JohnBM:Liberal

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)

For the last month something hasn’t seemed quite right about politics in the UK. For a while I have struggled to put my finger on what is out of place.

It started with the expenses row and crescendoed during the McBride smear e-mail story.

It was not until I saw the distorted image of  “Uncle Joe” Brown on the Number10 website, that it began to dawn on me what had been niggling in the back of my mind.

Whilst Uncle Joe was telling the amassed peoples of the world how he was going to completely reform politics with his previously undiscussed “pay-as-you-go” expenses scheme (RIP silly scheme), I cruelly chuckled at his forced grimaces. It was at this point that the penny dropped.

What I was witnessing were the last gasps of the New Labour machine trying to circumvent the old media and set the news agenda through the Number10 website.

Labour had lost control of the media and there was no going back.

Since the early 1990s the Labour Party had attempted to morph the news agenda through Mandelson, Campbell et al. Of course this had not always been fully successful but at least there was a feeling that there was someone behind the scenes massaging the shoulders of hacks, editors and producers or sticking the knife in.

On Tuesday evening last week I realised that Gordon’s grimace was a symptom of the death of the New Labour media machine. There was no longer anybody in the government or party able to tell the Dear Leader that what he was doing  was “a very bad idea”.

At no point on Budget Day did Captain Darling and the Government control “the message”. All day the “invest today” and “tax the rich” message was drowned out by the “huge debt” and “tax hikes tomorrow” story.

For about a month now, the Government has failed to seize the news agenda at any point, either in relation to the budget or any other policy announcement.

There is only one point in recent political history can I remember this occurring to the same extent.

1997 and the last days of the Major Government.

We’re in the end game and I can smell the stench of death.

During the 80s and 90s it was common to refer to Tories as Wet if they were from the left of the Conservative Party, or Dry if they were from the Thatcherite right.

It seems these days there is a missing category, the Tory Lite typified by the present Tory leadership and hangers-on.

This is glaringly obvious in economic policy where the Lib Dems and in particular Vince are widely seen as leagues ahead of the boy Osborne and the Tory frontbench. Being vaguely critical does not a policy make.

David Cameron has successfully rebranded the Tories but not in the way he would like to be viewed – Hollow and lacking in substance much like decaff coffee.

The return of Ken Clarke to the Tory frontbench shows the gaping hole in the economic knowhow.

Rather than admit that he and Osbourne are effectively an economics lightweights, Cameron has bought in Clarke to attempt to give his team an air of gravitas.

The only problem is – it won’t work.
Bringing in Clarke will only highlight the ineptitude and vacuum of Osbourne and Cameron on the economy.

They need a Vince.