Author Archives: The Voice

Word reaches The Voice that the party has taken out bookings for press conference venues for a general election next year…

…which basically means, as they’re putting their money where their mouth is, that Cowley Street really think it’s a possibility.

The latest edition of the Commons register of Member’s Secretaries & Research Assistants reveals that, with 14 bag carriers, Sir Menzies is employing only four less people than Tory leader David Cameron – and six more than the PM (who admittedly has a fair bit of secretarial support outside Parliament).

It reminds me of the old exchange from Yes Minister

James Hacker: Who else is in this department?

Sir Humphrey Appleby: Well briefly, Sir, I am the Permanent Under Secretary of State, known as the Permanent Secretary. Woolley here is your Principal Private Secretary, I too have a Principal Private

…

There is a set of stairs in the mother of all Parliaments. At the top is the committee corridor, and the office of the leader of the Liberal Democrats. In the middle, is the MP’s tea room, and at the bottom, is the most popular restaurant in the palace. It is a busy set of stairs. 

There is a member of the cabinet, a prominent member of the cabinet, who cannot open a door.

Parliament has many doors that require a swipe card to pass through them. Helpfully, our swipe cards come with a big black arrow on the side that you should …

Don’t sue me, sue him.

My personal favourite, not mentioned there, was the MP who took an impressionable young thing up to their hotel room at 1am for some guidance on “being a good PPC”. Jim Hacker used to say that in politics you need good elbows. Something tells me that aspiring PPC discovered you need good knees instead.

Half an hour before Charles’ speech a rumour started to circulate that he had refused to shake Ming Campbell’s hand at the end of his speech.

Sure enough, Ming stayed in his seat and Charles stayed on the stage at the end of his speech.

Who knows what the truth was. But it’s perhaps not suprising that not all of the water has flowed under the bridge just yet.

Got some gossip? e-mail [email protected]

This story was reported on BBC News Online hours after we covered it.

Word reaches the Voice that weeks before the position had been advertised in Lib Dem News, party officials in Cowley Street received a call requesting a copy of the nomination papers for party President – the caller was not acting on behalf of Simon Hughes.

Word also reaches us that one potential candidate is positioning himself to blitz Autumn Conference with an army of supporters bearing nomination papers, to seize the momentum.

A Presidential contest is no bad thing – though there is an argument that there are better ways to spend the money. The Voice has been told that a proposal …