Petition For a Woman on the Fiver: Vote Maggie!

UKIP Could Win Over 100 Seats | Survation
Lynton’s Advice to Dave | James Kirkup
abour’s Posh Pal Jobs Hypocrisy | Speccie
Leave Delingpole Alone | Staggers
Case For Tactical Voting | Toby Young
Bill Roache is Tory Ad Campaign Star | Political Scrapbook
Tories Fall For UKIP Spoof | Dick Delingpole
Tories Fake UKIP Leaflets | The Commentator
Dave Only Listens to Yes Men | Dan Hodges
Ed Bets It All on Talking Up Decline | Mary Riddell
State Heads Back Gove Over Unions | Anthony Seldon

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

Petition For a Woman on the Fiver: Vote Maggie!

As we go to pixel, 14,320 people have signed the petition to the Bank of England to keep a woman on English banknotes. The signatories argue that, other than the Queen, it is important we have another woman represented:

“not only have numerous women emerged as leading figures in their fields, they have done so against the historic odds stacked against them which denied women a public voice and relegated them to the private sphere – making their emergence into public life all the more impressive and worthy of celebration.”

Always one to back the feminist cause, Guido agrees. Their suggestions of :

The first female party leader, first female First Lord of the Treasury, first female Prime Minister and first female to be awarded full membership of the Carlton Club.  Sign here for Maggie…

This UKIP Candidate Definitely Not Racist or Homophobic

Our colleagues over at The Sun put 18-year-old politics student Bradley Monk, standing for UKIP to get on the Hampshire County Council seat Winchester Eastgate tomorrow, on page 2 after he put pictures of himself wearing a creepy Jimmy Savile mask on his Facebook page. Further examination of his Facebook reveals him dressed in a bikini having a drunken snog with Eric Cunha, another UKIP activist. Guido thinks we can safely say this is one UKIP candidate who is neither racist or homophobic…

Tories and Guardian v UKIP, Staggers and a Delingpole

It takes something pretty special to unite the Tories and the Guardian, and then have UKIP and the New Statesman team up against them. UKIP candidate Dick Delingpole’s photoshop of himself with Hitler and subsequent Telegraph blog“confessing” to a non-existent Nazi past were so obviously a joke surely no one could fall for it. Step forward Simon Geraghty, Delingpole’s Tory opponent in Worcester, to bore us all with a cringeworthy sense of humour bypass:

“I find it absolutely sickening and abhorrent. I think the vast majority of British people will find this shocking – it’s not funny at all, it’s dreadful and I can’t believe he’s done it.”

The Guardian‘s Nick Watt even managed to bring himself to write the non-story up in full high-minded glory, apparently using the headline “Ukip in fresh Nazi row after candidate Photoshops Hitler image” without irony. You knew the whole thing had reached farcical proportions when theStaggers came out in defence of Delingpole this afternoon. CCHQ, a Tory candidate and the Guardian versus UKIP, the Staggers and a Delingpole – roll on Friday.

Public Backs Independent Royal Charter Proposal

More bad news for Maria Miller. A poll for Survation has found that the public back the press’ independent Royal Charter proposals over the government’s proposal, by a distance. The cross-party Royal Charter crucially gives politicians the power to change the system of press regulation in the future. 67% oppose this and back the independent Royal Charter’s alternative. Just 16% agree with Miller’s position. Survation also found that 76% believe any Royal Charter should be subject to a public consultation, something she has so far refused. Overwhelming…

Chuka and His Comedy Over-Sized Watches

Standard columnist Anne McElvoy’s astute observation last night got Guido thinking:
Turns out Chuka is a sucker for clocks and has quite a collection of over-priced, over-sized watches. First there’s his blingy chrome number:

Then there’s his more community-friendly leather-strapped classic:

Which evidently keeps you looking super cool when holding a mic:

Or when you’re the cover star of a politics mag. Make sure the camera can see it:

Trashy Will Smith doesn’t even wear a watch:

But as anyone knows, if you buy your suits on Savile Row, accessorising with a matching watch is a must:

