After Hilton

Nicholas

" . . . he was, in some ways, the most right-wing man in Downing Street"

Not difficult these days since most of them dress left - or go along with dressing left. We almost have a New Labour government in power and an Old Labour government in opposition, with the LibDems flip-flopping between them.

JFH

I wish they would both piss off to California before they do any more damage.

Ron Todd

Either his advice was cave in to the liberals at every opportunity, or his advice was to be a tory and that advice was ignored.

Rhoda Klapp

I'm sorry, he is..what? Did I vote for him? Was he guaranteed as part of the package? Is he bloody indispensible? No, I suggest he is replaced by the next Somali off the boat. Why not, that is what is happening to many of the rest of us. What a fuss about nothing. And of course I agree with Nicholas over the right-wing thing. Bunch of tossers. Just wait 'til I go up there with my arse-kicking boots on.

Why can't we have a right-wing blogger? The mystery explained. The Spect thinks this lot ARE right-wing!

telemachus'

However it goes on to say that major welfare,education and health reforms should be on the statute book.

These are the most radical right wing, bash the poor and needy reforms since Pinochet teamed up with Thatcher in Chile

They have removed all benefits from the sick, forced wheelchairs down to the Job Centres and made good heath availabe to only thase wuth Bupa insurance

Even Right Wing Romney has more compasion on Health

So as I said in my last post Gordon is looking more attractive to the average voter by the minute

telemachus'

PS Are we sure there is not a Coulsonesque reason for his departure?

daniel maris

What exactly is he supposed to have achieved?

Winston Churchill saved us from Nazism.

Atlee gave us the NHS.

Macmillan ensure the UK built half a million houses in a year.

Wilson left the Open University.

What lasting good can anyone claim this guy has done?

Dimoto

All this angst about Hilton's departure, reminds me of the dire forbodings when Keith Joseph faded away.

Cameron might even grow up now and stop obsessing about trivia.

toco

Appropriate timing it would appear.Welfare,the NHS and the MOD are but three major reorganisations which need to be settled down carefully so 12 months away looks well planned and a return with greater vigour,experience and kudos looks like a winner.

canonalberic

So the increasingly bizarre telegraph is leading the otherwise unremarkable story that Cameron has ridden a retired police horse in the care of rebekah brooks (or more probably her husband).

Elsewhere the BBC etc spend every day in every way telling anyone stupid enough to believe them that everything the government do is wrong and opposed by everyone like them: and the tradtionally conservative press are remorseless in their conviction that he is at at best Macmillan and at worst Heath rather than stuck in a coaltion caused essentially by the way in which the media presented the choices before the electorate in 2010 (good labour led by a psychopath;idealistic lib dems - lets have a hung parliament its better then the evil tories) you might think the only actual alternative wasnt ed miliband - but it is.

Oh dear.

Frank P

Mind my bike!

Sid Walker.

Fergus Pickering

What's the'' other place'' like, you know the little island with 3 people on it, all agreeing with each other ?

Biggestaspidistra

"What lasting good can anyone claim this guy has done?"

Judging from the number of Spectator posts he has been one of the boys. Other than that it's a mystery.

telemachus'

The luvvies descend into the pit
I will post on the supreme arrogance of the police commissioner, a mail mole, shortly

Fergus Pickering

telemachus

I hear you've been blocked at the '' other place '' Peter doesn't like free speech. It's a sad little site.

strapworld

I believe this story has a far greater significance than many realise.

Hilton was the 'Sky blue thinker' the man who was, allegedly, Anti EU and very right wing.

Cameron is a slave to his own arrogance and the Lib Dems. He is desperate to remain PM and believes that to agree with Cleggy is the only way forward. So where else could this advisor go but to leave under the same excuse given to another of Cameron's pals after the elecetion. It shows that Cameron will not listen.

Cameron tries to fool the people over the latest EU meeting. He has not told the British people that, in five years, this 'treaty' will become part and parcel of the whole EU therefore ensuring we are subject to his restrictions.

Cameron is a weak, vain man. The sooner the men in suits pay him a visit the better for all of us. BUT have the backbench conservative MP's got the guts? Sadly I doubt it.

Ron Todd

Health care has been a mess for years. Hospitals were killing people while the regulators dismissed high death rates as statistical blips, those in charge got huge pay offs and set up as management consultants telling other hospital managers how to do the job the tax payers were paying them a lot of money to do themselves.

Those who could not aford BUPA had to play MSRA roulette in the NHS.

The elderly were left to starve. And we were paying for the health care of anybody that can get into the country legally or illegally.

In some parts of the country implausable numbers of people are claiming to be too sick to work the numbers increasing as the type of jobs move from heavy industry with little health and safety to ligh industry and office work.

