The Guardian's Dave Hill has the latest on the Veronica Wadley affair: a terse reply after ten days from Conservative headquarters merely stating "A new recruitment process has been agreed by everyone involved and we look forward to seeing the result."
 
Dave is unimpressed.
 
"This is a non-response as feeble as Boris's non-defence his actions. As well as dodging my questions it leaves open the possibility that if Hunt becomes Conservative culture secretary in the next couple of weeks he will allow Boris to re-engineer the entire process once again, this time in a manner to his liking and to the advantage of Veronica Wadley."
 
From all this Dave draws the conclusion that the whole episode tells us something about how the Conservatives might behave in office: "anyone can see that Boris's stewardship of the first process came nowhere near meeting the standards he pledged to uphold in his accountability manifesto or matching up to David Cameron's promises to clean up politics. Why should anyone trust Conservatives with power?"
 
Read the whole thing here.

Posted by Mehdi Hasan at the  New Statesman

So tell me again, Dave, why it is that you think Britain should renew Trident?

"Are we really happy to say that we'd give up our independent nuclear deterrent when we don't know what is going to happen with Iran, we can't be certain of the future in China?"

China?? Does David Cameron really believe that the People's Republic of China is a threat to the United Kingdom? That the Chinese, in the midst of supplying our high-street stores with much of their clothing lines, have prepared military plans to either invade and occupy the British Isles or nuke us to smithereens from afar? And, even if they had, does he think the UK's four Trident-armed nuclear submarines would protect his "big society" from the People's Liberation Army, backed up by 400 Chinese nuclear warheads? It'd be like the Na'vi versus the humans in Avatar - only without a happy ending for the Na'vi.

Random movie references aside, I do, however, have a serious point to make. Cameron is not qualified to be prime minister. The self-professed "heir to Blair", like Tony Blair before him, edges towards Downing Street with little knowledge of the world beyond the white cliffs of Dover. He is, as President Obama is alleged to have remarked, a "lightweight". Labour strategists have smiles on their faces. The Foreign Secretary David Miliband was quick to say that the Leader of the Opposition had issued "an insult to a fellow permanent member of the UN security council and to a country with whom we have just announced a close strategic relationship," adding: "David Cameron should withdraw this slur now."

A future Conservative government would spell the end for Cross Rail and the vital regeneration of the capital's infrastructure, Unite the biggest union in London and the south east warned today (Thursday).
The claim comes following remarks made by Tory transport spokesperson Justine Greening on LBC radio earlier today in which she said she could not "guarantee that Cross Rail will continue".

Steve Hart, Regional secretary of Unite said: "It is extremely worrying for London that the Tories are refusing to commit to support Cross Rail. This project is vital for London's future prosperity. It will enable poorer communities to access work and provide the necessary infrastructure to sustain London as a great world city. It has overwhelming support from trade unions and across the political parties in London.  And the business community sees Cross Rail as central to improving London's transport system.