The Conservative Constituency Association committee should re-read Malc's response to the Dame's critique of his numerous extra mural non executive directorships.
He sidesteps the Dame's focus, instead inviting the old girl to have a cuppa and a dry biscuit!
The Dame won't be bought with cups of tea and turned him down......
Dame,
Thank you for your invitation to respond to your friendly article in Hornets Nest.
You wrote in your article that you had invited my Labour opponent to meet you.
So far as I am aware (as you keep your identity secret I do not know who you are) we have not met.
I would be delighted to meet you and could do so either at a place of your choosing or (if it would not be misunderstood or misrepresented !) we could meet at my office in the House of Commons.
Turning to your article it would appear that you have been misinformed. I have been domiciled in London for some time as London has been were we have lived since I became MP for Kensington 10 years ago. Our house in Scotland is in the process of being sold.
Secondly, you take issue with my practice of inviting constituents who need to see me to my office in the House of Commons. We provide a streamlined service more suitable for the modern age. A large proportion of all problems from constituents are communicated by e-mail. I, and my excellent staff of three give a quick response which can often mean a letter going from me or my staff right away to, for example, the Director of Housing or the Home Office instead of waiting for a surgery the following week. If constituents need a personal meeting with me because they need time to explain their problem or because of its complexity they get a meeting. We often receive thanks from constituents for the quality of the service they receive.
You imply that I am inactive in Kensington. You are again misinformed. This evening, for example, I shall be in Campden and Holland . Next week I shall be in Pembridge. Recently I was at an event in Abingdon. I spent last Friday in North Kensington. I visited the new Academy, met with the Principal, toured the building and met many of the pupils. Later that day I went up to the Hub in Kensal Road for a meeting with youngsters who had invited me there. I attend meetings in Dalgarno of all the organisations, including residents, who work to improve the quality of life of those who live in that part of North Kensington.
As I hope we will meet in the near future I will leave it until then to discuss with you how I plan to continue doing a robust job for my constituents.
Feel free to publish all or any of this as you choose.
with best wishes
Malcolm
This letter tells us far more than any series of wheedling excuses for his extra mural activities. When he remembers the existence of his constituency, he wanders into meetings with groups of his political supporters, doubtless sips a nip of their sherry and drifts away again. Job done.
ReplyDeleteThe people who may deserve our sympathy are his office staff. Years of hiding his many failings from the press and public, have been repaid in a few minutes of mindless self promotion. Then there's Lady Rifkind. Probably married to him for decades, but now likely to see more than enough of him.
This blog is a scurrilous infestation of the body politic in the Royal Borough and should be exterminated
DeleteBut everyone reads it. Even the venerable. Dear Cllr Elizabeth Rutherford does not know how to open websites - but her acolytes religiously forward extracts from the Hornet to her via email. The old dear is addicted.
DeleteNormally the Dame would never respond to such a silly comment but as Fly on the Wall rightly says, "everybody reads it". Even, Pooter....
DeleteDanny Boys Moylan even had the temerity to complain his pic needed updating!
You might wish the Hornet did not exist, but that would be because you like dark corners! Anyway, with 1400 average daily page views the Hornet is not going to go away. So 'get over it' as Ludo would say!
The Dame is calling the Constituency Association to action. Poor dear. The Association itself is hardly aware of its own existence. Why should it be? It has little enough to do. Self puffed Chairman "The" Lord Carrington just likes to dress up and drift around. The Association website is still blissfully unaware that its elected MP has been suspended from the Conservative Party. And tomorrow (Thursday at 7.00pm in the Small Hall, Kensington Town Hall) the Association will hold its AGM to rubber stamp the suspended MP for another year and a General Election in two months time.
ReplyDeleteExpect a train crash
At least members of the Security Committee are alive and aware. Malc will be fired by the end of the day.
ReplyDeleteThe cat is out of the bag. The Tory rag (Telegraph) reports today that "I cannot be expected to live on an MP's salary". Quite so. Sir Malcolm clearly needs to move on to a job with a suitable salary and make way for a person who is primarily interested in representing Kenisngton constituents.
ReplyDeleteMoments like this are a test for any organisation, and none more so than the Conservative Association of Kensington. The timing of scandals is almost always inconvenient. In this case, there is an imminent General Election.
ReplyDeleteAssociation officials need a clear plan of action and some contingency planning. A key dynamic is that there is an outgoing Chairman on Thursday this week (Lord Carrington) and an incoming Chairperson (there are two candidates contesting the seat, Cllr Mills and Jonathan Read). Today, dear readers, is Wednesday.
The clean way to handle the transition is for Lord Carrington to persuade Sir Malcolm to resign and announce this at the AGM on Thursday. His last act as Chairman of the association. The incoming Chairman should already have a clear idea about the short list of candidates that will be invite to be considered as the next MP for Kensington. Invitations to Party Members need to go out this week for an open selection process. The process needs to be accomplished within a fortnight.
Both Mills or Read would relish the challenge. Instant fame.
DeleteHe's gone...
ReplyDeletehttp://blogs.spectator.co.uk/sebastian-payne/2015/02/malcolm-rifkind-quits-as-isc-chair-and-will-stand-down-at-next-election/
Could someone put together a draft brief about the sort of MP that Kenisngton needs?
ReplyDeleteIn the past the criteria have been fame, notoriety and importance. These are the feelgood factors for Kensington Garden Parties. North Kensington is now more than half the geography of the Kensington Constituency. A rethink is urgently required about the sort of MP that Kensington needs.
DeleteIt's official HE'S GOING! Splendid. We need an MP who genuinely believes that their first duty to their constituents. The K & C Conservative Party had better get it's skates on and select a suitable candidate, not a self-serving former minister.
ReplyDeleteNow that Malc has given up the ghost, of course, the way is open for Rock FM's big moment. Bet Boris is kicking himself!
ReplyDeleteAnd no doubt Pooter is also sharpening his pencil
DeleteSir Malcolm's resignation statement suggests that Lord Carrington stood by and did not take a decisive lead in this matter. Which he should have done. Contemptible. The Conservative Association will be well rid of him on Friday.
ReplyDeleteThe Association needs a new and vigorous style of Leadership
Cameron is ruthless. His job is on the line. Rifkind's timing was most unfortunate. At No 10 his future was never in doubt. Not for a nano second.
ReplyDeleteThank heavens it was not only Rifkind. There was also a Labour guy in the firing line. A chance for Cameron to demonstrate that he is more ruthless and determined than Millipede. Voters will take note.
DeleteIf it had been Rifkind alone, this would have been a torpedo for the Tory Election Campaign.
Silly dispatches........
A nauseating thought. Both of them.
ReplyDeleteWe need someone bright and responsive to those far beyond the usual K & C Tory social set. There must be a man or woman out there with the skills and desire to serve all their constituents first and last.
That obviously excludes both of the above mentioned. Pooter has been a public disgrace for years. In his brief political career, the boy Rock has made enemies of everyone who crosses his path. The only way forward is someone with a real track record combined with consistently excellent customer feedback.