Taxpayers paid £50,000 for Bloggers to attend G20.

From Hansard:

Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department provided to the G20 Voice programme; and for what purposes such funding was used.

Mr. Thomas: The total amount of funding provided by the Department for International Development for the G20 Voice programme was £49,700. This covered travel and subsistence costs for bloggers from the developing world; technical support and costs associated with the briefing day. Initial indications show that the programme reached a global audience of 14 million.

£50,000? Was it really necessary? I suppose it doesn't matter if it's not your money that you're spending.

Nick Robinson - Gordon Brown has lost respect of Party.

You know it's all over for Gordon Brown when Nick Robinson sticks the boot in this hard:

After Peter Mandelson's wry description of "a bit of a week", he went on to deny that the prime minister had lost his authority.

However, Gordon Brown shows every sign of having lost the respect, the fear and habit of loyalty from his party which are the foundations of prime ministerial authority.

Bye bye Gordon.

Full story HERE.

Massive Government Cover-up on MPs Expenses?

If this article from the Daily Mail has any truth about (and I believe that it does) then there is a major Downing Street cover-up in operation. As I pointed out HERE, if Daily Mail source is right, then Labour Whips are fully aware or some very dodgy practices being perpetrated by some of their MPS.

If Ministers and MPs have made indiscretions so bad that they are will have to resign in July, and some are supposedly on "Suicide Watch" then they should have already been sacked by Gordon Brown. Instead we are going to have to wait until the expenses are published in July to find out what Gordon Brown and his Whips know.

Why haven't these MPs been sacked? Why are these MPs still being paid? Why is this being covered up?

Gordon Brown to resign petition tops No10 chart.

The petition asking Gordon Brown to resign is now topping the No10 petion charts. There are currently 32,136 signatures.

You can add yours by clicking on the boot.

Are some Labour MPs suicidal over dodgy expenses?

There is a story running in today's Daily Mail claiming that some Labour MPs are on "Suicide watch". The Mail claims that a source says the MPs fear that they will be exposed as fraudsters and adulterers when expense receipts are published in July. I'll let you read the full sickening story HERE yourself.

The question I want answered is this: If the Whips are putting MPs on "Suicide watch" and there are many rumours of Ministers being forced to resign when the receipts are published, then why are these people still in a job? It is more than obvious that the Whips and Gordon Brown know about their dodgy colleagues' activities. So why are they being allowed to take the taxpayers money?

Will No10 claim they knew nothing about their crooked and adulterous MPs? If they do, then I think we can say that they will be lying through their teeth. If Gordon Brown and his Whips know about dirty MPs then I want to know who they are NOW. I don't want them to receive a single penny more of my money. I do not want to wait until July for these despicable people to lose their jobs.

And if Gordon Brown knows about these people, then he should be sacking them immediately, not waiting until the public find out. If he does not sack them now, then he is unfit to be Prime Minister and should resign today.

Gurkhas vote - The people 1 Gordon Brown 0.

So democracy is not totally dead in this country after all. Though I understand that Gordon Brown was trying to stifle it in the voting lobby with his henchmen. Well done to Nick Clegg for putting forward this motion for a better deal for our Gurkhas. And well done to all those MPs that showed Gordon Brown just how wrong he was on this subject.

MPs voted by 267 to 246 in favour of the LibDem motion to extend an equal right of residence to all Gurkhas.


Who are the 246 that voted against this motion?

Here are the Labour MPs who did the right thing:

Dianne Abbott

Ian Cawsey

Harry Cohen

Jeremy Corbyn

Paul Farrelly

Mark Fisher

Neil Gerrard

Kate Hoey

Kelvin Hopkins

Joan Humble

Glenda Jackson

John McDonnell

Shona McIsaac

Andrew Macinlay

Gordon Marsden

Bob Marshall Andrews

Julie Morgan

Nick Palmer

Stephen Pound

Nick Rainsford

Andy Reed

Linda Riordan

Alan Simpson

Andrew Smith

Paul Truswell

Keith Vaz

Robert Wareing

Mike Wood

PMQs - Gordon Brown to resign edition?

Looking forward to PMQs today. Will David Cameron really stick the boot in and mention the petition asking Gordon Brown to resign? It's been a bad week for Gordon and I think mentioning the petition could have him biting chunks out of the Dispatch Box.

Also the Conservative Blogosphere get-together (general piss-up) could be firming up to Sat 30th of May, meeting up at lunch time in St Stephen's Tavern in Westminster. What do you think? Leave a comment HERE or email me.

Conservative bloggers get-together (piss-up).

I've blogging for a couple of years now and I haven't met any of my fellow Tory bloggers. With that in mind I thought it would be a good idea to have a bit of a get-together. This is not some kind of Tory blogger strategy meeting (we don't do them as we are independent of the party) it's just a chance to meet, have a few drinks and possibly see a few of the sights in Westminster. I'm not proposing any hard and fast ideas, just an outline.

Maybe we could meet on a Saturday or Sunday in Westminster (St Stephen's Tavern opposite Big Ben perhaps) at lunchtime. You could have your own plans (say looking around the cathedral or other attraction) that others may wish to tag along with you for an hour or so. The pub could just be a base of operations with us coming and going as we please. Some may wish to just sit in the pub and have a bit of a drink and a laugh.

