The one hundred and eighty ninth weekly "No shit Sherlock" award

The Commentator reveals that 'Leaked documents reveal Tory spinners in intensive anti-UKIP media briefings - The Commentator.

No shit, Sherlock.

Why cover up for them?

Amid all the disquiet over the payment of large sums of compensation to some British residents released from Guantanamo Bay, it seems that one question is not being asked: 'Why is this coalition government helping to cover-up the possible misdeeds of the last Labour government? Surely a full public investigation into which ministers knew of the torture, which authorised it and which lied to cover it up would assist in a) bringing the guilty to justice and b) showing the public quite how duplicitous some members of the last Labour government were.

To my mind by not investigating the alleged crimes of the last Labour government, questions arise as to the actual differences between the last Labour government and this coalition one.

Will Labour be back in power by 2012?

So asks Fraser Nelson and I fear he may well be right.

The Conservative party ups the rhetoric

Has any major UK political party ever before openly called the Prime Minister of the day a liar? I can't think of an occasion but then this is a very special type of Prime Minister.

Some thoughts on John Bercow as Speaker

Wikipedia describe the role of the Speaker and add

"Conventionally, the Speaker remains non-partisan, and renounces all affiliation with his former political party when taking office."

Somehow I don't think that John Bercow will find it all difficult to renounce his affiliation with the Conservative party.

The same Wikipedia article also records that the convention of not opposing a sitting Speaker seems to be one that in recent times has been followed by Conservatives not Labour:

"In General Elections, it is customary for the Speaker to stand without party affiliation. Since parties began being listed on ballot papers, the Speaker's affiliation is shown as "Speaker seeking re-election". In the past few decades, the Conservatives have not stood against Speakers seeking re-election, regardless of their previous political affiliation. Labour and the Liberal Democrats have stood against ex-Conservative Speakers, but not against ex-Labour ones. Plaid Cymru also stood against the Speaker in 1979. Most recently, in 2001 and 2005, the only major party to oppose the ex-Labour Speaker Michael Martin was the Scottish National Party. In the House"

Once again conventions are there for Conservatives to follow and so be restricted and Labour to ignore and so be free. My message to the Conservative party is to stop playing the game by the rules and to realise that Labour fight dirty, and I am afraid, so must the Conservatives.

Expenses in the open

The Conservative Party have put online the Shadow Cabinet's claimed expenses updated in "real time" (well every five minutes). A nice little use of Google Docs and I fear a permanent feature on my desktop, and how sad an admission is that?

So far just one seems questionable:

"Owen Paterson 13/05/2009 Administrative & Office Allowance Camera memory card 14.99"

"Claims must only be made for expenditure that it was necessary for a Member to incur to ensure that he or she could properly perform his or her parliamentary duties."

So is this memory card always only going to be used for parliamentary business?

Good video, crap slogan

"Now for change"?!

Do the Conservatives even want to win the next general election?

I would understand it if the Conservatives did not to win any upcoming general election as the economy will be at or near rock bottom and an incoming government would have to take the kind of unpopular decisions that Margaret Thatcher made but that David Cameron might not feel he wants to. However this Country needs to get rid of this corrupt and inept Labour Government so the Conservatives must win for the sake of the UK.

In the years running up to 1997 the Tony Blair lead Labour shadow cabinet focussed on winning the coming general election to the exclusion of almost anything else. I don't feel that intensity coming from David Cameron and his team. If that kind of intensity was being generated then I wouldn't mind if William Hague, Francis Mause etc. had second jobs or not; but it isn't, so I do.

If the Conservatives want to beat Labour they have to fight and fight harda

"Blogger Johnny Norfolk said...

Do you think Labour would have taken your attitude if it was the other way round. Labour hate the Tories, yet Tories behave like gentlemen to Labour.

Before Blair won his first election he went round like an angry youg man and had a go at anything and everything the Tories said and did.

It may not be pleasant but thats the way it is and there is a massive ammount of naivety from Tories who should know better.

We have to fight and that means using anything to fight as Labour do.

The preasant Tory leadership and supporters need to grow up and become streetwise

November 23, 2008 11:43 AM!

Thanks to Mr Norfolk writing in reply to one of Iain Dale's articles.