Iain Macwhirter
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Iraq: Labour need a truth and reconciliation commission
So, it did turn into a ‘geek’ tragedy after all, at least for David Miliband. Just as we were all digesting Brother Ed’s rather dull but worthy address to conference on Tuesday, and thinking that Labour had put the past behind it, a huge, ugly crack suddenly appeared in the facade of Labour conference unity. … Continue reading
Who will lead Labour’s Star Trek convention? Spock or Sulu
Watching the five Labour leadership candidates enter the final straight this week, I couldn’t help remembering David Cameron’s wicked quip about a Star Trek convention. There is indeed a hint of the Starship Enterprise with David Miliband as Mr Spock – austere, rational, borderline autistic, and Ed Balls as Captain Kirk – bumptious, over-promoted, lacking … Continue reading
Vince is about as Marxist as Adam Smith
‘’Vince Cable “not a Marxist”’said a BBC headline yesterday on the eve of his speech to the Liberal Democrat conference in Liverpool. Indeed, he is not. Vince Cable is an economic conservative, who has long advocated free market capitalism and cutting the state. . Cable was a prominent contributor to the LibDem “Orange Book” which … Continue reading
Nick Clegg: an apology.
I suppose I should apologise. I was one of those McChattering hacks who urged Scottish voters to consider backing the Liberal Democrats, tactically, last May. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. The LibDem surge seemed like a unique opportunity to break the dead hand of the two-party monopoly in Westminster and … Continue reading
Is the Pope really a Catholic?
So, atheists are Nazis according to Pope Benedict, speaking in Edinburgh today. This is just a little rich coming from a former member of the Hitler Youth. I don’t believe that the Pope is or was a Nazi, but I think it was a peculiarly inept and thing to say. It was offensive, also, to … Continue reading
Independence – Is that it?
As Alex Salmond’s flagship referendum bill sank beneath the waves last week, there were precious few mourners at the quayside, even amongst the SNP. There were even fewer criers of ‘betrayal’ – though the godfather of fundamentalism, the former SNP deputy leader, Jim Fairlie, remarked that: “at the mention of the word ‘independence’, a shiver ran … Continue reading
I have been naked with William Hague
I can’t keep this secret any longer. It has to get out. I have been naked, on several occasions, in a room with William Hague, who was also without clothes. Yes, I realise that this latest bombshell will re-ignite the whole two-men-in-a-bedroom scandal, but I can no other. I have to get it off … Continue reading
Poor Tony: domestic abuse drove him to the bottle. A Journey is misery literature for the political classes
So that explains it: Tony Blair was pissed half the time. One of the most extraordinary revelations in the former PM’s foray into confessional literature, “A Journey”, is that he was, by many medical definitions, a problem drinker. A stiff G and T (3 units) and up to half bottle of wine (5 units) … Continue reading
