Bouncing Gordon the Tory scourge

As MPs parted discussing plans for summer freebies and parliament broke up for the summer recess, the Tories were still suffering the Brown bounce.

A beleaguered David Cameron, freshly-returned from Rwanada, took a beating from Gordon Brown in the last PMQs and the Tories were further behind Labour in the opinion polls. Iain Dale, who had accompanied Cameron on his African adventure, felt compelled to speak up for his travel buddy. The root of recent Conservative poor performance was not Cameron but his Shadow Cabinet.

He said: “Andy Coulson’s challenge is to educate Shadow Ministers and CCHQ on ways to get press coverage over and above the normal press release. Some Shadow Ministers will find this an easier process than others to adapt to. If you’ve been doing it in the same way for ten years change is not an easy process.”

It was part of a wave of comment to the effect that the Conservative frontbenchers are lazy and unenlightening, from The Sun’s Trevor Kavanagh to Matthew d’Ancona. Benedict Brogan lists the Shadow Cabinet’s outside interests and concludes 13 out of 29 are part-timers.

However, An Englishman’s Castle believes it is not the fact the shadow ministers spend too much time outside parliament, it’s that they spend too much time in: “The curse of modern politics are professional politicians who know nothing outside the Westminster bubble. We were far better governed when it was done by amateurs.”

One of the most salient points in Obsolete’s lengthy and interesting dissection of the proposed increased terrorism legislation is as follows: “Huge amount of data to shift through, links across the globe, 200 mobile phones, 400 computers, blah blah etc. As before, this isn’t in any way a good enough excuse or justification for those being held to be held longer, it's an argument for the police to be given more resources, or to actually use those they already have, such as to demand encryption keys.”

While, Tim Worstall points out: “Given that as yet no such suspect has had to be released after 28 days of questioning, it’s a little hard for them to come up with a justification.”

As a Liberal Democrat, the Norfolk Blogger, aka Nich Starling, fully expects to be criticised for his support of the case 56 day imprisonment: “Across Europe, in societies that we are supposed to marvel at for their liberal sensitivities, the police have powers that far outstrip our own police when it comes to questions suspects in terrorism cases. If these societies can be liberal and have such policies, why can't we?”

This also appears at www.newstatesman.com/blogs/best-of-the-politics-blogs.

Electoral fraud and cannabis - another week in UK politics

One of the big political news stories of the week was yet again broken on the blogosphere. A Jonathon Isaby post at the Telegraph.co.uk gave out the results of the Ealing by-election postal votes, with the help of a breach of electoral law on behalf of the Conservatives.

Before it was taken offline, Political Penguin flagged it up and was the first to note its importance. There’s still a screen grab (with appropriate smudging) there.

Cicero was so dismayed at the turn of events in Ealing he proclaimed: “I hope never to see such an unprincipled and unscrupulous campaign ever again.”

Mike Smithson at Political Betting assessed the result of the by-election in terms of how each leader fared. He wrote: “Goodish for Gordon but not good enough for him to risk a general election…

“The only reason Cameron has been able to steer his party in a different direction has been because he has been seen as an election winner. Once that perception goes he could be in for a testing time. By October/November the polls need to have got better…

“There have been repeated murmurings against Ming Campbell and some in the party were suggesting that his leadership could be on the line if the party did badly. That did not happen and Ming is probably safe.”

In a week where politicians were pushed into revealing if they had indulged in illegal substances, the blogging community felt the need to lend their opinions to the debate, with a few feeling the need to clarify their personal drug experiences.

Iain Dale (who hasn’t and never will) called for an end to the drug taking witchhunt. He asked: “Does having smoked a joint at university impair a politician's judgement 25 years later? Of course not. Tony McNulty's abilities as Police Minister can be judged on his performance today - not by what he may have done 25 years ago.”

Peter Risdon (who has, on and off, for 30 years) took the opportunity to expand on some of his own position towards drug criminalisation: “The drug prohibition laws are tyrannical, stupid and destructive, and I’m not going to dignify them by pretending I will take the slightest notice of them.”

Anyone shocked by this week’s revelations should check out Daniel Finkelstein's top five political youthful indiscretions, which include shooting a child dead and participating in orgies – though not necessarily at the same time.

This also appears at www.newstatesman.com/blogs/best-of-the-politics-blogs.

The Blogosphere ignores Campbell while Browne usurps the Queen

In a week dominated by the publication of Alastair Campbell’s diaries, it is perhaps fitting to see how the electronic political diarists – or bloggers to you and me – viewed his revelations. Given AC is said to have condensed two million words to a fraction of that amount, below I have condensed a similar volume of words to just a few hundred.

NR (aka Nick Robinson) is quick to point out the reason he is not interested in the book is not because his sole mention is being named as a “jerk” but because it lacks authenticity: “The give away is in the book's title which speaks of ‘extracts’ from Campbell's diaries. The key point is that the extracts were chosen not by a publisher or an editor but by Campbell for political reasons. They give a partial and, therefore, misleading view of recent history unlike the best diaries which show the author and those close to him warts and all.”

