Breathtaking Tory double standards exposed...

The Tory frontbencher campaigning to stop people building in their back gardens is trying to defend plans for an extra room - in her own back garden!

Last week Caroline Spelman was arrogantly telling Tory councils to block plans for housing schemes as long as Gordon Brown was in Downing Street.

She apparently wants to stop 'garden grabbing developers' by making it more difficult for people to build in their own back garden - but only of course after she's built her new garden room!

Same old Tories, eh?

Top Tory tells councils to block housing plans...

With breathtaking arrogance, David Cameron's team have urged Tory councils like our own at South Kesteven to block the building of new homes while Gordon Brown is in Downing Street.

I first saw this story in a local paper, the Enfield Independent a couple of days ago.

The story claimed to expose a letter apparently sent by Caroline Spelman advising councils to stall major home projects until they win power!

I could hardly believe that a party that aspires to govern could actually use political dogma to prevent councils getting people off housing waiting lists, so thought I'd check out the facts before posting.

Under the headline Tory Leaders told to delay property developments, the reputable Local Government Chronicle confirms that the letter was in fact sent by Ms Spelman:

It seems the Mirror has also been checking out the story before saying today that the arrogant letter shows the tories are not fit to govern.

Same old Tories, eh?

Bet he wouldn't call Joe Calzaghe a 'greasy wop'...

The Tory candidate who labelled Italians 'greasy wops' on live radio has been suspended in his bid to be MP for the key South Wales seat of Vale of Glamorgan at the next election.

I posted HERE after the Western Mail splashed on the outrage yesterday.

Alun Cairns tried to limit the damage to his political career by apologising to Italians and stepping down as chairman of the Finance Committee at the Welsh Assembly.

He had the sense to accept that he could no longer serve in that role. But for some reason thought he could carry on as a parliamentary candidate.

It clearly wasn't enough.

Today, he was 'suspended' as a parliamentary candidate 'pending an investigation by the Party Chairman...' .

And who exactly is the Party Chairman...?

Step forward David Cameron's 'sleaze-buster in chief' Caroline Spelman, who herself is being investigated over her own conduct in the Nannygate affair.

To be honest, in Mr Cairns' case, there's very little to investigate.

Despite a slick operation over the past 24-hours to play-down his offensive remarks, his outrageous and totally unprovoked insult is helpfully recorded for posterity on BBC tapes.

The outspoken Mr Cairns is banged to rights with no wriggle room.

It may have been a 'moment of madness' but if 'greasy' and 'wops' are the first words that he writes when referring to Italians, he has shown that he is not fit to hold office at any level.

It was a disgraceful slur on the Welsh-Italian community which this weekend celebrated the CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honour announced on Friday
for one of their most famous sons: the undisputed world super-middleweight Joe Calzaghe, aka 'The Pride of Wales' aka 'The Italian Dragon'.

I bet three rounds with Joe Calzaghe would teach the misguided Mr Cairns that despite his thoughts, it is simply not acceptable to call Italians 'greasy wops'.

UPDATE: Monday's Mirror follows up the story.

Nannygate: Tories change their story...

Today's Sunday Times reveals discrepancies in the accounts given so far by David Cameron's chief 'sleaze-buster' Caroline Spelman over payments from the public purse to her Nanny...

Nannygate: 'Tory insiders' cast doubt on Spelman's story...

The Sunday Times says Tory insiders claim the registered Nanny paid by Tory Party chairman Caroline Spelman out of the public purse did NOT write letters or do other routine work normally undertaken by an MP's secretary.

If the revelations in the Sunday Times are accurate, then the accusations of sleaze at the very heart of David Cameron's Conservative Party will stick.

While the 'whoopsies' in Europe are one thing, a Tory cover-up involving David Cameron's party chairman and top 'sleaze-buster' Caroline Spelman would be much more damaging for David Cameron.

Certainly, there are too many unanswered questions in today's statements from Caroline Spelman and the Nanny herself which will continue to provide sleazy headlines for days to come.

Ms Spelman, in charge of making sure Tory MPs(and MEPs) don't get caught break rules on expenses, claims she paid Tina Haynes as her constituency secretary between 9am and 3pm every day when she first became an MP and that it was legitimate to pay her from her parliamentary staffing allowance.

Mr Spelman claims the registered nanny only provided childcare out of school hours for which she was unpaid, but in receipt of free board and lodge.

But according to Sunday Times, Tory insiders say

"although she worked five days a week, Haynes is not believed to have fulfilled the key role performed by most MPs constituency secretaries: answering letters and dealing with their queries."

In a statement on Saturday, Ms Spelman said hiring her nanny as her secretary was:

"a practical solution as she could deal with the secretarial side while the children were at school and then after school provide childcare for my kids..."

I note that one of her children was just two at the time. Was he really in school six hours a day at such a tender age? I suppose that would not be impossible, but Ms Spelman needs to explain more.

In the statement on Saturday, the Nanny said she did do "odd secretarial things" for Ms Spelman such as taking phone messages and posting documents.

But she seems to have forgotten whether she actually did secretarial work for 30 hours a week as Ms Spelman has claimed.

Even the Tory's favourite Sunday paper, the Telegraph says the Tory chairman was forced to issue a 'humiliating statement' and faces various calls to pay back the money and resign.

I suspect there's much more to come on this one...

Newsnight Questions over Tory Chairman Caroline Spelman and the public purse...

Tory Party chairman Caroline Spelman appears to have paid the wages of her nanny out of the public purse, apparently breaking rules on parliamentary allowances, according to BBC Newsnight's top story tonight.

Ironically, it was Ms Spelman who was tasked by Tory Leader David Cameron to clean up the Tory image following the £445,000 expenses scandal of Giles 'oops-a-daisy' Chichester.

He was forced yesterday to resign as Leader of the Tories in Europe after admitting breaching European Parliament rules.

Ms Spelman was due this weekend to examine Mr Chichester's expense claims!

Newsnight reporter Michael Crick called into question attempts by Tory HQ to claim that Mrs Spelman's nanny was constituency secretary as well as childminder. A Tory Party spokesperson suggested that a large part of Tina Haynes' work was as a secretary.

But in a telephone interview with Crick earlier today, Ms Haynes made it clear that although she occasionally answered the phone and posted letters, her primary role was childminding...

As former standards chairman Alistair Graham told Newsnight: "These stories are very damaging to our political system."

At least we now know what the Tories mean when they talk about 'The Nanny State'...

UPDATE: The BBC website is now carrying the story.

UPDATE 2: Now also running on the Daily Mail website.