Is Red Bull to blame for Cameron's Red Mist?

(Red Bull the sugary drink, not Labour's new policy announcements).

Dave's alleged habit - 6 cans a day according to one source - could explain his increasing number of angry outbursts. There have also been suggestions that he's back on the nicotine patches. I've blogged about Dave's anger management issues before. This time, however, it's serious. The MSM is on the case.


Related: Has David Cameron looked into Paul McKenna's eyes?

Tory backbenchers will have Prime Minister Cameron for breakfast

They're running rings around him already. Laughing at him behind his back. The number of influential Tory backbenchers who have effectively told Cameron to shove it when it comes to paying back expenses is growing by the day. And they're not alone. The majority of Cameron's shadow cabinet have now told the Tory leader where to go on the issue of outside interests.

Dave ordered his top team to give up their numerous highly paid jobs outside Westminster in November of last year. One or two were happy to oblige. The rest told Cameron to swivel. His authority was further undermined yesterday when the shadow cabinet rebels informed him that they intend to retain their outside interests until "just before the general election."

They didn't say which general election.

The Tory leader has got one-term wonder written all over him. If the electorate don't give Prime Minister Cameron the boot after one term you can be damn sure the ill-disciplined rabble behind and alongside him will. They sense weakness. They smell fear.

It can only be a matter of time before they go in for the kill.

Expenses investigations: Is Mervyn King next?

Just a thought.

MPs expenses: Cameron accused of establishment stitch-up over star chamber

It's official. According to ConHome, a letter complaining about Team Cameron's power has been circulated to all Tory MPs. But if you don't believe the authenticity of the letter here's a few examples of how Cameron's establishment star chamber works.

The shadow Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, a close personal friend of the Tory leader has been found not to have told the truth about letting his agent stay rent-free in his taxpayer-funded country home. Action taken by Cameron and his secretive star chamber: None.

The shadow Cabinet Office minister, Francis Maude, a close personal friend of the Tory leader claimed almost £35,000 over two years for a mortgage on a London flat a few minutes walk from a house he already owned and then rented out. Action taken by Cameron and his secretive star chamber: None.

The shadow Education Secretary, Michael Gove, a close personal friend of the Tory leader spent more than £7,000 in five months furnishing a London property in 2006 before "flipping" his second home designation to a new property he bought in Surrey. He then apparently claimed more than £13,000 in stamp duty and other fees from his Parliamentary expenses for this property. Action taken by Cameron and his secretive star chamber: None.

The shadow environment secretary, Nick Herbert, a close personal friend of the Tory leader, claimed back £10,000 of the £14,700 stamp duty when he bought a home with his partner in his constituency. He also charged for fees and a survey of the property in Arundel, West Sussex, and claimed for the entire monthly mortgage interest even though his partner's name was on the deeds. Action taken by Cameron and his secretive star chamber: None.

The shadow health secretary, Andrew Lansley, a former close personal friend of the Tory leader, spent thousands of pounds renovating a thatched Tudor country cottage - and sold it shortly afterwards. He redecorated with premium paint in some rooms at a cost of £2,000 and spent more than £500 having the driveway re-shingled. He is then said to have 'flipped' his expenses to a Georgian flat in London, and claimed for thousands of pounds in furnishings, including a Laura Ashley sofa. Action taken by Cameron and his secretive star chamber: None.

However, following Lansley's recent gaffe over Tory cuts, a member of Cameron's inner circle has reportedly warned Lansley that his expenses claims could be re-investigated at any moment between now and the general election.

Prescott tells Miliband to wind his neck in

If David Miliband is the future of the Labour Party the Labour Party doesn't have a future. Think William Hague in a baseball cap. Then double it. Here's what John Prescott has to say about the ongoing plot against Brown:

"We've had the most disastrous results affected by the recession, allowances scandals and minsiterial resignations, including Cabinet members walking out the day before the election and as soon as the polls closed. All for maximum publicity. Then came the PLP debate where Charles Clarke's demand for GB to go were overwhelmingly rejected. Instead we all backed calls for unity and getting on with Government.

So imagine my surprise when I was walking through Portcullis House in the House of Commons on Thursday and stumbled upon a meeting held by Charles Clarke, John Reid, Alan Milburn and a few others, huddled together in intense discussion. I went over and offered to be the secretary for their little club. With nervous laughter, my offer was turned down. I later saw David Miliband and Milburn in a similar intense discussion. My suspicions were now heightened."

