You ain't going nowhere

Have finally cracked open the (18 month old) West Wing box set, although had to resort to watching in on my (very small) laptop because the DVD player refused to cooperate. (And yes, I do think it's personal. Technology has a grudge against me, which manifests itself at every given opportunity. I don't know why, but it does. The only reason I'm blogging now is because the TV has also decided to stop working too, so I can't watch the news which I hope is about the Tories, not us).

The fleeting possibility that just maybe there's someone out there at this very moment being lined up to replace Damian McBride in the Downing Street press corps who looks exactly like Sam Seaborn is the only thing that has kept me from jumping off the balcony this weekend, which has of course been profoundly depressing on all fronts. Although I would settle for Josh Lynam.

Also on the subject of American politics, did you see Obama do his comedy routine in front of the press corps? Nailed it. Naturally. Doesn't he always? He said his first 100 days had been such a success that they were going to complete the next 100 days in 72. And on the 73rd day, he would rest. And there was a joke about Hilary and swine flu, but more about that in a moment.

All this has got me thinking. In the USA the President is the President is the President. Nothing short of impeachment or death can stop him being President until his term of office is over. OK, there's a theoretical possibility as he approaches the end of his first term that his party could dump him for someone more popular, but it's a remote one. Which means - or at least it seems to me from where I'm sitting - that you remove at one stroke all the endless speculation about leadership and challenges and rivalries that is such an obsession of the British political chattering classes.

Take the joke Obama made about Hilary Clinton last night. He said that although they'd been rivals during the primaries, they'd grown a lot closer; she'd given him a great big hug when she got back from Mexico and said that he should pay it a visit too. Now imagine what the press reaction would have been if Gordon Brown had made the same joke about David Miliband...

What impact would it have on British politics if we had fixed term parliaments, a maximum two terms in office for a Prime Minister, and a rule that the party in Government could not change its leader except at election time? Which I appreciate would rule out the Blair/ Brown handover in 2006, although it would almost certainly have meant a Blair/ Brown handover in 2005 and a clear mandate for Gordon from the electorate.

I'm not actually an advocate of fixed parliaments, as I can't see what would happen if no one party got a majority - would you have to limp on for four years trying to hold a coalition together? But still.... I'd give an awful lot to get away from the endless sniping and speculation and gossip - most of it totally uninformed and inaccurate, but damaging nonetheless - about leadership ambitions and potential coups and backbench plotting that we have at the moment.

The queen of karaoke

Harriet Harman just said to me at the vote now, "I hear you're into karaoke"! Can I just make absolutely clear that this is not true. Not at all. Every now and again the 5/5/5/ intake get together for a social, which on occasion includes karaoke - and I'm the one sat in the corner, adamantly refusing to join in. Not drinking may have something to do with it.

Anyway, Harriet says it was definitely me her source was talking about, but maybe it wasn't karaoke after all... the mind boggles. (Actually I think Tom Harris and some of the 2001 intake quite enjoy the odd karaoke session too. But not me.)

PMQs today was low-key, as expected. David Cameron, for the first time, impressed me as a human being; he came across as very genuine, and not at all pre-rehearsed talking about Ivan. Questions were on Northern Ireland, on which there is broad consensus, and then onto the rather more contentious issue of rendition. Nick Clegg went on the French decision re NATO; not sure that would have any resonance with the great British public, more a reflection of his own personal interests. I was told an anecdote by a Tory MP recently: Nick Clegg went in to see his boss at the European Commission, Sir Leon Brittan, to announce that he'd been selected for a parliamentary seat and would therefore have to leave work. 'Congratulations' boomed Brittan, 'You'll be an asset to the party'. At which point Nick had to explain that he was actually going to be standing as a Liberal Democrat.

A bit of light relief from all the statesmanship came when the Lib Dem MP for Chesterfield namechecked the neighbouring seat, Bolsover, in a question about concessionary bus fares, and then the Speaker called Dennis Skinner to put the boot in. But the best moment came just before PMQs when David Taylor asked the Welsh Secretary about the Barnett formula. Paul Murphy replied dryly that 'the Barnett formula has been in place for the past thirty years and you've been asking questions about it for the past ten', much to the amusement of Joel Barnett (now Lord Barnett) who was sitting up in the public gallery. I'm sure he had no idea when he introduced the formula as a fairly junior Treasury minister that he'd still be getting namechecks thirty years later.

Anyway - busy day from now onwards so no more blogging.

Have you seen Gordon's list?