Of course I'm not talking just about bloggers, but those who follow and comment on Tory blogs. I suppose you don't even have to be a Tory, we're all one big blogging family.. right? It would be nice if we could organise this within the next month or so i.e before the Euro elections so we have something to talk about. What do you think? All suggestions are welcome. Please leave a comment or email me. If there is enough interest I will try to organise a get-together that the majority of us can attend.

Cheers

Steve.

Eric Pickles' - War room briefing No 1

I received a Conservative bulletin from Eric Pickles a while ago. Eric was letting us know about a new series of "war room briefings". Basically it's an inside view of Tory preparations for upcoming elections. Here is the first war room briefing:

Government not ready to deal with Pandemic Swine Flu.

Why am I not surprised by this: Government not ready to deal with Pandemic Swine Flu.

God give me bloody strength.

The Petition asking for Brown to resign now has 22,500 signatures. You can sign it by clicking on the boot.

Harriet Harman - Please stop this pay gap crap.

Nothing makes my blood boil more than the made up pay gap crap coming out of Harriet Harman.

For the year 2007 to 2008, the gap between women's median hourly pay and men’s was 12.8 per cent. Not bad when you consider breaks for pregnancy and the fact that many more women (than men) work in the low paid retail sector. Men in general, do not take career breaks and therefore tend to occupy more senior positions than women. If Harriet Harman was to publish figures that showed a wide gap between men and women who occupy the same positions, then I would take her more seriously.

From the National Statistics:

Although median hourly pay provides a useful comparison between the earnings of men and women, it does not necessarily indicate differences in rates of pay for comparable jobs. Pay medians are affected by the different work patterns of men and women, such as the proportions in different occupations and their length of time in jobs.

Enough said?

Recession to save us from this Socialist Tyranny?

There could be some good news coming out of this recession that Gordon Brown has got us into. The obvious bit of good news is the high likelihood of getting rid of our incompetent Labour government. But there are other important benefits. A new government will mean a wiping of the slate when it comes to spending and borrowing. Just like the last time the Conservatives took over from Labour, there is going to be a period of sensible spending and borrowing to get the country back off it's knees. Unfortunately this only lasts until Labour get back in power and ruin years of good work.

One other benefit of the recession is the stalling of Labour's attack on our civil liberties. They simply cannot afford to go ahead with their dreams of total public control. Already we have had a backtrack on the massive government run database that would monitor and log all of our private electronic communications. However, our idiotic government are still going to fork out a least £2bn (£10bn in Labour pounds) of our money to let private companies spy on us for them. Now there is rumour that government ministers are letting it be known that the ID Card scheme could be next for the chop. We will still have to hand over a hell of a lot of our money to the companies tasked with setting up the ID Card system, but we could save £5bn in the long run.

The very definite chance of losing the General Election could also be good for the freedoms our ancestors fought so hard for. Labour in their desperation to hang on to power, or as many seats as possible, will have to sort out all the abuses of power that have made them so unpopular. One such abuse is the distortion of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) by councils. Jacqui Smith has called for a review into this misuse of power (a misuse which has been going on for years by the way). It's funny how the thought of losing a General Election can get a Minister to finally listen.

Yes, this recession may see many of us worse off financially, but it could be of untold benefit to our civil liberties.

Remember it was another socialist, Lenin, that said:

"It is true that liberty is precious; so precious that it must be carefully rationed."

Quote of the day - Alan Johnson on Swine Flu.

"People will wish to know whether they should wear facemasks"

Alan Johnson MP.

Surprisingly Alan was making a statement to the House of Commons on the Swine Flu outbreak, not MP's expenses.

Independent ComRes poll give Tories 19 point lead.

Tick tock tick tock.... It's only a matter of time before Brown gets it in the back from his own side.

This may be the start of it.

Climate change protest in House of Commons.

Apparently four soap dodgers have glued themselves together around a statue in the House of Commons. I suggest giving them a good ignoring to, and no attempt should be made to un-stick the idiots.

Gordon Brown - grovelling for his life in Pakistan.

I'm watching Gordon brown holding a press conference with the Pakistani Prime Minister and it is truly cringe worthy. He is kissing arse like he's never kissed arse before. It looks like he has been snubbed by the President for our treatment of the 11 Pakistani students arrested under terror laws earlier this month. If you remember Brown had a bit of a go at Pakistan for not doing more to stop extremism.

The man is a disaster. By the way, the Petition asking for Brown to resign now has 15,000 signatures. You can sign it by clicking on the boot.

London is turning Tory - YouGov Standard.

More bad news for Gordon Brown and his bunch of incompetents. The Evening Standard is reporting that it's latest YouGov poll shows a massive swing (14 London seats) in favour of the Conservative Party. The graphic shows the change since 2005 in brackets.

Database - Jacqui Smith thinks it's OK to spy on us.

Forget civil liberties. Jacqui Smith believes that creating a mass database containing all of our electronic communication is a great idea. Her justification is that the database will make it easier for police and the security services to investigate crime and terrorism. And that's true. However, giving the police guns, and then allowing them to shoot anyone they think could be breaking the law would also make their job a lot easier, but that is clearly not the right thing to do.

