Simon Danczuk MP: Soaring Majestically from the Springboard of Parliamentary Oratory

Rochdale's new Labour MP Simon Danczuk has made his maiden speech (gentrified Hansard text), soaring majestically from the springboard of parliamentary oratory left behind by his predecessor, the wretched button busting heavyweight Paul Rowen. Simon spoke on injustice in Palestine as well as on the signal failure of Rochdale's LibDem and ConDem councils to seize the opportunities provided by Labour to turn their for the birds mudbath into an industrial park, and their tumbleweed shopping desert into a bustling high street.

Simon also worked in a thanksgiving Gillian Duffy riff. Well he might. Gordon Brown's controversial intervention hit the spot in a fantastically unexpected and largely unseen way for Rochdale's Asian communities.

Here was a most senior politician who not only attempted to reason with Mrs Duffy's generalisations, but also called her "a sort of a bigoted woman".

He may have got the wrong end of the stick, or not, but he spoke up for immigrant people under the cosh. Noticed and appreciated. And what's more his apology was noticed and appreciated by other sections of the community.

Not necessarily a strategy to be repeated by our next leader, but nonetheless, unbeknownst to The Daily Mail and others, events which did not have much if any adverse effect.

Among those miscalculating very badly indeed were Rochdale Lib Dems - real scumbags to a man - who added Mrs Duffy and Vibing on Nick to the 5,000 majority they were already counting on.

These muppets decided Rochdale was in the bag. And an estimated 100 activists headed up the Leeds Road to deliver smudgy leaflets and at best half and quarter truths for money bags Elwyn Watkins (right). More on whom anon. Suffice it to say that he only got so close because of Mrs Duffy, Mr Brown and arguably at Mr Rowen's expense.

The whole International Development debate is of a worthy standard, if rather windy in parts, but sadly missing Mrs Dorries giving us the spin about her Community School or her marriage to Paul David Dorries, but no matter. As I recall these were featured in Ms Dorries own maiden speech, certainly an early one. More on these two anon aussi.

FOOTNOTE 17:30: Oily Duncan appears to expect there should be no opposition to his chums' at times and in cases half-hearted commitment to the cause.