September 2011
1 post
An outdated employment culture that is bad for...
Below is a recent blog I wrote for the LSE Politics and Policy blog on the public sector employment culture.
Today thousands of union members will meet for the 143rd annual TUC Congress in London amid increasing threats of industrial action and civil disobedience from union leaders. Over the next three days, they will discuss an agenda that opposes virtually any reform of public sector...
November 2010
1 post
Apologies, duty called...
Ladies and gents, boys and girls, muppets, trumpets and downright strumpets, I apologise.
I have been absent for nigh on two months, plying my trade in amongst those very corridors of power I so readily seek to ridicule. And so much that I have missed - ginger rodents scurrying around at the heart of Government, “unenforceable” child benefit mishaps, Respublica being named the...
August 2010
31 posts
Ed Miliband writes to Lib Dem voters
The younger Milibandroid has added to the party political “welcome mat” previously laid out for defecting Liberal Democrat MPs by writing to disenchanted Lib Dem voters in an audacious bid to swell Labour’s ranks.
Writing in the Guardian, Ed lavishes praise upon on “party of proud traditions”, and argues that key Liberal Democrat principles are “being...
TaxPayers' Alliance Founder heads AV "No" Campaign
Matthew Elliott, the co-founder of pressure group The TaxPayer’s Alliance, has stepped down from the day-to-day running of the organisation to head up the “No to AV” campaign. Mr Elliott had this to say on the matter:
“Having spent the past five years campaigning alongside you against expenses abuses by MPs, I know that you share my belief in accountable and...
Miliband offers tax breaks in exchange for Living...
While Dave Miliband is busy giving supporters tips on how to throw a banging house party, his brother Ed has been busy jumping upon the “Living Wage” bandwagon after weeks of relatively insubstantial support for Ken Livingstone’s legacy policy.
Today, Ed drew upon some number-crunching by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) in a commitment to introduce tax incentives for...
Charles Kennedy dismisses defection talk
Charles Kennedy, erstwhile Lib Dem leader and party grandee, has categorically dismissed speculation of an impending defection to the Labour Party. In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, he branded the rumours “absolute rubbish”, adding, “I will go out of this world with my Lib Dem membership card in my pocket”. Chatter had been brewing that the former leader was...
Prescott warns that Labour is "on verge of...
(John Prescott reveals the size of Labour’s money bags)
John Prescott, the recently ennobled Lord of Hull, has issued a stark warning that the Labour Party is “on the verge of bankruptcy”, with “more than £20 million in debt”, “a long-term decline in membership and a funding crisis”. Writing on the Guardian website in preparation for his candidature for...
Tory Deputy Leader in the London Assembly,...
James Cleverly, the Deputy Leader of the Conservatives in the London Assembly, has said what we were all thinking and branded Simon Hughes, the loudmouth Lib Dem Deputy, a “dick” and a “fool” on his social media pages. In a blog post entitled “Oh do shut up Simon”, which was subsequently routed to Twitter (as seen below), Mr Cleverly succinctly ruined the...
Ed Miliband distances himself from talk of Lib-Lab...
“Woah, hold up there guys…work with Clegg? Not bloody likely.”
Ed Miliband today attempted to firmly close the lid on the Simon Hughes jack-in-a-box by saying that Hughes’ suggestion of a pact between the Liberal Democrats and Labour could only happen should Nick ‘do a Gordon’ and stand down first.
After Hughes stuck his head out yet again in defence of the...
Simon Hughes in coalition veto call
Simon Hughes, Lib Dem Deputy Leader and all round Protector of the Liberal Democratic cause, has given up trying to differentiate between Tory and Lib Dem policies and is now calling for a veto on Coalition policies for Liberal Democrat MPs.
In an interview with the Beeb, Hughes, upset that Clegg’s fort-holding is hogging the media limelight, said that Lib Dem MPs should be able to say,...
Ed Balls takes leaf out David Cameron's book
Ed Balls, Labour leadership hopeful and marginal MP, has taken a leaf out of Dave’s Guide to Social Media Campaigning and launched his very own version of “WebCameron” to reignite his faltering campaign. Presumably this is where all Ken Follett’s money is going…oh, and to the intern and volunteer salaries, of course - yeah right.
Ed’s virtual presence is far...
SamCam eschews Cherie decor
(All Dave needs is two wheels and the open road to keep in shape)
It seems the new residents of Number 11 Downing Street are somewhat unimpressed by the interior design style of the former residents. SamCam has apparently decided that only black marble will do for the kitchen [darling], while carpets are also reportedly being ripped out and a partition wall installed. Meanwhile, Dave,...
