Seaparated at birth?

The reverend Martin Wray forced to resign as vicar for attending a Vicars and Tarts party deressed as a tart.

The Ealing North Labour MP Stepehn Pound dressed as a ... along with the Cheeky Girls. Unfortunately Stephen Pound has not resigned.

Is the London Borough of Ealing the nexus of evil?

Monday nights Panorama programme revealed thatone distribution centre for the controversial Saudi Arabian Ministry of Education's textbooks was on Northfields Avenue, Ealing W13. I remember the fuss over the teaching of Sharia Law and intollerance at the King Fahd academy on East Acton lane, Ealing W3 and of course there is the North Korean Embassy on Gunnersbury Lane, Ealing W5.

What is going on in Ealing and should not the local MPs be investigating?

What do Stephen Pound (Ealing North - Labour), Angie Bray (Ealing Central and Acton - Conservative) and Virenda Sharma (Ealing Southall - Labour) have to say on this subject?  Actually I don't think any of the three sites are in Ealing North but Stephen Pound must have an opinion about this, he has one about practically everything else.

Stephen Pound showing off his well known charm

They Work For You report an interesting exchange in the House of Commons yesterday. It seems that David Burrowes (Enfield, Southgate, Conservative) having just entered the Chamber started to ask a question of the Minister:

"My hon. Friend makes a characteristically good case in support of his argument, and I join him in supporting-"

only to be interrupted by Mr Deputy Speaker Mr Lindsay Hoyle):

"Order. Some hon. Gentlemen have just come into the Chamber, but in fairness they ought to have been here for most of the debate. I am being quite lenient, but I really do think that we ought to think about that in future."

The Minister, Philip Davies (Shipley, Conservative) replied:

"Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I will continue. I will have a chat outside with my hon. Friend; we can resolve our potential differences outside the Chamber."

To which the great wit and would be hardman Stephen Pound (Ealing North, Labour) retorted:

"See you outside."

Philip Davies (Shipley, Conservative)took the sensible line and replied

"My hon. Friend is much bigger than I am, so I would not want to get into an argument with him."

So is Stephen Pound a wag and humorist or does he really think he is a hard man? Here's Stephen Pound showing his more feminine side...



Here's some background on Stephen Pound that I feel every constituent should know, from his Wikipedia entry:

'In 2003 BBC’s Today Programme asked its listeners to suggest a law that they would like to see put onto the statute books. The BBC received 10,000 nominations and five were short-listed, from which listeners then voted to select their preferred choice. Stephen Pound agreed to sponsor in parliament whichever idea eventually won the final vote. On 1 January 2004 it was announced on air that first place with 37% of the vote had gone to the proposal to authorise homeowners to use any means to defend their home from intruders. (The controversial farmer Tony Martin was still very much in the news.) Stephen Pound’s on-air reaction to the result was that, "The people have spoken — the bastards".'

What a charmer...

Stephen Pound's voting record is worth a reminder:
* Voted against a transparent Parliament.
* Voted for introducing ID cards.
* Voted for Labour's anti-terrorism laws.
* Voted for the Iraq war.
* Voted against investigating the Iraq war.
* Voted for the hunting ban.
* Voted for laws to stop climate change.

And his expenses record is also worth recalling:

'In May 2009 it was discovered Pound had claimed a mileage allowance of £4,251, equating to 11,004 miles of travel between his constituency and Parliament 11 miles away. He explained this by saying he made the trip 'two or three times a day'.

Pound is one of the 98 MPs who voted to keep their expense details secret.'

I just don't see how Stephen Pound's explanation holds water. As I blogged back in June 2009:

'Let's take an average of 10 miles per one way trip for this West London MP which makes 20 miles a round journey for this Honourable Member. Now the House of Commons itself says that the House of Commons sat for 165 days in the 2007/08 session but let's be generous and assume that not only did Stephen Pound attend every sitting day they also went to the Palace of Westminster for other important Commons business on another 35 days (that's almost three days a month), thus making a nice round total of 200 travelling to Westminster days. Now 200 days at 20 miles a round trip makes 4,000 miles. So why the claim for 11,004 miles?

Could Stephen Pound please substantiate his claim of travelling two or three times a day to the Palace of Westminster? If he did do this regularly surely he would have diary entries to show he was frequently between his two places of work.

