The next House of Commons could be radically different with new candidates from all walks of life!

Wow.

David Cameron revealed today that Conservative HQ has received over 4,000 applications.  This is a huge PR coup for Cameron to be able to demonstrate such interest in becoming a Conservative Candidate to seek election as an MP.  Congrats to the Conservatives for such interest………

DC revealed extra staff had been laid on to process the applications.  He also stated that he was impressed with a number of cv’s he had seen from a ‘variety of different backgrounds’, including teachers, midwives, nurses, etc 

Next step is notifying applicants in mid – late July whether they would be going forward to a Parliamentary Assessment Board, (PAB as they are known).  As an estimation, from the 4,000 candidates applying, most likely 200 would go forward to the PAB’s, so that’s a huge number of people applying and getting rejected.

This is a fascinating policy decision for Cameron.  The feel is that many in the grassroots feel uneasy that they have devoted their lives to helping the Conservatives.  Many following a traditional route eg standing and serving as a councillor before wanting to stand for Parliament.  Obviously, they feel pissed that new candidates could come into the approved lists ahead of them.  That is a natural feeling.

But times also dictate that the Conservatives have to react to a new political culture sweeping the country.  New faces are needed.  New faces free from corruption…and what better than selecting the ‘Saint Squad’, ie midwives, nurses, teachers, those who devote all their time to charity.  This new ‘Saint Squad’, will fit the bill nicely for Cameron to trumpet a ‘new modern Conservative Party, free from corruption’.  Great political capital.

But….the question needs to be asked.  Does a great midwife, teacher, nurse, make a great politician?

Will a new midwife, teacher, nurse, be loyal to the Conservative Party or a potential nightmare in the future?

Is it necessary to be political in politics?

Who would add more value to Parliament….Iain Dale, the UK’s leading political blogger or a midwife, who had delivered over 500 babies and worked for a children’s charity, raising money via charity walks?  (Sorry to use your name here Iain but it illustrates my point perfectly, hope you don’t mind).    The public will of course warm to the midwife and their service to the community….but does that mean that they would add more value to the Political process than a sage like Dale.  Some of you will say, it’s all about a balance.  But for me, maybe that makes me elitist, but I would rather see Dale’s in the new Parliament!   Maybe I am wrong.  But I care for this nation and the decisions taken on it’s behalf.

Interesting questions and it is important to treat this answer carefully…..political elitism is the route of acrimony and something the new Parliament needs to get away from.  Yes, the ‘Saint Squad’ will go a long way in repairing the image of Parliament.  But when it comes to the big issues, Europe, Economic & Monetary Union, war in Afghanistan, fiscal and monetary policy, spending cuts, how will the new crew be guided?  And no I am not defending a political elite but the politically savvy.

This is all conjecture of course.  10 new winnable ’safe seats’ are currently in play.  More will come, (pity those Conservative Candidates selected for unwinnable seats seeing the ‘Saint Squad’ come into seats they would die for).  Conservative HQ have 4,000 candidates to select from and they are the key to this.  Let’s see the candidates that emerge.  Whilst ‘Saintly’, I hope they are ‘politically savvy’!

Did you see the Speaker Hustings yesterday?   Boy they were dull and reinforced my view that none of the current bunch standing for this noble role, is up to the job and would be the true reformer that the House needs.  I have reviewed all candidates in a previous blog:  http://tiny.cc/d1WvM

So, after the Hustings, who do I rate.  Frank Field was my favourite but it is obvious this election is being politicised as Labour Whips have been involved supporting John Bercow, (to piss Conservatives off).  The fact that Frank has pulled because he could not get enough Labour support is honourable but it also shows we are not looking for the best person for the role.    Shame, the House would have had a great Speaker in Frank Field.

So Labour are pushing John Bercow.  Listening to him yesterday and observing him, there is something a little creepy with this man.  He smacks of arrogance and two things stood out.  He wants the Speaker to become a well known Political figure, so he would tour the media stations and seek to explain the workings of the House and his views.  Secondly, he lacks the experience to hold the role down.  He employed some cheap shots to put down those around him with the experience.  If Labour Whips do push him to the max, Bercow will win but he will struggle to have the support of the whole House as Conservatives loathe the man.

