Walkies!

In conversation with a Tory MP friend of mine, I asked how Simon Wright was doing in the Commons. "Kept on a short leash by Norman," was the reply.

Mr Lamb has a poodle? That'll keep the headline writers busy for a while!

The "Facebook Faker" is revealed... as a stupid person

Having been at first quite irritated by this, you may have guessed that I now find this whole thing very very amusing. And just in case my day looked like it may have been dull, what pops into my email box but a message from the "Facebook Faker"! Oh yes - it came from the famous norman_lamb@hotmail.co.uk e-mail address and this is what it said:

Dear Norwich Conservatives,

I'm sorry about the misunderstanding. I am the person who setup a fake Norman Lamb profile on Facebook.

I did send my party (the Liberal Democrats) an e-mail a while ago pointing out that I am a Liberal Democrat activist who made the Norman Lamb profile and group in response to another group about Norman Lamb on Facebook. I felt that by pretending to be Norman Lamb I could get more support for the group. In terms of messages I would pass them onto Norman himself. I was happy to pass the group and profile onto Norman when he was ready. I just felt Norman was taking too long to join Facebook.The only reason I gave a reference to Norman's opponent was to show that Norman was confident about beating him. I was confident we could show off Norman's group had more support than his rival. Also by people seeing his rival's website they would more likely look at Normans and see how much better it is.

In terms of replying to one person saying that the negative stuff posted was true. The reason I did that was because I felt sure there was evidence out there which could be used against Norman if he denied it. Therefore I felt it better off saying it was true and therefore make Norman appear more straight forward.I did post some stuff on Norman's wikipedia. I was giving him credit for some campaigns, but it got taken off apparently because some activists would have been offended. I wasn't sure why, but chose to ask no more questions.Because I have felt that the accusations against your party could damage my party and after having told my party a while ago that I am a Liberal Democrat activist I have with deep regret had to tell you the Conservatives about this so it does not damage Norman in a General Election. By that I mean our two parties can put this to bed quickly. I have sent a similar message to this back to my party. I hope we can get back to positive campaigning which I think is good for politics in general.

Best wishes

Norman Lamb's loyal activist
P.S. I won't tell you or anyone who I am because otherwise it could damage my party. Because David Cameron wants to get rid of your nasty image I think you would rather know no more about me.

So, there we have it, case closed ... a LibDem after all! Or is it...

... the trouble is that whilst this e-mail absolutely comes from the Facebook Faker, something troubles me about their claims to be a LibDems.

I just can't put my finger on it.

Hang on! What's this? The e-mail display name ... it doesn't come from Norman Lamb, it appears to come from NORMAN LAMN.

Oh dear, a suppoter so loyal and so dedicated that they can't even spell their own man's name.

Which leads me to conclude that this isn't a LibDem or a Conservative ... it is just a very, very stupid person with too much time on their hands. And if you are a stupid person who wants to give a few LibDems and the EDP a thrill every now and again - try getting the spelling right.

Case closed.

Stupid, but not serious

The BBC has worked its way into a political lather over an error on a Conservative campaign document that claimed a hospital was under threat when it wasn't. Oh well, some idiot at CCHQ didn't check you might think. Alternatively you may recall that Norman Lamb, darling of the LibDems, did a similar thing when he slammed the hygenic state of the Norfolk & Norwich only to have to apologise a day later - so it happens to the best of us. You may also remember a certain LibDem by-election candidate claiming a hospital was to shut when it wasn't. These thing happen in the heat of battle - they shouldn't but they do. I always think you should say sorry, move on, learn something and get it right next time.

However, the BBC has gone at this like a corporation possessed. The rolling News 24 coverage is way out of proportion to what is going on, especially compared to slightly more interesting and important news items at the moment - like Britain's woeful cancer recovery rates. So, what is going on with the BBC? They should really know better having had to apologise to the Conservatives twice in a week after bias reporting on the Tory tax proposals and having to admit a Labour mole in the Blue Peter camp (no, really, it's true - one of the presenters openly backed Red Ken at a rally). Does this have anything to do with the threat of an autumn election I wonder...

Could a LibDem be the "Facebook Faker"?

The controversy over a faked Facebook page in the name of LibDem MP Norman Lamb seems to have the EDP and the blogosphere in a frenzy to discover whodunnit. Several bizarre claims have been made - not least that it was a UKIP plot - but most of the LibDem accusations seem to have been directed towards Tory candidate Trevor Ivory who made a strong denial of being involved or even knowing who did it.

As always in these cases, the LibDems drop big hints without actually pointing the finger (due to, well, no evidence) and the EDP leaves the reader with that no-smoke-without-fire feeling towards Mr Ivory because whoever did do it put a link to Trevor's blog on it.

So, all-in-all, Norman Lamb looks like the innocent hard-working MP and the Tory candidate looks a bit shifty.

And that's what started me thinking. A faked Facebook page attacking Norman Lamb attracts a small readership of Facebook diehards. If they'd left this alone, very few people would ever have cared. But an EDP article suggesting Tory involvment in a smear plot attracts a large readership of floating voters in North Norfolk and from around the county.

Could it be that this albeit rather time-consuming stunt was not designed to besmirch the good name of Norman Lamb MP (as claimed) but to give plenty of sleaze ammunition against the Tory candidate?

After all, who would be stupid enough to leave their own blog details on a site like this which was bound to cause trouble? It just doesn't add up, and with the LibDems being the only winners you have to ask if somebody with a lot of time on their hands and a devious mind could just have dunnit...