Reading through the Daily Mail today, I was rather perturbed to read the Ephraim Hardcastle column and this entry:

“Overtly gay Tory blogger Iain Dale has reached the final stage of parliamentary selection for Bracknell, telling PinkNews: ‘I hope any PinkNews readers who live in Bracknell will come to the open primary on October 17 to select their new candidate.  You don’t even have to be a Conservative to attend.’  Isn’t it charming how homosexuals rally like-minded chaps to their cause?”

Any way which you cut this, it is a deeply offensive slur on Iain Dale and is homophobic.  Why do some journalists feel compelled to have to raise Iain’s sexuality when they discuss him.  It gets tiresome and I for one am sick of pathetic homophobic jibes.

The language is poor.  What makes Iain ‘overtly gay’.  What does that mean?  Vile.  The last phrase is the poorest and for any journalist to write, ‘isn’t it charming how homosexuals rally like-minded chaps to their cause?’ , is plunging journalism to new depths.

Iain gives his views here.  The strength of feeling shows with over 185 comments to his blog.  Iain has written to the Press Complaints Commission.

Let’s hope the Daily Mail apologises to Iain and never again repeats this homophobic language.  Poor show.  It is offensive to all in society to read such base journalism.

I have a lot of time for Iain.  It is obvious he is highly respected in the Westminster village, from all sides of the House.  His passion for politics is infectious.  I visit his blog daily, on a frequent basis and am impressed by his perception and how he makes politics interesting for all.

I sincerely wish him all the best in Bracknell.  I don’t know the other candidates, have only heard good things about the quality of the shortlist, but one things for certain, as I have said before, the House of Commons needs thinkers like Iain Dale.

What a bad day for Gordon Brown and New/Old Labour.  (And a great day for former Sun & News of the World man, Andy Coulson, Director of Communications for the Tories).

The Sun newspaper throws its full weight behind David Cameron and the Conservatives.  Major blow for Labour.  Of course we all remember the great Sun headlines in 1992, on the day of the election: ‘If Kinnock wins today will the last person to leave Britain, please turn out the lights’.  The election was predicted to be a Labour win and hence when John  Major and the Conservatives defied the polls, the Sun claimed that its readership changed the election result with its help, hence the headline: ‘It’s the Sun wot won it’!  There can be no doubt that the media can shape the agenda and sway opinion…but to what degree is the question.

Welcome back ‘The Sun’, we missed you, although recent editorials have felt distinctly Conservative and your policies on immigration, Europe, tax cuts, law and order have always felt more akin to Conservatives than Labour.

Of course Labour are discounting this move by the Sun.  Brown says its the people who decide elections not the media.  Of course he would say that.  Blair was euphoric when The Sun supported in back in 1997. 

There is no doubt The Sun is a great national weather vane in British politics.  It backs the winner.  It senses that, even with 8 months to go, that the Conservatives will win.  Dont forget that The Sun’s circulation is 3.1m, which then is estimated that 3 people read that one copy, hence nearly a 10m readership!  That’s a huge difference.  Yes of course, The Sun urging people to vote Conservative is a big thing BUT hat is even bigger is the headlines and reporting style moving forward.  Noone will ever forget Neil Kinnock’s head in that lightbulb.  Noone will ever forget former England Manager Graham Taylor’s head shaped into a turnip…’Turnip Taylor’.  This reporting of headlines and caricatures of Brown will have its effect.

So what makes this story so powerful is its timing.  The Sun’s timing is immaculate and devastating.  At the start of the Conference, Labour were in dire straits, the hall was half empty, delegates were quiet and fed up.  Conference was more akin to a morgue.  But still a little flicker of fight back started.  Mandelson started picking them up.  Gordon tried again to rally them.  The hall felt a little more purpose.  But then…….BANG, The Sun kicks all this into touch and the Conference is back to doom and gloom and depression. 