On a lighter note, Tom Harris has tagged me on this - the list of DVDs which Barack Obama gave Gordon Brown, which incidentally I think was a mighty fine present, especially seeing as Gordon is a film buff. (Although I was slightly put out to learn, many years ago, that Gordon walked out of Pulp Fiction. I like to think it was because he was with someone who was easily offended, rather than taking offence himself).

These are the films: Citizen Kane, The Godfather, Casablanca, Raging Bull, Singin’ in the Rain, Gone with the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, Schindler’s List, Vertigo, The Wizard of Oz, City Lights, The Searchers, Star Wars: Episode IV, Psycho, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Sunset Boulevard, The Graduate,The General, On the Waterfront, It’s a Wonderful Life, Chinatown, Some Like it Hot, The Grapes of Wrath, ET: The Extra-Terrestrial and To Kill a Mockingbird.

You get two points for owning them, one point for seeing them and nul points if you've done neither. Tom got 22. I won't beat that.

I own - On the Waterfront.

I've seen - Citizen Kane, The Godfather, Casablanca, Raging Bull, Singin’ in the Rain, Schindler’s List, Vertigo, The Wizard of Oz, Psycho, The Graduate, It’s a Wonderful Life, Chinatown, Some Like it Hot, and To Kill a Mockingbird. [And I'm not 100% sure about Chinatown actually].

So, a measly 16 points out a possible 50. I tag - Paul Smith, the Bristol Blogger, Northern Lights, Bevanite and someone called Dave (there seems to be rather a lot of you).

P.S. Tom - foie gras adverts on the website?

"You are making me stupider!"

I love this post. Love it. I couldn't have written it, but I should at least have tried. Orwell prize for Hopi!

Gordon's speech in Bristol on Saturday

Somewhat late, but here's Gordon's speech to the National Policy Forum at the weekend. It was followed by a Q and A session with Gordon, Lord M, Yvette and Harriet, which was slightly spoilt by certain trade union barons who seemed to think they had the right to deliver lengthy speeches rather than ask questions. One even came up to the rostrum to deliver his 'question', with pages of prepared notes. There's always a balance to be struck on the NPF between the unions, the constituencies and other sections, and on Saturday it felt like the constituencies were being elbowed out again. The constituencies do, when it comes down to it, have more votes, but sometimes it seems they have less of a voice.

Selected highlights from GB's speech:

"These are momentous times because we are being lashed by an economic hurricane that is not only global in size and scope, but it is being felt on every high street and in every living room in Britain and people rightly look to us for answers. And their questions rightly force us to ask what kind of country we are, what kind of country we want to fight for and we have a choice. Whether we say to people let the recession take its course as, others might, or whether you make the choice that when banks fail and markets falter, the government must step in to provide help for those who need it."

"And we have a choice, whether to say to people as was said in previous downturns, at times of great job loss, unemployment is a price worth paying, or to make the choice that we need the boldest action now to address unemployment and our duty is to everyone who is looking for a job and we must not let them down. And we have a choice, whether to say to people you’re on your own, or to say to people that the role of government in difficult times is to be on your side. Whether you let markets master, or whether we make the choice that insists that markets serve the public."

"....And somehow along the road the financial world lost sight of the fact that those values, so hard-wired into how we make decisions elsewhere, should inform, our economic life too. Some came to believe that we should sacrifice being fair to the altar of laissez-faire. Some acted as if free markets could be value-free markets. But what has become clear is you can’t deregulate or nudge your way to better behaviour. You need fair rules, rules that reward those who play by them and punish those who don’t."

"And if we thought in the past it was beyond our power or our ability to shape these global markets, it’s now urgent that we do so. What we thought was difficult or impossible to be supervised we now have to supervise because a world without rules is a world without values and the world of the race to the bottom is a world where nobody wants to be. So it’s time to set new rules for the banks of all countries. And let us be clear that some of the practices now being discovered in our banks are not only unacceptable, they are indefensible and they have got to be cleaned up now."

His introduction was particular good, IMHO.

PMQs

I hesitate now to say anything about PMQs, in view of the previous post, but it was great fun today. OK, it was slightly unfortunate for Gordon to declare that 'we saved the world', (Tony would have turned that into a joke, saying something like, 'No, that on tomorrow's To Do list'). But Cameron simply can't sustain six questions in a row on the economy, and Gordon's 'let me teach you something' is very effective. Speaking of which, did anyone see Boy George being Paxmanned last night? Painful.

Funniest moment at PMQs though was when Nick Clegg absolutely walked into it, starting his first question with 'A single mother and her two children came to my surgery....' He should know by now not to mention women. At all. Ever.

Gordon's hair

Speaking of the Politics Show, Gordon was excellent. As was his haircut. He is looking very distinguished these days.

