Mann vs Mannisms

Iain Dale (I 've been well impressed with his work lately) has highlighted this latest hilarious example of A-Labourist-Typically-Taking-Himself-Way-Too-Seriously. I've tried to join the blogospheric dots and apparently, as far as I can tell, Mr Dale has taken up the cause of a decent minor blogger who goes by the gently self-deprecating nom de plume of "Fat Councillor".

He himself has highlighted the plight of an even more minor blogger currently being threatened by the very minor Labour demon with libel action, if I get that right - it could be Fat Councillor himself who's getting the treatment. Matters not. Anyway, the future defendant (I think) in this deliciously paranoid action, distinctly lacking in class, calls himself, rather pithily, Mannisms, and whose wonderfully focused work is dedicated to scrutinising, among few other things, the various troughing activities of one John Mann, MP (Labour - prospective plaintive, soon to be out of a job). Mann is suing Mannisms for libel, as Fat Councillor highlights in a post I've copied verbatim below, for the post I've copied, again verbatim, even further below.

John Mann MP - Hypocritical Idiot, And General Gob Shite

Dear Readers

Every so often, your Fat Councillor needs a rest from Indy Alliance nepotism, assault cases, councillors getting the sack for failing to attend meetings, and provincial reporters calling black white. At times like these I cast around for a hypocritical national politician to laugh at. Tonight it is the turn of 'whiter than white' idiot and gob shite, John Mann MP.

Bandwagon jumping twat

Whilst sipping ice cold lager and watching the sun go down, your Fat Councillor came across www.mannisms.com. This site catalogues the trials of poor old Mann MP as he desperately tries to cling to his seat.

His latest wheeze would appear to be to use House of Commons headed paper to threaten to sue the author of the site for allegedly calling him a wanker, whilst at the same time, signing an early day motion calling for a change in Libel laws because "English libel law is stifling of free expression".

If that is not the sign of an idiotic, hypocritical wanker of a politician, I don't know what is.

So, Mr Mann, if you ever fancy chancing your arm in the Spanish libel courts, fill your boots.

According to Dale, Mann is "the most humourless MP I have ever come across". Well, yes. But even given that, what, I wondered, had caused him such a very deep sense of humour failure (or should that be skin failure, as in thickness of) that he's decided to go completely postal using taxpayers' money to try to nail a harmless minor blogger, even going so far as to try to get libel laws changed just to protect his own worthless reputation? Perhaps the answer lay not in Fat Councillor's funny hatchet job (I've read - and written - far worse, mind), I thought, (I'm really sharp, see), but the post to which Fat Councillor was referring, by Mannism:

In his recent letter to Retford residents (see previous post), John Mann’s loyalty to the Labour Party seems to have evaporated.

Click graphic to enlarge

I am asking you and your family and friends to support me in being re-elected as your MP because of my commitment to keep fighting hard for the people of Bassetlaw no matter who forms the next Government

Not a word about Labour Party national policies or a few words of encouragement for his boss. In fact, the only mention of Labour is in the letter’s address.

I’m sure Gordon Broon will be delighted to read this.

Every Mann for himself, eh?

Solidarity brothers!

Nope, can't see it myself. Just what, precisely, is libellous about this blogpost? Well, I really don't care. I want a piece of the Mann-baiting action so I've happily followed Fat Councillor's superb, spirited example and republished everything here, 'libellous' blogpost and all (it's definitely one of the two - possibly). Um. Anyway, I wait with very little anticipation to see what this self-important Labourist w*nker does next. Is he going to sue everyone? Oh, I do hope so. That would be marvellous.

As Iain Dale says, mainly about the jolly witty song Fat Councillor uploaded by way of a response to Mann's pathetic posturing (see below), though the comment resonates far more widely:

I doubt he will see the funny side of this, but it's another sign of how the internet allows the man in the street to fight back

Sometimes (occasionally) I really do love blogs - and blogging. It almost feels like democracy.

Browned Off

While this article from Lloyd Evans on today's pmqs is certainly very entertaining and worth a close read, especially when he takes the mickey out of the Bercow's risible performance in the Speaker's chair, I must concur with Iain Dale, who, unlike Evans, thinks that Brown was "flailing all over the place" and that Cameron "had him on the ropes." Evans, for some reason, thought that Brown's performance was "steady" and "predictable" but that Cameron's was "pretty good", but "not quite excellent."

Well, I'm sorry Lloyd, old chap, but you must have been watching a different pmqs because Iain Dale is dead right: on this latest piece of Labourist nonsense over "free" - but uncosted - home care for the elderly (a typical, bungled piece of Labour hijacking - and mucking-up - of an excellent and costed Tory policy proposal, motivated by a cynical desire, as Cameron said, merely to help the Labour party rather than to help the elderly), Brown was absolutely terrible. He came across as either crowing or just bad-tempered, but never once did he answer the substantive question that Cameron had skewered him with: death tax or no death tax? (We all know the answer - death tax).

Cameron was excellent today. With that in mind I suppose it could be necessary to form the opinion that his performance is being measured against far higher standards than Brown's. It's just possible that the only reason for this is that even slightly right of centre professional journos like Evans (and Iain Martin) are so used to Brown being appalling, that they unconsciously let him off lightly. By the same token, because many people who write blogs are so desperate to see Cameron and his party take Labour and Brown to the cleaners for what they've done to this country, what would be regarded as a good day for Brown is condemned as a shocker for Cameron. That browns me off a wee bit.

Iain Dale, at least, has maintained his objectivity in suggesting that Brown was crap this week, just like he was last week. And Cameron was great.