Derek Conway loses the Conservative Whip

David Cameron says:

"The usual procedure in these cases is to leave the punishment to the House of Commons authorities, however, having asked the Chief Whip to speak again to Mr Conway and having personally reflected overnight I have decided to withdraw the Conservative Whip from Mr Conway."

This is the right action to take, and whilst it could have been taken yesterday Cameron has still been much more decisive on it than Brown was on Hain.

2.40pm: The Telegraph notes that Conway is likely to remain suspended permanently:

"Although the decision is technically a suspension rather than an expulsion, senior Conservative sources said it was unlikely that Mr Conway would ever return to the parliamentary party."

Comments

[Unixman]

Good. With a bit of luck done in time to limit the damage that the procrastination was doing.

[abctory]

the right step, well done, but needs to look at cleaning the whole lot up, especially all those private dining clubs!

[MrB]

Good, now Cameron must use the prominent headlines on this evening's news to get across the message that our party will be different to Labour and act decisively on matters of sleaze. Pity about the one flip-flop, but the right decision hasn't taken that long to be made in comparison with Hain.

[Cameron Watt]

Great news!

[Andrew Woodman]

Imagine if Conway was chief whip and this happened.

[Steve R]

Yep, well done. We need principles otherwise we're nothing. Let's get rid of this loser and get on with the job.

[Bunny Blenkinsop]

Poor man. I don't see why we insist on paying them all these so-called 'allowances' anyhow. Pay them for stamps, paper and phone calls, that's it. Asking for trouble, if you ask me.

[cjcjc]

Better late than never.

Career politician (has he held any private sector job?) with snout in trough.
Who would have thought it??

[Northern Tory]

He obviously learnt something from Tyneside Labour in the early years.

[activist]

Fair enough. He slept on it - I don't think there can be much criticism levelled there.

No Conservative can be happy with wthdrawing the whip from a long-serving Tory MP. It's an emotional thing. But in the end he had no choice and unlike Labour recognised that.

What a contrast with Brown.

[Adam in London]

When he was out of Parliament 1997-2001 (having lost Shrewsbury & Atcham, but not yet succeeded Heath in Old Bexley & Sidcup) he was Chief Executive of the Cats Protection League.

[Dave]

Well done Cameron. Withdrawing the whip is the absolutely correct thing to do in the face of such blatant dishonesty.

Now let's see what Brown does with his growing number of miscreants. Very little, I suspect.

[Bill]

I think MPs'administrative and research needs should be met by civil servants. Similarly if they need a London pied a terre they could have a parliamentary equivalent of service married quarters.

[Bexie]

For the travelling MP's there is a case to take over the rotunda on the other side of the Westminster Bridge and turn it into permanant hotelling for Westminster people on business.

MP's/ Aides would then have to justify their stay with Black Rod's office before snouting it in Central London.

[Bexie]

But congratulations where congratulations are due. The man was found guilty, admitted his guilt, and is now without a party. The honorable thing now would be to take the Chiltern Hundreds and let an honest politician (sic) take the seat. There should be enough time to organise it to coincide with the Mayoral election.

[Inamicus]

Is Waterson next?

[George Hinton]

Good oh, shows he's not a ditherer, and can do tough decisions.

Hard luck on Conway, but his actions show poor thought process. Perhaps he was led astray by the similar actions of NuLab MP's.

[Michael Davidson]

Should have been done earlier.

And yes, I'm sure Waterson will be next.

[Cassilis]

Certainly the right move for Cameron but there needs to be some caution over trying to contrast it with Brown's behaviour - he may also withdraw the whip as soon as any of his MP's are censured.

As yet they haven't been.

[Serf]

having personally reflected overnight

and having read Conservative Home & Guido......

[Chris]

I imagine Waterson will lose the whip on a temporary basis, as that's what happened with Pelling.

[The Huntsman]

Hopefully that will have nailed the awful proposition that being a member of something called 'the Old Guard' renders one immune to action by the leadership.

No one will begrudge Cameron a night to think it over nor will he lose much by being seen to change his mind so long as the last decision he makes is the right one, which I believe this is.