We face the very real possibiliy that Bercow will win the election for the Speakership and then, after the election, with a presumable Conservative majority, the Conservatives will place a motion of no confidence in the Speaker and seek his removal.

So given that none of the other candidates grab me for their reforming zeal, I will support an interim speaker in Anne Widdecombe. 

….a plate of jelly wobbles less!

David on the brink of resigning?  Playing on his conscience that he did not jump with his best friend James Purnell?  Still bottling it and wobbling?

Come on david…let’s see if you are made of steel or jelly.

Hazel comes unstuck!

So Hazel Blears faces a motion of no confidence from her beloved local Labour Salford Constituency Party.  Support is gathering amongst local Party branches to kick her out.

But what follows is a really sad state of affairs.  Hazel has acted with conviction over the past few weeks and I and many others have respected Hazel for speaking her mind.  She was right to ridicule Brown’s shameful YouTube performance…’YouTube if you want to!’  Yes, she made mistakes with her expenses but so did many others.  She acted decisively and repaid the Capital Gains Tax.  Few others acted with that speed and some still haven’t repaid monies owed.  Of course she was repaying to save her Cabinet Career.  Brown and the Number 10 spin machine was briefing heavily against her, (brown hated her YouTube jibe and hence the expenses mistake by Blears was perfect ammo).  But Blears was not treated the same as other Ministers over expenses…some far worse than her egChancellor Darling.  As it would with any of us, she was pissed off and this unequal treatment.  Number 10 started briefing that she would be replaced in a coming reshuffle and this was the last straw.  She had nothing to lose.  Full of bitterness at Brown’s singled out treatment of her, she had a hissyfit, resigned and left.  Her resignation note broke with Parliamentary tradition and did not make recognition to the Government or the Prime Minister at all.  It said less than a Purnell’s note but said enough.  Her broach ‘Rocking the Boat’, was amusing aside but in hindsight a little petty.

All good up to there.  She acted on her own conscience and did what she believed was best.  When she heard Purnell was going she must have been jumping out of her booster seat thinking that Brown would be brought down and that she could be part of the new leaders Government.  But the House of Cards, despite losing many cards, stayed aloft.

Brown never forgives, neither do his friends, hence the recriminations start.  Expect Purnell’s Constituents to start getting itchy feet about James.  This is Gordon embarking on his ‘night of the long knives’, exacting his revenge.  So Blears’ constituency party, with no doubt encouragement from Labour HQ, start whingeing and hence the potential of a motion of no confidence.  (TBB does not predict she will be kicked out as the Leadership of the Local Party are currently behind her).  ironic, a motion of no confidence in a woman….an able woman who was in the Cabinet less than a month ago.  Acting and doing what the vast majority of the country would want her to do.

So the worst bit.  Blears destroys all…ALL…her credibility with a grovelling apology.  She regrets the timing of her resignation the night before Local Government elections.  She said:  ‘In hindsight that judgement was wrong.  I should have waited until after the election.  The effect on the party is something I will live forever’.  She also regrets her ‘thoughtless and cruel’ comments about the PM.

Hazel, how does this help women politicians?  How does this help perception of the strength & assertiveness of women in politics?  Playing along to the weak stereotype of a cry baby hard done woman, seeking to win sympathy…and save her seat, sets women in politics back.  Women fight to be seen as leaders.  Look at Margaret Thatcher.  Blears is certainly no Flint….who is also back-peddling faster than Victoria Pendleton!

Hazel.  Politicians must have conviction.  You did.  Your grovelling apology, in which you seem close to tears, undermines your actions.  Your credibility has been shot.  I can’t see your career in Politics reaching high office again.  Thanks for the memories.

Hazel Blears on Telegraph TV…note the close to tears, grovelling, little girl lost routine…win your sympathy?

