Patricia Hewitt to stand down as Health Secretary. No surprises there. Gordon has been saying throughout his grand tour that, while education is his “passion”, health is his “priority”. And no wonder: the Tories have stolen Labour’s lead on health policy, perhaps Cameron’s most remarkable and certainly his cheekiest achievement. Brown is an implacable believer
When the Prime Minister (its so weird writing that) told us on the steps of No10 that he “went to the local school” in Kirkcaldy and chose its motto as his personal leitmotif, it is worth recalling the type of education he actually had. He enjoyed the ultimate academic selection, being chosen from primary with
The school motto of Kirkcaldy High School: “I will try my utmost”. That was the principle which Gordon Brown promised to make the foundation of his work as Prime Minister. It is up there with Boxer’s “I will work harder” in Animal Farm. But this was the son of the Manse speaking from the heart.
That line makes me suspect that Brown really does have something up his sleeve even post-Ashdown.
We’ve just posted The Spectator leader that will be in this week’s print magazine; it looks at the challenges facing Gordon Brown. We’ve also put up a fantastic essay by Clemency Burton-Hill on what it was like growing up with Tony Blair. Do give them a read and keep on coming back for more.
I don’t know where John Bercow is having lunch right now, but a lot of people wish he’d switch his phone on. Perhaps thanks to Guido, there’s a rumour flying around Westminster that he’s the next to cross the floor and join Labour. Well, didn’t Ed Balls omninously suggest there are more Tory MPs out
Back in May 1997 what odds would you have got on the most generous tribute at Blair’s last PMQs coming from Ian Paisley?
For the first time in my time in the Commons, the press gallery was full. “A lot of so-called journalists I’ve never seen before” grumbled the doorman. And no wonder. This was box office – or was supposed to be. It turned into a rather tame love-in. David Cameron had technocratic, statesman-like questions – getting
We’ve got two great pieces up today on the new political landscape. James O’Shaughnessy explains why the master tactician Gordon Brown is putting housing at the top of his agenda. While Martin Vander Weyer looks at whether business will prefer David Cameron or the devil it knows, Gordon Brown. Check back for more later in the day.
Iain Dale reports that Ed Balls was understandably gloating about the defection of Quentin Davies last night at a Fabian Society reception last night and promised his audience that, “There’s more to come – as I know.”
Two contrasting views in the papers this morning. Here’s the key passage from The Guardian’s leader on it: “There has been no more brutal assault on a Tory leader since Sir Geoffrey Howe plunged the knife between Mrs Thatcher’s shoulders in 1990. Mr Davies’s withering comments will be endlessly repeated. They represent a huge new
This Fraser Nelson piece from September reveals which eight people will really matter when Gordon Brown finally gets his hands on the crown. Do give it a read.
Where better to spend the last night of the Blair era than in the company of ageing rockers? These days, The Who smash their tambourines rather than their guitars. But, other than that, they are still as sharp as the sharpest Carnaby Street winkle pickers and as taut as the tires on a brand new
There are two reasons for Brown to be concerned about Blair becoming the quartet’s envoy to the Palestinians. First, it is going to exacerbate the problem of Brown establishing himself on the world stage. Back in 2005 one of Brown’s closest allies told Newsweek’s Stryker McGuire how when he was in the States during the
Not that surprising, but BBC News 24 is reporting that Tony Blair will resign as an MP tomorrow.
Today’s news that Afghanistan’s opium production is soaring takes me back to perhaps the biggest lie Tony Blair has uttered during the war on terror. He told the 2001 Labour conference that “90% of the heroin on British streets originates in Afghanistan. The arms the Taliban are buying today are paid for with the lives of young
Just back from a weekend in Munich, escaping from the grey, the rain and the Blair/Brown folderol to help a friend, about to take up the reins as president of the European patent office, move into her new apartment. Oh, the joys of a well organized German city. Standard issue recycling bins for every sort
So Tony Blair is off to the Middle East as peace envoy – not for the US, but for the “Quartet” of UN, EU, America and Russia. His decision to accept this role, and so soon, is more eloquent than any of the (many) farewell speeches he has made. First, it shows that he regards
Iain Dale has an interesting post up on the gossip amongst Westminster lobby correspondents that Charles Clarke might return to government this week. He writes that, “None of us could come up with a reason why Gordon Brown would reward a man who has spent the last few months dissing him.” But it is precisely
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