WIDDECOMBE UNFAIR..
Ann Widdecombe, one time Member of Parliament for Maidstone and the Weald, former Prisons Minister and failed (dismally) Strictly Come Dancing entrant, has just had her autobiography published. In it she complains that her expected elevation to the peerage was blocked by David Cameron because of her opposition to fox hunting.
She says that, as a former Minister, she "had a strong probability" of joining the House of Lords when she left the Commons in 2010. However, she claims that David Cameron was determined to stop it and she says she knew she wouldn`t get the peerage she felt she deserved "because I had received intelligence from an impeccable source that Cameron had set his face against it."
Now in these parts, it almost amounts to treason to utter any form of criticism about Ms. Widdecombe, as she is looked upon locally as a kind of Mother Teresa figure who can do no wrong and who provides an example by which others might live their lives with admirable humility, restraint and modesty. So I perhaps run the risk of a late night knock on the door when I proffer the suggestion that her complaint merely confirms the kind of assumed entitlement that comes with `office` and which, in turn, confirms the true character and personality of the complainant.
For she is not only gunning for David Cameron in her new book but also other fellow Conservative MPs and Ministers, notably Michael Howard, once described by Widdecombe as `having something of the night about him.` Again, however, it`s more likely that her complaints about Michael Howard have been brought to the fore in that he is now Lord Howard (actually Baron Howard of Lympne in the County of Kent) and occupies a seat in the House of Lords along with the £300 per day allowance, denied to La Widdecombe.
Seems to me that whilst David Cameron may not get everything right, he was spot on with this one.
She says that, as a former Minister, she "had a strong probability" of joining the House of Lords when she left the Commons in 2010. However, she claims that David Cameron was determined to stop it and she says she knew she wouldn`t get the peerage she felt she deserved "because I had received intelligence from an impeccable source that Cameron had set his face against it."
Now in these parts, it almost amounts to treason to utter any form of criticism about Ms. Widdecombe, as she is looked upon locally as a kind of Mother Teresa figure who can do no wrong and who provides an example by which others might live their lives with admirable humility, restraint and modesty. So I perhaps run the risk of a late night knock on the door when I proffer the suggestion that her complaint merely confirms the kind of assumed entitlement that comes with `office` and which, in turn, confirms the true character and personality of the complainant.
For she is not only gunning for David Cameron in her new book but also other fellow Conservative MPs and Ministers, notably Michael Howard, once described by Widdecombe as `having something of the night about him.` Again, however, it`s more likely that her complaints about Michael Howard have been brought to the fore in that he is now Lord Howard (actually Baron Howard of Lympne in the County of Kent) and occupies a seat in the House of Lords along with the £300 per day allowance, denied to La Widdecombe.
Seems to me that whilst David Cameron may not get everything right, he was spot on with this one.
No comments:
Post a Comment