Scary Kerry

Didn't see PMQs today - I was having lunch with Dr Robert Shapiro, former economic adviser to Clinton, Gore and Kerry (the other one) and now an adviser to the Obama transition team. By all accounts it was a massacre (PMQs, not lunch). Cameron is caught in a difficult position; he can't re-establish his credibility unless he talks about the economy. And he can't re-establish his credibility if he does - because (a) the Conservatives are all over the place on it, (b) he doesn't know very much about it, and (c) Gordon does.

In response to a journalist's question at the seminar which followed lunch, Dr Shapiro described Gordon's response to the economic downturn as 'superb'. He then slightly spoilt it by adding 'especially when compared to George Bush and Henry Paulson'.

Speaking of Kerry (the other one), I was visiting a friend at the weekend and he was wearing the 'Scary Kerry' T-shirt I'd bought him in Washington at the time of the last election. Kind of wish I'd kept that for myself now.

Today so far (an inspired choice of title if ever there was one)

So far today I've spent rather a lot of time in the office, trying to shift paperwork. Popped over to No. 10 at 1pm for a chat with the PM around the Cabinet table, as one does. Six MPs there, obviously selected for their superior intellects and political insight. Plus me. (Thought I would say that before anyone else did; I know what you lot are like).

Gordon was delayed slightly because he had just been signing off the final stages of the Northern Ireland agreement. He said he felt the hand of history upon his shoulder... Actually, no, he didn't. But it is very good news. Not going to tell you what we talked about, but the thing about Gordon that never ceases to surprise me is that whatever point you bring up, no matter how obscure, he already knows about it. Tony Blair wasn't like that at all.

Since then I have had some soup and been into the Chamber for Communities and Local Government questions. Didn't get called. Bit of an uproar over gypsies, with a Tory saying that she entirely respected the rights of gypsies and travellers but what about the rights of decent, law-abiding, tax-paying people? (I paraphrase, but only slightly).

Back by popular demand

Well, more a case really of getting certain things out of the way and being back somewhere with an internet connection.

Didn't actually mean to stop blogging for so long, just long enough to get Wednesday's debate out of the way. But turned out to be another busy week, quite a lot going on in the Chamber, and had to do some prep for a debate at Exeter University on Friday night.

The motion was something like 'This House believes that Gordon Brown is to blame for the recession'. I was up against the Tory PPC for Exeter and a Tory councillor/ former economics lecturer, and was meant to be joined by a local Labour councillor - who'd told me 'We won't win, it's Exeter' - but he had to pull out at the last moment. So I was ably assisted by a student, Richard, who'd had all of an hour to prepare. Anyway, we won quite handsomely (well, 40-28), mainly because we were right and they were wrong. And yes, before someone tries to say something 'amusing' - we were against the motion.

As a backdrop to the debate, there were two pics of Gordon projected onto a screen. One was the classic long-haired shot from his university days; the other was this one here. Thing is, as I told the assembled students, I'm almost certain someone has just stuck his head onto that body. It's not him, is it?

Labour Conference Special (5)

You will be pleased to know that today has, so far, not been a bad hair day.

So... he did it. It was a phenomenal speech, had everyone spellbound. Definitely the best leader's speech I've seen since I started coming to Conference many moons ago, and up there with Mandela and Clinton guest appearances. He was introduced by Sarah, who was great, and started off by saying "I'm not going to try to be something I'm not. And if people say I'm too serious, quite honestly there's a lot to be serious about - I'm serious about doing a serious job for all the people of this country". And he handled the 10p tax issue in the way he should have done from the start: "And where I've made mistakes I'll put my hand up and try to put them right. So what happened with the 10p stung me because it really hurt that suddenly people felt I wasn't on the side of people on middle and modest incomes - because on the side of hard-working families is the only place I've ever wanted to be. And from now on it's the only place I will ever be." Then a bit of a debate on the turmoil in the markets and what action could be taken to curb city speculation, and the role of government in not allowing 'unbridled free market forces' to run riot. "And I say to our opponents: those who don't believe in the potential of government shouldn't be trusted to form one." Laid into George Osborne's recent comments too, that "it's not a problem caused by the financial markets" and "it's a function of financial markets that people make loads of money out of the misery of others".

As for the substance, there were some concrete policy proposals - and even spending commitments! The child poverty pledge probably passed some people by: basically he has given the campaign groups in the End Child Poverty coalition what they've been asking for. We're going to introduce legislation to enshrine in law Labour's pledge to end child poverty. Which means that if the Government doesn't do what's necessary to meet the commitment to abolish child poverty by 2020, they can be challenged in the High Court. And if the Tories manage to get into Government, they will either face the same legal challenge (highly likely given that for them abolishing child poverty is only 'an aspiration' not a firm pledge) or they'd have to introduce legislation repealing the laws introduced by Labour. I phoned Save the Children as soon as I got out of the Conference Hall, and they're delighted.

