Tag: “Tony Blair”

Congratulations to young (I know it sounds patronising, but it is kind of relevant) Ellie Gellard who is today enjoying the sweet taste of campaign success. To people with political blood flowing through their veins, there are few better feelings. Ellie started the online campaign to persuade the Labour powers-that-be to choose, as their next party [...]

A couple of nice surprises on Question Time last night. First, I was fearing real car crash telly with former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith appearing for the first time since she got caught up in the expenses scandal. But she handled herself well in difficult circumstances. So that was surprise numero uno. Second, it was [...]

It is fascinating to watch the Conservative contortions over Europe and Tony Blair. They suggest Europe as an issue remains a huge problem for them. These are problems David Cameron needs to sort out, because if he were to become Prime Minister, one of the many surprises in store for him is just how much [...]

David Miliband said yesterday that foreign governments, and opposition parties, found it odd in the extreme that Britain’s Conservatives were actively campaigning against Tony Blair becoming the first ‘President of Europe’. However TB may be seen at home, where he divides opinion strongly, among the political classes in most countries he is seen as a [...]

Litttle did I know, blogging a few days ago on the potential significance of a change of government in Japan, that the new Prime Minister would be bringing with him a wife who was once abducted by aliens. Not only that, but it seems she knew Tom Cruise in a previous life (she says he was [...]

What with meetings, family stuff, a funeral and then a train journey north, I missed all the political excitement yesterday. I saw a couple of headlines suggesting Peter Mandelson was suggesting the economy is on the mend, then a couple more in which Dave was having a pop at GB, but beyond that, it sort [...]

  Off to a celebration of Henry Hodge’s life later today, so I may have a few words to say about that later – like if you haven’t already, please make a donation to www.justgiving.com/alastaircampbell; and please accept my apologies that the justgiving site has been a nightmare since we set up the page the [...]

There was me, post Damian McBride, thinking that the media might rely a little less on anonymous briefings (sometimes so anonymous as to exist only in the imagination of the journalist), but I got into a cab in the early hours, my phone having been on mute for the duration of the Sport Industry Awards, to find a [...]

Since getting into blogging, Twitter and Facebook, it has been interesting to see what kind of message, tweet or status update gets people going. I’d love to be able to say it is the serious heavyweight political contribution or call to arms, and to be fair, I have been impressed by the level and nature [...]

At a q and a I did last week, someone asked me what made Tony Blair nervous. ‘Big set piece speeches,’ I replied, instinctively. I’ve thought about it a bit more since, and I think the instincts were right. My diaries record several instances of him saying, before Budget debates in Opposition, or Queen’s Speech [...]