01 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=66532694 2008-08-03T23:00:01Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=66297839 Over at Coffee House, Daniel Korski looks at how Prime Minister Cameron might operate. He suggests that Mr Cameron might appoint a new Cabinet-level Secretary of State for Veteran Affairs (entirely consistent with the Cameron-Fox emphasis on these issues) and... Fri, 01 Aug 2008 09:09:21 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Francis+Maude?rinfoid=66297839 2008-08-01T09:09:21Z