Enemy of State

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2008

Enemy of State

The news that Derek Draper is organising a rapid rebuttal operation to combat bloggers does not exactly have Guido quaking in fear.

"PR Week can reveal that the Labour Party is exploring plans for an online rapid rebuttal unit, designed to kill off damaging stories circulating in the blogosphere. Former lobbyist Derek Draper will oversee the initiative, having recently been called in by Labour’s general secretary to advise on how the party can communicate its message. Labour strategists are keen to respond to the growing influence of right-wing blogs. The eventual system could resemble a modern-day version of Labour’s famous Excalibur unit, which was successfully used to kill negative stories by Tory-supporting newspapers in the run-up to the 1997 general election."

It has long been a central proposition of Guido's that unlike the Lobby and broadcast journalists in particular, Guido can not be spun or manipulated by the promise of titbits from the party machines. Not needing access or talking heads to interview the party machines have no sanction or lure with which to control Guido's output. When Gordon became party leader there was a concerted effort to astro-turf the comments here, and onConservativeHome andPoliticalbetting.com with "I'm a lifelong Tory but Gordon is better than Cameron blah blah blah". It was comically transparent that the comments were completely bogus. Guido simply pressed the delete button.

The reason most left-wing blogs are unsuccessful is because they are boring and crap. Draper is not going to change that fundamental truth.

"The Plan"

Last night Guido infiltrated a gathering of a clique of wonks determined to take over Britain and implement what they call "The Plan". Dan Hannan MEP and Douglas Carswell MP are the authors of "The Plan". Guido hasn't read it yet. Supposedly it is a blend of Thatcherite quango bashing and localism on steroids. Gove said some nice words by way of introduction, Dan referred to the EU as the "mother quango".

Not convinced that quangos are reformable or that they can be effectively democratised. Most people are just not interested in getting involved, only busy body types are so motivated. Quite sensibly the rest of us just want to get on with our lives. Most quangos could be simply abolished. Trying to reform them is not worth the effort, the bureaucratic inertia is just too great. When does a bureaucracy ever recommend cutting its own budget or reducing the scope or size of the bureaucratic organisation? The Cameronians go on about the "post-bureaucratic age", it remains to be seen if there will be hard manifesto commitments to do something about it. Don't hold your breath.

Labour and Tories Plot to Dominate the Blogosphere - PR Week
Paulson Snubs Gordon - FT
Greg Clark Digs into Dodgy Labour Donor Charity - Third Sector