Afternoon summary
- David Cameron’s Conservatives hold a slender one point lead according to the latest Guardian/ICM poll, after Labour gained three points over the past month. As Tom Clark reports, the Tories are unchanged on 36%, with Labour on 35% – while both Liberal Democrat and Green support has fallen away from recent surveys. Lord Ashcroft has just published his weekly poll, and that puts the Tories on 31% and Labour on 29%.
That’s all from me for today.
Thanks for the comments.
And this is worth reading on the subject. It’s Alex Massie at the Spectator saying Nicola Sturgeon’s support for the Greens in England is illogical.
The SNP is a capitalist party. Last time Sturgeon was in London she stressed the importance of economic growth and prosperity. The Greens, by contrast, think economic growth unsustainable. Their preferred outcome is permanent recession (of course they don’t quite put it like that) and, consequently, permanent austerity (that’s not how they put it either). Nicola Sturgeon doesn’t actually believe in that.
Why would she? If Sturgeon were English and had grown up in Accrington not Ayrshire she’d be a rock-solid member of the Labour party. Critical of the leadership, perhaps, but hardly a defection risk.
Either it doesn’t matter whether Labour or the Conservatives win the election or it does. Half the time the SNP would like you think it makes no difference; the rest of the time they acknowledge it does. (That’s why they will, on a case-by-case basis vote with Labour.) But admitting it does make a difference hands Scottish Labour their best-available lifeline. Which is why we endure sillyness like the SNP leader advocating a vote for the Greens; a vote that, if delivered, would render the SNP’s notionally-preferred outcome less, not more, likely.
Here is some Twitter reaction from journalists to Ed Miliband’s announcement ruling out a coalition with the SNP.
E Miliband counts out Coalition with SNP. But that was never on cards. Doesn't rule out a more informal arrangement eg confidence and supply
— Andrew Neil (@afneil) March 16, 2015
Ed Miliband refusing to go into coalition with the SNP is a bit like that time I refused to leave my wife for Angelina Jolie.
— Hugo Rifkind (@hugorifkind) March 16, 2015
Miliband ruling out a formal coalition with SNP doesn’t mean much. But it does give Labour a line on this question http://t.co/FonSVvn18j
— James Forsyth (@JGForsyth) March 16, 2015
Very disappointed that Ed Miliband has ruled out a formal coalition with the SNP. It brings no benefits while limiting our options.
— Sunny Hundal (@sunny_hundal) March 16, 2015
It all makes sense. The Stone of Destiny back in Scotland, and king-making powers moved too. The SNP get to decide who governs UK.
— Fraser Nelson (@FraserNelson) March 16, 2015
Sorry, Ed, but the SNP badly needs Cameron back in No10. Without a villain, they don't have a pantomime. My take: http://t.co/AbyJUXVRrG
— Fraser Nelson (@FraserNelson) March 16, 2015
Lucy Powell, Labour’s deputy election chair, has written to David Cameron asking him to refer Grant Shapps to the independent adviser for ministers’ interests for investigation. Here’s an extract from her letter.
In November 2014, Mr Shapps used legal action to extract an apology from a constituent who referred to his previous job, during which he used the name ‘Michael Green’. The legal instruction demanded that Mr Shapps’ constituent say his past job was held “prior to entering parliament.”
It has been a matter of public record that Mr Shapps, and indeed the Conservative party, have publicly maintained this position since 2012.
Repeatedly misleading the public over the truth behind Mr Shapps’ business activity may be a breach of the ministerial code, which states: “Ministers should be as open as possible with parliament and the public”.
Guardian/ICM poll - Tories 36%, Labour 35%
The Guardian has published its latest ICM poll. It shows the Tories one point ahead of Labour.
Ofcom confirms it is not treating Greens as a 'major party' at the election
Ofcom has confirmed that it is not treating the Greens as a “major party” at the election. It announced a provisional decision on this in January, but also launched a consultation, implying that there could be a re-think. But today it has said it is sticking to its original decision.
