William Hague's sage advice for Ed Miliband on handling defeat
Ten years ago Ed Miliband was licking his wounds after a bitter defeat in the general election, but it turns out there is a support group for vanquished leaders of the opposition. 'I saw William Hague,' Miliband tells The Rest Is Politics, adding that the former Tory leader had a key bit of advice: 'Carry on being the person you are because you'll find people's attitude towards you transforms and they'll say, 'Where was that person before?'.' Miliband did as he was told and won new admirers, though he did find that some still needed clarification on which person he was. At Holborn Tube a few months later, a man saw him and recognised the big loser in the election. 'Oh my God,' the fellow said. 'It's Nick Clegg!'
A state of affairs
A baffling job advert has come up at Angela Rayner's ministry of housing, which has said that it is looking for a 'Head of public affairs'. This usually means a lobbyist, though the meat of the ad suggests that they meant to say 'external affairs'. Or maybe Rayner's decided that the best way to get Keir Starmer onside with her bold economic ideas is to exert public pressure until he U-turns. It's a tried and tested method.
Coburn's close call
When Politics Live returns on Monday, it will be without Jo Coburn who has hosted the show since it began in 2018. Speaking to Westminster Insider, she recalled how the job saw her break news and break up fights. On one edition, the commentator Will Self and the Tory MP Mark Francois (two names to have rarely troubled lists of dream dinner party guests) squared up on air over the issue of Brexit. 'The editor said to me 'Jo, they look like they're going to hit each other, what are you going to do?',' Coburn recalls. If the clip is rewatched, Coburn can be seen indicating the two glasses of water in front of them and then nodding towards the camera. It's not clear whether the would-be pugilists noticed this threat, but both men regained control and the programme did not become an absolute shower.
Crown rinse
Some actors begin preparing for a role by finding their character's shoes but, as she prepares to play the late Queen on a national tour, Anne Reid started at the other end of the body. 'I've talked to her hairdresser,' Reid tells The Bath Chronicle. 'I had to ring him and say, 'She talks about having permed hair. Did she have permed hair?' ' Apparently, Her Majesty got the full Kevin Keegan at least three times year. True to stereotype, the hairdresser also proved good for gossip, telling Reid that the Queen was once mid-investiture when a new dame's phone went off. 'Should you get that?' the monarch said. 'It might be important.'
Gaffe in the gents
You never know who you are going to bump into in parliament, and small talk must be approached with caution. Lord Lee of Trafford had an awkward moment recently when he found himself next to someone in the gents who was dressed brightly, with stockings, baggy trousers, bodice and a fancy hat. The wine from dinner gave him the courage to ask, 'Are you a Morris dancer?' This is a bold question when uncertain of the reply, and so it proved when this chap took it badly. 'No,' he replied. 'This is the national dress of Norway.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
12 minutes ago
- The Independent
On the day transgender women soccer players face a ban in England, they play on
For soccer-loving transgender women in England, it's been a tough day, as the ban on their participation in women's teams came into force. To show its solidarity with the community and against the decision by the governing body of English soccer (football), Goal Diggers Football Club, a London-based trans-inclusive women's team, held a tournament Sunday. The message was clear. Yes, it's a sad day, but no one will stop us playing the sport we love. Around 100 people — women, trans women, non-binary and gender non-conforming players —took part in the 'Let The Dolls Play Tournament' in Islington, north London. And everyone present appeared to find comfort in their solidarity despite the occasional foul, intentional or not. 'You know they're not going take away this community, my friends,' said Paula Griffin, a 60-year-old transgender woman. "And there's such a powerful message coming from that, that the people who care about women's sport are the people who play the women's sports. And these are the people that are my friends.' Griffin, like the others, are still dismayed by the decision last month by England's Football Association to ban transgender women from playing on women's soccer teams from June 1 following a U.K. Supreme Court ruling in April. The F.A. said it had decided to change its rules that had allowed transgender athletes to play in women's soccer teams if they had reduced testosterone levels. The decision came in the wake of the ruling from the U.K.'s Supreme Court that defined a woman for anti-discrimination purposes as someone born biologically female. The head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission said after the ruling that transgender women would be excluded from women's toilets, hospital wards and sports teams. While the ruling was cheered by some feminist groups, it was condemned by trans-rights groups who said it would have a broad and detrimental impact on daily life. 'It's really upset me,' said Billie Sky, a 28-year-old transgender woman. "I have to say, this has been a really hard week. I've struggled to get out of bed at times. I'm doing my best to get through work and come to things like this, but it's, it's really difficult.' The issue has been polarizing in the U.K. and beyond, particularly in the United States, where President Donald Trump has signed executive orders to prohibit participation of transgender athletes in sports and to use a rigid definition of the sexes, rather than gender, for federal government purposes. The orders are being challenged in court. For those present at the tournament in north London on Sunday morning, the fight will go on but for now, it's about keeping the sport they love close. 'I think that's the whole point of today, is we're trying to just reclaim the day and make it a really joyous time to spend together,' said Jahnavi Kalayil, a 26-year-old woman. "And I think it's definitely happened, everyone's had a really great time. Whether winning or losing the games, it's more about just coming together as a community and making sure we're standing up for our trans siblings.'
