Mandelson is spinning to his heart's content

Sally Chatterjee

Funny how he's going on the attack on the same day "education, education, education" gets buried as Mandelson's own department announces cuts to the university budget. Fancy that!

Sacre Bleu

What is Mandelson's background? How is he qualified to be Business Sec in addition to all his other jobs and titles? Has he actually had a proper job (same applies to many MP's at present) and if so what did he do that makes him so well qualified to effectively run the country. It seems he just crawled out of some stagnant pool of slime somewhere. Perhaps his business qualifications are centred on dodgy mortgages and things.

Beer Moth

You know, the way that the Tories are making such a bairn's arse of their campaign, this weasel might just have his way.

J H Holloway

Mandy was in business class, Boris in economy. You get welcome champagne in BA business.

What was that old 10cc song?

'I'm Mandy, fly me'

Sir Graphus

Now, these lines aren’t going to cut through to the British public."

They are, actually; the Tories' poll ratings are slipping, v slowly (everyone will have read Normo Tebbs' Daily T blog).

People think hard before changing a govt, and Mandleson's attacks are excellent; the Tories make a statement; Labour exaggerate it wildly; Dave clarifies; Labour say they keep changing their minds. The BBC, in particular, are going along with it disgracefully.

It really is working; and Dave, in not grasping the problem by the neck, is not convincing people he's the man to sort the country out.

toco

Mandelson's resort to the language and tactics of the gutter suit him and the party he serves particularly well as their deceits and Damian McBride type strategy surface yet again.You just cannot allow something called New Labour into decent society.

Fox in a box

Does anybody who isn't a journalist give a flying f*ck what this bloke says??

I've met people like him many times before. You know that whatever he says, you simply can't trust a word of it. Too many times previously he has proved to be a teller of tall tales.

The British Public know this. If I were CCHQ I would simply brush any of his opinions aside - the voters will agree as they know he is a spiteful, vainglorious serpent blowing out rancid hot air.

If I ever have the misfortune to be sharing the same space as this person, I would take great delight in telling him as much. See him stamp his little feet then!!

Walsingham's Ghost

Do Cameron & Co. actually have the cojones to get 'down an dirty' in this pre-election campaign campaign or not?

This is going to get nasty and if Osborne falis to stir-up some anger and passion towards Labour in his speech tomorrow then the Tories could end up being on the back foot all the way to Polling Day.

WG

Thomas Kell

He’s not elected and isn’t standing for election. Why is Mandelson treated with such deference? Joining a government mid-term via the Lords is established – if frankly shameful – practice. Intending to remain near the top of government, running a powerful mega-department, without personally submitting yourself to the electorate is surely without recent precedent? (Doubtless I’ll be corrected. Though the principle ought to stand.)

A senior Conservative should challenge him to stand in their constituency. William Hague, for example. Be a fighter or be a quitter. Until Mandelson agrees to stand for election he should be denied the attention he so enjoys.

Where are Labour’s brave class warriors now? Is this why they came into politics? To resuscitate the House of Lords? New Labour, new aristocracy.

Maggie

Your hopeless infatuation with Mandelson has blinded you to his many faults. The extracts from his speech that you see as the height of wit and erudition strike me as pedestrian, strained and unmemorable. It also looked like an act of desperation to call a press conference to talk about the opposition.
I very much hope Osborne sticks to his own plans and doesn't flatter Mandelson with a response.

John David Barnett

He can't stand for election. He is a life peer.

JohnOfEnfield

What an a******e.

TGF UKIP

Leaving aside recovery strangling which his own debts are doing so efficiently, he seems spot on with bobbing Dave and weak link Boy George, mind you BG is just one among so many.

However, can I direct Coffee Housers to James' superb piece in last week's Speccie mag "Cameron and Osborne must listen to their backbenchers or face revolt." It's first paragraph describing their regal progree through the HoC is quite delicious.

