Events | 2010.02.04
Hugh Muir's diary
Where is Harriet, exclaims Macavity the cat? At the scene of the crime, she\'s never there
• It\'s all as clear as mud following Lord Goldsmith\'s evidence to the Chilcot inquiry . And in the name of clarity, Tony Blair is up next. But in the meantime, one niggling question persists: when opinions were being sought and submitted by the finest legal minds, where was Harriet? She was solicitor general in the run-up to the war and the only law officer in the House of Commons. She ought, it is suggested, to have been fully involved in the preparation (and evolution) of all the legal advice by her boss, Lord Goldsmith. Actually, she seems to have been totally bypassed. There was a key meeting on 13 March 2003 between Goldsmith and the Blairites\' heavies, Lord Falconer and Baroness Morgan, but Harriet wasn\'t there. Perhaps no one bothered to ask her. Some raise her non-performance over Iraq as a point of criticism, but isn\'t it in fact just evidence of a charmed life? As leader of the house, she led efforts to limit the information disclosed about MPs\' expenses. She\'s dodged all the flak from that one too.
• Perhaps it is judgment, maybe it\'s luck. But luck will only get you so far, and everything suggests the government\'s luck has all but run out. The ex-editor of the Mirror, Mike Molloy, is voting Tory. Even Mandy says he wouldn\'t bet money on a Labour victory. How bad is it? This bad: The National Union of Mineworkers is running an internet poll to find out how many of its members intend to vote for Gordon. The proportion thus far? Fewer than half.
• And things aren\'t helped when Labour MPs revolt. But that too is in the offing over David Miliband\'s plans to placate foreign dignitaries by changing the law so that they cease to be targets for arrest – the fate that would have befallen Tzipi Livni , the former Israeli foreign minister, had she come to Britain in December. The Tories are keen to see a change. The Israeli government is certainly keen to see a change. Troublesome Labour MPs less so. David Winnick today leads an adjournment debate, brushing aside as specious all claims that the Middle East peace process will be endangered unless the government protects the likes of Livni from possible prosecution. "I am hoping that instead of giving in to pressure from the Tories, they will listen to their own backbenchers," he says, admittedly more in hope than expectation. Still, it\'s never too late for a surprise.
• Such is life. You work a bit, learn a bit, love a bit. We all get older. But suddenly you\'re old. Actor Susan Sarandon (pictured) tells Saga magazine how it used to be. "I did come of age in the Seventies, which was a very empowering time – to take off your bra, and have sex, drugs and rock\'n\'roll, to stop a war and fight for civil rights. It was a great time." And her driving passion now? Table tennis. "I\'ve started a club with these three guys – it\'s called Spin New York," she says. "I\'m very excited about it … that\'s what I\'m concentrating on this year." And why not? Topspin smashes, push shots, all can keep the adrenaline flowing. It\'s not a lesser life at all. Just different.
• Appropriate too, in this, a notable year for sport. Much to discuss, not least the Morning Star\'s debate about whether the soccer-supporting left should be rooting for North Korea. We touched on this yesterday, prompting a sniffy communication from lefty diary stalwart Keith Flett. "As the person who started that debate about socialists and the World Cup, I do feel that your diary item rather misrepresents matters," he says. "What I argued was that socialists should back \'anyone but England\'." His argument is that far-right types draw strength from England victories and he holds fast to it, despite the possibility that it might alienate him from the patriotic working classes. But North Korea? He says: "If they stood any chance the key players would be accused of selling out to bourgeois sport and shot."
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/[...]ugh-muirs-diary-lord-goldsmith
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