A night for the Tories to embrace their maverick side

 
25 October 2012

Tory MP Douglas Carswell lived up to his reputation for mischief-making last night at his book launch for The End of Politics and the Birth of iDemocracy. Carswell, a noted critic of the PM, referred to those in his own profession as being “parasites” and chose to invite Labour MP Tristram Hunt to the Hospital Club to address a room full of Conservative policy wonks.

Hunt returned the compliment by commending Carswell for “not being another ‘Muggletonian’ but a true agitator, stalking the backbenches with his iPad” and went on to compare today’s Cameroons with the worst excesses of Cromwell’s government, joking that the Lord Protector’s cronies were the more inclusive of the two.

He concluded by declaring himself an unofficial Labour ambassador and promised Carswell that “we will join with you to bring down this generation of silly, contemptible, low-spirited men”.

Guests included Tory MP Zac Goldsmith and Zac’s sister Jemima Khan. Carswell defended his maverick position, declaring that “Britain has a great history of dissenters and rebel voices. It’s a characteristic that has often belonged to the Left but I think the Right should embrace it”.

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