tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post428073028181617877..comments2024-03-04T17:54:32.559+00:00Comments on Iain Dale's Diary: The Very Worst Kind of Gesture PoliticsIain Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-37587906683446350042009-09-24T16:00:10.072+01:002009-09-24T16:00:10.072+01:00At least Matthew Taylor his put forward a coherent...At least Matthew Taylor his put forward a coherent argument for his reasoning which makes sense. Surely a first in Liberal Democrat Conference week. Hee! Hee! Hee!Sir Edward Heathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10015408685370714759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-52969372743154232852009-09-24T12:25:36.114+01:002009-09-24T12:25:36.114+01:00The Grim Reaper has a point re Ashcroft's tax....The Grim Reaper has a point re Ashcroft's tax.<br /><br />Laidlaw, in deciding not to donate any more, reputedly was concerned that he would have been liable for £50m and he is not quite a billionaire I gather, unlike Ashcroft, who is.<br /><br />As Ashcroft has been bankrolling the Tories in marginals for a fair few years now, David Cameron deciding, unlike Michael Howard, that Ashcroft knows best, this funding may become the object of some inquiry at some point anyway.<br /><br />Might be best sorted in advance . . . <br /><br />In Belize demonstrators take his name in vain already I gather.Quietzapplehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15422598703061456846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-67481628829992168442009-09-24T08:01:16.609+01:002009-09-24T08:01:16.609+01:00As a user of PH, can I say the PH panel was useles...As a user of PH, can I say the PH panel was useless and invariably got it wrong. Perhaps the new editor could put together a panel who represent the people of GB. One whose members have the passion and forsight to help find a way out of this land of dishonesty, social injustice, and bigotry created by the left. <br /><br />Look at them all on here turning up their nose at 'lack of independence', 'people making profits', 'political bias'. My God, a panel of hypocrits. <br /><br />After the way the Labour Party has spent the last 12 years turning the media into a propoganda tool, to puff up their own evil deeds and slander their opponents - helped by those who now cry for independence!!<br /><br />Accept it guys, you are losers, you've had your chance and you've failed miserably -you are a warning to generations to come. You'll be held up as an example in the same way as the Nazi's. We, the general public, have got your measure. Flounce off and good riddance - may your charity work reap you the rewards you so richly deserve!!!Rosenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-26899034589017984602009-09-24T00:43:52.424+01:002009-09-24T00:43:52.424+01:00Ashcroft's got his fingers in an awful lot of ...Ashcroft's got his fingers in an awful lot of pies these days, hasn't he?<br /><br />Perhaps Iain, you can ask your friend to finally answer the question of whether he pays tax in this country. Publish the answer exclusively on your blog or over on Total Politics - it would be quite a scoop, wouldn't it?The Grim Reaperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05543130733645367498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-27925473417609928762009-09-23T23:33:26.066+01:002009-09-23T23:33:26.066+01:00Thanks for the responses. But I have never claimed...Thanks for the responses. But I have never claimed to be an independent voice. I was invited to be a left-liberal voice on a balanced panel by people who I trusted to help maintain that balance, who now say they would advise others that they don't have that confidence.<br /><br />I remain interested in genuine cross-party debate -- and do often try to encourage that. I went to Bournemouth to debate with LibDems. Iain Dale will speak on a Fabian/Observer Question Time debate on Sunday to kick off the confeence. Gaby Hinsliff is chairing it, and it will be clear where everyone is coming from. Later in the week, we will have Tim Montgomerie, Phillip Blond and Fraser Nelson debating "who are the real Conservatives" with Polly Toynbee and my Fabian colleague Tim Horton. Both Tim and Phillip have written for our conference magazine, to help inform our members on which Tory arguments are shaping their internal debates. <br /><br />That is different to whether I want to remain involved in (even in a small way), and to help to promote something when the good guarantees of its independence and integrity, that were in place, have gone.<br /><br />When <a href="http://assinder.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/goodbye-to-politicshome/" rel="nofollow">Nick Assinder writes</a> that it seems a v.different case to working for the Mail and Express for many years, the problem of journalistic integrity is enough for me to get out. <br /><br />On the whole, there is too much focus on how is the left responding, and too little on that ? of journalistic integrity. (If Peter Mandelson had a 57% stake, I hope Assinder and Rawnsley would have thought similarly).