Putting clear blue water between himself and Gordon Brown on such an issue puts the spotlight back on Labour worthies who have lashed themselves to the mast of the Gordon's ship and has set a benchmark to measure future Labour scandals by.

If there is now backbiting in certain quarters where this individual has been said to be popular, then I suggest they ought to check with their local members before engaging in any sort of whingeing: if the response on CH and elsewhere is reflected in the party as a whole they have no support for such at all.

Meanwhile Labour guns have now been spiked for tomorrow's PMQs where they will raise Conway at their peril.

DC will have done himself no harm at all with the public by acting decisively notwithstanding the rearguard action by the 'old guard'.

He will also win votes by a clear promise to sort out the whole expenses and allowances abuses problem. He could do worse than start with a promise to emulate the Scottish Parliament's system of putting all MSPs expense details online.(http://tinyurl.com/2ftwlv)

If it is good enough for them, why is it not good enough for the Mother of Parliaments?

[activist]

Oh that's right, a mere referral to the police is not a censure ::rolleyes::

[Richard]

Editor,

Perhaps you could look at the overall issue of MPs pay and allowances in more detail.

I personally would standardise the whole lot and do more to create a proper career structure for those who wish to dedicate their working lives to working for MPs. Too often I have heard people say, "so and so is far too old to be working for an MP" and so forth. Much more needs to be done to make the job more attractive and rewarding.

It would be far better if all pay and conditions were controlled by the House of Commons and that salaries were set. This would avoid situations like this, it would also prevent other MPs (mainly Lib Dems) paying their staff peanuts and expecting them to live in London. All the latter does is make it very difficult for people whose parents do not live in London or who have no personal money from working for a Member of Parliament.

[Mark Fulford]

I suspect that the opinions here and at Guido's blog helped with the overnight reflection, but I am pleased that we have the right decision after only a small amount of dithering.

Conway only has himself to blame and I hope he understands this and takes it on the chin, rather than engaging in bitter reprisals. Ditto Conway’s allies.

[Mike]

Maybe the Cat's Protection League will take him back? As an overweight feline himself, and the police sniffing around, he may need protection shortly.

[Mark Fulford]

A nightmare week for Cameron?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7215386.stm

[cjcjc]

Mike - The Fat Cat's Protection League?
Excellent!

[MartinW]

It was necessary to act decisively within a day, and I am thankful that Cameron has done the right thing in time.
CCHQ will doubtless have registered the virtually unanimous opinion of party members on this blog and others.

[Iain]

"Conway only has himself to blame and I hope he understands this and takes it on the chin, rather than engaging in bitter reprisals. "

Yes he's wholly at fault, for it takes a special type of arrogance to see IDS dragged over the coals about his wife’s employment, then blithely carries on in the most complacent manner as if the rules weren't meant for him.

[Andrew Woodman]

Fair point Iain. He was one of the 2 letter writers wasn't he.

[michael m]

About time

Cameron must now come on the media and show how tough he is and condemn Conway's conduct and that he will not tolerate this from any of his MPs

One of Blair's strength was that he acted and was seen to be tough on his way to winning the 1997 Election.

So come out Mr Cameron or else your oponents will only say you did this under pressure and you will be haunted by Conway right up until the next election.

Doing this means you can then have moral authority- if your colleagues or Conway's friends don't like it - tough

[Ian Makin]

It goes to prove there is an endemic problem in the houses of Parliment that requires an overhaul of the people in charge and rules governing theose elected to serve. What an example, lying cheating, stealing and we wonder why our kids grow up with bad attitudes

[HF]

Right decision.

I hope the Chief Whip is asked why we were so unprepared and out of touch with the party's expectations as to what the "right thing to do" was.

[Mark Wadsworth]

Good for Cameron.

[Josh]

Well Done to Cameron. In fairness to him it can't have been easy to take on a long standing MP but he really made the right choice. Very impressed, I'd love Brown to try and mention this at PMQ's! What a contrast between how Brown dithered and Cameron acted - considered but decisive

Excellent Day - Nothing could have helped Cameron more than to been seen ACTING against not just talking against sleeze.

