Farewell to blogging (for now)

I start work at Downing Street on Monday.

By Olly Grender Published 23 September 2011 10:49

From Monday I start working at Downing Street as the government's Deputy Director of Communications on a maternity cover.

"I hope you're going to keep a diary," has been a regular reaction. According to the contract for special advisers you are not allowed to write a memoir. Hilarious! "You must not publish or broadcast personal memoirs reflecting your experience in government, or enter into commitments to do so while in Crown employment. The permission of the Head of Department and the Cabinet Secretary must be sought before entering into a contractual commitment to publish such memoirs after leaving the Service."

Well, who got that memo? Cook? Short? Brown? Blair? Campbell? Jonathan Powell? Mandelson? Darling? Lance Price? What did they do with it? Laugh all the way to the publishers?

So here's the thing that puzzles me. If you are from the party you serve. . . With it through the good times and the bad. Knocking on doors in the pouring rain. Working in the back of an unused shop in a by-election. Dedicating mostly unpaid time because you believe in a cause, at what point do you become so important that those things no longer matter and it is ok to trash your party via your memoirs?

Most striking of all the recent memoirs is Alistair Darling's. If this is for history, shouldn't he wait until it is exactly that, history? Now, as a Liberal Democrat, what Darling has written is gold dust. It provides the ammunition to pick holes in Ed Balls the Shadow Chancellor every day until the next general election.

As a citizen, it continues to puzzle me that all along the Labour Party knew what Brown was like but thought it was ok to inflict him on the nation as our prime minister.

But as a long-term member of a political party I just don't get it.

The debate Darling has opened up again is in direct contradiction with everything he has done, every moment he has dedicated to serving his party and getting them into power. Someone like Lance Price, I understand, he was never really part of the Labour Party, and they took that risk when they brought him in.

There is of course a valid argument about the value of these memoirs for historical note. And some are more faithful to their cause than others. And some are a great read. But they should be with the distance of history and the benefit of hindsight. They should not be in the midst of the red hot fires of vendetta and point scoring. It is striking from the last government that the gap between serving office and publishing memoirs has been breathtakingly short.

So no more blogging for a while and please don't hold your breath for the memoirs, I'd be worried about you.

More from Olly Grender

33 comments

Fri, 2011-09-23 20:44 — Suzanne (not verified)

I disliked Brown intensely. However, he was better than Blair and much better than Cameron. Where Brown fell down most , in terms of public opinion was that he was very poor with the media.
Ms Grender has a cheek to have a go at Labour's ex leader when their leader who is a proven blatant liar continues as leader of the LD's.The hypocrisy of the Lib Dems seem to know to no bounds

Fri, 2011-09-23 21:37 — matthew fox (not verified)

Is Olly replacing the No10 cat?

Fri, 2011-09-23 21:53 — Anna (not verified)

'Director of Communications to the Lib Dems'? Oh, I see, you mean 'Licensed Liar'. You'll be well drilled in the dark arts if you are under the tutelage of whoever supplied Nick Clegg's speech at the recent conference. Good luck in trying to rescue a few shreds of Clegg's vanished credibility. He is widelt despised as a man without principle or honour, prepared to parrot lies, renege on promises and jump on any bandwagon that might claw in a few votes. Brown was deeply flawed, but a moral and intellectual pygmy like Clegg is not fit to polish his boots.

Tue, 2011-09-27 23:50 — Robert the Mac (not verified)

I'm disappointed to read you are leavng th blogginh sphere (and no doubt newsnight and the Westminster Hour) Gioven that you have consistent;y been the most interesting and balanced advocate for the liberal democrats for years now it's no wonder they have brought you (back) into paid employ but their gain is undoubtedly our loss, for now at least. Good Luck and look forward to your return!

Fri, 2011-09-23 22:31 — Mark Pack (not verified)

Anna: You worry me. You missed out putting in any personal insults in the first sentence of your comment. Surely only doing that in 5 out of your 6 sentences isn't enough?

Sat, 2011-09-24 00:20 — p j wall (not verified)

It appears number 10 is turning into upstairs downstairs?, The tories being the masters and the Limp dems the servants!!, Olly is obviously going in to be head kitchen maid, just like Mrs Bridges!, good luck olly, don`t forget to be servile towards your masters!, just like the rest of your yellow belly turncoats, and always curtsy when in the presence of Flashman and Gideon!!.

Sat, 2011-09-24 04:11 — PoliticalTrannie

One last parting shot-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/liberaldemocrats/8784515/The-Li...

Enjoy it, Olly.

Sat, 2011-09-24 09:47 — Mizar (not verified)

Nothing personal, but what a load of rubbish.

Sat, 2011-09-24 11:42 — IC (not verified)

"Is Olly replacing the No10 cat?"

Or the cleaning lady?

Best news of the day. Let's also hope this new appointment means that Ms Grender will also abstain from appearing on Newsnight and This Week for the foreseeable future, and then my day will be complete.
Byeeee!

Sun, 2011-09-25 20:40 — Tracy (not verified)

test

Sat, 2011-09-24 12:30 — matthew fox (not verified)

Mark Pack, do you remember attacking Ed Balls on LibDemVoice over deficits.

Strange how you have failed to acknowledge the record £16 Billion Borrowing for Aug 11.

Sun, 2011-09-25 20:51 — Tracy (not verified)

Perhaps Darling is hoping to capitalise on sales his book at conference? I think Labour are doing a fantastic job of contradicting themselves, especially their u-turn on tuition fees. I fear their calculations will prove untenable. And cutting VAT will actually COST money. Perhaps Darling is aiming for a volume 2 in 2014! Good luck in Downing Street Olly

Sat, 2011-09-24 14:10 — Sadie (not verified)

Enjoy your time there.
Luckily for us, you have a good memory and discretion.
Rules about what you can publish have been trashed. What we want is the fun stuff...eventually.

