Want to work for Boris?

Office of Boris Johnson MP seeks researcher.

Office of Boris Johnson is looking for a bright, motivated, highly literate individual to come and work in the House of Commons as a Researcher. Job will involve researching legislation and Bills going through the House, compiling briefs and reports, speech writing, drafting articles, policy formulation and general parliamentary wonkery.

Interest in Higher Education related issues a must.

Send CV plus two 500 word sample essays. One being on the role of British universities. The other being, either A Trip in a Space Ship or A Country Ramble or The Taj Mahal.
closes

15 September 2006

contact
cv and essays to: Boris Johnson MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

Why it makes no economic sense to bar migrants

Alistair Darling, the man with the two-tone head, today announced that he would be limiting immigration into the UK from the next two countries to join the EU, Bulgaria and Romania.

Tory terrier Damian Green has been calling for curbs, though god knows why. The Tories are supposed to be the party of business and low taxes. Immigrants help to maintain both.

As Sir Digby Jones investigated in his excellent documentary for C4 last week, far from taking jobs from British people, the Polish invasion has brought businesss to the UK, stabilised interest rates and helped with pensions.

We have about half-a-million Poles working in the UK, paying taxes for services like schools that they do not use and paying into a state pension scheme they will never claim.

They are filling jobs that under-educated or just lazy Brits refuse to do. They are reknowned already for the quality of their work and the versatility of their skills knowledge.

They make British workers looks unskilled and lazy - while paying contributions to keep them in dole money.

The UK and Ireland were the only countries in the EU to give unfettered access to accession countries in 2004. Both countried have reaped the benefits.

But soon Germany, France and the rest will be opening their doors to the Poles. We could lose these vital workers, who are filling gap in demand in our economy, to other nations.

The filling of gaps may sound small beer, but in fact that flexibility keeps the economy moving and not stopping and starting. The reason that Gordon Brown's economy continues to grow is down to allowing Poles and others to access UK job markets.

At just the moment when those Poles have an opportunity to leave, we are restricting the arrival of their replacements.

It is interesting to see how the macro-economic landscape can be affected by what appear unrelated political decisions.

I just wish Alistair Darling had the balls to stand up to the fear mongers at the Daily Mail and celebrate what the eastern Europeans have done for our economy, instead of recycling the timid racism of the mid market tabloids.

Where is politicsjunkie?

Hi there blog readers!

Sorry if you have been missing my pearls of wisdom of late- I have been much involved working for www.pinknews.co.uk

It is great fun - go and check out some of my stories!

Tony

DC, the new Tories and the Gays

Stung by constant criticism that he is all sound bite and no substance, David Cameron today launched a ‘mini manifesto.’ The purpose of the document is to outline the aims and values of the Conservative Party.

To anyone with a political memory long enough to remember 1979, the idea of gay and lesbian people feeling positively towards the Tories might seem naive at best.

Labour are always keen to remind us of the bad old days of Section 28, and remind the gays that it was a Labour government that delivered an equal age of consent, civil partnerships and the abolition of the most famous section of a local government act in the history of Parliament.

For all of those achievements, they are to be congratulated. With New Labour came a new national mood, somehow more tolerant and understanding than the previous 18 years, years that were so miserable for so many.

Faced with a real electoral threat for the first time in a decade, Labour are rattled. They feel that people do not appreciate their achievements. They think the electorate have forgotten the bad old days. The electorate have forgotten - and that is not such a terrible thing.

In a country where gay people are more free then they have ever been, it can be hard to remind ourselves of what the Tories used to be like.

There can be no doubt that in the eight months that Cameron has led the Conservatives, he has taken the party by the scruff of the neck. The language and attitude is unrecognisable from the days of Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Michael Howard.

Labour are correct in their assertion that Cameron is relying heavily on image. They should know - since Blair was elected leader in 1994, he has devoted much energy to promoting his party and his government as modern, forward thinking and ‘in touch’ with modern Britain.

