Astoundingly incompetent analysis from much of the political media this evening speculating on Boris standing in Newark. Only one problem – the local Tories have already selected their candidate back in November. CCHQ have been on a by-election footing for weeks as Guido reported in The Sun two weeks ago.

Mercer gone. By-election on. Waiting for @Nigel_Farage to decide whether will stand. Then standby for campaign to draft Boris ?

— Nick Robinson (@bbcnickrobinson) April 29, 2014

Michael Crick on Channel 4 News and the BBC’s Nick Robinson as well as Norman Smith have both been speculating that Boris might stand in Newark.  A little bit of investigative Googling would have revealed Robert Jenrick’s web page on conservatives.com.

And his Twitter feed:

Or the press release

Cllr Stuart Wallace, Chairman of Newark Conservative Association, said:

“The Association wish to express our thanks for the work Patrick has done for Newark and for many of his constituents individually, over the last 13 years, both as a Conservative and as an Independent MP.

“Following Patrick’s earlier decision not to stand again, we selected a superb candidate, Robert Jenrick, who has already been very active locally.

“The Association are united in support for Robert and will be campaigning to ensure that he will be elected as Newark’s next MP.”

Doh!

He tells the Sun:

“It is clear to me that the constituency of Newark needs to be represented properly.

I will not argue will the findings of the committee and I can only humbly apologise.

My military background has taught me that you must never let down the people who depend on you, and those people are my constituents of Newark.

If that becomes the case, you must go without any argument.”

Will Farage run?

In 1944, at the height of the Second World War, Winston Churchill famously defended the right of Britain’s war heroes to enjoy a pint:

“Make sure that the beer – four pints a week – goes to the troops under fire before any of the parties in the rear get a drop.“

This afternoon at the Defence Select Committee, Labour MP Madeleine Moon demanded that the alcohol subsidy providing cheaper booze for war heroes serving overseas be scrapped. Moon, who herself takes advantage of parliament’s food and drink subsidy allowing MPs to sink cheap pints on the taxpayer, says that the subsidy at military bars in army bases abroad should be removed. According to Press Association, she said she was given the “fight of my life” when she saw the prices at a base in the Falklands:

“One thing that could be done about alcohol problems in the armed forces is tackling the high level of subsidy in bars in military units – perhaps so they were the same price you would pay in town.”

Defence Minister Anna Soubry suggested she was open to the idea, saying she wanted to curb a culture of “drinking to the point of oblivion” in the armed forces. Our politicians want themselves to have a taxpayer funded subsidy for their booze, but want to deny the same perk for the soldiers they have sent to war.

Looks like it’s by-election time in the UKIP heartland of Newark. You read it here first…

A sacrificial session with Adrian Bailey and the Royal Mail – it went on well into lunch. I must have lost a pound. The tax payer lost 750 million of them.

The session wasn’t a grilling – these things never are – but there was grinding. Some battering from Brian Binley, urbane argumentation from the witnesses, the chairman well out of his habitat.

Poor fellow, head of the Business committee. He looks like a rough sleeper on a 99 Per Cent demo. Up against people who spend more on lunch than he earns. They live in a different world and speak many other languages than his.

Even the Royal Mail ministers – who, to say the least, appear to be in a vulnerable position – are beyond his reach.

He told Michael Fallon that the shares were under-valued at sale. Fallon – with imperturbable daring – replied, “I haven’t seen any evidence they were undervalued,” and added brilliantly: “Have you?”

Read More