In 2010 a young Labour blogger by the name of Ellie Gellard introduced Gordon Brown at Labour’s manifesto launch. Unfortunately the party’s attempts to look down with the kids soon backfired as it was revealed that Gellard — who goes by the name @BevaniteEllie on Twitter — had previously written on her Stilettoed Socialist blog that she hoped Brown would stand down; ‘get your coat: time’s up’.
So Mr S hopes for Yvette Cooper’s sake that Gellard’s latest efforts will have a better result. While Gellard moved away from politics after a stint helping Ed Balls (and embarking on a relationship with his head of communications Alex Belardinelli), she is making a comeback having been appointed Elle magazine’s new political editor:
Ellie in Elle… @BevaniteEllie's debut politics pieces for @ELLEUK http://t.co/T6XCexuYGj & http://t.co/T6EjVv46Cy
— Alex Belardinelli (@abelardinelli) September 4, 2015
To kick off her new role, one of her first blogs is about who should be the next Labour leader. No prizes for guessing which candidate she opted for:
‘The really radical choice is the candidate who can break a glass ceiling and make history. The candidate who has argued for a ‘childcare revolution’ to help women juggle work and family life. The candidate who first called for ‘Britain to be Britain’, and accommodate refugee families in their hour of need. The candidate who has called for protest-free zones around abortion clinics so women don’t face harassment when accessing services. The candidate whose election could show a generation of young girls that women can ‘do politics’ – and be bloody good at it. That candidate is Yvette Cooper.’
The blog — which appears to be inspired by Yvette Cooper’s ‘I’m more radical than Jeremy Corbyn speech’ — is not so surprising coming from someone with such close links to Cooper’s husband. But given that Gellard previously received £600 of taxpayer cash for offering ‘specialist internet support’ to Cooper, surely she ought to find space for a declaration of interests in the piece?
Comments