Anne Milton - Guildford MP (and Dipstick)

There will soon come a day when the Conservative Party will want to be able to deny any knowledge of Anne Milton's antics. But I'm not going to let them get away with it.

Below is just a recent sample of the traffic from Conservative Head Office to this specific area of my website:

The good people who work for the Conservative Party have also been directly informed of a number of developments, and have even been provided with the relevant evidence. Each and every time they have fobbed me off.

Finally, I know for a fact that David Cameron was made aware of these disgraceful personal attacks by Anne Milton's activists, just a few weeks before he maintained a 'dignified silence' while his activists screamed "Personal attack!" on his behalf. That makes him a very special kind of hypocrite.

Conservative Party Peeps, I have two messages for you:

1. Here's something really special for you to look at; one of Anne Milton's cheerleaders has been making deeply personal and libellous claims about me in Wikipedia (while making empty accusations of libel in the process... and accusing anyone who seeks to correct their vandalism of being me acting as some kind of magical sock-puppet):

Take a look at this, this, and *especially* this. Go on, take a good look. Here's a hint for you if you're confused; the bits highlighted in green are the parts that Milton supporters have added; thereby compromising your party and placing Wikipedia at risk of legal action. Oh, and take a few moments to browse through this website before you claim that this could be the work of a well-meaning member of the public; it was established long ago that the bulk of Anne Milton's endorsements came from Conservative councillors, activists and/or family members.

[Oi! I was arrested for hacking in 2005? Funny, I don't remember that. I don't even remember being questioned by the police. Surely something like that would stick in my mind for a long time to come. No? Oh well. Maybe the experience was so traumatic that I blanked it from my memory. Oh, and speaking of memories, I seem to recall that the *only* person who has *ever* accused me of hacking (mainly because he doesn't know the difference between hacking and tracking) is Dennis Paul, who currently claims to be 'a member of the Executive Committee of Guildford Conservatives and an active Branch Member in Worplesdon'.]

When I saw early abuse of the Wikipedia system that was focused primarily on Anne Milton's entry and tracked it back to a Parliamentary IP address, I sent a complaint to Chief Whip Patrick McLoughlin. Surprise, surprise, he fobbed me off... not only with a vague suggestion that perhaps an over-zealous staff member was to blame, but also with the assertion that it was quite an acceptable and valid use of an MP's time to make 'corrections' to their Wikipedia entry. I found this reply to be particularly galling as the bulk of my letter read as follows:

Circumstances would suggest that these edits originated from Anne Milton’s office, but if you require a greater level of certainty before taking action, all you need do is request the HTTP/access logs from the relevant IT department for the times/periods specified above.

Now, I can understand the need for an MP to spend a small amount of time ensuring that their Wikipedia entry does not contain any inappropriate content or factual errors (this strays into a grey area, as part of an MPs duty is to ensure that their constituents are well-informed), but I do not think your average taxpayer would approve of this type of vanity-editing and/or censorship using time and facilities that they pay for.

McLoughlin didn't even acknowledge this section of the letter, and failed to follow the matter up with a simple technical exercise which could easily have confirmed or ruled out Anne Milton's involvement.

The HTTP/access logs I mentioned all those months ago are sure to have been deleted by now in the natural course of server maintenance. So now there's no way of clearing Anne Milton outright.

And since that exchange, the abuse of Wikipedia centring on Anne Milton's entry has escalated. All that these people have learned is (a) how to better cover their tracks and (b) that nobody in authority is going to do a damn thing to stop them.

How often do you find yourself wondering why they call you 'The Nasty Party'?

2. Much shorter this one... but I'm not sure that you'll thank me for it:

You chose her. You backed her. Hell, since all of this happened you even *promoted* her.

Do yourselves a favour... next time you pop by to check what Anne Milton has done recently that compromises you, take a good, long, hard look in the mirror and think about how you have compromised yourselves.

Labels: david cameron, dennis paul, inaction, mike chambers, smear-blogs, wikipedia

Two of Anne Milton's most ardent supporters - local Conservative campaigners Mike Chambers and Dennis Paul - are heavily implicated in an anonymous weblog smear campaign that will turn your stomach:

Click here for the full exposé.

Dennis Paul has since stopped blogging on his official weblog (where further accusations have been made against myself), but the anonymous websites - one of which features a baseless claim that one of their political opponents is a paedophile - are still live.

Anne Milton was informed of the latter site - and the involvement of her former election campaign team member Mike Chambers* - a month ago. Her response was to get a researcher to promise that she would "look into it" only if the victim of this smear came forward.

(*Note - It only became clear in the past week that Dennis Paul was equally involved.)

My view is that - in a case such as this - it doesn't matter what the victim does or does not want to do or say; if a former member of your campaign team and a current local Conservative campaigner is implicated in a smear campaign, it is up to the most senior Conservative representative in the area to investigate it.

When it involves the type of accusation that has in the past led to attacks on innocent people by unbalanced individuals, then it is up to the most senior Conservative representative in the area to investigate it pretty bloody urgently.

Sadly, despite a clear opportunity to deal with this problem, Anne Milton now has to deal with the following facts:

FACT: This involves a criminal act; specifically, a hate crime.

FACT: On Tuesday 18 July 2006 I informed Anne Milton via email that I had proof that Mike Chambers was connected to this criminal act, and she did not even ask to see that proof.

FACT: The relevant smears against myself, many previous attacks on my good name, and this hate crime are all a direct result of my daring to scrutinise the performance of my local MP (which I believe is the right of any constituent). In short; with or without her knowledge, Mike Chambers and Dennis Paul were operating for her benefit and/or for the benefit of other local members of her party.

I am not for a minute suggesting that this is why she is dragging her heels; in fact, I have asserted time and again that she is *constantly* dragging her heels - and once again I'm forced to go public with my findings just to get this woman to Do. Her. Bloody. Job.

Seriously; does she have to be shamed into doing every little thing?

UPDATE (22 Aug) - I now have proof that Mike Chambers is directly involved in the 'paedo' smear... and Anne Milton's office is *still* stalling.

Labels: dennis paul, inaction, mike chambers, smear-blogs

One of the most amusing claims made about this weblog during the recent Wikipedia spat was that it is "selective in its use of facts."

Today, we're going to have some fun with that.

We begin with some carefully selected facts about the Health Select Committee...

Fact: Anne Milton is a member of the Health Select Committee.

Fact: The Health Select Committee has met 29 times since the original appointment/formation of 13 July 2005.

