The Funding Scrolls

Cameron and Clegg: naughty boys

Time for the two opposition leaders to get slapped wrists from the Electoral Commission. Nick Clegg didn't declare 14 grand in cash donations in time (including some from, intriguingly, Ian Wright. Not that Ian Wright, surely?). And David Cameron, aka Caesar's wife, was late to declare a non-cash gift from… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 29 Feb 2008 4:43 PM. Permalink

Meedja on the Insanity Pills

Big up Whitto

John Whittingdale (Toy, Maldon and East Chelmsford) gets a bizarre big-up from Tara Hamilton-Miller this morning for not being a total muppet when it comes to music: Whitto has never missed a Brit Awards. "I was there for all the best bits - Chumbawamba soaking Prescott, Sam Fox, Jarvis. I… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 29 Feb 2008 9:57 AM. There are 2 comments so far. Permalink

Our Friends North of the Border

Harry Palmer to the rescue

David Cameron has taken the logic of unseen Tory politicians to its natural conclusion - he's appointed a former spy, Andrew Fulton, as chairman of the party in Scotland: Last year, Mr Fulton, who lives in Glasgow, became the first former spy to join a listed British company when he… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 29 Feb 2008 8:21 AM. Permalink

Department for Tax and Spend

Has Lansley knackered Osborne?

The Tories are still in a mess over Andrew Lansley's unagreed hospital pass on spending yesterday, with George Osborne talking cuts in other places, explicitly, for the first time: In a speech yesterday the Shadow Chancellor confirmed that health increases would be funded by cuts elsewhere but said that the… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 29 Feb 2008 8:15 AM. There are 1 comments so far. Permalink

Cesspool on the Potomac

Obama a ritmo de mariachi! Olé!

As part of our continuing effort to bring the best of the US Presidential campaign to the UK, Westmonster presents the following video (via Andrew Sullivan). Produced by the people of AmigosDeObama.com, it provides a glimpse into what it may take for the candidate to make inroads into the Latino… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 28 Feb 2008 1:59 PM. Permalink

News from the United Federation of Muesli Knitters

Is Clegg turning into Foggy?

The LibDem attitude to the Euro-referendum gets weirder and weirder: Next week, after months of legal argument and political squabbling, Parliament will vote on whether the Lisbon treaty should be put to a referendum. However, Lib Dems have been told to stay away from both the Aye and No lobbies,… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 28 Feb 2008 9:07 AM. Permalink

Department for Waiting Lists

Doctor In The Trough

The National Audit Office's report on GP pay perfectly encapsulates Labour's problem with spending: more GPs, lower productivity, and some spectacular troughing by GP partners: In 2005-06 the annual average pay of a GP partner was £113,614, an increase of 58 per cent since 2002-03. GPs report, however, that over… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 28 Feb 2008 8:59 AM. There are 1 comments so far. Permalink

The Funding Scrolls

Data crackdown reaps dividends

Don't worry, your data is safe. We've sorted it all out, and this story is not something you should remotely be concerned about: A confidential Home Office disk has been discovered inside a laptop by computer technicians, it was revealed last night. Police are investigating the find, which came after… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 28 Feb 2008 8:47 AM. Permalink

News from the Carlton Club

Dave and the "i" word

You knew it was coming. And here it is. The Tory ad campaign that features immigration controls at its heart: Let's hope it goes better than last time they tried this...… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 28 Feb 2008 8:40 AM. Permalink

Meedja on the Insanity Pills

Tories to cut tax. No, wait...

Westmonster is confused. Not 3 weeks ago, the Telegraph headline read "Tories look to tax cuts to help economy." Yet today, in a piece about the Conservatives' plan to raise spending on the NHS at the expense of other services, the Telegraph seems to be saying rather the opposite: "It… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 28 Feb 2008 8:32 AM. Permalink

News from the United Federation of Muesli Knitters

Ed's porkies

Is Ed Davey telling a bit of a porkie pie in his note on the Indy's OpenHouse blog? Yesterday, much to my surprise, I found myself being dismissed from the Chamber of the Commons by the Deputy Speaker. This sort of thing doesn’t happen to Liberal Democrats, and I don’t… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 28 Feb 2008 7:53 AM. Permalink

