Anon at 12.16 - she's not the only A-lister making comments in high profile blogs.....
Anyway, Eric's demise is a sad day for those who honour Parliament as well as for those who agreed with his politics. He will be greatly missed.
May 18, 2006 at 12:24 PM
Anonymous
said...
I hesitate to speak ill of the dead but Mr Forth was not universally popular - just ask the Conservatives who deselected him as MP for Mid Worcestershire in favour of Peter Luff.
He was not deselected. His boundaries were redrawn, as were Peter Luff's.
May 18, 2006 at 1:02 PM
Anonymous
said...
Yes but what did he look like naked apart from a towel? These consecutive postings just go to show what an abject wanker David Cameron really is.
May 18, 2006 at 1:06 PM
Anonymous
said...
Mr Forth seemed pretty annoyed to me when he stormed out of a meeting of local Tories in Droitwich after it was decided that they wanted Luff and not him to be their MP.
Luff was on the chicken run from Worcester and had a good record as a constituency MP.
They both addressed the local association at a selection meeting and they chose Luff.
The boundaries were re-drawn but that isn't why Forth left Worcestershire.
May 18, 2006 at 1:19 PM
Anonymous
said...
he was a good parliamentarian. "Declare your interest" was a masterly interjection: witty and brilliantly timed.
May 18, 2006 at 1:41 PM
Anonymous
said...
Clearly as Eric didn't look good in a towel he doesn't befit a mention on www.conservatives.com home page.... guess airbrushing continues...
That is very different from being deselected, as you were alleging.
May 18, 2006 at 2:38 PM
Anonymous
said...
Pink News have done an obit on Eric, which is fairly balanced. This is my excuse for noticing that their banner advert is for "Grooming Week May 2006". Titter ye not.
May 18, 2006 at 2:53 PM
Anonymous
said...
I thought we weren't going to have a "Clause Forth moment"?
May 18, 2006 at 3:02 PM
Anonymous
said...
Forth's dislike of the Private Members Bill's procedure showed he was a far more petty man than any of the Bills he destroyed.
May 18, 2006 at 3:03 PM
Anonymous
said...
Any odds on Howard Flight being selected for his seat?
May 18, 2006 at 3:06 PM
Anonymous
said...
"Declare your interest was a masterly interjection: witty and brilliantly timed." Yes, and a childish way to knock down a worthwhile point of concern to millions... and for what, exactly?
Forth may be personally missed, but Parliament will be a better place without him. I only wish it could have been achieved by his deselection rather than this.
May 18, 2006 at 3:17 PM
Anonymous
said...
"Yes, and a childish way to knock down a worthwhile point of concern to millions... and for what, exactly?"
For Doctor Fegg - Oh do come off it you wally! Since when did PMQ's have anything to do with making worthwhile points of concern to millions?
"....but Parliament will be a better place without him"
sour puritanical bullshit.
"I only wish it could have been achieved by his deselection rather than this"
You clearly wish nothing of the sort.
Eric forth could spot cant and hypocricy a mile off and could be relied upon to deal with it in his own inimitable way.
A deep deep loss to both Parliament and hundreds of thousands of people in rural communities who had good reason to be very grateful to him.
May 18, 2006 at 3:42 PM
Anonymous
said...
No, it's a serious (if rhetorical) question.
After all, why are turnout figures on the slide and why is political journalism becoming ever more of a ghetto? At least partly because of prats in silly waistcoats shouting out yah-boo comments like they were still at primary school.
(Er, not that I wore a waistcoat at primary school.)
May 18, 2006 at 3:45 PM
Anonymous
said...
He wanted to stay and the local party didn't want him.
It looks like de-selection, sounds like de-selection - it is urrrr de-selection.
The point is his constituency association - and come to that most of Worcestershire - didn't like him and they preferred Mr Luff.
May 18, 2006 at 3:47 PM
Anonymous
said...
"You clearly wish nothing of the sort" - no, I'm sorry, that's not true. I wouldn't wish death on anyone. I've been too close to it myself.
As for "Since when did PMQ's have anything to do with making worthwhile points of concern to millions?" - ok, so what is the point of it exactly? If I want half an hour of entertaining insults I'll watch South Park.
(maybe we should commend that to Ming next time he gets a heckle - "eh, screw you guys, I'm goin' home")
May 18, 2006 at 3:47 PM
Anonymous
said...
