Monday, October 31, 2005

'Off form' Government rallies with late strike for reserves

By our Parliamentary Correspondent Alan Hansard

Last week was disappointing by Blair Utd's high standards. A home fixture at Hampton Court should have given them a decisive advantage against a European opposition that fielded Gerhard Schroder at centre-half despite his recent poor form. Instead, the away side took the points; capitalising on the current European leader's defensive approach to the game with a fine cameo from French right winger Chirac, playing on the traditional French side of the field - the left - that saved the game from going into extra time.

Blair Utd also struggled to perform in the domestic league last week. Team spokesman Geoff 'Hoono' Hoon was quick to blame the woeful showing on the set pieces: "We just couldn't get our game heads on, we went out there having practiced these things week after week and then blew it. I'm well gutted. We're lucky to get a result". Utd's set piece failure was at its most woeful when they failed to defend a corner-kick in the civil liberties area allowing Charlie Kennedy to nod a crowd-pleasing effort into the back of the net. The reds saved the game with recent signing Mikhail Howardski coming of the fence to equalise in added time.

In the third game on a packed fixture list last week, a full-strength Blair Utd side took to the field for what promised to a free flowing and exciting game against Ken Clarke's Wheezing Old Boys. The game got off to a slow start, however, with many of Utd's top stars not performing or picking up knocks. A raft of changes were made at half time, but by then any chance for Blair Utd to seize the momentum of the game had faltered, and the game petered out into a dull draw. After the game, Hoono Hoon was questioned about the team's failure to perform when packed so full of highly paid stars: "I'm well gutted" he said, adding "we have to assess our priorities, you know, some of the players are undoubtedly quality stars, but if they stay out all night sexing dossiers up and writing binge drinking proposals then they're not going to perform under pressure."

Utd's blushes were moderated slightly by a promising result from their reserve team. Facing an admittedly under-prepared opposition, the Utd reserves managed to knock in a late winner in the second leg of their Nanny State Cup fixture against the Public Transport Caterer's XI. Some commentators have questioned the value of such games, but David 'Millo' Miliband, Utd's head of Communities and Development said "these games may seem insignificant, but to be able to dig in and grind out a result such as this is invaluable in terms of the moral of our team and backroom staff. It may seem petty, but at least we know we can win. Otherwise we'd be well gutted".

Utd's first team will be hoping to repeat the form of their reserves this week in fixtures against FC Trident in the NATO cup and the prospect of easy domestic points against the little known Scottish side McLetchie. They will have to do so without their star striker, David 'Blunko' Blunkett who is being rested from the first team side whilst allegations of improper conduct are underway. Blunko Blunkett who is no stranger to controversy - often being seen out about town with some bitch or other - said: "I'm well gutted".

Friday, October 28, 2005

Footballer "not quite dead yet"


Best: going to die soon

George Best is not quite dead yet, say doctors at the Cromwell Hospital in London. Best was admitted to the hospital four weeks ago with "death-like symptoms". Best became an icon when, as a sad, fat, pathetic, wife-beating, bankrupt alcoholic with a shagged liver he uttered the words:

"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars - the rest I just squandered"

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Still not a crook



George Galloway is again indignantly defending his litigiously coiffed reputation following allegations that he committed perjury during his fiery and confrontational testimony under oath to a US senate committee last May.

Monday, October 24, 2005

Guardian quivers at Cameron's package



The brothers and sisters on the editorial board of the Guardian seem to be revealing most of the discomfort felt by New Labour at the prospect of a Cameron-led Conservative party.

This article is a rushed hatchet-job in the Michael Moore style which poorly reflects the newspaper's usual journalistic prowess but nevertheless highlights the political preoccupations of its editorial board.

The real story here, beneath the scary stuff about Neoconservatives and, er, Neoconservatives, is that Cameron, in covering traditional Tory issues such as European legislation, tax and the public sector. That Conservative core, allied to his socially liberal aspect and PR skill, means that the Cameron package is shaping up to out-Heineken Mr Heineken - covering the base of the Tory membership and re-empowering the voting groups that deserted the Tories in the nineties.

Another article in today's Guardian by Stuart Jeffries seeks to defend the paper's recent attacks on David 'pious, overprivileged old Etonian' Cameron:

But, really, what is so wrong about Cameron having attended the British school that most typifies privilege and is responsible for fast-tracking the spawn of the rich to places where the likes of you will never go, at a time when our putatively classless society is sclerotically riven with social divisions? As Louis Armstrong said, "If you gotta ask, you ain't never gonna know."

