Public Accounts
News, views and scoops from the political village
In praise of the Tories
Posted by James Macintyre - 20 November 2009 15:42
They are right on police
Policemen stand guard during a demonstration (source: Getty)
According to my (many) online critics, the above is a headline you might not expect. But in the wake of the latest row between the police and the Conservative party over the latter's plan to put the former under the control of directly elected local comissioners, it should be said that the Tories are on the right side of the argument.
The ...
Green heroes and villains
Posted by James Macintyre - 19 November 2009 12:13
Our cover story on a hot topic
Anyone interested in the increasingly, globally topical issue of climate change should read our cover-feature on the green world's "heroes and villains" in today's magazine. It comes against the backdrop of a potentially disastrous impasse at the major climate change conference in Copenhagen next month. And it is ...
Blair to win EU presidency
Posted by James Macintyre - 19 November 2009 11:50
An unlikely punt
Will Blair come through at the 11th hour? Credit: Getty Images
Predictions: a mug's game. Particularly when you're going against the grain of media and political consensus. But blogs are nothing if not controversial, so I am going to stick my neck out and say that -- contrary to conventional wisdom -- Tony Blair will emerge as the unexpected winner of the race to become EU president tonight. We'll ...
Chamber of secrets...
Posted by James Macintyre - 18 November 2009 17:26
...an update from the House of Commons
From the Commons chamber
The fascinating day here started during a private party at Speaker's House where many of the great and the good gathered to gossip in advance of the Queen's Speech debate, which is under way as I write from the Commons chamber. I won't disclose here some of the private discussions that took place (except to say that John Bercow ...
BBC in awe of Sun
Posted by James Macintyre - 17 November 2009 15:15
More on Murdoch's needlessly-given influence
The BBC needlessly boosts the Sun by following its news agenda.
Regular readers -- such as they are -- will know that for my sins I have an obsession with Rupert Murdoch; namely the pathetic way in which Labour and the Tories award him unecessary influence by pandering to his right-wing ideological agenda while forgetting that he simply backs winners.
Today, the excellent Simon Fletcher rightly points out that it is the ...
Palin goes on Oprah to hint at bid for presidency
Posted by James Macintyre - 17 November 2009 10:49
"Not on my radar - right now"
Democrats -- and president Obama -- um, beware.
Sarah Palin, the somewhat gaffe-prone former Alaska governor and Republican vice-presidential candidate, has appeared on Oprah Winfrey's show to offer a non-denial denial of wanting the presidency.
"I don't know what I'm going to be doing in 2012 [the year of the next presidential contest]," she ...
Rowan Williams slams Blairite economics
Posted by James Macintyre - 16 November 2009 13:19
Archbishop says keep markets out of public sector
Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was at his thought-provoking best today in a speech to the TUC Economics Conference.
The speech, well worth reading in full, is characteristically rich in both religious and political meaning. Meanwhile Blairites might raise eye-brows at this statement during the question and answer session:
"The imposition of market models on public services is one of ...
Exclusive: Labour to show 'Against the Odds' film in election broadcast
Posted by James Macintyre - 16 November 2009 09:55
Victory for blog campaign
The Labour party has decided to adopt as its next election broadcast the well-received film used before Gordon Brown's conference speech called 'Against the Odds', Newstatesman.com has learned.
The two-and-a-half minute broadcast, praised as "moving" by both Labour delegates and journalists, runs through a brief history of the Labour movement's leading figures from Keir Hardie to Gordon Brown.
It begins with ...
PR referendum
Posted by James Macintyre - 13 November 2009 11:43
Much hanging on this last-ditch attempt
The news that ministers including Tessa Jowell are leading a last-ditch attempt to make Labour adopt the "game changer" that would be a referendum on a properly proportional electoral system in next week's Queen's speech is to be welcomed by progressives.
My colleague Mehdi Hasan and I have long argued that this is the only ...
Measuring Glasgow North East
Posted by James Macintyre - 13 November 2009 11:33
Triumph for Labour; disaster for SNP
The scale of the Labour victory in the Glasgow North East byelection in the seat of the former Speaker Michael Martin has surprised some commentators, and no doubt angered the rightwing Tory blogosphere. Early this morning the new MP for the region, Willie Bain, and the Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy hailed the result as a personal endorsement of Gordon Brown ...
