The virtual illusion & the ugly reality Part Two

Politicians are given guidelines on using social networking media—available here.  It does not mention the word fraudulent as Nick Clegg’s Twitter account would seem to be.  In fact there is not much guidance on anything.

Back in 2011 @UKHouseofLords, was produced by Lords’ staff, this aimed to show how the House of Lords: “challenges and keeps a check on the UK Government,” part of which tells us who in the House of Lords have  been using Twitter and a list can be found here. So let’s have a look at this Twitter list and just see what Lords do on Twitter to fulfill this worthwhile and important mission.

Scrolling down the page is a startling reminder of who has been put there since politics became so corrupt.  This is a list from the site with the Lord’s description of themselves, a recent Tweet(s) and some observations:

@LordJohnTaylor Member of the House of Lords, desire to represent the underprivileged. Passionate about God, media, music and sport.

RECENT TWEET:

we must review penal policy in our country, we can’t keep ramming people into prisons #hopeandafuture

This was followed by the contradictory:

Don’t despair! If you feel you are in the PIT, with God that means you are a Preacher In Training! Your pit will become your platform.

—You would also think his passion for money would be included in this list, but his interest in Penal reform is related to his  ‘protracted course of dishonesty‘ as the Judge said when he got caught cheating the taxpayer out of £11,000 by lying about where he lived.

@StewartWood Shadow Cabinet Minister, Labour member of the House of Lords & adviser to Ed Miliband; Jethro Tull & alt-country aficionado; lifelong Liverpool fan.

RECENT TWEET:

Standing room only, but I’m seated. A man eyes my chair longingly. I go to the loo. When I get back, he’s in my seat, smiling. What do I do?

—Presumably the Tweet was at Annfield rather than —”oh what’s the name of that place I’m suppose to go…?” Obviously the influence of Jethro Tull was their revolting contempt for their audience and the awful noise they made—Stewart, like many of the Lords insists on telling us he is a football fan presumably to appear (more) human. Described as Miliband’s “very own Peter Mandelson” his Lordy name is Baron Wood of Anfield. He was co-founder of Nexus which pumped out all that third way shite for New Labour and he was supposedly punched by Gordon Brown.

@GeorgeFoulkes Peer and avid Hearts Supporter!

RECENT TWEET:

@Clarkson77 @AngusMacNeilMP @Scotsfox @theSNP Did you not read the hansard I tweeted earlier? http://bit.ly/VB7yox

—I sort of imagined some sort of confession of George’s serial scamming over the years but no nothing, but he does inform us that every one who talks about him tells lies. He seems relatively sober (what an illusion Twitter is).

@MaeveSherlock Labour peer & member of Lords Work & Pensions team. Chair of @chapelst.Doing a PhD (v slowly) on church & state. Loves Twitter but tweets erratically.

RECENT TWEET:

@Durhamgirl92 You poor thing. May you rest easy in your onesie (if such the magical garment is).

—Well well a Ph.D. into onsie use—can’t wait. Maeve’s claim to being raised above us is that she was on a think tank which pumped out all that third way shite for New Labour: that’s not much really is it? Pensions are of course of supreme interest to Lords (not those for poor people but all the ones they get, but I have not got to Glenys Kinnock quite yet).

@Andrew_Adonis My book ‘Education, Education, Education’ out this week. Order at Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/

RECENT TWEET:

In German politics, doctorates so essential they get invented. In UK you hide all doctorates, or be branded elitist. Cultural worlds apart

—Some Lords, just like comedians and musicians just cannot resist the temptation to use Twitter to promote their wares, as if we had all grown a desire to see more self-promotion and advertising in every corner of political representation. He is bemoaning the lack of plagiarism in UK politics here, which he is making up for in his book no doubt. Adonis was also part of Nexus and think tanks who pumped out all that third way shite for New Labour.  He now scams with the Institute for Government. Intelligence is not a prerequisite for a position in the Lords, which brings us to…

@LordMcConnell Member, UK House of Lords. Campaigning against global poverty, conflict and bigotry. Loves education, music and fun. First Minister of Scotland 2001-2007.

RECENT TWEETS

Really enjoyed this well-researched radio doc by @DAaronovitch on Orwell’s writing of 1984 http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01qhb8b/The_Real_George_Orwell_The_Road_to_Nineteen_EightyFour/ …

What do you think folks – will watching #Spiral on BBC4 help with #borgen withdrawals?

—See @GeorgeFoulkes; Jack is campaigning against global policy, sorry poverty, by accumulating vast wealth to examine it up close, see its effects etc., once he has as much as inhumanly possible he will have a think about things while he is watching the telly. Jack became First Minister after Donald Dewar died and Henry McLeish was busted but escaped.  Keep him: no one in Scotland wants him back.

@McFallJF Member of the House of Lords

RECENT TWEETS:

Guardian says Barclays to close SCM division 2days after Qs to Anthony Jenkins by Nigel Lawson + myself at PCBS Well Well 4tax avoidance

—John McFall is a man of few words here—yes John we know you are in the House of Lords— this advert is so brief because no one is offering him money and it also functions to summon any potential lobbyists who might. He scams via the Industry and Parliament Trust.