Readers are assured of the author's impeccably metrosexual-Islingtonite credentials by some extra information at the bottom of the article:

This week Stuart is still reading the Qur'an: "I'm up to surah (chapter) 17, in which Mohammed is flown to Mecca by the angel Gabriel to meet the prophets." Stuart listened to the Digable Planets' Blowout Comb: "The coolest things the hip-hop sophisticates ever did." Stuart saw Strangers on a Train: "My favourite Hitchcock, featuring the slimy skills of Robert Walker."

Re assuring information, thank you Stuart. For your information, this week Ben is reading the Guardian: "Although Guardianism is a deeply prejudiced religion derided by many in the West as disrespectful to those with a good education, I like to read it's religious texts to seem like I'm more enlightened and intellectually superior" Ben listened to Nizlopi's JCB song: "because I like it." Ben saw Gerald Thomas' Carry On Screaming: "it was alright, but I fell asleep, but then it was Sunday".

Rumble in Brum

It's almost exactly a month after Trevor Phillips, the head of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), echoed the sentiments of the late Enoch Powell, suggesting that current levels of immigration will lead to ghettoisation and that our country is in danger of "sleepwalking into apartheid".

An unfortunate coincidence for Powell was that he made his controversial 'rivers of blood' speech on the anniversary of Adolph Hitler's birthday. Philip's remarks also are unfortunate as it was Hitler who claimed to "go the way that Providence dictates for me with all the assurance of a sleepwalker".

Philips may have spent the best part of his career denouncing Powell as a racist and a bigot, but when it comes to recognising that society's ability to successfully absorb migrants is dependent upon the rate at which they come - it turns out Enoch was right.

Phillips recently publicly denounced the CRE's previously underlying principle of multiculturalism. Multiculturalism was the stick with which equality wytch-fynders such as the CRE beat anyone that dared to question the accepted belief in un-fettered inward migration. It is now clear that previously taboo subjects such as 'saturation rates', 'assimilation', and 'ghettoisation' are no longer the ramblings of the paranoid right, they are the key to avoiding a divided and segregated society.

Powell's home town of Birmingham is currently ravaged by race riots between Black and Asian youths. These communities represent the ghettoised and segregated consequences of immigration without integration that Enoch feared and Trevor Phillips alluded to in his 'sleepwalking' speech at Manchester a month ago.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Dr Death eliminated from Tory leadership race

Today Tory MPs voted to eliminate Dr Liam Death as a candidate in the race to be the next Tory leader. 300,000 Conservative party members around the country will then vote for either of the two candidates that are left.

Dr Liam Death



Age
Dr Death was born at the dawn of time, and will haunt humanity for evermore.

Profile
Liam is an approachable kind of guy, loved by old ladies in their dying hours. He has previously dated Marilyn Monroe, Paula Yates and Princess Diana.

Politics
Strong on social values such as shooting people who wear hoodies, putting a fence around the city of Liverpool and re-naming it 'HMP Liverpool' and has promised to make the trains run on time.


As the race to become the next leader of the Conservative party nears its final phase, we take a look at the two remaining.

In pole position is Dave Blokeron.



Age
At 25, Dave is well young and dead sexy.

Profile
Dave is just like you and me - he may or may not have taken drugs and drives a Renault Espace. He is married with a son and his wife is pregnant.

Politics
Dave has promised 'modern compassionate conservatism', which sounds quite nice doesn't it?


Second place in today's vote is the previous favourite David Hardnut.



Age
At 48 David may seem too young to have fought at the Somme, El Alamein, and inVietnam, but he's well hard you know.

Profile
David does one hundred one-armed press-ups every morning, and he eats raw eggs for breakfast. He was born with no legs in a skip behind the shopping centre at Brent Cross and his mother was a black disabled foreign Muslim lesbian crack-head.

Politics
Previously unequivocal on issues such as the family and Europe, David has skilfully equivocated, but reckons he could still 'knock some heads together' if required.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Up in smoke

Something rotten in the fate of Ken Clarke!

He didn't make it through to the next round....

I knew I'd find a post for that title if I looked hard enough...

Back once again...