Oh yeah, and I live in a rural community, too. But then the Countryside Alliance don't speak for me, or the majority of my fellow villagers, either.
eu-serf - yeah, point taken, and will refrain. I'd just ask that we have a bit less of the unbalanced hagiography, too - even the BBC's ever clueless Nick Robinson has been taken in. The place for fulsome praise is on Iain Dale's blog that way ------>
May 18, 2006 at 4:24 PM
Anonymous
said...
doctor fegg = another fr##kin white settler then .
Let us not speak ill of the dead. At least wait until his soul is reposed.
In the meantime, contemplate the consequences for the Patry of that half-naked hunk below-right replacing Mr Forth... the joys of the A-list.
May 18, 2006 at 5:05 PM
Anonymous
said...
Ghost of Humphrey the cat says.
Well they say the good die young and 61 is quite young these days. Compared to most of the slimeballs in westminster my whiskers sensed a good sense of humour in Mr Forth and a hatred of red tape, both of which are fine attributes.
Oh and dr Fegg, do you specialise in Sense of Humour Bypasses, it seems you could require some DIY surgery! And since when did your village say you could speak for them are you the democratically elected town crier OR SUMMIC?
But since I am completely unaware of the magnitude of the undisclosed portion, it is impossible for me to ascertain the precise correlation between the revealed and the concealed.
Under the circumstances, I estimated the proportions in rather flattering terms, and ventured 'half'. You may know better.
DF - however you feel about Mr Forth, he made an impact, for better (in my opinion) for worse (in that of others) - how many of the 650 or whatever it is MPs sitting now will have the same said of them?
I would hope, nay believe, that I would say the same of folk nowhere near to being my ideological soul mates. For what it is worth, I will mourn the passing of people as disparate as Ian Paisley, Michael Foot and Dennis Skinner - just as I lamented the loss of Tony Banks.
May 18, 2006 at 6:58 PM
Anonymous
said...
Cranmer, no doubt you speak of "that half-naked hunk below-right" In the finest tradition of the church and as a connoisseur of such matters.
Cranmer, no doubt you speak of "that half-naked hunk below-right" In the finest tradition of the church and as a connoisseur of such matters.
Why do people make such inane comments anonymously? Reveal yourself, damn you. It is not 'the finest tradition' of the Church of England. I shall leave Guido to defend the Church of Rome (if it were possible).
May 18, 2006 at 8:15 PM
Anonymous
said...
"doctor fegg = another fr##kin white settler then"
Er, no. Born in the countryside, lived in the countryside all my life, I'm afraid. And put a damn sight more into the community than most of the landowning CA-supporting class.
No, I'm not the town crier. But the fact that our village returns two LibDem councillors year in, year out, in an area that's otherwise a sea of blue, is pretty clear evidence we don't all share the CA's priorities.
Croydonian - point taken, but I do wonder if Mrs T's emphasis on "making a difference", rather than good old British indolence, is unilaterally a good thing. Personally I could have done with Blair making less of an impact than he has done. :(
May 18, 2006 at 8:46 PM
Anonymous
said...
Dr Fegg, I never did quite understand the arguement that more people would be interested in politics if it were drained of every last remaining ounce of humour. When, for example, a perfectly timed heckle draws attention to the fact that the leader of a major politcal party is behaving like a confused old codger, how could it be a bad thing?
Eminently fair Dr F, but one of my tests of the worthiness of politicians etc is whether they add to the gaiety of the nation, especially those who do not hold, or shadow, the great ministries of state.
May 18, 2006 at 10:09 PM
Anonymous
said...
I had the honour and pleasure of meeting Eric at a dinner in the Shipley constituency earlier this year and I am absolutley devastated to hear that he has died. He was a source of great inspiration for many newly elected back bench MPs, as well as us CFers who admired his wit, ability and knoledge. He will be truly missed and I only hope that the person they choose to take his place in his Parliamentary seat can do such true blue justice not just as a Conservative but also as a truly compassionate and able human being who genuinly cared about listening to everyone he came accross and trying to understand each persons opinion. I for one will truly miss him and send my condolences to his family and friends.