<br /><br />The more important political question is what this new online strategy on the right is about, and what the new Ashcroft movement will be trying to achieve. There is an informative, intelligent and non-whingey <a href="http://www.labourlist.org/ashcroft-capital-injection-conservative-home-means-jag-singh" rel="nofollow">Jag Singh piece</a> on LabourList about that.Sunder Katwalahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06671411534003530927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-64521776042393504612009-09-23T22:44:03.686+01:002009-09-23T22:44:03.686+01:00Well, I guess there are now some vacancies on the ...Well, I guess there are now some vacancies on the "panel". <br />I wouldn't mind getting involved.<br />How does one apply?NoOffenceAlannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-12368448799458029452009-09-23T20:41:11.382+01:002009-09-23T20:41:11.382+01:00My position is similar to Sunder's. I only joi...My position is similar to Sunder's. I only joined the panel because friends asked me. Those friends - who I assume know a lot more than I do about what is going on have now withdrawn. I have no problem about writing for Conservatives (I have just written a long piece for Crossbow). I also recently appeared at a commercial event organised by Conservative Home (it seemed interesting and I respect Tim M). But I don't really have the inclination to spend a few minutes every day indirectly helping Michael Ashcroft make money which he can then spend trying to influence British politics. And in as much as the panel does contribute to political insight I don't feel particularly keen to provide this to a business which now seems so closely aligned with one Party. <br /><br />It's a matter of where I want to put my energies. The panel no longer feels like a useful commitment.matthew taylornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-16812935581091336392009-09-23T19:45:10.223+01:002009-09-23T19:45:10.223+01:00"Sunder Katwala has been General Secretary of..."Sunder Katwala has been General Secretary of the Fabian Society since October 2003. He joined the Fabian staff from The Observer where he was a leader writer and internet editor, as well as editor of The Observer’s 2001 election guide. He was previously founding Research Director of The Foreign Policy Centre (1999 - 2001), where he wrote research reports including Reinventing the Commonwealth (1999) and Democratising Global Sport (2000) and was Commissioning Editor for Politics and Economics at Macmillan (1995-1999). Sunder is a regular contributor to broadcast and print media on British and international politics. His research interests include citizenship and British identity, the European Union, foreign policy and globalisation, and the future of Labour and progressive politics more generally."<br /><br />So, when he is getting a proper job? I mean, he left university years ago. Surely his parents will be getting worried by now - or did they help him get all these "jobs"?<br /><br />Hee! Hee! Hee!Sir Edward Heathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10015408685370714759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-71159760631261985932009-09-23T19:39:28.917+01:002009-09-23T19:39:28.917+01:00I liked the tales of Lord Cashcroft's charity ...I liked the tales of Lord Cashcroft's charity work.<br /><br />I gather Lord Laidlaw, a Monaco resident, who was likewise required to live in and pay tax in the Uk has ceased donations to the Tories because he felt his foreign residency embarrassed David Cameron. It has been illegal for a fair while to take party political donations from abroad, and those ennobled are supposed to live here too I believe.<br /><br />David Cameron requested assurances from Lord Ashcroft that he fulfills the terms of his ennoblement some way back I understand.<br /><br />The sound rationale behind such requirements is that those who play a key role in our politics should share our interests, which those who live abroad, pay tax abroad, are a bit short on. <br /><br />The biggest players on the Conservative side aren't British in the most meaningful sense. They aren't just expats, they are foreign powers with influence they should be denied.Quietzapplehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15422598703061456846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-3382647011788392522009-09-23T19:07:49.758+01:002009-09-23T19:07:49.758+01:00Thanks Pete!
I thought that might be the case.Thanks Pete!<br />I thought that might be the case.Franknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-13686275043405442252009-09-23T18:46:30.787+01:002009-09-23T18:46:30.787+01:00One gripe however, why do I always end up in the A...One gripe however, why do I always end up in the American edition first?<br /><br />'Cos your not in the UK- happens to me when I'm abroad...Petehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02523286791950565630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-35753227390790994612009-09-23T18:09:16.109+01:002009-09-23T18:09:16.109+01:00In answer to Strapworld, earlier.
