Labour of Love

Nuts in November: Nadine, Qs 28-33 "In A State" to "Dirty Knees"

2009-11-22T01:19:00.000Z

Question 28: Nadine, as we've already mentioned we're bemused that while your juvenile nursing gets bigged up your time as a Flight Attendant is completely missing from the CV. Unless that is it's the year that Central Casting CCHQ call travelling? Would that be it? "She trained as a Nurse at Warrington General from 1975 1978, before taking a year out to travel around the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and Russia." Flight attendants are great. Why hide this?

Question 29: Company Kids Limited, or whatever it was called from time to time, might be the one true success on the CV, albeit built as it is on your being head of that "Community School" of yours in Zambia, but we are wondering why BUPA apparently kicked you off their board so soon after buying the company. Was it really that bad?

Question 30: And was that the main BUPA board as one might think from the biogs, or just the floundering childcare company board?

Question 31: And did you know that BUPA have flogged this unit off again, now doing something quite different to the fantastical programme they were sold?

Question 32: I'm just gobsmacked that there are still references to Nadine Bargery age 33 in 2000-1 on the web, connected with your first tilt at Parliament. How could you allow that? Next you'll be pretending you were mistaken for a 17-year-old! You were at least 10 years older than 33 back then weren't you? Not like you to leave media errors uncorrected.

Question 33: Of course that press mistake was in connection with your Hazel Grove "she'll knock your socks off" Bargery campaign. Hazel Grove being not so far from the House of Love and en route to our "breathless dogging in the deer park" activity, where in Hazel Grove they tried to de-select you, did they not? Nine years before Elizabeth Truss survived, so did you Nadine. What was that about then?

Nuts in November: Nadine, Qs 23-27 Deep in the Liverpoo

2009-11-21T10:31:00.003Z

They say you should never ask a question unless you know the answer, so best press on before they all burn a hole in my pocket. But quickly. First, let's mop up some of the early doors CV flexing and creation mythology.

Question 23: You weren't born in or from a Council House now were you? To be fair this small whopper has been fetched back. But how did you come to allow this to appear in media stories in the first place?

Question 24: It's also not true that you were "mostly" brought up on a Council estate either is it? You were at very least 11 when you moved from the Anfield-Everton area Breck Road to Halewood? - perhaps gaming the school catchment lottery? - and you weren't even close to 22 when you left that home were you? So it's perhaps about a third. Do you ever get at all alarmed at all the inexactitudes littering your life story Nadine?

Question 25: Now here's strange. Hot on the heels of your born in a Council House / brought up on a Council estate twaddle came the story that your life in Breck Road was so poor that you were dressed from Salvation Army rags. Isn't that "we had it tough" whopper just made up for effect?

Question 26: And isn't the myth of a grandparent delivering Tory leaflets in this inner city area from your fancy pram just arrant cobblers too?

Question 27: Now, one of the favoured creation myths for the Bargery Years is that although brought up in the Anfield Everton area (not Halewood) and although a LFC fan rather than a toffee, your grandad or a little more arithmetically possible great grandad "George Bargery" (though we think Great Great or even Great Great Great would probably be it, Great Grandad could have at best been scarcely born) was not only one of the founders of Everton FC (or St Domingo's as it was first called) but also played in goal in the team's first proper match against St Peters on 20 December 1879, won 6-0 I think it was. Would you be at all surprised to discover that though the score is correct there's no George Bargery on the team sheet? And no Bargery at all in the Club History? That one W Jones played in goal as it goes. Below is the first known picture from 1881.

CAPTIONS: The map shows the location of the former Breck Road railway station; the top photo is of the classy Vic-wardian suburbia of Lower Breck Road; and the lower one the Breck Road pub The Lutine Bell.

UPDATE 21:42: Decide to remove estate-agenty "triangle" concept.

Bruges Group: Needs No Introduction, Only £20 for Minogue Folly

2009-11-20T01:32:00.008Z

THE BRUGES GROUP

The Bruges Group spearheads the intellectual battle against the notion of "ever–closer Union" in Europe and, above all, against British involvement in a single European state

BRUGES GROUP CONFERENCE
The Future of the EU ... Can it Survive?
Saturday, 21st November 2009

EU leaders have decided behind closed-doors who will become the European Union President and who will be the Foreign Minister. The Presidency is a key element in the Lisbon Treaty and is intended to be the capstone on the project to build an EU super-state. This is historic, but far from welcome. The French and the Dutch, and the Irish first time around, rejected such a development but were ignored. With the EU’s drive for power over our democracy and everyday life continuing unabated the Bruges Group holds this conference to oppose the surrendering of our freedoms to Brussels.

ADMISSION: £20 payable on the door or in advance. Including lunch, coffee, wine, orange juice, mineral water, tea and cheese and biscuits

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO BOOK ONLINE.

QUOTES FROM THE SPEAKERS

Gerard Batten MEP is an expert on the costs of EU membership. He is a member of the European Parliament’s Security & Defence Committee, and is a candidate for the leadership of the UK Independence Party. Gerard Batten will be discussing the issue of immigration.

Gerard Batten MEP will say;
“Thanks largely to the EU immigration to the UK is uncontrolled and effectively unlimited. We are adding another one million people to the population every four years – equivalent to building a new town the size of Birmingham. This is unsustainable from any perspective.

“None of the economic arguments for mass immigration stack up, and recent revelations by a Labour Government advisor show that unlimited immigration was a deliberate ideological policy to create a 'multicultural and diverse society'.

“We now have to end the age of mass immigration and multiculturalism. We must integrate the migrants we have, expel illegal immigrants, and reduce any further immigration to a trickle of appropriately qualified people.

“We must abandon multiculturalism. Anyone who wants to live under Sharia law should be invited to go and live somewhere else where it applies. The doctrines of 6th Century Arabia have no place in modern Britain.”

Dr Lee Rotherham is an adviser to the Bruges Group. After working for the Westminster Group of Eight rebels, he became adviser to three successive Shadow Foreign Secretaries. Lee Rotherham has also served with the armed forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He has been a Conservative Parliamentary candidate in the 2001 and 2005 elections. He has widely written on European issues. He is the author of EMU Understood and All At Sea; and co-authored the Bluffers Guide to the EU. Lee will talk on, Ten Years On — Britain without the European Union.

Lee Rotherham will say;
"Brussels is about 'ever-closer union' and closing ranks when things go horribly wrong, which these days unfortunately is a perennial event. But there is a spark of hope. Britain doesn't need to be a part of it, and would positively thrive as a friend and trading associate rather than a partner in crime."

Professor Kenneth Minogue is a frequent commentator for radio and television on European issues, he was Chairman of the Bruges Group 1991-1993; he remains a member of the Group’s Academic Advisory Council. Professor Minogue will discuss, The implications of the vote on the Lisbon Treaty and what this means for Britain and Europe.

