I didn’t get chance to write about this week’s Question Time yesterday as I was out all day, so I’ll write a brief summary today. You can watch it - for the next week at least - here.
The Worst Lady
One of the early questions asked, Should politicians’ spouses be seen and not heard? which was clearly aimed at Cherie Blair’s alleged outburst at the Labour conference during the week. The measured response from the panel had nothing on the contributions to the QT message board, which included Alex from Preston: “Cherie is a pest, and should be treated as such.†Oh…
Continue reading ‘The QT’
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I have just moved the blogroll to the main template on the frontpage. Links were being ignored on the other page, and it gives me freedom if I need the room on the header.
If you’re not on the roll, and you’d like to exchange links, drop me an email or comment below.
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We had a serious storm yesterday in Newark, and afterwards we took a stroll into town for coffee and to pick up some bits n pieces (we bought some tasty pitted olives, 3-types: stuffed with Feta, garlic, and lemon zest). Anyway, on the way back to the car we crossed the River Trent, and with the sun blazing through after the downpour, I took a few photos of the castle, which looked beautiful. One of which is here on my new photoblog (shot with Sony K800i cell-phone).
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The Cash for Peerages scandal was the elephant in the room at the Labour conference. Party membership was discussed, and no one pretended Labour’s finances were in any other state than critical. However it is possible that the ongoing investigation into the loans is linked to the real reason Tony Blair remains in office.
Blair has given so much to the Labour Party. No other leader – Thatcher included – has proven so proficient in connecting with the people and delivering electoral success. However Blair has also taken huge risks with Labour’s majority. The decision to go to war in Iraq has been a colossal miscalculation and has besmirched this Labour Government, and damaged its relationship with its supporters. Such has been the exodus of membership; Labour has had to resort to other, somewhat questionable sources of revenue. The so-called Cash for Peerages (or Loans for Honours!) Scandal is inherently linked to the fall in membership, caused principally by the Iraq War. The scandal and the war are two-sides of the same coin.
Blair and his closest aides took moves to nourish the election kitty. It is increasingly clear that they, at the bare minimum, tested the boundaries of the rules over party funding. The ‘Yates of the Yard’ enquiry, which is looking into the scandal, may or not lead to arrests at the highest level. If it did, the cabinet as it stands would be unable to continue.
In a last honourable move, the troubled and tainted Premier is going to see this out. He will not allow a nascent Brown government to be stillborn, killed off by disgrace. Blair will remain, see out the investigation, and if necessary, take the hit himself and resign with his legacy in shreds. Brown, untouched by the scandal, will take the reigns and Labour will survive, its power intact. A last honourable act, from a man so many in the party love to hate.
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Jane Ellison has won the Tory primary to stand in for the marginal Battersea seat. Not big news I grant you, but it makes me deliriously happy to see that the Tories are still tearing themselves apart over Europe. Ellison is described as the most “left-wing†of the Camerooooons put forward, and her victory has exposed the puss-filled wounds that still exist in the party. Read the comments, here, over on ConHome.
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It was a great conference speech. He had reasoned arguments, which were brilliantly delivered. Yes, yes, there was some dog-whistle rhetoric about terrorism, but he did outline that there is no clash of civilisations and enforced the mantra that fanaticism and terrorism are not exclusive to Islam. The Tories have no one even half as good as Reid, and they know it.
Standing ovation deserved.
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As I wrote at the weekend, I’m seriously looking forward to the new album released next week, so imagine my delight when I heard a couple of new tracks had been leaked, here.
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John Prescott, the embattled Deputy PM and prominent croquet player, has announced that he will support the candidacy of Gordon Brown in any future leadership election. This is something of a coup for Brown, as Prescott, regardless of his numerous fruity indiscretions, is still something of a heavyweight among the Labour grassroots.
Brown is emerging, from what threatened to be David Davis-like conference for the chancellor, relatively unscathed. In the two major speeches, those of Blair and Third-Way darling Bill Clinton, Brown was showered with praise, if not backed outright. Indeed, many believe the Blairites are losing momentum in their desire to see Brown denied the premiership.
Gordon Brown will, in my opinion, be elected leader of the Labour Party. However, such is the level of bitterness towards Brown, from Blairites who believe he has undermined the PM’s tenure, there is no doubt that Brown’s leadership will be blighted by plotting, whispers, and treasonous moves to usurp him. And he will probably deserve this fate, as he himself, with his inability to reconcile himself with not being in the Top Job, has created this atmosphere of division and deep resentment. He has brooded too long, and quite frankly, is responsible for many of the disunities in the party he will inherit.
