While the Coalition are at each other’s throats, it looks like someone in Labour HQ might want to have a look at what the party’s Northern Ireland arm is up to. Their official Twitter account declared on Friday night: “nobody disputes the crippling debt left by wreckless borrowing not even Labour”. Some refreshing honesty here:

@mjshilliday nobody disputes the crippling debt left by wreckless borrowing not even Labour I assume the Con Dems have addressed this?—
Labour Party in NI (@LabourPartyNI) August 03, 2012

Guido can think of at least two Eds who dispute that claim in no uncertain terms…

LibDem MPs have been out in force this afternoon in an attempt to spin themselves as always having kept their side of the Coalition agreement. First Nick Clegg insisted: “my party has held to that contract, even when it meant voting for things that we found difficult. I am proud that we have met our obligations“. Then Simon Hughes chipped in: “We have delivered everything“. Oh really?

Not for the first time, yellow rhetoric is some way off the truth. On Lords reform 91 out of 305 Conservative MPs voted against the bill, or 29.8%. Yet on tuition fees 21 of the 57 LibDem MPs, some 36.8%, rebelled. On trickier decisions, a greater proportion of Tories have kept their promises than LibDems. Who’d have thought it…

Guido’s favourite Labour spinner Kenny Young has departed Team Miliband. Apparently “after five years it’s time to do something different”. Calamity Kenny shot to fame when he was snapped, literally, waiting on hand and foot for Gordon. After being involved in Duffygate he joined Team Ed for the Labour leadership battle and again had some trouble with doors. When Ed won Kenny went from Head of Press to Press Office Manager, but his finest hour was still to come – his now infamous Blackbusters tweet which was written from his boss’ account:

So long Kenny, we’ll miss ya…

One of the more vocal critics of the boundary reviews was Nadine Dorries, whose seat of Mid-Bedfordshire was set to be abolished. Guido thought he would give her a call to get her views on Clegg’s decision and ended up breaking the news to her that she will still have a constituency at the next election. Though personally relieved, Nads was far from grateful to Clegg:

“It just shows how shallow the LibDems are. If they are dropping this because they didn’t get Lords reform then it epitomises who they are and what they are all about – which is self. Nick Clegg stood up in Parliament and said he supported the changes but now this is about them and not the country. He should be doing what is in the national interest, not his self-interest.”

A view shared by pretty much every Tory Guido has spoken to this afternoon.

UPDATE:

Tory Cabinet minister: Everyone knows we gave LDs AV referendum for boundaries. At the earliest opportunity we must revenge Clegg's betrayal—
Tim Montgomerie (@TimMontgomerie) August 06, 2012

Section 23 of Coalition Agreement covers Boundary Reviews:

We will bring forward a Referendum Bill on
electoral reform, which includes provision for
the introduction of the Alternative Vote in the
event of a positive result in the referendum,
as well as for the creation of fewer and more
equal sized constituencies. We will whip
both Parliamentary parties in both Houses
to support a simple majority referendum on
the Alternative Vote, without prejudice to
the positions parties will take during such a
referendum.

The Boundary Review had nothing to do with House of Lords reform. It was linked to the AV referendum which the LibDems secured.

Clegg accusing others of breaking promises beggars belief. The LibDems are desperately trying to spin this, but in reality the backbench Tories are the ones to sacrifice political gain for sticking to their principles – however wrong they are to defend the current upper chamber. The prospect of the Boundary Review was keeping the Tories in the Coalition – they were never going to go to the country while it was still in the offing. That lock has gone now…

UPDATE: Just a thought, what is going to happen to LibDem Ministers when it comes to the vote. Will they resign?

Moments after trying to spin his party as mature and suited to government, the Deputy Prime Minister has thrown a massive tantrum live on TV. Clegg has declared that LibDem MPs will oppose Boundary Reforms:

“Coalition works on mutual respect; it is a reciprocal arrangement, a two-way street. So I have told the Prime Minister that when, in due course, parliament votes on boundary changes for the 2015 election I will be instructing my party to oppose them.When part of a contract is broken, it is normal to amend that contract in order then to move on.

Lords reform and boundaries are two, separate parliamentary bills but they are both part of a package of overall political reform. Delivering one but not the other would create an imbalance – not just in the Coalition Agreement, but also in our political system. Lords reform leads to a smaller, more legitimate House of Lords. Boundary changes lead to a smaller House of Commons, by cutting the number of MPs. If you cut the number of MPs without enhancing the legitimacy and effectiveness of the Lords all you have done is weaken parliament as a whole, strengthen the executive and its overmighty government that wins.

So, for these reasons, I have decided, reluctantly to push the pause button on these controversial parliamentary reforms.”

This could get messy…

A group of disheartened Labour activists who wanted to hit the streets of Corby today have been found themselves leaderless at the beginning of the by-election campaign. Sources on the ground whisper to Guido that they were blind-sided by Louise Mensch’s resignation this morning. Despite claiming this morning that he was  “fired up, ready to go” Andy Sawford, the party’s candidate for the November by-election, is currently sunning himself on holiday in the south of France. Like all good members of the Labour aristocracy…

Which group of Labour deficit deniers have found themselves in a mountain of debt?

Find out only on Media Guido…

Guido was not surprised to learn that the deficit deniers over at Left Foot Forward have gone into debt themselves, ending up £3,000 in the red this year. They’ve been forced to beg their niche readership for money:

“We’re still £3,000 short of what we need this year. We really need every Left Foot Forward reader to step up, make a small donation today and keep us successful. We now have scores of readers making small monthly payments to Left Foot Forward and hundreds making small donations every year. Can you join them and make a one off donation today?”

Turns out that magic money tree doesn’t really exist…