Comments
Continuing double standards in the media
2009-10-11 11:36:21
As I am interviewing Bertie Ahern at the Cheltenham Festival later today, I thought I'd catch him on the Marr programme to see whether he was in suit and tie or smart casual, and thereby get my dress code guidance. This is after all the man who when chairing an international summit wore the most extraordinary gold trousers which took even George Bush's breath away.
Anyway today he was smart and sober in suit and tie and now I'm on my way. Before he came on I caught a bit of the paper review where Marr and his media guests made the point that the press mood surrounding the Tories was changing, that they were coming under greater scrutiny.
You could have fooled me. Let me give you a few examples of stories which, if they were about Labour, either now or when we were in Opposition, would be raging across the airwaves and filling pages of what we used to call the Sunday paper 'gropes', big background pieces. First, Boris Johnson's attempts to give the woefully unqualified Veronica Wadley an important arts job.
Beyond editing a paper which has an arts section, it is difficult to see why she is suited to the post, set against other serious and talented contenders. It is equally difficult to escape the conclusion that this is appointment based not on merit but on the help her pro-Boris anti-Ken coverage in The Evening Standard gave to the clown when he was running for Mayor. His threat now not to fill the position until what he assumes to be a change of government, so that a Tory chum can wave the appointment through, reveals the kind of arrogance we may grow more familiar with from the Bullingdon-Bollinger classes. But is this scandal raging across our media, as any suggestion of Ken Livingstone nepotism or cronyism used to? Is it hell.
Second, yesterday's story in The Guardian that Gideon Osborne, the shadow chancellor who would like to be called George, had got his sums all wrong when he made up his pensions policy in the car on the way to conference. How wrong? Oh, just three billion. So this man, widely lauded throughout the press in the past week, for having set out tough choices (when in fact he barely covered a fraction of the black hole he claims to exist in this awful economy he claims to be on the point of inheriting) in fact got his sums wrong on the most basic calculations he was making. All over the Sunday papers? Er, no.
And third, the row over Cameron's links to far right politicians in Europe, whose company and politics he prefers to those of mainstream and powerful leaders of the right like Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy. To be fair to The Observer they are continuing to drive at this one and long may they continue to do so. But what about the rest of the media? Think back to the outrage and the fury when some on the Labour left met far left leaders or apologists for IRA violence, for example. This, to me, is the equivalent.
But it is worse, because it is the leadership, a wannabee Prime Minister and his would-be foreign secretary William Hague, who are getting into bed with people they should be having nothing to do with. David Miliband is doing a good job on this. But the Tories having pretty much ended bipartisanship on foreign policy - indeed Hague as leader, grossly irresponsibly, came close to doing so on Northern Ireland at times - David should get even more political. Get out some notepaper and write to every major leader in the world to warn them what to expect if this lot get voted back in. If our media won't pick it up properly now, they might if it becomes an issue in Washington, Beijing, Paris, Berlin. The fact that commentators think the Tories are now coming under greater media pressure and scrutiny merely underlines the point I've long been making about double standards.
