Sunday Times: Non-Story Mangled By Orwell Prize Loser

Iain Dale has repeated, well actually not repeated rather mangled some very thin Sunday Times guff, even by their lowly standards.

The original story repeats some hearsay from "a friend" of a "government minister" who asked friends not to be named but allegedly bet on Gordon Brown's Labour winning the next General Election but without an outright majority. At this point the unsubstantiated and unsourced gossip runs GB must "form a coalition" with the Lib Dems for the "minister" to win. Apparently the odds, summer 2007, were 66-1. The Sunday Times also assert that there is nothing in the ministerial code to stop MPs betting on hung parliaments.



Iain's story slams "modern journalism" - just as he slams Orwell Prize judges above - as he believes reporter David Leppard should have named this MP. Whose name David probably doesn't even know, given the supposed source and their supposed loyalty to the "minister". We'd wager someone too junior to really deserve such a title if there is any truth to this. Has it now been devalued to any MP holding a government job, paid or unpaid, however insignificant? Like all Lib Demmers are in fact Shadow Mimicsters for something or other?

Iain also carelessly talks of Gordon Brown "losing" if he gets most seats. I think, to be honest, that Gordon might take this. And consider it a win. Only true believers like myself and John from round the corner still believe in the overall majority.

Corals told the ST that the odds for a Lib-Lab government now would be 3-1 but would have been not much better than 10-1 back in August 2007 when the alleged bet was supposedly placed. This calls the whole story into doubt I'd say. And the word "coalition" is of course very problematic as Lib Dems would never do one of those.

If we are to call the journalism into question at all it would be that post-McBride the Sunday Times have run this tosh at all. Andy Coulson, the disgraced royal phone tapper and bin diver, now heading up spin for Dave "Change of Ethos" Cameron, for a salary THREE TIMES the new higher rate threshold, is said to be delighted.

Though he's not so sure about Nadine's carrying on. And wouldn't it be hilarious if McBride himself is cashing in all the trivial nonsense and unfounded nonsense he ever knew - saving up for when Nadine's lawyers accept "an undisclosed sum" (aka £500 to charity) and a further apology for virtually unpublished smears which we only know referred to Nadine through her own runaway train crash of a PR machine.