Rainbow Defections: So Last Year but Tartan Set Set to Join In?

Defective Lib Dem PPCs were everywhere with three of seven gained by the Tories given jolly good references here.

Iain Dale's predictions suggested some Lab>>Con treachery with just one name in the frame.

Respect got in on the act enticing a reliable recruit who already had Labour and the Lib Dems to his name and may now be asked to vote Tory along with the other Trots. And who knows? Perhaps also send comradely messages of solidarity to the emerging Tory-Trot alliance in Tower Hamlets. You heard it here first.

There was of course a brilliant Manchester gain from the Lib Dems to Labour adding to their pain on losing four at the ballots. But in this case it was their bullied £23,000 benefactor. Leader Simon Ashley should have jumped then. Now sadly he'll have to be pushed.

Today in Scotland The Sunday Herald don't seem altogether downhearted that a lifelong Union-minded Labourite Westminster MP is dallying with rampant SNP-ery.

Three or four years ago I gave a gimmick of a political Chameleon to Labour up here. They laughed and said it was too daft. But didn't take long to come up with it again themselves, targeting Dave/id rather than the Lib Dems with the twist in their tales, their slippery tongues, and their yellow bellied chameleon politics. Now they'll have to add a tartan dimension to the meme. Though of course Dave/id has already changed back and forth once or twice on the devolution question.

Hats off to Dave's Part for the SP on the Herald.

Daily Mail Online: Rotten Hypenation and Rotten Libel with "Lord Levy's Call-Girl"

Hat tip to Guido for this Daily Mail web mistake which meant to sully the deceased Tory Lord Lambton's reputation rather than creating business for libel lawyers Suet, Stake and Kid-ney*:


As in "Bill Kenwright but Walt Dis-ney" ...

Shock Horror: Telegraph/Spectator Writer "May Vote Tory Before 40th Birthday"

ASTONISHING really that New Labour is just now driving latterly socialist Telegraph/Spectator writers to the right, like this. Expecting to vote Tory before they are even 40 years of age.

These cuddly suburban folk are the very people - labelled unsophisticated but self-serving middle classes - that John Reid is here urging the new, future leader of the Labour Party (which might it seems not be himself) to keep on board. Keep on board that is by staying strictly "New Labour" as defined by John Reid - and his slightly weedy disciple Tony Blair.

My own preference of course would be for Labour to regain the support of working people across the board with unselfish ideals of solidarity, equality, fairness, public service, peace, safety and justice.

Coupled with economic competence. It has sometimes felt recently like hand-to-hand fighting; New Labour clearing our natural supporters street by street, acting against workers' interests.
Telegraph/Spectator folk are now allegedly drifting leftwards to DD's brand of liberalism.

Blair's Ugly Rumours: Peace Benefit Recording Flop?

The LoL story here reckoned the Respect folks would triumph with their record download and certainly make top ten with the Ugly Rumours cover version of War which was once and still remains in good company a guaranteed floor filler from Edwin Starr. But, alas, at the time of writing the recording was not yet in the top 100. It has to be said that the Respect target of 30,000 downloads is all very well, but charting top 10 is still possible with a few hundred physical sales in the right shops.

POSSIBLE STRATEGY: Go back to the story here and download a few copies for next week's chart? Or press 1000 CDs and stick them in the right shops - and buy them back quick as you like in the old capitaliste styl-ee.

Widdlesex: Anne Convinces Beardy Michael that Tales of Latin Lover are 'Without Foundation'

Utter pants - scurrilous satire here.

Danny Finkelstein: Political Calculus - consider the case as the vote tends to zero

Danny suggests here that some of us Labour Party people can gather together 34 different votes in the upcoming, hopefully upcoming Leadership elections. He dashes my hopes by missing out the Co-op Party and probably upset the celtic fringes by missing out our AMs and MSPs too. But he doesn't seem to understand the arithmetic at all.

There are three components in our electoral college.

The 400 or so parliamentarians get 33.333% of the say. A just a little smidge under 0.1% each.

The 200,000 ordinary members split the next 33.333%. A magnificent 0.0002% each. Doubling with apathy.

And finally the levy paying Trade Unionists who number around 4,000,000 and the total membership of all the socialist societies have a minute stake in the last 33.333%. Or 0.000001%. Quadrupling with the apathy we expect unless there is a decent contest with a personality and/or a policy platform for everyone.

The way everyone tells it only clunks of 44 members of the Parliamentary Labour Party can get a candidate onto the ballot paper but the whisper is that constituencies and affiliates who understand the rules could band together and put their favoured candidate in the running.

Does this person even need to be a parliamentarian? And as Parburypolitica points out in the direction of lawyer Harriet Harman a quick shufty at the election rubric would show her that the election is for leader and deputy leader of the party and not for Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister (if any).
Hands up who thinks Harriet'll be a good DPM, I mean DL ...

Jocky Wilson Says: Mike Read is 'Only an Idiot'

Kevin Rowland of Dexy's Midnight Runners recounts how his fine band persuaded the BBC Top of the Pops producer to put up a big FO picture of cuddly darts player Jocky Wilson instead of Jackie Wilson of Reet Petite fame.

"But Kevin," the producer said "people will think we made a mistake." Rowland told him only an idiot would think that.

The morning after, the DJ Mike Read shared his thoughts with the world: "Bloody Top of the Pops. How could they mix up one of the great soul singers with a Scottish darts player?" But it was OK, thank goodness. Only an idiot would think that. The Tories should be grateful they have leaders of such high calibre ready to ruin London.

Much more on Mr Read and some other Tory mayoral idiots anon.
Montage: LoL graphics.