Car Crash Politics

It's becoming increasingly difficult to envisage a more incompetent PM and Government front bench for our country.

The MP's expenses debacle today is quite stunning in the way it was handled ... or, more accurately, mishandled. It's car crash politics, tearfully appalling but still strangely fascinating in its ineptitude.

As Iain Dale highlighted earlier today, different Government departments had different info on what was happening. While Harman's lot were still advising the vote would be whipped, the one-eyed dolt was insisting there would be a free vote during PMQs, seemingly on the basis that he 'thought' the opposition were all on board.

He said: "We thought we had agreement on the Freedom of Information Act as part of this wider package.

Recently that support that we believed we had from the main opposition party was withdrawn. On this particular matter, I believe all-party support is important and we will continue to consult on that matter."

Perhaps he just assumed MPs would all stick together to hide their troughing, as is usual. Just a thought.

Then, immediately after PMQs, the vote was shelved. Margaret Beckett on the Politics Show was asked the straight question "Do you know what's going on?", but could only lamely answer with a curt "no."

So we have lack of communication between departments, followed by policy being amended on the hoof. If that wasn't the case and Brown knew this was coming, why did he still hint at an upcoming free vote during PMQs? To save announcing a humiliating U-turn live on BBC TV, perhaps?

But the biggest question of all is, how on earth are this shambles still only 13 points down in the opinion polls? How do some people still believe that the country is in safe hands with these morons at the helm?

This Government quite clearly can't organise the proverbial piss-up. *

* That's if there will be any breweries left soon, after Labour's wholesale destruction of our pubs. In fact, if they wanted their 'do' at the Stag Brewery in Mortlake, they'll have to be quick, the place is shutting down on Labour's watch, ditching 182 jobs in the process.