Ken Minogue will say;
"Democracy is dying in Britain because we have been stitched up by Westminster folly and international bureaucrats. The last time we got stitched up by law was at the end of the Middle Ages, and we solved it by inventing the sovereign state. We need to get that back."

Bruno Waterfield has been Brussels correspondent for The Daily Telegraph since December 2006. He has been reporting on the EU and European affairs since 2000, first from Westminster and then from January 2003 he has been based in Brussels. He is also a regular contributor to www.spiked-online.com

Bruno Waterfield will say;
“The European Union has emerged as the institutions and practice of a unique form of twenty-first century statecraft based on cooperation between national elites and the active exclusion, and hostility, to European publics. The defining feature of European-level politics and decision making is secrecy.

“The structure of EU decision-making has evolved to provide maximum privacy for political elites and maximum insulation from public pressure and scrutiny – it is a public-free zone.

“The EU’s mission to evade popular vote on the Lisbon Treaty and hostile responses to referendums in France, the Netherlands and Ireland, reveals that it is a Union or rulers united in mistrust of the people, not a Union of leaders prepared to make a case and to take their people with them.”

John Mills is the Secretary of the Labour Euro-Safeguards Campaign and the Labour Economic Policy Group. He is also the Chairman of one of the fastest growing companies in the UK, JML, which has extensive trading relations with much of the world. John Mills is the author of Europe’s Economic Dilemma.

John Mills will say;
“The euro is the EU's weakest link. Currency unions without full political union have almost invariably failed in the past.

“EU elites will do all they can to hold the eurozone together and it will be very difficult for any country to leave the euro. The crucial issue, nevertheless, is whether the problems involved in holding the eurozone together turn out to be overwhelmed by economic failure and unmanageable unemployment and social stress in the weaker EU economies.”

Ian Milne is the author of an analysis of the net economic costs and benefits for the UK of EU membership, titled; A Cost Too Far?. Ian Milne has had a forty-year career in industry and merchant banking in the UK, France and Belgium. He is the author of the Bruges Group publication; Lost Illusions: British Foreign Policy. Ian Milne will discuss, Who Needs the Single Market?

Ian Milne will say;
"British exports to the world OUTSIDE the EU have grown by almost 40% faster than British exports TO the EU since the turn of the century. Consequently, the share of worldwide British exports going to the EU is shrinking, and will be down to a third by 2020, which means that in 2020, for every pound of British exports going to the EU, two pounds of British exports will be going OUTSIDE the EU.

"You don't have to belong to the EU to export to the EU. The USA, not an EU member, with zero votes in the EU Council of Ministers, having to export over the EU tariff barrier, sells more to the EU than does the UK, without paying a cent to Brussels or imposing one iota of EU regulation on the domestic US economy."

Peter Davies, the Mayor of Doncaster, is dedicated to slashing costs and ditching political correctness. He is the first English Democrat to be elected to a key council position. His youngest son, Philip, is the Conservative MP for Shipley. Peter Davies is a member of the Campaign for an Independent Britain and will talk on; The European Union and British politics.

Christopher Booker is a columnist for The Sunday Telegraph. He is the author of the Bruges Group paper Britain and Europe: The Culture of Deceit. And also co-wrote Scared To Death: From BSE To Global Warming, Why Scares Are Costing Us The Earth.

Richard Conquest is an economist, hedge fund consultant and author whose research focuses on economic history, market developments and crises. Richard has also authored a number of publications on Eastern Europe and Russia. He has also served as the Chief Economist for a number of City institutions.

LOCATION:
The Great Hall, King's College London, The Strand, London WC2R 2LS

AGENDA:
Registration and Coffee: 10.30am
Morning Session: 11am – 1pm

Lunch: 1pm – 2pm
Afternoon Session: 2pm – 4pm

Refreshments: 4pm - 4.15pm
Evening Session: 4.15pm – 6.15pm

-----------------------------------------------------------

For further information please contact:

Robert Oulds Director
The Bruges Group
227 Linen Hall, 162-168 Regent Street, London W1B 5TB
UK

Tel: +44(0) 20 7287 4414
Mobile: 07740 029787
E-mail: info@brugesgroup.com

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Honorary President: The Rt Hon. the Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, LG, OM, FRS
Vice-President: The Rt Hon. the Lord Lamont of Lerwick, Co-Chairmen: Dr Brian Hindley & Barry Legg
Director: Robert Oulds MA,
Head of Research: Dr Helen Szamuely
Washington D.C. Representative: John O'Sullivan, CBE
Founder Chairman: Lord Harris of High Cross, Former Chairmen: Dr Martin Holmes & Professor Kenneth Minogue

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Nuts in November: Some Comments on Comment is Free #GoNads

2009-11-18T12:36:00.003Z

Let me see if I understand Nadine, writing on Comment is Free today. You are actually saying that it is Labour and Newsnight's Michael Crick that treated Liz Truss wrong? What follows is my comment HERE.

This seems completely delusional Nadine.

Also disappointing is the fact that you've not brought your own experience of a mysterious de-selection attempt in Hazel Grove in 2000-2001 to bear on this matter. What was that all about then?

On 28 October on my Labour of Love blog I broke the story of Nadine's second daughter getting a surprise job with her Mum-P.

And during November I have been running a series of questions for Nadine.

Question 1 concerns the job with my information, via the daughter's mouth, being that around £50,000 not £28,000 is involved.

Question 2 concerns the failure to fully declare this employment.

Question 3 asks questions - like a Millionaire starter question, about the order of events.

Question 4 wonders about Nadine's marriage to Paul David Dorries which does not show up in the register of births, deaths and marriages.

Question 5 wonders what on earth the wronged Nadine was doing defending Sir Nicholas Winterton. She had been a lowly nurse and a flight attendant, two roles prone to unwanted male attention. She would of course go on to smear other MPs as a group before honing this in to specific claims about three.

Question 6 was about spiders in the bath the size of dinner plates.

Questions 7 to 16 concern nursing qualifications and attitude to abortion.

Questions 17 to 22 are largely about a "Community School" with a return to the Bargery-Dorries marriage.

There are many many more questions to go at. I have used my Twitter account to give some "tags" HERE and HERE.

The idea that Labour or indeed Michael Crick are responsible for mis-using Elizabeth Truss is way way out there on the spectrum of Tory delusion. Meanwhile very little in the Nadine Dorries Mum-P CV appears to stack up as fully open or fully honest.

Any Comment is Free reader who can contribute to our research is welcome to send email via the blog. Here's a specific question for crowd-sourcing:

Can anyone give us the name of Nadine and Paul's ill-fated beauty salon in Cheshire? We think Prestbury. And we think opened by Julie Goodyear aka Coronation Street's Bet Lynch. We think early noughties.

UPDATE Thu 08:53: Links to twitter feed repaired. Apologies.