Bob Crow: Bringing London to a standstill, costing the London Economy £100 million for yet another spurious strike

Did you know that a living dinosaur was discovered in London today?   It was identified as the lesser spotted Bob Crowosaurus, an aggressive bullying beast prone to frequent lazy spells.

So Travel chaos starts.  Members of the Rail Maritime & Transport Union have stopped worked, pulled up the shutters, trudged off down ta pub, at the start of a 2 day strike which will cause travel anarchy across London and cost businesses, already struggling in the recession, £100 million pounds, (according to London First).

This is sickening.  A disgusting abuse of the withdrawal of an essential service which is causing misery for millions of people.  All because of the whim of a man hellbent on pursuing his Trotskyist agenda and using the most blunt and basic way to get his point across.  Striking. 

TBB has nothing but contempt for strikes like this, especially when the economy is on a knife-edge and this lost income for the London Economy can mean job losses for other industries down the line.  Not the RMT of course as they seek to protect their members at all costs and will strike if there is any danger to their members.  The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said the strike was damaging for business, would cause widespread inconvenience and hurt London’s reputation.  Deputy director general John Cridland said: “It is regrettable that a small minority of people are prepared to inflict this kind of disruption on others at such a difficult time.”

The dispute is over pay, jobs, disciplinary issues and the sacking of two drivers.  The RMT wants a 5% pay rise and a promise of no compulsory redundancies.  Add in any other issue, including the weather and the performance of the English Cricket team and you have all the perfect conditions for Bob Crow, (General Secretary of the Transport Union),  to whip up his troops into a frenzy.

Bob, 5% is double the current rate of inflation, how many employers in the private sector are giving salary increases in this environment, let alone double the rate of inflation?  Do private sector workers strike?  Of course not.  How many firms in the private sector are laying of workers?  A majority of them.  Yet you seek no compulsory redundancies for the RMT.  Get real.  Grow up.  London Underground is a business and has to be run as such.  It exists as an essential service for London.  It does not exist to provide guaranteed jobs and salaries for your members. 

Bob Crow is a well known Communist.  He is a throwback to the worst excesses of Union Militancy in the 1970’s.  He delights in bringing the London Underground and Train system to a stop for the most spurious of reasons.  Some would call him a hypocritical Communist.  As general secretary of the RMT Bob Crow received in 2007, according to the official certification officer (www.certoffice.org), £79,564 gross salary, plus employer pension contributions of £26,115.   That’s more than an MP.  Not bad Bob.  What is amusing about this is that true Communists believe that their leaders should share in the lifestyle of those they represent in order to main real contact with their conditions of life.  Bob, doesn’t sound like you do that Comrade!

So Bob, as you lead your drivers and team out on strike, think of this.  The average salary of a train driver is:  £37,231.  This is MORE than a paramedic (£21,720), a nurse (23,044), a secondary school teacher (£31,340), and even a dentist (£31,747).  Figures from the National Office of Statistics.

As a society, do we genuinely believe that a train/tube driver is more skilled and should be rewarded more for their work than a paramedic, nurse, teacher or a dentist?  I think even the most deluded in society would struggle to justify that.  But not Bob Crow.  Off he carts his merry bunch of workers off to cause chaos.  Disgraceful and contemptible.

Bob this may help you and your members have a greater understanding of jobs and salaries.

WHO EARNS WHAT : COMPARISON

1. £0 to £10,000:Cleaners, hairdressers, some agricultural labourers, people on benefits, fast food restaurant staff, school cooks, fine artists, holiday representatives, swimming pool attendants, broadcasting/film runners.

2. £10,001 to £20,000:Manual workers, sewer cleaners, call centre staff, mortuary assistants, farmers, electronic assembly line workers, nursery and care workers, imams, Army privates, bus drivers, checkout staff, landscape designers, fishermen, charity fundraisers, junior civil servants, local government administrators, soil scientists, florists, counsellors, air cabin crew, miners.

3. £20,001 to £30,000:Junior MI5 officers, rabbis, vicars, social workers, NHS nurses, naval cooks, electricians, carpenters, binmen, international aid workers, health service managers, media buyers, plant breeders, textile designers, museum administrators, lorry drivers, map makers, journalists.

