Cameron frustrated at 'lazy' Boris...?

So says Peter Oborne in today's Mail.

The story rounds off an awful week for Boris:

His poor judgement came under fire when he backed Tory peer Conrad the Crook who was jailed for six years for multi-million pound fraud.

Then the Daily Telegraph business diary (no link - not on line) reported Greg Dyke on Boris, saying:

‘He’s a great guy, but I wouldn’t let him run my bath, let alone London’

Remember Greg Dyke?

He was the David Cameron's real choice for London Mayor.

But Cameron completely botched his attempt to sign up Mr Dyke as a joint Tory/LibDem candidate.

More red-faces later this week when the pro-Tory Economist magazine revealed that staff at Conservative HQ

...are concerned that a lazy campaign ending in a heavy defeat by Ken Livingstone, the Labour incumbent, would reflect badly on Mr Cameron. Some believe a victory for Mr Johnson would be even worse, if he turned out to be a shambolic leader of Britain's capital.

So now even Tory strategists realise that Boris winning could be the nightmare result...!

Who's faking now...?

Tory hypocrisy or what...?

You couldn't make it up!

Never mind global warming, look who's on telly...!

As world leaders grapple with climate change, LibDem leadership are worried about something much closer to home...the number of repeats on TV this Christmas.

All politics is local, of course and it may - sadly - be true that more of us are interested in what's on telly over the next few days than saving the planet for future generations.

But as usual, the LibDems face both ways at the same time...

As their culture spokesman Don Foster whinged about what's on the box over the festive season, he revealed that one of his personal favourites was the most repeated shows ever.

The Morecambe & Wise Christmas Special!

Good to see there's nothing wrong with Don's sense of humour...

No doubt he'll be singing along with the rest of us when Eric'n'Ern sing us out once again with their signature song...Bring Me Sunshine!

More hot air from the US on climate change...

Sadly, but oh so predictably, as the world grapples to tackle climate change, George 'Dubya' Bush seems intent on derailing any positive plan for global action.

BBC Newsnight reported from the crucial climate change talks in Bali tonight (Friday) with news that the Americans have forced the European Union nations to give up on hard targets for nations to reduce CO2 emissions in coming decades.

As Environment Ministers - including our own very capable Hillary Benn - work through the night to try to prevent total collapse of the talks, the most optimistic outcome likely to emerge from the summit is a watered-down communique with nations agreeing to do 'not a lot' and certainly not enough.

Here's one view of what's going on (or not...)

It seems the Americans, who refused to sign Kyoto, are insistent that the porrer developing nations must cut emissions before the richest nation in the world takes action themselves.

As someone said on Newsnight, it's like Bush happily enjoying the comforts of the first class cabin on an airliner convinced that a catasrophe in tourist class won't affect him...

With the clock ticking, failure at Bali means another two years before there's another chance to replace the Kyoto Agreement.

And the longer the Americans refuse to show real leadership, the more urgent and more drastic the eventual action will have to be.

Let's hope that Al Gore is right and the next US President is more positive than the current one who's now entering his final year in office.

Chameleon Cameron flip-flops on mortgages...

Warm words today from David Cameron on mortgages have a distinctly hollow ring. They also demonstrate he hasn't given up his love of flip-flops.

With Dave's economic record, it's a bit rich hearing him demand measures to protect people with mortgages.

Myself and millions of other mortgage holders remember the disaster last time he was allowed anywhere near the Treasury...

On Black Wednesday, Dave was at the heart of the Treasury, as Special Advisor to the bungling Tory Chancellor who disastrously announced interest rate increases of five-per-cent in a single day.

By contrast, thanks to Gordon Brown's delivery of a stable economy, for the past decade we have enjoyed interest rates that Tory Chancellors can only dream of: a third of what they were in the dark Tory days of boom'n'bust. And these days, when changes are necessary, they are usually a difference of just a quarter of one per cent - not FIVE per cent in one day.

Despite Tory scare-mongering predictions of economic collapse round the corner, interest rates are still under six per cent - not the 15-per-cent Black Wednesday rates. And remember, the last change was down, not up!

Meanwhile, David Cameron, the man who wants to run Britain still can't add up. The unexplained £6 billion black hole in his latest tax and spend promises and unfunded tax cuts would risk a disastrous return the dark days of boom'n'bust.

And the flip-flops?

Today, Cameron called for extra measures to protect people taking out mortgages.

Yet just a few months ago he heaped praise on a report by his Conservative Party Economic Policy Commission which recommended scrapping every regulation protecting people taking out mortgages.

