Lord Rennard has just emailed Guido:
I am writing you this email from our newly created "election war-room" in Cowley Street. We have just had back-to-back meetings of our Shadow Cabinet and Federal Policy Committee to put the finishing touches to our general election manifesto.Odd...
Of course, I can't tell you the details just yet. [TOP SECRET DOUBLE HUSH HUSH] But it will be a very strong document setting our distinctive values with a strong emphasis on the environment.
Throughout this week the General Election Management Team has been planning things like our press conferences and Ming's extensive tour across the country. [CALL HELP THE AGED]
The reports from constituencies this weekend are very good. We have had thousands of party members knocking on doors and making telephone calls as part of "community canvass week" Ming himself was out canvassing earlier this week in Scotland.
Whether Gordon Brown calls the election next week, the following week, or at any time in future - we will be ready ! [LIKE THE BOY SCOUTS]
With best wishes
Chris Rennard
Chief Executive, Liberal Democrats
The best entries in the competition for a limerick that wittily summed up Gordon's conference speech win. Some were very good but didn't scan properly, others (which Guido particularly enjoyed) were too foul for the sponsors to be seen to endorse.
Nick Robinson breathlessly informed us yesterday on his blog that "The BBC has learnt that over the past 24 hours the Labour Party has begun recruiting key staff to work on an election campaign." Nick is a brilliant investigative reporter isn't he? Guido read about that on Recess Monkey the day before, who read it in the Guardian. 
Andrew Neil gave Blears a policy stealing monstering which went, errrm, right over her head. See report on GuyNews.TV.
In a rare and uncharacteristic act of selfless public service, Guido spoke at an event for a few hundred sixth formers today (the honarium was a decent bottle of Marguax). He advised the politically minded students that they would be better off not going into politics if they wanted to make the world a better place.Boris by a landslide wins the Conservative Party open primary to select 
their candidate for London Mayor:
The Miliblogger is back and this time he has a gang. Guido is pleased to say he was the first to welcome him. If you want to give him some feedback, perhaps about the EU constitutional treaty, he would love to hear from you. Tell him Guido sent you...
Guido need hardly remind readers that Bob Shrum was paid by Gordon's think-tank, the Smith Institute, to advise him on political strategy. It was documentary evidence of that blatantly illegal activity (provided by Guido) which triggered the ongoing Charity Commission investigation. Ed Balls also berthed at the Smith Institute between leaving his job as a Treasury SpAd and becoming an MP - he was paid a little short of £100,000 for writing a couple of pamphlets.
Gordon did a light-hearted, well light-hearted by his standards, Q & A session with husky voiced, liberal-thinking man's crumpet, Mariella Frostrup. It seems like it was only yesterday that he signaled his disapproval of aspects of Britain's celebrity culture: "It is a remarkable culture where people appear on television and are famous simply for the act of appearing on television." "a new map hangs in George Osborne’s office, showing the latest parliamentary boundaries for the next general election. It could have been designed to soothe the nerves of a Conservative party election co-ordinator, for it is dominated by Tory blue. A few tricks have been used to achieve this optical illusion. There is no Scotland".
We know the ususal Tory suspects he is talking about - Guido Fawkes, Iain Dale and Tim Montgomerie's. There are left-wing blogs like LabourHome but they seem to lack the spikiness and must-read edge of Guido, for example.After a lot of thought about this, Guido has come to a simple conclusion as to why British left-wing blogs are unsuccessful. It is not because Labour is in government. It is because they are boring.
Bournemouth police just happen to trot along in line abreast over IWannaReferendum slogan outside Labour's conference...
The LibDems are getting pummelled in the polls - this morning a YouGov poll has them down another 3% to 13% with the Tories unchanged on 33%. Guido finds it hard to believe the accuracy of this poll - with Labour at 44% that makes them more popular than in 1997 when they scored 43%. Not very likely is it?
Sky are handing out top trumps cards at the Labour party conference featuring 30 politicians rated for their Year Elected, Majority, Charisma, Looks and Parliamentary Skills. That leaves a lot of cheesed off politicians who have not even made the pack - never mind getting a rating.
