Bloggerheads

Let’s begin with a link or three:
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To begin, a ‘read this first’ link for newcomers who will need some background on David Taylor and keepingthefaith.org.uk:
Bloggerheads – David Taylor is a busy man (and a new media genius)

Plus, an archive of the public’s actual response to keepingthefaith.org.uk that comes to us via El Reg…

The Register – Galaxy of saboteurs trashes ‘Save the Blair’ petition: As of Friday morning the revived keepingthefaith.org.uk listed a scant 80 named signatories, but claimed to have more than 4,000 supporters, and, weirdly, that “we have a lot of data entry left to do.”

OK, all done? On with the show…

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David Taylor was in touch via email last night wanting to know why I was being so ‘personal’ and ‘hostile’. He looked at me with virtual puppy-dog eyes and made all sorts of assurances.

Now, what was said in confidence will remain in confidence, but what was not I’m happy to share with you… because it’s important, and the majority of it appears to be 100% bullshit.

It’s a long post, so I’ve broken it up into headed subjects:

Adrian McMenamin

Tim Ireland: So you have no professional association with Adrian McMenamin?

David Taylor: Adrian is a friend of mine. I have no professional association with him.

What, none? Is he sure? I mean, apart from him helping Adrian McMenamin build a website that is. Let’s have a look-see…

Guardian – Today Hartlepool, tomorrow…: Adrian McMenamin is the classically hostile New Labour gatekeeper. Heavy with gloom, from the outset he has guarded Labour’s candidate behind a wall of unhappy suspicion, and it would be some weeks before I was even allowed to meet Iain Wright.

So that’s Adrian McMenamin, working on the Labour campaign team, in the Hartlepool by-election of 2004.

David Taylor’s weblog disappeared a long time ago, but a record remains in the archive. On that weblog, he speaks of looking forward to going to Hartlepool on August 6, 2004 and on August 15, 2004 he states that; “I’m currently in Hartlepool for the by-election campaign.”

Further, the bio from his long-gone weblog reads as follows: Inspired by the New Labour message, that a government could be both socially progressive and economically successful, David Taylor joined the Labour Party at the age of 15 in the constituency of Clwyd West. He soon felt at home in the close knit group that made up the local party in this marginal seat in North East Wales, including local MP Gareth Thomas and Welsh Assembly Member Alun Pugh. After working on a number of campaigns, including the successful re-election of Alun Pugh AM in the knife-edge 2003 contest, David became the Secretary of his Constituency Labour Party in March 2004, shortly after his eighteenth birthday. He is to date the youngest person to have held such a position. Later in the same month David was elected to the Labour Party’s Welsh Executive Committee (WEC), as Youth Representative.

So that’s David Taylor, working on the Labour campaign team, in the Hartlepool by-election of 2004.

No professional association with Adrian McMenamin? Bite me.

Hartlepool

Tim Ireland: So you’ve never created, instigated or contributed to a dirty tricks campaign? Ever?

David Taylor: As far as I am aware, no. At the last election, I created www.rememberredwood.com which showed the clip of John Redwood trying to sing the Welsh national anthem for Welsh Labour. That’s it.

I suspect this one was given away as a freebie because it relates to this payment from the Labour Party that I had already published. But I suspect there’s more…

My archive’s a bit skewed at the moment (.asp issues on the new server) but my memory isn’t shot to hell. I remember the Hartlepool by-election very well indeed (yes, I also remember that Tom was involved)… because I was reminded of it by every MP I talked to about blogging for well over a year afterwards (more on that in a mo).

The Hartlepool by-election was marred by Labour campaigners who took advantage of the Liberal Democrat candidate (Jody Dunn) – who had the courage to try to communicate with the electorate via a weblog. Labour’s attack squad quoted her wildly out of context and launched one of many deeply personal and extremely hostile attacks against her. Back to the Guardian…

Guardian – Today Hartlepool, tomorrow…: The third assault was a devastating surprise. On August 27, Dunn had written in her blog about a dispiriting evening out canvassing with Simon Hughes. “It didn’t just rain last night, it poured,” she wrote. “In fact the evening became one of the more farcical moments of the campaign. We’d picked what appeared at first to be a fairly standard row of houses. As time went on however, we began to realise that everyone we met was either drunk, flanked by an angry dog or undressed.” The blog had continued with a joke about how Dunn looked like Worzel Gummidge in the rain. Ed Fordham had checked the copy as usual before posting it online. Nothing he read had sounded alarm bells. The Labour printing machines turned again, and this time Hartlepool woke up to the news on its doormat that Dunn had accused them all of being “either drunk, flanked by an angry dog, or undressed”.

This same by-election involved police warnings given to Labour campaigners assaulting the local Lib Dem HQ, but what really got up my nose was the series of anonymous attacks made via comments on Jody Dunn’s weblog and on external weblogs like this one (see this entry for an especially stupid and xenophobic attack).