What David Cameron called a great report in August said this on Page 59:

We see no need to continue to regulate the provision of mortgage finance, as it is the lending institutions rather than the client taking the risk.

In October, Georgie Osborne told the Tory Party Conference that the report by John Redwood was a blueprint to cut government regulation, planning restriction and red tape.

So Dave, is it less regulation or more...?

Flip-flop, flip-flop.

UPDATE: I see today's FT agrees with me and headlines Dave's latest u-turn....no comment!

Tory Boris backs Conrad the Crook

No surprise to see Boris Johnson backing convicted crook and Tory peer Lord Conrad Black. The former media tycoon was told by a Judge today that he faces eight years in jail when he is sentenced for multi-million pound fraud.

Boris, Tory hopeful in next year's elections for London Mayor, apparently provided Lord Black with a character reference.

Labour MP Karen Buck has lodged an early day motion questioning Boris's judgement in backing someone convicted of stealing on such a massive scale.

You can read Karen's EDM HERE.

There's also this live blog with a blow by blow commentary as the sentencing drama unfolds...

Meanwhile, look out for Boris backing other jail-birds such as former Tory high-flier Jonathan Aitkin, former Tory Leader in Lincolnshire 'Honest' Jim Speechley...or maybe even Boris's predessessor as Tory candidate for London...

Yes, step forward the one and only 'Lord' Jeffrey Archer.

UPDATE: C4 News says the Chicago court has sentenced Black to six-and-a-half years in prison...while the BBC asks "Did he get off lightly?"

Al's truth will be more convenient under next US President...

The man who used to be the next President of the United States collected his Nobel Peace Prize today - and said humanity was now waging war on the earth itself...

And what a different place the world would be today if only the occupant of the White House had been decided at the ballot box rather than in the Florida courts.

Of course, the US would have signed up to Kyoto if the real winner became President rather than Dubya - and I've no doubt that Al Gore would have handled the war on terror rather differently.

Accepting his well deserved Nobel Peace Prize for work on climate change today, Al Gore predicted that whoever becomes next President, the US is likely to adopt a 'more constructive' approach to climate change...

Let's hope so.

Support our local heroes...

With Gordon Brown visiting British troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, our local paper has launched a special appeal to make sure local service personnel are not forgotten this Christmas.

The Stamford Mercury devoted its front page to an appeal for people here in south Lincolnshire to support British troops.

With Wittering and Luffenham military bases close by, many families locally will be watching today's news from Afghanistan of some of the fiercest fighting to date with more than a passing interest.

And don't forget the part-time professionals from my old TA unit on London Road, Peterborough who have been serving Queen and Country in both in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Free the Sudan teddy...

Good news that teacher Gillian Gibbons is home on Merseyside after she was jailed in The Sudan for allowing children in her class to name a teddy bear Mohamed (no offence meant if that's the wrong spelling!).

At a news conference after landing in UK today, Gillian was able to joke that she went to Sudan for an adventure but found a bigger one than she bargained for...

But I didn't spot the poor old teddy bear on the TV pictures...?

Are the Sudanese holding teddy hostage...? Will teddy now be getting the lashes from which the teacher was thankfully spared...?

That would be cruel indeed. I think we should be told.

UPDATE: Just seen Gillian interviewed on Channel 4 News. No bitterness at the way she was treated and hoping no-one would be put off visiting the beautiful country of Sudan! What a lovely lady!

But still no sign of teddy.

Blogging again...almost

Sorry it's been almost a week since my last post. And yes, what a week it's been...normal service will resume later today...

Problems at Deepings Recycling Centre...

Big problem at Deepings Recycling Centre. I understand our home-grown recycler Ian Prentice is being forced to charge for dropping off wood, glass and green waste following a sudden decision by Lincolnshire County Council to withhold recycling credits.

As county councillor for Deeping St James, I'm trying to get to the bottom of what's going on but so far I've been unable to find out what the problem is.

I shouldn't be surprised: I'm sorry to say it took the County Council almost two years of dithering to decide they were unable to contribute towards a regular rubbish skip after they withdrew the much-valued fortnightly service at the Rainbow car park.

Now they appear to have pulled the plug on Deepings Recycling Centre too, with no notice at all.

Watch this space...!

Best ham and bacon is on our doorstep...

Good to see our home-grown Grasmere Farm here in Deeping St James featured in The Times guide to the best ham and bacon this Christmas.

