Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

For a Newsnight political editor Mr Crick seems to have great difficulty in identifying newsworthy stories. One thing that comes across loud and clear though is that he will do all in his power to denigrate the Conservative Party and ignore relevant news stories which are critical of his pals in the Labour Party.

I think Mr Crick had a Tory Nannie that stole his sports mixtures and made him sit on the naughty step !

Michael denigrates most people who he investigates, not just Conservative politicians - a grizzly bunch at the best of times. Some - Louis Edwards for example - deseved all the criticism they got (I used to eat school dinners in Lancashire County Council's 18th Division in the 1950's). Others are just easy targets.

The problem with the 'Cameron's Women' story is that there is no story.

Michael:

Thanks for the opportunity to blog on your page.

First, Cameron has problems is not a good thing--if he wants to be "Prime Minister" of the United Kingdom.

You've got a point Michael. Apart from the two Theresas and Ms Gillan, I cannot think of any prominent frontbench Tory women.

But then, the Tories have never been fond of women in government jobs. How many female cabinet members did Thatcher have?

I'm trying to find the story here but all I can see is a rather desperate attempt to keep your story going. Just like last week when you ran a story that
a) Caroline Spelman's secretary worked from her home, not the constituency (erm, we knew she worked from the home, she was the kids' nanny and many MPs' researchers, probably most of them, don't work in the constituency) and
b) 'she' had a separate constituency office (except the document you showed on screen clearly said it was her agent's address, not hers, but you didn't mention it).

There's a line between being a journalist and being a part of a story. There's also a point where you can cease to be sufficiently impartial. In my view you reached that point when you broadcast a story to 'back up' your earlier story that no other broadcaster would have thought worth running. And I'm afraid your editor should have had the guts to say 'Michael, there's no story here'.

By the way, there are seven women in the Shadow Cabinet but only six in the Cabinet and four in the LibDem Shadow Cabinet. But you write about Cameron's problem with women?

It's summer. Why not take a holiday and try to get a bit of distance and perspective?

I am increasingly sick Mr Crick of your blatent anti-tory/Cameron bias. Let's have a bit of fair play please.

This is such a non-story and its amazing Crick's editors let it run, but then its also amazing that a sleazeball like him should be employed as the political editor of a flagship Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ news programme.

Come on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ, there's lots of real political stories out there, after all Private Eye seem to find them, but perhaps they just don't fit in with your left wing agenda.

Of course this story covers a real issue - 50% of our population are female yet this government-in-waiting does not represent anything like that figure.

Remember Blair's Babes? Cameron's Babes don't even exist, let alone alliterate.

People, stop Crick-bashing. He takes the shine off every party, not just the Conservatives.

The problem with Spelman is that she keeps changing her story. If she had been honest from the start this story would of died a death weeks ago.
We all know Spelman paid her nanny from expenses which is against the rules and her saying her nanny answered the phone now and again and picked the mail up just made Spelman look stupid.

Yes, Oh dear. Another non story. Its rather disappointing, but I suppose, like "Nick" Robinson, you feel this compelling desire to scrape the barrel to find something - anything- that you can then blow up and exaggerate into some sort of a "Story" that in your view denigrates the Conservative Party.

Why dont you just concentrate your activities on real stories, like the disaster that this Government and Nu-Labour in general have been for our country. They have trashed our constitution, trashed pensions, sold gold reserves at a knock down price, dithered on elections, spent huge amounts of tax payers money on Norther Rock, overborrowed, played semantics to avoid holding a referendum on the Lisbon Teaty, penny pinched on funding for the armed forces, had their snouts in the trough, and taxed us until the pips squeak. Yet they are still here and all you and your like can do is peddle this ridiculous tosh. Get a life please, Mr Crick and however much it hurts, take this rotten Government to task. Do your job.

Michael Crick is as politically biased towards the Labour Party as you can get .... at least he does nothing to hide the fact .
There is is no story here ..... most people can tell the difference between Spelman trying to juggle her parental responsibilities and her constituency work and Margret Becket's attempt at getting her garden sorted out by the tax payer . My second point is this , I don't care whether a male or female is in charge of a department what matters is how competent the minister is at running said department . I agree with UKWILDCK #11 Posted at 9.02 ....Get a life , do your job and rough up the people in Govt who are making such a hash of things .

'CAMERON'S BABES DON'T ALLITERATE!' #9

Priceless! For everything else - there's Newsnight.

Take note Michael! A masterclass in spare, incisive reporting, from blogsludger.

It's a pity we still think in terms of needing to fill a quota of women - while of course women should be able to fill the top jobs if there's a better choice male candidate i'd rather take that than have jaqui smith simply because she's a woman

not saying the male members of either front bench are particularly better tho...

