Come here often?

Those Lobby rumours never really went away.

Good Morning Scotland

The last paragraph of this morning's

Telegraph editorial

is worth printing in full:

"In the United States, several nominees to high office – including two for the post of attorney general under Bill Clinton – withdrew when it emerged they had employed illegal immigrants. Yet here, the Prime Minister adheres to the notion that it is a sign of weakness to sack an errant minister – whereas it is a sign of weakness not to. It also shows a cavalier disregard for the reputation of the office of Attorney General. Lady Scotland has to give the Cabinet her considered judgment on matters of the greatest import, which could include the legality of going to war. Yet she has been irreparably compromised by this affair and cannot possibly command public confidence. Her position is untenable."

The Mail are spot on

:

"If Patricia Scotland were just an ordinary working mum, fined £5,000 for unwittingly employing an illegal immigrant, it might be possible to feel some sympathy for her. After all, she's fallen foul of a very tough law that many believe places an unfair bureaucratic burden on employers.But she's not just a private individual, minding her own business.

She is Baroness Scotland of Asthal, PC, QC, who as Attorney General is the senior law officer of England, Wales and Northern Ireland and chief legal adviser to the Government.What's more, she helped steer through Parliament the very law that this newspaper has caught her breaking - legislation that specifically accepts no excuses for hiring illegals."

A week is a very very long time with these two on your back... and it's only Wednesday.



Just go.

Baroness Scotland Video - Now Then Us Them

Please embed.

Thanks to Newsnight and SkyNews for the footage.

She should resign for sheer stupidity...

TB is a country mouse today and Sky-less so missed the Scotland blunder that

Paul Waugh reports

...

The second time the highest legal official in England and Wales has shown utter contempt for the law she took an oath to protect.

Quote of the Day

"Mr Obama seems like a nice young man, and like a lot of young men he has absolutely no idea what he's doing."

-PJ O'Rourke on Today this morning.

Keith Vaz Pushes Lies

Keith Vaz just lied on BBC News. When talking about the investigation into his friend Baroness Scotland he stated that the quickness of the inquiry was due to the fact that “clearly all the paperwork was in order and could be presented to the authorities”.

No you oily crook, that’s the point, there was no paperwork – she didn’t do the photocopying and hence why she has broken the law and got the fine.

Is it just TB that finds it hilarious that the only person willing to do the Millbank lap in defence of Scotland is Keith “fired in a massive sleaze scandal” Vaz?

A corker from Kevin Maguire

Why the hell should Baroness Scotland's ethnicity have any effect on her being held accountable for her actions?

UPDATE: Toast

The

BBC is reporting

that Baroness Scotland will be fined after the investigation into employing an illegal immigrant.

She should just go gracefully now rather than waiting for Gordon to fire her. She was responsible for the very law that she broke.

Lawmakers cannot be lawbreakers.

Developing...

Update:

Guido has more

.

10.15: Fined £5000 - should be able to mange that with all those dodgy expense claims. Who's the "overstayer" now?

Lunch: Spineless government lets her stay. Looking forward to the paper headlines tomorrow...

Image:

Red Rag

Con Future Exec Results

Michelle Donelan - Press & Media Development

Jennifer Taylor - Research

Raheem Kassam - Conservative Future TV

+++Official result pending+++

Exclusive: Civil Service - Eurosceptics need not apply.

Everyone knows that the Civil Service, especially the FCO has an inherent left-wing and nauseatingly pro-European bias these days, rarely do we get to see the proof in writing though. Well if you were ever wondering what the Sir H's of this country do in order to make sure this bias will continue for another generation, check out these questions that are currently part of the Civil Service fast track exam:

"Many of the European Union’s critics subscribe to the view that the nation state, not an international organization, is the natural supreme political unit. They argue that insofar as transferences of power to the Union’s institutions undermine national sovereignty, they should be resisted. But what proponents of this view fail to recognise is that the member states of the Union were seeing their sovereignties being steadily eroded long before the Union was established. Whether it is because of the movements in financial markets, transfers of capital within multi-national corporations or changing trade patterns, virtually all European states have become increasingly affected by, and are at the mercy of, international developments they cannot control"

"The EU treaty is typically very different in character from the constitutions of nation states. Whereas the latter have little, if anything to say about policy, the EU treaty has policy as its main concern. The nature of that concern is such that many have suggested that the policy framework in the Treaty is guided by a clear philosophy or ideology, that of free market, liberal, non-interventionist capitalism. There is much in this view, and the market mechanism and the need to prevent abuses to competition are accorded a high priority. There are, on the other hand, few references to ways in which joint activities and intervention should be promoted for non-market purposes."