Fact: Anne Milton has attended 18 of these meetings.

Now, if I were to apply facts selectively, I could stop right here and quite rightly claim that Anne Milton has attended the majority of these meetings (more than half, in other words).

But I'm not going to do that.

I'm going to be far more responsible and provide a comprehensive overview.

The attendance records of current members of the Health Select Committee (who have been members since its inception) are presented below in ranking order:

Kevin Barron (Chair) --------------- 29 (100%)
Dr Richard Taylor ----------------- 28 (97%)
Charlotte Atkins ------------------ 25 (86%)
Mike Penning -------------------- 24 (83%)
David Amess -------------------- 23 (79%)
Dr Howard Stoate ----------- 23 (79%)
Anne Milton ------------ 18 (62%)

Again, if I were to apply facts selectively, I could arrange it so that Amme isn't at the very bottom of the pile. All I would have to do is take the attendance records of those who have left or joined the committee since its inception and calculate a percentage based on the total number of meetings (i.e. rather than the meetings they were actually expected to attend).

But I'm not going to do that, either.

This is a list of the of MPs who have joined this committee since its inception:

Doug Naysmith ------ 14 (since late 2005)
Jim Dowd ------------- 11 (since late 2005)
Paul Burstow ------- 11 (since late 2005)
Sandra Gidley ----- 8 (since April 2006)

All of these members have an actual attendance record of 75% upwards. Those who have left the committee since its inception have similar attendance records during their time as active members.

So let's get back to the most inactive member... Anne Milton.

Fact: Out of all of the members of the current Health Select Committee (past and present), Anne Milton has the worst attendance record. By far.

[Note - Fans of this website's shamefully mocking tone may enjoy the following....]

Traditionally, a committee is understood to be a group effort... i.e. a group of members meet, and make an effort. If one of the members fails to meet with the group and/or make an effort, then there's very little point in them being a member of that group.

Yes, even in Parliament, the general system seems to be that MPs who cannot manage the considerable workload that any given committee demands duly resign from that committee, so another person can take their place and meet said workload; everybody understands this process.

Everybody, that is, expect Anne Milton.

Past form (1, 2) would suggest that Amme is treating the Health Select Committee in much the same way that she treats this constituency; she revels in the power and status they provide, but she simply will not (or cannot) handle the pesky workload that each demands... and even if she does lift her game in time to avoid a humiliating shunt from this committee, it will only serve as yet another example of her being shamed into doing more than the Bare. Bloody. Minimum.

[Miltonites! If you wish to dig and double-check on Amme's behalf, then feel free... everything you need is right here. Dennis Paul! Mike Chambers! Come on, fellas... you're supposed to be the A-Team. You know that Amme can't deal with this alone - it's up to you to undo the damage by targeting the messenger instead of dealing with the facts. Prepare your sock puppets and get back on form! What's it to be this time? A xenophobic attack? Homophobic, perhaps? Maybe even another cack-handed attempt at interfering with my professional life in response to me catching you (both) pissing away taxpayer's money by conducting your personal/political vendetta during work hours? Any time you're ready... ]

UPDATE - And here's how Dennis Paul reacted, boys and girls....

Labels: inaction

It's been nearly a month since this blog highlighted this serious conflict of interest. I've been a little busy lately, but the time has finally come for me to check in and let you know what has happened since... and what has not.

(Note - It may seem a bit piecemeal in places, but a big pile of documents beckons, so I've no time for neatness.)

- Most recently, and probably most importantly for a lot of people in the Godalming area, Anne Milton has turned out to be predictably ineffective in the debate over the proposed excavation of Eashing Farm for millions of tonnes of sand and valuable Bargate Stone. She's trying to make the right noises, bless her, but the fact remains that she isn't the bold boat-rocker her supporters make her out to be, and she really can't afford to go head to head with her Conservative councillor colleagues on Guildford Borough Council or Surrey County Council. Especially not after pissing away her first year in such grand style.

- Still, Anne has recently tried to undo some of the damage by Keeping very Busy Indeed before bunking off on holiday. A recent flurry of parliamentary activity is evident, and Anne even took the time to invite herself to the 2006 Bramley Village Fete.

(At the fete, she actually stayed for longer than 15 minutes, and judged the costume parade and the cake competition. She also managed to make her way around every single stall... bar the one I was working on, of course. Oh, and she doesn't know it yet, but she owes me one. Water pistols were a popular item at this particular fete, and she came *this* close to a coordinated soaking. It was me that talked the young folk out of it. Not that I'm Down With The Kids or anything... it's just that I know exactly when to employ the ever-persistent myth that Anne Milton eats children.)

- Onto other photo opportunities... you may recall that a reported resemblance to comedian Julian Clary has been milked by Milton in the past. It even led to a meeting between the two late last year. But this report of their most recent meeting appears to suggest a wary/weary tolerance on Julian's part...

New Statesman - Julian's week: Later I arrived at a bookshop in Guildford to do what is called a "literary event". Because my autobiography has come out in paperback I am obliged to turn up and talk about myself for an hour. Waiting outside were the local press and the Tory MP Anne Milton, puckering up for a photo opportunity. (Identified as lookie-likies in Punch magazine, we go way back.) Coming over all showbizzy, I rather forgot my position as Kate Moss's lover and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Of course, the flashbulbs went off and our innocent clench was captured.

- Back onto conflict-of-interest reactions... I always know when I score a palpable hit, because ardent supporters of Anne Milton (like Dennis Paul and Mike Chambers) always follow up by going more than a little apeshit. Now an anonymous attack site has emerged that (once again) tries to convince people that I'm in the employ of Sue Doughty. It also seeks to interfere with my ongoing income.

So, just to summarise...

1. They're out to prove that I've launched a personal attack with an unspoken political agenda by launching a personal attack with an unspoken political agenda.

2. They state that I work for Sue Doughty while - at the same time - they seek to harass me at what they clearly regard to be my actual place of work.

Sheer genius.

- Tripping back to this link for no reason in particular, I seek to remind Dennis Paul and Mike Chambers that voters probably won't trust them with council budgets if they have a proven history of misusing time and equipment paid for by the taxpayer.

- Housekeeping: On 27 May 2006, Sue Doughty was re-selected as prospective parliamentary candidate for Guildford. The navigation bar has been updated to include a link to her campaign website. I've also added a link to the Wikipedia entry for the constituency of Guildford, but will not be adding the Wikipedia entry for Anne Milton just yet, because it contains much silliness at the moment. (Not guilty. Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.)

