Coffee Shots: Iain Dale’s rumble by the seaside
Damian McBride certainly seems to have brought the edge back to Labour politics. LBC's Iain Dale got into a fight with an anti-nuclear protester, who was interrupting an interview with McBride.
Steerpike
Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike
Tuesday
Monday
Ed Miliband is no ladies-man
Labour is the only party for women; that was the message of its conference launch last weekend. Every step towards equality had been made by the red team, it was claimed. Of course there was no mention of Maggie, the first (and only) female PM. Indeed, the party had to overlook the fact that it has never even elected a female leader. Harriet Harman and Margaret Beckett have both been leader by default, before being replaced by the newly elected male leader. Speaking of which, Ed Miliband recently had Messrs Rawnsley and Helm of the Observer round to his house in Dartmouth Park for a natter. Katherine Rose, a freelance photographer (pictured, above), was with them. Ed offered the blokes a cuppa, but ignored Ms. Rose. Bit of a boob, you might say.
Eddie Izzard the method actor
Eddie Izzard’s alleged mayoral ambitions have been well documented, although he’s coy of going on the record about any plans. But mayor of where, exactly? There’s been lots of noise about London; but Izzard has been surprising people at parties recently by speaking with a Scottish accent. Tongues have been wagging. Is the funny man who believes in ‘equal clothing rights’, the political activist who enthusiastically endorsed the Euro, Gordon Brown, Yes2AV and Ken Livingstone, seeking a political career north of the border? It seems not. Izzard explained, with a Caledonian drawl, to my mole that he ‘was in character’ while preparing to play a Scotsman in a BBC drama.
Friday
Archbishop Welby poaches the Queen’s spinner
As Mr Steerpike reported last week, the Archbishop of Canterbury has been seeking an apostle to spread the good news to the media. Today it has been announced that Alisa Anderson, the Queen’s press secretary, will join the staff at Lambeth Palace. As Royal watchers will know, Anderson was last seen pinning the announcement of the birth of Prince George of Cambridge to the golden easel outside Buckingham Palace. There’ll be no such glamour at Lambeth.
Thursday
Lord, actually
Lord Ashcroft’s Lunch Offensive continues, mercilessly. When he’s not entertaining Tom Watson and other animals, the former Tory donor can be spotted plotting with naughtier Cabinet ministers and loose-lipped journalists. Today’s luncheon companions would have had the PM choking into his packed lunch at the Tory away day: his lordship was clocked wooing Hugh Grant in Gran Paradiso, in Victoria. Grant was accompanied by Dr Evan Harris, with whom he fronts the anti-media lobbying group Hacked Off. As it happens, Lord Ashcroft has had more than a few run-ins with the press over the years, most notably with the Times. He recorded the details of that spat in his punchy tome Dirty Politics, Dirty Times. The billionaire denies that he has funded Hacked Off.
Wednesday
Pippa Middleton writing more headlines
Pippa haters look away now. Mr Steerpike has learned that she has been included on a list of the most influential journalists in London. According to the Evening Standard’s Power 1000 (which has a section devoted to Fleet Street): ‘It says much about the state of modern journalism that Prince William’s sister-in-law is so in demand as a columnist for Vanity Fair and Waitrose Kitchen amongst others.’ Yes, and Mr S can think of another esteemed organ where Pippa regularly features... There was uproar when Pippa replaced Christopher Hitchens as a contributing editor of Vanity Fair. This list is sure to sooth those sceptics.
Floreat Ed-ona
Ed Miliband might have to tone down the attacks on Old Etonians after weeks of speculation were ended today with an announcement from Labour that they have hired Paddy Hennessy, the now ex-Political Editor of the Sunday Telegraph, to spin for them. The hire is is likely to trigger renewed scrutiny of the backgrounds of the Miliband and those closest to him. As this month's Spectator Life will reveal, Ed is surrounded by some incredibly wealthy champagne socialists. Find out just how many and who on Thursday.
Coffee Shots: Liberal Democrats really enjoy their party conference
The Lib Dems have had a great party conference, haven't they? Well, perhaps. The conference centre has been a little flat at times. Sometimes delegates have struggled to look really truly excited about debates on tax: And at times, everything has just been far too much: Even for former leaders... Some debates have offered a handy opportunity for catching up on the sleep missed by staying out late at Glee Club: While others haven't been very well-attended, but have at least offered a chance for a catch-up... ...some light reading... ...or that favourite Lib Dem pastime, knitting.
Tuesday
Coffee Shots: Print your own politician
Nick Clegg always rails against the same old politics, identikit politicians and the like. So how will he cope now that tech whizzes have worked out how to print their own politician? This 3D model of the Deputy Prime Minister took seven and a half hours of printing on the Microsoft stand at the Liberal Democrat conference.
Godfrey Bloom’s feminine touch
Mr Steerpike has obtained an exclusive extract of everyone's favourite Ukip MEP Godfrey Bloom's new book A Guinea A Minute, which comes out later this week. His response to accusations of misogyny is worth reproducing in full, not least for the chatter it might start: 'I was asked by a journalist what I would be doing on that committee. He was such an earnest young man, I could not resist the sport. I intend to get women to clean behind the fridge I told him with equal earnestness. Well it was one of those “no news days”. Someone shoved a camera in my face “what else?” they called sensing a story where none had been.