4. £30,001 to £40,000: Newly qualified RAF pilots, London Tube drivers, some television presenters, London police officers, pole dancers, sandwich shop managers, bishops, London cab drivers, vets, paramedics, architects, diplomats, timber merchants, trading standards officers, zookeepers, probation officers, opticians, literary agents, immigration officers.

5. £40,001 to £50,000:Air traffic controllers, solicitors, RAF Flight Lieutenants, theatre managers, office managers, foresters, engineers, TV producers.

6. £50,001 to £75,000:Marketing and senior managers, senior police officers, commercial airline pilots, Royal Navy captains, education administrators, top PAs, fashion designers, town planners, MPs, senior social workers, tax inspectors, medical sales representatives.

7. £75,001 to £100,000: Senior managers, senior civil servants, Army brigadiers, secondary school heads, celebrity stylists, some plumbers, advertising executives, senior PRs, distribution managers, accountants.

8. £100,001 to £500,000:GPs, High Court judges, Prime Minister, business whizzkids, Cabinet ministers, Chief of Defence Staff, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, chief executives, senior company secretaries, NHS chief executives, private psychotherapists, financial advisers, quarry managers.

9. £500,001 to £1,000,000 irector General of the BBC, heads of larger companies, including the managing director of Arsenal and the chief executive of Sainsbury’s.

10. Over £1,000,000: Chief executives of the UK’s biggest firms, celebrities, footballers, bestselling authors, football managers, senior solicitors, investment bankers.

Tubes sitting in the sidings.  Not running for 48 Hours

Stats from the Southern Daily Echo.

TBB has a great deal of respect for James Purnell.  He took a bold, decisive move last week when he resigned from the Government.  He, unlike many Labour politicians, is in tune with public mood and he did not lack the bottle, the strength of determination to reveal his true feelings.  Purnell is an ambitious man but unlike most politicians this is not at any cost and he is not a politician who will kiss arse to get promotion.  A man whose career is founded on promotion by merit.  (Caroline Flint please note!)

In the reshuffle last week, there is no doubting Purnell would have been given a good job and promotion.  Whilst he is a Blairite and does not get on with the PM, there is no doubting he is an intelligent man and a fresh thinker.  Whilst TBB and Purnell dont agree on policies, I respect a conviction politician and his actions last week founded on principles.

But how frustrating for Purnell to see that his colleagues have effectively nullified his resignation.  He must have expected that his resignation would trigger the big guns to follow suit.  Time and again Miliband threatens but his time must have passed now as his spine his jellied.  Harman flirted with the idea but decided to fall in line and be a Mandelson puppet.  Johnson just cannot be seen as disloyal and is waiting for an ultimate blow and then he can rip off his suit and show his Superman suit and credentials. 

Purnell, as he has a quiet glass of wine in the evening must regret his timing.  Had he waited a day, Brown would have put Balls as Chancellor and maybe moved Miliband.  Darling would have resigned and Brown was prepared for that.  Mandolsen and Brown could paint Darling in a negative light, especially with all the expenses issues the Chancellor has BUT when Purnell resigned he effected the shape and scale of the reshuffle.  Hence Purnell’s actions saved Gordon, as Brown would never have survived a Darling resignation, followed by a Purnell one.  That would have been the trigger for a leadership contest.

So what next for Purnell?  Well the backbenches.  He will find them less appealing and will be a focus for Labour rebels and malcontents.  Maybe, as he reflects he will decide he has nothing to lose and will table a resignation statement in the House and blast Gordon with all guns, but given the PLP love-in last night, that could seen bitter and damage his career irreparably.  Maybe, his principles are so strong he wont care.  We all know as Conservatives that Brown is the best person for us to lead Labour and recent election results show that.  Purnell knows this and his love for Labour and doing ‘the right thing’ may tempt him to challenge himself for the leadership.  Whatever he decides, he has shown himself as a man of principle in a Party melting down.