Sunder Katwala ...In answer to Strapworld, earlier.<br /><br />Sunder Katwala has been General Secretary of the Fabian Society since October 2003. He joined the Fabian staff from The Observer where he was a leader writer and internet editor, as well as editor of The Observer’s 2001 election guide. He was previously founding Research Director of The Foreign Policy Centre (1999 - 2001), where he wrote research reports including Reinventing the Commonwealth (1999) and Democratising Global Sport (2000) and was Commissioning Editor for Politics and Economics at Macmillan (1995-1999).<br /><br />Sunder is a regular contributor to broadcast and print media on British and international politics. His research interests include citizenship and British identity, the European Union, foreign policy and globalisation, and the future of Labour and progressive politics more generally.<br /><br />SO a truly independent observer HE AINT!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-25093640917781125842009-09-23T17:42:10.448+01:002009-09-23T17:42:10.448+01:00It matters to me not a jot who owns politics home....It matters to me not a jot who owns politics home. I use it several times a day, but only for its live blog feed, and the selection of newspaper articles; as a I'm reasonably certain most people do. The content provided by the panel of insiders is of no interest whatsoever. <br />Incidentally I have no axe to grind. I could not be further from the "Westminster bubble", since I'm disenfranchised having lived in Germany for more than 30 years.<br /><br /><br />One gripe however, why do I always end up in the American edition first?Franknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-33441217834368020342009-09-23T16:53:51.605+01:002009-09-23T16:53:51.605+01:00@ Sunder Katwala
And your definition of 'inde...@ Sunder Katwala<br /><br />And your definition of 'independence' is?<br /><br />No one is truly independent - and that particularly applies to journalism and journalists.<br /><br />I would trust a journalist only whilst I could clearly see him/her across the sights of a twelve-bore.Unsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08307116169498533047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-57239008476609589532009-09-23T13:50:18.916+01:002009-09-23T13:50:18.916+01:00Nick Assinder has resigned from the Politics Home ...Nick Assinder has resigned from the Politics Home board this morning. Assinder was the founding news editor and then lobby correspondent, and his presence on the board was being invoked yesterday afternoon as a sign that independence was still guaranteed in the PolHome statement.<br /><br />Assinder has had a long career with the BBC, Express and Mail. His presence alongside Rawnsley’s helped to establish its reputation for professionalism and engagement across the spectrum. And he is nobody’s patsy.<br /><br />So I agree with Tom Harris that this should not be a Labour-Tory fight. And the “don’t be such stupid lefties” objection does not address a fundamental point about independence and trust, which is that it is now clear that the professional journalists and independent voices who were convinced of its political independence in the past are not confident this will remain in the future.<br /><br />Clearly, the site’s reputation depends on dealing with this challenge. <br /><br />PS: Red Rag, etc - of course that was wrong. As soon as it happened, Tom and others were v.clear about what we thought. I was among those to make clear that it made Derek Draper continuing at LabourList impossible and unviable - and several of us made clear we couldn't contribute to it unless and until he stepped down, and then returned to it when its new editor made clear it would be different, as I think it has been.Sunder Katwalahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06671411534003530927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-57834717884767391332009-09-23T13:37:59.617+01:002009-09-23T13:37:59.617+01:00It's all just good old Labour 'chip on the...It's all just good old Labour 'chip on the shoulder' politics. They hate Ashcroft with a vengeance for the money he donates to the Tory party (and the success he generates for them).<br /><br />BTW I don't think I have ever seen an article by Rawnsley which wasn't tinged with left wing bias...Petehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02523286791950565630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-60761606430464633702009-09-23T13:15:33.635+01:002009-09-23T13:15:33.635+01:00Rawnsley is a brilliant journalist and widely resp...Rawnsley is a brilliant journalist and widely respected across all parties but let's not kid ourselves. He is also a Leftie, albeit with the journalistic nous and skill to keep it out of his factual reporting, if not his more subtle opinion pieces.<br /><br />The Fabians and their fellow travellers think he's 'sensible' and 'balanced' <b>because</b> he's a Leftie like themselves, like TaylorM, like ClarkeC. They are their own (and only acceptable) benchmark for 'balance', just like the BBC group-thinkers. Rawnsley's a lot cleverer than they are. Or I thought he was.<br /><br />To be to the right of this lot is the only evidence they need that you are a Bad Person. (Seriously - an objectively bad, or at least deluded, person.) <br /><br />To be associated in any way with anyone who works for the Conservative Party is to touch pitch. Ashcroft is the archetype, the antiChrist, their chief target, the Worst Person in the Whole World. 'Argh! Where's the garlic?! Everyone grab a stake!' <br /><br />For any one of them to be seen by their peers to associate with Ashcroft means political perdition. They behave like lemmings because they have been trained to adhere to the approved group-think. It is the Socialist Way.<br /><br />Pathetic. And frightening.Prodicushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024865482933469271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-3223675196249782332009-09-23T12:59:03.812+01:002009-09-23T12:59:03.812+01:00Will Lord Ashcroft influence Tory websites?
Oh, ...Will Lord Ashcroft influence Tory websites? <br /><br />Oh, heavens no. Do you take us Chinese sympathisers to be so ignorant?<br /><br />Does old Rupert call the shots on SKY NEWS?<br /><br />Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!<br /><br />You are all insependent of mind and thought, and we all love you for it.<br /><br />For those who are about to be Osborned (poor,taxed and shafted), we salute you.Gary Elsby stokenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-30037820736913393342009-09-23T12:46:17.932+01:002009-09-23T12:46:17.932+01:00Tom
Forgive me but I cannot but recall a recent a...Tom<br /><br />Forgive me but I cannot but recall a recent attempt by party members backed (we suspect) by union monies to set up a covert site to smear conservatives.<br /><br />Your fundamental problem is that you have lost the battle of ideas and people are deserting you, whittling away the critical mass that makes some sites and things viable.<br /><br />If as a political movement you want to fix that then I suggest you:<br /><br />1 apologise for wrecking the economy and public finances <br />2 call an election<br />3 go cheerfully into opposition<br />4 ditch the great leader and the deadwood <br />5 find a new purpose in lifeCynichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04852867933348403214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-70988615551227481972009-09-23T12:38:08.844+01:002009-09-23T12:38:08.844+01:00@Madasfish
>>Guilt by association.
