I'm told that tomorrow morning a new book will be published and be serialised by a national newspaper which won't make happy reading for the Labour Party. Booksellers have been told to expect embargoed copies tomorrow morning. Transworld are the publishers.
The last time a political book was published like this was when Edwina Currie published her diaries and serialised them in The Times. There was total secrecy in advance of publication. It came out on the Saturday before the Tory conference and completely dominated the event. It seems the same is set to happen to Labour tomorrow.
I have been unable to find out any further details. Maybe you know more...
48 comments:
Never understood why Edwina did that. What good did it do anyone? I suppose it must be ultimately down to the rward of filthy lucre
No Expenses spared by Gordon Rayner and Robert Winnett?
@idonotbelieveit: How interesting - a Google search on that title gives an Amazon page which 404s when you try to go there. Search on the title in Amazon itself and you get "this item has been removed"
Or injuncted?
Michael White in today's Guardian is just the most offensive man...
I will quote him and say no more - I am lost for words...
'Being a British PM in America must be a bit like being the oldest wife of a wealthy Muslim. You've been around a long time. You know that hubby is interested in other, younger girls: they're prettier, they make him feel good, some of them have got bigger GDPs. They flatter his possibly flagging powers, and, hey, they're new.
Do you get upset when he takes another wife? Or do you take the long view and make yourself obliging to the younger wives, promoting the interests of the smarter ones who will bear your interests in mind too. Don't be a bore, don't whinge and he'll probably start dropping by for a chat and a cup of mint tea pretty often. After all, you're old friends ...'
At least Edwina revealing her affair with Major took the stuck horror thoughts of Tony "doing it" five times a night with Cherie out of my head (talking about it 5 times, that is).
Alan Douglas
Anon - Edwina did it because Major left her out of his autobiog completely - not a single word.
Hell hath no fury...
Do you think it will be as good as The Little Red Book of New Labour Sleaze
by Iain Dale and Guido Fawkes?
i had a look around, that No expenses spared, is not published until 05/11, however they have a strange listing on Tesco's book site for transworld bantam press for 25/09/09. Just says "title unknown".
This could be a total whopper of a scandal book if they have gone to this length to protect it. Not one sign of what it is anywhere.
Well whatever its called this is the isbn 9780593065778.
Its just called "untitled political book" on every thing i can find. I did find out though, its 368 pages long.
No Expense Spared seems to be the story of the Telegraph's expose of MPs' expenses from the description at Amazon's Japanese site:
"The Daily Telegraph" 's expose of MPs' expenses, which dominated the news agenda for more than six weeks, made history by leading to the resignation of the Speaker and several Cabinet ministers, as well as taking Gordon Brown to the very brink of losing his grip on power. It is a story which began in the unlikely setting of a Chilean vineyard, when Robert Winnett, the paper's deputy political editor, first learnt from Gordon Brown's soon-to-be-disgraced aide Damian McBride, that a disc containing details of every MP's expense claims had gone missing. Winnett was destined to become the reporter who would secure the disc and its contents for his newspaper, landing what has been described by some commentators as 'the political scoop of the century'. Yet it was only after several other newspapers had been approached, that John Wick, a former SAS Major turned whistleblower, made contact with the "Daily Telegraph" to offer the explosive material.
The Rayner/Winnett book is listed on Amazon:
http://tinyurl.com/ydezoo2
Publication date tomorrow
Google's cache of the Amazon page referred to by idonotbelieveit is interesting:
http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:cONjpgUN0yEJ:www.amazon.co.uk/No-Expenses-Spared-Gordon-Rayner/dp/0593065417+%22No+Expenses+spared%22&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk
Says 05NOV2009 for publication, but hey, if it's explosive then now would be the best time to get it out...
It is 'No Expenses Spared' by Gordon Rayner and Robert Winnett.[Telegraph writers]
Given the timing and obsessive security through the book trade,of the like given to Harry Potter and Dan Brown books, there must be a whopper in there to hit Labour. Watch tomorrows DT/ tonight's Newsnight.
Or maybe, given the DT's political position, it is a Tory scandal, designed to boost the Snot-gobbler.
Excellent news!
Let's hope that Max Clifford has hooked up with a certain AWOL Tongan housekeeper, and we get her serialised story during the Labour Party Conference!
Rumour that Telegraph are have bought the rights... for what its worth.
I'll bet £50 that if the book exists it will be called "Purer Than Pure"
This?
http://www.booksattransworld.co.uk/catalog/book.htm?command=Search&db=twmain.txt&eqisbndata=0593065417
Gordon must be the unluckiest politician ever. But hey, he deserves it.
Excellent word verification, in the run up to the Labour conference: clannism. How does Blogger do it?
Wow. Good research folks. I guess the several references to a publication date of 5th November is a stunt by the publisher. Nice touch.
I wonder if this is in anyway linked to Shreiky Vadera's sudden and unexplained departure from Government? Pre-emptive damage limitation perhaps?
Wild guess:
Author - Geoff Hoon
Title - Dropped on head as baby
Scandal - Labour have lied a lot; Hoon has the proof and is cashing in early.
No Expenses Spared is the riveting inside story of the biggest political scandal to hit Parliament for a generation.
