Brown (and Some Journos) In Denial

There's quite a bit of hubris among left wing journalists in the papers this morning. Oh, they say, does it matter that Gordon gets a bit grumpy? We all know he's a bit dour. What's the problem.

I invite them to consider their reaction to a FTSE 500 chief executive who had been accused of the same sort of bullying. Would they really attribute it to a ritual bout of grumpiness? I don't think so.

Scroll forward three years. Imagine the scenario. David Cameron is accused of bullying a typist in Number Ten. Does anyone really think left wing journalists wouldn't be in full cry, calling for his head on a platter? Me neither.

It is a matter for profound sadness that Gordon Brown has debased the office of Prime Minister in this way. He's in denial, but that just makes it worse. He may try to deflect the news agenda onto Mrs Pratt and her bullying helpline (as recommended by Lord Mandelson), as well as encouraging his aides to smear her as a Tory stooge but he cannot escape blame in this sorry saga.

Podcast: The 7 Days Show Episode 13

The latest edition of the Seven Days Show is now online.

In this weeks show we discuss “tweetgate” and using social media; Gordon Brown and bullying; Sir Nicholas Winterton and first class travel; and finally the closing of the polls – and what it means for the Conservative party.

To listen to the podcast click HERE, or you can also subscribe to the show in the Tory Radio section in the podcast area of Itunes.

The Daley (Half) Dozen: Sunday

1. Geraldine Dreadful MP writes to me about the controversial Brown picture.
2. Capitalists@Work thinks it's time for a second look and a fifth listen.
3. Winkled Weasel on IDS and the soul of the English.
4. Tom Harris has a flashback to 1983.
5. Paul Flynn is less than gruntled with the Mail on Sunday.
6. Tom Watson regrets James Purnell's departure.

A Breach of Confidentiality

I imagine the National Bullying Helpline operates under the same sort of rules of confidentiality as Childline. If I were one of the three or four Downing Street employees who had phoned the helpline in confidence, I'd be pretty cheesed off to find that my call had been made public by the Helpline's chief executive today. Because you can be sure that someone, somewhere in Number Ten will be tasked with finding out who these four individuals are.

UPDATE: Dizzy has been beavering away and found Hansard references which prove that there have been allegations of bullying in Downing Street and the Treasury over the last few years.

How We Pay To Be Indoctrinated on Climate Change

As we all know, climate change is an emotive issue. On both sides of the argument surrounding what is causing it, strong words are uttered. The sceptics have to shout loudly even to be heard, whereas on the other side, an industry has grown up promoting the thesis of man made climate change. A whole host of literature has been written outlining how and why it is taking place, and it is being used to good effect. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. If you are making a case you want to use the best evidence and the best arguments.

Except... When the government - sorry, taxpayer - funds a leaflet which doesn't concentrate on the actual case, but how to put it over you have to ask if that is what our money should be used for. Especially, when you read THIS leaflet called THE RULES OF THE GAME: Evidence Base Case for the Climate Change Communications Strategy. It is straplined "The Game Is Communicating Climate Change - The Rules Will Help Us Win It."



The tone of the doucment is revealed on its first page...

“Changing attitudes towards climate change is not like selling a particular brand of soap – it’s like convincing someone to use soap in the first place.”

It then moves on to more specific recommendations about how to "sell" the climate change message...

Click on the images to enlarge

Here are a few of those recommendations...

• Forget the climate change detractors: Those who deny climate change science are irritating, but unimportant. The argument is not about if we should deal with climate change, but how we should deal with climate change.
• There is no ‘rational man’: The evidence discredits the ‘rational man’ theory – we rarely weigh objectively the value of different decisions and then take the clear self-interested choice.
• Information can’t work alone: Providing information is not wrong; relying on information alone to change attitudes is wrong. Remember also that messages about saving money are important, but not that important.
• Use both peripheral and central processing: Attracting direct attention to an issue can change attitudes, but peripheral messages can be just as effective: a tabloid snapshot of Gwyneth Paltrow at a bus stop can help change attitudes to public transport.
• Link climate change mitigation to positive desires/aspirations: Traditional marketing associates products with the aspirations of their target audience. Linking climate change mitigation to home improvement, self-improvement, green spaces or national pride are all worth investigating.
• Use emotions and visuals: Another classic marketing rule: changing behaviour by disseminating information doesn’t always work, but emotions and visuals usually do.