Just one quibble, though, James and that's with the final para. It could perhaps have been one line:

"And all the while DD is plotting and waiting."

stephen

Mandy is right Boy George is the weakest link. The problem for the Tories is whether our Dave is tough enough to dump him if he screws up tomorrow. Sadly IMHO Buller blood is thicker than water and our Dave will keep Boy George.
Somebody suggested Mandy has not had a proper job-is he confusing him with Boy George? Mandy worked in the snake pit of ITV and survived there a number of years!

Dorothy Wilson

John David Barnett: He could renounce his life peerage.

Paddy

Couldn't believe News Alert on Sky News.

Peter Mandelson with his thin pursed lips quelling an inner rage about Tory cuts.

He must be so rattled. Roll on May. They'll never get into power again.

Ricky

Mandy is lucky to have the huge and influential support of the Evil Empire - that sovietised government mouthpiece known as the BBC - which controls virtually all local radio stations, much of the digital MMS and is still thought to be trustworthy by many of the misguided sheep that watch or listen to it's Student Grant output.

Dismantling this nationalised parasite has to be a priority for any Conservative government. The BBC reneges on it's Charter on a daily basis and will openly and arrogantly support the most appalling government in recent history through clever editing and news management. Watch closely during the coming Election campaign.

From Newsnight to the Today programme, the leftish plutocratic position is manifest and every liar in this government is comforted in the knowledge that they will get an even an easier ride than that scoundrel Blair received at the Chilcot circus.

This evening they actively promoted their Taliban chums in one of their soviet style documentaries - on the day two of our valiant troops died, sharing a passing joke with murderous enemies and no doubt claiming it as part of their so-called "balance."

Typical balance at BBC-Izvestia is to interview someone from the left and someone else from the extreme left. Or if a Conservative is invited to one of their current affairs set-ups they will typically "interview" their leftish chum and "interrogate" the conservative.

John David Barnett

Alan Rickman - presumably in Barchester mode?

I think I'd sooner have Slope.

John David Barnett

Dorothy Wilson.

No. There is no way a life peerage can be renounced.

Mike Towl

Am I alone in thinking that all the attention given to the pre-menstrual protestations of Mandy is a bit OTT? He does seem to command a lot of fawning attention, whenever he utters forth, especially from the Beeb. Certainly, being the second (if not the first) most powerful Labour politician in the land, he will always get column and air time. Especially air time on the BBC! But who really listens? And who takes any note if they do? The dear old chap is of course a figure of mild amusement out here in voter land, sort of Stephen Fry'ish, (or perhaps more Bertie Wooster!), without the good faith. A national treasure in some ways, a mild eccentric much more suited to the world of Moats and Duck Houses then the hurly burly of a normal persons life. Just because he's been sacked more times than the average football manager, doesn't necessarily make him a bad person, more like Brian of Nazareth I should say, "A very naughty boy?" And probably not much more. Or am I wrong? Is his self-cherished reputation, as a very dangerous man, accurate and to be feared, as we are always been warned by the media? To Gordy, no doubt, to Dave I suspect not much. Not as long as no one listens.

2trueblue

Jphn David Barnett. Not yet, but if it suits them there will be legislation to release Mandy. I can't think of anywhere that would wish to have him as their MP.

Mandy and Byrne are all over the tv, BBC is spending our money and airtime pushing Liebore on us unrelentingly, surely that must be illegal?
Hopefully by the time the election comes it will be plain to some extent how far the destruction of Britain has gone and people will no longer be able to delude themselves who is responsible for our lack of money, and the state of our services.

Cameron needs to attack Liebore for their mistakes and their down right deception on the state of the country.

A week is a long time in politics. Liebore can not hope to hide it all.

Ganpat Ram

Well done, Mandelson, to cause so much fear and bitterness in Tories who have been smugly taking for granted their smooth ride into power - a ride as smooth as Cameron's unreliable face.

Now the fight is on, and Labour seems to be in with a chance.

What landed Britain in its current perilous mess are the Thatcherie policies of wild, out-of-control financial speculation. Blair foolishly swallowed that Thatcher doctrine.

The British people need to be warned that putting the Tories into power would only worsen the disaster. Their savage cuts in spending would push millions out of work and plunge the economy into another Great Depression.

Beware Tories, Brits !