Good report. Lebrecht was clearly brought back to Radio 3 to buy his support, as a BBC source says. He isnt a good interviewer but if you ignore the bullying and bigotry he’s good for the Controller’s ego
"There is an alternative way forward: being True – not Blue – Labour. True Labour doesn’t fear those who are different. Instead, it demands everyone contribute their abilities to society – and works to unlock such skills."
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Much worse, I agree
That “best thing to happen to British racism” point is shocking to see written down. Shocking because true. I can’t think of another Govt in my lifetime who would have looked at Tommeh’s rabble of thugs overrunning Central London, screaming abuse at non white people and say… nothing. Nothing.
If the strategy was bad, then they have brought Labour to the brink of death and been the best thing to happen to British racism in half a century for....what, exactly?
That “best thing to happen to British racism” point is shocking to see written down. Shocking because true. I can’t think of another Govt in my lifetime who would have looked at Tommeh’s rabble of thugs overrunning Central London, screaming abuse at non white people and say… nothing. Nothing.
ooh she's in one of her moods again
"I didn't get a harrumph from that guy"
Also, haven't we learned yet that being praised or condemned by Trump means less than nothing? He says the opposite three days later. It's of no consequence.
I get the strong sense that the bulk of media are calling Starmer's position on Iran entirely wrongly right now. I simply don't believe that most people out there are either as hawkish as the Tories or as anti-everything as the Greens. Being conflicted in the middle seems about right to me.
It's either this or the figures at the top of the party being delusionally attached to a theory of elections and voters that has no resemblance to the realities of the contemporary British electorate.
So far I've come up with one rational explanation for Labour's response, which is that maybe Reeves has placed a significant amount of Treasury funds on a very specific accumulator about this May's elections, including Labour losing all their London councils and finishing fifth on projected vote.
Its doubly galling because Starmer and Labour have (and not without reason) spent years insisting Reform curious voters should be respected and taken seriously. Then with the Greens they're all "LOL you've been taken in by those nutters, U morons, don't be daft." Its playground level ignorance.
Good for her. That vicious old bigot should never have been given a slot on R3 ( in return for fawning coverage of the new schedule)
Exclusive: BBC Radio 3 has ended its relationship with Norman Lebrecht following an email to Yuja Wang the pianist described on Instagram as "derogatory misogynistic bullying."
Good for Yuja Wang. Any musician should do likewise.
Truly shocking, if not entirely surprising. This isn't flirting with the extreme right, it's legitimizing and normalizing it.
Sounds like he commissioned it.
If Starmer 2.0 means nothing else, perhaps it can mean this…
BROOKE GLADSTONE: The Inquiry brought up the case of Denholm Elliott's daughter - PAUL McMULLAN: Oh, yeah - BROOKE GLADSTONE: - which is one case that you truly do regret. PAUL McMULLAN: I do, yeah. After Denholm died, she hit rock bottom, was allegedly doing methadone. And although she had, you know, the half-million-pound flat that Denholm had bought her, she didn't have any money to get her ten-pound bag in the morning. So she'd get up and go begging at the tube station. Here was a young girl crying out to be helped, and she met a police officer who didn't help her but rang up the News of the World and asked for money because he couldn't believe that this is the same girl who'd walked down the red carpet behind Eddie Murphy with Denholm Elliott, you know.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: And you offered her 50 pounds - PAUL MCMULLAN: Yeah. BROOKE GLADSTONE: - if she would come to your place and have sex. So you led her into prostitution, which she wasn't in that space for. PAUL McMULLAN: No, indeed. But she was in such a bad place that someone offering her 50 pounds for sex. I mean, that's five bags.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: So how do you justify that? Yes, she was a drug addict, yes, she was begging. Why push her that extra step? Why take pictures of her topless? PAUL McMULLAN: I was keen. It was in my first year. I wanted to impress Piers Morgan, who was my boss at the time, and just wanted to say, not only have I caught this girl begging, but l've got pictures of her topless and I've got her offering me sex for 50 quid. How great am I? BROOKE GLADSTONE: This is a pretty dehumanizing enterprise, not just for Jennifer Elliott, but for you, yourself. PAUL McMULLAN: Yeah, that's why I feel terrible about it, not just 'cause she killed herself afterwards, but I, I actually liked her as a person.
Sharing from a friend, a passage from the Leveson Inquiry regarding the British actor Denholm Elliott, who died of AIDS in 1992. Three years after her death, the News of the World journalist Paul McMullan did the following to his daughter—neither a celebrity nor even someone of public interest.
Used to be live every weekday. Now only on Mondays
Wigmore Hall has lunchtime concerts that are only an hour - all chamber music so string quartets, song etc. deff not a fidget place but cheapish and v high quality. In the sunmer you can book for the Proms arena for all concerts. Standing only. move around, lie down if theres room.
Time to recall that Liz Truss appointed and then unappointed Antonia R as permanent secretary to the Treasury to replace the definitely sacked Tom Scholar
This, um, feels unwise.
Turns out The Times gave an interview promoting the content of a far-right neo-Nazi
www.channel4.com/news/unmaske...
A fair amount of nonsense has been written and said about the "security vetting" process for Mandelson's appointment. I wrote about what "Developed Vetting" really involves and why it's perfectly possible that it found nothing useful about Mandelson.
arthursnell.substack.com/p/the-vettin...
On WATO just now @pollybillington.bsky.social talking huge sense about the culture in no10 and the need for the testosteroney boys club to be broken up.
I have today been informed that, despite personal assurances to the contrary, the Green party have once again used my image and misrepresented my words on a second leaflet circulated in Gorton and Denton ahead of the by-election. I have now lodged an official complaint with the returning officer.
If they wonder why so much of their 2024 support has vanished, here’s a good place to start..
‘Another warns it represents "full speed ahead to uber-woke, net-zeroist, rejoinerism"’
