On topic: These markets are a trap for the unwary. The mistake the bookies hope you will make is to be seduced by the concept - which may well come up in the speech - but you don't get any points for the concept, only for the exact phrase. So, whilst it's a dead cert that Cameron will say some things like 'tough choices' or 'Labour's economic mess' or 'you can't trust Labour', will he use those exact words? Probably not - he might say 'tough decisions' or 'difficult choices' or 'the mess we inherited' or 'Labour can't be trusted'. So you need first to identify the concept (that's the easy bit, since these things are widely trailed), and then try to figure out whether there are lots of different ways of saying the same thing; if so, avoid.
What does that leave? Thatcher - highly likely, but the odds reflect that, so No Bet. 'Hard working families', hackneyed as it is, was certainly value at the opening 6/4 and probably a reasonable bet at evens. The outstanding value looks to me to be Boris at 2/1: there are no other ways of saying Boris except 'Boris'.
This is the most disturbing PB thread I've ever read. A British politician sees an article he disapproves of in a tabloid newspaper, and the PB Lefties are at once calling for its editor to be 'moved on' and criticism from political opponents to be censored. This is dangerous.
What would you expect from those happy to do the same to Cameron's father, and tar today's Rothermere with the views of an ancestor.
This is the most disturbing Mail "article" I've ever read. A British tabloid newspaper editor writes about a politician's long-dead father he disapproves of, and the PB Nazis are at once calling for his son to be 'moved on' and criticism from political opponents to be censored. This is dangerous.
Labour and the Left are now attempting to push the line that Miliband is a sort of political Mohammed - even to raise what can be interpreted as the mildest of criticisms invites, and will result in, political death. This is a very dark state of affairs.
On balance I don't think it will help Ed's narrative. I can see how on the plus side it makes Ed look like an emotional human being - which is good, albeit in a sad wat- but I think this is outweighed by the reinforced Red Ed image.
When he was standing on that table outside in Brighton taking questions from Labour activists, I wonder if it was planned or just a mighty cat-out-of-bag moment to confirm he was bringing back socialism. I think it was an unplanned cheeky question that he could only answer in the positive... which the Mail has since escalated, and others will use too, even if no one publicly defends the paper. .
I support @Ed_Miliband defending his dad. Politics should be about playing the ball, not the man, certainly not the man's family.
Nor was Cameron's (admittedly uncomfortable) sticking up for little Ed some amusing delusion or fiction from those hysterical PB tories firmly lodged up Dacre's backside.
Labour and the Left are now attempting to push the line that Miliband is a sort of political Mohammed - even to raise what can be interpreted as the mildest of criticisms invites, and will result in, political death. This is a very dark state of affairs.
Labour and the Left are now attempting to push the line that Miliband is a sort of political Mohammed - even to raise what can be interpreted as the mildest of criticisms invites, and will result in, political death. This is a very dark state of affairs.
Yaaaaaaaawwwwwwnnnnn.
Bedtime.
Sleep well, Southam Observer.
It won't be long until the three a.m. knock on the door starts.
Leaving aside the rights and wrongs of it, it's weird that the Mail wants to major for the third day running on their feud, on the day of Cameron's speech - it's gettin g to be stalker behaviour.
On a less contentious note, what do we think Cameron's rabbit will be? - there always is one to pull out the hat. There was a lot of speculation early in the week that a big minimum wage rise was coming, but that doesn't seem an obvious centrepiece for him. Some sort of hardening of tax cut perspectives? A council tax cut?
I can't get worked about this Mail/Milliband spat.
The Mail are a bunch if nasty b*stards.
We know that!
Ed Milliband, inspired by his Marxist father, is a hard left socialist that wants to take Britain back to power cuts, fuel rationing and the empty shelves of the 1970's.
We know that too.
But the sight of Ali Campbell - Someone who lied, smeared and bullied on an industrial scale and who should be in jail if there was any justice - Taking the moral high ground is just too much.
Leaving aside the rights and wrongs of it, it's weird that the Mail wants to major for the third day running on their feud, on the day of Cameron's speech - it's gettin g to be stalker behaviour.
All this controversy and publicity is probably causing The Mail's sales to go through the roof...
This is the most disturbing Mail "article" I've ever read. A British tabloid newspaper editor writes about a politician's long-dead father he disapproves of, and the PB Nazis are at once calling for his son to be 'moved on' and criticism from political opponents to be censored. This is dangerous.
