Labour Need To Smarten Up

Is this, dear readers, what the Labour Party has been reduced to in recent weeks? It would appear so. Yesterday in the House of Commons, a Labour MP decided that what the public really wanted to see a discussion on was the dress code of MPs.

The most controversial issue in Parliament?

According to BBC News, "Thomas Docherty, new MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, raised a point of order suggesting several MPs had been spotted wearing denim in the House.

Later he told the BBC the point had been "semi-serious" but some women MPs had been "rocking up in a mixture of denim and knee length boots".

Deputy Speaker Dawn Primarolo said all MPs knew they should dress smartly.

MPs laughed as she suggested Mr Docherty speak to those concerned directly, adding 'I'm sure they would welcome it'."

The scandal of some coalition MPs, eh? First they hike tuition fees, now they're wearing denim. Clearly we need Labour to stand up to these fashion criminals before the country goes to the wall!

Or, perhaps more helpfully, they could start drawing up some policies. After all, if the Tories can come up with something like this notebook for Christmas, the signs aren't good...

Why a notebook, I hear you cry? Bascially, it all stems from Ed Miliband saying that Labour were going to start with "a blank sheet of paper". Perhaps not the best phrase to have used in hindsight, because the Tories have gone for it like footballers go for scandalous affairs, and are actually selling this to their members as a 204-page notebook for a fiver. The joke being: it's blank.

Admittedly, I've heard better political jokes in my time, but the Tories may well have a point. Apart from proposing the graduate tax as an alternative to higher tuition fees, and rambling about "the squeezed middle", Ed is a man who appears to be big on Clegg-bashing but small on policy. Indeed, for someone who wrote the Labour manifesto, he's having difficulties coming up with new ideas: Labour's Policy Review remains unwritten.

The more pressing issue, however, is that Cameron is having a much easier time against Miliband than he was against Brown, who didn't even get voted leader by his party. Ed frequently tries to score points by painting himself as progressive, but the truth is he can't lay a finger on Cameron at present, and is frequently heckled into a state of confusion and irritation: Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday 1st December being the best example so far. What's more, some progressive bloggers are already damning his current strategy. If he's not careful, the confusion may spread throughout his party: but for now, he appears to be safe. Whether he can win the next election, however, is open to serious debate.

The Evening Stanners

Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol

One thing I do get asked about my internship is, "Are there any perks?". Well, every now and then an event comes up that my MP isn't able to make. In this instance, it's quite common for staff to be allowed to go instead: unless it's expressly for MP's of course, or if the event is particularly snazzy. So whilst I do occasionally get to meet someone like Bill Bryson (famous travel writer, for those not in the know), the chances of me meeting someone like the Queen are somewhat remote. (Besides, my fellow FECCLES alumni, Edd Insley, has already beaten me to that particular anecdote: some people get all the luck, don't they?)

A good example of such an event is the one I went to last night at the BBC TV Centre: the premiere of the Doctor Who Christmas Special. Obviously I can't give too much away (or make you go green with envy about meeting Matt Smith, because he wasn't there), but it's certainly worth making space for on Christmas Day! Suffice to say it went very well and that quite a few MPs enjoyed it (MPs being fans of Doctor Who? Is that allowed? - Ed). Also, I appear to still have the security wristband on from yesterday. Hmm.

A warning to anyone who wants to work in the BBC TV Centre, by the way: make sure you've got a good sense of direction, or you may be lost for a week. Rather like when Jeremy Clarkson tried to navigate his way round the building in a very small car, with hilarious results.

Thanks for reading,

The Evening Stanners

PS Oh go on then, one tiny spoiler alert for you: sharks.

Nick Clegg Cares About Sheffield Wednesday

It's a news story that's almost as random as the photograph, boys and girls...

Nick Clegg: Long-term solution for Sheffield Wednesday must be found
Wed, 17 Nov 2010

Commenting on the news that Sheffield Wednesday FC has avoided a winding-up order by being granted a 28-day adjournment by the High Court, Deputy Prime Minister and Sheffield Hallam MP, Nick Clegg said:

“Today’s adjournment is welcome news for Sheffield Wednesday and will hopefully give the club the time it needs to attract the required investment.

“It is, however, only a stay of execution and much more needs to be done to safeguard the long-term future of this wonderful football club.

“I have been in regular contact with both the club and the bank over the last few days and I know how hard everyone is working to find a way forward. I will continue to help all parties in any way I can to find a workable solution to the club’s plight.

“I know how much Sheffield Wednesday means to the fans and the city itself and a successful long-term solution must now be found.”

Personally I'd be surprised if Clegg actually knows where Wednesday are in the table at the moment: but then, he may well have other things on his mind at present. However, it does seem to suggest that while he misjudged the public mood on tuition fees, he does still talk to people on the ground. The question is, would he get in for free at Hillsborough?

On a sports related note, David Cameron actually made some Premier League predictions on the BBC Sport website quite recently: it's worth watching for the last prediction alone. Liverpool 0-6 Aston Villa? Hahahahaha. Let's hope he's slightly better at predicting economic growth (it finished Liverpool 3-0 Aston Villa, in case you were wondering).

"We're not that bad, Prime Minister!"

Thanks for reading,

The Evening Stanners

They Work For You: Worth Checking Out

Hello readers!