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Pressure on Ed Miliband can help get a climate change dealPublish date: 2009-08-28 13:39:08
Why Tories and media cannot stomach GCSE success storyPublish date: 2009-08-27 16:03:34
Exposing the absurdity of Chris GraylingPublish date: 2009-08-26 13:20:19
Joy and beauty and a night of magicPublish date: 2009-08-20 10:55:11
Twitter NHS backlash good for ObamaPublish date: 2009-08-14 15:44:49
A lifetime's ambition fulfilledPublish date: 2009-08-08 16:59:02
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No hiding place from Twitter, me on the bike, JP in DCPublish date: 2009-07-17 18:17:09
At last - something Obama cannot do wellPublish date: 2009-07-16 10:05:47
Will MPs take the lead in the debate on euthanasia?Publish date: 2009-07-15 12:30:01
Berlin brothel leads the way to a greener worldPublish date: 2009-07-14 10:57:25
A time for GB to explain the whole picturePublish date: 2009-07-13 12:37:54
All hail Monty, Jimmy and Collie!Publish date: 2009-07-12 20:06:36
First triathlon of the summer for me, education award for FionaPublish date: 2009-07-12 09:43:06
Of Burnley's friendly and Obama's wandering eyePublish date: 2009-07-11 12:38:52
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Cameron had better be sure he's rightPublish date: 2009-07-09 11:06:22
Guardian scoop has big questions for press, cops and CameronPublish date: 2009-07-08 20:40:54
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First hug a hoodie, now grab a gayPublish date: 2009-07-06 12:57:09
Mail on Scumday's wonderful account of Lansley's kipperdomPublish date: 2009-07-05 13:14:51
Ecclestone undermines his own success with alarming views on HitlerPublish date: 2009-07-04 14:04:04
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Andrew Lansley done up like a kipperPublish date: 2009-07-02 10:10:52
A day spent interviewing footballers, then being interviewed by a transvestite comedianPublish date: 2009-07-01 14:47:40
When the power of black eyes fadesPublish date: 2009-06-30 09:24:59
Farewell to Henry HodgePublish date: 2009-06-29 20:41:12
Honouring the power of sport to do goodPublish date: 2009-06-29 14:49:42
Andy Murray is a winner. Is that why some Brits don't like him?Publish date: 2009-06-28 09:19:20
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Two nice surprises, sad end to dayPublish date: 2009-06-26 09:16:33
Apology from the Spectator on Iraq boosts Henry Hodge fundPublish date: 2009-06-25 19:57:26
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Glad to find Eric Cantona in a quiet cinema ...Publish date: 2009-06-24 00:46:23
By Dave's friends shall we know him?Publish date: 2009-06-23 11:30:20
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Thank you to three readers, now please get involvedPublish date: 2009-06-19 09:13:35
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JP is right there was no proper campaign but Tories still weakPublish date: 2009-06-05 13:47:20
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Elvis has a plan to make MPs King againPublish date: 2009-05-29 12:09:44
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A blow to gay rights and a boost for Cameron's short-termismPublish date: 2009-05-27 11:27:41
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Highs feel better after so many lowsPublish date: 2009-05-26 10:13:12
Only one present countsPublish date: 2009-05-25 11:05:46
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Sex (or at least the female form) obsessed BritainPublish date: 2009-05-23 20:49:57
Sport at both ends of the financial spectrumPublish date: 2009-05-23 09:57:23
Stronger together - whether Scotland or expensesPublish date: 2009-05-22 10:22:36
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Speaking up for ParliamentPublish date: 2009-05-20 11:44:17
Peace in the Middle East - yes he canPublish date: 2009-05-19 09:37:35
Breaking news - one frenzy at a timePublish date: 2009-05-18 10:34:30
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How do you solve a problem like Silvio?Publish date: 2009-05-16 09:32:21
It was the internet wot won itPublish date: 2009-05-15 10:04:57
There now follows ... a good whack at CameronPublish date: 2009-05-14 17:21:28
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Expenses row must not obscure Tory intentions on minimum wagePublish date: 2009-05-13 16:12:08
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A tweet cannot express the wonders of TGVPublish date: 2009-05-12 08:48:31
It's Mind week - Get it off your Chest with me and Stephen FryPublish date: 2009-05-11 06:29:15
Hate the Mail, love ObamaPublish date: 2009-05-10 10:04:00
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MPs expenses - time for party leaders to meet againPublish date: 2009-05-09 09:50:19
