This from the Press Association: "Tony Blair is set to announce that he is stepping down as Labour leader in the North East, triggering a contest that will see him quit as Prime Minister within weeks, Downing Street has confirmed. Mr Blair will brief Cabinet colleagues on his intentions at their regular No 10 meeting, […]
One of the most quoted anecdotes on election night and in the press the next day was that the Conservative candidate for Tony Blair’s own ward in Sedgefield didn’t get any votes at all. Shirley Bowes doesn’t live in the ward and hadn’t even told her son she was standing but she would have at […]
After joining Tony Blair in paying tributes to Lord Weatherill, Cameron again attacked Blair over the Home Office split. He quoted Charles Clarke who said splitting the Home Office was a "completely batty idea that would damage national security", and asked why John Reid wasn’t hanging around to see the changes through if they were […]
With Blair widely thought to be announcing his resignation tomorrow, Alan Duncan will today give a speech attempting to assuage any lingering doubts that Gordon Brown is up to his neck in this unpopular government. Speaking to consultancy Sovereign Strategy, his main soundbites will be: "He is not a fresh start: he is the blast […]
All Saints Gazette: Robin Millar was quick to see the potential of blogs as a way of communicating with his constituents, starting it in October 2004 and receiving a local award in 2006. He is a senior member of Forest Heath Council and the founding director of a consultancy company that deals with local government. […]
Earlier today I highlighted Oliver Letwin’s socio-centric article in The Times and worried about his opaque choice of phrases. In the speech he made at Policy Exchange he admitted that it was all part of a grand plan: "There is a reason why I have been using this ridiculous, high-falutin language. I want to make […]
I was on Sky News again last night to preview the newspapers. My fellow previewer was Alan Duncan. Whilst we were waiting to go on the show we started talking about Melissa Kite’s speculative Sunday Telegraph story about a shadow cabinet reshuffle. The story talked about demotions for William Hague and Liam Fox. Alan Duncan […]
Oliver Letwin is undoubtedly a massive influence on David Cameron. He was the first senior Tory to back Mr Cameron’s leadership bid and his cautious approach to tax, his enthusiasm for Kyoto environmentalism and his emphasis on redistribution have all become hallmarks of the Project for which he is policy director. In that role Oliver […]
Former Conservative MSP Brian Monteith is unimpressed with the Tories’ performance in last Thursday’s elections to Holyrood. Now that the understandable distraction of the bourach that was the Holyrood election meltdown has subsided and the actual results can be assessed with some cold detachment rather than the emotion of the early morning battlefield, Scottish Conservatives […]
BBC: "Although Lord Weatherill was a Tory MP, in the Lords he was convenor of the crossbench peers and his father was a member of the Independent Labour Party. Tributes were being paid to him on Monday from across the political spectrum. Lord Heseltine, the former Tory deputy prime minister, said: "He was a popular […]
Although many conservatives will welcome President-elect Sarkozy’s commitment to closer ties with the USA there are many people who are worried about the implications of his victory for the future of the EU. Worry one must be the President-Elect’s willingness to introduce a backdoor version of the EU Constitution that France’s voters so wisely rejected. […]
BBC Parliament is replaying its 1997 General Election coverage today and the Daily Mail’s Benedict Brogan is enjoying the trip down memory lane. Ben has just blogged two priceless quotes from that dark night… Gordon Brown: "Under Tony Blair’s magnificent leadership the Labour party is now ready to rebuild the bond of trust between the […]
Perhaps I should be more worried than I am but I do not sense that Scotland voted for independence last Thursday. Those votes that were counted were largely cast for Unionist parties and all democrats can welcome the end of Labour’s fifty year dominance north of the border. The main worry is that a nationalistic […]
9.19pm: David Cameron’s reaction – "I warmly congratulate Nicholas Sarkozy on his election as President of France. He has campaigned with energy on a platform of change from the economy to the environment on which he promised again tonight that France under his presidency would play a leading role. Now France has voted for change […]
Harry Phibbs is a councillor in Hammersmith and Fulham and a regular contributor to the Social Affairs Unit’s blog. Congratulations. By now you should have caught up on some sleep, booked a date for a thank you party for the activists in your Ward to whom you owe your election, filled in the form for […]