Russia's Got Talent

Not for the light hearted.

Tip of the Hat to

Old Holborn

Guest Post - Muheed Jeeren

TB's good buddy Muheed Jeeren has penned this from Sri Lanka where he has returned to live after studying in the UK. A big player on the Boris campaign and a general legend, he gives an interesting insight into the relationship between the Muslim community and the Conservative Party.

I am a Muslim who is very loyal to the Conservative Party. I recall my first journey into conservative politics while I was at the University of Portsmouth doing my degree. I got the impression from my ethnic minority friends that conservative politics was forbidden territory for us. This created a certain curiosity in my mind to explore the party’s policies and aspirations. After I joined the Conservative Party and started to work with my fellow conservatives, I got convinced of the true image of the conservatives. The Tories are very eager to look after the interests of ethnic minorities and also eager to build better relationships and goodwill among all communities.

During the London Mayoral Election 2008 election a vicious campaign was carried out against the Conservative Party and Mayoral candidate Boris Johnson alleging that he was going to interfere with the religious activities of Muslims in the capital by banning their holy scripture. A ridiculous idea designed to distract the Muslim voters from supporting the Conservatives. False allegations like this made it harder for me to campaign within the Muslim community. But I kept my great confidence with the Tory candidate for Mayor and the party for it’s commitment to serve the minorities. However The Labour Party won the votes of the majority of Muslims by using this dirty trick. But we won the election and today Boris is doing a fantastic job by serving everybody alike without any discrimination. A case in point is the appointment of Munira Mirza and Kulveer Ranger as his advisers. The Labour Party’s myth that Conservatives don't care about minorities has been exposed by this act to be untrue. I am very proud to call myself a loyal Conservative activist who comes from a Muslim background.

I am confident that the Conservative Party will become the next government. It will have the right solutions to all the problems faced by the British people. Also it will offer satisfactory responses to the minorities. I am confident that David Cameron will give effective leadership to the nation to achieve prosperity.

The Conservative Party is wants to give people more power and control over their own lives to make the right decision themselves unlike Labour, who believe in top down governmental control over people. It believes in the people's wisdom and is willing to trust the people with the important decisions of their lives, sharing the responsibilities of governing with them. These principles above make me proud be a member of this great party.

(ed: Sound. )

Homophobia is Gay...

TYC

has been digging out photos of Luke Richards, the (former?) President of the Warwick University Liberal Democrats. TB too wonders what Brian Paddick, the gay Lib Dem candidate to be Mayor of London, would have to say about Mr Richards comments regarding the shooting of homosexuals in order to prevent the spreading of "the disease". The comments have now been pulled from the closed section of the

Liberal Youth Forums

where they were prominently displayed until late yesterday. TB wonders how active Richards was during this recent campaign from Liberal Youth:

Guess we will have to wait until later this morning to find out what Cowley Street will have to say about this matter. As TB said last night, if this was a tory who had made these comments, the tabloids would be running it by now and kicking up a right fuss.

Why the double standards?

Nothing yet...

No word from the Mirror newsroom, yet. Here, TB will make it a little easier of you. Here is a picture of the Liberal Democrat student leader who said that gay people should be shot. Even an MP in the picture too, for good measure. Well done to

TYC

for digging it out.

Any newspaper that wants to buy the original images of the quote in question should contact TB.

You would if it was a tory standing next to Dave...

Tabloid Double Standards Test

"I'm perfectly liberal, I just think gays should be shot before they spread the disease to us straights."

Luke Richards

President,

Warwick University Liberal Democrats

Whether it's a joke or not isn't the point TB is going to make, but, if a member of Conservative Future made that stupid comment

online

then it would give some lazy hack at the Mirror etc a very easy afternoon's copy. Thus they would be expelled from the party and sent to Coventry etc. So it will be interesting to see what happens when a young Liberal Democrat puts something stupid into writing. Something tells TB there won't be the standard tabloid tory-boys-are-evil style rant.

Go on prove TB wrong... didn't think so.

One for the weekend...

