I have been nominated for an award, believe it or not. Each year MPs and Peers vote in the HOUSE MAGAZINE/SKY NEWS PARLIAMENTARY AWARDS. I've been nominated in the Political Commentator of the Year award. Apparently MPs nominate people and they are then shortlisted by the House Magazine Editorial Board. I do of course realise that I don't have a hope of winning, but it is nice to be nominated all the same. Here are some of the awards and shortlisted candidates...POLITICAL COMMENTATOR OF THE YEAR: Nick Robinson, Jackie Ashley, Matthew D'Ancona, Iain Dale
BACKBENCHER OF THE YEAR: Norman Baker, Edward Leigh, Patrick Mercer and David Taylor
OPPOSITION POLITICIAN: David Davis, George Osborne, Ian Paisley, Alex Salmond
MINISTER OF THE YEAR: Hilary Benn, Caroline Flint, Andy Burnham, Peter Hain, Kim Howells
PEER OF THE YEAR: Lord Adonis, Lord Kingsland, Baroness Ashton, Lord Norton, Lord Ramsbotham
INTERNATIONAL POLITICIAN: Jose Manuel Barroso, Al Gore, Angela Merkel
PARLIAMENTARY AWARD: Gwyneth Dunwoody, Lord Howe of Aberavon, Jack Straw
It was nice to see Health Minister Caroline Flint at the 'do' in the Commons this afternoon. Twenty five years ago we were debating each other at the University of East Anglia Student Union. The subject? VAT on tampons.
It would be nice to see the alternative awards' nominations - for those being the least effective in the respective categories. Any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteI hope Gwyneth D gets something, she's one of the very few genuine Labour MPs - respect!
ReplyDeleteIf you judge a man by the company he keeps, your co-nominees hardly put you in the pantheon, Iain.
ReplyDeleteNick Robinson? God help us. A Buggins' Turn, if ever there was one. Jackie Ashley? Blairite drivel. Ronny D'Ancona? Cameroon lickspittle, only partially cleansed by recent principled criticism of the grammar school fiasco.
judith said...
ReplyDeleteI hope Gwyneth D gets something, she's one of the very few genuine Labour MPs - respect!
June 13, 2007 8:11 PM
Yes, I totally agree. I am a Tory but would vote for her every time.
Caroline Flint 'debating VAT on tampons' - why?
ReplyDeleteHas she mellowed at all? Has she actually improved since being a student? If so how?
As to the awards:
Yes, Dunwoody deserves recognition, she's a feisty old gal with a decent incisive approach - and she doesn't suffer fools or knaves.
Edward Leigh is pretty good in Committee, a bit faux patrician, but not afraid to cut the crap.
Davis is really too often overlooked, he's done a lot of good solid work.
I wouldn't vote for any of the other nominees in any category except, perhaps, for one Iain Dale.
Don't let your nomination go to your head mate.
ReplyDeleteVAT on tampons? I'd like to see a summary pro and con.
ReplyDeleteFrom my fully formed and researched opinion that I didn't have 2 minutes ago, I'd say tampons were a necessity and any VAT charged would only be spent on the extra street cleaning if they weren't used. Yuk.
I too endorse Judith's praise of Ms Dunwoodie, and it is nice to see that so many other Tories are free with their praise for her. She deserves it.
ReplyDeleteCongratulation on the nomination, Iain. You're the only one with any character, standing or achievements as far as I'm concerned.
Ah the imperialists
ReplyDeletestill not got their head round the fact Salmond is not in opposition
actually
SALMOND IS IN GOVERNMENT :-)
yippee
Congrats Iain, but Al Gore - how predictable.
ReplyDeleteNick Robinson, Jackie Ashley, Matthew D’Ancona, Iain Dale
ReplyDeleteFrankly Iain, it’s no contest. You should win easily. I really mean that.
Congwatulations Mr Dale.
ReplyDeleteThe "do" sounded gweat. Did you get a warm hand on your entrance?
Does Carwoline Flint use Tampons or cacti? (Just my little joke...tsk tsk!)