Rochdale Libdemologists: Rowen Quaffs as Rochdale Sinks in Mud

2009-11-16T10:32:00.002Z

Over at Paul Rowen MP - News we have another unfortunate juxtaposition (screengrab, above) and we happen to know that an anonymous comment has been submitted. In fact we typed it in ourselves. But knowing our own words may well get binned unread - for some reason - and won't even get the classic Hennigan furious riposte any longer, we're anonymising it in plain view.

We feel it is vital to warn PR Paul Rowen that this is a major PR fail. What would happen if the papers got hold of this flaunting of champagne in the face of the jobless of Rochdale? Could the constructively dismissed Parliamentary Researcher Alex Webster have had mischief in mind when she filed the picture? Here's a sample of the sample of the text that captions the picture of champagne Paul, quaffing while Rochdale town centre fails:

Paul Rowen said: "My biggest concern about these new figures is the percentage of young people that are not in education, employment or training. It is simply unacceptable.

And here's LOL's "anonymous" comment on the same:

What a ridiculous photo to illustrate a "bad times" item. So here's some bad unemployment figures and some bad youth NEET figures too. And here's Paul Rowen swilling champagne. Come back Dave, all is forgiven. You'd have never allowed this wassive PR fail.

But - Rochdale Observer - that *is* "she" by the way, Alex Webster is not a man as you assumed in your political agent moider mystery piece, and now she's a woman scorned;

Observer speculation that Dave Hennigan may have been sacked over sharing a confidential letter of complaint with the subject of that complaint viz Malcolm Porn-O, proprietor of the failing Rochdale Online web organ, who incidentally gets 40 pieces of tax payer gold to produce Rowen's puff site, with collateral benefits in editorial nay advertorial, is a bit far-fetched;

Trying to smear a prominent ex-Labour leader with a decades old sex smear seems perhaps more serious and a more sackable offence;

Threatening to cut of Rochdale MBC advertising while shouting the odds at Rochdale Observer editors, and demanding retractions of a fair comment from the MEN Editor in Chief must also feel like another shooting-self-in-foot moment, bound to cause resentment that;

Perhaps promising that new Arts Centre, within a year, back in 2006 I think it was - or else no-one should ever vote Lib Dem again - was deemed a mistake? Especially when the way out of town location of the Gracie Fields Theatre had been a curious Sir Cyril Smith stitch up in times past;

Rolling up at Castlemere Community Centre as persona non grata and Rowen's fifth choice for substitute for a speaking engagement he was ducking, and some say the worse for drink, having already made a drunken exhibition of himself at the same Muslim venue berating Jack Straw and spoiling a nice moment for the Muslim community getting such an illustrious visit, may also be more serious;

Giving MPUK access to the Lib Dem printing press and office facilities to produce vile libels against Lorna Fitzsimons back in 2005 may also be on the charge sheet;

Complete failures over expenses claims, local party accounts, dodgy donations and local Lib Dem group tithes may also have contributed, Bananas, secret payments to region, ridiculous stuffing machines, secret payments for videos that never appeared, the Porn-O website contract, the hoarding at the sports ground on the tax, the over-priced adverts effectively funding party printing, all this may be in the Lib Dem play book but Hennigan was so clumsy with it;

And let's not forget the great mystery of the illicit Party Political working. Even the name "Agent" applied to several workers in the tax payer's remit indicates a craven abuse of tax payers' money. And exposing this in the party accounts was yet another fail. Not to mention showing off the contrived rent arrangements for the office;

The charge sheet is spinning out of control now. But allowing PR Paul Rowen to remain commercially associated with Corinya Holdings wasn't right now Dave was it? They're a local property company that rents offices to Rochdale MBC, that is responsible for lots of empty property. On which PR Paul has objected so very recently over rates treatment, yet with whom he shares a directorship and a shareholding in an overseas company. It's not offshore but it has been quite difficult to investigate.

This stance also potentially aiding and abetting the current owners of the asbestos dumps to whom Rochdale Lib Dems have been in hock for almost half a century and who may have the potentially biggest empty property rates bill in the North West;

Indeed, putting his now replacement Adam "The Power" Power up to defaming Tony Lloyd and saying he was suing his comrades in the Rochdale party, plus then having PR Paul "cock crew three times" Rowen deny Power was working for him, may also score more highly than a mere beytrayal of a strict confidence;

What's more, compiling a horrendous dirty tricks dossier on PR Paul's Labour rival Simon Danczuk and plotting with Malcolm Porn-O to see this published may also be considered more outre than some mere blabbing within the extended tax payer funded PR team;

And there's the old kebab and chips and cooking lager and vodka sojourns, sleeping in the parliamentary office, even getting police attention for extremely drunken slow motion shutter action and presumed burglary;

Interfering with local ward candidate selection to protect a wicked henchman may also come back to haunt PR Paul Rowen in the future. Essentially the team ruled out the memberships of some voters until their man got the win. Corrupt as fuck;

You can see the "solutions" picture in its full glory HERE though we wouldn't bet the farm on it being there for long.

Rochdale RAW: A Hanging, A Castration, A Sacking and A Shafting

2009-11-14T13:11:00.002Z

Apart from their serious investigation and hot scoop on the Rochdale Lib Dems plans to rebrand their benighted town (Powerpoint Image, above) those naughty boys at Rochdale RAW have been up to their sleazy tricks again. We cannot condone their attitude. Just mud slinging all day every day. But they do dish the odd speck of true grit in the process.

It seems that Cyril Smith is to be hung! In the Town Hall. As an outspoken illiberal supporter of (a) corpulent (b) corporal and (c) capital punishment this must be the end he would have wanted. And indoors too. Lest he catch his death of cold. In the bleak mid winter.

Hanging was what Sir Squirrel wanted for the wrongly convicted Stefan Kiszko, with his old mate and Tory freemason big wig David Waddington - supposedly defence QC but utterly incompetent - and his old muckers in the craven and corrupt local constabulary conjoined in one of the most ridiculous justice fails of the century.
The real child sex killer Ronald Castree was an approximate contemporary of Paul Rowen MP in the children of Liberalism in the town. Castree's mum and dad were in fact major Cyril Smith supporters it seems. While Paul's mum Mrs Rowen was among Smith's successors as Mayor of the town.

Following this and continuing the cruel and unusual punishment meme the nutty RAW boys claim that when Legg's over Rowen will be castrated. Not, they are at pains to point out, chemically as Sir Cyril Smith was apparently, but where it really really hurts in his million pound expenses, salary, mortgages, allowances, gravy train.

Which makes the "Sacking" of Political Agent Dave Hennigan and the "Shafting" of Parliamentary Researcher Alex Webster quite the come down. This appears to leave Rowen with only a few banana chomping unpaid interns and a known ex-Tory smearologist on his books in London. And only the boy Adam Power, that he disowned completely over yet another smear, and the dirty mac caravan man John Swarbrick, continuing to illicitly do politics on the taxpayer in the former dynamic duo's crap cave at Drake Street, Rochdale.