Some of the most offensive comments on Dunn’s weblog were – obviously – removed pretty quickly, but here you can see the cleverly-named ‘Quaker Watch’ being chided by a witness to these attacks. Other sock-puppets included ‘Not from Darlo’, ‘Mingballed Campbell’. There was a Fathers4Justice tool on the loose, too… but almost every comment that launched (misleading) attacks on Lib Dem policy and/or pushed Labour policy was from one or more anonymous douche-bags using a variety of sock-puppets. These same douche-bags attacked Jody Dunn over everything from her love of poetry to her appearance, to her Not Being Local. They even accused her of being a former member of the Conservative Party!

Now, I’ve highlighted similar issues myself since then. I’ve even used a mocking tone and – when called for – I’ve gone for the throat.

But…

1. While it may be OK to bring up a salient question anonymously on a weblog, it is far from OK to pose as an ordinary member of the public if you’re an active campaigner.

2. If you want to make a serious allegation about a local representative or candidate, you should have the courage to put your fucking name to it…. and if there’s any kind of conflict of interest that might undermine your position you should have the honesty to fucking declare it!

Now, what we’re supposed to believe is that two active campaigners from the Labour team – web ‘expert’ David Taylor and known user of sock-puppets Adrian McMenamin – were inside Hartlepool Labour HQ, involved in this campaign, but had nothing to do with the attacks on Jody Dunn’s weblog, or the disgraceful misrepresentation of what was published on it.

I say again: Bite me.

This was not only a dishonest and disgraceful way to behave, it scared off almost every MP who – at that time – was seriously considered communicating with the electorate via a weblog. This was a major setback in a project that sought to reconnect people with politics – a killing blow (and I’m still just a little bit upset about that, as you may have guessed).

David Taylor: Anyway, although I don’t like your politics (and what you write about me!). I still like your blogs and your effort to get more MPs to engage in blogging is commendable. keep up the good work.

Yeah, thanks for that. It’s appreciated.

Nat Watch

Tim Ireland: David, you questioned a lot of items in my article, but you did not deny being Leighton Andrew’s researcher or a member of Labour’s Rapid Rebuttal Unit. Can you clarify these points for me, please?

David Taylor: I am part-time Research Assistant to Leighton Andrews AM. I am not, and never have been, a member of Labour’s Rapid Rebuttal Unit. There were rumours that circulated last year that I was behind the Nat Watch website, these allegations were fairly distressing at the time. People assumed I was behind the site becuase I was a) New Labour and b) into website.

In July 2005, a grubby (and anonymous) attack weblog launched at natwatch.co.uk, pledging to “expose the failure, mendacity and xenophobia of nationalists in Scotland and Wales.”

The website Nat Watch Watch was launched to counter it, as the Nat Watch site did not allow comments. (Obviously, the creator of the Nat Watch website knew how a comments system might be abused.)

Unfortunately, a WHOIS history on natwatch.co.uk (created 1 July 2005) only reveals ‘Nat Watch’ as the creator of this domain, but – eventually – natwatch.co.uk was knocked down, to be replaced by natwatch.org (which is still live).

Here’s your first interesting tit-bit:

The domain natwatch.org was registered 30 May 2006 via DomainsByProxy.com, who provide a service that allows you to register a .org, .com, .etc without publishing any revealing WHOIS information. David Taylor’s (current) main website is hosted at newmediacouncil.com – and this domain was registered using the same service (on 23 January 2006). But don’t get too excited yet, because this provider services roughly one million customers…

And so we head to the second interesting tit-bit:

BritNat WATCH – Natwatch & Leighton’s Blog: Leighton Andrews was one of the first people to blog about the NatWatch website back on the 8th of July, weeks before most people had even heard of its existence. We agree that the NatWatch website is a waste of time, but why is Leighton trying to distance himself from the vile website all of a sudden? Could it have anything to do with the rumours circulating on the net that a certain researcher, who works for a certain AM, actually runs the website?

(Psst! More from this blog here.)

FACT – David Taylor is “part-time Research Assistant to Leighton Andrews”

FACT – Leighton Andrews was the first person to ‘discover’ and promote natwatch.co.uk on the 8th of July 2005

FACT – The domain natwatch.co.uk was only created 7 days earlier (1 July 2005)

Now, there’s a man with his finger on the pulse!

OK, here’s your third and final tit-bit (for now):

This was posted to David Taylor’s now-defunct weblog on July 29, 2004:

I hate Liberal Democrats more and more every day.

I used to be slightly sympathetic towards them. I used to think they meant well and that the Tories where the real enemy.

But their recent campaign tactics, materminded by “wizz kid” Lord Rennard means I now hate them just as much as the Tories, which as almost as much as the Nationalists.

Hmm, it think this is what those in the business of de-tec-shun call ‘motive’… in fact, it concerns me that a campaigner could be so ‘personal’ and ‘hostile’.

You want to campaign online? Fine. Here’s the quick and easy guide:

1. Reveal your name.
2. State your agenda.
3. Reveal your interests
4. Don’t try to get around (1), (2) or (3) if you really suck at covering your tracks.

UPDATE – Bloggerheads – David Taylor Vs. Clare Short

Well, there are no dead bodies this time around, but I’m sure you see my point.

