FreeThink's first topic a year ago was Local Heroes looking at different approached to localism.  It's interesting to see how that debate has continued over the year - and my eye was drawn to this short piece in the economist about the growing sense of shire patriotism.

"One reason for this outbreak of Devonian patriotism, says Mark Stoyle, a Southampton University historian, is rivalry with Cornwall, a neighbouring county with a rather older flag of its own and a proud tradition of waving it. “Devonians have been thinking, ‘the Cornish have a flag, why shouldn't we have one too?'” And he points out that a strong local brand can attract visitors—handy for an area that depends on tourism for its livelihood.

That combines with rebellion against a uniform national culture (the high street in Exeter, Devon's county town, has the lowest proportion of independent shops in Britain) and resentment at the migration of moneyed Londoners to the country. “As we become more homogenised, people cling to things that set them apart,” says Professor Stoyle."

The Economist

"John Reid moved to outflank David Cameron from the Right over anti-terror policy, immigration and crime yesterday in a speech seen as a bid for the Labour leadership.

The Home Secretary won a rapturous reception as he tore into the Conservative leader, accusing him of "talking tough and voting soft" on the most pressing issues facing the British people."

The Telegraph purs following John Reid's speech at the Labour Party conference.

Toby Helm - The Telegraph

"It is a tribute to the determination of Neal Lawson, chair of the Compass, and Neil Sherlock, of the new thinktank CentreForum, that the effort to find common ground which began in the mid 1990s has continued through electoral landslides and official neglect into an era where the best prospect of Lib Dem gains in the next election will be to take seats from Labour in its old core territories in the cities and towns of the north."

Anne Perkins - Guardian Comment is Free

Several papers are picking up on Senator Jon McCain's interview with the Spectator ahead of his appearence at Tory party conference next week.  When asked about whether Cameron has the qualities to become PM, McCain responds:-

"Oh, sure. Probably the most respected - can I say beloved - leader of my time was Jack Kennedy, who brought youth, incredible youth, the Camelot era,to the American public."

One can't help thinking about Lloyd Bentson's comment to Dan Quayle - "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy"

"For years, the Tory party and the Tory press have been infiltrated by our own neoconservatives, more determined even than Blair to serve the national interest of another country. Under William Hague, Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard - egged on by Charles Moore, Matthew d'Ancona and Michael Gove - the Tories came close to being what the socialist leader Leon Blum called the French Communists, "a foreign nationalist party"."

Interesting analysis of Cameron's positioning on foreign policy.  Wheatcroft praises Cameron for shifting the Tory's position - but can he carry his party with him?

Geoffrey Wheatcroft - The Guardian

THE Liberal Democrats’ tax package would have been described, and dismissed, as “bold and courageous” by Sir Humphrey Appleby in the Yes Minister series. Or, as Robert Chote of the Institute for Fiscal Studies put it at a fringe meeting at the Lib Dem conference, “the potential losers will be disgruntled and many of the potential winners may be unconvinced”.

Peter Riddell - The Times

As the familiar political landmarks of the last decade start to topple, there is no clear route to take. Swoop on Labour's crumbling support in the north, or defend gains against the Conservatives in the south? The old dilemma is still unresolved as the activists gather in Brighton for a week already billed as a showdown between roundheads and cavaliers, the hard-headed realists and the idealistic activists. The battleground will be the treasured pledge to raise a 50p tax rate on the highest earners to fund extra health and education spending. The chief casualty could be the party's leader of only seven months, Menzies Campbell.

The Guardian sums up all that the media are interested in at conference -

Apart from the time of year when politicos go to the seaside (or Manchester depending on your party of preference) this is also the time of year when the journos recycle exactly what they said last year.  This is made slightly more complicated by the fact that the change of leader has neseciated a swapping of the words "Ming Campbell" where last year it said "Charles Kennedy"

Can their be any other explanation of this piece in the Independent?