Both Dave and Alex are seething at their treatment at the hands of the ineffectual and grasping bananas man of the Lib Dems. Seething. The truth will out. Though not perhaps on the Rochdale Online forums on which Henn so regularly made a cock of himself and had his opponents silenced so casually. Then again the "Spinning Out of Control" thread is now back!

Nuts in November: Qs 17-22 Nadine Bargery's Community School

2009-11-13T23:15:00.005Z

Strange wasn't it that just as LOL put up some questions for Ms Nadine Dorries MP on her nursing qualification and experience it was announced that new Nursing entrants, from the next intake, will all need to complete the degree route.

Presumably this leaves three cohorts in process on the parallel diploma route with the newest intake completing their diplomas in 2012.

As ever these diploma nurses will I believe be able to learn and earn and take extra exams to achieve graduate status.

Things were very different back in the day when one Nadine Bargery became a pupil nurse. Whether by choosing the second level SEN route, or by it choosing her, LOL understand that this lower qualification is what Nadine held.

We're still waiting for her to confirm that, or otherwise.

Personally thought Nads rather struggled in her 'phoner with Jeremy Vine at 13:10 pm on Thursday. Apparently in the lobby at the HoP between a vote - in which the Cons were whupped - and a trip to the Speccie awards.

Sticking up for the heart of gold practical nurse and extremely sniffy about the plan to give entrants the chance to get a degree to recognise their status and expertise.

We may come back to the "year out traveling" and the couple or three years (agency?) nursing and medical repping later.

But the next item on the Central Casting CV issued when Nadine was standing for Hazel Grove, as a pro-abortion candidate by all accounts, was what looks on the face of it like a considerable spell in Zambia, from 1982 to 1984 the Nads CV suggests. The exact words were:

In 1982 she moved to Africa and established a community school in Zambia.
In 1984 she returned to England, married and had two daughters in 1985 and 1987.

These end points can include a period of either just over a year or just under three years. So clearing that up is probably a very good place to start.

Question 17: Nadine, can you please clear up the dates that you traveled to and from Zambia and actually lived there?

Question 18: Nadine, your Central Casting CV states that you established a "Community School" in 1982. When you were around 25 years old and a prematurely retired practical nurse (and sometime flight attendant) with no experience as an educator and some say scarcely a CSE to rub together from your own schooling. Is that statement actually correct? A Community School? In 1982?

Question 19: Nadine, when you told them about this community school of yours I'd imagine they had something in mind like the schools in these pictures? Of actual, real Community Schools in Zambia. Would that be the kind of Community School you established and ran?

Question 20: What is the name and location and intake of the School? And who is running this school now?

Question 21: Nadine, are you able to to put your hand on your heart and state that there actually was a Community School in the usual sense we understand, that you founded it, and that there is no exaggeration and spin going on?

I'll be candid Nadine. That's the kind of researcher I am. Don't like secrets much. The reason I'm asking these questions is that some of your and Paul's well wishers have been insisting, insisting, that all is not as it seems with this little story. Not quite true.
Even having the temerity to claim that the "Community School" was little more than a child-minding service for the families of expatriate experts and bosses at the Copper Mine. Perhaps a few offspring of senior servants in the mix also.
How very unkind of them to make such accusations. We need to clear your good name!

One last question to be going on with:

Question 22: These experts and bosses and their wifes and girlfs were people like your own soon to be husband, the Copper Mining Engineer Paul David Dorries. This being the person the Tories state that you married when you returned to England. I'm pretty sure I have a cutting somewhere on the file that states that you married Paul David Dorries in Zambia and then returned. It's hard to keep track! Was it:

A. A marriage on your return to England as the Tory biographers claim? Or
B. A marriage that had already taken place in Zambia? Or
C. None of the above?

Grrrr. No upload facility just now. I'll be back later or tomorrow to add in some illustrations. UPDATE 00:41: several illustrations and a few tweaks. There may be more. Fettling graphics in list mode can be tricky.

No Talent and No Direction: Forget Jedward, It's Boy Daveorge

2009-11-13T17:06:00.002Z

No talent. No direction. And at last the public are seeing through the new clothes and stopping voting for the empty non promises party. Hat tip: Political Scrapbook, the work of @Gavin Trait.

Spectator Coffee House: Reductive Speculative Sloppy and Ignorant

2009-11-12T14:12:00.003Z

Over at The Spectator Coffee House David Blackburn is conflating best practice with worst practice. Recruiting not-sure-to-vote members of the electorate to Postal Votes is best practice and good for turn out and democracy. Obviously gaming PVs, PV factories and so on would be worst practice.

Blackburn's post is sloppy and ignorant, as I comment:

This seems to be speculative nonsense. People with PVs are about three times as likely to vote as those without. Weather doesn't intervene. Holidays don't. Illness doesn't. Work doesn't. Can't be bothered less likely. Which is why all parties in close run seats try to get their known or likely supporters on PV. Conflating a perfectly logical optimisation exercise with cheating seems sloppy and ignorant. I repeat: sloppy and ignorant.

EXCLUSIVE: Has Paul Rowen Sacked Scumbag Dave Hennigan?

2009-11-11T14:59:00.009Z

Hard to believe. But we have a double-sourced tip off that the nasty agent's nasty agent Dave Hennigan (above and right)- a former Manchester Councillor - who used to be the Power behind Rochdale Lib Dem MP Paul Rowen (below)'s throne, not to mention the main defender of the faith for the disgraceful rogue Sir Cyril Smith MBE has been sacked.

Archive, including: HERE. You can also search for Drunkagain, Henn, Heineken, Evil Tosser, Smearologist, Libdemologist, Smack, Slap Up Meal.

If this is true the downside for Rochdale may be that (a) Hennigan will turn up somewhere else to employ his McBride-like skills and (b) the caravan man John Swarbrick (rock bottom, photographing graffiti vandalism) is reputedly even more off the hook.

If Rowen really has grown some and got rid for the persistent bad behaviour that we already know about then good for him. If he hasn't then shame on him. If however there is some new scandal at the back of this LOL will do our best to bring it to our readers at the earliest opportunity.

UPDATE, CONFIRMATION 15:46: It is to be *Adam Power* (right) not dirty Manc man John Swarbrick (left) who will step into Dave Heineken's boot-boy boots. Rochdale Online finally caught up with the story HERE.
UPDATE 18:00: Little bird tells us letters already flying in to Rochdale Observer with tales being told. Dave was regarded as a ruthless bully. The town is breathing a sigh of relief. Who'd have thought he was once a nice Conservative Future activist, helping Ken Clarke in Rushcliffe? then again, now Blaney's training them they are coming out like this.

Nuts in November: Nadine, Q7- Q16 About Your Nursing Career

2009-11-10T12:31:00.002Z

Question 7: The official CV issued by Conservative Central Office (aka Central Casting Operations) in 2000 for your off-on Hazel Grove candidacy states that you trained as a nurse at Warrington General Hospital from 1975 to 1978. I make that at least two and a bit up to just under four years years. On the face of it three years. Is that right?