But the shine has worn off the golden boy. Worse still, a fully qualified PR practitioner now stands opposite him. The language that David Cameron uses may be all spin, but that is no reason why the gay community should not listen to what he is trying to tell us.

For the first time in its history, the Tory party has out gay MPs. The election of Nick Herbert to Arundel and South Downs in 2005 was a watershed moment. It marked a coming of age for the ‘new’ Conservatives. Along with the election of the first black Tory MP, Adam Afriyie, in Windsor, finally the party had tangible symbols of its desire to reflect modern Britain.

It is interesting to look again at the constituencies Herbert and Afriyie won. Hampshire and Berkshire are hardly politically correct, left-wing or radical areas of the country.

The Tories took these candidates into their heartland, put them before some of the most ‘small c’ conservatives in the country and won. Like many historic organisations, that change has taken time. The change in mood is in large part due to the tenacity of gay Tory activists who from the mid-90s onwards found their own voice inside the Party.

Capitalising on the atmosphere created by ten years of Tony, the Conservatives feel more comfortable using words like compassion, positive action, partnerships. That is in part a tribute to the fact that Blair has transformed the political landscape, in exactly the way Thatcher did.

And like Blair, Cameron is taking advantage of that new political landscape to push forward his vision for the future.

Commentators who say that the vast bulk of the Tory party are still blue-rinse biddies who hate the gays and black people betray their ignorance of the realities of where power really lies within political parties.

They are also wrong about the party - the members live in Blair’s Britain. They may be old, but they are willing and able to pick gay candidates, black candidates. They were doing it before David Cameron even became leader.

For LGBT people, these are exciting political times. The stated aim of making the Tories more reflective of modern Britain means they actively want gay and lesbian candidates. And Adam Rickitt - no man can spend that much time with his top off and not be counted as an honourary gay.

The Labour party have never actively sought gay candidates to run for them. They have done so for women, with the controversial short lists, and with ethnic minority candidates. Labour somewhat cynically place black and Asian candidates in constituencies with large ethic populations.

The party have a mixed record when it comes to picking gay candidates. It was the bravery of Chris Smith outing himself that led to more acceptance for gay people among Labour activists.

The trade union movement, for those of us with long memories, were virulently homophobic for much of their history. Many trade unionists were hostile towards women and immigrants in the workplace too.David Cameron’s A-list has come in for lots of criticism, but those critics forget that it is for local associations to decide who will represent them.

The A-list is indicative of the sort of people the ‘new’ Tories want to be in parliament, but there will be no imposed candidates as there are with Labour.No association will be TOLD to pick a gay candidate, or a black candidate, or Adam Rickitt.

The A-list allows people who may not have been considered to be considered. As we have seen in 2005, constituency parties have picked gay candidates - because they were the best.

Labour constantly remind us of how they have changed the political landscape for minority groups. For that we thank them. But they need to wake up to the reality they have created. David Cameron is reaching out to gay and lesbian people, not in a tokenist ‘we must have some gays’ type of way, but instead making it clear that they are welcome in his party.

Welcome to fight it out equally with everyone else, to prove they are the best candidates. To me that is the sort of equality we should all want in our new political reality.

