Boris V Sugar?

 

 

On our trip to London last Wednesday we visited City Hall to watch Boris at Mayor’s question time. It was a very enjoyable experience watching Boris answer the questions put to him by the GLA in his own unique way. It is a joy to watch Boris in action bringing humour to what could quite easily be a dull committee meeting. It seems that the Labour members still haven’t quite got over the shock of loosing Ken and being forced into opposition, their actions were at times extremely childish to say the least. But not to worry, Ken was not far away, perching on the edge of his seat in the public gallery like an old vulture surveying the scene, trying to spot any signs of weakness in Boris and the Tories.

 

Ken should get a life! He turns up every month to watch Mayor’s question time, he needs help, he needs to let go. He obviously thinks he has a chance to regain the Mayoralty in 2012 and is putting in the ground work to suss out Boris, to find his weaknesses. All this got me thinking however, is Ken really Labour’s best chance to defeat Boris? I mean, he did lose to Boris last year after all and Gordon Brown and the rest of the leading Labour figures are no real fans of Ken and his policies. That’s why they through him out of the party when he opposed their choice for Mayor in 2000, Ken then ran as an independent and humiliated Labour high command by beating their candidate to become Mayor.

 

So if not Ken who would Labour put up for election in 2012? Andrew Gilligan claimed this week that Labour, through their London director, had approached Sir Alan Sugar to run as their candidate for London Mayor next time. As Paul Waugh reveals in the Evening Standard, Labour are denying it all, but the story should not be dismissed out of hand, after all it would make a lot of sense. Sugar is high-profile, popular with the public and despite his friendship with Gordon Brown, is sufficiently independent to remain separate from the Labour Government. 

 

If Labour were to persuade Sugar to stand it would be a major cue and he would be a formidable opponent for Boris and the Conservatives. Sugar sold his major stake in Amstrad to BSkyB last year, so he is available, it would therefore seem a win, win situation if he could be persuaded to stand. That is the only major obstacle to overcome, Sugar is fiercely independent and will only agree to stand if he is 100% committed. In my mind Sugar would be a very credible candidate, he would cause us a lot of problems and best of all he is not Ken.

 

 

Boris Cleared

 

 

I have just found out that Boris has been cleared of any wrong doing by a GLA internal investigation regarding his actions surrounding the arrest of Damian Green. So all Vaz’s hard scheming work was for nothing then! You will remember that a couple of weeks ago he basically went around accusing Boris of concealing the truth (lying) and giving conflicting evidence the the Home Affairs select committee. He did this for purely partisan reasons of course, it seems Labour is still upset that the red flag had finally been lowered from City Hall. Anyway this is what the report says…

REPORT OF AN INVESTIGATION
BORIS JOHNSON
MAYOR OF LONDON
CHAIRMAN, METROPOLITAN
POLICE AUTHORITY
BY JONATHAN GOOLDEN, BA(LAW) SOLICITOR
24th February 2009

11. Recommendations
11.1 I have concluded that in relation to the police investigation of Mr.
Green, Mr. Johnson did not fail to comply which the Code of Conduct of
the MPA. Specifically, he did not disclose confidential information,
improperly confer and advantage or disadvantage or bring his office or
authority into disrepute in breach of the Code.

Boris then issued the following statement.

“I welcome the report of Jonathan Goolden. He concludes that I did not fail to comply with the Code of Conduct of the MPA and GLA and that I did not disclose confidential information, improperly confer and advantage or disadvantage or bring my office or authority into disrepute.”

“I will now reflect on suggestions for the future on how to deal with extraordinary situations when they arise. I have cooperated fully with Mr Goolden’s investigation and am pleased that it has moved so swiftly to deal with the issues that were raised. I am however disappointed that this investigation has so far cost the taxpayer in excess of £11,000. I am happy to engage in the adoption of a protocol to cover the management of information by senior police officers, senior members and officers of the MPA and I in relation to a critical incident.”

