Sunday, May 17, 2009

EXCLUSIVE: Another Labour Donor Defects to the Tories

This morning I did the Sky News paper review alongside the lovely Nancy Dell'Olio. We got chatting and she was saying how much she admired Tony Blair. The conversation moved on and I jokingly suggested she should support David Cameron after he said he was the 'heir to Blair'. To my utter astonishment she said she did indeed support David Cameron and would vote for him if she could*. Bear in mind that Nancy has been a Labour Party donor in the recent past and last year attended a fundraising dinner at Wembley. So she personifies the story in today's Observer that Labour donors are deserting the party.

* In case you think a confidence has been breached, I asked if if I could write this on my blog and she agreed.
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22 comments:

  1. Chris PaulMay 17, 2009 3:23 pm

    A real bellwether state. Style and fashion. Nothing to do with policy.

    How much did NDO give to the LP?

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  2. BexleyToryMay 17, 2009 3:24 pm

    I may have misunderstood this but how could she donate money to the Labour Party, but can not vote for the Conservatives (i presume because she is not a British citizen?)

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  3. Silent HunterMay 17, 2009 3:30 pm

    Are you sure that's not Michael Jackson there Iain?

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  4. Paul HalsallMay 17, 2009 3:31 pm

    Who did she support in Italy? What did she think about Tangentopoli?

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  5. little red roosterMay 17, 2009 3:37 pm

    A real seismic shift here - a rich Italian whose donations to Labour are scarcely in the millions. Mmmm...

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  6. TwigMay 17, 2009 3:52 pm

    Is she suggesting that Labour and Tories are interchangeable, and that the Tories are Blue Labour?

    Heaven forbid.

    Here's the man who should lead the Tories:

    Daniel Hannan on the sovereignty of National Parliaments

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  7. insert-coin-hereMay 17, 2009 4:09 pm

    The heir to Bliar

    Cant wait.

    Sould there be a tory who actually gives a stuff about the country reading this,could you please tell mr potato head that his time at the head of government will be only slightly longer than Browns should he choose to emulate vapid spiv in government...

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  8. AnonymousMay 17, 2009 4:17 pm

    uhh ? I thought that foreign nationals couldn't donate to political parties too .....

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  9. UnsworthMay 17, 2009 4:33 pm

    So the lovely Nancy has once again got with the zeitgeist. La Toynbee seems also so inclined but cannot quite make the final crossing. I expect she will, shortly after the election results.

    Are these not fair weather friends, buying their way to wealth and influence? Is this not just some sort of 'investment'?

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  10. MartinMay 17, 2009 4:36 pm

    How come you always get to do TV with top totty Iain? Isn't it a bit like giving Ken Livingstone a Ferrair for the day?

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  11. britomMay 17, 2009 4:49 pm

    Why on earth should we be pleased that a Labour supporter should want to vote for Cameron because he is the heir to Blair?! We DONT want another lying charlatan haven't the last two been enough for everybody?

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  12. AnonymousMay 17, 2009 4:53 pm

    Sorry I missed you however I cannot understand how or why this ridiculous woman has become a political commentator. My heart sinks whenever she appears on any topical programme. She calls herself a lawyer but like Jeremy Paxman, I find it impossible to follow any of her arguments. I really hope the Conservative Party does not fall into the trap that Labour did by courting these vacuous individuals who have no political conviction except to further their own celebrity.

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  13. PlatoMay 17, 2009 4:55 pm

    Sven's ex

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  14. BardirectMay 17, 2009 5:01 pm

    Well now here's something which really started in America - she was born there, in 1958 or '60 or '64.

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  15. Mirtha TidvilleMay 17, 2009 5:48 pm

    Every time I look at Nancy I find myself thinking of mint sauce....

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  16. AnonymousMay 17, 2009 7:20 pm

    Oh Iain, you little minx !! Did you not hear Tom Robinson on the radio this morning ? I think you would make a lovely 'gaydad' as well !!

    Although can you imagine how 'high maintenance' an 'Iain Dell'Olio' junior might ??

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  17. Democratic-CentreMay 17, 2009 9:05 pm

    Donors deserting the Labour party in the same way the money left the credit markets.

    Just not enough skin in the game these days and they seem to be behaving like certain 'flippers'...oh hold on...

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  18. Lord BlaggerMay 18, 2009 12:02 am

    "if she could vote she would"

    Does that mean she is ineligable to vote?

    If so, how can she be donating to a party?

    What are the rules on this?

    Nick

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  19. Lord BlaggerMay 18, 2009 12:03 am

    In general on Labour funding, perhaps a campaign for union members to stop funding the party of corruption.

    Nick

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  20. Victor, NW KentMay 18, 2009 2:46 pm

    The lady who is famous for being nobody - barely coherent but a political pundit.

    Mirtha Tidville says she is reminiscent of mint sauce. That is good with lamb - mutton is best with red currant jelly.

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  21. AnonymousMay 20, 2009 6:42 pm

    As Nancy's spokesperson, I can confirm that Nancy Dell'Olio has never met David Cameron, so it is highly unlikely that her allegiance to Labour would have changed as a result of meeting you. Nancy is a long-term supporter of the Labour Party. Nothing has changed.

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  22. Iain DaleMay 20, 2009 6:55 pm

    Ah, an anonymous spokesperson. Interesting.

    Nancy told me herself she had never met David Cameron, but she admired him and would vote for him. I asked her if I could put that on my blog and she said yes.

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