Burnham gets more than he bargained for

Kit

Chakrabarti threatening to use our very illiberal libel laws.

J H Holloway

Typical New Lab - smears first, second and third...
Nip over the Guardian to see the mean-minded, twisted, jealousy concerning Boris J's first few weeks in office...

And doubts on who is really nasty party?

john problem

'Oh, God. Why can't these young jerks wait until we've seen what they're going to say? Why have a PR dog and bark yourself? Where does Gordon find them? Bloody culture, he's in charge of! Can you believe it? Probably spells it 'kulchur.' What can you expect from a jerk who worked for BP? I'm gonna tell Gordon that this is enough. His young jerks have got to be held on a tight leash or I'm off to work for Mugabe.'

Fergus Pickering

I was hard put to remember who Mr Burnham was. But I shall remember now.

Verity

Fergus Pickering - Why bother?

C Powell

Verity: because this is the man this very magazine described as a future Labour leader.

He should have had more sense than take on someone married to a litigation lawyer at a top City firm.

Max Kaye

Burnham? Burnham? Hmmm... is he the one who uses eyeliner?

Kevyn Bodman

Andy Burnham's comments are nasty, silly and show very poor judgment.

C Powell

Oops sorry: no that was James Purnell. Easy mistake: they all look like identikit teenagers.

Charlie T

Burnham is a slimy party hack hopelessly overpromoted.
Still at least he`s consistent in his attacks on individual liberties. He never misses a chance to write letters to the national press trumpeting the stasistate DNA database. In fact he writes so many its a wonder he has time to do anything else.

Athesius the Facilitator

Is it just starting to dawn on the great unwashed that the Labour party (especially neo lab)is the nasty party. They have always been nasty. It is born from the fact that they have a chip on their shoulders cos they are ficker than the Tory's. My work pal Anthony the Sensitive thinks they are all a bunch of selfish individuals who put the party and themselves before the country and get their kicks by putting down the hard working tax payer. A dying breed that the burhams of this world do not like. I agree with Anthony on that point.

David C

Somebody over at the UK Politics Blog is asking a rather interesting question.

Just how did Burnham know about phone calls?
Late night phone calls?

Hugh

Interesting post, but why have you illustrated it with a picture of Ferris Bueller?

David Boothroyd

David C, when Shami Chakrabarti commented on David Davis' decision to fight for re-election, she said that she had been told about it in a late-night phone call and indeed had tried to talk him out of it.

One wonders why she is threatening legal action as I can't see any defamatory meaning attaching to her.

PS Save Ferris!

Fergus Pickering

Who the f*** is Ferris Bueller?

Steve

I can't help feeling that Shami Chakrabarti has gone a bit postal on this one. I think this is a case where outright mockery and derision would be more effective.

Max Kaye

Steve - I don't blame her. I wish I had an excuse to sue the bastards. Any excuse. Any of the bastards.

alex

So James Forsyth thinks Andy Burnham goes in for 'cheap shots', that are 'unworthy of his office' and executed in manner described as 'cack handed'. Pot and kettle syndrome folks. The reason people like myself respect David Davis, even if I disagree with his views on 42 days, is that he stood up against the dangerously authoritarian strain of hystery emerging in British, and world, political discourse. As the Spectator is leading the charge to re-make the Conservatives as 'the nasty party', and largely succeeding, the actions of a figure like Davis should be seen as admirable by those who really believe in 'liberty', which is a concept that involves more than just the ability of the rich to remain rich. As the Spectator is spectacularly adept at smear jobs are not the venerable Mr Forsyth's comments a tad err.. ridiculous ! Still soon enough your friends in the newly refashioned nasty party will be back in power and all dissent will be dealt with accordingly, in the manner that all tyrants utilise after they have progressed beyond the smear job and propaganda. Roll on ton-of-manure-istan

alex

and in case anyone wants to point out that I spelt hysteria as 'hystery', well it does combine the words hysteria and history in a way akin to the Spectator's mixing of objective reportage with wild opinionated rubbish... err the word 'Pilgerite', capital P or small case ?

james

to alex,
not pilgerite, perhaps pilgershite?

Ann

Sorry to disagree. Doe-eyed Sami herself is part of the nasty tendency. She abuses her position to promote only those 'liberties' that she regards as PC.