It was shameful for certain British Conservative politicians to attempt to assassinate  our NHS in the US media – going far out of their way to do so. Nonetheless a word of thanks to those who tried. Not only did they reveal some real Tory hostility  to the NHS - still – but they also illustrated the growing ties between the Tories and the US Republicans. More on that later, too.  

 The introduction of a new health care system in the US should give British progressives a  warm glow; we were the torch bearers for this and we  remain the torch bearers for this in every country …

Stay tuned. No flipping.

Jamie

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHjI8MfMxqE

I’m told this is real footage of Philip Hammond and Michael Ashcroft trying to escape from the Treasury after being interviewed about tax avoidance. I know that this is not and cannot be true.

…

Highlights of the evening were listening to two top BBC political journalists arguing about the Ashcroft story, with the one who struggles to conceal his/her leanings practically trotting out the Tory line…nil desperandum. In addition, sitting in the waiting room with Michael Heseltine as the latest breaking news about Ashcroft  came through on the television was quite an experience. I can only hope to one day be able to glower like his noble lordship glowered tonight. And the ‘Spitting Image’ puppet was remarkably accurate…

On the subject of Ashcroft, news reports today suggest that the NHS – nationally – is heading for a £130m overspend this year. Almost unbelievably, Chris Huhne estimates that Michael Ashcroft has avoided …

Listening to the warm tributes being paid to Michael Foot today, I was reminded of two things. Firstly, what a remarkable, super-intelligent, thoroughly committed man he was. Secondly, what a despicable, rotten, nasty campaign the Tory press and  most of the rest of the media waged against him during his three years as Labour’s leader.

The way Foot was portrayed  in the media  brought shame to the entire media establishment and for many people, this marked the beginning of the deep malaise we witness today whereby neither the media or the politicians trust each other and the public trusts  very littke it sees, hears or reads.

So to watch the media today reporting  on the media coverage Foot received was more than a little  sickening – and it was all done with a straight face.  

We will probably never see the likes of Michael Foot in British politics again – he was perhaps the last of his kind.

…

Moreover, the question should be put to David Cameron every time he steps foot in front of a camera. What did he know? When did he know it? What did he do about it?

The Guardian has – this week – put a series of questions to the Tory Leader which he has so far refused to answer. These questions are:

 Was William Hague aware at the time when Ashcroft was introduced to the Lords that he was a “long-term resident” rather than a “permanent resident”?

When did David Cameron become aware that Ashcroft was not domiciled in the UK for tax purposes?

 What did Cameron do about this?

 Does the Conservative party believe that it is right for a non-dom to sit in the House of Lords?

 Why did Cameron insist that Zac Goldsmith ended his non-dom status immediately it became publicly known, and not make a similar demand of Ashcroft?

 If …

Colleagues have roundly scoffed at my theory that this reported tightening is a Tory ruse to ensure that their vote turns out at the GE…

And a ComRes poll published tomorrow will put Labour as the largest party  following the next election with some, like Charlie Whelan, claiming that this shows the polling trend shoring up.

We’ll see.

Whether  it’s a five or two point difference between the parties, not a single vote has been cast yet…

…and the non-dom scandal (for once a time when the term is justified) has yet to be factored into the polling.

As matters stand, anything could happen.

No chance for the LOTO to erase memories of his weekend performance by putting in a shift at PMQs – it’s Harriet and Hague this week – so the chance is gone.

My expectation is that the Tory press …

A journalist called today to call me a typical “…Guardian-reading, media-hating liberal…” which came as something of a surprise.

Anyway, I finished reading ‘The Spectator’ just in time to post this appetite-whetting piece.

I’ve now ran out of hyphons.

…

No flipping…

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‘Poor’ doesn’t begin to describe it.

Like millions  of people, I don’t see what my personal relationship status has to do with the government, or why the government would seek to penalise what relationship choices I make, or (most importantly) why they would want to inflict these choices upon my children either…

So has Dave flip-flopped and then flop-flipped on his marriage tax plans? Or is it a flip-flop-flip? Or (keep up) did he slip up on stage? Or does he just not really know what he’s doing? Who knows?