May 18, 2006 at 10:12 PM
Anonymous
said...
note to the voice of the people said...
how can you say that about a man who went in to hospital a few days ago with bone cancer and was told he had hours to live. you really are a sick sick bastard and i hope you or your family never have to go through it.
pathetic.
May 18, 2006 at 10:36 PM
Anonymous
said...
Alex and Croydonian - yes, I'd agree with the "gaiety of the nation" thing (but then, that's why we LibDems cherish Mark Oaten so much). Alan Clark was a national treasure and is sorely missed. If Eric Forth had spent less time filibustering I'd hopefully have thought of him in the same way.
May 18, 2006 at 10:54 PM
Anonymous
said...
He was my local MP - sorry to say it, but I'm not going to miss him all that much to be honest...
"How anyone could speak ill of the dead not more than a day later and before they've even been laid to rest escapes me"
It shouldn't - they are probably members of the animal rights/hunt saboteur fraternity or their political lackys, for whom Eric was high profile 'scum' - to use one of their favourite terms of endearment. Such people clearly regard grave desecration as a legitimate form of protest, so the vitriol posted here should come as no surprise.
May 19, 2006 at 8:08 AM
Anonymous
said...
Anders Chydenius (1729-1803)
He is most remembered as an outspoken defender of freedom of trade and industry, the "Adam Smith of the North". According to him, democracy, equality and a respect for human rights were the only way toward progress and happiness for all of society.
I think the blogger formerly known as DC MP has re surfaced.
May 19, 2006 at 9:33 AM
Anonymous
said...
Simon Hoggart says that Forth was an ex-Communist. Is that true?
May 19, 2006 at 9:44 AM
Anonymous
said...
Tory MP Eric Forth, who sadly died this week, went from being a communist while at Jordanhill School to running the Conservative club by the time he left Glasgow University.
"The son of a deputy harbourmaster, Eric Forth was born in Glasgow on September 9 1944 and educated at Jordanhill College School, where he stood in a mock election as a Communist, but later joined the Conservative Party."
the man who put the chisel into Chislehurst - and charming with it. "Not universally popular" - that's a good thing isn't it in politics - or are bland crowd-pleasers or "I'll be whatever you want me to be" what we need these days? Just asking.
May 19, 2006 at 10:19 AM
Anonymous
said...
I am tempted to write in complaint at all the "effing Tory" comments but then I suppose I would be guilty of pre-emtive hypocrisy as anyone who sees me dancing on and desecrating the final resting place of Misters Galloway, McGuinness amongst others might one day attest.
So in fact I think us rabid rightwing rapscallions ought to revel in the memory of the man as much by the insults he receives post-humously as by the praise we ordain him with. He stood up for something in the right way and judging from the people who are casting aspersions, he stood up for some ruddy sound things.
Guido - when ur done, ur done; some anonymong (the 2nd comment) asks a pertinent question about you maybe putting a bet on. It was a horrible point to make but, given your disgraceful betting on John Smith crocking it, u must be gutted. Still at least you can post some sh*te about JSM being older than the moon. But when ur right, ur right; the Mark Oaten caption comp drew the biggest fuckwits of blogdom together
Your "worthwhile consumer protection" is another man's "over-regulation". Guido doesn't wear seatbelts.
Barry Beef,
None of my bets are really relevant to backbenchers. For the record currently my wagers are on Blair lasting longer than you think, a hung parliament and Gordon never being PM.
Subject to change.
The point about John Smith was that the knowledge of his death was not public at the time that Guido wagered against him being PM.
May 20, 2006 at 12:35 PM
Anonymous
said...
Ho ho ho. Dead Tory.
Perhaps I should have put a bet on him kicking the bucket eh Mr Guido.
Tosser.
May 20, 2006 at 2:49 PM
Anonymous
said...
Guido, if you really don't wear a seatbelt and aren't just saying that for effect, then you're utterly nuts. What do you reckon is going to come off worst in a battle between your face and a car windscreen? However carefully anyone drives, one day a seatbelt is going to save their life - or at leadt their good looks.
To refuse to wear one on grounds of over-regulation is madness. Presumably you're opposed to children being innoculated against killer diseases too?
I live in Chiselhurst (opposite Tory HQ as it happens!) Looking forward to the campaign!!
May 20, 2006 at 5:23 PM
Anonymous
said...
> I live in Chiselhurst (opposite Tory > HQ as it happens!) Looking forward to > the campaign!!