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Will Sir Alan Sugar have to be fired from the BBC?

Sir Alan Sugar, newly appointed Business Champion for the Government must face a tough choice.  He has to resign from the BBC and leave his show ‘The Apprentice’ or he resigns from the Government.  He cannot have both.

The BBC must remain impartial in the political arena.  Paying salary and supporting Alan Sugar breaks that impartiality.  The BBC must never break that bond of trust and impartiality with the License Fee holders.  At this moment in time they are…until Sir Alan makes a choice.

It is clear from interviews today that Sir Alan has been badly briefed about his new role.  On Sky News he had no idea of what the ‘whip’ was.  He made it clear he would consult and do whatever the BBC want him to do.  It is slowly dawning on him he has made a mistake.

Gordon Brown opted for a cheap headline with Sir Alan and now it is badly backfiring on Sir Alan.

So BBC, over to you.  It is time for you to make it clear to Sir Alan.  Resign your role in the Government or, in the words of Sir Alan…..’You’re fired’.

Let’s hope David Cameron turns the heat up on this one.

28% of the vote for Clegg’s Lib Dems and little to show for it!

The Labour Party were slaughtered at the local elections.  Pure and simple, they have been wiped from the face of local Government across the country.  Brown fears a general election…he is a man that runs from a vote…be it for the leadership of the Party, be it the Lisbon Treaty and of course a general election.  If he remains leader don’t expect one until 2010…as he clings to power until the last possible milisecond!

But he is a vindictive man.  He privately knows that Labour will be annihilated at a general election and it could take years before they are in a fit state to govern again.  Maybe 10 years plus. 

Hence do not be surprised to hear Brown propose a new electoral system based on PR.  At the local elections the Conservatives polled 38% of the popular vote, with the Lib Dems on 28% and Labour 23%. 

But how did this vote translate into councillors and control of councils under first past the post?

As we know, results are now in from the 34 Councils that went to the polls.  The Conservatives have 1476 councillors, as opposed to the Lib Dems 473 and Labour collapsing to just 176 councillors.  But more importantly, the Conservatives now have won control of 30 Councils, while the Lib Dems only managed 1, (and they lost control of Devon & Somerset to the Conservatives!).  Labour lost all their control over 4 councils.  Worst for Labour was seeing Lancashire collapse, where Labour lost 25 seats, 18 of those to the Conservatives.  Lancashire is pure red country.

Hence Gordon will look at the results and PR may make sense to help minimise the crushing defeat he would receive at the hands of the electorate and the Conservative Party.  He would secure far more Labour MP’s under PR than he will manage under first past the post in the 2010 election.

Brown may even seek to calm his backbenchers fears of losing their seat this week by announcing a PR system, which would save many of them losing their seats.  This may even be a tactic he uses to save his leadership!

Of course, Nick Clegg wants PR more than anything.  Clegg will be gutted that first past the post has again deprived the Lib Dems.  This was a poor night for the Lib Dems, given the unpopularity of Labour, they would have hoped to have a better showing than they did.  Their share of the vote was up but they cannot convert this to winning seats/councillors.  Nick Clegg is an impressive politician at times.  He has landed some heavy blows on Gordon Brown at PMQ’s and his leadership over the Gurkha’s was very impressive.  He must have been expecting a good performance for the Liberal Democrats in the local elections and I am sure is disapointted and will blame the electoral system for being unfair.

Let’s watch over the coming days and see if Brown is a convert to PR.

TBB is back.  Sorry for my absence all.  Unlike a lot of bloggers out there I actually get out and seek to help the Party as best I can.  I have been busy this past week canvassing and absolutely loving meeting and listening to our electorate.  Blogging will continue daily again now.  Thanks for all the great emails of support.

Wow what a week.  Gordon Brown, without any doubt, is the Conservative Party’s biggest electoral asset.  Tories the UK over want him to stay put and carry on as disastrously as he has been doing.  But what is fascinating is watching the Labour Party bottle their best chance of preventing an electoral catastrophe. 

