Alison McGovern hasn’t had a glittering career outside of politics. According to her website she was head girl at school in 1998, don’t you know, then on to UCL. She worked briefly as a researcher at the House of Commons before going to spin for Network Rail. She was elected in May, and as Guido reported at the time, immediately promoted to the dubious role of Gordon Brown’s PPS. Though no longer a frontbencher, or even a participating Member of Parliament, Gordon found it necessary to recruit such a minion.

You would think that after Brown’s abject failure to turn up to Parliament to represent the people of Kirkcaldy, Alison would have quietly dropped the laughable non-job description, but no, she is still using it today to promote her role as a Labour Yes2AV spokesman. So how has Gordon been keeping his PPS busy?

The  job normally entails:

• Being with the Minister at all times in the Chamber and for meetings on the Parliamentary estate. Gordon has given one backbench speech in an adjournment debate since May 2010 and asked a handful of written questions.
• Liaising between Commons and your bosses Government department. Gordon doesn’t have a department.
• Controlling access to the boss for other MPs who want to see him. Would anybody be seen dead seeking Brown’s advice?

Many would argue there is little point to Gordon Brown in his current role, let alone his PPS.

When Gordon Brown took his Cabinet away to Leeds for the day in 2009 the Tories were quick to pounce on his wasteful spending. Robert Goodwill, the then Shadow Minister for Leeds went on the attack:

“The cost of hosting them given the increased security is something that should be borne by Labour rather than by the taxpayer. I can understand them wanting to show their presence in Yorkshire for political reasons.”

And there was plenty of wider condemnation of the idea. The Taxpayers’ Alliance’s Mark Wallace, for it was he, said “These meetings are expensive and of dubious worth to areas that the Cabinet chooses to visit.” Yesterday David Cameron took his Cabinet away to Derby for the day.

Asking around, you can see why they look like a good idea. The Civil service like them because it gets those pesky ministers out out of the way so they can run the country for a couple of hours and the party machines love the fact they get some coverage and face-time in marginal seats, with all the transport and logistical costs paid for. The regional lobby even get spoonfed. As one former Labour SpAd put it to Guido:

“The whole comms side of government and regional offices get to rev their engines. Everyone wins except the taxpayer. I actually hoped the Tories would stop that bollocks, but no.”

Robert Goodwill MP is very quiet today.

Remember when Tim Yeo was caught out definitely not using Parliamentary facilities to help fundraise for his green investment firms? Well like with so many sleazy tactics, Labour have taken an idea and perfected it to an industrial standard. Balls and Brown may still be dirty words to most people with a wallet, but that hasn’t stopped Miliband attempting to branch out to some big city donor types.

Here he is hobnobbing with the Labour Finance and Industry Group, aka LFIG, aka city donors:

Despite their rhetoric and bashing, at the end of the day Labour is broke so last night the House of Commons Terrace Dining Room B played host to an LFIG dinner. Money men were invited to cough up eighty pounds for the pleasure of dining with John Denham. Initially Guido’s interest was piqued by the cost, which is a little on the steep side for subsidised Commons grub. The rules are very clear:

5. Use of Private Dining Rooms

5.1 Subject to the exclusions in 5.2, the private dining rooms are not to be used for direct or indirect financial or material gain by a Sponsor, political party, or any other person or outside organisation.

However with wines factored in, Guido is prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt that no profit was made. However that’s not to say the seeds of indirect gain have not be sown. LFIG have channelled the Labour Party £147,155 in the last five years. Where exactly are those sort of donations tapped up? Well on Parliamentary property it seems…

Lord Mandelson says in the intro to updated “The Third Man“…

“I took easily to standing in queues, shopping at the supermarket, doing my own correspondence on my laptop… Bit by bit, I was becoming a more normal human being again. It felt a little strange at first, but it actually began to grow on me.”

Thirty-eight years ago today Margaret Thatcher opined to Valerie Singleton and an audience of children on the prospects for women:

Happy International Women’s Day…

There is a rumour going round Westminster that the deficit-denier-in-chief will descend from Kirkcaldy to speak in the budget debate. No doubt he will wish to offer his support to the Eds, they are after all his political sons.

That loud braying sound you can hear in Westminster is the sound of cheering emanating from the Treasury…

ITV News have waded into the Balls debt saga:

Not a great couple of days Chez Balls. First they get done over for hoarding expenses for their kids, with paperwork that only MPs married to each other can wrangle, and now the Shadow Chancellor’s humiliating  day in court for being a bad debtor is rapidly approaching. Characteristically, he denies it all…