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A report, written by the MoD, accuses the Pakistani intelligence services of indirectly supporting Al Qaeda by supporting religious organisations in the increasingly unstable country.
Musharraf, in an interview with the BBC, here, has denied the claim.
The reality is that Pakistan is deeply unstable along its porous border with Afghanistan. The region of Waziristan, in the North West, is deeply sympathetic to both the Taliban and AQ, providing shelter and support for their offensive in Afghanistan. Northern Pakistan is increasingly lawless, anti-western, and dangerous, and unless we change our ill-informed policies in the region, we run the risk of the entire country slipping into chaos. There have already been several attempts on the President’s life, and were his military junta to collapse, we have no idea who would take over this nuclear-armed nation.
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Blair’s speech reaffirmed what Labour will be missing next year, a political heavyweight who has the rhetoric and style to inspire. But let’s not romanticise, Blair may be the most effective politician of the last 20 years, but his alliance with President Bush, and their stupefying decision to invade Iraq, not to mention the lies and ineptitude, has utterly stained his standing with the country and damaged our reputation abroad.
The Labour Party should thank Mr. Blair for delivering them 3 successive general elections, but they shouldn’t get cold feet, this man has become a liability. Our error in joining Bush’s bandwagon is colossal, and the repercussions of this decision have not yet been fully realised. Let us not get teary eyed, Blair’s legacy is not yet determined.
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The developing row between Bush’s White House and the Democrats, is threatening to overwhelm a Republican Party struggling to defend their Senate and House majorities. When ABC screened a ‘documentary’ (soon demoted to a ‘drama’), that implied that the blame for 9/11 lay at the door of President Clinton; the gloves came off and the usually-rudderless Democrats came out fighting.
Clinton had, up until now, remained silent on Bush’s War on Terror, refusing to break etiquette and criticise his successor, but with his reputation under attack, however such generosity seems to have evaporated. Last week on Meet the Press, Clinton criticised the handling of the war in Iraq and suggested that money wasted there, could be better spent elsewhere to secure America.
Condoleezza Rice has also weighed in, saying the Clinton administration left no plan to deal with Osama bin Laden and Al Qaida, which is rich considering that Bush’s team made it clear that they neither advice nor guidance from their Democrat predecessors. Clinton’s aids were outraged at being so swiftly dismissed as Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld took control of foreign policy.
A freshly released report also argues that Iraq is indeed leading to an increased threat to America’s long-term security, more here.
Sorry if I’ve been “off the radar†in the last 24 hrs, I was working late last night.
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Mike Ion, who had the nerve to poll one place higher than myself on Iain Dale’s Top 100 Labour Blogs (grrr!), has written an interesting piece, here, on today’s CiF about the rising popularity of blogging in the UK, and the relative insignificance of Labour and leftish offerings (compared to leaders Iain, Guido, and ConHome, and the popularity of successful left-of-centre blogs in the US).
I would agree, although I think we’re making some headway, and anyway, for my money ConservativeHome is overrated…
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I don’t know whether or not Cherie dropped a clanger or not, but I don’t actually think it’s a story at all. Regardless of protestations to the contrary, no one actually believes Tony and Gordon still have a strong relationship. So what if Cherie did say it? She has attacked the chancellor before, and as her parents said on Newsnight (interviewed in the street), she’ll probably do it again.
Now of course this will be red meat to the rightwing blogosphere, because at the end of the day, they only have the machinations of the Labour party to feed on, until of course Cameron actually commits himself to some policies. They better gorge on it, because they’ll be waiting on Slippery Dave for a while.
Don’t worry, it’ll all be over next year.
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Just been catching up over on Omar’s blog, who mentioned Brown’s references to “The Good Society,” and the Compass pamphlet of the same name, here. Below is my comment to his post.
He [Brown] is clearly taking inspiration from the great Democratic presidencies.
But particularly Lyndon B Johnson, who campaigned on his own promise of “The Great Society”, although this was undermined by Vietnam, which may or may not be relevant. While the quagmire in South East Asia ultimately meant LBJ didn’t stand for a second term (fulfilling the promise), it did make huge social gains in fighting poverty, providing healthcare for the poor, and better education.
Significantly for the Democrats, ‘The Good Great Society’, did make huge progress in 1964 on Civil Rights, when LBJ signed legislation to outlaw racial segregation, and “lost the South for a generation.â€
Note: Omar’s comments are moderated, so my contribution will need to be approved before it’ll appear.
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