Parlez~me~'n~Tory

Rightly Wry, Satirically RIGHT

Well, that was rather incredible to be honest, watching the machinations of ALL sides during those 5 days.

After tonight’s programme my respect, albeit not a high level of respect for Lord Adonis has all but evaporated, he struck me as desperate on every level. Though having met Sir Gus O’Donnell in the past I was, as always rather impressed by his cool headed attitude.

I was in absolute awe of the candid access Nick Robinson had during the 5 days, from the screenshot of David Cameron’s laptop as he telephoned Nick Clegg whilst trying to form the coalition to the admissions of some of the ministers (not always to their benefit).

What came through from the LibDem side was to me that it is clear who doesn’t sit comfortably with the coalition but the vast majority do, at least currently they do, and there are some Labour representatives that don’t even think they did a thing wrong. It is obvious that something had to give and both parties did what was right to get the deal done, to put Britain back on the road to recovery, to stop the rot.

What else came through is that Ed Balls didn’t come across very well at all, that is not just from a Tory point of view, it makes it look very clear as though it was all the fault of Ed. Quite simply it won’t do his leadership bid any good whatsoever.

I am saddened that Gordon did not speak, was not interviewed, you could almost see the tears in Peter Mandelson’s eyes in that photo just before leaving. I do not know why he did not appear but can only assume it was his own choice.

One thing is very certain, politics in Britain has changed forever as a result of these 5 days as has access to the details that we will from now on demand of our media representatives.

Kudos to Nick Robinson for he has done something very special here and for the record Paul Waugh from the Evening Standard, this program was #worththelicencefeealone. We have all been a part of history.

Don’t waste time reading this, get BBC2 on and watch Five Days That Changed Britain…then consider coming back

Last year we did not put ourselves in the mix for the Total Politics Best Blogs Poll as we had only just set ourselves up and now that we have been going for a year it has been a ride of fun a plenty.

There are times when one loses the inspiration to blog and times when one has nothing but a lack of time to cram the posts in, given that I am now applying for my Masters the time may become less it may remain static, who’s to know?

Anyway, Iain Dale wants you to vote so vote you must. Please click through on the image below and read the fine print regarding your votes, the rules are simple.

1. You must vote for your ten favourite blogs and ranks them from 1 (your favourite) to 10 (your tenth favourite).
2. Your votes must be ranked from 1 to 10. Any votes which do not have rankings will not be counted.
3. You MUST include at least FIVE blogs in your list, but please list ten if you can. If you include fewer than five, your vote will not count.
4. Email your vote to toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com
5. Only vote once.
6. Only blogs based in the UK, run by UK residents or based on UK politics are eligible. No blog will be excluded from voting.
7. Anonymous votes left in the comments will not count. You must give a name
8. All votes must be received by midnight on 31 July 2010. Any votes received after that date will not count.

We all know the premise behind 1984, Big Brother and all that, watching, manipulating and channeling your very thoughts until you obey. Forbidding the power of individual thought and ensuring you conform. Well, “that ain’t me”! So, if you feel the same please read on, if you disagree then read on and comment.

It’s that time of the week again and after the week Twitter has had it is clear there is not enough capacity on those Twitter servers, therefore we should all being doing our very best to help them out.

Hence, if you read this post last week or this post today from @SpiderPlant88 aka Lisa, then you will understand the path and stance that I am taking.

BTW, Lisa’s addition is a good route to take and demonstrates how we can all have the power of individual thought!

If you wish me to follow you on Twitter the best way is to engage me in conversation or debate, I like reasoned people from all sides. I will not follow people simply because they follow me but again, simple interaction may be all that is required. After all, that is the big idea behind Twitter.

Similarly I will not issue a #ff simply on the basis that I was issued one by a Tweep but I am extremely grateful for all and every single #ff or #followfriday I receive. Once you understand my stance and rationale you will agree, I am sure that being selective will enhance the whole experience.

