James Macintyre's Blog, page 8
July 23, 2010
Labour leadership hopefuls must write two victory speeches they may well never deliver
The harsh timing of the NEC's accouncement
Spare a thought for the Labour leadership contenders. Not only are they having to endure some 56 hustings in total over this long summer, while they compete with a brand new coalition Government for media attention, but, a source in one camp has just told me, they face another ordeal altogether.
Voting takes place across the different elements of the party and its affiliated between 16 August to 22 September, with the result announced by the...
The Senate may be right to call British politicians over Megrahi
But the move should make us think hard about the "special relationship"
In many ways I agree with the decision to summon leading members of the British Government to the Senate to explain the background behind the release of the alleged "Lockerbie bomber", Abdelbaset al-Megrahi. This is because it should have been -- and essentially must have been -- a national decision and not one taken by a devolved Scottish executive. Tony Blair -- who did or did not do some kind of deal with Colonel...
July 22, 2010
The Miliband brothers: a rare joint interview
Some snippets from the Jewish press on being rivals, Israel, and family
David and Ed Miliband have given an interesting joint interview for the Jewish press, which features on the web site totallyjewish.com. Here are a few highlights:
Ed Miliband confirms he knew David would stand as leader:
Ed, did you consider not standing after David threw his hat into the ring?
EM: No. I knew he would stand when the time came and I had plenty of time to weigh up all the issues and come to the decision...
Surprise, surprise: no charges, no accountability over Ian Tomlinson
As with the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes, there will be no justice.
As I depressingly predicted yesterday, the Crown Prosecution Service has just ruled that there will be no charges over the death of Ian Tomlinson, attacked by police as he walked home on the day of the G20 riots last year. Not just that, but there is, we are told, "no case to answer". Shocking but unsurprising.
The unaccountability of the police remains one of the biggest disgraces in this country. Will the coalition ...
A dark day at Buckingham Palace as Nick Griffin swings by
Head of state offers champagne and tea to a Holocaust denier
Whatto whatto! The day has come around when Nick Griffin, the cranky leader of the racialist British National Party, will swan into Buckingham Palace to snigger and hob-nob with the cream of British society.
The reports today are focusing on Griffin's decision to accept the invitation, which seems to me inevitable, despite him having previously said that his presence at such an event would "embarrass" the monarch. But this seems t...
July 21, 2010
Iraq comes back to haunt Westminster
William Hague and No 10 distance themselves from Clegg.
A perfect demonstration of the fragile nature of the Conservative-Liberal coalition has come this afternoon, as William Hague distanced himself from Nick Clegg's comments about the "illegal invasion of Iraq" at Prime Minister's Questions.
As I blogged earlier, it was notable that Clegg was at the time flanked by William Hague and George Osborne, two true-believing Iraq hawks, if not neoconservatives.
Now, Hague has said he has a...
Iraq comes back to haunt Westminster again
Hague and Number Ten distance themselves from Clegg.
A perfect demonstration of the fragile nature of the Conservative-Liberal coalition has come this afternoon, as William Hague distanced himself from Nick Clegg's comments about the "illegal invasion of Iraq" at prime minister's questions.
As I blogged earlier, it was notable that Clegg was at the time flanked by William Hague and George Osborne, two true-believing Iraq hawks, if not neo-conservatives.
Now, Hague has said he has a...
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