I've returned. America didn't think I was all that charming, except the parts of it that I bought beer for. I have a challenge though. I'd like to see the first post on here with a title 'Something rotten in the state of...'. Not that we need to comment on local politics in the US, but I think we need to raise our intellectual level a bit.

Anything involving pictures of Arnie, and 'Something rotten in the state of California' doesn't count.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Legal news

I have not been blogging much because I am currently being sued at work.

It's definitely making work more fun, but preparing the case is taking up valuable blogging time. I might counter-sue because of this.


Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Journalists capable spellers, terrible at counting

This morning's main world news, aside from earthquakes in Pakistan, elections in Liberia and Andrew Flintoff's shared player of the year award, is another attack in Iraq.

The Melbourne Herald Sun says 37 people.

The Financial Times says 'nearly 30'.

The New York Times says 'at least 28'.

As I remember, first reports on 7th July were that two people had received minor injuries due to a power surge. I wish journalists would hang back and find out some facts, rather than printing something vaguely representing what appears to have happened, in the hope of an exclusive and a pay rise...

Monday, October 10, 2005

Political Bias

It's now the turn of Matt to turn on the charm in America with his educated English accent.

The redirect result of this is that politically impartial yet satirical posts such as this and this will now be covered by Chris and Ben

Friday, October 07, 2005

Imagination versus the real world

Another drugs story I'm afraid.

Crack squirrels are loose in the streets of Brixton. Much as I try to come up with something funny, the real world always comes up with something funnier.


Squirrels: Only this active after rehab

"It was ill-looking and its eyes looked bloodshot but it kept on desperately digging."


I can fly!

A squirrel recently ran up the leg of a colleague of mine, but it would be beneath this site to make a bottom joke, to the effect that it was looking for crack.

Honestly, you couldn't make it up.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Massive hike in the price of drugs likely

State interference in the drug market will result in a massive cost for the rise of drugs, officials have admitted.

The revelations came as Metropolitan Police revealed that they had seized cannabis worth "like, erm quite a bit, actually" following nine arrests in London and Essex.

An undercover police expert described the haul as "like, very significant shit man" and indicated that the disruption to the market supply was likely to push the price of the drug up appreciably unless you happened to be "you know, like, connected".

In other news, Sugar Puff sandwiches are lovely and if you stare at a light bulb for ages and ages there's like a ripple of energy all around it in a kind of rainbow of colours a bit like a kaleidoscope but watery, kind of fluid like a lava lamp, yeah lava lamps are cool, they really got it right when they invented lava lamps. Pass the Sugar Puffs.


Relaxed: the Metropolitan Police annual party

Slap-head Goggins calls for mature debate

Drugs minister Paul Goggins, who is balding, has called for a grown up debate on drugs in order to get his photo in the paper next to Kate Moss.

Goggins, whose bum smells like farts told the BBC News Website:

"We need to have a slightly more mature debate about the drugs strategy because we're constantly bombarded with stories in the media about individuals and problems of drug misuse and the impact they have."


Moss: more photogenic than the Drugs Minister

Conference Confidential

Doom and gloom from the Tories' Blackpool orgy of masochism

Okey Cokey

'Cokey' Cameron refused to be drawn when quizzed on drugs and booze today.

"I had a normal university experience, if I can put it like that", was the closest persistent hacks could get to an admission of drug taking.

Don't expect this one to leave young Cameron alone.

Knives out for Clarke

In my conference preview published earlier this week I noted the Guardian's sudden change of tactics on Ken Clarke.

Clarke of all the candidates ticks the right boxes for the Guardian - he is seen to be on the left of the party, has Europhile views and is not tainted by a good education or support for the Iraq war.

But any enthusiasm for Clarke was swiftly damped last Friday when the Guardian led with a Clarke-tobacco story and continued the line the next day. Now it's open season on the former chancellor, with columnist Catherine Bennett landing punches on the Rushcliffe MP's ample midriff:

"To see Clarke haul his sorry bulk on to the platform is to appreciate the impact of the past few years of repeated health warnings and reports on the global epidemic of obesity: the big beast doesn't look cuddly, or even bearlike, he looks scarily unwell…

"If… the Conservatives make him their leader, the job will join professional darts, comedy and road haulage in that dwindling set of careers in which it is still possible for a vast smoker to get to the very top."