- Opinion: On 27 May 2006, Sue Doughty was re-selected as prospective parliamentary candidate for Guildford. That means that she and her imperfect, inadequate and totally inept carbon copy will be going head to head. Again. Unless Milton gets de-selected, of course. The local Lib-Dems may not appreciate my pointing out the obvious, but here goes... A lot of time, money and effort went into passing Milton off as a Tory clone of Doughty, and - even with the magic of potential on her side - she only scraped by with a 347-vote margin. Now that the cold, hard reality has sunk in, do you really think she can pull it off again? Before you answer that, consider that even if Milton makes a concerted effort to lift her game in the coming months/years, she's hamstrung by a dearth of goodwill. This, combined with the impact of recent boundary changes... well, it doesn't take a genius to work out that the Conservatives will need to field a much stronger candidate next time around. Given the farce of the past election, track record is going to be a key issue... so a quiet word in Nick St Aubyn's ear is probably called for.

- Finally, we come to the bit that hasn't happened; almost a month has passed since Anne's major conflict of interest was made public, and she still hasn't updated her Register of Members' Interests. Is she really hoping to sweep this under the carpet?

Labels: conflict of interest, inaction, publicity

I've rustled up a snazzy new blog design to celebrate Amme's first fist full year in office. Please note that - as part of the recent changes - the XML feed has been relocated. Cheers all.

UPDATE - Psst! Amme's working on a new website, too. Oh, and it's been 'in development' for at least 9 months now. I tripped over it way back in August of last year and the message was the same then as it is now; 'client adding content'.

What *does* she do all day?

Labels: housekeeping, inaction

Surrey Ad - Brickworks plan rejected: Plans to build 170 homes on the contaminated Cranleigh Brick & Tile Works site have been thrown out. On Wednesday, Waverley Borough Council’s joint planning management committee made the decision, by an overwhelming majority, after nearly seven hours of presentations, questions and debate, which were spread over two meetings... It was clear they were unconvinced that the enabling housing development was the only option for resolving the pollution issue. Earlier, former Guildford MP Sue Doughty, speaking on behalf of the Cranleigh Brickworks Action Group (C-BAG), referred to a letter from housing minister, Yvette Cooper, which pointed out that while building on brownfield sites was desirable, Government policies "do not give an open invitation to new development, whatever it is and wherever it is".

There's another article in the Cranleigh edition that didn't make it online ('Campaigners' joy at decision'), and I've included a partial scan of it above. You should be able to spot the amendment that I've made.

Regular readers of this blog may recall this entry from December...

They seek her here, they seek her there: On the evening of Dec 14 2005, a major local action group (CBAG) held a large public meeting and invited Anne as the MP. She declined, opting to send her researcher (not a Tory councillor, but her researcher). Former MP Sue Doughty was invited instead. The meeting and its outcome was deemed worthy of a front page article in the local newspaper. Nothing in the record at Hansard suggests that Parliamentary matters kept Amme away on this date, and the House closed fairly early that day.

Anne Milton didn't turn up to this most recent (and most crucial) meeting, either... so it surprised no-one when C-BAG chose our former MP Sue Doughty as their spokesperson, "giving (their) profile a huge increase in focus, national context and gravitas."

This single voluntary action by non-partisan action group cannot have escaped the attention of local Tories... and neither can the wider pattern of neglect and ineptitude.

Today, I wanted to post a round-up of the year that has passed since Amme became our MP, but - in an effort to be fair - I'll give the shouty crowd (i.e. the two Tory activists that pose as dozens of 'independent' supporters) an opportunity to answer an important question first...

Again, Anne Milton has seen fit to dodge another crucial local meeting, and again, there is no record of urgent Parliamentary matters that would justify her absence.

On the afternoon of May 10th, the day of the C-BAG meeting, there were three Divisions in the Commons on the Police and Justice Bill). Many Tory MPs voted. So many, in fact, that one can reasonably suspect that - at the very least - a two-line whip applied to these Divisions. But Anne didn't vote in any of them.

Now, Anne could have excused herself from the C-BAG meeting using the whip/vote as an excuse, but didn't.

Given her narrow margin, she could even have excused herself from the whip/vote using a Major Constituency Engagement as an excuse... but didn't.

She could even have managed to vote *and* make it back to Cranleigh in time for the meeting, but that would be silly. After all, she then would have to drive all the way home to Reigate afterwards, and that can really tucker a girl out.

Anne Milton had a number of options open to her, but instead chose to dodge both these obligations.

OK, Milton supporters Dennis and Mike... are you ready for your question? Here it comes...

Where was she? What WAS she doing?

(Hell, I know the new Foreign Secretary isn't quite up to scratch, but I'm reasonably certain that Amme wasn't unexpectedly called away on a mercy mission to Afghanistan.)

UPDATE (19th May): Not a word in Amme's defence, then? Tch.

Labels: inaction

Surrey Advertiser - Hospital beds set to close: There was bad news for Cranleigh this week when it was revealed that local health chiefs are pushing for the closure of the village hospital’s beds... Guildford MP Anne Milton said she was deeply upset by the news, adding: “The community is having to take the pain of years of mismanagement within the PCT.” The PCT has hailed the response to its consultation – almost 24,000 contributions – as a success but Mrs Milton said: “Whatever people said, it wasn’t going to make any difference to what the PCT did.” She has again written to Health Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, but doubted the PCT was likely to change its stance. Former MP, Sue Doughty, labelled the proposal “outrageous”, adding: “It completely flies in the face of the Government’s own proposals, and combined with the proposals to close A&E at the Royal Surrey means that Cranleigh people will be completely isolated in terms of hospital based health care.”

How nice it is to see our former MP (who may stand again) defiant in the face of reckless stupidity while the alligator-skin luggage we've been lumbered with publicly admits defeat. I don't know exactly what Milton used to do as a nurse, but I pray to God they didn't put her in charge of resuscitation.... because Milton also appears on page 3 of the Surrey Ad, and again throws her hands in the air with a defeatist line on public consultation... this time over the possible closure of the A&E department of the Royal Surrey County Hospital!

We don't pay her to be angry, upset or passionate... we pay her to take action. FFS, this is supposed to be the one area where her strengths lie, but she's turning out to be as useless as tits on a bull on all fronts. (Though I suppose we should be thankful that she has at least got her hands on a clever researcher. Amme now manages to avoid major embarrassments in Westminster when she's not required to think on her feet.)

