Does Mandelson remember that Blair thought cross-dressing was a good idea?
James Forsyth 5:02pm
Peter Mandelson has been getting very cross, and rather personal, about George Osborne’s ‘political cross dressing”. But during the Blair era, it was New Labour politicians who were keen on cross dressing. Indeed, on his farewell tour Tony Blair went out of his way to declare it as something that was here to stay:
"Most confusingly for modern politicians, many of the policy prescriptions cross traditional left-right lines. Basic values, attitudes to the positive role of government, social objectives - these still divide among familiar party lines, but on policy cross-dressing is rampant and a feature of modern politics that will stay."The era of tribal political leadership is over."
As Fraser says in his column tomorrow, parties that have the momentum behind them are confident enough to cross dress, to poach on the other party’s turf. It will take more than some Mandelson barbs, to put the Tories off trying on the left’s language for size.
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Percy
August 12th, 2009 5:22pm Report this commentLord Foy going around talking rubbish, who would have thought it!
Liz Brown
August 12th, 2009 5:37pm Report this commentit seems to me that it is liebore who are cross dressing - voluntary work for the young now being bounced around by gormless was first talked about by David Cameron. Any good ideas mooted by the Tories are filched by liebore.
That said, can we please hear less of the loathsome medelsom
Robert Eve
August 12th, 2009 5:38pm Report this commentWe've seen enough cross dressing by Cameron over the last few years. Hopefully the next Tory leader will behave like a Conservative.
TrevorsDen
August 12th, 2009 10:21pm Report this commentMandelbum probably wrote that speech of Blairs and thats why he re-used the phrase. He probably thinks we are all to thick to remember what Blair said on behalf of his puppeteer.
So congratulations Mr Forsyth.
Verity
August 13th, 2009 1:47am Report this commentLiz Brown writes, re Lord Extraordinarily Pretentious-Lengthy Title-of-Title, "voluntary work for the young now being bounced around by gormless was first talked about by David Cameron ...".
No, Cameron is not an original thinker and nor are those around him. (Nor is Tony Blair and his hench-chief-of title.) It was "first talked about" by John F Kennedy.
Magpie Labour. Magpie Dave's Conservatives. Not a cigarette paper's width between them.
Fergus Pickering
August 13th, 2009 3:32am Report this commentCome on Verity, I've asked this before. Name me a politician who had power, not some faux politician like Burke or even Sir Keith Joseph, who was 'an original thinker'. It's like asking a novelist to be an original thinker. That's not what they do.
cuffleyburgers
August 13th, 2009 8:19am Report this comment"The era of tribal political leadership is over."
Until Blair handed over to Brown who understands nothing but tribal politics, and that is largely why the country is in the mess it is.
Brown is taking most of the flak, and rightly so for he has been an utter disaster both as chancellor and latterly as PM, but Blair was the puppetmeister who could have sacked him or sabotaged him at any point, but he didn't care enough for his country to do that.
The squalid tone of lies authoritarianism and incompetence began under Blair.
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