It's Time: Time Lib Dem Shenanigans Were Publicised

Clearly when it came to the great allowances caper back in the summer the plaudits and awards were pretty evenly splt between the parties. Not just between Tories and Labour either. Proportionally the smaller parties also pulled their weight though you'd perhaps not realise it from the weight of the coverage.

The way The Telegraph played it, and the rest of the Mainstream Media (MSM) followed it was Labour first, numerically greatest, and most significant, being in government. Then Tories. Then Libs, SNP, Sinn fein and so on.

Having said that the Lib Dems, who we have to admit have a sound practice on London constituencies that helped keep their feeble elected representatives out of two homes trouble, though not all the unelected ones, they did miraculously escape with little obvious reputational damage. Their foibles were overshadowed. And statistically there were fewer of them, and mostly pretty anonymous at that.

As anyone who has examined any of their returns knows this "whiter than white" reputation couldn't be further from the truthful situation. They are mostly "at it". Where "at it" means pushing the envelope of life. But whereas the Tories prop up their aristo- millionaire lifestyle and the Socialists play catch up the Lib Dems have largely gone the delayed gratification route.

Laundering and farming money out of public coffers of various kinds into party coffers and onwards from there to produce an unending stream of smudgy party political literature. Delayed gratification because this is their way of surviving, passing GO! and picking up around another million pounds.

There should be a law against it. Possibly there is. Possibly what they get up to is "within the rules". Though that is moot.

Finally, last week, the Telegraph rather sneaked out an exposé of the Lib Dem sleazers handbook, with Campaigns Director Hilary Stephenson urging and coaching MPs to fill their boots by gaming every loop hole and grey area in the guidelines.

In fact LOL think the Telegraph story knowingly only just scrapes the surface. LOL believe that Benedict Brogan et al know this. And that they know a much greater story is in the pipeline.

One has only to create a matrix of the half dozen or so main tax pounds diversion schemes - outlined in the manual or not - and populate it from the allowances claims of the 63 Lib Dem MPs to see the patterns revealled. This can only be a matter of time.

We've put the figures in, turned the handle, and published ourselves on most of this for Rochdale's disgraceful Paul Rowen MP. Purely on a sample basis. He's such a self-righteous, pompous, self-regarding, light-weight, dissembling, hypocritical, got at tosser in our opinion. And he and his chums employ a bunch of dirty McBridivist smearologists. Every bit as nasty as D McBride. In fact in our humble opinion collectively rather worse.

PR Paul's just crying out to be exposed. And his thugees. And their allies in the town. Morally certainly and possibly close to financially bankrupt. And if not recalled to a by-election this side of Christmas then given the full fury of the voters when the general Election comes. Perhaps the Tories could be so kind as to select a candidate in a town where they were cock-a-hoop to "win" the Euro ballot. Why haven't they done so already?

CRY FOR HELP: Two weeks ago, on a Monday evening LOL are aware that one John Leech MP, the cancer hospital closure hoaxing Lib Dem MP for Manchester Withington, was partying away, somewhere or other.

Our information, double-sourced-and-more naturally, is that Mr Leech was er, "relaxed" after a few drinks. We're not going to say "tired and emotional" as that's a tired and emotional old cliché. But we're told his mood darkened over the course of a series of communications. Voices raised. Cudgels drawn.

His Blue Peter shoes were stamping angrily, his stubble was bristling, wasps were being chewed, brows were being furrowed, and his mode was not cool under pressure. We're told.

If you can corroborate any of the conversations Mr Leech had that evening that so darkened his countenance and flabbered his ghast please do drop us an email at the eddress above. Perhaps you were on the end of the 'phone at some point? Eavesdropping on his tantrums? Included in the loop conspiratorially?

More anon as they say. This is not so much a comedy as a tragedy but at 13 days out and counting we're not rushing into anything. We'd like to have our ducks lined up in a row. Good style.

Incidentally after four and a half years of minimal intern-slavery Mr Leech has also found himself simultaneously requiring THREE unpaid slave interns in Manchester. THREE! More on that too anon.