This means the Greens will only be guaranteed one party political broadcast. More importantly, the decision also means that the broadcasters will be entitled to limit their coverage of the Greens in news bulletins.
Miliband does not rule out confidence and supply deal with SNP
At his People’s Question Time event Ed Miliband did rule out a coalition with the SNP, but he specifically did not rule out some form of looser confidence and supply arrangement. This is what he said when he was asked about that.
I’m ruling out a coalition government with the SNP. I’m not going to start getting into never-ending speculation about how other parties might vote on a Labour Queen’s speech.
Sturgeon says Miliband is 'foolish to allow himself to be pushed around by Tories'
Nicola Sturgeon has now put out a formal press statement about Ed Miliband’s comment. In it, she is more critical of him than she was when she was speaking to Sky News. (See 2.04pm.) She says he has been “foolish to allow himself to be pushed around by the Tory party”.
The full statement is here, on the SNP website. Here’s an extract.
Ed Miliband does himself no good in trying to second guess the electorate in Scotland and pre-determine the election outcome - the people will have their say on 7 May, and the job of politicians is to take their cue from the electorate ...
Mr Miliband is also foolish to allow himself to be pushed around by the Tory Party - which he clearly has been, given that he is making this speech in Leeds under Tory pressure, rather than at the Scottish Labour conference. The other arrangements which have not been ruled out - such as confidence and supply, and voting on an issue by issue basis - are the options we believe are best for Scotland anyway.
Labour’s claim that the next UK Government will be determined by who gets the most seats is simply untrue - it will be determined by who can command a majority in the House of Commons. If there are more anti-Tory MPs in the House of Commons than Tory MPs, we can lock David Cameron out of Downing Street. The the only circumstances in which the Tories could get back into government would be if Labour let them - the SNP never will.
Miliband says real danger to UK is Tory government propped up by Ukip
At his People’s Question Time event Ed Miliband said that David Cameron’s comments about Labour and the SNP showed that the Tories had given up on Scotland.
[Cameron] leads a Conservative party that has given up on the Scottish people.
A Conservative party that now simply wants to use Scotland as a political device.
A Conservative party that does not even try and pretend it can represent the whole country.
The Conservative party is now a real threat to the integrity of the United Kingdom.
A Conservative party that has given up on winning a majority.
Miliband also said the real threat to the country came from the prospect of a Conservative/Ukip deal.
Over the weekend we saw Nigel Farage announce that he wanted to prop up the Conservative Party in power after the next election.
We saw Nigel Farage confirm that Ukip is a Thatcherite party which has already signed up to George Osborne’s plan for extreme cuts.
We saw Nigel Farage confirm that he wants David Cameron to remain in Downing St.
Ukip is a party that wants to privatise the NHS.
Ukip is now a party willing to throw in its lot with David Cameron.
And the Tories are willing to go along with it.
The real danger to our country is a Tory government propped up by Ukip.
Conservatives say Miliband's statement 'changes nothing'
The Conservative party says Ed Miliband’s statement ruling out a coalition with the SNP “changes nothing” because he has not ruled a less formal pact. This is from a party spokesman.
This changes nothing. Ed Miliband will not rule out a deal with the SNP because he knows it’s impossible to become prime minister without being carried into Downing Street in Alex Salmond’s pocket.
There have been over 1,200 votes in this Parliament. Vote by vote, bill by bill, issue by issue, Ed Miliband would have to do a deal with the SNP on each and every one of them.
Who knows what Ed Miliband will sell out to Alex Salmond on: more borrowing, more debt, higher taxes or weaker defences. But one thing’s for certain: it’s hardworking taxpayers who will pay the price for this chaos.
Sturgeon says Miliband ruling out a Labour/SNP coalition would not stop less formal pact
Here is the full quote from Nicola Sturgeon saying Ed Miliband’s comment ruling out a Labour/SNP coalition doesn’t change much. She said it would not stop the two parties having a less formal pact.
