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The Devil's Kitchen (Free subscription) | 03/11/2009
(nb. I am not the Devil's Kitchen) Three years ago, the government predicted that: One million children will be obese by 2010 if no action is taken We were assured by the BBC that: The government says it is the "most accurate estimate so far" of future obesity rates. It was nothing of the sort. All they did was make the bone-headed assumption that a straight line could be drawn from the past,...
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Not a sheep (Free subscription) | 30/10/2009
I am sorry but that is just aimed at the person who came to this site having googled - sexy pictures yvette cooper - Now why would anyone go looking for such images? This blog was the fourth site listed for this piece about "The world's most beautiful female politicians". As I said later in that article "Intelligent, highly competent women can be sexy but there aren't any in the Labour...
11Vote!
Next Left (Free subscription) | 26/10/2009
Nadine Dorries last week on ConservativeHome . Sometimes I feel sorry for some of the Labour women who were selected via all-women shortlists. Everyone knows who they are. Now here's Nadine Dorries today on twitter : How many women are their in Gordon Browns cabinet who were selected via an all woman shortlist? And, who are they? Anyone know? Yes - everyone does, Nadine. Everyone. Especially since...
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Next Left (Free subscription) | 22/10/2009
There is quite a lot of nonsense written about all women shortlists. Nadine Dorries is chuffed to be much praised by a research-free rant in today's Daily Mail from Amanda Platell . Yesterday, I blogged questioning the "two classes of MP" talking point: After all, 35 of Labour's new women MPs in 1997 were selected on all women shortlists and 30 were not. (You can find the list in the appendix...
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UKIP (Free subscription) | 12/10/2009
Baroness Kinnock has been moved from the job of EU minister just four months after she was shanghai-ed into the House of Lords to fill the position. She was brought into government in June to replace Caroline Flint who quit as Europe minister complaining of Gordon Brown’s treatment of women in the Government as “window dressing” and will now take up the post of Foreign Office minister...
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Dick Puddlecote (Free subscription) | 30/09/2009
Remember that 'hugely popular' smoking ban? The one which Labour implemented, in contravention of their 2005 general election manifesto commitment to a partial ban, with which everyone would have been quite happy? The ban which was unprecedented and revolutionary, in fact. A smokefree England will see the single biggest improvement in public health for a generation Caroline Flint The Labour spin doctors'...
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Iain Dale's Diary (Free subscription) | 29/09/2009
I've spoken to about 15 Labour delegates here since Gordon Brown's speech ended. Virtually every one of them them said "Really good speech ... but..." And they all had a different 'but'. "It was too long," said one. "Where were the jokes?" said another. Not a resounding success by all accounts. Indeed, from the reaction of some journalists I have been very kind in my appraisal....
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Politics, PR & Marketing (Free subscription) | 29/09/2009
At Labour's Conference last night there was an interesting debate on the use of Twitter, interesting because it showed in many ways the full range of attitudes to the use of the Internet and social media within Westminster. The debate was blogged live on Channel 4 news website and via Twitter (appropriately). Of the bits they showed, Tom Watson came over as the advocate. Not surprising really, given...
7Vote!
Daily Referendum (Free subscription) | 28/09/2009
Caroline Flint has come to the defence of Gordon Brown over Andrew Marr's "pills" question: "I don't think there is any truth in this gossip and I think it is really quite despicable. " I think it is just very unhelpful in politics to have that sort of smears and innuendoes put about ." Can you believe that? She's got more neck than a jar full of Giraffes.
5Vote!
BBC - Victoria Derbyshire's Blog (Free subscription) | 28/09/2009
5 live is at the Labour party conference today with an audience of 5 live listeners. Jack Straw, Caroline Flint, Charles Clarke, Tessa Jowell, Tony McNulty, Neil Kinnock and David Blunkett will join us over the course of the morning as we debate what Labour would do with another 4 or 5 years in power and ask "can anything save Labour?"
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The Guardian (Free subscription) | 28/09/2009
Business secretary says it is 'absolutely ridiculous' to suggest Brown has a problem with pill use, and criticises Andrew Marr for asking the PM about the rumours Lord Mandelson today criticised "extreme rightwing figures" for circulating rumours on the internet which led to Gordon Brown being asked on the BBC whether he had been prescribed medication to help him cope with the pressures...
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Brennig Jones (Free subscription) | 28/09/2009
Breakfast in bed and GMTV, welcome back to Blighty. Several times this morning I almost coughed my cereal all over the duvet cover as Caroline Flint (Lab), MP for Don Valley abandoned all vestiges of common sense to defend the current Prime Minister (G. Brown). The news that public support for her party has fallen to 27% [...]
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Iain Dale's Diary (Free subscription) | 28/09/2009
Earlier this evening I was part of a Question Time style panel at a Fabian Society fringe meeting titled CAN LABOUR WIN ? Chaired the the Observer's Gaby Hinsliff, the meeting also heard from Ed Balls, Caroline Flint, Caroline Lucas and Sunder Katwala, the director of the Fabian Society. Naturally Balls and Flint both thought that the answer to the question was yes. Big surprise. Flint, however, was...
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Next Left (Free subscription) | 27/09/2009
Tory blogger Iain Dale and Schools Secretary Ed Balls went head to head over tax and spending policies at the Fabians' Question Time session. When urged by debate chair Gaby Hinsliff, Schools Secretary Balls said he "ruled out" means testing child benefit. Dale said he disagreed with George Osborne's plan to ring fence the health service and international development. "I think that's...
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