This afternoon and evening I am chairing panels to decide who should be included in this year's Daily Telegraph Top 100 Influential People on the Left, the Top 100 Influential People on the Right and the Top 50 Influential Liberal Democrats. We'll be at it until 9pm tonight and also tomorrow evening.
We'd be happy to consider any nominations you might have for inclusion. Don't bother suggesting obvious candidates as we'll have hopefully thought of them already, but please do suggest anyone for the three categories who you think we might have inadvertently ignored.
56 comments:
50 most influential Lib Dems?!? Nick Clegg's mum, dad, teacher, mechanic, local newsagent, guy he bought a kettle off in 1986...err...
No nationalists? They do form a Government.
Iain, I'd be more exercised if it was a list of the top 100 socialists who deserve to be strung up from the nearest lamp-post.
john in cheshire
Most influential
Left Wing = BBC
Liberal = You can't influence sitting on a fence
Right Wing = Ron Paul
Libertarian = Guido
your use of "We'll be at it until 9pm tonight and also tomorrow evening." was a bit mischieveous.
Neal Lawson, if I dont agree with him all the time (i am a compass member BTW), he is a strong voice within the left.
Adam Price MP - Adam is the next generation of Welsh politician and voice of the left.
Dr Helen Szamuely
Daniel Hannan
David Davis
Douglas Carswell
Ann Widdicomb
Tim Mongomerie
George Galloway
Jenny Willott
Tony Benn
Jeannie Armstrong (s'ok just seeing how it would look)
Stuart Wheeler had quite an impact behind-the-scenes when he swithed to UKIP/was expelled by the Conservatives during the European Election.
Top influential person on the Right - Fraser Nelson.
He has actually told Brown he is a liar at one of his press conferences and in so doing exposed the complicity of the Lobby.
He single handedly shot down Browns '10% Tory cuts' lie in flames.
There are no influential people on the Left and no one knows what the LibDems stand for.
Are you including Nick Griffin on the left ( or right ?) He has surely been exceedingly influential
Why no report on your visit to the great city of Glasgow?
Fifty prominent Lib Dems ?? Now that's a challenge.
Iain, the most obviously influential candidate who may not be in your "obvious" category is a conservative blogger, pundit and broadcaster called Iain Dale. I do hope you are already on the list, as you represent a reasoned view of politics, including a bending-over-backwards approach to be fair to your opponents.
'Scuse the sychophancy !
Alan Douglas
One key nomination should be Peter Davies, elected Mayor of Doncaster. Although labelled an "English Democrat" he clearly espouses views which should place him at the head of any list of popular (and hopefully influential too) members of the "Right".
What about Jeremy Clarkson , I `d say he was influential form a Libertarian point of view and Ian Hislop or what about Frankie Boyle and the new comediens who seem to have left that old default leftiness behind .
I `m thinking laterally here folks.
Fraser Nelson on the right. I know you'll have thought of Nick Griffin, but pretty please put him down as influential on the left. The BNP is Labour-1945 with even more racism than the average Trade Unionist and LAbour minister had in those days.
@Newmania
You beat me to it. I do hope Nick Griffin's counted on the Left where he belongs.
On the right: Michael Portillo
On the left: James Purnell
I wasnt aware their was even 50 liberal democrats they kept that quiet.
I would start off with Vince Cable at the top and Nick Clegg at the bottom
Steve Uncles of the English Democrats Party - the political mastermind behind the Donny Mayor triumph.
Nick Griffin for the left. Even thou he a evel b*gger this year he has been infuential.
On the right: Daniel Hannan
On the left: the Conservative party
Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson have done more to boost the Tory vote than David Cameron and his team.
On the right - Donal Blaney. Nobody has yet (or will in future) train so many young activists to such a high level of ability in campaigning, media skills and philosophy than the Young Britons' Foundation.
I know he's not British but I think it's impossible to leave off Barack Obama from both Left and Right lists.
Both major political parties are desperate to be associated with him, his charisma trencends the atlantic.
He can fit left/right lists because the Democrats are on the left in the USA but in the UK their centre of gravity would be with the Conservatives.
Tim Farron is an up and coming Lib Dem star....He is a hard worker and has a great reputation in the party.
I'd see him as the next LD leader. He is loved in a conservative seat. He really is one to watch
Alan, you are such a kiss-arse! And I agree with Anonymous at 4:12's choices, Fraser Nelson is also a good shout Trevor. Hopefully his move upstairs in the Speccy won't stop his excellent analysis, especially on economic matters.
Right - Matthew Parris
Left - Johann Hari
My list of influential Liberal Democrats:
I think General Dannatt has been very influential in the last year, pushing a non-political agenda that's been broadly adopted by the Right who have now largely made it "theirs" and are gaining traction with it within the political domain. (I expect he'd prefer not to be labelled "Right" though - from my knowledge of him only a few years ago as my Brigade Commander he very firmly rejected any political flavour to military decision making, while transparently seeming to be a natural one-nation Tory).
Left:
Ieuan Wyn Jones. Deputy first leader of wales and minister for the economy and transport and leader of plaid cymru having entered government for the first time ever
On LibDems,consider outriders and the awkward squad rather than just boring appartchiks and committee people. Charlotte Gore and Mark Littlewood are libbo righties. James Graham is a liberal lefty.
