Parliament of Fowls

This just in. Christopher Fraser has also done the decent thing and is standing down.

Good riddance to Julie. Margaret ... not sure I can say the same, as I said, though she should have done the decent thing weeks ago.

I may still sell my now useless personal testimonial from Margaret on eBay, whether I can find it or not; since it became redundant five years ago when I crossed the floor, I don't know. Apparently I am good at fulfilling menial tasks. And I don't cheat on expenses either.  In fact when I worked voluntarily for the Labour party at their Millbank Tower HQ, I got my railcard paid for and £5 for lunch expenses. It ended up costing me 25p per day as a result. On some of these claims, I could have had lunch at the Ivy every day I was there in the summer of 1999.

So where does this leave Esther Rantzen?

One thing is certain, though, Middle England is not pleased. An otherwise respectable gentleman came into the shop this afternoon for a paper and when he got to the door and saw the poster with a photograph of John Redwood up there (presenting a large cheque from the local am-dram society's pantomime to the charity they were fundraising for), he made guns with his fingers and went postal at the photograph. The director of the panto, the man who gave us the photo in the first place, told me Redwood hadn't impressed him - that he'd been in and out in five minutes - long before the expenses scandal broke.

Goodness knows what would have happened if we lived in Bromsgrove...

...the only person you are kidding is yourself, and possibly the Conservative Party too. You've had too many cards off me, and they are all generally bad, so perhaps you should go now and

Cameron is too spineless to get rid of you, evidently, but the longer he obfuscates on this, the more damage she does to the party and to him.

Women like Laura Moffat, Teresa May and Fiona MacTaggart have been in parliament happily without scamming the taxpayer. Those three may live too close to London to be taking too much in second-home allowances, but there are enough Labour women MPs who don't claim much either and enough people in general who aren't tangled up in as much mess as you are.

The more lies and spin this woman puts out, the more devastating she is to the Tories, in Bromsgrove and elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Terry Waite is proposing himself as another independent in the Suffolk area. The VIII Pentacles, reversed suggests his effectiveness as an MP is questionable, because Owlperson says that he would do well in government - good experience, temperate views and honest projection of himself - but would not stand for a party which could potentially get there.

Today's card is quite a nice one -

X Cups

Things are resolved somewhat today - or appear to be resolved - in the best interests of everyone concerned. This card however brings the caveat that things are still only on the emotional, rather than practical, plane - there is little actual substance involved, unlike in the Ten of Pentacles.

Julie Kirkbride continues to be a menace - she is now refusing to attend a public meeting. Personally I think she shouldn't have to go through this ritual humiliation - she should just be sacked, now, before she causes any more difficulties. Her card is the Knight of Pentacles, reversed - her personal ability to do anything remotely serious is running out, very fast, and she must know that even if she is not forced out, she will be perpetually damaged goods from now until she retires. She would be advised to take the quick way out - resignation from her seat voluntarily - without having to be made to walk the plank, either by Cameron or by her local party - because this would be the best way of protecting her future career prospects elsewhere. Neil and Christine Hamilton have not exactly suffered outside Parliament, but then their chutzpah is legendary, and Julie just looks pathetic now.