Here's the full listing, the only entry for Lincolnshire:

Stuart Stables of in Deeping St James, Lincolnshire, is one of a committed bunch of producers who cling to the traditional method of dry-curing ham and bacon. (Industrial fast-curing methods in which the hams are injected with brine means that when you cook the whole hams they shrink dramatically, or in the case of bacon, leach out the excess liquid into a white puddle in the pan).

Stables’ family also rear all their own pigs, which are fed on meal milled in their own water mill.

As well as the hams and bacon, you can order sausages (including the famous Rutland sausage), fruity stuffings and every cut of pork.

A whole, unsmoked, uncooked bone-in ham (minimum weight 8.6kg) is £45.95, online, or check the website for details of farmers' markets (01778 342344; www.grasmere-farm.co.uk).

Tories dump the trusty sword of truth to deny jailbird Aitkin is advising them...

Convicted criminal Jonathan Aitkin returning to the Tory fold to advise on prison reform raised eyebrows this week. So I had to laugh at Edward Garnier MP today trying to put blue water between the Tory Party and his former colleague (to be clear, they were colleagues on the Tory benches in the House of Commons in the Thatcher/Major years, not fellow lags in HMP Belmarsh of course!)

Mr Garnier, MP for Harborough, Leicestershire, was on the East Midlands edition of the BBC Politics Show and couldn't help jumping on a comment about former Tory high-flier Jonathan Aitkin now advising the Tory Party.

"Not the Tory Party, the Centre for Social Justice," says Mr Garnier, as if there was no relationship between the two - and not wishing to be reminded that Aitkin served time at Her Majesty's Pleasure for perjury...

Writing in today's Sunday Times, on Aitkin himself trying to make the same distinction, journalist Rosie Millard says:

What humbug: Duncan Smith is a former Conservative leader...the Centre for Social Justice advises David Cameron on social issues, does it not? I’d say that’s rather near the hot spot of Tory influence.

And I'd say you don't need a trusty sword of truth to know that's a fair cop...

Now, what were those famous Aitkin words again...

"If it falls to me to start a fight to cut out the cancer of bent and twisted journalism in our country with the simple sword of truth and the trusty shield of honesty, then so be it..."

Did you see the LibDem leadership duo squabbling on live TV...? UPDATED

LibDem leadership hopefuls Nick Clegg and Chris Huhne apparently squabbled like kids when they came head-to-head on today BBC's Politics Show on BBC1...

Missed the spat myself as I was on the way back from the national Labour Students conference in Grantham where I was honoured again to be a speaker...

I caught the end of the Politics Show, when presenter Jon Sopel says if you want to see today's broadcast, including the Clegg-Huhne fallout, go the the Politics Show website.

I just have done, but frustratingly the 'see again' feature hasn't yet been updated and still repeats last week's Politics Show...Very annoying.

Did anyone see it...is it worth repeating?

UPDATE: The clip is now on the BBC site and they go at each other like rats in a sack: Huhne accuses Clegg of 'flip floppery', trying to face both ways, allegations that Clegg is a 'calamity' and Clegg fighting to defend himself.

Less than edifying, and certainly fiercer than anything we ever saw between the two Davids - Steel and Owen - when the Libs had two leaders, and a rare but real insight behind internal tensions and disunity in today's LibDem party...

Who said come back Ming Campbell or Chas Kennedy...?

Nigel 'Enoch' Hastilow is still Tory candidate as Cameron dithers and dithers...

Conservative Party members have declined to accept the resignation of Nigel Hastilow as their parliamentary candidate following the dithering and lack of leadership by David Cameron in the row over the 'Enoch was right' comments.

Almost a fortnight after he apparently resigned, according to the official website for Halesowen and Rowley Regis Conservative Party, the disgraced Mr Hastilow is still their parliamentary candidate.

David Cameron failed to either sack Mr Hastilow or condemn his comments and instead sent Caroline Spelman to have a word with him.

Ms Spelman later admitted on television last Sunday that she tried to persuade Nigel Hastilow to stay on as a Tory candidate - but he resigned.

The Daily Telegraph also reported that Tory High Command tried to keep Mr Hastilow as their candidate, but he resigned after refusing to be gagged.

There's also this Mystery as Party backs Hastilow story in his local paper, the Express & Star.

A week on, Nigel Hastilow's own website also declares that he is the candidate.

In contrast to Cameron's dithering, his predessessor Ted Heath acted decisively and immediately to sack Enoch Powell after his infamous 'rivers of blood' speech which he made to rally Tory support against anti-discrimination legislation brought in by the Labour Government of the day.