The pressure's still on Osborne

Liz Brown

It seems that the general public sees this as a total non story that is being whipped up by the meeja - isn't it time that that same meeja grew up and concentrated on the real issues affecting us all, the lies told by the Sub Prime Mentalist re the true state of the economy. Yes, Osborne was probably stupid to repeat some of Mandlebum's comments but we are all guilty of that failing at some time or another........

Plagiarist

As one Arthur Haines has posted elsewhere (ref. G Fawkes):

"Is this the same James E Goodwin of Aircraft Industry fame? AAR Corp that buys and sells huge amounts of Aluminium panels, extrusions, etc. (Aluminum for our US cousins) for the aircraft industry. Surely not.

This James E Goodwin would have to know quite well the Russian Aluminium Billionaire or would that be co-incidence.

Do EEC trade ministers meet Aluminium magnates AND Aluminium products producers on the same boat/in the same Taverna on the same day?

Well done Mandy, saving the EEC taxpayers money! Two meetings in one.

Of course it could be another James Goodwin, couldn't it?"

Dalesman

George Osborne obviously lacks judgement, so just for that he should be replaced.

As he is also a light-weight politician, and has done nothing to endear himself why does Cameron hang on to him?

TrevorsDen

Peter Osborne??

Why the hell should I read a tw@t like him ??

narrative change??

The pound has just had its biggest one day fall since 'golden wednesday' -- is that a big enough change for you??

Dalesman

Osborne has shown a distinct lack of judgement.

As he is also a light-weight politician I can't understand why Cameron hangs on to him.

oldtimer

I can think of three possible angles to this:
1 revenge by Mandelson - but that requires Rothschild to write the letters to the Times, so
2 Rothschild is offended that his holiday hospitality and privacy was invaded - an idea that is promoted in the media this morning. But lurking in the background is
3 money - as in follow the money. The money to consider is not the putative donation that was not accepted but the private equity funds that Rothschild controls, manages and advises on. This really matters to him.

Mandelson reportedly was and is a friend of Rothschild. As EU Commissioner and now as Business minister he is in an immensely important position.

As others have pointed out, (see Andrew Neill blog), he is now looking to sell off the Post Office.

Ho Chi Minh

Good for Osborne not to accept unsolicited cash offered to him by Rothschild on behalf of the Russian?
And any witness put up by Rothschild is automatically damned by their association with him.

JONNY

'why does Cameron hang on to him?'
Because Dalesman, for all his light weighted-ness Osborne remains an extremely effective sharp politician. And probably the brightest of the Young Brigade on either side of the divide.
Also it would give too much gratification to Mandelson and Labour. And be counted as a huge scalp.
Anyway there is nothing much of substance in the imbroglio. Just plenty of smoke and Corfu, the Blue Med, champagne, yachts, and obscenely rich and corrupted personae.
More a topic for Mock The Week -as Paxman at his richest and ripest sneeringly suggested last night.

Ricardo

Liz Brown:"It seems that the general public sees this as a total non story that is being whipped up by the meeja - isn't it time that that same meeja grew up and concentrated on the real issues affecting us all,"

The media should concentrate on the real issues = spin speak for 'stop asking me questions about this embarrassing subject'

The public aren't interested = spin-speak for 'I want to talk about something which embarrasses my enemies'

Liz Brown: "the lies told by the Sub Prime Mentalist re the true state of the economy."

Ah, that would be a grown-up approach to a real, dispassionate issue, would it, Liz? I expect Osborne grassed up Mandelson's 'poison' gossip about Brown as a cunning means of focussing the media on the credit default swaps market, eh?

Liz Brown:"Yes, Osborne was probably stupid to repeat some of Mandlebum's comments"

Having someone stupid as candidate for Chancellor of the Exchequer is a non-story which the media should ignore.

Liz Brown:"but we are all guilty of that failing at some time or another........"

