The Blairites bite back

Napoleon

Ohhhh...so that's it? I mean it's a nice story, but so disappointing!

mark

And they say the Tory party acquired a devastating reputation for being divided, inward-looking and nasty...

Scamp

Truly odious.

RF

Thank God Spectator interviews don't read like that!

"Was she ever worried about Tony cheating on her?" Ugh.

Roger Davies

Such people are at the tiller of the ship of state.

Ian C

A yawn and a slow news w/end for Fleet Street.

salieri

However welcome the revelations may be, the fact that she can even contemplate publishing her "memoirs" a year after leaving No 10 is breathtaking. There may not be a convention here, as there was supposed to be for diplomats, but it is appalling behaviour nonetheless.

Funny how these socialists just adore money.

Btw, do I get a T-shirt for guessing correctly last night?

PD Oxford

"Mum-of-four Cherie...admits to being LIVID when Gordon suddenly froze ministers’ pay.

Cherie claims it scuppered her plans for managing the family budget. "

My heart bleeds. Pass the sickbag.

adrian drummond

How does someone like Cherie Blair ever become a part time Judge with aspirations to be a senior Judge? I can't dispute her intelligence and drive but surely her judgement can be challenged? So she doesn't like Gordon Brown. So what? Most of the country doesn't like Gordon Brown.
Maybe it's me, but I would not like to be standing before her in judgement.

John

Err, when exactly was this appalling woman elected to any political position whatsoever? I know that in her delusional mind she is the queen's boss, but as far as I am aware most sane people disagree with that.

Rush-is-Right

"But to my mind, there is greater significance of this in the timing."

Yes. She is cashing in now because nobody can be sure that Gormless Gordon is going to be there to kick around by Christmas.

Perry

Surely the fragrant (and saintly) Mz. Bliar would never descend so low as to cast the faintest shadow on the Supreme and Beloved Leader?

Ann

Adrian, it's not intelligence and drive - it's pure greed.

dearieme

"I had a wonderful nanny and my mum would come up and help": in other words, she had two nannies and still asks us to believe that she rushed home to make the children's tea. Ho, ho.

TGF UKIP

Fraser, back to /daid's post at 8.35 last night "Charlie Kennedy failed to show for Any Questions." What's the story there? Is it just that Charlie's fallen off the wagon again and is that protected by your gang's mutual insurance wall of silence or is there another story behind the no show?

David Lindsay

Who the hell cares? These people have gone. Get over them.

Fergus Pickering

Nobody gets a tee shirt for anything ever. These are virtual tee shirts.

THX1138

At least she has a real job rather than designing expensive hand bags for sloanes.

EyeSee

Her husband has been the worst Prime Minister this country has ever had. Her book could usefully tell us how much of the blame rests with her. Can a woman motivated entirely by money actually be described as intelligent?

Alex

She's just cashing in to ensure that Tory voters (now there appear to be quite a few of them, looking at the recent opinion polls) buy her book

Guy Incognito

Salieri: Good luck getting a t-shirt. I still haven't received mine for my Clegg question.

Ted Tedford

Could this have been rushed out now on the grounds that it has much less impact amid all the other bad headlines? Doubtless some PR genius in No 10 has plans for a revival of the government's fortunes by Christmas. Mrs Blair's lucre-obsesses wittering and anti-Brown sniping would have a disproportionate effect if things had improved by then.

And, as it is, it doesn't necessarily hurt Mr Brown for Mrs Blair to remind everyone of what tawdry figures she and her husband cut, sun-bathing in Cliff Richard's villa. At least it makes Mr Brown's asceticism look attractive. After reading the interview, she might as well cut out the middle-men and just publish her bank statements.

Pete

..neither have I Guy!

Alf Tupper

I am convinced that somewhere in Cherie Blair's wardrobe, there is a long coat made from the skins of gorgeous dalmation puppies.

There just has to be.

