Diary: July 2012

 

Will Cable wield the knife?

Will Vince Cable be Liberal Democrat leader by the next general election? Senior Lib Dems are discussing plans to replace Nick Clegg with Cable, in the hope of preventing the party’s devastation at the polls. Lord Oakeshott, who resigned as a minister under Cable at the department for business, innovation and skills in February last year, has been telling friends that he expects Cable to be leader “within a year.” Oakeshott called for Jeremy Hunt to resign on 10th June, and is becoming increasingly rebellious. He is now said to be among those urging Cable to manoeuvre for the leadership, a move that would threaten the coalition because of mistrust of Cable among senior Conservatives. Cable is seen as better placed to form an alliance with Labour in the event of a hung parliament. He has been holding phone conversations with Ed Miliband, just as he did with Gordon Brown as Clegg pressed ahead with forming the alliance with the Conservatives after the 2010 election.

Secretary Bill Clinton?

Washington is abuzz with talk about the future of the Clintons. First, Hillary: the Weekly Standard’s William Kristol has suggested Barack Obama replace Joe Biden with the secretary of state as his running mate. Kristol pointed out that her rating among Americans is soaring: 65 per cent favourable, 27 per cent unfavourable according to a Washington Post survey. However, experts predict it would be impossible for Obama to ditch Biden, and as the blog the Mesh Report points out in a post entitled “Stuck with Joe,” presidents have switched their vice presidents only three times since 1940. With Hillary set to step down as secretary of state, and continuing to rule out a run at the presidency in 2016, her career may finally be coming to an end.

This may not be the case with Bill. The former president is tipped in the New York Post as secretary of state under Andrew Cuomo, the New York governor widely expected to run in four years’ time. Speaking at a Waldorf-Astoria dinner for Cuomo’s homeless charity “HELP” in June, Clinton raised eyebrows by lavishing praise on Cuomo, saying his approach in New York was one “that would work best for America.”

Brown’s props

Gordon Brown gave emotional evidence to the Leveson inquiry on 11th June, condemning TheSun for invading his family’s privacy while he was prime minister. But one Labour blogger recalls that in the run-up to the troublesome 2008 Labour conference, Brown’s office urged him to write that Brown should show off his children more, which he did. This allowed Brown to say in his 2008 speech: “Some people have been asking why I haven’t served my children up for spreads in the papers. And my answer is simple. My children aren’t props; they’re people.”

When Cameron met Adonis

Two different accounts have emerged of a meeting at Number Ten between David Cameron and Andrew Adonis in May. Someone from Downing Street briefed that the prime minister is considering offering Adonis a job. There was speculation towards the end of Tony Blair’s premiership in 2007 that Adonis, an arch-Blairite, might defect to David Cameron’s Conservatives.

Adonis has just taken on a new role for his party, however: developing Labour’s industrial policy. A friend of Adonis insists that the former transport secretary was merely urging Cameron to “get a move on” with HS2—the plan for high-speed rail masterminded by Adonis when in office. The coalition has carried out a consultation on the £33bn high-speed link, but phase one—London to Birmingham—is not due until 2026, and phase two-—to Manchester and Leeds—is pencilled in for 2033.

Rowan explores Narnia

Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, will publish a new book, The Lion’s World: A journey into the heart of Narnia, on 16th August. The book explores the spiritual symbolism in CS Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, and offers thoughts on CS Lewis’s life—and critics. Williams describes himself as a lifelong admirer of CS Lewis, and is stepping down as Archbishop later this year to become Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, CS Lewis’s college.

Twitter ye not, Valerie

François Hollande’s partner Valerie Trierweiler tweeted support for an independent socialist, Olivier Falorni, standing for parliament in La Rochelle against Ségolène Royal, Hollande’s former partner and the mother of his four children. Hollande has publicly backed Royal, who stood for the presidency herself in 2007, endorsing her in local campaign literature as “the only candidate of the presidential majority who can be assured of my support.” Trierweiler tells friends in Paris: “François trusts me on everything except my tweets.”