No prizes for guessing what the correct answer is. It is not the duty of the suits to decide our policy toward Europe, they should be ready to implement the decisions of the government. Which, touch wood, in a matter months will be distinctly more Eurosceptic than the current one. Why are they not preparing for this fact instead of getting ready to dig their heels in?

An absolute disgrace.

Thank you to the aspiring bureaucrat who tipped TB off.

Has Eric been reading TB?

TB was just tucking into a most spectacular bangers and mash for lunch when this popped into his inbox:

Hello Chums Dear Tory Bear,

I have a very simple message for Liberal Democrat voters this week: the Conservative Party is the only party that can bring the change we need.

Of course, I'm not expecting them to become card carrying members of the Conservative Party overnight.

Instead, I'm asking them to help form a progressive alliance to get rid of this failed Labour Government. An alliance built on our shared aims of personal freedom, a commitment to the environment, and a desire to protect the most vulnerable at home and in the rest of our world.

Has Mr Pickles been watching TB's video this this morn?



Probably not.

Wince...

The Blue Blog

is reporting the short-list for the Tory t-shirt competition. Most are pretty cringe:

Pro-Conservative
Yes we Cam
Release your inner Tory
Vote Blue not Brown
Cam Can

Anti-Labour
Don’t blame me I voted Tory
A picture of Gordon Brown and the words ‘The weak are a long time in politics’
New Labour 1997 – 2010…end of an error
A picture of Gordon Brown with the word ‘Fail’ underneath

Has to be the last one.

A case of mistaken identity...

If TB were Timothy Kirkhope he would be pretty pissed off with

Open Europe

who really should have known better than to tell their thousands of email subscribers he'd had the whip removed in their weekly bulletin:

Sent: 16 September 2009 11:38
Subject: Open Europe press summary: 16 September 2009

Timothy Kirkhope MEP expelled from Conservative Party

The BBC reports that Timothy Kirkhope MEP has been expelled from the Conservative Party. He was suspended in July after he stood as a candidate for European Parliament Vice-President against the official candidate of the European Conservatives and Reformists grouping. He said he was "shocked" at the decision to expel him and described it as "vengeful and fruitless", adding that he would appeal against it. He also said that, "David Cameron has been exploited by those in his party who want Britain to leave Europe: I want Britain to lead in Europe."

Think they might have been talking about MacMillan-Scott.

Fail.

Lib Dem Conference Special

Such utterly illiberal comments spouted at the Liberal Democrat conference could not go unchecked. TB also wanted to play with the Adobe suite he has got hold of.

Enjoy.

Monday Morning Cartoon

Beyond the Spin

Forgive the purely Lib Dem focus this today, it is their conference week so someone has to give them some coverage. There is even a video on the way, delayed by 24 hours due to a fried sound card on TB's computer.

The spin of their rally last night is really starting to unravel now. In reply to TB's earlier post, a useful commenter has provided their take on last night's apparent Rennard love-in:

"He got polite applause prior to speaking whilst engaged in a uncomfortably close on-stage clinch with Baroness Scott, the women who tried to cover-up that he hadn't been properly investigated by the party. I can't verify a rumour that during the rehearsal he had to be told several times where to put his hands.

There was then a stage managed ovation at the end with some in the audience sitting on their hands, and many others pretending to join in with fake clapping. One idiot/flunky at the back of the room was trying to bray approvingly at everything he said but had no fellow travelers in the audience.

The highlights of his speech included the news that he had miraculously recovered from the 'illness' that caused his resignation earlier in the year. How unfortunate that he resigned so prematurely...