Our communication details are already held by individual companies for 12 months, and they are available to the police on request. But that is not the same as a mass database under the control of the government. This is a massive step in the wrong direction. The next step in that direction would be to start recording the contents of our communications without having to worry about those silly civil liberty thingies.

Former Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Ken Macdonald said:

"This database would be an unimaginable hell house of personal private information. It would be a complete read-out of every citizen's life in the most intimate and demeaning detail."

Not only is this database an injury to our civil liberties, it will also be incredibly costly if this government's track record is anything to go by. Can you believe that at a time when we are all going to struggle, our idiotic government wants to waste billions of pounds of OUR money to spy on us? - They are totally clueless.

Petition: Gordon Brown to resign. 10,000 and climbing.

UPDATE:

There is a number ten petition worthy of signing: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to resign. Please go along and sign up. And don't forget to tell your friends. Email your contacts. It's our chance to tell Brown how we feel about him ruining this country. Click on the boot.




10,848 signatures @ 08:57 - Let's make it at least a million.

Gurkha settlement - The government's dishonourable discharge.

How long have we (the public) been asking for a fair deal for our Gurkha veterans? I could list all sorts of stories, I could mention the medals won, the numbers dead, the injuries, the dedication, the service. But would I be wasting my time? this government just don't get it do they? For God's sake, they don't even support our troops who are fighting for us now, never mind our veterans. I don't know whether it is better to tell people to wait until we have a Conservative government to get this sorted once and for all. Brown it seems, just does not care.

There is a petition you can sign, but I don't hold any hope in Gordon Brown giving a damn no matter how many people sign it.

Click HERE to sign up.

William Hill - Brown 8/1 to go to IMF for loan before GE.

William Hill are offering odds of 8/1 that the Government will have to go to the IMF for a loan before the General Election takes place. 'Having to go cap in hand to the IMF would be the ultimate humiliation for Messrs Brown and Darling, but there are plenty of punters prepared to bet that it will happen.Political betting has become so popular that we are already predicting a £20m+ betting turnover on the outcome of the next General Election' said Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.

Michael Caine - Labour are like a rotten piece of meat.

Michael Caine has been talking to the Telegraph's Roya Nikkhah. Michael is not pleased with Labour or Gordon Brown. He is most definitely not a fan of their 50% tax.

The Government has taken tax up to 50 per cent, and if it goes to 51, I will be back in America. "I will not pay the Government more than I get. No way, ever. "They've reached their limit with me, and that's what will happen to a lot of people. You know how much they made out of that high taxation all those years ago? Nothing. But they sent a mass of incredible brains to America.

"We've got three-and-a-half million layabouts laying about on benefits, and I'm 76, getting up at 6am to go to work to keep them. Let's get everybody back to work so we can save a couple of billion and cut tax, not keep sticking it on.

"Brown's never been elected by anybody. I'm supposed to be in a country where I get the chance to elect someone and I'm around here at the most dangerous of times led by a man who's never been elected. You've gotta be elected.

"A political party that's in too long is like a piece of meat – if it's there too long it will go rotten and they've gone rotten and they've gotta go."

EU Profiler - Where do you fit in?

Have you tried the EU Profiler? Here's mine:

From what I've seen of the results of other Conservatives, Conservative voters are more euro sceptic than this survey assumes. Take the test HERE.

Hat tip Conhome.

Petition: Gordon Brown to resign. Roll up, roll up.

There is a number ten petition worthy of signing: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to resign. Please go along and sign up. And don't forget to tell your friends. Click on the boot.



@ 19:05, 2509 signatures and counting.

Telegraph YouGov poll gives Tories an 18 point lead.

Is anyone surprised by this poll? What it does show is that there are some real die hard, brain dead Labour supporters out there. What does Brown have to do to stop people voting for him? bite the head off of a puppy?

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Nick Robinson has a go at Alistair Darling.

At last BBC Journalist has had a decent go at a government minister. Nick Robinson asked Alistair Darling some probing questions and at times was pretty aggressive, accusing Darling of being dishonest. Of course Darling dodged all the question in a style we've become accustomed to from watching Brown during PMQs. No matter how hard Nick tries, Darling will not use the C word.

50% Tax rate - poll results.

Yesterday I asked if David Cameron should oppose the 50% tax rate. Here's the result:

Not a massive turnout, but I would imagine that most of those voting were party members. I would call Brown's bluff on this. The people will see through this cynical tax, just like they did with the Tory Toff campaign.

Quote of the day: A 50% tax special.

"A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul."

George Bernard Shaw.

Should Cameron oppose the 50% tax rate?

Vote HERE.

George Osborne's video response to Darling's Budget.

Watch Gordon Brown Dance - Yeah Baby!

Hat Tip The Crown Blog.

Vote: Should David Cameron oppose the 50% tax?

Here are my thoughts on the 50% tax on those earning over £150,000. What do you think?

Should David Cameron oppose the 50% tax?
	Yes
	No
pollcode.com free polls

David Cameron - Oppose the 50% tax rate.

David Cameron should strongly oppose and promise to scrap the 50% tax rate for those earning over £150,000.