Of course, Amme now finds it much harder to get things done after close to 12 months of treating local groups and organisations like something she found on the bottom of her shoe (she turned up at my kids' school the other week and this pattern continued when she stayed long enough to have her picture taken and then took off).

You'd think that a woman who began with no real support network (1, 2, 3, 4) would work to build an actual one upon getting the job, but not our Amme.

No, she prefers to slug it out take a dive alone.

Labels: inaction

What - if anything - is our MP doing to protect us from the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill?

Labels: inaction

Anne Milton courted a number of interest groups and appeared at many, many public meetings and events before she was an MP... even when she wasn't invited.

Now she has secured herself a seat, she rarely turns up to such events... even when she *is* invited.

Here are just a few examples from recent months:

In October 2005, the University of Surrey Students' Newspaper 'Barefacts' reported that; Anne Milton, the recently elected Conservative MP for Guildford, chose to turn down the invitation by USSU to meet her student electorate at freshers' fayre on 21st September, despite the fact that parliament was in recess.

She did take the time to attend an informal Uni event a little over a month later, but not before Dennis Paul and Mike Chambers savaged the editor of that newspaper and made total arses of themselves in the process.

In November 2005, Anne did somehow find the time to attend the Remembrance Sunday service and procession in Guildford, but she put a few noses out of joint after spending roughly twelve nanoseconds at the reception that followed. Eyewitnesses described a 'whooshing' sound, leaving only a Milton-shaped cloud by the main exit.

On the evening of Dec 14 2005, a major local action group (CBAG) held a large public meeting and invited Anne as the MP. She declined, opting to send her researcher (not a Tory councillor, but her researcher). Former MP Sue Doughty was invited instead. The meeting and its outcome was deemed worthy of a front page article in the local newspaper. Nothing in the record at Hansard suggests that Parliamentary matters kept Amme away on this date, and the House closed fairly early that day.

Perhaps matters will improve when Anne moves to Guildford. You are committing to our little constituency and moving to Guildford, aren't you Anne?

Labels: inaction

Monday 10th Oct 2005: This blog criticises Anne Milton for sitting on the fence.

Tuesday 12th Oct 2005: Anne Milton finally declares support for a candidate:

Guardian - 12 October: With Guildford's new MP, Anne Milton, also declaring for him last night Mr Cameron now has 29 public backers, Dr Fox 15, Mr Clarke 20.

That's three complete coincidences in a row, folks (see: coincidences 1 and 2).

We've heard reports of Amme declaring support for David Davis on the radio early last week, but have yet to confirm that. But if we could, it would show a clear pattern of her backing the favourite... and then backing the favourite. No matter... lack of confirmation on this front merely robs us of a new nickname; Little Morphin' Annie.

Also, this belated declaration requires us to update the Anne Milton For Shadow Cabinet campaign, but let's give members of her staff the public a chance to refute the importance/effectiveness of this blog first, m'kay?

Comments were open on Monday and Tuesday. They are open again today.

Labels: david cameron, inaction, tory leadership

And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. This poster appears on a local council noticeboard and in the local public library. It's a fair bet that this action has been taken throughout the constituency...

That's twice now that an issue has been raised by this weblog, shaming Anne Milton into action.

That's twice now that such an issue has been raised by this weblog and subsequently - belatedly - acted upon by Anne Milton's office... when they have yet to show the courage or courtesy required to acknowledge the role this weblog has played and/or reply to my emails.

It's also interesting to note how many anonymous 'impartial' contributors have come charging in demanding to know what the big deal is... when all the while it was treated as a bloody big deal by Anne Milton and/or those at her office.

She was clearly in the wrong and she knew it... otherwise the response would not have been so immediate.

Also, the following has not changed:

1. Anne Milton had a 'no appointments' policy before the election, and has an 'appointments only' policy now.

2. There are still no dates or locations listed. Anywhere. This is an important accessibility issue.

3. Despite promoting her pseudo-surgeries heavily before the election, upon becoming an MP, Anne Milton did not go anywhere near the lengths Sue Doughty once went to to publicise her now-official surgeries. Until she was shamed into doing so. (Sorry, but she cannot undo this without a time machine.)

4. Tories got first dibs on surgeries following the election.

That last bit may not have been deliberate, just a 'happy accident' involving (scant) surgery details included - perhaps even as an afterthought - in a local Tory newsletter when they were not being publicised properly (or at all) elsewhere.

See also:
It was the blog what done it
Surgery details
Surgeries II
Surgeries III

(Oh, and I'd just like to mention that - were this website simply a personal attack by an unstable hate-filled individual - then this issue would not have been resolved in this way. Instead, the campaign would have begun with graffiti in local public toilets reading; For a good time call 01483 300330...)

Labels: inaction

See also; Surgery details (July 25) and Surgeries II (27 July)

At the latest Bramley Parish Council meeting (28th July) a request came from Anne Milton's office that the BPS website carry "details of surgeries throughout her constituency". The wording was quite odd; it was almost as if they wanted to back-date the request for some strange reason.

I think we can assume that similar requests have now gone out to other regional sites of this type (where they'll probably fare better than they will with BPC, who tend to avoid party politics).

But why these websites? Why not her own?

Well, I'm glad you asked...

Over the weekend, a new page that actually acknowledges the existence of surgeries has appeared on the guildfordconservatives.com website.

Future dates and locations have yet to be posted, but this would seem to be progress. Of the A281 variety.

It's a sad state of affairs when an MP who won her seat on promises of action over and above that of the former MP has to be publicly provoked into taking simple measures like this.

I get the distinct impression that - like Nick St Aubyn, the Tory MP who served before Sue Doughty - Milton has little intention of doing much in the constituency aside from an opening barrage of questions meant to 'address' some major election promises (Gesta Non Verba, anyone?) and she will take what measures she can to avoid this (primary!) aspect of her role.... *if* she feels she can get away with it.

Well, I don't plan to let her get away with it. She's here to serve us; not use us as her entry-ticket to Willy's Westminster Chocolate Factory.

I fully intend to see that she works for us to the full extent of her somewhat limited capacity.

And if she thinks that she can win the seat a second time without moving into the constituency, she's got another think coming.

Labels: inaction

(NOTE - this post was updated at 14:08 27 July in order to clarify the difference between 'Local Issues' and the 'Community News' pamphlets.)

Well, that certainly put a cat among the pigeons...

