Redwood's rottweiler bites again
Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Nick Bourne's been having quite an easy time of it as late. Admittedly, Labour piped up last week and accused him of being scared to leave his air-conditioned office, but that's about as heated as it's got.

Enter Rod Richards, his predecessor as Tory leader.

"I regret the fact that these days all politicians from all parties are basically cardboard cut-outs," said Richards, obviously taking this photo (left) a little too seriously.

"As for the Conservative group leader Nick Bourne I have no regard for him whatsoever.

"I will not be voting in the assembly elections because nobody standing represents me or my views and I have taken a positive decision to abstain which shows my disdain for the way the assembly is operating. I certainly won't be voting Conservative because they don't deserve it and have no credibility in my view".

So the Tories are one vote down already. But it's no surprise that Richards, one of John Redwood's former enforcers, isn't a big fan of Nick Bourne. After all, he blames him for no less than his political downfall.

There was a time, you see, when Rod Richards was leader of the Welsh Conservatives. He was influential, respected and had first dibs on all the buffet lunches. But then he became embroiled in strange nocturnal activities and had to step down. Nick Bourne was the beneficiary and even when Richards was cleared, refused to give him back the whip. And so, an enemy was Bourne, with Richards branding him a "complete prat".

The relationship now seems much as it was then, except these days the Tories are in much better shape. It's hard to believe that just six years ago people were writing articles wondering if they'd ever win a Westminster seat in Wales again. It's also hard to believe that the man who was once the face of Conservatism in Wales is still so bitter about his political demise.

So, do Richards' views reflect those of other disillusioned Tories, or are they just the sole bitter fruit of an ancient feud? I suspect their impact will be minimal. For Bourne, this may simply be a case of vote lost, battle won.

A full version of Rod Richard's interview appears in the latest version of Parliamentary Motion magazine.

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posted by Blamerbell @ 12:12 am,

3 Comments:

At 3:20 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm not sure if I can say this publicly, please feel free to delete it if if you think it's libelous.

What Rod tells all that who will listen to him in AA is that Nick is "unmarried" and that William Hauge was Nick's "special friend". Williams marriage to Ffion was a convenience because the Conservative Party couldn't accept an "unmarried" leader and the Urdd couldn't accept that Syr Ifan ab Owain had an "unmarried" granddaughter.

 
At 6:47 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hmmm

Anyhoo, I don't think Rod is doing himself any favours. Why all this ranting now? What exactly is his point? Making insinuations about both Bourne and Hague -even if they were true- only suggests that Richards is a homophobe. His ranting has, admittedly, its entertainment value, but I don't see how it can affect the Tory election campaign.

 
At 9:45 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

it IS looking a bit defamatory. next we will be hearing the one about the senior Plaid politician, the married woman and the painter...

 

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