Hang on - aren't the obese meant to be victims of our savage and uncaring society? Perhaps if you're Tory and obese you're simply 'greedy'. Besides, I can reliably inform readers that in real life Ken is not as big as he appears on camera - sure, he's rotund, but the guy's 65. I've never met Catherine Bennett, but I hope she's a real bloater.

Conference Confidential

Doom and gloom from the Tories' Blackpool orgy of masochism

Ancram's away

Liam Fox's core support is now only split two ways, after Michael Ancram told the conference faithful this morning that he's decided not to play after all.

Ancram had been canvassing support from the Cornerstone group of about 25 Tory MPs. Nicknamed the 'Tombstone group' amongst their less archaic colleagues, Cornerstone MPs hold traditional socially conservative views which were being courted by Ancram and Edward Leigh. Leigh has not yet declared and with Dr Fox's increasingly reactive social views gathering support he may decide against it.

Conference Confidential

Doom and gloom from the Tories' Blackpool orgy of masochism

Tits up

Whilst the media worlds are franticly trying to make mileage out of David Davis' mediocre oratory performance yesterday a fresh tit-bit has reached us.

The unquestionably attractive young lady photographed 'spontaneously' sporting a close fitting 'it's DD for me' T-shirt over an ample bosom this week is none other than Davis' campaign co-ordinator's long-term girlfriend. And the other similarly clad attractive young things? - "mates from the pub" apparently…

The Davis' campaign is still maintaining that they have no knowledge of the stunt and that the eye-candy represent 'firm' support for Davis from the county's youth.

Conference Confidential

Doom and gloom from the Tories' Blackpool orgy of masochism

Ken's Diet

Members of Ken Clarke's campaign team are reportedly gob-smacked at their man's eating arrangements.

The big man's daily intake consists entirely of a cigar and glass of orange juice for breakfast and then nothing until a fish and chip supper after a hard day's campaigning.

I like this guy more and more…

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

A rant

I haven't seen much British rugby on television recently. I could watch as much South African, New Zealand and Australian rugby as I like, because I have the sports package on Sky Television. Until this season I could have watched as much British rugby as I liked too, because it was on Sky and they showed loads of games.

Now Auntie has got in on the act. The BBC has brought the broadcast rights to the Powergen Cup and the Heineken Cup, along with the Autumn Internationals and the Six Nations. The BBC is the state broadcaster, accessible to anyone who has paid their TV Licence Fee (TV Tax) of a hundred and twenty odd quid a year to the BBC's tax-collecting arm authorised under the statuary powers of The Broadcast Act 1990.

God knows how much licence-fee-payers money went on out-bidding Sky for the rights, but I'd wager it's a lot. Of the eight games in the Powergen Cup last weekend, the BBC showed only one on terrestrial television. I managed to watch another by using my Sky box to watch Welsh television, defeating Aunties noble aim of free rugby on the box. This weekend, the same holds true.

Pat Younge, Head of BBC's Rugby Strategy said: "With the entire Six Nations back on the BBC, along with the autumn internationals, the Heineken Cup and Powergen Cup, we now have the best live rugby portfolio in our history. The return of Rugby Special, to showcase our Zurich Premiership and other highlights, is the final piece of the jigsaw.

No, Pat, the final piece of the bloody jigsaw would be actually letting people watch them. The BBC are so bloody egalitarian that instead of the people who choose to buy Sky being able to watch the team of their choosing or, perish the thought, more than one game of rugby a weekend, they now have to watch one that Auntie chooses and lump it. Auntie knows best, of course.

Now I've played the game - I like watching rugby and think that it's worth paying forty quid a month for. So I pay for Sky TV even though I'm not exactly flush for money. It pisses me off that some of the money I pay in a compulsory tax to the BBC has been used to buy the rights to games that Sky would have shown but now do not get broadcast. It's state interference with a market and it stinks.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Smokin'

This short public information film highlights the unseen dangers of smoking.

Conference Confidential

Doom and gloom from the Tories' Blackpool orgy of masochism

Cameron's rough deal

Whilst Liam Fox's puritanical views on tobacco companies have been ridiculed by the news that he accepted hospitality from Imperial Tobacco, David Cameron's choice of Coca-Cola's "the real thing" as a slogan may have also backfired.

With a mind on Cameron's liberal views on drugs, some of Blackpool's more creative plotters are referring to the Old Eatonian as "Cokey Cameron".

