House of Cards: Ian Richardson RIP

A rather West Wing publicity still for Michael Dobbs' House of Cards.

Channel 4 News had a truly great Obit segment for the Shakespearian ac-tor Ian Richardson persuading two former Tory whippers to talk about (a) blackmailing recalcitrant members by offering to expose their adultery etc and (b) buying them off by getting them out of debt.

Meanwhile Nick Brown MP was excellent having opined that only Peter Mandelson on the Labour side could match the Tory excesses he said:
"Francis Urquhart was a high Tory ... but he clearly believed in something. Which is not something that could ever be said about Peter Mandelson."

Urquart Sites: HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Meanwhile LoL found this BBC report from 1999.

Suggesting that Tony Blair was then facing a House of Cards situation. Mandy, natch, gets a good mensch.