Brown and Murdoch: the quotes
Posted by James Macintyre - 13 November 2009 11:18
Proving the point of my column
Anyone interested in the subject of my column and blog yesterday on the relationship between New Labour and Rupert Murdoch, and the reasons for the latter's mythical "influence" should look at these quotes from Gordon Brown and the media mogul.
Here is my (least) favourite, from Murdoch:
"Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, whenever I'm in town, they say, 'Can't you come ...
The Sun, the Tories and Labour
Posted by James Macintyre - 12 November 2009 11:17
Murdoch's needless "influence"
My column in this week's magazine highlights the iniquitous role of the Sun in bashing Labour.
By hounding Gordon Brown the tabloid has returned to its natural comfort zone after an uncomfortable 14-year ceasefire, before which it hounded Neil Kinnock with even more savage venom.
However, a question remains for Labour's leaders.
If -- as Peter Mandelson has no doubt correctly alleged -- ...
PMQ's review
Posted by James Macintyre - 11 November 2009 15:31
Brown's best performance for months
From Westminster
Gordon Brown got the better of David Cameron today in his most confident performance at Prime Minister's Question Time for months.
Perhaps boosted by the wave of sympathy for him over the Sun''s attack on his letters to soldiers' parents, Brown said the Tory leader "doesn't have a clue" when it comes to "policy". He ridiculed Cameron's "cast iron" promises on Europe ...
Tory HQ caught in fake web "comments"
Posted by James Macintyre - 11 November 2009 10:34
Yet more evidence of party's desperation over Kaminski
Following email smears from William Hague's press office comes fresh evidence today showing the lengths to which the party is willing to go to close down the controversy over its new allies in Europe. In a doubtless vain attempt to minimise the abuse below -- including, presumably, from party employees -- I will simply link to Left Foot Forward for ...
Brown calls Blair right wing
Posted by James Macintyre - 10 November 2009 16:34
Bit of light relief amid Letter-gate
I'm writing about the behaviour of the Sun for this week's magazine, so I'll spare you my thoughts on Gordon Brown's letter to Jacqui Janes here, except to point to Will Straw's blog which points out that the public are less interested in the matter than the media.
Instead, following comments from Brown on Tony Blair's candidacy for the EU presidency today, ...
Brown bashing, part 94
Posted by James Macintyre - 09 November 2009 15:57
His letter mistake was wrong but ...
The BBC is among those outlets terribly excited by Gordon Brown's "failure" to spell correctly the name of Guardsman Jamie Janes, 20, from Brighton, who was tragically killed in an explosion in Afghanistan in October, in a letter to his mother.
Clearly, this death is deeply unfortunate, to say the least. Men like Janes are admirable beyond words; lest we forget them.
However ...
PMQs review
Posted by James Macintyre - 04 November 2009 12:58
Cameron avoids discussing the Lisbon Treaty
From Westminster
David Cameron's apparent U-turn on a Lisbon Treaty referendum was the elephant in the room at a session of Prime Minister's Questions today that was dominated once again by the ongoing violence in Afghanistan. Labour MPs -- including David Blunkett -- ridiculed Cameron's 2007 promise in the Sun by repeatedly referring to the phrase "cast-iron guarantee", but Cameron avoided ...
Words that return to haunt Cameron
Posted by James Macintyre - 03 November 2009 16:13
Proof of the folly of pleasing the Sun
If ever proof was needed of how misguided it is to conduct British politics as a campaign to please the Murdoch-owned Sun newspaper, it came this afternoon, when the president of the Czech Republic, Václav Klaus, signed the Lisbon Treaty.
Here was David Cameron in the Sun in 2007:
If you really want to signal you're a break from the past, Prime Minister, ...
Two questions for Cameron . . .
Posted by James Macintyre - 02 November 2009 13:18
. . . on Tory MP's "Jews under the Nazis" expenses comparison
My colleague George Eaton has already highlighted the obscene comparison made by the Tory MP David Wilshire. Just to remind you, he said:
"The witch hunt against MPs in general will undermine democracy. It will weaken parliament -- handing yet more power to governments. Branding a whole group of people as undesirables led to Hitler's gas chambers."
Cameron has given his response:
"It's a ...