READ MORE FABULOUS STORIES BY ME HERE: www.pinknews.co.uk

the oaten future

The curious tale of Mark Oaten continues to fascinate people and, like a bad da Vinci-themed novel, we just can’t put it down until we get to the end.
While not wishing to rehash the scandal that rocked the LibDem leadership contest and ruined his political career, there are some aspects of it that are worth considering.
Especially as Oaten himself is confident that up until he leaves Parliament and beyond, he will be called on more and more as a media pundit.
When he announced his decision to stand down from his seat in Winchester last month, Oaten stated a desire to concentrate on development issues.
But from the start, he has been sniffing out TV opportunities, not NGO gigs. One of the more curious aspects of Oaten is his sheer brass neck.
This is a man who simultaneously thought he was high profile enough to run for party leader yet low profile enough to make weekly visits to a rent boy.
A man who told the world that the reason he had been sleeping with said rent boy was a ‘mid-life crisis’ brought on by rapid hairloss.
Certainly a novel reason, you have to give him that. A lesser man might have admitted to bisexuality, but not Oaten. The B word is yet to pass his lips.
In fact, his long-suffering (and possibly deluded) wife, Belinda, has said more on the topic of the actual once-a-week sex with an Eastern European male prostitute than he has.
Allegations that too much has been made of Oaten’s behaviour because it involved gay sex are wide of the mark. Does anyone really believe that if, say, a leading Tory shadow cabinet member, had been having an affair with a prostitute, involving 3-in-a-bed romps, a fetish for football kit and coprophilia, that the reaction would have been less intense?
No. What Oaten did was truly shocking - probably the most significant political scandal since then-Cabinet minister Ron Davies’ “moment of madness” on Clapham Common in 1998.
The comparison with Davies is apposite - he also had no sense of when to step down, and was adept at convincing himself he had a future in politics.
The inevitability of Oaten’s situation has become apparent to him. The LibDems lost control of Winchester council, in part due to their local MP’s shenanigans. He finally admitted that he would have to stand down at the next election.
A lesser man might have stood down immediately. But not our Mark. He now spins this climbdown is an the opportunity he has been waiting for.
The media might also be guilty of encouraging him to think that his future lies with them. Since the fall from grace, Oaten has been asked onto Question Time. He has been featured, over a series of weeks, getting back into shape on the Daily Politics. He was one of four parliamentarians in a special episode of University Challenge. Hell, even More4 got in on the act - he was a contestant on their West Wing quiz special.
Throughout it all, the elephant in the living room was his sexuality. No-one asked the question - are you now bisexual? Oaten still has a curiosity factor. In a year he won’t.
He certainly is no Michael Portillo. His political achievements are modest. Frontbench spokesman for a minor political party. Reasonably obscure constituency MP before that. He can bring no gravitas or insider knowledge to the table - pretty basic qualifications for the politician turned commentator.
In fact pretty much the only thing he is qualified to talk about with any authority is the one thing he seems to be unwilling to discuss.
For this reason I hope that Oaten is sincere when he says he wants to get out of the limelight and concentrate on ‘real’ issues. Because if he is secretly banking on a glittering career in the media, he will be as frustrated as he was on the front bench.

Blair's arrogance could cost him the premiership

The resignation of Jim Sheridan from his role as a PPS at the Department of Defence may not seem that much of a story, but there are rumours that backbench anger over our foreign policy may bubble over into a rash of similar actions by other PPS.

There is genuine anger and frustration at Blair's stance over Lebanon, especially amongst MPs who represent constituencies with large Muslim communities.

Writing in today's New Statesman, Burnley MP and friend of politicsjunkie Kitty Ussher writes about how hard it is to sell the government's position to her constituents. The UK is taking sides and once again, we are on the opposing side to most Muslim and Arab opinion.

Ussher has been brave enough to be blunt with her government and party, and say it like it is. The deaths of Muslims seem to mean less and less to the British government, and their craven attitude towards Israel is killing Muslims.

It is said that on Friday, over 100 Labour MPs will ask for parliament to be recalled. The scale of unease about this issue should give the PM pause for thought on his Barbados holiday.

MPs want to talk, debate and question the government. The resignation of Sheridan is a serious blow to the credibility of the PM's present stance.

Sheridan spoke with eloquence about how much he supports the PM, regards him as a friend. He has not resigned to try and force Blair out - in fact he says that when the time comes Blair can leave with his head held high - on the domestic front.

Sheridan is a loyalist - he just cannot sit back and let the government get this so very wrong. If a whole gang of PPS decide to do the same thing, the pressure on Blair will become untenable. HE is clearly ignoring his own party, at exactly the moment they want to get rid of him for good.
Similarly, Kitty Ussher is not one of the usual suspects. Loyal to a fault, she also feels she cannot sit back and let the government make such a grave mistake. We cannot bang on about listening to and engaging with British Muslims and then ignore their righteous anger at the events in the Middle East.

