Looks like there is still some money left over for £300 million Mike Danson, despite all the cash loaned to the New Statesman interest free and with no repayment date. Sky’s Mark Kleinman reports that Danson is in talks for a deal with a potential new sister publication for the Staggers: Boat International, “the world’s leading publisher in the super yacht industry”.

Progressive Media Group’s latest venture would see them offering advice on such progressive issues as “Should you organise megayacht finance as an individual or through an offshore corporate structure?” Looking forward to their next Christmas party on a boat off the Caymans…

Speaking of awkward letters, union fat cat Red Len McCluskey has written to “all Unite MPs” and New Statesman editor Jason Cowley accusing the Staggers of “distortion”, “sensationalism” and running “untrue” statements from his interview with George Eaton in April. McCluskey reckons “George was intent on a particular story and was not leaving until he had this story” and insists he never called for Liam Byrne and other Blairites to be sacked:

Apparently Unite will now “regard all approaches from the New Statesman with deep suspicion”. Standard practice really…

UPDATE: George Eaton hits back here, in turn accusing McCluskey of “inaccuracies and innuendos”.

It takes something pretty special to unite the Tories and the Guardian, and then have UKIP and the New Statesman team up against them. UKIP candidate Dick Delingpole’s photoshop of himself with Hitler and subsequent Telegraph blog “confessing” to a non-existent Nazi past were so obviously a joke surely no one could fall for it. Step forward Simon Geraghty, Delingpole’s Tory opponent in Worcester, to bore us all with a cringeworthy sense of humour bypass:

“I find it absolutely sickening and abhorrent. I think the vast majority of British people will find this shocking – it’s not funny at all, it’s dreadful and I can’t believe he’s done it.”

The Guardian‘s Nick Watt even managed to bring himself to write the non-story up in full high-minded glory, apparently using the headline “Ukip in fresh Nazi row after candidate Photoshops Hitler image” without irony. You knew the whole thing had reached farcical proportions when the Staggers came out in defence of Delingpole this afternoon. CCHQ, a Tory candidate and the Guardian versus UKIP, the Staggers and a Delingpole – roll on Friday.

What a difference a week makes. Last week they were comparing Merkel to Hitler, now the Staggers could not be any more on the fence if they tried:

“The New Statesman, which has an ever-growing website and digital presence, currently does not see its interests served by regulation designed to suit politicians, nor by a revanche regime cooked up for the comfort of newspaper barons. Until a better plan is put forward we reserve our right to continue publishing “news-related material” in print and online without deference to either of those parties.”

So that’s a no, but not on principle of being  regulated. They do want to be regulated, they just want better regulation than is on offer. As ever, on their own…

Sabre-rattling nuke nut Kim Jong-Un might be threatening to annihilate his enemies, but at least he and his communist friends pay their interns. North Korea News is advertising on W4MP for a part-time editor to carry out online housekeeping such as uploading content and, er, “fact-checking”. Unlike the poor, exploited unpaid interns over at the Staggers‘ progressive workhouse, the successful candidate will earn $500-a-month. It’s official…

Just seen the @NewStatesman front page. Errrrm….ah….bloody hell twitpic.com/cb1gi2—
Mark Ferguson (@Markfergusonuk) March 13, 2013

Crass and stupid front page – New Statesman. Awful editorial decision. Not clever at all.—
Tony McNulty (@Tony_McNulty) March 13, 2013

Pretty sure the @NewStatesman is doing the Godwin's Law thing on purpose.—
James Ball (@jamesrbuk) March 13, 2013

RT @oflynnexpress: @gabrielmilland @Markfergusonuk @NewStatesman that's not a bad front page actually << The Express like it…erm…—
Mark Ferguson (@Markfergusonuk) March 13, 2013

Judging by the lefty commentariat’s reaction, Guido says they know what they’re doing…

The only highlight of a shouty PMQs came when the Leader of the Opposition tore the Staggers a new one, telling Dave:

“he’s scraping the barrel by quoting the New Statesman.”

That’s how he repays them after they endorsed Ed. They ejaculated in 2010:

“Labour needs a bold, charismatic, compassionate and visionary leader to renew the party and begin the journey back to government. Ed Miliband has shown us he could be that leader.”

The magazine went on to force out their best writer to keep Ed happy and yet he still humiliates them in front of all their friends. A cruel mistress…

Ed tells Dave:

“he’s scraping the barrel by quoting the New Statesman”

Tin foil hat time over at the progressive workhouse that is the Staggers. Apparently the police have re-opened their investigations into proven liar Denis MacShane because of David Cameron’s speech on Europe. No, really:

“What’s really going on with this new police investigation into Denis MacShane’s expenses? Months ago, the police said there would be no charges, and there’s no new information. There’s a reason why they have suddenly reopened it, now of all times, and it’s got nothing at all to do with Denis’s expenses, and everything to do with David Cameron’s speech about Europe.”

Francis Beckett froths on before admitting MacShane is a old friend and then saying it’s all fine because David Laws thieved more. He then has a go at Guido for doing his job of exposing crooks. Yes Guido is vindictive, MacShane would still be at it if he was not…

To mark the New Statesman’s George Orwell week, here is the man himself on the Staggers:

“An adolescent in a Glasgow slum worships Al Capone. An aspiring pupil at a business college worships Lord Nuffield. A New Statesman reader worships Stalin. There is a difference in intellectual maturity, but none in moral outlook.”