Completely coincidentally; I note that Stephen Pound voted 'Aye' in the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill, Clause 1, Exemption Of House Of Commons And House Of Lords back in 2007. In other words he was one of the 98 MPs who voted to keep their expense details secret. '

Stephen Pound once again shows his sensitive side when dealing with the public

The Pink Paper reports that:

'Labour MP Stephen Pound has been accused of calling Arsenal’s former England defender Sol Campbell a “fairy” during a recent Premier League football match.

The recently re-elected Labour politician is said to have made the homophobic remark when his football team, ­Fulham, failed to overcome rivals Arsenal during a game at the Emirates Stadium in North London, last weekend.

The 61-year-old was heard making a string of offensive remarks whilst ranting from his £35,000-a-year ­executive box.

One Arsenal fan who was present at the match with his wife and teenage son told The Daily Mail: “Usually, if you are an away supporter in a box, you keep very quiet. We were in front of this executive box and I heard a stream of abuse.

“Two ladies behind me said they couldn’t believe the language being used, and that they thought it was coming from an MP. I turned round and recognised Stephen Pound.

“He called out to Sol Campbell ­saying ‘You are a big f***ing fairy.’ I was so shocked that I wrote what he said down in my programme. It was the language of the gutter. He went on to shout abuse at the ref saying ‘What game are you at — you f***ing w****r.’ Then I saw him leaning over the box to make an ­offensive gesture. A steward went up to him to remonstrate.”

Pound, who voted for gay ­equality rights in Parliament, insists his words were not directed at ­Campbell, saying: “I am ­thoroughly ashamed of myself. I didn’t call Sol Campbell any names — I would never have done that. But I did insult the referee because Sol Campbell brought down our striker in the penalty box, but a penalty wasn’t given.

“I am also embarrassed to admit that I gave the ‘coffee bean’ gesture. The steward is a constituent of mine. He came up to me and asked me to keep my language down because there were children present.

“I apologised profusely and said I wouldn’t do it again and sat there with my mouth zipped for the rest of the game. He didn’t ask me to leave but had he done so, I would have.”'

When does the 'recall MP' law come into effect and will it be retrospective to the start of this parliament?



Thanks to Tory Bear for the spot.

So who is the liar (update)

This morning I blogged:

"Andrew Rawnsley claims that staff at Number 10 were intimidated by outbursts from Gordon Brown. From today's Observer -

"..Sir Gus O’Donnell, the cabinet secretary, became so alarmed by the prime minister’s behaviour that he launched his own investigations when he received reports of Brown’s bullying of staff. O’Donnell then gave the prime minister a stern “pep talk” and ordered him to change his behaviour. “This is no way to get things done,” he told Brown. The revelation that the prime minister’s behaviour was so extreme that it triggered a warning from Whitehall’s most powerful official will shock the political world and is bound to lead to claims from his opponents that he is not fit for another five years in office as a general election draws near."

The PM's spokesman said the claim in a book by the Observer's chief political commentator Andrew Rawnsley were "without foundation" and "malicious".

Labour MP Stephen Pound confirms that Gus O'Donnell warned Gordon Brown about his behaviour.


Not all of these people can be telling the truth, at least one must be lying; but who?"

Tonight I heard on BBC 5Live and you can read on the website that Christine Pratt of the National Bullying Helpline has reported that several people in Gordon Brown's office have contacted their anti-bullying charity. Christine Pratt decided she had to come forward because 'Mandelson' had been so certain that no bullying had taken place.

So once again I say not all of these people can be telling the truth, at least one must be lying; but which?


Dizzy Thinks has some fascinating Hansard sourced information.

So who is the liar?

Andrew Rawnsley claims that staff at Number 10 were intimidated by outbursts from Gordon Brown. From today's Observer -

"..Sir Gus O’Donnell, the cabinet secretary, became so alarmed by the prime minister’s behaviour that he launched his own investigations when he received reports of Brown’s bullying of staff. O’Donnell then gave the prime minister a stern “pep talk” and ordered him to change his behaviour. “This is no way to get things done,” he told Brown. The revelation that the prime minister’s behaviour was so extreme that it triggered a warning from Whitehall’s most powerful official will shock the political world and is bound to lead to claims from his opponents that he is not fit for another five years in office as a general election draws near."