Up against Jackie Ashley ?
ReplyDeleteStrange bedfellows !
Congratulations and best of luck.
"MINISTER OF THE YEAR: Hilary Benn, Caroline Flint, Andy Burnham, Peter Hain, Kim Howells"
ReplyDeleteQue ? Did I miss something here ?
At least 3 of these are Blairite lickspittles and only Hilary Benn comes out of this with any integrity.
Agree that Gwyneth Dunwoody should get recognition if these awards are to mean anything.
ReplyDeleteEdward Leigh, whatever his faults, deserves praise for slicing through the bullshit on how our money is being wasted, and being intolerant of failure.
I would have thought that David Davis must be in with a chance, as Paisley and Salmond can scarcely be thought of purely as opposition politicians in the current climate.
well deserved Iain. Hope you win. I keep in touch with the UK from afar and your site is always a main point of contact back home.
ReplyDeletecongrats Iain!
ReplyDeleteYou also came 2nd (twice) in the Blogpower Awards.
ReplyDeleteJesus Iain,were you one of those FCS people that used to argue tampons were luxuries?
ReplyDeleteInteresting, Tapestry. I wonder which blogsite gets the most hits from expats?
ReplyDeleteWhich blog do expats trust to not only give them relatively unbiased and interesting news but to have a gang of interesting posters who put up informed and insightful comments?
My guess would be Iain's site. It will definitely be a Tory site as most expats left because of the vile Blair - or earlier socialists.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteiain -> completely OT , and my apologies for doing so, but next time you bump into somebody from Civitas could you kindly ask them to release their education report and make it available online. right now you have to pay 12 quid to get hold of it.
ReplyDeletecivitas page
its contents are far too important and deserve to have a much wider audience.
Far from it. I agreed with Carloline that VAT should be taken off tampons! It rather took the wind out of her sails.
ReplyDeleteWell done on that Iain. But suggesting you debated the matter with her when you didn't ... I'll not tell the judges about that.
ReplyDeleteIsn't Salmond in both - in power tenuously and in opposition categorically. Opposition is a fair shout on balance for this titan among curmudgeons.
A kind word for Lord Adonis, who stepped in off his own bat and rescued the Ancient History A-level from the government dementors who were about to abolish it. He was aided in this by his opponent Boris, who posed in an ill-made toga. Although Adonis' title might seem impossibly vain, it is no more than his surname, from his his father, a London Greek Cypriot. So he was the right man in the right place at the time when the decision was made, and he remembered his Greek roots and did the right thing. The name of the original Adonis (who, if you remember, perished in a bizarre boar-related incident) is related to _Adonai_, Hebrew for the Lord God. So he is Lord LORD.
ReplyDeleteIain, Iain,
ReplyDeleteLess kinder souls than I might suggest that you are "tarting" for votes here...
Nevertheless, I'll be happy to vote for you here.
Hell's Bells - Verity would vote for you and our dear Yellow Star doesn't even have a vote over here.
Um...
ReplyDeleteHow do I vote?
congratulations and good luck!
ReplyDeleteMy money's on Baker for the backbencher award. The guy is a wonder!
ReplyDeleteA tie between yourself and Nick Robinson in your category.
What is it with student unions and tampons? My whole time at university was spent trying to opt out of a semi-compulsory tampon levy which the union forced students to pay to subsidise free tampons for female students. I suddenly began to understand why people opposed reducing the voting age to 18.
ReplyDeleteIain,
ReplyDeleteIn the Corinthian spirit of fair play - how do our dear friends:
Mutleythedog, Theospark, The Hitch, Tuscan Tony, Electro Kevin, Maneatingcheesesandwich (and even Jailhouselawyer) et al
add their names to this list?
I have commented before that in failing to suffocate the odious Flint and stuff her worthless corpse into a skip your University career can be counted an unmitigated failure.
ReplyDeleteWhat a golden opportunity .