I must say; it was a very good show of humility that Blair put on yesterday… I haven’t seen a performance quite like it since he furrowed his brow after the hammering he got at the 2005 General Election when his majority was halved and he assured us (or, rather, many angry Labour MPs) that lessons had been learned*.

(*You do remember that election don’t you? It was the same one that Blair’s team were this week busy assuring us amounted to “a popular mandate for a full term”…)

Speaking of furrowed brows, I wasn’t the only one to notice that – with every clench – the worry lines on his forehead formed the letter ‘W’, like an indelible death-mark.

For me, watching at home, the statement (which you can read in full here) went something like this:

“The first thing I’d like to do is to apologise actually [*IRAQ*], on behalf of the Labour party for the last week, which, with everything that’s been going on back here and in the world [*IRAQ*], has not been our finest hour [*IRAQ*], to be frank. But I think what is important now [*IRAQ*] is that we understand that it’s the interests of the country that come first [*IRAQ*] and we move on [*IRAQ*].”

You’re probably expecting some focus on Blair’s use of the words ‘party leader’ instead of ‘Prime Minister’ here, but I’ll leave that to others. What I want to focus on is this:

“I think it’s important for the Labour party to understand, and I think the majority of people in the party do understand, that it’s the public that comes first and it’s the country that matters, and we can’t treat the public as irrelevant bystanders in a subject as important as who is their prime minister.”

Click here. Read this. Watch the videos. Share the link.

The electorate deserves to see Blair’s brownshirts treating the public as irrelevant bystanders as he spoke these words. People need to understand that the ‘right’ to protest is an illusion; that any visible criticism of our Great Leader is forbidden and that the ‘overwhelming public support’ for him is a tissue of lies:

Bloggerheads – Popular support costs money
Justin McKeating – Masters of the Universe
Bloggerheads – David Taylor is a busy man (and a new media genius)

And speaking of tissues… this is a ceasefire that will not and cannot hold.

Blair crippled himself on Wednesday when he accused Gordon brown of a coup attempt and failed to sack him.

What little authority he has left is going to be challenged during conference season and from the first significant vote in Parliament onwards. He also has little hope of riding the storm that’s still brewing over party donations ‘loans’.

Those who are right now busy spitting venom and/or spreading black propaganda on Blair’s behalf will want to consider their positions. Carefully.

Ditto for those who are sitting on the sidelines, waiting to see who they should cheer for when the game is over. There are far too many bystanders in the media and in Parliament. The stakes are too high for their role to be forgotten…. and there’s a lot that’s going to be very difficult to forgive.

UPDATE – BBC – Blair jeered by college students

UPDATE – Telegraph – Beyond the barricades, irrelevant bystanders find reality: Mr Blair gave the briefest glance at the crowd before turning his back and greeting some of the dignitaries and better behaved pupils who were lined up to receive him… The event was organised along the same lines as the last general election: any member of the public who might ask Mr Blair an awkward question was kept well away from him, and so was the press… To hear Mr Blair’s words, it was necessary to rush away and find a television, which in due course played a tape of his vital announcement about his own future. This included the words: “I think it’s important for the Labour Party to understand, and I think the majority of people in the party do understand, that it’s the public that comes first and it’s the country that matters, and we can’t treat the public as irrelevant bystanders in a subject as important as who is their prime minister.” It was odd to hear these words having just been treated by Mr Blair as an irrelevant bystander. (via)

UPDATE – Guardian – Sorrow and sophistry as the war ends (for now)

[LATE UPDATE – It’s the morning after and a lot of the evidence has been erased. As a result, some of these links (below) will be broken. This, to me, seems like odd behaviour from someone who insists that he has nothing to hide (see comments), but I can afford to let it go for now… because I have plenty of screengrabs (already published) and many pages saved to disk.]

The brand new site Keeping The Faith was brought to my attention this morning. It claims to represent “Labour members, activists, and voters backing Tony Blair against a minority of MPs who want to bring him down.”

My curiosity was piqued when it became clear that – like many supporters of Tony Blair these days – the person behind this bold initiative chose to remain anonymous.

Well, sort of anonymous; the domain name keepingthefaith.org.uk was registered under the name David Taylor, but that’s not how I found all the really fun stuff.

(Stick with me… I promise you excitement and adventure… and a few laughs along the way.)

When visiting the list of Tony Blair’s achievements (which, for some strange reason, doesn’t include ‘Bringing democracy to Iraq’) I noticed that the site was using frames and all of the relevant web pages were hosted via http://backdoor.taylord.fastmail.co.uk/…. which – apart from confirming the owner via the username ‘taylord’ – also provided a very revealing unrestricted directory:

1. The frame-redirects and poor directory security suggest that we are dealing with a new media genius here.

2. The presence of a portrait of Alastair Campbell *and* an MP3 of Things Can Only Get Better in the core directory tells us that we are also dealing with a True Believer.

I clicked on ‘index.htm’ and was informed that the core presence part of something called the ‘New Media Council’ and this organisation offers “Your own website, built for you!”

