LOL Comment: Praise For Iain Dale's Tory Coming Out Party

It's late. But needs must blog. Illustration above: Steve Bell.

LOL say Tory Pride event tonight - what a triumph. Like a dog walking on its hind legs. Et cetera. Look it up on Google. Apologies to women preachers everywhere. Partying gay tories are I feel more deserving of those remarks --> Tories, some Tories, getting to, say, 1979 consciousness on gay rights, walking in an ungainly fashion with the odd woof breaking through. But we must nonetheless be impressed.

This is clearly a great leap forward from the chemical castration of Alan Turing. Whichever parties and sentiments and tendancies were involved in that. Caught or 'fessed up in the cottage bogs at what was The Long Bar, under what became Rotters, formerly The Gaumont cinema, or thereabouts. Which - fact fans - is literally only about 100 metres south down Oxford Street from the Manchester Central stockade.

Labour's favourite Ashcroft-controlled Tory Boy Blogger Iain Dale has of course been these jolly Tories' ring leader.

LOL say: well done Iain! 100% wrong on 99% of human politics, capable of being carried away in untrue and illogical directions, 100% wrong on most technical issues economic or environmental. But now 50% right on equal rights for gayers of all stripes.

Being a gayer yourself this will of course be typical Tory selfishness kicking in! Empathy with other groups shouldn't be too much of a stretch really? Though a rich person who is gay/black/woman/elder/disabled has often been immune from the harshest downsides of prejudice and disadvantage.

While Tory ideologies will hammer working/underclass gayers.

Leaving aside petty party politics and class war in general, tbf, Iain's Tory Pride party = quite a good thing.

At the same time, given that Tories in the European Parliament are led by Michal Kaminski - an Equality Retard, in spades, doubled and redoubled - any and all protests also deserve 100% LOL support.

And rocking Tory Shame parties at poptastic? Also an understandable and undeniable HiNRG protest at 500 years of Tory "pouff" and "dyke" and "odd" and "queer" and "gay" and "lezzer" and "homo" and "not like us" bashing.

Having a Party at Spirit is a great leap forward Iain Dale. Sincerely, well done. But you must surely now recognise the imperative to disassociate from the loons of central-east europe you are currently entangled with? And to consider the other minorities and constituencies also disadvantaged by Tory ideas going forward?

Relying on meritocracy -> won't do. Accepting existing advantage, and disadvantage -> won't do. Making others' struggles for equality subordinate to your own -> won't do.

Hannan's swivel-eyed mates. Get rid. Tell them firmly to go swivel. Then you can be proud of your party. But right now? Ground breaking event -> kudos. Real progress -> here's hoping. With Michal and Co in charge -> you're pissing in the wind.

Another Tour de Force: Prezza Reveals Tory Housing Con

Another Tour De Force from Former Deputy PM, New Labour window dressing, tweeter extraordinaire on Go Fourth. The YouTube above is a little hard to view there, so reproduced above, or at it's YouTube Home at which, incidentally you can also easily find JP's other videotastic exploits. A couple of extracts:

You could say this is a rogue council. But what amazed me is that Grant Shapps, London Tory Council Leaders and the Boris Johnson's Deputy Mayors, attended a secret meeting to discuss social housing under the Tories. Also attending that meeting was Stephan Greenhalgh, the leader of Hammersmith and Fulham who openly advocates the abolition of Social Housing.

(..)

They say estates are ''barracks for the poor," "hard to get rid of," "what is a poor person," "how brave will politicians be on rent control and tenue" and they need to "knock it down and start again."

And most telling of all "The sacred cows need to be shot."

This is the REAL Tory Housing Plan.

Grant Shapps said he wanted to turn Britain into a "nation of homebuilders." He actually meant a nation of home movers - moving people out of their communities and out of Tory constituencies.


Looks like the spirit of Dame Shirley Porter still lives on in the Tory Party.

Dame Shirley Porter, Godmother of all Tory housing sleazers, being the gazillionaire fugitive former Conservative Council leader and law-breaker and bad-debter who bribed residents with homes for votes. Googles up a storm.

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.

Take It To The Bridge: Who Is Paying The Atlantic Piper?

Further to yesterday's post and today with a Peter, Paul and Mary / John Denver interlude ... I'm loving the mid-song advertising ... Having seen Manchester blogger Stephen Newton at "a bit of a do" last night I had an inkling of what was to come in Atlantic Bridge Corrupt Conservative Tax Rip Off Charity part two.

