When Ken Livingstone told us he was going away and would not stand for another election, he was lying. He’s written today begging for votes for Labour’s NEC. One particular segment made Guido chuckle:

“Whilst I deeply regret that I fell 3% short on winning the Mayoralty, we both advanced in the Mayoral and in the London Assembly elections. Labour’s Assembly vote rose from 28% (at the last election) to 41%, and my vote in the Mayoral election – also rose despite Johnson’s strong personal vote and the worst smear campaign I have ever experienced from the Tory press.”

Let it go Ken – you never managed to release those tax returns did you? Maybe the other Labour NEC candidates might like to ask him nicely…

This snippet from Rachel Sylvester’s column, stuck behind the Times pay-wall, deserves a wider audience:

“At Westminster, Mr Balls can be overbearing. An attempt to oust Liam Byrne, the Blairite Work and Pensions Secretary, from the Shadow Cabinet, which was resisted by Mr Miliband, is blamed by some on the Shadow Chancellor’s bovver boys. “There’s a gang within the gang,” says an insider. “The punishment beatings are back.” One MP compares Mr Balls and his wife, Yvette Cooper, to the Borgias who just can’t help plotting.”

Belardinelli the bovver boy has a certain ring to it…

If his rapidly fading smug smile was anything to go by, Tom Watson got a much tougher ride at Leveson than he was expecting. He was probed about McBride and Smeargate, denying any knowledge of a plan to counter Guido, despite the Red Rag website actually being set up. He was also cornered on leaking and again denied, on oath, that he leaked information from the Culture Media and Sport Select Committee to the Guardian. That will clear  up the  mystery around them getting hold of all sorts of evidence before anyone else then. He was forced to answer yes to the next question though – of course he was feeding Nick Davies.

Watson was also asked about his relationship with Political Scrapbook. He denied, unprompted, to being “part of the management”, or indeed ever feeding them information. Which is odd given a simple Google search pulled up this glaring example:

“Tom Watson will in a few moments use parliamentary privilege to publicly expose details of a notorious murder inquiry allegedly blocked by News International.”

Information reaching the media before Parliament? How did that come about? The website also carries a very prominent advert for Watson’s book and is funded by the his allies at the GMB Union….

Former FCO Perm Sec Lord Jay, Lords foreign pol debate: it was a mistake for Cameron to refuse to meet Hollande in run-up to French election—
Stewart Wood (@StewartWood) May 17, 2012

Guido is still perplexed to why Labour have got it into their heads that this Cameron not meeting Hollande line is so effective. Sarkozy was the head of state and Hollande was visiting the UK as a mere candidate out field of many others.

Dripping wet Hollande is not politically aligned to Cameron either. Should the PM have met Marine Le Pen, Stewart?

Ian “it undermined what it means to be British” Austin has, thus far, declined to comment…

When a drunk Tory MP attended a party with someone dressed as a Nazi, Brownite boot-boy Ian Austin went off on one:

“For me, what Britain did in the Second World War – defeating the Nazis, standing up to fascism alone when the rest of Europe was overrun – for me, that’s our finest hour. It shows why we can claim a particular attachment to values like democracy and freedom and fairness. It’s what makes us the country that we are. So, far from simply disgracing himself, I think he has actually undermined what it means to be British. That’s why I think that we should all be taking this much more seriously.”

So presumably his reaction to the news that Labour have managed to select a woman who was an actual Nazi in Milton Keynes is going to be cataclysmic? 

Oops! Labour Treasury Whip Lyn Brown sees sparse Labour benches & accidentally texts me "please please come to Chamber, Ed Balls opening"—
Greg Hands (@GregHands) May 17, 2012

In a further sign of Ed’s position shifting on this game changer, his newly appointed policy coordinator backs an In/Out referendum:

A party would never promise a referendum and then change their minds, right?

Liam Byrne has survived the chop in one of Ed’s more sensible decisions. He’s lost his policy role though, with that going to former Blair Political Secretary and David Miliband running mate Jon Cruddas:

• Jon Cruddas is to become Coordinator of the Labour Party Policy Review.
• Ed Miliband will recommend to the National Policy Forum that Angela Eagle becomes its new chair.
• Owen Smith is to replace Peter Hain as Shadow Secretary of State for Wales.
• Andrew Adonis will advise the Policy Review on areas of Labour’s industrial strategy.

Guido is still trying to work out who Owen Smith is…

Guido missed his Uttoxeter Labour News this week, but luckily and eagle-eyed co-conspirator spotted the flagrant attempt to treat members of the electorate:

It brings a new meaning to “wouldn’t go if you paid me…”