It is a typical Labour gimmick and the public are sick of their spin and lies. The 50% tax rate will raise about £1bn, which is less than the increase in fuel duty will raise. Compared to the £600bn Darling is going to borrow over the next four years, the gains from this politically motivated tax hike are a drop in the ocean. Do the public really want to see the country's money makers used has political pawns by Labour? Do they really want to see our highfliers driven abroad?

This is the Tory Toff campaign all over again and I believe the public won't fall for it. In fact I think they will be repulsed by more of Labour's cynical class politics.

UPDATE: I've just had another thought - just watch what this tax rate will do to charity incomes. I'm sure many paying 50% tax will say that they are already doing their bit and stop giving.

(No I don't earn anywhere near £150,000).

The Budget - What a pack of lies and spin.

This has got to be the worst budget on record (In fact, I've just realised that I'm shaking my head as I'm typing this).

The 50% tax rate for those earning over £150,000 will raise less than a billion pounds compared to the £175bn the government are going to borrow this year alone. It's a gimmick, it's electioneering and it's going to drive high earners (along with their businesses) abroad. Most of the extra money raised by Darling this year will not be coming from rich, but from the rest of us through a rise in tax on fuel, fags and booze. I think Labour have made a serious mistake introducing this 50% rate. Already the BBC are pointing out that it will raise next to nothing and will only alienate the money makers. In other words it's spin, and I think it will backfire like the Tory Toff campaign.

Like all Labour budgets it gets less palatable the longer you chew it over. They say they are "investing in growth", when they are actually making cuts to public services. They want us to believe these are not cuts but efficiency savings. If there are billions to be saved by making departments more efficient, then just how incompetent are the clowns running them? Apparently £3bn of "efficiency savings will be coming from the health and education budgets. Saying these would not be touched was yet one more lie.

And the debt... the debt.

My predictions for Alistair Darling's Budget (2009).

My predictions are not going to be specific, they are just going to be outline of the budget as a whole:

1. Tax reductions, increases in tax credits, giveaways to the shiftless and further borrowing/spending in general will all happen now.

2. All tax increases (apart from the stealth ones) and spending cuts (sorry - efficiency savings) will take place from 2010 onwards i.e. after the General election, making them Cameron's problem.

3. You will hear the world "Global" many, many times.

4. That's it.

This budget is going to be a farce. We won't see a real budget until after the general election.

Quote of the day: A budget Special.

"A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul."

George Bernard Shaw.

I think that sums up tomorrow's budget nicely.

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I could have wrote this.

Gordon Brown - Smile and the world smiles with you.

Watch this for a laugh. How many people do you think are working him? My favourite bit is 1min 55secs in. What a cheese!

Exclusive: Spot the Balls contest - play now!

Can you spot the Balls?

Quote of the day: Harriet Harman (post Smeargate).

"We will stick fast to our principles and values,"

Harriet Harman (STUC annual congress in Perth).

Oh Shit.

Darling's Budget - The biggest Labour lie to date?

Wednesday will show us just how low Gordon Brown and his puppet Chancellor, Alistair Darling, are willing to stoop. If Darling really wants to save the economy, he has no choice but to cut spending and/or introduce major tax increases.

Alistair has already leaked to the press (leaks are OK when they're doing the leaking) that he is going to cut £15bn from Whitehall spending. Wow £15bn, sounds a lot doesn't it? It is, but unfortunately it is just a drop in the ocean compared to the likely to be announced borrowing figure of £160bn. Not only that, but these cuts are planned in for 2010-2012 (i.e. after the general election). Obviously this means that Brown and Darling are in fact cutting absolutely, positively nothing. They won't make cuts before an election and they most definitely will not raise taxes. They will put their jobs before economy and country, all for a few more years feeding at the trough.

I think it's pretty obvious that if this were to be the first budget of a new term in office, then any Chancellor worth their salt would be both cutting spending and raising taxes. They are betting that they can just hang on to power if they don't make the real cuts needed - or raise taxes sufficiently. It's a win-win situation: If their do nothing (before the election) policy works, then they get a few more years in power, but if they lose the general election, all the debt is David Cameron's problem. It's the last throw of the dice, and Labour are willing to gamble with our lives.

What I want to know is: if Whitehall is inefficient to the tune of £15bn, why can't these cuts be made now? And perhaps more importantly - why have they been allowed to become so massively inefficient? Why has nothing been done before now? I think you know why.

Maybe Labour's cheerleader J.K. Rowling has been helping write the budget: Alistair Darling and the budget of imaginary cuts.

Axe the Beer Tax - 48 hours to save the Pub.

From Axe the Beer Tax:

MPs and celebrities rally in support of the Great British pub and oppose plans to increase beer tax

Almost two thirds of the public agree that increasing beer tax will lead to more pub closures, according to a new poll published today by the Axe the Beer Tax, Save the Pub campaign.

And nine in ten people believe that, in terms of his overall tax policy, the Chancellor should be seeking to freeze or lower taxes in this week’s Budget.

The poll is published as the beer and pub industry warns there are only “48 hours to save the pub” as a result of Government plans to increase beer tax by 2% above inflation for the next four years. This comes after beer tax was increased by 18% in 2008 alone.