And so they should be. The plotters won't rest until Brown has gone. Which is likely to be towards the end of the year as predicted by Paul Linford.

And after Brown has gone? That's when the real fun starts - the plot to destroy Miliband, Purnell, Clarke, Milburn, Byers and Burnham.

Labour deserves 19 years in opposition if this sentence is allowed to stand

A minimum of 19 years. I'm speechless. What's it going to take until life means life?

Here's the victim impact statement read to the court by Ben Kinsella's mother, Deborah Kinsella.

"I make this statement and the feelings and emotions are felt by all my family but no amount of words could ever express the daily pain we feel for the loss of Ben. On 29 June 2008 our beautiful son Ben was brutally and savagely stabbed to death. We as his family have been left devastated and in total despair.

Our whole world has been totally turned upside down. Ben went for a good night out and never came home again.

Ben had only just finished school - a straight-A student, he had a job and had got his place in college (he never learnt of the wonderful exam results he had achieved and worked so very hard for).

Ben loved life, he loved living and he had so much to live for. He knew where he was going and where he wanted to be.

Ben loved nothing more than to make people laugh, he was a fun-loving, happy-go-lucky boy with a heart of gold and would do anything for anyone. A testimony of this was his funeral that was attended by so many friends who filled the church and pavements outside.

Ben loved art and wanted to be a graphic designer, he loved his family, cooking, football, music and girls.

The people who murdered him knew nothing about our Ben, not a hair on his head, a bone in his body, not anything about our wonderful son. They had never met him before or spoken to him - they just cruelly took his life away with knives for no apparent reason.

We had brought Ben up to always walk away from trouble. This sadly cost him his life. He walked away to get safely home and they took advantage of that - he was one boy on his own. It seems unfair their intent was to stab someone that night.

'Boy thing'

We were a big, happy, loving family (we are one down, one missing). We are hard-working and just wanted the best for all our children in life. There are now just three of us at home.

We have had to move house because it broke our hearts to not see Ben in his bedroom curled up sleeping and safe in his bed. We so miss Ben's love and laughter and most of all the boy thing in our family.

Ben was our precious son that we cherished and were so immensely proud of, and by the way we had brought him up.

He had values and respected everyone he met. We as a family will never know the man he would have become, the wife he would have met and the children he would have had.
This has all now been taken away from siblings, his grandmothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and us.
No parent or sibling should ever have to go through or see what we have seen with our son. He died in front of us, we then had to visit him in a morgue, the undertakers and finally to bury him.

We can now only visit Ben at a cemetery, our beautiful son who so loved life.

We cry every day for the loss of Ben, we do not sleep like we did before. Nearly a year on our nights are still filled with nightmares, of our son's last moments and what he went through that fatal night.

Our lives will never be the same - we have all been so deeply affected.

We as a family will never get over the loss of our Ben. We are just trying to get through it. Our family now face a lifetime of feeling this way.

Nothing we can say or do will ever bring Ben back. All we can hope and pray for is that justice will prevail, maybe then we can find some form of closure to this awful event that has devastated our family's lives."

From rocking the boat to walking the plank

Now that Labour activists have joined the voters of Salford in calling for Hazel Blears to stand down it seems the former Communities Secretary is left with only one option - GROVEL.

Sadly, it's too little, too late. Salford deserves better.

Brown will deal with 'unfinished business' then step down in October

Or possibly November. But keep it to yourself. It's a secret.

Expenses scandal: Has Cameron shelved his 'Star Chamber'?

It's all gone quiet over there. Oh, it's all gone quiet, all gone quiet, all gone quiet over there.

Shahid Malik's back

...is, I'm led to believe, much better.

Labour rebels fear 4 year expenses audit

They're hoping that by forcing Brown out now, triggering a general election, their thieving ways won't be discovered until after an election. What a shower.

The rise and rise of.... Adam Boulton's lunch

I don't want to keep banging on about this but Sky's world-weary political editor MUST seek medical advice over his ongoing reflux problem. Following consultations with medical professionals and media experts I'm now calling on Adam Boulton to see his GP immediately.

Indigestion threatens Adam Boulton's career

If he can't get through a live broadcast without looking like he's about to spew up a chocolate eclair then I suspect it's curtains for the portly presenter. He's on again this morning and he's making me feel very uncomfortable. I'm expecting a lemon meringue to make an appearance every time he opens his mouth.

Hazel's "outstanding contribution": 13 grand

She jumped before she was pushed. The question is will she jump before her constituents give her the push. Salford deserves better.