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article1603905.ece

Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh - but the 'leadership in for a tough time' and 'time to quit the comfort zone' must by now be the stuff of collective consciousness rather than news.

Thousands of Liberal Democrats are today heading to Brighton for their annual conference. The two centre-pieces of the week are expected to be the tax reform paper, to be debated on Tuesday, and the report of the Meeting the Challenge Working Group - 'Trust in People: Make Britain free, fair and green', which will be debated on Wednesday.

Colin Ross on his blog - colin-ross.org.uk

"Speaking to the Guardian ahead of his first conference as Liberal Democrat leader, which opens in Brighton tomorrow, Sir Menzies accused the chancellor of failing to take responsibility for policy which had ended up wrecking the lives of poor families."

Interview with Tania Brannigan - The Gaudian.

Just as Mr Kennedy seeks to step up his political rehabilitation at next week's Liberal Democrat annual conference, Belinda Oaten blamed "propping up a leader who was severely alcoholic" as one reason her husband went off the rails.

Report - The Telegraph

...the latest collection of essays, Britain after Blair: A Liberal Agenda, published yesterday by the CentreForum think-tank, puts more emphasis on social justice. Its range of subjects and authors is also broader, even including Simon Hughes. As is inevitable with collections by 15 authors, the book is uneven. There is an excellent, balanced audit of Mr Blair’s Britain, and a typically incisive assessment of Mr Brown’s Chancellorship, his performance rather than his personality, by Vince Cable, the Lib Dems’ economic spokesman.

With the exception of good chapters on welfare reform, crime and energy, the policy thinking is mostly worthy, rather than adventurous. Sir Menzies talked yesterday about “the Government’s reckless and counterproductive security policies”. But the party needs to be more rigorous in thinking out its approach to terrorism, violent crime and antisocial behaviour.

Peter Riddell political briefing - The Times

"The Lib Dems are by far the most divided party in Britain, an uncomfortable alliance of economic and social liberals who define the word that brings them together in utterly incompatible ways. Having never had the responsibility of the prospect of forming a government, they have descended into a rabble, with little concern for what the voters actually want. And yet, with the polls pointing with increasing regularity to a hung parliament after the next election, they are potentially closer to power now than ever before."

Rachael Sylvester - Comment - The Telegraph

Shimon Peres looks back on the Lebanon war

"In Lebanon we have experienced a new form of battle. Terrorist organisations are armed with a wide range of missiles and rockets that enable them to bypass frontlines and hit tanks, planes and concentrations of soldiers... It is driven more by a religious ideology than by nationalistic motivation, seeking to target populations wherever possible, even before trying to control territory. The line of division between the battle front and the home front is largely blurred."

Shimon Peres - The Guardian

The Guardian looks forward to decission time for Blair's leadership

"Whether your concern is democracy or progressive politics, or even if your sole interest is to offer a dispassionate view about what is in Labour's best political interests, the waning of the Blair era surely demands both a proper debate and a proper contest about the party's future direction.This is the point that must be confronted and by Mr Blair above all. The Blair era is waning. The moment of departure has to be faced."

Leader - The Guardian

The Institute for Fiscal Studies look at new ways to tax

"Policymakers have also broadened the objectives of the tax system by using it to influence behaviour, including attempts to meet environmental objectives. In the long term, Mr Chote said, it was conceivable advances in genetics could open up new opportunities to tax people according to their abilities, rather than their efforts."

Report - Financial Times

More from the FT on tax

"The No Turning Back Group will publish a leaflet at next month's Tory party conference making a strong call for a wide swathe of early tax cuts, arguing there is a "moral case" for lower taxation. The group includes four shadow cabinet members and is chaired by John Redwood, head of Mr Cameron's economic competitiveness policy review."

Report - Financial Times

Trouble at Town Hall

Report - The Times

The Telegraph backs devloution

"This newspaper has argued again and again for the decentralisation of power to local communities, and for the establishment of a firm link between taxation, representation and expenditure by local councils."

Leader - The Telegraph