Question 8: Were you a "Pupil Nurse" becoming a State Enrolled Nurse, known in other countries as "Practical Nurse" or "Level 2 Nurse", a role now carried out by auxiliaries and assistants; or were you a "Student Nurse" attempting to become a State Registered Nurse, now known as Registered General Nurse or specialist equivalents?

Question 9: If it were the latter - "Student Nurse" studying to be SRN - did you in fact pass the exams and qualify at that grade? Or not pass or not finish and become an SEN?

Question 10: If it were the former - "Pupil Nurse" studying to be SEN - are you at all concerned that you have over-egged the pudding qualifications wise?

Question 11: The Central Casting CV goes on to state that after a one year career break - apparently 1979-1980 - you returned to work in the Royal Liverpool Teaching Hospital before moving to London, and "worked at a number of main hospitals before working as a medical rep". Can you please tell us how much of this period was nursing and whether this was as an Agency Nurse?

Question 12: And following this up, when exactly did you switch to being a medical rep, what were you pushing, and were you doing the odd nursing shift alongside this work?

Question 13: You tell an anecdote yourself about being a 19-year-old nurse, and it all going horribly wrong to your eyes, and others suggesting that you should probably leave as you didn't have the right stomach or attitude for the job. Did you not actually follow that advice? If not why not?

Question 14: When you took over the mantle from your estranged (ex-?) hubby (?) Paul as the politico in the household and were first selected, then almost dumped, then reinstated as PPC in Hazel Grove local people believed from your comments and statements that you were a staunch pro-choice candidate.

Setting your face against Mr Martin Milner (Lab) who was staunchly anti-choice, and Andrew Stunnell the incumbent then and now, confused then and now, but dithering marginally on the anti-choice side. Was that in fact the case?

Question 15: When did you come to change your view, stated at Hazel Grove almost 25 years after your hospital culture-shock, to trying instead to HALF the usual limit for legal abortion?

Question 16: You have roundly criticised women taking actually rather small contributions to selection campaigns from Emily's List which expects no anti-choice positions from those they assist in getting on the ballot paper. Do you feel any obligations to any interest group in the other direction yourself?

That's all for the moment. Back with more before too long.

USA Military: Suicides at Fort Hood Exceed 100 This Year

2009-11-10T10:38:00.005Z

Over on Alternet Dahr Jamail of Asia Times reports on very shocking and sobering statistics. More US servicemen and women have taken their own lives at this one military base (right) this year than UK military who have died in action, accidents and incidents on deployment in Afghanistan. Around 100 lives lost for January to October. "10 Suicides a Month at Ft. Hood -- War Stress Is Taking Soldiers to the Brink". The shooting tragedy at Fort Hood on Friday points to a much larger problem of combat stress and overdeployment in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Nuts in November: Q6, Nadine, How Big Are Spiders With You?

2009-11-09T01:06:00.006Z

This plate is from the marvellous Project Gutenburg eBook of Mother Goose - as told by W. W. Denslow - which I stumbled across, again, only yesterday. Well over 100 years old. You can take a look for yourself Right Here. Meanwhile a certain Con-woman (short for Conservative Woman, natch) was tweeting, was tweeting, that there was a spider occupying the bath she wanted to be in. This spider was definitely, I kid you not, way bigger than a large dinner plate. When an MP from another party got in touch to suggest the Con-woman even lied about spider size I was resolute in her defence. She's a Mum-P for goodness sake! The spidies out there in the wild woods west of Chipping Campden aka Chiselling Expenses were whoppers I explained. Every last one a whopper.
Miss Muppet knows of what she talks.

Nuts in November: Lifechanging Questions For Nadine So Far

2009-11-08T23:30:00.006Z

Ms Nadine Dorries MP has probably been Labour of Love's most popular feedback area, ever. We've been saving up lots of interesting questions for a rainy day. Or a rainy month even.

The number of "well wishers" round the place who want to send their blessings to Our Nadine is truly staggering. Our Paul is also staggeringly popular in many quarters. Though a bit of a will-o-the-wisp web-wise. LOL are putting together a month's worth of Questions for the Mum-P for Mid Bedfordshire. Counting properly we are probably already in double figures.

But, so far, organised in five clusters:

Question 1: This Session you have added a second arguably unsuitable Dorries daughter to the taxpayers' payroll. Jennifer, for it is she, enthusiastically reported a £50,000 salary as some kind of Chief of Staff with roles in both Westminster and Woburn.
The Sunday Mirror a week ago speculated a lower figure, which seems a bit rude actually, though it was still high for normal candidates. Though for a sought after candidate of Jenny's merits you might well break the bank. How much is Jenny paid?

Supplementary: How on earth mid-Legg mid-Kelly, post-Conway, post-Telegraph did you expect this to look?

Question 2: Jennifer's appointment does show up in the latest staff RMI but strangely not in the Mum-Ps own returns for 2 September or 14 October. Meanwhile Philippa is away travelling in Australia but appears in both these Mum-P RMI Part Twos as a current employee. Is this incompetence or chicanery?

Question 3: Who Wants to be a Millionaire homage. Fastest finger first. Put the following in the correct order:

A. Philippa Storm Dorries gave notice of a year-long trip to Australia and needed to be replaced as Office Manager/Senior Secretary/Chief of Staff;
B. Mum-P Nadine Dorries made an impassioned speech in the House, drawing attention to the plight of young unemployable daughter newly-graduated daughter, that was at 6:33pm on 06-07-09;
C. There was a "well-earned" Dorries Family Holiday. ¡Y Viva Espana!;
D. Jennifer Lauren Dorries turned up in the Sports and Social on Friday 16 October, Miss Hospitality personified, and she'd landed a bloody good job.

Question 4: Leaving aside your earlier CV for the time being you went to Zambia and bumped into your old friend Paul Dorries and you returned to the UK apparently newly married and very ready to start a family. Was this a traditional marriage and in a style and jurisdiction recognised here in the UK?
Would you say?

Supplementary: All kinds of online biographies, CVs, blurbs, news stories and so on refer to a change in marital status in December 2006. Divorce, separation, or if you will estrangement. Which is it actually? And are you still in regular touch?

Question 5: Given that your secret and open career history include being a flight attendant and some kind of nurse, surely two of the most pawed, arse-slapped and generally harassed occupations, alongside being a Mum-P, why would you stick up for hands-on dirt-ball sleaze scoundrel Sir Nick Winterton?

Supplementary: And why is that work as a flight attendant, arguably showing considerable resourcefulness in gaming the recruitment requirements, is suppressed from the CV or described as "travelling" in some places, broadens the mind they say, while an undistinguished and actually rather short stint as a State Enrolled Nurse, plus some Agency dabbling possibly, is built up?

Almost beyond recognition? To medical and scientific expertise. Is that fair?

Bobby Robson: It's All Coming Up Roses on Tyneside

2009-11-07T18:26:00.003Z

It's all coming up roses for a new Cancer Foundation.