Ministry for Blithering Idiots

Here comes Norm

It's like Spitting Image never went away. Following Michael Gove's recent eulogy on Tony Blair, the Chingford skinhead himself has come out of retirement, taken Gove round the corner and knocked his silly head in: It was Blair who introduced uncontrolled, unmeasured immigration of people determined not to integrate, but… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 27 Feb 2008 9:07 PM. Permalink

Meedja on the Insanity Pills

Sky News - Fair and Balanced

We've been watching Jon Craig become steadily more unhinged on the Boulton and Co. website for a few days now. While Nick Robinson fends off angry accusations of campaigning-style journalism on the national dime, Craig's latest pushes the envelope of comment for a broadcast journalist quite a long way: What… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 27 Feb 2008 9:02 PM. There are 1 comments so far. Permalink

All change please

Could he? Could he really?

Westmonster has always believed that some people will never be elected leader of anything, while some people have it apparent in their DNA. Neil Kinnock was never going to be Prime Minister. Tony Blair always was. John Kerry was never going to be President. And Ken Livingstone was always going… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 27 Feb 2008 7:54 AM. There are 2 comments so far. Permalink

Ministry for Re-Runs

Is abortion set for a comeback?

Tim Montgomerie, the editor and eminence grise of ConservativeHome, has stuck his head well and truly above the abortion debate parapet by posting two anti-abortion videos on ConservativeHome. The apparently rather expensive productions are the work of a new website, Passion For Life, which is spectacularly coy (rather appropriately) abouts… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 26 Feb 2008 4:18 PM. There are 1 comments so far. Permalink

Department for Diffrunt People

The millionth Polish builder cometh

Got some bad numbers? No problem. Bury them in some good ones! Liam Byrne (whom Austin Mitchell yesterday accused of shafting our Anzac wartime allies) plays a blinder with the release of some 2007 immigration numbers today. There are 20 paragraphs in the Home Office release. The first 15 are… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 26 Feb 2008 2:47 PM. Permalink

Cesspool on the Potomac

Oba-meter: February 26th

With the Republican nomination sewn up by John McCain, Westmonster moves its focus to the Democratic competition. We've outlined the 4 things Barack Obama needs to do in order to beat Hillary Clinton — sweep February's post-Super Tuesday contests, make no gaffes, win Ohio or Texas on March 4th, and… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 26 Feb 2008 9:48 AM. Permalink

News From The Big Tent

El Gordo's long game

People are talking "the long game" this morning, as the Tory lead over Labour remains stubbornly large. 2010 is looking increasingly like the most plausible election date - ie, as late as possible. One interesting development: El Gordo's apparent appetite for curbing some of the relaxations to licensing laws. As… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 26 Feb 2008 8:49 AM. There are 1 comments so far. Permalink

Ministry for the Margin of Error

Dave ahead in the North?

The latest Independent/ComRes poll has the Tories comfortably ahead of Labour, at 41% versus 30%. The papers are drooling over one particular aspect of the poll: it puts Dave ahead of El Gordo in the North. By one measly point, but they're taking it as significant (and also arguing that… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 26 Feb 2008 8:43 AM. Permalink

Meedja on the Insanity Pills

Brown's a ditherer...er...we think

ConservativeHome's ToryDiary reckons the Daily Politics Show/Populus Poll showing that 51% of people think that Brown is a dithereris a real kick in the teeth for El Gordo. While gloriously missing the irony that 49% think he isn't. A ditherer, that is. We think. Or not.… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 25 Feb 2008 4:56 PM. Permalink

Behind the Tea Room Curtain

Balls to Anzac

Austin Mitchell's having another good day: Little Liam is determined to show himself tough on immigration. Sadly he can’t do anything about it because all the Eastern Europeans streaming into Warrington to make vodka are free to come in as EU citizens. So he’s determined to bash the Kiwis, Ozzies, Canadians and… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 25 Feb 2008 4:52 PM. Permalink

Ministry for Sweeping Things Under The Rug

Burn down the commission

Facing an overwhelmingly popular backbench bill to give increased rights to agency workers, The Wizard of Gord's got a plan to nip that idea in the bud — send it off to a commission! Westmonster's not certain what's going on behind the curtain, but we're keen to see how the… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 25 Feb 2008 9:31 AM. Permalink

