And another thing…

OF COURSE, it’s “just a bit of fun”, as they say. But Yoosk have launched an online vote to try to identify “Britain’s Best MP”.

Having been asked to participate, along with Douglas Carswell, Lynne Feathrstone, Chris Mullin, David Howarth, Bob Russell, Gisela Stewart and Jo Swinson, I agreed to appear on video, answering a series of set questions, which were put to all the candidates.

The results don’t actually mean anything, of course (especially since Douglas is beating me by a margin of more than two-to-one at the moment). But if I win, I will have a series of t-shirts, posters, mousemats and calenders produced to mark my achievement.

Vote here up until 31 December.

A 38-YEAR-OLD man was said to be suffering from severe mental trauma this morning after he opened a newspaper and discovered that he was a Member of Parliament.

Douglas Carswell has spent the past four years referring to members of the House of Commons as “them”, “they” and “awful people”. This had led many people – including himself – to conclude that Mr Carswell was not only not an MP, but wouldn’t touch the job with a barge pole even if you paid him the average working wage.

Mr Carswell was last night unavailable for comment. His election agent said he was relieved that Mr Carswell’s shameful secret was now out in the open. “I’ve spent the last four years telling him I’m his accountant. At the 2005 election I had to tell him his nomination papers were actually his tax return.”

ON THE day that the Conservatives launch a new campaign trying to convince the electorate that they are a historically “progressive” force (no, seriously), a number of prominent Tory blogs have helpfully blown the gaffe.

While Dave waxes lyrical about how spiffing these wind farm thingies are, and how paying proles less than the minimum wage is…well, it’s just not cricket, is it?… along comes this from Tory Bear, slamming Ed Miliband for having the temerity to believe that global warming is man-made. Last time I checked, Tory Bear’s leader claimed to believe the same thing.

And then there’s Douglas Carswell, Daniel Hannan’s straight man, singing the praises of Ian Plimer, the Right’s latest climate change sceptic hero.

And then we have some wistful musings from Letters From a Tory, clearly annoyed that more Tory MPs aren’t following Christopher Chope’s example by trying to undermine the national minimum wage.

And let’s not even mention Nadine’s cheeky introductory sentence to her latest post:

I have returned home from holiday to a diary as full as a state grammar school.

Hmm? Should I have said that?

Why shouldn’t she? After all, if she was hinting that she’s in favour of moving backwards from the state comprehensive system to the eleven-plus, then there’s no reason to obscure her views, especially if , as I strongly suspect is the case, they are supported by the majority of her party.

And that’s the point: Tory Bear, Douglas Carswell, Letters From A Tory and Nadine are all mainstream Tory bloggers. It’s fair to assume, therefore, that their views are fairly mainstream (in Tory terms) too.

Conservative? Absolutely. Progressive? Nowehere near.

LISTEN carefully — there are instructions associated with this particular blogpost: just make sure you press “play” and read the post while the music’s playing. You’ll understand what I mean when you hear it. Honestly, the effort I go to for you lot…

 

 Tom's Top Ten Blogs: Play Now | Play in Popup

Introducing my Top Ten Blogs, as submitted to the Total Politics Blog Poll 2009:

And kicking off this year’s Top Ten, at Number 10, it’s Scottish Unionist, who is still keeping the (Union) flag flying and winding up nationalists on a daily basis. Okay, I admit that’s not difficult, but SU does it with enthusiasm and style.

At Number 9 we have the “citizen legislator” himself, Tory MP Douglas Carswell, whose blog rarely features anything I agree with but is well-written, succinct and consistent. Totally bonkers, of course, but a good read (and if Douglas chooses to use any quote of mine as an endorsement, guess which bit of that last sentence will be edited out…?)

At Number 8, Hopi Sen’s A blog from the backroom, one of the classiest and best-written blogs around. I don’t always agree with his analysis (though a touch more than I do with Douglas Carswell’s…) but it’s always well reasoned. He’s dead brainy, is Hopi.

At Number 7 it’s Alastair Campbell. Too much about soccerball for my liking, but as well written as you would expect and as sound as a pound politically.

In at Number 6 it’s another parliamentary colleague, Kerry McCarthy, with Fun and Japes With Veganism Shot By Both Sides. Really well written and relevant, Kerry is one of the best political bloggers around.

Sadie’s Tavern is at Number 5 and could never conceivably have been left out of my Top Ten. She just makes me laugh every time I visit her blog. Totally brilliant.