I don’t think what Ed Miliband has just said changes anything pretty much at all
I have said repeatedly that a formal coalition between Labour and the SNP was highly unlikely, would not be my preference. So Ed Miliband has not really said anything today that I haven’t said previously.
Of course that wouldn’t prevent Labour and the SNP working together to keep the Tories out of government. As long as there are more anti-Tory MPs in the House of Commons, whether they are Labour, SNP, Plaid Cymru or Green, than there are Tory MPs, then we can lock David Cameron out of Downing Street. In that scenario, the only way he could get into Downing Street would be if Labour allowed him too. So I don’t think Ed Miliband’s statement today has changed the reality on the ground at all ...
I’ve said that I thought a formal coalition with Labour was unlikely, but that I could foresee a circumstance in which we would support a minority Labour goverment on an issue by issue basis.
Miliband's statement ruling out a coalition with the SNP
Here is Ed Miliband’s full statement ruling out a coalition with the SNP. He was speaking at a People’s Question Time event in Pudsey.
Now the Tories, the party that haven’t won a majority for over 20 years, are now running a misleading campaign based on the idea of a Labour-SNP coalition.
As I said on Thursday night, this idea is nonsense.
It will not happen.
There are big differences between us.
Not just on the integrity of the United Kingdom and another referendum but on fair funding between the countries of the UK.
And on fair taxes.
In continuing to repeat this claim, the Conservative Party and David Cameron are simply trying to scare people.
Labour will not go into coalition government with the SNP.
There will be no SNP ministers in any government I lead.
So the true election choice is what it has always been:
A Labour government with a better plan for working people across Britain or a Conservative government that stands for the rich and powerful.
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister and the SNP leader, has just responded to Ed Miliband’s statement. (See 1.22pm.) She told Sky News.
I don’t think what Ed Miliband has just said changes anything pretty much at all.
I’ll post more quotes from the interview shortly.
Nicola Sturgeon’s speech and Q&A - Summary
Ed Miliband’s declaration that he won’t form a coalition with the SNP may blunt the Tory attacks over this issue, but it is unlikely to stop them. That’s because a Labour/SNP coalition, with Alex Salmond sitting in the cabinet, was never much of an option anyway. SNP figures have been discounting this for some time.
One reason is that the SNP have looked at the Lib Dems and seen what happens to the smaller party in a coalition. Nicola Sturgeon does not want to become Scotland’s Nick Clegg.
Instead, the SNP are interested in working with Labour in a less formal way.
Sturgeon made this clear this morning when she took questions after her speech at the LSE. Her comments about Labour were particularly newsworthy, but the speech itself was also fascinating. Here are the key points.
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Sturgeon said she expected Labour to work with the SNP after the general election to do all they could to block a Tory government. She was not expecting a coalition, she said. Biut she said it would be counter-productive for Ed Miliband to rule out any form of cooperation.
I think a coalition between the SNP and Labour, in a formal sense, is highly unlikely. There’s speculation that Ed Miliband is about to rule it out likely today. Since I’ve already said that’s unlikely, I’m not sure that changes too much. But working with Labour in a looser arrangement I certainly wouldn’t rule out, because I want to see SNP MPs being in the House of Commons and arguing for, and pushing for, progressive change.
I also don’t want to see David Cameron re-elected to the House of Commons. And I can’t see for the life of me why Labour wouldn’t want to contemplate the possibility of working with the SNP to keep the Tories out of office. Because, remember, as long as there are more SNP and Labour MPs than there are Tory MPs, we can lock the Tories out of government. There’s no question about that. So I don’t rule out those other working relationships. In fact, I think they may have many things to commend them.
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She said she was not in favour of pre-election talks with Labour. It was important to let people vote first, she said
First and foremost, we’ve got to let people vote. Perhaps there is a little too much focus developing in this campaign on the post-match analysis.
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She said minority government could be good for Britain.