Clegg takes reins amid Hughes' partisan mumblings
Today, Nick Clegg will, no doubt nervously and with gaffes galore, assume the great office of Prime Minister. As Dave swans off to Cornwall for a jolly old hoot with SamCam and Co., Little Nick will serve as acting PM in his absence. In the next fortnight, “I agree with” is expected to hold (D)PM Direct meetings, drum up dwindling Lib Dem support on a makeshift campaign trail, and,...
Milburn back in business..
(Alan Milburn’s intentions were apparent even back then…)
Alan Milburn, former Labour Cabinet Minister and all-round family man, is reportedly being lined up as the Coalition’s new “Social Mobility Tsar” in what Andy Burnham, struggling for publicity in amongst the Milibands and Balls of this world, is describing as “no way to treat the good people who voted...
Audit Commission in a Pickle
(Eric Pickles - Blue sky thinking when it comes to spending cuts…)
Eric Pickles, Thursday’s media hero after moving towards government transparency by publishing his Communities and Local Government department’s accounts, took his rallying cry for “a nation of armchair auditors” a tad too far by abolishing the nation’s actual auditors. In an unexpected move,...
Limos, hotels and luxury dos
T’was with a flurry of transparency and crowdsourced accountability that Eric Pickles opened upo the Department of Communities and Local Government little black book yesterday, revealing limousine upon luxury excursion of taxpayer-funded extravagance by Pickles’ predecessors.
The remarkably svelte Pickles, spotted by Politickle giving a seemingly sidesplittingly funny interview next...
Labour spending "bender"...
(“Drunk? Me? Jog on you bleeding ******! Now who said, ‘Oggy’?”
In true coalition spirit, Baroness Warsi and Chris Huhne today rallied together at a joint press conference to accuse Gordon and friends of indulging in a rather enticing pre-election spending “bender”. The coalition cuddlies said that in the weeks running up to the election,...
Lib Dem cracks over "socially divisive" free...
(What you call me? Wadda ya mean Brokeback Coalition?)
The Coalition’s resolve is set to be sorely tested this autumn, as the Lib Dem party conference looks to be dominated by divisions over Michael Gove’s flagship, if a bit rushed, education proposals. Enraged Lib Dems have put forward a somewhat embarrassing motion calling for parents to boycott Gove’s ‘Free...
Graduate tax gets Tory backing
And so the merry-go-round of coalition government continues. Just weeks after Vince Cable was unceremoniously shot down mid-flow over his advocacy of a graduate tax solution to the university funding supernova, another BIS minister, this time Tory, has said it is his “preferred option” (meaning ‘least unpalatable option’). Dave Willetts, Universities Minister, has now come...
PennyRed uncovers Tory youth
Laurie Penny, successful feminist blogger and New States(wo)man hack, has been delving and diving among the fresh-faced figures of tomorrow’s Toryism, in what sounds like a quite amusing, if less than eventful, night at Mahiki. You can read all the dirt on pink shirts, conservative chauvinism and Maggie’s sexual allure here, though the punch line hardly lives up to the preamble...
Number 10 overrules milk cut
(Usher’s agent really struggles to get the star work these days)
The number of mixed messages coming out of Whitehall at the moment is quite astonishing. I mean, what with council housing, school building works and Iranian nuclear silos, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Coalition was done with its game of department Twister for the week. But no, tangling themselves up in one...
Yet another Tory MP goes off message...
Another week, another maverick MP deviating from the fragile coalition line. Tory backbencher Nadine Dorries MP has joined Simon Hughes in opposition to Dave’s proposal to end council housing “for life”. The Mid Bedfordshire member told Radio 4’s Today programme today that fixed-term council tenancies will stop many from wanting to “improve their lot”, and thus...
Politickle round-up of the blogosphere...
1. ConservativeHome’s Think Tank Central page has revealed the staggeringly long list of Coalition policies that Policy Exchange is laying claim to. Among the twenty-two initiatives are pupil premiums, the OBR and green investment banks.
2. The Spectator Coffee House blog and Next Left are both rollicking on about Simon Hughes’ statement calling for an “end to right-to...
Coalition Conferences: senior ministers to attend...
(The Tories’ best standup act…the “witty” William Hague MP)
Its been winding its way along the grapevine for weeks now, but finally rumours of Government ministers attending their coalition partner’s conference have come to a head. The Daily Mail, as reliable a source of political intrigue as ever there was, has exclusively revealed that Old Bill Hague will deliver...
Hats off to Jack Straw, quitting Labour front...