Nuts in November: Q5, Nadine, Why Re-Butt For Old Nick?

2009-11-06T23:52:00.006Z

On Thursday evening @MirrorJames revealed that his team had a slap up goose pimpler of a story concerning a Tory Grandee MP in "Sex Shame Bum Action". Or something like that.

As it turned out, the sleazy old bastard, that our friend Nads would soon enough protect, is also married to a renowned Tory racist joke telling MP. This cocky charmer was Way Too Bottomley (red herring, too good to miss) when it came to cheekily greeting female MPs of all creeds, women that he hardly knew if at all, let alone had permission to practice his time honoured old-time, squire-ly, hands on, buttock-fettling craftsmanship.

Now, LOL've met this MP and indeed LOL shook his goosey goosey right hand. And we took a bottle of bubbly from him. Shameful. But LOL had hard won a 5k running race on Sir Old Nick's patch, with the LOL hounds in tow. It would have been rude not to. And we had no idea that he was any kind of jovial sex pervert.

His goosey goosey right hand provided the sort of firm grasping bear paw (with solid eye contact, natch) that is likely so welcome down the Mid Cheshire Masonic Lodge, and which is not inappropriate for the Victor Ludorum (fun run division) du jour, or for the School Prize Day, or The Hunt Ball, or for the his and hers yeuch yeuch yeuch baby-kissing in the towns that these Conners specialise in.

But certainly this bear pawing is unlikely to be even so welcome when applied unexpectedly to one's butt. Ain't that right people? Which sensation I might add was never offered or solicited in my own grapple with this ~~fucking disgraceful~~ man of fleshy flubber and of thoroughly disreputable allowances claims.

I really don't know who she thinks she is, that Ms Nadine Bargery-Dorries Mum-P, "Barge Right In Dorries?) but she bristled and twittered and leapt into action as a one muppet re-butt-al unit when Sir Old Nick was named and shamed.

Sir Old Nick would do no such thing, she ventured, as to goose a fellow parliamentarian, never so naff as treating any woman in his path as a paw-able asset. And, less certain, she added that, if Sir Old Nick did feel the sap rising and the hands wandering in the sandwich queue, there was a sectarian sextarian septugenarian demarcation. That dictated it would be Conservative ass he groped, every time. In her own words:

The London Evening Standard (LES), the "Lezzer" perhaps?, which provided generous cover for Nadine's batty second-daughter-employing-corruption, has also generously documented Nadine's re-butt-al stories for Dirty Nick, who quickly admitted regular so friendly and always innocent yet entirely forgetable butt action. Here is the full stream of unconsciousness:

In essence this confused wreakage of a Mum-P - instead of displaying cross bench solidarity between the pawed, propositioned and wronged women of Westminster, went horribly sectarian. With "Old Nick Never Did" coupled lustfully with reports of a Labour Scot pestering her verbally behind the bike sheds, and, what's this? allusions to a sordid texter. Smearing dozens of MPs. How queer. Given her own experience.

Don't doubt it Nadine. There are Labour MPs who think they're too sexy for their shirts. Who are jerks. Who hit on other MPs of all persuasions and parties. And there are hands on scumbags of other parties too. Like Old Sir Nick for example. Of the firm handshake, of the not-so-air-kiss and grope, and of the unashamed goosey goosey.

The drill is -> solidarity.

Not this "you're lying about X" plus "your sex monsters are worse than our sex monsters" schtick. You'd have to be really wildly distracted or something to run with that garbage. Sir Nicholas Winterton is a fucking socially retarded old scumbag money-grubbing bastard. Wife Lady Ann of Congleton is a corruptly over-promoted disgraceful racist and rank idiot. They get too much respect. They are "pantsMPs" personified.

UPDATE Sat 10:13: Sir Old Nick can apparently remember what he had for lunch but not his hands-on escapdes. And this other Old Nick, the churchillian Health and Safety disgrace-muppet is also a hands on dirty dirty dirty meat grabbing arse. Plus added pics of the dirty Sir Old Nicks, the mad tweets, and tweaked the text here and there.

Anyways, time to start catching up with the Daily Dorries. Question Five coming at ya:

Question Five: You were once a well brought up, comfortably off, rather unacademic Liverpudlian. You were once a State Enlisted Nurse, equivalent to an Auxilliary these days. But before that (as I hear it) you were an inept and underqualified blagging air hostess (as I hear it). These are two of the most "goosed" occupations in the world. So why would you diss Natascha and Kerry and defend these hands on Old Fucks?

Question 5a, Supplementary: And why would you completely hide your work in the air, while thoroughly exaggerating your nursing qualifications?

Nuts in November: Question 4, Nadine, Tell Us About Paul

2009-11-05T09:55:00.005Z

Running a bit late. Sorry folks. A trip to Hazel Grove yesterday was very mellow and fruitful. And Google action has been bracing, needing a resolute approach, but turned out nice. But we did promise a Question 4 for Nadine in the Nuts in November series. And we did suggest in various tweets that Nadine's erstwhile partner Paul Dorries would be a feature.

I'll warn you now Nadine. This is an easy peasy question, with a supplementary of equal facility. We've reviewed the news trail you leave behind you and we must confess we're finding some of the Bargery/Dorries PR and myth-making hard to penetrate.

Question 4 We're confused Nadine. Apparently you got married to Paul Dorries in Africa some 25 years ago and immediately carried the blushing groom over the threshold back to England. How did that work then? Was there a real wedding? A white wedding perhaps? Do you have pictures? I made my commitments in jeans myself, there's no shame in that. I'll show you mine etc. Or was it some kind of $50 Reno quickie elopement ship's captain thingie? Please don't be offended. We're only asking.

Question 4a, Supplementary We're still confused Nadine. Are you and Paul divorced as some stories have it? Or just separated as others say? Or more properly estranged? Or still in many respects part of the same unit? How on earth have you disentangled your family finances? And can it be right that your oppo has been getting some form of alimony/palimony out of your parliamentary pay and allowances? As you hinted manfully as the Telegraph pushed for answers? Has Paul Dorries ever been on the Dorries MumP taxpayer payroll?

Or is it perhaps just a case of main home/second home child minding, main home/second home house sitting, main home/second home dog walking as LOL have stated every now and then?

A lot of questions Nadine. Good value this Nuts in November project. Please do your best.

Drafted 4 November, tweaked this morning. With a good deal now carried over for subsequent Nuts in November questions.

We plan to add a pic or two and perhaps some links later. Above, actual Zambia wedding picture. Note the elephants are NOT "in the room".

Nuts in November: Question 3, Nadine, Place Four Events in Order

2009-11-03T22:51:00.003Z

Question 3: Philippa Dorries, MumP's first daughter, requested unpaid leave earlier in the summer; you mentioned MumP's second daughter Jennifer Dorries' predicament, as an unemployed and financially embarrassed graduate in the House on 6 July 2009 starting at 6:33pm; you fitted in a family holiday, ¡Y Viva Espana! or the like; and you also decided somehow or other, no doubt mindful of the guidance on use of allowances, and of how it might look, to give Jennifer a job or jobs, on the taxpayer.

