David, the Outlaws and the real debate

It had been raining outside all morning, and the ground was covered in puddles. David and the Outlaws had been playing pirates, but it got too wet even for them so they all sat in the barn and waited for the rain to stop.

"Gosh, I'm jolly bored", said David, "Let's play a game!"

"What a good idea!" said Ed.

"Too right!" echoed Andy and the other Ed.

"Uh oh", said David. All four of them looked around, for into the Labour barn marched Diane Elizabeth Abbott.

"I want to play too" she squealled. The Outlaws all looked down. They had played with Diane before and none of them liked it. If she didn't get her own way she would go running home to her father, Mr. Neil and he and her Uncle Michael would box their ears.

"Well, erm, see the thing is..." began David

"I'll scream" said Diane. "I'll scream and scream and scream, 'till I'm sick"

"Oh alright" chimed the Outlaws. Even if they knew Diane would not win, they might just enjoy running circles around her.

This may in itself be a rather bad mimic of Richmal Crompton's great work, but it betrays a serious point. Labour are bleating on about the fact that they need Diane Abbott in the leadership race for the sake of a true debate.

I see it slightly differently. If Diane Abbot was denied a place in the debate by the PLP, they would never hear the end of it. More, she has a platform and has in the past been happy to criticise her own party from the This Week pulpit.

By putting their support behind her, the other leadership contenders are effectively forcing her into the debate. They need it to appear like it is a real contest, with grass-roots Labour selecting the leader. They will also have the opportunity to geld potentially one of their fiercest critics by using the opportunity to destroy any credibility she has *cough* children at private school *cough*

Labour are not having a real debate. It would only ever be a real debate if the woman in the contest actually had a chance.

*Update* Even David Miliband himself is now nominating Diane for the contest. Could it be any clearer now that it is the front runners who need her to stand so that she doesn't quip from the sidelines about how the PLP blocked a real contest.

@ThatcheriteSteve? Nope.

This really does warm the cockles of my heart.

I joked earlier on twitter, that every government needs a sycophant in the @BevaniteEllie mould and that I was applying for the new position. But I'm afraid that there will be no @ThatcheriteSteve or @DisraeliSteve.

This government is a coalition - and it is one that, as a progressive liberal Conservative, I am very pleased with. I would hope that, like a magpie, the Conservatives will be able to pick off the shiny pieces of LibDem policy while maintaining our broad, positive agenda for reform, restraint and responsibility. David Cameron has done much to reform the Conservative Party, but I have never denied that there is still much left to do.

Although no details of the coalition have come into the public realm yet, I hope and believe that the Conservative Party, with the help of Nick Clegg, can move further into the centre ground of British politics.

There will be people on all sides who do not want this, and they will no doubt get their way some of the time. There will be, in Parliament as in the Conservative Party, constant heated debate. This is why I will not tow any party line or religiously defend our new Prime Minister with the zeal that some defended the last. To aid this program of progressive reform, we need a loud, proud and clear voice within the Conservative Party. I, along with others, shall seek to provide that voice.

Democracy? Pah!

Loathsome as this Lib-Lab, Con-Dem, Labservative (?) nonesense is, and whatever the outcome is, it makes me chuckle a bit.

The Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Party both go on and on about transparency, honesty, democracy, and trust. Yet here we have a selection of middle-class white men sitting in a room carving up power.

It makes me laugh - and think of this image

Oh how times have changed!

If you want actual analysis, go to www.ReneKinzett.com

Rene4MP on BBC

Well, I'm biased but I think it's pretty clear who the next MP for Swansea West should be....

Take a look at 5 of the candidates, and drop a comment on who you think looks best!

(ps. It's not the Labour guy)

A Game of Inches

I've posted this video before, but as the energy in the campaign begins to suffer from fatigue, I thought I'd post it up again for you all - do share it with all who continue to Fight for Change.

#GE2010

So I haven't blogged recently.

And I wont be for a while yet.

I'm out on the campaign trail, fighting for the people of Swansea West. You can see campaign updates on my twitter feed, the Swansea West Conservative website and on the René Kinzett for Swansea West facebook group.

Will be back when this madness is over......

'Sticky Bottles'

Today is Milan-San Remo - the first and longest race of the main cycling season. We can hope that Mark Cavendish has a good chance, although his crash yesterday casts some shadow on this. As a race which is traditionally associated with sprinters, a second place would be a bad omen for Cav's season.

On such a long race, rehydration is essential and cyclists are allowed to collect water from the team cars. The so called 'sticky bottle' is an excellent way of then helping them get back into the peleton without too much energy expenditure. It's not cheating - honest!

Check out how this works in this video:

Sorry that my first blog for so long is about cycling not politics. More of a balance between my two passions will be achieved in future.