If you thought the government coalition negotiations were complex and a turn up for the books, Guido thinks it would have been fascinating to have been a fly on the wall when this campaign coalition against the LibDems was brought together. Here is the first look at the list of “patrons” of the NO to AV campaign who under the presidency of Labour’s Margaret Beckett will represent the campaign for next May’s referendum:

• David Blunkett MP
• Lord Falconer QC
• Lord Prescott
• Lord Reid
• Emily Thornberry MP
• Ken Clarke QC MP
• William Hague MP
• Steve Norris
• Baroness Warsi

Seeing old enemies Hague and Prezza united against the LibDem dominated Yes-2-AV campaign will be interesting…

Total Politics are running a competition to name a hotel suite, with a political twist. Guido is presuming it’s a double bed so that rules out the Christopher Myers Suite. As it is a hotel that lets gay people stay the Grayling Suite is out too. Not sure who would want to stay in the Handy-cock Suite?  The Laws Lundie Suite has a certain ring to it. The Tracy Temple works well, though the Strathclyde Suite is a little too Holiday Inn for the Corinthia Hotel.

Enter here, though Guido has a feeling the answers below will be funnier…

Guido returned from a long lunch to find his inbox spammed by Ed Balls who is using his parliamentary, taxpayer-funded, email account to not only promote his overblown Shadow Home Office activities but also recruit sign-ups to the Labour Party email list. Balls is using his leadership bid email list, but he’s definitely not on manoeuvres, despite his promise not to “follow any crap” from his leader. Guido is checking the rules now…

It seems he has been a busy boy, at the same time as spamming, he is tweeting about his campaign to stop police numbers being cut, but it seems conveniently forgot the then Home Secretary Alan Johnson’s confirmation that police numbers would be cut if Labour won the election. Clearly still getting his head round the graveyard brief.

It’s almost as if they are better suited to each others Shadow jobs…

Comedian Ed Byrne of Mock the Week fame is one of those of those extremely punchable lefties, he is also a bit of a fibber. Last night he denied ever promoting tuition fees:

They even press released it. You can’t hide those lyin’ eyes…

UPDATE: “Mr” Ed Byrne tweets: “I hold my hands up. Completely forgot about it. Apologies to David Willets”

David Cameron’s comedy turn at the Press Gallery Lunch yesterday has generated his best coverage in weeks, but not everyone saw the funny side of his digs at the Speaker. The Walking with Giants Foundation, a dwarf charity are really, really cross:

“Once again we have an influential figure, if not the most influential person in the country, making distasteful references about a person’s lack of height. It was bad enough having a minister of health make similar distasteful comments but to have the prime minister himself glorify the comments in a joke is totally unacceptable and downright appalling”

They’re over-reacting a little and there is really no reason to be grumpy…

Will Straw did a good job with Left Foot Forward, the “evidence based” left-wing policy blog that loves a graph. It was a critical success if not a box office success, voted the top left-wing blog in the Total Politics blogging awards – the British political blogosphere’s Oscars.

LFF is the blogging equivalent of a worthy art-house movie.

He is now off to the IPPR, the once influential think-tank which has sort of lost its way in the last few years. Guido has observed that it was contracting and last year’s 21st Birthday Party was more like a wake.  Will always was a bit of a wonk and his task is to restore IPPR to its former New Labour glory...