Labour has been stating that the local elections and tomorrow’s European election results are not a ringing endorsement of the Conservative Party.  I think they again misread public mood.  When out canvassing across the SE I know that much of the electorate want to give the three big parties a bloody nose over expenses.  Labour has been all but obliterated from local government.  That must send a chilling realisation through the hearts and minds of Labour MP’s that come a general election their jobs and seats are not safe.  Panic will set in as they meet all their comrades, formerly loyal Labour councillors, now bitter and without office and local status.

The Conservatives had a good night.  But what is very much true is that the Conservatives also faced a protest vote, not to the same extreme as Labour.  Come the general election, many on the doorsteps I met, were protesting now but would be wholeheartedly supporting the Conservatives.  Hence Labour should not underestimate Conservative support across the nation who either stayed at home at the local & Euro elections or voted for one of the fringe parties….can I call them ‘lunatic parties’?

The Conservative Party is well known for its brutality in changing leaders.  This week we have seen the limp wristed and cowardly way senior Labour politicians tip toe round.  So who deserves respect this week and who doesn’t?

Caroline Flint is more than just window dressing, (though she is mighty attractive), but this week we saw her naive naked ambition shine through and she damaged her credibility.  Her pre-recorded eulogy to Gordon brown, was politics at its worse, sickening to hear a grown woman, naively supporting her leader for one reason…a plum Cabinet job the next day.  When Gordon did not give her that job, all the toys were thrown out of the pram.  With a stomp of her stiletto, she penned an acid resignation letter.  If Caroline had not recorded such a sycophantic love-in interview she would have been a heroine of the week.  Instead, she comes across as a desperately ambitious lady who did not get her way and so turned on her leader.  Shame.  I don’t think we have seen the last of Caroline.  Will she give a resignation speech in the Commons this week…..?

James Purnell.  A quiet man of the Cabinet.  A Blair man through and through.  His resignation as polls closed Thursday night was a bolt from the blue and the first person from the Cabinet who had the courage of his convictions to call for Brown to go.  That was a bold move and one that we should all respect.  I do hope that Purnell decides to stage a resignation speech next week as that would seal the mark of a conviction politician.  Purnell would win Politician of the week for me last week.  Let’s also be honest, Purnell’s resignation saved both Miliband and Darling from the sack / demotion.  When Purnell resigned he limited the reshuffle to a few minor moves.  Purnell was the man who put the handcuffs on brown and Brown will hate him forever.  I am sure Tony Blair would have raised a chuckle and smile over his man.  Let’s not forget Blair was at the sharp end of the Brown, Balls, McBride briefing machine for years.  Blair loves Labour but he would certainly shed no tears for Gordon.

David Miliband.  Oh David, what a lack of bottle you have.  Like last year, here was your chance again to stand up and be counted.  But Purnell’s resignation meant that Miliband could say ‘its the Foreign Office or I resign’, hence leaving Brown no option.  Perhaps Miliband’s ambition is reigned in because he wants no part of a massive Labour loss at the general election.  He will bide his time until the time is right.  Many will not forget your weakness David.  Your time has passed.

Perhaps in time Purnell’s resignation will be seen as the moment Gordon Brown was saved.  Had Purnell waited, his effect would have been more devastating.  Perhaps he regrets that.  Without his resignation, Balls would now be Chancellor, as Brown would have  moved Darling, (and Darling would have resigned).  Maybe Brown would have also moved Miliband.  But then, if Brown had lost a Darling or a Miliband or both, Purnell’s resignation then would have been nuclear.  But it did not happen….a miscalculation in hindsight?  Don’t forget Brown had been briefing for weeks that he was planning a radical reshuffle.  The reshuffle yesterday was not what Brown wanted or planned.  It was one to save his bacon.

