Rate My Tory

A week has passed since the election results were known and the backroom meetings of hung parliament politics began.

Now the shape of our government is clear, and their policies and priorities becoming more so by the day, but with hopes of a so-called ‘progressive coalition’ dashed, what are the progressive aspirations of the new administration?

This initial document sets out a clear platform for what Clegg and Cameron have decided should be their focus for the next five years, or at the very least what the pair can coerce their members to agree on.

With the well-documented obstacles that stood in the way of a simple agreement you could be forgiven for forgetting that this document is the easy part. Like the best-laid plans of mice and men, achieving all the goals will be a huge challenge, especially for a potentially unstable partnership.

For now RateMyTory will analyse the progressive rating of the agreement on its merits. Judgement on how many of the goals are achieved, or achievable, will be reserved for another day.

The promises of the document amount to a rather progressive 54% rating, 15 points higher than the average rating of all pre-election Tory MPs. A clear sign that some categories were pushed up by the compromises that the Liberals gained from the Conservatives.

Climate change is one area where both parties found themselves nodding in agreement and look to make a lot of progress. The liberal cause of electoral reform has led to an agreement on the House of Lords, complete with a proportional and fully elected upper chamber scoring a high rating.

Meanwhile, some taxation categories, including inheritance tax and marriage tax, have seen unprogressive Tory policy tempered by an allowable lack of support from their liberal partners.

The key weak point is immigration, where the Conservatives have had their wish of an annual cap granted.

Unmentioned issues include abortion, which Cameron has promised a free vote on, LBGT issues and fox hunting. Further details are due to be released in the coming weeks.

See the coalition’s initial profile here.

Wakefield’s notorious Tory candidate Alex Story has made the headlines twice this morning for two stories that further justify his record as one of RateMyTory’s worst scoring PPCs.

A nanny has claimed that Alex Story broke the law on minimum wage by paying just £2.50 an hour for her services. 27-year-old student, Maham Hashmi, said: “I felt like a slave, what they were paying was outrageous.”

When confronted over the claim Story furiously responded: “Have you tried to hire a nanny in London, do you have children, do you?”

The news comes a day after the Tory candidate sparked controversy at a hustings event in Wakefield by suggesting the BNP were an offshoot of the Labour party, who apparently has encouraged voters to flock to the extremist right due to failings on immigration.

He argued that Ukip’s relationship with the Conservatives was comparable to the BNP’s relationship with Labour adding: “The BNP vote is in fact an ex-Labour vote that is disenfranchised from the Labour party and is in disagreement with the Labour party on the immigration issue.”

Neither story should come as a surprise to RateMyTory readers who saw Alex Story (ProgRat: 3%) feature for his belief that the welfare state was to blame for the kidnap of Shannon Matthews.

The revelations also come in the same week that RateMyTory’s previously lowest scoring PPC, Philip Lardner, was suspended for homophobic remarks.

As our lowest scoring Conservative candidates continue to reveal their true beliefs, we begin to wonder which Tory will burst the bubble of progressive Conservatism and justify their dismal progressive rating next.

A Conservative candidate in Scotland has been suspended after claiming on his website that homosexuality was ‘not normal behaviour’ and defending Section 28.

Keen followers of RateMyTory will recognise Philip Lardner, PPC for Ayrshire North and Arran, already for his racist views that justified both Enoch Powell and Rhodesian white supremacist Ian Smith.

His homophobic comments were captured by Left Foot Forward before being removed to try and cover up the odious Tory’s beliefs.

Lardner’s website had said that: “As your MP I will support the rights of parents and teachers to refuse to have their children taught that homosexuality is ‘normal’ behaviour or an equal lifestyle choice to traditional marriage… I will not accept that their behaviour is ‘normal’ or encourage children to indulge in it.”

“The promotion of homosexuality by public bodies (as per ‘clause 28′/section 2a in Scotland,) was correctly outlawed by Mrs Thatcher’s government.”

Philip Lardner already had a Progressive Rating of 0% and remains firmly unchanged.