Totty Watch: Libertits edition.

TB was warned by a concerned friend, apparently in the know, that he is on "thin ice" with his defence of Ralph Buckle. Well hopefully this won't get him into further trouble.

Libertas

, a party with a more coherent and stronger eurosceptic position that the Conservatives, in case you were wondering, have hired Page 3 girl Amy Diamond who apparently is very concerned about the over burdening European super state:

Now there's a way for a minor party to get attention.

Ralph speaks...

University of York
Wednesday, 27th of May 2009

Dear all,

As you may know I was suspended from the Conservative Party for writing a
column in an article which was

published

in Nouse, a student newspaper at the
University. I would like to apologise to the membership of the University of York
Conservatives. The article was published in my role as Chairman rather than from
my own personal perspective. I should have been more aware of that and for that I
am sorry.

First and foremost I will not be joining UKIP. The Conservative Party still has my
full support. While their decision to expel me has been described as harsh I fully
understand it. They have to weigh up the long standing conservative principle of
freedom of speech against the practicalities of running a political party. On this issue I am sure their judgement is more informed than mine.

However I do stand by my article. I would like to use this chance to clarify what I
wrote and perhaps defend myself against some of the criticism I have received.
The conclusions I draw in the article are entirely dependent on the premise I set out
in the first paragraph. I stated my belief that MEPs have very little real power and
their elections do little other than send out a message. If you do not believe or accept this then you should, of course, ignore my conclusions.

What I hope this incident has not done is to discourage anyone from voting. When I
was asked to write the article it was suggested it would be part of an anti-BNP piece.

This is why I set out the options as I did. The best way to prevent the BNP from
gaining a seat is to vote for any other to reduce their percentage. To this end (and
especially as I am no longer bound to a party) I encourage you to vote for any other
party on June 4th. I hope that this will be the Conservatives or UKIP but now, as
then, the decision is up to you.

Ralph Buckle
Former Chairman

Quote of the Day

"Gordon Brown is also backing United and will watch the game on television, his Downing Street spokesman confirmed."

Hat-Tip:

The Right Student

What a surprise.

It's not very hard to spot the vicious political agenda behind Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court vacancy; Judge

Sonia Sotomayor

of the Court of Appeals on New York's second circuit.

"Among the more controversial cases that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor participated in is Ricci v. DeStefano, involving affirmative action in the New Haven, Conn., fire department. A panel including Sotomayor ruled against a group of white firefighters who passed a promotion exam that was later discarded because no black applicants had passed."

When exactly America going move beyond judging people on their skin colour to the content of their character, as promised?

Can any one out there honestly argue that this "affirmative action" or "positive discrimination" (there's an oxymoron if TB ever saw one,) can in any way promote equality?

Try... TB dares you.

Sadiq Khan - Epic Fail.

Looks like the Communities Minister should pay more attention when staging photo ops.

Liberal Youth hits the fan. Again.

It seems that Elaine Bagshaw, the controversial chairman of Liberal Youth has already got into trouble just a couple of months after the bloody elections. One of the main concerns raised about her re-election in March was that she had the tendency to be a bit of a controlling, manic, irrational, socialist bitch. These arguments were dismissed by the likes of Edwin Loo, one of her biggest cheerleaders.

But it didn't take long for the wheels to fall off the Bagshaw truck now did it...

Couldn't happen to a nicer lady.

The Nouse tightens...

Apologies for the light blogging over the weekend. TB has been enjoying his last few days in Edinburgh and just as he sat down earlier this afternoon to catch up with some stories, his wireless died. Again. Fast forward three hours and it's fixed, don't ask.

A ridiculous story has

broken

this afternoon that has seen Ralph Buckle, Chairman of the

University of York Conservatives

expelled from the Party for suggesting that those who are eurosceptic might want to consider voting for UKIP. All of this was in an article that sought to explain the options available to people and although it concludes that those who are more eurosceptic should vote UKIP, this is no different from what certain more high profile Tories have said in the last few weeks. TB still is technically head of a university branch and has given less than guarded comments to student papers in the past. (One hack in particular had an uncanny way of always catching TB with a text after about three pints.) However TB was never particularly worried though, as lets face it, university branch chairman don't exactly have much sway, influence, or real power other than over their own cohorts. No one is particularly interested in anything they have to say, as countless press releases fired off and ignored show.

