Guardian" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 68, 119); ">Reporting from the Guardian

Whelan’s Way in His Own Words - Comment Central
The Damian McBride Memorial Budget - John Redwood
Geoffrey Robinson’s Mythology - Spectator
Brogan to Balls : “Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire” - Telegraph
Labour Think We’re Sheep - Hugo Rifkind
Telegraph’s Twitter Fail - FT
Gordon is the Biggest Liar in Modern Politics - Trevor Kavanagh

Ed Balls is Lying About “Mr” McBride - Nick Robinson

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2009

Guardian" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 68, 119); ">Reporting from the Guardian

Guido was at the Index on Censorship Awardsceremony last night, deep in the bowels of theGuardian’s new fancy offices. The purpose built modern building will make a great museum when the paper eventually goes bust.

The event was packed to the gills with media luvvies and Islington’s finest. David Hare gave a splendidly acerbic speech. Chairman Johnathan Dimbleby raged against the “censorship” of the BBC’s Middle East reporter Jeremy Bowen, who was mildly criticised for his blatant anti-Israeli bias by the BBC Trust’s Editorial Standards Committee. Guido thought it a gentle rebuke to Bowen given how biased his broadcasts from the supposedly impartial state broadcaster seem. Hardly makes him a dissident, does it? He has been given no punishment, no demotion, nothing. Wonder if he had been criticised for anti-Palestinian bias would the room have been so concerned?

Stereotypically the auction fundraiser saw a week in a Tuscan villa get the top bid from the assembled Hampstead liberals andGuardianistas. No, it really did. Guido was very pleased to win the auction for a copy of the Charter 77 human rights manifesto signed by Václav Havel himself. The dissident playwright was imprisoned multiple times during the Soviet era by an authoritarian socialist Czech regime, his plays were banned and he was reduced to working in a brewery. After the Velvet Revolution he ended up being President of the freed Czech Republic. It went for a tenth of the price of that week in Tuscany. Guardianistas really do have different values…

 

Sod Off If You Are Successful" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 68, 119); ">Budget Message : Sod Off If You Are Successful

Guido isn’t going to do much on the budget, the FT is probably the best place to go for coverage. As soon as the 50% tax hike was announced emails pinged into the inbox along the lines of “That’s it, I’m off to Switzerland”. What is Labour saying to those who work hard and become successful? “We will punish you”seems to be the message.

Good news for Dublin and Dubai.  They will welcome entrepeneurs with lower tax rates and open arms.  Guido would not be surprised if this measure ends up reducing revenues as people flee penal tax rates.

Ed Balls and Jim Knight Lied to Parliament

Ken Boston is opening up with both barrels on Ed Balls and his deputy Jim Knight.   Boston was made the fall guy for the SATS fiasco, not so he writes in an explosive letter. Guido can’t help feeling that if Ed Balls spent less time plotting his leadership path and more time on fixing the state school system we might be better off.

Read the letter (here) Boston has sent to the Select Committee overseeing Balls’ department - it accuses Balls and Knight of spin, smears and deliberate falsehoods. In more honourable days this letter would mean the Minister’s resignation this afternoon. Fat chance with this dysfunctional cabal in Downing Street…

UPDATE : Gove is demanding an apology from Balls, Graham Stuart, Tory member of the CSF Select Committee wants him to resign:

“Ministers have been accused of misleading Parliament, Lord Sutherland’s official inquiry and the Select Committee. Millions of children were let down by the SATS exams fiasco and the response of Ed Balls was allegedly to smear a public official who was then forced into silence for months afterwards. If these allegations are proved true then Ed Balls will have to come before the House of Commons, apologise and consider his position.”

Nothing would make a lot of Labour MPs happier…