Who wants to be a millionaire? Using your legendary skill and judgement and referring to notes, blogposts and tweets as necessary please could you please pretty please put these four events in the correct order, starting with the earliest.

Nuts in November: Question 2, Nadine, Admin Error or Obfuscation?

2009-11-03T22:40:00.002Z

Question 1: Nadine, Jennifer claimed, amongst her peers, that she was being paid some £50,000. Though the Mirror reported an estimate of a mere £29,000. Including roles at parliament and in constituency base, which is it? And ..

Q1a the supplementary: Post Conway and Post Telegraph and Mid Legg and Pre Kelly how did you, Nadine, think it would look employing a series of Little Dorrieses in this way? Did you really think this would pass muster?

The big problem today is trying to decide which two questions to pose today. There were so many to go at already. And in the last 24 hours the regular trickle of story tips on the Member for Mid Narnia, from her many well wishers, at one point threatened to overspill the banks.

We'll begin with a question already begged in yesterday's post:

Question 2: Jennifer's appointment is not in the least bit apparent from Part Two of the Register of Members Interests editions dated either 2 September 2009 (html) or 14 October 2009 (pdf). Though Philippa shows, as if she is still in post whereas we understand - largely from that MumP "blog" of yours - that she set off for Australia early in September. Should we put this down as Jennifer's first major administrative mistake? Or is it deliberate?

Nuts in November: Question 1, Nadine, What is Jenny's Pay?

2009-11-02T22:25:00.002Z

As LOL revealed exclusively HERE last Wednesday and followed up HERE last Thursday Ms Nadine Dorries MP has followed up her employment of one Philippa Dorries on the taxpayer with employment of one Jennifer Dorries on the taxpayer. And the common surnames are not in fact a coincidence. They are all related!

LOL published the story at this point because Nadine had swiftly tweet-responded to a comment we made over at Lord Dale's Diary. She would also go on to spoon-fed a rather positive spin of the story to Paul Waugh of the Standard. Building on her tweeted story of an attempted £250 retainer from a journalist, which completely failed, but which nonetheless, she says, pushed her into employing family members. Not logical exactly. But that doesn't mean it's not true.

Kevin Maguire of the Mirror posted that the supposed senior broadsheet journalist who had supposedly tried this supposed sourcing said the story was completely and utterly untrue. Nadine's word against theirs. I wonder. Journalist vs MumP? It's not an easy one to call.

But the Sunday Mirror followed up and followed through. To a point.

This new appointment is not in the least bit apparent from Part Two of the Register of Members Interests editions dated either 2 September 2009 (html) or 14 October 2009 (pdf). But habeus corpus! Young Jennifer turned up in person at the start of the session. What's more she was, we're told by co-conspirators, the life and soul of the Sports and Social on ~~Friday 9 October~~ Friday 16 October.

This of course being the bar where the ill-used and generally ill-paid researcherati, and spectacularly so internerati, do gather of a Friday evening. To get bevvied as it goes. On Tax-payer subsidised brews, fermentations and distillations.

With she confesses "not a political bone in my body" young Jennifer is it seems blessed with no tribal feelings or sectarianism whatsoever. An appealing trait and even perhaps a good start for a Young Socialist. But I digress. Jen also appears to have little or no "nous" as sayeth we Mancurians (tm @ToryBear).

She was happy to be everyone's mate and they hers. Until that is the hoi polloi became slightly less sure that she was indeed just like them. Apart from not giving a flying fig about politics, which is the average bag carrier's life blood. As the precocious Jennifer revealed her absolute glee at her very generous terms and conditions. And her being so generally unskilled, unknowing and inexperienced to boot.

Only three months before, on Friday 6 July at 6:33pm Jennifer's own MumP ("Mum-pee" please, not "mump") Ms Nadine Dorries had risen to her feet in the Commons Chamber and combined great joy at Jennifer's degree result and great sadness at her probable fate, never getting a job but forever saddled with student debt. Whatever was she to do with her poor daughter? Well worth a read. No published video or audio I can find at the moment.

But no! No need to worry at all!! Jennifer Dorries has been able to enjoy a lovely summer break after graduation and to return to a plum job, working for her MumP. So here's the question, and the supplementary:

Question 1: Nadine, Jennifer claimed, amongst her peers, that she was being paid some £50,000. As you can imagine this was a quite astonishing claim and her new mates, thinking she might be getting mixed up or pulling their legs, asked her to explain how this could possibly be. Obviously she may have been mixed up or exaggerating or whatever, but this is certainly what she was heard to say, and not just once.
She apparently also said that her MumP was swinging this by putting her in charge of not only her Westminster office replacing her big sister Philippa 1, but also her constituency office, replacing her big sister's namesake (no relation) Philippa 2.
Meanwhile the Mirror's hacks have split the difference between what they think are the top and bottoms of the scale for Office Manager / Executive Secretary (the top of the tree) and arrived at an estimate of £28,000 per annum. Though their figures were not up-to-date with the real mid-point now being around £30,700. Other scales are there too btw. Check the ranges for bog-standard researcher and caseworker.
Which is correct? £28,000 for the one job? or £50,000 for the both as Jennifer was saying down the SandS? The stone proof of course will be in the correspondence with the pass office and the fees office, the staff registrations, the requisitions, and the payslips which you are welcome to produce at this point should you wish. Then we can all be very clear on all this. Then all the he said she said she said he said would become quite irrelevant.

Q1a the supplementary: Post Conway and Post Telegraph and Mid Legg and Pre Kelly how did you, Nadine, think it would look employing a series of Little Dorrieses in this way? Where's the meritocracy in that? Isn't there some rule about value for money? When the usual starting pay for a Politics or Economics or similar Graduate, often with an MA and an intense interest in Party Politics is in fact £18,000 or thereabouts. Why would you pay so much more? Some even "pay to play" as long-term interns. Perhaps £25,000 at an absolute stretch. How on earth did you think this would look to the public? Already so very angry about you MPs and your liberties?

This is the first of Nadine's 30 Daily Questions for LOL's squirelling away "Nuts in November" series. There'll be two tomorrow to catch up for yesterday. If you know any MPs who have taken on rellies in a similar way, if it were possible - Post Conway, Post Telegraph, Mid Legg or Pre Kelly please do let us know. Irrespective of party we'll take a look. Thanks.

UPDATE Tue 21:08: Just checked submitted evidence and find the date of the great unburdening of the MumP's Number 2 daughter was on Friday 16 October going on Saturday 17 October, not Friday 9 October. Apologies.