The campaigners at the Taxpayers Alliance have also produced a Political Trumps pack, with 52 cards doubling as a normal pack of cards as well - with Lembit and Boris as the Jokers of course.To pick up a media pass for the Conservative conference in Blackpool they specify that you have to bring photo-ID. Your face is not good enough?
Word reaches Guido that Croydon MP Andrew Pelling is to be charged imminently. The local Tory executive committee meets tomorrow night for an emergency meeting. They will wait until he is charged before formally deselecting him.EDM 1793 VIOLENCE AND INEQUALITY 27.06.2007
That this House notes the establishment of the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) due in October; recognises that violence and abuse is a violation of human rights and often both a consequence and perpetuator of inequality; further notes, for example, the higher levels of sexual abuse in women and girls with learning difficulties... and therefore supports the End Violence Against Women Coalition in their call for the CEHR to address the relationship between violence and inequality as a priority when it begins work later this year.
EDM 650 NATIONAL CENTRE FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 16.01.2007
That this House welcomes the launch of the National Centre for Domestic Violence in the North East...
EDM 282 INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN 23.11.2006
That this House notes that 25th November is International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women; further notes the newly published report of the End Violence Against Women campaign...
Have just finished reading Peter Oborne's new book The Triumph of the Political Class. It is a brilliant anatomisation of the reality of the contemporary situation. Guido is therefore looking forward to tonight's exposé of the venality of our politicians. Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper's legal fiddling of £27,000 of allowances will be covered...
David Miliband said on the weekend that he wants another ten years of New Labour rule. Looking through today's speech from Gordon about his aspirations for Britain, it struck Guido that it is all more of the same. After ten years all the goals of 1997 are still the goals of 2007.
Click to enlarge.
Adam Rickitt is the soap star A-lister who, despite dancing semi-naked in pop videos, never managed to find a seat. So he went down under to New Zealand to act in a local show.
Adam Boulton has found out that this blogging lark is harder than he thought and has brought in reinforcements, his blog is now re-branded Boulton & Co with more of the newsroom collaborating.
Nadine Dorries MP is having problems getting a pass for the Tory conference, her researcher has already been refused a pass on the grounds that his pass was taken in front of a tree.
This poster for the upcoming Polish elections on behalf of the Women's Party (Partia Kobiet) has the slogan: "Everything for the future... and nothing to hide." Which, typically of politicians, is a barefaced lie since they seem to be hiding behind a poster.Andrew Pelling is a pathetic human being. The 48 year-old MP left his first wife to take up with his (now) 26 year-old research assistant Lucy. Not the first MP to do that, probably not the last either.
The BBC's Robert Peston is leading the media charge against Mervyn King. In reality it is of course the Northern Rock board, in particular Derek Wanless, who should be resigning. Alastair Darling's own fumbling performance and if house prices tumble, the taxpayer guarantee's open ended recklessness will be a catastrophic matter for resignation. Another resignation candidate is Andy Burnham, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, he simply hasn't got a clue. When he was asked in an interview should the government "guarantee 100% of all bank deposits", he replied that it would be "the wrong thing" for politicians to get involved "in that way". Within that very hour Darling did exactly that. The only reason Mervyn King should resign is in disgust at Brown and Darling politicising the Bank of England.
Cherie's husband is out of office, so she has decided to cash-in and write her autobiography. Obviously the quicker she does it the more she'll make, so no surprise there. It is apparently going to be "warm, intimate and often funny". Must be fiction.
The blame lies not with Mervyn King but squarely with Northern Rock's management. The Northern Rock board took the risk in their dash for profit growth, a risk that should have been spotted at board level by their risk management committee chaired by Sir Derek Wanless. 
There was an auld policy robber
Who liked the Conservatives' clobber
"I'm Labour", said he,
"With a capital 'C'-
If you're going to vote Tory, don't bother!"
Said the cowardly Cowdenbeath Scot
“If I use the word BRITISH a lot
and pretend that I’m CHANGED
(and by no means deranged)
- they won’t notice the economy’s shot . . ."
Lacking Blair's sheer theatrical ham,
Brown droned on about Britishness ad nauseam,
He's against hospital grime,
Drugs, boozing and crime.
But if we're good, we're allowed a small Babysham.