Anything you can do...

Foot-in-mouth disease seems to be infectious - amongst the ranks of Tory councillors the length and breadth of the country, at least.

First Medway councillor John Ward came down with it, suggesting that parents on benefits should be compulsorily sterilised, and now up in Monkseaton North Hugh Jackson has proposed euthanasia as the solution of cutting the cost of looking after vulnerable children. He's apparently claimed it was "misplaced humour", but needless to say the North Tyneside Conservatives aren't laughing and have suspended him.

Unsurprisingly, Jackson has gone to ground. A word of advice, Hugh: learn from the mistakes of others. In other words, when you do break your silence, make damn sure that you've got a good excuse (rather than trying to blame a cold-caller), that you show some contrition and that you don't make defiant statements of your certainty you'll be vindicated that'll leave you looking very foolish indeed when you're unceremoniously booted out of office...