Lance Diatessaron

THX1138: I suspect the 'Sloaney hand-bag designer' has brought more innocent joy into more people's lives than Ms Booth-Blair's career. And Smythson supports British craftsmen and helps sustain the British economy. Yewman roits law cannot plausibly claim to do either.

Ted Tedford

I don't begrudge the Blairs their houses, but the protests about the size and opulence of their houses ring somewhat false. "I have a very delicate constitution, so I *have* to live off swans and phoenix eggs. And we have to have a massive new Range Rover because of the weight of the bullet-proof armour, and it has to be gold-plated to dazzle would-be assassins... But how I long for a Findus Crispy Pancake and a Renault Clio..."

Perry

The Times’ piece opens thus :

“ . . . Cherie’s intense eye-contact and open demeanour . . . . “

Oh pah-leease! (as they say) . . . and pass the bucket back to me QUICK!

Janice . . . this saps the strength. The fragrant one was sired by, and then shared a house with, - actors.

Perry

[after-afterthought]

But surely, - since the fragrant CB must needs publish before the Supreme Leader is eclipsed, - then there is cause for publication of the Big Book of Bliar?

Such a compendium might well be accompanied by a companion boxed set of DVDs portraying the thoughts, speeches, and chat show appearances of Bliar, and could be bundled with similar products by Prescott, Blunkett, and other luminaries.

Oh joyful anticipation!

THX1138

Lance- I rather think that Ms Booth is one of the UK's leading QC's specialising in employment law has saved more British jobs and brought more real joy rather than than the empty shallow "joy" of material gratification & hand bag envy that this years bag brings to Fulham yummy mummies

The right always despise the career success of the wives of leading male politicians on the left just look at the bile poured on Hillary, Cherie & now Michelle Obama.

Male politicians on the right typically pick spouses for social position or money look no further than Dave & John Mcain

Slim Jim

David Lindsay says: ''Who the hell cares? These people have gone. Get over them.''

Oh yeah? 'These people' (I assume you mean the Blairs and their allies) spent over 10 years putting 2 fingers up at the British public, and now they are still doing it but cashing in on their 'success'. The sooner these odious champagne socialists are exposed for their moral and political crimes (they can't be guilty of criminal offences as they have stitched up the entire criminal justice system) the better. They have been, and are, very nasty, treacherous and despicable individuals whose moral compasses were warped when they got their hands on the levers of power. Justice must be done. That means simply voting them out and exposing them whenever the opportunity arises, because there are only 2 things politicians fear the most: getting booted out or being found out.

Perry

[after-after-afterthought]

This gets richer, or at least, more viscous. Now they have even bought a house owned by an actor.

David Lindsay

Yes, Slim Jim, but they are not running the country any more. The Tory Party, yes. But not the country.

Pete Hoskin

Those talking t-shirts: as I've said in a few comments and e-mails, there was a mix-up at this end, and I've sent out a new batch. I threw in copies of the Spectator 180th anniversary issue, by way of an apology for the wait.

salieri: I reckon you can have a t-shirt for your efforts. Just fire your address details to phoskin at spectator.co.uk

Lance Diatessaron

THX1138: The right marry for money/status - and presumably the left marry purely for love? That's a pretty stunning generalisation even for the Coffee House.

I don't think Michelle Obama receives opprobrium for her work as a lawyer, but she richly deserves it for her narcissistic whingeing. (Unless The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy is institutionally misogynist as well as racist.)

Your slightly snippy caricature of Smythson customers as Sloaney/Fulham yummy mummies undermines your very laudable attempts to stick up for Ms Booth. There's nothing 'shallow' about appreciating craftsmanship, any more than sticking it The Corporations is intrinsically noble.

Slim Jim

Oh dear, David. Forgive me for thinking that our current regime are nasty, treacherous and despicable individuals with warped moral compasses. Remind me again which party is ruining, sorry running the country (at national level)?

dave heasman

"(Unless The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy is institutionally misogynist as well as racist.)"

It couldn't possibly be, could it?

THX1138

Lance- I Wasn't going to bother replying but it's lunchtime so what the heck & I'm sure we both enjoy the banter.