@JDBakewell broadcaster, journalist, novelist. author of She’s Leaving Home

RECENT TWEET:

Borgen tonight: another treat beckons. What will we do when it’s over? And why doesn’t British TV cast the same spell?

—See @Andrew_Adonis and @LordMcConnell.  Surely Joan should use Pinteresque pauses in her Tweets?

@EricAvebury 50 years in Parliament, human rights campaigner, LibDem, Buddhist, teetotaler, father of 4, Bach devotee, survivor.

RECENT TWEET:

Second time in a week #BaronessVerma dodges question. Has #EDF a monopoly at #Hinkley -or can we seek other quotes? http://bit.ly/12e1zsm

—Lord Avebury does do a bit now and again and yes that was a Tweet on something political—how about that!

@lordsoftheblog For dialogue between Members of the House of Lords & the public. To speak directly to the Peers go to lordsoftheblog.net -follow for links to new content & info

RECENT TWEET:

Did you know the House of Lords has a rifle range?! Lord Tyler asks whether it is a security risk & who pays for it… http://lordsoftheblog.net/2013/01/24/target-practice/ …

—This is also included because it purveys the fiction that we can speak directly to the ermine clad elite—guess what: a web site, how more direct can democracy get. But on the bright side a firing squad is practically organised for us—ready!

@bishopmikehill Bishop of Bristol, married to Anthea, five children, sports freak, reading and rock ‘n roller.

RECENT TWEET:

Well, quite a morning so far. We went into the jungle to do a trek. Saw the usual assortment of bush deer and so… http://bit.ly/VrasOy

—What the House of Lords also has a Jungle in there too! That, and his self-description comes across as quite disturbing.  He does a fine line in pompous sanctimony in his blog: “He is driven by a desire to “see heaven populated” and to help create the kinds of churches where the sort of people he used to hang out with might have a chance of finding Christ.” What is worse than a Bishop trying to be ‘groovy’. Ah I think the question is about to be answered:

@JohnSentamu Archbishop of York, Primate of England and Metropolitan

RECENT TWEET:

Mary Butterwick’s story reminds us that with God at your side, everything is possible! http://ow.ly/hAggd

—Ah yes a total careerist cynical bastard Bishop, a columnist for The Sun (cashing in on missing Madeleine McCann) . A man who, if Jesus had clapped eyes on him, would have had the Apostles cut his ears off—looks like a Millstone is going round your neck mate.

@tinastowell Conservative Deputy Chief Whip in Lords. Govt Spokesman: Women & Equalities; Work & Pensions. Govt Whip for Home Office & DCMS. Website says what I did before

RECENT TWEETS:

@meralhece I hope I would notice if the real George Clooney was sitting next to Black Rod!

@meralhece Saw Duchess of Cornwall, but I missed Mark Carney. When was he there?

There’s a weird hint of confession in that one towards the end, but judging by the Tweets presumably the House of Lords also has a sex club somewhere in the place too. Tina was Head of Corporate Affairs at the BBC and ran William Hague’s office when he was leader of the Conservative Party. To cash in on the Lords position she is a ‘strategic communications’ consultant — a lobbyist in other words — via Tina Stowell Associates. She says she “ceased trading” in September 2011 when she became a Government Whip. She helped out Seb Coe with his “no written record of any conversations that would have occurred” defence when things were getting obvious with the Olympic money spending.

@sebcoe Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee and Olympic gold medalist

What a fantastic night last night. Unbelievable way to finish the year. BBC to the fore again.

—Any one in the UK who does not know this about Coe is just pretending, but he just had to say it one more time— no idea what he’s talking about in the Tweet though: Jimmy Savile?

@Oona_King Loves politics, dancing, and sleeping toddlers.

Just walked up red carpet @ #Bafta luckily in shadow of Helen Mirren which meant photographers didn’t notice I looked like a bag lady #phew

—How did Oona King (utterly rejected by the electorate) get into the Lords: sheer hubris, sycophancy, egotism…?

@Lord_Sugar Chairman of Amshold Group which is owner of Viglen, Amscreen and Amsprop. Chairman of YouView.

RECENT TWEETS:

Prank Video by @Vitalyzdtv won RUDE TUBE CH4. May 2012. Zombie was on loose in Miami eating peoples faces.True story http://tiny.cc/hchasw

—Well looks like there is a place to smoke crystal meth in the Lords too. Sadly, because it is an unelected upper chamber, we cannot use Lord Sugar’s catchphrase “your fired” in his case.

@GlenysKinnock

RECENT TWEET:

@FrankfurtHarry Facts. EU admin 6% of Budget. Employment costs half of that -much smaller than Member States. Staff and MEPs do pay tax

—Glenys has chosen to say nothing here in her description, so we might as well enjoy the silence, but my oh my does she know where the money is in the EU (in her pocket). The estimate is somewhere in the region of 10 million scammed by Glenys and Neil.

@FloellaBenjamin Actress/Writer/Campaigner

RECENT TWEET:

Another good site for parents & teachers which helps children to be aware of the dangers lurking out there to harm them http://www.swgfl.org.uk/sextinghelp#

—Floella Benjamin OBE stands for On Bloody Everything, every one an ‘appointment’ — she is more common on these insider committee than glasses of water on the table—what a hustler! All that on the back of Playaway and Pantomine.  Just stay away kids, stay away way away.