So convince me changes are not needed.

No the reforms are not perfect the situation is too complicated to have a straightforward simple reform that makes everything better for everybody.

Widmerpool

His Big Soceity idea has been a turkey he should go and not come back!
IMHO spin doctors like him and Lord Mandy are a bit like the movie Jaws "just when you think it's safe to go back into the water.." Long may he enjoy Calfornia!

Widmerpool

Maybe one good thing to come out of this -reading the FT today[based on Downing St briefings?] is that Dave held a tough meeting yesterday putting the non performers in the spotlight.
Are the vultures starting to circle round Vince?
Comparisons of the Trade Dept on his watch with that by Mandelson are very telling. Time the poor old boy was pensioned off?

Dennis Churchill

The fact that someone so untypical of the electorate they need to attract was formulating policy says a lot about how out of touch the political class are.
Would he be selected as a member of a Focus Group? And why not?
Maybe they should advertise in the Mongolian Express for his replacement: knowledge of the values and ambitions of Middle England not necessary.

In2minds

Hilton going, then what, the sky falls in? Mind you when he goes I'll have the bike.

strapworld

Further to my point made earlier,The "TREATY ON STABILITY, COORDINATION AND GOVERNANCE IN THE ECONOMIC AND MONETARY UNION"

Article 16:
Within five years at most following the entry into force of this Treaty, on the basis of an assessment of the experience with its implementation, the necessary steps shall be taken, in compliance with the provisions of the Treaty on the European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, with the aim of incorporating the substance of this Treaty into the legal framework of the European Union.

NO REFERENDUM? of course not.

In2minds

And another thing, when Hilton goes can he take Warsi with him?

Framer

How could the horse story get so messy? Is there nobody with any media sense in Downing Street? Either Cameron held back all he knew or his spokesman isn't up to the job.

Publius

"a more cautious government both administratively and politically"

Is that possible?

"But Downing Street is stressing that this is the safest time for him to take a break"

I bet they are. And then when the caravan has moved on it will quietly be announced that he's decided not to return.

Nicholas

Not as sad as the great Fergus Pickering communing with the troll telemachus. I had thought better of him.

Peter From Maidstone

I believe in free speech, but I don't believe in giving trolls or socialist a free reign.

If you visit www.coffeehousewall.co.uk you will see that it is working very well indeed. Much better in fact than I could have imagined.

telemachus'

Much better in fact than I could have imagined.
Not quite as arrogant as Frank-see post on next thread

WetherspoonThree

Why now is the question? Surely not just the suggestion that Raisa was borrowed from the fuzz by Rebekah Brooks just to give the reluctant Dave a docile ride at weekends. Cannot have been memorable otherwise Dave would have remembered Raisa sooner and with more affection. But why didn't Dave take the opportunity to confirm that Raisa was in jolly good form when he handed her back to the stable lad? Opportinity missed to help a fair damsel in distress in my opinion but perhaps bags had already been packed.

Frank P

Nicholas

Fergus Pickering showed his true colours many moons back when he boasted that he lusted after coitus with a ginger-headed mini-chipmunk (I've forgotten her name since she disappeared from the political scene, when - as with so many of the neo-Gramscian marchers - the searchlight fell on her exes claims. He let's down all those people with the initials FP. :-)

Didn't see you as a window-licker, though Fergie: do you give Telemuck a quick J Arthur, while you're doing it?

Whassup? Not enough courage to take your chances on a grown-ups blog? Tut, tut!

David Lindsay

Give his job to someone on Workfare.

daniel maris

I think you're right Strapworld. Things like this don't happen without some almighty ruckus behind the scenes. Probably the deal is that Hilton will come back to plan for the next fully Tory government (or so they will hoping).

Officialview

"Perhaps, the greatest testament to Steve Hilton’s influence in Downing Street is that everyone chuckles when you ask if anyone will replace him".

Are you sure they're not just laughing at the idea of paying someone else £90k a year to carry on achieving nothing?

daniel maris

So, farewell Mr Hilton.
You liked to be called Steve
And were always photoed in your shirt sleeves.
Your post was important and vital
Though I can't recall its title.
We will not see your like again,
(Until your twelve months' sabbatical is over.)

EJ Thribb aged 17 1/2

Fergus Pickering

This is very boring but there is this scotch fellow pretending to be me who posts here from time to time. The management don't appear to have any interest in stopping him and in fact they have , it seems, blocked me from telling you how it is. I don't know what can be done except to ask how any of you could have thought that I would support the grovelling telemachus in anything he does.

DeeJay

Why do the Conservatives need 'blue sky thinking' when they have Nick Clegg in the coalition?