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The fragile Tory truce over Europe disintegrated last night after it emerged that more than 100 Conservative MPs and candidates are set to defy David Cameron at the General Election next year by vowing to leave the EU. The Prime Minister has promised the Tory manifesto will spell out his pledge for a referendum by 2017 on Britain’s links with Europe after trying to win back key powers from Brussels. But Tory rebels will go further and make their own personal manifesto vows to campaign to withdraw from the EU—regardless of any concessions by Brussels. …

For a man who regards Brussels as the biggest threat to Britain’s freedom since the Second World War, the choice of beer for Nigel Farage was obvious when we met at the Westminster Arms on Friday: Spitfire. It is brewed by Shepherd Neame in Kent to celebrate the Battle of Britain. Farage, a man of Kent, gulped down the first pint in 15 minutes, ordered a ‘reload,’ polishing off his second in another ten; and the moment we stepped outside, he lit up a fag.

Ahead of May’s European Parliament election, with issues such as the economy and immigration to the fore, none of Britain’s three main parties are stealing a march on their rivals. The co-governing, right-of-center Conservative Party, also known as the Tories, led by Prime Minister David Cameron, is struggling. What remains of its traditional support base, including some MPs, often seems opposed to the modernizing, socially-liberal direction of its leadership. […] But viewing the UK's party-political landscape solely in terms of the traditional duopoly (plus the Lib Dems) misses the big political story, and what is likely to be the major...

The Tories are doomed to defeat at the 2015 general election if David Cameron gives in to Eurosceptic 'obsessives' and allows policy to be driven by a fear of Ukip, MP Tim Yeo has warned. Mr Yeo believes his own pro-EU stance as well as his support for gay marriage and green policies contributed to his local party voting not to re-select him as its candidate after 30 years in the Commons.

Editor’s Note: On Sundays we usually try to focus on spiritual matters, but this column deals with such a direct and serious threat that we thought it urgent to bring it to you today. – Robert Royal    I was born in New York State and have lived here for more than 61 years. During that time I have paid plenty in state and local taxes and have served the public in a number of capacities including two terms as Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.I am also a Catholic and a member of...

As recently as 1998, New York State’s Republican party controlled the governorship, a United States Senate seat, and the mayor’s office in Manhattan. Today, it is greatly diminished, with its sole beachhead of influence in the state senate, where it shares a majority with four independent Democrats. In contrast, the Working Families party (WFP), a 15-year-old left-wing, union-fueled group with just 20,000 members, now holds the whip hand over much of the dominant Democratic party in New York — and is already spreading its wings to other states. The WFP not only was a major force behind Bill de Blasio’s...

Norwegian centre-right leader Erna Solberg is set to form a new government after Labour Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg admitted election defeat. Ms Solberg described her win as "a historic election victory for the right-wing parties". Her Conservative Party is widely expected to form a government with the anti-immigration Progress Party. It is oil-rich Norway's first general election since attacks by a far-right extremist left 77 people dead in 2011.

Norwegians cast ballots Monday in a parliamentary election that could see the power in the oil-rich nation shift for the first time since 2005 to a center-right coalition, including an anti-immigration party. Despite Norway’s strong economy and low unemployment, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg’s center-left coalition has been trailing in opinion polls for months. The Conservative Party, headed by Erna Solberg, has seen a surge in support amid pledges to increase the availability of private health care and cut taxes on assets over $140,000. … The conservatives have said, for the first time, that they are prepared to form a coalition...

One in five Conservative Party members are on the verge of switching to the UK Independence Party, a new poll suggests. In a further sign of the schism between the party leadership and the grassroots, more than half do not believe they are respected by David Cameron and his top team. There is also deep-rooted opposition to flagship coalition policies including legalizing gay marriage and protecting the foreign aid budget from cuts. …

There are many pleasant actions that can be taken that won't do any good. There are others that might at least begin to do some good. These won't do much good beyond diverting attention from our problems and maybe providing a good feeling. Feeling good is comforting, and that's it. 1. Hit your thumb again and again with a big hammer. That will focus attention away from the November 6th debacle. Still mad about November 6th? Then 2. Get drunk. Still thinking about November 6th? Then 3. Sign petitions to:♦ Impeach President Obama for . . . anything you feel...