In any event, this kind of opaque nonsense is one of his biggest problems. Not only are his views (when revealed) pretty reactionary, his policies (when revealed) just aren’t very good.

As for patriotic duty? Is that Britain, England, Scotland, Wales or Northern …

Wow. Imagine that. Without notes. Like most people in the Commons – and in life – do almost every day.

When the Tory press office has to push ‘ no notes’ as its top line to the news agencies then it’s pretty dire fare.

No notes, no polices and no surprise. At least Dave can busk it without notes. No need to check against delivery – just make it up as you go along. Panic has set in and ‘The Fear’ has taken hold…

I’ll be attending to real life today, but if I catch any of the speech   I’ll comment here. I know it will be received in an artificially positive way. Dave and his media chums have to create a ‘new reality’ given the closing polls and his persistent relegation form at PMQs. That’s what today is about.

For most people though (me included) Saturday is for family and football.

And probably DIY.…

Anyone seen it yet?

…

George clearly  thought that this was the assessment which the IMF would make and that he would be vindicated; held aloft as an economic sage and not just someone worthy of comparison with Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton. That’s harsh, though. Maybe Harold and Buster understood economics…

So when the IMF came out this week  and said without ambiguity that cutting public spending in our country  now would damage the UK economic recovery, you could have knocked George over with a squirt of water from a preposterously large plastic daisy, or perhaps a bucket of water perched above a partially open door…

Nil desperandum.

George perhaps knew that the practical jokers at the IMF had rumbled his wheeze earlier in the week when he made his weird …

The reason for the meeting? Dozens of MPs (mostly Labour, some Lib Dems) crammed into committe room 17 to learn more about the robin hood tax campaign. It’s officially a no-brainer. So do me, my constituents, yourself, our public services, the environment and the world’s poor a favour and sign up today at www.robinhoodtax.org.uk

I’m off to buy a roll of green felt.

…

Well there you have it, the question was something like “my constituents never received a share of the bankers’ bonuses but they paid to bail out the banks. What is the Prime Minister doing to make sure that this money is paid back, that thebanker’s avarice isnt allowed to threaten our public services and that the public’s investment isn’t squandered in a half-baked cut price share offer?”

And I appreciated the answer – every penny will be returned – though given what we have done, we should expect to see a profit, not just a simple repayment.

The LOTO dropped the ball again with his GDP stat – this conflict between Tories and the truth is now a running joke – and overall the honours went to John Bercow and Stephen Pound.

As soon as Dave made his gaffe, he sat down in a fury. Scowling and chuntering at George Osborne, a bemused William Hague looked on embarassed yet unflinching; like an exhausted  parent stuck between two bickering, spoiled …

Some permanently bewildered souls believe these questions are always ‘plants’ – they aren’t. At least mine aren’t (and never have been).

Anyway, the LOTO  may not go on the ‘bullying’ issue given how badly it has played for him, though some Tory backbencher  will probably make an asinine  reference during the course of a question. The LOTO  will have some lame jokes (addressed only over his shoulder), some bad-tempered moments, some references to ’smears’, and maybe no reference to the IMF today illustrating his approach towards spending cuts as entirely wrong…we’ll see.

I bet the camera never focuses on his shaking hands either…

Stay tuned. No flipping…

…

Some months ago when I asked a journalist for some advice on starting this site, he said “don’t make it boringly self-indulgent – nobody wants to read an adolescent stream of consciousness.” Or words to that effect.

I hope I’ve avoided that (up to now) but fear I may now slip into it during the course of this post.

Essentially, Rage Against The Machine are one of the greatest bands of all time (in my opinion) and I first came upon them at university when I was 18 (or so) and they had just broken. I was absolutely delighted when they made it to Christmas No.1 with ‘Killing in the name of’…delighted because it was them, delighted because of the lyrics, delighted because my wife wanted Joe McElderry to be No.1, delighted because it made be remember so much and delighted because of what it represented…

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not, and never …

But what has really inspired my unusually blunt post (below) is that I deal with a lot of bullying cases in the course of my work. From the playground to the workplace, bullying is a real issue. It can be emotionally toxic. It can be a genuine living hell. It can lead some people to try to take their own lives. That’s why I’m so angry about this story. Not simply because it appears so ‘fact lite’, but because it demeans and distorts the reality of the bullying experience.