The Mail making such a big push of this so anything Ed M suggests about the press in the future can be discounted as Ed M overreacting to harsh personal stories?
Leaving aside the rights and wrongs of it, it's weird that the Mail wants to major for the third day running on their feud, on the day of Cameron's speech - it's gettin g to be stalker behaviour.
I suspect most Mail readers have hardly noticed the story so far. This will be drip, drip, drip for months.
It marks quite a change - they've been undermining Cameron and Osborne for most of this parliament, quite effectively. They know their readership.
Of course, in the last parliament they were very supportive of Brown.
The Mail making such a big push of this so anything Ed M suggests about the press in the future can be discounted as Ed M overreacting to harsh personal stories?
Yes, that's a good point. Could be that Dacre's pushing Miliband into the strange sphere of the Hacked Off crowd with its theatrical fops and megalomaniac academics - so when Ed rallies to their cause he'll look like just another precious Leftist with a grievance. If so, very shrewd from Dacre and very dim of Ed for not spotting the booby trap.
I disagree, a real fear of Ed Miliband leading an 'Old Labour' style Government rather than as New Labour is about the strongest weapon the Conservatives have been handed to combat disgruntled Conservative voters toying with moving to UKIP. And the fact that its Miliband moving to the left rather than the Conservatives themselves being forced to move to the Right to counter the threat of UKIP is about one of the luckiest breaks Cameron and his team have been handed so far in this Parliament.
It will be interesting to see if the Conservative party sees a membership boost after this Conference season, and particularly from folk who have renewed their membership after letting it lapse over the last year or two.
One other observation. Jeremy Hunt was very impressive today, I would write this guy off as future contender in a Conservative Leadership contest. Its actually a very positive situation for a Governing party to see Minister's upping their game in the hope of being seen as future Leadership contenders.
Got a letter from Boris tonight. Pretty sure I am not the only one but there we are.
What was slightly concerning (apart from yet another request for money) is that it is all about Ed and what he said. Having dominated the news agenda for so much of the summer the tories seem to have lost it entirely since Ed's speech and their conference (so far) is not bringing it back again. This is not healthy, especially for the party actually in office
The Mail making such a big push of this so anything Ed M suggests about the press in the future can be discounted as Ed M overreacting to harsh personal stories?
That certainly worked on Clegg.. no wait, not worked, what's the phrase? Complete and utter failure! That's it.
Leaving aside the rights and wrongs of it, it's weird that the Mail wants to major for the third day running on their feud, on the day of Cameron's speech - it's gettin g to be stalker behaviour.
I suspect most Mail readers have hardly noticed the story so far. This will be drip, drip, drip for months.
It marks quite a change - they've been undermining Cameron and Osborne for most of this parliament, quite effectively. They know their readership.
I think Millibands speech will be seen to be THE key moment of this Parliament.
For the first time since the 1980's Labour is planning to run on a very left-wing, populist platform.
The cozy, safe Torylite Labour Party of the Blair and Brown years is gone.
There is going to be a hell of a lot at stake between now and the election and I'm pretty sure we'll find a LOT of the support the went from Con to UKIP drifting back to Con as people realise what an extreme socialist Milliband is.
And your right, what The Mail is doing is just the start of the stake's being ratcheted up and up between now and 2015, but we can rest assured The Mirror and Guardian will become just as intense - Where all this will leave the Lib-Dems I don't know...
This is the most disturbing PB thread I've ever read. A British politician sees an article he disapproves of in a tabloid newspaper, and the PB Lefties are at once calling for its editor to be 'moved on' and criticism from political opponents to be censored. This is dangerous.
The totalitarian tendencies of the Labour Party under its neo-Marxist leader are truly frightening.
Land confiscation - centrally planned price controls - poiltical intervention into press freedoms.
Where next? Buckingham Palace to be seized and used as London's Lubyanka?
This is the most disturbing PB thread I've ever read. A British politician sees an article he disapproves of in a tabloid newspaper, and the PB Lefties are at once calling for its editor to be 'moved on' and criticism from political opponents to be censored. This is dangerous.
The totalitarian tendencies of the Labour Party under its neo-Marxist leader are truly frightening.
Land confiscation - centrally planned price controls - poiltical intervention into press freedoms.
Where next? Buckingham Palace to be seized and used as London's Lubyanka?
Leaving aside the rights and wrongs of it, it's weird that the Mail wants to major for the third day running on their feud, on the day of Cameron's speech - it's gettin g to be stalker behaviour.
