Champagne breakfast
Fraser Nelson 9:24am
Now, this one you can't blame me for. On my way to breakfast this morning I passed Osborne perched in front of a camera waiting to be interviewed. Then, walking towards him, a waiter in a bow tie, with a tray and two glasses of champagne. It was, I will wager, Her Majesty's Daily Mirror on a stunt, and only two metres from success.
Osborne's aides looked stunned: what to do? I was just passing the "waiter" myself at this point, and was tempted to swipe a glass - hair of the dog - but one of his press people had done just that. He was followed by cameramen, all asking "why have you just stolen that champagne?" But, no fear, the waiter had another glass. A second Osborne aide goes to nick the tray. Undaunted, the "waiter" picks up a glass and heads towards Osborne.
Then, the surest sign that the Tories are heading towards power. A policeman walks up and confronts the waiter. On what grounds, you might ask? On any of about 101 that Labour has introduced to interfere with our lives. Osborne had the decency to look annoyed, as if he had quite wanted a glass.
PS. I’ve just had a coffee with Osborne and have learned that whatever was in the glass came out of a Heineken can. Cheapskates.
PPS. A Shadow Cabinet member told me earlier that the New Statesman were only offering champagne at their reception at Tory conference – thus ensuring that any Tory who was thirsty had no choice but to take the flute. What is it the left have with champagne?
PPPS I learn that the drink they had to serve him was "lager toff" - like lager tops but with champagne added instead of lemonade. whoever said journalistic endeavour was dead?
Previous
Ed P
October 7th, 2009 9:34am Report this commentAs NuLab have no policies with which to counter or undermine "the right ones", they have descended to their tried & tested dirty tricks that they know so well. This election campaign will get much nastier yet!
Dirty Euro
October 7th, 2009 9:34am Report this commentChampagne conservatives at it again.
Bruce Robertson
October 7th, 2009 9:46am Report this comment"Osborne's aides looked stunned" - what, it never occurred to them that something like that might happen?
Vulture
October 7th, 2009 9:58am Report this commentLiebour's dirty tricks team may well be much nastier than the Tories. But they do have a problem - as McBride and Draper proved - they are also extremely stupid.
Ctesibius
October 7th, 2009 10:04am Report this commentIf Labour are serious that they are all going to offer us free unlimited champagne, then they have my vote.
If it's just a stunt, quelle surprise, another Labour lie
Andrew Savage
October 7th, 2009 10:08am Report this commentBruce Robertson - stunned at the audacity more than anything else.
Nicholas
October 7th, 2009 10:11am Report this comment"Champagne conservatives at it again."
As opposed to champagne socialists at it for the last 12 years.
DavidDP
October 7th, 2009 10:18am Report this commentI see Dirty Euro hasn't read the article.
Gregor Hunter
October 7th, 2009 10:33am Report this commentThis is the best piece of writing to come out of the terribly dreary Tory party conference so far. Fraser, may I ask that you please bear witness to all other absurd champagne-based stunts taking place this week?
egh
October 7th, 2009 10:48am Report this commentWell, of course. With a head full of fizz how could anyone be expected to talk sensibly about national sovereignty, and things that matter...
Oh, but wait - nobody's talking about them anyway. So what's the problem?
P.S: Nevertheless, it's quite anti-euro! We could stop importing the stuff completely ... can't afford it anyway, can we?
Cuffleyburgers
October 7th, 2009 11:02am Report this commentBritish champagne shurely...
Rgtx
October 7th, 2009 11:10am Report this commentWhy don't they just "neck" the stuff out of a pint glass, and claim that its honest British cider?
Kay
October 7th, 2009 11:14am Report this commentThis is all the fault of the idiots who actually sent out the message to have no chanpagne. Thus allowing the media to do their best to photograph anyone drinking champagne. What amateurs!
DontBelieve
October 7th, 2009 11:31am Report this comment"On what grounds, you might ask? On any of about 101 that Labour has introduced to interfere with our lives."
Oh, so the Tories are going to repeal all them, are they? Fat chance.