Iain
Have you thought of outgoing Bishop of Rochester Michael Nazir-Ali for his views on Islam/ integration/ marriage/ gay rights etc?
I don't know if he'd class himself as being 'on the right' but don't think he'd fit any other category.
Look forward to reading the lists.
James
Stephen Greenhalgh, leader of Hammersmith Council. The "new Eddie Lister"!
On the port side - President Mandelson
on the right, The Labour party
Lynne Featherstone was pretty shit hot over Baby P.
On the Lib Dem side I definitely agree with the comment earlier about Tim Farron. He's a great Northern Liberal who will surely hold his seat in the Lake District with an increased majority.
Ed Fordham is one to make the list if he isn't already in your sights. Not yet an MP but surely favourite to win Hampstead and Kilburn at the General Election and one of the most effective and organised campaigners in the LDs.
Pete Pattison in Lewisham East one to watch too.
Ok if we are going really oddball on this I've one or two more..Archbishops of Canterbury and York who have influenced the whole Church of England politically by stopping Holy Communion solely on Christian hating liarbliar Governments advice to.
You don't get more politically influencial than these two with this decision...they really are playing into Liarbliars hands and helping progress Orwells nightmare.
As a lib dem its got to be tim farron and willie rennie.
Remember Scotland.
There are some influential leaders in the Scottish Parliament: notably the Maximum Eck himself (leftish), Annabel Goldie for the Tories (right) and Patrick Harvie for the Greens (left).
The two opposition names there are the two who "get" minority government, and both have influenced the Government agenda, albeit not as much as either would like.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats not so much - I can't think of a thing they've achieved since 2007.
Eric Pickles, Michael Gove, Steve Hilton, Andy Coulson... Jon Huntsman, Bobby Jindal, Sarah Palin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, John McCain, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove... Nicolas Sarkozy, Francois Fillon...
Peter Mandelson, Harriet Harman, Frank Field, John Prescott, Alastair Campbell... Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Michael Bloomberg, Jon Stewart, Brian Schweitzer, Bill Richardson...
Vince Cable, Charles Kennedy, Lord Rennard...
for the right
danny finkelstein
jonathan sacks
Mark Pritchard, Conservative MP for The Wrekin.
Though I am not a Conservative, I have to say that Mark Pritchard is a hard-working constituency MP and, I believe, a man of influence on the right. Well, on the soft right, if you see what I mean.
On the left: Charlie Brooker. He has inspired a young generation of non-political 'liberals' to critically assess orthodox establishment ideas through his cynical, yet witty, demeanor.
On the right: The Cabinet. They have gone out of their way to save capitalism and the free market and to prevent the left from forming any genuine popular movement to call for "people before profit."
Newmania: What about Frankie Boyle and the new comediens who seem to have left that old default leftiness behind.
Not really; they're just cravenly, and unimaginatively, going where majority opinion goes. Majority opinion happens to be right, but let's not give credit where it's not due. Sarah Palin is still the woman it's ok to slag off, and Obama's still Little Tin Jesus. This evening, I've been watching Boyle's live DVD - largely wonderfully, hilariously tasteless, but then out of nowhere: "I've got an analogy. Palestine [sic] is a cake, and it's being punched by an angry Jew.' That's historically ignorant and antisemitic. (I know, tautology.)
Baron Martin of Springburn?
For the left, how about Jill Evans, three-term Plaid Cymru MEP and now First Vice President of the Green / European Free Alliance group (bigger than the Tories') in the European parliament working closely with Danny Cohn-Bendit. The 'Left' ain't just Labour, if they are at all.
Very influential in environmental legislation and not part of the London-centric set in this devolved UK. Got the 4 Welsh MEPs to work together after Lady Glenys' veto was removed.
For Lib Dems, how about Hilary Stephenson, who is now Head of Campaigns - Chris Rennard's old power base.
Ros Scott, Party President, and the person who sacked Rennard.
I can't understand why you and others would spend your time compiling such lists, or why anyone would want to read them. Isn't it incredibly self absorbed behaviour among the 'political classes' or whatever the portmanteau term is? It remionds me of when groups of student pols sat in bars discussing who was the most 'sound'.
Perhaps Lord Toby Harris has and is gaining more influence because of his pressure over IT and Interwebby stuff:
eg http://www.lordtobyharris.org.uk/category/information-security/
From the right:
Wat Tyler of Burning our Money (aka Mike Denham of the Taxpayers' Alliance)
The most widely read and influential economics blog in the UK. Influential at the highest level in politics
John
No Plaid or SNP? Both are in Government unlike the Tories and LibDems.
I suppose Lord Ashcroft has been by far the most influencial right wing figure.
Pretty single minded and seized the last moment to resurrect the Tory party's chances of survival.
Without his concentration on marginal seats Labour would be favourites for the next election.
The question is whether, should Cameron win, he will seek influence over the choice of his successor when the first "crisis" - real or imagined - wooflies the Tory backbenches?
Still, there are still up to 8/9 months to next June, and those events may not arise.
Peter Davies - Mayor of Doncaster
Hmmm. Tim Farron. Spouts populist drivel. Nice guy unless you happen to be gay.
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