Should happiness replace prosperity as national goal?Publish date: 2009-05-08 08:43:23
Musings from a sleepless nightPublish date: 2009-05-07 07:33:49
Darren Fletcher - an injustice that has to be rightedPublish date: 2009-05-06 09:52:29
Maggie's legacy not as great as she thinksPublish date: 2009-05-05 08:33:02
Here's hoping Cardiff is metaphor for CameronPublish date: 2009-05-04 09:38:30
More Mr Benn and Co pleasePublish date: 2009-05-03 10:03:00
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JP hits the road againPublish date: 2009-04-29 18:52:11
My night with Eddie IzzardPublish date: 2009-04-29 10:53:25
Explaining the 50p top tax ratePublish date: 2009-04-28 09:22:53
George Best and Martin McGuinnessPublish date: 2009-04-27 09:02:35
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Guide ro Marathon running part 2Publish date: 2009-04-25 11:01:34
Good signals on coal and the OlympicsPublish date: 2009-04-24 10:45:28
Tips for the London MarathonPublish date: 2009-04-23 17:29:27
Missed the Budget, saw why it matteredPublish date: 2009-04-22 23:09:31
Football good, politics bad. AllegedlyPublish date: 2009-04-22 00:00:24
The Great Wall gets greaterPublish date: 2009-04-21 09:55:22
Two sides to police storyPublish date: 2009-04-20 11:39:54
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Do muscles have memories?Publish date: 2009-04-18 09:44:44
Bring back standing at footballPublish date: 2009-04-17 14:50:22
When Facebook friends fall outPublish date: 2009-04-16 12:29:16
Guardian sightings and the email and bath plug agendaPublish date: 2009-04-15 11:32:16
The spin is all in the prismPublish date: 2009-04-14 09:22:41
A setback, not a crisisPublish date: 2009-04-13 12:55:19
The real lessons from Damian McBridePublish date: 2009-04-12 10:49:47
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On the pipes and what makes a ScotPublish date: 2009-04-10 11:06:20
John Prescott lazy? NO WAYPublish date: 2009-04-09 09:11:31
David Frost is seventyPublish date: 2009-04-08 08:48:38
The Speaker, BBC2, tonight and tomorrow 8pmPublish date: 2009-04-07 14:25:31
Obama, colds and being woken by Korean missilesPublish date: 2009-04-06 11:59:24
When a call matters more than protocolPublish date: 2009-04-05 11:33:42
Green Cities Champions LeaguePublish date: 2009-04-04 10:19:53
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Memo to Sarko - allez vite a LondresPublish date: 2009-04-01 08:46:17
Happy April Fool's DayPublish date: 2009-04-01 01:44:05
Eurostar, Le Monde and a thought for the G20 sherpasPublish date: 2009-03-31 09:17:22
Why Kevin Rudd made an impactPublish date: 2009-03-30 10:24:41
Pre-G20 hype matters less than post-G20 processPublish date: 2009-03-29 13:17:28
The Damned UnitedPublish date: 2009-03-28 10:37:04
A hobby horse, a plug and a bit of sportPublish date: 2009-03-27 10:22:23
Cloughie - he had a lot to be big-headed aboutPublish date: 2009-03-26 09:38:36
A sad sight of the old fearing the youngPublish date: 2009-03-25 17:03:07
Post-modern, post-structural, or bullshit?Publish date: 2009-03-25 08:18:02
Learning the right lessons from ObamaPublish date: 2009-03-24 08:53:15
Lazy Dave needs to keep an eye on lazy KenPublish date: 2009-03-23 11:16:14
Farewell favourite restaurant, hello hometownPublish date: 2009-03-22 08:18:09
Dave, Danny and have the Tories really changed?Publish date: 2009-03-21 08:55:13
Life beyond Dover ...Publish date: 2009-03-20 10:11:21
My friends in The New Statesman - Fergie, Fiona, Tony, Sarah, Kevin, 'Dacre,' and a great GB idea for the G20Publish date: 2009-03-18 10:38:22
Iraq, Iran, GB, Obama and diplomatic chessPublish date: 2009-03-17 10:07:13
The Age of StupidPublish date: 2009-03-16 08:27:13
Is all change good?Publish date: 2009-03-15 10:00:06
The pressure of being a post-modern sex godPublish date: 2009-03-14 10:00:55
Cameron still hasn't sealed the deal with businessPublish date: 2009-03-13 09:21:49
Stand up for social workersPublish date: 2009-03-12 08:31:17
Surely Malcolm Tucker could have told Armando Ianucci ... You can't spin a spinnerPublish date: 2009-03-11 10:58:25
Start of a new approach from Labour?Publish date: 2009-03-10 09:54:12
A peace process still strongPublish date: 2009-03-09 08:21:05
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A day in the life of the self-obsessed TV reporterPublish date: 2009-03-05 07:55:47
GB - good speech, well deliveredPublish date: 2009-03-04 19:31:05
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She may be my 'wife' but it is time to rebut!Publish date: 2009-03-03 10:52:59
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Inside the chocolate factoryPublish date: 2009-02-28 10:23:59
