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| A digital dilemma for Corbyn, and business as usual again for the Tories A digital dilemma for Corbyn, and business as usual again for the Tories | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Monday | Monday |
| “My leadership campaign is leading the way in harnessing the advances of new technology to organise political campaigning like we’ve never seen before,” said Jeremy Corbyn at the launch of Labour’s digital democracy manifesto in east London. Judging by the IT skills on show at the event, the Labour leader’s own staff could do with a remedial class themselves. First, the Facebook live feed failed, meaning that no one got to see the event who wasn’t actually there. Nor did things improve much afterward, as no copy of the manifesto was available online. | “My leadership campaign is leading the way in harnessing the advances of new technology to organise political campaigning like we’ve never seen before,” said Jeremy Corbyn at the launch of Labour’s digital democracy manifesto in east London. Judging by the IT skills on show at the event, the Labour leader’s own staff could do with a remedial class themselves. First, the Facebook live feed failed, meaning that no one got to see the event who wasn’t actually there. Nor did things improve much afterward, as no copy of the manifesto was available online. |
| All that could be found on Corbyn’s own Facebook page was an advert trailing the event that had already happened. Worse still, the Facebook page advised users to go to www.jeremycorbyn.com/JeremyCorbynMP. Anyone who followed these instructions would have got through to a page owned by HugeDomains.com offering to sell you the web address www.jeremycorbyn.com for either a one-off payment of $2,615 or 12 monthly payments of $218. Truly leading the way in harnessing the advances of new technology. | All that could be found on Corbyn’s own Facebook page was an advert trailing the event that had already happened. Worse still, the Facebook page advised users to go to www.jeremycorbyn.com/JeremyCorbynMP. Anyone who followed these instructions would have got through to a page owned by HugeDomains.com offering to sell you the web address www.jeremycorbyn.com for either a one-off payment of $2,615 or 12 monthly payments of $218. Truly leading the way in harnessing the advances of new technology. |
| Tuesday | Tuesday |
| Having recently agreed to be both shadow leader of the Commons and shadow secretary of state for Wales – presumably Corbyn couldn’t find another Labour MP willing to do one of the two jobs – Paul Flynn is finding he has less free time on his hands than he would like. That’s why he wants to scrap the current tedious system obliging MPs to keep receipts for expenses and replace it with a generous allowance that MPs can spend on whatever they like. | Having recently agreed to be both shadow leader of the Commons and shadow secretary of state for Wales – presumably Corbyn couldn’t find another Labour MP willing to do one of the two jobs – Paul Flynn is finding he has less free time on his hands than he would like. That’s why he wants to scrap the current tedious system obliging MPs to keep receipts for expenses and replace it with a generous allowance that MPs can spend on whatever they like. |
| Flynn argues that the current system isn’t working as well as it should, so it’s time to go back to how it used to be when MPs were treated like upstanding members of society. Understandably, all Flynn’s senior colleagues have gone out of their way to distance themselves from his remarks. They feel – probably correctly – that the public aren’t yet quite ready to trust that every MP won’t spend some of their allowance on a duck house. | Flynn argues that the current system isn’t working as well as it should, so it’s time to go back to how it used to be when MPs were treated like upstanding members of society. Understandably, all Flynn’s senior colleagues have gone out of their way to distance themselves from his remarks. They feel – probably correctly – that the public aren’t yet quite ready to trust that every MP won’t spend some of their allowance on a duck house. |
| Wednesday | Wednesday |
| As the Premier League clubs are on average £40m better off this season than last thanks to the new TV deal, it was no great surprise that the transfer window closed with clubs spending a record amount of money on new players. The only mystery is why so many clubs leave it until the last day to do the deals. It can only be the fear of missing out on something, as most clubs are well aware by the middle of the summer where their squad weaknesses lie and doing a late deal invariably seems to incur a financial premium. My own club, Spurs, managed to acquire the Newcastle player Moussa Sissoko by coming in with a late bid just minutes before the transfer deadline. | As the Premier League clubs are on average £40m better off this season than last thanks to the new TV deal, it was no great surprise that the transfer window closed with clubs spending a record amount of money on new players. The only mystery is why so many clubs leave it until the last day to do the deals. It can only be the fear of missing out on something, as most clubs are well aware by the middle of the summer where their squad weaknesses lie and doing a late deal invariably seems to incur a financial premium. My own club, Spurs, managed to acquire the Newcastle player Moussa Sissoko by coming in with a late bid just minutes before the transfer deadline. |
