MARY BURNS AWARDS
DAY 24

THE GEORGE BUSH `READ MY LIPS' AWARD

During the last Mary Burns Awards, John Merry, Leader of Salford City Council, stormed this category…But can he hang onto his treasured MARY this time?

He got the CBE from the Queen in 2009…can he make it a double delight? The tension mounts…

Ladies and Gentlemen. The GEORGE BUSH `READ MY LIPS' AWARD…goes to…

Please do a drum roll and click here…

JOHN MERRY – Leader of Salford City Council.

What Mary Burns Award ceremony would be complete without John Merry being honoured?

Last time John won this MARY for asserting that "We're not just going to put up nice big apartments that no-one can afford to buy", despite 88% of all future housing in Salford that had planning permission at the time being for, er, flats…

As it happens, John was right, Salford Council didn't just put up `nice big apartments that no-one can afford to buy' – it helped put up very poky apartments that anyone earning up to £60,000 a year could afford to buy with bucket loads of Government cash (see Feed The Rich Award).

But we digress. John Merry wins the George Bush `Read My Lips' Award 2009 for his comments about that tatty Council rag…sorry…magazine…Life in Salford.

Yep, it wasn't too long ago that the Salford Star accused Life of being pure Council propaganda, which John totally denounced…

"Even I don't have a voice in it" he protested "I don't exercise any control."

Of course not. But what have we here in the November 2009 issue of Life?  Surely that can't be a photo of John Merry wearing a hard hat on Page 3?  And a quote too, taking subliminal credit for the fantastic success of getting eight unemployed people filling in potholes.

And what's this on Page 4? It's another photo of John and yet another quote about the success of a training scheme…

John Merry is certainly going to need that hard hat when the House of Commons Select Committee publicises its findings in a report on Council propaganda sheets in the next few weeks. But in the meantime, he can bathe in the limelight of bagging another MARY…

Unfortunately the Queen couldn't be here to present the Award in person, so Mr Merry will have to be content with printing off the photo of the Award, cutting it out, framing it and sticking it on his mantelpiece next to the CBE…

Ladies and Gentlemen. Please rattle your Life in Salford lined cat litter trays for the winner of the George Bush `Read My Lips' Award…

J-o-o-o-hn M-e-e-e-e-e-rryy

Applause...

If John Merry would like to make a speech please fill in the Comments box...