However an

article in Nouse

, York's student paper has led to the little guy being well and truly done over by the Party. When Norman Tebbit spoke out along similar lines, he was given a slap on the wrist in the form of a very very public warning from Cameron to shut up. Why was it felt that what Buckle did required a harsher and permanent punishment? Granted he could have been asked to step down from being head honcho at York and given a bollocking in no uncertain terms on the phone, but TB can't help but feel the reaction to the comments is totally over the top. Perhaps Buckle could have been more guarded with his comments but lets not forget that UKIP only exists due to the failure of the Conservative Party to listen to it's members views.

There cannot be one rule for people at the top of the Party and another for those on the lowest of rungs. Buckle will no doubt go straight to UKIP, and who can blame him, the Tories today have given them an open goal.

How many more eurosceptic Tories will follow?

Who is Tory Bear?

Saturday's

Herald

magazine had a big feature on the Scottish Conservative party after last week's conference. A range of candidates and party officials were interviewed, as well as Conservative Future types. It's a broad look at the state of play in the Party now and how they are slowly overcoming their unpopularity in Scotland. It concludes that slowly, very slowly the tide is beginning to turn.

They also had a little chat with Tory Bear...

Sadly the article is not online, and apologies for the quality of the BB camera, but this is what they said about TB:

It would be wrong, though, to paint a picture of Cameron's new model Army as made up of former socialists, working-class scions and union reps. Most are posher than that. Even among the Conservative Future newbies this often turns out to be the case. Someone who knows the scene well is XXXXX XXXX, aka Tory Bear. About a year ago he set up his blog and from the moment he started writing about young people in politics, he says, interest hit the roof. XXXX isn't a Scot. Hailing from Kent, he is a student at Edinburgh University who got involved in the political scene but has no plans for a career in politics. Standing on a balcony overlooking the foyer he glances down. "I've been doing conferences and political events for a couple of years now and I'm amazed how many people under 30 there are here," he says. When he started the blog, he says, it was the "hackery" he was witnessing among the young involved in politics that he wanted "to call out". "It's a lot tamer, though, here in Scotland than it is down in London."

XXXX has noted the scarcity of Scots among the young Tories, even in Scotland: "One of the big taglines of the Conservative Future election was that Scotland needed a Scottish chairman. And it does. "It doesn't really go down very well, all the English involved in Scottish Conservative politics. When I'm canvassing around Edinburgh, it's like, why are you here?"

Seems the TB bags got some good coverage too.

Good Luck Rascal

Tory Rascal

is off to Afghanistan:

While I take the Queen's shilling, my service is of paramount importance to me and I will have to step back from the blog for a time. Not that I'll be abandoning it altogether, but I'm sure I'll have other things on my mind while I'm in the dustbowl; updates will be less frequent, and I won't have access to many of the news sources I usually make use of so they'll be less focussed on current affairs.

Keep an eye on my Twitter feed - I'll be doing my best to keep people up to date with what I'm up to, as well as continuing to offer a Tory Rascal's view of the world. I'll be back in full swing in July.

Come back safe soon buddy.

He actually thinks he has a chance.

John Bercow has nailed his pathetic colours to the mast in a piece in today's Independent. Given that his campaign has been running for the last few years, there is no surprise that he is the first out of the blocks in any serious way. Fingers crossed he will run out of steam over the next month as people get sick of his swarmy smile, lack of ideology and willingness to say "how high?" before anyone even says "jump".

Bercow told the Independent

: "I have decided to stand for election as Speaker and this article seeks to explain my reasons. Elected in 1997, I came into the Commons to represent my Buckingham constituents and to stand up for Conservative principles." What absolute twoddle.

