It was the lies spread via his election communications that has likely ended the career of Phil Woolas. However this case has opened up an entire can of worms of just how honest candidates and Members have been on their leaflets. Remember when Chris Huhne left his wife for a staffer? Well just months before he was telling his constituents he was quite the family man. He reminisced on his marriage and promoted an image to the voters that simply wasn’t true:

There should not be a line when it comes to making things up…

Shock…

The Labour MP recently appointed to Red Ed’s Shadow Cabinet has been found guilty on two counts of breaking the Representation of the People Act by making false election statements. No appeal, by-election in Oldham imminent.

Developing…

UPDATE: Labour HQ is silent but the distancing has already begun. Lord Falconer just told the BBC he doesn’t believe that Woolas will be the candidate at the by-election. Red Ed is in a very tricky spot here…

UPDATE II: Woolas is making noises about attempting a Judicial Review. Hope he’s got a pretty penny…

As the judgement day approaches for the four MPs and two Lords facing trial, an FOIing co-conspirator makes a very valid point. Asking how much Lord Paul (£41,982), Bhaitia (£27,446) and Baroness Uddin (£0) have paid back to date, they were informed that no interest was added. The same logic must have applied to all the money from the fiddlers in the Commons, much of which is still being chased from MPs…

If the repayments, which were quiet admissions of guilt that no ordinary citizen could use as penance for a crime, do not include interest then surely the honourable Members and Peers have profited from their little “borrowings”?

Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne says…

“Our soldiers won’t be required to speak French or wear onions round their necks or stripey t-shirts, or ride bicycles.”

Before this May’s general election CCHQ’s Anna-Maren Ashford was the “Head of Brand Communications” and is credited with styling “Brand Dave”. The former advertising executive was brought in by Steve Hilton from Young & Rubicam to kick out the old Tory torch logo and bring in the huggable tree. The glossy 30 year-old made the right look right.

She successfully helped detoxify the Tories and turn them into the beautiful people…

Post-election she still answers to Hilton and is close to hand in the Cabinet Office should the smooth Brand Dave need further polishing – just nowadays it is at the taxpayers’ expense as a civil servant in Whitehall. Officially she works with the Behavioural Insights Strategy Team known universally across Whitehall as the “Nudge Unit”.

Dave controversially put his personal photographer, Andy Parsons, on the Civil Service payroll, the news that his image stylist has also become a civil servant will infuriate many who will question his priorities…