This isn't just the use of traditional PR communications methods. It's the use of totalitarian indoctrination techniques designed to manipulate public opinion.

I wonder how much the taxpayer paid Futerra for this advice.

Paul Flynn Publishes His Memoirs

Paul Flynn is a very colourful Labour MP. He also writes a very good blog. And my company is publishing his memoirs on 4 March. Today they are serialised in the Mail on Sunday's Review section. It's online HERE.

When Paul appraoched me about commissioning the book, I was in two minds. I love political memoirs, but they don't have an excellent sales record, it has to be said. But when I read the manuscript all my doubts were cast aside. It's a cracking read, full of humour, but also laced with tales of personal tragedy. He's also very open and honest about his views of fellow politicians.

You can pre-order the book HERE.

The Projectile Vomiting Labour MP

I've never been quite sure what the point of the Council of Europe is. There's always been the faint suspicion that it merely provides an excuse for junketing MPs to eat and drink to excess at the cost of the taxpayer. Today's Mail on Sunday provides some evidence for that viewpoint, with a tale of a Labour MP who got so drunk on one Council of Europe trip that he projectile vomited and nearly died. Step forward Bill Etherington MP. His behaviour horrified his European colleagues.

Two Labour MPs took part in a champagne drinking contest on an official Commons junket to Paris, which led to one of them being violently ill. Left-winger Bill Etherington drank so much that a doctor was called. It was feared the MP might die after he defeated fellow Labour MP Geraldine Smith in the expenses-fuelled boozing competition. The incident caused lasting damage to the UK’s relations with Europe, with Labour MPs saying it led to Britain being banned from a key European post.

Anti-monarchist and former miners’ union leader Mr Etherington outraged senior politicians from across the Continent when he projectile vomited at a dinner. The conduct of Labour’s self-styled ‘champion drinker’ was reported to Downing Street, but Labour Party leaders ordered a cover-up to prevent a major scandal.

Astonishingly, no action was taken against him. He was told to ‘carry on junketing’ – and returned to Britain yesterday from a trip to Romania similar to the one in Paris where, according to other Labour MPs, he disgraced himself and his country.

A Mail on Sunday investigation has revealed shocking details of how MPs spend more than £800,000 a year on European junkets, which some of them freely admit are an orgy of drinking. Some spend up to two months a year on them, running up bills of around £30,000 each. So little work is done that some politicians regard them as a ‘holiday’. In some instances, MPs use them as opportunities for sex. They get free business-class travel and a daily allowance of £236 paid direct into their bank account by British taxpayers, with no questions asked.

Sunderland North MP Mr Etherington is one of 36 MPs and peers in the Council of Europe (CoE), which also involves membership of the Western European Union (WEU) talking shops on human rights and defence.

The champagne drinking competition took place at an official afternoon reception in Paris, attended by Britain’s all-party WEU delegation of MPs and peers. Unknown to Mr Etherington, as he downed glass after glass of free bubbly, Ms Smith poured her drinks into a plant pot.

Mr Etherington switched from champagne to wine when Labour MPs went on to a dinner with the WEU socialist group at an expensive restaurant. The incident is described in a new book by Labour MP Paul Flynn, who was at the dinner.

Without naming Mr Etherington or Ms Smith, Mr Flynn says CoE meetings were a ‘pretext for shameless alcohol-fuelled jaunts’. He writes: ‘There was a predictable, crucifying and embarrassing climax to a competition between two British MPs to discover who could drink the most champagne.

‘One cheated and dumped excess champagne into flowerpots at the reception. The other kept drinking to excess. 'He was in a “confused” state en route to a dinner in a splendid French restaurant. More champagne was guzzled. [He] had consumed a near lethal quantity of alcohol. ‘He was placed at the top table where he babbled incoherently. The event was a dinner for delegates from about 20 countries.

‘The reputation of the British is still damaged by this incident. It was not the idiotic competition or the wild inebriation that left an indelible memory. It was the display of projectile vomiting across the top table.

Read the whole article HERE. You can order Paul Flynn's book, HERE.