| Curiously, Spurs had put in a bid – thought to be worth about £12m – for Sissoko the week before, only for the offer to be rejected. Seven days later, with Everton seemingly on the point of signing the player for £30m, Spurs suddenly decided he was worth two and a half times more than their initial valuation. Much will depend on which Sissoko Spurs have bought. If it’s the Sissoko who starred for France in the Euros, he’s worth the money. If he’s the Sissoko who helped get Newcastle relegated last season, then Spurs have wasted their money. | Curiously, Spurs had put in a bid – thought to be worth about £12m – for Sissoko the week before, only for the offer to be rejected. Seven days later, with Everton seemingly on the point of signing the player for £30m, Spurs suddenly decided he was worth two and a half times more than their initial valuation. Much will depend on which Sissoko Spurs have bought. If it’s the Sissoko who starred for France in the Euros, he’s worth the money. If he’s the Sissoko who helped get Newcastle relegated last season, then Spurs have wasted their money. |
| Thursday | Thursday |
| With the party conference season nearly on us, former politicians are lining up to publish their memoirs. The biggest seller – I use that term relatively, as political biographies seldom make the bestseller lists or earn out their advances – is likely to be Ed Balls’ Speaking Out, even though his forthcoming appearance on Strictly Come Dancing may well turn out to be the most interesting thing he has ever done. | With the party conference season nearly on us, former politicians are lining up to publish their memoirs. The biggest seller – I use that term relatively, as political biographies seldom make the bestseller lists or earn out their advances – is likely to be Ed Balls’ Speaking Out, even though his forthcoming appearance on Strictly Come Dancing may well turn out to be the most interesting thing he has ever done. |
| One book that will probably slip under almost everyone’s radar is Malcolm Rifkind’s Power and Pragmatism. Partly because few people will remember him, but mainly because it’s rather dull. As you may gather from the title, Rifkind sees himself as a pragmatist, a trait he extends to his writing. He claims that “writing a novel must be easier than presenting one’s own life”, which isn’t entirely borne out by what follows. He also manages to omit the accusations of “cash for access” that were made against him by Channel 4 and the Daily Telegraph last year – it was the one memorable event in his recent political career. Pragmatic indeed. | One book that will probably slip under almost everyone’s radar is Malcolm Rifkind’s Power and Pragmatism. Partly because few people will remember him, but mainly because it’s rather dull. As you may gather from the title, Rifkind sees himself as a pragmatist, a trait he extends to his writing. He claims that “writing a novel must be easier than presenting one’s own life”, which isn’t entirely borne out by what follows. He also manages to omit the accusations of “cash for access” that were made against him by Channel 4 and the Daily Telegraph last year – it was the one memorable event in his recent political career. Pragmatic indeed. |
| Friday | Friday |
| Living your principles. When Theresa May became prime minister in July she promised to run a country “for the many, not the few”. Now, it seems, it’s back to business as usual with the Tories selling access to ministers at their party conference in Birmingham later this month. For £3,150 you can buy your way into a business day at which Theresa May and other government ministers will be present, which could be money very well spent given the networking opportunities and the number of government Brexit-related contracts potentially on offer. | Living your principles. When Theresa May became prime minister in July she promised to run a country “for the many, not the few”. Now, it seems, it’s back to business as usual with the Tories selling access to ministers at their party conference in Birmingham later this month. For £3,150 you can buy your way into a business day at which Theresa May and other government ministers will be present, which could be money very well spent given the networking opportunities and the number of government Brexit-related contracts potentially on offer. |
| It certainly looks a better deal than the ones that Jack Straw and Malcolm Rifkind appeared to be offering by using their contacts and experience to further the interests of a fictitious Chinese company. Both Rifkind and Straw, neither of whom were government ministers at the time, were asking at least £5,000 for a day’s not-so-hard graft. So perhaps Theresa May is a woman of her word after all and £3,150 is just an introductory offer to undercut the market and bring in the many. | It certainly looks a better deal than the ones that Jack Straw and Malcolm Rifkind appeared to be offering by using their contacts and experience to further the interests of a fictitious Chinese company. Both Rifkind and Straw, neither of whom were government ministers at the time, were asking at least £5,000 for a day’s not-so-hard graft. So perhaps Theresa May is a woman of her word after all and £3,150 is just an introductory offer to undercut the market and bring in the many. |
| Digested week, digested: Brexit still means Brexit. | Digested week, digested: Brexit still means Brexit. |