Tuesday, 23 June 2009

New Speaker, New Danger

This is the much longer, angrier, uncut version of a letter TB just wrote for today's Standard:

In the "halfpint is half full" sort of way, TB is attempting to look for a positive side to the election of Bercow. Maybe there is a lesson here for everyone- ruthless ambition wins the day. Nice guys finish last. If at first you don't succeed, whore yourself to Harman. And to think Labour once had the audacity to describe Dave as a chameleon.

So ten years hard work has paid off of for the Member for Buckingham, little Johnny has got what he wanted. If there is one positive message to come out of this result but it's pretty long winded and fairly tenuous. The election of John Bercow perfectly encapsulates everything wrong with the Labour Party and is the undeniable proof that they are unfit for government. Parliament has been at its lowest ebb for a century and this election was a chance, a real chance, for the six hundred odd men and woman that we, for better or for worse, put our blind faith in to represent us. This was a chance to show the country that they understood the anger and rage that is out there. Instead the Labour Party, in true fashion, decided to play political games.

Bercow wasn't the best candidate, he isn't clean and he sure as hell isn't honest. Let it not be forgotten that he has paid thousands of pounds back that he avoided paying in capital gains tax, an offence that has cost the careers of fellow MPs such as Kitty Usher. Not only that but Bercow topped the list of claimers of the Second Home Allowance and is paid around £35k to serve as an advisor to a Cayman Island healthcare company. Everything that the House needed has been spat back in the face of the voters. Labour danced with the devil, have been charmed by a snake, and all for the sake of a cheap shot at the blue team. Thankfully Dave didn't give them any satisfaction. From the Commons gallery TB watched as he and Bercow exchanged words before the result and it was DC that did his classic Blair-just-quit-every-backbencher-get-up-now-or- there-will-be-hell-to-pay turn and wave the troops to stand trick. (Incidentally TB is fairly sure the MP elected Speaker was meant to be dragged to the Chair. Bercow was up there like a greyhound. He was dragging the draggers.)

The members of the Parliamentary Labour Party are not statesman, they clearly do not understand the House and the dignity required to sit in it. For what it's worth Bercow gave a better than expected speech and seemed to realise the challenges that now face him. Ignoring half the House was Martin’s downfall and TB hopes Bercow is a little smarter. He's still a slippery little turd polisher, but to be fair, he has reached the top of his chosen greasy pole and nothing, this side of an election, can be done about it. The anger will subside and everyone has to knuckle down and make the best of a bad situation.

Parliament is crying out for change and frankly the first thing required is a general election. The green benches are too full with crooks and thieves and liars, fitting that they would crown a king of troughers in these troubled times. Whatever he has said in the last few months, Bercow is no reformer. He has been one of the worst troughers and he has yet another serious change to under go. It can be done. Hell it must be done.

TB wishes the new Speaker the best of luck. He'll bloody need it.

2 comments:

Square Peg said...

Would I be wrong to suggest that TB's opposition to John Bercow essentially comes down to "I don't like him"?

His published manifesto marks him out as a reformist, and it is broadly similar to the other candidates' proposals in its tone and content.

Unctuous and cloying he may be: in this respect he is like most politicians, doubtless including some of TB's heroes. And as of today, his pisspoor adherence to the Conservative Party line matters no more: he's not a Tory any longer.

Given that his experimental freewheeling from one extreme wing of the Party to the other is the thing that most disconcerted his detractors, isn't his resignation of the whip a time for them to breathe their relief and get on with more important things. Like, I dunno, winning the General Election?

If you make a hobby-horse of your Bercow-hating, TB, you'll be pissing in the wind, and not doing the Tory cause any favours either.

Paul J
said...

Too right.

MPs (especially Labour ones) have learned nothing from the past few weeks. I'm not too bothered that Labour MPs have done something that makes their Tory counterparts uncomforable. This sort of puerile nonsense is to be expected.

What bothers me is that they think they can, even now, take the piss out of the electorate. There's a reckoning coming and it isn't going to be pretty.

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