BBC News
17 minutes ago
- BBC News
DJ On The Bike Dom Whiting hosts Birmingham cycling rave
Imagine this - you're out cycling, but you're not alone and, in fact, as scores of people pedal alongside you there's rave music playing on scores of speakers they've taken along for the is just what cyclists enjoyed in Birmingham on Sunday afternoon, during a free rave hosted by self-styled "DJ on the bike" Dom West Midlands party came after similar pedal-raves he has hosted across the world in the likes of Vienna, Berlin and Barcelona. From bikes to scooters and skateboards to roller skates, any mode of transport was welcome, with riders hooking their own speakers up to the drum 'n' bass party, which was streamed live on Facebook. This weekend's route saw music lovers tour round the city, starting and finishing at Centenary Square, passing through Newtown and Whiting headed up the mass-ride, as it took over the city streets with drivers having to queue patiently, as they waited to return to the with all that pedalling, Whiting's DJing skills have also led him to play a guest drum 'n' bass mix on Radio 1. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Telegraph
18 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Dangerous Islamist terrorists should be imprisoned on military base, says report
Dangerous Islamist terrorists should be detained in a specially created high-security unit within a military base, a report by one of Britain's leading experts on extremism has recommended. Prof Ian Acheson, a former prison governor who has advised the Government on extremism in prisons, has recommended that the risk to prison officers from violent ideologically driven terrorists was so 'lethal and proximate' that a new centre outside the prison estate was needed. He said such a centre could not be located in high-security prisons because they were 'exposed to and unable to overcome' the threat from weapons and other contraband being brought in by drones. 'My recommendation is that this centre is purpose-built and located inside the military estate, where physical and human security is commensurate to the risks posed,' he said in his report, commissioned by the Tories. 'It should be entirely separate from the main prison estate and its ethos must be focused on the protection of national security and eliminating the physical threat to staff.' Series of attacks on prison staff His proposal follows an attack by Hashem Abedi, the Manchester Arena bomb plotter, on three officers in the high-security Frankland jail in County Durham last month. Abedi, who is serving a life sentence, threw hot cooking oil over the officers and stabbed them with two makeshift knives he had fashioned from baking trays in the kitchen. It also comes days after a prison officer at HMP Long Lartin was seriously injured when he was stabbed in an unprovoked attack by a violent inmate with a knife believed to have been flown into the high-security jail by drone. The most influential and dangerous Islamist terrorists are currently held in separation units, of which there are three in prisons in England and Wales. The 'prisons within prisons' are designed to prevent them from radicalising other inmates and allow for closer supervision. Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, has ordered a review of separation centres, which could see them expanded, and has also suspended prisoners' use of kitchen facilities within them after the Abedi attack. Ms Mahmood has commissioned a review into issuing prison officers with stab vests and trialling Tasers in jails. Threat from violent extremists 'intolerable' In his report, seen by The Telegraph, Prof Acheson said: 'The current threat to front line prison staff posed by violent extremists and extremist adjacent offenders is intolerable and must be tackled urgently. 'The proximity of a murder of a prison officer on duty is closer and the consequence for rehabilitation, stability and the rule of law inside prisons is closer and more severe than at any time in the last 10 years. 'HM Prison and Probation Service does not have the capacity or capability or frequently the will to manage highly violent and ideologically motivated offenders using present approaches or structures.' Prof Acheson said each prison holding terrorist prisoners should have a team of specialist armed officers on site ready to respond to any incident. 'They must be capable of being deployed at all times when prisoners are unlocked. This includes Taser, stun grenades, attenuated energy baton rounds and 'method of entry' equipment to breach doors and barricades,' he said. He said these weapons were the 'baseline' but that 'serious consideration' must be given to constructing armouries at such prisons where guns could be stored and used as a last resort because police support could not be guaranteed in time 'where seconds can mean the difference between life and death'. He said all prison officers should be issued with stab, slash and spike-resistant vests. 'There must be no delay in emergency procurement of this PPE to all staff working in the high security and long-term [prisoner] estate,' he said. 'The prospect of serious harm, not to mention litigation and recruitment/retention impact is not just imminent, it is already happening. There is simply no reason for further dithering on this vital and obvious improvement. 'Ministers must take personal charge of this objective backed by independent oversight by professionals who have demonstrated a track record in delivery under pressure. Stab vests have been 'under consideration' for officers revealed in a ministerial answer in 2013. The Director of Public Sector Prisons then is the same person who is now the interim chief executive.'