There are some advantages to minority government. When we were in a minority, we could only win votes by winning arguments. Sometimes we had to compromise. That process can - and often did - lead to better budgets. At different times we won support from Labour on increasing apprenticeships; from the Greens on a home insulation scheme; from the Tories on regenerating town centres; and from the Liberal Democrats on college bursaries.
It involved a process of building consensus across a whole parliament – not just forcing decisions through using the power of the party whip ...
Politicians should all be a bit more open to compromise, complexity and even doubt.
This will go down well with Nick Clegg. It echoes one of the main themes of his speech to the Lib Dem spring conference yesterday.
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She accused David Cameron of treating the SNP as “beyond the pale” and claimed that was hypocritical given what he said about Scotland during the referendum campaign.
David Cameron won’t rule out a coalition with Ukip, but seems to see the SNP as beyond the pale. Now, what does that say to people in Scotland. It says that what they heard people like David Cameron saying during the referendum, that we were an equal and valued partner of the UK, that our voice mattered, that it was heard, that it would be heard, people suddenly hear that as being nothing more than rhetoric to try to win the referendum vote.
She also said that Cameron’s decision not to rule out a pact with Ukip was particularly striking given that a Ukip MEP last week “described a member of my government, the first Asian member of the Scottish government, in dreadfully derogatory terms, dreadfully racist terms”.
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She said the UK budget decision-making process was flawed because there was not enough time for consultation. This had led to decisions that had “harmed our most vulnerable citizens and damaged jobs and growth.” Westminster should follow the example of Scotland, where draft budgets are published four months before the budget legislation is introduced in the parliament.
Doing anything similar at Westminster would require substantial changes to how budgets are put together – most importantly, perhaps, it would require a different, far more consensual approach. I think that would be beneficial and, who knows, it might be one of the benefits of a period of minority government following the general election.
Because the current UK budget process - in my view - simply doesn’t lead to the best decisions. First, it has all the hallmarks of Westminster culture at its worst - closed, top-down, unnecessarily adversarial – all of which helps to alienate people from the process of politics.
Secondly, and more importantly, it seems to make poor decisions more likely.
Sturgeon said that one problem was that chancellors were under pressure to produce a surprise on budget day.
Chancellors take pride in pulling rabbits out of the hat on budget day. Surprises are seen as a virtue. They help to create headlines and they can wrong-foot the opposition.
When Gordon Brown was chancellor, he originally tried something similar when he introduced the pre-budget reports in the autumn. These were supposed to be draft budgets, but in practice they were just the same as normal budgets, and they did not really introduce more consultation into the decision-making process.
- She said UK budget should include strong statements about their impact on equality. Scottish budgets include equality budget statements, she said.
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She said that, under her leadership, the Scottish government would play a greater role in advising the UK government on policy matters.
During the referendum campaign, we were in Scotland repeatedly told by the Westminster politicians that Scotland was an equal and valued member of the United Kingdom - that, contrary to how many of us feel, our voice did matter within the Westminster system. So don’t be at all surprised, if the the SNP, the Scottish government - indeed Scotland as a whole - now starts to take those Westminster politicians at their word. We have clear and constructive views on many aspects of UK policy which affect Scotland deeply – views which we know are often shared by many people elsewhere in the UK. And we intend to bring those ideas forward in a positive spirit.
- She called for an increase in work allowances, to allow people in low-paid work to keep more of their benefits. And she cited this as an example of a policy area where more consultation would lead to better decisions.
- She described Trident as “a status symbol” rather than a defence strategy.
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She said she would advise people to vote Green in England.
If you live in Wales, I’d advise you to vote for Plaid Cymru. If you live in England, I think there is an argument for voting Green ... I want to see as many progressive voices in the House of Commons after the election, and that is SNP, Green, Plaid Cymru.
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She said it was “deeply insulting” for people to suggest that falling oil prices damaged the case for Scottish independence.