Hazel Blears claimed for three properties in a single year at taxpayers' expense

Going up: Liam Byrne. Coming back: John Reid?

Going down: Gordon Brown? Your guess is as good as mine. But Steve Richards is telling his readers to expect 'the most exciting and unpredictable few days in British politics for years.'

Jacqui Smith: A tawdry affair

She should have gone weeks ago. If not months ago.

Tom Watson to leave the government?

According to The Mirror: "Gordon Brown is to lose one of his closest political allies in his looming reshuffle. Cabinet Minister Tom Watson told the PM some weeks ago that he wanted to quit to spend more time with his family."

Minister claimed expenses for soundproofing her bedroom. Whips informed

You could make it up. But no-one would believe you.

A witch-hunt? Great! Bring on the ducking stool

It's the least they deserve.

Mid Bedfordshire: Independent gain

Don't believe me? Read this tripe. She still doesn't get it.

Video courtesy of Beau Bo D'Or. It says it all.




Hat-tip Bob Piper

Cameron's first cabinet

could include the following:

Roll up, roll up! Jon Gaunt set to join Cameron's Celebrity Candidate Circus?

Roll up, roll up! Jon Gaunt set to join Cameron's Celebrity Candidate Circus?

Plenty of names are being mentioned now that the Tory leader has re-opened the Tory candidates list, with Jaunty Gaunty being touted as one of the celebrities most likely to take up Cameron's offer.

Anneka Rice is also said to be in the frame along with Mylene Klass and Katie Price. Rumours that Frank Lampard has agreed to act as Katie's election agent are completely unfounded and, quite frankly, disturbing.

Is Nadine Dorries the new Heather Mills?

One commentor on the soon-to-be former MP's article in the Independent thinks so.

'bs_potter50' writes: "Please stop digging. You are one of a "type" who simply has to have the last word - think Heather Mills, who you, rather alarmingly, resemble by the way. You have this strong need to draw attention to yourself and manage only to draw opprobrium. The subtext of this latest outburst -"please don't probe my expense claims or I'll top myself" is all very unedifying."

Dive over there and have a read of the comments. She's getting the stick she deserves.

Joanna Lumley could stand against Esther Rantzen in Luton

But that's not all. At least one celeb reporter is suggesting that Katie Price might throw her hat in the ring! Now that's what I call stiff opposition.

The drinks are on Tom Watson

Is this the beginning of the end for Iain Dale? Media bigwigs, smallwigs and earwigs are already asking who the controversial Tory blogger will libel next. And, more importantly, which one of them will end up paying the damages?

Martin Salter for Speaker?

Heaven help us! However, the rumour mill is in full flow. Ming Campbell is being ruled out - the Speaker's gaff has already been redecorated. John Bercow has also been ruled out - there's a possibility he could land a ministerial post in Brown's widely expected reshuffle next month. And several Westminster sources are suggesting that Frank Field is set to rule himself out - the job is beneath him.

Martin Salter for Speaker? Stranger things have happened.

Will there be tears for Blears?

Is Francis Maude a fraud? And just when you thought the expenses scandal couldn't get any worse....

'How shameless top Tories claimed expenses for swimming pools, helipads, chandeliers... and even a moat'

Sean Ryder set to endorse Cameron?

The Happy Monday Club?

Boris one-term shocker is old news

Nearly 12 months old to be exact.

Daily Pundit May 29th 2008:

"I'm reliably informed the next bombshell for the Tory leadership won't be Johnson's rumoured return to the BBC's Have I Got News For You as a guest presenter - it's expected to be the newly elected mayor's announcement that he will only serve one term."

Evening Standard 23rd April 2009:

"Bojo has given an exclusive interview with the Standard today in which he makes clear that he may quit after just one term as Mayor."

Apparently, Boris fancies himself as PM. If that's the case then I suspect that David Cameron's "private past that all politicians are entitled to," could soon become a little less private. When it comes to Cameron and Osborne, Boris knows who, what and when.

Budget winners and losers

Winners

Mike Smithson, who lost money on the number of sips of water Alistair Darling took but made money on the number of times Darling said the words "billion" and "education":

"My 5/1 William Hill bet on him not having any water came in at 5/1. Overall profit £125. My 3/1 Ladbrokes bet on "credit crunch" was a winner but "sorry" was a loser. Net profit about £95. So total winnings on the 2009 budget £460."

James Landale, back at work and in fine form following chemotherapy. Welcome back, James.

