Articles tagged Gordon Brown:
From the Archives: Long Read Interview with Tom Watson
- 5 Jan 2019
This is an extended version of my Total Politics interview with Tom Watson, which appeared in the January 2011 issue of the Magazine. He's incredibly open and honest about his time in government and the personal trauma he went through because of something I wrote... Embed f...
In Conversation with Jacqui Smith... Ten Years Ago
- 29 Nov 2018
I first met Jacqui Smith more than ten years ago at a Foreign Office event which she was addressing. I was writing a profile of the then Foreign Secretary David Miliband so was spending the afternoon with him. After her speech he beckoned me over an introduced me to her. Havin...
A Few Thoughts on the Election Result
- 7 May 2010
An astonishing night. As predicted there was no such thing as a national swing. Seats the Tories should have won, they didn't and others no one predicted they would win, they did. What no one predicted was the disastrous night the LibDems have experienced. Not only will they e...
Ten People Who Are Having a Bad Election
- 1 May 2010
A couple of days ago I published a list of Ten People Who Are Having a Good Election. So you won't be suprised if I now balance things up. These are ten people who perhaps haven't had the best of times over the last month... Gordon Brown Needs little explanation. He's head...
Counterfactual: The Second Falklands War
- 17 Feb 2010
No, it really didn't mean anything, the Foreign Office official told David Miliband. "They do things like this all the time, Foreign Secretary," he soothed. "We've got good relations with Argentina. Nothing to worry about." It was the day after the Argentinian President had is...
Brown Copies Foot Election Strategy
- 7 Jan 2010
The election strategy being fought by Gordon Brown and his team reminds me of that followed by Michael Foot in 1983. These cosy little household chats which Brown is doing every day are exactly what Foot did in 1983, partly in order to keep him away from the media. Foot did hi...
If Brown Is Ill He Deserves Our Compassion, Not Our Insults
- 12 Sep 2009
Last week I began to write a blogpost about an allegation that the Prime Minister was alleged to be taking powerful anti depressants. The story had appeared on a blog run by John Ward. In the end I didn't run it as it was impossible to stand up. However, since then it's become...
In Defence of Lord McColl
- 19 Aug 2009
It's stories like THIS in today's Times, which make me despair about the quality of some of our political journalism. Full of innuendo, attempts to smear, but backed up by very little. Lord McColl is a junior Tory health spokesman. Heard of him? No, me neither. In real life...
Should I Have Questioned the PM's State of Mind?
- 7 Jun 2009
Last night I took part in a very bad tempered half hour paper review on Sky News alongside Eve Pollard and Michael White of the Guardian. White was not in a good mood, as we were doing it on the Sky News platform opposite the House of Lords rather than in a nice warm studio. ...
The Consequences of a Disappearing Chipmunk
- 5 Jun 2009
Knock Knock Who's There? Hazel Hazel Who? That's politics They say a week is a long time in politics. In the modern media age, I think we can reduce that to an hour. Hazel Blears resigned on Wednesday, but less than three days later she is already the forgotten ...