Conference Confidential

Doom and gloom from the Tories' Blackpool orgy of masochism

Brand recognition

Following rivals Davids Davis and Cameron comparing themselves to Heineken and Coke respectively, Ken Clarke has come up with an analogy of his own. Renowned for his relaxed style, Clarke said that if he were to identify a personal failing it would be that he is "like the man from the Hamlet cigar adverts - relaxed and just puffing away as the walls fall down around him."

Hamlet is produced by Benson and Hedges, which is owned by British American Tobacco.

Conference Confidential

Doom and gloom from the Tories' Blackpool orgy of masochism

Out Foxed

Following Dr Liam Fox's less than enthusiastic remarks concerning Ken Clarke's links to the tobacco industry obliging hacks have leafed through the register of members' interests and unearthed a little gem. Fox was the guest of Imperial Tobacco at the Wimbledon Men's Final in 1995; his jolly at the expense of the peddlers of death also included champagne and the traditional Wimbledon strawberries and cream.

Conference eats into profits of Kennington restaurants

The owners of the Kennington Tandoori, and Ghandi's on Kennington Road have announced that their profits have dramatically fallen since the weekend.

Both restaurants' windows bare photographs of local cigarette salesman and curry eater extraordinaire, Mr Kenneth Clarke.

"Mr Clarke seems to have gone away, my profits have halved, oh deary deary me, whatever shall we do? But but ding ding." Said the owner of Kennington Tandoori, Mr Dave Wright.

The owner of Ghandi's refused to comment on the absence of his most famous customer since the weekend saying "oh deary deary me, I refuse to comment, whatever shall I do?"

Monday, October 03, 2005

Hague's assessment

William Hague, writing in his regular column in the News of the World, has given his opinion on the front running contenders in the Tory leadership race:

David Cameron: "To win in the race for the leadership he has to stick his neck out even more and spell out in more detail how the Tories would change if he was in charge of the party."

Ken Clarke: "At 65, this is his last chance to lead. It's also his best chance, ironically, because some things he has always supported, like the euro and the EU constitution, have become such disasters that no sane Briton is any longer in favour of them. That tells you how strange politics can be: when what you believe in is discredited, people can actually find it easier to vote for you."

David Davis: "His big problem is he's the favourite and the favourite hardly ever wins. To do so he has to show he can inspire people and win their affection just as well as he can fight. He is still the most likely to win."

Liam Fox: "The one thing he has to do to win is bring out his personality and passion in his big speeches and TV interviews, showing people he is the heavyweight candidate they need."

Sir Malcolm Rifkind: "Probably the only thing he can do, at this stage, is shoot the other candidates."

Digby's Diary

Sir Digby Jones has related his own personal account of the talks between EU Commissioner Peter Mandleson and his Chinese counterpart, held in Beijing at the height of the textiles trade dispute:

"One of them was an unaccountable, unelected politician from a sprawling bureaucracy who was promoting protectionism," says the Confederation of British Industry Director. "And the other was Chinese."

Hat-tip ASI

Conference Confidential

Doom and gloom from the Tories' Blackpool orgy of masochism

Bald patch on the grass-roots

There's an unusual mood at this year's Conservative conference. Whilst most media commentators are portraying the conference as the leadership hopeful's chance to communicate with the party's grass roots constituency members, the truth is a little less straightforward.

The grass-roots members have stayed away en mass. With the slow death that is the current leadership contest, most members hold the same view as the rest of the general public - they just want the politicians to get it over with. The members who have taken the dive into the Blackpool shark-tank are those who have an agenda for or against a particular candidate.

That leaves the Winter Gardens and the Imperial Hotel a swarm of conflicting factions with few 'floating voters' in evidence. Any connection with the 'grass-roots' at this conference is likely to be a glossy stage-managed Blair-style operation.

Conference Confidential

Doom and gloom from the Tories' Blackpool orgy of masochism

Middle age spread?

Oliver Letwin, the Cameron supporter who once said that an Old Etonian could never lead the modern Conservative party, has stumbled across and unsightly truth in Blackpool today:

"We have to do some naval-gazing because our navels are not very attractive at the moment"

Could it be a veiled attack on the ample navel of Cameron rival Ken Clarke? David Davis is a shoe-in for the last two, with support across the party. Have the Cameron camp decided to make the most of their man's youthful physique by using anatomical language that serves to highlight Mr Clarke's comfortable proportions.

