Tuesday, February 14, 2006

At Last - A Party Leader With a Good Excuse to Miss a Commons Vote

Great news that the Cameron baby has been born with no complications. Labour seems tohave been mercifully short. I understand that David C was in the regualr morning Inner Cabinet meeting with Messers Davis, Fox, Osborne and Hague et all when he got a call on his mobile to say that the new arrival was about to er, arrive. Up he leapt and instructed Hague to carry on with the meeting. And before anyone suggests it, no I didn't get that little morsel from DD. The Gods really must be smiling on the Tories. A Valentine's Day baby and a great excuse for the leader to miss the smoking vote tonight! DC has recently given up smoking but doesn't believe in a ban, unlike his Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley. I hate smoking and in my heart would love to ban it. But this Government has got away with banning far too many things and in the end it's got to be down to individuals. If you don't like a particualr pub which allows smoking you have a choice. To stay or go to another one. If you work in a smoky pub presumably you were aware of the conditions when you applied for the job. If they get away with a complete ban, the next thing willbe banning smoking in private homes. I'd love to hear the Police reaction on that one. They'd no doubt set up a phone line where children can shop their smoking parents. FagLine. Hmm. On second thoughts, that might encourage a certain other type of reporting...LOL

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Christ, how did you get that pic so quickly?!

Anonymous said...

Iain, do you really want to be contributing to the ego mania of someone who is clearly a self publicist? as you can see from below leaking and lies is in the man's blood.

Another article in the Sunday Mercury from the Conservative Head office said in response to Richard Gibbs, " We would not comment on anyone as insignificant as Richard Gibbs". That was 2001 I think we should carry on.

http://www.ukpol.co.uk/messages/messages/8/1866.html

Hapless Iain Duncan Smith faces humiliation today as party insiders reveal their true feelings about him in leaked emails.

Senior figures fear he is a lame duck who will lead them to a third general election meltdown.

Defector Richard Gibbs revealed the gloom infecting the party. He leaked emails from Conservative Future Midlands chairman Kevin Foster.

On September 15, two days after Mr Duncan Smith became leader, Foster said: "Many at the highest levels are very aware that this time the BRB (Blue Rinse Brigade) has saddled us with a loser. Another hammering might be what is needed to bring them round.

"When I spoke to most IDS supporters their only one thought was 'Party Unity'. Well big deal as far as I am concerned. We are a united loony bin." _ A week later he said: "It is safe to say the general election is out of the question."

And Paul Gray, chairman of Connect, a group set up to halt the lurch to the right, said on July 31: "We are concerned the Conservative Party has lost touch with ordinary voters by appearing stuffy, old-fashioned, intolerant, nasty, racist, selfish and uncaring." Mr Gibbs, who has now joined Labour, was being groomed to be a Tory MP. But he quit soon after Mr Duncan Smith became leader in disgust at the extremism he says has infected the party.

He said: "It is a shambles. A collection of extremists and nutters. And then they elected Iain Duncan Smith. It was political suicide."

Mr Gibbs, 23, said the latest strategy to attract recruits and cash was to drop the word Conservative. He said: "It's no longer something to be proud of."

Mr Foster said last night: "I felt a bit disappointed at the leadership election. But now I am quite positive about how things are going. It's a shame if people are still sniping and leaking emails."

Mirror, 24/11/01

stalin's gran said...

Well it would be short Iain - it was a Caesarian section.....

Bob Piper said...

If they get away with a complete ban, the next thing will be banning smoking in private homes.

What puerile rubbish. Make a point, but don't descend to daily Mail drivel.

As for... if you don't like it, go work somewhere else or balls to your health, it really does show there ain't no such thing as compassionate conservatism.

Anonymous said...

So, Bob, we're putting the workers in charge of the workplace are we? Sounds like good old fashioned socialism to me.

If I don't like the boss, wages or working conditions I can get another job. It's called choice. If this ban goes through, Blair will just have lost a die hard Blairite voter to Cameron. Though, unfortunately Iain, I dont live in North Norfolk!

Bob Piper said...

Very interesting anonymous... but I suspect you always were a Tory. In fact, the Tory Health spokesperson, who is also anonymous so I can't tell you his nasme, has just said he is supporting the ban too. So, keep on moving anonymous... try Simon Hughes, he's opposed to the ban and needs all the support he can get at the minute.

Anonymous said...

I've been on a few websites today and even though there are posts about Samantha Cameron having her baby boy, so fool is having a go at Richard Gibbs on these posts!
On TCL 'Ralph' and 'Bob' have exactly the same quote as 'anonymous' has here; it's pathetic! This is a post about congratulating the Cameron's on their new baby but instead someone is sniping at a guy who has had the guts to admit to making a mistake with the party he joined 4 years ago (!) and has had the courage to be open about the problems in the Lab party.
'Anonymous', 'Ralph', 'Bob' - why are you putting these things on irrelevant posts? And why don't you have the guts to say who you are, like Richard Gibbs has?

If these people are typical of Tories, then that doesn't say much for the party. Maybe some backbone like Mr Gibbs is what the Cons need.

More to the point, congratulations to the Cameron's!

Iain Dale said...

Leon, I cheated. It's of him with his daughter!

Anonymous, you forgot to add your address, Labour Party HQ, Old Queen Street.

Stalin's Gran, well, how would I know what goes on during a birth?!

Bob, calm down, calm down

ian said...

That's just typical.

Vote Cameron, get Hague.

Anonymous said...

Hurrah for the smoking ban. I am a right wing tory and my girlfriend and i both raised a glass of champagne to the commons this evening. This will cut my dry cleaning bills in half!

Tory Ted said...

They'd no doubt set up a phone line where children can shop their smoking parents. FagLine. Hmm. On second thoughts, that might encourage a certain other type of reporting...LOL

I thought Ming set up a hotline of the latter kind to deal with his leadership rivals after he axed Kennedy...

Anonymous said...

Oh, Bob, you really are the reason why Labour is in freefall in local governent. How rude and arrogant. I'm amazed because I normally like your blog. I'm no Tory - I used to be very active in our local CLP, a big supporter of Tony Blair's and now a Cameron voter. I'm giving Big Dave C one year - if he sticks to his modernizing guns, I'll join. As for your rude ranting reply, Cllr Bob, hang your head in shame.

Anonymous said...

In principle I don't like any kind of bans but there are people who can't just get another job if they don't like choking smoke. The only smoke free pubs were Wetherspoon pubs and there's not that many of those.

It may be all right for those wih degrees and safe jobs but there are those who may not have the skills for other work, or thru no fault of their own lost their regular employment or business and have few options. Whatever happened to good for me, good for my neighbour? Are we back to 'let them eat cake'?

Anonymous said...

"Leon, I cheated. It's of him with his daughter!"

Aha!