I suspect most Mail readers have hardly noticed the story so far. This will be drip, drip, drip for months.
It marks quite a change - they've been undermining Cameron and Osborne for most of this parliament, quite effectively. They know their readership.
I think Millibands speech will be seen to be THE key moment of this Parliament.
For the first time since the 1980's Labour is planning to run on a very left-wing, populist platform.
The cozy, safe Torylite Labour Party of the Blair and Brown years is gone.
There is going to be a hell of a lot at stake between now and the election and I'm pretty sure we'll find a LOT of the support the went from Con to UKIP drifting back to Con as people realise what an extreme socialist Milliband is.
And your right, what The Mail is doing is just the start of the stake's being ratcheted up and up between now and 2015, but we can rest assured The Mirror and Guardian will become just as intense - Where all this will leave the Lib-Dems I don't know...
I suspect most Mail readers have hardly noticed the story so far. This will be drip, drip, drip for months.
It marks quite a change - they've been undermining Cameron and Osborne for most of this parliament, quite effectively. They know their readership.
LOL
Remember you said that when Dacre turns his guns on Cammie again. As he inevitably will. What is more Cameron knows it as was clear from his nervous defence of little Ed today.
Leaving aside the rights and wrongs of it, it's weird that the Mail wants to major for the third day running on their feud, on the day of Cameron's speech - it's gettin g to be stalker behaviour.
I suspect most Mail readers have hardly noticed the story so far. This will be drip, drip, drip for months.
It marks quite a change - they've been undermining Cameron and Osborne for most of this parliament, quite effectively. They know their readership.
I think Millibands speech will be seen to be THE key moment of this Parliament.
For the first time since the 1980's Labour is planning to run on a very left-wing, populist platform.
The cozy, safe Torylite Labour Party of the Blair and Brown years is gone.
There is going to be a hell of a lot at stake between now and the election and I'm pretty sure we'll find a LOT of the support the went from Con to UKIP drifting back to Con as people realise what an extreme socialist Milliband is.
And your right, what The Mail is doing is just the start of the stake's being ratcheted up and up between now and 2015, but we can rest assured The Mirror and Guardian will become just as intense - Where all this will leave the Lib-Dems I don't know...
Labour ran on populist platforms in the 80s?
Well no, it wasn't popular in the 80's because everyone remembered what a disaster socialism had been in 1970's.
Things like price controls are much more popular now because memories fade with time and millions of voters weren't even born in the 1970's.
Leaving aside the rights and wrongs of it, it's weird that the Mail wants to major for the third day running on their feud, on the day of Cameron's speech - it's gettin g to be stalker behaviour.
I suspect most Mail readers have hardly noticed the story so far. This will be drip, drip, drip for months.
It marks quite a change - they've been undermining Cameron and Osborne for most of this parliament, quite effectively. They know their readership.
I think Millibands speech will be seen to be THE key moment of this Parliament.
For the first time since the 1980's Labour is planning to run on a very left-wing, populist platform.
The cozy, safe Torylite Labour Party of the Blair and Brown years is gone.
There is going to be a hell of a lot at stake between now and the election and I'm pretty sure we'll find a LOT of the support the went from Con to UKIP drifting back to Con as people realise what an extreme socialist Milliband is.
And your right, what The Mail is doing is just the start of the stake's being ratcheted up and up between now and 2015, but we can rest assured The Mirror and Guardian will become just as intense - Where all this will leave the Lib-Dems I don't know...
Labour ran on populist platforms in the 80s?
Well know, it wasn't popular in the 80's because everyone remembered what a disaster socialism had been in 1970's.
Things like price controls are much more popular now because memories fade with time and millions of voters weren't even born in the 1970's.
Leaving aside the rights and wrongs of it, it's weird that the Mail wants to major for the third day running on their feud, on the day of Cameron's speech - it's gettin g to be stalker behaviour.
I suspect most Mail readers have hardly noticed the story so far. This will be drip, drip, drip for months.
It marks quite a change - they've been undermining Cameron and Osborne for most of this parliament, quite effectively. They know their readership.
I think Millibands speech will be seen to be THE key moment of this Parliament.
For the first time since the 1980's Labour is planning to run on a very left-wing, populist platform.
The cozy, safe Torylite Labour Party of the Blair and Brown years is gone.
There is going to be a hell of a lot at stake between now and the election and I'm pretty sure we'll find a LOT of the support the went from Con to UKIP drifting back to Con as people realise what an extreme socialist Milliband is.