There’s no such thing as a Top Ten list of political blogs that doesn’t include Iain Dale’s Diary, which is my Number 4. Love him or loathe him, Iain has defined political blogging in the UK. Frankly, I probably wouldn’t be blogging if it weren’t for the example Iain has set over the years.

Jeff Breslin of SNP Tactical Voting is my Number 3. Though Scottish nationalism is utterly odious to me, his blog is a great read: pithy, clever and occasionally wise. Probably the best political blog in Scotland.

Just missing my top spot is Dizzy Thinks. Okay, so he’s a Tory, but he’s done more than most to persuade us that blogging can be a serious form of journalism. His tireless efforts to scan lists of EDMs and parliamentary written answers put many mainstream journalists to shame and he regularly comes up with some political nuggets. Wish he was on our side…

And at Number 1 (are you still hitting that “play” button?) it’s a new entry: the totally brilliant Blackburn Labour. These guys really ought to get a day job, but until they do, long may they continue providing some great entertainment. They make having a go at the Tories look like fun — a precious commodity in the Labour Party these days. If the only post they did in the last year was the Tory logo generator, that alone would have been enough for them to grab the top spot.

Remember — you have until the end of this week to submit your own personal Top Ten blogs. You can vote here. And don’t be swayed by any shameless appeals by self-publicising egotistical MPs to vote for them.

So that’s it for another year. These are simply my personal favourite blogs, the ones I read most often. I’ve tended to exclude those which aren’t updated all that often and those written by professional journalists on their media organisations’ websites; my view is that voting for the likes of Ben Brogan in this poll is akin to playing David Beckham in a Sunday league football game.

Okay, you can switch the music off now.

LESS than a day in the job and already the media are writing John Bercow’s political obituary. The knives are out because some Tories aren’t happy that the rest of the House didn’t agree with them on who the Speaker should be.

But more of that in a minute; first, a confession.

After announcing on this blog and elsewhere in the media that I was supporting John, yesterday I changed my mind. Based on nothing more than the strength of the candidates’ speeches, I voted for Parmjit Dhanda in the first round and then for George Young in the subsequent two rounds. Fickle, I know, but I thought it better to change my mind and support who I thought would be best for the job rather than simply stick to my guns. Consistency, as I have said before, is a much overrated quality in politics.

But John Bercow is the new Speaker. He won by a healthy margin and Tories who are now throwing their toys out of the pram should start behaving themselves.

Contrast the comments today of two prominent Tory back benchers. Nadine Dorries’s behaviour last night in the chamber and this morning on the Today programme was ungracious to say the least. According to Nadine, the Tories, who make up well short of a third of the House of Commons, should have been allowed a veto on the choice of Speaker, though she fails to explain this absurd position. Her ostentatious shaking of her head as John was ceremoniously "dragged" to the Speaker’s chair, and her audible "Not in my name" at the same time, were more about her well-known talent for attention-grabbing than about any statement of principle. They were also an embarrassment to her party and her constituency.

And then there’s Douglas Carswell, prime mover behind the removal of Michael Martin from the Speaker’s chair and co-author, along with Tory MEP Daniel Hannan, of  "The Plan: Twelve Bonkers Solutions to Non-Existent Problems". Now, I disagree with Douglas on pretty much everything, but I like him. He’s honest and straightforward. And yesterday he voted for Richard Shepherd in the first round and for Bercow in the final ballot. He told Sky News:

John Bercow was not my first choice, but I voted for him in the final round and I think we must accept that he is the legitimate speaker and he is a reformist Speaker, which is good.

The electorate don’t like sore losers, and if the Tories have any sense, it is Carswell’s approach they will emulate, rather than the screeching partisanship of Dorries.

I didn’t vote for Bercow, but I have no doubt he will be a good Speaker. In a democracy, those who lose the vote must accept the result. If the Tories refuse to do that, they will be exposed as having no respect, either for the House, or for democracy itself.

HERE we go again.

My advertising policy on this site is pretty straightforward:

1. No ads from rival political parties to Labour;

2. Er…

3. That’s it with reagrd to this one.

Someone calling himself “A Colleague” had a bit of a fit yesterday in reaction to an advert promoting Daniel Hannan and Douglas Carswell’s book The Plan: Twelve Bonkers Solutions to Non-Existent Problems. He left this comment on a previous thread:

Why on earth are you letting Dan Hannan and Douglas Carswell to advertise their book on your blog???????