These voices of moderate new Labour loyalists are ones that Blair would be foolish to ignore. If the splits in the Cabinet get worse, he could find himself forced to recall a parliament baying for his blood.

More Tory Mayor Chatter

It seems we may have rejoiced prematurely over the exclusion of Nick Ferrari from the upcoming mayoral primary. On last night's Newsnight the pug-faced pugilist confirmed that if the Tory party wait a year, he will be pleased to be their candidate.
Ironically he was appearing on the sofa next to Steve Norris. The contrast between the two men was striking.
Ferrari really is an idiot - he attacked David Cameron for having no policies, then attacked him over the A-list. Norris, class act that he is, smoothly defended the new leader and the controversial A-team. No-one ever said that every constituency would be picking an A-list candidate, he soothed. There will still be a place for fat middle-aged white guys in the Tory party.
Oh, Steve, if only we could persuade you to reconsider and stand for mayor a third time.
Ferrari was bumptious and nervous out of his usual radio environment. In front of the harsh lights of a TV studio, he looked like a cut-price hooligan, his gerbil-cheeks stuffed with crap one-liners that might work on his odious radio rant but sounded tinny and trivial on TV.
If he succeeds in his ambiton to put himself before the people of London as their mayor, he will be the most disastrous choice since Lord Archer.
The Tories will hopefully realise what a maverick he is, not to mention what a dick he is. Ferrari - where does he get that stupid mid-life crisis "I-have-a-small-penis" name from anyway - could it be that this foaming-at-the-mouth-about-immigrants-and-blacks-ruining-our-country windbag is in fact the child of immigrants himself?
He is a dangerous windbag, he is uncontrollable and he will lose the Tories credibility and tarnish their image. Let him run as an independent as he so often says he will.
The Tories are now talking up Lord Coe, who may be somewhat busy with that little sporting competition he is bringing to town. No, Coe would be an ideal candidate AFTER the Olympics.
Their other bright idea is former top-cop Lord Stevens, formerly Sir John Stevens.
Right - so who would like to vote for a man who headed London's most racist public service during one of its worst periods of bad race relations?
What about you sir - the man at the back whose son was killed? The Met messed up the investigation cos they are a bunch of white middle-aged bigots you say?
Hmm? And you sir? The man who was stopped and searched 100s of times a year as the police figure that a black man in a BMW must mean some sort of criminality? You won't vote for him either?
Yes, it seems the Tories were right to extend the deadline to allow more 'suitable' candidates to come forward.
One happy note - you know that this lame-assed government is taking time to pan your idea, you must be doing something right. The pure comedy genius of Hazel Blears taking time out from rearranging the seats on the deck of the Titanic to mock your move towards more democracy was worth having to listen to Nick Ferrari. Almost.

Heckler elected to Labour NEC

An 83-year-old Holocaust survivor has been elected to the Labour National Executive Committee. Walter Wolfgang came to prominence when he was ejected from last year's party conference by security goons for shouting the word "nonsense" while Jack Straw was speaking.

His rough treatment at the hands of over-sensitive bouncers enraged many party activists, and he was feted at fringe events for the rest of the conference. Wolfgang was also excluded by police from the security zone around the venue under the Terrorism Act. Eventually then-party chairman Ian McCartney was forced to publicly apologise to the pensioner, who has been a member of the party for over 50 years.

His suprise election to the ruling executive of the Labour party is another sign of disquiet amongst grassroots members at the direction of the government. It is also an embarassment for Blair - the party had sent missives to party members "suggesting" candidates for election.

The PM will now come face to face with Wolfgang on a monthly basis. The NEC votes on the content of manifestos and has a range of other vital roles with the party. Wolfgang is the vice-chair of CND and opposes most of Blair's policies. He called on Tony Blair to resign immediately to make way for Chancellor Gordon Brown.

