Political week on Twitter
All the week's best political tweets in one handy location.
The Leveson inquiry
Tony Blair's former spin doctor Alastair Campbell's evidence was leaked before his appearance:
@campbellclaret - Genuinely shocked someone has seen fit to leak my statement to Leveson. Less surprised that Guido Fawkes headline misrepresents it
@GuidoFawkes - "Alastair Campbell admits he leaked the draft statement to 3 people in the media! And journalists are so unlikely to reveal anything."
adamboultonSKY adamboulton
Why is #Campbell a core witness at #Leveson given the lasting damage he did to press standards in UK?
He was followed by former News of the World journalist Paul McMullan, who claimed malpractice was widespread at the tabloid. The first tweeter in this list was arrested later in the week by the Met:
@bethanyusher
For god sake Paul McMullen, shut your sickening trap.
@bloggerheads Tim Ireland
Got my Paul McMullan advent calendar today. I took all the doors off, and yes, there was a paedo hiding behind every single one. #leveson
@danielmaier Daniel Maier
McMullan keeps wisecracking away, like a fly hitting a window, unable to process the fact that he's not winning anyone over. #leveson
Autumn statement
Tuesday saw chancellor George Osborne offer a very gloomy assessment of the state of the economy:
@cathynewman - whatever happened to osborne's original plan to make the autumn statement a little insignificant budget update?!
@RegularGrrrl - The chancellor George Osborne has declared class war: a Tory assault on the public sector & the poor
@faisalislam - Autumn statement not just regressive. It transferred money from poorest third to richest half.
@UnisonDave - Women again big losers in ConDem Autumn Statement. Almost twice the hit due to tax credit change and pay caps.
@BigBadBank - this autumn statement could be viewed in retrospect as the point when the warning signs started to flash.
Public sector pensions
On Wednesday, public sector workers went on strike over the coalition's plans to reform their pensions:
@bbcquestiontime - Most private sector workers can't afford pensions and would be sacked if we went on strike!
@hypnos164 - I like fiscal discipline. But then I like public sector pensions. But which is better? There's only one way to find out. STRIKE
@ajpiesim - Reason we went on strike was because we are being made to pay for the failings of the banks, most pensions self-funding, pay freeze!
@Nikki_Nixke - Public sector strikes... What's to complain about, you chose to work in public sector and you have guaranteed pensions!? Pointless strike!
Clarkson
By the end of the week, Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson's comment that those on strike should be executed in front of their families prompted a Twitter storm:
@TKDinBrighton - 2 days later and everybody has forgotten about the strike and pensions all the attention is on Clarkson and his new DVD!
@PatDavis5835 - Jeremy clarkson only said what a lot of people think. The forces don't get to strike for better pay or pensions
@serafinowicz - So sad to hear the news about Jeremy Clarkson. He's still alive.
@Sun_Politics - Sense-of-humour-failure-of-the-year award to Labour MP Karl Turner, he tells C4: "Jeremy Clarkson shouldn't be countenancing murder".
@IainDale - So UNISON are considering legal action against Jeremy Clarkson. Has the world gone totally mad?
@OwenJones84 - Instead of suing Jeremy Clarkson, why not just tweet your favourite method of executing him? Just as a HILARIOUS joke, though.
@gavinshuker - On Clarkson: if you didn't like his 'joke', tut loudly. The law has no role to play here.
@paulwaugh - First Rebekah Brooks, now Clarkson is an untouchable. At this rate the PM's Chipping Norton Xmas Party will be in a phone box
Tweet of the week
Our weekly award goes to a spoof account this week...
@MetPoliceCO11 - We're on strike today. Please feel free to give yourself a cool name, dress up in spandex and solve your own crimes.