Sky News veteran Adam Boulton is philosophical about being described variably from “a total c***” to “pretty sour as ever”. He writes: “All fair comment, all very interesting to me, and all for the viewers to make their mind up on, if they care.”

Meanwhile, Rob Fenwick gives a brief history of mobile phone use in Britain and uses it to assess the validity of the now infamous anecdote of how Gordon Brown was rescued from a locked toilet by Tony Blair.

By Wednesday there was a marked decrease number of mentions of Campbell or his diaries on blogs. This may have had something to do with a Tim Ireland post entitled “Tell Alastair Campbell to go f**k himself”. It proposed a fortnight blogosphere boycott of all things Campbell to counteract the mainstreme media’s coverage of the diaries.

It’s guiding principles were: “1. Pledge not to buy the book. After all, nothing really juicy went into it, anything halfway-juicy was taken out of it, and any halfway-decent scraps that are left will be repeated in newspapers anyway.
2. Don't blog about the book beyond your decision not to blog about it and/or not to bother buying it.
3. Place this handy button to one side of your weblog for the next fortnight so readers know why you're not blogging about Cherie Blair's knicker drawer.”

Wednesday also saw Gordon Brown announce his draft Queen’s speech: 20-odd proposed bills that have been condensed down to increased housing and a perceived rejection of super casinos in PMQs.

Dave Osler provides an interesting analysis of the benefits of creating public sector housing stock. While Matt Davies ponders whether the Queen will feel annoyed that Brown has stolen her thunder: “She doesn't get to do much exciting as our head of state (aside from all the taxpayer funded fun, of course), the Queen's Speech is about the only time she gets to feel special. When he saw her at the palace, I bet Gordon didn't tell her he was going to make even that a waste of time.”

As long as he doesn’t ask her to remove her crown I’m sure she’ll be fine.

This also appears at www.newstatesman.com/blogs/best-of-the-politics-blogs.

Bloggers react to Ming's 'joke' and 'Mayor' Boris

Gordon Brown’s first week – or should that be five days – in charge of the country were nothing if not eventful. It culminated with is first PMQs under the media, and blogging community’s, watchful gaze.

For Waking Hereward, it was car crash TV. He wrote: “And so Gordon, the man with the supposed intellect as big as Ben Nevis, a mind as sharp as William Wallace’s Claymore and a brain as logical as Mr McSpock, (Mr Spock’s cleverer and more logical Scottish half-brother), floundered like a beached haddock.”

While Guido Fawkes saw the new Prime Minister’s first performance as being “slapped down” by Ming Campbell. For many, Mr Campbell emerged from the debate with the upper hand.

However, Iain Dale saw it differently: “Ming Campbell's performance was lamentable and Gordon Brown lost no time in sticking the knife in, saying his ‘door is always open to the Right Honourable Gentleman’. This provoked guffaws from everyone apart from the LibDem benches, who looked as though they were about to throw up. Brown gave Ming the opportunity for a funny follow-up, but the old barrister in him couldn’t summon up the killer line and muttered that his door was ‘more like a trap door’.”

Discussing Ming’s jibe, Lib Dem MP Lynne Featherstone admitted: “It doesn’t quite come over in print - but it rocked the House with laughter - the right sort of laughter."

As Brown bungled in Parliament, a known bungler was announced as the new Tory London Mayoral candidate. The Norfolk Blogger’s post, entitled ‘Wanted, loud mouth infamous self publicising politician to beat same - Enter Boris Johnson’ read: “Whilst Ken is prone to putting his foot in it, it tends to be in a premeditated way. He knows what he is saying and the effect he wants to have whilst Boris, with his oafish Billy Bunter style blustering gives the impression of not being in control of his own trousers, let alone his mouth.

“Yes, he may make a contest of it, it ought to say much about Tory prospects in the capital that he is even being considered.”

Theo Spark made a helpful image of what Mayor Boris may look like which was widely circulated around the web. While Guido ran a poll which reflected extremely favourably for the Henley MP.

Guido also set out the case for Boris: “1. He is high profile and likeable. He has name and face recognition that matches Ken Livingstone. Very few people outside the Conservative activist base know any of the other candidates. 2. He would be the popular grassroots choice with his own party activists. 3. He reaches out to those not usually interested in politics. 4. He is a talented media performer and campaigner. 5. He can win.”

Finally, Kerron Cross, writing at 18 Dougherty Street, wrote: “A popular, messy-haired, blonde bombshell with idiot tendencies. I would suggest if those were the qualifications than perhaps David Cameron should have approached a Page 3 stunner from The Sun newspaper to take on the role – but considering the Conservatives named Zoe, 25, from London, as their Environmental Campaigner of the Year last year, I’d better not tempt fate on this matter.”

This also appears at www.newstatesman.com/blogs/best-of-the-politics-blogs.