He went on to cite Lebanon as a pressing concern, stating there should be a ceasefire and announcing that he hopes to address this year's conference from the platform:

"If this Lebanon war is still going on in October - and there needs to be a ceasefire before that - we need to do something about that and stop the fighting.
"The second thing is we have to get our troops out of Iraq. We have to get the Americans out too but getting our troops out will encourage that.
"I am also very much opposed to Britain having nuclear weapons and want to get discussion going on that."

Should make for an interesting speech.

Gays to replace adulterers on Tory Mayor Ticket?

The BBC in a lovely bit of spin are reporting that there is a front-runner in the exciting race to become the Tory candidate for mayor of London. A few months ago Dave "i ride huskies" Cameron announced that from now on the Tories would embrace "American-style" selection tactics for the London role.
This would mean that any member of the party could put themselves forward for selection - the deadline for applications is Friday.
In what the party like to describe as an "X-factor" competition, members of "the public" will then get to vote on the various candidates and pick a winner.
Critics are quick to point out that the main candidates so far are hardly likely to generate screaming crowds of teenagers.
LBC gobshite and liberal-bogeyman Nick Ferrari is deluded enough to think he stands a chance of being elected - that is almost sweet. He evidently thinks that cos his brand of loud ignorant racism is listened to by cab drivers, and every time he gets in a cab they know who he is, that somehow the rest of Londoners do. Nick, word to the wise - no-one listens to LBC. Really, nobody apart from cab drivers. They love you, I will give you that. Everyone else thinks you are an idiot, rent-a-quote, and instinctively the worst possible person to represent London IN ANY CONTEXT, never mind as our esteemed mayor. Ferrari said that "bookies odds" portray him as a front runner, and that the Tories would do well picking him. Just savour this quote from the man with the golden mouth, on why he would be a good choice for the Tories:
"Would they rather go for a white, slightly heavy, but nevertheless good-looking and virile radio presenter who can win?
"Or - purely for the sake of argument - a black woman from the East End of London, who nobody perhaps had heard of, who ticked all the right boxes but finishes fifth." Thank the Lord he will be crushed like a little grape if he comes within sniffing distance of nomination.
So who are the other candidates set to shake the Tory party? Who will be stepping into the shoes of Lord Archer, the well-known novelist, liar, perjurer and Tory peer and Shagger Norris, the five-times-a-night love machine who failed to topple Ken on two previous occasions?
The exciting list so far includes: a man who once stood for parliament but didnt get in and a man who is in the London assembly but I have never heard of. There are two councillors from Tory rich-bitch heartland Kensington & Chelsea. Get these names and see how you think these Conservative fillies will go down with the voters of Brixton: Warwick Lightfoot and Victoria Borwick. I mean really - you people have no chance. What a bunch of losers.
The final candidate I have heard of - he has carpetbagged over from losing Hove at the last election to the ginger-lady Celia Barlow.
Nicholas Boles is A-list. He is top mates with new-Tory faces like your Ed Vaizeys and your George Osbornes. He is also an out gay man. This could be a winner for the party if they have the sense to pick him.
Boles would bring wide support from the most prominent community in London, the gays. They are in every borough and they will get out the vote for one of their own. But can I make one suggestion? Intelligent as Boles is, he is hardly a looker. They need to get him a glamourous running mate, perhaps fellow A-lister and gay icon Adam Rickitt. They could even adapt his hit single Breathe Again as a campaign tune, backing the green message of Cameron with some wicked disco beats.
In seriousness, this is an opportunity for the Conservatives to demonstrate real change. London is the most diverse electorate in the country. If Londoners can be convinced that the party has changed, it will be the breakthrough they need.
It was very smart of Cameron to take the decision out of the hands of the dinosaurs that run the Tory party and turn it into a public vote. Let us hope for his sake it is not Nick Ferrari, or some heavy-thighed braying Chelsea trustafarian called Victoria, or some faceless Assembly member that emerges as the victor.
With Boles and a bit of fairy dust, and a bit of Rickitt, they could carry it off.