Ministry for Watching You

ISPs to be new Info-Stasi

Britain's surveillance society — love it or hate it — has, at the very least, had a plausible justification: the notion that tons of cameras and CCTV might infringe somewhat on privacy, but would keep our streets safer and stop terrorists. Westmonster may not agree with that justification, but at… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 22 Feb 2008 11:33 AM. Permalink

Meedja on the Insanity Pills

Telegraph's crisis of confidence

Westmonster interrupts our hangover to bring you this shocking news: Britain apparently has laws to stop minors purchasing alcohol. That's right, it's true, we read it in the Telegraph. The Telegraph editorial puts the binges down to cheap alcohol (going out on a limb there, eh?) but asks whether it's… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 22 Feb 2008 9:57 AM. There are 1 comments so far. Permalink

Ministry for Righteous Indignation

Ohh the Lord loves a hangin'

Westmonster's had a hankerin' for some hangerin' since way back in 1964, when the UK last killed one of its own criminals. What better way to get our collective vengeance flowin' agin, jus' like our cousins over there in 'merica? Not to diminish the pain and suffering felt by the… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 22 Feb 2008 9:13 AM. There are 1 comments so far. Permalink

Cesspool on the Potomac

McCain bimbo eruption?

Westmonster has a pretty good memory of Bill Clinton's parsing during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. So we read avidly the New York Times' front-page John McCain bimbo/lobbyist eruption story, and the response(s) from McCain's campaign to see what we could read in the tea leaves. From McCain's responses, he thinks… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 21 Feb 2008 9:31 AM. Permalink

Ministry for the Margin of Error

Hillary's glass ceiling

Today's Rasmussen Reports US Presidential Tracking Poll contains a nugget of information that shows why Hillary Clinton might very well be screwed, even if she somehow amazingly comes back to defeat Obama for the nomination: "Nationwide, Obama is viewed favorably by 55% and unfavorably by 42%. McCain’s numbers 51% favorable,… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 20 Feb 2008 4:52 PM. There are 1 comments so far. Permalink

News from the Carlton Club

Heffer: Tories 'stupid party'

Simon Heffer's sure in a huff. In today's Telegraph, Heffer points the finger squarely at David Cameron and George Osborne for failing to bury Labour in light of Northern Rock, and months of "sleaze, failure, and prevarication" from the government: "Being an opposition is not just about pointing the finger.… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 20 Feb 2008 9:47 AM. There are 1 comments so far. Permalink

Cesspool on the Potomac

Oba-meter: February 20th

With the Republican nomination sewn up by John McCain, Westmonster moves its focus to the Democratic competition. We've outlined the 4 things Barack Obama needs to do in order to beat Hillary Clinton — sweep February's post-Super Tuesday contests, make no gaffes, win Ohio or Texas on March 4th, and… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 20 Feb 2008 7:37 AM. Permalink

Ministry for Stopping The Presses

Does the gentleman have a Nectar card?

Not to put too fine a point on it, but how many among us can claim we never earned Air Miles on business travel that we later used for a personal flight? That said, Westmonster plans to fully take advantage of the new lower threshold for government scandals, using our… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 19 Feb 2008 1:49 PM. Permalink

Ministry for Pulp Fiction

On His Highness' Secret Service

Westmonster offers the following dramatisation with apologies to Ian Fleming and his estate. As M walked into Buckingham Palace on a warm August afternoon, she felt a strange tinge of excitement. She'd not been called there before, and couldn't help but wonder why she had been summoned. This was all… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 19 Feb 2008 9:40 AM. Permalink

Cesspool on the Potomac

The Next! Biggest! Primary! (Not.)

One could almost smell the quiet in the US presidential campaign at the weekend, as bad weather put the brakes on campaigning in America's Dairyland state of Wisconsin. Polls put Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton within 5 points in this state that could either (a) cement Obama's frontrunner status heading… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 18 Feb 2008 3:51 PM. Permalink

Ministry for Pissing In The Wind

Tories cynical on Rock

Memo to Dave, George, and friends: when you've made considerable hay out of tarring the government with the brush of transparent political cynicism, it's a good idea to steer clear yourselves of transparently cynical political grandstanding. Oops! Too late. Tempted though Alistair Darling may have been to rise to the… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 18 Feb 2008 1:05 PM. Permalink

Ministry for Life on Mars

Sailors fighting in the dance hall

My name is Westmonster. I had an accident, and I woke up in 1973. Am I mad, in a coma, or back in time? Whatever's happened, it's like I've landed on a different planet. Now, maybe if I can work out the reason, I can get home. In this week's… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 18 Feb 2008 9:29 AM. There are 2 comments so far. Permalink