GB on the G20, JP on Jeremy KylePublish date: 2009-02-27 09:14:36
Charity and the credit crunch, please give generously!Publish date: 2009-02-26 08:55:12
Why oh why are the Tories not home and dry?Publish date: 2009-02-24 09:44:59
Me, Dermot and ten top songsPublish date: 2009-02-23 10:02:19
Names round-upPublish date: 2009-02-22 08:43:39
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In praise of KeighleyPublish date: 2009-02-17 14:33:57
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When marriage is testedPublish date: 2009-02-16 13:36:35
Spare me the myths and the whiningPublish date: 2009-02-15 13:29:50
Dave Cameron - is that all there is?Publish date: 2009-02-14 11:11:55
Boris Johnson: F is for ...Publish date: 2009-02-13 07:55:10
The Cameron vacuumPublish date: 2009-02-12 14:48:33
Lincoln, Obama, Blair and the 24 hour media culturePublish date: 2009-02-11 10:28:47
Eighteen interviews later ...Publish date: 2009-02-10 19:24:45
Time to talk about Time to Change on NewsnightPublish date: 2009-02-09 22:47:49
So that’s what they mean by online community?Publish date: 2009-02-08 12:12:51
First blogPublish date: 2009-02-05 15:23:57
Trevor Malcolm, Portsmouth Hampshire
2009-10-11 23:51:21LISTEN TO THE TORY PARROTS, EMPLOYING THEIR TORY MAGPIES
========================================================
Sometime after 4pm, Thursday afternoon, (see your blog, dated 8 October, first paragraph), you began writing the following
“ … In the next few hours someone will do us the service of telling us which words and phrases were most used in David Cameron’s speech. Big Government will, I suspect, be top of the pops … “
Now – at last – the numbers are in, announcement upcoming. My suspicions? The same as yours. So, lucky neither of us bet money on wrong conjectures
During a Party Conference speech that lasted the longest 70 minutes I’ve endured, Cameron tallied “Britain/British” 27 times – just pipped “Families” at 22 times
Announcing these results in reverse order (like Eric Morley’s Miss World shindigs) first place for most repetition went to the word “Country” – as in country, country, country …
… THIRTY-TWO times over, yes. Incredible, Cameron
When it comes to communication, the Tory toff’s Wannabee PM is no Cicero. Nor Socrates, Plato or Aristotle. He’s increasingly perfected the knack of getting on my t*ts, in fact
Since when did this DuckHead’s rhetoric replace detailed policy announcements?
Back to more numbers, then? All you statisticians, next three “Repeated Repeats” included “Debt” 17 times, “Responsibility” another 17 - “Big Government” eventually trailed home, repeated a mere 15 times
Even the word “Change” chalked up 14 repeats: “Broken” got mentioned 8, then “NHS” a disappointing 7, and “Conservatives” a measly 5 repeats
For want of a Conservative speechwriter, Cameron’s obliged to “cut n paste” his stuff off proper orators. His “vision” (hey, “personal faith and vision” – Margaret Thatcher coughed that one up in 1978) – of turning Britain around, proved Cameron capable of cribbing even Dr Martin Luther King’s still famous “ … I have a dream … “ speech from 1963
One illustration’s enough to dissect
Says Cameron, “ … it will be a steep climb ahead. But the view from the summit will be worth it … “
What?! Why, Britain’s best-loved wartime drunken bipolar, Winston Churchill, referred to “broad, sunlit uplands” in his “Finest Hour” speech on 18 June in 1940
And that God-fearing, yet forgetful Yankie, - Nancy’s Boy - Ronald Reagan referred to a “shining city upon a hill” during his Farewell Speech. Just as an earlier US President (JFK) had first used that metaphor, before Reagan dusted it down in 1989
Jesus, electorate, are we supposed to listen to these Parrots, who employ speech-hoarding Magpies as their own content providers, churning out same old bilge, devoid of policy, agendas with practical detail, new initiatives – any content fresh and new at all? Feels like a long, cold winter awaits us
Boy, am I peeved. And, you can tell, can’t you?
Trevor Malcolm
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Maureen Harper
2009-10-11 22:52:28Just had a great day at Cheltenham and I must say your events were the highlight. I came to your interview with Bertie Ahern and it was a real pleasure, the right mix of lighthearted and heavy, and you clearly get along really well. I could see a touch of the Michael Parkinsons in you there!Then to you being interviewed by Kirsty Lang, who seems really nice, and you could hear a pin drop when you were talking about mental illness. I was the one who asked you to sign the book to a man called Jerry who has just got out of hospital having had a terrible mental breakdown. I thought the political discussion was interesting too. Many thanks and good luck.