After a...@Madasfish<br /><br />>>Guilt by association.<br /><br />After all, there's going to be a lovely bout of post election back biting and any taint of supporting the Conservatives - however unjustified - will hurt.<<<br /><br />Alex Hilton's extraordinary business relationship with Paul Staines et al being a key case in point.Swatchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-52893319783531134982009-09-23T12:30:18.842+01:002009-09-23T12:30:18.842+01:00This current crop of lefties have done very very l...This current crop of lefties have done very very little for the sake of 'principle'. They are clearly professional in spirit and have been since NuLab was conceived.<br /><br />It is therefore far too much to ask them to believe that somebody might actually be able to maintain neutrality out of some distant alien concept like honour or propriety.<br /><br />In the same way our fragile human minds cannot really grasp the concept of a multi-dimensional universe, these types have no part of their brain open to accommodate concepts of self restraint. Does not compute.<br /><br />Tom Harris's post says it all. Impulse and implication are enough.<br />Why admit you accidentally touched the white ball when you can deny it and avoid the 4 point penalty?Roger Dodgernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-30127012879626364582009-09-23T11:39:08.153+01:002009-09-23T11:39:08.153+01:00@ Tom Harris
So, would you care to comment on the...@ Tom Harris<br /><br />So, would you care to comment on the 'ownership' (and forthcoming ownership) of any left-wing blogs and sites? And perhaps you'd like to consider the blatant use of such sites as 10 Downing Street to promote Labour Party propaganda.<br /><br />Let's not be too damn silly. Ashcroft hasn't done any 'immersing'. He's spent his cash as he chooses - and the Left don't like it, so they're trying to reinterpret the rules to suit their book - a bit like the lovely Baroness Scotland. <br /><br />It's the loonies making comments such as yours who have (deliberately, of course) created this entirely artificial controversy - and it will come <br />back to bite them in a big way. <br /><br />What business is it of yours, anyway? If you really want to start discussions about ownership or funding you're going to have some difficulties, I think. Remember Draper's remarkable 'inability' to reveal his sources of funding?Unsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08307116169498533047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-84715270277259768682009-09-23T11:21:42.327+01:002009-09-23T11:21:42.327+01:00This is just a complete bollox. Why should anyone ...This is just a complete bollox. Why should anyone care about who owns which organ? It's not ownership that matters, it's content.<br /><br />And those who believe that any privately owned or publicly listed journal - or any medium, for that matter - should be neutral are completely barmy. The one body which certainly ought to be neutral is, of course, the publicly funded BBC.<br /><br />I don't give a toss about Ashcroft's ownership. It's utterly irrelevant. Next, these cretins will be wanting to complain about Sainsbury's malign influences no doubt.Unsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08307116169498533047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-55785408255598404692009-09-23T11:10:13.478+01:002009-09-23T11:10:13.478+01:00Tony Sharp: "I wonder if Rawnsley would have ...Tony Sharp: "I wonder if Rawnsley would have still resigned if Geoffrey Robinson had bought the stake Lord Ashcroft has."<br /><br />Who knows? But Geoffrey Robinson isn't the vice-chair of the Labour Party. Now, if Peter Mandelson had bought a 57 per cent share while he was still serving in the government, I expect Andrew's reaction would have been the same. And he would have been right.<br /><br />I hope this is about more than Labour huff verses Tory money; I think Ashcroft has done the blogging world a disservice by buying PoliticsHome and immersing it in controversy needlessly. This is the man, remember, whose specific job is to help the Conservatives win the next election. And he buys a prominent political webite months before that election and we're all expected to shrug our shoulders and pretend that nothing's changed? I don't think so.Tom Harrishttp://www.tomharris.org.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-59577911701996437562009-09-23T10:58:58.017+01:002009-09-23T10:58:58.017+01:00Incidentally, the only thing about Lord Ashcroft i...Incidentally, the only thing about Lord Ashcroft is Labour's campaign of hate against him. The man's done immense good in this country and elsewhere - often with very little praise.<br /><br />If anything he'll be a bonus to PoliticsHomeDisco Biscuitnoreply@blogger.com