by Paul Goodman "The appointment of Alan Johnson looks like a weak compromise. Balls has been dispatched as Shadow Home Secretary to bully Theresa May. Cooper has been sent out of the country altogether – for parts of year at least – to trot the globe as Shadow Foreign Secretary. It looks as though Miliband […]
By Jonathan Isaby The Labour Party would appear to be in a state of turmoil this evening as news is just breaking that Alan Johnson has resigned as Shdow Chancellor. Apparently it is for "personal reasons", whatever that may entail. Sky News is reporting that Ed Balls is to take the shadow Chancellor portfolio. More […]
Tim Montgomerie We learnt a little while ago that Ed Miliband had ordered his frontbench to use "Tory-led government" when talking about the Government. Mr Miliband's (new and nasty) head of communications has now made the same request of broadcasters. This is what Mr Tom Baldwin wrote in a letter to the media: "As you […]
Tim Montgomerie Interviewed by Jon Sopel for today's Politics Show the former Labour Foreign Secretary, and co-founder of the SDP, was very warm about Ed Miliband and the changes he is making to the Labour Party. He said that he was open to voting and possibly even joining Labour again. 'Even at the age of […]
by Paul Goodman The conventional wisdom is that successful leaders of British political parties move quickly once elected. Tony Blair was swift to try and change perceptions of his Party, and won three terms as Prime Minister. So was David Cameron, and though he didn't win the last election, he did make it into Downing […]
Tim Montgomerie In Saturday's Independent Andy McSmith has uncovered a huge scandal. There has never been a Labour MP from that great class of people called Tim. There have been "a few Toms, a Tam and a [Stephen] Timms" but never a Timothy. There is no anti-Timmery in the Conservatives or Liberal Democrats. The current […]
By Jonathan Isaby Ed Balls is a combative politician and until now seemed to me to have been a canny choice by Ed Miliband to shadow Theresa May on the home affairs portfolio. Labour has been attempting to use the "police cuts" narrative in the Oldham by-election whilst Balls appears set on being more tough […]
By Jonathan Isaby As reported in today's Daily Mail splash, the RMT are threatening a tube strike to coincide with the Royal Wedding and Unite are also agitating for a strike by its BA cabin crew over a 9-day period over Easter, also coinciding with the Royal nuptials. Len McCluskey, the recently-elected Unite General Secretary, […]
by Paul Goodman A friend has forwarded me an e-mail as below – "The Green Party is occasionally criticised for its over-representation of whites and upper-income people, who are less likely to flinch at the added costs of environmental protections. In October, the Green Party candidate for Governor of Illinois, Rich Whitney, was shocked to […]
By Jonathan Isaby Remember how, last March, a variety of departing Labour ministers were caught boasting about how they could use their contacts to help change policy and provide access to ministers in return for money? Geoff Hoon , the ex-Defence Secretary, spoke about hoping to translate his "knowledge and contacts" into "something that, bluntly, […]
By Jonathan Isaby Labour leader Ed MIliband has written a piece behind the Times' paywall today that he has now helpfully reproduced on his own website. He accuses the Government of propagating "a great deceit designed to damage Labour" over his party's handling of the economy: What is this deceit? It is that the deficit […]
Tim Montgomerie Conservative HQ has published a dossier that attacks Ed Miliband as a ditherer. Releasing the report Sayeeda Warsi commented: "Ed Miliband's first hundred days have been characterised by dithering and disarray. No wonder people on his own side are already losing patience with his lack of leadership. After winning off back of the […]
Tim Montgomerie The Liberal Democrats' Deputy Leader, Simon Hughes, has been appointed as the Coalition's "Advocate for Access to Education”. It's an unpaid post but is recognition by Downing Street that the tuition fees policy has not yet been effectively communicated. The Prime Minister has asked Mr Hughes to encourage students from poorer backgrounds to […]
Tim Montgomerie The Guardian's Patrick Wintour is reporting that former Foreign Secretary David Miliband may become Britain's next Ambassador to the United States. I hope the story is wrong for all sorts of reasons… The Coalition has appointed enough Labour-ites to top positions including Lord Browne, Will Hutton, John Hutton and (excusably) Frank Field. If […]
Tim Montgomerie According to the Mail on Sunday, Conservative MP Conor Burns is leading the opposition to a plan by a Labour MP to erect a statue in the Members' Lobby of the House of Commons, alongside Winston Churchill and Lady Thatcher: "It is preposterous to say that Mr Blair deserves the same recognition as […]