Biggest ovation - apart from the one at the end - came when Gordon said, "We did fix the roof when the sun was shining" - a riposte to claims that we didn't do anything during the good economic times. We did.

And yes, it may have been just a little bit naughty to say "I'm all in favour of apprenticeships, but now is no time for a novice" - but he's right!

Labour Conference special (1)

So - arrived in Manchester yesterday afternoon. Great apartment, looking out over the Conference centre, but the secure zone means I have to walk all the way round the outside so still takes a while to get in. Suggested to the police officer it would be quicker if I abseiled down from my balcony - at which point he waggled his machine gun at me.

Missed quite a lot of what was going on in the Conference centre and the fringe, because of meetings. (And being waylaid by people I hadn't seen for ages who insisted on having a drink. And just for the record, I don't drink but I have no objection to watching other people do so. In fact it can be quite entertaining). I did spend some time at the End Child Poverty reception, which was really useful - spoke to people from Save the Children, End Child Poverty campaign, CPAG, the Children's Society, NSPCC, Barnardo's, and some great kids from Bradford who I'd met at a Save the Children fringe last year. They're meeting Ed Balls today, and I told them I'd catch up with them at the End Child Poverty rally in Trafalgar Square on October 4th.

I'd really wanted to make the Fabian fringe, which had Polly Toynbee, Iain Duncan-Smith, Liam Byrne and Martin Narey from Barnado's talking about child poverty. But I didn't. I'm told it was really good. When IDS was congratulated on being brave enough to face the Labour masses, he quipped that next week - Tory conference - would be much tougher! From reports, Gordon was really good at the various receptions - Young Labour said he was 'really funny' - and Ed Miliband's rallying of the troops on the opening session of Conference went down a storm.

As for the leadership issue - despite the hordes of journalists roaming round looking for evidence of dissent, I'm going to stick my neck out and say I think it's a non-issue. The real debate this week is about the economy, and how the Party responds to the banking crisis. We have to emerge from this week with a clear direction, and a united resolve to tackle those problems. Jon Cruddas was actually very good on this on TV earlier. Give him a job!

It's frustrating to read some of the press about the leadership. The Express - I read a copy which had been left on the train - had a story that only 8 out of the 25 PPPs to Cabinet Ministers were prepared to back Gordon publicly. Well, I happened to be one of those 8, but if the journalist had called even 24 hours earlier I would have been one of the 'no comments' or wouldn't have returned the call. Which is what my other colleagues did. It says nothing about whether or not they support the PM; it's just that many of us took the view that we didn't want to fuel speculation or add to the credibility of stories by co-operating with them. And then some of us changed our mind and decided that silence would be misinterpreted. I know many Cabinet Ministers have been through the same thought process, which is why they're all speaking out now.

Another annoying bit of reporting was on TV, about the letter that has been signed by 20 MPs calling for the party to unite in supporting the Go Fourth campaign for a fourth term, which John Prescott, Alistair Campbell, Richard Caborn and Glenys Kinnock are launching soon. The BBC reporter took the line that 20 MPs represented fewer than 1 in 10... so it was hardly a ringing endorsement. Well.... as one of the twenty original signatories, let's get this on the record. I was called by Martin Salter MP, asking if I'd sign up. I suggested a few other names who I knew would support it, but Martin said no, we don't need lots of names, just a representative bunch - and then other MPs can show their support by signing up to Go Fourth. We could have got loads more if we'd wanted. And BBC reporter - how come a handful of MPs asking for nomination papers is seen as statistically significant and "obviously" indicative of mass support within the Parliamentary Labour Party, but twice as many MPs signalling their support for the leadership isn't?

Anyway, got to head back to the Conference centre now. Meeting someone from Scottish Credit Unions, then hoping to make the Fabians blogging event. Then meeting Save the Children and speaking at their fringe on the impact of rising global food prices on children (have been swotting up this morning). Then meeting Oxfam, and then a Save the Children event at which Douglas is speaking. I'm told he was excellent at the Compass/ Tribune rally yesterday. It's also the RSPCA's Beer and Curry night, and I've promised to pop in...

So what about it? (2)

As you may have guessed from the last post, I am of course already regretting my rash pledge to commit to the blogosphere my thoughts on 'what Gordon should do', which could broadly be summarised as 'he should bash a few heads together and then get on with the job'. I can see me being misquoted (or quoted out of context) already. So I'm going to leave it at that.

