Woah. The anti-Harman brigade have come out in force today, supplying quotes to the Sun which draw comparisons between her and the Taleban. Here’s the key passage: “Many Labour figures agree she would be a disaster for the party’s fortunes. One senior figure told The Sun: ‘If Harriet becomes leader it would be the end
Oh look, David Miliband’s got an article in the latest issue of Tribune expanding on – as the cover has it – “his vision for Labour”. Turns out a major part of that vision is “US style” primaries for selecting party candidates: “The traditional political structures of mainstream political parties are dying and our biggest
Matthew Norman’s article in today’s Independent is representative of the growing “PM for PM” movement – “Peter Mandelson for Prime Minister,” that is. And, as such, it sets out one of the more probable routes by which Mandy could ascend to the throne this side of the election: “He could … remove Gordon Brown
The ever-perceptive Andrew Sparrow has sifted through the ‘Parliamentary Trends: Statistics about Parliament‘ report so that you don’t have to. I’d recommend you read his post for the whole series of “12 things you probably didn’t know about Parliament”. But, given that we’re a couple of weeks into parliamentary recess, it’s this entry which jumped
If you ever want to convince people that exams are getting easier, point them to the examples of science exam questions which Michael Gove gives about a minute into this clip: Hat-tip: Conservative Home
So the papers have picked up on a set of stronger-than-expected results in the housing, manufacturing, and services sectors, and are now talking about “new hope” and “economic fightback”. As Mike Smithson asks over at Political Betting: are these the headlines that Brown has been waiting for? Well, given what we hear about Brown’s green
Hazel Blears’ former SpAd, Paul Richards – who wrote that perceptive, Monty Python-referencing analysis of Labour’s defeat in Norwich North a couple of weeks ago – has an article in today’s Times on the “Sisyphean task” that the Tories may face in reforming the civil service. It’s well worth reading the whole thing, but its
In its lunchtime email, LabourList asks whether Labour should now adopt the Tory idea of open primaries to select candidates. To be honest, I can’t see them doing anything but. Not only is the Tory primary getting good coverage in today’s press – and rightly so – as a decent reforming measure. But, for the
Harriet Harman is everywhere in today’s papers. I mean, just look at the stories in the Times. On their cover, they have news that she’s clashing with her colleagues and civil servants over new rape laws: “Labour’s deputy leader used her position as Gordon Brown’s stand-in to demand a more radical overhaul of the law,
The headline figure coming out of Northern Rock’s half-year results report is eye-grabbing enough: a loss of £724 million in past six months. But just as noteworthy are the comments made by the bank’s chief exec, Gary Hoffman, about the timeframe for a return to the private sector: “The Newcastle-based bank, which is to be
Gordon will not be pleased. First, there are rumours that a bunch of Labour MPs want Peter Mandelson to run for the Labour leadership. And now a “minister close to Lord Mandelson” supplies Rachel Sylvester with a wonderfully snide quote about the way Brown has handled Harriet Harman’s equality bill: “‘It’s so Guardianista,’ says one
One of the more under-the-radar, but most significant, news stories of the day is Theresa May’s suggestion that the Tories may change the terms of contracts currently being hammered out between the government and welfare-to-work providers: “‘If contracts have not been signed one of the things I’m looking at is making the changes we want
It’s well worth reading Ben Brogan’s lively interview with Michael Gove in the Telegraph today. On Gove’s part, there’s an explanation of the Tories’ stance on selection in schools; a series of doting compliments about David Cameron (who is, apparently, someone “you could imagine snogging like we did to True by Spandau Ballet”); and he
Curiouser and curiouser. Today’s Sunday Telegraph reports that there’s a “secret plan” afoot to have Peter Mandelson reinstalled in the Commons: “The plan, which is said to ‘intrigue’ the Business Secretary, could see him become a potential candidate to replace Gordon Brown as Labour leader. It has been hatched by Labour MPs who are all
Harriet Harman certainly knows how to grab headlines. This morning it’s her claim, in interview with the Sunday Times, that “Men cannot be left to run things on their own.” Fair enough, you might say, but here’s the kicker: Harman also admits that a couple of years ago she tried – unsuccessfully – to change
It’s the complaint that won’t go away for the Cameroons. We’ve had an article by Andrew Rawnsley; a letter allegedly written by Tory backbenchers; and, now, a column by Rachel Sylvester in today’ Times: all making the point that David Cameron relies, perhaps too much, on a “clique” of close advisers, strategists and friends. The
Today’s FT cover-story probably wins the prize for Most Worrying News Item of the Day: “Lenders in Europe are bracing themselves for a rising wave of consumer debt defaults as the credit card crisis that has caused billions of dollars in losses among US banks spreads across the Atlantic. The International Monetary Fund estimates that
David Davis contra Google and, perhaps, the Conservative leadership too. That’s what we get this morning in a Times comment piece by the former shadow Home Secretary. He’s taking issue with Tory plans to employ a free-to-use system like Google Health to store and manage all our health data. Here’s the gist of his argument:
The death of Harry Patch, the last British survivor of the WW1 trenches, is certainly an occasion for sadness. But it is also an occasion to remember, honour and – yes – celebrate the tremedous sacrifices that he and his generation made, as well as the sacrifices that British servicemen continue to make, on our
What do you do when you’ve just taken a by-election battering? Erm, wheel out Ed Balls to rally the faithful in an interview with the Telegraph. It’s a strange read – mainly because Balls seems to force a more caring, understanding tone, before slipping all too easily back into dividing line politics – and I’ve