Congratulations to my old friend, Ed Balls, the new shadow chancellor. Apart from his attachment to maintaining the deficit (one can become sentimental about one's own babies of course) I'm also expecting his tenure to signal some innovative revenue raising ideas.
After all, as I never tire of pointing out, when Balls and fellow minister Yvette Cooper hosted their wedding reception at the Cavendish Hotel, Eastbourne, in 1998, they secretly arranged with the venue for an extra £9 to be put on guests' overnight hotel bills to save the happy couple £2,520 on the cost of the reception.
Gordon Brown and then girlfriend Sarah Macauley were star guests at the bash which also included several senior ministers such as Chief Whip Nick Brown, multi -millionaire Paymaster General Geoffrey Robinson, Treasury minister Dawn Primarolo and more than a dozen Labour MPs. A touching moment.
Showing posts with label Labour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Labour. Show all posts
Friday, 21 January 2011
Thursday, 6 May 2010
Has Worcester been on the sauce?
I read in the Times that pollster Robert Worcester, the founder of MORI, reckons that the colours of the FA Cup winners mirrors those of the triumphant political party during an election year. Really?
2005: Labour (Red) Arsenal (Red)
2001: Labour (Red) Liverpool (Red)
1997: Labour (Red) Chelsea (Blue)
1992: Conservative (Blue) Liverpool (Red)
1987: Conservative (Blue) Coventry (Blue)
1983: Conservative (Blue) Manchester United (Red)
1979: Conservative (Blue) Arsenal (Red) etc, etc...
A comment made after lunch, I presume.
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
The end is Nye
Might Gordon Brown honestly be starting to regret getting into bed with the Goldman Sachs crowd?
The investment bank got its big break in Whitehall via its former banker, Gavyn Davies – who is married to Brown's former private secretary and the current director of government relations, Sue Nye.
Since then, political expediency has forced the PM to start branding the bank as "morally bankrupt", while calling for an immediate investigation into the Goldman's dealings. But any votes he might have won through that bit of spin were more than extinguished by today's gaffe of calling Labour voter Gillian Duffy "bigoted".
And who does the "clunking fist" blame for exposing him to Duffy? Er, Sue Nye.
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Parky works over-time on unemployment
Postscript to my story yesterday about Lord Parkinson's spot that unemployment has been higher at the end of every Labour government than it was when each one came to power.
The former Tory Trade Secretary's statistic got lots of coverage at the time, and at a cabinet meeting shortly after his proclamation, Parkinson tells how he was taken aside by Michael Heseltine (as was).
"Is that stuff about Labour and unemployment really true?" he asked.
"It was at that point that I knew the challenge I had to persuade voters," Parkinson recalls. "I couldn't even convince my own cabinet I was right."
The former Tory Trade Secretary's statistic got lots of coverage at the time, and at a cabinet meeting shortly after his proclamation, Parkinson tells how he was taken aside by Michael Heseltine (as was).
"Is that stuff about Labour and unemployment really true?" he asked.
"It was at that point that I knew the challenge I had to persuade voters," Parkinson recalls. "I couldn't even convince my own cabinet I was right."
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
Labour statistics keep on repeating...
I see that unemployment has reached 2.4m - the highest level since 1995.
Plus ca change. Former Tory Trade Secretary, Lord Parkinson, is fond of telling a story of how he once pointed out that every Labour government has left office with unemployment higher than when it arrived. An incredulous reporter asked the then opposition leader, Neil Kinnock, if Parkinson's claim was indeed true.
Kinnock's reply? "Well, statistically speaking."
Plus ca change. Former Tory Trade Secretary, Lord Parkinson, is fond of telling a story of how he once pointed out that every Labour government has left office with unemployment higher than when it arrived. An incredulous reporter asked the then opposition leader, Neil Kinnock, if Parkinson's claim was indeed true.
Kinnock's reply? "Well, statistically speaking."
Monday, 20 April 2009
The charming Mr Balls
Wannabe Chancellor Ed Balls has denied weekend reports that he's been using disgraced spinner Damian McBride to smear ministerial rivals and advance his own ambitions.
I'm sure he's speaking with conviction, but Balls can hardly get too uppity about accusations that he might consider stitching up the odd friend and colleague.
When he and fellow minister Yvette Cooper hosted their wedding reception at the Cavendish Hotel, Eastbourne, in 1998, the pair secretly arranged with the venue for an extra £9 to be put on guests' overnight hotel bills to save the happy couple £2,520 on the cost of the reception.
Gordon Brown and then girlfriend Sarah Macauley were star guests at the bash which also included several senior ministers such as Chief Whip Nick Brown, multi -millionaire Paymaster General Geoffrey Robinson, Treasury minister Dawn Primarolo and more than a dozen Labour MPs. Charming.
I'm sure he's speaking with conviction, but Balls can hardly get too uppity about accusations that he might consider stitching up the odd friend and colleague.
When he and fellow minister Yvette Cooper hosted their wedding reception at the Cavendish Hotel, Eastbourne, in 1998, the pair secretly arranged with the venue for an extra £9 to be put on guests' overnight hotel bills to save the happy couple £2,520 on the cost of the reception.
Gordon Brown and then girlfriend Sarah Macauley were star guests at the bash which also included several senior ministers such as Chief Whip Nick Brown, multi -millionaire Paymaster General Geoffrey Robinson, Treasury minister Dawn Primarolo and more than a dozen Labour MPs. Charming.
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