Society

Tuesday

The Spectator

Smeargate

Here are some of the posts about the Damian McBride scandal on Spectator.co.uk: Matthew d’Ancona says that the McPoison remains, ands casts his eye over the usual suspects. Andrew Neil stresses that Gordon Brown let the dogs out. Fraser Nelson analyses what McBride tells us about Brown, and reveals the smears that backfired. James Forsyth suggests that McBride’s self-destruction is a tonic for the Tories, and urges Brown to apologise. Peter Hoskin says that Brown has lost all moral authority, and reveals the PM’s unconvincing clean-up operation. Martin Bright wonders whether it could get any worse. And Alex Massie asks: how much does McBride’s disgrace actually matter?

Peter Hoskin

Brown and out<br />

The tone of today’s analysis of the McBride scandal is encapsualted by two articles in the Independent.  The first, by Michael Brown, suggests that “Any remaining chance of a Labour victory has been torpedoed by incompetence, sleaze and spin at the heart of Mr Brown’s operation in Downing Street”.  While the second, by Steve Richards, claims that “This fiasco may have fatally damaged Gordon Brown’s capacity to take on the Tories”.  It’s hard to disagree with either observation. Richards makes the additional point that “Smeargate” may encourage Brown’s rivals to “stir”: “Some Blairites and cabinet ministers who carry wounds from what they believed were assaults from McBride will also stir,

James Forsyth James Forsyth

How the Brownites operate

Rachel Sylvester’s column in The Times tomorrow is a damning indictment of the way that Brown central does politics. This section gives you a flavour of the piece:  “Rumours have been spread that James Purnell is gay – something that is totally untrue. Alistair Darling has been reshuffled countless times by unnamed advisers. When the going gets tough, the Brownites even turn on each other. Douglas Alexander was hung out to dry over the election that never was. Stephen Carter, brought in to shake up No 10, was quickly seen off by Mr McBride, who briefed journalists that he was politically naive. The Prime Minister is never personally involved in

Monday

Peter Hoskin

Brown’s unconvincing clean-up operation

Over at Red Box, Sam Coates has published the open letter that Gordon Brown has sent Sir Gus O’Donnell about the McBride scandal.  Here it is.  Have a sickbag to hand before reading: Dear Gus I am writing about the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, and the proposals I want to make to tighten this up. I am assured that no Minister and no political adviser other than the person involved had any knowledge of or involvement in these private emails that are the subject of current discussion, and I have already taken responsibility for acting on this – first by accepting Mr McBride’s resignation and by making it

Peter Hoskin

Charlie Whelan’s trail of resentment

Guido’s keeping shtum about how he got his hands on the McBride emails, so it’s worth highlighting this passage in today’s Guardian: “Some Labour sources were pointing the finger at the Unite trade union which is riven by splits. Charlie Whelan, the union’s political director who is a former Brown aide, was copied into the email, as was his aide Andrew Dodgshon. There is no suggestion that either of them leaked the emails, but there is a suspicion that one of Whelan’s many enemies in the union may have. One Unite source said: ‘There is no shortage of people who would be prepared to leak those emails. People are queueing

The Spectator

CoffeeHousers’ Wall, 13 April – 19 April

Welcome to the latest CoffeeHousers’ Wall. For those who haven’t come across the Wall before, it’s a post we put up each Monday, on which – provided your writing isn’t libellous, crammed with swearing, or offensive to common decency – you’ll be able to say whatever you like in the comments section. There is no topic, so there’s no need to stay ‘on topic’ – which means you’ll be able to debate with each other more freely and extensively. There’s also no constraint on the length of what you write – so, in effect, you can become Coffee House bloggers. Anything’s fair game – from political stories in your local

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Alastair Campbell: Brown should apologise

Another interesting post from Tony Blair’s spin man about what Gordon Brown should do about his cocking up so badly: “So, on doing the right thing, there is the question of Cameron’s call for an apology. There may be politics attached to it, but it is worth asking the question – if a Tory spin doctor had been found to be planning smears against the families of Labour politicians, would we have asked for, and expected, an apology? I think the answer is yes. … the public has to see that when GB says he condemns this type of politics, he really means it.” Also, note the implicit condemnation of

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Brown should apologise for what his adviser and his lunch companion did

Alan Johnson is busy claiming that “Gordon Brown had nothing to do with this. You apologise for the things you are responsible for”. But the Prime Minister should apologise because McBride was his adviser and the smears arose out of a culture that Brown had either fostered or allowed to develop. As Trevor Kavanagh says in The Sun this morning: “The PM likes to be seen as a bookish intellectual, a Son of the Manse devoted to “the right thing”. In fact he spends more of his remorseless energy plotting against perceived enemies — Labour and Tory — than on making Britain great again.” One wonders whether Brown’s obsession against

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The Wednesday meeting

In her Guardian column, Jackie Ashley writes: “[McBride] was regarded as the heart of a Brownite shadow operation, based around a Wednesday afternoon meeting of just five or six people, which spent far too much energy plotting against ministers.” I would hazard a guess that this might be the same meeting that Kevin Maguire described as follows in the New Statesman back in December: “The great guessing game over the date of the election has overlooked a regular gathering in No 10 on Wednesday afternoons. Chaired by Gordon Brown’s mini-me, Ed Balls, the eclectic collective includes Miss Moneypenny Sue Nye, the spinner Damian McBride, the union money man Charlie Whelan, Colin Byrne

Sunday

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Civis Americanus sum

It is immensely cheering news that the US ship’s captain who was being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia has been rescued by the US Navy. When one considers the resources and firepower the US was prepared to send to the area to free this citizen one can’t help but be reminded of the peroration of Palmerston’s speech during the Don Pacifico debate: “whether, as the Roman, in days of old, held himself free from indignity, when he could say Civis Romanus sum; so also a British subject, in whatever land he may be, shall feel confident that the watchful eye and the strong arm of England, will

Peter Hoskin

Brown’s gang ruins things for decent Labour supporters

His post on the Damian McBride scandal appeared earlier, but it’s worth rounding off the afternoon with the words of Tom Harris, a Labour MP who has done himself credit today: “…this isn’t about positioning or spinning or misdirection or whatever. This is about standards of political activity, standards which have fallen far, far below what is remotely acceptable, especially for someone working at the very heart of government. We screwed up, big time. We have no-one — absolutely no-one at all — to blame for this but ourselves. The damage the Labour Party and the government have sustained this last 24 hours has been entirely self-inflicted. And the people

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Hold that Vegetable Garden Exclusive!

