With talk that the PM’s team now firmly believe he can ride out Partygate, it seems the Tories are so confident the public have moved on from the furore they’re willing to put up local election candidates who were caught red-handed. A co-conspirator in Richmond notices that the local declaration forms list the Kingston Tories’ Tudor Ward candidate as Ben Mallet. Albeit spelt ‘Mallett’ for some reason…
Why might the name ring a bell? Ben Mallet was Shaun Bailey’s campaign manager, who when not busy briefing that Bailey was on the verge of unseating Sadiq was snapped front and centre of the infamous Bailey CCHQ party, lying on the ground next to the buffet, complete with wine and braces.
Ironically, the Tory party’s council candidate application form asks “Are there any matters which may cause embarrassment to the Party if they became public knowledge?” Clearly Ben believes not…
UPDATE: The local Tory branch tells Guido, “Ben grew up in Kingston, went to school locally and is a proud citizen of our Borough. He understands the issues facing local residents and will make a fantastic local representative. We look forward to welcoming him to the Council in a few weeks’ time.”
Over the weekend Labour continued to blatantly take their lead from the Tony Blair playbook – though not quite as Skwawkbox believed. Their latest policy, from shadow justice secretary Steve Reed, is an attack on the limpwristed years under Corbyn during which Labour “cared more about criminals than victims”. To counteract this, their latest policy proposal involves “naming and shaming” recreational drug users…
Guido’s old enough to remember Shaun Bailey announcing a similar policy during his mayoral run, albeit less invasive without naming individuals. At the time Guido suggested Shaun should lead the way, testing all the boys and girls at Tory HQ first from Ben Elliot down to the interns – then publish the results. Labour is no different. If they want to target the public with new extra-harsh drug laws it’s time for some truth and reconciliation over at Southside…
Co-conspirators may remember back to May this year when, after the local elections, the LibDems and Greens teamed up with the Tories to take back control of the London Assembly’s committees. They argued Labour had had control of too many for too long, and in the name of scrutiny, wrestled the chairmanship of some extra committees from the party. At the time Labour accused them of “betraying their progressive values” and “getting into bed with the Tories”…
Clearly Labour aren’t over this uncomradely jilting. Following Shaun Bailey’s resignation this week, in the wake of The Mirror’s photo of his unlawful Christmas Party, the assembly’s Police and Crime Committee was in need of a new chair.
Guido learns the Tory group proposed a Labour AM, Unmesh Desai, for the role, yet Labour refused to nominate anyone given the ongoing partisan committee row. Their bizarre refusal to accept this additional role on a platter means Tory leader Susan Hall has had to nab the position instead. With Green Leader Caroline Russell as her deputy.
A City Hall insider asks “What game are they playing? Sadiq Khan will be furious with the Labour group. He will now have to face the Tory leader and explain his policing policies.” A very odd decision by Labour…
While his woke statue commission continue its work, Sadiq Khan appears to have had a Damascene conversion on the issue of controversial sculptures in London. Today, Khan defended the impending erection of a new fourth plinth statue of Chilembwe – an anti-colonial activist in Nyasaland who ordered the decapitation of William Livingstone in front of his children. Sadiq’s statue commission claims it wants to “reflect London’s achievements and diversity”…
In response to the question posed by Shaun Bailey, Khan argued that:
“I think art has an important role in stimulating conversation. I also think we should challenge different perspectives when it comes to history. History is complicated and it is always worth getting a different perspective”.
Bailey pointed out “this is a man who sanctioned the murder of people… he did sermons with the head of his opponents on a pike”…
Bailey beats Zac Goldsmith’s percentage by 1.6%:
Khan: 56.8% (-1.6%)
Bailey: 44.8% (+1.6%)
First round results:
It turns out Nicola Sturgeon isn’t the only front-runner ducking debates. Guido learns Sadiq has withdrawn or refused to participate in two separate debates with his opposite Tory number in the space of the last week: one youth-oriented debate with KissFM (supposed to be last Sunday), and another with BBC Politics (supposed to be this coming Sunday). Guido’s also seen evidence of TV producers getting increasingly “frustrated” with the mayor’s new-found shyness. Complacency isn’t a good look…
Ironically, at the start of the month Khan signed a “Fair Play Pledge”, promising that during the election he would campaign openly and respectfully.
Thank you @SadiqKhan for signing the #FairPlayPledge ahead of London's mayoral election on the 6th of May! 🗳️🎉
— Fair Play Pledge (@FairPledge) April 8, 2021
We call on all mayoral candidates to commit to the Pledge and help create a better democratic culture. Find out more: https://t.co/E69fNltySu pic.twitter.com/JvVV7Lm4Ng
Guido feels Sadiq may be falling short of his pledge…