Credit must go to the back room hidden communication maestro Andy Coulson, Conservatives Director of Communications.   Andy may operate in the shadows but his impact is front page.  Whilst Labour champion Mandelson and Alastair Campbell, we have a media maestro in Andy Coulson.  Dont forget Andy used to be very close in Murdoch’s Empire, as a former Editor of The News of the World and editor of The Sun’s showbizz column, ‘Bizarre’.  Surely Andy had a quiet word with his great buddy and new Editor at the Sun Dominic Mohan, (also a former editor of the showbizz column, ‘Bizarre’!  The timing is just too devastating to be left to chance….so credit to you Andy Coulson….great job.

At the time of Andy’s appointment as Conservatives Director of Communications, David Cameron stated: “Andy will make a formidable contribution as a senior member of my team in building the most effective strategy and operation to win the next general election. I look forward very much to working with him”.  DC, good call….Andy has already left his mark !  Pay rise that man!

So bad start to to the day for Gordon….but it gets worse…….

The Financial Times, launched its own equivalent of a damaging editorial on Brown.  Remember the readership of the FT is professionals, entrepreneurs, risk takers, wealth generators.  For the FT to report on Gordon Brown’s views on the failure of the market economy and need for more and more intervention, is as powerful in that community as The Sun announcing its support to its own readership.  This week Labour have been bashing the bankers at every opportunity.  Brown did the same.  This is coming home to roost now and the FT made clear its concern at intervention, market corrections and bashing bankers.  Don’t forget, much of the public spending that Brown has spent has been generated for many years by those bankers.  (And even more Brown spent was on tick!).  Those bankers will be the ones to help repay those debts, hence Brown bashing them, will secure him even less City support.  Not the best City PR strategy Gordon!

But still it gets worse…….

Iain Dale  reports today that the Labour Party is in dire straits financially.  Noone is investing cash in what is seen as a lame duck administration.  Iain reports close Labour sources that state Labour does not have enough cash to front an effective election campaign.  Also the prospect of Labour going bankrupt is raised as there is too little cash to meet its annual loan interest payments of £2 million.  That is a dire situation to be in.  So not only has Labour demonstrated it is inept in running the nation’s finances and landing us with the largest public deficit in history, unsurprisingly it has made mess of its own finances.  Hence, Labour is even more dependent on the Unions, especially UNITE, for its cash.  Expect to see a surge in Labour propaganda to the Left as Labour Leadership placate their comrades in the Unions as they beg for election cash!

Not surprisingly, Gordon, is ‘furious’ today, (in the words of the Evening Standard).  This has shone through……

Did you see Gordon’s interview with Adam Boulton on Sky News today?  Gordon is obviously tired and frustrated but take time out and listen to this poor interview.  He is evasive, he badgers the interviewer.  Worst of all he accuses Adam of being a political propagandist.  He may think that but to say it is poor.  This is the Prime Minister, not a 3rd grade debating contender.  Poor show Gordon, poor show!   

Which led to this headline in today’s Evening Standard.  Is he cracking up?

As we learn ‘The Sun’ and its 10 million readers come home to the Conservatives, John Laity continues his look at the Labour Party Conference and Gordon Brown’s ‘speech of his life’…or was it?

————————————————————

“Never stop believing in the good sense of the British people.” by John Laity

Wow what a bashing! Gordo you punchy PM you:

“Only one party with pretensions to government made the wrong choice; the Conservative Party of Britain.
They made the wrong choice on Northern Rock.
The wrong choice on jobs and spending.
The wrong choice on mortgage support.
The wrong choice on working with Europe.
The only thing about their policy that is consistent is that they are consistently wrong.”

Gordo was on form and although you wouldn’t have got even odds at the bookies on what his speech would contain, I was surprised that he was so direct. Here was a Gordo that didn’t pull his punches.

Good show Gordo, I never like to see a one sided beating!

I did have some real puke moments though.

Thanking John Smith, Neil Kinnock and John Smith for the way forward…Very twee, but a good PR ploy…”Gordo the left the middle and the right of the Labour Party!”