And your right, what The Mail is doing is just the start of the stake's being ratcheted up and up between now and 2015, but we can rest assured The Mirror and Guardian will become just as intense - Where all this will leave the Lib-Dems I don't know...
Labour ran on populist platforms in the 80s?
Comrade little Ed will be Kinnocking all the way to the Kremlin what with his vile socialist policies suspiciously similar to that well known arch-communist Red Cameron.
Millions of households will see a fall in their gas and electricity bills after David Cameron said he will force energy companies to give every customer the cheapest possible deal.
Leaving aside the rights and wrongs of it, it's weird that the Mail wants to major for the third day running on their feud, on the day of Cameron's speech - it's gettin g to be stalker behaviour.
I suspect most Mail readers have hardly noticed the story so far. This will be drip, drip, drip for months.
It marks quite a change - they've been undermining Cameron and Osborne for most of this parliament, quite effectively. They know their readership.
I think Millibands speech will be seen to be THE key moment of this Parliament.
For the first time since the 1980's Labour is planning to run on a very left-wing, populist platform.
The cozy, safe Torylite Labour Party of the Blair and Brown years is gone.
There is going to be a hell of a lot at stake between now and the election and I'm pretty sure we'll find a LOT of the support the went from Con to UKIP drifting back to Con as people realise what an extreme socialist Milliband is.
And your right, what The Mail is doing is just the start of the stake's being ratcheted up and up between now and 2015, but we can rest assured The Mirror and Guardian will become just as intense - Where all this will leave the Lib-Dems I don't know...
Labour ran on populist platforms in the 80s?
They THOUGHT they would be popular. As does every political party, selling a manifesto, in an election.
Unless you can point me to a mainstream party that actively tries to be UNpopulist?
Just a meaningless word then? I think that's a bit broad isn't it.
Mainstream no. Although it did bring this to mind.
Comrade little Ed will be Kinnocking all the way to the Kremlin what with his vile socialist policies suspiciously similar to that well known arch-communist Red Cameron.
Millions of households will see a fall in their gas and electricity bills after David Cameron said he will force energy companies to give every customer the cheapest possible deal.
Forcing energy companies to put people of the cheapest tariffs is a completely different scenario to a government setting price controls for energy (or food, oil, water, etc...)
I suspect that Lynton Crosby has been quite relaxed about the US Shutdown/Obama speech vs Ed Miliband row dominating the news the day before David makes his speech. I wonder if Len McCluskey or anyone in the Labour party really understood the significance of the US shut down or Obama's speech which will no doubt focus minds on the UK economy, public sector spending and strikes. Obama went big on the danger of this kind of politically motivated grandstanding holding significant risks for the US economic recovery. Obama even highlighted the US credit downgrade on his watch to highlight his argument as he squared up to his opponents and made it clear he would not back down in the face of their tactics. For me, what is happening in the US this week
Meanwhile, Ed Miliband has picked yet another unnecessary fight with a new foe this week, the Daily Mail. A very bold move during the Conservative Conference, especially after the article was written last Saturday. Miliband was never going to get the Daily Mail on side any more than the Conservatives could persuade the Guardian or the Daily Mirror to support them, so why make it even more personal? I would have ignored the article rather than drawn yet more attention to it in much the same way Cameron ignores most of the crap the Guardian or the Daily Mirror dishes up on him and his family. And even more so because what is happening over in the US is going to dominant the news and highlight the behaviour of his own party in recent years when it comes to voting down all the reforms and austerity measures need to get the UK economy back on track.
I suspect most Mail readers have hardly noticed the story so far. This will be drip, drip, drip for months.
It marks quite a change - they've been undermining Cameron and Osborne for most of this parliament, quite effectively. They know their readership.
LOL
Remember you said that when Dacre turns his guns on Cammie again. As he inevitably will. What is more Cameron knows it as was clear from his nervous defence of little Ed today.
The Mail won't seriously attack Cameron and the Tories between now and 2015. That much is clear from AdolpheMilibandGate.
They will fire off the odd bullet at the Tories, for the sake of appearances, but it will be for show.
With his "bring back Socialism" speech and his avowed commitment to reining in the rightwing press, via Leveson or whatever, Red Ed has made an enemy of the Mail. That's the subtext to this whole kerfuffle.
What is not clear is who will win. Quite a lot of wishy-washy people might nonetheless admire Miliband for standing up tp the paper-they-love-to-hate. Cf Southam today.
