PLAN B

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Well, it had to come, but it's taken a hell of a long time to scrape them all together. The Telegraph has this story tonight: Gordon Brown finally finds experts 'to back economic plans'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7591279/General-Election-2010-Gordon-Brown-finally-finds-experts-to-back-economic-plans.html:
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The BBC live election blog has already pounced on the story:
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2132: Fifty-eight economists from around the world have signed a letter warning the recovery remains "fragile" and that "rash" cuts by the Conservatives could lead to spiralling job losses, the Telegraph reports. The paper claims it has obtained a leaked copy of the document, thought to have been organised by Labour peers. The signatories reportedly include leading figures such as Lord Layard, Lord Skidelsky, Lord Peston and Sir David Hendry.
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What caught my eye here was the name 'Lord Peston'. He's a Labour peer and, yes, he's the father of the BBC's Robert Peston. It will be interesting to say if/how he reports this story.
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It will also be interesting to see if the BBC reports another aspect of the Telegraph's story:
It is understood that Labour failed in an attempt to get business leaders to sign a similar letter on their proposals - and as a result was forced to turn to economists, a tactic the party has used previously.
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UNREALITY CHECK

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Robert Peston makes some efforts to present both sides of the NI argument but it seems he just can't help himself:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/parties_and_issues/8606834.stm

Now, the Conservatives would also argue that the private sector is more efficient at generating the revenues and wealth that pay for public services than the public sector.

Which would be another reason for not increasing the tax burden on the private sector.

There is, however, one important counter-argument, about the nature of the good society.

An important dividing line between Labour and the Tories in this election is over how much of their plans to cut public borrowing should be financed by spending cuts and how much by tax increases.

The Tories would cut £4 of public spending for every additional pound they would raise from new taxes.

By contrast Labour would reduce state expenditure by just £2 per pound of new taxes.

Run that by me again Robert. There is "one important counter-argument" to the Tories' case, and that is "about the nature of the good society." What does he mean by that? That the 'important counter-argument' is the one that will favour "the good society" rather than the Conservative argument, which presumably won't? Or, in other words, Labour's 'counter-argument' will favour "the good society" rather than the Conseratives argument, which won't?
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Is that what he means?

ROBERT PESTON TO THE RESCUE!

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Oh, and now there's another one at it.
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Robert Peston's latest post on Peston's Picks tries to downplay the significance of the story of the 23 top businessmen who are backing the Conservatives over national insurance:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/2010/04
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His point is that the names of those businessmen don't surprise him. Some of them are Tories, some could be Tories, some think the Tories might be the next government and might profit from sucking up to them...nudge, nudge, wink, wink...

So how to assess today's letter from 23 business leaders backing the Tories' proposal to partly reverse the government's plan to increase National Insurance?

But I should also point out that there wasn't a single signatory who made me think "wow, didn't expect him to be on a list of proponents of a Tory policy".

That doesn't mean that they are all card-carrying members of the Tory party or donors to the Conservatives (some are). (Who? How many exactly? Two? Eight? Sixteen? Twenty-two?)

It's just that I've observed for some months the likes of Sir Stuart Rose of M&S and Justin King of Sainsbury becoming quite chummy with what you might call New Conservatives', or the leadership clique around David Cameron. (Some might say the same of Robert Peston and New Labour).

And in the business circles in which I mix, there's been lots of chatter in recent months that one or both could find themselves on the Tory benches of the Lords or doing a job for a Tory administration. (Ah, so they're saying it for purely selfish reasons, you mean Robert? That would make their statements worthless, wouldn't it?)

Also, there was a chunk of the letter that gave me a powerful sense of deja vu (or
deja entendu, to be more precise).

It's this bit:

"The state must look to enable our public servants to make savings. This can be done by removing the blizzard of irrelevant objectives, restrictive working practices,
arcane procurement rules and Whitehall interference."

Now I have heard something very similar from the lips of New Conservatives' favourite businessman, Simon Wolfson, chief executive of Next - who happens to be one of the signatories, and is very close to the Cameron/Osborne gang. (If he's one of the signatories, the fact that you'll have heard him say something similar to what he and his co-signatories say here is hardly a startling coincidence then, is it Robert?)

None of which is to say this letter of endorsement of an important Tory policy from some business heavyweights is trivial (well, it certainly seems to me that that's precisely what Peston is implying!) - just that it isn't terribly surprising.

Spin, pure pro-Labour spin, complete with insinuations and sophistry. It's a classic BBC 'Nothing to see here, move along now' piece.

AUGUST'S I.C.s - ODDS AND SODS

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This post will round up all the miscellaneous interviewers - the stand-ins, the rare butterflies, the reporters - who got a bite of the interviewing cherry last month.


JAMES LANDALE

Eddie Mair's large shoes were filled on 14th August by political correspondent James Landale.

Roger Helmer, Conservative - 0
Chris Bryant, Labour - 0
Lord West, GOAT - 0

The phrase 'nothing to see here' springs to mind.



STEPHEN EVANS

Broadcasting House only swam into my ken because of the absence of the Marr Show, but it will be staying in focus from now on. The only interviews caught in August were as follows:

30/8 Alex Salmond, SNP - 0.8
23/8 Alex Salmond, SNP - 0.6

Both were tough interviews (despite the lowish I.C.s).



ROBERT PESTON

Robeert Pestooooooon's one fuuuull interview toooooook place on Todaaaaaay on 1st August.

Lord Myners, Labour - 0



QUENTIN SOMMERVILLE

The BBC's China correspondent got to interview Tony Blair (remember him?) over China's use of 'green technology' (Today, 21st August).

Tony Blair, Labour - 0

A gentle affair it was too.



Best of all, of course, was:

LAURA KUENSSBERG


16/8 Janet Anderson, Labour - 0.5
16/8 Ed Vaizey, Conservative - 0.2
16/8 Evan Harris, Lib Dem - 0.2
23/8 Pete Wishart, SNP - 0
23/8 Tom Harris, Labour - 0
23/8 David Mundell, Conservative - 0

Her exemplary performances have been lauded already.