A generalisation of course but with a grain of truth the reasons people marry are many & various but to discount money & status (especially in an aspirant Tory politicians marriage) would be foolish.

It does on the surface look like that successful male politicians of the right choose women without careers of their own of the last three republican presidents & the current Republican nominee as well as the wives of the last crop of Tory leaders Sam Cameron excepted fall most definitely into that category. Not something that can be said of Hillary, Cherie, Sarah Brown & Michelle. I make no judgement except to wonder why.

Michelle Obama epitomizes everything the right in the US despises the upitty black daughter of a Chicago dustman that's gets herself to Harvard Law School through her own hard work & worst of all with a mind of her own.

I bet that the London SW & W11 postcodes are over represented in the ownership of Smythson bags than the country in general What do you think? And if you think that those bags are being bought because the owners are admiring the craftsmanship I suggest you go see and the forthcoming release of sex in the city.

THX1138

Slim- I think David Lindsay meant that the Tories had chosen a Blair clone with Dave. A slick PR spiv with no scruples who would say & do anything to be PM.

salieri

THX - at the risk of being provocative, I do wonder whether CB's specialisation in employment law (and don't forget Yooman Rights) has done anything to 'save British jobs' or brought 'real joy' to anyone except her bank manager.

THX1138

salieri - Go on be provocative isn't that the point why do you think I post here & not with people I agree with go on slag me off I love it. To your point if CB had saved you from from unfair dismissal she would have saved a British job & no doubt you would be joyful. Bank managers how quaint more like a website or an Indian call centre anyway didn't that last point smack of the politics of envy how very socialist of you.

salieri

THX - it wasn't you I was slagging off, I assure you. Let me just say that (a) people are not 'saved' from unfair dismissal, they just get compensation (b) at the level of fees CH commands the first people to avail themselves of her talents are the filthy capitalist employers, not the poor sod who has lost his job. What joy is there in that? I can manage without that kind of envy.

THX1138

salieri-This is fun & silly it must be the sun responsible for this this outbreak of levity on the Speccie boards. Lets have a go at your points (a ) I would say a nice big cheque for discrimination at work would bring me more joy than Smythson hand bag. (b) nice try but most of her work was helping the "poor sod" with her outrageous fees paid for by the Unions from all those subs paid by the little man to protect him from those filthy capitalist employers. Enjoy the rest of the good weather.

Lance Diatessaron

THX1138: Yes, the banter is fun, particularly when it's about handbags.

Michelle Obama has come out with some staggeringly inept comments in the past few months. If The VRWC attacks her, it's because she makes silly comments in public, and, moreover, silly comments that imply that a level of self-centredness that would be staggering if it came from anyone else. And worse, she indicates the kind of company Mr Obama really keeps when the cameras aren't rolling and the lobby isn't listening: that The Corporations are Bad, that America is a hate-filled place that she could be proud of only once her husband gets a a shot at the presidency. And this from the campaign of the "post-racial" candidate!

Laura Bush gets a fair press because, by and large, she doesn't make such silly comments. That might be because she 'knows her place', of course, but I think it's a deeper wisdom.

Mrs Diatessaron and I live in W8, so we're not Sloanes (although I once lived in Cadogan Place) and Mrs D isn't a Fulham yummy mummy (although she *is* with child). And personally I'd never buy luggage from my stationer (I'd go to my saddler), and Mrs D is Italian and buys patriotically.

But I think there's a fair case to be made that Smythson craftsmen produce something of some (*some*!) intrinsic value. I share your despair at shallowness, but shoot the consumer - and the media/advertiser conspiracy - not the producer.

THX1138

Lance I think this has run it's course I would just say that Mrs THX1138 shares your wife's passion for Italian bags personally I prefer Tanner & Krolle.

I would like to wish good luck with the baby Diatessaron they bring all the joy in the world & I have to go as I have to read with the youngest THX1138

This North London liberal does however think your wrong about Michelle Obama she is going to make a fine first lady. Have a good evening & please keep posting.