And finally, if in doubt, buy one that is literally wider than your wrist:

We’re not winding you up. Everything you’ve heard is true, Chuka really does have a big watch…

MPs Ask For More Staffing Expenses Despite 25% Increase

As Guido reported in his Sun column at the weekend, greedy MPs are asking for even more of our money in expenses cash despite having their staffing budget raised by an unbelievable inflation busting 25% last year. In emails seen by Guido, piggy MPs claim that dealing with an increased number of problems due to cuts to local public advice services means they should be entitled to yet another “substantial” increase. They have been told where to go in no uncertain terms by the clearly unimpressed Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority:

“MPs will be aware that, following a comprehensive review and consultation, we increased the staffing budget by up to 25% in 2012-13. In the current economic climate, we consider this already substantial budget (£144,000 for London Area MPs and £137,200 for Non-London Area MPs) to be at the limit of what we, as a publicly funded body, are able to provide to MPs.”

They have some nerve…

Bill Roache AKA Ken Barlow Arrested on Suspicion of Rape

Corrie star Bill Roache, he of the 1,000 lovers, has been arrested on suspicion of rape involving a 15 year old girl in 1967. In March Roache was sticking up for celebs nicked by the Savile cops by saying sex abuse victims had brought it on themselves:

Roache: “If you accept that you are pure love, and if you know that you are pure love and therefore live that pure love, these things won’t happen to you.”
Interviewer: “To some people that sounds perhaps like you’re saying victims bring things on themselves – is that what you’re saying?”
Roache: “No, not quite, but and yet I am, because everything that happens to us has been a result of what we have been in previous lives or whatever.”

He also says society should “forgive” convicted sex offenders:

“There’s a fringe of people who, particularly pop singers, they have these groupies, these girls, who come, they’re sexually active, sexually mature, they don’t ask for their birth certificate, they don’t know what age they may be. If someone has done something wrong, the law will take its course. But even so, all of them, whether they are proven guilty or not, we should not be judgmental about anybody, ever. We shouldn’t go around condemning, unforgiving. We should all be totally forgiving about everything.”

Oops.

Tory MP Demands Ed Sacks Ken For Boston Bombing Slur

24 hours after Guido reported that Ken had blamed America for the Boston bombings on Iranian state television, and still he has escaped reprimand. Tory MP Brooks Newmark has now written to Ed demanding he be sacked from Labour’s NEC:

View this document on Scribd

“I find it wholly reprehensible for Mr Livingstone to link the Boston bombings to Western intervention in the Middle East. In doing so, he suggests that the actions of the two Boston bombers were justified and excusable. I am sure that both you and the Labour Party agree that terrorism, which in this case killed three innocent people and injured many others, is never justified and never excusable.
He also intimates that America itself was responsible for the bombings. I am sure that you will also agree with me that the only two people responsible for the bombings were the terrorists themselves.
As a member of Labour’s NEC, Mr Livingstone has been placed in a position of responsibility and influence within your Party. As leader of the Labour Party, I call on you to condemn these disgusting remarks and remove Mr. Livingstone from your NEC. I know you will want to do so as soon as possible to make clear that neither you nor the Labour Party condones such beliefs.”

Your move, Ed…

Voters Still Blame Labour For Economic Woes

Tory strategists could be forgiven for worrying that after three years of little or no growth and a £120 billion spending black hole this year alone, Dave and George’s reliance on blaming Britain’s economic slump on the last Labour government might be wearing thin with voters. Apparently not.
A study by media agency OMD of over 2,000 adults from across the UK has found that 53% still blame the previous Labour government for Britain’s ongoing economic problems, compared with just 39% blaming the coalition. 39% say Gordon is the main culprit, with just 27% fingering Cameron and 23% Osborne. Numbers Downing Street will be clinging onto…

Shock as ComRes Poll Puts UKIP on 22%

If you took Guido’s advice yesterday morning you could have got evens on UKIP getting  50 seats. Guido got a bit greedy after lunch:
After last night’s poll those odds are now 10/1 on…