Apologies for the lack of stories. After what was a hectic, but great, week TB let of a little steam at a couple of parties.

Just got back from deepest Somerset. Bit of a mission to get home on two hours sleep, but god damn it those west-country folk can party. Camera wasn't working, but imagine this tune was playing loud from the top of a hill, looking over the Avon, as the sun came up:



Cracking night.

With friends like these...

It is a truth universally acknowledged that there is no one as ruthless a wannabe hack, but it's never very nice when someone you considered to be on friendly terms with sells you down the river for the sake of a thirty quid by-line.

This is James Ellingworth, a student newspaper hack on Edinburgh's

Student.

Obviously so desperate to impress the bigger boys during his work experience week at the Herald, TB bets that "Smelly Ellie" (as the hacks call him behind his back, "apparently"), really thought he had made it when he could get his little name in print by doing over Tory Bear.

Luckily Scotland's finest at the Herald thought it better to remove most of the bullshit that Ellingworth had filed.

Ended up with a bit of free advertising

! Oh and poor little James only got his name in the print edition.

So beware hacks, James Ellingworth will sell his grandmother for a by-line.

Never before has TB come across someone whose ambition so outweighs their talent.

Party in the city...

Here's what the

Evening Standard

has to say tonight about the

Sunlight COP

s little stunt this morning:

* FRESH from putting the spotlight on Labour's Shahid Malik, the Sunlight Centre for Open Politics, founded by Paul Staines, aka Guido Fawkes, and XXXXX XXXX, aka Tory Bear, have moved on to Lib Dem Lord Rennard. Staines delivered a letter which queries Rennard's £41,678 expenses incurred by claiming that his home in Stockwell, instead of Eastbourne, is his "holiday home." Staines, XXXX and friends today staged a beach party outside Rennard's South London residence, complete with girls in bikinis, Pimm's, a beach ball and of course a lot of sand. Sadly it sounds like Rennard missed all the fun.

Bit of pink fizz at nine am really set TB up nicely for the day.

In the summertime...

Transition from student bum to full time media whore was quite a shock to the system, been quite a morning- capped off with a slot on BBC News 24. TB is now splicing up a video of this morning's fun and games outside Lord Rennards "holiday home" in Stockwell:

Watch this space.

Live in Yorkshire?

TB has just about to give an interview for the Yorkshire ITV evening news about Sahid Malik...

Also doing BBC Radio Leeds in about half an hour.

Anyone up north fancy a laugh should tune in at.

Summer Holiday

Blogging will be light this morning as TB is off to the popular holiday location of Stockwell-on-Sea.

Hmmm something about that isn't right.

What's all that about Chris?

Question Time Live Chat:

+++Shahid Malik reported to Parliamentary Authorities+++

The

Sunlight COPs

are on the case...

You know you want to...

b.crow@rmt.org.uk

Dick head.

H/T-

Donal Blaney

Bob Crow is a...

Just this morning

TB said

he wanted to punch Bob Crow for ruining his good mood.

And now you can

.

+++Michael Howard pulls out of OUCA dinner+++

Michael Howard was meant to be speaking at the Oxford University Conservative Association dinner tonight.

Rather unsurprisingly he has pulled out a direct consequence of today's

Mail allegations

, and rightly so.

When will the day come that people will learn that, if you are an office bearer, however minor, even at a youth level, you are a representative of the Conservative Party.

FFS get a grip.

UPDATE 13.18: Statement from CF chairman Michael Rock "They're not CF."

And they aren't. Thankfully OUCA have always refused to be affiliated with the national organisation.

More trouble with the kids...

Seems the

Evening Standard

don't like Young Labour either...

Exclusive: A Message From Eric Pickles

TB has an exclusive message from the Party Chairman:

“Conference is made by the delegates and this year we have got some great new events laid on by the party. I will be opening the pub quiz on Monday 5th October and hope to see you all there. On the Tuesday Canal Street will be the venue for the first ever Conference Pride event where we will welcome a fantastic key speaker (all hush-hush for now) followed by a night of great dancing. The Party for Change on the Wednesday night will be a fantastic evening and a fun way to close the formal business and celebrate what we have planned as the biggest and best conference yet, ahead of David’s main conference speech on the Thursday. I hope you will all be able to attend one or two of the events and look forward to seeing you!”

