Oborne’s Ashcroft Flip Flop
Guido noted last year that the Telegraph’s Peter Oborne turned on David Cameron, having previously said he could go down in history as one of the greats, he later went on to write a diatribe against him saying he was in the “sewer”. It seems he’s had an equally dramatic change of heart about Lord Ashcroft.
In 2010 Oborne wrote:
“The image of Lord Ashcroft as a sinister svengali figure in Conservative politics has always been a little unfair.”
What a change of heart then in yesterday’s Telegraph:
“The Tory peer has secured his reward for establishing himself as the most powerful proprietor in the emerging world of online publishing and political intelligence, where he is so dominant that last week he became subject to an investigation by the Competition Commission. The Tory peer uses his other properties, including the widely read PoliticsHome website, to establish what Lord Justice Leveson would call a “megaphone presence” in the online media.
They have undermined trust in the Coalition and stirred up Conservative hostility against the Liberal Democrats, while giving a platform to some of the most vicious opponents of the Prime Minister. In recent months Lord Ashcroft and his small but beautifully placed army of editors, columnists and pollsters have started to push David Cameron around.
Lord Ashcroft, a brutal critic of the Coalition from the start, could do no more than fume impotently with rage as Mr Cameron and Nick Clegg signed up to their agreement. But the Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft, who has been against it all along, looks like getting his way.”
Sounds like a “sinister svengali figure in Conservative politics” to Guido…
Have immense amount of respect for Peter Oborne & @TimMontgomerie, can't understand why former thinks latter's influence illegitimate.—
Media Guido (@MediaGuido) June 28, 2012
Both Peter and Tim write for billionaire backed publications that influence Tory politics intensely.—
Media Guido (@MediaGuido) June 28, 2012
Guido spoke to Peter and he said the point he was making was that Tim Montgomerie’s blog claims to represent grassroots conservatives and the Telegraph is a national newspaper. Not sure how significant these factors are, in reality both publications speak to their owner’s and editor’s prejudices. Where is the fun in owning or editing a publication if you can’t use it to settle scores, eh?
ASHCROFT!!!!!
Who the fuck is Peter Osborne?
Some tart.
Isn’t he the Daily Mail’s astronomer, dear?
The Telegraph’s answer to Polly.
A prize knob who waffles for the Telegraph. Real name Oborne!
Yet more putrid Scum “influencing” democratically (LOL) elected politicians.
Oborne has got more faces than a town hall clock.
http://t.co/J9dOIkc
Ashcroft is unelected and should keep his nose out of our democratic process.
You should have a word with that Von Rumpey then.
And the coomie Barroso pig.
No voters elected Signor Monti.
And whisper in the ear of Mandelslime and alyingstare Campbell.
Where is the fun in owning or editing a publication if you can’t use it to settle scores, eh?
Even a blog!
That’s what people tell me I’m going to have to do if I’m to be allowed to continue in BOTH the fishwrap and idiot-box business– leave off settling scores. No names, but a certain baldheaded Scouser Judge, an Elvis Costello-lookalike QC and an obese no-neck adenoidal Brum MP might spring to mind as possible targets, though of course I couldn’t possibly comment.
Do.
Or be done to.
mmmmmmmmm sheep
The trouble with these Murdoch people is that they act illegally
http://lordashcroft.com/news/13062012_ed_miliband_misled_the_leveson_inquiry_over_my_revelations_about_his_tawrdry_pr_chief_by_lord_ashcroft.html
I got my apology from the Times
But Murdoch and his people have now been shown to be criminal in their activity
Enough said
Nothing like us
We have ripped HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS off the Russian people
And we are welcomed in London with open arms
Long live the totally corrupt British Establishment and legal profession
Russia’s loss is our gain. The oligarchs are going to loot the country regardless of what we do. We might as well try and get our hands on some of the loot as allow it to go to Switzerland or wherever else they’d stash it.
Same with all this ‘anti-corruption’ bollocks. The arabs are crooks and fuck all business gets done without a bribe. So bribe ‘em. Better that we bribe ‘em and get the work than the French or yanks bribe ‘em and get the work.
Of course you are right
London must be the centre of international crime
Especially the City
That way anyone with a minmum of honesty and common sense will place their money elsewhere
And the Citry of London will become the Macao of Europe, as it is fast becoming
Nonsense.
Well said your Lordship. It’s a sad day when you can’t buy a political party without journalists sticking their noses in. Where conservatives get their money from is no business of the public’s. How you, Asil Nadir, or the former People’s Republic of Czechoslovakia for that matter chose to spend their hard earned money is your own affair.
The Unions musr be really pissed about buying a political party then having journo’s sticking their noses in.
You must be a conservative.
Isn’t it well past your bedtime Jimmy?
Every day we lose another piece of our democracy.
Seen Elsewhere
Dave Says No to Balls Inquiry | Guardian
I will not allow anyone from the guardian or bbc the home of the homosexualist to examine my balls or indeed make an equiry about them
First, they’d have to find them.
Wow, homophobia. Didn’t see that coming.
I’ve always assumed that Mary Riddell was employed as the Telegraph’s resident purveyor of bollocks, but Oborne appears to be coming up on the outside rail…
It’s a lot easier to produce a thousand word article if you just write the opposite of what you wrote before.
No doubt…
I’ve never got too worked up about Riddell’s stuff because I assume she’s three sheets to the wind when writing it.
Sadly, I suspect Oborne is stone cold sober.
If Riddel is three sheets to the wind when she writes then Polly must be snot-flying-swearing-at-the-traffic dr*u*nk when she writes.
