James Macintyre's Blog, page 11

David Miliband comes out as

Amusing exchange in a wide-ranging Labour Uncut interview.

There is an interesting and wide-ranging interview with David Miliband, the bookies' favourite to be next leader of the Labour Party, on the Labour Uncut website. He talks about why Labour lost, constitutional reform and the police, among other matters.

On a lighter note, however, one passage catches the eye:

Q. Do you know anything about the film Shaun of the Dead?

A. A small amount. I'm not a zombie!

Q. Tell me what you know about...

David Miliband comes out as "anti-zombie"

Amusing exchange in a wide-ranging Labour Uncut interview

There is an interesting and wide-ranging interview with David Miliband, bookies' favourite to be next leader of the Labour party, on the Labour Uncut web site. He talks about why Labour lost, constitutional reform and the police, among other issues.

On a light note, however, one little passage catches the eye:

Q. Do you know anything about the film, Shaun of the Dead?

A. A small amount. I'm not a zombie!

Q. Tell me what you know about...

The Spanish know how to celebrate

Unlike the English...

I have written already about the relative merits of Britishness and Englishness in relation to football, proposing a UK team, and I was told off in various quarters for being a naughty boy.

So I won't expand at great length on the relief I felt last night that England was not in the final, given the ugly havoc the side's presence would have thrown up on our streets, except to say that I happened to be in a Spanish restaurant during the final between Holland and...

Ed Miliband tries to forge a way through the Mandelson saga

Contender rightly denies he's merely a "Brownite".

This afternoon's Evening Standard is running on the fact that both Miliband brothers are seeking to "move on" from the Peter Mandelson saga about which Michael White of the Guardian has written so brilliantly today.

As well they might. One of the very few dangers for both Milibands are the labels "Blairite" and "Brownite" which are hung round the necks of David and Ed respectively. In fact, as I have written before, neither truly applies.
...

Clarence House inadvertently confirms Charles went into a sulk over the Pope

"That is an event, not a meeting", spokesman says

Last night, I wrote about how the Prince of Wales has appeared to indulge in one of his characteristic sulks over failing to win a one to one meeting with the Pope during the latter's September visit to the UK. The very notion has caused defenders of the Prince to splutter into their tea-cups.

But proof of the Prince's mentality, which seems more geared at competing with his (admirable) mother than doing his duties, is summed up in this

Angus Moat should be heard

Raoul Moat was a monster. But why did the police decline a crucial invitation to talk him down?

I am not going to pretend to be an expert on Raoul Moat. That he beat his children until their bruises were noticed in school as well as shot people is in some ways all I need to know.

However, as ever with these high profile incidents ending in death, which seem increasingly egged on by the 24-hour media, there are major questions hanging over the police operation. I recommend you

Mandelson, Blair and the pathetic BBC

Left-wing Corporation? My foot...Plus a word on Peter M

My distinguished colleague Mehdi Hasan has written perhaps the definitive piece on why the BBC is not, in fact, "left-wing". And yet though I am pretty familiar with the arguments, the extent to which the opposition of the myth is true never ceases to amaze me. Which is why I tore a bit out of the Evening Standard at the end of last week and put it in my wallet to blog today.

According to the paper, the agonised question of whether to ...

How Charles wrote himself out of the Papal visit's script

Did prince sulkily refuse to meet Benedict because he wasn't put on par with mother? And if so, what does that tell us about the heir to the throne?

Prince Charles has caused anger in London and Rome after declining an invitation from the Pope to attend an inter-faith in the UK event allegedly after being denied a one-to-one audience on a par with the Queen, sources have revealed.

Previously, the Guardian has touched on the fact that the Pope will not meet Charles, and the Mail on Sunday's ...

The strategic Cameronista case for an AV

Spectator confirms it. You read it here first.

In last week's magazine, I set out how David Cameron was recognising the merits of a "Yes" vote in the forthcoming AV referendum for the sake of sealing the coalition with the Liberal Democrats. I followed up with a blog on how Cameron was "considering" backing AV.

The story was dismissed by Tory observers and one cabinet minister even texted me to say he doubted it. However, Cameron himself said very little publicly on the question -...

The strategic Cameronista case for an AV 'Yes' vote

Spectator confirms it. You read it here first.

In last week's magazine, I set out why David Cameron in private is recognising the merits of a 'Yes' vote in the forthcoming AV referendum for the sake of sealing the coalition with the Liberal Democrats. I followed up with a blog on how Cameron was "considering" backing AV.

The story was dismissed by Tory observers and even one Cabinet minister texted me to say he doubted it, even though Cameron himself said very little publicly on the...