Alastair Darling.  He is a dark horse.  Again, saved by Purnell.  But he is very conscious that Brown wanted to get rid of him.  Brown lied yesterday.  TBB has a close friend, a journalist, who has been briefed closely by No10 ’sources’, that Ed Balls was to be the next Chancellor.  All the journalists at the PM’s Press Conference knew this, but brown lied to them.  Disgraceful.  TBB predicted Ed as the next Chancellor some time back.  But Gordon could not move Alastair as Alastair would have resigned and he could not afford a Chancellor going.   Now Alastair, do you really want to remain in a role that you know was not meant for you.  I would not be surprised to see Alastair resign next week.  There is nothing worse that being in a job when you know you are second choice and have been so badly briefed against as Darling has been.  Is Alastair there for the perks and status of Chancellor or does he believe he is the best man for the job with the PM’s support?  That will play with his conscience.

Harriet Harman is the other dark horse.  She keeps saying her time has come.  Now she must be mightily pissed off this weekend.  Mandelson, is all but in name the Deputy PM.  Mandelson has far more say over things than she does. Harriet was elected to the role of Deputy but Peter plays the tune.  She will feel her political grip slipping and will feel bitter.  Hence, do not be surprised to see Harriet Harman resign over the next few days.  And she could have the balls to say that she will stand against the PM and be the person that people crystallise around.  She must be mightily tempted this weekend to steal a march on her opponents.

The moment that someone announces they wish to stand against the PM, credible of course, will be the moment that they all come out of the wood work.  Expect, if Harriet announces her candidacy post her devastating resignation, to then hear Mr Smarmy Alan Johnson, say, ‘in the good of the Party, I will stand to provide the Party with a real choice’.  We can also expect Miliband to throw his hat in but time would have passed by them for him to gain momentum.

Gordon learnt last week the effects of briefing in advance.  It was obvious that Hazel Blears and Jacqui Smith were off in the reshuffle.  No.10 had briefed this in advance for some time.  Why on earth wait to be sacked?  All of us would jump rather than be pushed.  I am sure Brown has learnt that lesson…never leak your reshuffle plans in advance.  Will hazel this week strike a further blow.  Again, she has the right to a resignation statement.  She of all people, has little to lose now.  She is badly stained over expenses, little career options left as her constituents will most likely punish her at the next election, hence why not seal your place in history with a ‘Geoffrey Howe’ resignation speech, laying naked the secrets of life at No.10.

So what next?  The European election results will be catastrophic for Labour.  Conservatives will do well but again voters will have provided a bloody nose as they protest with the minor parties.  Expect UKIP to have a good night.  This will pour the pressure on Gordon even more, ready for Monday.  His lower rank ministerial shuffle will be key for setting the tone of the day for his PLP meeting in the evening.  If junior ministers have some balls and resign, then the PM heads into the PLP meeting drowning and will be pummelled in that meeting.  If another Cabinet Minister, like Harriet Harman or if Miliband or Darling get some spine and resign Monday, then it will be all over for Brown.  No way back.

Brown can survive.  But speak to most Labour supporters, they realise he is an electoral liability.  Imagine him fighting an election campaign, pulling those weird grin faces and speaking in a monotone boring voice at the hustings….dire.  But senior leadership contenders either lack the backbone to challenge or do not want to lead the Party to a massive electoral defeat and potentially be replaced as leader after that.  For us Conservatives, we want Gordon to stay….let’s hope and prey he does, because he is our biggest electoral asset.

This week history can be made…whose names will be then ones remembered in history as the ones to bring down the shortest serving unelected Prime Minister?

Come on Harriet……..’it’s your time’!

What is concerning is not the end of his Parliamentary career but what will happen to his moat?

Hence TBB is going to help and find Douglas a ‘cheaper’ moat cleaner, as he wont have the money to pay for his regular moat cleaner after losing his plentiful expenses.

Please let TBB know if you wish to apply…..I will pass on all applicants to ‘Trougher Hogg’.

Job Title:       Moat Cleaner

Location:       Former Tory Grandee’s ‘Castle’

Salary:             Much less than previous as owner had access to unlimited expenses.  Happy to provide House of Commons bottle of whiskey or chocolates.

Job Description:   To dredge the moat, keep stocked with fresh leaping salmon and ensure that water is pure Evian.