And then there was my Little-Britain-convulsive-hose-pipe-puke-but-no-joke-making moment:

“The first is the one I spoke about in detail on Sunday when I talked about the mission of our brave men and women in Afghanistan.
The heroism of our fighting men and women is unsurpassed and we owe them a debt we can never fully repay. And let us on behalf of the British people pay tribute to them and their courage today.
The British armed forces truly are the finest in the world. And let us say to them – all British forces will always have all the equipment they need and the best support we can give.
And conference let me say, Britain will work with President Obama and 40 other countries for peace and stability for the people of Afghanistan, and to make sure that terrorism doesn’t come to the streets of Britain.”

If that is what you truly believe Gordo, then pay the USA for the computer software upgrades keeping apache helicopters on the ground…Let LDV staff build you some bomb proof vehicles…Oh, lets face it, it is hardly worth the comment!

BUT !!!  Gordo did actually nail something for me!

“Never stop believing in the good sense of the British people.”

You see I have stopped believing…

I believe the UK People are apathetic and turned off by politics.
I believe that the Voter doesn’t know who to vote for or why to bother…After all, all Ministers pretty much ignored expenses abuse…Except maybe Vince Cable.
I also believe that the Voter is tired and feels that they can’t do anything.

And THIS last belief is what really bothers me…

We the Voters are the problem for the state of the UK…Not Brown, not Clegg, not expenses and not even the banks.

Election on election we fail to cast our vote. So we also fail to hold anyone to account.

Here are some of the examples of failure that I will take on myself…and you should too, as you live in the same society as me.

1. Fiona Pilkington, killed herself and her 18-year-old disabled daughter Francecca after being hounded by local youths. This was not a failure of the Police, nor the failure of the Local Authority, nor was it Gordo’s fault. Yes we could point the finger at any or all of them, but this was OUR failure. When questioned the neighbors of Fiona admitted this, “I should have spoken out, but feared I would be pulled into the problem.” – An honest answer and one that shows how WE are failing our communities.

Another example of our complacency:

2. Wootton Basset, close to my heart as it is my local town. But here is a thing…I DON’T want Royal Ascent for Bassett! What I really want for Wootton Bassett is for it to revert back to its unknown status. Just another small town in Wiltshire…What I want is that we don’t see any more young men or women shipped through the High street in a coffin…NO MORE PLEASE

So, in June next year VOTE !

Not for Gordo, not for Clegg, not even for the Conservatives nor any other individual party…

Vote to take on the responsibility for those things that are wrong.
Vote to start to hold to account those in power for the lack of support they show for our armed forces.
Vote for better health care, for sensible economics, for jobs, for work, for help for your neighbours.

But it is not just a vote, you should also commit to taking a stand. Stand against terrorism and not just terrorism abroad, but also where I see it in your local community. Stand up and speak out with hope, even if it puts you at risk…In doing so you might just change the opinions of those in the wrong, for the better of everyone.

Lastly, and most importantly, take a stand for fairness and honesty from our leaders and from our policy makers.

In June 2010 YOU can make a small individual statement and pick the party and leadership that will best reflect what YOU think our country needs.

And remember, June is a really good time to take a stand on your own!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-nXT8lSnPQ

So Thank you James Gordon Brown !

We will vote and we will:

“Never stop believing in the good sense of the British people.
Never stop believing we can move forward to a fairer, more responsible, more prosperous Britain.
Never stop believing we can make a Britain equal to its best ideals.
Never, never stop believing. And because the task is difficult the triumph will be even greater.”

You are right, now is not the time to give in but to reach inside ourselves for the strength of our convictions…Change, Hope and David Cameron.

Now that is beyond conference spin!

~;v Gimme some hungry chicken ~;v

Another guest blog from John Laity.  Keep em coming John….

——————————–

So following a “packed” pre-launch speech yesterday, we get some interesting openers.

“The pull of coming back to serve this Prime Minister, our leader, Gordon Brown – who was gripping this financial crisis, leading the fightback against it when so many others seemed caught in the headlights.”