An organisation first mentioned on this blog we think HERE as we worried about the Rabid Slash and Burn Neo-Con Wolves lurking beneath the Cuddly visage of the new age Tories.

Essentially it seems that by gaming Gift Aid and wire transfers across the briny and as a higher rate tax payer Tory trougher one can donate £600 to the Atlantic Bridge only for an additional £400 to be put in your Holiday Club by the tax-payer, with your travel subvention of £1000 then arriving from Atlantic Bridge Inc, the Washington end of this resplendent laundry.



One Stephen Hammond, above apparently competing with a wobbly videographer in the squiffy stakes, is of the Tory intake of 2005 and representing the Wimbledon Centre Court, Strawberries and Pimms constituency, and showing absolutely no sign of malnourishment, has benefited from Atlantic Bridge travel vouchers. We're particularly impressed by his local (but not lo-cal!) campaigning HERE. And by his groupie video hagiography HERE (52 hits) confirming, fear not, that Mr Hammond has NEVER voted for equal rights for Gayers, is a Trident missile big boy, and "is a man of integrity, and his wife Sally more so ..."

On the face of it there's no obvious trace of a £600 donation by him or on his behalf to the Atlantic Bridge UK charidee or of a related Gift Aid claim to add almost 67% to his burgeoning pot. Perhaps traces will emerge in due course as Charity Commission SOCO teams take the Atlantic Bridge books apart forensically?

But as Stephen says this Mr Hammond must actually be pretty important, or possibly have been mistaken for his namesake Phillip, a Shadowy Cabinet Minister, and there do appear to be some Hammond name recognition issues on the Tory benches after all.

But this Mr Hammond is himself apparently a Shadowy Transport Mimicster. And on his PCA-funded website he has a naughty party political dig at his predecessor and quotes the Times stating that he is one of the 50 saintly MPs who have so far troubled the scorers the least.

Perhaps it will be the fabled Atlantic Bridge that blows his reputation out of the water. We'll have to wait and see.

For the moment we will simply note another little anxiety. That Hammond S has but two significant employees. One of whom is his wife Sally. Another a researcher called Ben.

Between them they trousered, or pursed, the lion's share of £93,901 in 2007-08. A £20,000 increase since 05-06. Others employ up to four workers for this budget. If this Ben is on a bog standard parliamentary researcher salary this is gonna leave a hell of a lot in the pot for Mrs Stephen Hammond. Even perhaps equivalent to an MP's take?

But she does know Wimbledon ever so well. And she has worked under various other Tories at Westminster, woman and girl since 1984.

Stephen Newton also names four if it were possible even more obscure Tories. Backbenchers/very minor mimicsters who have had USA travel and accommodation donations registered from Atlantic Bridge donor Mr Michael Lewis. Via the office of Dr Liam Fox who chairs the Atlantic Bridge (UK) advisory board. Alas none of them share a surname with a Shadow Cabinet Mimicster though AB may perhaps be involved in some way, we just don't know:

Mark Harper of Forest of Dean who has six named staff and an intern with a lower budget, which doesn't really add up, he is Shadow Mimicster for Disabled People; John Penrose of Weston-Super-Mare whose spouse if a Director at Sainsbury while he is a Shadow Mimicster for BERR; Brooks Newmark of Braintree, not quite commutable for this chap it seems, though no family members trough immediately alongside him; and Philip Dunne of Ludlow with the farthest constituency from Westminster but no ACA, then again he has a family farm at home to run. Dunne is also Assistant Whip, Deputy Party Chairman, Deputy Chairman of the International Office with responsibility for Conservatives Abroad. He is also a Conservative appointed Governor of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy.

As a "Charity" focussed story we're thinking that this may be another one that just keeps on giving. There are going to be big beasts, apart from Dr Faux involved, we can feel it in our salty waters.

The Atlantic Bridge: Good Cause or Sham? Who Pays The Piper?

Above you'll find one Davey Spillane blowing up a storm on his uillean pipes. Back in our music promotion and management days we worked with him on a number of occasions, spookily at the time of this Atlantic Bridge song and the Out of the Air album it's taken from. You may know Spillane from his Moving Hearts days? But I digress. Today's lesson is about a very different "Atlantic Bridge". Apparently so furtive that there are no AV records of their activities responding to Googling. Pointers appreciated.

