UK Politics
Tactical Briefing
Published 19 June 2008
From: The Unit
To: GB
Subject: Davis/Dolphins
So, pretty good week. Or was it? This is a real conundrum.
The Davis resignation has been keeping us all awake 24/7 down here trying to work out whether it's been a good or bad week. As with a bereavement, we have gone through a number of distinct stages:
Initially, on Thursday, while still reeling from the 65-hour meeting with the lovely Ulster Unionist guys, hammering out every last detail of what wasn't being offered on 42 days, we felt panic. What did the Davis resignation mean? Was he going to go into the Commons with a propeller hat and riding crop and play some kind of forgotten parliamentary "joker", whereby people with alliterative names can call a general election once in their careers?
Then on Friday panic gave way to a growing sense of euphoria. All through the day and well into the night, we basically just couldn't stop laughing. Caryn bought a cake. I got that text from you with a happy face and the photo attached of Ed, Ed and Douglas and Damian all doing the double thumbs-up and "mooning" with the newspaper headlines.
But then on Saturday, and more on Sunday, and totally on Monday, confusion reigned. The columnists seemed to be moving from position A - "It's mental!" to position B - "It's genius!" with alarming speed.
Maybe, we wondered, we're all just Westminster wonks obsessed with tittle-tattle, while he's an Abe Lincoln/Malcolm X/ Gwyneth Dunwoody-type figure surveying all from above the fray? He's Isaiah Berlin's Fox (or Hedgehog?) who knows one big thing, while we're all the Hedgehogs (or is it Foxes? Or Voles?) who know loads of things about PFI and who does better salads - Pret or Eat - but are totally missing the bigger political point?
But then, on Tuesday, we basically all agreed again that, no, Davis really is a twonk.
But then on Wednesday we thought, "Maybe there is something there?"
Think this one is only really going to become clear in retrospect. Our advice is: we seem to be lined up with Cameron and the Murdoch press hoping for his humiliation, so we're probably on the right side. Phew!
Dolphins. Not a biggie, but we're continuing to get questions about the dead dolphins and we're worried in the current climate that you might end up as the mug who finds himself carrying the can with the dolphin blood/fluid on your hands.
A lot of rumours are bouncing around about them being killed by the navy or fishermen driven mad by rising fuel prices and/or the undermining of their Magna Carta rights.
Let us know your thoughts.
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