Sunday, August 15, 2010
When two-tribes go to war
The possibility that Alan Milburn might be appointed as the UK Coalition Government's "social mobility tsar" has really got the tribalists out in force, in both the Labour and the Conservative Party.
That is a shame as irrespective of what I may think of the man, it is important that all those who have something to offer should work together for the best interests of the country. That certainly falls within the spirit of the coalition. Thank goodness there are at least some in the Labour Party who recognise that.
The vast majority of Labour members seem to be more intent on fighting their own internal war of attrition or sniping from the sidelines to notice that the crisis we are in needs that sort of cross-party co-operation if we are to prevail over it.
On the Conservative side, Iain Dale is not happy:
First they came for Frank Field. They appointed him "Poverty Czar". I didn't speak up
Then they came for Will Hutton. They appointed him "Work Czar". I didn't speak up.
Then they came for John Hutton. They appointed him "Pensions Czar". I didn't speak up.
Today they came for Alan Milburn. They are about to appoint him "Social Mobility Czar".
Now, I'm going to speak up.
One day they might actually appoint a Conservative. But I'm not holding my breath.
Because by then, it might be a bit late.
However, his reaction is mild compared to former Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott. His tweet is so far over the top that it is painful to read:
So after Field & Hutton, Milburn becomes the 3rd collaborator. They collaborated to get Brown OUT. Now collaborating to keep Cameron IN
Does he really believe that working with other parties in the best interests of the country can be compared with those who collaborated with the Nazi's in World War Two? What planet does he live on?
This is the man whose testimony to the Chilcott Inquiry included an assertion that he was more interested in maintaining Cabinet unity over the Iraq war than in confirming that it was the right thing to do.
Meanwhile the recriminations within the Labour Party as to why they lost the General Election continue. Friday's Daily Mail has a particularly instructive article suggesting that long-time cheerleaders of Tony Blair, had secretly been sabotaging Labour's campaign in order to ensure the end of Brown's disastrous premiership:
Shockingly, the architect of this mutiny was someone whose political career had once been rescued from oblivion by his old friend Brown.
For the truth is that Lord Mandelson had traitorously spent much of the campaign plotting the final stage of his unfinished Blairite revolution: namely to make sure that out of the wreckage of Brown's humiliating election defeat, David Miliband - the true 'heir to Blair' - would become the new Labour leader.
None of Brown's allies was more angered by this treachery than his trusted lieutenant Charlie Whelan, now one of the country's most powerful trade union figures, who for five years was Brown's loyal and pugnacious spin doctor.
In his first major newspaper interview since new Labour came to power in 1997, Whelan gives an explosive insider's account of the civil war that helped destroy the Labour government.
In a blistering attack on Mandelson, he says the man who Brown had controversially recalled to the Cabinet after the disgrace of being twice sacked by Blair, actually lost the Labour Party votes because of his betrayal of the PM, and was responsible for a culture of defeatism that blighted Labour's campaign.
Whelan, the ultimate Labour die-hard, also reveals that Gordon Brown will never take a peerage; that his wife Sarah feels most betrayed by Mandelson (who sold his soul by rushing out his poisonous memoirs so soon after the election); and why the divisive Alastair Campbell should never be allowed to be involved in any future election campaign.
Obviously, the fact that it is in the Daily Mail does give pause for thought, but this is the paper that one of Gordon Brown's closest allies appears to have chosen to pour out his soul too, so who am I to argue?
There is now, it seems, a concerted campaign by friends of Gordon to rescue his political legacy and, in the process, undermine the favourite to succeed him, David Miliband. At this rate Labour may not be fit for government again for many years to come.
That is a shame as irrespective of what I may think of the man, it is important that all those who have something to offer should work together for the best interests of the country. That certainly falls within the spirit of the coalition. Thank goodness there are at least some in the Labour Party who recognise that.
The vast majority of Labour members seem to be more intent on fighting their own internal war of attrition or sniping from the sidelines to notice that the crisis we are in needs that sort of cross-party co-operation if we are to prevail over it.
On the Conservative side, Iain Dale is not happy:
First they came for Frank Field. They appointed him "Poverty Czar". I didn't speak up
Then they came for Will Hutton. They appointed him "Work Czar". I didn't speak up.
