Tory peer Lord Moylan’s tweet it’s a ‘public duty’ to ‘pick a fight with lefties’ is defenceless – Tom Richmond

Not content with branding Yorkshire as “a county of leftist whingers begging for handouts” before the archetypal Londoner (and Tory) had even arrived here, he described The Yorkshire Post as a “sad, chippy cesspit” and that he’d prefer to eat “sheep’s testicles” rather than read a caustic critique of his hypocrisy.

Sneering peer Daniel Moylan brings Lords and Boris Johnson cronyism into disrepute with jibe about Yorkshire’s ‘leftist whingers’ – Tom Richmond

Now the sneering peer is entitled to his opinion – some will agree with Boris Johnson’s envoy, many others will not – and such polarising exchanges are part of the ‘cut and thrust’ of political debate and discourse as Yorkshire and the North strives for a fairer share of public funds to invest in the nation’s future.

A Valentine’s Day love letter to Lord Moylan

But what was unacceptable was Moylan’s crass reaction to a social media post plugging a podcast debate being held about the furore caused by his views – and how he’d been advised “not to pick a fight with Yorkshire”.

Warning: article contains graphic details of House of Lords member and a sheep’s testicles

It told you all that you need to know about his unedifying character: “I picked a fight with lefties. That’s a public duty.”

A ‘public duty’ at a time when two MPs – including Yorkshire’s Jo Cox – have been killed at constituency surgeries in the past six years and when there’s an expectation that Parliamentarians set a better example to be the public? Such provocation, even incitement, should see the Tories withdraw the party whip if the Government has any moral compass left.

There has to be something delusional when any individual – never mind a law-maker of the land – thinks, even in jest, that it is ‘a public duty’ to ‘pick a fight’ with their opponents and then publish their views rather than even attempt to take part in a mature debate about how to empower the whole of the UK, and not just London and the South East.

This is probably too much to accept from a former Crossrail board member – and ex-chair of Crossrail 2 – who was the apparent mastermind behind Johnson’s fanciful plan for a ‘Boris Island’ airport and who claimed nearly £50,000 in attendance allowances alone during his first full year as a member of the House of Lords.

This ‘charmer’ also claims up to £10,000 a year as a board member of Ebbsfleet Development Corporation – the body tasked with maximising the economy spin-offs from the high-speed rail line that passes through Kent – while mocking Yorkshire as a county of beggars.

But Moylan’s colourful caricature of this region should not mask, as MPs and peers return to Westminster following the half-term recess, more fundamental questions about Parliament.

First, is it acceptable that prime ministers still have undiluted powers of patronage when it comes to rewarding cronies? Moylan was deputy chair of Transport for London when Johnson was mayor of the capital as well as being a senior member of Kensington and Chelesa Council at the time of the Grenfell tragedy in 2017. Is this the best that the current Tory leader could muster?

Second, is it acceptable for Parliament to ignore a member – whether it be a elected MP or unelected peer – who thinks that it is a ‘public duty’ to ruffle opponents rather than attempt to win the policy debate on points of principle and philosophy?
Third, when will politicians realise that odious individuals like Lord Moylan, who appears to have modelled himself on the fictional MP Alan B’stard portrayed by Rik Mayall in the The New Statesman, a Yorkshire Television satire programme, strengthen the case for Lords reform and greater democratic accountability?

They’re profound points that take on greater importance when you realise that Daniel Moylan was already a much discredited figure (as distinct from being disliked) when hand-picked by Boris Johnson to serve in the Lords, scrutinise new laws and pass legislation.

This isn’t democracy. It’s more akin to a dictatorship after Lord Moylan revealed its true colours in his uniquely undiplomatic way and it remains this newspaper’s ‘public duty’ to point it out.

I’M still struggling to get over the extent to which the BBC over-indulged tennis star Novak Djokovic and his Covid vaccine scepticism after he was ultimately refused permission to play at the Australian Open.

First, it saw fit to send Amol Rajan, the Media Editor, to Belgrade, to interview Djokovic – presumably as part of his audition to succeed Laura Kuennsberg as BBC Political Editor.

It then thought Djokovic’s willingness not to play in future tournaments was more newsworthy on Tuesday than the Ukraine crisis when Nato and Russia stood on the brink of war.

And then it broadcast a special programme on BBC One in which Rajan’s theatrical interview technique was as pitiful as Djokovic’s attempt to justify his non-compliance with Covid rules after catching the virus. Just what makes the surly Serb a special case? Game, set and match to the BBC’s critics.

TEN years after he had a Horsforth post box painted gold in his honour, the lettering on the plaque marking Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee’s 2012 triathlon triumph is becoming faded.

Instead of ‘Gold Medal winner’, it now reads as ‘Cold Medal winner’. I know the Brownlee boys are multi-talented, but expecting them to come to Team GB’s rescue at the Winter Olympics might be a step too far. Even for them.

Meanwhile let’s hope the Royal Mail spruces up these golden boxes in time for the Platinum Jubilee and 10th anniversary of the London Olympics. After all, Britain’s heroes from that special summer are sporting royalty...

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