The email address gave me the domain I should be looking for – newmediacouncil.com – and this directed me to the following site/message (contained in the folder ‘nmc’):

“Hands-on strategic targeting helping hundreds of individuals and organizations in getting their message across!” Pretty impressive, huh? But wait… it’s about to get better. Just look at some of the fine work done by NMC:

transpero.net

The folder ‘transpero’ led me to what appears to be an early incarnation of transpero.net, which is billed as “a site devoted to developing internet based resources for Labour Party members and supporters.” The site is credited here as the work of Adrian McMenamin and the primary not-a-manifesto on the website is hosted at Adrian’s weblog. Adrian McMenamin has been described by the Guardian as; “the classically hostile New Labour gatekeeper.” He worked on a certain Hartlepool by-election that many of you will be familiar with, but the most fascinating aspect of his character is revealed in this article. Sock-puppets, anyone?

timcarter.org

The folder ‘tim’ led me to timcarter.org, the home of Tim Carter, “a former Labour Party media and communications manager” who – amusingly – offers ‘web design’ as one of his services.

shutthebackdoor.co.uk

In the ‘tim’ folder I found this tasty little GIF, which led me to shutthebackdoor.co.uk (a domain also registered in the name of David Taylor) which – even more amusingly – bills itself as “a non-party political group”…

sandymewies.com

The folder ‘mewies’ led me to the doubled-framed presence of “Delyn’s local Assembly Member” Sandy Mewies at sandymewies.com

gordonbrown.org

OK, OK… you got me; I was going through these backwards for a reason.

The folder ‘gb’ led me to the lovely name-hijacking venture gordonbrown.org

Registered by Dave Taylor, hosted by Dave Taylor and no doubt run by Dave Taylor, this charming little effort seeks to publicise articles like this:

Gordon Brown’s cronies stage coup against Tony Blair
Gordon Brown: Homophobic or too busy?

So, what we have here is:

1. David Taylor organising this positive website urging faith and hope (and presumably unity)… without having the balls to put his name to it.

2. David Taylor organising this negative website designed to slag off Gordon Brown… without having the balls to put his name to it.

(Note – This article about the poor design of his petition names David Taylor as the creator, but the writer of this piece had to dig it out of WHOIS, just like I did. Oh and it’s also likely that gordonbrown.org is designed to be a fair and balanced website, and David is simply hedging his bets.)

So… a few familiar names and some interesting leads have popped up in this little excavation, but there are still a couple of things that I need to know:

– Who is this David Taylor joker?
– Does he have a connection to Team Blair, or is he just a dedicated wallower with passion?

I think we can be pretty sure that this David Taylor is in the clear and – though we are dealing with a new media expert here – I’m pretty sure we can rule out this David Taylor.

Oh, and I’ve been nice enough not to publish his address, but because I know that he’s based in Wales and just happen to have a copy of the Labour Party 2005 Election Campaign Return on my desk, I know that he’s probably the same David Taylor who was paid £182 for ‘website enlargement’ (as recorded under spending return for Wales).

OK, folks… over to you. A project as bold as keepingthefaith.org.uk deserves context.

Seek! Fetch!

:o)

UPDATE – Oh, I almost forgot… the website at gordonbrown.org carries the following important message; “The owner may consider selling this cash-generating domain name.”

Opportunity knocks.

UPDATE (5:00pm) – Well, he’s quick… I’ll give him that. If you try to visit any of the previously open directories, you get the message; “nothing to see here” – and the Things Can Only Get Better MP3 has been removed.

UPDATE (5:29pm) – Adrian McMenamin has a past connection to Iain Wright (who resigned as PPS yesterday)… this we know. But it looks like David Taylor has a past connection to Mark Tami (who also resigned as PPS yesterday). Mark Tami’s website is “Designed and maintained by David Taylor” (the relevant text links to this profile page at this website). The next shared pint is bound to be… interesting.

But wait… it gets better… it looks like David Taylor has a connection to me!

Here’s the message from the Contact page on Tom Watson’s website (that I produced) using my bog-standard spamblock method:

And here’s the message on David Taylor’s profile page:

Ahahahahahahahaha! Well, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all… and one should not be surprised to find these kinds of connections, because – when you’re a member of the Wales chapter of the New Labour’s Rapid Rebuttal Unit (aka The Dirty Tricks Team) – you tend to get around.

Yes, folks… David Taylor and Adrian McMenamin are like two peas in an alien pod – and they are firmly in Blair’s camp. So much for a spontaneous outpouring of support for Tony Blair.

UPDATE (5:52pm) – Via Blair Watch…

Brit Nat AM’s Researcher – David Taylor – orders the removal of Walter Wolfgang: We’ve received reports, that David Taylor – Labour AM Leighton Andrews’ researcher – was the Labour party official who instructed the stewards to remove 88 year old Walter Wolfgang from the British Nationalist Labour Party conference. Apparently Taylor was watching the speech live on Sky News outside the conference hall, and shouted in to his radio: “You can hear the f***ing heckling on Sky News. Shut them up, or take them out.”

Ahahahahaha! Please let it be the same David Taylor.

UPDATE (5:59pm) – Damn and blast it, this is all happening faster than I can type and update. David Taylor has just left a comment saying; “I am not attempting to conceal my identity, nor do I claim to be a “new media genius”!