[Paul Wakeford]

And if there are any others - same action. The days of the old indecision are gone - leave that stuff to Gordon "Milhouse Nixon" Broon...

[Malcolm Dunn]

I'm delighted. I'd echo Serf's post @13.42.Well done Tim. It would have been easy to try and spin this away,I'm very glad you didn't.
It's a shame this didn't happen yesterday but I think the right decision has now been made.

[David Parker]

Multiple sighs of relief, no doubt.
However there was still a palpable impression of dithering upon Cameron's part, particularly when an immediate suspension would have been amply justified.
Although better late than never,Cameron's decision can now be viewed as a damage limitation exercise, rather than an immediate and positive demonstration of principle.
Conway also now has an opportunity of limiting the obvious damage he has inflicted upon his party and his constituency by offering his resignation, however, should he not do so immediately, he will merely increase this damage.

[passing leftie]

Only when the mounting bad publicity outweighed his loyalty to his cronies did he act. The universal grassroots disapproval of this nepotism did it.

[Dale]

Well Done to David Cameron, he did the right thing (even if for the wrong reasons), Conservative Home's next scalp must be nigel waterson.

These people are an embarrasment to the conservative party and shouldn't be tolerated.

[Malcolm Dunn]

Passing Leftie,first Conway is in no way a crony of David Cameron,quite the opposite in fact.
Secondly you are hardly in a position to criticise given that so many of the leading lights in your party are up to their necks in corruption without any major public disapproval from Labour party members at all.

[Jack Watson]

Cameron took less than one day to act. Well done to Tim and others for no trying to spin it but I think its fair enough Cameron thought about as removing the Party Whip is a very big deal, a hell of a lot more than a slap on wrist.

I admit I was worried last night, but Cameron came though - acting with consideration and decisvely. Not easy.

Well Done Cameron.

(PS It will do his popularity no harm if it was listening to us 'the members' rather than some Tory old guard.)

[Surrey Boy]

It could have been worse - had DD won the leadership election, Conway had a good shout to become his Party Chairman.

[Tim Benson]

I'm very proud to be one of 'Camerons Conservatives' today. (never thought I'd say that out loud!)

Lets get rid of any one else like Conway, if they are stuck for a party then the Labour Party is always looking out for members with such quailities I hear.

Tim Benson

[Happy Tory]

Good decision. More politicians should do a bit of reflecting overnight. There's nothing wrong with adjusting your opinion as new information comes to light and circumstances evolve. In fact, good leadership requires it.

[Ellie]

Only when the mounting bad publicity outweighed his loyalty to his cronies did he act. The universal grassroots disapproval of this nepotism did it.

1) He acted TODAY, the story only broke yesterday, he was ahead of most 'pubilcity so thats not true.

2) Conway was FAR from being one of Camerons Cronies, the exact opposite is more true. Don't comment if you dont have a clue what your talking about.

3)If Cameron did listen to the 'Grassroots' then... WELL DONE HIM.

Your post shows why are still Ahead in the polls today. Get your own house in order. We'll be happy to take over running the Government whilst you do.

[Politico]

Cameron took more than a day to decide whether or not to fire someone for graft. Truly shocking.

Labour problems use private money - decidedly more seedy, but not as delicious for the media as using tax payers. Cameron had the opportunity to make this a non story - but no, his indecision and loyalty to the rear guard has cost him dear. Coupled with Waterson - a week of discontent is on the cards. I also fear for the lead in polls.

PMQ's is going to be even more of a drama tomorrow.

[Rob Reynolds]

Well said Ellie.

[Dale]

"Coupled with Waterson - a week of discontent is on the cards. I also fear for the lead in polls."

I fear for our lead too, Waterson must have the whip withdrawn at once, without delay. His actions have the potential to be infinitely more damaging.

[Andy B]

I was completely baffled about why Cameron didn't take this opportunity to demonstrate the difference between him and Brown sooner.

The hunger that ordinary people have for politics to be cleaned up is such that now is not the time to observe the traditional way of doing things - a shockwave needs to be sent from the party leaders through their parliamentary parties that things are going to change.