Can Social Media Make or Break a General Election Campaign?

If you would like to attend this event, click HERE to book your free ticket. Speakers include Tom Watson MP, Steve Webb MP and myself.

Political Artist Goes for Brown

Political art is a subject which has allways been controversial. Yesterday an artist called Louis Sidolo got in touch with me to ask if I would like to feature some of his work on my blog. Here's what he said...

I'm a published artist with my work in galleries all around the UK including Harrods.

Although I'm not a member of any political party, I cannot face the thought of another 5 years of Labour. I recently felt inspired to create two pieces of 'Pop art' with a political theme for the forthcoming election. During Obama's campaign in the US, there were a huge number of artists creating work for his campaign, which really made an impact, but I haven't seen much party political art work over here. These are a bit different from the campaign posters that are currently doing the rounds since they are 'art' pieces. These images tell you all you need to know: 'This is Gordon Brown - the facts are staring you in the face - vote for someone else'

The first piece is called 'Reign of Error' . It is a play on words from the recent book which described Gordon Brown’s leadership at No10 as a ‘Reign Of Terror’. In this piece, he is ‘morphed’ into an image of Hitler! Of course it is provocative, but if you think about it, there are strong similarities: Both started out as chancellors, both bullied their way to the top and seized power without being democratically elected, both tried to rig the electoral process, both prone to flying into uncontrollable rages and both caused huge economic damage to our country etc...

The second piece called 'Psychologically Flawed' is not a caricature , it is a portrait derived from an actual photo. I have not distorted it in any way other than through the use of colour to symbolize his personality and mindset. In this piece, influenced by Warhol, he gets the 'satan treatment' with demonic lurid green face clashing with bright orange background, which hints that this person is truly diabolical! The red hand and cufflink symbolises the budget deficit / the red hand of socialism or 'being in the red'.

The left will no doubt go apoplectic with rage, but they should calm down and remember the hideous political art of the 1980s featuring Margaret Thatcher. This is mild by comparison.

Louis Sidoli has a website featuring more of his work HERE.




UPDATE: This seems to have caused a bit of a stir in the comments. Let's get a few things straight, shall we? I have reported the fact that a reasonably well known artist has created a bit of controversial political art. The key word here is 'reported'. I haven't given an approving opinion. There are a lot of double standards at play among those who have commented. By reporting something it does not imply approval. I didn't approve of people on the left comparing Margaret Thatcher to Hitler and nor do I approve of others doing the same thing. The point implicit in this piece is that Gordon Brown has achieved such levels of hatred, even among artists nowadays, that they produce pieces of art like this. I felt this was an interesting development and reported it without comment, allowing his own words to justify his art.

Feel free to continue shooting the messenger, but many of you are being blinkered, and reading into this what you want to.

UPDATE 12.54: At least one Labour MP has taken this in the right spirit... Geraldine Dreadful MP has written an open letter to me HERE.

UPDATE 16.50: Dizzy makes the point that no one got very excited when Beau Bo D'Or pictired Gordon Brown as Stalin for Channel 4. Come to think of it, no one got so excited when Vince Cable compared Brown to Stalin, did they? Seeing as though it is not me that's doing the comparing I maintain my view that the reaction to this is totally OTT and full of nauseating rank hypocrisy.

UPDATE Monday: Louis Sidoli has sent me a further comment following the reaction to his image...

"I find it incredible but predictable that some people should find my images offensive rather than a light hearted play on words. The image is called 'Reign of Error' so it is not suggesting that Gordon Brown's actions are the same as those of Hitler (Reign Of Terror) , it is referring to his mistakes and incompetence, though it does suggest that there may be similar character traits. Given all the newspaper revelations and denials over the weekend, it seems as if this analysis could be correct? After all, there is no smoke without fire. There have been so many negative stories about his character now, that you have to assume that at least some of them are 100% correct? Secondly, why is it the 'left' seem to have no sense of humour ? I mean, there are hundreds of images out there portraying George W Bush as Hitler. In the 1980's on 'Spitting Image' Thatcher was portrayed as a bullying fascist tyrant (yes sounds familiar) who would on occasion ask Adolph Hitler for advice, along with Norman Tebbit, her leather clad SS henchman who referred to her as 'leader' - And that was on primetime TV."