So what' s going on?

Monday 5th October: ‘Save the Great British Pub’ Quiz @ the Palace Hotel, Oxford Road Manchester, 6pm – 8pm. This event is sponsored by the ever sound British Beer and Pub Association and word is that deals will keep the booze flowing.Special guests William Roach (Ken Barlow), Party Chairman Eric Pickles and Jeremy Hunt MP so far lined up to deliver the questions – more to be announced soon.

The £10 ticket includes a hog roast, and it's teams of six. TB will be auditioning for spots on his team nearer the time.

Tuesday 6th October: ‘Conference Pride’ at Spirit Bar, Canal Street, Manchester, 9.30pm – 3am Hosted by TV's Iain Dale and Margot James the PPC for Stourbridge. A senior Shadow Cabinet speaker is expected along with a number of MPs, senior party members and Manchester celebs...

With two floors of great music, student bar prices, celebrity raffle, spot prizes on the night, and all for a fiver, it's set to be a good one.

And then there is the big one...

Wednesday 7th October: – ‘Party For Change’ – Last Night Party at PURE, The Old Printworks, Manchester , 9.30pm – 3am

Kicking off the evening TB is very excited about the "Tory Bear Reception from 8pm" - more details of this shindig will follow over the summer, but the fun doesn't stop there. From 9.30 the club will open up to everyone and there will be:

Rock-a-roke (sing with a live band)

Live acts and performances

Celebrity DJ slots – what makes the politicians tap their toes?

Roller Disco

Microsoft Games Room

VIP Lounge (£50 includes cocktails and buffet and exclusive lounge access)

Great music and the best party night of the week

Tickets are only a fiver for students and £10 (before 1st August - £15 after) for other delegates. Do you want to make a bit of cash for your CF branch? Then why not get in touch with the party organisers

HERE

to find out details of how you can sell tickets and get CASHBACK and discounts for your members. Also you don't have to have security clearance for the main conference to attend any the "Party For Change" so if you can't make it for all of conference why not come down for the night?

TB is very tempted by the VIP lounge access for £50 though, shake down some moves with the party chiefs.

The conference hotel bar can get very repetitive after three or four nights of conference so it's great to see CCHQ taking the bull by the horns and sorting out what are set to be some cracking events.

You can book your tickets for any of them

here

.

Watch this space for more info in the next few months.

Why must I always play the clown?

Blogging will be light tonight as TB has managed to blag a ticket to see

Mr Hudson

at the ICA.

Weyhey.

The Bear Necessities – Sara Scarlett

In March Sara Scarlett, 21, unsuccessfully challenged Elaine Bagshaw for the Chairmanship of Liberal Youth, the youth wing of the Liberal Democrats. As Tory Bear reported at the time the elections descended into a bitch-fest like only youth politics can. Since losing the election Sara has been focused on her work with the think tank

Liberal Vision

. Beating The Independent to it, TB got the first interview.

On what had to have been the hottest day in London for a long time, there were few things TB would liked to have done more than sit outside Gordon’s with a bottle of ice cold white and a rather attractive young lady. It became pretty clear before even the first glass was finished that Sara Scarlett is a bit of a trouble maker, though in the very best sense of the word. Every comment that broke the wishy-washy wet Liberal Democrat line was accompanied with a cheeky look that said she knew exactly what the impact of her words would be, and she didn’t care. Starting in an obvious place, TB asked Scarlett why she would agree to talk to the Tory blogger who caused her so much grief in stirring up the Liberal Youth elections; "you don't not talk to a paper because you disagree with it's editorial line" was the blunt reply. Conversation moved quickly on to the said election. Scarlett claims she isn’t pissed off that she lost, arguing that on reflection the changes that the Liberal Youth movement needed couldn’t be implemented by a chairman in a year. It was a messy election and the whole Liberal Youth machine at one point collapsed into leak and counter brief and caused quite a headache for the Liberal Democrat HQ. One of the key moments was Scarlett’s heckle while her opponent was speaking at the Liberal Democrat Spring Forum. It was this moment that she pinpoints as where she lost the election, but cemented her reputation as a self proclaimed “political bad-ass”.