How true. Only the other week I popped out for a pint of milk, and blow me before I knew it I was on a yacht moored off Cephalenia discussing the international copper market with Warren Buffet and Ernst Stavro Blofeld over a case of Krug. And they were just forcing the folding stuff on me, Liz, forcing it....

Burt

This does shine a bit of light on the new world order and its inhabitants. The self-mportant squealing from these masters of the universe is sickening.

What were they all doing if not carving up bits of the world for themselves?

They must feel threatened by Osbourne to attack him in this way.

The fact that Osbourne has chosen to break their cosy consensus could reflect well on him in the end.

Keith

Surely the bigger story is one about the contribution to Labour Party funds by one Bernie Ecclestone. That seems to have been 'buried' doesn't it?

Keith

Ricardo...until your last paragraph, I was quite interested then I realised how incredibly stupid you are

Huw Thornton

JONNY is right. It would be a disaster to lose Osbourne, and talk of "Great idea. We could have Clarke/Hague/Redwood/Davis in there instead" simply makes Osbourne's position worse.

Like most scandals in British politics, the basis of the scandal is flimsy at best. Osbourne - and DC - should just tough it out.

Plagiarist

Ignore previous post. There are, it seems, two James Goodwins doing the rounds in the aluminium trade. According to Google that is. Although one may be a decoy, I suppose. Perhaps there are more than just the two? If so, Osborne should beware.

Ricardo

Keith:"Ricardo...until your last paragraph, I was quite interested then I realised how incredibly stupid you are"

Don't wish the shadow chancellorship on me, Keith.

Tiberius

Ricardo; your fisking of Liz's post is quite fair, but she is right in as much that if Osborne is telling the truth (and I believe he is), he could still have to go because of a dark conspiracy between Mandy-backed forces and the hostile media, mainly the BBC.

Osborne wouldn't be the first person ever to be framed, and life isn't fair, but with the serial instances of economic chaos (the $ at 1.62!), terrorist arrests in Birmingham (completely unreported by ITN last night), and another knife murder in Liverpool, it would be nice if the media prioritized issues that impact on people's lives, rather than matters which feed their juvenile appetite for political (mainly Tory) blood.

Alan

A good time to bury bad news....

In my opinion, it would be good to keep this going, eventually the question of Mandy's judgement will need to be answered.

Richard Buckley

Osborne has been an idiot and I have little sympathy for him. I would accept an invite to an oligarch's mega-yacht like a shot but then I'm not Shadow Chancellor. Your later post about the dangers of class to the Conservative Party is spot on.

The real story here is that Mandelson stayed on the yacht. His defence is that he needed to meet with such people when he was EU Trade Commissioner.

I rather doubt that but accepting that he did need to meet such people then did he not understand that it should be in a formal situation with officials and notetakers present?

Any local councillor knows the dangers of private meetings with people who want something from the Council. If they did what Mandelson did they would soon find themselves in front of the Standards Board.

I have not heard one commentator or interviewer make this point and I simply don't understand why.

Rob C

It looks to me as if the entire show was a desperately attempted setup by the Dark Lord which unfortunately failed. His 'dripping poison' about Brown was merely to install a false sense of security in hope that a £50M carrot would enable NuLab to open a new book on 'Tory Sleaze' to help negate their own Sleazy track record in the eyes of the electorate. All Tory MP's need to be on their guard as there is no level too low to stoop for HRH Mandy!

CraigRater

" And as CoffeeHouser Ricardo so rightly put it yesterday:

We've got to decide who's word to accept: a politician or a man who runs a hedge fund. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Where did I put that coin?

"

I thought that at The Spectator at least I wouldn't find hysterical hedgie bashing. Shame on you Hoskin.

Ricardo

Tiberius @ 11.05: you make excellent points - there are clearly more important things which the media could be covering than who made eyes at whom over the champers on someone's yacht. But I'm not sure there's much traction in complaining that those issues aren't being covered if you acted in a way that invites the coverage you're getting. That's what makes it news.