Believe what you want but I'll let the Mail's actions in the weeks and months to come to speak for themselves. I know why Dacre's doing this and it sure ain't on any strategy Cammie or Osbrowne dreamed up. That they'll support the tories in 2015 is hardly a shock but nor is it of much consequence.
Nobody seriously gives a shit about Dacre's predictable hysteria and rants anymore, apart from those directly affected. It didn't work at all on Clegg, it won't work on little Ed and it won't work on Cammie. Particularly if it's done through the agency of their family like, say, their parents, wives or children. That time is over. Done. Finished. And it's not coming back.
Leaving aside the rights and wrongs of it, it's weird that the Mail wants to major for the third day running on their feud, on the day of Cameron's speech - it's gettin g to be stalker behaviour.
I suspect most Mail readers have hardly noticed the story so far. This will be drip, drip, drip for months.
It marks quite a change - they've been undermining Cameron and Osborne for most of this parliament, quite effectively. They know their readership.
I think Millibands speech will be seen to be THE key moment of this Parliament.
For the first time since the 1980's Labour is planning to run on a very left-wing, populist platform.
The cozy, safe Torylite Labour Party of the Blair and Brown years is gone.
There is going to be a hell of a lot at stake between now and the election and I'm pretty sure we'll find a LOT of the support the went from Con to UKIP drifting back to Con as people realise what an extreme socialist Milliband is.
And your right, what The Mail is doing is just the start of the stake's being ratcheted up and up between now and 2015, but we can rest assured The Mirror and Guardian will become just as intense - Where all this will leave the Lib-Dems I don't know...
Labour ran on populist platforms in the 80s?
Well know, it wasn't popular in the 80's because everyone remembered what a disaster socialism had been in 1970's.
Things like price controls are much more popular now because memories fade with time and millions of voters weren't even born in the 1970's.
I suspect most Mail readers have hardly noticed the story so far. This will be drip, drip, drip for months.
It marks quite a change - they've been undermining Cameron and Osborne for most of this parliament, quite effectively. They know their readership.
LOL
Remember you said that when Dacre turns his guns on Cammie again. As he inevitably will. What is more Cameron knows it as was clear from his nervous defence of little Ed today.
The Mail won't seriously attack Cameron and the Tories between now and 2015. That much is clear from AdolpheMilibandGate.
They will fire off the odd bullet at the Tories, for the sake of appearances, but it will be for show.
With his "bring back Socialism" speech and his avowed commitment to reining in the rightwing press, via Leveson or whatever, Red Ed has made an enemy of the Mail. That's the subtext to this whole kerfuffle.
What is not clear is who will win. Quite a lot of wishy-washy people might nonetheless admire Miliband for standing up tp the paper-they-love-to-hate. Cf Southam today.
Is that the same Mail that supported the Blackshirts during the 30s?
Comrade little Ed will be Kinnocking all the way to the Kremlin what with his vile socialist policies suspiciously similar to that well known arch-communist Red Cameron.
Millions of households will see a fall in their gas and electricity bills after David Cameron said he will force energy companies to give every customer the cheapest possible deal.
Forcing energy companies to put people of the cheapest tariffs is a completely different scenario to a government setting price controls for energy (or food, oil, water, etc...)
Yes, forcing energy companies to give the cheapest prices is quite clearly nothing like forcing the energy companies to freeze prices. Glad we cleared that one up.
Any words of wisdom on forcing the taxpayer to subsidise mortgages worth up to £600,000 while you're at it?
I suspect that Lynton Crosby has been quite relaxed about the US Shutdown/Obama speech vs Ed Miliband row dominating the news the day before David makes his speech.
You may, but the rest of your lengthy post left me none the wiser as to why you might think that.
Nonsense in Crocs. If anything the Mail's influence has grown as other papers have fallen away, especially online. Recall it is the most visited newspaper website in the world. Not in the UK. In the world.
I hardly expect anyone working with the press to admit the truth about just how high a regard the public holds them in or indeed just how much their influence is diminishing by. The ubiquity of tedious Alan Partridge style clickbait is amusing but a fairly obvious sign of desperation in an online tabloid world dominated by celeb nipslips and gossip.
I see you too know nothing of Rothermere's online plans. No matter. You will find them much to your liking as a competitor. Unless you're angling for a job at the Mail of course. In which case you need to turn up the clickbait to include celebs more often.
Bang on the money with that point! If the Labour party wants to take the moral high ground in defence of any individual in that party on absolutely any issue, do not ever put Alastair Campbell or Peter Mandelson out to bat for you.