Brown Engulfed by More Bullying Allegations

Simon Walters has the inside scoop on the Rawnsley book HERE.

I have to get to the Beeb so I will leave you to read the juicy details yourself. But it comes to a pretty pass when the Cabinet Secretary has to tell the Prime Minister to stop abusing his staff.

UPDATE: this is from Simon Walters' article.

Britain's top civil servant ordered Gordon Brown to 'curb your volcanic
temper' after complaints that he was abusive to his Downing Street staff, it has
emerged. The unprecedented rebuke, delivered by Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus
O'Donnell, was revealed amid explosive disclosures about Mr Brown's wild and
violent outbursts.

The Prime Minister was forced to go on television to deny he had
physically assaulted his aides as a new book claimed: Sir Gus ordered an
official inquiry into allegations of bullying by Mr Brown.

Paranoid Mr Brown grabbed an aide violently and shouted: 'They're out
to get me!' The raging PM thumped the rear of the front seat of his car so hard
that it scared the bodyguard sitting in it; while an aide sitting next to Mr
Brown thought the PM was going to smash him in the face.

Mr Brown dragged a No10 secretary from her chair and took over at her
keyboard. He manhandled a senior adviser who told him he was late for a meeting
with VIPs, yelling: 'Why do I have to meet these ****ing people!' The bombshell
revelations, some of which were reported by The Mail on Sunday three weeks ago,
feature in The End Of The Party, a new book by respected political journalist
Andrew Rawnsley.

This newspaper has also uncovered new evidence of Mr Brown's
extraordinary eruptions, including an incident in which he hurled a tirade of
foul-mouthed abuse at Bank of England Governor Mervyn King in a stand-up row.

A ranting Mr Brown lashed out at Mr King's '****ing ego' and accused
him of talking '****ing bull****' ina heated confrontation at an economic summit
in America.

UPDATE 11pm: In case you are wondering why I am quoting the Mail on Sunday rather than The Observer, it's because quite astonishingly, The Observer has nothing about this on its website. Fail.

Brown's "Second Look": Like a Dog Returning to Its Vomit

Proverbs 26:11
As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.

Labour supporters (including, astonishingly, Tom Harris) keep banging on about this "Take a second look at us" quote from Gordon Brown as if it was an act of sheer political brilliance. Let's look at the paragraph in full, shall we?

“I know that Labour hasn’t done everything right and I know I’m not perfect… take a second look at us and take a long hard look at them.”

I heard the clip on 5 Live News earlier and I have to say, it was said in such sepulchral tones that it sent a shiver down my spine. It conjured up a scene from Inspector Morse, or Midsomer Murders where the detective discovers a body and then returns a second time to make sure it's dead.

Or as a friend of mine put it, it's like a dog returning to its vomit and eating it. What a nice vision for you to contemplate over your nightly Horlicks.

One other thing from today's mini election launch. It was noticeable that there was no set. The TV pictures were mixed, to say the least. Is this yet another sign of Labour's poor finances, that they couldn't even afford to build a set to launch their election campaign from. It would never have happened in Tony's day.

The Daley (Half) Dozen: Saturday

1. Bob Piper thinks the left is right, and so am I. Strange.
2. Wrinkled Weasel just can't get excited.
3. Ragbag thinks there is more to James Purnell's decision than meets the eye.
4. PoliticalBetting wonders if local councillors are more important than Lord Ashcroft.
5. Charles Crawford thinks General Haig is a hard act to follow.
6. Subrosa on the fall of the Dutch coalition government.

A Question for Gerry Adams

Veteran Irish republican Delours Price, speaking in the Irish News, has alleged that during her time as an IRA volunteer Gerry Adams was her Commanding Officer.

Where is all the press coverage today? The silence is deafening!

More HERE.

Gordon Brown's Top Tantrums

We're all eagerly awaiting the serialisation of Andrew Rawnslety's bok in tomorrow's Observer, and I a, relishing doing the BBC News Channel paper review at 11.20pm tonight, followed by the Radio 5 Live on at midnight. To prepare us for the revelations the book will no doubt contain about Gordon's temper tanties, I thought it might be good to refresh our memories about existing account's of the dour one's demeanour.


