The Lobby Pass Dilemma

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2008

The Lobby Pass Dilemma

Paul Linford reflects on the perennial Lobby passes for bloggers issue. This has come up again because Ben Brogan (current Lobby chairman) has described the issue as a "a huge headache."

"They've been very reluctant to start issuing passes to new media outlets. There's an ongoing conversation whether the House of Commons authorities start issuing media passes to bloggers. That remains unresolved."

Not entirely true, new media in the form of Robert Gibson from the Gallery News email service has a pass and the nascent PoliticsHome.com have a pass. Neither have the kind of circulation enjoyed by the leading Westminster blogs. When some time ago 18 Doughty Street (R.I.P.) applied for a pass they were told by the Serjent-at-Arms that passes were only available to "substantive organisations", yet they have now given a pass to the smaller PoliticsHome operation run by the same people. Dale and Tim Montgomerie already have (if Guido recalls correctly) Commons passes, presumably Dale could plausibly now get a Lobby pass via Total Politics.

Adam Boulton when he was chairman of the Lobby* told Guido that he thought he should be entitled to a pass and he had no problem with it. Having now gatecrashed quite a few briefings, it really is questionable whether it is that valuable. If you ask a difficult question you don't get an answer. Ironically half the Daily Lobby spends their time reading blogs and writing comment pieces for their blogs rather than actually chasing stories, Guido now feels that going to press conferences can be safely left to the broadcasters - (it would be better for us all if the all the Lobby briefings were broadcast, ask yourself why fearless Lobby journalists are opposed to that happening).

Given the lack of respect Guido has for many members of the Lobby and the tense relationship that some of them have with Guido, it would be something of a headache for Ben if an application was made by this blog.Remember how upset Sir Michael White was when Guido attended a Lobby lunch in an Irish rugby shirt?

There is also a very real danger that by being assimilated into the Lobby one would become part of the system and compromised. Ask yourself why did the decades old issue of MP's expense fiddles only really come alive in the last few years? The Lobby (with one or two exceptions) didn't rock the boat on that issue - bloggers and pressure groups led on that issue.

You gain very little edge from invitations to minister's drinks parties and you don't get an exclusive by going to an event attended by half the Lobby. Guido has got his best stories directly from sources, not scripted events. The Lobby gets spoon fed by Downing Street and spun from all directions, would the blog be enhanced by having a seat at the back of the plane on a Prime Ministerial trip to Beijing? Would being cosy with Damien McBride be of service to the co-conspirators? Methinks perhaps not.

*Guido called Brogan to ask him his view and he promises to get back shortly.

Kaletsky v Tories

The Cameroons should take heart from Anatole Kaletsky's condemnation of their approach to economics. Kaletsky's heyday is long past as Mister-E-Man notes on Nick Robinson's blog -

The same Anatole Kaletsky who in January of this year, in his Timesarticle "Goodbye to all that: the worst is over for the global credit crunch", predicted that...

...conditions are not nearly as bad as the headlines and market pundits suggest. In Britain, there seems to be almost no chance of economic and financial disasters comparable to those suffered from 1990 to 1992. ...I believe that the global credit crisis, far from taking a turn for the worse, is now almost over.... There will be no US recession. ...Stock markets around the world will rise in 2008.

Shock horror - Cameron must be devastated not to have this prophetic economic genius on-board...

Anatole Kaletsky is long and very wrong.