He’s back !!!  Mandy’s Here !!!

Yes, Peter brings some enthusiasm to a lack luster and tired looking conference so far. A welcome and entertaining relief from those sentenced to a week in Brighton.

Amongst some classic Mandelson Vandalism’s were the following gems:

“I did not choose this party.  I was born into it. It is in my blood and in my bones.”

And like Jesus the party faithful ate his body and drank his blood…but then came my predictions from yesterday:

“A Labour Government has never been more needed.
- Needed to fight back against the recession.
- Needed to build and secure our future economic strength.
- And needed to ensure we pay down debt in a way that is fair and protects jobs, homes and our frontline public services.
And yet, we must face facts. Electorally, we are in the fight of our lives. And, yes, we start that fight as underdogs.”

Now this is worrying, the spin master has laid down the rules. We will now face an unrelenting unmoving non-wavering line upon these issues. Labour are fighting back you know!

But there is hope…In some gutter slinging we now have “Boy George” and “Shallow David Cameron”…Good news, as such slinging is bad news for Votes…

But note that it will come from Lord Mandelson, not from Gordo…No the spin machine is too good for that.

But what of the other speakers?

Hilary Ben, a past Labour big hitter stepped up, quoting Roosevelt and the great Depression and then drawing down from Obama: “It is with hope that we can – and we will – change the world for the better.”
Eddy Miliband, a past contender to the crown, “David Cameron is good at green stunts. The huskies. The bike – with the car and driver following behind. The wind turbine on the roof.”
Lord Adonis, “Join Labour on this great journey. Let’s not go down the Tory dead-end street. do so.”

My interest was most peaked by Tessa Jowell, who quoted Obama and then compared the general public (that she meets traveling around the country) to Olympians, “They may not mount the podium to receive a medal, the adulation of a nation ring in their ears.”…Bronze medals for everyone then!

But certainly we started to get a feel for what the big hope really was for Labour…Don’t let the Conservative wield Obama style “Change”!

Lord Mandelson laid some traps:

“Well, the Tories may have skimmed the headline summary of the New Labour manual.  But they never bothered to read the book. If they had they would know what real change involves.  They would know what a painful process it is. We in this hall know what it took to make the change. Show me what has really changed in the Conservative Party.”

But the real speech today to listen to was from Gordo’s Number 2. The reluctant resident from number 11 gave a good account of what Labour have done to stem the global thermonuclear meltdown of the world finance system. He told us how Gordo had single handedly stopped us from dying in the nuclear winter caused by the collapse of (Northern Rock?) our entire monetary system…Impressive stuff…

But in the impressive list of godly monies spent to help us recover were some interesting omissions:

No monetary account of the billions handed out to the banks…as to do so would have eclipsed the monies quoted as being spent on Jobs and Industry

No mention of what was being spent to win the war in Afghanistan…to bring home troops safely. I suspect we will get that from Gordo tomorrow.

So all eyes will now turn to Gordo, who now not only wants a televised debate now (apparently)…he wants a whole load of them…See he was never scared of Cameron, he just didn’t want Nick Clegg involved.

John Laity has his passions running high at the moment and provided another cool blog entry.  John, rest assured that more people will read this than there were at the Conference Hall listening to Gordon Brown yesterday!  Over to John…..

——————————————————————————————

“The Underdogs Fight for a Better Future Against the Tories”

So we now have the official party line for Conference from Gordo.

We could laugh at the admission of being the underdog, but the language used here is very important:

1. We all like to back the underdog
2. Better Future, recognises we are upset
3. Fight, Fighting Back, etc. are all incredibly powerful statements when we have 2-3 young soldiers dying each day in Afghanistan…

This is good spin…

It is now vitally important that Conservatives point out that Gordo is not fighting back in Afghanistan, nor is he helping the UK fight back unemployment , nor has he fought back against the bonus banking culture. The only think he is fighting for is credibility within a tired Government.