"What the Daily Telegraph did - the simple act of providing information to the public - has triggered the biggest shake-up in our political system for years"
David Cameron Speech to the Tory party
Ah ha! Life is getting interesting again. So looking forward to the Labour Party Conference, the smaller ones have been damp squibs.
It's still on the publishers' website at:
http://www.booksattransworld.co.uk/catalog/book.htm?command=Search&db=twmain.txt&eqisbndata=0593065417
Mind you, it would probably be pretty embarrassing for the Tories too.
Maybe this isn't the book.
It's not 'No Expenses Spared', that book is 384 pages long, numerous sites cite 'UNTITLED POLITICAL BOOK' as being 368 pages long.
It's title is also being kept secret. It appears as 'UNTITLED POLITICAL BOOK' on pickabook:
http://www.pickabook.co.uk/9780593065778.aspx
This is despite there being 708 of them in stock. If the title wasn't embargoed, they would have updated the listing on the website.
Finally, if the title was emargoed, why would the publishers own website name it?
Oh, and the only extra info I can find is that it measures 240mm x 156mm!
It definitely is 'No Expense Spared'.
My book wholesaler rang me yesterday morning about it, but had no details. Having ordered some, it came into my order basket described as 'Untitled Political Book' but cross checking on Amazon - the ISBN came up as 'No Expenses Spared'.
The traditional book trade are pretty obsessive about keeping to embargoes etc; Amazon, frankly, don't give a shit.
My guess though, is that this will be an over-hyped damp squib.
My memoirs are being released.
All those Quangos to settle the maximum height of a phone mast or the thickness of the lines to determine a disabled parking bay. The Helsinki Conference where all the minor backbench politicos of Europe met to decide the exact wording of the 2007 No Smoking signs.
This book delves into every aspect of Quangos {excluding financially sensitive data of course}
Its a riveting read I can tell you.
More guff about expenses?
Be still my beating heart.
Just about any honest book on history, economics, politics would embarrass Labour.
They would have to have very good lawyers and very deep pockets these days to be sure of publishing if it contains truly unpleasant revelations - under Mr Eady, libel has become a rich man's cash take-away in Britain. Political publcations generally don't sell enough to take those sort of risks, which is why the really juicy gossip tends to be in books about dead ones. The much vaunted and hyped Cambell diaries for example contained little that was new and mostly gossip of the anodyne variety.
Remains to see if this turns into something, but I wonder if Dale/Montgomerie are just seeking to get some more spin out of a regurgitation of the expenses scandal? And a courtesy hype for one or two chums on the Torygraph?
Could it be Cherie's?
I found the reference to it here
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/90835-transworld-acquires-telegraph-expenses-title.html
Despairing liberal : Don't get too despairing about Mr. Justice Eadie.
The word is that he has overstepped the mark so far, the legal professional have put his balls in a vice.
As for the mystery tome, it could cover the time since 1997 - but would have to be just volume one of elventy-three volumes.
Interestingly, if you search on the Telegraph web site for
"No Expenses Spared" you get a page with a link saying:
""No Expenses Spared: the inside story of the Telegraph's MPs' ...
24/09/2009 |news"
But if you click on that, you go to
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/6226839/No-Expenses-Spared-the-inside-story-of-the-Telegraphs-MPs-Expenses-investigation.html
Which gives you this:
"Sorry
We cannot find the page you are looking for.
* The page may have been moved, updated or deleted.
* Or you may have typed the web address incorrectly. Please check the address and spelling."
If this is indeed the book, it is hardly going to rock the political establishment, is it?
Unless it has new information about Labour Ministers or the PM this is just a damp squid.
It also brings back the images of the Tories duck houses moats etc
It will overshadow the conference but i think most people will realise its the torygraph doing the tories dirty work.
If it turns out to be No Expenses Spared I can't see how any new scandal will be revealed?
Surely a book raking over the expenses would not just damage Labour? Are you sure this a book serialisation, and not a genuine scoop? How about the fact that Max Clifford has Baroness Scotland’s cleaner and the cleaner’s hubby under his wing? “We didn’t show her anything and she didn’t ask..”
Surely having a Labour scandal Government is enough - without having to buy the book as well.
£12.99 in Smiths
http://www.whsmith.co.uk/CatalogAndSearch/ProductDetails-No+Expenses+Spared+-9780593065556.html
More popcorn!
Old Holborn will reveal the Jury Team candidate for Glasgow North East By Election at 10pm
HERE
Is this one of those New Statesman comps? World's least exciting announcements?
I heard, after the Edwina book came out, that John Major - after leaving a pub late one night - was heard to have said: "I could murder a curry!"
Amazon's Canadian site is listing it.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/6228694/MPs-expenses-how-fury-over-plight-of-our-soldiers-blew-lid-on-claims.html
Trivial so far.
Has iain once again over egged a story !
Is the pope catholic i hear you say
Have men always been such disgraceful bullying gossips?
Who cares, and who has the time to read this latest regurgitated tripe.
Can't some one discusss why the pound is sinking rapidly? Stick to important issues please.
"Gordon must be the unluckiest politician ever. But hey, he deserves it."
He was the luckiest chancellor ever, and didn't deserve it. What goes around comes around.
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