Still, he did do it.

--------
By the way, what has happened to Guido Fawkes? Has the government finally caught up with him and bundled him into a van?

[Justin Hinchcliffe]

David Conway is a thief - I hope he goes down. Blair never acted on Labour sleaze. Brown is making that mistake now. Cameron should be congratulated for ACTING.

Let this be a warning to our MPs - you break the law and you're out.

[Northernhousewife]

If he has any loyalty to the party, Mr Conway will go with the minimum of fuss. He has let everyone down. Cameron has acted within 24 hours. He did not 'wait for the police to be called in'!
If he gets any flack at PMQs that will have to be his line

[David]

The people of Old Bexley and Sidcup certainly know how to pick 'em. First Ted Heath now Derek Conway. One sold the nation down the river the other's got his fingers in the till.

[Iain Murray]

Good news. I don't agree with Guido that the police should be sniffing about Parliament all the time (the opportunities for executive abuse are literally terrifying), but this is egregious behaviour that is reminiscent of the darkest days of Major. If Howard Flight could be deselected for a disagreement over policy, Mr Conway, whatever his other merits, needs to suffer at least the same fate.

[R.Baker.]

Great move and a hard decision by DC,but the right one.I still think Conway should be removed from the midst of the Conservative image he has so heavily tarnished.DC needs to fix that for us.

[passing leftie]

There is no moral equivalence between not correctly declaring a donation and stealing money. He should repay every penny.

[Editor]

Can I ask please that we don't make further comments on Nigel Waterson? We do not know the full facts and I'd be grateful if folk waited until we know more.

[Sean Fear]

"There is no moral equivalence between not correctly declaring a donation and stealing money. "

Deception is deception. Obviously, we'll have to wait until the police have completed their investigations into Hain, Abrahams et al, before deciding whether their conduct is better or worse than that of Derek Conway.

[Lucy]

I wonder if the whip would have been withdrawn if there had not been the new allegations about the elder son.

[Politico]

Lucy, the whip should have be withdrawn IMMEDIATELY. Cameron severely underestimated the damage that inaction could do to the image he has tried to craft (which raises the question of values, he only acted because his inner PR muse started to scream) - I can only surmise that his hands were tied in the matter; which does not bode well for the state of our party.

China executes its officials for graft. And, as much as i hate to agree with a leftwinger - there is no equivalence between dodgy donations and theft of state.

Cameron needs to take the opportunity to clean out the closet and establish complete authority over the party. It is shocking that our leader can be manipulated by senior members in this way.

Although, the fact that "Con-way" (you have to hate labour sometimes) did not resign is testament to the kind of person he is. There was not a whiff of apologetic tone in his "apology". Arrogance & Corruption = another 10 years in opposition. Cameron should have thrown him to the wolves.

[Surrey Boy]

I think all MPs from all sides of the House should be asked, in the next few days, to reveal which relatives currently work for them, and have done since 2001.

Its not a witchhunt - many MPs I know employ wives or husbands legitimately. But we should elimate those people from our enquiries.

I would be amazed if Conway is the only MP to have committed such an offence.

[Richard Calhoun]

What a relief, I was concerned that we were going back to the old politics!

Excellent move by Cameron and he needs to follow this up by a warning to all his MP's that they must not abuse their expenses.

I think it would also be opportune for the Tories to propose guidelines for dealing with expenses for the future.

I believe the expenses should be commuted into the Salary, that way they will have to pay tax and this would ensure they would not be profligate with the money.

[Sean Fear]

Waiting 24 hours before acting is reasonable, Politico.

And I'd stopped bandying about words like "theft" if I were you. Any allegation of theft has to be proved in court beyond reasonable doubt, and if you can't prove it, you leave yourself, and ConHome open to a libel claim.

[Torytaxcutter]

While we're all patting Dave on the back, perhaps we need to ask why CCHQ put out the statement last night that the whip would not be withdrawn and today the whip is withdrawn.

One could argue that rather showing firm leadership, Cameron was reacting to events rather than shaping them.

[Sally Roberts]

Good.