It has always stuck me that there is something, if I’m polite about it I will say ironic, if I’m less polite I will say deeply, deeply insulting, for Westminster politicians to say because there’s a low oil price, Scotland can’t afford to be independent. You never hear any other oil producing country in the world, at a time of lower oil prices, say, ‘For goodness sake, we’d better rethink our independence’.
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She said she favoured gender quotas in politics and elsewhere.
I’m of the view, and this does not just apply to politics, that the time has come for quotas, because the pace of change without that is too slow.
Her cabinet was one of only three gender-balanced cabinets in the developed world, she said.
When I appointed the gender balanced cabinet, I got some emails from folk asking me how I knew all the women in the cabinet were there on merit. I did not get a single email asking me how I knew all the men were there on merit.
Updated
Ed Miliband rules out formal coalition with the SNP
Ed Miliband has just ruled out a formal coalition with the SNP. This is from my colleague Nicholas Watt.
Ed Miliband has ruled out forming a coalition with the SNP after the general election as he moved to close off a Tory campaign that Labour would join forces with a party committed to the break up of the UK.
Amid anger in the Labour party at the prime minister’s claim that Miliband is planning a “despicable” bid to assume power on the coat tails of the SNP, the Labour party said there would be no SNP ministers in any government led by him.
Speaking in Pudsey, the Labour leader said: “Labour will not go into coalition government with the SNP. There will be no SNP ministers in any government I lead.”
Brian Paddick, the Lib Dem peer and a former police commander, has put out a statement saying Grant Shapps has questions to answer about his business affairs
Grant Shapps has serious questions to answer and he must come clean about the use of his Michael Green alter-ego during his time in parliament.
The Tory party chairman must explain why he denied running a business under his pseudonym as a sitting MP at a time he was promising to make his clients a ‘ton of cash’.
Politicians are perfectly entitled to have outside interests but they must be open about them.
And a Lib Dem party source has been in touch with a (rather good) joke.
Perhaps it’s time for David Cameron to finally ‘get rid of the Green crap’?
Here’s the full text of Nicola Sturgeon’s speech at the LSE.
The speech, and the Q&A, were really interesting.
Wake up time for UK pols. Serious @NicolaSturgeon speech at @LSEpublicevents on big policy issues. More difficult to mock than @AlexSalmond
— Nicholas Watt (@nicholaswatt) March 16, 2015
Gist of Sturgeon speech in London: hung parliaments and minority governments = even more arguments and therefore better decisions. Discuss.
— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) March 16, 2015
I will post a full summary shortly.
No 10 rejects calls for Shapps' resignation
Number 10 also said David Cameron had full confidence in Grant Shapps.
PM's spx says @David_Cameron has full confidence in @grantshapps: "Grant has said he made a mistake and the PM absolutely accepts that"
— Andrew Woodcock (@AndyWoodcock) March 16, 2015
Downing Street has welcomed Grant Shapps’ decision to admit that he was wrong to say that he never had a second job while he was an MP.
PM spokesman The PM thinks Grant Shapps has done the right thing in acknowledging he has made a mistake.
— Patrick Wintour (@patrickwintour) March 16, 2015
I have already flagged up the today’s Guardian seat projection. (See 10.16am.)
Here are four more of the most sophisticated forecasts/projections available.
All five of them have the Tories on course to be the largest party, with the margins over Labour ranging from 13 seats to 35 seats.
Peter Kellner, the YouGov president’s, latest forecast
He wrote this up in the Sunday Times yesterday.
(Kellner’s forecasts are always worth taking seriously. At the Rochester byelection, he won the press room sweepstake for predicting the result most accurately - or would have done if he had paid his stake.)
Steve Fisher’s forecast for Elections Etc
Conservatives: 285
Labour: 279
SNP: 40
Lib Dems: 22
Plaid Cymru: 3
Ukip: 3
Greens: 1
The Election Forecast forecast
Conservatives: 286
Labour: 273
SNP: 42
Lib Dems: 26
DUP: 8
SDLP: 3
Plaid Cymru: 2
Ukip: 1
Greens: 1
(Elections Etc and Election Forecast are both academic models, using current polling but taking into account who polls shift in the run-up to an election.)