Alastair Campbell came across yet again as someone who was prepared to jump on any bandwagon to settle old scores, indeed he boasted about it. Ed Miliband has been all over our news channels today talking about his spate with the Mail over his father's political legacy, it should have been either Ed or David Miliband who responded to the Mail on Newsnight and no one else. But when you let Alastair Campbell wade into fight your personal battles so he can stroke his ego to settle old scores with the Mail in this way, it undermines Ed Miliband's complaint and turns the whole thing into political grandstanding of the worst kind.
Anecdote - Back during the last GE campaign. I noted that a couple of voters I knew who were to the left of me political, but not natural Labour supporters specifically highlighting the fact that the mere sight of Campbell or Mandelson on the news was enough to remind them why they couldn't vote Labour despite not being fans of the Conservatives. Indeed, one of them actually said that the more Mandelson appeared in the news, the more it brought home to them just how desperate and politically bankrupt the Labour party had become.
@campbellclaret: after several decades I get the chance to debate the Mail with the Mail. Alas coward bully hypocrite Dacre sends his deputy #Newsnight
Got a letter from Boris tonight. Pretty sure I am not the only one but there we are.
What was slightly concerning (apart from yet another request for money) is that it is all about Ed and what he said. Having dominated the news agenda for so much of the summer the tories seem to have lost it entirely since Ed's speech and their conference (so far) is not bringing it back again. This is not healthy, especially for the party actually in office
The strategy of branding Miliband as weak may need revising
Plan B, brand him as a 1970s Socialist. What's he going to do about that, call a special conference to pick a big, public fight with the unions?
As for your "evidence" that the attack on Clegg failed, remind me what Clegg's ratings are, now?
lol
Remind me how Clegg's vast unpopularity has anything whatsoever to do with Dacre's hilarious Nazi attack on him? Take your time.
LOL indeed.
Rather than the obvious truth that it was the public themselves who wrote him off as toxic, unprincipled and an appendage of the tory party. Something which had nothing at all to do with the press coverage of him from the right-wing papers. Who were after all pretty damn sweet on him once he saved Cameron and the tory party by giving them the power to govern. They might have fallen out since then but that was LONG after the public had made their minds up.
Is Lynton Crosby the architect of this newly formed political bond between Cameron and Johnson ? Andrew Gimson in the Indy - Boris and David are now best friends – but for how long? "Johnson judges, as many Conservatives do, that things could be coming right for Cameron. The economy appears to be recovering, the welfare reforms are popular and Labour’s lead is soft. The Tories believe that by turning to the left, Ed Miliband has blundered. They reckon that as the general election approaches, Ukip voters will return to the Tories in order to avert the danger of Miliband becoming Prime Minister.
These assumptions may turn out to be mistaken. But for the time being, they have rendered Cameron’s position very much stronger. There is no vacancy in 10 Downing Street and Johnson knows he would do himself mortal damage if he were seen trying to create one. In Manchester, he has instead gone out of his way to demonstrate that he is a team player.
The Tory general election campaign in 2010 was a dreadful mess. About four different people were in charge of it, or not in charge of it, and no clear message emerged. Johnson was scarcely deployed: I remember a joint appearance he made with Cameron at Chelsea Royal Hospital which became an amusing, but electorally futile, series of jokes by Johnson at his leader’s expense. Lynton Crosby, who imposed iron discipline on Johnson during his two successful mayoral contests, will be running the Tory campaign in 2015, and will not allow that sort of thing to happen again."
No strategic plan needed by the Conservatives, Ed Miliband publicly branded himself as the man to bring back socialism last week all by himself. And as for the special Conference on the Unions relationship with the Labour party, its now become a face saving exercise after the row that Miliband picked with Unite before the summer. The fact that other Labour affiliated Unions waded into the battle, and the Unite Union hinted at boycotting the Labour Conference meant that Miliband was really forced to capitulate quite quickly.
I think that Len McCluskey happily smiling and applauding in a prominent seat at Miliband's speech during the Labour Conference indicates that the Labour Leader has been busy and successful at smoothing ruffled feathers. And picking a fight with Unite's bingo card of opponents over the last week will not have harmed that cause to make amends with the Union affiliates. So on the issue of a public spate with the Unions, its now become 'move along, nothing to see here as we are all the best of friends'.
Got a letter from Boris tonight. Pretty sure I am not the only one but there we are.
