Malc in the Burgh

Tuesday, 09, Feb 2010 04:39

Blog site:

http://malcintheburgh.blogspot.com/
Political Party:

SNP
Information:

Malc is an expert on Scottish nationalism.


That's the subject of his PhD and it informs pretty much everything he writes on his blog (unless he's reviewing Harry Potter films).


At first glance the style of the blog might seem slightly dated, but it has all the modcons and any quibbling concerns are blown away once the content is assessed.


Malc knows what he's talking about - the thinking man's SNP voter.
Biography:

Malc is a twentysomething PhD candidate, politics geek, sports fan and keen runner. These are his (occasionally frequent) thoughts about what is going on.
Rating:

9/10
Latest Posts:
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  • Some well-earned applause

    Sir John Chilcot and co will have been especially gratified by the public gallery's spontaneous applause at the close of today's session.

    Perhaps it was euphoria at having made it through nearly four hours of evidence from the former secretary Jack Straw, but the audience seemed distinctly pleased after Sir John passionately - by civil service standards, at least - reaffirmed his determination to do a good job.

    His statement rebutted many an accusation levelled at his panel by the media in recent weeks: the inquiry was "committed to being open and transparent"; "we have no reason to believe any material is being deliberately withheld" by the government; and "the inquiry has broken new ground".

    I've been a member of the audience two or three times so far and have noticed one or two familiar faces each time. These committed individuals tell me they're impressed by the panel's work and are more dismissive of journalists than the non-forensic nature of the questioning.

    As one pointed out, the purpose is to get new facts to come to light; there has been some success here.

    Perhaps more importantly, the questioning has been getting more and more forensic recently. Today's session - especially the scintillating 40 minutes - was riveting as Straw wriggled on the hook of legal advice for the war.

    "Nicely done," Lawrence Freedman whispered to Sir John as the applause died away, the grins showing on all five of the panel's normally serious-looking faces.
     

  • The subtle arts of the lobby

    There is a subtle art to asking the prime minister's spokesman questions.

    Some rules of thumb are very clear. Asking reshuffle questions is a complete waste of time; these are hypothetical and so easily brushed away. And queries about the state of the economy are also folly if a Budget or Pre-Budget Report is coming up.

    What is slightly less clear are party political questions. The way this works in Downing Street is more than a little strange: Gordon Brown's political activities are utterly divided from his governing ones. The prime minister's spokesman speaks on behalf of the government; he is a civil servant, not a party apparatchik.

    My problem is that this is damaging to No 10 - very damaging. In this afternoon's lobby briefing, for example, the prime minister's spokesman was invited to respond to Liam Fox's claims that Mr Brown was 100% wrong on his statement about the 2005 manifesto featuring promises of cuts. In fact, Dr Fox says, the Tories were seeking a £2.7 billion increase in defence spending.

    This is a party political matter, we were told. So Dr Fox's criticisms went unanswered. We can of course ring up No 10 and ask to speak to the "political colleagues". But most of those in the room won't have done, and come away with a worse impression of the PM than before.

    Not that they hadn't already made up their minds, of course.
     

  • Ken baffled as never before

    I've just come from a rather bizarre trip to north London, playing the part of a panel show guest with Ken Livingstone in the chair.

    The former London mayor, once king of all he surveyed from City Hall, now spends two afternoons every month presenting a book review programme on Press TV.

    This was an opportunity not to be passed up. A pleasant 23 minutes was passed discussing Cambridge historian Ben Wilson's third book, What Price Liberty?, which comes out in paperback this week.

    More interesting, of course, was experiencing first-hand Ken's small-talk treatment.

    The man is legendary. Within the space of around 15 minutes we covered everything from Vince Cable's Labour past to 70,000-year-old volcanic eruptions.

    He was happy to admit he was an expert at having opinions on things, even if he didn't fully understand them.

    The only exception to this appeared to be the general election. On this, as never before, he said, he did not have the foggiest who would come out on top. It's tough being a spectator, but Ken is doing his best at it - in his own inimitable way.
     

  • We're still on for May 6th

    Ladbrokes has slashed its betting on a February general election from 66/1 to a mere snip at 25/1, following a rush of bets on a snap winter poll.

    The logic behind this thinking is that, despite slipping back in the most recent opinion polls, Gordon Brown is hoping the wave of euphoria over the end of the recession will cause the electorate to welcome Labour back into government with open arms.

    No one really knows when the election is going to be called, although at his monthly press conference this morning the prime minister did display distinct smugness as he explained it was his "privilege" to name the date.

    Brown would be mad to plump for a February poll. Apart from anything else Labour relies on turnout far more than the Tories. With the weather displaying definite tendencies towards disruption No 10 strategists will be more than aware of its off-putting effect. Even a rainy day is bad news.

    As a result the most likely date by far remains May 6th. That's the Thursday when local elections take place and is perfectly-timed for an Easter kick-off.

    The real lesson from today's speculation is how temperamental the betting markets can be. Brown's strong polling performance led to intense speculation around the new year that an early election would be called; it melted away as surely as the snow has.

    The most likely scenario is today's flicker of interest will meet exactly the same fate.
     

  • Still hateful after all these years

    Readers of Alastair Campbell's blog may be alarmed by an anecdote the ex-spin doctor reveals as he discusses his long-running hate-hate relationship with Mail editor Paul Dacre.

    "The psychologist... felt it was highly likely that I figure in homoerotic fantasies which fill Dacre with terrible shame and guilt. There can be no other explanation, he said, for the scale of hatred expressed in his coverage of me over many years."

    Campbell is rather flattered by the implication his sexual potency remains undimmed.

    "But just as I don't do God, I don't do male," he adds.

    "And I certainly don't do Mail scum. So, Paul Dacre, whatever is going on inside that troubled head as you toss and turn alongside your poor wife sleeping gently besides you, I am sorry, it is time for me to be frank with you - it can never be."

    Meanwhile Campbell appears obsessed by second world war allusions. He refers to Dacre as Obergruppenfuehrer. He describes the Mail's coverage of his Iraq inquiry appearance as a "mini-Nagasaki explosion". He says "apologetic Mail hacks... usually quote the 'only obeying orders' Nuremberg defence".

    The overall impression is more than a little uncomfortable. Yet it's somehow reassuring one of British journalism's longest-running feuds continues to endure.
     

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