Essay Plan: Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness

2009-11-02T09:52:00.000Z

November is the kicker month for Autumn. The leaves oop North are largely off the trees and some of the little blighters are very surprisingly in the drains, ready for annual Lib Dem pointing action!! The! Leaves! Are! Blocking! The! Drains! and We! Demand! Drains! Are! Unblocked! and so on and so forth. You know the drill. LOL may well take a look at some of this childish Lib-dickery nonsense.

We're also planning to build on our late October scoop over the right ridiculous employment of the Dorries Daughters and, depending how things pan out we could well publish a different substantive question for Ms Nadine Dorries MP for every day of the month. In many cases the answers will be published either upside down at the foot of page 49, or the very next day, whether Ms Dorries provides them or not.

The story we broke last Wednesday and followed up on Thursday has now seen some Mainstream Media (MSM) action via The Standard and The Mirror, but there is a lot more to go at. My email address is as ever at the head of the blog you cheeky MSM people you. Nadine is trying to manage it away in the way of The Thick Of It. But that ain't going to work. Really. Watch the show Nads! Does it work on there?

We are hoping to finally tidy up the look and feel of the Labour of Love blog. We know it won't take much to make a real difference. An hour or three should do it. If you can help please don't hesitate to get in touch. To freshen up the blogroll, subscription service, graphics offering, and so on. And to introduce some regular features and themes to follow over the winter and into the election Spring board beyond.

LOL will continue to twitter away @chrispLOL with a prospect of dividing the feed into the high volume frothy flutter and a much more measured twnewsfeed.

On the ground LOL will be out and about on the campaign trail, particularly in Rochdale where the egregious Lib Dem Dick Dastardly PR Paul Rowen MP and his Muttley the Dog "agent", paid for by the taxpayer, Dave Hennigan really really don't deserve the people's support for their continued nonsense and smeary shenanigans.

Very much in the tradition of dirty tricks ilLiberal Cyril Smith .. but how dare they rope Ludovic Kennedy into their filthy Smithist politics?

And we'll also be out and about of course in LOL's hometown Manchester Withington where Hospital Hoaxer John Leech has been seeking to confuse the electorate with a high volume "re-elect me" front masking a low volume, low quality back side of dis-representation that really ain't good for anything.

Both these Libdemologists of course, on a sample basis, providing a window on the soul of the Lib Dem franchise and their nefarious financial, propaganda and personal attacks. An apolitical culture; full of gimmicks and chicanery; from batty bar charts through "grey area' gaming of the allowances regimes. Something which appears to afflict their whole pyramid scheme to a greater or lesser extent both nationally and in their Euro representatives.

With a strong personal interest in the All Women Shortlist meme we'll also be keeping a weather eye on the climate of progressive change gripping, or not gripping, the Libdemologist and Con Parties.

And we'll continue to harry and challenge the #Conbloggers, #Contweeters and #Conmimicsters as they go about their shameless misdirection and "nice party" mockery of the electorate. We'll be cherry picking, not rising to every piece of linkbait.

FOOTNOTE: Interesting to see the Miliband press conference on BBC News Channel. Yesterday was one of those rare occasions where I got to dust off some of my schoolboy Russian on the Labour doorstep. Obviously my Latin and French are in regular use, but haven't had much call for the Russian since the UEFA Cup Final, where former USSR fans were by turns astonished and appreciative to hear market research being conducted, or at least introduced, Po- faltering Russky.

Like a dog walking on its hind legs .. and so on. Thank you to Mr Perfect - one of several suspected spy masters at the old school. No-one was taken in by that gammy leg schtick.

Nadine's Latest Bag Boy: He Shoots, He Scores, Bags an Own Goal

2009-10-30T14:43:00.005Z

We are most grateful to Mr Shane Greer, Nadine Dorries MP's latest bag boy, the big FO phat boy @conbloggers must all be too busy to assist. Shane, having quizzed LOL like a buzzing gnat over the triple sourcing for the Jennifer Dorries "silly me, I earn a fortune" meme, has sneered at some goalpost safety 10-minute Bill-ery.

Given his allegiance to and career track within the Cons you might expect, as he did, that this is another example of Labour's "nanny state". Follow the link and you'll find it's the Con for Braintree Brooks Nomark at the controls. Imagine that! He shoots! He scores! Own! Goal! Though not as spectacular as this one from Dave Singleton.

Metal Guru Is It True?: Buy Top Sweary Social Media Advice

2009-10-30T10:48:00.002Z

Found at HERE thanks to fecking social media gurus @DavidPrescott and the utterly unrelated, not at all fecking at it viralising ne'er-do-wells @game_changer. Is @Mark Hanson making a brew or something?

A Woman of Destiny: Europe Pres Should Have All Woman Shortlist

2009-10-29T22:13:00.006Z

My learned friend Tom Harris MP has posted a wind up and link bait item entitled Blair, Cameron and Europe. In which he makes some kind of case for Blair and disses Camerwrong, Vague and Faux for being too bloody tribal and childish in throwing their toys.

Just because Blair's being coming down on Tory asses like a ton of bricks for ten years and more, argues Tom, and made Labour, or its new "improved" de-Claused version electable, doesn't mean a grown up opposition leader wouldn't support him as "the man for the job" etc.

Now, I've had issues with Blair throughout his tenure. I didn't think it had to be Blair to break through in 1997, Smith or Brown are among those who could also have won that one. And I certainly didn't believe that New Labour's programme had to be so distant from prior Labour cathechismo as the Project took it. He was and is actually rather Euro-sceptical whereas I'm enamoured and beschmitten. And of course I first demonstrated against Blair and Bush's wars before September 2001 was over.

But these nagging details don't figure in my first thoughts on the matter:

I’d much rather we had an AWS Tom. Mary Robinson, Helena Kennedy, Glenys Kinnock, Neelie Kroes, Sarah Brown, Shirley Williams and so on and so forth. Plenty of people could do the job of chairing and championing Europe and it would be a VERY GOOD THING if the first pick was a woman.
It is getting very irritating actually continually hearing so called progressive politicians talking about the “right man for the job”. In this case the “right man for the job” is in my view pretty likely to be a woman. And despite his being a class act and capable of doing a job of work Blair has more pies than fingers and should get on with some of his ten other jobs. IMO.
Obviously the fact he’s been a war mongerer and a my way or the highway bully would nudge any casting vote against him. If I had to get off the fence.

I've gone back and left a further comment. And I'd commend comrades and colleagues alike to read and inwardly digest the Harris oeuvre, and be sure to leave some comments there or here.

TRIVIA: Shock horror! The term suffragette was coined by ... The Daily Chuffing Mail! Disparaging, natch. According to Wikipedia, which is an enormously reliable source. And not in this case wrong. STOP PRESS: Latvians are putting up a woman!! Vaira Vike-Freiberga (71), their President for eight years to 2007. Hurrah!

Perfect Halloween Mask: Hateful Bogeyman Nick Griffin

2009-10-29T18:16:00.006Z

This one even rivals the Guido Fawkes mask put out by a certain company by name of IPC and now appropriated without credit or payment by Paul Staines. Via Kirklees Unity.