Polly Toynbee asks a difficult question…

“So how should Labour defend the public realm without sounding like special pleaders for their paymaster unions?”

Mike Dixon, the weirdy-beardy LibDem PPC for Kidderminster, has been convicted of killing Tipsy, a family pet cat. Tipsy was left to die in a pool of blood after Dixon bludgeoned her to death in an angry frenzied attack with a walking stick. Examining vet Darren Jennings found Tipsy’s skull was shattered into 10 pieces, with 20 millilitres of blood in her stomach, telling magistrates that “There is no doubt this cat suffered serious pain and distress from the attack. Death was not instantaneous.”

When sentencing, magistrate Brian McCluskie said:

“Mr Dixon this was a prolonged and awful attack on an animal – the result of your inability to keep your temper that resulted in the family pet being bludgeoned to death. The pet did not die quickly. You caused a death too horrific to contemplate.”

RSPCA inspector Steve Morall who worked on the case said: “This was a callous, brutal attack and we are pleased that the court has sent a clear message to Mr Dixon.” Sentenced to four months in jail, he hung his head as he heard his conviction before he was handcuffed and led away.

Hat-tip: Kidderminster Shuttle

As we reported back at the time, when Jonah Brown last went to Japan he attended an 8-course dinner with the theme “Blessings of the Earth and Sea”. It goes without saying that on the same visit he agreed a nuclear fuel re-processing deal for Sellafield (which he also cursed). Let all the corners of the earth know and be warned that the one-eyed, accursed son of the manse brings disaster of biblical proportions to everything and everywhere he touches…

Subscribers to the Guidogram are just about to receive news of the conviction of a LibDem PPC turned brutal killer. Subscribe for free by clicking here.

With news from Tokyo and Tripoli dominating the news agenda Westminster politics seemed trivial in comparison this week. Fortunately this blog specialises in tittle-tattle and trivia, super-injunctions allowing. Our top story this week was about the super-injunction, which we were only able to report because John Hemming used parliamentary privilege. Our story, unlike the newspapers, explains what is behind the injunction…

Last week saw 71,794 visitors make 211,247 visits to view 340,255 pages. The seven most popular stories were:

• Unbankable Story
• Forsaken
• Frozen Fraternal Love
• The Easiest Job in the World
• Downing Street Struggles in the Thick of It
• Gaddafi Drives a Fraternal Wedge
• Balls Brings Back Mrs McBride

You’re either in front of Guido, or you are behind…