Conservatives: 281
Labour: 264
SNP: 55
Lib Dems: 24
Ukip: 3
Greens: 1
(This is a projection from the New Statesman’s election website, using current polling, but taking into account Lord Ashcroft’s constituency polls.)
Updated
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, is delivering her speech at the LSE now.
I will post a summary when she’s finished, and when I’ve seen the full text.
For the record, here is the full statement that the Conservative party put out about the Grant Shapps story yesterday.
This was properly declared at the time on the register of members interests. Like many authors and journalists, Grant wrote books with a pen name. This was completely transparent: his full name and biographical details were permanently published on the company’s main website. Given that this was a decade ago, and was mentioned during the cut and thrust of an interview, he referenced that his writing career had ended when he became an MP: in fact it ended shortly afterwards.
The Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi thinks the Guardian is out to get Grant Shapps because is he “clearly scaring the Labour party”.
@grantshapps is clearly scaring the Labour Party, hence the hatchet job this am from @guardian. Old story rehashed to help out hapless Eds.
— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) March 16, 2015
John Mann's letter to David Cameron saying Shapps should be sacked
The Labour MP John Mann has written to David Cameron urging him to sack Grant Shapps as a minister. He has posted the text on Twitter.
My letter to David Cameron calling on him to sack Grant Shapps as Minister without Portfolio pic.twitter.com/H7mQoVBJ1f
— John Mann MP (@JohnMannMP) March 16, 2015
Here are two more tweets on the Grant Shapps story from journalists.
Suspect fact tht @grantshapps was flogging product called "Stinking Rich" may be more politically damaging than fibbing about when he did it
— Ian Katz (@iankatz1000) March 16, 2015
The depressing thing about Grants Shapps is that, IF he did lie, no-one will be surprised. Such are the low expectations of politicians now
— Glen Oglaza (@glenoglaza1) March 16, 2015
In a blog for Coffee House, Isabel Hardman suggests Grant Shapps won’t be able to brush off this controversy too easily.
If voters are to take exception to a politician adopting another name while promising get rich quick business solutions, they probably already will have done given the stories about Shapps/Michael Green have been around a while. But what might be more of a problem is the suggestion that Shapps has been saying one thing on the radio in the past few weeks when something else is true.
One interesting spin-off from this could be that some of Shapps’ enemies in the Tory party start to brief against him again. They mounted a good campaign against the chairman at the last reshuffle, and may use this as an excuse to have another dig. Or they may feel that as the election is now so close, they should keep quiet.
For the record, here is today’s Guardian seat projection.
I’m not sure whether this is helpful or not. It’s the Conservative MP Nadine Dorries defending Grant Shapps.
I'm writing in a new genre under a new pen name. Lots of authors do (JKRowling/Galbraith) JUST LIKE @grantshapps did. #labourwitchhunt
— Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorriesMP) March 16, 2015
Obviously, she’s not seriously comparing Shapps to JK Rowling (I think).
Dorries is an expert herself on fiction. She has written a successful novel, but she also once admitted that a blog on his constitutency website, ostensibly about her work as an MP, was 70% made up.
Suzanne Evans, the Ukip deputy chairman, is also calling for Grant Shapps’ resignation.
He lied, and he lied, and he lied: Mega-hypocrite Grant Shapps ought to go: http://t.co/WpgNq4b3BF
— Suzanne Evans (@SuzanneEvans1) March 16, 2015
Shapps says he 'screwed up' over dates and "over firmly' denied second job claim
Grant Shapps has been putting his side of the story to the BBC.
He may even have made a lasting contribution to the Westminster euphemism lexicon. He did not tell a lie; he just “over firmly” denied something.