[Jake]

A difficult moment but Cameron did the right thing and generally handled it well .

The bated breathes of the asembled mass of MP's of all parties has been revealing .

The next thing is to turn the situation to the Conservative's advantage . Hit Brown with it at QT and demand to know why Hain , Alexander , Harman etc are still allowed in the Labour party .

also
1. Promise to institute a proper system of exepnses monitoring a la Holyrood

( it pains me as an Englishman to say this but it is the British parliament we are talking about here and you can be sure that when England gets hers , such a system will be mandatory )

2. take it further and promise to ABOLISH the MP's present pension scheme and replace it with a contributions limited scheme just like most of the poulation have to endure

( will produce silent screams from own MP's
for sure but you want to win the election don't you?)

[Frederick James]

I agree with Torytaxcutter that the failure to reach the right initial conclusion greatly diminishes the impression of a principled approach to such a grave matter. (If CCHQ really thought it would blow over in the current climate it also shows abysmal judgement.)

Nevertheless, one has to give credit for the swift realisation that a U-turn was required. Unless there is a domino effect with other Tory MPs it will have largely neutralised the issue - it's just a shame that the opportunity to turn it to our positive advantage was allowed to slip through our fingers.

[Tapestry]

A comment on The Tap from Strapworld -

Tap.

In the Daily Mail Quentin Letts, in his 'yesterday in parliament' has quite an insight into this statement.

I quote.

"Derek Conway (Old Bexley and Sidcup) made his personal statement at 3.33pm........"Mr Conway did his best to remove the smile from his face"...

Letts continues. "Moments earlier Conway had been smirking and joking with Simon Burns, a Tory Whip, just behind the Speakers Chair. Mr Conway also grinned immediately after making the statement.

Conservative MP's, rather than avoid the tainted Conway, chose to 'doughnut' around him in support. Roger Gales (N.Thanet)a discordant figure at the best of times, sat on one side of him, Mark Field (Cities of London and Westminster)arranged his long limbs the other side.

As soon as Mr Conway finished his brief statement he had his hand shaken heartily by Nigel Evans (Co. Ribble Valley)

There was no evidence of disgust anywhere!

SUMS IT UP. We need a complete turn out! ENDS.

If the smiles are coming off the faces, that's a start.

[DavisFan]

Mr Conway was a member of DAVID DAVIS MP's excellent leadership campaign of which I was a PROUD SUPPORTER.

He taught me a lesson which left me with a limp to this day, but I feel I deserved it. I might be old, but I should have been more respectful. Eye contact with The Real Leader was too much on what was only our 5th meeting.

[Mr]

The right decision, shame it took universal outrage in the party at large to cause it though. Just goes to show how very very out of touch the OParliamentary party is with both the real world and the mood of the wider party. Perhaps, once again, they need reminding that the Conservative party is NOT just its MPs.

[David Lindsay]

The real scandal exposed by the Derek Conway affair is that positions such as those nominally held by his sons are only open, even when they are being filled properly, to people who can afford to live in Central London on pay of only eleven thousand pounds per annum. In other words, to independently rich people. And even the Green Book restricts them to university graduates.

Instead, just as there should be a ban on any party funding except of an individual candidate by resolution of a membership organisation (whether the Midlands Industrial Council, the GMB, or whatever) the name of which would appear in brackets on the ballot paper, so there should also be at least a firm expectation that jobs such as this be filled from a pool maintained by that organisation, which would match the public salary of those thus appointed.

[Votedave]

"Fair enough. He slept on it - I don't think there can be much criticism levelled there."

I agree fully. Margaret Thatcher often stated in her memoirs that she slept on decisions.

[Matt Wright]

Correct move, well done Cameron.

[Roadrunner]

Well done,now Dave needs to state he will not stand for this sort of behaviour and then give us a vote on the Treaty.

[Politico]

He didnt sleep on it though - he dithered - HQ stated that the whip wouldn't be removed and then it was - a colossal lapse in judgement.

I didn't realise Aitkin was back in the fold either....

This party is defeating itself and its a tragedy!

