There was fury this weekend as Bournemouth Council announced it was scrapping the beloved four-day Bournemouth Air Festival – a 16-year fixture that pulls in 600,000 fans and showcases the Red Arrows. The ‘cash-strapped’ council bleated it couldn’t stomach the £250,000 price tag. Carbon emissions from the planes and extra traffic were also trotted out as handy excuses to ground the spectacle…
Yet the LibDem leader of Bournemouth Council, Millie Earl, didn’t bat an eye about splashing council cash jetting off to MIPIM – a swanky, four-day real estate conference in sunny Cannes – held every March at the Palais des Festivals. An FOI request reveals her return flight from Gatwick to Nice cost the taxpayer a tidy £578. Earle even took to the stage to lecture on her “environmental campaigning” at the notoriously raucous gathering…
“Clearly this council leader operates on a do as I say, not do as I do policy, given she’s more than happy to jet off to the French Riviera for a boozy real estate bash but not happy to host an airshow that pumps tens of millions of pounds into the local economy.”
Hypocrisy flying high here…
Ed Davey is flogging tickets to an event promoting his new book “Why I Care and Why Care Matters”, where he’ll be joined by Carers UK CEO Helen Walker for a cosy chat the Monday after next. The event hopes to enlighten a paying audience with deep thoughts like, “Why Ed Davey wants to rewrite British politics – not with the language of crisis, but that of care.” Riveting…
Tickets are a modest £8.43, though judging by the lack of interest, not many care to cough up. Tickets are now being dumped on seat-filler site Central Tickets for free plus a regular £4 admin fee. A lesson in supply and demand…
Ed Davey kicked off the LibDems’ local election campaign this morning with a claim that it would be a two-horse race between his party and the Tories. Davey’s stunt this time was to defy the neighsayers by ‘riding’ a hobby horse around a miniature showjumping course. After clearing a few poles Davey was caught on mic muttering, “I’ve got a gammy leg. Seriously, my leg is not very good. I’ve got a bad leg.” He might want to rein it in a little…
On Monday Guido spotted that LibDem MP Rachel Gilmour had listed her son as a member of her parliamentary staff. When Guido reached out she immediately claimed he was offering unpaid assistance in setting up her office and referred herself to the Standards Commissioner…
It turns out Rachel’s not the only one. LibDem MP John Milne looks to have handed his son Oscar a staff pass too. It’s exactly the same explanation upon Guido reaching out:
“Oscar Milne was acting as an unpaid volunteer, assisting me with the set up of my office post election. At no point was he employed as a paid staff member. I have referred myself to the Standards Commissioner, as is proper, to ensure any unintentional breach of the guidelines on my part is properly investigated.”
Despite all these kids apparently only helping to set up their parents’ offices, Oscar is still registered as a staff member for his dad as of 10 January. LibDems keeping the Standards Commissioner busy…
Newly elected LibDem MP Rachel Gilmour has found a rather family-friendly way to staff her parliamentary office – by hiring her son Henry Oliver. The problem is IPSA rules clearly state that any MP elected after 2017 is prohibited from employing close relatives, including children. Oliver currently works at Opinium Research – a detail that conveniently didn’t make it onto the official register of interests. Dutiful son Henry has been a helping hand to Rachel for some time, proudly posting about his role in helping his “brilliant mother” win the Tiverton and Minehead seat…
Guido reached out to Rachel Gilmour this morning, who then instantly referred herself to the Standards Commissioner. She told Guido:
“This was an honest mistake, Henry was assisting me with the setting up of my office in a voluntary capacity after I was elected. As soon as I became aware of this mistake, I rescinded his pass and referred myself to the Standards Commissioner.”
Not a great way to start the year. Politics has always been a family business…
Former leader of the SNP in Westminster Ian Blackford told Times Radio why he believes Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she spent no time in the kitchen and therefore didn’t see any of her husband’s purchases:
“She doesn’t have a passion for cooking.”