New rules:

1. Politics (as this is the reason for my existence on Twitter) will have 10 nominations per week, no more, no less. They will be a mix of Coalition, Opposition, Libertarian, Independent.

2. Smile Makers will have 5 nominations

3. Humour will have a single nomination

4. Newly Discovered Tweeps will have 2 nominations

5. Because I Want To will have a single nomination.

Once more into the breach…..

Politics (10)
If you are easily offended then why not run the gauntlet with @OboTheClown a pure Libertarian

Here’s a bit of a ménage à trois and really rather entertaining in the Political sphere @Political_Fun @James_Monk and @CateyMaxx

We have lacked something since Lady Thatcher left office so thankfully we now have @LadyHaylon

An everpresent and intellectually astute Tweep @eljmayes

Whatever the reason some people are just on the wrong side of the house, (IMO) but that doesn’t make them bad people, in fact, it is a good thing and promotes healthy debate hence one of my favourite Opposition Tweeps is the very lovely @Tchee

It should be noted that there are amongst others quite a number of nice Opposition members ;o) and this week I shall include both @SamCellis and @MattJNewman in those ranks who are always civil and utterly friendly

Last but most certainly not least this week in this bracket we have @AliBulger who desperately needs a lock on his Political chambers!

Smile Makers (5)
The sole reason I started this blog and still my favourite Yorkshire lass @CaroleHarry

Following a brief recollection of Floyd’s Brick in the wall this morning I have to thank @PhilipCMeyer (who’s planning his “field” trip to Pilton) for uplifting my mind today

You can choose your friends but not your family, sometimes that’s a good thing as you may not choose the right family. I am proud to nominate my father @WicksieSnr in this bracket this week following his 50th Wedding Anniversary last Saturday

A few months ago I was surprised to find myself enjoying BBC Question Time with Richard Madeley as a guest. I’ve always quite liked Richard but I was impressed at how “on the ball” he was in his perception of current affairs and Politics hence he is a firm follow that I recommend to you via @richardm56 in the knowledge he will at some stage share a nugget of wisdom that will make you smile

Whilst This Tweep could fit into a number of other areas within this post @NeilWigg is safely in the smile maker bracket today as his honesty and refreshing Tweets help amongst the mud slinging that sadly goes on within Twitter

Humour (1)
Without a shadow of a doubt you will smile at least once a day courtesy of @TheKeithChegwin (yes, it really is Cheggers)

Newly Discovered Tweeps (2)
Some rather entertaining discussions this week regarding The Chicken Song with @CarolynAWebster

Following an incredible F1 race in Canada and an exchange of “related” topics I am pleased to be following @bnzss though it should be noted he “could” fit into the Political arena under Libertarian

Because I Want To (1)
In my past life I interviewed an incredibly intelligent and fascinating man, the man who brings science down to the human level; the first man since Johnny Ball to do that. It is no surprise that @slsingh is also an incredibly talented author

Didn’t feature this week? Please don’t be offended, it is always going to be hard selecting only 19 recommendations but interact and you never know what’s around the corner…

Without a shadow of a doubt the whole Twitter #ff or #followfriday thing is either something you love or hate, there is simply no middle ground.

Personally I love it what it brings and the people it brings to my account, I love the interaction and the possible glimpse into another’s timeline and the resulting success it may bring. What I don’t love is the laborious way in which we basically have to write every Friday off in favour of the #ff hashtag.

This Friday I propose to change how we or I at least do business via the #ff tag and it is my aim to blog a post that will contain the usernames of those that I have discussed with during the previous week, debating partners, considered intelligentsia of the political world (whatever flavour), this post will remain active henceforth until the next one supersedes it the following week.

What will this bring us? Well, for a start it will reduce the burden on the twitter servers, it will stop our timelines clogging up and it will allow all of us to do the right thing.

Ok, I did not expect to come out of retirement with my thumb so soon but I guess needs must. Today the Twitter world as well as the “real” media is full of David Laws and his apparent breach of the parliamentary rules governing MPs’ second home expenses.

