Labour Have NHS Cake and Eat It

Will Dave Reshuffle Women into Cabinet Chumocracy? | Guido Fawkes
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Tit-Tastic Day For HuffPost UK | MediaGuido
Labour Cannot Survive Without Unite | City Unslicker
2015 is Cameron’s to Lose | Dan Hodges
Labour’s NHS Trusts Cover Up | Sun
Ed Davey’s Secret Company Hides Election Expenses | Scrapbook
Labour Must Bear Blame For Decline of NHS | Sean Worth
Cameron is Destroying Tory Party | Nigel Farage
Drop Crosby’s Clients Then Put Him in Charge | Paul Goodman
ICM Was Most Out With UKIP in 2009 | Political Betting

IDS reignites his long running row with the BBC:

“What you are doing, as always happens in the BBC, is seeking out lots of little cases from people who are politically motivated to say this is wrong.”

Old Holborn says:

July 16, 2013 at 10:26 am 

13,000 NHS dead and Andy Burnham is shrieking that he is the victim. No need to ask where Andy comes from.

TUESDAY, JULY 16, 2013

Labour Have NHS Cake and Eat It

In two hours’ time the Kingswood Labour Party will be celebrating the selection. And what would be the best way to mark the occasion, today of all days? How about an NHS Birthday Party, a dark hour cheered up with “with drinks, nibbles, and Birthday cake”. Cutting the cake, twisting the knife…

VICTORY: Lobbyists Have Passes Removed

Victory for Guido’s campaign against passholder lobbyists as 80 people who work for APPGs have their parliamentary passes taken away from them. Last year Guido revealed Patrick Mercer, then Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Security, received almost £10,000 from a private security firm, sponsoring their MD’s pass for his troubles.

Now the House of Commons Commission has decided that “APPG staff passes should be withdrawn with effect from July 18 and that this category of pass should not be used in future”. Bad news for lobbyists…

H/T Jon Craig

Labour Shadow Health Minister Loses It After Debate
Jamie Reed’s Foul Mouthed Tirade

Tensions are running high in the heat. After the unedifying scenes in the House earlier, Labour’s Shadow Health Minister Jamie Reed cracked under the pressure. During the statement Tory David Morris, who represents one of the Trusts that was plagued with problems, called for Burnham’s resignation. After leaving the Chamber Morris said hello to ever irritating, but usually mild mannered, Jamie Reed MP. “F**k Off” Reed bellowed in response before waddling away in huff. Raw nerve, eh?
UPDATE:

Paddy Power: Betting Tips for the Reshuffle

What should you do with all the money you made taking Guido’s tip to stick your cash on UKIP for the local elections? Over at the Paddy Power Blog, Guido studies the form for the reshuffle, will a woman be promoted into the chumocracy?

Envy of the World Live Blog

Needed: Data Protection Expert for Labour HQ

As the police investigate their selection process in Falkirk, Labour have thought it a good time to hire some crucial new staff members. Apparently it is “essential” that the new “Head of Membership“ has an“understanding of data protection rules relating to personal data. S/he is responsible for development and implementation of the Labour Party’s retention and recruitment strategies based on a continuously improving understanding of membership.” Given some of Labour’s newest members did not even know they had been signed up, the lucky candidate will have their work cut out…

Guardian Still Losing Half-a-Million a Week

Guardian News and Media made an annual loss of£30.4 million last year, as hard as they try to spin it that still means they are haemorrhaging half a million quid a week. Guardian Media Group made an operating loss of £54.8 million last year, reporting profits before tax of £22.7 million. Presumably meaning their profits after tax were £22.7 million. For three years Guido has been asking GMG where their 50.1% stake in TMG (Autotrader) is held. Guido has asked the GMG CEO Andrew Miller and Alan Rusbridger, who to be fair – despite sitting on the GMG board – admitted he had no idea. Also fortuitously Guido was sat at a lunch next to Dame Liz Forgan chair of the Scott Trust, asked her about GMG’s offshore secrets and she said Guido was the last person she would tell. So much for that famed commitment to openness and transparency.  Still no answer, we’re working on the theory that they have created an aggressive tax avoidance structure – solely to avoid UK tax – maintaining for 7 years an offshore Cayman’s holding corporation.*
Some good news though: the Guardian annual report says their hedge fund investments and investments exploiting third world emerging markets are performing well. Alan Rusbridger meanwhile took home total remuneration of £491,000, with chief executive Andrew Miller pocketing £769,000, including a £100,000 bonus fat-cat bonus putting him on some 72 times the earnings of the Guardian’s lowest paid staff. Austerity is only for the staff…
*If any bean counters have any ideas as to why Trader Media Group’s financing costs are so high when it is so profitable, please share in the comments, could it be that they loaded the onshore part of the group up with debt that is serviced by paying the interest, presumably tax-free, offshore to the GMG Caymans holding company? They then can use the tax free profits to support the loss making journalism? Does that theory make sense? How exactly does the money flow from TMG to GMG?
See also Guardian’s Offshore Secrets

Tories Call For Burnham to Resign

Last night around 50 Tory MPs were briefed by Jeremy Hunt ahead of today’s statement on Bruce Keogh’s mortality review. One attendee tells Guido they will call for Burnham to resign for “failing to defend patients”, accusing him of a “catastrophic failure” and insisting his position is“untenable”. The Tories will claim “these hospitals failed on their watch”, that Labour “ignored the warnings” and “instead tried to cover things up”. One Tory MP warns Guido “we really want to do the business today”.Justice for the 13,000…
UPDATE: Ominous:
13,000 dead and somehow Burnham is portrayed as the victim. Pull the other one…

Chillax Before Axe

With Cabinet moved to Thursday and the reshuffle expected to be complete by then, Dave was in full chillax mode last night enjoying a pint with his troops on the Commons terrace. With today being dominated by the NHS it would seem silly to distract from putting pressure on Burnham by beginning movements tonight. Most Tory sources are expecting calls to be made late Wednesday with the announcement made Thursday morning. Probably on Twitter like last time.  Not long to wait now, Claire…

Two Things to Note From Today’s Guardian/ICM Poll

Labour and the Tories are neck and neck with UKIP trailing off in this morning’s ICM poll for the Guardian. Though as Mike Smithson explains ICM was the pollster most out with UKIP at the 2009 Euros, where it undershot their result by 6.5% and had them in fourth place when they came second. Also worth taking into account that at the weekend Survation had UKIP on 20%, Opinium on 19% and ComRes on 18%. Still, who knew union bashing and welfare reform was so popular?