The PM's spokesman said the claim in a book by the Observer's chief political commentator Andrew Rawnsley were "without foundation" and "malicious".

Labour MP Stephen Pound confirms that Gus O'Donnell warned Gordon Brown about his behaviour.


Not all of these people can be telling the truth, at least one must be lying; but who?


I see that Iain Dale has a handy list of 14 alleged examples of Gordon Brown temper tantrums. As Iain Dale asks

"Can they all be wrong? And if they're not, how on earth did the Labour Party allow this man to become PM?"

Here come the authoritarian "greens"

There is an Early Day Motion (number 2057) that says (my emphasis):

"That this House recognises that there is a climate emergency and that the catastrophic destabilisation of global climate represents the greatest threat that humanity faces; further recognises that the world is already above the safe level of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration for a stable planet; further recognises the need to reduce this level to 350 particles per million or below; believes it is impossible to predict how close the world is to dangerous tipping points and that action to reduce emissions now is worth considerably more than doing the same later; further believes that immediate action is required to enact a program of emergency measures with substantial emissions reductions in the short term of the order of 10 per cent. by the end of 2010; further believes that the majority of money spent on reviving the economy should be on green measures and that at least two hours of prime time television per week should be used to explain the gravity of the crisis to the public; further believes that unabated coal and domestic flights should be phased out by the end of 2010, that a speed limit of 55 miles per hour should be introduced and investment made in energy efficiency and renewable energy, public transport and the retro-fitting of efficient insulation to existing housing stock technologies leading to the creation of a million green jobs by the end of 2010; and further believes that the introduction of such measures would send a positive signal to other countries leading up to the UN climate change summit in Copenhagen and beyond."

So who are the economic geniuses who believe that one million green jobs could be created? Have they any workings to get to this figure or are they just parroting what they have heard elsewhere? Who are the MPs who think that "at least two hours of prime time television per week should be used to explain the gravity of the crisis to the public"? I wonder if they think that viewing these two hours a week should be made compulsory?

Here are the EDM signatories with my comments about them:
Challen, Colin - Labour nitwit whose last EDM signature "congratulates all those refuse workers, members of the GMB and Unison, at Leeds City Council who have been solidly on strike since 7th September"

Bottomley, Peter - Sopping wet Conservative MP and serail EDM signatory

Hepburn, Stephen - Labour MP and a serial EDM signatory, maybe he feels has nothing else to do being as he has such a safe North East seat

Austin, John - Another Labour MP and serial EDM signatory including to protesting against anti-Israeli settlements

Pound, Stephen - Another Labour MP and serial EDM signatory who finds the time to suck up to Richard Branson, express "outrage at Israel's overwhelmingly disproportionate use of force in Gaza" and "welcomes the United Nations' mandated report led by eminent judge Richard Goldstone, which details transgressions by both the Israeli military and Palestinian groups during fighting from December 2008 to January 2009 in Gaza; notes that the report concludes that Israel's actions amounted to war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity due to disproportionate use of force that involved the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure and the use of illegal weapons and human shields as part of an intentional policy directed at the people of Gaza as a whole" - Oh how I look forward to this ignorant fool being kicked out by the electors of Ealing North next year.

Hoyle, Lindsay - Yet another Labour MP and serial EDM signatory

Holmes, Paul - Yet another serial Labour MP and EDM signatory

McDonnell, John - Another Labour MP happy to sign up to condemning "the continued illegal blockade of Palestinian Gaza territory by Israel; notes that the blockade causes immense pain and suffering to Palestinians in Gaza; is further concerned that medical and food supplies are not allowed into Gaza by the Israeli forces; further notes that the Israeli military forcibly boarded an aid ship while in international waters, in violation of numerous international laws; praises the work of the Free Gaza Movement ships Dignity and the Spirit of Humanity, which bring in much needed humanitarian assistance; and asks that the Government use all available diplomatic channels to end the blockade."