Iain - congratulations on being nominated but - no offence - don't you think they thought they'd better have someone from the blogosphere (and the newly emerging internet TV) to show they are embracing the new technology? And you probably have the highest profile at the moment - as well as being very good too! (Mandatory creep over!)
ReplyDeleteAnyway good luck. (But Dizzy is very good too!)
Iain, I don't know why you are surprised. Be realistic you are pretty much the only contender in this category. You have a virtual monopoly on serious political comment with 18DS and this blog etc..
ReplyDeleteI reckon the only person who doesn't quite grasp what you have acheived and what position you actually are now in is you..
Question is - Do you still want to be an MP ?
It would seem like a major step-down in many ways to me.
Hope you win. Regards
Funny that you say you don't have a chance of winning because you had my vote.
ReplyDeletePS Do you think Prince Charles would vote for VAT exemption on tampons also?
Just to remphasise what I said in the post, only MPs and Peers have a vote.
ReplyDeleteBaldrockbalrick [r similar]- I agree about Norman Baker. He is an outstanding MP and an outstanding MP in anyone's language. He is a hero.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes Norman Baker “outstanding” exactly? Because he thinks that David Kelly was murdered maybe? I think you’ll find that actually makes him a nutcase.
ReplyDeleteLaurence Boyce - Read the coroners' report, sweets.
ReplyDeleteDo your homework.(It wasn't just one coroner, hence the apostrophe after the s.)
Congrats, and fully deserved!
ReplyDeleteBwoy Hiain man.
ReplyDeleteWe was just chillin' wid da brudda in da hood when dat good news come tru'.
'Nuff respec' me brudda an' a big up fe de Dunwoody chick too. Bwoy, she a real goer man. She could backbench me hany time.
Well done.
ReplyDeleteIt looked even more impressive until I saw Baroso, Merkel and Gore...what WERE they thinking?
re: anon 9:16 - Salmond is an opposition politician - to the Union!
A well meritted award, Iain. Well done for keeping the website promptly and frequently up-dated.
ReplyDeleteBut two-edged. Maybe you are more use to the tory party doing what you are doing than becoming an MP.....
Dear Laurence Boyce,
ReplyDeleteDavid Kelly WAS murdered! How it was done is a matter for debate but the fact is that a lot of commisars who were in on the fake WMD scam played a part in his demise. May I remind any NULAB supporters about the lies and wicked deceptions that went on in the run up to the Iraq fiasco and the deaths of 1/2 million people. A tragic waste of lives on the alter of NULAB vanity, most right thinking people would agree.
Eva Brown
ReplyDeleteI would like to nominate Chris Paul for racists of the year supporting as he does the British National Socialist Party. There have been a large number pf BNP type comments lately emanating from the regime and the test in the roll of shame is Hazel Blears
“ We have got people living in Salford now from every country under the sun . We used to be 93% white working class. Our communities changing before our eyes “
Shock horror , as if this state of affairs was not entirely the fault of her “Multicultural “ Party and its traitorous effete denizens
The New Labour Nazi Party Part have also passed a resolution aimed at setting up a Britishness Day and addressing the problem of immigrants sitting around in the streets, Eva Brown, Frau Kelly, Frau Hodge and Frau Blears have all weighed in
: British homes for British people, British jobs for British workers and forcing all immigrants to speak English.
This is because the BNP threatens Labour Votes not Conservatives. I wonder how that grovelling wannabee Recess Monkey feels about this with his bland assertion that the Conservative Party are all “racist and Homophobic “. More to the point why is the BBC not crucifying New labour as they would if Conservative said anything of the sort.
The “Miracle of immigration “ I think Chirs ( The Parrot) Paul called, it . Ever felt like you were in the wrong Party?
Iain what has happened to your ambition to become an MP . Its all gone very quiet on that score hasn`t it
ReplyDelete,...oops , and why does Boris think that Bklair is going to try to control the Blogasphere. Is there anything to this anyone ?
ReplyDeletePJ: a semi-compulsory tampon levy"
ReplyDeleteOK, you got me. What's that, then? Anything to do with 'cash for honours'. The noble lord always struck me as being a bit of a sanitary product...
