Clik here to view.
Time to sharpen up, says Ed. That's enough Twitter twaddle, says Dennis
• Like being savaged by a dead sheep, was how Denis Healey described an assault by his contemporary Lord Howe. And much of the time this will be David Cameron's reaction on walking away unscathed after yet another one-sided prime minister's questions. But it won't be like that for ever. Ed's on the warpath, and this time it's personal. According to an account of the last private gathering of Labour's national executive committee, the leader apparently agreed that it was time "for the shadow cabinet to sharpen its attacks" on the coalition. Indeed, the gloves are off all round. Party members, he said, will henceforth have "more of a voice, even if this was inconvenient for him personally". A voice on strategy, and on policy, both being examined as part of reviews led by Peter Hain and Liam Byrne utilising all of the media at their disposal. Some will embrace these new ways. Some won't. Dennis Skinner "had no patience with twittering twaddle", the circulated memo said.
• So that's Ed. Meanwhile, out of the shadows and blinking into the light at the Hay festival comes David, who says just enough to give the Daily Mail a stick to beat his sibling with. "David Miliband says the Tories and Lib Dems are more representative of the country than the Labour party led by his younger brother, Ed," the story says. He's bloodied but not bowed. And he's obviously a bit sharper than he was back in the day when he rashly posed for photographers holding a banana. The Hay blog, authored by the writer Horatio Clare, reports that when an unknowing Argentinian photographer sought Miliband's help to construct a picture of an unnamed author, the former foreign secretary acquiesced. Then he realised it meant holding aloft a watering can. "No props," barked an anxious aide, having speedily computed the uses to which the photo might later be put. As for Miliband himself, he ran a mile.
• What's Chris Huhne up to these days? Should be easy to find out. It's all on Twitter. Let's see what's here: "I'm catching up on departmental business" – that's a regular. "I'm doing my weekly surgery for Eastleigh residents." Here's a goodie. " I'm having one of my regular catch-ups with DECC's chief scientific adviser." He's had nothing to report since last Friday, which is strange because his life has hardly been boring in recent weeks. But then, he was no more forthcoming, by all accounts, when interviewed about his driving history by Essex police.
• We have more on the return to public life of Robert Kilroy-Silk, ex Labour, ex BBC, ex Daily Express, ex Ukip, ex Veritas – now ploughing his furrow as a writer of racy fiction. Coming up, not just the novel about incest we mentioned yesterday, out via Kindle, but two other books: one featuring forced adoptions and kidnappings; the other war, divorce and suicide – "very politically incorrect". The strategy is characteristically populist. "I don't mind controversy," he says. And that we know. Who can forget how in 2004 he triggered a firestorm describing Arabs as "suicide bombers, limb-amputators, women repressors"? Or his attack on multiculturalism imposed by "liberal fascists in London". He's older now and a bit of a sweetie, but defiant on both career-destroying stances. And struggling to find a mainstream publisher. Can't think why.
• Finally, as it's half-term, and there will doubtless be a few impressionable young people tuning in, a few inspiring words from Matthew Parris. "I was brought up to believe that, if at first you don't succeed, you must try, try and try again," he told the National Association of Pension Funds. "But this is totally wrong. If you don't succeed at first, then by all means give it a really good go, but then give up and try something else." According to Public Servant magazine, Parris said he has tried seven careers so far and failed at six. "If you give up enough things that you are bad at, then by the law of averages you should eventually find something you are rather better at." So it's your choice: the traditional try and try again, a la Robert the Bruce. Or throw a lot of mud, like Matthew says, and see if any sticks. Ìn any event, good luck!
