JohnBM:Liberal

Rumours are abound in France that President Nicolas Sarkozy’s aides are choosing people shorter than his 5′5″ stature to stand behind him on photoshoots and make him look taller.

As Putin tried in vain to look young and virile in photoshoots, Sarkozy has tried in vain to look taller. Both have ended up jusy looking silly.

Both need to play the cards they were genetically dealt with and “get over it!”

Coincidentally I am also 5′5″ but have no need for recruiting short people to stand around me. Saying that, my wife is 5′1″.

Source: BBC News

In a completely transparent attempt to seize the ‘moral highground’ David Cameron has declared that Tory ministers will cut their own wages by 5% if they form the next government.

This will save the taxpayer between £4,000 and £6,000 a year per minister.

Sounds all very laudable unless like Mr. Hague you are taking home the following:

HAGUE, Rt. Hon. William (Richmond (Yorks)
1.	Remunerated directorships
		AES SEAL Plc, Global Technology Centre, Mill Close, Bradmarsh Business Park, Rotherham S60 1BZ; specialists in the design and manufacture of mechanical seals and support systems.
			£2,083 for serving on the board. Hours: 3hrs. (Registered 13 August 2009)
2.	Remunerated employment, office, profession etc
		Parliamentary adviser to the JCB Group (ended 31 July 2009); manufacturer of construction equipment. Address: JC Bamford Excavators Ltd, Rocester, Staffs, ST14 5JP. (£45,001-£50,000)
			£4,166.67 for advising the board. Hours: 4hrs. (Registered 13 August 2009)
		7 June 2008, speech at a lunch in London hosted by Orange Business Services. (£10,001-£15,000) (Registered 17 June 2008)
		19 September 2008, speech at the Azur Business Networking Lunch in London. (£10,001-£15,000) (Registered 24 October 2008)
		8 October 2008, speech at the Mortgage Intelligence Annual Conference dinner in Newport. (£10,001-£15,000) (Registered 24 October 2008)
		16 October 2008, speech at the South Wales Society of Chartered Accountants Annual Dinner in Cardiff. (£10,001-£15,000) (Registered 24 October 2008)
		12 November 2008, speech at the Annual Dinner of the Association of Corporate Treasurers in London. (£10,001-£15,000) (Registered 15 December 2008)
		27 November 2008, hosted the Growing Business Awards in London. (£10,001-£15,000) (Registered 15 December 2008)
		1 December 2008, hosted the Institute of Turnaround Professionals’ Awards Dinner in London. (£15,001-£20,000) (Registered 15 December 2008)
		20 February 2009, speech at a dinner in Geneva for the Association of Business Recovery Professionals. (£15,001-£20,000) (Registered 31 March 2009)
		4 March 2009, speech at a dinner in London for the British Vehicle Rental & Leasing Association. (£10,001-£15,000) (Registered 31 March 2009)
		Payment of £38.81 permission fee via my literary agent, PFD, Drury House, 34-43 Russell Street, London WC2B 5HA, for an extract from my biography of Pitt the Younger, published in 2004, which another publisher has been allowed to use. (Registered 14 August 2009)
4.	Sponsorship or financial or material support
		Funds have been provided by the following to cover the cost of research in my role as Shadow Foreign Secretary:
			Merebis Capital Management LLP
			Bruce Macfarlane, London (personal donation) (Registered 9 July 2008)
			Alan Morgan , London (personal donation) (Registered 9 July 2008)
			Bruce Macfarlane, London (personal donation) (Registered 31 March 2009)
		The cost of a reception for Ambassadors which I hosted on 4 June 2008 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Hyde Park was met by CQS. (Registered 9 July 2008)
		The cost of a reception for Ambassadors which I hosted on 30 September 2008 at the International Conference Centre in Birmingham during the Conservative Party Conference was met by CQS. (Registered 24 October 2008)
		The cost of a reception for Ambassadors which I hosted on 11 June 2009 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Hyde Park was met by CQS. (Registered 17 June 2009)
		Name of donor: Malcolm Scott
		Address of donor: private
		Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £10,500 cash donation
		Date of receipt: 23 June 2009
		Date of acceptance: 23 June 2009
		Donor status: individual
		(Registered 15 July 2009 )
5.	Gifts, benefits and hospitality (UK)
		19 May 2008, helicopter from Crewe to London provided by Bearwood Corporate Services Ltd, Southampton. (Registered 17 June 2008)
		In my capacity as Leader of the Conservative Party from 1997-2001, I have accepted Honorary Membership for life of the Carlton Club.
		In my capacity as Leader of the Conservative Party from 1997-2001, I have accepted Honorary Membership for life of Buck’s Club.
		My wife and I received tickets for the Conservative Party’s ‘Black and White Party’ on 4 February 2009, paid for by Cavendish Corporate Finance. (Registered 10 March 2009)
		Name of donor: Grand Central Railway Company Ltd
		Address of donor : River House, 17 Museum Street, York, Y01 7DJ
		Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: complimentary first class pass valid for travel on Grand Central services, business use only, expires 31 March 2010. No value received to date.
		Date of receipt of donation: 8 July 2009
		Date of acceptance of donation: 8 July 2009
		Donor status: company, registration number 03979826
		(Registered 15 July 2009)
6.	Overseas visits
		20-23 October 2008, to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Georgia in my capacity as Shadow Foreign Secretary. The cost of my flights was met by Flying Lion Ltd. (I covered the cost of my hotel accommodation throughout the visit.) (Registered 24 October 2008)
		2-4 November 2008, to Israel in my capacity as Shadow Foreign Secretary. The cost of my flight from the UK to Tel Aviv was met by Flying Lion Ltd. The cost of the return flight, and my hotel accommodation in Israel, was met by Conservative Friends of Israel. (Registered 15 December 2008)
		12-14 December 2008, to Bahrain in my capacity as Shadow Foreign Secretary, to attend the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Manama Dialogue. The cost of my accommodation and my return flights from Bahrain to London, was met by the IISS. (Registered 15 December 2008)
		15-17 March 2009, to Havana, for meetings with the Foreign Minister and other politicians. The cost of my return flights was met by Flying Lion Ltd. (I covered the cost of my accommodation.) (Registered 31 March 2009)

