Anti-gambling shadow minister enjoys a flutter
Shadow gambling minister Alex Davies-Jones rose in the Commons this week to speak out about the social evils of gambling. Responding to the government’s new White Paper to reform the betting market, Ms Davies-Jones said: “I have met many people whose lives, and whose families’ lives, have been devastated by gambling harm.”
One of the obvious ways gambling addicts’ lives can be “devastated” is the ruination of personal finances, driving many gamblers to resort to using food banks.
It was peculiar, therefore, for Beachcomber to see Ms Davies-Jones visit her local food bank this week, boasting of making a £500 donation.
How did she make this donation? Why, gambling of course.
She told Facebook users how she won big on the Grand National, after a £50 charity bet from the Betting and Gaming Council.
“Thanks to the Betting and Gaming Council I was able to place a charity £50 bet on the Grand National. I placed £25 Corach Rambler to win outright and £12.50 each way on Vanillier. Corach Rambler won and Vanillier placed 2nd.”
Perhaps promoting gambling as a get-rich-quick scheme isn’t the best messaging from Labour’s shadow gambling messenger…
Welsh secretary’s conference speech flops
It was a big day for the Tories yesterday, with both their Scottish and Welsh conferences in one day. The conference north of Hadrian’s wall was, by all accounts, chaotic – after No 10 risked a media meltdown over perceived attempts to block unfriendly media from asking the PM questions.
Over in Wales it was an altogether quieter affair. The speech from Welsh Secretary David TC Davies was the only entertainment Beachcomber managed to enjoy.
Speaking to an un-lively audience, Mr Davies championed Britain’s Brexit wins as he said: “The economy’s doing fine, employment is increasing, there’s no shortage of vegetables or fruit or ice creams, or as far as I’m aware there’s no shortage of Viagra either.”
Turns out Boris Johnson did deliver a hard Brexit after all.
CCHQ’s musical chairs
Last month, Beachcomber exclusive revealed CCHQ’s financial woes had led them to scrap their daily cleaner and out-of-hours security guards in an attempt to make ends meet.
The changes haven’t stopped there, however.
This week staffers face their own reshuffle with a new seating plan, after a higher-up realised that hot desking hasn’t worked given everyone just stays in the same spot every day.
Party officials hope the new seating plan will make CCHQ more productive.
‘Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic’ comes to mind.
Al the nomadic politician
There has been much chat at the bar of the Red Lion about where Al will end up at the next election. Al being what close friends and family call the former prime minister known as Boris Johnson.
There had been discussion a while back that he was getting itchy feet in Uxbridge and South Ruislip where he has been reselected but the boundary changes have made his seat marginal.
A few weeks ago there were whispers he was looking in his old Oxfordshire haunts near Henley, possibly Bicester.
But late this week a trusted chum said that “Boris’ people have been asking about Solihull and been in touch there.”
Solihull is the seat being vacated by the now former Tory turned independent MP Julian Knight.
Beachcomber texted Al’s official man of communications but was given a flat “no”.
So probably not true then. The mystery of where he will stand goes on.