Reading between the lines of 'Labour Vision'

In 1981, John Heritage and I video-recorded (on Betamax) the entire broadcast output of the three main party conferences, colleting a data base of about 500 speeches.

Today, the internet has not only made life much easier for rhetoric and oratory anoraks like me, but it can occasionally throw up some intriguing surprises, an example of which sprang out at me this morning.

Looking back on this year's Labour Party conference, I thought I'd have a look at some videos of speeches by likely candidates for the leadership when Gordon Brown (or the electorate) finally decides it's time for him to go.

The most obvious place to look was the 'Labour Vision' collection on YouTube, which is presumably put there by the party itself.

I've already mentioned the idea of 'noticeable absences' in relation to this year's speeches by Nick Clegg and Peter Mandelson. But here, on 'Labour Vision' there's another very noticeable absence - of three likely candidates for the leadership when the time comes.

'Labour Vision' will let you watch this year's conference speeches by Gordon Brown, Peter Mandelson, Harriet Harman, Jack Straw, Alan Johnson, Alistair Darling, Hilary Benn, Ed Miliband and Yvette Cooper.

But notable by their absence are the speeches by three of the younger generation of likely leadership contenders: Andy Burnham, David Miliband and Ed Balls.

This raises some interesting questions:

1. Why they are these three missing?
2. Who decided to omit them from the menu on 'Labour Vision'
3. Is someone trying to tell us that Miliband junior and Mrs Balls are ahead of Miliband senior and Mr Balls in the leadership stakes?
4. Or could it be that none of them are considered good enough communicators to risk broadcasting their speeches to a wider audience?

It would be nice if someone in the Labour Party could tell us, but I don't suppose they will.

OTHER CONFERENCE SEASON POSTS:

• What do Harriet Harman and Sybil Fawlty have in common?
• Gordon Brown on the morning after the night before
• Gordon Brown: the way he told them
• Brown surfs applause (briefly) before reverting to type
• Was it Mandelson’s self-deprecating humour that won him the day?
• If Mandelson has to struggle to win applause, what are the Labour Partly faithful saying?
• Why doesn’t anyone warn politicians about becoming autocue automatons?
• Gordon Brown goes walkabout (again)
• Methinks Labour doth protest/spin too much
• Clegg’s conference speech: ‘definitely OK, absolutely fine, without doubt not bad’
• Beware of mobile phones and 5-part lists
• Not the LibDem conference – BBC website news
• Gordon Brown tries out a 4 part list at the TUC
• Why is Mr Brown bothering to speak to the TUC
• The TUC , ‘where ‘fings aint wot they used to be’

What do Harriet Harman and Sybil Fawlty have in common?

One of the many memorable lines from Fawlty Towers was when Basil told Sybil that she ought to go on Mastermind, special subject "the bleeding obvious."

Until today, I'd always thought that Harriet Harman, deputy leader of the Labour Party, had rather more about her that Mrs Fawlty.

Technically, it was hard to fault the way she brought this year's party conference to a close, deploying as she did, repetition and a 3-part list.

But take a closer look at the content of what she said:

Together we'll fight for those we represent.
Together we'll fight for a prosperous and fair Britain.
And most important, conference, together we'll fight to win.

And consider whether any politician of any party (other than perhaps the Monster Raving Loony Party) could have said the opposite:

Together we'll fight for those we don't represent.
Together we'll fight for an impoverished and unfair Britain.
And most important, conference, together we'll fight to lose.

What, I wonder, would Basil Fawlty have had to say to Harriet? "Special three subjects the bleeding obvious"?

The Hateful Daily Mail

This is the first time I've ever lifted a title verbatim from someone else's blog.

It's taken from one of the UKs top political bloggers, Iain Dale, who is rightly complaining to the Press Complaints Commission about an article by Ephraim Hardcastle in today's Daily Mail, which includes the following classic piece of Mail hatefulness:

Overtly gay Tory blogger Iain Dale has reached the final stage of parliamentary selection for Bracknell, telling PinkNews: 'I hope any PinkNews readers who live in Bracknell will come to the open primary on October 17 to select their new candidate.

You don't even have to be a Conservative to attend.'

Isn't it charming how homosexuals rally like-minded chaps to their cause?

You can read more about why Iain Dale is complaining and how to support him HERE. And, if you have red hair, or have any friends, relations or loved ones with red hair, take a deep breath before reading on.

Down with red heads - Mail exclusive

As for why I think it important enough to mention the Mail' at all, let alone its latest slur, it's to remind people that they've been peddling this kind of 'overtly' prejudicial journalism for decades.

One of the most scurrilous pieces I ever saw came from the pen of Ann Leslie, who's supposed to be so worthy and respectable that her services to journalism have been honoured by her elevation to Dame of the British Empire.

On the day before one of the general elections in which Neil Kinnock was leader of the Labour Party (1987 or 1992), the Mail published a two page spread with a perceptive article by Ms Leslie urging their readers not to vote Labour.

The headline summed it up with a warning never to trust a man with red hair (even though, at the risk of sounding baldist, Kinnock didn't have a lot of it left even then).

In fact, according to this erudite award-winning journalist, it would be too much of a risk ever to vote anyone with red hair into Downing Street. She developed her case in nauseating detail, listing every unfounded stereotype about the allegedly negative characteristics and temperament of 'red heads' that anyone has ever heard of - presenting them, of course, as established facts of life.

So, if it's any comfort to Iain Dale, he can at least breathe a sigh of relief that he doesn't have red hair.