Clapham, Michael - Another Labour MP and serial EDM signatory, this one found time in his busy schedule to "warmly welcomes the award of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama"

Cryer, Ann - Another Labour MP and serial EDM signatory and of course one of the great House of Commons "troughers" of this parliament

Drew, David - Another Labour MP and serial EDM signatory, this one still thinks like a worried sixth-former and "calls on the Government officially to endorse the proposal for the adoption by governments of voluntary National Declarations of Commitment to Eradication of Hunger and Malnutrition by 2025"

Gerrard, Neil - This Labour MP one seems to hope to get some BBC work with his "notes that the BBC is recognised as setting a quality standard for broadcasting throughout the UK"

Hancock, Mike - Lib Dem and another serial EDM signatory

Stunell, Andrew - Another Labour MP who believes he knows what is happening in Gaza and is so wrong


I wonder how many more MPs will sign this EDM and why so many MPs sign so many EDMs to so little effect?

Stephen Pound at it again

Rent-a-quote Ealing North MP, Stephen Pound< has been at it again. This time he was spouting rubbish in The Mirror. Apparently The Mirror has discovered that

"The Tory leader, an outspoken critic of "waste and inefficiency", also has four speech writers among the 28 staff working for him in Parliament."

Stephen Pound, who should know quite a bit about waste is quoted as saying

"Not even the President of the United States needs 12 secretaries... This must be the biggest job creation scheme in the country."

First of all that is factually incorrect, here is a list of the 487 people working for the "WHITE HOUSE OFFICE and OFFICE OF POLICY DEVELOPMENT". Of these over 50 seem to be working in the areas of press and diary work. As an aside I blogged last week about the 22 staff on Michelle Obama's staff; 11 of which seem to be concerned with her diary and press matters.
I wonder if Stephen Pound could tell us how many "secretaries" Gordon Brown has working for him. Maybe Stephen Pound could also tell us how many of Gordon Brown's are being paid for by the taxpayer and how many by the Labour Party. Maybe he could then tell us how many of David Cameron's staff are being paid for by the taxpayer. So where's the waste?

Labour MP Stephen Pound said: "This is a cringeworthy, patronising attempt by a middle-aged man to convince listeners he is 'modern'."

Further to "twatgate", The Sun report that:

"Labour MP Stephen Pound said: "This is a cringeworthy, patronising attempt by a middle-aged man to convince listeners he is 'modern'.""

I wonder if there are any cringeworthy photos of Stephen Pound? Oh yes here's one...

How about an example of Stephen Pond swearing on the radio, surely that could never have happened...

"In 2003 BBC’s Today Programme asked its listeners to suggest a law that they would like to see put onto the statute books. The BBC received 10,000 nominations and five were short-listed, from which listeners then voted to select their preferred choice. Stephen Pound agreed to sponsor in parliament whichever idea eventually won the final vote. On 1 January 2004 it was announced on air that first place with 37% of the vote had gone to the proposal to authorise homeowners to use any means to defend their home from intruders. (The controversial farmer Tony Martin was still very much in the news.) Stephen Pound’s on-air reaction to the result was that, "The people have spoken - the bastards"."

Odd how Stephen Pound's history is not brought up when he decides to opine on matters of moment. Oh well only another 10 months before Stephen Pound is out of a job as MP and we never have to listen to his views again.

Stephen Pound is a "saint"?

In the matter of MP's expenses The Telegraph classify Stephen Pound MP as a saint, I beg to disagree. As I reported earlier this month,

"A piece of the ongoing expenses scandal that escaped my attention was mileage claims so it was with great interest that I read this in The Mail. Apparently:"Politicians are milking their transport allowances by claiming largely unverified mileage which would take some of them around the world.
...
Stephen Pound (Labour) Distance from Westminster: 11 miles. Amount claimed: £4,251. Total miles said to have been covered: 11,004. Said he drove between his constituency and Westminster two or three times a day to 'get out and about'."

Let's take an average of 10 miles per one way trip for this West London MP which makes 20 miles a round journey for this Honourable Member. Now the House of Commons itself says that the House of Commons sat for 165 days in the 2007/08 session but let's be generous and assume that not only did Stephen Pound attend every sitting day they also went to the Palace of Westminster for other important Commons business on another 35 days (that's almost three days a month), thus making a nice round total of 200 travelling to Westminster days. Now 200 days at 20 miles a round trip makes 4,000 miles. So why the claim for 11,004 miles?

