Speak Up

So I'm a bit behind on this but even so I would just like to point out one thing:


I was SO right!


John Bercow is, of course, our new speaker. He's 46 so the youngest we've had in recent times but pretty much his life's work has led up to this. Let's examine:

1. Bercow began his political life in the ultra-right wing group the Monday Club. Controversially, the group, at this time, supported the repatriation of Immigrants. Bercow became secretary for the committee based on this issue, despite still being a teenager. He left the group due to an increasing level of racism. Significantly, Bercow is the son of a Jewish taxi driver
2. At the University of Essex he took charge of the Conservative Student Association and subsequently the FCS, graduating in Government (he got a first and everything!
3. He then ran in two general elections, became a South London councillor, and a deputy leader on the Tory group on Lambeth council. Finally, in 1992, he landed a job in the Commons with Jonathan Aitken (as a special adviser - boo).
4. However, Aitken was arrested, Bercow moved on to another member of Major's dying government, and in '96 he became the Member for the Conservative safe seat of Buckingham. Phew.
5. A skilled orator he was originally seen as a staunch Thatcherite. However, in the 1999-2001 Bercows political stance completely changed, with him almost turning his back on his own party and background. It is this that explains both his Labor support and Tory adversity.

Due the change in his stance front bench politics for his party quickly became out of the question for Bercow. It was in 2005 that he turned his thoughts to the job of speaker. He is, indeed, controversial, primarily due to the lack of support from his own party. But this is very different from the universal tide of opinion based on Michael Martin. Bercow has a big mouth, and it may well be that in the centrist political world of today, a big mouth is very much needed. As always though kids, we'll see...

Pour some sugar on me

Please don't. If you didn't get what I'm referring to here I'll tell you now that Sugar, namely Sir Alan Sugar, is the key to this entry. One of Gordy's most flashy additions to the Cabinet in this months reshuffle was to pour some Sugar (Sir Allan Sugar) onto it. Or rather to make him Enterprise Tsar. Supposedly this was due to a new drive to increase entrepreneurship, and since Sir Allan has just a bit of experience in this, he was the candidate they, ahem, hired. Some cynical bloggers have speculated that perhaps this was to cover up the fact that the cabinet didn't actually shuffle all that much. No comment. But it is kinda notable that if you remove the resignations the faces look remarkably similar. Did they invest in masks?

The controversy surrounding this appointment, however, did not address the terrible apprentice jokes that were subsequently adopted by the world's media, but rather the fact that under BBC rules presenters must be politically impartial. Ok so fair enough I see why the presenter of Question Time may need to be as impartial as possible. But politicos appear on the BBC all the time and since when was politics, other than those minute office ones, mentioned on the Apprentice. It rather seems that since the Tories were the first to flag up any issue this may rather be a cynical attempt to discredit the reshuffle ever further, describing the move as "completely incompatible". It is notable that Sugar, a high profile figure, has now had to defend his seemingly neutral post multiple times.

The issue I have is not Sugars innocence or not. If you want my opinion of the man himself watch the latest Have I Got News For You and Paul Merton's 'creative' impersonation. What I do have a bit of a grate about is the extension of the mud slinging culture ever since the expenses row. Since all the parties currently in Parliament have lost their "innocence" they've had to reduce their accusations to ever more personal levels. And who's actually been doing the whole politics thing? As it turns out it's Gordy. Sir Allan has also been able to keep both jobs. So maybe that celebrity cover up was a good idea after all.

Reformations

Gordy just announced he will not hold a referendum on the issue of electoral reform. Boo is all I can say. Silly, silly Gordy ignore Camcam's criticisms!!

Update: The new constitutional reform will curb the powers of the party whips meaning that MPs will be able to act as individuals again - yay!

Shuffle for your life

So it's reshuffle week! It's been coming for a while but I guess the fact that half of Gordy's cabinet gave up on him last week meant that it became kinda necessary. There were some shocks but generally the news was overshadowed by some, if not surprising, very different EU election results. Who stayed and who went?

• Ali Darling stayed. This was shocking because after all the, ahem, troubles of late his head was pretty much on a platter.


• Newbies include Alan Johnson (Homes Secretary) and Peter Hain (Welsh Secretary).


• Finally, Gordy got a bit of glamour injected into his life with the appointment of Sir Alan Sugar as Enterprse Tsar. Needless to say, the Conservatives don't like this one bit.

(click here to see a complete review)