Tony Lit is the Conservatives’ candidate in the Ealing Southall by-election. And yet he apparently made a donation to the Labour party pretty recently.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Mr Lit was at a political fundraising dinner last month. Nothing unusual about that, you say, although as he’s only been a Tory member for a couple of weeks, it may come as a surprise. What may come as more of a surprise – especially, I imagine, to the Tories pounding the pavements for him – is that it was a Labour party fundraiser.

Tony Lit, a wealthy radio station boss parachuted in to fight the seat by Mr Cameron, paid for a table at a Labour fundraising dinner at which he was pictured next to a smiling Tony Blair days before his departure as prime minister.

It may be unfair to mention just now, but Nigel Bakhai was the Liberal Democrats’ candidate in the 2005 General Election, and is challenging Labour in the same seat – and for the same party – this coming Thursday.

This time last week, I noted the absence of any information about the impending parliamentary by-election on Ealing Council’s website. Since then, the council has posted a minimal news story linking to the list of candidates – although there’s still nothing on the Elections page. As I said then, the short by-election timetable that Labour have imposed puts a lot of pressure on electoral administration, which perhaps explains the lack of information online.

To Sedgefield, then, where the council had even less notice of the by-election. With a week and a half to polling day, you’d be forgiven for thinking the election for Tony Blair’s replacement as MP would be mentioned even once – but no. Time perhaps for the Government to review how long it allows for parliamentary by-elections…

Update: There really is a by-election!

I see from today’s news that former CBI chief and new member of Gordon Brown’s Cabinet (but not the Labour party) Digby Jones is having a spat with the Tories about who said to what to whom about the possibility of him being the Tory mayoral candidate.

Apropos of nothing, here’s an image that those of you who are Liberal Democrats might like to add to your own website’s sidebar.

And here’s the code to do it:

<a href="http://www.libdems.org.uk/join/" target="_blank">
<img src="http://www.petitions.libdems.org.uk/posts.gif" width="160" height="180" alt="Animated image: join the Liberal Democrats" border="0" />
</a>

The new Doctor Who companion for series four has been announced, and it’s someone we’ve met before. They’ve recently finished the work for which they were famous, some people love them while others can’t stand them, and they’re catchphrase is “Am I bovvered?” No, it’s not that Tony Blairs…

Catherine Tate will reprise her role as Donna, the eponymous Runaway Bride from last year’s Christmas special. Martha will return to the series part way through, joining Donna in the TARDIS.