Technical problems

Sorry for the problems of the blog - we're looking at why stories aren't reaching our twitter feed (or loading new stories). 

A blog on Cameron's 'fightback' speech, and the rest of the weekend's action, shall be posted tomorrow morning. 

Kilfoyle to stand down

Peter Kilfoyle, MP for Liverpool Walton, is to stand down at the next election. 

Kilfoyle entered Parliament in 1991 after the incumbent, Eric Heffer, the Militant Tendency favourite, died of a heart attack. 


I only interviewed Kilfoyle before Christmas. He talked then of retiring. 


It follows the news that another of Liverpool's MPs, Jane Kennedy, is to stand down. Kennedy, who represents Liverpool Wavertree, announced she not to stand again after a similar career path - challenging and defeating Militant Terry Fields for the Broadgreen constituency. 


I also met her recently. (I can see a trend here...)


I wonder, if in the selection process for Kilfoyle's seat, whether Labour will have learned the lessons of the Luciana Burger affair...

Gordon's new puppet (courtesy of Taiwanese TV)

Confirmed: Tory lead still only 6pc

A lot of Tory folk got very excited last night when a YouGov poll seemed to suggest the Tories were back up into a double figure lead following Bullygate. 

However, Peter Kellner has confirmed the figures to be inaccurate. Rather, they show no difference between the set released on Saturday night. 


The fact that these figures have remained the same must come as a much needed break for Labour and a let down for the Tories - and Lib Dems. 


So, they stand as: 

CON:        39% (39) 

LAB:         33% (33) 

LIB DEM: 17% (17) 

However, caution, I suspect - although it might not be being taken 'as seriously' at the moment - the label of 'bully' might be seen to have a wider resonance - particularly with floating voters around the time of the election.

DCEF respond to bullygate

Guido Fawkes's blog (www.order-order.com) is reporting one of the funniest things to emerge from the bullygate story.

As ever, Ed Ball's Department of Children, Schools and Families provides fresh comedy. An upcoming training day, scheduled for next month in Leeds, shall look into Anti Social Behaviour, Bullying and Truancy. 

I've never voted Tory before...

  

Credit: Dizzy Thinks (http://dizzythinks.net)

Will bully-gate have an impact?

Will the bully-gate allegations actually have any impact? 


That is a question I have been wondering ever since the Rawnsley extract was published on Sunday. 


It's hardly flattering to be described as a bully, and stands in sharp contrast to both the profiles of Nick (who) Clegg and Dave. 


Political Betting point towards a good analysis. Essentially, from a pure stats point of view, it's simply too early to tell. 

We should see two new polls tonight - the monthly ICM survey for the Guardian and the YouGov daily survey for the Sun. Fieldwork for the former started on Friday and continued until last night while I’m not sure about the timings for the latter.

I suspect though the old maxim, as stories continue to swirl back and to, might come to mind: no news is good news... 

+++Bullygate update+++

I'm not really sure it warrants its own 'gate' but we'll run with it for now.

Questions remain as the timing, and patronage, of Christine Pratt's statement on the bullying allegations swirling around Westminster. Her charity, The National Bullying Helpline, seemingly has links with the Conservatives - although, as some have been at pains to point out, there remains no link between the two.

One other piece of news, the Cabinet Office have no officially issued a rebuttal of the Andrew Rawnsley claim that the PM was issued with a warning, stating that: "It is completely untrue to say that the Cabinet Secretary ever gave the prime minister a verbal warning about his behaviour".

Update: 
There's a lot of chatter, admittedly on twitter, about an election announcement tomorrow. Quote, 'it'd certainly kill the bully stories'. Labour do seem to have bought a lot of billboard space recently (as you'd perhaps expect anyway). Personally, I'm skeptical but it is doing the rounds...

BBC Four's 'On expenses' - not to miss!

The undervalued (and underfunded) BBC Four shall screen what I suspect shall be a cracking political drama this week.

In essence, it marks the battle between Freedom of Information Requests (something I've become a particular fan of recently) and the battle for MPs to be exempt from 'their' own laws.

Anna Maxwell Martin plays journalist and campaigner Heather Brooke, whose tenacious investigations brought about the disclosure of MPs' expenses, much to the annoyance of Michael Martin (Brian Cox).

The drama is set to be broadcast on BBC Four, at 9pm on Tuesday 23rd February.

Rawnsley rounds on Gordon

                                                                                                                                                                      

Andrew Rawnsley's expose of the inner workings of Downing Street shall, I suspect, come as a shock to some. 


There have, for some time, been questions of the Prime Minister's suitability in office. Andrew Marr famously asked if he was popping pills to survive the stress of being PM. Gordon flatly denied this.

 He has done the same with these latest set of accusations.

My favourite, being serialised in the new look Observer, notes how the PM's official car white leather seats are no longer white - stabbed in frustration with a black Biro. Other stories include an ability to hurl Nokias (and fax machines) at unsatisfactory individuals, and of course, diving across the cabinet office table to grab a civil servant by the scruff of their neck.

Rawnsley is tonight standing by his comments: "I haven't become a serious political journalist by making up stories" he told Sky News.

A closer reading of Mandelson's Sunday AM performance as well doesn't flatly deny all the allegations.

Gordon unveil's election slogan

A future fair for all

That shall be the election campaigning slogan adopted by Labour. 

Rather interestingly, a pack being delivered to those on the front-line has another, equally as interesting, slogan, 'Let the fightback begin'.

One other tidbit of news, for all you Jackie Wilson fans out there, it looks as though 'Your love keeps lifting me higher' is the new D:ream 'things can only get better'.

I'll let you judge that.

Textual is dead. Long live its little brother.

Textual Relations, shall shortly, shuffle. 

Why? Well, to be honest, it was an ill-conceived idea - based around a political joke more suitable to Capitol Hill rather than Stanford Hill. 

So, what's replacing it? 

Well, rather like the attractive new wife: Politics Mash (a working name) will come with a whole host of new features. 

Firstly, the site is going to be give a whole new lick of pain. The decorations shall be in (so to speak) and the old styling and design will go. In its place, I hope something more suitable to a) British Politics and b) a younger audience. This is, after all, a student blog. 

Secondly, the site shall actually extend and make use of new 'social media'. Such a wank term. Basically, we're actually going to use Twitter properly and give a more rounded view of a) student politics and b) our take on events. 

Finally, we hope to have a lot more fun along the way. I appreciate the site has been as dead as a New Labour Policy Unit recently but, with finals nearing, now should hopefully be the time to pick up the baton again. (No laughing at the back, especially those who have heard me say it before). 

On that note...