On Monday I published this post on Anne Milton's failure to publicise surgery details and anonymous 'contributors' came from out of the woodwork to defend Anne's position.

Well, actually, what they mostly did was attack mine. Their 'arguments' ranged from unsubstantiated claims that I'm a member of the Liberal Democrats to assurances that the appointment policy was due in part to unstable people like me wanting to do the poor woman harm. They even went on to suggest that I was the thin edge of the terror wedge. But they did nothing to disprove my actual point.

Well, they *almost* did, but I'll get onto that foot-in-mouth moment in a jiffy. Firstly, here is what has been established so far:

FACT #1 - Anne Milton had a 'no appointment' policy when she held psudo-surgeries before the election, but she has an appointment policy now.

Best defence from the Miltonites: Now she's a 'high profile' MP, she is a target. Sue Doughty required appointments. Wahhhh!

FACT #2 - Anne Milton publicised her pseudo-surgeries heavily - even to the point of advertising in the Surrey Ad - before the election, but has failed to do so now she's been elected.

Best defence from the Miltonites: Two anonymous contributors (make that 3 - see below) claimed to have received literature through their letterbox that contained surgery details. Again, I'll get onto that in a jiffy.

FACT #3 - Upon becoming an MP, Anne Milton did not go anywhere near the lengths Sue Doughty once went to to publicise her advice surgeries. Within weeks of becoming our MP, Sue Doughty put out posters showing dates and localities and the number to call to book an appointment and had them distributed to local public libraries and/or posted on public noticeboards. Anne Milton has failed to do the same.

Best defence from the Miltonites: A suggestion that 'Lib-Dem thugs' had been tearing Anne Milton's surgery notices down.... but no claim that they were published or put there in the first place.

FACT #4 - Anne Milton does not mention the current availability of surgeries on her website (unless you count the references made to them in PDF versions of Conservative leaflets that 'tomtom' argues put them 'in the public domain') and she certainly doesn't list dates and locations as many other MPs do.

Best defence from the Miltonites: "What other MP's (sic) do is their business."

On that last point, I'd just like to say that this makes Anne less than extraordinary. In fact, it makes her efforts seem less than ordinary. Moving on...

All of these 'defences' were buried amongst a load of accusatory hyperbole and diversion. When asked to put up or shut up on any particular claim or accusation (be it on-topic or not), they failed to put up... then failed to shut up. One anonymous contributor was so intent on disrupting debate, he (or she) had to be moderated. Then the new diversion was a load of bull about the right to free speech. Anonymous contributions are welcome on this site, but if you make a claim or accusation, you had better be prepared to back it up with evidence, see it investigated, or at the very least put your name to it.

Now, as I type this and prepare to address the aforementioned mystery-pamphlet, another anonymous Miltonite has piped up and claimed to have received this same literature outlining surgery details. So that's three people, all of them stolid supporters of Anne Milton, and all recipients of this same mysterious pamphlet. That they refuse to show me.

I'd very much like to see a copy of this pamphlet and/or learn more about where it was distributed, as circumstances would suggest that they were delivered only to members of the Conservative Party and/or members of Guildford Conservatives.

If this is the case, then the MP who pledged to serve *all* of Guildford has just been caught out giving her Tory supporters preferential treatment on advice surgeries.

I've seen a few different versions of the local Tory newsletter 'Local Issues', and they do mention surgeries. You can also see another circular sent to some residents of Bramley here, and yes, this also contains the following message: Anne holds regular surgeries. To make an appointment please call 01483 300330.

No dates, no details... but enough, you may argue, to be informed enough to ask about dates and locations. (*If* you were lucky enough to receive this and/or if you've signed up for the Guildford Conservatives. But you *definitely* will have received these details if you were a happy recipient of the former, which is a Guildford Conservatives newsletter.)

None of these anonymous contributors seem willing to confirm it, but it would certainly appear that one of these items this is the literature they're referring to.

And when the implications of what they'd inadvertently revealed hit them - that's when the anonymous Miltonites went well and truly batshit. It was Diversion City.

They ducked, they dived, they questioned my sanity and called this a hate campaign... before finally settling on the suggestion that perhaps Anne was putting out literature about surgery details region by region, and they just haven't reached letterboxes in my area yet. Unless, of course, you've signed up for the Guildford Conservatives.

They even suggested that I wasn't doing my part because I failed to publish those details here on this website (when Anne has clearly published them on her website somewhere in the back pages stashed inside a range of PDF files).

I can do better than that, folks... but first I'd like to point out that when I called Anne Milton's office on Monday and requested future surgery dates, only one was available (if you want to book an appointment for this date, please call 01483 300330):

12th of August at Sutherland Memorial Hall

I was assured that no further dates would be set until Anne came back from holiday.

So, if a pamphlet arrives on my doorstep outlining these dates:

Surgeries are arranged by appointment through Anne Milton's office in Guildford. To book an appointment at one of Annes surgeries please call 01483 300330 or email anne@annemilton.com Anne's next Surgeries are: 8th July - Bramley Village Hall, Hall Road, Bramley. - (17.15 - 19.00) 15th July - Guildford Conservative Association, 15 London Road, Guildford. GU1 2AA (09.00 - 11.00) 22nd July - Guildford Borough Council Offices, Meillmead - (16.00 - 18.00)

... then it's a bit sodding late, because it's now the 27th of July and my flux capacitor is in the shop for repairs.

If a pamphlet magically arrives with new dates in the next week/month, then it's the A281 all over again. Anne Milton will have promised, suggested, claimed or provided a certain level of service before the election, and then failed to deliver the same after she was elected... until she was shamed into doing so.

In my view, Milton has tried to bluff her way through and minimise her workload by simply reducing the number of people who were aware of surgeries being held in their area at a suitable time/date. Unless of course, they're members of Guildford Conservatives, in which case they've had a fair shot of finding out the details for themselves.

Now, onto me doing my bit.... here's my draft for a poster promoting the only available date we have at the moment:

If anyone from Anne's office wishes me to revise the design or content before publication and distribution, then they have but to ask. Of course, I could simply publish it here and claim that this offer was in the public domain, but I'll do the polite thing and email them directly.

If they fail to get back to me within 3 days, then I'll have to assume that we're good to go. Unless one of Anne Milton's supporters (sorry, best make that 'independent observers') wishes to have a say. In which case, they will need to make their requests for revision directly via email. For security reasons, natch.

Labels: inaction

If you take a look at the now-infamous March 2005 pamphlet (Ref: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) you'll notice something rather odd.