Into comments we go…

UPDATES:
Bloggerheads – Keeping The Faith: more on David Taylor
Bloggerheads – David Taylor Vs. Clare Short

Guardian – The day Blair accused his chancellor of blackmail: In probably the most astonishing day in the annals of New Labour, the use of the word blackmail to describe Mr Brown’s actions over the past few days by Downing Street staff was authorised by Mr Blair, and reflected his view that Mr Brown is orchestrating a coup against him.

Note: Authorised by Mr Blair. Not publicly spoken by Mr Blair.

The only official statement from Tony Blair yesterday was the playground taunt that he was going to sack Tom Watson anyway. Meanwhile we’re assured that it’s Gordon Brown’s silence that speaks volumes. And with that, we go directly to a charming article and the editorial space in today’s Sun (which – for the second time in two days – is 100% dedicated to the leadership question ensuring there are no questions regarding the leadership). Please note especially the oft-repeated attempt to climb over dead bodies in order to claim the moral high ground:

The Downing Street Echo – Plotting gang of weasels: The weaselly gang behind the plot to topple Tony Blair were last night exposed as undercover Brownites. They are part of a network of the Chancellor’s supporters “planted” in key Government posts and their mass revolt was a carefully-orchestrated move to hasten the PM’s demise. Defence minister Tom Watson, whose resignation sparked yesterday’s chain of events, was the ringleader. Mr Watson, 39, was on the fast track to the Cabinet after holding down two Government posts in just five years as an MP. He was given the defence job at the Chancellor’s insistence and leading Blairites now say this was part of a Brownite masterplan. Last night they were furious at Mr Watson for playing grubby politics at a time when soldiers are dying in Afghanistan.

The Downing Street Echo – The silent man: The silence is deafening. And the cracks Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have papered over for years are now cruelly exposed. It would be easy to dismiss the resignations of seven political pipsqueaks as an irrelevance. But they are far more grave than that. This was a mass protest orchestrated by supporters of the Chancellor to unseat the sitting Prime Minister. And Mr Brown’s public silence on it gets more damaging by the hour. He could have stopped the plotters concocting the puerile protest letter which began the crisis. He could have halted the resignations, including that of the pathetic Tom Watson, who shamefully walked out on his defence job in a week when 19 British soldiers died in Afghanistan, three of them yesterday. [Ed: But… but… but… Tony was going to sack him anyway!] Watson is a crude politician at best, more concerned with personal ambition than his party or his country. But Gordon did nothing. He is desperate to inherit Blair’s mantle quickly, without being exposed to challenges from his rivals. But the PM won’t go until next May. And he calls the shots. In his enthusiasm to see off Blair, Brown risks destroying himself and the party, plunging it back into the nightmare of the 1980s: fatally divided, permanently unelectable. If civil war erupts, Labour might decide the only way to end it is for Blair to go. How would Britain then view his assassin? Would Gordon really be fit to be our PM if he were to blame for Blair being bundled out after making New Labour so successful? Or would his tactics, and those of his acolytes, backfire by effectively handing David Cameron power? John Hutton, Work and Pensions Secretary, said last weekend that Labour’s infighting was a “damaging soap opera” that it would be “ludicrous to continue”. These were wise words indeed. But no one seems to have listened. Instead the ages-old Blair/Brown feud has now brought to the brink of catastrophe the New Labour miracle the two men masterminded. They transformed a shambolic rabble into a slick political machine capable of winning three elections and holding power for nine years. And Gordon must realise that Labour’s future now rests on it re-establishing its stability. At present he cannot bring himself to back Blair publicly. But he MUST say, through gritted teeth if need be, that if the boss wants to go on May 31, 2007, that’s OK by him. The Chancellor needs to keep a lid on his anger – and his supporters – one last time now, or he’ll throw everything away. Including his own dream of being PM.

1. For being the target of a petty snipe from Rebekah Wade, the ‘pathetic’ Tom Watson earns an extra brownie point in my book. (Well done, Tom! Too bad she pulled up short of calling you a traitor… that would have earned you *two* brownie points.)

2. Both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have pre-booked speaking engagements today, but only Tony Blair has changed his arrangements; instead of speaking at the same time (at different venues) now it appears that Tony Blair is going to have the opportunity put in his two cents first… and we’re all looking forward to that.

3. Everything else I have to say (for now) is contained in the following open letter to Tony Blair:

Dear Tony,

Tom Watson and I have had our political differences in the past, but if there is one objection I have to the initial letter that he put his name to and the resignation letter that followed, it is that he was being far, far too polite. Happily, you know that I know that you’re a lying, torturing, murdering bastard, so there’s no need to go into detail.

Now, it strikes me as odd that you would call on party members to get behind you to help you solve a crisis that you yourself have created when this so closely parallels the ongoing charade over the Middle East, but – for the sake of argument – I’m going to try to see things from your point of view. Just for a moment.

Damn it, man… we’re at war with evil, here! The need for authority is paramount (as is the need to remove people’s ability to question that authority)!