What was slightly concerning (apart from yet another request for money) is that it is all about Ed and what he said. Having dominated the news agenda for so much of the summer the tories seem to have lost it entirely since Ed's speech and their conference (so far) is not bringing it back again. This is not healthy, especially for the party actually in office
The strategy of branding Miliband as weak may need revising
Plan B, brand him as a 1970s Socialist. What's he going to do about that, call a special conference to pick a big, public fight with the unions?
Tom Daley was born on the day that Ralph Miliband died. Will the Daily Mail blame Miliband's death for upsetting Debbie Daley such that she went into labour and gave birth?
Comments
"In politics we should play the ball, not the man, let alone the man's father." Sounds about right to me
What does that leave? Thatcher - highly likely, but the odds reflect that, so No Bet. 'Hard working families', hackneyed as it is, was certainly value at the opening 6/4 and probably a reasonable bet at evens. The outstanding value looks to me to be Boris at 2/1: there are no other ways of saying Boris except 'Boris'.
Hypocrites.
When he was standing on that table outside in Brighton taking questions from Labour activists, I wonder if it was planned or just a mighty cat-out-of-bag moment to confirm he was bringing back socialism. I think it was an unplanned cheeky question that he could only answer in the positive... which the Mail has since escalated, and others will use too, even if no one publicly defends the paper. .
Bedtime.
It won't be long until the three a.m. knock on the door starts.
On a less contentious note, what do we think Cameron's rabbit will be? - there always is one to pull out the hat. There was a lot of speculation early in the week that a big minimum wage rise was coming, but that doesn't seem an obvious centrepiece for him. Some sort of hardening of tax cut perspectives? A council tax cut?
The Mail are a bunch if nasty b*stards.
We know that!
Ed Milliband, inspired by his Marxist father, is a hard left socialist that wants to take Britain back to power cuts, fuel rationing and the empty shelves of the 1970's.
We know that too.
But the sight of Ali Campbell - Someone who lied, smeared and bullied on an industrial scale and who should be in jail if there was any justice - Taking the moral high ground is just too much.
It marks quite a change - they've been undermining Cameron and Osborne for most of this parliament, quite effectively. They know their readership.
Of course, in the last parliament they were very supportive of Brown.
It will be interesting to see if the Conservative party sees a membership boost after this Conference season, and particularly from folk who have renewed their membership after letting it lapse over the last year or two.
One other observation. Jeremy Hunt was very impressive today, I would write this guy off as future contender in a Conservative Leadership contest. Its actually a very positive situation for a Governing party to see Minister's upping their game in the hope of being seen as future Leadership contenders.
For the first time since the 1980's Labour is planning to run on a very left-wing, populist platform.
The cozy, safe Torylite Labour Party of the Blair and Brown years is gone.
There is going to be a hell of a lot at stake between now and the election and I'm pretty sure we'll find a LOT of the support the went from Con to UKIP drifting back to Con as people realise what an extreme socialist Milliband is.
And your right, what The Mail is doing is just the start of the stake's being ratcheted up and up between now and 2015, but we can rest assured The Mirror and Guardian will become just as intense - Where all this will leave the Lib-Dems I don't know...
I am disappointed in you.
We have the Tower of London for that purpose. Ideal for displaying the severed heads of traitors.
Those Ravens are getting peckish....
Remember you said that when Dacre turns his guns on Cammie again. As he inevitably will.
What is more Cameron knows it as was clear from his nervous defence of little Ed today.
Things like price controls are much more popular now because memories fade with time and millions of voters weren't even born in the 1970's.
Wait, am allowed to speak that way of the dead?
Mainstream no. Although it did bring this to mind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOuumGX-6uc
Forcing energy companies to put people of the cheapest tariffs is a completely different scenario to a government setting price controls for energy (or food, oil, water, etc...)
They've made it clear they'll just keep printing this stuff, now that they know it winds him up to the point of fury.
Surely best to rise above, rather than look weak by having one's complaints completely ignored - or worse, trashed.
Do we think this report will ever actually see the light of day while Blair is still alive?
Meanwhile, Ed Miliband has picked yet another unnecessary fight with a new foe this week, the Daily Mail. A very bold move during the Conservative Conference, especially after the article was written last Saturday. Miliband was never going to get the Daily Mail on side any more than the Conservatives could persuade the Guardian or the Daily Mirror to support them, so why make it even more personal? I would have ignored the article rather than drawn yet more attention to it in much the same way Cameron ignores most of the crap the Guardian or the Daily Mirror dishes up on him and his family. And even more so because what is happening over in the US is going to dominant the news and highlight the behaviour of his own party in recent years when it comes to voting down all the reforms and austerity measures need to get the UK economy back on track.