Other responsibilities:    Keep Tory grandee well liquored with finest whiskey and to ensure that drawbridge remains up at all times to prevent the media getting in and post man delivering tax bills.

Start date:       May 2010.

References:       No need.  Gentleman’s nod good enough.

Hence why I want to thank Sten, who has a blog site Chronicles from the Empire.  http://tinyurl.com/obq3au

He has added a 2 blogs to his new blog roll.  TBB is one.  Sten says of TBB: 

‘First of all, TrueBlueBlood. A relatively new Conservative weblog, started at the end of April. The owner is a very sharp and excellent writer’.

Thanks for the compliment Sten.  Means a great deal.

‘Election….no way …. I am not losing power yet……gotta another year of me yet’  (Dr Evil laugh follows)

Oratory is a gift…the ability to grab hold of an audience and emotionally connect them to your words, to inspire them, to laugh, to cry…but most of all to believe.  The best orators can bring a nation with them….through good and bad times.

Remember, when reviewing this list…it’s the power of oratory that is important….this is not reviewing the content / text of speeches….

10     Roosevelt / Gandhi   / Abraham Lincoln /Margaret Thatcher

It was tough leaving some out of the top 10, hence a wider inclusion.  Margaret Thatcher was not a natural public speaker at the start of her time in power but through experience and coaching, developed into an accomplished orator, (her performance in the No Confidence debate post her resigning is the stuff of legend).  Gandhi, through his skill inspired not only a nation but the world.

9  Charles de Gaulle

De Gaulle was a powerful orator.  His speeches to the French people to rally them against the invading German troops are testament to the finest oratory of all time. 

8   Tony Blair

Tony’s greatest asset was his gifted oratory.  Against the monotone John Major, he was always going to come across stronger.  This BBC montage of Tony Blair shows his mastery of the media and ability to craft and deliver a powerful soundbite……

7  Ronald Reagan

Of course it helped that Reagan was a former actor but the guy was gifted at making public speeches.  Perhaps his finest speech was early on……take a listen to an excerpt of ‘A Time for Choosing’.  

6  Barack Obama

For me, Obama is already in the top ten speakers in history.  One of his best speeches…..so far……..was at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin Founders Day Gala on Feb. 16. This is the last 10 minutes of speech, perhaps the best part. “Don’t tell me that words don’t matter,” Obama said, his voice rising with indignation and scorn.  “I have a dream. JUST WORDS.”  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. JUST WORDS.”  “We have nothing to fear but fear itself. JUST WORDS.”

 5   Bill Clinton

Bill may have been a Lothario….but he was also a great public speaker.  Here we see Bill addressing the National Democratic Convention.  Check the way he taps into the audience and wins their hearts & minds.

 4  Winston Churchill

In 1940 Winston Churchill made, what would be the defining speech of WW2′.  A powerful piece of oratory, which inspired and gave the Great British people a sense of belief, a sense of purpose and motivated a nation in War.  This speech was of course captured by the words…’we shall fight them on the beaches’……

 
3   John F Kennedy

JFK’s life was cut all too short.  He was a gifted public speaker who was ‘believable’, ‘honest’, ‘man of the people’ and inspirational.  He gave many memorable speeches including  ‘Ich Bin Ein Berliner’.  Arguably, the best was his Inaugural Address in which he asked:  ‘Ask not what your country can do for you…..’

2 Adolf Hitler

There is no doubt Hitler was a tyrant.  A mass murderer, a despicable figure that caused many many deaths across the world through his insane plans for world domination.  But this list details the best orators and there is no doubting in Hitler’s ability to inspire a crowd….to move them in ways that many speakers have been unable to achieve in History.  Yes, his elevation to power was due to a mixture of economic depression and the bullying of his opponents, but look at this video.  The sheer emotion generated—the body language in full ‘audience grabbing mode’.  The content may be disgusting but Hitler was a gifted orator.

1    Martin Luther King

I am sure many of you would agree and place MLK at number 1.  A brilliant orator.  His ‘I have a Dream’ speech still raises hairs on the back of the neck today.

Who is missing?  Agree or disagree with this list?