Sheets. Mmmmmm……
Puppets elected by muppets all having their strings or wires pulled by idiots. Aargh
I see a sheep in sheep clothing. \/
Nothing like a good scrap i.e, amongst the unelected elite. baaaa
You are right to highlight these toffs between so-called Tories
The trouble is that the Tory party has no leader of any substance
All men without chests
And the Tory party is going down the tubes
Which will leave us with the madmen of the Old/New/Deranged Labour to finally kill England off (what Murdoch would like as he has said, in fact)
Tiffs between the so-called Tories…freudian slip
And we need someone who is a street fighter as a Leader…not another fucking toff…
Alex Salmond remains our great white hope.
Roll on 2014 (is it?).
Watch the calories in Salmond pink.
Far healthier to stick to babies.
Oh go on then. Just a little one. Which I shall wash down with another bottle of Crystal.
Ashcroft’s monkey, Montgomerie, is a self regarding prat.
Strongly in favour of family that he does not have, for marriage but he isn’t, for the military but he has never served and a know all about how conservatives can better win elections but; never stood, never campaigned, never been elected.
He is close to Nadine though. What a boring tosser.
Of late Peter Oborne’s articles have been spoiled by hyperbole – the “go down in history” v “sewer” being an illustration.
But he is correct that the Tim Montgomeries, Frazer Nelsons etc are a pissing on their own chips.
They ignore the fact that for Cameron to be re-elected the tiny number of hardcore Tory evangelists (fundraisers and activists though they may be) will count for nothing; it is appealing the millions of floating voters who will decide the issue.
Every attack they launch on Cameron is an attack on their own party’s chances, as there is no alternative leader to Cameron (remember what happened when true blue saints like IDS and Hague had the role).
You’re writing about writers writing about politicians, right? FFS!
Hague’s problem was that he was up against Blair and the BBC and News International and coming off the back of a horrendous election defeat. The economy was recovering. Labour were following T*ry spending plans. There was no reason to vote T*ry.
Ned Miliband isn’t Tony Blair and News International are no longer on-side hence less ‘T*ry sleaze’ type tabloid coverage.
Hague would walk over Miliband. So would Davis.
Lest we forget – Cameron couldn’t even defeat the Maximum Imbecile. Cameron’s problem is that he is a bit too posh. He may be a good chap and he certainly gives a good speech but it is simply too easy (and Brown did it) to just characterise him as an out-of-touch toff. And there are millions of swing voters for whom this kind of stuff matters. They can identify with working-class-lad-makes-good like Hague or Davis but folk like Cameron are just that little bit too far to identify with.
Davis would have walked the election with a majority for that reason. But then Davis might not, with a single conference speech, have panicked the Imbecile out of holding an election that he would certainly have won.
I’m not sure if it’s just wishful thinking, but I suspect that the populace is looking for a stronger type of leader – particularly on the EU and welfare front – because enough people know that the current clusterfuck (ta, jgm2) is going to take more than the limp DC/GO duo to sort out. As evidence, m’lord, I cite the jumps in opinion poll ratings for the baby-eaters whenever DC pretends to be tough on the EU, the approval for Gove’s reforms (outside the sandal-knitters) and a growing resentment against benefit lifestyle gits.
Tim Montgomerie generally seems to espouse these opinions. He must see the UKIP drain, and believes the party would do better with a rightward move. This is no longer a competition between nicey-nicey New Labour and the nasty Tories, which heralded the race for the centre ground. Things have changed, and it app*ears that stronger leadership is desired on both sides of the political spectrum.
Good post.
If stating the, BLEEDINGLY, ARSE-WIPINGLY, TEARING-MY-HAIR-OUT, BLINDINGLY OBVIOUS constitutes a good post: +1
*sighs*
Your name gives me a stiffy.
Nothing to see here.
Can I make just a little suggestion … Perhaps no one has noted that the Tory party just might be infested with several new younger and stupid duped commie marxists … Get rid of all the Marxists in both – no all three major political parties.
So if the Conservatives ditch Dave with whom would they replace him?
And just look what the lurch to the right did to Sarkozy.
If people wanted UKIP policies parliament would be full of UKIP MPs, and it isn’t and it won’t be, even if UKIP candidates help let Labour ones get elected by splitting the right wing vote.
Is the Telegraph still in black and white?
It’s certainly not read all over (not by me, anyway).
Tee hee.
The Telegraph used to drive me dotty.
The Telegraph used to drive me dotty.
Talking is cheap. People follow like sheep. Even though there is nowhere to go.
(And Colin Firth was right– we may have had the much bigger hit, but it WAS a cover of a Frankie Valli/Four Seasons record.)
This one ??
We do a more convincing cover of that at The Cock Inn, Sarratt, Herts. every Sunday lunchtime.
http://www.cockinn.net/
Tillett, Herts
Took me 3 hours to ♥ this comment.
Silence Is Golden was the B-side of THIS one, which is why the Seasons didn’t have a hit with it:
I think they went with a good choice of A-side, though they could have released Silence as an A-side on another record– and that would have been a better choice.
“Beware … of his promise … la la la la laaaa” “Before … I go forever …. be sure of what you say ….
The lyrics are profound.
Oborne is a pompous tw*t.
Historically his Tory instincts have been quite good but his excessive tolerance for Muslim extremists makes you wonder whether he’s got a supermodel wife that he’d quite like to put in a burqa to keep her away from eager eyes.
My advice to him is to eat less lunch, drink less claret, stop pandering to the Muzzies and focus on his natural antipathy to the EU.
Oborne is so up his own arse it’s ridiculous – the worst columnist in the telegraph by a country mile, so no surprise that he can’t even be consistent.