TV gold.

Not the finest hour for the Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson. Asked about referendums and leadership challenges the former BBC journalist seems to have forgotten her TV training. Fairly painful viewing…

Andrew Neil: Now, there have been many reports that you have leadership ambitions. Do you?

Adam Afriyie: I’m ambitious for the country. I chose to come into politics from a business background, and I’m happy to serve the country in whichever way people would see fit.

AN: Right, there are reports that you have leadership ambitions. Do you?

AA: I’m not ambitious for any position in government or any position at all in the party. What I’m ambitious for is for the British people to get jobs, and you know, to feel proud of their country again. And I think we can have a future like that if we concentrate on the policies and actually not the personalities.

AN: Let’s just put this to bed. Because they write about you all the time. For the avoidance of doubt, and to put the issue to bed, do you want to lead your party one day?

AA: I have no ambition to lead my party and I have no ambition for any particular position. I’m ambitious for Britain to be back on top, to be a global trading nation, and all of my efforts and the efforts of my team around me, all of those efforts are focused on trying to deliver those policies that will Britain on top again.

AN: So you would rule out leading the Conservatives?

AA: I think you’re asking the same question in so many different ways and I’ve given you my answer.

AN: It’s because I’m trying to get an answer.

AA: You’ve had an answer. I’m not ambitious for position at all.

AN: So you rule out being leader of the Conservatives, there is no leadership campaign behind you, correct, in any way? You haven’t got a small group of supporters pushing your interest?

AA: I’m working with a large group of Conservative MPs to make sure we have a Conservative Britain that is trading with the world, that is outward looking and is addressing its relationship with Europe so that your viewers can feel confident that they’re going to get jobs and they’re going to do well in this country.

Painful…

The Independent’s Mary Ann Sieghart has joined in the ongoing debate about women hacks in Westminster. Guido was on about this last week, with the Guardian and Telegraph following up on the issue. Sieghart claims:

“It took years of campaigning for childcare to be seen as a mainstream political issue rather than a private matter for parents. That was because politicians didn’t think it was important and nor did political editors. They were, on the whole, workaholic men with wives at home.”

Which hasn’t gone down very well with those same male political editors:

As I was stuffing porridge into my 5-year-old this morning I learnt from @MASieghart that male political editors don't "get" childcare.

— Guido Fawkes (@GuidoFawkes) January 17, 2013

@jameschappers @GuidoFawkes @MASieghart i'd like to have read it, but too busy changing two pairs of nappies 1st thing this am (as daily).

— Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) January 17, 2013

Guido was particularly amused by the suggestion that Mary Ann wasn’t very happy with Andrew Neil and the BBC:

“I had the uncomfortable feeling all the way through that I was being forced to play second fiddle, but it wasn’t till I watched the programme back on iPlayer that I realised why. The presenter, Andrew Neil, had gone to Danny first with every single question and had often given him, but not me, the chance of a follow-up.”

If her choice of outfits for Brillo’s show was anything to go by , she can’t have been that cheesed off…

Newsnight must not exactly be the most relaxed place to work at the moment, and the cracks showed as the Beeb’s favourite communist hero-worshipper Paul Mason lost it with Andrew Neil:

#Newsnight leading on Europe. Should it not be leading on Mitchell and #plebgate

— Andrew Neil (@afneil) December 18, 2012

Mason went on to delete his tweet and say sorry:

Apologies to @afneil for my rather intemperate tweet earlier

— Paul Mason (@paulmasonnews) December 18, 2012

Tetchy…

Not the first time I’ve seen Giles with a red nose…