It’s not just Cabinet reshuffle that is getting tongues wagging at the moment. Patrick Wintour has an extraordinary suggestion today that Ed is preparing to to “long knife” one of his most competent Shadow Ministers – Liam Byrne: Any change could come as soon as Monday, and Downing Street will be rubbing their hands at this shift to the left… At Business Questions yesterday afternoon, Angela Eagle said: “following on from the Queens Speech, the IoD said the government was beginning to lose the confidence of UK PLC.” Except the IoD did not say that. At all. They did use the word “confidence” in terms of economic confidence, which was described as“the real key to growth” – a concept a former Shadow Chief Secretary of the Treasury should probably understand. In fact the IoD argued that the best way to build economic confidence is for the Government to go further, faster on deregulation, tax cuts, pension reform, scrapping quangos etc – hardly Angela Eagle’s position. So where did she get the idea that “the IoD said the government was beginning to lose the confidence of UK PLC”? Well, the only place that phrase has appeared was on the Twitter account of Steve Hawkes, the Sun Business Editor: Institute of Directors not happy with Queens Speech, not good enough to "tweak" - Coalition is beginning to lose confidence of UK plc Taking her lines from Twitter is enough of a worry, but from the Sun? Don’t tell Ed… Michael Gove is on fine form today: “Armando Iannucci, David Baddiel, Michael McIntyre, Jack Whitehall, Miles Jupp, Armstrong from Armstrong and Miller and Mitchell from Mitchell and Webb were all privately educated. 2010’s Mercury Music Prize was a battle between privately educated Laura Marling and privately-educated Marcus Mumford. And from Chris Martin of Coldplay to Tom Chaplin of Keane – popular music is populated by public school boys. Indeed when Keane were playing last Sunday on the Andrew Marr show everyone in that studio – the band, the presenter and the other guests – Lib Dem peer Matthew Oakeshott, Radio 3 Presenter Clemency Burton-Hill and Sarah Sands, editor of the London Evening Standard – were all privately educated. Indeed it’s in the media that the public school stranglehold is strongest. The Chairman of the BBC and its Director-General are public school boys. And it’s not just the Evening Standard which has a privately-educated editor. My old paper The Times is edited by an old boy of St Pauls and its sister paper the Sunday Times by an old Bedfordian. The new editor of the Mail on Sunday is an old Etonian, the editor of the Financial Times is an old Alleynian and the editor of the Guardian is an Old Cranleighan. Indeed the Guardian has been edited by privately educated men for the last sixty years… But then many of our most prominent contemporary radical and activist writers are also privately educated. Gove’s state school and then scholarship education will set him up nicely for a post-Etonian PM world… Just in case the Queen’s Speech was not a big enough clue that the government is losing its way, take a look at what the Cabinet Office are up to: “For years taxpayers’ money was thrown at expensive branding exercises. We are now doing this work in house so it does not cost the taxpayer a single penny. We have developed a new consistent approach to our identity which comprises the royal crest alongside the relevant organisation name.” “Caroline Spelman, shadow Communities & Local Government secretary, said: “This is a Whitehall farce at taxpayers’ expense. Taxes have gone through the roof under Labour, and examples like these show how the public’s money has been squandered on vanity ministerial projects and a corrosive culture of spin. Advertising and marketing expenditure across Whitehall will be cut back under Conservatives.” That didn’t take long… UPDATE: I see I've been credited for a lame gag by @GuidoFawkes. Probably a good time to emphasise that my jokes are not the views of my employer... BBC types eh! The Eurozone political class are desperate to keep the show on the road and admittedly they have managed to do so for longer than many, including Guido, expected. Nothing has so far stopped them in their determination; not economic logic, democratic votes nor civil unrest. Today Eurozone governments are sending €4.2 billion to Greece to enable it to repay the European Central Bank €3.3 billion for bonds maturing a week on Friday. They are repaying themselves with their own coin. The Greeks will never repay all the loans, they mostly voted for parties who explicitly reject the bailout deal because the voters realise it is not Greece that is being bailed out. The European banking system and the banks that lent money to Greece is being bailed out. The sooner Greece exits the euro the sooner the money-go-round ends and reality hits the Eurozone. Miliband probably had his best Commons outing yet this afternoon. When Guido asked his team what what they fed him today the reply was “Tories on toast.” There was a touch of a young William Hague in the balance of well-timed comedy and attack… Ed (or his speechwriters) have clearly been reading the Daily Star Sunday – his Boris gag was lifted straight from it: If you missed that, and the rest of Guido’s Sunday column, then you can read it online here. “We’re celebrating the wrong day…”
THURSDAY, MAY 10, 2012
Blarite Fight Back at Potential Red Ed Purge
“Byrne is seen as a Blairite, and there have been tensions in the party about how tough a line to take on welfare. But there has also been difficulties between Byrne and parts of the leader’s office over consulting on major policy announcements, including ensuring Labour MPs are told in advance about key policy changes.”
Now an insider to the policy review whispers to Guido that “Liam has run the policy review exactly to Ed Miliband’s office’s design.”The Eagle Has Floundered
Gove Goes For the Old Boys in the Media
George Monbiot of the Guardian was at Stowe, Seumas Milne of the Guardian was at Winchester and perhaps the most radical new voice of all Laurie Penny of the Independent – was educated here at Brighton College. Now I record these achievements not because I wish to either decry the individuals concerned or criticise the schools they attended. Far from it. It is undeniable that the individuals I have named are hugely talented and the schools they attended are premier league institutions.”“Vanity Ministerial Project”</em>" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; text-align: left; color: rgb(51, 68, 119); ">Spelman Attacks Government’s “Vanity Ministerial Project”
Guido is a little worried if the they genuinely believe that because the work is done in house, it does not cost anything. It took him about thirty seconds to find this gem from the Tory 2009 press release archive:Golden Dawn’s Party Conference
Via @CallumMay
Greek Money-Go-Round
WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2012
Miliband is a Reader
NOTICEABLY, the Prime Minister did not pop in to the party to congratulate the only Tory success of the elections. Just as well, since Boris, when he finally arrived, thanked supporters who, he joked, beat “the rain, the BBC, that Budget and the endorsement of David Cameron”.WATCH:Happy Europe Day From Nigel Farage
WATCH: Happy Europe Day From Nigel Farage
We Are Rubbish | Sindy Editor
Westerners Should Not Apologise for Values | Tony Blair
Sindy Summoned for Leveson Leak | Press Gazette
Sorry For This Government | David Davies
While Westminster Frets… | Peter Oborne
Quango Queen’s Speech | Douglas Carswell
How I Introduced Cameron to Coulson | Ian Kirby
What Happened to Radicalism Dave? | Harry Cole
Falklands Grave Athetle to Miss Olympics | Telegraph
Ken Waxwork Removed | Ephraim Hardcastle
The Love is Not Dead | Nick Wood
Nick Clegg’s Credit Fraud | Fraser Nelson
New Hugenots are Coming | Douglas Carswell
I’m Betting Cameron is Finished | Kelvin MacKenzie
Why Boris Won | Stephan Shakespeare
Andy Coulson in July:
‘There is an awful lot I would like to say, but I can’t at this time.’
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