Jon Snow
I’m not sure I can remember a UK political party gathering that has been so full of uknowns – Europe inheritance tax, cuts, slashing incapacity benefit – as this year’s Conservative party conference.
Gary Gibbon
Brown’s promises to protect rises in the minimum wage, rises in child tax credits, hospitals, schools and police numbers would mean big squeezes elsewhere.
Jon Snow
The Sun’s associate editor, Trevor Kavanagh has confirmed that Rupert Murdoch was central to the Sun’s decision to switch horses in British politics. Should we care?
Gary Gibbon
The Sun’s declcaration of support for David Cameron will have really hurt Gordon Brown, who has invested a lot over the years in cultivating the Murdoch empire.
Gary Gibbon
You know things aren’t tickety boo when a leader’s speech opens and closes with a plea not to give up. Think big and fight hard, Gordon Brown said.
Gary Gibbon
The policy of the Labour Party appears to have shifted from support of the first past the post system for general elections to AV without so much as a meeting of political Cabinet to look it over.
Gary Gibbon
Gordon Brown is trying to show us the chasm between Labour and the Conservatives by showing a bit of ankle on the Pre-Budget Report.
Gary Gibbon
Peter Mandelson’s speech was all the talk of the fringe last night. l interviewed him at a fringe meeting this morning and he insisted he didn’t do “pantomime”. I resisted the inclination to say “OH YES YOU DO!” One Cabinet minister last night said the speech was a “Gaddafi-like” indulgence. A couple of others I’ve…
Jon Snow
Few of us thought we’d live to see the day when a Labour party conference would rise as one to their feet in a standing ovation for Peter Mandelson. But today they did. Of course, we have seen it before – when Michael Heseltine did the same for the improbable electoral prospects of John Major.
Gary Gibbon
The hall is nearly full for Peter Mandelson’s speech.
Jon Snow
Oh I do like to be beside the sea…well normally anyway and this Labour Party Conference is very far from “normal”. For a start it is flat, flat as yer hat. Secondly all those luvvies, or most of them, have evaporated back whence they came. We are down to the formidable rump of Trades Unionists…
Gary Gibbon
Alistair Darling will today tell the conference here that he’s going to talk to the bankers and tell them to restrain themselves this Christmas.
Populism does not come more de-robed than what we will get on bankers from Labour’s pre-election conference. It starts today with the Chancellors speech. There will be an elaboration of the bank bashing theme.
Gary Gibbon
The side wings have been shut off from seating – I can’t remember that at a Labour conference before.
Gary Gibbon
Gordon Brown is going to say a few introductory words to conference at 4.30 before taking questions from a bunch of newly selected parliamentary candidates. Probably not the toughest audience you might think. Labour will be hoping it distracts attention from an unexpected question thrown at the PM by Andrew Marr this morning. He asked…