How are things with you Mark? I wouldn't expect Labour to look forward to the camapign at all.
What a bunch of sick ***** the Left are, eh? I wish all the vile comments here could be published in the national press tomorrow to reveal all the lovers of "the people" for the hate-crazed scumbags that they almost invariably are. Give me the man who loves humanity honestly, one specimen at a time, not the frauds who claim to do so in bulk.
RIP Eric. You were imperfect, infuriating but at least you weren't a witless prig.
57 comments:
Oh no; I have shared many a drink with Eric Forth. He is a great chap. One of the few that seemed totally genuine and completely on the level.
You couldn't think of a dubious way to make money off the back of his death then?
very sad news
We have just raised a glass to his memory over our luncheon. RIP
I see Ms Bagshawe was the first to post her "condolences" on Conservativehome...what a surprise...
Anon at 12.16 - she's not the only A-lister making comments in high profile blogs.....
Anyway, Eric's demise is a sad day for those who honour Parliament as well as for those who agreed with his politics. He will be greatly missed.
I hesitate to speak ill of the dead but Mr Forth was not universally popular - just ask the Conservatives who deselected him as MP for Mid Worcestershire in favour of Peter Luff.
Colourful - yes, a latter day saint - no.
He was not deselected. His boundaries were redrawn, as were Peter Luff's.
Yes but what did he look like naked apart from a towel?
These consecutive postings just go to show what an abject wanker David Cameron really is.
Mr Forth seemed pretty annoyed to me when he stormed out of a meeting of local Tories in Droitwich after it was decided that they wanted Luff and not him to be their MP.
Luff was on the chicken run from Worcester and had a good record as a constituency MP.
They both addressed the local association at a selection meeting and they chose Luff.
The boundaries were re-drawn but that isn't why Forth left Worcestershire.
he was a good parliamentarian. "Declare your interest" was a masterly interjection: witty and brilliantly timed.
Clearly as Eric didn't look good in a towel he doesn't befit a mention on www.conservatives.com home page.... guess airbrushing continues...
That is very different from being deselected, as you were alleging.
Pink News have done an obit on Eric, which is fairly balanced. This is my excuse for noticing that their banner advert is for "Grooming Week May 2006". Titter ye not.
I thought we weren't going to have a "Clause Forth moment"?
Forth's dislike of the Private Members Bill's procedure showed he was a far more petty man than any of the Bills he destroyed.
Any odds on Howard Flight being selected for his seat?
"Declare your interest was a masterly interjection: witty and brilliantly timed." Yes, and a childish way to knock down a worthwhile point of concern to millions... and for what, exactly?
Forth may be personally missed, but Parliament will be a better place without him. I only wish it could have been achieved by his deselection rather than this.
"Yes, and a childish way to knock down a worthwhile point of concern to millions... and for what, exactly?"
Do I detect self-righteousness?
For Doctor Fegg -
Oh do come off it you wally! Since when did PMQ's have anything to do with making worthwhile points of concern to millions?
"....but Parliament will be a better place without him"
sour puritanical bullshit.
"I only wish it could have been achieved by his deselection rather than this"
You clearly wish nothing of the sort.
Eric forth could spot cant and hypocricy a mile off and could be relied upon to deal with it in his own inimitable way.
A deep deep loss to both Parliament and hundreds of thousands of people in rural communities who had good reason to be very grateful to him.
No, it's a serious (if rhetorical) question.
After all, why are turnout figures on the slide and why is political journalism becoming ever more of a ghetto? At least partly because of prats in silly waistcoats shouting out yah-boo comments like they were still at primary school.
(Er, not that I wore a waistcoat at primary school.)
He wanted to stay and the local party didn't want him.
It looks like de-selection, sounds like de-selection - it is urrrr de-selection.
The point is his constituency association - and come to that most of Worcestershire - didn't like him and they preferred Mr Luff.
"You clearly wish nothing of the sort" - no, I'm sorry, that's not true. I wouldn't wish death on anyone. I've been too close to it myself.
As for "Since when did PMQ's have anything to do with making worthwhile points of concern to millions?" - ok, so what is the point of it exactly? If I want half an hour of entertaining insults I'll watch South Park.
