WATCH: Daily Politics Week in 60 Seconds

Not Dan Hodges says:

July 7, 2013 at 11:23 am 

Owen Jones walks into a bar, and finds it staffed by a dinosaur. “Bloody hell, shouldn’t you be extinct!?” says the dinosaur.

RMT Own Shares in Company That Fired Strikers | Telegraph

Reshuffle Explained | Paul Goodman

Being on Far Right of Centre Left | Hopi Sen

Why Bob Russell’s Comments Were So Offensive | The Commentator

Murdoch Moves Papers to Baby Shard | MediaGuido

Why Do Left Turn Blind Eye to Extremism? | Indy

No Labour Reshuffle Before Recess | LabourList
Scrap Unite’s Taxpayer Funding For Union Official | Harry Phibbs

Don’t Nationalise Politics | Allister Heath
Clegg Flirts With Miliband | Times

Mandarins Blow £1 Billion | Mail

FRIDAY, JULY 12, 2013

WATCH: Daily Politics Week in 60 Seconds

ABC Newspaper Circulation June v May

A good month for the Daily Star, with daily circulation up 1.13% to 540,849.The job-slashing Indy meanwhile stoops further toward the 70,000 mark…

First New Snowden Photo

Wearing the same shirt as the last time he was pictured, he certainly has the look of a man who has slept in an airport for the last two weeks…

Via Guardian.

Grande Floppuccino

By Guido’s calculations the Guardian coffee shop is costing them £240,062-a-year, that’s around £20,000 blown already since it opened at the end of May. They were clearly having a slow start when Guido paid them a visit, though perhaps things have picked up? One co-conspirator decided to find out yesterday lunchtime:

The numbers don’t look good either. At prime time they had only sold 94 cups, well short of the 270-a-day they need to stay afloat.

Maybe Guido is being unfair and it’s not just Guardian Coffee that is struggling. How might the other cafes and restaurants in the Shoreditch box park be getting on by comparison?

Oh dear…

H/T @libdemlife

Dave Wants Sir Bob Kerslake Out

Looks like the PM has had enough of his panjandrum-in-chief Bob Kerslake. Sir Bob has been a constant brake on Civil Service reform,blocking Francis Maude’s attempts to give Secretaries of State greater powers to hire and fire Permanent Secretaries. His ill-advised Thatcher tribute that drew accusations of “prostituting high office” went down spectacularly badly as well. Then there was his decision to take away two privilege days - where civil servants get extra days off in addition to bank holidays – and add them to their leave. Just the sort of thing to test Number 10′s patience a step too far…
UPDATE:

Miliband Poster Girl’s Union Link Dishonesty

Who would be the perfect person to introduce Ed before he delivered his big speech on trade unions this week? Why, a Labour candidate with no trade union links, of course. Miliband’s team had Birmingham Yardley candidate Jess Phillips warm up for the Labour leader, making sure she emphasised her credentials as a poster girl for Labour’s independence from the unions:

“I benefited from being in the right place at the right time. The right place was the Labour Party, the right time was under Ed Miliband’s leadership because what I found, when I decided to get back involved, was a party crying out for people like me. Not because of my links with any union, company or political pressure group. In fact for the exact opposite reason, because I was none of these things, I am not sure they even cared about me being a member of the party. What I was, was a member of a community. A community who had done something brilliant, we had got organised.”

Just the one problem: Jess’ claim that she was selected “Not because of my links with any union, company or political pressure group. In fact for the exact opposite reason, because I was none of these things” is a bit of a whopper. On leaflets she sent to party members before her selection Phillips admits:

“I have been nominated by all the branches (Acocks Green, Stetchford and Yardley North, Sheldon, South Yardley) and also by the CWU [Communication Workers Union].”

She also explains how she has “worked with the CWU” campaigning on local issues. So Miliband’s shining example of a Labour candidate independent from union influence is union-affiliated after all. Shocker.

H/T Birmingham Post

Mini-Government Reshuffle Pencilled In for Next Thursday

The FT say Wednesday, Sky say otherwise , but the reshuffle speculation is reaching fever pitch before the summer break. A Downing Street source explains it well: “there are two very good rules with reshuffle speculation. 1. If you hear if from a journalist it is almost certainly b****ks. 2. If you hear from an MP it is undoubtedly b****ks, unless, in this case, that MP is called David and he lives in No.10.”  Bloggers, on the other hand…
Guido hears that, provided that the plan does not change, Claire Perry has less than a week to clear her desk – the mini-reshuffle is ‘pencilled in’ to the grid for Thursday 18 July. It may have been pencilled in, but with the hype growing it could well be brought forward.
You can read all of Guido’s speculation about the minor-movements from over the last few weeks here. There are no big changes expected, but plenty of deckchairs rearranged and deadwood shifted from the lower rungs of government. The ladies will do particularly well. 

THURSDAY, JULY 11, 2013

Another LibDem MP Smears Israel

If anyone was wondering whether Bob Russell was a good judge of character, all they need to do is take a look at his choice of old flatmate: that Mike Hancock fella. The LibDem MP is in hot water for comments about Israel. Questioning Michael Goveabout the new curriculum on Monday, the oddball repeated a now common smear from LibDem lawmakers: that the State of Israel is organising the government-sponsored and mechanised ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Remember Jihad Jenny Tonge and David “the Jews” Ward? Well Russell is clearly on the same page:

“On the assumption that the 20th century will include the Holocaust, will he give me an assurance that the life of Palestinians since 1948 will be given equal attention?”

One for “questions to which the answer is no”…

Via The Commentator

Guidogram Going Out Shortly

The Guidogram round-up of the week is going out shortly.
Thousands of Westminster insiders read the Guidogram, everyone from Downing Street insiders to Fleet Street never miss it. Will Dave give up his pay rise?
Join the conspiracy and become a subscriber to the Guidogram, free, to keep in the loop. You’re either in front of Guido, or behind…