Entries from March 2010 ↓

Whenever I mention Mama Rudkin, I always get a reaction. You’re an unhealthy lot.

We all know that Labour are hoping to regain control of the Borough Council next month. It looks as it will come down to seats in Sprites, Whitehouse and Alexandra ward.

If Labour do sneak back control might they replace their current leader with our own Bryony Rudkin. For all her faults Bryony does have personality and charisma. I would have said presence, but we can’t really say that about Dame Bryony south of the river.

It has long been a mystery to some Ipswich Tories how she was overlooked for the parliamentary seat against a drab Chris Mole. It will appear just as strange if, having regained control of the Borough, Labour continues with the sixth-form (sorry to all the sixth formers reading this) leadership of David Ellesmere and the champion nit picker, Martin Cook. The consensus is that these two gentlemen, although relatively effective opposition nuisance makers, are light years behind Dame Bryony in terms of leadership ability and personality. So if the council does switch back to Labour will it be sixth form prefect or international stateswoman who is handed the torch?

I’ve sent this to Dame Bryony:

Dear Councillor Rudkin,

James Spencer

Edit: I have been honoured with a response from Mama Rudkin:

Dear James,

Bryony

Yesterday we did some campaigning around Maidenhall Approach, Luther Road, Chilton Court and Belstead Avenue. The Conservative MP for West Suffolk joined us (although Ben Gummer was out campaigning on the other side of the river).

One of the nice things about getting close to the General Election is the amount of mutual aid that you get.

Here are some pictures

Mama Rudkin’s foreign aid paid trip to South Africa was a great honour to our ward. So I feel cheated, and I’m sure that I speak for many others in the ward that her prediction that the local press would print her pictures of her mid winter holiday for those of us who are stuck in sun starved wintry Britain.

So if Dame Bryony wishes to send me the pictures I will make sure that they get the wide circulation that they deserve.

http://ipswichspy.wordpress.com/tag/bridge/

I was inactive yesterday, sorry.

Any way there’s a new theme, to minimise bandwidth use (it’s less of a problem than it was at the beginning of the month, but I thought it would be a Smart move to lock things down before the election).

Comments are a problem at the moment, but I will try to sort this out.

I know I’m getting obsessed with this, but the cosy sweetheart deals between Labour politicians has harmed Ipswich and it’s harming the country. So here are two freedom of Information requests that I’ve lodged:

1. Meetings and correspondence between Christopher Mole and National Express
2. Correspondence or meetings between the Department for Transport and Rt Hon Stephen Byers MP

Chris Mole has put out a hard hitting statement about the budget:

“Ben Gummer must say how they would meet the challenge that we have set in this Budget. How much would the Tories cut from spending in 2010/11? Ben Gummer won’t say”

Strong stuff. And great minds think alike, don’t they:

“George Osborne must say how they would meet the challenge that we have set in this Budget. How much would the Tories cut from spending in 2010/11? George Osborne won’t say.”

The Labour minister Ian Austin sounds very similar to Chris Mole.

How much original thinking will Chris Mole do for his constituency in 2010/11? Chris Mole won’t say.

Edit:
Ann McKechin in Glasgow North also sounds eerily similar
As does Charlotte MacKenzie in Truro and Falmouth

There’s been some scepticism in my comments section that Chris Mole, as railways minister would ever be consulted on the East Coast franchise. Here are my reasons as to why he must have known something or else been totally ineffective:

1. They know each other from when Chris Mole was Labour leader of Suffolk County Council and Steve Byers was environment secretary.
2. Chris Mole deals with the trains
3. They are both in the House of Commons
4. Chris Mole has a constituency interest in National Express franchises, there’s little chance that Adonis would bypass him on this operator
5. Chris Mole is a Brownite to the Blairite Adonis, there’s no way that a recently moved Adonis would seek such a rift so soon

I wonder what the Ipswich press are doing about the local angle to a national scandal? Nothing yet, which means it’s got to be left to the blogs.

Previously I asked what did Chris Mole know about Stephen Byers and National Express, now it turns out that Chris Mole has answered a large number of parliamentary questions on the East Coast franchise:

- 20 July 2009 – on anticipated service disruption
- 21 July 2009 – on due diligence and cross default
- 13 July – Money from the public body
- 12 October 2009 – on the costs of refranchising
- 1 December 2009 – a planted question on wi-fi on the line

Any conversations that Stephen Byers would have had with Andrew Adonis would almost have certainly involved Chris Mole at some point or other. To stop people like me digging around any more, why not simply publish all dealings that ministers have had with Steve Byers.

They’ll come out sooner or later.

So Stephen Byers admits to trying to influence the Transport Ministers on behalf of National Express and their rail operations. However Chris Mole is not mentioned once, despite being the minister in charge of Railways.

What explains the absence?