(Jack does his best John Prescott impression for the camera)
Jack Straw, veteran parliamentarian and one of just three to survive Labour’s thirteen years in office, has announced his retirement to the backbenches. The former Justice, Home and Foreign Secretary said, “There is something relentless about the front bench, whether it’s in government, or in opposition, and...
Tory Bear blogger confuses "democracy" and "big...
Tory Bear, blogger and makeshift homophone of a certain flush ex-PM, today seemed to confuse Dave’s “Big Society” idea for that ancient thingamebobby they call “democracy”. The Conservative cuddly tweeted earlier today that David Miliband and Tessa Jowell’s proposals for a mutual cooperative BBC made them subscribers to the PM’s big idea. Posting a link to...
2 tags
Prime Minister fast becoming "foreign policy...
David Cameron, you know, the one who mistakenly called Britain the USA’s “junior partner” in 1940 a few weeks back and last week enraged Pakistan over their “export” of terrorism, has been at it again.
The beleaguered PM, this time speaking at a popularity-garnering Coalition Roadshow, said that Turkey’s admission to the EU would help solve global issues...
Report blasts NHS' £86m sites
A leaked government review has lambasted the NHS’ online presence, identifying over a thousand sites which were no longer accessible, 900 that had “at least one notable deficit in standards” and systematically poor content and navigation.
Anyone else recognise the huge, monolithic network stretched too far, costing too much, and failing to commission good content and undone by...
Quote of the Day...
“The government claims the cuts are unavoidable because the welfare state has been too generous. This is nonsense. Ordinary people are being forced to pay for the bankers’ profligacy.”
Tony Benn attempts to rally Labour’s troops with a call to “the resistance” in the Guardian. Too bad everyone’s too worried about where the continuity candidates are...
3 tags
Simon Hughes up in arms over Cameron's housing...
Simon Hughes, spokesperson for the Lib Dem’s last bastion of liberal integrity, has blown his top over Dave’s recent plan for fixed or limited term council housing.
In a second attempt to prevent the Liberal Democrats from morphing into their Tory partners in as many weeks, Hughes disrespectfully remarked, “it’s a prime ministerial idea – it has no more validity yet and I...
Diane Abbott tries her hand at underhand tactics
Diane Abbott today become the second outsider in the Labour leadership contest to wade into the mudslinging match of media scrutiny with a well aimed swipe at frontrunner Dave Miliband. In an interview with Polly Toynbee, the chocolate hobnob of British politics, as Andrew Neill so fondly dubbed her, delivered a devastating attack on Miliband Snr, accusing his campaign of “buying”...
Miliband warns of Labour exile
David Miliband has upped the ante in the Labour leadership stakes of late with the statement “this is a time to be serious”. Avoiding the rough ‘n’ tumble of Balls’ campaign and the “head and heart” approach of his younger sibling, Miliband Snr. warned the Manchester hustings that Labour “could be out for a long time, history tells us we...
July 2010
18 posts
3 tags
Gove caught fibbing over his Academies claim...
Michael Gove, once poster-boy for grammar school Toryism and rising star within the party, has added further fuel to the already sizeable flames currently lapping at the feet of the Academies Bill. After a quite ropey performance in front of the Education Select Committee last night, Gove was today caught out on a lie over his June 2 claim that over an “overwhelming” 1,100 schools...
1 tag
MPs caught sleeping on job...
(Delegate behind Gordon (whisper): “Anyone got a Sharpie back there? I’m gonna write “bigot” across his forehead…)
In either an uncharacteristic commitment to their work or the best political PR stunt ever, MPs have been told off by Malcolm Jack, clerk of the House of Commons, for sleeping in their commons offices. Mr. Jack said that fire safety procedures meant...
Quote of the day...
“If you have a dog… for long enough, eventually you begin to look like your pet. Well, if you have a coalition partner, then it seems to me there’s a very grave risk eventually you’ll come to look like them.
Sir Menzies Campbell does much to substantiate remarks that Nick Clegg is a lap dog.
Quote of yesterday...
“About 39 million people will be anyway invited to vote next May and it seems to me, instead of asking people to constantly go back to polling booths to cast separate votes, it is perfectly right to say on a very simple issue, yes or no, to invite them to do so at, by the way, lower cost to the Exchequer - it saves around £17m - on the same day as other elections.”
Nick Clegg...
Labour/Conservative backbench partnership? Sorry...
Now here at Politickle we don’t indulge in pure unfounded speculation, you know that, but this one, no matter how ridiculous it sounds, has bona fide credentials… Labour and Tory backbenchers could end up in a backbench coalition over the Coalition’s referendum and boundary change 2-for-1 offer.