Could Stephen Pound please substantiate his claim of travelling two or three times a day to the Palace of Westminster? If he did do this regularly surely he would have diary entries to show he was frequently between his two places of work.

Completely coincidentally; I note that Stephen Pound voted 'Aye' in the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill, Clause 1, Exemption Of House Of Commons And House Of Lords back in 2007. In other words he was one of the 98 MPs who voted to keep their expense details secret.

MPs mileage claims

A piece of the ongoing expenses scandal that escaped my attention was mileage claims so it was with great interest that I read this in The Mail. Apparently:

"Politicians are milking their transport allowances by claiming largely unverified mileage which would take some of them around the world.

They received £1.9million in petrol money alone in 2007-08, as well as £2.2million on train tickets and nearly £900,000 on air fares. "

I am a Londoner so here are just two examples of London Labour MP's claims:

"Labour MP Rudi Vis received £5,292 for driving about 15,000 miles even though his Finchley and Golders Green constituency is just nine miles north of Westminster."

"Stephen Pound (Labour) Distance from Westminster: 11 miles. Amount claimed: £4,251. Total miles said to have been covered: 11,004. Said he drove between his constituency and Westminster two or three times a day to 'get out and about'."

Let's take an average of 10 miles per one way trip for these two North/West London MPs which makes 20 miles a round journey for these Honourable Members. Now the House of Commons itself says that the House of Commons sat for 165 days in the 2007/08 session but let's be generous and assume that not only did these two MPs attend every sitting day they also went to the Palace of Westminster for other important Commons business on another 35 days (that's almost three days a month), thus making a nice round total of 200 travelling to Westminster. Now 200 days at 20 miles a round trip makes 4,000 miles. So why the claims for 15,000 and 11,004 miles?

Could Stephen Pound please substantiate his claim of travelling two or three times a day to the Palace of Westminster? If he did do this regularly surely he would have diary entries to show he was frequently between his two places of work.


Completely coincidentally; I note that Stephen Pound voted 'Aye' in the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill, Clause 1, Exemption Of House Of Commons And House Of Lords back in 2007. In other words he was one of the 98 MPs who voted to keep their expense details secret.

Stephen Pound watch

Part of an occasional series keeping an eye on the antics of one of the most unpleasant of the current Labour MPs.

Phil Taylor reports on Stephen Pound's excusing of Hamas rocket attacks on Israel.

Howard Denton reports on Stephen Pound's "rubbishing of the blogs"

The Lone Voice reports on Stephen Pound's fun and games in the Commons chamber.

Planet Jamie issues a challenge to Stephen Pound - take a read.


Stephen Pound, not worth what he is paid as an MP but then with a bit of luck he will be out of that job within just over a year.

Labour MPs in West London have just added another nail to their political coffins (Stephen Pound update)

Further to my piece yesterday about the Heathrow third runway debate and my . I have discovered at The Public Whip that Stephen Pound was very bravely "absent" for this vote. Was he ill, was he unavoidably away from the House on that day? It would seem not as he managed to vote, on the same day, with the Labour Government on the Deferred Division — section 5 of the european communities (amendment) act 1993.

I presume that when campaigning in Ealing North at the next General Election he will just say that he abstained on the vote regarding the Third Runway. I trust that that will not be enough to satisfy his electors and that another lickspittle Labour MP will lose his seat.


Of the other West of London MPs:
Alan Keen MP, Feltham & Heston - LAB - For third runway
Ann Keen MP, Brentford & Isleworth - LAB - For third runway
Fiona Mactaggart, MP for Slough - LAB - For third runway
Vincent Cable MP, Twickenham - LD - Against third runway
Susan Kramer MP, Richmond Park - LD - Against third runway
Greg Hands MP, Hammersmith & Fulham - CON - Against third runway

I trust that local electors will note how their Labour MP voted on this issue and vote them out of office in 2009/10. Maybe the next Parliament will have no Labour MPs for West London and the west of London; here's hoping.

Labour MPs in West London have just added another nail to their political coffins

The Labour Government have managed to push their plans for a third runway at Heathrow through a vote called by the Conservatives on an opposition day. Gordon Brown of course didn't want to allow a vote on this matter; he doesn't really like democracy as we know from the way his team ensured there would be no vote when he succeeded Tony Blair as Prime Minister, his cowardly backing down from an Autumn election in 2007 and of course his refusal to allow the British people a vote on the Lisbon Treaty.

