Len’ll Fix It: Vote Unite in Bristol North West

Telegraph’s Rowena Mason Off to Guardian | MediaGuido
Pull Out of EU Free Movement | Liam Fox
Falkirk Death Knell For Political Elites | Douglas Carswell
Will Voters Forgive or Forget Joan Ryan? | James Kirkup
Proposals For Trade Union Reform | Graeme Archer
Falkirk Has Become Labour’s Roswell | Dan Hodges
How I Posed as a Loony Lefty on Comment is Free | Telegraph
Unitemare: Union Myths Debunked | Alex Wickham
Public Still Thinks Miliband is Weak | Ben Brogan
Unite Official Chosen as Labour Candidate | Harry Phibbs
Mark Steel Should Get Real | Simon Danczuk MP

Len’ll Fix It: Vote Unite in Bristol North West

Not so long ago fresh-faced Darren Jones applied to be the Milky Bar Kid, now he is Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Bristol North West. His website modestly proclaims his credentials as having been “previously been identified as a “Future Leader” by the Foreign Office”, his tenor saxophone skills and his penchant for Plymouth gin.
One thing 27-year-old Jones doesn’t mention, though it is on his LinkedIn page, is that he is an Executive Member of Unite and is also on their Regional Political Committee. According toLabourList, “He works as a lawyer and has the backing of Unite the Union”. Jones, apparently with a straight face, insists “We don’t get any additional money from London or from wealthy donors such as Lord Ashcroft (who funds the Tories)”. Which seems an unfortunate attack line. Vote Labour in Bristol North West and you are voting Unite…

Len’ll Fix It:  Jack Dromey

Literally days before the selection of Harriet Harman’s husband Jack Dromey for Birmingham Erdington the local Labour Party received a donation of £1,500 from Unite, the union of which, at the time, he was Deputy General Secretary whilst Len McCluskey was the Assistant General Secretary and General Secretary presumptive. This incidentally was despite the seat originally due to be an All-Women-Shortlist…

The donation was registered on the February 4, 2010, the selection took place on February 26, 2010. Another seat bought and paid for by UNITE.

LISTEN: Gove Passes LBC Exam

Nick Ferrari did his best to stitch up the Education Secretary with a history and maths test on LBC this morning, but there was never really any danger there:
He’d have never heard the end of it if he’d got one wrong…
Gove hasn’t found it so easy convincing friends of his new money-making scheme, however. Last week he told a room of sceptical Tory activists:

“Many of you are strapped for cash. You need money. I have a guaranteed 100% successful money-making scheme which will double your funds. Go down to William Hill and bet on a majority Conservative victory and David Cameron as Prime Minister after the next General Election. You heard it here first. It is a guaranteed win.”

Bookies will more than double your money if you risk making Gove’s wager…

Two More Labour Selections Reported to Met Police

Tory MP Bob Neill has written to Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe asking him to investigate Unite’s behaviour in Labour selections in Ilford North and Lewisham Deptford. He alleges:

“there may have been fraudulent behaviour – a breach of Subsection 1, Section 2, of the Fraud Act 2006 under the terms of ‘false misrepresentation’, defined in the act as someone who ‘(a) dishonestly makes a false representation, and (b) intends, by making the representation, to gain for himself or another or causes loss to another/exposes another to a risk of loss’.
Furthermore, I believe that this may also constitute fraud by abuse of position, breaching Section 4 of the Fraud Act 2006, which states, ‘A person is in breach of this section if he: (a) occupies a position in which he is expected to safeguard, or not to act against, the financial interests of another person, (b) dishonestly abuses that position, and (c) intends, by means of the abuse of that position…to make a gain for himself or another’”

The allegations centre around Unite offering members free Labour Party membership in exchange for meeting Len McCluskey and Labour activist Mandy Richards claiming that Unite are “bankrolling” a number of “orchestrated” campaigns.
It is increasingly looking like Falkirk was not a one-off…

Sally Speaks

The tearooms have been rumbling with rumours about the state of John and Sally Bercow’s marriage recently. Probably not helped by her selling antique furniture on eBay and buying a new flat. Sun readers had Sally’s response to the speculation first in Guido’s column yesterday:

“Types from the PARLIAMENT FLAT where eating an omelette and toast for lunch (anything else you want to know about my life Guido?) Denied. Categorically”. Give over. S”

Sorry we asked Sally…

How Labour MPs Give Parliamentary Passes to Unite Lobbyists

Today’s Telegraph goes big on Unite Political Director Steve Hart being given a parliamentary pass by Labour MP Jim Sheridan, a story Guidoreported last month. Several Labour MPs employ Unite lobbyists, subsidised with taxpayer money, sponsoring them for parliamentary passes and having them work on party business.

• Jim Sheridan MP employs Steve Hart, Political Director for Unite
• John Cruddas MP employs Nick Parrott, Political Officer for Unite
• Mark Tami MP employs Hannah Blythyn, Political Officer for Unite
• Ronnie Campbell MP employs Stephen Turner, National Officer for Unite

Other unions are up to their neck in it as well. Ian Mearns MP employs Lisa Johnson, Tom Greatrex MP employs Catherine Godsell and Natascha Engel MP employs Heidi Benzing, all Political Officers at the GMB. David Hamilton MP employs James McGowan, a ‘parliamentary consultant’ at the ASLEF trade union. If the Tories took money from a private donor and gave them a parliamentary pass in return, it would be a scandal. That is exactly what Patrick Mercer did. Labour and the unions do the same thing every day and get away with it…