Earlier polls have shown that 70% of the public and 59% of MPs are opposed to increases in beer tax at a time when six pubs a day are closing and thousands of jobs are being lost in the beer and pub industry.

The Axe the Beer Tax, Save the Pub campaign is this morning holding an event with supporters and celebrities at the Red Lion pub in Westminster only yards from HM Treasury – and a delegation of MPs will be presenting a signed postcard to protest at the Government’s plans.

The campaign – jointly sponsored by the Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) and Camra, the Campaign for Real Ale - has won 70,000 supporters since it was launched late last year.

The main findings of the poll, carried out by ComRes last week, are:

· 90 per cent believe that, in terms of his overall tax policy, the Chancellor should be seeking to either freeze or lower taxes in the forthcoming Budget.

· 64 per cent believe that if he increases beer tax it will put more pressure on pubs and lead to more pub closures

· 60 per cent believe that a beer tax increase will lead to more job losses in the brewing and pub sector.

· 29 per cent say they would be less likely to go to the pub if beer taxes go up.

Responding to the poll, chief executive of the BBPA, David Long, said:

“This poll shows that the public understands the damage that increasing beer tax has on pubs. The Government increased duty by an eye watering 18% last year and pubs are closing at a record rate – at about six a day.

“Such closures have a disastrous effect in terms of jobs and the life of communities. And yet the Chancellor is still planning to impose further increases this week.

“The proposed tax escalator will increase beer tax by 2% above inflation each year for the next four years. Yet it was proposed 12 months ago when earnings were rising and the economy was strong. Today, earnings are falling and consumption of beer in pubs is at its lowest since the Great Depression.

“The budget is just two days away. There are 48 hours to save the pub. Mr Darling must listen to the majority of the public and MPs and recognise that increasing beer tax at this time is wholly unjustified and to do so will be to sign a death warrant for thousands more pubs.”

Jacqui Smith is now odds-on to get the sack.

From William Hill:

HOME SECRETARY, JACQUI SMITH IS odds-on to be out of her job before the end of the year say bookmakers William Hill who offer 1/2 that Ms Smith departs by then.

'Our punters are convinced that the controversy-prone Ms Smith is for the chop by the end of the year and we have taken virtually no bets for her still to be in her current role on January 1, 2010' said Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.

Hills offer 6/4 that Smith will still be Home Sec on Jan 1 2010.

It also looks as if her constituents have had enough of her too.

A message from David Cameron - Smeargate etc.

David Cameron usually sends out a weekly message to members on the email list. I thought this week's would be worth sharing with those not on the dist list:

Dear Steve,

I think it's been a pretty defining week in the history of this Government.

It started with all that nonsense over Easter when it emerged that while people up and down the country were worried about their jobs, homes and futures, one of the Prime Minister's main advisers was busy cooking up lies to spread about me, my colleagues and our families. After five days, the Prime Minister finally took full responsibility and said sorry. But, in many ways, that's the easy part. The hard part is what comes next - addressing the culture of spin and smear in Downing Street. As anyone who works in an office knows, it's the boss who sets the culture - so Gordon Brown's got to ask himself some serious questions.

And it ended with the Director of Public Prosecutions chucking out the charges against Damian Green. Let's be clear what happened here. An Opposition MP was arrested, and he and his family put through hell, for simply doing his job. It was wrong. He's been vindicated. And the Home Secretary's got to ask herself some serious questions.

Taken together, these episodes demonstrate clearly the need for change. Not, as Gordon Brown would have it, change in some advisers' code or a review into police operations. But a change in leadership at the very top. This lot have been in power far too long - they're out of touch, forgotten who they're serving, what they're in power for and how they're meant to behave. To bring some integrity back to Downing Street, the only answer is an election and a change of government.

But this week hasn't been all about politics. I visited Stafford Hospital on Tuesday - that's the place which had really unacceptable standards of care. It was incredibly moving to meet victims and their friends and family. And though it was little consolation to them, I outlined how the Conservatives would help stop another Stafford from happening again by having an information revolution so hospital failings are exposed quicker.

I'm sure there'll be as much to write about next week - it's the Budget.

Pretty much sums it up really. Have a good weekend.

Life in prison for embarrassing Anti-Citizen Smith?

Maybe Wolfie was right in one respect, we do need more power to the people. Especially when we have people in power like our Anti-Citizen Smith (or Jackboot Jacqui to her mates mate to people who know her). You don't want to be embarrassing Jacqui, apparently you get raided by anti-terror police, locked up and threatened with life imprisonment.

Damian Green was asked if he knew why he had be threatened with life, he said: "I assume it's because it's a common law offence therefore because there is... no law on the statute book which I was alleged to have broken, then presumably there is no set sentence for it. "I just thought this was absurd."

And now we have the A C Smith coming over all, "it's my job to protect the people", Bollocks Jacqui. You think the people should do as they are told. Apparently Jacqui's announced that there is going to be a review into councils spying on us. She wants to stop the anti-terror laws being abused for reasons such as putting your bin out early. What she fails to point out is that it was her government that introduced such laws, and she has done absolutely bugger all to stop councils using those laws to spy on us.

It's the worst kind of spin. It's like Jacqui giving orders for you to be whipped and then saying she is going to hold a review into cracking down on those who whip. It's time to go Anti-Citizen Smith.