Just Sayin'
2009-10-11 21:34:16Alan Quinn
"Why is it that the majority of people who come on here to have a go at you Alastair never use their real name?"
Because people think that the basic ground rules for an Alastair Campbell blog must be that you have to make things up.
And because they don't want Alastair (or John as he is really called) twisting their names round - a la George Osborne - for so-called political/satirical/ineffectual effect.
Oh, and by the way, we have no proof whatsoever that Alan Quinn is your real name. And plenty of evidence to the contrary.
Just Sayin'
2009-10-11 21:14:56"Think back to the outrage and the fury when some on the Labour left met far left leaders or apologists for IRA violence, for example. This, to me, is the equivalent."
The equivalent? So the Latvians and the Poles are bombing us in the streets and trying to kill the Prime Minister? Why haven't I read about this?
It must be those Downing Street spin doctors keeping it out of the papers.
olli issakainen
2009-10-11 20:57:09I have noticed a remarkable change in the British media recently, when it comes to the attitudes towards the Tories. And no wonder! After Dave made the colossal mistake of attacking Big Goverment and blaming the government for the financial crisis, eyes have started to open among journalists and columnists. And not just among the Left.
It is now obvious to all that the Tories are incompetent on the economy. They cannot be trusted to govern Britain. Their policies would ruin the recovery. Higher taxes, cuts in benefits and public-sector pay freeze would put Britain in even deeper crisis. The Tories have no policies for growth.
And if anyone still believes it is all the government´s fault, please read the Will Hutton´s column in today´s (11.10) the Observer. He ends by saying that Labour still has a winning argument to make.
Just Sayin.
2009-10-11 20:52:21. . . John Campbell, who would like to be called Alastair . . .
Ha! Nailed him!
Simon Gittins
2009-10-11 19:36:14Wouldn't you be better off spending a bit less time whining about the media and focus slightly more on why this governement and the Labour party are so unpopular.
There is a reason why you are getting slaughtered in every opinion poll and why you will be demolished at the next election and it has very little to do with the media.
Start looking a bit closer to home, years of deceit, lies, incompetence, and waste may have something to do with it !!
You continue blaming everyone else but yourselves and see what happens when GB finally has the guts to call an election (fortunately he has no choice in this one).
Darryl
2009-10-11 17:53:46As ususal the usual predictable sniping from the right wing idiots, I agree the government needs to be more focused on attacking the tories Although difficult with the biased (even bbc) media. The polls are closer than people think (soft tory lead) and they need 117 seats and record swing to get a majority! keep upo the good work alistair.
Alan Quinn
2009-10-11 13:55:32Good news in the Observer today, the Ashes are to return to free to air TV in 2013, that won't please the Murdochs as Sky paid £300m for the last series. Never mind it could get worse for them if all England football matches were to follow if Labour has the bottle to do it.
Alan Quinn
2009-10-11 13:30:29Why is it that the majority of people who come on here to have a go at you Alastair never use their real name?
Keep up the good work showing up the tories for what they are.
barbar of Oz
2009-10-11 13:11:57Three days went by after Cameron's speech without a co-ordinated excoriating attack from the government.
Consequently the main story for the weekend is GB's eyesight! Pathetic. What is going on? Or are election campaigns conducted differently here than in Australia?
AC, no point whingeing about the media's coverage if you guys are incapable of giving them a story.
ollie
2009-10-11 13:05:09I just have to laugh at the irony of Campbell's article.
How can anyone take seriously what he says about this subject? Is Campbell now trying to re-invent himself as Mother Theresa?
To hear him whine about double standards in the media is utterly breathtaking.
If this is the sum total of Labour's attacks on the Tories, then they deserve a very long time in opposition.
Zelo Street
2009-10-11 12:57:33Bullingdon Club and Bollinger? You jest, Big Al. A Buller Man wouldn't go near Bollinger. For a Buller Man, the preferred tipple for working oneself into a state of advanced alcoholic derangement is Dom Perignom.
The Boris story has been picked up by Dave Hill's London Blog, so it's likely to be on the Guardian's radar, as is the slip by the Rt Hon Gideon George Oliver Osborne, heir to the seventeenth Baronet, over his tax balancing (main headline in yesterday's edition).