In it, Mike Nevins, Christine Stacey, Dennis Paul, Cyril Bailey, Andrew Povey, Tony Rooth, Waqas Ahmad, Nick Brougham and Maurice Byham all make the same promise: "To hold surgeries in your area and keep you informed regularly."

But Anne doesn't make this promise herself.

This is especially curious as - since her selection - Anne had been holding pseudo-surgeries with the help of such people as Councillor Andrew Hodges and neighbouring MP Sir Paul Beresford. These were mostly held in the cafe of the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. Many were advertised in the Surrey Ad and the link above is an advance-notice post on the guildfordconservatives.com website (you might want to remember that bit for later). The presence of an actual elected official was required so someone could actually follow up the casework. I've heard that a successful complaint was made to the Speaker about Beresford being in breach of parliamentary etiquette as a result, but this post isn't about pseudo-surgeries from Anne's time play-acting as our MP; it's about actual surgeries during Anne's time 'acting' as our actual MP.

There have been some, but you can't be blamed for missing them, because the details appear to have been posted on the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Leopard!"

In Sue Doughty's time as our MP, I got used to seeing surgery and contact details posted on Parish Council noticeboards and on the public noticeboards in our local public libraries.

But since Anne Milton became our MP, there have been no such details posted at any of these locations.

Now, to be fair, this isn't something that MPs have to do, it's just a useful service they can provide for constituents if they so wish.

They also don't have to publish details of upcoming surgeries on their website... but many do, and the first thing Tom Watson and Boris Johnson asked for was a page that addressed this.

In Anne's case, the best I could find online was the following list of surgery dates posted to cranleighvillage.net

Surgeries are arranged by appointment through Anne Milton's office in Guildford. To book an appointment at one of Annes surgeries please call 01483 300330 or email anne@annemilton.com Anne's next Surgeries are: 8th July - Bramley Village Hall, Hall Road, Bramley. - (17.15 - 19.00) 15th July - Guildford Conservative Association, 15 London Road, Guildford. GU1 2AA (09.00 - 11.00) 22nd July - Guildford Borough Council Offices, Meillmead - (16.00 - 18.00)

There was also this at guildford.gov.uk:

Anne Milton holds surgeries regularly in Guildford. To book an appointment to see Anne at one of her surgeries please call 01483 300330.

Please note that both detail the need for an appointment. Again, to be fair, there is nothing in the rules that requires MPs to conduct walk-in surgeries or allow for walk-in approaches... but it needs to be noted that Anne held a walk-in policy before the election, and now appears to hold an appointment-only policy.

It also needs to be noted that there is no mention whatsoever of current/future surgery details, how to get them or how to make an appointment at annemilton.com or guildfordconservatives.com (which are one and the same site). There's no mention of surgeries on the upcoming events page; there is no invitation to make an enquiry or appointment on the 'contact us' page. The only mention of any surgery on this website is the aforementioned pseudo-surgery (screengrab here). The pseudo-surgery where they state that "No appointment is necessary."

And Anne Milton certainly didn't go so far as the advertise the most recent dates in the local newspaper. As she did before the election.

Didn't Anne campaign on a platform of listening and acting? Didn't she and her cohorts insist time and again that she would make an extraordinary MP (as opposed to ordinary one) and would - at the very least - bring great enthusiasm to the job?

I'm not seeing a lot of enthusiasm here. All I see is constituents being kept in the dark and/or at arm's length.

(FYI, Anne is away on a well-earned holiday at the moment, but the next surgery is scheduled for the 12th of August at Sutherland Memorial Hall. Currently there are no further surgery dates available.)

Labels: inaction

If you take a look at Anne Milton's recent appearances in Parliament, it may well occur to you that she is desperate to visibly fulfil her promise to operate as a carbon-copy of Sue Doughty (minus the Lib-Dem policies that would spend your tax dollars on drug-dealing MRSA-infected murdering terrorists asylum seekers) as soon as is humanly possible.

One might even consider it all to be a bit rushed... but that would be ungracious.

Instead, let's looks beyond parliamentary posturing and gaze in wonder at The First Actual Result:

Yes folks, 6 months after she falsely took credit for it and claimed it was her idea in the first place, Vehicle Activated Signs have finally been installed on the A281 at Shalford.

Of course, they're not working today, but I'll get onto that in a moment.

First, I need to talk to you about timing.

6 months followed Milton's claim that it was all her own work and all her own idea, and nothing happened. Apart from someone putting a pole up.

So... following the mysterious appearance of these long-overdue signs yesterday, I decided to talk to the experts.

The signs are provided by a company called Westcotec. I talked to them this afternoon.

The signs were ordered as far back as February 2005, but installation normally doesn't proceed until the local authority:

1. erects the pole(s)
2. gets power to the pole(s)

And power is what we've been waiting on all this time. As the previous post points out, the work seen before 9th June involved illumination of an entirely different set of signs (and, judging by the path of the trench, this power comes via a cable under the nearest street-light). Up to this point, there was no indication that power had been installed in preparation for Vehicle Activated Signs.

But - miracle of miracles - about 2 weeks ago (i.e. sometime on or about the 9th of June - the date of the previous post) - Westcotec received confirmation that power had been installed in these poles and work could commence.

The signs were installed yesterday (the company operates on a 2-week turnaround at this time of year) and tested.

Sadly, they were not working today. I checked the back of the signs, and the LED power indicator is dead, dead, dead. This means that the sign is functional (as it was yesterday) but the power has failed.

One might even consider it all to be a bit rushed... but that would be ungracious.

Labels: inaction, publicity

It has now been well over a month since 29.9% of the electorate expressed their belief that Anne Milton was a woman of action. But some of Milton's 'vote for me' signs are still in place. Perhaps she's hoping for some last-minute votes to boost her 0.7% majority. I've included pictures and locations of two signs to get her started on a belated clean-up:



But this is just the window-dressing. The important question - and one you should expect to hear often - is; what real and positive action has Milton taken since being elected (apart from shooting her mouth off over council tax)?

"She's only been in a month, give her a chance!" I hear you scream... but Milton assured us that she was taking action long before May 5th 2005.

Let's take the following as just one small but typical example...

The spectacular fire-engine crash on 4 December 2004 highlighted a notorious accident black-spot on the curve and bridge on the A281 in Shalford. The Surrey Advertiser responded by describing it as 'carnage corner' in a front-page report on Friday December 10th.