1. Calling senior aides c***s

Gordon Brown was so incensed at the media coverage of the so-called "snub" of the Prime Minister by President Obama while on a visit to the UN in New York last year, that he bawled out his senior political adviser, the mild-mannered Stewart Wood.

Brown was furious that his spin doctors had "allowed" the story to get legs. Sitting naked in his hotel room he allegedly screamed at Wood: "You're a c***", and proceeded to abuse another member of staff, calling him an "even bigger c***".

2. Hitting an aide

“He is alleged to have reacted angrily when he was intercepted by an aide who asked him to attend to another matter. “According to one account, he punched the male official to get him out of the way” (Daily Mail).

3. Throwing a secretary out of her chair

“The Prime Minister's temper is said to have snapped when the secretary failed to keep up as he dictated a memo to her. He reportedly pulled her from her seat and sat at the computer keyboard himself, bashing out the memo”

4. Being rude at a dinner party with US politicians

Peter Watt wrote of a dinner party he attended at 10 Downing Street hosted by Gordon Brown:
“My wife Vilma and I were invited with three other couples – the lobbyist Jon Mendelsohn and his wifel Louis Susman – a Democratic fundraiser who was soon to become US Ambassador in London – and his wife; and another American couple. “Arriving at the flat, we were ushered into the drawing room and there was stilted small talk over aperitifs. While Sarah pottered around getting the meal ready, Gordon began showing people to their seats but was interrupted by one of the No10 staff, saying he had an important phone call. He disappeared, leaving Vilma and two others seated, and the rest of us awkwardly milling about. After a few minutes, we all started to feel a bit silly, so decided just to sit ourselves down. When Gordon finally reappeared he was aghast to find us all at the table. “I didn't sit you all down,” he exclaimed angrily. It was hugely embarrassing and some of the guests started mumbling about getting up again. ““No, no, you might as well stay where you are,” he replied huffily. He sat at the end of the table and swivelled in his chair, so that he almost had his back to everybody, and leaned his head on his arm. For the rest of the meal he was monosyllabic, sulking because he had lost control of the seating plan. “The plates had not even been cleared when suddenly, without saying anything, he just got up and left. As Sarah had also disappeared by then, we all showed ourselves out. “He's bonkers,” Vilma whispered, as we trooped out. I wanted to disagree but she was right. The whole evening had been utterly bizarre” (Peter Watt – Inside Out))

5. Shouting at Blair: ‘You’ve stolen my fucking budget’

“When Tony Blair announced on a Sunday breakfast show that the Government would like to see health spending rise to the European average, Brown was so furious with the Prime Minister that he shouted at him: ‘you’ve stolen my fucking budget.’” (The Observer, 10th of September 2000).

6. Not telling Tony Blair about the details of his budget

Tom Bower, in his biography of Gordon Brown, wrote about the process behind the 2003 budget: “Two days before his [Gordon Brown’s budget] speech, Tony Blair invited the chancellor to outline his proposed budget. The routine had become familiar. Every year, Blair’s staff would furtively seek information from Treasury officials about the budget. Sometimes they were fortunate and an informant, disobeying the chancellor, would reveal a nugget. On other occasions Brown had worked on his personal laptop to prevent any leak to the prime minister. There was no precedent for such conduct in Britain’s entire history. On this occasion, the chancellor arrived with a senior official. The atmosphere was frosty…To each question Blair asked about the budget he remained impassive until he either nodded to the official to disclose the details, or shook his head. Little was said. Thankfully the prime minister, pre-occupied by the war, did not seek a confrontation.”

7. Stapling his own hand

“There is an apocryphal story that Brown, assembling the notes he takes into prime minister’s questions, does his own stapling. One Wednesday morning, he apparently worked himself into such a nervous state that he drew blood when he accidentally stapled his hand. ” Sunday Times, February 24th 2008

8. Using mobile phones and office equipment as missiles

“The prime minister, 58, has hurled pens and even a stapler at aides, according to one; he says he once saw the leader of Britain’s 61 million people shove a laser printer off a desk in a rage. Another aide was warned to watch out for “flying Nokias” when he joined Brown’s team.” (Bloomberg, 24 April 2009) On one occasion, Brown upset his driver when, in a temper, he picked up his mobile phone and hurled it across the car (Mail on Sunday, 13th April 2008).