So what about it?

I'm quite impressed with myself today - have just managed to dismantle the u-bend under the sink, remove the blockage - (decaff) coffee grounds and burnt lentils: cliché, moi? - and put it all back together again without even making that much of a mess. Which seems to me a far more useful way to spend the afternoon than that chosen by some of my parliamentary colleagues.

As I've said before on this blog, those of us - the overwhelming majority of Labour MPs - who still very much support Gordon's leadership are in a difficult position. By joining in the 'debate', if you can call it that, you simply add fuel to the fire and give the commentariat something to keep the story running that little bit longer. Which then gives the public the impression that all we're doing is squabbling amongst ourselves when we should be sorting out the problems facing the country. But if you say nothing, then you cede the floor to a few disgruntled Blairites, (who, ironically, were the very people who were so big on Millbank-style party discipline a decade or so ago).

So what I'm going to do later - when I've put the washing on, taken the rubbish out, vacuumed the stairs - is to try to suggest what I think Gordon should do next. In the meantime, here's the view of one Labour Party activist:

From LabourHome.
Re: Siobhain McDonagh breaks ranks! (#20)
by RedRooster on Fri Sep 12, 2008 at 11:31:47 PM GMT
Key thing for me was the she said that in Westminster they talk about this ALL THE TIME.
This really, really annoyed me in her interview. I've done a hell of a lot of door-knocking and face-to-face meeting with voters since May. Of all the people I've canvassed, do you know how many people raised the issue of who the Prime Minister was?
Two.
Lots of concerns about other things- energy bills, parking (and parking, and parking, and parking), too many flats, pensioner poverty, crime and ASB... you know. Things that exist in the real world.
If this woman believes that EVERYONE is obsessing about who the PM is, then she has seriously lost sight of what really matters in this world. Most people, if it really came down to it, don't give a monkeys about who the PM is- all they want to know is how it affects their bottom line- themselves, their family, and their community.
McDonagh didn't name ONE policy that she had a problem with. Not ONE THING she would have done differently. All she complained about was that her constituents kept on asking her 'what's labour doing'... and she thought it was someone else's job to tell them!
Here's my advice to Siobhain McDonagh. Get out of the Westminster village. Get some perspective. Start working on tangible policy issues that actually mean something to the 99.999% of the population who don't have their heads stuck up the collective Westminster arse.
And shut up until you do.

Perhaps vampires is a bit strong but...

I was going to put something on here about David Miliband's article for the Guardian, and the ridiculous spate of Kremlinology it has produced from the media, but Hopi has already put it much better. (Slightly worried I have made him a bit paranoid with my 'Blob from the Backroom' typo, as now he keeps talking about his exercise routine). I caught a bit of Sky News earlier and the reporter was quoting David as saying "I disagreed with Margaret Thatcher, but at least it was clear what she stood for". Although it is absolutely 100% clear from the article that David M is drawing the comparison with the 'empty' David Cameron, the reporter said 'ooh, this could be interpreted as a coded attack on Gordon Brown...' Only to a complete idiot....

The problem is, Labour needs to get its political agenda across - and that can't be left to Gordon, it should be a team effort - but any senior Minister who raises his or her head above the parapet this summer will be immediately accused of launching a pre-emptive strike on the leadership. We can't win in this current climate. There are journos spending their every waking hour calling Labour MPs, trying to find one who will say something negative. And it's usually only those ones who respond, as the rest of us aren't playing ball. All I will say is this: I still believe Gordon's the best man for the job (or should that be best person, in case someone assumes I'm sending out smoke signals for the - non-existent - Harriet Harman campaign?). And I'm not going to fan the flames in any way by indulging in, or responding to, leadership speculation over the summer.

Jamming

I popped into No. 10 today for a brief visit with my 14 year old nephew who is doing work experience with me. He was impressed when I said the PM was probably inside the building somewhere. He said "What? Working? Or just jamming?" I had to tell him that I don't think Gordon jams very often, but he was insistent - "if he's Prime Minister, why doesn't he just throw everyone else out of the house so he can just jam all day?" I can see it might be tempting sometimes...

"If you read my book"...

Today's media has been verging on the ridiculous in the prominence and credibility they give to what are little more than footnotes in the various biographies that are being hawked around at the moment. (How many times did Lord Levy drop in 'As I say in my book' during his TV interview today?)

On the subject of Lord L's latest intervention - Gordon, to my recollection, didn't run the 2005 General Election campaign (although he was one of the main architects of the 1997 and 2001 landslides). Alan Milburn was put in charge in 2005, and Gordon was only brought in at the last moment to rescue things when it all went pear-shaped. So Levy is wrong.