Politics 25 April 2010 That memo against the Pope is no joke Benedict XVI, his visit, and an aggressively secular mindset in Whitehall. Sign up for our weekly email * Print HTML There is widespread confusion over the extraordinary Foreign Office "brainstorming" memo entitled "The ideal visit would see . . .", and it has caused huge diplomatic tensions between the UK and the Holy See, which have enjoyed unprecedentedly strong relations in recent years -- until now. People think it is a joke. That is to say, that it was written as a joke. This is not surprising, given the range of suggestions, which include a form of contraception named after the Pope, the Pope opening an abortion clinic, and the Pope overseeing a homosexual wedding. In fact, I am reliably told by a senior Whitehall source: "This was not written as a joke. It was meant to be a serious brainstorming by various people [and was] designed for a meeting. I know it is hard to believe, but it is serious." In which case, the memo says more about the mindset of what one official calls the "aggressive secular fundamentalism" that is entrenched in the Foreign Office than it does about the papal visit, which, for all the Vatican's faults, remains a good thing. Don't get me wrong. I deplore the sick culture of child abuse that has been unearthed in the Roman Catholic Church. And I will upset some Catholic friends by saying that I have some sympathy with the view that the Pope should show leadership, take overall responsibility and "resign" over the issue. Even before that grotesque scandal was reported, I didn't have much time for a Pope who is into Gucci shoes and iPods. However, much work has been put in by the British embassy in the Vatican -- and by ministers who should not be blamed -- to improve relations with the centre of a religion followed by millions. In an age when interfaith recognition is vital, that is very important work indeed. That this memo has been setback, caused by the childish and frankly idiotic provocations of sniggering officials with too much time on their hands, is an embarrassment to Britain. Secularists should offer faiths the same freedom of thought that they hold so dear. I will be returning to this subject. UPDATE: A query I submitted to the Foreign Office about whether or not the document is a joke has not had a response (2 May). › Back to the 70s? If only James Macintyre is political correspondent for the New Statesman. More Related articles Was Jeremy Corbyn’s “youthquake” all hot air? Patrick McLoughlin deserves better than to be blamed for Theresa May’s mistakes Labour are ahead! No, the Tories are ahead! Do opinion polls matter? Subscription offer 12 issues for £12 + FREE book LEARN MORE Close This week’s magazine
Show Hide image The Staggers 31 January 2018 The Conservatives’ lack of strategy is highlighted in their reaction to Claire Kober quitting The leader of Haringey Council will not stand for re-election in May. Sign up to the Staggers Morning Call email * Print HTML Today Haringey, tomorrow the world? The leader of Haringey Council, Claire Kober, has quit her post and will not stand for re-election in May, and the story makes most of the national papers. (The Conservative party is also going hard on the story on Twitter and, more importantly, Facebook.) I don't want to dwell too long on what has happened in Haringey because I've written about it before. The short version is: while you can't understand events in Haringey without some reference to the wider changes in Labour since 2015, you also can't understand it without reference to the Council's proposed regeneration scheme – just as you can't understand, say, the Richmond by-election without some reference to local opposition to Heathrow and to Brexit. Drawing conclusions about what is going to happen as far as Labour's inner life is a bit like drawing conclusions about the ability of Brexit to win seats for Liberal Democrats across the country. The more interesting thing is the Conservative reaction, which highlights a bigger problem for that party: which is that they have no clear message or strategic argument. Say what you like about them, under David Cameron and George Osborne the big message that the cuts were necessary and that only they would take the big decisions needed to get Britain back into the black was repeated, time and again, through both big government events, and media appearances by government ministers to activists on Twitter. Journalists got bored of the words “long-term economic plan” but it did, at least, succeed in cutting through. What's the big argument that the Conservatives want to have with Labour at the next election? They're quite good at leaping on whatever happens to be big in the news that day, but, however one might wish it were otherwise, voters simply don't care about Momentum, Labour's NEC or when Jeremy Corbyn last appeared on PressTV. The Tory problem partly flows from their leadership problem: they can't prosecute a big argument about what the next election should be about under their current leader. The parliamentary arithmetic means they can't really do anything requiring controversial legislation and Brexit saps the organisational ability of the civil service to do anything big, either. Their hope is that when the new leader comes in they will impose some kind of strategic vision and direction that gives them a narrative and a purpose that allows them to regain their majority next time. Labour's campaign surge does show that, if you do almost everything right and your opponent does almost everything wrong, big changes can happen even at the eleventh hour. But they're betting an awful lot that Labour's next election campaign will make as many mistakes as May's did. Stephen Bush is special correspondent at the New Statesman and the PSA's Journalist of the Year. His daily briefing, Morning Call, provides a quick and essential guide to domestic and global politics. More Related articles PMQs review: A win for Emily Thornberry as she relishes in the Tories' woes Why I joined the protest at the Churchill-themed Blighty Café Haringey Council leader Claire Kober’s resignation should shame Labour’s NEC Subscription offer 12 issues for £12 + FREE book LEARN MORE Close This week’s magazine