Losers

Kay Burley's wardrobe assistant. Adam Boulton's dietician.

Tom Harris: Stalking horse?

He's a disgruntled former minister with a growing army of fans in the right wing blogosphere. The only question is, will Iain Dale run his campaign?

Top Tories smeared... then whipped, then covered in baby oil

The Sunday Mirror has the story.

Tory B: 'A married man, tipped for a prime role in any future Tory government. Natalie claims she had five cocaine-fuelled sessions with Tory B, who got his kicks from being whipped while in a dog's collar.'

"A lot of the men I meet are cold and uninteresting, but he had a good soul. But he would soon go off on a rant as soon as anyone mentioned politics. He was very critical of William Hague, the Tory leader at the time. He said after hoovering up a line of coke "I'll be Prime Minister one day" and I joked, "And I'll have all the evidence on you'."

Tory A: "He claimed to be a doctor and fondled my breasts" - Married and a serving MP, he is seen as one of the most respected men in politics. He is also tipped to make the Tory Cabinet if they are elected.

"He used to turn up to see me in this long beige mac which, frankly, he looked a bit like a flasher in... He always used to bring a 'special' piece of equipment along which would enhance his sexual prowess. The truth is he was actually unable to perform without it... For goodness sake, this is a man who could be one of those running the country in 12 months’ time!"

Referring to two senior Tories previously jailed for perjury, she added: "For anyone thinking about lying in court, I have two words for them… Aitken and Archer."

Where's Damian McBride when you need him?

Gordon Brown's luck has definitely run out. Who's going to slag off Alice Mahon now that McPoison has gone?

British politics will never be the same... unless this man can come to the rescue.

Is Cameron losing his touch?

I only ask because it's been at least 24 hours since the Tory leader asked anyone for an apology. Considering he hasn't let a day go by in the last 6 months without demanding an apology from someone – from anyone - it's a jolly poor show.

Was Iain Dale stitched up over Watson smears?

There's a rumour doing the rounds that the controversial Tory blogger was deliberately misled over the McBride/Draper emails. Having been informed by person or persons unknown that Labour's Tom Watson had been copied into the emails Iain naively repeated the claim in the broadcast and print media.

Sadly, Iain still hasn't published an apology on his blog. It'll be interesting to see how the legal process develops.

Iain Dale facing financial ruin over Labour smears?

It has to be said that Iain has made some astonishing claims over the last few days which on reflection I'm sure he regrets. But only because he'll have to sell his Audi, West Ham season ticket and entire Cliff Richard collection to pay the damages.

I suspect an apology is on the way.

Cameron's press chief warned newspapers not to go public with McBride slurs

According to Kevin Maguire. Can't think why, can you? If there's no truth in the allegations what's the problem? Mud sticks? Perhaps. But who gives a damn if George Osborne pranced about in stockings and suspenders? He's in good company. Oliver Letwin does it all the time.

Which just leaves us with the mystery gay Tory MP accused of abusing his position to promote his partner's business interests in the Commons, and Nadine Dorries's threat to sue for libel over claims of 'having a one-night stand with a married colleague during a party away day.

I expect the mystery gay Tory MP to be unmasked sooner rather than later and I'm praying Nadine will go ahead and sue. What a court case that would be! Pure theatre.


PS. I can't help noticing that Damian McBride appears to have a terrible rash on his face. According to one Westminster wag it's a nappy rash.

Will right wing bloggers co-operate with police over email hacking?

Derek Draper writes:

"Imagine if all your emails suddenly became available to people wanting to damage you. That is, of course, the other question that needs to be asked: how were these emails obtained? Was criminal activity and hacking involved? Believe me, these are issues I will be looking at when I return from my holiday. "Blog wars" are one thing but hacking into people's emails is surely a step too far?"

Mission Impossible: A smear campaign against Druggie Dave and George the Pimp

It'll never work. We've all seen the pictures of Osborne with the hooker. We know that Cameron used to enjoy a smoke and a line of coke after a hard day on the grouse moors. But they're still 12 points ahead in the polls. One more scandal and they could move twenty points ahead.

However, the small matter of email accounts being hacked is said to have raised eyebrows on all sides of the political divide. If there wasn't a campaign to 'get' the 'right wing bloggers' before - there is now. And it's a cross-party campaign.

Related: Damien McBride can run but he can't hide

Would you pay a fiver to read LabourList?

Me neither. But that's the plan according to one well placed source. Paid subscription. A fiver a month. Three quid for students, OAPs and the unemployed.