So that’s the end of that then. However the Caroline Spelman case still rumbles on. Today the Standards & Privileges Committee did not come to a decision on the case this morning and has delayed a decision for another week. How long ago was it since the investigation against her began? However long it has been it is surely far too long, how Spelman can be expected to carryout her job with this constantly hanging over her is anyone’s guess, a decision must me issued soon, surely?

Boris Gives Vaz Both Barrels

This week Keith Vaz launched an unprovoked tirade against the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, releasing details of a private conversation that took place between the two men. This is not very honourable, but then I would not expect anything less from a slimy reptile like Vaz. He said that after phoning Boris to ask him about his supposedly conflicting evidence he gave to the Home affairs select committee the Mayor just went crazy. Well you would if Vaz had phoned you, using his most polished, patronising voice and started to accuse you of this and that wouldn’t you? Boris then supposedly went on an F word rant worthy of Gordon Ramsey. Well good on Boris I say, someone needs to tell Vaz were to get off.

I have always found Vaz to be one of the most odious and vial members of parliament. Time and time again he has deserved to get his comeuppance, to be exposed for the absolute invertible crawler he is. Finally that time came to pass, just like the buses you wait forever and then two come along at once. Firstly by revealing his private conversation with Boris to the press he has abused his position as Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee. Vaz said that he had been insulted by Boris’s language, and that this was reasonable justification for revealing the conversation. Come on Vaz, I am surprised you are so insulted by being told to F off, I thought you would have gotten used to it by now.

Then later on Newsnight Vaz was being interviewed by Kirsty Wark about the case of Geert Wilders and his rejection from Britain. Vaz was put on the spot by Wark when she asked him if he had seen the film Fitna, which I believe he was expressing faux outrage about on the program. He spluttered out the response that he had not seen the film. So he was taking part in a discussion for about 15 minute, about a film he had not actually watched! The look on Wark’s face when he admitted he hadn’t seen it, was a sight to behold.

This would not be the first time that Vaz has been caught out, he’s been caught out so many times it makes you wonder how he has survived all these years. Somehow he has retained the chairmanship of one of the most powerful select committees in parliament, in spite of all failures. How could this happen? Well it just seems that Labour don’t care anymore. It seems a who gives a dam what we do mentality has firmly taken hold of the parliamentary Labour party.

Boris Vindicated

 

Earlier this week Boris Johnson appeared before the Home Affairs Select Committee. When the committee asked him about when he had informed David Cameron of Damian Greens imminent arrest Boris responded that it was at Southwark cathedral before the memorial service for Damilola Taylor. It was what he said next however that was of real interest. Boris claimed that Gordon Brown had been “appalled” at the prospect of sitting beside him in the front row, and that he ordered him to be moved to a seat at the back of the church.

 

This was clearly an affront to “the great leader” and an immediate response was issued by Brown’s official spokesman, he said the Mayor’s statement was “categorically not true. There was never any instruction from the Prime Minister to suggest that he should or should not (be moved).” So Gordon Brown’s Official Spokesman effectively accused the Mayor of lying to Parliament (technically an act of perjury). Boris stuck to his guns however and insisted that the story was true.

 

Well now the truth is out. It has emerged that as the Mayor of London, Boris had been asked by the family of Damilola Taylor to deliver a reading at the service, along with David Cameron and Gordon Brown, and fully expected that the three would be seated together up front. Brown obviously begged to differ as the seating plan was re-jigged the night before the service. Boris was in the event bumped to make way for Harriet Harman! And not only that, Brown insisted that Harperson be seated between himself and Cameron. (As you can see from the picture below that appeared in The Sun at the time).

 

I realise that this sort of political game of musical chairs has gone on for decades, Callaghan bumping Thatcher off the front row at the Women’s suffrage anniversary event springs to mind. However when Damilola’s family asks for the PM, the Leader of the Opposition and the Mayor of London to speak at a service of remembrance marking that tragic anniversary you would expect their wishes to be honoured. It is therefore tragic that the PM felt unable to honour their wishes because of his pathological hatred (for that is what it is) of the Conservatives.