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Biased BBC's spin on Damian Green's innocence.

The BBC's Gillian Hargreaves has put up an article that uses "unnamed sources" sympathetic to Jacqui Smith. It wouldn't be Jacqui's porno watching husband would it Gillian? Here's what Gillian has to say about Damian Green's good news:

Sources close to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith have made it very clear to me that there was huge frustration.

They [the sources] are far from satisfied over the decision not to charge Mr Green or Mr Galley.

The sources point out that the director of public prosecutions said it had been right to call the police to investigate as soon as a pattern of leaks was established.

They [the sources] also highlight that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the relationship between Mr Green and Mr Galley had breached the standards expected of those in public service.

Why was it right to call the police to investigate if there was no case against Damian Green and no danger to national security?

And what the hell has the CPS got to do with standards expected of those in public service?

Sources close to the Home Secretary my arse. New Labour, same old spin.

Jacqui Smith loses more face over Damian Green fiasco.

Just how dodgy and incompetent can Jacqui Smith get? Her expense claims are highly questionable. It's only because her claims sit just within a very flimsy set of rules that she is not being charged with misappropriation of taxpayers money. Well that covers the moral side of Jacqui, but what about her professional side? Enter Damian Green, the man who exposed the Home Secretary's incompetence.

Damian Green received leaked information, and as shadow immigration minister he had a duty to bring that information to public's attention. The rank incompetence of the Home Secretary is most definitely of public interest, and that is exactly how the CPS saw the case. There was no breach of national security - Jacqui Smith got mad because she was made to look stupid and incompetent - so Damian Green got arrested for doing his job. Jacqui Smith claims not to have ordered the arrest, but how much pressure did she put on civil servants to stop her continued embarrassment?

Speaking outside Parliament, Damian said:

"I'm obviously very pleased with the director of public prosecutions' decision this morning. "This has been an extraordinary period. One of my jobs as Conservative immigration spokesman is to expose the many failings of the government's immigration policy.

"That's precisely what I was doing in this case and that's why ministers were so embarrassed. "That has led to the first arrest of an opposition politician for doing his job since Britain became a democracy.

"I cannot think of a better symbol of an out-of-touch, authoritarian, failing government that has been in power much too long."

How much more embarrassment can Gordon Brown take from Jacqui Smith? Surely he has to sack her now?

Susan Boyle - Britain's got talent.

Tonight I will be mostly drinking whisky (Teacher's) and listening to this song over and over again. What a beautiful voice Susan Boyle has. Enjoy (and play it very loud):


Susan Boyle Stuns Crowd with Epic Singing - Watch more Funny Videos

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.

Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used
And wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung
No wine untasted.

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
As they turn your dream to shame.

And still
I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms
We cannot weather...

I had a dream my life would be
So different form this hell I'm living
so different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed
The dream I dreamed.

NEWSFLASH! Smeargate does matter to voters.

Going around a few Labour blogs today I've noticed a trend emerging; some of those leaving comments believe that Smeargate does not matter to anyone beyond the Westminster bubble and political anoraks like me. I'm afraid that those hopeful Labour supporters are just about as wrong as Gordon Brown's smile. There are two types of people in this country: those who vote and those who sit around all day in fag burnt tracksuits watching Jeremy Kyle. Unfortunately for Gordon Brown, the latter don't care about Smeargate, but the former most certainly do.

Every person I've talked to about this sorry episode is either shocked, disgusted, or both. And these are people who will most definitely vote. I had one person ask me how easy it was to become a member of the Conservative party, He said something like "something as got to be done to get rid of Labour, and I want to be part of it. "Brown should have resigned over ruining the economy, never mind those emails".

I'm more sure than ever that Labour are done for. I'm also sure that the margin of Tory victory will be greater than the polls suggest. A lot of people aren't just tired and fed up of Labour, they are bloody-well angry with them. That anger will drive the people to the polling stations in their masses. Labour are are becoming the most terribly transparent tricksters - take today's announcement about cutting benefits to alcoholics - totally unworkable, totally stupid and totally already announced months ago. It's just something they have spun out of No10 in an attempt to deflect attention away from Gordon Brown's failure to apologise.

Labour are done.

William Hill - Brown Odds On To Be Gone In 2010.

From William Hill:

WITH GORDON BROWN once again under pressure, William Hill make him a 2/7 shot to cease to be Prime Minister during 2010, and offer 5/2 that he will go during 2009. He is 33/1 to go in 2011 and 25/1 in 2012.

Harriet Harman is 4/1 favourite to succeed Brown as Labour Leader with Hills who also offer 6/1 Alan Johnson; 7/1 Ed Miliband; David Miliband; 8/1 Jon Crudass; James Purnell. 'There is plenty of political betting money around - but not much of it is being staked on anything positive for Gordon Brown' said Hill's spokesman Garahm, Sharpe.

Meanwhile, Hills say that Labour are now the longest odds they have been since Gordon Brown came to power to win the most seats at the next General Election, at odds of 7/2, while the Conservatives are red hot favourites at 1/6.
Hills have also seen money for a Hung Parliament as a result of the next General Election, shortening the odds about that from 5/2 to 2/1.

