Melchett01
28th Apr 2006, 11:49
One of the best pieces of political writing I have seen in many a year and more importantly, it's very, very funny.
From this morning's Telegraph:
Touching vignettes from the dying days of the regime
A United States army helicopter hovered over Downing Street, waiting to whisk the Prime Minister, his wife, her hairdresser and other key staff off the roof. Meanwhile, at a makeshift dressing station far beneath Whitehall, exhausted medics struggled to save the lives of a succession of terribly injured ministers.
The bravery of these casualties brought tears even to the hardened spin doctors who were operating on them. Here was Charles Clarke, bleeding from a series of horrific self-inflicted wounds, yet promising all and sundry that he would keep his job until he had learned how to do it. And here was John Prescott, his reputation shot to pieces, still volunteering for a dangerous mission to raise morale in the typing pool.
The atmosphere darkened momentarily when a team of over-worked nurses cracked under the strain and tried to murder Patricia Hewitt. But the Health Secretary simply beamed uncomprehendingly at the nurses until they fell back in despair.
These are among the vignettes that historians are likely to offer their readers as they try to describe the decline and fall of the Blairite regime. But we hope that among the high drama, room will be found to describe how ordinary life continued almost until the bitter end.
As we sauntered down Whitehall yesterday morning in the peaceful spring sunshine, there was no sign that the advancing Brownite forces were already in control of almost every Government building except for No 10 itself, or of the columns of Blairite refugees whose people carriers were clogging the roads to the first-class departure lounge at Heathrow.
A knot of tourists was peering through the gates of Downing Street and we asked two ladies from Derbyshire if they could tell us what was going on.
One of the ladies said: "How much was it for her to have her hair done every day? Two hundred and seventy-five pounds? They're totally out of reach of ordinary people."
The other lady said: "The last time I was here, in the 1970s, I don't remember these gates."
The gates stop the general public from walking down Downing Street and perhaps symbolise how out of reach our rulers have become. But at this moment the gates swung open and an
imposing maroon Range Rover emerged, in the back of which we glimpsed the martial figure of Geoff Hoon, the former defence secretary who is now Leader of the Commons.
We hastened to the Chamber to watch Mr Hoon go into action. Not since SS men fought desperately in the ruins of the Reichstag in the spring of 1945 has such valour been seen in defence of a parliament building.
Mr Hoon took no prisoners. He denied point-blank that there had been job cuts in the National Health Service and said it would be pointless to have a debate about ministerial responsibility.
Douglas Hogg (C, Sleaford and North Hykeham) listed several recent cases of "culpable ministerial negligence" and declared: "There is no accountability unless there is resignation."
But Mr Hoon indicated that the Blairite regime will have no truck with such a defeatist doctrine.
It is perhaps worth mentioning that the two ladies from Derbyshire thought Mr Clarke, Mr Prescott and Miss Hewitt should all resign now, and predicted that Mr Blair will be gone by Christmas.
Maybe it's time Prescott got a new nickname; after careful consideration, I vote for "2 Shags Prescott" from now on :E
From this morning's Telegraph:
Touching vignettes from the dying days of the regime
A United States army helicopter hovered over Downing Street, waiting to whisk the Prime Minister, his wife, her hairdresser and other key staff off the roof. Meanwhile, at a makeshift dressing station far beneath Whitehall, exhausted medics struggled to save the lives of a succession of terribly injured ministers.
The bravery of these casualties brought tears even to the hardened spin doctors who were operating on them. Here was Charles Clarke, bleeding from a series of horrific self-inflicted wounds, yet promising all and sundry that he would keep his job until he had learned how to do it. And here was John Prescott, his reputation shot to pieces, still volunteering for a dangerous mission to raise morale in the typing pool.
The atmosphere darkened momentarily when a team of over-worked nurses cracked under the strain and tried to murder Patricia Hewitt. But the Health Secretary simply beamed uncomprehendingly at the nurses until they fell back in despair.
These are among the vignettes that historians are likely to offer their readers as they try to describe the decline and fall of the Blairite regime. But we hope that among the high drama, room will be found to describe how ordinary life continued almost until the bitter end.
As we sauntered down Whitehall yesterday morning in the peaceful spring sunshine, there was no sign that the advancing Brownite forces were already in control of almost every Government building except for No 10 itself, or of the columns of Blairite refugees whose people carriers were clogging the roads to the first-class departure lounge at Heathrow.
A knot of tourists was peering through the gates of Downing Street and we asked two ladies from Derbyshire if they could tell us what was going on.
One of the ladies said: "How much was it for her to have her hair done every day? Two hundred and seventy-five pounds? They're totally out of reach of ordinary people."
The other lady said: "The last time I was here, in the 1970s, I don't remember these gates."
The gates stop the general public from walking down Downing Street and perhaps symbolise how out of reach our rulers have become. But at this moment the gates swung open and an
imposing maroon Range Rover emerged, in the back of which we glimpsed the martial figure of Geoff Hoon, the former defence secretary who is now Leader of the Commons.
We hastened to the Chamber to watch Mr Hoon go into action. Not since SS men fought desperately in the ruins of the Reichstag in the spring of 1945 has such valour been seen in defence of a parliament building.
Mr Hoon took no prisoners. He denied point-blank that there had been job cuts in the National Health Service and said it would be pointless to have a debate about ministerial responsibility.
Douglas Hogg (C, Sleaford and North Hykeham) listed several recent cases of "culpable ministerial negligence" and declared: "There is no accountability unless there is resignation."
But Mr Hoon indicated that the Blairite regime will have no truck with such a defeatist doctrine.
It is perhaps worth mentioning that the two ladies from Derbyshire thought Mr Clarke, Mr Prescott and Miss Hewitt should all resign now, and predicted that Mr Blair will be gone by Christmas.
Maybe it's time Prescott got a new nickname; after careful consideration, I vote for "2 Shags Prescott" from now on :E