By the 15th, Surrey County Council issued this press release: Surrey County Council's (SCC's) Guildford Local Committee has taken action to improve road safety at Tillingbourne Bridge in Shalford in the light of recent collisions there by coming up with the funding for two vehicle activated speed signs. SCC's Guildford Local Transportation Service has already introduced signs and road markings reminding drivers to slow down and alerting them to both the hump-backed bridge and the bend. Street lighting has been improved and vegetation has been cut back but despite this drivers are still approaching too fast. The two signs, one on each side of the bridge, will illuminate when the vehicles approach the bridge too fast, drawing the driver's attention to the hazard and the need to slow down. The total cost of the signs, including installation and electrical connection, will be £12,000.

Funding came from 3 primary sources:
Veronica Stiastny, County Councillor for Shalford (Conservative)
Tom Sharp, County Councillor for Guildford South (Lib-Dem)
The 'Safer Guildford' partnership

But a few days later, Stiastny teamed up with Milton to take all of the credit for 'instant Conservative action' in this pamphlet, tying it in with this October 2004 pamphlet/petition with the claim that; "In October Anne Milton, Guildford’s Conservative Prospective MP delivered her newsletter to 40,000 households in and around Guildford calling for action to be taken to slow traffic down. She asked residents to sign a petition calling for Vehicle Activated Signs to be installed on some of Guildford’s worst road’s including the A281."

Erm, no she didn't. The pamphlet/petition clearly calls for action at the following locations:
B2128 through Wonersh and Rowly
The B3000 through Compton
Lanes in Seale and Sands
Clay Lane, Burpham
Farnham Road, Guildford

The A281 isn't mentioned. None of these locations are anywhere near this stretch of it.

The put it bluntly, Anne Milton lied over a matter as serious as road safety in order to gain political advantage.

But let's get back to the bit where she and (since-deselected) Veronica Stiastny claimed it was All Their Own Work. Y'see, this accident black-spot happens to be a two-way street. If Milton wants to take the credit, she needs to be prepared to shoulder the blame.

6 months has passed since the Vehicle Activated Signs were promised and Milton took credit for instant action... when really no action had been taken yet. And guess what? Little to no action has been taken since!

Here's a picture of one of the poles that was installed sometime last year:



As you may note; it's still just a pole. 6 months down the line.

But, to be fair, in the last few weeks, I've finally seen some workmen on the job, digging up the pavement in order to lay cables to an even newer pole - that now boasts its very own sign! Here's a picture of the aftermath of some recent work that I saw going on last weekend:



Yes, that is a sign. The cable, we can assume, is for illumination. So it's an illuminated sign. But it's not a Vehicle Activated Sign. A Vehicle Activated Sign looks like this, and is set apart from other signs because it, erm, is activated by vehicles:



Anne Milton promised action and took credit for delivery, when nothing was actually delivered and - 6 months later - still nothing has been delivered. Had I taken part in her campaign for safer roads in Guildford, I would be livid. But somehow, I don't think we'll hear any complaints. Here's a picture of your typical resident from Anne's October 2004 pamphlet/petition:



Well, look who it is - it's Grant Griffiths! Former Deputy Chairman of Guildford Conservatives, Anne Milton's Campaign Director, and serial 'typical resident' ringer:



I find it interesting that Grant features on this profile page at guildfordconservatives.com and this profile page at Bluelist.org, but in both cases he is the only person without a photo. Given his position, his habit of posing as a 'typical resident', and the past activities of this weblog, I'm sure you can work out why.

But a final mystery remains...

Grant lives in Wonersh. Unless he's been living as a hermit for the past 30+ days, he would have to have passed that 2nd left-over 'Vote Anne Milton' sign (mentioned at the top of this post) at least a dozen times... but he has chosen to leave it untouched.

Why?

I hope you'll pardon me for this deeply personal attack, but I think it may have something to do with maintaining a sustained erection.

Thanks for listening, and do drive safely.

Labels: inaction, tory ringers

Anne latest pamphlet is out, and it looks like this weblog has had an impact. As this scan of the back of her latest pamphlet shows (small version below), she's dropped all pretence that these opinions come from your average man in the street.



But there's still someone familiar that catches my eye and takes me back to the March pamphlet. Looking inside this (the April pamphlet, available here in PDF format) we see a woman and child appearing twice. Her face is largely obscured in both photos but that ugly, ugly overcoat is a dead giveaway - it's Katherine, who appeared on the front and back pages of the March pamphlet.



Now, some unkind things have been said about Anne Milton and her propensity to eat small children, but I previously dismissed such claims as facetious nonsense. However, it now appears that Anne has only been able to dig up *one* local citizen willing to bring their child within reach of her mighty jaws. Smoke and fire, people... smoke and fire.

Let's move along to the text, because it contains an interesting development...

For quite some time now, a spirited battle has taken place on the Letters page of our local newspaper between the developer Michel Harper and those who oppose his plans to build a casino. Our MP, Sue Doughty, has been quite vocal about this and has written many letters herself. But has Little Ms Action had anything to say about it one way or the other? No, she has not.

Until now...

Anne Milton's latest pamphlet declares that:

"ANNE takes ACTION on stopping a Casino in Guildford from going ahead"

But to date she's taken no such action. It's taken her this long just to form an *opinion*!

So I think it's worth taking a closer look at her other claims of action, so we can see how they stand up. Please keep in mind that I'm approaching this not as an activist or a representative of the Lib-Dems, I'm just a concerned citizen with a low tolerance for bullshit. If you'd care to add anything under Comments, the floor is open:

ANNE takes ACTION on Recycling and caring for our environment
Why, so she does. Here she is recycling something and here she is picking up litter. Compare these two photo opportunities with this:
Sue Doughty backs doorstep recycling in the commons.
But... let's be fair and allow Labour to claim credit, too. As far as I can tell, every candidate claims to back recycling and other environmentally-friendly initiatives. Unless Anne has actually taken exceptional action that sets her apart, all I see here is 'more of the same'.

ANNE takes ACTION on Protecting green fields
As what? A scarecrow? I direct your attention to the recent Environmental Audit Minutes of Evidence and this input from Sue Doughty.

ANNE takes ACTION on Stopping regional house building targets
Oh, I see. You want to stop building houses in the area, even though it's quite obvious that scrounging illegal immigrants are snapping up all available housing in the area. Makes perfect sense to me

ANNE takes ACTION on Stopping unwanted mobile phone masts
So does Sue Doughty. Another 'Me too!' moment from Anne Milton, ladies and gentlemen.

