We are led to believe that Gordon Brown wants to meet real people during the campaign, but the latest evidence suggests that this is in no way the case. The footage is not yet available online (and as soon as it is I will post it here) but leaving an event in London this afternoon, […]
Gordon Brown cannot usually resist the opportunity to brag about any opportunities he has had to speak with President Obama and play the role of international statesmen striding the globe. But next week he has opted to miss the chance for a final meeting with the US President before the general election. As Reuters reports, […]
When Brown first became Prime Minister there was a great expectation that he would announce bold new policies. He had schemed so long to get the keys to 10 Downing Street, the assumption was he had a big plan. The policies never came. The 2010 Labour manifesto is also pretty threadbare, and somewhat left-leaning, if […]
For Iain Dale, Vince Cable is a bit of a tit (click here for why). For The Sun, the Liberal Democrats' Treasury spokesman is "Unstable Cable": The Sun highlights his numerous U-turns: He slammed the Government in January last year for printing more money in a bid to kick-start the economy. He declared: "This is […]
Just days after Gordon Brown hardened his public stance on immigration, it has now emerged that the Government is seeking to reduce the number of immigration officials. A leaked email obtained by the Conservatives show that the UK Borders Agency is seeking voluntary redundancies: "A Voluntary Early Release Scheme will be launched in late April […]
That's according to today's Sunday Telegraph, which reports that the Business Secretary "will be the party's chief election strategist as well as chairing "the majority" of Labour's news conferences". International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander remains Labour;s election co-ordinator, whatever that entails, assisted by Business minister and former Blair aide Pat McFadden. In what the paper […]
In her Guardian column today, Polly Toynbee dismisses the businessmen attacking Labour's planned rise in national insurance and laments that Labour courted business and "never confronted the worsening dysfunctions of modern capitalism". Seemingly despairing at what Labour can propose to win the election she proposes adopting a number of policies being suggested by Labour campaign […]
The Guardian reveals the winner of the competition Labour HQ ran to design an anti-Tory poster… The Guardian writes: "It depicts David Cameron as Gene Hunt, the politically incorrect star of Ashes to Ashes, the BBC TV series set in the early years of the Thatcher era. He is pictured above the words: "Don't let […]
Remember how Labour lost Blaenau Gwent, one of its safest seats in the country, at the last general election after a revolt by activists and locals opposed to a favoured candidate being foisted on the constituency by Labour HQ through an all-women shortlist? A Labour majority of over 19,000 was overturned and Peter Law, formerly […]
The League Against Cruel Sports has been censured by the Charity Commission for abusing its charitable status to engage in party political activity. Last summer the organisation had commissioned an opinion poll in which it asked the question: "Do you think the Conservative pledge to hold a vote on whether to make the hunting with […]
The Independent splash this morning reveals a classic example of how a Gordon Brown promise is not all that it seems. After the Haiti earthquake, when a bunch of celebrities recorded a version of Everybody Hurts to raise money for victims, Gordon Brown announced to much fanfare – and with much name-checking of Simon Cowell […]
Yes, Gordon Brown really did once say the following: "National Insurance is a tax on ordinary families". He said it during the Budget debate in the House of Commons in 1996, just six months before he became Chancellor. Clearly his tune has changed since then, given his insistence on increasing NI, while the Conservatives' proposed […]
By Natalie Elphicke, a member of the Candidate Lists, housing expert and Centre for Policy Studies author. "I'd forgotten all about the Unions". That was the damning indictment of one of my colleagues this week, as the Unions seek to bring about chaos to our overground rail, underground rail, airport, mail and civil service structures. […]
Amazing recent news. It’s emerged that a very senior Shadow Cabinet member once said that sexually explicit photographs or films of children should be legalised – unless there was evidence that the child had been harmed. And at the time (the late 1970s), the spokesman was a senior figure in a libertarian group that wanted the […]
He had to press the Chancellor EIGHT times but Michael Fallon MP did get Mr Darling to admit that Labour's planned increase in National Insurance Contributions would cost jobs. Mr Darling eventually said the impact was "manageable" while by questioned by the Treasury Select Committee. George Osborne jumped on the Chancellor's admission and called on […]