The Tories “spent yesterday playing politics in the gutter, trying to smear Labour with lies,” moans a Labour press release sent out this morning. The delicate flowers are still upset with Michael Fallon and stories in the papers today about Miliband’s love life. Because Labour’s spinners would never spread innuendos about their opponents, would they?
Certainly not Miliband comms chief Bob Roberts, apart from his classic Mirror job on Dave claiming that MI5 had “uncovered a dark secret about Cameron” which would “fuel suspicions that Mr Cameron took Class A drugs”.
Definitely not Tom ‘Hoover’ Baldwin, apart from when he revealed in the Times how several top Tories had spent their university days “intoxicated”. Ahem.
And absolutely not Sunday Telegraph pol ed turned Labour spinmeister Paddy Hennessy, apart from when he told us all about Nick Clegg’s “sexual antics” and how he had “admitted to sleeping with ‘no more than 30’ women”. They must be going soft…
After a big recruitment campaign, the new £65,000-a-year directors of the Labour Party are set to be unveiled next week, and they seem to have recruited from within. As Guido understands it, the three leading directors are likely to be:
- Director of Communications: Bob Roberts.
Currently Ed’s press man, this is a good move sideways and sort of upwards for the former Mirror Political Editor, some confusion as to if he wants to stay in the Norman Shaw building’s leaders office rather than go to the Labour HQ. Also means his career in the party is not over with a change of leader.
- Director of Strategy: Greg Beales
Currently Ed’s policy wonk and general consigliere. His other quarter is Katie Myler, the daughter of the former Screws editor Colin. Not much change here.
- Director of Policy: Torsten Henricson-Bell
This former Alistair Darling SpAd was on the inside when they “not only saved the world, but saved the banks too”. He’s been sniffing around for a seat since. He didn’t go far away, and has been advising Ed on economic policy.
There are other less exciting back room roles, but these three will be the significant players. The biggest loser of this reorganisation is the unfortunately titled “Director of Strategy and Communications” Tom Baldwin, who has effectively had his job divided up and handed to other people, in particular Tim Livesey, the former diplomat and adviser to the archbishop. When Tom started, it was made very clear that he was Bob Robert’s boss. It doesn’t really look that way any more…
UPDATE: According to LabourList, who are now catching up with us on this story, Beales will stay in the leader’s office. They also reveal Patrick Heneghan for Field ops and Emilie Oldknow for the dubiously named Governance and Services Director.
UPDATE II: Or not:
Never let it be said I don’t admit when I’m wrong – kudos to @GuidoFawkes who was in fact right about Greg Beales… http://t.co/dlyfEzlV
— Mark Ferguson (@Markfergusonuk) March 9, 2012
