Sebastian Payne

The reason behind Roger Bird's mysterious suspension as Ukip general secretary has been revealed. The splash of today's Times makes several allegations (£) about Bird and Natasha Bolter, a Labour defector to Ukip and potential PPC in South Basildon: 'Natasha Bolter, a headline speaker at Ukip’s party conference, has pulled out of hustings today in South Basildon, where she was widely expected to be elected as parliamentary candidate in the winnable seat. 'Ms Bolter, 35, claims that Roger Bird, Ukip’s general secretary and the man in charge of vetting parliamentary candidates, propositioned her over dinner at his London club on the day that he interviewed her as a prospective candidate.

To the delight of its enemies, Ukip has just announced its general secretary has been suspended over 'impropriety allegations'. According to a statement released by the party, claims have come to light 'about the conduct of Mr [Roger] Bird with regard to candidate selection'. A Ukip spokesman said on Monday evening: 'Unfortunately, Ukip has had to suspend Mr Bird pending a full investigation into allegations made against him. The party has acted swiftly and decisively and will not tolerate impropriety of any kind amongst its staff.' Of course, the news will be grist to the mill for those who claim that Ukip is nothing more than a bunch of charlatans, and that it cannot cope with the pressures of being a national movement.

Ukip has announced that BBC political producer Paul Lambert will be the party's new Director of Communications. Ukip has offered the job to various prominent figures but it has not been filled full-time since Patrick O'Flynn, another media defector, was elected as an MEP in May. Lambert is one of the most well-known journalists in Westminster, usually found outside Downing Street heckling ministers with awkward questions, hence his nickname of Gobby. Bringing in an experienced Westminster journalist like Lambert is another sign that Ukip are attempting to beef up and professionalise their media operation. It's unlikely Lambert would allow ill-conveived events like the Ukip Carnival to take place.

Ukip's crisis is the Conservatives' gain. Following Nigel Farage's comments about 'ostentatious' breastfeeding, Conservative HQ have been promoting this graphic online, with a title noting that Farage is 'making it up as he goes along': This kind of graphic is just another example of how the Tories have become more proactive in promoting their point of view on social media over last year, using Twitter as an opportunity to attack others while protecting their position. This Farage one is an example of both: it hits out at Ukip for their perceived flakiness — expect to see much more of this in the coming months — while reminding voters that Ukip also has a problem with female voters.

Ukip's Tim Aker is now juggling three jobs. Last night, the 29-year-old won a by-election in the Aveley & Uplands ward in Thurrock, adding councillor to his existing titles of MEP for the East of England and Ukip's Head of Policy. Although their vote share dropped, Aker won the by-election with 40 percent of the vote, a strong result that keeps the Ukip momentum going as the year draws to a close. He had a dirty battle with the Tories, who disturbed leaflets referring to him as 'Timür Aker', in what appeared to be a reminder of his Turkish roots. As James wrote in the Mail on Sunday last week, this was a cheap tactic that has backfired: 'This appears to be a cheap tactic, seeing as Aker is known by all – and refers to himself – as Tim.

Jeremy Thorpe, the former leader of the Liberal Party, has passed away aged 85, after suffering from Parkinson's disease for many years. Thorpe will unfortunately be best remembered for the affair that ended his career, involving a former male model and a shot dog. The Spectator's Guide to Political Scandals explained what happened: 'Thorpe was a dashing young Liberal MP, elected in 1959 aged 30. A former president of the Oxford Union, everything was falling into place for him. But in 1961 he met Norman Scott, a troubled individual who would plague Thorpe for the rest of his life. Scott claimed that Thorpe had sex with him, an act that would have been illegal at the time. 'In 1962 Thorpe helped Scott avoid a charge of theft.

George Osborne appears to have delivered a successful Autumn Statement, but are there some dark secrets in the details? In this week's View from 22 podcast, Fraser Nelson, James Forsyth and I discuss the Chancellor's last major economic speech of this Parliament, the political consequences of the new measures announced and what it means for the next election.

'The biggest, boldest and most far-reaching roads programme for decades' — or the biggest, boldest marginal constituency programme? George Osborne has magicked up £15 billion for 84 new roads, some 100 overall improvements, totalling 1,300 miles of new lanes across the country. Unsurprisingly for an overtly political chancellor like Osborne, a majority of these roads will benefit marginal constituencies. The Telegraph has figured out all of the MPs who will benefit from the road spending and has calculated as many of 2/3 of the proposed improvements will help marginal constituencies. These are the most marginal Tory seats who will benefit  from George's marvellous marginal medicine: A34: Nicola Blackwood [datawrapper chart="http://static.

Tory MP Penny Mourdant has caused a stir in Sunday's papers over her confession at our Parliamentarian of the Year awards that she said 'cock' in Parliament as a bet with her colleagues in the Royal Navy, where she serves as a reservist. As winner of our Speech of the Year award, Mourdant clearly has a way with words. Here are her top five gags (so far): 1. Caring for your kit in the field One of the highlights of her award-winning Loyal Speech earlier this year was a gag about her Royal Navy training: 'I have benefited from some excellent training by the Royal Navy but on one occasion I felt it was not as bespoke as it might have been.

Was David Cameron's appeal to the voters of Britain and EU leaders on immigration successful? James Forsyth, Isabel Hardman and myself discuss his 'game changing' speech on immigration this morning in a View from 22 podcast special. Has the Prime Minister placated his backbenchers or Conservative voters? Will this be seen as a Tory shift towards Ukip-lite?