Cesspool on the Potomac

Oba-meter: February 15th

With the Republican nomination sewn up by John McCain, Westmonster moves its focus to the Democratic competition. We've outlined the 4 things Barack Obama needs to do in order to beat Hillary Clinton — sweep February's remaining contests, make no gaffes, win Ohio or Texas on March 4th, and make… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 15 Feb 2008 12:27 PM. There are 1 comments so far. Permalink

All change please

Lee Jasper suspended

A fairly tortuous press release has been released stating the Lee Jasper has asked to be suspended and have all allegations against him referred to the police: The Mayor said: ‘I want to make completely clear the police have made no approach to me to refer these allegations. We are… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 15 Feb 2008 11:19 AM. There are 1 comments so far. Permalink

Meedja on the Insanity Pills

Now, that's entertainment

Anne McElvoy in the Speccie today argues that we are about to be governed by, wait for it, The Jam Generation: What do David Cameron, David Miliband, Nick Clegg, Yvette Cooper, Michael Gove and (just about) George Osborne have in common? They are part of the Jam Generation: a powerful… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 15 Feb 2008 8:30 AM. Permalink

Department for Tax and Spend

Set up a committee

George Osborne's heard the drums on tax, and by God he's doing something about it. Not like Gordon Brown. Oh no. No way would Gordon Brown set up a committee to park an intractable problem. Only the modern, can-do Conservatives can be that direct! And as if that wasn't enough,… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 15 Feb 2008 8:17 AM. Permalink

Behind the Terrace curtain

LibDem sexpots

Sky's annual list of the most fanciable MPs is an shallow, empty waste of time, of course. So we reprint it here: 1. (-) Jeremy Hunt, 41, Conservative, Surrey South West 2. (1) Julie Kirkbride, 47, Conservative, Bromsgrove 3. (-) Julia Goldsworthy, 29, Lib Dem, Falmouth and Cambourne 4. (-)… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 14 Feb 2008 9:34 AM. Permalink

News From The Big Tent

The Peterhouse connection

Some of Westmonster went to Peterhouse in Cambridge, and a more right-wing, masonic, weird place it is hard to imagine. So we were surprised to discover, in the latest of the Telegraph's list of Gordon Brown's biggest influences, that Number 10's two lead press men, Michael Ellam and Damian McBride,… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 14 Feb 2008 9:30 AM. Permalink

Department for Diffrunt People

Turner turns

Immigration = unalloyed economic good, right? Wrong, says Adair Turner: In a paper entitled Do We Need More Immigrants And Babies?, he rejects arguments that without immigrants Britain would face a shortage of workers as mostly "economically illiterate". A stable population is more favourable to well-being, he says. Of course,… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 14 Feb 2008 9:22 AM. Permalink

Out on the Stump

Guppy and cock-ups

Boris Johnson's crime proposals have some serious stuff in them, of course, but you don't want to hear about that, do you? You want to hear about Boris mucking up the running order at his launch (and referring to David Davis as The Home Secretary). You also want to hear… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 14 Feb 2008 9:18 AM. Permalink

Meedja on the Insanity Pills

Whither Kampfner

Why has New Statesman editor John Kampfner left? No-one seems to know: According to one source, Kampfner today finished work on this week's issue, which comes out tomorrow, then went to his office and wrote a message. He is then understood to have spoken to staff, thanking them for their… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 13 Feb 2008 9:45 PM. Permalink

Cesspool on the Potomac

This could do for Clinton

If this doesn't end Hillary Clinton's campaign, nothing will:… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 13 Feb 2008 9:39 PM. Permalink

Cesspool on the Potomac

Clinton's worry: No 'White Bitch Month'?

Westmonster just couldn't let this one go. In Maureen Dowd's otherwise very thoughtful New York Times piece that seeks to explain why Hillary Clinton — as wife of Bill — is not a fair test case for evaluating whether or not America is ready for a woman president, she drops… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 13 Feb 2008 3:06 PM. Permalink

Department for Tax and Spend

Balls to the Treasury!

