Alastair's Blog

You can take the man out of the leadership, but you can’t take the leadership out of the man. Oh, he will love that one will John Prescott. He always had a soft spot for my soundbite-crafting. He just didn’t like people to know. How many times did he tell me that he couldn’t be [...]

A prediction – Eddie Izzard will be an elected Labour politician within a decade. First, because he wants to be (probably the European Parliament, and he has given himself 15 years rather than ten). Second, because he starts with an advantage over most people going into politics – he is well-known and popular with loads of [...]

I’m out at an event with Eddie Izzard later, one of a series the Labour-supporting entertainer is doing to help the Party. And I’ve been thinking – how best to deal with questions about the 50p tax rate. The first thing to say is that we, even more than the Tories, are the ones who [...]

Terrific play on BBC2 last night about George Best’s family. His mother was the main character, her descent into alcoholism a parallel to his rise to fame. Mrs Best did not taste alcohol till the age of 44, and was dead ten years later. In an understated kind of way, the film captured the slow [...]

David Cameron says today he will restore the ‘independence’ of the civil service. I passionately hope he does not become Prime Minister, but if he did, I would advise him to learn the difference between ‘independence’ and ‘impartiality.’ The Civil Service has a duty to be impartial. That is not the same as independent. An [...]

I know there is a little books section on the website where I can remind those of you who bizarrely have yet to buy The Blair Years or All In The Mind how to do so. And I know too that every now and then I mention one or both of those products, though I hope with [...]

As the credit crunch bit, there was a danger of a very bad ‘either-or’ situation developing – either we sort the global economic crisis, or we save the planet, but we can’t do both. To be fair both to Barack Obama and Gordon Brown, they have not lost sight of the importance of the green agenda [...]

A Facebook friend sent me a message this morning ‘any advice for a first time London marathon runner?’ So I whacked off a few thoughts. ‘You should do that as a blog,’ she replied back. ‘Fab tips.’ I love it when other people give me ideas for the blog, especially when I’ve already done the work. [...]

As Alistair Darling was delivering the Budget, this Alastair was speaking at the opening of a new MIND resource centre in Hertford. Fair to say I had the easier job. The date for the MIND event was set before the date of the Budget, and I was trying to think of the last time I [...]

I didn’t manage to the end of the opening Newsnight report on MPs’ expenses before deciding that bed was a better place to be (via this quick blog), but I couldn’t help but be struck by a formidable contrast tonight … between the basic pro-football stance of Sky Sports coverage of football – admittedly easier [...]