Commenting on this post about the Damian McBride Affair, Shippers makes an excellent point: things are just as bad, if not worse, on the other side of the Atlantic. Consider this example, culled from Politico’s daily Playbook: The WashPost’s First Dog exclusive – which the WP says the First Lady’s office offered in March to stave off a premature story about the White House vegetable garden, which had been promised as an exclusive to The New York Times (we’re not making this up) – is rained on by weekend Web leaks. But the WP has first word that the adorable black Portuguese water dog, a gift from Senator and Mrs.

Peter Hoskin

Speaker Martin caught out again

Just in case the continuing Damian McBride story isn’t raising your blood pressure high enough on this Easter Sunday, it’s worth mentioning the latest expenses row surrounding Michael Martin.  Not only is the Speaker involved in one of those “three home” schemes – renting one, claiming for a second and living in a third – but it’s emerged that he and his wife went on a jolly to Dubai courtesy of the taxpayer.  Here’s how the Telegraph reports it: “The Speaker last week spent four days in the United Arab Emirates on an official visit hosted by the authorities in the Gulf state. He was accompanied by his wife, Mary Martin,

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Draper apologises but won’t quit LabourList

In a post on LabourList, Derek Draper writes: “So I am sorry. I am particularly sorry to the individuals mentioned in those juvenile emails, and especially sorry to Nadine Dorries, George and Frances Osborne and David and Samantha Cameron. I can understand why they – and others – may be sceptical but all I can do is absolutely promise that these stories were just daft ideas that never – and would never have – got off the drawing board.” Draper’s response to McBride’s email—‘ These are absolutely totally brilliant Damian. I’ll think about timing and sort out the technology with Andrew this week so we can go asap.’—calls the second

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Department of Meaning

How can someone at the BBC write this without bursting into laughter? Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged to ensure every young person has done 50 hours of voluntary work by the time they are 19-years-old. In fairness, the Press Association also doesn’t understand the meanings of compulsory and voluntary, nor the oddity of suggesting they can be coupled together. [Thanks, via Facebook, AC]

James Forsyth James Forsyth

If the full story was printed it would be even worse for McBride

No one can publish the full contents of McBride’s emails because they contain potentially libellous statements. Any newspaper or blog who did would open themselves up to being sued. This, ironically, is working to McBride’s advantage. Having been told what was in the emails, I can tell you that the damage to McBride’s reputation would be on a different scale if they had been printed in full. PS You couldn’t make up Kevin Maguire’s latest post which contains these lines: ‘And just what is the truth of Cameron’s alleged embarrassing complaint of a highly personal nature? I, like the drinkers in the Steamboat, Alum and Riverside, would like to know.’

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Now Alastair Campbell sticks the boot into McBride and Whelan

From Campbell’s blog this morning:  ‘It is not through any attempt at distancing, merely a statement of fact, to say that I barely know Mr McBride. I was vaguely aware of him being around the Treasury when I was in Number 10, and vaguely aware that he was closer to the Charlie Whelan school of strategic communications than my own. (I’m aware we tend to get lumped together in some sections, but I know the differences, even if they don’t.) In more recent times, I have been in meetings where Mr McBride has beeen present, but never heard him speak. I have heard his colleagues both defend him vigorously, and

Peter Hoskin

Gordon Brown has lost all moral authority

So this is the way New Labour ends – in a shower of immorality.  Sure, the expenses scandals were bad enough, but Brown could wriggle out of those; promise a review; and wait for the revelations to appear about Tory and Lib Dem MPs.  But Damian McBride and “Smeargate” is something else; something altogether more final.  The public is getting its clearest glimpse yet into the workings of the Brown machine.  And it’s a grim sight. It’s always puzzled me how Brown has managed to perpetuate the “son of the manse” shtick.  Read any biography of the man – I’d recommend Tom Bower’s – and the truth is clear: his

Saturday

Melissa Kite

Real Life | 11 April 2009

‘Do not go to the NHS walk-in centre, it will only upset you.’ This was the advice from a friend last week as I drove around Tooting with earache searching in vain for St George’s Hospital. How a building with 1,000 beds and 6,000 staff is undetectable to the naked eye is a wonder to me. But it really is the case that this place exists in a Bermuda triangle. Not one sign indicates its presence. My friend explained: ‘They don’t signpost it because they don’t want you to find it by car. They want you to take public transport.’ They? Who are ‘They’? And why do They care if I

Jeremy Clarke

Low Life | 11 April 2009

Another soulless office in a bank: another ebullient robot in a dark suit in the chair opposite. This one wanted me to invest a small inheritance in one or both of two investment funds. With these in mind, he showed me a laminated diagram of an equilateral triangle illustrating the correlation between risk and financial gain. It was the kind of thing researchers show chimps to find out how bright they are. The nearer the apex, the greater the profit, but also the greater the risk. It was a bit rich showing me this, I thought, when they should have been showing it to themselves for the past five years.