[Matt Wright]

Well it was a very short dither if it was one, which can't be said for Mr Brown who on a whole host of issues has mega dithered not to mention sulked over the years.

[James]

Will there be a by-election now?

[Adam-]

Well handled by Cameron. This was never going to be a non-story: the BBC never miss any opportunity to maul the Tories, but the quick despatch means it's already history.

[John Brownfield Pope]

One should not jump to uncharitable conclusions concerning allegations about MP.s or any other Public Servant be he or she paid or unpaid.

Is there a shortage of persons wanting to be Members of Parliament that we have to pay them so much money. One may wonder what the salary of an average MP might be outside Parliament? Rather less than can be drawn therein.

We have far too many MPs, and pay them and Members of The Upper House far more money than most of them are worth.

If there is any truth in the allegation that an MP has acted dis-honestly,in or out of Office,or otherwise abused the trust that we the Electorate have placed in any. It should not be a matter of suspension, but of permanent disqualification.

Quite right that Mr.Cameron should first establish the facts of any matter before reacting to it 'either way'. By which I suggest that it would be equally wrong to prematurely say that he plans not to remove the Party Whip as it would have been prematurely to remove it.

Even so having a capacity for correct 'Gut Reaction' is a sine qua non.

[Politico]

"it's already history." - the damage has been done, coupled with Waterson - bad tory press will be the order of the week.

Cameron needs to get a tax break out tomorrow to capture the agenda and end this debacle.

[Northernhousewife]

Could this be a [mini] clause 4 moment? Once upon a time, the Tufty Club would have thought they had the grassroots behind them against Cameron.
Not so now. They want to pick a fight, they might find they are on the wrong side of the arguement and the membership.
More pleased by the day that we picked Cameron and not Davis.

[Rod Sellers]

"The people of Old Bexley and Sidcup certainly know how to pick 'em. First Ted Heath now Derek Conway. One sold the nation down the river the other's got his fingers in the till.

Posted by: David | January 29, 2008 at 15:16 "

So true. Conway is small change compared to the 'Great Betrayer'

[Buckinghamshire Tory]

This is truly good news. Yesterday I thought David Cameron was going to accept this behaviour, which would render us no better than New Labour.
Now, David Cameron have created some clear blue water between himself and Gordon Brown. It sends the message that the Tory Party does not accept dishonesty and theft, unlike Gordon's New Labour,

[David]

As noted above, Quentin Letts' column in the Daily Mail records a distinct lack of disgust among other MP's at the Conway revelations.

I think many MP's seethe with resentment that their salary is but a fraction of those that they perceive to be of similar social standing, such as people in the City or in top legal firms. Many MP's milk the allowances system for all it's worth as a way of compensating. A nasty sense of entitlement has developed.

[Nigel Syson]

A good result. The next step should be a new candidate for his seat. Writing as a person who foolishly wasted a day of his life campaigning for Tony Litt in ealing, can the selection unlike other recent selections in Kent pick a candidate with no Labour party connections of any sort. in short somebody with a Tory history !

[Justin Hinchcliffe]

Guys,

Please think twice before speaking ill of the dead, i.e. Ted Heath. Ted was an hourable and honest man - something Conway isn't. He was also a popular Leader and MP (Thatcher would never had been elected had it been up to the members). He served Bexley and Old Sidcup admirably. This was always reflected in his large majorities. Local voters still speak fondly of him.

No lectures on "betraying" Britain, please. Ted was always a passionate supporter of closer ties with Europe (like Thatcher was in the early days). It was a consistent view, which he held to the day he died.

[David]

Justin,

I don't believe in sanitising a politician's record just because they are no longer alive.

Ted Heath's record in government stands, and needs to be viewed dispassionately.

I imagine you are correct in writing that many in Old Bexley and Sidcup still speak fondly of Ted Heath. However, there are also many people in Britain who will never believe that Heath was an honourable and honest Prime Minister.

If we value good government, we need to be able to make robust criticisms of past political leaders, even when they are no longer alive. To take an approach that says "Don't speak ill of the dead", serves the interests of politicians, rather than the public.