Tory chairman @grantshapps says he "over firmly" denied having second job on @LBC
— norman smith (@BBCNormanS) March 16, 2015
Tory chairman @grantshapps - "I screwed up" over dates of second job in @lbc interview
— norman smith (@BBCNormanS) March 16, 2015
Tory sources say @grantshapps did not regard post as "a second job" - as company was being wound up and more "a hobby on the side"
— norman smith (@BBCNormanS) March 16, 2015
Tory sources say @grantshapps "second job" was no different to income earned from books by @RachelReevesMP or @TristramHuntMP
— norman smith (@BBCNormanS) March 16, 2015
Updated
Jeremy Hunt attacks BBC and Guardian over their Shapps coverage
And here’s Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, on Grant Shapps. He is criticising the BBC and the Guardian for their coverage of the story
Unbelievable Lab/Guard/BBC attack on @grantshapps. His sin not 2 use pseudonym but 2 write books about how 2 create wealth - shock horror...
— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) March 16, 2015
Updated
Here is some comment on the story on Twitter from journalists.
Grant Shapps is actually a character in a satirical novel isn't he: http://t.co/xZcZbTBlBi
— Rafael Behr (@rafaelbehr) March 15, 2015
Listening to Tory party chair Grant Shapps chatting about "Stinking Rich" scheme as M Green is toe-curling - video http://t.co/Ex31ekcsz6
— rajeev syal (@syalrajeev) March 15, 2015
Will David Cameron haul Shapps in for a thorough grilling on his business affairs? Remember lessons of Archer, Ashcroft, Coulson & Green
— Michael Crick (@MichaelLCrick) March 15, 2015
I guess if the latest scandal gets too hot for Grant Shapps he could just give himself a new name and start again.
— Ally Fogg (@AllyFogg) March 15, 2015
Most eye-opening part of @grantshapps story is the fact that the Tory chairman was flogging a product called "stinking rich 3". Wide boy?
— Andrew Clark (@clarkaw) March 16, 2015
Shapps, like all spivs, sees normal people as mere crops to be harvested for personal gain. Easy to see why Cameron made him Party Chairman.
— James O'Brien (@mrjamesob) March 16, 2015
Love the way Grant Shapps and other politicians love to declare its an "old story" or "end of story". Think public will be the judge of that
— Rosemary Bennett (@RosieDBennett) March 16, 2015
John Mann has been posting more about Grant Shapps on Twitter.
for additional clarity, my print biz now operates without my direct input, so I am a full time MP and completely focused on Welwyn Hatfield
— John Mann MP (@JohnMannMP) March 16, 2015
that was Grant Shapps Brookmans Park residents newsletter as MP in 2005 @BBCr4today. 2/2
— John Mann MP (@JohnMannMP) March 16, 2015
John Mann says Shapps should resign
John Mann, the Labour MP, told the Today programme that Grant Shapps should resign as a minister (he is a Cabinet Office minister without portfolio, as well as Conservative chairman) for not telling the truth about his second job.
[He has breached] the principle of openness and honesty. He didn’t say at the time that he was operating in this way and the point of the openness principle is that it allows the general public to judge each and every MP on their actions, but far worse than that he then denied that he had done it. That is not telling the truth and honesty and integrity are two of those two key principles.
He’s not any old MP – he’s chairman of the Conservative party and he was talking specifically in that interview about second jobs and he had a second job. I think he should go as minister without portfolio. The government made a big play, after the expenses scandal, of bringing back integrity into politics. This does exactly the opposite – you can’t have a government minister who isn’t honest and breaches one of those standards and that’s what they are there for.
I’ve taken the quotes from PoliticsHome.
And this is what Grant Shapps himself posted on Twitter.
.@labourpress Old story: all properly declared at the time and all many years ago. Labour just hate business.
— Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) March 15, 2015
But Labour MPs and peers are tweeting about this gleefully.
From Chris Bryant, the shadow culture minister
So, basically, Grant Shapps has been fibbing all the while. Is that right? Or was it Michael Green that was fibbing?