(ahem)

Yet when Tom Watson put his name to a letter that asked you to name the date you would be leaving office (when you clearly had no intention of doing so), you didn’t sack him immediately. Instead you tried to have the Chief Whip bully him into withdrawing his name from the letter. That made you look weak.

Then, when Tom quite rightly followed through with his resignation, you were reduced to assuring all and sundry that you were going to sack him anyway. That made you look like a fool.

Now you’ve got your mates running around town briefing against Gordon Brown, accusing him of a coup attempt. These same muppets assure us that unity is important, and that you have the backing of the majority of Labour MPs (such as those bullied or cajoled into signing the ‘compromise’ letter) and the electorate.

Tony, you either believe this or you don’t.

If you don’t, then you are being visibly dishonest about this, because…

If you do believe it, then you should have sacked Gordon Brown yesterday.

You cannot claim to be working for unity with the majority of your party’s backing/blessing if you are unable to sack the man you accuse of trying to usurp your position, now can you?

Tim Ireland
www.bloggerheads.com

PS – I know I’ve mentioned this before, but you’re a lying, torturing, murdering bastard… and you still owe me £2000.

(exhales)

Well, I don’t know about you, but I feel better.

If you also have something to get off your chest and you don’t have the luxury of knowing that Downing Street drop by to check out your weblog on a weekly basis (or on a daily basis when there’s a crisis), then click here to send your own letter to Tony Blair.

UPDATE – A few extra links for you:
Pickled Politics – What If…?
Rachel North – How mad is Tony Blair?
This isn’t a new link, but it’s worth a fresh visit, as many comments have been published under it

Aaaand… I had another link, but this one is worth a fresh post. With you shortly.

BBC – The full text of Tom Watson’s resignation letter:

Dear Tony

The Labour Party has been my life since I was 15 years old. I have served the Party at every conceivable level and your own leadership since 1994 in a dozen different capacities, latterly as MP for West Bromwich East, a Government Whip, and as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence. My loyalty to you personally, as well as to the Party and the values we stand for, has been absolute and unswerving. The struggle to fashion the kind of credible, convincing, effective Labour Party you now lead has been the preoccupation of my adult years.

My pride in what our government has achieved under your leadership is beyond expression. We have revolutionised the lives and expectations of millions of our citizens, combining social justice with prosperity in a way which is unprecedented in the history of our country. Your leadership has been visionary and remarkable. The party and the nation owes you an incalculable debt.

So it is with the greatest sadness that I have to say that I no longer believe that your remaining in office is in the interest of either the party or the country. How and why this situation has arisen no longer matters. I share the view of the overwhelming majority of the party and the country that the only way the Party and the Government can renew itself in office is urgently to renew its leadership.

For the sake of the legacy you have long said is the only one that matters – a renewed Labour party re-elected at the next general election – I urge you to reconsider your determination to remain in office.

As you know, I had a conversation with the Chief Whip last night, in which she asked me to withdraw my support from the 2001 intake’s letter calling on you to stand down, or my position would be untenable as a government minister. I have reflected on this overnight. I cannot withdraw my name, and therefore I accept her judgement.

I do not believe that statements so far give us the clarity necessary to progress over the next year. Nor do I believe that newspaper reports of potential dates which may have appeared since I signed the 2001 intake’s letter can provide the clarity the party and the country so desperately need.

It is with the greatest regret, therefore, that I must leave the Government.

Yours ever,
Tom Watson MP
West Bromwich East

(Background here and here if you need it.)

UPDATE – PA – Minister quits in protest at Blair: Tony Blair’s hopes of heading off Labour unrest over his resignation date appeared to be dashed, as a junior minister quit in protest at his continuation in office.

UPDATE – Ooooh, get her! 24dash.com – Ex-junior defence minister Watson branded ‘disloyal, discourteous and wrong’: Tony Blair branded ex-junior defence minister Tom Watson “disloyal, discourteous and wrong” today after he quit in protest at the Prime Minister staying in office. Within minutes of Mr Watson announcing his decision to resign, Mr Blair hit back, saying he had been planning to fire him anyway.

UPDATE (12:45pm) – A quick photoshop for you.

UPDATE (12:54pm) – Telegraph – Minister resigns in attempt to force Blair exit: As well as Mr Watson, a supporter of Mr Brown, the signatories to the letter from the 17 MPs in the 2001 intake to Parliament included up to six parliamentary aides to ministers. Among them were Khalid Mahmood, Wayne David, Ian Lucas and David Wright.

And news has just come in that Khalid Mahmood has resigned as Parliamentary Private Secretary (to Mr Tony McNulty, Minister of State).

PA – Two ministers quit in Blair protest

UPDATE (1:20pm) – Another photoshop for you… Blair’s comment couldn’t pass without comment. (hat-tip to bigdaddymerk)

UPDATE (2:05pm) – The BBC reports that 5 more Parliamentary Private Secretaries have resigned; Wayne David, Ian Lucas Chris Mole, Mark Tami and David Wright

UPDATE (2:31pm) – ‘We’re risking election defeat’ Blair warns as six MPs quit: Mr Blair warned: “To put all this at risk in this way is simply not a sensible, mature or intelligent way of conducting ourselves if we want to remain a governing party.”