Believe what you want but I'll let the Mail's actions in the weeks and months to come to speak for themselves. I know why Dacre's doing this and it sure ain't on any strategy Cammie or Osbrowne dreamed up. That they'll support the tories in 2015 is hardly a shock but nor is it of much consequence.
Nobody seriously gives a shit about Dacre's predictable hysteria and rants anymore, apart from those directly affected. It didn't work at all on Clegg, it won't work on little Ed and it won't work on Cammie. Particularly if it's done through the agency of their family like, say, their parents, wives or children. That time is over. Done. Finished. And it's not coming back.
Yes, forcing energy companies to give the cheapest prices is quite clearly nothing like forcing the energy companies to freeze prices. Glad we cleared that one up.
Any words of wisdom on forcing the taxpayer to subsidise mortgages worth up to £600,000 while you're at it?
The ubiquity of tedious Alan Partridge style clickbait is amusing but a fairly obvious sign of desperation in an online tabloid world dominated by celeb nipslips and gossip.
I see you too know nothing of Rothermere's online plans. No matter. You will find them much to your liking as a competitor. Unless you're angling for a job at the Mail of course. In which case you need to turn up the clickbait to include celebs more often.
Alastair Campbell came across yet again as someone who was prepared to jump on any bandwagon to settle old scores, indeed he boasted about it. Ed Miliband has been all over our news channels today talking about his spate with the Mail over his father's political legacy, it should have been either Ed or David Miliband who responded to the Mail on Newsnight and no one else. But when you let Alastair Campbell wade into fight your personal battles so he can stroke his ego to settle old scores with the Mail in this way, it undermines Ed Miliband's complaint and turns the whole thing into political grandstanding of the worst kind.
Anecdote - Back during the last GE campaign. I noted that a couple of voters I knew who were to the left of me political, but not natural Labour supporters specifically highlighting the fact that the mere sight of Campbell or Mandelson on the news was enough to remind them why they couldn't vote Labour despite not being fans of the Conservatives. Indeed, one of them actually said that the more Mandelson appeared in the news, the more it brought home to them just how desperate and politically bankrupt the Labour party had become.
Remind me how Clegg's vast unpopularity has anything whatsoever to do with Dacre's hilarious Nazi attack on him? Take your time.
LOL indeed.
Rather than the obvious truth that it was the public themselves who wrote him off as toxic, unprincipled and an appendage of the tory party. Something which had nothing at all to do with the press coverage of him from the right-wing papers. Who were after all pretty damn sweet on him once he saved Cameron and the tory party by giving them the power to govern.
They might have fallen out since then but that was LONG after the public had made their minds up.
As usual.
Andrew Gimson in the Indy - Boris and David are now best friends – but for how long?
"Johnson judges, as many Conservatives do, that things could be coming right for Cameron. The economy appears to be recovering, the welfare reforms are popular and Labour’s lead is soft. The Tories believe that by turning to the left, Ed Miliband has blundered. They reckon that as the general election approaches, Ukip voters will return to the Tories in order to avert the danger of Miliband becoming Prime Minister.
These assumptions may turn out to be mistaken. But for the time being, they have rendered Cameron’s position very much stronger. There is no vacancy in 10 Downing Street and Johnson knows he would do himself mortal damage if he were seen trying to create one. In Manchester, he has instead gone out of his way to demonstrate that he is a team player.
The Tory general election campaign in 2010 was a dreadful mess. About four different people were in charge of it, or not in charge of it, and no clear message emerged. Johnson was scarcely deployed: I remember a joint appearance he made with Cameron at Chelsea Royal Hospital which became an amusing, but electorally futile, series of jokes by Johnson at his leader’s expense. Lynton Crosby, who imposed iron discipline on Johnson during his two successful mayoral contests, will be running the Tory campaign in 2015, and will not allow that sort of thing to happen again."
I think that Len McCluskey happily smiling and applauding in a prominent seat at Miliband's speech during the Labour Conference indicates that the Labour Leader has been busy and successful at smoothing ruffled feathers. And picking a fight with Unite's bingo card of opponents over the last week will not have harmed that cause to make amends with the Union affiliates. So on the issue of a public spate with the Unions, its now become 'move along, nothing to see here as we are all the best of friends'.