THE MORE IMPORTANT NEWS TODAY IS:

Angela Merkel has claimed victory in the national elections in Germany that took place today. Her victory is enhanced by the fact that center-right parties won the elections overall, giving Merkel the opportunity to form a center-right government that is business friendly…

Merkel was popular because of her stable, calm governance of the economic situation. During the election, she appealed to the German people to not take a chance by changing horses in mid-stream (so to speak)…Surly this is bad news as it provides confidence for Gordo (who stood next to Merkel last week at G20)? NOT SO!

The German centre right campaigned for a stronger line against the banks, more prudence in public services and a pledge for TAX CUTS!

The German public were not stupid, they knew that only investment in Industry and individuals will bring with it the growth that will allow you to tax and address the public spending deficit. They gave a resounding NO VOTE to those party’s taking the left of centre view!

Now we have exposed the argument that both the Tories and Labour will cut services, we should not shy away from committing to targeted tax cuts that will stimulate recovery. They should be:

- Employers NIC breaks for employers investing in training
- Tax Breaks for those making house hold investments in broadband and technology (that will facilitate reductions in spending on public services as we can reduce the cost of delivering them)
- Tax Increases on Banking Bonus’s

Now is the time for some George Osbourne slam dunking!

IT WILL BE TAX POLICY THAT WINS THE NEXT ELECTION…NOT SPEND POLICY!

Back by popular demand, John Laity with another thought provoking guest blog.  Over to you John.

———————————————————

Weebles Wobble but they don’t fall down

So after a week of media wind up we all were starting to believe that President Obama was going to snub poor old Gordo.

There was going to be no room at the “cool” table for our Prime Minister as he was not a player…Did you fall for it?

When it comes to spin there is nobody better than the Labour Party.

Sat in his corporate Learjet, soaring around North America, surrounded by press. Did anyone think to ask him about his carbon footprint? Or make the obvious comment that whilst he flew half the BBC around North America, our troops in Afghanistan were having to hire in aging Soviet helicopters for provide air cover and air transport…

…No of course not. We were falling hook line and sinker for the slight of hand.

“Brown nosing” was named after our Gordo and whilst we were wanting him to feel uncomfortable, he was playing his trump card.

You see the sheen has worn off President Obama. He is struggling with health care reform. His polls are slumping. He too is plagued by Casualty figures, Recession and rising Unemployment…There was just no way he was going to do anything difficult, other than postpone his meeting with the UK to smack Gordo a but for freeing Libya’s Bomber.

So prior to going into Party Conference, Gordo gets his one-to-one back patting session. For all the World to see, President “Chef” Obama served Gordo a delicious platter of Chocolate Salty Balls on how things are starting to getting better…

Gone was the Obama “Each of us will make it happen”, in was the new “Look you have to believe in what we are doing, because things are getting better”

Gordo sucked long on the Balls and will now deliver it back at conference.

Poor David Cameron…His balls are about to be burned as the Labour party Spin Monster begins to take over. By the end of Conference, Gordo will have single handedly solved the economic melt down…

Some suggestions on how to beat the Spin Monster:

1. David, stop asking for a televised debate….It looks like you are picking on the inept.

2. David, get on a VC10 out of Brize Norton. Go to Afghanistan, but DO NOT WEAR A SUIT! Get yourself in a snatch land rover and go on patrol. (Have the press see you having a Ross Kemp butt clenching experience!) DO NOT WONDER ABOUT TALKING TO TROOPS! Get on the front line, with a blue flack jacket and helmet on. Kiss the ground and swear as the Taliban dish you up some lead based laxative. Then come back to the UK and tell us what you found out we need. Meet some bereaved families, support those who need help.

3. David, do an OK photo shoot or better yet get your wife on the cover of GQ. It is called “doing a Berlusconi”. We will all hate you because your wife is hot, but equally all want to be you…So we will vote for you…donate the proceeds to Help for Hero’s or indeed any Charity close to your heart.

4. Keep doing what you are doing…weebles can’t wobble, when they are knee deep in crap.