The week in bits: Weather, more weather, UKIP, Burley, weather, a resignation, and more weather

Cameron prepares to blame last Labour Government for letting him waste his rubbish political catchphrases

David Cameron must be kicking himself this week. Having reached the unlikely conclusion that the serious damage caused by extreme weather this week was the fault of the last Labour Government not spending enough in office, he found himself in a perfect position to use one of his favourite phrases in a context that actually made sense.

However, wasteful Cameron has spent much of the last five years trotting out the line “Labour didn’t fix the roof when the sun was shining” as an economic mantra that has failed to really cut through the public consciousness. Now, the phrase delivers a Pavlovian response of immediate boredom (“it’s the economy, dullard”) from the electorate, spoiling the PM’s opportunity for a great line. If only he’d saved it for a rainy day.

Goodbye to Burley

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night to the Nazi stag do organising Tory MP who supposedly didn’t realise he was organising a Nazi stag do. After over two years without any serious recriminations, Aidan Burley must have felt he’d weathered the storm, but this week he finally gave in to the inevitable and announced he would be standing down at the next election. Burley expressed surprise at being elected to represent Cannock Chase in 2010, an election that saw a huge swing, and must have realised that the voters could be fair weather friends. We’ll certainly be sad to see him goosestep into the sunset in 2015.

“Go home” van minister employs illegal immigrant

It never rains but it pours for Cameron. Having lost Burley and seen both Anne McIntosh and Tim Yeo deselected, he was also encumbered with a front bench resignation this week. Some will surely feel the scandal that has brought down Immigration Minister Mark Harper has been little more than a storm in a teacup, but many will have little sympathy for the man who sent vans around demanding illegal immigrants “go home”, a campaign that was roughly as offensive as it was completely and utterly pointless. Perhaps there is a silver lining on the cloud for the Tories then, because if Harper sees that as an effective immigration policy he’s clearly chasing rainbows.

UKIP by-election upset on the cards

The coming week will see the Wythenshawe and Sale East by-election, with predictions of a UKIP victory appearing to be little more than whispers in the wind, as polling shows Labour have a 46-point lead in the seat. Obviously, we have to be realistic, and remember that these polls often have a margin of error of around 3%, so Labour’s lead could be as little 43.

UKIP, the UK’s Third Party (© the British Media), have been playing up the chances of the winds of change sweeping through Westminster but here, at least, the last Labour Government did enough to build defences to make this an unlikely breakthrough.