Gazette

Richard Harrington MP is not the heavyweight he once was

By Tim Montgomerie
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I'm trying to lose weight myself at the moment (down 9 kg if you are interested) and so was interested to note a much thinner Richard Harrington stand up in the Commons last week. He's done much better than me. He's lost three stone (about 20 kg). He tells me that portion control is his secret. He's eating half as much as he used to and eats two starters whenever he goes out for dinner.

Richard has written for ConservativeHome today; he's defending the Coalition's reforms to the planning regime.

Lord Ashcroft's tribute to "50 Great Heroes"

Tim Montgomerie

In a special supplement in The Sunday Telegraph, Lord Ashcroft pays tribute to some of the bravest people in our nation's history. In an introduction he writes:

"Courage is a truly wonderful quality yet it is so difficult to understand. Those who display it are, quite rightly, looked up to by others and are admired by society. Wiser men than me have struggled to comprehend gallantry and what makes some individuals risk the greatest gift of all – life itself – for a comrade, for Queen and country, or sometimes even for a complete stranger. Brigadier Sir John “Jackie” Smyth, Bt, VC, MC, was the founder, first chairman and – after Sir Winston Churchill – the president of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association. With typical wisdom, he once wrote: “Who can say whether it takes more courage to attack an angry bull elephant with a spear, than to disarm a very sensitive mine, or to have your toenails pulled out and still disclose nothing, or to dive into a burning aircraft to try to pull out members of the crew when the rescuer was well aware that the plane was carrying bombs which might explode at any moment.”

Read the profiles of "fifty great heroes"; winners of the Victoria Cross, George Cross and other honours.

EXCLUSIVE: David Cameron about to become member of MCC after 25 year wait

Tim Montgomerie

He's been waiting 25 years and I understand that The Rt. Hon. D.W.D. Cameron (1987 B6 250) will become a formal member of the MCC, the world's most famous cricket club, in the next few days.

Sport has been a big part of David Cameron's public profile recently.

Last week the PM entertained the world's leading tennis players at Number 10 and almost damaged a chandalier during a knockabout with Andy Murray.

This week the PM will be joining David Beckham and Prince William in Zurich in a 72 hour push to win the 2018 World Cup for England. That bid hasn't been helped by the BBC's decision to schedule a perfectly legitimate probe into FIFA at the worst possible time (see Henry Winter in The Sunday Telegraph).

With England fighting back overnight in the Ashes, Cameron's MCC membership is perfect timing.

The Black Farmer launches clothing range at Tory Conference

Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones was narrowly beaten by the Liberal Democrats in his bid to become the MP for Chippenham. The self-styled Black Farmer was at the Birmingham Tory Conference to promote his new upmarket clothing range. Click here to buy your £130 moleskin trousers.