For Boris Johnson, £250,000 is “chicken feed”
The Conservative Party has been trying furiously in recent years to dispel the notion that it’s a party dominated by and for rich public-school elites. But we know this to be a facade when their own leaders contradict that party line.
There was David Cameron who couldn’t remember how many houses he owned; Anthony Steen MP, who said people were just jealous of his large pad; Michael Gove MP, who made £1,250 an hour. Now London Mayor Boris Johnson says the money from his second salary of £250,000 is just “chicken feed”. The Libdem MP Norman Baker said tonight:
There is nothing wrong with people writing newspaper columns, but this is an enormous amount of money and for Boris Johnson to dismiss it as ‘chicken feed’ shows just how out of touch he and the Conservative party are from the reality of life for millions of Londoners struggling to make ends meet in the depths of a recession.
Mostly right – except that there is something wrong with the London Mayor taking on several side jobs while his own administration is collapsing around him.
Is Brian Coleman AM finished?
Adam at Tory Troll may have dropped a bombshell. He alleges today that: “The London Fire Authority have awarded a £12 million contract to a company that lavished hospitality on it’s Chairman Brian Coleman.”
Through a FOI request he finds that: “The actions of Brian Coleman during a recent Fire Authority meeting were unlawful according to legal papers provided to this blog.” – Coleman is also leader of Barnet Council.
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Why do people get involved in politics?
Most people initially get involved in politics not out of any desire to blag duck islands or pay-per-view adult movies at taxpayer expense, but because they have a vision of the good society, and are genuinely idealistic enough to want to bring the vision about.
Activism is almost always healthier when premised on ideological commitment rather than personal advancement. Problems normally set in when positions offering power, remuneration, or both, are at stake. Only then do we get the spectacle of people knifing each other to secure factional advantage on the allotment allocation subcommittee.
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Meet the prisoners
There are 83,000 people currently incarcerated in England & Wales. Of that number, I’d wager all the money in my pockets that not one of them grew up wanting to do this.
Like us, they will have grown up dreaming impossible things; fantasising about future fame or heroics; quietly relishing the adventures of adulthood.
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The award for most absurd defence of Murdoch…
… goes to ConservativeHome editor Tim Montgomerie, who says:
I do not wish to defend every action of the News International empire, but Rupert Murdoch has been an overwhelming force for good in this country’s life and politics. Sky Sports has revolutionised English football.
…
Compared to the increasingly isolationist Daily Mail – which has consistently appeased foreign dictators since the 1930s – there is also something bracingly internationalist about News International.
That is so cringingly bad I think it deserves its own prize. If Rupert Murdoch does not give Montgomerie a job or at least invests in CH then I shall be sorely disappointed. It is funny though, that when Tories get caught in compromising positions then they scream revenge but when its the opposition doing it when they scream ‘whataboutery’. This takes arse-licking to a whole new level. Hey, who cares about your phone being “blagged”, look at least you get footy on Sky Sports!
Why I won’t vote Conservative in Norwich North
….not that I’d ever contemplate voting Tory anyway.
The lead up to election day
As most people are probably aware by now, I live and work in Norwich. More specifically, I live and work in the constituency of Norwich North, which, thanks to the disgraceful and hypocritical behaviour of Gordon Brown’s so-called Star Chamber, is about to have a by-election following the resignation of one of the best constituency MPs in the country, Dr Ian Gibson.
The election is due to take place in a couple of weeks time, on July 23rd, and naturally, as a local resident and a political activist, I’ve been taking a very keen interest in things.
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Journalists launch ‘Investigations fund’
A group of well-known journalists have launched Britain’s first ‘Investigations Fund’ to “encourage a new generation of reporters, and support independent journalism.”
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The dark arts come back to haunt Coulson
While most are only following this News of the World story back to when Clive Goodman was found, with the help of the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, to have intercepted the messages of Prince William, as well as other flunkies in the royal household, it in fact goes further back to the arrest of Stephen Whittamore, a private detective who was used by almost every national tabloid, as well as a few broadsheets, to gain information not just from cracking into mobile phones but also from national databases which he had more than a knack of blagging into.
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How can we bring about real change?
There will, finally, be a general election within a year. It could well prove to be yet again a fight between the two main parties for control over the dictatorial authority of the British state, now as ‘modernised’ by New Labour, with total victory once more provided by a minority of the vote.
While if the electorate feels there is no realistic offer of a choice to open up the system, continuing negative feedback of massive abstention will confirm popular revulsion yet make the problem worse.
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Government scraps sedition laws
From a press release
Writers and freedom of speech campaigners today expressed relief that the Government has finally relented, and agreed to abolish the offences of seditious libel and criminal defamation. The Ministry of Justice’s move comes after a long campaign by free speech organisations, their advocates, and opposition politicians.
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