Interesting - very!

From Guido Fawkes:

Welcome to Blog-Land

Rumbles in the blogging world today as the upstarts over at The Commentator have managed to sign James Delingpole to write for them as well as the Telegraph Blogs. Given that HM’s Official Blogroll are already suffering from the loss of Toby Young to the Sun on Sunday, Guido does not imagine this has gone down very well over in Victoria. With Delingpole consistently topping the weekly Telegraph online rankings, thiscould be a big break through for the newbie site. Rumour has it we will be hearing a lot more from Delingpole in the coming years, from an official podium… 

Two immediate questions:


1. How long will his position on the Telegraph remain intact;


2. And from what 'official podium'.


Just asking.............

Priorities?

This blog has long maintained that the basic problem with the lack of calibre exhibited by our Members of Parliament is that the vast majority consider being elected as an MP is but the first step on a career ladder, one that holds out the possibility of personal power, perks and thereby self-gratification. This accusation has been confirmed by an article in the Daily Telegraph in which one MP has decided to give this question of promotion a little 'Mensch'. As presently we have a representative democracy, presumably it is reasonable to assume that the aim of being elected as an MP is primarily to represent one's constituents and not personal advancement.


There are some in the blogosphere who do spend time attempting to raise the matter of the deficits in our politics and democracy and it might help if the leading, self-proclaimed, blogger concentrated on serious matters rather than tittle-tattle, especially if he wishes to maintain that the 'the Guidoisation of politics is to continue apace'.


David Cameron, in his New Year message, said that the Government will tackle excess in the City with the same energy that it is clamping down on benefits cheats - perhaps Dav il Cam might like to put his own house in order first?


Just saying......................

That 'EUnnoying' debate

There is much is being written, in the media, about the forthcoming debate on a motion for a referendum to be debated in the House of Commons, including an article by Graham Brady in today's Daily Telegraph, one that can be accessed via Richard North. Paul Waugh, Politics Home, makes great play of the news that those Conservative MPs who have signed Nuttall's motion has grown to 60 and has also just announced on Twitter that Ed Miliband is instructing his MPs to vote against the motion. Likewise is Guido Fawkes reporting that Nick Clegg is imposing a three-line whip on his MPs.

That a frenzy is being built up over this debate, to the point of being utterly ridiculous, comes with a further posting by Guido Fawkes that upto 15 ministers and whips are prepared to defy the three-line whip that Cameron is reported to be imposing. Everyone seems to have forgotten that as this motion came from the Backbench Business Committee it must be voted on as written and as such the possibility of an amendment, one more favourable to Cameron et all, is not on the table. That is not to say that an alternative motion could not be tabled but then Bercow would be placed in a position of choosing that, when the Backbench Business Committee have in effect stated that they want the existing motion debated. Another point that seems to have escaped the notice of those partaking in this hysteria being built is that if Labour and the Liberal Democrats are whipped to vote against the motion, the motion is as good as lost anyway.

Not wishing to crow, but this latest political shannighan just confirms that which I have been saying for some time now - we do not live in a democracy, but in a democratised dictatorship! Methinks just for once Cameron's advice should be adopted by all and sundry, namely: "Calm down dears"!

As an aside, in the Daily Telegraph letters column today is one from Richard Craven, Pickering, West Yorkshire who writes that Mr. Cameron would do well to rememebr that it is the voters who elect MPs, not the Prime Minister and that those MPs should consider the wishes of their constitutents. He ends by pointing out that MPs should remember that voters have longer memories than they are given credit for.  With no disrespect to Mr. Craven, whose surname would appear to mirror his views, voters do appear to have extremely short memories - why else would Labour be holding an 8% lead in opinion polls?