— Chris Bryant (@ChrisBryantMP) March 15, 2015
From Lord Prescott, the former deputy prime minister
Makes you wonder now why @grantshapps was running away from @MichaelLCrick https://t.co/N5HBshRLGI
— John Prescott (@johnprescott) March 15, 2015
From Lucy Powell, Labour’s deputy election campaign chair
Grant Shapps admits he had second job as 'millionaire web marketer' while MP http://t.co/BLbwI8cfz9 - serious
— Lucy Powell (@LucyMPowell) March 15, 2015
From Mary Creagh, the shadow international development secretary
"@guardian: Grant Shapps admits he had second job as 'millionaire web marketer' while MP http://t.co/0F5OOam2J6" or was it Michael Green?
— Mary Creagh MP (@Mary4Wakefield) March 15, 2015
From John Mann
Grant Shapps Tory chairman appears to be heading for resignation oblivion. I recall his last brush with authority with his dining club.
— John Mann MP (@JohnMannMP) March 15, 2015
Liam Fox, the Conservative former defence secretary, has defended Grant Shapps.
Same old story from @labourpress & @guardian trying to discredit @grantshapps he declared it all at the time! Shame @UKLabour hate business!
— Dr Liam Fox MP (@LiamFoxMP) March 15, 2015
Labour demands inquiry into Shapps
Labour is demanding an inquiry into Grant Shapps’ conduct. This is from Karl Turner, the shadow solicitor general.
It beggars belief that the chairman of the Conservative Party went on live radio just three weeks ago and stated three times that he was not doing business as Michael Green while he was an MP, when new reports and audio tonight show quite clearly that he did.
It seems that Mr Shapps’ repeated denials, which were not in the heat of the moment but also included a calculated decision to instruct solicitors, were contrary to the facts. He also appears to have threatened legal action on the basis of this.
David Cameron must now order an immediate inquiry into Mr Shapps’ conduct and establish all the facts in the interest of the public.
The Guardian has revealed that Grant Shapps, the Conservative party chairman, kept up his Michael Green “multimillion-dollar web marketer” for at least a year after becoming an MP. That’s not the worst sin in the world, perhaps; MPs are perfectly entitled to have a second job. But it is something that Shapps has - until now - repeatedly denied.
THE GUARDIAN: Tory chairman caught out in fake name saga #tomorrowspaperstoday #BBCPapers pic.twitter.com/MYk1T89ZqD
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) March 15, 2015
Here’s Randeep Ramesh’s story. And here’s how it starts.
Grant Shapps, the Tory party chairman, had a second job as a “multimillion-dollar web marketer” under the pseudonym Michael Green for at least year after he first became an MP.
It is a suggestion that Shapps has repeatedly denied for three years, but the Guardian has discovered a recording from the summer of 2006 in which the Conservative MP for Welwyn Hatfield boasts his products could make listeners a “ton of cash by Christmas”.
Rather than running down his operations it appears that in 2006 Shapps was expanding the company. On a recording made in the summer of that year, the Tory MP says over the next few months he will be running his “mentoring programme” to hire 10 staff, produce software to create websites that “Google prefers” and start selling “Stinking Rich 3” the latest tome in a range of self-help guides that claimed to make customers wealthy and which “sell fantastically well”.
Posing as Green, Shapps tells fellow web entrepreneur Peter Twist that “[Stinking Rich] is not a cheap product, but it’s a great internet marketing product”. At no point in the 40-minute sales pitch does Shapps reveal his true identity.
I will be covering reaction to this as the day goes on.
Here’s the agenda for the day.
11am: Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, gives a speech in London saying the SNP will be a constructive force at Westminster for the whole of the UK after the general election.
11am: Tristram Hunt, the shadow education secretary, and David Davis, the Conservative MP, speak at the launch of a Civitas pamphlet on secondary education.
As usual, I will be also covering all the breaking political news from Westminster, as well as bringing you the most interesting political comment and analysis from the web and from Twitter. I will post a summary at lunchtime and another in the afternoon.
If you want to follow me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
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