Starmer’s biographer Tom Baldwin spoke on No 10’s inability to deal with its cronyism scandals on The Week in Westminster:
”The defensive crouch with which [crony stories] have been greeted by Downing Street has exacerbated the problem… there’s an uncertain shape about how they approach things.”
Two months ago Simon Enright, one-time press adviser to the King and Queen, was being tipped to become “Sir Keir Starmer’s king of spin in 10 Downing Street“. According to The Sun’s Harry Cole, Sue Gray was “keen to bring in Simon Enright”, which seemed plausible given he had been providing training and advice to the shadow cabinet.
That didn’t play out, Simon Enright last week left spin-shop Freuds to become the new director of communications for Grant Shapps at the Ministry of Defence. Which means Sue Gray is still looking for a new “king of spin” for Number 10…
She could of course choose a queen, Beth Rigby’s online analysis in what is the unregulated-by-Ofcom “Sky Analysis” (formerly “Sky Views”) section of the channel’s website already reads like she is writing press releases for the Labour Party:
Perhaps the Parliamentary Lobby’s only openly known Labour Party member, Paul Waugh, might get the job assuming he doesn’t want instead to have a second go at becoming the MP for Rochdale.
Could Tom Baldwin reprise the role he did for Miliband? His hagiography of Keir shows his closeness to the principal. They say everyone has a third act in them…
In a 4-dimensional-chess move no one saw coming, the People’s Vote campaign have written to the Electoral Commission asking that they be investigated over apparent dodgy donations.
A statement released to the press reads:
“The People’s Vote is asking the Electoral Commission to look into possible non-disclosure of donations under the organisation’s previous executive management.
The new interim management team, in place since beginning of November, has been conducting a fundamental review of the organisation’s systems, policies and processes.
In the course of this review we became extremely concerned donations may not have been declared to the Electoral Commission. We immediately made the Commission aware of this.”
Guido understands we are looking at six-figure donations undisclosed. The new People’s Vote regime under new campaign director Stuart Hand is upbeat, saying some 30 staff are toiling in Millbank Tower, that they have had £700,000 in donations since the election was called, at least a £100,000 of which has been funnelled to preferred candidates. That’s a lot of LibDem leaflets…
Former campaign director Patrick Heneghan is still “on a leave of absence” pending investigation of his alleged drunken cocaine and chill offers to young female staffers. As you do…
Where all this leaves former People’s Vote campaign chiefs James McGrory and Tom Baldwin is anyone’s guess. The Electoral Commission report will be interesting…
Roland Rudd invited People’s Vote staffers to a meeting with him in the Hilton next door to the Millbank Tower campaign HQ. Two heavies with a clipboard were guarding the corridor to the meeting room. The heavies refused entry to campaign veteran James McGrory, and despite trying to blag his way in Tom Baldwin got the “your name’s not on the list, you can’t come in” treatment. Shocking scenes…
UPDATE: According to reports, after a lively meeting with Roland Rudd this morning People’s Vote staffers voted to no confidence him and their new chief executive, Patrick Heneghan. A source in the room claims only 3 staff members (including Heneghan) supported the new Rudd regime.
Guido hears that Roland Rudd and Patrick Heneghan are currently boycotting their own People’s Vote meeting – called for 9 a.m. this morning – because Baldwin and McGrory are present and he refuses to address them.
The People’s Vote campaign staff are currently waiting for him to stop having a tantrum and address the meeting he called. Who could have anticipated the People’s Vote were capable of such incompetence…
UPDATE: Looks like the staff are turning against Rudd…
.@RolandRudd told both the @FT and Radio 4 that he’s constantly in and out of the People’s Vote office and knows staff well. I’m in the office every day and I’ve never met him.
— Charlie Atkins (@kinsCharlie) October 28, 2019
UPDATE II: Rudd in classic coup behaviour, now broadcasting propaganda from a TV station – Sky…
UPDATE III: Tom Baldwin launches into a succession of snide comments against Rudd, claiming there was a “boardroom coup”… but denying there is any chaos.
Reading through the People’s Vote senior team’s private WhatsApp messages, Guido was struck by one particular exchange from the day Boris visited a prison and discovered where lags stuff Kinder Eggs in order to smuggle contraband into prison.
In the exchange, Head of Strategic Communications – hopes the prisoners give Boris “a warm welcome”, to which Director of Communications Tom Baldwin replies “He slipped in the shower”. Who knows what fantasy was going through Tom’s mind?