It's been coming for a while, but the gloves are well and truly off for Alistair Darling. The Fleet Street diaspora seems to have flat-out decided that Darling is for the chop, his performance summarised by the Torygraph: Mr Darling has presided over the first run on a high street… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 13 Feb 2008 9:01 AM. Permalink

News From The Big Tent

Watson on the up

We like Tom Watson, we do. But even we would balk at calling him more influential than David Miliband, as the Torygraph does this morning. He's described as "burly but likeable", which points to an odd latent fatism over at Telegraph Towers which we haven't detected before.… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 13 Feb 2008 8:50 AM. Permalink

A Wee Problem

Braveheart-upon-Tweed

Alex Salmond is painting himself with woad this morning and heading south for a memorable clash with Albion over the ownership of Berwick-upon-Tweed. A by-no-means scientific study has found that Berwickians would prefer shortbread, woolen scarves and higher public spending over stiff upper lips, mild S&M and lower public spending.… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 13 Feb 2008 8:47 AM. Permalink

Department for Diffrunt People

Gap year student = dodgy immigrant

The Mail's working up a head of righteous anger over the news that MigrationWatch, the self-appointed immigration watchdog, has caught out immigration minister Liam Byrne, who claimed that 52% of immigration came from outside the EU. MigrationWatch says this number includes - wait for it - people returning from the… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 13 Feb 2008 8:42 AM. Permalink

Discs? What discs?

More data debacles?

When will they learn? Today's Data Day at the government, with two extraordinary announcements. One comes from the Home Office, and claims that a majority of British people are in favour of a national ID database. We don't know who they asked, but if it was based on a mailout… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 13 Feb 2008 8:35 AM. Permalink

Cesspool on the Potomac

Obama: What it's gonna take

This week's conventional wisdom — and oh, how Westmonster is tired of hearing about the conventional wisdom — is that Barack Obama has finally broken through and is steamrolling toward the Democratic Presidential nomination. Bully for him. The steamroller has been derailed at every turn in this primary season, and… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 12 Feb 2008 2:50 PM. There are 2 comments so far. Permalink

News from the Carlton Club

Cameron Spending Watch

The shift on Tory thinking on matching Labour spending continues apace in half-term. Today, the Daily Mail are reporting that any pledge to match spending would be very short-term: David Cameron is to signal that the Tories are making no long-term pledge to match Labour's spending commitments. Senior sources insisted… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 12 Feb 2008 8:44 AM. Permalink

News From The Big Tent

First Whelan, now Shrum

Gordon Brown really is in trouble, if the latest of the Telegraph's list of Brown's biggest influences: 40-31 - Telegraph is anything to go by. Yesterday we had perennial under-achiever Charlie Whelan; today we have perennial under-achiever Bob Shrum: A US political consultant, Shrum has worked on eight presidential election… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 12 Feb 2008 8:40 AM. Permalink

Cesspool on the Potomac

Like Hope, But Different…

Best parody of the Obama "Yes I Can" video Westmonster has seen yet… this one takes on John McCain.… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 11 Feb 2008 5:06 PM. Permalink

News from the United Federation of Muesli Knitters

Should Nicky take on Dave?

You've got to love the Lib Dem faithful — only they could dub Dave Cameron's Europe policy "bore for Britain" and fail to see the irony. That said, James Graham makes an interesting point about the opportunity facing Nick Clegg as he heads into the latter half of his first… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 11 Feb 2008 2:30 PM. Permalink

Cesspool on the Potomac

Choose your own adventure!

Westmonster thinks Bon Jovi may have said it best: "It's all the same, only the names have changed." The media have been writing the same story about the US Presidential campaign for months now, and we figured we'd let our readers get in on the act. Fill in the blanks,… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 11 Feb 2008 10:11 AM. There are 1 comments so far. Permalink

News From The Big Tent

The A Team

Here comes the A Team. According to Times, Hannibal Brown is going to push some talented people into the spotlight: Mr Purnell, 37, Ed Balls, 40, his wife Yvette Cooper, 37, Mr Burnham 38, David Miliband 42, his brother Ed, 37, Ruth Kelly 39, and Douglas Alexander, 40, will be… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 11 Feb 2008 9:10 AM. Permalink

Cesspool on the Potomac

The Banana Republic of America

After another weekend of primary votes in the US, there's only one thing of which Westmonster can be certain — Iain Dale can set foot in the Oval Office, but he's constitutionally barred from being President. Phew! The weekend's brewing drama takes place in the Republican nomination contest, where Mike… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 11 Feb 2008 9:01 AM. Permalink

News From The Big Tent

Whelan back?

