Posts Tagged "Dan Norris"

Another bungle by Tory candidate Rees-Mogg: claiming credit for Government’s success

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Tory candidate for North East Somerset, has taken another significant step in reviving the British Gaffe Industry.

Presenting his latest blooper is always a difficult challenge. Though it’s fun to laugh at a hopelessly useless traditional out-of-touch Tory, it’s also important to remember he is selected for a super-marginal. This bloke could be an MP within months.

In addition to plagiarising The Sun, having council taxpayers’ resources used to promote him, forgetting where he really lives, and hoping for a recession to keep his gold valuable, (See the list!) now he’s put out another leaflet. Here’s the front:

Rees-Mogg has at least learned one lesson and has started to write his own copy. You can tell it’s him because nobody else would start a statement on MPs’ Expenses by talking about Stuarts, Tudors, Shakespeare and MacBeth! It’s as if he is trying to strangle you with his Eton school tie. (Yes, he’s one of those Tories, don’t act surprised.)

The whole leaflet is amusingly awful, but there is something you should draw your attention to; on the back, where Rees-Mogg is attempting to trumpet some Tory successes. I’ve drawn a red ring around it:

The start of a massive £2.5m overhaul of children’s play areas throughout the area, including Midsomer Norton.

The reference to the 2.5 million quid for play equipment is fascinating; I’m not sure whether it’s a mistake because he hasn’t got his facts right, was improperly briefed by the Tory Council, or if it’s just a classic lie.

In fact this £2.5 million is government money – nothing to do with B&NES, the Tories, or even B&NES Tories.

Back in April 2008 the government announced “Labour’s Children’s Plan” in which Bath & North East Somerset was selected as a “Pathfinder” one of just 20 authorities to get funding of this type, specifically to create new play areas for young people.

Jacob Rees-Mogg is claiming either that his Tory pals on the Council magically conjured up two and a half million pounds to fund play areas in order to match that of the government, or more likely just false credit-bagging for something they didn’t do.

Far from being a Tory success, I’d wager (£2.5 million, if I had it!) that B&NES was made a top priority area thanks to someone from Somerset lobbying the government, someone in government perhaps, like Labour MP Dan Norris, the very man Rees-Mogg is trying to oust!

To put it simply, for the likes of hard-of-thinking Tory candidates: The £2.5 million isn’t a Tory success but a Labour one!

Is it just a typical Tory trait that Jacob Rees-Mogg has tried to claim credit for something his rival has achieved?

More likely, I suspect that it’s another major blooper by an out-of-touch candidate who has become a gross embarrassment to the Tory Party!

Students Must Drink More to Boost Bath's Local Economy

The pub culture is fighting for its life; people just are not drinking enough in pubs! Taking a (probably welcome) break from politics, I appeal to the best drinkers in town, you students, to rectify the situation to help me save an important part of Bath.

Over Easter, I was working for Don Foster, Member of Parliament for Bath, and attended a meeting with local licensees. The pub and club managers all expressed concern over the same thing: people are staying in and not going out.

The smoking ban could well be responsible, although it is not the main issue in this case, as the pro-smoking lobby rest on the weak argument that now pubs smell of people instead of tobacco. Nevertheless, it stands to reason that if smokers go out to a pub and suddenly feel the need to feed their habit, they take to the streets. The pub industry is reeling from the damage done by people being outside smoking instead of inside drinking. Perhaps the other problem is that now the air is clear, patrons can see the other people in the bar, and do not like what they see.

The Chancellor has been a popular hate-figure for pubs. Ever since Alistair Darling raised the taxes on alcohol, there has been a well-publicised campaign from pub landlords, including one or two in Bath, working under the slogan “Sorry Darling, you’re barred!” Starting in his own constituency, pubs across the nation have been working together to show that the Chancellor is not welcome to buy a pint (or whisky, because he’s Scottish) from them. Barring Darling is funny, but it guarantees one fewer customer. However, it is a serious issue portrayed in a cleverly humourous way to maximise coverage, having been featured on the BBC and even mentioned in the Commons.

Before the prosecution rests, it is time to discover the real reason why Bath Pub owners are so irate. The criminal mastermind is Mr. Sainsbury; the real problem pubs and clubs face is BOGOF booze in superstores. The price of Sky Television has increased, and if pubs cannot afford to show sports, there is no way people are going to come out and drink when they could be watching the match at home with a six-pack of cans.

I shall not take the position that adults like to take when it comes to anti-social behaviour or that students ‘drink just to get drunk’ but I am sure that you and/or someone you know has either bought Sainsbury’s Basics Vodka (which is marketed as a drink, but could also be used to clean submarines) or partaken in some “pre-drinking”. Pub owners in Bath estimated that they are losing out on about 2 drinks per person per night as people are coming out later due to 24-hour drinking.

People, particularly students, are just coming out later. Having drunk about 4 pints on average before leaving home, pub staff members are finding it more difficult to monitor customers and unsure when it’s time to say “I think you’ve had enough mate!” A gentleman (having been pre-drinking) getting rowdy and about to start a fight when the licensee says to his bar staff, “How much did you give that guy?” to hear the response “Well, just one drink” is becoming a frequent occurrence.

At the meeting, it was revealed by the police spokesman that, as the law currently stands, it is the licensee that is accountable should a person be drinking in their bar, who then goes on to commit and offence around the premises. However, the same measures do not apply to superstores.

Furthermore, in pubs, if an employee serves an underage person at the bar, it is the proprietor who faces legal action, not the negligent staff member or even the offender. If the same thing happens in Sainsbury’s, it is again not the offender who is in trouble, but the shop assistant who served them, while the manager is not held to accountability.

People need to get out more. Once again, it is up to students to lead by example and head off to the pub. Support the local economy and stay away from Sainsbury’s.