Also picked up on by the Guardian, and I'm sure you will have something to say about them, is the so-called Taxpayers' Alliance, increasingly influential for the Tories, and whose funding has grown from 67.5k in 2005 to over a million. The stream of stories they put out, painting Government - any Government, national or local - as "wasting money" and/or being too big - are printed verbatim by newspapers like the Mail and Sun, and even by so-called leading bloggers on the right.
Finally, good to see your blog is getting to the right wing froth merchants. You know you're getting it right when one of them whines "non story".
Brian Hughes
2009-10-11 12:48:10Unless it concerns a war involving our troops or an alleged draconian imposition by the Unelected Bureaucrats of Brussels, most of the Great British Media doesn't really do foreign. Arts and finance are also a bit beyond its normal celebrity-orientated scope.
Enjoy your trip to Cheltenham, alas there's fine misty drizzle enveloping the town at present - it's making me almost as gloomy as the opinion polls! I hope you've chosen the colour of your pants with your customary care...
Paul Mallon
2009-10-11 12:32:26Good to see Miliband getting stuck in on the Tories' euro friends. You are absolutely rightt to make the contrast you do - when Labour people mix wth types deemed kffensive by the majrity, we ne ver hear the end of it. I agree with Miliband that these people have noplace at a british party confdrence
Charlie S
2009-10-11 12:29:20Am enjoying the return of some good old fashioned tory bashing on here, and loving some of the responses. They hate it up em
Carly
2009-10-11 12:19:44Campbell you have completely lost the plot. The Tories teaming up with non federalist East European political part is in no way comparable to Labour MP's sympathy and links to the IRA. IRA were murdering British citizens. You really need to get a grip, Britain is eurosceptic and this is a non story. As for Boris well he's teflon Boris and very popular with the people more so than anyone in Labour at the moment. BTW good to see ICM poll in the NOTW showing Tories with 19 point lead, if repeated at the election would produce 170 majority. Roll on May 2010, when Tories are rightly returned to power as the natural party of government. I am personally looking forward to the implementation of their 'fair votes' policy which will bring to an end the bias towards Labour in the electoral system. Thus making it harder for Labour to ever win an election again, happy days are on the way!
James
2009-10-11 12:07:07I'm incredulous at the hypocrisy of this piece. Let's take your points one by one.
Boris tries to appoint a crony: Can you name one Quango that ISN'T stuffed with Labour cronies? To take one example, what qualification does Dame Suzi Leather have to chair the Charity Commission beyond being a Labour supporter? (Then's there's Chris Smith, Trevor Phillips, Lord Triesman and the rest of the professional Labour quangocrats)
Osborne's error: Um the reason the press gave Osborne's speech good coverage is that he at least attempted to tackle the single biggest issue in British politics - how to pay down the almighty debt bequethed by your party. Not one Minister at your conference even mentioned the problem - which is truly outrageous. In any case the £3 billion "mistake" came about because Osborne included inflation in his assumption while the think-tank that made the original calculation didn't. Hardly earth-shattering.
Tories new Euro-mates: I agree that the Tories were daft to leave the main Conservative EU group. However, allying with a few dodgy East Europeans is hardly comparable to, say, allying with the most sinister US regime in modern history to invade two Middle Eastern countries and kill hundreds of thousands of people....
Desperate, desperate stuff...
Marco
2009-10-11 11:59:12Are these the same rigorous media standards which applied to the investigation of the one million pound bribe given to your Labour Party by F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone just before the 1997 election campaign and which immediately after the election lead to the dropping of the part of your Party's manifesto which offended him ? Truth is your Party got away with it for eight years and was far more leniently treated by the media than any Party in the modern era before, or since. Furthermore, I don't wish to descend to the general sneering level of your blog, but I would remind you (reference George Osborne), that Mr Blair was routinely called Tony by you and the media, despite the fact that his name is actually the somewhat more patrician Anthony.
Be more sensible, Mr Campbell.
Simon
2009-10-11 11:48:42That Gideon stuff is just unpleasant. No doubt a taste of things to come as you get more and more desperate.
john
2009-10-11 11:46:39When asked to comment on Mr Campbells accusation of media double standards a spokesman said 'Dr David Kelly is unavailable for comment'
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