And so, if fully grown, intelligent, adult professionals working in a pressure-cooker environment for one of the most powerful political figures in the world at a time of war and unprecedented economic challenge cannot cope with the behaviours and passions of those around them charged with solving those problems, then they should never have been in those positions in the first place; and they should get out now.

Not to mention – despite the pressures …

I was reminded of this today – a very common view across the benches it mst be said – as the LOTO urged an inquiry into the ‘bullying’ allegations regarding the PM currently doing the rounds.

There’s a lot to be said about this story. First of all, its old stuff, rehashed as a book excerpt in spectacular style by The Observer as its lead story on the day it re-launched itself. So far, so predictable. So far, so few facts.

I have no doubt that Gordon Brown can and does lose his temper. Cameron loses his, with extraordinary petulance at the despatch box, yet nothing is said. I have no doubt that Gordon Brown has huge expectations of those around him and that he becomes demanding, even angry when those around him don’t meet …

Anyone who listened to me heard me say it. Now, I worked on his election campaign briefly. The two must be related, and there’s probably some wrong-doing here. Isn’t there?

Anyway, the BBC reports that…

President Barack Obama has announced more than $8bn ( £5bn) of federal loan guarantees to help build the first US nuclear power stations for 30 years.

Two new plants are to be constructed in the state of Georgia by US electricity firm Southern Company.

President Obama said the plants would be “safe and clean” and were needed to meet the country’s future energy needs.

The president said the project would create “thousands of construction jobs over eight years and then hundreds of well-paid jobs” when the facilities become operational.

He added that it was “only the beginning” of efforts to develop a new generation of safe and clean energy-efficient technologies, which would help fight climate change.

The two new reactors will be built at an existing nuclear facility in Georgia.

“On …

Hang on, this is actually from News International’s flagship publication ‘The Times’ -    a publication you may have heard of…

An interview with the avuncular Tory Ken Clarke puts the true intentions of any future Tory government out into the daylight for all interested parties to see.

In discussion with the Times about the future public spending plans of a future Tory government, Ken said:

“In percentage terms the level of spending cuts we are contemplating is probably [going to] exceed those of any modern government. We are going to have to be much tougher on public spending than Margaret Thatcher ever was.”

Astonishing, eh? So communities like mine are expendable. Collateral damage in the pursuit to preserve…what exactly? The standard of living in the Home Counties? Come on Ken – be more honest. Admit that your mates’ inheritance tax proposals will mean public services being cut in communities like mine …

I haven’t watched the series so far and so I can’t comment fairly, but as soon as I can find the e-mail from the production company I’ll post it on here along with my reply.

The gist of the invitation was  that it would provide me   – naturally a remote and disconnected MP – with the opportunity to experience what life is like for ordinary people on a council estate.

I was horrified by the prospect. Artificial. Contrived. Patronising at best. Insulting at worst.

But what really bothered me was the assumption behind the invitation; namely that I knew nothing about what it must be like to lead the kind of life that the people who live on (what we used to refer to as) council estates actually lead.    

As someone who comes from …

It can’t have escaped your attention, gentle reader, that there is currenty much speculation about the prospects of a hung parliament after the next election. I’m all for keeping under-used political  commentators in gainful employment and enjoy reading whatever they write (do people aspire to a life as exciting as mine?)

But with this in mind, it’s time for a reality check. There may be a hung parliament coming our way and the likelihood is hard to determine but the current (prolonged) speculation is really a political scam.

Every psephologist knows that the polls will continue to change and the gap between Labour and the Tories will continue to close as the election nears. What the hung parliament chatter is really about is trying to stop- or limit – the extent of this closure. Turnout will be more important in this election than in many recent contests and the efforts of the Tory press to boost turnout through its hung parliament  coverage is barely concealed. Boost Tory turnout and flush …