I'm personally cheering Lord Norton on!
ReplyDeleteBaldrockbalrick [r similar]- I agree about Norman Baker. He is an outstanding MP and an outstanding MP in anyone's language. He is a hero.
ReplyDeleteMany would disagree. Disgruntled Non-Fans of Norman have their own website Norman Baker Watch
Iain, you may well want VAT removed from tampons. Unfortunately, the EU makes us levy it on this item.
ReplyDeleteIf any one doesn't believe this, see the second note on this press release.
Good luck old chap. I have to say though that I don't feel particularly inspired by many of the contenders in any of the categories.
ReplyDeleteThis was 25 years ago. If my memory is correct we debating whether VAT on tampons should be reduced to 5%...
ReplyDeleteBut if we move to today, I would still argue that they are not a luxury item and should therefore either be excluded from VAT or have a lower rate.
What a dreadful set of nominations for international poitician. 2 EUists & a nutcase. I know they aren't British but surely there are some intelligent foreigners.
ReplyDeleteI think history will award it to Putin but can see why he wouldn't win in Westminster.
I don't think I am the only woman here who finds some of the male commenters' obsessive interest in tampons very creepy. The kind of men who get a secret thrill from sniffing bicycle seats ...
ReplyDelete(Notice that none of the women has taken any interest in the subject.)
Of coursethere's a Norman Baker watch! He's effective. He doesn't give up. He's committed. To others in Parliament, that makes him dangerous and needful of ridicule.
Read the coroners' report, which Mr Baker has running on his site. Just one instance: They neglected to weigh Dr Kelly's blood. The government are claiming that someone died by bleeding to death and they didn't weigh the blood in the corpse! For a coroner's office that is inept or negligent or deliberate.
Read the whole report. If anyone gets justice for Dr Kelly, it will be Norman Baker.
I had a lovely run-in with Caroline Flint during the 2005 General Election campaign in Lincoln when she was a Home Office Minister.
ReplyDeleteShe was a ministerial guest to Gillian Merron and paid a visit to a LAUNDRETTE of all places.
Whilst they were talking inside the LAUNDRETTE I got on the car megaphone and blasted "we don't want your dirty washing Gillian" and the whole street errupted in laughter.
Even the copper who was looking after Caroline Flint couldn't keep a straight face.
It was hilarious and a reminder to any budding politician NEVER to visit a laundrette!
Al Gore? International Politician of the Year?
ReplyDeleteAre you sure you want an award from these people, Mr. Dale?
Don't worry about Nick Robinson - his motto is "never scoop the spoon that feeds you".
ReplyDeleteIf any backbencher rightly deserves to receive an award it must surely be Graham Brady, who in conscience resigned from the Conservative front bench to do what he thought was right for his constituents.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Patrick Mercer is only on the backbenchers because his indifference to the news that soldiers from the Commonwealth are forming a trade union to tackle racism and abuse. Apparently Mr Mercer believed that the very idea of such a union was "Absolute nonsense complete and utter rot." Shadow trade and industry secretary Alan Duncan, said that Patrick Mercer "appeared to be indifferent to the fact that someone was taunted for being black, you cannot be indifferent to that."
Mercer was sacked for claiming that being called a "black bastard" was part and parcel of life for ethnic minorities in the armed forces however David Cameron said of Mercer’s remarks "you can't make excuses for it" and promptly and rightly sent Mercer to the backbenchers, where Mercer then proclaimed that his dismissal was "nothing" just "sticks and stones". Asked if Mercer believed David Cameron to be a man of principle Mercer replied "He is the leader" and when pressed for a more truthful reply Patrick Mercer OBE sticks two fingers up and marches out.
I’m afraid that Patrick Mercer MP should rightly be struck off any list for an award until the day he is capable of understanding that regard for others is incumbent upon him as a principle of action and a cry for help should never ever be regarded to be absolute nonsense complete and utter rot. Certainly not a Graham Brady type of MP.