The other was that he was still available to advise the party should they want him. Good news for troughing peers struggling with ways of evading the rules. In particular Baroness Scotland might wish to ask him how he has got away so far with lying about living in a holiday home for most of the year whilst working full time in Central London.

After the speech he was presented with two framed pictures of great liberal leaders, Gladstone and Lloyd George I think... very considerate of the party... one for each home."

Those last two lines have to be the quote of the day.

TB's eyes and ears on the fringe have reported back today that

Mr Fawkes

put the question to a fringe event audience of whether Lord Rennard should be allowed to keep the forty odd grand he has lined his pockets with through his housing arrangements. Not one person in the room put up their hands in agreement.

Including Lynne Featherstone MP who was in attendance.

Lifting the Lib

Total Politics' Amber Elliot

reports

on some Lib Dem conference hijinks:

"Incidentally, I have just been informed about something to watch out for at this year’s conference. It is a game being played by three young London students with conference passes, entitled ‘Lifting the Lib’. Imagine a consensual and less painful version of ‘happy slapping’ and you are more or less there.

According to my source, it involves one young man taking charge of the camera, while the other two find a recognisable MP or their researcher. When they stumble upon a suitable candidate, they pick up the well-suited man/woman under each arm, lifting their feet off the ground, while the third young scamp simply points and clicks. While this behaviour is obviously irresponsible, I am told that it has all been taken in jest."

If anyone has the photos TB is up for running them...

PS He is also tempted to head down to Bournemouth and hover up some gossip and cause some trouble on Tuesday. A dreadful idea or worth it for a laugh?

Smirk

The Lib Dem blogosphere is in near hysteria over last night's "rally" which was so well organised that it went out live on tv up against a little program called X-Factor. Coverage guaranteed!

TB couldn't help but laugh when reading

one particular account

which described the expenses troughing Lord Rennard receive a standing ovation before he had even said a word. Now TB knows that the bonkers Lib Dems want to give criminals the vote, so having them in the Lords is only a natural progression from that:

"After 27 years of service to the party there was probably hardly anyone in the hall that didn't offer some debt of gratitude to Chris, and indeed his wife Anne, down through the years. He admitted himself that he is now getting around to putting the life into the work-life balance equation. He was clearly deeply moved by the reaction he got from his Lib Dem family at the end of his words.

Then Sarah Teather took over the compering..."

TB is sure Sarah is particularly grateful to Chris Rennard and vica versa, but he does wonder if she gets on quite so well with Anne.

Will Scotland survive this?

In more respecatble days she would have resigned already, but you would think this has to be the last straw:

However the slippery tendencies of this government and their near inability to ever fire anyone, let alone ask for a resignation, means Scotland will probably try to fight it.

It is very interesting to note however that the Cabinet Office have come out fighting very quickly. The acid tongue of Liam Byrne is not one any politician would like to fight, even if you are the Attorney General. The illegal immigrant situation is dependent on an inquiry, it was bad yes and it is not over yet, but this new secondary scandal taps right into the public anti-expenses/greed rage.

Some might say there is a definite prima facie case to answer but lets see how Sunday/Monday plays out...

TB reckons she could be toast.

Liberal Lies

Clegg:

"Ending tuition fees would cost billions of pounds every year. We need to be certain we can afford it before we make any promises."

Oh dear. Liberal Youth built their entire freshers recruitment campaign around this issue. Proudly boasting that they were the only party who would fight for free education. However anyone with half a brain cell and a smidgen of foresight would see that this was going to have to happen. The activists won't be happy. The Lib Dem machine is playing this one slow but this announcement is the death knell for the policy. It will not be in the Lib Dem manifesto.

TB imagines there will be much stroking of beards in Bournemouth tonight after this announcement. Too bad for Elaine Bagshaw and Liberal Youth that their postcards full of lies and false promises have already been handed out across every university in the country:

Epic fail.

UPDATE 20.31: TB is looking forward to an apology from Stephen Glenn who

branded him a liar

for suggesting that the Lib Dems were considering scrapping their free education policy. A tweet will be fine.