David Laws: Should He Stay Or Should He Go

This scandal has blown up, some 2 weeks or so into the government's period of office.

I think he should stay.

The government is still shiny and new, his breach pre-dates his ministerial appointment, and there are understandable reasons of privacy behind it....I'm reminded of Lord Browne of BP. Laws has owned up and has explained. Besides, the Commons is a glass house and not many will want to throw stones.

Some of the worst offenders from the expenses scandal are still in the House of Commons and Brown has kicked some sleazy and downright disgusting characters upstairs into the Lords. The loathesome idiot Prescott, screwing his secretary, a breach which would have been a sacking offence in any normal walk of life. What about those Labour ministers resurrected following scandals, such as the odious Mandelson, who has deceit written through him like a stick of rock?

The key test is public opinion, of Laws and of MPs in general. I think the public will want to give him a chance as a new minister in a new government. There's an instinctive streak of fair play that runs through public opinion. This may also give added impetus to the momentum behind reform.

So Cameron and Clegg should support Laws, keep him in post. Any further breaches and he's toast.

Of course, Laws could always stand down and force a by-election to test public confidence, returning to ministerial office if re-elected....just an idea....it would test the recall proposal.

After a cup of coffee, I reckon Laws should stand down and fight his seat again, testing his reputation with the public. This would be in line with the spirit of reform and would gain much credibility.

Crooked Mouth Campbell

Minor amusement last night as 'Crooked Mouth Campbell' barged his way onto Question Time in the Labour chair. The government quite rightly refused to put up a minister, and objected to Crooked Mouth's twisted backside in that particular chair.

Not much more they could have done, really. Other than put up an Elvis impersonator.

Putting up a minister would have demeaned their office and the political debate. The unelected and unappointed Crooked Mouth has no status to speak for anyone and his only interest is in plugging the diaries, which have lined his pockets with advances but not much in the way of royalties: sales are piss-poor. He will be buried by Chilcot shortly, and this inquiry is reporting to the best possible government to open and upend the Iraq can of worms rather than quietly shelf it. There will be lots of slimy loathesome creatures will be wriggling towards dark places in a few months....

When will Labour wake up and smell the fair trade coffee? They've been thrashed into third place in Thirsk, and they are still drooling over apparachiks like the Milibands for leader and letting Crooked Mouth loose on the media. The party will quickly become a student union irrelevance with no money...if Balls loses out, then Unite will go the same way as Unison with the political fund and tighten the purse-strings, and the government is going to make sure that Scotland and Wales don't return disproportionate numbers of red-rosette monkeys next time around.

The only credible candidate is Diane Abbott, and it would be somewhat surprising if she does not get through to the shortlist, given Labour's advocacy of equal opportunities and all-women shortlists (except for Mr Harman of course). But, as long as the likes of Crooked Mouth are casting their long shadows over Labour, the party is doomed.

Caimbeul, an Early Modern Irish or Gaelic by name meaning wry mouth, crooked mouth or twisted mouth, which refers to "the man whose mouth inclined a little on one side" or a dishonest person...from Wikipedia.

The Bling Tax

ConLib will have to increase taxes somehow.

They need to make sure tax rises are fair, proportionate and do not impact on the vulnerable, on the recovery or on essential elements of the economy,

So, how about a 'bling tax'?

Slap 30% VAT on the sort of rubbish that is shipped from China one week and landfilled the next week. The stuff that is bought by the idiots that always seem to have money to waste on drink, cigarettes and flashy trash, even if they are out of work.

For good measure, I'd also throw in a 'sustainability tax' applied to packaged products. Ditch the layers of plastic and bring back brown paper bags. The Lib Dems would surely approve.

It goes without saying that items such as food, books, childrens clothes should be safeguarded.

Three things Labour got right

OK, that didn't last long. Maybe I'll just blog less.

Three things Labour got right:

Same-sex equality. Civil partnerships and lifting the ridiculous ban on gay people joining the Armed Forces.

The national minimum wage.

The Freedom of Information Act (and I bet they wish they hadn't bothered)

Shame about the rest though...sinister authoritarianism, illegal wars, shameless spin, sheer incompetence and merciless self-interest....

The Death of New Labour

It started off so hopefully in 1997....I didn't much like Blair, but there was a certain atmosphere at the time. I lived under New Labour with nothing really more than a nagging dislike until 2003.

Then, Iraq. At the end of the Hutton Inquiry I resigned from the Armed Forces. Since then, it's been bitter and personal.

Now the end. A rollercoaster ride, I feared for our democracy over the last few days, the prospect of a backroom cabal installing an undemocratic and illegitimate regime. Like a zombie or vampire, New Labour refused to stop twitching. Now the monster is dead.

And we have a positive government looking forward to the future. For the first time in nearly a decade, I feel some confidence in this country's political future, with a new kind of partnership politics.

So I'm stopping blogging.

Goodbye!

Winners and Losers

Winners:

David Cameron: He kept his nerve to the end, truly a Prime Minister.
Nick Clegg: It would be ungracious to say he played both ends off, his party system makes it very difficult to do otherwise...it will be a beautiful partnership, Cameron and Clegg.
New Conservatives: Centre right, pragmatic with a social conscience.
New Lib Dems: Centre left, pragmatic with a social conscience.
New Politics: Blue and yellow makes green, AV plus would be good, Europe isn't really an issue at the moment....
Old Labour: Well done to David Blunkett, Kate Hoey, John Reid, Jack Straw and the others who spoke out. This should not be forgotten and bridges must be built with an Opposition which will hopefully rediscover its philosophy.
Parliamentary Democracy: enough said.

Losers:

Gordon Brown: He could have ended his time in a dignified manner, this has been simply wretched and pathetic.
New Labour: like a zombie or vampire, it just wouldn't die...but the stake is through the rotting heart now.
Peter Mandelson, Alastair Campbell will all be buried for this and we should hopefully never hear of them again.
The Liberal Party: Ashdown and Campbell. Go back to that afternoon nap, or spluttering from behind the Independent....

Labour Coup - Write to your MP

Write to your Mp or email them . Tell them you utterly oppose an unelected PM and a coalition with no democratic mandate. Do it right now