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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The Guardian’s right – the Adonis move is a major coup for
politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The Guardian’s right – the Adonis move is a major coup for Osborne
It has been pointed out very strongly overnight that Lord Adonis has not left the Labour Party. Maybe. But instead of being a Labour peer he will in future sit with the crossbenchers in the House of Lords which is a big move.
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That said, there must be a fair few fifty-something Labour MPs looking at the prospect of doing much more with their lives than being a backbench MP (and likely opposition one at that) rapidly receding over the horizon.....
This will really only be more than window dressing if Adonis gets to deliver on a specific agenda, and as we have seen with the GOATs that can lead to a clash with the government of the day as the talents take a policy view rather than a poliitcal one.
More importantly, however, it will be resented by those passed over on your own side (who, incidentally, will be voting for a new Prime Minister in a couple of years). OGH's OP makes the point Labour luminaries will be weighing up their career prospects. Conservatives will be doing the same.
As an aside, how difficult would it have been in 2010 to stick Lord Aschroft in charge of some overarching new quango along these lines?
So that's what it feels like to be a member of the great Manchester unwashed.
Sad day ...
I've been going on about the need to get future infrastructure requirements in this country sorted for some time: instead of a series of one-of and unconnected projects, we need a national plan that looks at the needs of the nation.
It looks as though this is what Adonis and this independent group will be doing. I haven't read the details, but I assume it is up to them to come up with recommendations, and for the government to decide which of the proposed projects to take forward.
The difference between Ashcroft and Adonis is that Adonis actually has a track record in this area and is, as I have said passim, rather good. He's got deep experience in this area already, and I cannot think of a similarly-skilled Conservative MP.
As an aside, I'd love it if this group looked into the costs of infrastructure as well, although I doubt that will be in their remit.
The appointment of Adonis to the new infrastructure commission shows the chancellor is so confident politically that he is not averse to stealing ideas from Labour. Ed Miliband pledged to establish an almost identical commission in the Labour manifesto for this year’s general election.
This was modelled on the Armitt commission established by Ed Balls in 2012, to examine how to speed up infrastructure projects. John Armitt’s work was undermined the following year when Balls questioned the HS2 project, sending Labour’s northern municipal leaders into the arms of Osborne.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/05/lord-adonis-to-resign-labour-whip-and-chair-george-osbornes-infrastructure-body
With Osborne there is always a political side and this is a blatant grab for the loyalty and support of the Blairites who do not seem to be welcome in the new, new Labour Party. He has also, like his determined chase for Carney, got the best man for the job. Now if he can just find a role for Mandelson the emptying of talent from Labour will be almost complete.
What's the problem in nabbing sensible, popular policies advocated by your political opponents?
The cashflow advantage was completely overwhelmed by the form filling, correspondence and hassle from the least efficient part of government I have ever come across. They repeatedly threatened me with court action for over a year after the money had already been repaid (something their systems simply did not seem capable of tying up with the account) whilst at the same time sending me absurdly long forms inviting me to apply again!
Self employed people could do with a simpler and more predictable system which lets them know where they are. Paying back credits, possibly at a time when your income has dipped again, really doesn't help.
Ironically, given what was happening outside, this conference is looking beyond the converted and trying to attract new supporters – in contrast to last week in Brighton, where Labour preached to the choir. Fringe events and conference stands are not just being run by banks and pearl set sellers (though there are those), but also charities and traditionally left-leaning organisations, who think a conversation is at least worth having. The Conservatives are also launching new campaigns and organisations explicitly aimed at trades unionists and workers. In another contrast to last week, the vast majority of Tory MPs are actually here, whereas many of the best and brightest Labour MPs steered clear of Corbyn’s get together on the beach.
http://theguideconsultancy.com/news.html
Not a desperate surprise. Wasn't Adonis SDP at one point? He was also very close to Roy Jenkins in his later life - not exactly a Corbynist. And he loves trains. HS2 here we come.
The same can be said for many other forms of infrastructure. It's interesting that both energy and housing shall be in the group's remit.
If Adonis is sensible, he will be asking the cities and towns in the Northern Powerhouse and elsewhere what they see as essential infrastructure to enable growth.
For me, Neal Stephenson is the most interesting of those still writing, even if he has never quite reached the heights of Snowcrash again.
1) someone senior is stepping away from Labour
2) the Conservatives are reaching out to work with people in other parties
That's good for the Conservatives on both fronts.
Labour rightwingers need to understand that their only hope of power or influence in the near future is to work with the Conservatives. They will need to decide for themselves whether that is ethically acceptable.
Labour has lost one of its intellectual giants (*). The problem is they have very few intellectual giants left, and the backwards-looking pygmys are taking over the party.
(*) And yes, I was saying this long ago.
What the tories really get out of this is further demolition of the idea that they are some sort of swivel eyed ideologues. As long as they can keep one or two of their membership off the platform they will take another step towards dominating the centre ground.
Before the Zahn novels the merchandise was dwindling, attempts at comics and books were rather unsuccessful (and terrible quality). His books changed that picture and led to where we are today with a potential £3bn movie on the horizon.
