Tonight some of the Tory parliamentary party in Westminster for the anniversary party for the 1922 Committee. The Tory backbenchers’ parliamentary trade union will be addressed by the Prime Minister at a party sponsored by the Intercontinental Hotel. Will anyone dare raise the fact that Dave tried to abolish them as soon as he came to power in 2010, by allowing government ministers to decide their elections? Guido might have to swing by for a glass of Pol and a heckle…

As Guido revealed in his Sun on Sunday column, Gulf War veteran and Tory MP Adam Holloway has some memorable stories from his time in Libya and Iraq. The former Grenadier Guards officer tells Guido how he found himself in Gaddafi’s private living quarters as he wandered through the smoky underground tunnels of Tripoli in the days after the regime fell. Looking through the rubble, Holloway pocketed a picture of the Libyan leader that had survived the fighting. Restored, reframed and safely back in London, Gaddafi now joins a portrait of Saddam Hussein that Holloway picked up in the Iraqi dictator’s bomb-hit secret police headquarters in 2003. To the victor, the spoils, as they say…

Speaking of Pimlico Plumbers, founder Charlie Mullins’ internship policy hits the nail on the head: “in my book anybody who does a day’s work is entitled to a decent day’s pay”. A shame then that lefty unpaid intern double standards are spreading: Red Tory wonk and intellectual curio Phillip Blond is the latest to be busted advertising for expenses-only ‘volunteers’. As a trustee of CitizenUK, Blond’s name is on their campaign for a living wage so “every worker in the country can earn enough to provide their family with the essentials of life”.

Every worker, except those at Blond’s ResPublica think tank, it seems. They are currently advertising for an unpaid research assistant to compile research briefings, edit articles and contribute to projects. Naughty Phillip.

As Guido revealed in his Sun on Sunday column, an unlikely alliance has been forged over beers. The gruesome twosome of Damian McBride and Grant Shapps teamed up for a Macmillian charity pub quiz night last week. McBride tells Guido how Grant “demolished a round of cryptic clues to underground stations”, with the pair finishing second overall. Shapps was rather more coy about his new friend…

Thrasher has found the perfect job to fill his empty hours now he is only a mere MP, and bide his time before he departs for Europe. Guido can reveal that the former chief whip has been appointed a senior adviser to Montrose Associates, a strategic intelligence  firm specialising in dealing with reputational damage. He will be raking in £36,000-a-year in his new post. Michael Crick is going to be busy…

ConservativeHome have bolstered their ranks following the departure of Tim Montgomerie. Mark Wallace, best known for his excellent TV appearances at the TPA and IOD and as the blogger behind CrashBangWallace, joins as Executive Editor. As expected Paul Goodman is Editor. Boris biographer Andrew Gimson is appointed Contributing Editor, and Iain Dale now has a weekly diary. At last some new competition…

One of Maggie’s many memorable memories from the House is her slap down of a young, snivelling Simon Hughes. Channel 4 FactCheck show that she was entirely right: wages went up across the whole spectrum, including for the poorest.

IFS figures show median earnings went up faster under Thatcher than under Major or during Blair’s second and third terms. Everyone got richer on Maggie’s Farm, including the poor. It comes down to this: would you rather be more equal but poorer, or less equal but better off?

Some rather ill-timed lines to take on Europe from CCHQ this week:

“The best outcome for Britain is our membership of a reformed European Union. But we must recognise that consent for Britain’s membership of the European Union, and all the ways that it’s changed, has become wafer-thin. And politicians have to recognise this fact rather than try and brush it under the carpet.

 The best thing to do when you have a problem is to confront that problem. And we have a plan for how we make changes to the European Union, how we make changes to Britain’s membership, how we secure Britain’s membership of a reformed European Union and settle this issue.”

“I remember telling her about the TUC congress selling the Thatcher death party packs, and she said that the fact that they still felt so strongly about her more than twenty years after she left Downing Street was a tribute to the fact that she had done something in politics, rather than simply been someone in politics.”

Their anguish sustained her…

UPDATE: “They hate her because she won.”

Via ITV.

(Click to Enlarge)

This is the latest PCS poster lamenting the fact full time “pilgrim” civil servants are being made to return to work:

“All reps including the 2 existing full time TUS officers will spend the majority of their time in line jobs with immediate effect… Banned from using DCLG facilities (emails, desks, the building etc) to issue information to members on national issues inlcuding key material on pensions and the Civil Service Management Code.”

Victory!

You can read all Guido’s stories on Pilgrims here.