Setting aside the self-indulgence of so many question marks, is this person actually  ”a colleague”? Most colleagues whose opinions I value have either my mobile phone number or my private email address. No-one who hides behind a pseudonym can expect me to take his opinion seriously.

As to the Dan Hannan/Douglas Carswell ad and the one below from 38 Degrees, I place these in the same category as links in my blogroll: Douglas Carswell, Iain Dale, Guido Fawkes, Dizzy Thinks are all included. Some Labour people get annoyed at this. yet, try as I might, I just can’t bring myself to care. This is me paying respect to the free market in a very New Labour kind of way: blogs get high levels of traffic if they’re well-written and interesting, not because they happen to be included on Labour bloggers’ blogrolls.

Just don’t get any ideas from this ad, okay?

NO-ONE has yet explained to me exactly what procedure might allow the Commons to vote on a motion of no confidence in the Speaker this week.

Ben Brogan reports that William Hague hasn’t helped the Speaker’s position by “revealing that the Tories would offer their MPs a free vote on a confidence motion, which is a roundabout way of saying the Tories have also pulled the plug on Mr Martin.” In fact, if there is a vote, there is no question of any party whipping it: the election (and, although it hasn’t happened in modern history, the dismissal) of a Speaker has always been and always will be a matter for the House. Ministers, similarly, would not even be bound by an informal “payroll vote” whip.

I admit I’m no scholar of Erskine May, but I just don’t understand how a back bencher like Douglas Carswell can possibly secure time for a debate on this issue. 

Incidentally, while understanding (though not necessarily agreeing with) the grievances currently being voiced against Michael Martin, I think Douglas is a poor choice to lead this particular crusade. Yes, he feels he has good reason to put down a motion this week, but if it wasn’t expenses, it would be Damian Green, and if it wasn’t Damian Green it would be something else. Of course Douglas wants Michael Martin to step down — it is after all, a day with a “y” in it.

Surely the case against the Speaker would have a touch more credibility if it were being promoted by someone who has previously not criticised him, rather than by someone who has built a reputation on doing so?

WHAT two things do these right-wing blogs have in common?

Iain Dale
ConservativeHome
Dizzy Thinks
Donal Blaney
Guido Fawkes
Spectator Coffee House
Douglas Carswell

Okay, don’t bother guessing — I’ll tell you. All of these blogs (and I’m sure many others on the right) promoted Daniel Hannan’s speech in the European Parliament announcing that the government had nationalised the car industry.

And the second thing they all have in common is that not one of them carried The One’s latest pronouncement on the NHS.

Now, next question: why do you think that is?

I’LL BE appearing on The Westminster Hour on Radio 4 tonight at 10.00 pm.

Daniel Hannan’s “partner in crime“, Douglas Carswell MP, will be the other guest. No idea what subjects we’ll be expected to discuss, but I’m guessing MPs’ expenses won’t be far from the top of the agenda. And Hannan’s own rapid rise to fame will be up for discussion, I expect.

JOHN Prescott is right, of course, to hail the viral impact of the Daniel Hannan video on YouTube as a sign of things to come.

I was about to write a second paragraph along the lines of “The way politics is covered is changing for good…” But that’s wrong. The growth of YouTube, blogging, Twitter and other forms of new media aren’t about “coverage” of politics because ‘coverage” is a one-way street; journalists tell us what they think we need/want to hear/read and we listen.

No longer. “Coverage” now means interactivity, dialogue, the electorate contributing their own perspective to the story of the day, or, indeed, breaking and shaping their own stories. The traditional (I hate the expression “dead tree press”) media just can’t do that. 

I was chatting to Tory MP Douglas Carswell (Hannan’s co-conspirator, as it happens) in the Members’ Lobby this week, and we were reflecting on the power of YouTube after the Hannan phenomenon (needless to say, he disagreed with my view that Hannan shouldn’t have attacked his prime minister on foreign soil, but let’s not re-open that one here). Not for the first time, I speculated about the scenario of every single candidate standing in all 646 seats in a general election each having a personal blog which they updated regularly throughout the campaign without interference from their parties’ HQs.

Scary stuff. And pretty chaotic, in all likelihood. That kind of development would radically change the whole nature of the party system. Who would want to be a general election co-ordinator when most, if not all, of your candidates were uploading their daily thoughts onto YouTube?

If anyone out there has an idea about how new media could change politics in general and general elections in particular, feel free to let us know.