9. Having bad news broken to him with a ‘News Sandwich’

“One staffer says a colleague developed a technique called a “news sandwich” -- first telling the prime minister about a recent piece of good coverage before delivering bad news, and then moving quickly to tell him about something good coming soon.” (Bloomberg, 24 April 2009)

10. Kicking a desk over in rage

In November 2007, when he was told that two data discs containing the details of 25 million people had gone missing from HM Revenue and Customs, Gordon Brown ‘was supposed to have been so furious that he kicked the nearest desk, and indeed kicked it so hard that he kicked it over’ (Sue Cameron, Dispatches, 9th of June 2008.

11. Making top aide and good friend Spencer Livermore cry

After Brown bottled the 2007 election, it was reported that he was in such a rage that he made one of his top aides, Spencer Livermore, burst into tears. Livermore left five months later (Daily Mail, 9 December 2007).

12. Spending four hours googling for a quote by Shadow Cabinet member Dominic Grieve

“The stories are seeping out from No. 10. The other day, Gordon Brown was convinced that Dominic Grieve, the shadow Home Secretary, had made such a strong attack on 42-day detention as to impugn his commitment to national security. Although Downing Street advisers trawled and Googled, they could not find the quote. Their boss expressed gratitude for their efforts in the way that a sergeant-major would thank a recruit for a speck of dust on his rifle. Mr Brown then stationed himself at a terminal. For the next four hours, he sat there unavailingly, emanating gloom and rage. The non-psychiatric interpretation of his behaviour is termed “the playing politics with national security syndrome”. ” (the Brute, The Independent, 28 July 2008)

13. Flinging his trousers out of the room in an attempt to find his wallet

Tom Bower’s biography of Brown featured a recollection from an aide from around 1994: “An aide walking late at night along the corridor in Millbank heard grunts and groans from Brown’s office. Suddenly a pair of trousers flew out the door, then there was a crash. Brown was scrabbling through a bag, throwing socks and books onto the floor. “I can’t find my wallet,” he shouted. “I need money for a cab fare to the airport.” His personal disorganisation prompted potential sympathisers to question his ability to lead the party. ” (Gordon Brown by Tom Bower)

14. Throwing computers onto the floor

“His private tantrums, culminating once in a computer thrown onto the floor…” (Gordon Brown by Tom Bower). What others have said about working with him. “It’s disgusting...It’s the ghastly macho culture in there. It’s all willy-waving.” (A female minister in The Spectator, 11 June 2009). “He’s morally bankrupt...If you think you can’t win the argument on substance you end up falling back on political fixes and smears. ” (A cabinet minister in The Times on 5th June 2009). “Publicly, Gordon talks about values and his moral compass, but actually the way he conducts himself behind the scenes is anything but that — it’s brutal....That’s what he does. The last ten years is littered with people who’ve been cast aside. ” (Peter Watt in The Times, 11th May 2009). “Brown has never been known for his composure under pressure. He throws things - telephones, mugs, anything to hand. He screams at people. In short, he loses it and, if your staff are never sure when they might need to duck, they are not going to give you their best advice. And Brown needs all the advice he can get.” (Lance Price, former Labour spin doctor in The Mail on Sunday, 3 May 2009). “The trouble is that Gordon is basically mental. Perhaps he already was, but he is getting worse. He is constantly on the phone and won't leave ministers alone to get on with the job. ” (A Cabinet Minister in The Express, 25 April 2008).

Can they all be wrong? And if they're not, how on earth did the Labour Party allow this man to become PM?

The Tommy McAvoy Mystery

Veteran Labour whip Tommy McAvoy has suprised Westminster by today becoming the 142nd MP to announce he will stand down from Parliament at the next election. McAvoy, who has served in the Labour Whips Office since 1997, is considered to be a bit of a bruiser. He is 66 years old, so age could well be the reason, but some Scottish political observers are more suspicious.

The anouncement certainly came as a surprise to SNP activists in Rutherglen and Hamilton West since they've seen McAvoy out and about campaigning for what they assumed was his re-election.

