Howard Flight put to flight for "breeding" remarks

Howard Flight is what some would see as an unreconstructed Tory. He has made some remarks in his time that have not found favour with the leadership. However, that didn't stop David Cameron making him a peer last week. The former MP for Arundel and South Downs, who is yet to take his seat in the House of Lords, has been commenting on the government's plans to cut child benefit for top-rate taxpayers. He told the London Evening Standard  "We're going to have a system where the middle classes are discouraged from breeding because it's jolly expensive. But for those on benefits, there is every incentive. Well, that's not very sensible." He...

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Lord Young fails to fend off Eagle's attacks

When eagles swoop on their prey they more often than not get their victim. Angela Eagle lives up to her name, if only in part. She's good on the attack but has failed to soar high with glory. Her favoured method is the monotone attack laced with half truths and innuendo. This morning she has been doing the rounds giving the impression of being a palsied victim in sackcloth and ashes. This lunchtime Lord Young has resigned as enterprise advisor to the government. His "political crime" was stating the bleeding obvious. That was that despite the economic times "the vast majority are better off". That is true. Most are in employment. Most have...

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Vince Cable's passion is strictly a tango!

So after much lobbying and public soundings, Vince Cable is to appear on Strictly Come Dancing. There have been criticisms and many people have criticised politicians for combining television popularity with political ambition. But I think the business secretary has a point. Speaking of the dance competition, he said: ‘I am delighted to be taking part in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special. Strictly has always been a secret, or not so secret, passion of mine. I hope that by taking part in the show I can inspire others to get up and do something they have always wanted to have a go at." I would have thought in these straightened...

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Gerry Adams to stand down as MP

It's more than likely that there will be a by-election in West Belfast within the next couple of years. Gerry Adams has decided that the time is right for him to try to make a contribution to the politics of the Dail. Brian "Biffo" Cowan is having a hard time leading the country. Adams reckons the current Fianna Fail/Green coalition government is "probably the most unpopular in the history of the state". He says new ideas are needed. Maybe so, but are his the right ones?Gerry Adams will try to be elected as a TD in Louth. If he is, he will resign as an MP and an MLA. He took part in the Assembly proceedings, but was never an active MP as he never...

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Labour had to act over Woolas

Shadow cabinet minister Caroline Flint, appearing on BBC Question Time, said Labour "had to act" in response to a court verdict banning Phil Woolas from politics for three years. She said she had known Mr Woolas for more than 20 years and believed he had been a great MP and minister, but she added, "statements were made about the Lib Dem candidate that were not only wrong but the Oldham campaign knew them to be wrong. That was the judgement and therefore Harriet Harman, representing the Labour Party, confirmed that and that is why Phil Woolas was administratively suspended." Interesting the term "administratively suspended". It now seems that...

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Phil Woolas at centre of Labour Party row

Extraordinary scenes are happening in the Labour Party. At the centre of it all is the supposedly disgraced ex-minister Phil Woolas. Having been found guilty of spreading lies about his Liberal Democrat opponent in election leaflets, Woolas is now seeking to show himself as the wronged one. Is he a victim? Has he been unfairly treated? I would hardly think so.However, on Monday night, Labour backbenchers let rip at Harriet Harman and said some quite nasty things to her face. All because she said racism, telling lies and smearing opponents had no place in the Labour Party. It should have no place in any party.Is Phil Woolas loved by so many? Or...

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MPs lose court appeal over expenses

The Supreme Court has ruled that three former Labour MPs should face criminal trials over their expenses claims. They are David Chaytor, Elliot Morley and Jim Devine and they have been claiming that their cases should be heard by Parliament, not the courts. They seem to think that they will get a more favourable hearing before their peers in Parliament rather than their peers in a jury. I would tend to doubt it. As they are no longer MPs, the current House of Commons, with its vast intake of new members, will want to keep them at arms length. Their best bet is to plead not guilty (as they claim they are) and put their case. It's been done before....

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Lord Heseltine's Schools' Army

Lord Heseltine was bemused to hear Evan Davis remark on the Today Programme "nice to have you back", as if the noble Tory had been politically recuperating somewhere. I think Heseltine looks far better now than when he was last in office, if "in office" is the right expression. He's raring to go, all enthusiastic and is up to his whatsits with new ideas.One is the recruiting of retired army officers to provide school discipline for failing schools. Described as "shock tactics" by some, Lord Heseltine does not mince his words. He says that Michael Gove is doing some good things, but that if he was in charge he'd start at the other end of the spectrum....

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Phil Woolas refused judicial review

Ex-immigration minister Phil Woolas has lost his first bid to overturn a court ruling that banned him from politics. He had a bit of a brass neck trying it in the first place. The election court that ruled against him last week did the right thing. Woolas tried every beastly trick to rubbish his Liberal Democrat opponent. He insinuated that Elwyn Watkins was gay because he was said to "live with his mother". An untrue statement. Equally untrue was saying he didn't live in the constituency, that he was in league with Muslim extremists.Woolas was once a darling of the Labour Party for being a streetwise political terrier. That was then, and now...

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Baby boy for Ed Miliband

Ed Miliband and his partner are celebrating the birth of his second child, a baby boy. This takes his mind off politics, that's for sure. “Ed and Justine are overjoyed at the birth of their second child and can't wait to introduce the new arrival to his big brother, Daniel,” said a spokesman for the couple. “Both are keen to pass on their thanks to the NHS staff at the hospital.”This is all very modern, isn't it? He is the first leader of a major party not to be married in such circumstances and he will be taking paternity leave. And it means that all three leaders of the main parties have young children at home. Maybe the next modern thing they...

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