LOL's fellow Chorlton-based Labour blogger Stephen Newton has taken a look at the Tory-Through-and-Through "charity" and "think tank" of the same name as the piper's tune The Atlantic Bridge and finds them in shameless defiance of Charity Commission rules, cancelled from the Con Con Fringe under the cloud of a probe which Stephen triggered, and looking for all the world like a Sham Cam Scam. What follows is a precis cum annotation of the first part of Stephen's highly recommended investigation.

This "charity" appears to mainline on sponsorship of predominantly private and sometimes clandestine events at which senior Con Men – including shadowy cabinet mimicsters – and their rather rabid US allies may "bond" behind closed doors. Far from the disinfectant of sunlight. Never mind the democratisation of You Tube.

Their Con Con Fringe promised: "members of the Shadow Cabinet ... joined by a prominent American leader." Cancellation means these rabid types have been denied their anti-NHS anti-EU bonding opportunity. No chance now to defy Andy Burnam’s call to ban anti-NHS Tories from the Manchester event. At least, they're not now visible on the public agenda.

Stephen invites readers to: Come back at 9am tomorrow to learn about the Atlantic Bridge Travel Club: Atlantic Bridge submission to Charity Commission implies, ‘well planned, systematic corruption.’

As Stephen reports a charity must never endorse a political party or indeed play any part in party politics. So, the weaselly Atlantic Bridge Sham Cam Scam achieved charitable status in 2003 by claiming to be an education and research scheme or think tank.

TAB's Honorary Patron Margaret Thatcher glossed this "charity" as ‘a bulwark against the… people on the left’ and the Advisory Board is a who's who of Tory wingnuts in high places: shadowy limp biscuit chancellor George Osborne, former Tory leader and beer monster and shadow foreign secretary William Hague, shadow (multiple) home secretary Chris Grayling and two other shadow cabinet members. Another shadow minister, a hereditary Conservative peer and a backbench Tory MP complete the UK line-up, reports Stephen.

This may of course be different to the legal Board of Trustees of the "charity" and as this tale is told it will be interesting to see who's on that one, and whether there have been any interesting desertions or additions cf The Policy Exchange.

STOP PRESS: This is very different indeed. The Board are as follows with a mere three of them identified as "Trustees". Which in itself would be a cause for concern in terms of charitable credentials and good governance. Here's the names and you'll find the "Advisory Board" US and Uk also listed at the link:

The Charity Commission is it seems unaware of any case of a charity being identified as a sham by a court in England and Wales.

The Atlantic Bridge may be the first. And based on the parliamentary estate in Portcullis House to boot.

How very embarrassing this could be. Room 341. That translucent charities crusader Guido Fawkes and his Sunlight COPS will be onto this directly, without fear or favour.

*FOOTNOTE: Guido Fawkes / Dead Gaza Children / Advertising Dollars montage sourced from the magnificent Beau Bo D'Or. Sunlight Arsehole as rosette, clumsily added by LOL Graphics. Incidentally Stephen Newton is also responsible for the delightful Buffing the Banana with Paul Dacre Mail-watching service. Delivering the gloss without the muck.

The Sun Says Debacle: Rupert Murdoch Left With Piles

LOL completed the long journey back to civilisation at 3am this morning with a bizarre route choice through the very heart of the still congested metropolis between about 10:30 pm and midnight as well as a a Service Station breakfast barm pit stop at 1 am.

Something notable was observed at petrol station, convenience store and service station alike. Newspapers baled up. On the SOR system. Sale or Return.

Rupert Murdoch's Sun will be pulping an awful lot of leftovers this morning. Pile on the left contains all the other titles. Pile on the right "The Sun Has Lost It" detritus. Such a crying shame that a "once great" "family newspaper" should find itself hoist by its own petard.

The Great British public voted with their feet and chose Peter and Jordan, and indeed the range of serious papers that told the speech as it was. From the Daily Mirror gushing for page after page after blooming page to the "Last Throw (of the Dice)" sub-editors clump of the more Independent and others.

PHOTOGRAPH: Grrrr. GetMessage system is proving a bit slow. Imagine the two piles for now. The Sun pile - to the right - is towards twice as big as the apparent The Rest pile to the left.