Fingers crossed the Buckingham Association will begin the deselection process after flicking through

today's Telegraph

: "John Bercow, one of the most heavily tipped Conservative candidates for the Speaker’s chair, faces questions over his expenses claims after he “flipped” his second home from his constituency to a £540,000 flat in London and claimed the maximum possible allowances for it."

Parliament needs a squeaky clean, brave reformer, not some two faced, wet, pocket liner.

A small victory...

A reader has pointed out this picture of a unknown Labour hack sporting what seems to be the official Labour LGBT campaign t-shirts. What a surprise that they use even this opportunity to attack the Tories. Common consensus is that it is pretty rubbish.

Last year's Pride Brighton saw one hell of a float from Brighton and Hove Conservatives and it has to be noted that even on the important issue of LGBT t-shirt design, the Tories are kicking Labour around the block. The "I've come out... as a Tory!" slogan went down very well.

Every so often TB gets contacted by various gay Tories who are sick to the back teeth of being told by Labour members that gay people have a moral duty to vote Labour. This sort of homophobic fear mongering by the left has to stop. Yes ok so maybe the Tories were a little closed minded in the past but Labour's patronising call to arms is based on seriously flawed logic, why should gay people vote on only gay issues? This close minded and naive attitude is yet another reason why Labour can no longer depend on voters that they used to, arrogantly, consider "theirs".

And on a lighter note TB would recommend the Labour hacks check out

these

.

Sister Bear's adventures...

Wish the

Standard would send

TB to Cannes:

SB should really get a blog...

What are you doing tonight?

TB's

flatmate

is putting on what is set to be a massive night at

Caberet Voltaire

in Edinburgh tonight. This former haunt of

DK

's is set to be rammed, so if you are Scotland based come along.

TB will be the sober guy.

Question Time Live Ranting

More Labour Lies.

Well that's the last time that TB puts up a story and then goes out for the afternoon. How charming to return home to being called a liar by none other than Kezia Dugdale, personal assistant to the upstanding and honourable Lord George Foulkes.

TB put a story up earlier that he spotted on the "

Tweet4Labour

" Twitter feed this morning. With a simple

"Welcome! The Chief Whip @nickbrownmp

" Tweet4Labour drew TB's attention to the fact that Nick Brown was supposedly on Twitter. He then took a screen grab of Brown's feed and the rest they say his history. 

So Nick Brown's office have denied it's him which is hardly a surprise yet there seems to be a bit of a discrepancy in Miss Dugdale's logic. She

instantly accuses

TB of foul play: "It's clearly a black op by Tory Bear - perhaps even endorsed by Conservative HQ - and it has largely worked."

Kez, TB knows that working for Foulkes can hardly teach positive moral values and a respect for the law, but that is libel plain and simple and it needs to be retracted. You have made a shoddy assumption and you  have absolutely sod all to back up your claims. 

Woops.

Someone should really sit Labour Chief Whip

Nick Brown

down and explain to him just what all this twitter malarkey is all about. It seems Gordon's enforcer might have made a bit of a first-day-on-twitter-error:

So lets just get this straight. The Chief Whip is using to

Twitter to tell

other Labour MPs when the election is going to be.

Well now we know.

Quote of the Day

TB just spotted this little gem in the first edition of the

Standard

:

“No one should pick up a peerage with his P45 — least of all Mr Martin, who has so damaged our democracy.”

-Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott

T-Shirt of the Week: Carswell edition.

Does exactly what it says on the tin. Yours for a tenner

here

.

Have you seen this man?

MPs beware if this man approaches you in the corridor. He is dangerous, has previous and will say anything he thinks you want to hear. Tom Harris

says

the race is on, so it must be true, and guess which name he is banding around?

John Bercow must be stopped at all costs in his ridiculous attempt at becoming the Speaker. He's been at it for years, buttering up Labour benches with blatant overtures like this:

Even if it means not having a Tory in the chair, this turncoat and spineless slime ball must be stopped.

Quote of the Day

Foulkes has made a complete arse of himself over the last few days. He should go and spend more time with his three salaries.

-

Iain Dale