The Torygraph's first list of Gordon Brown's biggest influences includes one stand-out name: Charlie Whelan. The comeback kid. No one epitomised the aggressiveness of the Brownite regime better than Whelan. But two years into the Blair years he spun out of control and was forced to leave the stage. However,… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 11 Feb 2008 8:54 AM. Permalink

News from the Carlton Club

Cameron readying the knife?

Andrew Pierce and Toby Helm are obviously helping out with Tory mood music this morning, with a story that Cammers and Boy George are preparing a rethink on spending: David Cameron is prepared to drop his pledge to match Labour's spending increases after the next election to pave the way… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 11 Feb 2008 8:46 AM. Permalink

Cesspool on the Potomac

Huck: the new Mitt?

so, it looks like we know who holds the purse strings in the Romney household. Now that Mitt's gone, apparently having viewed the numbers indicating he'd need a sweep of remaining primaries to even have a remote shot at the Republican nomination, the Quixote role falls to Mike Huckabee,… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 8 Feb 2008 11:45 AM. Permalink

Department for Diffrunt People

Turbulent priests

Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury and a man whose gigantic intellect gives him an appropriate air of otherworldliness, has put his Anglican size 9s where the communion wafer goes with some thoughts on how elements of Sharia law should be incorporated into British law: In an exclusive interview with… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 7 Feb 2008 5:03 PM. Permalink

The Funding Scrolls

Alexander in the clear

So Wendy Alexander is in the clear over her constitution-shattering, world-ending contribution of 950 quid: Election watchdogs have cleared Wendy Alexander of wrongdoing after her Scottish Labour leadership campaign received an illegal donation. The Electoral Commission has decided not to make a report to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 7 Feb 2008 2:50 PM. There are 1 comments so far. Permalink

Department for Tax and Spend

Will PPP bite Brown?

The news that bailing out Metronet will end up costing us £2 billion points to a significant risk for Gordon Brown - that a failure of the "part-private" sector could leave him nastily exposed. As the chief cheerleader for Public Private Partnerships, Brown is strongly associated with the system of… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 7 Feb 2008 8:42 AM. Permalink

Wager at your own peril

With all due respect to our friends at politicalbetting.com, Westmonster just couldn't wait to get this one up. It seems that in today's trading, contracts at Intrade for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are trading more or less at par — mirroring the down-the-middle delegate split from Super Tuesday's contests.… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 6 Feb 2008 4:40 PM. Permalink

Department for Silly Lists

Stop, or we'll shout

There's a Robin Williams skit about our unarmed police where he mimics a British policeman chasing an offender, shouting: "Stop! Or I'll shout stop again!". We were reminded of this by Jacqui Smith's new proposals to crackdown on underage drinking: The measures include: a major new national crackdown by police… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 6 Feb 2008 12:34 PM. Permalink

Cesspool on the Potomac

Everyone wins, except Romney

Super Tuesday is over, and unless your name is Mitt Romney, you have something to hang your hat on. If your name is John McCain, you can sleep comfortably knowing that your strongest competition has effectively been knocked out of the race, and you are now the presumptive nominee. If… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 6 Feb 2008 9:19 AM. Permalink

Department for Wonkery

Watch ID cards morph

The ID card debate is beginning to move along interesting lines. Encapsulated these are: A growing and significant minority (25%) who are firmly opposed to the idea and, according to the NO2ID campaign, could refuse to comply with it (wishful thinking that, of course, as most of that 25% would… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 6 Feb 2008 8:47 AM. Permalink

Cesspool on the Potomac

Super Tuesday primer

What you need to know to navigate the sea of analysis currently washing at the Internet's shores: UPDATE (11:42am GMT): Obama has pulled ahead in New Mexico by less than 1,000 votes with 92% of precincts reporting. This may effect delegate counts. Democrats Clinton took: Arkansas, Arizona, California, Massachusetts, New… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 6 Feb 2008 8:32 AM. Permalink

Cesspool on the Potomac: Thames Edition

US Dems hold London vote/prom

You have to hand it to the Americans… when it comes to exporting "democracy" overseas, they're the world leaders. Their particular brand of democracy was on show tonight at Bayswater's Porchester Hall, where Democrats Abroad — the international wing of the US Democratic Party — held the London edition of… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 5 Feb 2008 10:25 PM. Permalink

