Today marked the return of the much-loved Westminster Dog of the Year contest, organised by The Kennel Club and Dogs Trust. It didn’t disappoint. Nineteen pooches vied for the gongs, all accompanied by their determined Parliamentary owners. Some MPs take this contest very, very seriously…
The first award up for grabs was the Sir David Amess Pawblic Vote, with over 5,000 members of the public casting their ballots. Although his owner expressed surprise, there was only ever going to be one winner. Congratulations go to Rosie Duffield’s Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Paco.
With Paco winning the hearts and minds of the public, attention then turned to the main event. The bronze medal went to James Daly’s Black Labrador, Bertie, who is known for being “the goodest of boys” and his “unique character“. In second was Anna McMorrin’s Working Cocker Spaniel, Cadi. Cadi’s “gorgeous smile that warms hearts” obviously worked its charm. Taking home the top prize with fur-st place however, was Mims Davies’ 10-year old cockapoo TJ. Mims says TJ is “incredibly friendly, gentle, patient, cuddly, curious, loyal, well behaved, clever, devoted, little bundle of energy, playful and entertaining“. The judges were head over paws in love…
Congratulations to all the winners!
Rosie Duffield has reported fellow Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle to the party’s chief whip after he told her he planned to attend a bin worker strike picket line in her Canterbury constituency. According to LabourList, Duffield “rais[ed] concerns” about Russell-Moyle’s visit after he contacted her about his plans in advance, as per parliamentary convention. While Duffield isn’t commenting on the exact nature of her complaint, the pair have history…
Earlier this year, Russell-Moyle shouted and jeered at Duffield during a Commons debate on gender identity, and later apologised for going overboard in “an emotional debate”. Last Sunday he appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour, where he claimed that Duffield had “supported people who have abused [him]“, and insisted things had gotten “too heated” – as though he wasn’t the one to explode in the Commons in the first place. Clearly there’s still no love lost between them…
The Co-chair of LGBT+ Labour has taken a step back from his duties, citing a “toxic culture” on the group’s committee. In a letter outlining his decision, Matthew Lloyd tilts at a “small group” on the executive committee, naming Parliamentary Liaison Officer Joe Vinson, who “frustrate and sabotage” LGBT+ Labour’s work. Matthew makes a number of allegations against the clique, including a “violent threat” sent by text and a “drunken abusive intimidating incident that happened at conference 2022”. He also accuses this nefarious cohort of playing a game of “truth or dare… as a form of bullying”. Shocking.
Of course, co-conspirators won’t be surprised to see handbags, nor allegations of abuse, emerging from Labour’s resident drama queens – especially considering what we already know about the group. In 2021 they argued for Rosie Duffield to have the Labour whip withdrawn, whilst the MP herself has accused them of peddling “absolute rubbish” about her. The confused group can’t even seem to pick a side to self-identify with – they’ve also singled out Suzy Eddie Izzard.
Co-conspirators can read Matthew’s letter in full below:
Labour MP Rosie Duffield has accused her own party of being “quite content” to sit back and let her be “hounded and harassed non-stop” for daring to speak out on women’s rights. In an excoriating new interview with Sam Lister in the Express, Duffield blasts Labour – including the leadership – for an “absolute lack of support” in the wake of abuse, and even claimed she now relies on Tory MPs for help:
“There are many women MPs who agree with me and some men and very few of them have backed me up or defended me or spoken out about their own views and I find that increasingly disappointing […] But also increasingly understandable as the toxic atmosphere gets worse and worse.”
She added that powerful campaign groups like LGBT Labour have “captured” the party, right up to Sir Keir. While she doesn’t mention Matthew Doyle by name, she insists she won’t let “a handful of people in a very small clique should hound me out”. Who could she mean? Surely not the people who actively brief against her, and then deny it on the record…
Rishi obviously had his four Weetabix this morning, hammering Sir Keir over his own record of propriety end ethics; accusing him of letting down women in his party, as well as school children thanks to the strikes. Referencing Guido’s story about Matthew Doyle’s briefing against Rosie Duffield last week, he accused Starmer of letting his right-hand man undermine his own female MPs. Tory backbenchers loved it…
