Dear Co-conspirators,
On Wednesday night co-conspirators, friends, politicians and the best of the Westminster media pack gathered in Pall Mall for Guido’s twentieth anniversary dinner celebration.
As you would expect from a Guido party the booze flowed freely – for once however I was stone cold sober because I was going to deliver a speech (see below) which I did not want to stumble over. After six general elections, three referendums, eight Prime Ministers and having now even seen off my fourth Spectator editor, I am finally logging off the blog. If a week is a long time in politics, 20 years is an eternity.
Counting my mis-spent youth in student politics, apart from a foray in the City, politics has been my life for four decades. It remains to be seen how easy it will be to detox after being at the centre of things in SW1 for so long. This exit has been planned for some time and I am happy to say that unlike the original Guido Fawkes, I got to choose the time and manner of my ending. I leave the Guido Fawkes Organisation in the good hands of Ross Kempsell, one of the smartest operators in the game and a former Guido reporter from way back in 2017. The team is strong with now seasoned news editor Max Young and Eleanor Wheatley as our senior reporter. There is as ever another who shall remain nameless for now – because we always like to have someone who can do undercover work at Guido. My greatest pride and joy over the years has been to see young people who cut their teeth in the Guido newsroom go on to have even more success in the media. It gives me a sense of avuncular pride to see them all prosper. The time is right for me to stand down not least because as I have got older the newest intake of MPs has got younger and the SpAds even younger still, drinking in Westminster bars with them has become tougher and the recovery time much longer.
On a personal level twenty years of 24/7 focus on SW1 politics has been all consuming. There are hundreds of books that have gone unread because I have been too busy scrolling through tweets – an addiction I plan to beat.
Dear readers I want to thank you co-conspirators for everything, the tips, the fun, the exchanges, no doubt you’ll make your views known, as ever, in the comments. You made Guido Fawkes, I can not thank you all enough.
Thanks to GB News here are all the speeches from the night. First up was Harry Cole, the first ever employee of the Guido Fawkes Organisation and now the political editor of The Sun:
Next was my friend and former blogging rival James Cleverly:
Thanks to a few hours of coaching from the legendary speech crafter Peter Botting I think my speech went well:
My successor Ross Kempsell said some nice things:
You are in the good hands of Publisher Ross Kempsell…
Paul Staines
Yesterday morning in High Court 13 saw the first round in the legal battle between Dale Vince and Guido. On Friday Lord (Shaun) Bailey made his case for summary dismissal of Dale Vince’s claims. Which is a different approach to the one we are taking. Richard Tice’s barrister also made his preliminary case in Court 13 in the afternoon. All three hearings were in front of Mr Justice Pepperall.
This Court round was a trial of preliminary issues, to determine meaning and to establish what it is exactly that a full trial will be arguing about. This is designed to save time and money before a full blown trial. Even so at one point Guido counted 13 lawyers in the court room.
The arguments were technical, the meanings were contested, the issue as to whether the various statements by defendants were opinions is a key question. Much citing of legal precedents and authorities occurred. The judge was inscrutuable, taking copious notes and will deliver his ruling in weeks.
We are incredibly grateful to the 2,800 co-conspirators who have so far donated £89,711 to crowdfund this case. We could not have made our case as strongly without you – libel cases like this require specialist representation which is not cheap. More than anything, beyond the funds raised, it demonstrates that thousands of people want to Just Stop Dale…
As mission statements are all the rage currently and today is the twentieth anniversary of this institution’s founding, we thought co-conspirators might be interested in the email that accompanied our launch:
Press Release : Guy Fawkes’ Political Blog launched for Political Conference Season
For Immediate Release
My Fellow Pyrotechnicians,
I have long been haunting parliament, skulking around in the shadows and the cellars, ignored and unheard. But revenge will be mine now I have a ‘blog to spread what I overhear.
As the only man to ever enter parliament with honest intentions, be assured I seek the truth. But given the bastards had me hung drawn and quartered I don’t intend to show them much mercy in return. So I beseech the people of Westminster to send me scandalous gossip, and if its probably true, I will probably publish it.
To make it easy for sources and encourage leaks they can contact Guy Fawkes anonymously by e-mail, voice-mail or facsimile or post comments via the website…
Note to editors: Remember, Remember the www.5thNovember.blogspot.com is aimed at wonks, political junkies, scurrilous gossip mongers and politicians. It plans to be fully advertiser funded by year end. Editorially more interested in politicians penchants than their policies, it comes in a light-weight bite-sized hit and run format. It has contempt for spinners and politicians believing that Guy Fawkes was the best man ever in parliament.
Aiming to break-even and be fully advertiser funded by Bonfire Night, it is published by UGO LLC.
Yours in Gunpowder,
Guido Fawkes
How do co-conspirators think we have done mission-wise twenty years later? As it turned out it took a little longer to achieve break-even. As Mrs Fawkes never tires of reminding Guido…
Guido’s founder and editor Paul Staines appeared on GB News this morning to explain the reasoning behind the twelfth annual #PositiveXDay.
Maybe, just for one day, we can all try;
Make an effort to reach out to those with which you usually have violently opposing views. Or simply share your support by clicking this link #PositiveXDay
In Henry Mance’s piece today for the FT, lunching with Nigel Farage:
“Splendido!” Farage says, when the drinks arrive; I suppose it’s a step to European reconciliation. We clink glasses, and he lights the first of two back-to-back Benson & Hedges. A few minutes later, we’re back downstairs. “Are you drinking? Good.” He orders a glass of Sauvignon blanc for each of us — not a bottle, “because it’s Lent” — followed by a bottle of claret, to have with our meal. They say Farage drinks less than he used to. They say a lot of things.”