Then they came for John Hutton. They appointed him "Pensions Czar". I didn't speak up.
Today they came for Alan Milburn. They are about to appoint him "Social Mobility Czar".
Now, I'm going to speak up.
One day they might actually appoint a Conservative. But I'm not holding my breath.
Because by then, it might be a bit late.
However, his reaction is mild compared to former Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott. His tweet is so far over the top that it is painful to read:
So after Field & Hutton, Milburn becomes the 3rd collaborator. They collaborated to get Brown OUT. Now collaborating to keep Cameron IN
Does he really believe that working with other parties in the best interests of the country can be compared with those who collaborated with the Nazi's in World War Two? What planet does he live on?
This is the man whose testimony to the Chilcott Inquiry included an assertion that he was more interested in maintaining Cabinet unity over the Iraq war than in confirming that it was the right thing to do.
Meanwhile the recriminations within the Labour Party as to why they lost the General Election continue. Friday's Daily Mail has a particularly instructive article suggesting that long-time cheerleaders of Tony Blair, had secretly been sabotaging Labour's campaign in order to ensure the end of Brown's disastrous premiership:
Shockingly, the architect of this mutiny was someone whose political career had once been rescued from oblivion by his old friend Brown.
For the truth is that Lord Mandelson had traitorously spent much of the campaign plotting the final stage of his unfinished Blairite revolution: namely to make sure that out of the wreckage of Brown's humiliating election defeat, David Miliband - the true 'heir to Blair' - would become the new Labour leader.
None of Brown's allies was more angered by this treachery than his trusted lieutenant Charlie Whelan, now one of the country's most powerful trade union figures, who for five years was Brown's loyal and pugnacious spin doctor.
In his first major newspaper interview since new Labour came to power in 1997, Whelan gives an explosive insider's account of the civil war that helped destroy the Labour government.
In a blistering attack on Mandelson, he says the man who Brown had controversially recalled to the Cabinet after the disgrace of being twice sacked by Blair, actually lost the Labour Party votes because of his betrayal of the PM, and was responsible for a culture of defeatism that blighted Labour's campaign.
Whelan, the ultimate Labour die-hard, also reveals that Gordon Brown will never take a peerage; that his wife Sarah feels most betrayed by Mandelson (who sold his soul by rushing out his poisonous memoirs so soon after the election); and why the divisive Alastair Campbell should never be allowed to be involved in any future election campaign.
Obviously, the fact that it is in the Daily Mail does give pause for thought, but this is the paper that one of Gordon Brown's closest allies appears to have chosen to pour out his soul too, so who am I to argue?
There is now, it seems, a concerted campaign by friends of Gordon to rescue his political legacy and, in the process, undermine the favourite to succeed him, David Miliband. At this rate Labour may not be fit for government again for many years to come.
Comments:
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Well, with respect to Wales, WAG should consider appointing a 'patent tzar' ... because girls and boys 'it ain't happening in Wales' ...
Wales's best chance is its universities but with regard to which WAG still facilitates empire buiding at the expense of Welsh jobs.
MIT has over 3,000 issued patents in the largest market in the world for patented goods/services.
But take the ILS/supercomputer center at Swansea University and it has ???? Ummm, big fat zero, null set, narda. Tens of millions spent and WAG wants to spend millions more.
MIT has generated hundreds of thousands of spin out jobs ... ILS has ????
Wales is DESPERATE for good quality jobs ... WAG's response?
To give money to a Nobel Prize Winner's company which has zip issued patents. What a waste.
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Wales's best chance is its universities but with regard to which WAG still facilitates empire buiding at the expense of Welsh jobs.
MIT has over 3,000 issued patents in the largest market in the world for patented goods/services.
But take the ILS/supercomputer center at Swansea University and it has ???? Ummm, big fat zero, null set, narda. Tens of millions spent and WAG wants to spend millions more.
MIT has generated hundreds of thousands of spin out jobs ... ILS has ????
Wales is DESPERATE for good quality jobs ... WAG's response?
To give money to a Nobel Prize Winner's company which has zip issued patents. What a waste.
# posted by 
: 4:41 PM
: 4:41 PM<< Home