[David Abbott]

Glad to see David Cameron took my advice. But of course, he can take a further step, and that would be to go the USA route of promising to ban MPs from employing relatives. I disagree with Tim Montgomery that the quid pro quo for this would be even more pay for MPs - 100k is far too much, they are well paid enough as it is. The vast majority of public opinion would be impressed by a ban and keeping to current salary levels. If Cameron wants the moral high ground, it's there for the taking.

David Abbott

[James Maskell]

Im still not impressed. As soon as the Parliamentary Committee published its report, Cameron should have read the conclusions, then acted. Waiting till the press blew the story up, then waiting for the Met to come in is pathetic and definitely not leadership.

As for the comments that its good that Cameron will ensure that Labour dont look the same as the Conservatives, thats rubbish. Cameron only acted when he realised he was completely buggered if he didnt. Events made him do it and withdrawing the whip was not the action he wanted to do. If he did want to do it then why did he wait for the police to come in? Did he not think it was a serious enough breach of Parliamentary rules?

Leadership my arse.

[Malcolm Dunn]

You're never impressed with anything James. Fortunately the media don't appear to agree with you.

[James Maskell]

That would be because the media are fickle and the story has finished for now. The press havent completely moved on and will use this story to slap the Tories round the face whenever they try to speak about trust in politics.

[Justin Hinchcliffe]

Perhaps James will be having strong words with his local MP, a certain Roger Gale?

[James Maskell]

Last year you showed you were closer to the Gales than me when you reported me to Suzy Gale for comments made on this site...why dont you use your own influence and talk to them yourself?

[Serf]

Cameron only acted when he realised he was completely buggered if he didnt

The level of competition, such as it is, makes even this something to be proud of.

Lets be honest, Grabbing Gordon would have waited about a decade before come to a conclusion.

[Justin Hinchcliffe]

I have an enormous amount of respect for Roger and Suzy. I just think that Roger made a terrible mistake going on the Today programme to defend Conway - friend or no friend.

I think Roger would probably take more notice of you, as one of his constituents, than humble me in Tottenham.

Yes, I did alert the office to some of your remarks. If you're an Association Officer, as you were, there's a certain amount of collective responsibility to abide by. Of course, now you are an ordinary member, if that, you can speak more freely.

No hard feelings, James. I’m glad to note that you, also, do not wish our MEPs to sit with Poland’s Law and Justice Party.

[Richard West]

The party's "soft" lead over New Labour gets softer by the hour -- yet as good an opportunity as it gets to show real statesmanship now exists.

Instead of simply throwing that appalling sleazebag Conway out of the party, Cameron should also be going public now with a copy of a letter sent to Conway, telling him that his continued representation of the constituency is not in the interests of democracy or the taxpayer.

Conway has been on one long ego trip at the nation's expense. That he can now glibly -- and yes, it's glib all right -- say he'll hang around on full public-purse salary until he feels like going, yet without a word of complaint about that arrogance being raised by Cameron, is merely going to help New Labour get further ahead.

Conway is not a typical MP and not a typical Tory. The snout he has so enthusiastically stuffed deep in the trough so as to parade as the patriarch of some kind of yesteryear dynasty is one which needs punching hard -- not by the Law in months to come (when hopefully, he'll enjoy a different kind of experience funded from the public purse) but by Cameron now.

The fact that Cameron has already acted in one particular way has not and will not alter the reality of the perception held by the electorate as a whole that in Derek Conway, there is, quite literally, a fat cat, a Tory cat, that is still allowed to go on licking up the cream.

[mark smith]

Conway: "I`m not a crook" , by whoose standards? If your a tory then you are not.

[John B. Pope]

I heard mention this morning that when returned to office, it is Conservative Government Intent to allow appeals against any Council Tax Bandings deemed too high.

Maybe there are some that are too high, but the problem is that so many houses are too lowly assessed. It was with that in mind that the recent proposed revaluation was deferred sine die. It is because of this under valuation, combined with the inequitable bandings that all those in the higher bands have to pay so much Tax.

It seems most unlikely that those whose house is undervalued will be lodging any sort of an appeal, thus this is a seemingly empty promise.