Can you believe that Harman is favourite to take over from Brown? - talk about political suicide.

Derek Draper's Labourlist - Going under?

And here's a use for his Red Rag:

The Voice of the Mirror strikes again - smeargate.

The voice of the Mirror is not happy with the blogosphere. I wonder who he is? Some kind of journalistic genius judging by this previous article. Here's what he has to say today:

The "smeargate" emails scandal has thrown open the weird world of political blogging.

This blogosphere is largely populated by the cretinous, infantile forums of abuse dressed up as argument - pompous prigs of all political persuasions passing themselves off as intellectuals.

But the power of these small-minded attention seekers has seduced the real political world into thinking they actually matter. They don't.

The schoolboy nature of No 10 aide Damian McBride's missives to Labour's resident flake Derek Draper confirms the real level of political debate on the internet. To call it moronic would be an insult to morons.

More concerning is that Labour believes that Mr Draper, a professional liability with an endless capacity for self-pity, is deemed a fit and proper person to be at the vanguard of the party's digital ambitions.

Gordon Brown should heed the demands of his MPs and make it clear Mr Draper will have nothing to do with future campaigns..

Oooo get her. Is that you Kevin?

I want Gordon Brown to resign.

I've had enough. I'm sick of what is as good as theft of taxpayers money by Government Ministers. I'm sick of the pathetic mess Gordon Brown has made of our economy. But most of all I'm sickened by a Prime Minister who presides over such a dirty organisation.

David Cameron is right to ask for an apology from Gordon Brown. However, he should also be demanding that he resigns.

When any other scandal breaks, the person in charge takes the responsibility and loses their job i.e the lost data discs (remember Paul Gray of HMRC). Well in my opinion Gordon Brown is responsible for what goes on in his office. When his head of strategy and planning mounts such a disgusting smear campaign, then he must know about it, or he has set the mood for it to occur (like Nixon). Either way he must take responsibility for his office.

I pay my taxes, I'm a registered voter and I NO LONGER WANT GORDON BROWN TO WORK FOR ME.

Gordon Brown - You're fired! (Oh how I wish I had that power).

UPDATE: I've just had a thought. If Gordon's head of strategy and planning has quit, who will be advising Gordon on how to deal with this situation? Because he must apologise for what has happened, is he now doing an headless chicken act? Is he on the phone to Damian? Or is he smashing it?

Nadine Dorries may like to dedicate this song to Derek Draper.

McBride Downfall video - Gordon is not happy.

Hat Tip England Calling

UPDATE: The Crown Blog has a video of Brown, McBride and Draper fleeing Downing Street.

Is Kevin Maguire applying for McBride's old job?

Toilets Maguire sinks to new depths, words fail me - read his thoughts on smeargate HERE.

Update: I left the following comment over an hour ago, but it seems to have been blocked by the moderators:

I hope you can pull your head out of your a*se long enough to find your way back under your rock. You, like Brown, have no shame.

Tom Harris - At last, an honest Labour MP (Smeargate).

Over the last twenty four hours, I've listened to what can only be described as some real lying scumbags trying to defend the indefensible.

Damian McBride still spinning and smearing at the death:

"Derek and I decided in the end that this website was the wrong thing to do, and that Derek should not take his online efforts down to the level of Guido Fawkes and his Tory backers. I have already apologised for the inappropriate and juvenile content of my emails, and the offence they have caused, but I did not want these stories in the public domain - it is because Paul Staines has put them there, and I am sickened that he has done so."

What a lying shitbag! The emails make it clear that they intended to publish their poison on the RED RAG blog. Guido does not have Tory Backers and McLyer knows this very well. However I am sure that he is sickened that the emails were made public - sickened that his disgusting tactics have been exposed.

And as for Derek "I wasn't lying on purpose" Draper, I never want to see the scruffy twisting shit on my TV ever again:

"It turns out somebody's hacked into my emails and now it's all over the newspapers. We're talking about a small piece of silliness - not a great big smear campaign."

"Not a great big smear campaign" - I think I'll let the contents of the emails speak for themselves Derek. And by all accounts these emails were given to Guido - not hacked. Is the real reason that you are so scruffy looking is that you can face yourself in the mirror without feeling the same disgust we do?

Then we have Liam Byrne MP:

"one private e-mail exchange between a couple of friends who were knocking backwards and forwards ideas. "Mr McBride, having scribbled this stuff, decided that the right place for it was the waste basket."

This was not "a couple of friends who were knocking backwards and forwards ideas", this was the Prime Ministers head of strategy and planning setting up a online smear campaign with an ex Labour spin doctor. Just out of interest, Derek Drapers Labourlist website was launched at Labour HQ.

And finally we have a breath of fresh air - Tom Harris MP:

So, yes, I can understand why the Tories would have preferred McBride to remain in post. But what on earth was Draper thinking when he told various media outlets yesterday that he didn’t think McBride should have had to resign?

But this isn’t about positioning or spinning or misdirection or whatever. This is about standards of political activity, standards which have fallen far, far below what is remotely acceptable, especially for someone working at the very heart of government.

We screwed up, big time. We have no-one — absolutely no-one at all — to blame for this but ourselves. The damage the Labour Party and the government have sustained this last 24 hours has been entirely self-inflicted.