Yes, Pete, there has never been anything like this... http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/scotland/article4576302.ece
@blairmcdougall: SNP politician & @bizforscotland founder used Thomson's company fr property deals. But of course no one knew anything http://t.co/k0UUzmTomM
It's odd, to be honest.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/04/tory-cameron-conference-conservatives
I certainly will.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34439965
"The first of which will sound a little bit morbid - some of the people... won't be around to vote against you in the next election. So that's just a practical point, and the other point is they might have forgotten by then."
He added: "If you did it now, chances are that in 2020 someone who has had their winter fuel cut might be thinking, 'Oh I can't remember, was it this government or was it the last one? I'm not quite sure.'"
Mr. Dair, although I've since given them away, I read the Thrawn trilogy a couple of times. Rather nicely done. It's stupid, however, that 'officially' Jar Jar Binks exists in the Star Wars universe and Grand Admiral Thrawn does not.
(and that the news is, like, 20 years old)
@blairmcdougall: SNP politician & @bizforscotland founder used Thomson's company fr property deals. But of course no one knew anything http://t.co/k0UUzmTomM
Well not since we had fantasy week about a pig's head anyway and that was at least a fortnight ago.
And this story is based on fact.
As for the move, well the Graun says it all. "Blair Ally". ie, good riddance: the Labour Party is becoming purer by the day.
Smaller, perhaps, but purer.
He's only 44.
Not since Alexander the Great has someone so young dominated the world like Osborne is doing so now.
The Rogue Squadron mini-series was also a very good addition to the expanded universe.
And of course Matthew Freud. As @DavidL notes, there's Mandy left - and maybe a couple of other Blairites like Blunkett who could be useful.
As was plain during the Labour leadership contest - there's little talent in Labour as is right now, so any big hitters will pre-Gordon clunking career fist.
When Alexander the Great was 33 he cried salt tears because there were no more worlds to conquer. Bristow is only 27.
It is hard for them to back Jez's trident/defence policies.
He was 33 when he became Shadow Chancellor.
And this story is based on fact.
Do you think there might be ramifications from this:
The Law Society and the Crown Office came under heavy fire after it emerged that it took the Law Society four years to hand over evidence of the suspicious deals, which had led to Thomson’s property solicitor Chris Hales being struck off last year.
The Crown Office ordered a police criminal investigation within six days of receiving the Hales dossier in July, suggesting it was deeply alarmed by the case.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/04/scotland-legal-bodies-to-discuss-mp-michelle-thomson-suspicious-property-deals
Or nothing more than sloppy paperwork/follow through?
Especially as the studio behind the prequel trilogy was Lucasfilm...
For your second point though: tell me one Conservative who has Adonis's track record with infrastructure? The last was probably Heseltine.
"Smaller, perhaps, but purer."
Indeed, Mr Topping, they are turning in a younger and smaller brother of the SWP.
near Piccadilly Train Station
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Then the Crown Office - a department of the Scottish Government - intimated the matter to the police for investigation in 6 days by which time the individual WAS a member of the SNP and indeed an MP.
But somehow there is an SNP conspiracy and all the fault of the Scottish Government for delays?
The funny thing is there is a genuine damaging story here - it's just not related to legal matters. Having a candidate involved in distress purchase property market doesn't fit in with the SNP. That's the story but it's not being told to the public with this concentration on conspiracies most of the tin foil hat brigade would think are ridiculously brittle.
Nicola swerved it
10.30am: Economy debate, Sajid Javid, the business secretary, John Whittingdale, the culture secretary, and Patrick McLoughlin, the transport secretary.
11.45am: George Osborne.
2.30pm: Amber Rudd, the energy secretary, Greg Clark, the communities secretary, and Liz Truss, the environment secretary.
But presumably there was a gap between the events occuring and being reported (hence the news is less than 31 years old...)
The survey finds the Chancellor on 32 per cent, a single point down his rating last month. Fifteen points behind him is Sajid Javid on 17 per cent – again a point down on his September rating. Theresa May is third in the poll, unchanged on 15 per cent.
Boris Johnson is up two points to 14 per cent, and up a place in the poll to fourth. Liam Fox is fifth, down a point to 12 per cent. Then come Michael Gove on 6 per cent, Jeremy Hunt on 2 per cent and Nicky Morgan, who declared leadership aspirations last week, on 1 per cent.
http://bit.ly/1L0Ygvj
It's like Murdoch, isn't it? When someone's supporting Labour, they're brilliant. The moment they dare to move away from the Labour fold (even if the Labour fold moves away from them), they have the full wrath of the party descend on them.
It's ridiculous. Labour have lost one of their best minds, and they'd be better off asking themselves why Adonis has been replaced with the flaccid intellectual mediocrity of Corbyn and McDonnell.
It emerged that Kirkwood was, with her husband and fellow solicitor Paul Kirkwood, a founder of the pro-independence campaign Lawyers for Yes, and as an active nationalist had attended dinners for Thomson’s pro-independence campaign Business for Scotland. Kirkwood had also “liked” Thomson on her Facebook page.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/01/law-society-of-scotland-under-pressure-over-mps-suspected-mortgage
45% of Scotland votes Yes, the idea that they are all involved in some grand conspiracy against the Quislings who delayed Scottish Independence is a complete nonsense.
https://twitter.com/eyespymp/status/650931862077095936
Dreadful, dreadful paper....
Edited extra bit: more to the point, years ago there was a story about a young lad who invented a way to make them biodegradable.
I've turned off the Osborne intv.