Last night the Shadow Cabinet voted to reject the Bill, which has lumped all the...
Gordon's heart just isn't in it...
[Source: OldRightie]
Gone are the days when the parliamentary spotlight shone upon the ever-grumpy, ever-lumpy facade of the ex-Prime Minister. Nowadays, the “mad, bad and dangerous” one mostly gives the Commons the proverbial cold Scottish shoulder, even on such important issues as yesterday’s Academies Bill.
As the Rt. Hon. Guido revealed today, Gordon was just one of two...
4 tags
Move over the Bullingdon, the 'Brokeback Club' is...
Rumours are bubbling that Tory backbenchers, increasingly uneasy about the cosy coalition, are planning something of an internal revolution. Jumping on David Davis’ alleged description of the governmental love-in as the “Brokeback Coalition”, Mark Pritchard, recently elected to chair the 1922 Committee, is reportedly attempting to rally backbench dining clubs the 92 Group,...
1 tag
Conservative MP apologises as reputation hangs by...
(Rory jigging on his website. If you look carefully you can see the twine holding up his suit trousers…)
You know sometimes I think that this blog wouldn’t exist but for the sheer ineptitude of the Conservative members’ ranks…
Fresh-faced Tory MP Rory Stewart, former deputy governor of an Iraqi province and ex-Foreign Office man, has admitted that it was “very...
3 tags
Crispin Blunt overruled again.........and again...
You’ve gotta feel for Crispin Blunt. Quite aside from the ridicule he undoubtedly received for the astonishing Christian name bestowed upon him by his parents, the Prisons and Youth Justice Minister has been overruled twice more to take his tally of swallowed statements to three in under a week.
After media outcry at Blunt’s announcement of a “rehabilitation revolution” last week, the Brokeback...
3 tags
Clegg rough rides "Brokeback" comments
Nick Clegg has shrugged off comparisons of the Coalition with the 2005 gay cowboy film Brokeback Mountain. Speaking to the Beeb in between rodeos and a light spot of gun-slinging, Clegg said, “It is a colourful phrase, but I do not think it really captures the spirit of the coalition, which is two separate parties led by two separate leaders” before riding off into the sunset...
4 tags
Rumours of Labour leadership withdrawal are Balls,...
Rumours of Ed Balls’ exit from the Labour Leadership race have been quashed in a blog post by big man himself mysteriously entitled “Why I’m fighting on”. Speaking on Radio 4 today, Michael Gove’s second least favourite man said, “I’m not denying that I’m behind” before adding, “Everyone knows I don’t give up easily.”
The...
1 tag
On the Hunt for savings...
Jeremy Hunt, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport’s very own spending guillotine after announcing cuts of 35%-50% at the Ministry of Fun this week, readjusted his austerity drive upon the BBC this morning, calling for greater openness over salaries after previously hinting at dents to the license fee.
Speaking on The One Show, the Culture Secretary said that there is “a genuine...
1 tag
Tory legal blunder over burka...
Keeping Tory tongues in order is proving a nigh on impossible task for Conservative HQ of late, what with Big Dave and Justice Minister Crispin Blunt falling prey of corrected statements this week, and now Philip Hollobone has been rebuked for sitting on the wrong side of the Equality Act.
The Conservative MP for Kettering is currently attempting to introduce a Private Member’s Bill to ban...
2 tags
Quote of the Day
“My message to troops is to have a break, steady their nerves and realise that the only polls that matter are the real ones during elections.”
Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Simon Hughes after coalition collusion saw his party plummet to just 13% in the polls. Compare this with Mr. Hughes’ recent attempt to distance the Liberal Democrats from some Government legislation, with...
7 tags
Miliband of Brothers gain momentum...
The Miliband siblings, or Deadwood as they might collectively be termed, gained significant campaign impetus this week in the Labour leadership race as campaign finances were declared and the biggest unions threw in their lots.
David’s campaign garnered many a headline, and not a few envious whinges from rivals, over two £50,000 donations from high-profile backers, taking his coffers over...
5 tags
"Brokeback" coalition, "Toxic" Tories and other...
After what has been, well, a somewhat imperfect week for the coalition, it seems our party-political bedfellows are finding it increasingly tricky sharing the proverbial duvet.
David Davis, erstwhile opponent of Dave in the 2005 Tory leadership election, has allegedly approvingly repeated a Lord Ashcroft description of the ConDem partnership as the “Brokeback Coalition”, referencing the Annie...