Touchy Tom Watson tends to get testy when people bring up his links with the lefties Political Scrapbook. He pointedly told the Leveson Inquiry that he had nothing to do with them, which was news to some:

Watson:“I know the guy, the young guy that runs it. I have no relationship with it in terms of management or anything else.”

Jay: “Have you provided information to them for their use?”

Watson: “No.”

Watson would have us believe there is no cosy relationship here, despite obviously feeding them stories. Fellow Labour MP Kerry McCarthy let the cat out of the bag this weekend though when she revealed Scrapbook‘s special guest for their Labour party conference shindig:

Attention again Labour conference goers. This year's tweet-up is the @psbook party, 7.30, Town Hall, Weds 3rd, with @tom_watson DJ-ing.—
Kerry McCarthy MP (@KerryMP) September 08, 2012

Hmm, surely that comes under “or anything else”.

Last week Guido revealed how Corby’s latest resident Tom Watson was instructing Labour spinners to brief that the party expects to lose the upcoming by-election. At the time the Lobby could see straight through Tommo’s tricks:

@GuidoFawkes They got pretty short shrift with that line in this office. 10% win or it's a loss—
Tim Shipman (Mail) (@ShippersUnbound) August 09, 2012

Now the latest polling undertaken by Lord Ashcroft has confirmed that Watson was spouting rubbish. Labour have a huge 15 point lead in the up-for-grabs Northamptonshire seat, with a 9% swing from Blue to Red. UK Polling Report conclude: “Labour shouldn’t have any particular problem taking the seat“. It’s an open goal that they simply cannot miss…

Last week Guido revealed that Labour campaign chief Tom Watson had been busy massing the troops in Corby as party bosses seek to avoid a repeat of their Bradford nightmare. Watson might have dragged half of Labour HQ’s staff with him to Louise Mensch’s old constituency but their plan to hit the ground running has got off to a slow start. Back on the 9th August a helpful tweeter alerted Labour’s holidaying hopeful Andy Sawford to the fact that he had yet to set up a website for his campaign. Sawford promised he would get on the case:

@jonworth Hi Jon, our by-election website will be live soon—
  (@AndySawford) August 09, 2012

Almost a week later Labour have sent out a press release encouraging constituents to visit their candidate’s brand new website, but when they do this is what they find:

Guido wonders what Watson and co have been up to the past six days…

The joke doing the rounds this morning in Labour circles is:

“Rupert Murdoch has three months to take out the trash. If he wanted to kill someone he could probably get away with it. Tom is now so obsessed with Corby he thinks it’s Ed’s Crewe.”

Labour sources tell Guido that they are determined not to see a repeat of their Bradford by-election shambles. Former Brownite boot-boys Watson and Ian Austin are off to Louise Mensch’s old constituency, along with half the party staff. They’ve despatched a team to find a decent office as at the moment they are working from the Labour Club. Gordon Paterson, former Labour Yorkshire organiser, is in charge of field operations at the moment and will probably be the agent. Labour confirmed to Guido last night that leave has already been cancelled. Dozens of HQ staff have been told they have to go up there full time.

Political advisers and the policy team are rather grumpy because they are being told there will be daily mini-buses from London and that they are all expected to be on them. Ed has also told staff in the leader’s office that he wants them up there: “some of them don’t mind to be honest because nice to be out of office but others moaning.” One insider even says there has been talk of conference being scaled back. General Secretary Iain McNicol has apparently told staff that Corby is the single biggest party priority now until November. Everything else is now secondary, including Police Commissioner elections. 

Gone is the complacency of Bradford and it’s all hands to the deck. Obviously that is not what they are saying publicly though – as Guido revealed last night - the line is “we’re not going to win”.

Thankfully the candidate has deigned to cut short his south of France holiday and is out on the stump.

Better late than never…

As Ed spends the afternoon in Corby – the front-line of Tory/Labour fighting in the next three months – Guido hears that Tom Watson is already playing the long game. The party campaign director has told Labour Political Advisers to stress that the party expects to lose the by-election in every conversation they have with the lobby. Speaking to Labour sources this afternoon it is clear that Labour’s routing in Bradford still haunts the party. The expectations game has begun and it’s all hands to the deck – full details in the morning.

Flashback: “Mudslingers: the 25 Dirtiest Political Campaigns” Watson’s Favourite Book

Labour’s neutered General Secretary Iain McNicol seems to be breaking ranks from the party leadership and backing strikes. Yesterday he promised the GMB conference that Labour will be out on the streets in support of the next demonstration. The next planned action is the Unite bus drivers strikes during the Games. Yet Ed said any strike over the Olympic period would be “unacceptable and wrong”…

According to today’s Morning Star Tom Watson received a jubilant standing ovation from hundreds of delegates for his war on the press. He told them that “there have been some dark and very lonely nights since News International started coming for me”. The best ones write themselves…

UPDATE: Labour sources get in touch to point out that McNicol was referring to a TUC day of action in autumn.

When he gave evidence to Leveson back in May Tom Watson swore, on oath, that he had nothing to do with lefty blog Political Scrapbook. Guido was particularly interested in Tom’s denial that he had ever passed a story onto the Scrapbook team:

Watson: “I know the guy, the young guy that runs it. I have no relationship with it in terms of management or anything else.”

Jay: “Have you provided information to them for their use?”

Watson: “No.”

Guido quickly pointed out that this was nonsense. This morning Watson tweeted about a chapter that Jubilee stewarding boss Molly Prince wrote for Robin Barratt’s book Bouncers and Bodyguards, highlighting her past indiscretions:

The chapter by Molly Prince is illuminating: amazon.co.uk/gp/product/184… In her words:"he is a fuck-up who will get his just rewards".—
  (@tom_watson) June 08, 2012

A few minutes later Scrapbook posted quotes from the book, of which Watson clearly has a copy. Guido is sure this is nothing more than a happy coincidence…

Click to Play

Not a sentence headline we would normally use, but it would appear the Labour leader is frit. Ever since Neo-Guido asked Ed at a press conference whether he preferred the NHS or football, operational press releases and invitations to speeches immediately dried up. The BBC picked up the question after Ed missed an NHS rally and instead went to a football match with one of his donors, so while cheeky, it could hardly be described as unfair. Even Cameron has the Morning Star and Mirror to his pressers…

Back in the leadership election Tom Watson organised a hustings for candidates. Writing in the Guardian about it, he said Guido would probably try attend but “if you can’t deal with him in a public meeting, you don’t deserve to be Labour leader.” Wise words there…

Guido just interjected in a discussion between the publicity shy Mensch and Watson:

@LouiseMensch A little odd a foreign government would pay for a UK minister's trip though?—
  (@tom_watson) June 05, 2012

@GuidoFawkes @tom_watson I assume this is for Tom as I've never been to the UAE—
Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) June 05, 2012

Or the time you went to Taiwan all expenses paid by the government of Taiwan? @tom_watson @LouiseMensch—
Guido Fawkes (@GuidoFawkes) June 05, 2012

Tommo has now retreated from the argument…

Tom Watson is looking for MPs who have ever felt intimidated or upset by press coverage to come forward. Presumably his fellow expenses troughers and backstabbers will use this chance to try silence their critics once and for all:

Guido wonders how many MPs ever felt upset and intimidated by the behaviour of the pre-makeover Tom Watson…