Leicester Mercury Political correspondent
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Quote of the day
Jul 13th
A blogger from my old patch has passed comment on me:
“Whilst I admit that I am mystified as to why [David MacLean] continues to remain so close to what appear to be a rag-tag of hard left Labourites, millionaires and nutters, I do enjoy his writing and his ability to dig out a good story.”
A back-handed compliment is better than no compliment at all…
The day Patricia Hewitt tried to topple the PM
Jul 13th
Just bringing you a little something from over the paywall, about the day former Leicester West MP Patricia Hewitt tried to oust Gordon Brown.
According to Peter Mandelson’s diaries the person who informed him of the Blairite plot to topple Gordon Brown was, er, Tony Blair. Makes you wonder just how close he was to the move…
“I had the first hint that something was up shortly after 11am on Wednesday, the day of the first PMQs on our return to Westminster. I was told that Tony [Blair] had got wind of rumours of a move against Gordon. So I telephoned him.We both agreed that if anything happened I should not be involved in encouraging it, but nor could I go into overdrive as I did when James resigned. Minutes later, Sue Nye [Director of Government Relations] called and said there were reports of an initiative by Geoff Hoon and “others” against Gordon.Downing Street had decided not to tell him about it before his Dispatch Box bout with David Cameron, a sufficiently nerve-racking enterprise as it was.With the exception of a handful of ministers, principally Andy Burnham and Shaun Woodward, and, rather later, Ed Balls, the Cabinet was lying low, and backbenchers even lower. My office was being besieged with requests for comment.”
But such was the ‘clout’ of Patricia Hewitt and Geoff Hoon, Mandy reveals, that key cabinet players didn’t even raise the issue in a meeting with the PM that day. Bit embarrassing.
Biggest blog week ever
Jul 1st
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Twice as many visitors this week than any other week
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Hits from the Houses of Parliament soar
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More hits yesterday than the three previous busiest days combined
Blackberry ban
Jun 30th
They’re addictive these smartphones. They call the Blackberry a ‘crackberry’ for a reason, and I break out into a cold sweat when I don’t have my iPhone by my side.
So which local councillor is having to do a little bit of cold-turkey after council chiefs confiscated his handheld companion?
Answers on a postcard…
Check, check and check again
Apr 13th
There’s a saying that was drilled into me by a former news editor: Never assume, it makes an ass of you and me. (Ass-u-me)
But after spending hours compiling an in-depth article on which businesses are bankrolling the county’s political 
parties, it could have been tempting to cut some corners as darkness fell outside the Mercury.
I’d spotted one wealthy donor who’d given his local party £5,000-a-year for the past three years. His name was the same as a local councillor, from the same party, who lives in the same tiny village. Surely it was the same person?
A quick phonecall proved my assumption would have been dramatically wrong.
“I live in a modest little house and drive a second-hand car. The only donation to the party I’ve made is my yearly subscription of a few quid. I’m no Lord Ashcroft, although I wouldn’t mind his money,” the startled politico said.
Never assume.
Blog stats update
Mar 30th
Thousands of readers, more new visitors every week. They’re staying longer and reading more posts.
That’s the stats trend for this blog and I hope it continues.
My only concern is that some of you are going through the rigmarole of searching for this blog in Google every time you need to log on.
You don’t need to waste your time like this. The address is www.davidmaclean.eu – add it to your bookmarks today.
Leicester political gossip – now on the iPhone
Mar 16th
They can’t get enough of this blog…
Outgoing city council leader Ross Willmott reads it, city opposition leader Ross Grant comments on it. Newly-selected Labour leader Veejay Patel says: “Everyone’s reading it.”
Up at County Hall, officers and politicians alike keep up to date with political maneuverings and gossip here.
But it’s not always convenient to log on. If you’re not near your laptop it can take an age to load this website on an iPhone.
Never fear. I’m always looking for new ways to engage folks with the local political scene, and now you can log on in double-quick time.
Visit the blog using your iPhone at the usual address and you’ll get a simple interface (right) which takes seconds to load. The content is still the same.
Away at a seaside conference? Down the pub after committee? Log on using your iPhone – same address, just quicker.
Spam
Mar 3rd
Over the past day or two I appear to have become the victim of some intense spamming, with lots of it slipping through my filters. I have a fair idea who is behind it, and I’ll get to the bottom of it.
In the meantime, ignore the odd comments trying to flog weight loss pills, hair loss remedies and anti-wrinkle cream.
Unless, of course, you’re a chubby baldy fella with a load of wrinkles…
Suspicious minds
Mar 3rd
More from the parallel universe of press offices.
On Monday I called the press team of a Midlands city council outside my patch. I asked for some information about various details of their council’s structure, as part of a wider report I’m putting together.
They took my name, telephone number and the name of the publication I work for. I then waited for a response, but heard nothing.
I called back yesterday afternoon.
“Oh I’m sorry we didn’t get back to you,” the head of press replied, “we Googled your name and it came up with the Conservative MP. We assumed you were a politician fishing for information so we just ignored it.”
That’ll be Penrith MP David MacLean (pictured) who, incidentally, is one of the most vocal opponents of the Freedom of Information Act in Britain. I use it every day. The irony…
The frustration of press offices
Mar 1st
Some blogging Mercury colleagues haven’t held back their frustrations about perceived obfuscation by press offices locally.
Today, I’m venting my spleen at PR folks further afield. On Friday it was leaked that BBC 6Music and the Asian Network could be axed after mounting pressure from the Conservatives.
Rather than pushing for confirmation – the Beeb had already clarified in the national press that they had no more to say – I wanted to know how many people worked for the Asian Network in the East Midlands, and in particular, Leicestershire.
Here’s the response:
David
I do not have the figures available.
Our statement today, attributed to a BBC spokesperson is: “Work on the BBC’s Strategy Review is ongoing and we are not commenting on today’s story.”
Do you see the disconnect? Do you see the answer to a question I haven’t asked? Do you see a press office on the defensive? And above all, do you see the quite stunning admission that the figures aren’t available?
A publicly-funded broadcasting service which has no idea how many people they employ. Sorry. Don’t believe it.
My response:
Hmmm. So we can say the BBC doesn’t know how many people work for the Asian Network in Leicester?
I was eventually fobbed-off with a tale about contracted workers skewing the figures.
The BBC still wonders why people pester them with Freedom of Information requests..