(maybe we should commend that to Ming next time he gets a heckle - "eh, screw you guys, I'm goin' home")
Oh yeah, and I live in a rural community, too. But then the Countryside Alliance don't speak for me, or the majority of my fellow villagers, either.
Doctor Fegg
You could wait a day or two at least.
good riddance
doctor fegg,
Or Ming saying "respect my Authoritay!"
eu-serf - yeah, point taken, and will refrain. I'd just ask that we have a bit less of the unbalanced hagiography, too - even the BBC's ever clueless Nick Robinson has been taken in. The place for fulsome praise is on Iain Dale's blog that way ------>
doctor fegg = another fr##kin white settler then .
Let us not speak ill of the dead. At least wait until his soul is reposed.
In the meantime, contemplate the consequences for the Patry of that half-naked hunk below-right replacing Mr Forth... the joys of the A-list.
Ghost of Humphrey the cat says.
Well they say the good die young and 61 is quite young these days. Compared to most of the slimeballs in westminster my whiskers sensed a good sense of humour in Mr Forth and a hatred of red tape, both of which are fine attributes.
Oh and dr Fegg, do you specialise in Sense of Humour Bypasses, it seems you could require some DIY surgery! And since when did your village say you could speak for them are you the democratically elected town crier OR SUMMIC?
Quite possibly, Patsy.
But since I am completely unaware of the magnitude of the undisclosed portion, it is impossible for me to ascertain the precise correlation between the revealed and the concealed.
Under the circumstances, I estimated the proportions in rather flattering terms, and ventured 'half'. You may know better.
DF - however you feel about Mr Forth, he made an impact, for better (in my opinion) for worse (in that of others) - how many of the 650 or whatever it is MPs sitting now will have the same said of them?
I would hope, nay believe, that I would say the same of folk nowhere near to being my ideological soul mates. For what it is worth, I will mourn the passing of people as disparate as Ian Paisley, Michael Foot and Dennis Skinner - just as I lamented the loss of Tony Banks.
Cranmer, no doubt you speak of "that half-naked hunk below-right" In the finest tradition of the church and as a connoisseur of such matters.
It would be great if Howard Flight got selected for his seat. Lets hope the Tory Party does not try to put in gay boy up for the bye-election.
Cranmer, no doubt you speak of "that half-naked hunk below-right" In the finest tradition of the church and as a connoisseur of such matters.
Why do people make such inane comments anonymously? Reveal yourself, damn you. It is not 'the finest tradition' of the Church of England. I shall leave Guido to defend the Church of Rome (if it were possible).
"doctor fegg = another fr##kin white settler then"
Er, no. Born in the countryside, lived in the countryside all my life, I'm afraid. And put a damn sight more into the community than most of the landowning CA-supporting class.
No, I'm not the town crier. But the fact that our village returns two LibDem councillors year in, year out, in an area that's otherwise a sea of blue, is pretty clear evidence we don't all share the CA's priorities.
Croydonian - point taken, but I do wonder if Mrs T's emphasis on "making a difference", rather than good old British indolence, is unilaterally a good thing. Personally I could have done with Blair making less of an impact than he has done. :(
Dr Fegg, I never did quite understand the arguement that more people would be interested in politics if it were drained of every last remaining ounce of humour. When, for example, a perfectly timed heckle draws attention to the fact that the leader of a major politcal party is behaving like a confused old codger, how could it be a bad thing?
Eminently fair Dr F, but one of my tests of the worthiness of politicians etc is whether they add to the gaiety of the nation, especially those who do not hold, or shadow, the great ministries of state.
I had the honour and pleasure of meeting Eric at a dinner in the Shipley constituency earlier this year and I am absolutley devastated to hear that he has died. He was a source of great inspiration for many newly elected back bench MPs, as well as us CFers who admired his wit, ability and knoledge. He will be truly missed and I only hope that the person they choose to take his place in his Parliamentary seat can do such true blue justice not just as a Conservative but also as a truly compassionate and able human being who genuinly cared about listening to everyone he came accross and trying to understand each persons opinion. I for one will truly miss him and send my condolences to his family and friends.
note to the voice of the people said...
how can you say that about a man who went in to hospital a few days ago with bone cancer and was told he had hours to live. you really are a sick sick bastard and i hope you or your family never have to go through it.
pathetic.
