Tony Blair: He called on leaders to consider the “absurdity” of spending billions of dollars on security against an ideology which is being “advocated” in the schools and institutions of “countries with whom we have intimate security and defence relationships”. “Some of those countries of course wish to escape from the grip of this ideology,…
Read More A bit of retro Tony Blair bloggingA quick post, too long for twitter. @danielblaney @tobyperkinsmp @OwenJones84 I supported overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Rather proud of that. Pity ppl who didn't. — Luke Akehurst (@lukeakehurst) January 20, 2013 The problem with telling me that you got it wrong about Iraq because you’re such a nice guy is that all I hear is…
Read More A very short post about IraqMy mental model of the whole Murdoch/political complex, as I’ve said before, is that there have been two projects, The Project 1.0 and The Project 2.0. The first was the original use of “The Project” as Peter Mandelson introduced the phrase – the Blairite settlement, under which there was a transactional, bargaining relationship between the…
Read More The Project 2.0: confirmedWhile we’re back on the Murdoch trail, readers have probably seen this story, in which the police have taken steps to keep Rebekah Brooks’ personal assistant from fleeing the country. And of course this bit: Ms Carter was also a beauty editor for The Sun and is a partner in a cosmetics business with former…
Read More Not particularly hidden persuadersI am reliably informed that an individual who was a member of Tony Blair’s 10 Downing Street staff, and then one of the Tony Blair foundations (I’m not sure which one – the Faith, or the Sports, or just the Tony Blair Associates commercial version?), is now a scriptwriter for Simon Cowell on the American…
Read More I know, but I don’t knowThinking about the political castration of Ken Clarke and the fact that not even the Treasury in its most R.G. Hawtrey-esque mood seems to be able to stop the expansion of the prison industry, it struck me that the political class’s attitude towards the public service known as justice is fundamentally different to its attitude…
Read More Why not foundation courts?I bet you thought I was kidding. But try this lede: Taped to the inside of a Sainsbury’s window in King’s Lynn, a printout of a map reminds teenagers of the town’s restrictions. Next to it, a notice on Norfolk Constabulary headed paper spells out the terms of a dispersal order: within the marked area,…
Read More exclusion zoneI don’t quite know what to make of this: Q What other sites, remember any particular internet sites you looked at? A When I was doing research about MPs, I looked at one called theyworkforyou.com and I think another one was called publicwhips [publicwhip.org.uk]. Q So, have you carried out any research to … about…
Read More Sometimes, FaxYourMP Just Isn’t EnoughPatrick “unseasonably mild” Wintour’s predictably friendly piece on Blair going before the Iraq inquiry is unintentionally disturbing: No prime minister is indifferent to his or her legacy, and however much he feels stale controversies are being aired with little new public evidence, he knows tomorrow will be important for him, and his future public life…
Read More spiritual healerIf it’s possible to get Americans to start a string of minor riots in order not to have at least $80bn worth of national healthcare, surely it must be possible to start a good row about whatever it is the Conservatives have in store for us? We stand to lose at least that and more.…
Read More first mover advantage