Labour party

A reader has chided me for failing to publish more political comment lately. But what more – despite the acres of newsprint devoted to the matter – has there been to say about the Obama-Clinton match-up that was not said six weeks ago? Precious little. She still can’t win; her continuing campaign makes Obama’s job in November more difficult. Meanwhile, in Scotland Wendy Alexander, the pocket-sized Scottish Labour leader, announces that she’s fed-up with Alex Salmond winning all the headlines month after month and, consequently, says she’s quite happy to have a referendum on independence after all. This, despite constant assertions that it was the last thing the country wanted

A delicious column by Rachel Sylvester in today’s Telegraph. Some choice highlights: There is a “sulphurous mood” on the Labour benches. Disillusioned Left-wingers, who campaigned for Mr Brown to become leader, are joining forces with triumphant Blairites who say: “I told you so.” Even Tony Lloyd, the chairman of the PLP, warned yesterday that the Government needed to “clarify what it’s there for”. Ministers are losing the habit of discipline too. Last week, Ivan Lewis, a health minister, warned that Labour was “losing touch” with hard-working families, then Gerry Sutcliffe, the licensing minister, attacked the tax rises on booze. Behind the scenes, things are even worse. With no clear direction

If you doubted that Gordon Brown’s government is already exhausted, consider the nonsense being peddled by Stephen Carter, the former PR supremo brought in to salvage something – anything! – for Gordon. From Iain Martin’s column today: A couple of takes on Carter’s actions are being briefed: either a justified clear-out of the team that brought you the election-that-never-was, or another example of outside experts misunderstanding tribal Labour. Probably, it is a bit both. What is clear is that on Tuesday, in scenes redolent of The Office and David Brent, Carter divided up the Cabinet into “break-away” groups of six or seven, where they were given problems to solve –

This could be the most risible thing one’s seen yet from this risible government: The Labour Party has accused the BBC of bias towards the Tories. An official complaint has been lodged, claiming Radio 4’s Today programme has given David Cameron an easy ride in recent interviews. A senior party official accused the broadcaster of coming to a “special arrangement” with the Conservatives to avoid any “difficult questioning” of the Tory leader. But it’s also further evidence of something else: Brown’s goose is cooked. This is the sort of desperate floundering you associate with governments in their final, failing days. It’s not the action of a ministry bursting with important

Further to this and this, I see, thanks to Mr Worstall, that no fewer than 72 Members of Parliament have put their name to this Early Day Motion: EDM 982 FIDEL CASTRO 20.02.2008 Burgon, Colin That this House commends the achievements of Fidel Castro in securing first-class free healthcare and education provision for the people of Cuba despite the 44 year illegal US embargo of the Cuban economy; notes the great strides Cuba has taken during this period in many fields such as biotechnology and sport in both of which Cuba is a world leader; acknowledges the esteem in which Castro is held by the people and leaders of Africa,

I used to think that the feebleness of the scandals that occasionally brought down a minister or two in Edinburgh was matched only by the embarrassment one felt watching the Scottish press corps work itself into a frenzy in anticipation of feeding upon cheap cuts that properly corrupt countries would never consider feeding their dogs with. There’s something similar in the air about the fund-raising scandal that is destroying Gordon Brown’s government. Except, of course, that after a decade of mendacity, he deserves it. Still, the scandal itself – laundered campaign contributions and a ridiculous scramble in which everyone does their best to implicate everyone else – is scarcely of

Bob Marshall-Andrews, the independent-minded Labour MP for Medway is a Whip’s nightmare. But he’s the sort of stout citizen any parliament worth the name needs more of. Years ago, we received good value from him when we invited him to speak at my undergraduate debating society. So, it’s nice to see that he’s lost none of his waspishness. Via Iain Dale comes this assessment of our boyish Foreign Secretary: Labour backbenchers seem to be getting uneasy about David Miliband. In Quentin Letts’s Daily Mail sketch today Medway MP Bob Marshall-Andrews describes Miliband as “this pillock* on his gap year**”. Letts insists that Marshall-Andrews was sober when he said this and

Neil Harvey-Smith, gingerly returning to blogging after time in the Canadian wilderness, observes the latest example of Gordon Brown’s cynicism. Today’s message: he admires Margaret Thatcher very much. Yesterday’s message: her “doctrinaire prejudice” failed Britain. That’s not, incidentally, a view from 1983 but from a 1989 book he published titled, Where There Is Greed; Margaret Thatcher and the Betrayal of Britain’s Future.

Interesting, though unsurprising, interview in today’s Scotsman. Des Browne, the Secretary of State for Scotland, tells the paper’s political editor Hamish Macdonell that there’s no need for any talk about new powers for Holyrood. Move along now, please. Nothing to see here. Mr Browne delivers the standard Labour ministerial line: we’ll have a consultation and “listen” to all views but our mind is made up. So what’s the point? Score this as another victory for Alex Salmond. Wendy Alexander, the likely new leader of the Scottish Labour party, is understood to want a review of the devolution “settlement”. It would be a surprise if she were not. She is a

So, as expected Jack McConnell has resigned as leader of the Scottish Labour Party. A friend emails me the best, most accurate (albeit unintentionally so) reaction to this news: “Let’s remember where he took this party from to where it is now and I think that’s a great contribution not just for the Labour party but also for Scotland.” Since McConnell inherited a party in power and leaves it in opposition, this is, for once, something Andy Kerr – Mr McConnell’s Finance Minister – and I can agree on. Of course, the proof that Scotland needed a political revolution is found in the words “Finance Minister Andy Kerr”. *A clown,