Expect more "gut feelings", "heavy issues", and "mammoth tasks" to dominate the political rhetoric coming out of the Cameron camp this week.

Conference Confidential

Doom and gloom from the Tories Blackpool orgy of masochism

One down, seven more to go

Andrew Langsley has dropped out of the race to be the next person to lead the Conservatives to electoral oblivion.

Langsley said:

"I welcome the debate about the future of the party and the fact that everybody now accepts that we have to change, particularly to win back voters in their 20s, 30s and 40s."

Given that the ones in their 60s, 70s and 80s will die soon, he didn't add.

Trouble ahead as Mods and Rockers head to Blackpool

Conference preview

So, Davids Davis and Cameron, Ken Clarke, Liam Fox, Andrew Langsley, Edward Leigh, Theresa May and Malcolm Rifkind and their various supporters have set up their seaside camps for a blustery week in Blackpool.

David Willets has already withdrawn from the race, and the Tories must be hoping that at least three of the other contenders will follow suit this week.

Michael Ancram is rumoured to be sounding out the socially conservative Cornerstone group of Conservative MPs to gauge support for a possible bid. Ancram ran as a 'continuity candidate' in 2001 but was disregarded early in a competition which eventually favoured Ian Duncan Smith. Ancram has the very real chance of becoming the next Sir Alec Douglas Home, without the year in Number Ten.

David Davis seems determined to cast off his reputation as unwilling to make the hard yards. Rumours are already circulating that he and his supporters are running an ABC strategy - Anyone But Clarke - to kill off the chances of his main rival. Davis has taken to calling himself the 'Heineken Candidate' because, he says, he reaches parts of the electorate that other candidates cannot.

David Cameron who, along with Ken Clarke, actually appears to be enjoying himself, likened himself to Coke in response to Mr Davis' analogy. He said that voters "just want the real thing". When asked if he was the real thing he replied "absolutely". Vodka and Coke then.

Ken Clarke looked to be in his element last night. He arrived at his hotel relaxed and casually dressed, looking every bit the 'big beast' he asserts to be. His halcyon days in the leftist press seem to be over though. It had previously been the policy of the Guardian to support Clarke, sighting his Europhile persuasions as reason enough, and then to hit him hard over his links to the tobacco industry if her were to be elected leader. However, some of the ammo was obviously getting to hot for storage and today the Berliner Boys abandoned their bear-trap policy and led with 'Clarke Accused in Tobacco Row', reporting claims that Big Ken had mislead parliament in evidence he gave to a select committee about BAT's role in tobacco smuggling.

The current darling of the left-wing press, surprisingly, seems to be David Davis. On Friday, the Guardian ran an editorial on the two Davids, Cameron and Davis, both of whom had their campaign launches overshadowed by the ill-treatment of Walter Wolfgang in Brighton. The editorial leant heavily in Davis' favour, for no good reason, it seems, other than the council house/single mother background he shares with James Ramsey MacDonald. Cameron was dismissed as a 'Toff', whilst Davis was lauded as a 'Tough'. Is the new plan to set up Davis as a right-wing working class hero before knocking him down?

What we can be certain of is that after this week the Tories will have done their best to tear themselves apart and still won't have decided upon who their new leader will be. We'll update you with regular body counts and gory details as the Conservative party attempts to pick a fight with itself and lose.

Sunday, October 02, 2005

Moss to stand for Tory leadership


Kate Moss has damatically entered the race to be the next Tory leader.

In a statement delivered through her agent, Moss claimed that she was the natural heir to the Tory throne:

"I have perfect credentials to slot seemlessly into the role of Conservative leader. I am already vilified by the popular press and associate freely with known criminals."

Moss is expected to take centre stage at this week's Conservative Conference in Blackpool. Her campaign manager, Boris Johnson said:

"Blimey, what a jolly piece of totty! She'll shake 'em up in the Con-clubs alright. I haven't seen a chappess as charming since the last Speccy party. Phwor!"

Marking time for the one-legged army

Veteran politico Tony Benn has been fitted with a pace-maker. Unions have already insisted that it should only work thirty-five hours a week and be allowed thirty days a year paid holiday. Performanced-based bonuses are to be outlawed and if working conditions deteriate the pace-maker has the right to strike action until conditions significantly improve.