How will Cameron react to Alan Duncan? The first of tonight’s revelations from the Daily Telegraph are just starting to come out and the big name to be highlighted is Alan Duncan. See the story here The big question is what David Cameron is going to do? Will the Tory leader get tough? Could Duncan find himself out of his front bench role? More follows:- Mike Smithson
Why no bail-out for the newspaper industry? I always enjoy the various addresses given at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner – Stephen Colbert’s legendary 2006 performance deserves your time – and this year President Obama acquitted himself with another witty performance (though not as good as his 2005 roasting of Rahm Emanuel) but it was the postscript that was most interesting. Addressing the celebrity journalists (who have, by his own admission, given him a very easy ride), Obama chose…
Is now the perfect time to be an anti-establishment politician? As the expenses row moves into Day 3, Saturday’s polls provided some answers to the question as to its impact on the political parties, as opposed to the individuals who’ve been in the spotlight. They also raised others. The media narratives easiest to follow are those which focus on a single person or event: a parliamentary vote, an election, an individual’s misconduct or the like. One of the problems of…
The Gord story just keeps on going From the Sunday papers this from the Sunday Times seems to be the most difficult one for Gordon. It’s an interview with Peter Watt, Labour’s former general secretary, who had to leave during a donations row eighteen months ago. His description of how his former boss, the Prime Minister, operates could not be more timely. One little snippet is about the election that never was in October 2007. “No matter what anyone says,…
CON 43(-2) LAB 27(nc) LD 18 (+1) BPIX for the Mail on Sunday has:- CON 45 (nc) LAB 23(-3) LD 17 (nc) It is highly likely that the bulk of the fieldwork for both surveys took place BEFORE the expenses revelations. The changed shares on YouGov are based on the last survey from the pollster – not the last survey in the Sunday Times. The BPIX poll is in the Mail on Sunday. We have no Lib Dem shares at…
1971 Guidelines: The Additional Costs Allowance reimburses “for expenses wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred when staying overnight away from their main UK residence…for the purposes of performing Parliamentary duties. This excludes expenses that have been incurred for purely personal or political purposes.” The Green Book 2009: Members are cautioned against instances “where they may appear to be vulnerable to criticism or accusations of impropriety.” It also reminds MPs that their conduct should be placed concepts of “selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability,…
Will the “good guys” find it easier to hold on? With the Daily Telegraph dominated by pages of new revelations about expenses the thought strikes me that we ought to start watching out for the impact on marginal seats – particularly those where there are betting markets. For those MPs who’ve attracted the worst coverage are going to find it that bit harder to hang on when the general election comes. Their opponents, assuming they are smart, are going to…
She’s the one who fought to get the info out After 24 hours dominated by the MP expenses affair we should not forget the work of the woman whose tireless efforts and sheer tenacity were responsible for getting us to where we are today. Heather Brook is the one who started the long and difficult process of using the Freedom of Information Act to try to find out the expenses that were being paid. This was no easy battle and…