Meedja on the Insanity Pills

Your not-so-comprehensive guide

When Westmonster passed by the local newsagent this morning, we were excited to see a massive tease for "Your comprehensive 8-page guide to the make or break night in the race for the US presidency." We're all over Super Tuesday, and we were keen to see what sort of whizbangery… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 5 Feb 2008 4:57 PM. Permalink

Department for Kite Flying

Mitchell on Our (Wo)Man Flint

Austin Mitchell, National Treasure and Labour MP for Grimsby - and Chair of the Council Housing Group of MPs - rips into new Housing Minister Caroline Flint on his site today. Flint's extraordinary assertion that you should have to be "looking for work" to get access to social housing is,… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 5 Feb 2008 2:47 PM. There are 1 comments so far. Permalink

News From The Big Tent

Get Dromey!

Interesting news from Mick Fealty at Brass Neck: Labour Treasurer Jack Dromey is facing a challenger for his position. Why anyone would want to be Labour treasurer is beyond us - talk about your poisoned chalice - but the man with the thick skin and the plan is Mark McDonald,… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 5 Feb 2008 1:02 PM. Permalink

News from the Carlton Club

To cut or not to cut

Our obsession with Tory spending plans continues to grow. Latest evidence: a fascinating Daniel Finkelstein comment piece riffing on Fraser Nelson's Coffee House post which argues that George Osborne should simply drop his pledge to match Labour spending plans: Cameron is doing nothing original in aping Brown’s spending plans. This… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 5 Feb 2008 12:56 PM. Permalink

The Funding Scrolls

Cammers takes a risk

It's true! David Cameron is actually about to do something risky, as in something imaginative which could blow up in his face. Ben Brogan has the details: From the next financial year, which starts Apr 1, all Tory frontbenchers will have to publish a quarterly statement of account. I've seen… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 5 Feb 2008 10:40 AM. Permalink

The Funding Scrolls

Second homes and fancy kitchens

We've been sceptical, not to say irritated, by the whole farrago over expenses and funding, but we've got to tip our hat to the Mail (something we can't remember ever having done before). They've certainly been working hard to dig through the details of expenses and ask some difficult questions.… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 5 Feb 2008 9:17 AM. Permalink

Department for Diffrunt People

Police state?

It seems to us the question that needs asking over the bugging farrago is this: why did the Metropolitan Police feel the need to listen in on conversations between Sadiq Khan and his constituent Babar Ahmad? Could it have had anything to do with the Met's concerns that Khan wanted… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 5 Feb 2008 8:57 AM. Permalink

Shit Hits The Fan Dept.

Is DEFRA in trouble?

Food, recycling, the planet and birds. All major concerns of the southern middle classes. Well, according to the Guardian, Defra, the department that looks after all these things for us, has got major budgetary problems: Hilary Benn, the environment secretary, has called them together after most sections of the Department… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 5 Feb 2008 8:49 AM. Permalink

The Funding Scrolls

More rules! More power! More transparency!

Michael Martin's convening of another committee to look into MPs' expenses isn't exactly what you could call a high-powered response to a major problem (at least, what the blogosphere says is a major problem): An inquiry by the Commons members estimates committee, chaired by Martin and including senior MPs from… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 5 Feb 2008 8:44 AM. Permalink

Cesspool on the Potomac

Handicapping Super Tuesday

Tomorrow is Super Tuesday in America, and it's shaping up to be a unique election day. Millions have been spent, thousands of miles logged, hundreds of barbs tossed, and it's all supposed to culminate in tomorrow's 22-state voting extravaganza. But — at least for the Democrats — it may decide… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 4 Feb 2008 3:42 PM. Permalink

Department for Waiting Lists

Bedside manner needs work

Ah, the British Medical Association. Is it a union? A club? A whinge-chamber? And how does it continue to exist, given that its single historic achievement was a failed attempt to prevent the creation of the National Health Service, which we're continually told is Cherished By All Of Us? Now… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 4 Feb 2008 8:48 AM. Permalink

The Funding Scrolls

Next up: Phil Hope

In our continuing effort to document every funding scandal story as it breaks, we note the Telegraph's story that Labour MP Phil Hope has been drawn into the expenses row - for employing family members during the school holidays: Mr Hope last night admitted that both children have been paid… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 4 Feb 2008 8:38 AM. Permalink

Department for Tax and Spend

It's about tax, David

While Cammers messes about with park rangers and mothering help, the Centre for Policy Studies - founded, lest we forget, by Margaret Thatcher and Keith Joseph - gets to the heart of the matter with its report on British household disposable income, and how it's being squeezed by taxation and… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 4 Feb 2008 8:31 AM. Permalink

Bag carrying

More muppetry?

