The Death of St. Stephen’s Club | Speccie
Global Trade Vision Would Save Economy | Allister Heath
Guido and the Social Media Gunpowder | Roy Greenslade
Treacherous Lib Dems | Trevor Kavanagh
Dave’s Olympic Hangover | Ben Brogan
Questions for Sandbrook | Telegraph
Dave Stands Up to Clegg | Speccie
1% Suffering Global Oppression | FT
Vested Interests the Scourge of Democracy | Ruth Porter
Lady T’s Triumphs Will Live On | John Phelan
The Olympics, Patriotism and the Multicultural Delusion | Dan Hannan
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2012
Boris and Dave Go Head to Head
Well on the airwaves at least. While the Prime Minister was reacting to the latest grim economic news on LBC, the Mayor of London was able to grandstand on the Daybreak sofa. Boris informed viewers that he doesn’t want Dave’s job just yet, saying he does not want to be PM “at the moment”. He said it is “inconceivable” that he would get the job. “That’s what they said about you being Mayor” replied Kate Garraway. Quite…
TUESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2012
LibDems Lords Leaflet Laughing Stock
LibDems in Manchester have been left red-faced this afternoon after their members posted a leaflet through voters’ doors last night claiming that the party was still leading the way on Lords reform:
It’s almost as if yesterday never happened…
Via @ChorltonGreen
Tebbit Turns on Mensch
Lord Tebbit is not very happy with Mrs Mensch and the wider Tory malaise he sees her as representing. Taking to his Telegraph blog, he’s on the rampage:
“…since my day as Party Chairman, Tory Central Office has usurped almost all of the power to choose candidates from the local Conservative Associations. I warned against such a move, which has predictably contributed to the near collapse of grassroots membership of the Party. Trust is a two-way street and neither trust nor respect can be earned by shouting orders. Nor has it done much to strengthen the bond between Members and their constituents.
Secondly, when I entered the Commons in 1970, to be a Member of Parliament was regarded as an honour and a privilege that came with obligations. It was not a job sought for the pay and perks. I cannot look into the heart of Mrs Mensch, but it appears that she has put her newly acquired husband above the constituents that her website still says she was “honoured to have been elected to represent” only two years ago.
Of course it might be said that I left the Commons to care for my wife, but that was in the light of her injuries and after 22 years in the House having given good notice before the end of my term that I would not seek to stand again. It is the apparently casual attitude of Mrs Mensch towards the obligations she had undertaken which concerns me: it is as if these days being a Member of Parliament is no more than a job.”
As Guido reported this morning, CCHQ have not learnt the candidate selection lesson yet…
Standard Chartered Call In Diamond Spinners
Being accused by US regulators of laundering money for the Iranian government has unsurprisingly given Standard Chartered bosses a PR headache. While the bank’s share price plummeted some 18% this morning. StanChar’s top dogs have responded by bringing in the spinmeisters Maitland - the same comms team employed by Bob Diamond to spin his way out of the Libor scandal so successfully. The bank is insisting that the decision to axe their old alliance with Roland Rudd’s team at Finsbury today after ten years and replace them with a team of crisis management spinning experts is purely coincidental. But then they would say that…
CCHQ Begin Corby Candidate Contest Badly
Wannabe Tories on the party’s approved candidates list were left unimpressed last night when this hit their inboxes:
From: Chairman of Candidates
Date: 6 August 2012 17:58
Subject: Corby and East Northamptonshire
To: CandidatesThe Party now has a pending Parliamentary by-election in Corby and East Northamptonshire and we are asking every candidate on the Approved List to rise to the challenge. Our call centre in CCHQ Midlands, based in Coleshill will be open from 10.00am until 8.00pm on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, or you can make evening calls from CCHQ.
To take part please contact xxxx@conservatives.com with the dates you are available to help.
If there are reasons why you cannot give your support at this time, please let Gareth know by emailing xxxx@conservatives.com or Davina on xxxx@conservatives.com
Carlyn Chisholm
Chairman of Candidates
Before asking people to sacrifice their time and effort in the name of a by-election, would it not have been more sensible to tell the hopefuls the process, if one exists, by which one of them could become the candidate? Or is this by-election selection, as widely speculated, going to be another back-room stitch up? The A-list parachuting operation went so well last time…
MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 2012
Labour Party Officially Admits “Wreckless [sic] Borrowing”
While the Coalition are at each other’s throats, it looks like someone in Labour HQ might want to have a look at what the party’s Northern Ireland arm is up to. Their official Twitter account declared on Friday night: “nobody disputes the crippling debt left by wreckless borrowing not even Labour”. Some refreshing honesty here:
@LabourPartyNI I have no idea what any of that is supposed to mean. Aside from the implied "two wrongs" at the start.
@mjshilliday nobody disputes the crippling debt left by wreckless borrowing not even Labour I assume the Con Dems have addressed this?
Guido can think of at least two Eds who dispute that claim in no uncertain terms…
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