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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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08 May 2006 |
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Touching scenes last week as Jim Murphy, the nice lad whose only problem is his acute Blairism, was lamenting the fact that he’s been left to struggle with the infamous Deregulation Bill which, under the guise of getting rid of undesirable red tape (which we can’t because most of it comes from Europe), the Bill empowers the government to do anything from firing the judges to cutting off Cameron`s balls (not Prezza’s: they’re national jewels). |
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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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02 May 2006 |
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Blogging has been temporarily suspended for reconstruction work. On me. I’m still on painkillers but that gives me a much happier view of New Labour. I’m using the same brand as Tony so I know exactly how he feels - or doesn’t - but I hope they don’t have the same effect on my hair. |
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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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27 April 2006 |
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Bryan Gould recently dropped in from New Zealand and I asked him for his feelings on the current state of the Labour Party.
Here they are - absolutely brilliant. |
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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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31 March 2006 |
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The old joke about "Fog in the Channel. Europe cut off" has to be revised for current British politics. Europe’s still there. Fifteen million of us visit it every year and two hundred thousand of us buy second or third homes there. But the monster in Brussels which arrogated Europe’s name, the European Union, has sunk beneath the waves. So far as British politics is concerned it’s the organisation which durst not speak its name. |
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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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23 March 2006 |
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In the last election Tony panicked as usual, thought the only answer was to throw money at it (which is wrong), called in Levy and said "Get what it takes". Which he did because he’s brilliant at fund raising. So he went out on auto-beg and collected squillions for our first PFI election. Labour spent the lot (or rather chucked it away) and no-one knew how much was involved until now. |
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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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20 March 2006 |
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Tony’s determination to occupy any ground from which the Tories might be able to attack has come together with Cameron’s determination to move the Tories onto the centre ground to produce Lab-Con government. We govern under licence from them implementing their policies, but taking the blame when things go wrong. |
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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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08 November 2005 |
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Last week Chief Whip Hilary let slip the fact that she’s got a copy of my letter to Grimsby Headteachers about the Education White Paper. The letter was pretty critical (see below since Ian Cawsey tells me it’s circulating round the Whips office) but the basic points were endorsed by Tony at the PLP i.e. we should concentrate on the worst schools in the worst areas. Tony says we will. Don’t want the advantaged schools to drain the others or be selective. Tony says they wouldn’t. Keep LEAs. Tony said we could. It will be modified by discussion and consultation. Tony said it will be. |
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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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08 November 2005 |
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Packed PLP meeting for Blair’s speech. Low-key performance. Stony faced reception (no-one wants to give anything away). Blair is circling the wagons and toughing it out by taking a stand on 90 days internment. This makes fools of the Whips who were persuading people to vote for 90 days on the understanding that he’d reduce it at report stage. It also undermines Clarke who promised full consultation but has had to spend the day going round with a police escort letting him explain why 90 days is essential. |
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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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02 August 2005 |
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There’s a general assumption that a shoot to kill policy is acceptable in view of the terrorist threat and the need to deal quickly with suicide bombers. I don’t share it. Shoot to kill is a total change. It hasn’t been authorized by Parliament. There is no indication that it can stop suicide bombers but every indication that innocent lives will be lost. Indeed, in the case of the Brazilian plumber one already has. |
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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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29 July 2005 |
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The triumph of Tony rolls on. And on. The troops have all been sent on extended leave singing his praises as we go. His poll ratings are back to pre-election levels. The other party leaders dance attendance and endorse terror legislation - which will I hope apply to Irish terrorism just as much as Al-Qaeda.. So Tony`s in his heaven when all’s wrong with the world. I can`t resist the cynical thought that one more bomb attempt and the entire Labour Party will be queuing up to ask him to stay on as president for life. |
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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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11 April 2005 |
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The amount of bile and accumulated bitterness that has poured over Rover in its demise astonishes me. It`s as if the columnists, economists and commentators hated manufacturing and wanted to see it dead as soon as possible on the grounds that the British can`t hack it. |
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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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04 April 2005 |
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Ave Atque Vale, as they say in Harrogate. To this purposeless Parliament. It grinds to a halt in a welter of confusion as bills are dumped, hopefully ID Cards and Gambling. Members disappear into retirement homes, the Priory or constituencies. The Tories stagger round like a flightless bird, Labour panics, and Charles Kennedy can`t keep the smirk off his face. |
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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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30 March 2005 |
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NOT THE YORKSHIRE POST.
Jim Callaghan was a Labour leader of a type we’ll never see again. Brought up in the party, steeped in the trade union movement, and programmed to its instincts. That production line is now closed down. Also he was a leader. Not charting his own course like Tony Blair and changing it every day, but leading the party and holding it together by listening to it. That was a great gift. I remember him listening to us as students in Nuffield College urging him to devalue, to us as MPs in the dining and tea rooms which he used to visit regularly, and later to me talking about the state of the party. He told me I`d become too cynical. |
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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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21 March 2005 |
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I read Piers Morgan’s diaries feeling like one of the great excluded: Faces pressed against the glass of the wondrous celeb world our leaders now inhabit. While he was editor of the Mirror Piers had 22 lunches 6 dinners 6 interviews 24 one-on-one meetings and innumerable phone calls with Tony Blair. |
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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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14 March 2005 |
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I missed out on last week`s battles, boozing and bickering. All night sittings are a bonding experience. Some make the bonding more physical than others. |
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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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07 March 2005 |
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The briefings from the Brownies that Gordon is to be brought back to running Labour’s election campaign and Alan Milburn demoted may be just a touch of tat for tittery for keeping out the People’s Gordon in the first place. Yet they indicate a problem... |
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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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28 February 2005 |
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Welcome back Alistair. Your Prime Minister needs you to be coherent. So does your party. You should never have gone into show biz. Sadly in those months off you’ve lost the old sureness of touch if not your mastery of the ffffing language. |
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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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22 February 2005 |
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Fit for Bloggers. Not fit for the Yorkshire Post... |
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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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17 February 2005 |
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NOT THE YORKSHIRE POST. AGAIN l5 Feb
“Vote for us. We’re not the Tories”. “Vote for Tony. He’s not Michael Howard” will be the themes of our election campaign. Indeed, the most exciting part if the six bland pledges are the policy. |
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General Ramblings
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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07 February 2005 |
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BLAIR V BROWN: ROUND 18
Growing speculation (which must come from Downing Street because no-one else would be that daft) says that after the election Tony will take Treasury away from Gordon and make him Foreign Secretary. |
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