Eric Pickles has, we hear, labelled Paddy Ashdown “frail and confused”. It seems an odd charge for the lifelong political hack and current Tory chairman, Mr Pickles, to level against Paddy – a former Marine, diplomat and spy, who’s placed himself in danger in service of his country more times than Eric’s had hot dinners (no mean feat).
Here’s a picture of Eric. 
And here’s a picture of Paddy (taken just last week, I believe). 
And now let’s see Eric in action – in his infamous car-crash appearance on BBC1′s Question Time. A cruel person might observe that Eric seems a little, well, “frail and confused” as he tries to justify his second home allowance:
Perhaps Eric could take some tips in how to handle the pressure of Question Time from Paddy? Here, Eric, is how it should be done:
Let’s leave the last word to Lib Dem MP Colin Breed, who has proposed Eric and Paddy meet up in the south-west of England to ‘yomp’ across Dartmoor, but reckons the Tory chairman:
would have passed out on a boggy patch a few hundred yards after trying to keep up with the frail and clearly decrepit Paddy Ashdown.”
PS: Liberal England’s Jonathan Calder blogs his own take here.
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To be fair to EP, I would imagine pretty much everybody looks frail in comparison to him.
I’ve met Paddy a few times.
Nice fella, but I wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of him.
My advice to EP is that he should go into hiding sharpish and never come out.
More personal attacks eh? Sure sign that htings they be a warming up….
The look of disgust/disdain/shock/disbelief on Ed Davey’s face is something to behold!
‘It doesn’t matter if a LibDem isn’t there’ WHAT! I would presume that it matters to the 20% of the population that voted for the Liberal Democrats along with the constituents of those that are lucky enough to have a Liberal Democrat MP.
Paddy was on Question Time not long ago. Nothing frail and confused there.
Ah, but poor old Eric is so frail he can’t manage the commute in from Brentwood.
I do try to avoid personal distaste in my politics, but I really, really didn’t enjoy Eric’s sojourn in my constituency in 2008 ……..
I think that Eric Pickles clip should be posted twice a day, every day to everyone we can to remind people exactly where the Tories are coming from. That’s your party Dave. They have not changed, they will not ever change. They just can’t do it.
Seeing that clip has just reminded me why I push leaflets through doors.
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