Alex and Croydonian - yes, I'd agree with the "gaiety of the nation" thing (but then, that's why we LibDems cherish Mark Oaten so much). Alan Clark was a national treasure and is sorely missed. If Eric Forth had spent less time filibustering I'd hopefully have thought of him in the same way.
He was my local MP - sorry to say it, but I'm not going to miss him all that much to be honest...
How anyone could speak ill of the dead not more than a day later and before they've even been laid to rest escapes me.
This is a time for positive reflection - any sniping can (as it surely will) come later.
The Parliament and therefore the people have lost a great servant. R.I.P. Eric Forth
"How anyone could speak ill of the dead not more than a day later and before they've even been laid to rest escapes me"
It shouldn't - they are probably members of the animal rights/hunt saboteur fraternity or their political lackys, for whom Eric was high profile 'scum' - to use one of their favourite terms of endearment. Such people clearly regard grave desecration as a legitimate form of protest, so the vitriol posted here should come as no surprise.
Anders Chydenius (1729-1803)
He is most remembered as an outspoken defender of freedom of trade and industry, the "Adam Smith of the North". According to him, democracy, equality and a respect for human rights were the only way toward progress and happiness for all of society.
I think the blogger formerly known as DC MP has re surfaced.
Simon Hoggart says that Forth was an ex-Communist. Is that true?
Tory MP Eric Forth, who sadly died this week, went from being a communist while at Jordanhill School to running the Conservative club by the time he left Glasgow University.
He grew up.
Jm - Only in a very loose sense.
C&P from the Telegraph's obit:
"The son of a deputy harbourmaster, Eric Forth was born in Glasgow on September 9 1944 and educated at Jordanhill College School, where he stood in a mock election as a Communist, but later joined the Conservative Party."
the man who put the chisel into Chislehurst - and charming with it. "Not universally popular" - that's a good thing isn't it in politics - or are bland crowd-pleasers or "I'll be whatever you want me to be" what we need these days? Just asking.
I am tempted to write in complaint at all the "effing Tory" comments but then I suppose I would be guilty of pre-emtive hypocrisy as anyone who sees me dancing on and desecrating the final resting place of Misters Galloway, McGuinness amongst others might one day attest.
So in fact I think us rabid rightwing rapscallions ought to revel in the memory of the man as much by the insults he receives post-humously as by the praise we ordain him with. He stood up for something in the right way and judging from the people who are casting aspersions, he stood up for some ruddy sound things.
Guido - when ur done, ur done; some anonymong (the 2nd comment) asks a pertinent question about you maybe putting a bet on. It was a horrible point to make but, given your disgraceful betting on John Smith crocking it, u must be gutted. Still at least you can post some sh*te about JSM being older than the moon. But when ur right, ur right; the Mark Oaten caption comp drew the biggest fuckwits of blogdom together
Lambethlad,
Your "worthwhile consumer protection" is another man's "over-regulation". Guido doesn't wear seatbelts.
Barry Beef,
None of my bets are really relevant to backbenchers. For the record currently my wagers are on Blair lasting longer than you think, a hung parliament and Gordon never being PM.
Subject to change.
The point about John Smith was that the knowledge of his death was not public at the time that Guido wagered against him being PM.
Ho ho ho. Dead Tory.
Perhaps I should have put a bet on him kicking the bucket eh Mr Guido.
Tosser.
Guido, if you really don't wear a seatbelt and aren't just saying that for effect, then you're utterly nuts. What do you reckon is going to come off worst in a battle between your face and a car windscreen? However carefully anyone drives, one day a seatbelt is going to save their life - or at leadt their good looks.
To refuse to wear one on grounds of over-regulation is madness. Presumably you're opposed to children being innoculated against killer diseases too?
I live in Chiselhurst (opposite Tory HQ as it happens!) Looking forward to the campaign!!
> I live in Chiselhurst (opposite Tory
> HQ as it happens!) Looking forward to > the campaign!!
How are things with you Mark? I wouldn't expect Labour to look forward to the camapign at all.
What a bunch of sick ***** the Left are, eh? I wish all the vile comments here could be published in the national press tomorrow to reveal all the lovers of "the people" for the hate-crazed scumbags that they almost invariably are. Give me the man who loves humanity honestly, one specimen at a time, not the frauds who claim to do so in bulk.
RIP Eric. You were imperfect, infuriating but at least you weren't a witless prig.