Common Endeavour » Caroline Spelman

Morning roundup, Wednesday 4th March 2009

Sadie Smith — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 09:41:17 +0000

On the fourth day of March, my true love gave to me: a bunch of Tories a-leaking spinning, Jon "I have only one tone of voice - APPALLED OUTRAGE!" Craig a-butt kissing, and a Conservative MP with surprisingly progressive views on state-provided childcare when it relates soley and exclusively to Conservative MPs. Anyone fancy working on a musical score? More on this later;

The disappointment of the meedja that Obama wanted to meet with the Gord at all finds its natural outlet as the assembled press corps take to bitchin' on their blogs. Ladies, ladies, please! What happened to decorum on state visits, huh? Cameron's favourite cheerleader sees conspiracy (natch) against all the available evidence, Sam Coates - perhaps inadvertantly - skewers the salivating, whilst Hopi has a handy cut-out-and-keep guide to how reporting of such events work;
Fears grow that the Office for National Statistics has gone all Electoral Commission on our asses;
... and who wants to attend an entirely impartial event asking how liberal the Labour Party is (we suspect this is about the rights of Porter-warriors in the commuter belt not to be bothered by speed cameras, rather than the abolition of Section 28, civil partnerships, the HFE Bill and the introduction of rights for lesbian couples to have IVF and put themselves down as the parents on the birth certificate, and all that stuff), with the modern day incarnation of Ramsay MacDonald as the guest of honour? Hmmm. If anyone else wants to join me in removing both my nipples with a rusty spoon instead, you'll be very welcome.

Andreas Paterson — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 09:47:47 +0000

"Local decision making is important provided it's made by Conservative councils" appears to be the long and short of it. So says Caroline Spelman.

Sadie Smith — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:54:37 +0000

[Apologies for the late start people, the tubes were on the blink]

The row over RBS' munificence with taxpayers' money rumbles on; the approach of the bankers involved appears to be, in the words of Tom Freeman's rather catchy bus slogan, "please give generously or the economy gets it";
One man who is not impressed by this is the irrepressible John Prescott who is threatening to get all clawback on those city boys' asses (via Sam Coates).

Bad news in the polls: Labour on 28, Tories on 40, and the LibDems on 22 according to ICM. More here from UK Polling report;
The Dale-Draper smackdown grinds interminably on as the blogosphere steels itself for months of tedium;
Peter Oborne thinks that Jacqui Smith should go to gaol. Funnily enough, there's no mention of Conway, D. or Spelman, C. in his article on "corrupt politicians." An oversight, we're sure;
Henry Porter scales still greater heights of pomposity: "Labour is committed to its course of eroding the traditions, procedures and respect on which our free society is based. It will not rest until all its costly systems are in place and its legacy of control and disrespect is assured." And it's murdered all the cute kittens, Henry, don't forget the kitten murder;
... and Paul Linford wins the prize of a chocolate watch for being the 10 millionth pundit to use the hi-LAR-ious gag "snow joke" in discussing Britain's transport infrastructure in the wake of the bad weather last week.