(snip) to discuss plans to start a“Non-Democrat/Non-Republican Campaign” for the upcoming general election that will be conducted on Tuesday November 6th. Senator Reverend Diaz stated: “We deserve representation! Both parties have failed us, and both parties have taken us for granted. Enough is enough. The purpose of this campaign is to ask our communities to vote in the Conservative Line, as a protest for what both parties have done to our communities.”

He isn’t coming in cold, with an enormous backlog of unrealistic ambitions to ram through. Instead, the Tories have a solid idea of what they want to accomplish over the next four years. Having already elected him twice previously, Canadians won’t be looking for sudden miracles. Far from it: such is the level of exhaustion with politics that most Canadians will be delighted if the government just stays out of their face for the majority of the mandate. Harper, in effect, has four years to shepherd through legislation that should come as little surprise to anyone, and he has the...

Ten days ago, the opposition parties in Canada forced a new election through a no-confidence vote in Parliament in an attempt to gain more seats and more leverage over the Conservative plurality. The election will be held in four weeks, but already it seems that the Liberal Party has miscalculated. In the latest polling, Conservatives led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper have picked up support and may win enough votes to gain a majority government on their own: The Conservatives widened its lead against the opposition Liberals in an opinion poll released on Monday.The Nanos Research tracking poll of results...

[...] I’ve since been told the case hasn’t yet been decided, and won’t be until after Nov. 2. Instead, the judge declined to give the WFP the injunction it sought. The party is considering an appeal. This is almost of bad as a loss, since the current policy is detrimental to the minor parties. As things stand, voters who select the same candidate on two different lines on the paper ballots used by the new voting machine system will see their vote counted for the first party that appears on the ballot. That is, of course, very bad for the...

Note: Photo included. SNIPPET: "The photo was sent by email late Thursday to Mexico's major newspapers without any information about its source, but there is a likeness between the blindfolded man in the picture and Fernandez de Cevallos, 69. The newspaper El Universal reported that family members had confirmed the photo's authenticity, while the newspaper Reforma said the exact opposite." SNIPPET: "Fernandez de Cevallos, who disappeared last week, ran for president in 1994 representing the ruling conservative National Action Party (PAN). His vehicle was found at his ranch near the town of Queretaro bearing "signs of violence," the prosecutor's office...

A day after being rejected by his own party’s chairman, Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio secured the all-important backing Saturday from State Conservative Party leaders. The Conservative Party Executive Committee met Saturday in Brooklyn, where it recommended the former Long Island congressman as the party’s candidate for governor. The Lazio endorsement still needs to be ratified at the Conservative Party convention this spring, said Michael R. Long, State Conservative Party chairman. “He’s got a lot of support among the leaders of the party,” Long said by phone after the meeting. “He’s been friends of the party for a long time,...

Doug Hoffman just told Glenn Beck they are 2000 votes behind in NY 23with 10,000 absentee votes left to count. This is NOT over.

FR can't post threads from the Lower Hudson newspaper. Some more good news. I just wanted to let everyone know that a Republican and Pro-Life Catholic who is the station manager and program director of The Catholic Channel on Sirius Satellite Radio, Rob Astorino, won the election for County Executive for Westchester County, a liberal democrat bastion outside of NYC. He was attacked by the non-religious, pro-abortion left for being anti-femal and pro life. And still won!

Hoffman's supporters stage big rallyDouglas L. Hoffman's first congressional campaign stop in Watertown had more campaign staff — three — than attendees. Three months later, the Conservative Party candidate in the 23rd Congressional District race was a bigger draw here than the vice president of the United States. Mr. Hoffman's raucous rally Monday at the Jefferson County Agricultural Society Exhibition Hall drew more than 300 and featured speeches by former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson and a soundtrack by country music star John Rich. Mr. Thompson, revered in conservative circles, wasted no time reminding the crowd of what was at stake...

Doug Hoffman, the third-party upstart now backed by the Republican Party, has pulled ahead in Tuesday's special House election in upstate New York, according to two polls conducted over the weekend. A Siena College poll conducted Nov. 1 concluded that Hoffman now leads Democrat Bill Owens 41 percent to 36 percent, after the two were essentially tied in a Siena poll released Saturday morning. That poll's margin of error is 4 percent... --snip-- A survey by Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling pegs Hoffman's lead at 51 percent to 34 percent, with a margin of error of 2.3 percent. The PPP poll...