Liberal Vision

What do you get if you put a dictator, a movie mogul and Lord Mandelson in the same room?

Answer: Pretty much anything they want – it would seem.

 

The latest loony suggestion from the Government, announced today, is to FORCE Internet Service Providers to suspend access to those internet users who illegally download music and films.

It’s a stupid suggestion – forcing ISPs to take action on offenders. If piracy is illegal its surely a police matter – not a matter for business. And who exactly is going to police the ISPs to ensure that they do as instructed, another quango? And in any event who’s to say that those most adept at piracy will not be able to evade ths ISPs ( i dont know how but I’m sure they do). All we are likely to see are the occassional offenders and the inept being caught in this particular trap. Wrong.Wrong.Wrong.

And talking of wrong..  How long can the unelected Business Secretary be allowed treat this country as his own personal fiefdom? He returns to the scene of last years crime (yachts, Russians, George Osborne) to holiday with the Rothschilds. He meets Gaddaffi’s son, and within days the whole Libyan bomber fiasco unfolds. On the same holiday he meets the billionaire producer David Geffen (who co-founded Dreamworks with Steven Speilberg) and before his Corfu tan has faded his department is announcing a major u-turn on illegal downloads.

Hollywood film companies are reportedly losing hundreds of millions of pounds from illegal downloads, and have launched a very active lobbying operation to change the law to make it harder. Coincidence?

Well I for one can imagine the conversation that Lord Rothschild has with his mates… “Fancy a few days in Corfu Mr Geffen? ” ….”No thanks Roths,bit busy”… “Did I mention that Nat is bringing along Mandy from the UK?” …” Really? Shall we say Friday 6pm – I’ll come in the yacht – no need to make up the beds”.

I am sure that the unelected Business Secretary will produce some sneary response and call any suggestion of a link between the meeting and the u-turn on policy as “insulting” “absurd” or some such thing.

But we will remember that he’s said all that before and not once but twice has been forced to quit from UK office (you remember the undisclosed home loan from Paymaster General Geoffrey Robinson and the Hinduja passport affair). So here’s hoping his arrogance does for him again. In the meantime it will be well-worth watching where he spends his Christmas break. Ski-ing anyone?

Tags: David Geffen, illegal downloads, ISPs, Peter Mandelson

Labour teetering on the brink of apocalypse

Today’s ComRes poll puts Labour on just 22%, the Tories are on 39% and we’re on 18%. If Mandelson is loopy enough to back Brown right through an election campaign, expect the LibDems to come second in vote share. Brown will lose votes every time he opens his mouth and Nick could expect to make major headway as a “first election” third-party leader, especially given his easy TV manner.

It’s up to Mandelson now. The Cabinet and the PLP have both castrated themselves with a blunt and rusty knife.

I hope the Prince of Darkness has lost his marbles and drives his party (for it is now, unquestionably, his party) to Destination Oblivion, but I suspect he will still remove the PM a couple of months before polling day.

UPDATE:  Sunday Mail suggests Brown will quit pre-election

Tags: Gordon Brown, opinion polls, Peter Mandelson

Brown’s biggest balls up yet

Vince Cable must think that Christmas is about to come early for him. It would seem that Gordon Brown wants to make Ed Balls the new chancellor in the up-coming reshuffle.

When we all finish rolling around the floor laughing, we should maybe ask the question “why have his advisors in the bunker not told him the sheer lunacy of the action”?  

Pick one of the following.

1. There is no one in the bunker stupid.

2. They were too scared they would be shot.

3. They did but Gordon was in the corner,hands over ears, shouting “la la la la I’m not listening”.

4. They thought Ed Balls was as good as a cyanide capsule and probably for the best.

5. He They have annointed Ed Balls as the next leader & want to raise his profile.

I personally favour answer 4, though in the mad world of Labour-land i dont rule out 5 (Pete and Ed do now sit next to each other in Cabinet after all).

If reports are true, then after some arse-saving warning about “the potential dangers” involved ( erm yeah..), Lord Mandelson has said he is ready to support the move as part of a final attempt to revive goverment’s fortunes” . Please note the word “final”. 

Another question for you. Is Mr Mandelson..

1. Sitting there head in hands, wondering where it all went wrong

2. On the phone to Mr Johnson as we speak

3. On the phone to Ed Balls as we speak

4. Still deciding which horse to back (we know he likes to leave it late).

I dont know either, though I’m pretty certain it’s not answer 1.

Tags: Ed Balls, Gordon Brown, Peter Mandelson