Ever wondered how to actually find out what your MP is doing in the House of Commons, or even who your MP is? One easy way of doing it, as I have found out whilst working in Parliament, is to use the excellent website that is They Work For You. It allows you to do several things:

1. Find out who your MP is according to your postcode: so if you type in TR10 9EZ and click search, you get George Eustice (Conservative), the MP for Camborne and Redruth.
2. Set up a feed to your e-mail account alerting you as to when your MP speaks in the House, with a link to the debate in full.
3. See how your MP has voted on various issues, such as tuition fees.
4. Examine their expenses claims.
5. Find out what their interests are: in Ben Bradshaw's case, it's the National Lottery and Arts Councils.

So definitely worth having a look at if you want to find out more about MPs. Fun times!

Thanks for reading,

The Evening Stanners

Interning: The Story So Far!

So then: what have I been up to these past three weeks? The short answer: working for Andrew George MP (St Ives and the Isles of Scilly) in his Westminster office, which is next to Big Ben.

Andrew George MP: representing Cornwall for over 13 years!

The long answer? Well, I could tell you, but I'd probably have to kill you. Or at least, make sure you never talked to a journalist. But I can confirm a number of things that the general public are probably aware of anyway...

1. MPs are, as a rule, EXTREMELY busy. This obviously depends on their role: if they're a new MP you will probably see them quite a lot; if it's Cameron or Clegg you're trying to spot, fat chance. You get used to seeing familiar faces after a while though: Alistair Darling and David Miliband have been spotted by yours truly from time to time.

2. An MP's diary is INSANE.

3. Cornish people write the nicest letters: one of them sent a typewritten letter. How awesome is that, eh? :-D

4. Movember (where men grow moustaches to draw attention to prostate cancer) has been well supported by many MPs: Mike Crockart, Roger Williams and Tom Brake to name a few!

5. You can work in Westminster for about six months and STILL not know where a room is.

6. I have lost count of how many letters we receive.

7. Bob Russell (MP for Colchester) has made a special chocolate bar for Lib Dems, and I have proof!



8. There are 650 MPs in total.

9. I have met... about 20, give or take. Mostly Lib Dems, like Charles Kennedy and Simon Hughes: but also Neil Carmichael (Conservative MP for Stroud), Nic Dakin (Labour MP for Scunthorpe), and Barry Gardiner (Labour MP for Brent North).

10. I am loving every minute of it, eeeeeeee :-D

That's all for now folks, but there may be more shortly!

The Evening Stanners

Liar, Liar, Phil's Been Fired

Just when you thought the General Election was fought fairly and squarely (if you ever thought that, that is)... it wasn't.

Behold what I read on BBC News, people!

"Two High Court judges have ordered a rerun of this year's General Election campaign in the Greater Manchester constituency of shadow immigration minister Phil Woolas.

Mr Woolas won the Oldham East and Saddleworth seat by 103 votes over Liberal Democrat rival Elwyn Watkins.

But he has been found guilty of knowingly making false statements about Mr Watkins in campaign literature, and faces a three year ban from the Commons."

Feel free to read more here, by the way. Have to say that's pretty crazy though: the scandalous thing is that Woolas seems to telling whacking great fibs is, um, well within the rules. Well, when you worked under Tony Blair, I suppose that would be instinctive, but still. If you read this article from the Daily Mail (oh the horrendous irony), his manipulation of the "white vote" is nothing short of horrendous. As Elwyn Watkins put it himself, "Politics has to be better than this. Making up lies about your opponent has no part in politics."

We'll have to see what happens on Monday: but it looks like Woolas is about to pay rather dearly. Still, never mind Ed: it's not like he's your Shadow Immigration Minister, is it?

Ah. Bother.

The Evening Stanners

All Hail Ed Milibad

Reading Nick Robinson's latest "newslog", it would appear he's had his worst week yet. If that's the case, then heaven knows what's happening to Ed Miliband. If you watched Prime Minister's Questions, you'll know what I mean.

It's not that I despise Labour, but they don't half pick some bad leaders, do they? When you consider they've only had one who's never lost an election (Tony Blair), and five who never won an election (Hugh Gaitskell, James Callaghan, Michael Foot, Neil Kinnock and Gordon Brown), it really doesn't look good for the current man in charge. I would like to think his brother could be doing a better job, because the more I watch "Red Ed" (or at this rate, Thick 'Ed), the more I'm convinced he's not up to it. Gordon Brown at least had the ability to be dogged and determined, but if Ed wants to actually make Cameron look silly, he's going to have to do better than make jokes about photographers. As for lambasting Cameron about tuition fees: um, who came up with the idea of tuition fees, Ed?

Oh yes, that would be Labour. Rather like pushing a stone down a hill and then complaining when it appears to speed up. Or did you assume that it would always be Labour calling the shots here? It might have been better to draw attention to the fact that raising tuition fees might lead to MPs in constituencies with a high student population being sacked: Nick Clegg, for example, could be under threat in Sheffield Hallam, thanks to the "Right of Recall" Act.

Or better yet, if you're going to have a crack at Cameron for hiring too many staff, how about the fact he needs no less than six security guards on hand when he goes to a restaurant in Oxfordshire? (This happened the Friday before last when I was in Woodstock: never have I seen so many Land Rovers following one solitary man: a little OTT, perhaps?) Ah yes, I know why: because it was Labour who introduced the idea of having ridiculous amounts of security, like giving sub-machine guns to police officers at railway stations.

Policies, man. You need to have some. Get it sorted. And to think I voted Labour last time...

The Evening Stanners