In one of life’s great coincidences, this closely echoes Rebekah Wade’s editorial, which is repeated below (in full) in all its barking glory…

The Scum – Madness of Labour rebels: The Labour Party today has one chance to avoid self-destruction and Tory defeat at the next election. Childish MPs hounding Tony Blair must grow up and shut up. They must leave the PM alone so he can complete the job he was elected to do by the nation. And they must allow him the dignity of handling his departure in his own way. Not theirs. Some hysterical Labour MPs are rushing around Westminster waving pieces of paper saying they are collecting names to force Blair out. This is the politics of the infant school playground. What these silly babies forget is that they owe their careers to Blair. Blair is the most successful Labour leader in British history. Three colossal election victories. Almost ten years in power, during which his strength and charisma has reduced the Conservatives and Lib Dems to a pathetic irrelevance. Whatever you think of Blair’s policies, no one can deny he is a world statesman. A man of courage, determination and principle. Who are these immature pygmies trying to drag him down? We know they have no brains. Have they no shame either? Those Labour MPs ganging up on the PM should be quite clear about the terrible risk they are taking. This growing spectacle of Labour tearing itself apart is frightening the voters and driving them into the embrace of David Cameron. Why else is Cameron so far ahead in the polls without a single policy? Labour are dragging themselves back to the dreadful days of twenty years ago when voters wouldn’t trust them to run Britain because they couldn’t run their own party. Much more of this folly will doom Gordon Brown’s chances of being PM for ever – because Cameron will be in Downing Street. Tony Blair has delivered a strong economy, a fair and compassionate deal for the less well-off, and made us a more aspirational society. That is a proud legacy. But the PM has more to do before he goes. He wants to sort out immigration. He wants to speed up health and welfare reform. He wants lots more trust schools. He wants pensions sorted and energy strategy settled. He wants to make us safer still against terrorists, and he wants to see his courageous policies in Iraq and Afghanistan make headway. The Sun says to those Labour jackals snapping at his heels: You are committing an act of madness which will destroy your party. If you really love Labour, leave Tony Blair alone to finish the job.

UPDATE – Dirty Leftie – Tom Watson is welcome for a drink at mine any time he likes

(Via Bloggers4Labour. Oh, and LabourHome is worth watching today, too.)

UPDATE (4:10pm) – Oh, come on. Don’t tell me the day’s over already… Tch!

Oh well. At least we have this to enjoy. And this.

UPDATE (9:38pm) – Lots of this noise this afternoon… Guardian – Blair faces crisis over resignations: The chancellor, Gordon Brown, was spotted leaving the rear of Downing Street earlier today after what was reported to be an angry and uresolved conversation with the prime minister. Unlike in previous crises, there was a conspicuous lack of cabinet ministers taking to the airwaves to defend the prime minister. However, the former cabinet minister David Blunkett warned Mr Brown and his supporters to “back off”. “It is now in Gordon Brown’s – and the Labour party’s – best interests for those seeking the prime minister’s immediate departure to back off,” Mr Blunkett said. “This is not only to avoid our opponents exploiting the impression of disintegration and division, but also to avoid the split of our party, which would have lasting consequences.” Mr Brown has made no public comment on the unfolding events today.

Oh, and Iain Wright has just resigned as PPS to Rosie Winterton.

Why so late? Well, perhaps he was a bit nervous after his last jump.

;o)

Tom has posted a copy of his letter – and Tony’s reply – on his weblog.

He may appreciate a sensible comment or two, especially as right now the majority of his visitors are going to be Sun readers.

Speaking of comments, keep an eye out for Blairite sock-puppets on weblogs, news/comment websites and even via ‘have your say’ features on the telling-vision.

Common themes include:
– Tony Blair was given a clear mandate for a full term at the last general election
– We are at war and these men are traitors

Sorry, but I have to begin with a cross between a timeline and a linkdump:

Guardian – Now is not the time for Blair to go, says Falconer
BBC – Blair exasperated with ‘speculators’
UPI – Analysis: Blair defies Labor calls to quit
The Times – New Labour or bust: a voice of defiance from country mansion
Blair Watch – Blair To Labour: You can’t survive without me!
The Times – Full transcript of interview with Tony Blair
PA – Pressure on Blair to name date
PA – More calls on Blair to reveal exit
BBC – Debate goes on over Blair’s exit
Scotsman – Blair allies launch broadside
Sunday Herald – Blair tells shocked whips: I’m staying on as PM until 2008
Independent – Blair: The clock is ticking for a ‘deluded’ and ‘self-indulgent’ PM clinging on to power
The Times – MPs tell Blair to stop the infighting
BBC – MPs’ letter demands Blair’s exit
Guardian – New Labour MPs to call on Blair to quit
Blair Watch – The Postman Always Calls Thrice

Which pretty much brings us up to date, with the exception of this brilliant blue-sky thinking from the same crowd that brought us the brilliant notion that voters abandoned Labour at the last election because; “people were angry with Tony because they love him so much, and they are angry because they think he might go.”

