Hain does the decent thing
Hain has resigned from the Cabinet after the Electoral Commission referred the issue of unreported campaign donations to the Metropolitan Police. Over to you Ronnie.
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Children of the Revolution (Bill Rolston)
What was life like for children of political activists during the Troubles? A new book by Bill Rolston and published by Guildhall Press during the summer has collected together the stories of twenty Children of the Revolution whose parents’ activities – and in many cases, imprisonment – had a significant affect on childhoods and life [...] read our review »
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Stay out of Libya: counterinsurgency doesn’t work
A moment of some significance in journalism perhaps, as the New York Times reviews the current talked about book, The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy, and the Way Out of Afghanistan by Bing West. The author is no bleeding heart but a former assistant Defense Secretary from the Reagan era who stomped his way round the Afghan [...] read our review »
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The lost art of reading (or drowning in too much information)…
Here’s a great review of a fascinating book (H/T reader Rory) on how the Internet is destroying our capacity for intelligent, focused and critical thought. It opens thus: …here is the news that Ulin brings in this slim, meandering book: that reading is “an act of contemplation”; that such an act becomes more difficult in [...] read our review »
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As a government which has been shamefully reluctant to resign ministers can anyone tell me who the last minister to resign was?
Of the top of my head i can’t think of anyone beyond Stephen Byers but i’m sure i’m just being dense.
BTW i’m excluding people like Robin Cook, Alan Milburn etc who resigned of their own accord.
Just those who resigned under a cloud.
What about his role as Welsh secretary? Did he resign from that as well. I didn’t hear all the bulletin?
Will this lead to a shake up in the cabinet??
How about Harriet Harman will she have to go now too? Which only seems fair.
is this the same person who lectured the paddies on the rule of law
Whatever of the merits or lack of them in the respective cases of Hain and Flanagan, whether or not they should be dumped, we can (and undoubtedly will) argue ad infinitum. But that it was inevitable that both would go has been my confident prediction from the start.
One down. One to go. Dontcha just love hubris?
Peter Vain did not do the right thing, he hung on until last moment and even then seems to have been sent packing kicking and screaming.
Labour Sleaze is more upsetting to me than the Tory Sleaze that preceeded them. At least the Torys where only getting up to kinky business while New Labour seems to be up to the gills with crooks, liars and robbers.
Excellent news. I detest the man, and as he finished 5th of 6 in the deputy leadership race I would suggest that it’s to labours advantage to be rid of him.
Debbie asks: ” How about Harriet Harman ?”
This from testerday’s Private Eye may be of interest:
Even Peter Hain must know that Gordon Brown’s declaration of support for him, muted as it was, comes not from loyalty or affection for the permatanned pensions minister but out of a deep fear that deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman could be next for the chop, followed by “Bendy” Wendy Alexander, sister of key Brown clansman Douglas Alexander. Both are up to their necks in the “dodgy donations scandal”
If all three were to be lost Cabinet meetings would surely be less fragrant affairs in future. What a shame that fragrance should be sacrificed to sleaze. It makes one feel quite sad. I shall go off to my couch and read some gentle poetry in an attempt to counter such troubling thoughts.
It is clear that Hain only resigned when advised the matter was being referred to the Police for a criminal investigation. Flanagan has accepted the ‘corporate’ responsibility as head of the RUC but that is entirely different to being personally involved. Undoubtedly there were many flaws on the original Omagh investigation but these were highlighted by the senior guy called in by Flanagan to review the investigation which was before O’Loan ever got anywhere near it (see UTV News website). No one has been able to provide evidence of Flanagan’s personal cock-ups which is entirely different.
The other thing that is ironic is Orde seems to come out relatively unscathed yet he has the corporate responsibility for 2 cops committing perjury!! Flanagan’s guys were merely inept. So it all seems to be a bit of RUC bashing.