General Press Cycle

[Max]

Post your pearls of wisdom here, if the press care it might be picked up

[Marcus Drummond-MacBeath]

The Prime Minister's Office released a statement today relating to the controversial education proposals that have been leaked to the media.

I can confirm today that Richard Moon MP has been removed from his position in Government, he will no longer serve as Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for Education.

The controversial documents leaked to the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror were not sanctioned by cabinet, nor had they been seen by any member of this Government. The documents were entirely the creation of Mr Moon and they do not in any way reflect Government policy. It is for this reason that Mr Moon has been removed from post – he has grossly overstepped his remit and sought to go above the collective responsibility of cabinet. In addition to this he has through his methods displayed not only a careless attitude, but also a lack of judgement and these are not qualities or traits I desire to have serve in this Government.

Mr Moon had discussed with me his thoughts on Corporal Punishment after having been appointed but in that discussion he was made aware that Corporal Punishment was forbidden by Parliament in 1986 following the European Court of Human Rights’ decision in 1982 and the conversation went no further.

In addition his plans for raising the British flag and national anthem were at no point approved and short of perhaps a few passing remarks nothing was ever discussed.

I do not approve of what he has done and that is why I have taken the decision to remove him. These proposals will not be adopted or even condoned by the Government.

[Alex Cardigan MP (LD)]

I represent my family home, Montgomery, in Parliament - one of Britain's most rural constituencies. Our economy is rooted in farming, and I am fiercely proud to stand up for such a strong, locally-oriented, hard-working set of communities. Powys, and indeed most of rural Wales, possesses some of the greatest natural beauty one can find in our fair isles, and - as I can vouch for, having travelled the world with the BBC - in the world. 

As a proud rambler and walker, I think it is about time we make natural beauty accessible - that is why I am spearheading a new campaign for the right-to-roam, and the passing of a Countryside Rights of Way Act. The countryside in my constituency and beyond is stunning, and walking is a healthy, environmentally friendly, remarkably fulfilling exercise. I hope the Government takes note and promotes the rural economy and national well-being by backing the right-to-roam.

[Nicholas Eden (LAB)]

The new order in Labour have been in power for five minutes and they are already trying to rehabilitate and re-admit the militant tendency, a hard left faction dedicated to pure and unadulterated socialism, into membership. It is depressingly clear that while there are some good apples in Labour there are a shocking number who want to do nothing but re-run the longest suicide note in history, withdraw from NATO, leave us internationally defenceless, raise your taxes, and abolish your right to buy your own home. James McCrimmon must distance himself from his deputy immediately and make perfectly clear that the militant left have no place in Labour as his predecessor did too.

[Brown (LAB)]

As our economy enters recession, as throngs of British citizens turn out to protest the poll tax, and as we enter into a military conflict--what has the Government been doing? Playing inter-party politics, knifing each other in the back, and fighting personal political battles while Rome burns. Nero would be proud. The events of the past few months have made one thing clear: Tories can no longer be trusted with Government. The Prime Minister doesn't even have control of his own Cabinet--let alone his party, Whitehall, or the Nation. It's past time for a General Election to let the British people sort out this mess and return a sensible, stable Government to Westminster who can focus on addressing the real issues facing our Kingdom and not focus on personal political pettiness.

[Henry Carpenter (CON)]

I was shocked and appalled to see the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party going into bat for actual communists. And violent, law-breaking communists at that. Proof, if it were needed, that the so-called modernisers of the Labour Party have failed. Labour remains infested with Trotskyite entrists. The difference now is that, rather than claiming to be taking them on, the current Labour leadership is cheering them on.

[Everly]

It is evident now that when some of us were worried that the Labour Party was going to choose a shamelessly communist course, we were actually right. The emergence of the New Labour movement as well as the fact that the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party seems to actually support it, is enough of a proof. Communism in the United Kingdom? Not on my watch! Any attempts at pretending the new Labour leadership is any close to that of a sensible democratic party have failed by now. There are those in the Labour Party I'm always happy to coöperate with and with whom I do share a lot of important values. Sadly, they have allowed this travesty to happen and I can only hope that what's healthy in the Labour Party shall survive.

[Everly]

I am genuinely outraged by the comments made by Mr Robert Quinn, implying the Prime Minister employs "authoritarian methods" in the Conservative Party and -- what's even worse -- that the Government has some undemocratic and authoritarian tendencies targeting the British People. Such extreme accusations are not only completely baseless but also a blatantly cheap attempt to scandalise the Prime Minister, the Government and the Conservative Party as a whole. I would recommend Mr Quinn to apologise for his remarks as I personally find it very difficult to coöperate with people who want to publicly fantasise about the Conservative Party being a totalitarian moloch in disguise or whatever it is Mr Quinn wanted to imply.

[Nicholas Eden (LAB)]

That Labour have fallen so low as to give a conspiracy-believing nutter like Robert Quinn a job on the Shadow Cabinet is pretty much all you need to know about this Labour Party.

[Brown (LAB)]

If you had told me 48 hours ago that the British Government ordered an assassination of a diplomat accredited to the Court of St. James, that a former Home Secretary of this Government would be arrested, and that the incompetence of this Government would bring us to a brink of a war with Russia--I would have laughed and said that you were a conspiracy theorist. Unfortunately, the incompetence of the Conservative party seems to know no bounds. I suggest that Mr. Macmillan and the rest of the Conservative party take a good look inwardly about the state of their party before throwing stones at the opposition for doing their job and holding this reckless Government to account and focus their energies on regaining the trust of the British people that they have lost through their mismanagement of office.