What a difference a week makes @ No 10

"And it was all going so nicely!" Arturo tutted.

I wasn't sure whether he meant just the Olympics but when I saw the cut-out scraps of newsprint with snippets about 'Wailing Lad' Clegg, 'Boy David' Cameron and then Louise 'Chick-Lit' Mensch - I knew he meant a good deal more.

'Boy David' Cameron has been basking in the reflected glory of the Olympics, as if he had personally won gold himself. Admittedly, the reflection was coming via the golden haired 'Mop-Head' Johnson. But, hey! Glory is glory however it comes!

Then, 'Boy David' Cameron's plans started to go badly awry! On 6 August, 'Wailing Lad' Clegg declared the Coalition "contract is broken”. Wow! After all the lovey-dovey scenes in the rose garden and behind the railway shed! It's really a case of 'if you won't play ball with me, I won't play ball with you!'

Just what was the 'ball' in question, do I hear you ask? A little case of the shelving of 'Wailing Lad' Clegg's prize policy: Lords Reform! Clegg's dilemma was highlighted in an article in the Telegraph written by Robert Winnett and Rowena Mason. They wrote that Clegg had made the comment that:

... the Conservatives have defied the Coalition agreement by trying to “pick and choose” which items of Government policy they support.

The article continued:

Mr Clegg also revealed the Conservatives rejected his suggestion of a "last ditch" compromise to save both policies.

“Clearly I cannot permit a situation where Conservative rebels can pick and choose the parts of the contract they like, while Liberal Democrat MPs are bound to the entire agreement," he said.

“Coalition works on mutual respect; it is a reciprocal arrangement, a two-way street. So I have told the Prime Minister that when, in due course, parliament votes on boundary changes for the 2015 election I will be instructing my party to oppose them.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9456720/Nick-Clegg-the-Coalition-contract-is-broken-over-Lords-and-boundary-reform.html

So there! No Lords Reform - no co-operation over boundary changes! What it is to be in a Coalition! Two parties - each one only interested in itself! In the meantime, the UK economy is falling apart!

Then, as if this wasn't bad enough - 'Chick-Lit' Mensch had decided she had had enough of the House of Commons! She was off to pastures new! Brand new conquests are out there waiting to be made! As if being on the Commons Culture Media and Sport Select Committee was not enough for any MP, let alone a mother of three young children, this celeb-in-waiting was off to New York. Ostensibly, the move is to spend more time with her family! Where have we heard that before?

In the Daily Mail, Sandra Parsons wrote:

Louise Mensch’s decision to quit politics follows the launch of her social networking site, which she hopes will rival Twitter, of which she’s a prodigious user, with 100,000 followers.

All of which makes me want to send her the message that the point about a career in politics is not the celebrity media opportunities it affords.

No, becoming a Member of Parliament, to represent and improve the lives of countless ordinary Britons, is a great privilege. Perhaps the greatest we can bestow.

With Louise Mensch, it was hard to know whether she was serving her constituents, or they were serving her.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2185169/Louise-Mensch-sorry-trend-celebrity-politicians.html

'Boy David' Cameron is said to be deeply upset by her departure. He is losing a pretty woman, more at home in front of the TV cameras and photographers' lens than when she was sitting on the back-benches of Parliament. Maybe - if 'Boy David' Cameron had given her a Cabinet post - she might have been able to cope with family life!

Hey Ho! So it goes! You win some - you lose some! Sadly, at the moment, thanks to Clegg and Cameron, the UK is losing all the time!

Arturo and I are going to watch the Olympics finale!

'Bye'