ANNE takes ACTION on Supporting the new hospital
Yes. She used to a nurse, you know. Next...

ANNE takes ACTION on Preventing the closure of Milford Hospital
Same issue, isn't it? Support new ones, don't close old ones. Let's see what Sue Doughty thinks.

ANNE takes ACTION on Preventing more Post Office Closures
Hmm. You know, this looks like action to me, too:
Post Office Branch Closures Unacceptable says Sue Doughty
Sue Doughty meets with post office for urgent talks on closure

ANNE takes ACTION on Better enforcement of speed limits
Better enforcement? As in more police? I thought they were supposed to be busy eyeballing yobs. Perhaps it's more speed cameras Anne wants. Or moody loners with robot cars.

ANNE takes ACTION on Stopping anti-social behaviour
Ah, yes. The yobs. And quite possibly the only actual action I've seen from Anne Milton so far. Thanks to Tory-bod Mike Chambers we know that Anne Milton helped get a camera in an underpass.

ANNE takes ACTION on Safer streets, safer town, safer villages
See above.

ANNE takes ACTION on Cleaner streets
See above. No, up. Up further. Right at the top. There you go.

ANNE takes ACTION on Saying no to the Guildford Casino
See even further above. Also, what the hell does this mean? Anne Milton takes action on saying no. Not "Anne Milton takes action" or "Anne Milton takes action *by* saying 'no'"... but "Anne Milton takes action *on* saying no". I think it means that she has taken action on saying no by - after months of saying nothing - printing that she says 'no' in this pamphlet. So the sentence that claims she takes action refers to the action taken by printing the sentence itself. Clear?

ANNE takes ACTION on A fairer and lower Council tax
Another victory for Anne 'Me too!' Milton... Sue Doughty - We Need a Fairer Council Tax

ANNE takes ACTION on A better, prompter train service
Yes. To correct the crappy, late services caused by the Tory-led privatisation of rail.

ANNE takes ACTION on Building the new Civic Hall in Guildford
Would that be the Civic Hall in Guildford designed to replace the one that Tory councillors closed despite protests from Lib-Dems?
Lib Dems target council leader over Civic Hall 'fiasco'

ANNE takes ACTION on Saying no to incineration
This, I assume, refers to her opposition to plans for a Guildford incinerator. That originated from the Tory-run Council. Here's Sue again, opposing the last Tory candidate who supported the incinerator... and lost. A jolly good plan of Anne's, then, to come out against it. Even though it was her lot that backed it.

All in all, I'm seeing a lot of bluster, a lot of bull and very little action. But that's nothing new, really.

Still, I was inspired enough to take a little action myself. Anne's past naughtiness with pamphlets left us in a position where we didn't actually know what local people thought of her... so I popped into uk.local.surrey and asked.

What *do* local people think of Anne Milton? Well, from my small online sample, all I have so far is this:

"I think I can honestly say I've never thought of Anne Milton...."

"Who?"

"To be honest - I don't give a toss about Anne Milton or any of her ilk... I'm no New Labour supporter but after 18 years of Tory tripe of ruining our country and turning us into materialistic, money is everything, house price obsessed, damn the disadvantaged nation we appear to have become, I'm sure ain't going to vote the like of Ann Milton into Parliament."

"I might if she's got big tits."

Hm. She happens a great big tit herself. I'm wondering if that counts...

There's also this interesting observation:

"Well, I was in the same room as her once, is that good enough? Seriously, I am fascinated by this complete change in campaigning style. We have been inundated with leaflets and flyers all featuring the smiling and local campaigning Anne Milton and I opened the door the other day to be confronted by a bright young confident gentleman who brightly asked if I was going to vote Conservative. No doubt this is not the last visit. I just find it interesting that Anne Milton seems to be conducting a local campaign that is more Lib-Dem in style than the Lib-Dems do themselves. It also feels like a local council election rather than preparing for a national election and I think that this is unhealthy; a national general election is surely about national policies and what is good for the country rather than the fact that the Conservative candidate tried to save our local Post Office and picks up litter in Gomshall or wherever."

I'd agree with that up to a point (I do like an MP who actually spends time serving their constituents, and MPs that do so deserve credit for that work). The Tories appear to be relying on their recent Council wins while hammering Anne Milton into something that could pass as a rough facsimile of our current MP.

(And they'd probably stand some chance of success if the challenge were set in a room full of mentally-challenged rhesus monkeys. Wait... strike that. Best make it; ' a *darkened* room full of mentally-challenged rhesus monkeys'....)

Labels: inaction, tory ringers

Dear Anne,

It's been 11 days, 18 hours, 4 minutes and 19 seconds since you promised to get back to me about your latest pamphlet and how many 'men or women in the street' were actually Tory party activists and/or closely associated with your campaign.

Just how long does it take to formulate the reply; "All of them!"...?

I ask because I'd like to put this episode behind us and move on to some other questions such as:

Are you really claiming that you will oppose any plans to build an incinerator in Guildford? Isn't this a little strange, given that plans for an incinerator originated from the Tory-run Council?

You appear to be strangely silent on the subject of the rights and wrongs of a casino in Guildford. Do you actually have a view on this, or are you waiting to hear what other people think first?

Cheers

Tim

Labels: inaction, tory ringers

Anne Milton first came to my attention in the latter half of 2004, when posters and pamphlets first appeared giving me the following details about her qualifications...

Anne Milton: Nurse. Mother.

... and that's it. I remember being distinctly underwhelmed, but didn't see the point in making a big deal about it. (Nature abhors a vacuum - and I'm less than tolerant myself - but at this stage I was trying to set a good example for proxy-bloggers... so much so that I'd even eased up on Tim Yeo).

I later heard that subsequent pamphlets had gone one step further by revealing Anne's star-sign. I had a quiet chortle at that, but - again - let it go.

However... when someone from an 'independent survey company' called my home on behalf of Anne Milton and got uppity when I wanted to ask a few questions, I was a little bit peeved. When I emailed Anne Milton about it and she promised to 'investigate' but failed to mention (or perhaps 'discover') that this call came from a Tory party call-centre, I was well-and-truly miffed.

So, here I am with a brand new weblog. Its title:

Anne Milton: Nurse. Mother. Dipstick.

The plan is to focus a microscope on Anne Milton's campaign in an effort to find something - anything - of substance.

Labels: housekeeping, inaction, the usual rubbish