The Melanie Phillips Mail mystery
Why was Melanie Phillips ousted as the Monday columnist for the Daily Mail? The Guardian suggests that she was frustrated by the ban on writing about Israel, which is not a restriction placed exclusively on Mel. Meanwhile, the peaceniks over at the Indy claim that Mel’s incendiary appearance on Question Time in June made Paul Dacre hit the red button. The clip above will refresh your memory. The Indy has an axe to grind (having lost Dominic Lawson, who is tipped to replace Mel); but I hear that it's on the money. A source at the Mail tells me: ‘She played up to every stereotype of the paper, and it got too over the top’.
Coffee Shots: Cable’s small beer to Lib Dem activists
Vince Cable is apparently the darling of his party. But not according to this highly scientific poll being conducted by the Campaign for Real Ale at the Liberal Democrat conference in Glasgow, where the Business Secretary is currently the least popular pick from the top dogs in the party for the best person to have a pint with. What a bitter sensation that must be.
Monday
A bridge too far for Ian Katz
More adventures in television from new Newsnight boss Ian Katz. Fresh from his truthful-if-embarrassing slating of Labour’s Rachel Reeves, I hear that Katz has upset another Labour big-wig, Alistair Darling. Apparently, Katz wants to shoot a Scottish referendum debate on a real bridge (presumably the 130-metre Union Bridge in Berwick) between Scotland and England. After the debate, he proposed that members of the audience would ‘vote with their feet’ by walking to either end of the bridge. Darling, who is leading the pro-Union campaign, was not sold on the idea of unionists walking to the English side of river to show their support. PS: Another BBC source says that Katz 'wanted to set-dress it like Checkpoint Charlie!
Look happy! Lib Dems accidentally leak ‘conference top lines’
Looks like a spinner has got himself in trouble this morning. Nick Sutton from the BBC has just tweeted this briefing that probably wasn't mean to go to the press this morning: Whoops... "five things to remember for every interview" - I don't think this was meant to be sent to us... #ldconf pic.twitter.
Ban the word ‘twerk’
Jesse Norman MP, who used to lead the Prime Minister’s policy forum, is using his spare time to write for ConservativeHome. About twerking. For those of you who have missed this craze, the Oxford English Dictionary, in a shameless PR stunt, added the term to their latest edition: ‘To dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance.’ Turning to Jesse’s piece, apparently ‘the press have started to scrutinise’ Norman’s ‘public remarks with all the fervent enthusiasm of a group of Miley Cyrus fans at a twerking convention.’ How could we not?
Friday
Blessed are the spin doctors | 13 September 2013
After spilling the communion wine down his cassock in an attempt to wade into the ongoing Wonga-row, the Archbishop of Canterbury has been rather quiet of late. Justin Welby faced acute embarrassment when he tried to throw the pay-day loan lenders out of the temple, only for it to be revealed that the Church of England’s investment portfolio include a significant stakes in such grubby money-lenders.
Thursday
Labour get attacks in early on Toby Young
Toby Young has rattled some Labour cages by publicly mooting a bid for the Tory nomination for Hammersmith. ‘Z List Toryboy celebrity Toby Young wants to be an MP’ spins a Labour adviser Imran Ahmed. Then came the hammer blow: ‘Think he's gotten House of Commons mixed up with Big Brother house.’ Oh, that one will hurt. Should have saved it for the leaflets! So who is Ahmed? Well he last hit the headlines after he was accused of ghost-writing tweets for his old boss Andy Slaughter - the Labour MP for Hammersmith. Could he be speaking with Slaughter’s voice again?
A book Fred will want to shred
Michael Gove and Ed Vaizey were leading the government's representation at the launch party last night for Iain Martin’s book Making It Happen: Fred Goodwin, RBS and the men who blew up the British economy. David Davis and Liam Fox were also leading the laughter at the Travellers Club as Martin explained that many tried to warn him against writing his study of the financial crisis. Not only because he was about to upset some very rich people but also from a future sales point of view as apparently 'by then the economy would have been sorted out.
Whips keep it casual
The Tory whips come in for plenty of criticism when things are going wrong in the party. But you can't accuse them of taking their fingers off the sartorial pulse. Mr Steerpike has seen an email sent out to all Conservative MPs explaining the meaning of that terrifying term 'smart casual': Following Keith Simpson’s recent missive about smart casual dress, some considerable confusion has arisen about the sartorial requirements of being so attired. For the avoidance of all confusion, the attachment is the definitive statement of what is “smart casual”.
Wednesday
A rare success for Downing Street spin machine
Downing Street and the press are rarely a productive coupling, though it seems the PM’s spin team have, for once, inadvertently spawned something positive. Introducing his new book about journalistic cliché to the world at a star-studded occasion’ in ‘London's glamorous West End’ this week, Bloomberg hack Rob Hutton told how No.10 had triggered him to write Romps, Tots and Boffins: ‘This book wouldn't have happened at all, but for No 10's inability to find a plane with room for journalists whenever the PM goes to controversial places.