Source: Register of Members Interests (Highlights on register)

The announcement by Sky News that they are planning a General Election leaders debate has left me salivating.

Hats off to the Murdoch machine for going it alone and announcing an “empty chair” policy if a party leader fails to turn up.

It is nice to see that Cameron and Clegg have backed this from the start leaving Brown out in the cold.

I think this election will present the greatest opportunity to have such a debate in a more than a generation. As Brown is trailing massively in the polls he really has more to gain in a televised debate than Cameron. In fact, Cameron has a fair amount to lose by “going live”.

In both 2001 and 2005 Blair refused a live debate on the advice of Campell et al. and wisely so.

In 2001 he would have faced William Hague who is undoubtedly a formidable speaker and who would have been a very tough opponent for both Blair and Kennedy.

In 2005, Blair would have faced Michael Howard whose TV presence was always more unnerving given his “something of the night” reputation.

The main reason for Blair not facing his opponents in 2001 and 2005 was that he did not want to give the opposition parties credibility.

Brown’s problem is that both the Nick Clegg and David Cameron have more credibility in the public eye than he does.

If Brown fails to fill the empty chair then it will be an admission that he can not win the election and would rather hide in shadows until his post-election resignation.

Although I think it was still right for al-Megrahi to released on compassionate grounds and sent home to die, the scenes of ‘jubilation’ on landing in Libya were wholly inappropriate.

Even if you think he is innocent of the bombing of Flight 103 the scenes of celebration, albeit limited to a couple of hundred people at the airport, were unacceptable.

Compassion for the families of the victims of the Lockerbie bombing is equally important as compassion for the family of a dying man.

There is nothing to celebrate in this very sad episode.