Corbyn’s Labour Party has lost another dedicated lifelong member – today former New Labour smear merchant (reformed), founding editor of LabourList and onetime Guido adversary Derek Draper announced that he’s quitting the party after over 35 years. Dolly explains:
“Well, after what must be 35+ years I have left the Labour party. I didn’t seem to have a choice, as you can’t really be a member of a party and then vote for another. It’s not just about Corbyn, I’m not sure I’ve felt “Labour” for some time. It seems to me that the party is basically stupid and then every now and again sensible people have to take it over so it can win but what an effort that is and it never lasts. My political views have changed anyway over the last 10 years so I’m not sure where I’ll end up. Somewhere where there is some sort of actual leadership would be a start. Farewell comrades. It’s your party now.”
Thanks for all the memories…
Readers may remember how back in 2010 Derek Draper set up Goodypass, a Groupon-clone fronted by his wife Kate Garraway. Guido wondered at the time how it would make any money, so there was no surprise when it was revealed the business had haemorrhaged some £100,000 earlier this year. Now Dolly’s pride and joy start-up has gone bust:
Staff laid off, crippling debts and nigh on a million quid down the drain. Who would have predicted that…?
The Telegraph reports that there is trouble in paradise for former Brown spinner Derek Draper and his TV presenter wife Kate Garraway after she had a snoop through his emails. Following a discussion concerning fears about cheating husbands Garraway revealed: “I read something I wasn’t supposed to last week and it’s still quite tense in our house“, before quickly clarifying: “it wasn’t a love affair“. Guido couldn’t possibly comment…
The last time Dolly got into a spot of bother over his emails things didn’t end well. Guido hopes that this time it’s nothing more than a bit of harmless feminist fun…
With Downing Street aides declaring to the Lobby that Sarah Southern is “persona non grata” her former colleagues are a little less diplomatic. Guido’s favourite joke so far being
CCHQ Staffer: Knock, knock…
GF: Who’s there?
CCHQ: Sarah…
GF: Sarah who?
CCHQ: Yeah, exactly.
Nothing like a bit of gallows humour, but the more information that emerges, the more this looks like an accident waiting to happen…
Reportedly on the verge of being sacked for incompetence as a coordinator in 2007, Southern mysteriously quit on the day she was due to meet HR and senior staff. Conveniently Lord Ashcroft immediately gave her a job working for the International Young Democrat Union, which he was bankrolling at the time. This was during the height of his empire in CCHQ which included multiple desk spaces and his own glass office. Southern stayed around CCHQ reporting to Ashcroft until 2009 when everyone seemed to have forgotten about the whole mystery non-sacking. She then joined the events team though Guido has been unable to stand up her claims that she went shopping with Sam Cam on election day. CCHQ Op-Notes from the time suggest she was the logistics contact for a Cameron speech in Carlisle the day before…
The photograph on her now infamous business card was taken at the CCHQ thank you party after the election in the Rose Garden at Downing Street. Southern did not make it into government and instead embarked on a career in public affairs. Lobbying industry insiders tell Guido that they were put off by her “it is not what you know, but who” attitude and belief that it would be enough to secure her work. In interviews she blamed the coalition for a lack of job in No.10 and boasted that she was at the peak of her insider knowledge and thus the perfect time to move on. With no agency seemingly willing to take her on, she set up Sarah Southern Consulting. And the rest they say is history…
The line that will haunt her forever will be the Draperesque “I am friends with all the people who are now his closest advisers. I’m friends with the people who are chiefs of staff to members of the cabinet. I’m also friends with a number of people in the cabinet”. Those friends tell Guido that the one time insider “accepts she’s f****d”.
Don’t worry Sarah, bragging about contacts didn’t stop Dolly coming back…
Labour’s Quiet Digital Revolution – Alex Smith
A niche one this week, but a bottle of Glenfiddich for the wittiest winner…
A Friday treat for you from last night – an “absolutely totally brilliant” butchering of a Dylan classic “Forever Young” by our old friend:
Despite Gordon Brown saying there was “no place in public life” for him, Draper is back in the fold and singing his heart out as his old chum Tom Watson looks on at last night’s fundraiser for Ed Miliband’s Political Adviser Polly Billington’s shoo-in selection bid for the Thurrock constituency. As he can’t be seen in shot, presumably McBride is holding the camera…
With the Labour bloggers taking their lines from direct meetings with Ed Miliband, Political Scrapbook doing the red-raggy ones and Left Foot Forward and LabourList parroting press releases, it is as if Draper’s vision has finally been achieved. Only after he got out of the way…
UPDATE: Amusing snippets coming in from last night from all sorts of places. Apparently Polly and Ed Balls sung Endless Love and Dolly did three songs. Who knew Like a Rolling Stone had thirteen verses…