And the people behind this sordid little mess owe everyone named in these emails a very public apology.

Well said Tom. Maybe there is some hope for the Labour party of the future.

Gordon Brown expects ministerial resignations over expenses.

Just when you thought that it couldn't get much worse for Labour, this article appears in the Mail on Sunday:

'We are braced for a rash of ministerial resignations when they [expenses receipts] come out in July,’ said a Labour Whip.

McBride and Draper - We Tories owe you a big thank you.

With the General election growing ever closer and the polls pretty stagnant, what we Tories need is a bit of a boost (maybe a bit of good old Labour sleaze). So I would like to thank Messrs McBride and Draper - let's hear it for the chuckle brothers hip hip.... Cheers boys we owe you one.

The only chance Labour had of staying in power was to mount just the kind of campaign that has come to light. There is no doubt that Labour intended to carry out a dirty campaign by attacking leading Conservative figures, but thanks to Draper and McBride (and possibly Tom Watson) that is going to be a lot more difficult. Labour strategists will have been hoping that the disastrous "Tory Toff" attack will have been forgotten - not now - they have been caught playing dirty twice and the public won't forgive if it happens again. Labour's election campaign has just become a hell of lot more challenging.

I think it's possible that this failed smear plot could have just handed David Cameron victory at the General Election.

Cheers Derek, and a big thanks to you Damian!

And BZ to Guido of course!

The McBride & Draper smear campaign - as it unfolds.

I'm enjoying my day off work and I'm following the downfall of Damian McBride and Derek Draper. There's a hell of a lot going on so I'm going to provide an updated series of links to stories as they appear.

Downing Street are trying to play this down as two lads mucking around. How can that be true when the man sending out these emails (on a secure Downing Street connection) is the man in charge of strategic planning?

Here we go:

15:45 Iain Dale - Draper admits lies.

15:50 BBC - listen to the audio clip.

15:51 Guido - Damian McBride sacked?

16:18 LabourHome - Draper & McBride please just go.

16:36 Labourlist - Draper's pathetic excuses.

16:57 Nadine Dorries - The Demise of McBride - she is mentioned in the emails - not happy

16:59 Damian McBride has resigned!!!

17:22 Draper making a right arse of himself live on BBC.

17:27 Guido has just called Draper a liar on the BBC and Dragged Tom Watson into it.

17:43 Chris Grayling - "If this is symptomatic of the culture of Downing Street under Gordon Brown's leadership it is a disgrace. "What on earth are Gordon Brown's team doing indulging in the politics of the gutter when they should be sorting out the very real problems of the country.
"We need an urgent explanation from the Prime Minister about what has happened and what he is going to do about it."

17:49 Fraser Nelson - News of the World to publish emails.

18:00 Iain Dale - One down two to go

18:30 Coffee House - How resigned is McBride?

18:39 BBC - McBride's resignation statement. - Still spinning at the death

19:01 John Redwood - Resignation and the power of the blogs.

19:29 Fraser Nelson - Some of those smears.

19:36 Telegraph - Iain Dale explains all.

20:15 The Mirror - Woman mauled by bear!

21:51 Political Betting - Labourlist removed from blogroll.

Dale, Guido, Draper & McBride. The good, the bad, the dirty and the smeary.

As Guido says: "He who lives by the smear...."

This could well turn out to be the political story of the year - and we've had some crackers already (TV porn, secret documents, dodgy expenses etc...). It's a good day to be an opposition blogger. I've got a lovely warm feeling inside and I'm wearing a permanent little smile. We in the blogosphere have known for a good while that Labour are a dirty party. The Tory Toff campaign was just the tip of an iceberg, and it looks like that iceberg is finally rising out of the water to show its large grimy bulk.

You can read all about this unfolding nightmare for Labour over at Guido's and Iain Dale's. I can't imagine Damian McBride keeping his job after this further embarrassment to Brown, and I think it may be the last we see of the dastardly Draper - oh dear, how sad, never mind... I would just like to say THANKS DEREK!!! what a cheese! Don't you just love Karma?

I'm going to enjoy watching this snowball today, and I can't wait for the details to be published in tomorrow's papers. Apparently there are some truly nasty smears contained in those emails passed between McBride and Draper. Downing Street are of course denying all knowledge - wouldn't it be embarrassing if that turned out to be yet another Labour lie?

Happy days.

Calling all political bloggers - Left, Right & Chelsea.

It's time to update my links and blogrolls again. If you run a political (ish) blog and you don't appear in my Picroll or Blogroll, then either use the contact button above or leave your blog URL in the comments of this post. I would also ask that if I already link to you, that you consider adding my blog to your rolls.

UPDATE: I've been working twelve hour nights shifts recently so I haven't had chance to update my blogroll with those who link to me. I've noticed some great new blogs have linked to me recently, but I've not kept a list (sorry), so please let me know who you are.

Cheers

Steve.

The 160th Magical Mystery Blog Tour Bus Leaves in 5 Minutes!

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Click on STOP 1 and the Bus will take you to your first Mystery Blog location.

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The Bus rolls out each day - enjoy the ride. If you have any suggestions for the next tour drop me an email by hitting the Contact button at the top of the page.

Labour pains?