ConservativeHome sums up the David Rowland story thus:

The Daily Mail Sinks the Tory Treasurer

By Tim Montgomerie

First CCHQ announces that David Rowland will be the new Tory Treasurer.

THEN…

• The Daily Mail attacks his tax status: Former tax exile David Rowland is the new Tory treasurer
• The Daily Mail highlights his role in an environmental disaster: The dirty past of the former tax exile who’s the new Tory Treasurer
• The Daily Mail attacks his style of capitalism: The shady City past and friendship with Air Miles Andy of new Tory treasurer
• The Daily Mail attacks his private life: The new Tory Treasurer with a blonde in another snap he’d rather you (and party grandees) didn’t see

Fundraisers tend to have a bit more chutzpah than your average party hack (think sleazy Lord Levy), but Rowland (pictured here with a blonde not his wife) had trouble written all over him.  The cleaning up of politics means parties will have to raise funds from their memberships, appeal to members, listen to the grassroots, represent their interests. It is just lazy to raise funds from a few plutocrats…

UPDATE : Just a thought: can you imagine the Daily Mirror going after a bent Labour backer with as much venom as the Mail went after Rowland? Can you imagine LabourList or LeftFootForward joining in the pursuit? The Mail has done the Tories a favour in the long term.

See also : Rowland Gave Tories a Million to “Set the People Free”

According to PR Week the Audit Commission has 48 “communications” staff – spin doctors to you and Guido. PR Week worries that they may now lose their jobs. Why did bean-counting public servants need so many spin doctors in the first place?

Instructions to David Miliband supporters…

“Read your guests a page about David Miliband. But remember, as it’s in the first person, pretend that these are actually your thoughts!”

The race has begun to succeed Lord Pearson as leader of UKIP. He has amused political observers with his candid honesty. Not a strategy for success in politics.

Nigel Farage is favourite, though one wonders if he is really up for it given his health. He hasn’t said he will run for sure, yet punters still make him the runaway favourite. The rest of the likely runners include Christopher Monckton, the leading global warming sceptic and former adviser to Maggie. David Campbell Bannerman is a policy guy, former Tory SpAd and latterly a spinner before getting elected as an MEP.

Gerard Batten is another MEP and former London mayoral candidate, Spanish Marta Andreasen is the EU auditor turned UKIP MEP.

Guido has put a few quid on Monckton on the grounds that the outsider has fewer internal UKIP enemies and UKIPpers do like exotic characters…