Easter In Wales

At Easter, Wales was the only sunny place in the UK, but fortunately that's where we went. We started at Mellington Hall where my wife and I stayed for a night. Built like a Cluedo boardgame, I imagine that the murder mystery nights they host there are great fun. Its grounds were perfect for a relaxing evening stroll.
Here's a few pictures from the country roads and lakes of mid-Wales.

The perfect reflection at Lake Efyrnwy was a joy.
We ended up at the distinctive Powys Castle near Welshpool which remains inhabited.

Political In-Fighting

Astonishingly, Birmingham Labour returned more MPs to Parliament in 2005 (nine) than the number of councillors they returned in last year's locals (eight). Labour MPs sit in Birmingham Edgbaston, Selly Oak, Hall Green and Northfield but in the 36 local elections held in these four seats in the local elections held in May 2006, 2007 and 2008, Labour have won a solitary seat. Occasionally people express surprise at how badly Labour are doing on Birmingham City Council. In a recent post (three down) I related Labour's selection difficulties for the Lozells & East Handsworth by-election. This election campaign has now exploded into violence. Not between parties, but within the Labour Party! It's rumoured that the victim is in fact the Labour Party agent, a chap who is unfortunate enough to share a name with a commenter who posted this drivel on the Birmingham Post blog.

...Every one has right to air their views how ever I begg to differ.
Roshan must be held responsiable for an attack on the sikh community. The birmingham post should remove such people from their post who try to create hate within our multicultral, multifaith community. I also take the view that this is not roshan speaking but the Birmingham post for not vetting and allowing this articail to be printed. Again welldone to the organisors. This is what happens when you harvest fruit out of season , you get a Coconut that has a bitter taste.

Now do you understand why Labour is vanishing in Birmingham?

Annoyed With The Telegraph

Guess why?

Doing Your Bit For The Economy

On a car bodyshop invoice.

Please help us to beat the credit crunch by settling your account promptly.

Labour Family Trees

When it comes to selecting candidates, I don't think you'll ever find me holding up the Conservative Party as a paragon of virtue, but compared to the Labour Party we approach perfection. Several recent contests involving all-women-shortlists have resulted in organisational chaos and worse. If you were looking for arguments for selecting on merit alone, the catalogue of chaos that follows makes a strong case.

The most obvious debacle is of course Erith and Thamesmead where the 22 year old daughter of Lord Gould was placed as favourite before the whole show was called off after some ballot box tampering back at Labour HQ. You'd have thought that Labour would have learnt from Crewe & Nantwich that nepotism is unappealing - but then again there are many unlearnt lessons from that campaign.

Speaking of 'it's not what you know' Tony Blair's mother-in-law recently won out in an acrimonious contest in the Calder Valley.

Not wishing to be upstaged, West Midlands Labour have organised an all-women-contest in the wake of the mysterious departure of Cllr Kim Brom from the inner city ward of Lozells & East Handsworth. Contest you say? Well not really. Despite interest from various quarters, only one name was put forward to the party membership - benefit claimant, Hendrina Quinnen, leaving Khalid Mahmood's former squeeze out in the cold.

But this time Elaina Cohen isn't taking things lying down. It appears that when she was canvassing for support she was told she was too white and jewish and has a witness to back her up. All this is before I give you the lowdown on how the 27 year old daughter of the Chairman of the Birmingham Labour Party managed to win selection for Clare Short's seat... That will have to be for another day.

Labour rules may prevent men from having a fair chance, but it's all relative. ;-)

Labour List Lost

The online project that the Labour Party planned and in which senior figures invested so much political capital is drawing to an end. Red Rag? No, I'm talking about Labour List.


I did predict that this online project would help the Tories, but as you can see by the latest polling data, it has surpassed all expectations. Bravo Derek Draper.

Bull In A China Shop

The Labour Party are desperately trying to limit the fall-out from Smeargate to Damian McBride, but facts may get in the way. For example, if he's not the person who purchased the Red Rag website, there is likely to be further spillover. The BBC reports,

Meanwhile, the Times newspaper has reported that the Red Rag website was set up by someone giving the name "Ollie Cromwell" and the House of Commons as their address. Easily internet, which registered the site, would not confirm or deny the address given but is looking into whether its terms and conditions were breached. The firm has been unsuccessful in contacting the site's creator on the telephone number given.

We're looking for a Westminster-based Puritan whose phone doesn't work. Hmmm

Spinning Into Oblivion

Gordon Brown and Damian McBride's published reactions to Smeargate sum up their regime. I've thrown in Tom Watson's resignation letter for good measure.

Damian McBride's Resignation Letter

I am shocked and appalled that, however they were obtained, these e-mails have been put into the public domain by Paul Staines. When Derek Draper originally suggested using a website to compete with the kind of material seen regularly on the Guido Fawkes blog, he asked me in a personal capacity to write up some of the stories doing the rounds in Westminster. Derek and I decided in the end that this website was the wrong thing to do, and that Derek should not take his online efforts down to the level of Guido Fawkes and his Tory backers.

Guido has frequently asserted his independence - which is a key element of his online reputation. Astonishing that a resignation letter for smearing would contain an apparently actionable smear.

I have already apologised for the inappropriate and juvenile content of my e-mails, and the offence they have caused, but I did not want these stories in the public domain - it is because Paul Staines has put them there, and I am sickened that he has done so.

Only because you lost your job over it.

However, we all know that when a backroom adviser becomes the story, their position becomes untenable, so I have willingly offered my resignation. It has been an absolute privilege ...

Game over.

Gordon Brown Apologises For Getting Caught

I enclose a letter sent to Gus O'Donnell to revise rules for political advisers. The political adviser concerned has apologised unreservedly and left his post. He sent these prank emails without the knowledge of anyone in Downing Street. I understand the embarassment caused, and any activity such as this that affects the reputation of our politics is a matter of great regret to me. As you can see, I have taken action to do all I can to avoid this happening again.

Firstly, is that supposed to be a personal apology? Secondly, McBride's e-mails were palpably not a prank - even his resignation letter makes that clear. Misrepresenting them in this way is brazen dishonesty. Rather than an apologising, Brown's letter adds insult to injury.

Tom Watson's Resignation Letter

Dear Tony,

The Labour Party has been my life since I was 15 years old... So it is with the greatest sadness that I have to say that I no longer believe that your remaining in office is in the interest of either the party or the country. How and why this situation has arisen no longer matters.

At least have the guts/decency to explain your resignation. What a coward.

I share the view of the overwhelming majority of the party and the country that the only way the Party and the Government can renew itself in office is urgently to renew its leadership. For the sake of the legacy you have long said is the only one that matters - a renewed Labour party re-elected at the next general election - I urge you to reconsider your determination to remain in office. As you know, I had a conversation with the Chief Whip last night... with the greatest regret, therefore, that I must leave the Government. Yours ever,

Tom Watson MP

The greatest regret! Ha.

Happy Easter

Back again. Call it intuition but now seems like quite a good time to be recruiting/energising Conservative Party supporters. Funnily enough I have a list of about 200 to go through. Should be fun.

Blogging Break

The Lenten season approaches and I've decided to take a blogging break as part of that. I'd like to point you to a couple of Birmingham-based conservative websites. Young Tory activist Matthew Tidy has just started blogging. And David Kelly is a mysterious character who seems to be the first on all the local political gossip. I only plan to update the blog if and when my suggestion for a party peerage is published by Conservative Home.