Tue, 2011-10-04 17:16 — Neville Peters (not verified)

You won't be missed. Your blog entries were pitifully dull. But good luck, and all that.

Tue, 2011-10-04 17:25 — Buckskins (not verified)

*Yawn*

Sat, 2011-09-24 16:41 — Yonmei

"From Monday I start working at Downing Street as the government's Deputy Director of Communications on a maternity cover."

Great! One, you won't be blogging here, two, your sycophantic suckitup hooray-to-be-a-Tory attitude will go down great with David Cameron, especially (I trust) you won't be arrested during the term of your appointment.

I wonder if the New Statesman will get an actual liberal to replace you, or if it would be fairer to replace you with another Tory?

Fri, 2011-09-23 11:04 — swatantra nandanwar

The Labour Party is a pretty diverse and inclusive Party, strong on equalities, unlike other Parties, and willing to put up with fruitcakes. Thats why I'm in it.
It respects people from all backgrounds and baggage, unlike other Parties. Thats why its put up with Brown and Campbell.
Olly is yet another poacher turned spinmeister.

Fri, 2011-09-23 11:36 — frances smith (not verified)

probably the best place for you, your views were far too sycophantic towards the coalition to be entertaining.

Fri, 2011-09-23 12:56 — maxinemf

I must concur with most of the above comments. The blog submissions by OG have been utterly crass and delusional. Clearly she will feel much at home in the NC's office because he shares the same capacity for self delusion. Fifteen months on it is clear the LibDems do not get it and I for one look forward to the next general election when the party is reduced to insignificance. Talking to yourself is all well and good but Joe Public sees through you. Joe Public cares about principles, pledges and promises. NC will be held to account and I for one look forward to his replacement by Tim Farron. As for the national interest defence, it is all guff and balderdash. Plenty of minority governments do survive. Clearly the office of deputy prime minister sits well with NC who has grown metaphorically as well as physically (judging by his current waistline) into the job. LibDem members and voters have been badly let down and they will not forget!!!!!!

Fri, 2011-09-23 12:58 — maxinemf

P.S. I hardly think you are in any danger of becoming a major player in the nation as far as advisers go!!!! Don't come back to NS as your contributions are not valued by our readers!!!!!

Fri, 2011-09-23 13:15 — tuttifrutti (not verified)

Really? You blame Labour for inflicting Gordon Brown upon us while the Lib Dems inflict Nick Clegg AND a Conservative led coalition. I am no fan of Gordon Brown but even I would say he is 10 times the man Nick Clegg is.

Fri, 2011-09-23 13:16 — Simon McGrath (not verified)

Good Luck. Hope you do keep a diary anyway - if nothing else to enable you to correct some of those who do publish their memoirs.
And to provide material for PHd writers in 100 years time!

Fri, 2011-09-23 14:00 — Dave C (not verified)

Good luck with the new job, selling the unsellable.

Fri, 2011-09-23 14:56 — praha7 (not verified)

I wish I could say that the Statesman's loss is the nation's gain but I'm afraid that neither statement would be true.

Fri, 2011-09-23 14:58 — Peter (not verified)

Strange. Comments seem to be disappearing as quickly as Lib Dem voters.

It seems free speech isn't as valued in Liberal circles as it once was.

Fri, 2011-09-23 15:08 — Mark Valladares (not verified)

Peter, are you perhaps missing the point? This is the New Statesman, it isn't meant to be liberal, is it?

Fri, 2011-09-23 15:16 — Peter (not verified)

Mark, I'm assuming it's Downing Street's latest recruit that's putting comments down the memory hole. That's the point.

Fri, 2011-09-23 16:50 — Renarde (not verified)

Peter, you sound a bit paranoid! I'd be very surprised if Olly were given access to delete comments on her own article. That's not the way anywhere else seems to do it.

Tue, 2011-11-29 00:27 — trxsuspension (not verified)

Hello. everyone.
would like to make new friends with you guys.

Fri, 2011-09-23 17:36 — Suzanne (not verified)

Excellent. Ms Grenders posts have been low level party political nonsense. I don't believe in attacking people over the Internet as general rule but the Lib Dems have earned their exemption from that.
From what I've seen of Ms Grender's writing I have no concerns that the Lib Dems will avoid the thrashing at the next GE Ithey so richly deserve.

Fri, 2011-09-23 17:46 — Peter (not verified)

Renarde. Well, someone has deleted comments that were inoffensive but unfavourable to the author. That's not paranoid, that's fact. And you'll find that at least some contributors to New Statesman have administrative access to their entries.

Perhaps the person responsible for deleting comments can enlighten us?

Fri, 2011-09-23 18:57 — FA

swatantra

"The Labour Party is a pretty diverse and inclusive Party, strong on equalities, unlike other Parties, and willing to put up with fruitcakes"

Traditionally the Lib Dems have been the party known for having fruitackes. However I'm not sure you can credibly justify Labour allowing Brown to become PM as an act of tolerance towards fruitcakes! Either someone is suited to a job or they aren't! Brown wasn't.

Fri, 2011-09-23 19:16 — PoliticalTrannie

"As a citizen, it continues to puzzle me that all along the Labour Party knew what Brown was like but thought it was ok to inflict him on the nation as our prime minister."

As a citizen, it continues to puzzle me that all along the Lib Dem Party knew how Clegg is disliked but think it is ok to inflict him on the nation as our deputy prime minister.