There is a lot of speculation and argument about the exact situation of Laws and his partner, his sexuality and his right to rent rooms from his alleged lover. This is all going to become rather messier than it is even at present. I shall not enter into discussion regarding the private life of David Laws and I believe others should let that alone too but that is entirely up to them.

What I believe should happen now is that the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg should act by advising his Minister to resign his post by the end of the weekend. Now is the perfect time with Parliament being in recess, this would give chance for a new Cabinet Minister to get up to speed over the next few days.

This would also remove any overhang from the old politics that we so eagerly sought to move away from. This will also enable the Coalition, the Lib Dems and David Laws to stand on the moral high ground and enforce the reality of honest politicis upon the nation.

I believe right now that David Cameron is probably briefing Nick Clegg to the effect of the above and it will become clearer within the next 24hrs that David Laws will resign his Cabinet post for the sake of the Coalition, the nation and what is right for British politics.

Yes, Laws was in the wrong but Britain does not need another 5 years of hypocrisy from our Government and the Coalition does not need to be handing easy targets to the Opposition.

As described to me on Twitter by @SnappingLawyer this morning “The show must go on!”

With England now the World Champions in the Twenty20 it seems appropriate to use a cricketing analogy to describe the predicament that Jon Bercow finds himself in.

It is fair that Nadine, Kate and others can call the vote for the chair of the Speaker, after all, this House is supposed to be the bastion of democracy, the last place whereby man can call his master to account.

With that in mind it is somewhat disappointing that Twitter is full of self-interested bloggers today calling Nadine a liar and a spiteful person. What Nadine is doing in fact is issuing more chance for free speech than these bloggers ever have or ever will.

Personally, I hope the vote is called for Mr Bercow today. The vote would take place as an open vote, we would all know where those die-hard MPs had voted or indeed where those newbie’s had voted. Or, whether either had abstained.

One could argue that to usher in the new form of Politics, leaving behind the old term bias and scandal we need to have a vote on the Speaker. In my personal view Jon Bercow has done an admirable job, not spectacular but admirable, he, however, has let himself down on a number of ocasions but I put that down to the heat of the moment in the Political meltdown that was the death of the previous Government, a man is permitted to mourn.

So, at 14:30 Sir Peter Tapsell, The Father of the House will call for the Aye’s and the No’s and there will be sufficient No’s that in Sir Peter’s mind the House will split and a vote forced.

That vote will see the return of Jon Bercow to the role of Mr Speaker and leave Ming Campbell rueing his missed opportunity.

Jon Bercow will be returned not because he is necessarily the best man for the job but because this would be one change too far in too quick a time for the House to subsume. It is right that his authority is tested but the public would not thank the Coalition for what would be seen as a “dirty tricks” campaign to unseat The Speaker of the House.

Jon Bercow will be returned simply because now is not the time to do this.

I have just had a conversation around the new Cabinet via Twitter with somebody who suggests that in their own words

I am saddened by the lack of women and or ethnic minorities, more of the same

I was shocked by this claim. This is the first diverse Cabinet in 65 years in terms of spreading the base over more than 1 Political Party.

In addition to that, the Cabinet is made up of 24 posts. Of that, 2 posts (Dave and Nick) are already taken and they are already men so cannot go to any other candidate.

That leaves 22 posts, of that the LD have 4 more posts, the make up of the LD is such that not by any fault other than these candidates have won their seats there are no black or ethnic minority posts.

So, we are left with 18 posts of those 18 posts we have 4 women Cabinet Ministers and the Country’s first Muslim. Was this good enough? Who knows.

What I do know is that this is finally a break and a very welcome one from the Labour ethos whereby somebody gets a job by virtue of being a member of an ethnic minority or by virtue of being the lady in the room. This is the situation whereby a person gets a job by virtue of being the right candidate for the role and if that means it drops or raises the percentage of diversity within the Government then so be it.