Author Archives: Alex Foster

Good morning? Is it? Pah. I got the date wrong when I started writing this, and looked up all the exciting facts on Wikipedia. So, here, have some exciting facts about yesterday instead:

Good morning, and welcome to Daily View, on this, the DAY AFTER THE 943rd anniversary of the fateful day when King Harold got something in his eye in the opening foray of what turned out to be the Norman Invasion. 723 years AND ONE DAY later, George Washington proclaimed the first Thanksgiving Day whilst revolutionary fervour swept much of the world. Birthday boys today yesterday included Steve Coogan and the late e e cummings.

Anyway, more importantly than all that, it’s Thursday, so it’s polling day in a couple of local by-elections in Barnsley and Basingstoke – and also for that very rare of political occurrences, a by-election for an elected mayor. All the very best to Dave Hodgson for taking Bedford today – and do pop by his website or his town if you think you can help out.

2 Big Stories

MPs’ expenses: Tory David Wilshire pays £100,000 to company he owns with girlfriend

Ah yes – MPs expenses – the story that keeps on giving for the Telegraph.

Mr Wilshire claimed for more than three years for office assistance provided by “Moorlands Research Services”. Parliamentary expenses rules forbid MPs from entering into arrangements which “may give rise to an accusation” of profiting from public funds. But on Wednesday night, Mr Wilshire – the MP for Spelthorne in Surrey – admitted that he and his partner, Ann Palmer, were sole owners of the business.

The Telegraph has established that, between 2005 and 2008, Mr Wilshire paid up to £3,250 a month to the business. Extra invoices were also submitted and the total paid to the firm was £105,500. However, there is no official record of the company’s existence and it has never filed public accounts.

NB, this story is about David Wilshire, the Tory MP for Spelthorne, and not about the Tory MP for Wiltshire (North) who is a cad for a whole different set of reasons.

Welcome to Daily View on this, Independence Day in Croatia, the anniversary of the death of German  Bundeskanzler Willy Brandt, and the birthday of DJ Q Ball from the Bloodhound Gang. So, while he’s doing it like they do on the Discovery Channel, let’s get on with our selections.

Two big news stories

Ex-army chief General Sir Richard Dannatt to advise Tories on defence (Guardian)

David Cameron will announce that ex-army chief General Sir Richard Dannatt is to become an adviser to the party on defence.

The announcement was almost immediately undermined by an embarrassing frontbench gaffe when Chris Grayling, the

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Welcome to a belated Daily View on this fine first day of the month. 1st October marks the 166th anniversary of the News of the World; the anniversary of the death of Ned Sherrin; and we say happy birthday to comedian Harry Hill.

Two big news stories

Earthquake hits stricken Sumatra (Guardian)

A second powerful earthquake has hit the Indonesian island of Sumatra, a day after the first devastating quake left more than 500 dead, thousands of people buried in rubble and a major city cut off from the outside world.

Today’s quake, of magnitude 6.9, struck in the early hours about 180

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Good morning. I trust your jouney home from conference, if you were making one, was uneventful. Today’s birthday boy is Jack Dee, who is 47 today.

Two big stories

It was noticeable on the radio news going home last night that Nick Clegg’s speech had been bumped below the radio equivalent of the fold to various global issues, including Obama and Brown addressing the UN, and the leaked, unconfirmed news of the state visit of the Pope, to happen next year.

But todays’ key stories: Both the Telegraph and the Guardian lead with poor relations between Brown and Obama:

British officials made five

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