Anyway by a majority of 19 the third runway squeaked through the House of Commons, around 25 Labour MPs rebelled including Ealing Southall's Virendra Sharma who represents a constituency that will particularly hard hit by the extra noise and building work. Other West of London Labour MPs that I believed rebelled include Ealing Acton and Shepherd's Bush's Andrew Slaughter and Reading West's Martin Salter. I wonder how Ealing North's Stephen Pound voted, he is a real Labour government toady so Did he vote for his constituents' interests or his Government's? I will check in Hansard in the morning.


So how many Labour MPs in West London and beyond will keep their seats when the electorate see the choice, on this one issue, as being between a Labour party devoted to imposing the third runway on London and a Conservative party committed to cancelling the project. Bye bye Labour MPs, hello happy West London constituents rid of their Labour lickspittles.

It's a scandal

The BBC are going big on the story that "Conservative leader David Cameron has apologised after being photographed ignoring red lights and cycling the wrong way up a one-way street." They have even put up the video footage for the public to view and "rent-a-quote" Labour MP Stephen Pound has been prevailed upon to comment "David Cameron aspires to make the laws of the land but can't uphold them.". I believe my views on Stephen Pound are well documented on this blog.

It is interesting that the BBC are happy to put on their web-site the video of David Cameron on his bike but have yet to make available some more interesting video of Gordon Brown. For your pleasure here it is in all it's finger licking glory...

Beware, this article contains a sickening photo

Stephen "The people have spoken - the bastards" Pound appears in rather fetching garb in this photo from a BBC article






"Labour MP Stephen Pound is squirming with embarrassment over pictures of him dressed as a Cheeky Girl.

The tattooed Ealing North MP performed two songs with the pop duo at an MPs' variety night on Thursday.

"I was cringing so deep inside my Spandex hot pants I did not even notice the crowd's reaction," said Mr Pound."


What is happening to the Labour party? In the last six months or so, the wearing of make-up and general campness seems to have been all but encouraged. Just this week Andy Burnham appeared on Question Time in what appears to be rather a lot of make-up




Normal on the right, Question Time appearance on the right. Andy Burnham's defence according to the BBC "The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport spent yesterday denying claims that he had layered on the make-up for an appearance on Question Time. He said he had suffered a life-long problem of people thinking he was wearing cosmetics when he was not." Just look at those eyelashes, Mrs NotaSheep is very jealous.

The BBC and the Peter Hain story

I see that the BBC have mover the Peter Hain sleaze story. The main news is now that Gordon Brown has "called for a national debate" on changing the organ donation system to one of opting out rather than opting in. Lots of cuddly film of people this change would help, no mention of the Alder Hay affair though.


The second story is on George Bush and his description of Iran as the world's leading state sponsor of terror. More of the usual disparaging of George Bush included.


The Peter Hain story is number three in the running order but being the BBC it is being linked to the somewhat different matter of the allegations being made about George Osborne's office's financing.

The BBC always happy to muddy the waters in order to support their beloved Labour government.

That Labour party shit, Stephen "Steve" Pound, was shown doing his usual bit of mud throwing on behalf of his Lords and masters. He supported Hazel Blears for the position of deputy leader of the Labour party but his main loyalty is to himself and his career, albeit that career stalled when he resigned his position as PPS to the afore mentioned Hazel Blears over the decision to replace Trident; maybe he is trying to resurrect it and the BBC are trying to help him do that, but why? My favourite Stephen Pound story is reported in Wikipedia thus: "In 2003 BBC’s Today Programme asked its listeners to suggest a law that they would like to see put onto the statute books. The BBC received 10,000 nominations and five were short-listed, from which listeners then voted to select their preferred choice. Stephen Pound agreed to sponsor in parliament whichever idea eventually won the final vote. On 1 January 2004 it was announced on air that first place with 37% of the vote had gone to the proposal to authorise homeowners to use any means to defend their home from intruders. (The controversial farmer Tony Martin was still very much in the news.) Stephen Pound’s on-air reaction to the result was that, "The people have spoken - the bastards"."

It's called democracy Steve, something Labour politicians really don't like, unless it gives them the result they want.