It could of coyrse just be absolute coincidence that his announcement comes after Jim Devine claimed a male Labour whip advised him to claim his expsenses in the way he did. This claim was followed up by the Labour Party launching an internal inquiry to identify the whip whom Jim Devine fingered:

Conciidentally that was also the day (February 10th) that John Ward suggested Tommy McAvoy may be the whip;

"Giving a speech to the Oxford Union a few short years ago, Ken Livingstone told a somewhat different tale. He blithely informed the assembled students that the Labour Whips “encouraged MPs to claim for their second home allowance, and said ‘if you don’t want it – claim it anyway and give it to the Labour Party’”"

Intriguingly such comments echo with THIS article about Tommy McAvoy from 2009:

"McAvoy, a Labour whip since 1997, also claims the second home allowance while acting as a London landlord at the same time. The Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP has billed the taxpayer for around £64,000 in ACA since 2004. His entry on the Commons register shows he has received "rental income" on a residential flat in London since November 2002."

Finally, and as an aside, I've noticed of late that suggestions for friends on Facebook have been throwing up a significant number of Labour MPs. It made me wonder if they were setting up pages as part of their re-election campaigns.

If it is for re-election why did Tommy McAvoy set one up if he was retiring anyway?

Are US Conservatives Becoming More Tolerant?

The time's, they are a changin'. Back in 2007 and 2008 I attended the Conservative Political Action Committee conference in Washington (CPAC). It was certainly an experience. The speakers and delegates made Dan Hannan look like a lily livered liberal. Many of the stands were manned by people from organisations like Americans for the Family. Nothing wrong with that, except they weren't there to promote family values as such, they were there to warn of the dangers of those cotton pickin' homosexualists. Indeed, one stand offered cures for it.

The whole event played into the stereotype of right wing Americans being incredibly homophobic. But times have moved on. Watch this video of a CPAC delegate being jeered and booed when he protested at a group called Go Proud being allowed an exhibition stand.



More from the Salon War Room site HERE.

If the Republican Party is to win again it needs to move back into the political mainstream and ditch its reputation as a quasi-religious sect. Reagan knew that the party had to broaden its electoral appeal and he would have been horrified by the takeover of the Republican Party by the fundamentalist religious right.

Perhaps it is now time to be optimistic that things are changing on the Right of American politics, although one swallow does not make a summer.

Labour's New Slogan Revealed

Via Prodicus

Well That's The Irish Vote In the Bag...

There's no one as Irish as Dave Cameron. Begorrah.

Stratford Tories Pick Nadhim Zahawi

The last six safe Conservative seats have picked the following candidates...

Bromsgrove - Sajid Javid
West Suffolk - Matthew Hancock
Spelthorne - Kwasi Kwarteng
Suffolk Coastal - Therese Coffey
East Surrey - Sam Gyimah
Stratford upon Avon - Nadhim Zahawi

Yup, these local Conservative Associations really are full of small minded, sexist racists, aren't they? Each selection meeting was attended by hundreds of local people. They weren't directed. They listened to six candidates and then voted. Each one, selected on merit. No all women shortlists. No all black shortlists. Each one contained at least one white male to vote for, but the selectors opted not to, except in West Suffolk.

So if you're a Tory activist and hear anyone accusing your party of being anything but open, tolerant and inclusive, you can tell them where to go. And mean it.

The Daley Dozen: Friday

1. Will bloggers win the election asks TrueBlueBlood.
2. MTPT on another balls up.
3. Shane Greer on the LibDems and Sarkozy's shoes.
4. Jonathan Isaby on how Brown snubbed the Greek PM.
5. Are you in favour of English Votes for English laws? Click HERE.
6. Party Lines interviews Phil Willis on why he's retiring.
7. Danny Finkelstein on how the Jury Team has gone Stalinist.
8. Paul Waugh reveals how Harriet nobbled Legg.
9. Bob Piper, it is safe to say, is not a fan of James Purnell.
10. Paul Flynn previews the serialisation of his book in the Mail on Sunday.
11. Party Lines has Sir Nicholas Winterton uncut and unleashed.
12. MyLabourPoster has some excellent new pics


You can also generate your own posters HERE.