Friday, 20 September 2019

Cameron on Labour in referendum , detail still missing

Now had a quick look at the book, not much more than in the newspapers, see previous post.

The claims that Corbyn was "on holiday" etc have been countered many times ( though repeated by Polly Toynbee recently ) . Probably to be repeated depending on views of Corbyn.

But the Labour activity during referendum was more complex. Some of the people are assumed possibly to be supporters of a new deal if Johnson tries to get MP support. The newspapers offer some support, space for opinions etc. So surprising no comment so far I can find on what Cameron is missing.

Page 638  Stronger in " would beheaded by Labour  (predominantly New Labour) figures such as Peter Mandelson and Jack Straw's son Will. because we knew victory would rest on Labour votes. But it would be steered by Conservatives.

Cannot find any other ref to Mandelson, his opinions on the campaign, during or since.

Page 671
Our cross partyclout relied mostly on Labour but they were AWOL. Corbyn .......criticised Georges "fear agenda" . The Remain campaign cleared whole daysfor Labour in advance, but often they would do nothing.

thing is, who was Cameron talking to? Who in the media knew what the plan was? the Observer reported a clearing in the media plan very close to the end as the polls seemed to move. But the Labour space turned out to be Gordon Brown, and also Lord Darling.

page 673
Looking back, I accept that this "punishment budget"did seem over the top

No mention of shared platform with Lord Darling. so far I have just checked the index and skipped through the pages. Maybe there is more somewhere else.

But so far seems missing in any sort of detail a reader might expect. Blame Labour much too simple.

Also Corbyn comes out as sensible when you think about it. Critique of "fear agenda" could have been considered. "punishment budget" now seen as a mistake. Corbyn spoke about worker rights, consumer protection, environmental standards.

Anyway, main question at the moment is will we find out any more from the reviews and comments, interviews even? The journalists must know something.

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