Senor Frizby
October 7th, 2009 11:40am Report this commentAny manifesto that promises waiters patrolling the streets in full livery distributing free champagne gets my vote. Subsidised Champagne might be on the table any any future EU talks. Osbourne was right to scupper the lefties attempt to poison him with lager. Shame he couldn't have produced a muscat and blown the conman's head clean off.
lager lout
October 7th, 2009 11:41am Report this commentYUBBLY BUBBLY,BOLLY AND BRUT!
wrinkled weasel
October 7th, 2009 11:45am Report this comment"the surest sign that the Tories are heading towards power. A policeman..."
Very germane. The rozzers are like faithful labradors, waiting to please their masters.
Many years ago, when, virtually overnight, Václav Havel went from political pariah to leader of the free, a friend tells the story of an astonishing moment he experienced during the heady days of the velvet revolution: "We were about to attend a meeting. As we walked along the street, a car screeched to a halt and four men got out and walked towards us. I realised they were the secret police. "Don't worry, said, Václav, they are here to protect me."
Bri
October 7th, 2009 11:59am Report this commentObviously a Kevin McGuire stunt, he was going on about how Osbourne had a wallpaper based fortune to fall back on when times get rough on News 24 yesterday.
The politics of envy,how many millionaires in the Labour ranks, quite a few I reckon.
I couldn't care less how much money a person has or where anyone went to school.
anne allan
October 7th, 2009 12:05pm Report this commentMetres?!?
JohnAnt
October 7th, 2009 12:35pm Report this comment"Osborne's aides looked stunned: what to do?"
Errr, how about, just say 'no thank you'?
This doesn't bode well for office. There may be more difficult decisions than this ahead of us that need a more rapid response.
Judy
October 7th, 2009 12:55pm Report this commentThis emphasis on Tories drinking champagne while ordinary people suffer and starve is going to be a major Labour attack theme. They're already hard at it on Twitter--check out what Labour celebs, MPs and candidates are tweeting. So richly unaware of the potential to be hoist with their own petard with the "champagne socialist" riposte. I mean, the party of Stephen Fry, Emma Freud, Kathy Lette and all the rest of the Labour Luvvie Hampstead/Kentish town set...The very fact that they're choosing celebs, quite a few of whom come from trustafarian backgrounds, to front their campaigns, lining up behind Sarah Brown tells you all you need to know.
FrankFisher
October 7th, 2009 1:04pm Report this commentSo this is the Left's idea of a dirty tricks campaign? Offering free champers? Sounds good to me - how about free hookers and coke to go with it?
Hawkeye
October 7th, 2009 1:52pm Report this commentJudy said: "This emphasis on Tories drinking champagne while ordinary people suffer and starve is going to be a major Labour attack theme."
Good. I really hope that they pursue this attack. It will be superb to show the petty-minded, mean spirited, addicted to smearing, envious mindset of the Labour party.
After dragging the country to the edge of ruin, their main priority is to smear people on the basis of what they drink.
It's pathetic and I hope they keep it up. It should lose them even more votes, if there's any justice.
Ken
October 7th, 2009 1:58pm Report this comment@FrankFisher - I take it that's coke as in cola? It is the Labour louts we're on about.
Jamie Burnham
October 7th, 2009 3:02pm Report this commentEngels rather enjoyed champagne. Why not the New Statesmen?
Teresa
October 7th, 2009 3:50pm Report this commentits lager "top" not tops. Obviously not your tipple of choice.
JDR
October 7th, 2009 4:28pm Report this commentThe accursed power that stands on Privilege
(And goes with Women, and Champagne and Bridge)
Broke - and Democracy resumed her reign
(Which goes with Bridge, and Women and Champagne). (Belloc)
Fraser Nelson
October 7th, 2009 5:48pm Report this commentTeresa, I used to work in a bar in Rosyth and Im afraid I called it "lager tops" all the way through. Perhaps its a Scottish thing.
jazz
October 9th, 2009 9:17am Report this commentOn the news there was a shoot of the Tories drinking Champagne at 5.30am, the subject of the day was 'Law & Order' particularly binge drinking, it looks like a party motto of 'Do as I say not as I do'!
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