The Mirror – Exclusive: How Blair will go: A sensational memo leaked to the Mirror reveals how Labour experts are planning Tony Blair’s exit from No10. The retirement blueprint aims to promote the “triumph of Blairism” and allow the PM to quit on a wave of euphoria after 10 years in office. The secret strategy – drawn up by a small group of loyalists – is well under way… He last week failed to end speculation over his retirement date when he ruled out naming the day at Labour’s annual conference in Manchester later this month. He pointedly accused Cabinet Ministers and Labour MPs, led by Mr Brown, of “obsessing” over the timing. Yet the No 10 memo reveals how the issue is dominating thinking deep inside the Downing Street bunker. Iraq also continues to cast a long shadow over the Premier’s record, the document openly acknowledges. It says: “We need to incorporate this into our media plan. It’s the elephant in the room, let’s face up to it.” The memo concludes: “Most importantly, are we up for it? Is TB up for it?”

I have no doubt that facing up to Iraq will involve an ‘open debate’ much like this one, where the elephant in the room is carefully portrayed as follows:

On the face of it, there appears to be a lot of ground changing hands, but – in reality – Blair has already won this argument… because none of the main players are talking about the need for handcuffs.

UPDATE (8:30pm) – Hello, Tom. Welcome to the party….

:o)

BBC – Minister joins Blair exit demands: One minister and four government aides are among 17 normally loyal Labour MPs who have written to Tony Blair urging him to quit. The MPs – including junior defence minister Tom Watson – say they want an end to uncertainty. Senior minister Hilary Armstrong later said Mr Blair would be gone by the time of the 2007 Labour conference. Forty-nine Labour MPs have so far signed a statement saying they are satisfied with a 12-month timetable. But others – including a group of Labour MPs elected in 2005 who are thought to be drafting their own letter to Mr Blair – want him to quit immediately.

UPDATE – Bob Piper – Revolting MPs

UPDATE (6 Sep) – Don’t think for a second that the fat lady is singing; so far, all we’ve heard is a fart from the usher…

Independent – MPs tell Blair to come clean on date of departure: Tony Blair has been hit by an open mutiny among previously loyal Labour MPs who are threatening to force him out of Downing Street unless he agrees to stand down soon.

Independent – A question of timing and tactics in a pointless fight: At Westminster, the clamour is growing for Mr Blair to lay out some sort of “timetable” for his departure. Such a timetable would make Mr Blair even more of a lame duck then he is at present, and he knows it. It would not quell speculation about his departure and his successor, merely intensify it. These demands are also spurious. The MPs responsible plead that they simply want some clarity regarding Mr Blair’s plans, but their real intention is to ease him nearer the exit without appearing overtly disloyal.

PA – Blair to quit in a year – Miliband: Speculation over Tony Blair’s future was fuelled as one of his closest Cabinet allies said he expected the Prime Minister to leave office within the next 12 months. Environment Secretary David Miliband said it was “reasonable” to suppose the PM sees himself staying in 10 Downing Street for about one more year. The comment, coming from the arch-Blairite former head of the PM’s policy unit, sparked instant speculation in Westminster that he had been authorised to speak out to clear the air over Mr Blair’s plans and stave off backbench rebels. But the PM’s official spokesman said only: “David Miliband has said what he believes the conventional wisdom to be and what that means. So be it, that’s his right. We have nothing more to say. Cabinet ministers will say what Cabinet ministers want to say.”

Hm… how about that? The folks at the Sun are free to say what they want to say, too… and here are the numbers that they ‘pulled out of the air’…

Downing Street Echo – Blair tells aides he quits May 31: Tony Blair will leave 10 Downing Street for the last time as Prime Minister more than a decade after his historic 1997 landslide win. The Sun can reveal that he has finally decided to step down as Labour leader on May 31 next year – exactly ten years and 30 days after becoming PM.

Guardian – Blair’s offer: I will go in a year Brown: that’s not good enough: Gordon Brown made clear yesterday that Tony Blair’s coded offer to leave Downing Street within the next 12 months was not good enough. Allies of the chancellor said that Mr Brown was demanding that the prime minister set a timetable for his departure and make the details public. Mr Brown also wants Mr Blair to rein in the chancellor’s critics, such as Stephen Byers and Alan Milburn, who have been making speeches and writing newspaper articles arguing that Blairite reforms be continued after he has stepped down.

And *still* none of the main players are talking about those all-important handcuffs…

Guardian – Blair’s legacy is a reckless adventure that’s wreaked havoc the world over

BSSC – That Non-Existent Timetable In Full

UPDATE (6 Sep 11:33am) – A heads-up via Wibbler…. Tom Watson has resigned from his position as Under-Secretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans. Waiting for Iain Dale to take credit in 3, 2, 1…

Sky News – Blair To Go ‘Next Summer’: In the first political move of the day, Labour MP Tom Watson resigned as a junior defence minister, saying that it was not “in the interest of either the party or the country” for Tony Blair to remain in office.”

UPDATE – Beau Bo d’Or’s view on letters and leaks