After just five minutes talking, you can’t help but wonder what this feisty, and clearly ambitious young woman is doing in the dead duck party. This proud libertarian has got in to all sorts of trouble with the Lib Dems, who despite their freedom loving veneer, can have a ruthless authoritarian streak, especially amongst the more socialist and lefty wings of the umbrella movement. It is therefore of no surprise that she seemingly doesn’t have much faith in the organisation she tried to lead. When asked what would be a good gauge of success for Liberal Youth in a years time she replied “surviving” without pause while lighting another cigarette. Though there is no love lost with the kids club, Scarlett saves most of her anger for the Cowley Street party HQ. Stressing that they are all “great guys” TB was expecting some wee dig at what Scarlett had previously described as “corporate incompetence”, but he was not expecting quite such a brutal attack; “Cowley St has misassessed [sic.] the entire nature of what a third party should be, we should be saying what the other parties can’t.” And what would Sara do if she was in charge? “Fire the whole press office” she claims they deserve 10% of the press coverage but are incapable of gaining that. “Sell Cowley Street, we're located in the most expensive property in London, when the jobs, except certain departments, could be done in Elephant and Castle.”

It's not just the ineffectual party machine that Scarlett has issue with, "Nick Clegg has been a disappointment, he's never been loud enough on the issue that made me get into politics - personal freedom." She also takes issue with the patronising attitude that the leadership has taken to it's youth wing; "Tuition fees and marijuana, that's all they think we care about. The entire youth and education vote doesn't just boil down to these two issues." Telling the kids what they should care about warranted what is fast becoming the most insulting political jibe going - "it's all very New Labour." TB couldn't help but ask how many Liberal Youth hacks practice what they preach on the pot front and he can't work out if the reply of "not enough" was a joke or not.

While the apparatchiks and sand pitters clearly couldn't handle Scarlett's bluntness and brutal honesty, she has managed to find friends and allies in the "political bad-ass" camp through the newly relaunched think tank Liberal Vision. Headed up by Mark Littlewood, who is another fan of trouble-making - to the extent he was punched by a Lib Dem MP at their conference last year, this band of libertarians are making quite a splash in Lib Dem land. While Liberal Vision are making inroads in trying to influence Lib Dem policy and shift the floundering, cracked coalition to the right, the organisation has one mammoth struggle ahead of it. TB agrees with the notion that "libertarianism is the natural conclusion of classic liberalism" that Scarlett mentioned more than twice, but whether libertarians will ever feel at home in the Liberal Democrats remains to be seen. For someone so young with a lot of energy and passion to give to politics, the decision has to be made soon of whether they want to be a big fish in a small pond or actually make an impact in a party that has the prospect of forming a government anytime soon. Scarlett was quick to dismiss the Conservatives of being any better as a nest for freedom lovers "I'll join the Conservatives when David Cameron legalises heroin... seriously though Cameron won't give civil liberties back" "Cameron and Osborne are very good on TV but they aren't reformers." Evidently not the biggest fan of DC, but then again the next generation of the Party, after twelve years of enslavement by Labour is distinctly more libertarian than those running the show today.

The conversation quickly took a turn for slightly less focused as bottle number two slipped away, but before the notebook went back in the briefcase, TB took the inevitable look to the future. Though Scarlett denies that she wants "her arse on a green bench," TB found this hard to believe. Sara Scarlett has most definitely got the political bug and she isn't going to lose it anytime soon, but what else she has is a much rarer gift - the fact she is a hack who isn't scared to break the party line and say what she really feels. She may want her "arse on a green bench" but whether the Liberal Democrats will want her is a different matter. Liberal Youth looked a gift horse in the mouth in re-electing a socialist, former Labour Student over Scarlett but that election wasn't the last the Liberal Democrats will hear of her.