The Sadiq Khan bugging story is developing in interesting ways. For one thing, the report on the BBC last night tried to suggest that the bug may have been ordered by the Americans. Without quoting any evidence whatsoever for said assertion. Who said journalism was on the decline in this… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 4 Feb 2008 8:21 AM. Permalink

The Funding Scrolls

Nice timing, John

We've said it before, we'll say it again: this government doesn't know how to handle news releases and timing. Compared to the last lot, their instincts are all over the place. Take this morning's announcement by John Hutton of new investment in "scambuster" teams across Britain: John Hutton the Secretary… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 4 Feb 2008 8:14 AM. Permalink

The Funding Scrolls

Lawyers take over government

Wendy Alexander, sister of Douglas, the architect of Gordon's Early Election (cancelled), is now in the middle of a funding crisis of her own, after Jim Dyer, the Standards Commissioner at the Scottish Parliament, reported her to the portentously-titled Procurator Fiscal over ten leadership donations of more than - wait… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 3 Feb 2008 10:47 PM. There are 1 comments so far. Permalink

The Funding Scrolls

Ben Wallace's energy bill

The Sunday Times has the details on Tom Wallace's expenses: A TORY MP has broken ranks to become the first to publish a complete breakdown of his Commons expenses claims. In a move that will challenge the secrecy surrounding MPs’ allowances, Ben Wallace has released detailed information about how he… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 3 Feb 2008 7:42 PM. Permalink

The Funding Scrolls

When the levee breaks

So, Ben Brogan reckons Ben Wallace's decision to release a comprehensive breakdown of his expenses is a tipping point: Is this the moment the dam bursts? Congratulations to Ben Wallace, the Conservative MP for Lancaster and Wyre, who has today released a comprehensive breakdown of his expenses, including details and… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 3 Feb 2008 7:29 PM. Permalink

Department for Wonkery

Redwood finds his voice

It is a thing of wonder to behold. John Redwood - Vulcan, nutjob, purveyor of over-egged exaggerations to the Daily Mail - has finally found the right forum for his thoughts, and it's a blog. Pretty good one, too - although given that the average standard of MP blogs in… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 3 Feb 2008 11:35 AM. Permalink

Cesspool on the Potomac

Iraq turns debate for Obama

Yawn. Stretch. When Westmonster left you… er… just a few hours ago, we said we'd be back to you in the morning with debate reaction, and here we are. The consensus amongst pundits agrees with Westmonster that this was a civil debate, heavy on policy, with very few risks taken… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 1 Feb 2008 8:32 AM. There are 2 comments so far. Permalink

Meedja on the Insanity Pills

Quick! No, slow! No, quick!

Fascinating to see the house papers of both main parties urging their respective leaders to "get on with it." In the Torygraph, Iain Martin has a thoughtful piece on the "tortoises v. hares" analogy currently raging through the Tory commentariat (is it us, but why would anyone call themselves a… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 1 Feb 2008 8:32 AM. Permalink

Department for Ctrl-Alt-Delete

Watson the new e-Czar?

Is Tom Watson, inveterate blogger and newly promoted permanent secretary, going to take over as the Government's Internet bod? Consultant Simon Dickson thinks so, and also ponders what this might mean for Watson's attractive attack-dog mentality on his website. Watson's already using his site to ask for people to suggest… read more…

Written by Lloyd Shepherd on 1 Feb 2008 8:08 AM. There are 1 comments so far. Permalink

Cesspool on the Potomac

Few punches, no knockouts

Westmonster stayed up well into the night, shouting for blood like a Roman at the Colisseum, in anticipation of last night's debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. We had our popcorn ready, and we were looking for some smackdown. Next time, we'll set Sky Plus. For those who would… read more…

Written by Andrew Levy on 1 Feb 2008 3:10 AM. Permalink

February 2008 Archives