This entry was posted on
Wednesday, February 21st, 2007 at
6:37 pm and is filed
under The Political Weblog Movement.
Iain Dale – Nicholas Boles Steps Down from Policy Exchange
Well, we all know how Paul ‘Guido’ Staines would play this… he would claim full credit even if he were a casual bystander.
Perhaps, if he were in one of his less-conceited moods, he would link to two or three related items and say “What a coincidence!”… so let’s try that one on for size and see how it feels:
Bloggerheads – Iain Dale and the Nick Boles question
Guido 2.0 (Bloggerheads) – Nicked
Bloggerheads – Nicholas Boles
Bloggerheads – Nick Boles: if you *really* want to be Mayor of London…
(pause)
What a coincidence!
Iain Dale has also decided that perhaps now would be a good time for him to step down as a Trustee of Policy Exchange (and scream “Conspiracy loon!” in the same breath). I suppose, in his mind, that makes this a non-issue from now on.
Ministry of Truth – Guido, The Smith Institute and the Think Tank he’s not writing about.
Ministry of Truth – Opening cans of worms…
Ministry of Truth – Open letter to Iain Dale
(pause)
What a coincidence! Again!
One especially nice touch is that this began with Iain hiding behind his anonymous trolls and bullies, but he has suddenly decided that he doesn’t want to play such games right now; “If you can’t be bothered to identify yourselves, your comments won’t be posted. And that goes for anynmous [sic] posters in general. If all you want to do is slag people off, go and do it elsewhere.”
This, the day after he sent his anonymous trolls and bullies after The Labour Humanist with this softball.
What a hypocrite.
(Note – If Nick had been man enough to face this head-on, I would have been far less inclined to pursue this into his candidacy. As it is, I have very little respect for the man… and zero-to-no trust in his ability to handle other people’s money responsibly.)
UPDATE – A further thought from Clive:
The UK Today – Rattled?: Personally I’d be more critical of a trustee who took eighteen months to realise that they couldn’t commit to the necessary levels of support. That seems to be like the behaviour of someone who either places their image ahead of the charity’s wellbeing or a person with a rather blasé attitude towards it. Either way it isn’t the attitude I’d expect of a committed trustee. As for Nick Boles, the fact that it has taken him this long to realise that being chair of a Tory think-tank isn’t compatible with running for political office strikes me as either naive or arrogant. Neither one is an endearing characteristic in an elected official at any level.
Also, Unity has noticed that the official announcement on the Policy Exchange website makes a none-too-subtle point about Anthony Browne, Nick’s replacement: “Anthony comes to the charity with no political affiliations…”
This goose is cooked. Now comes the part where the Tories desperately scramble to hide or downplay the significance of the wonderful aroma wafting from the oven.
UPDATES + EXTRAS (22 Feb):
Ministry of Truth – Look into my eyes…
Guido 2.0 – Nick Boles and Iain Dale part company with Policy Exchange
BSSC – Swift Boat Veterans for the Tories
By The UK Today February 21, 2007 - 7:08 pm
Rattled?
So Nick Boles is leaving the Conservative Policy Exchange think-tank to concentrate on his campaign to become Mayor of London. At the same time, Iain Dale has announced in a footnote that he is standing down as a trustee of…
By scotch February 21, 2007 - 8:03 pm
Aw crap. So I've no chance of winning the coveted prize. Hey folks, my email went like this though:From: ScotchSubject: use of charityDate: 20 February 2007 17:14:06 GMTTo: nicholas.boles@policyexchange.org.ukHello NicholasYou know how Policy Exchange, as a registered charity, really, really isn't supposed to do any party-political stuff? Well you did, didn't you, as a Director.I have some WHOIS info that confirms you did.Will you make a statement to explain this, or perhaps resign from PE? I simply can't see how your position is tenable.Please could you let me know your views on this?anthony clarkeguildfordP.S. your reply will of course be in public domain unless you request otherwise.regardsanthony
By Katherine February 22, 2007 - 11:06 am
Come now Tim – show some grace and accept your victory magnanimously. However the other side attempt to spin this, it is clear you got them seriously rattled and got them to do, eventually, what might be called the right thing.
By Manic February 22, 2007 - 11:12 am
Ah, yes… but the spin and astro-turfing (from the self-proclaimed haters of spin and astro-turfing) is a key issue here, and I've made that clear from the very beginning.As with Guido's handling of the old Guardian article, the reaction is more revealing than the revelation.
By Katherine February 22, 2007 - 12:48 pm
Oh of course I understand that the spin and astro-turfing were the principal sins you were trying to points out (specifically in relation to Guido initially iirc) – but could I gently suggest that continuing on this particular subject might be playing into the hands of said trolls and astroturfers who are smearing you with accusations of obsession and conspiracy-theoriness. Just a thought. Generally I think (from a non-partisan p.o.v here) you've done sterling work in pointing out some nasty blogging behaviour and now might be a time to rest on your laurels briefly.PS In case this is taken as a very very subtle anonymous astro-turfing attempt, I assure you it isn't. I'm not linking to my blog cos I don't update it very often and don't like to link to it when it's so heinously behind. Also, I think Iain Dale has come out of this looking like a twat. Guido already looked like a twat, so you know, job done there.
By Manic February 22, 2007 - 1:33 pm
This just in: Katherine is a Tory sock-puppet!;o)Watch and wait for the round-up, Katherine. I'm sure you'll like it.