Michael,

In relation to this topic, what precisely have you found out that wasn't already known? Are you really an investigative journalist?

If you are, then by all means go out there and find out which of the prospective female Conservative candidates are likely to be elected on current polling stats, then come back and tell us which ones you think will be unnecessarily overlooked for the big jobs in the new Conservative Cabinet.

Alternatively you could find out a bit more on the arm twisting / bribing, etc. that went on with regard to the 42 day detention vote. Now that would be real investigative journalism.

All the best.

Michael,
Its a fair point you are making however I feel it would be best to pass judgment on this if/when Cameron is in Government. He has set himself a high target to have more women in the conservative team but I think the public will allow him more time. As for Mrs Spelman, I actually feel sorry for her. She looks a bit like my mother for a start and making payments to a Nanny out of public money seems quite reasonable for a busy politician, this story - its hardly shocking and just a little BORING.

Thanks Michael for a stunning insight to one of the major political issues facing this country.

Can I put suggest a topic for future blogging, namely an analysis of the potential concessions Gordon Brown will make to the Unions this summer to ensure his political survival, made more acute given the financial dire straits facing the Labour party? Further could he investigate how much of taxpayer funds gets directly repatriated to the Labour party's coffers via the "Union Modernisation Fund"?

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Michael, I enjoy your reports very much. May I suggest a topic for a story: Over the last 10 years it was obvious to many that the government's tax-and-squander policy was heading for disaster, yet the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ failed to do any serious analysis, and acted more like a cheer-leader for Labour. Now that the scales have fallen from the eyes of the rest of the country, when will the liberal media-folk realise that many people out here in the real world despise them ?

Time for someone to replace Mr Crick who has proved himself not only biased against the Conservative Party (no huge susprise there as we all knew that) but also to be a rather tired and lacklustre journalist. Hardly scoop of the year is it Michael? Newly arrived MP may have made an error with how the (hugely complex) expenses system works but as soon as told it may be a bit iffy made immediate arrangements to sort it, but nobody made a complaint in over a decade. Even if she had hired an army of nannies with public money, this ridiculous story about Cameron's lack of female talent on the Front Bench is both a non-story and falls on comparison with the Government - but then as a government toadie, you'd rathereat your toe nails than criticise the lovely Gordon...

Guido has a great story on Ed Balls can we assume you will give it the full Spellman treatment and have an exclusive tonight ?

Michael,
You should know the Tory party bloggers will moan if you dont follow the Robinson approach and blow sunshine up Camerons rear end!

Caroline Spelman may, or may not, have broken the rules and no doubt the Inquiry will settle that issue in due course.

What might also be of interest is how Mr Crick has only now come across a story that is ten years old. Might he perhaps be able to share with us who put him up to it? No names, obviously, but it seems unlikely that he should simply stumble across this as part of his investigations into current political machinations.

Does CCHQ issue some sort of edict to all Tory staffers to come online and critisise Mr Crick every time he raises his pen, or are do they do it from choice? Thank you for continuing to run what is a crucial story if Mr Cameron wants to be taken seriously and, more importantly, if the Conservatives are to finally shed their sleaze label.

Spelman is too badly damaged to be credible. Rather than writing pointless blog replies you should all be urging her display just an inch of humility, whatever the truth of the matter, for the sake of the party she is the Chairman of.

Hey notacameroon et al,

I'm not a "Tory staffer", I'm 25 and work my ass off as a self-employed person (for want of a more fitting description). The joys of the internet archive show that Mr Crick is horrifically biased.

The joys of a short term memory also serve to show that Labour have horrifically mis-managed the economy where they have only just realised that the equation 'spending = results' doesn't hold in this physical frame of reference (or any other).

Sensible conservative natured people, like those not in the civil service or the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ (or are they the same thing?) have been screaming this for oooo, 10 years or so.

The fact that this has made it as a story is more of a story than the story itself.

#9, #13 - my memory may be failing me but wasn't there talk, some time ago now, of 'Dave's Damsels'?..

In tonights programme you alleged that Tory MPs are demanding Ms Spelman should resign or be sacked. If they excist name them, if you don't we can assume that it's just mendacious remarks attempting to sensationalise a non story.

Well done Mr Crick. Your news reporting is incisive and informative. There will always be a barrage of critics while you're uncovering the truth. And on the point of less women within the higher echelons of the Tory party, maybe they're still reeling from the effects a particular woman with such promise who ultimately knocked the stuffing out of them twenty or so years ago. Not being partisan, because I don't give tuppence for most of our elected representatives at present.