New New Labour for children of the Blair years
Rumour has it that Euan Blair, Tony' eldest, may run for parliament. But what about the other progeny of those who dominated the New Labour era?
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The blogger Guido Fawkes set a hare running this week by suggesting that Euan Blair - son of - is lining up to inherit the safe Labour seat of Coventry North West from Geoffrey Robinson, who will be almost 77 at the next general election. The Coventry Evening Telegraph has verified that Blair Jnr, pictured, is working in the city, but Mr Robinson adamantly denies any intention of quitting Parliament. The idea that he would do so as a favour to the Blair family is improbable anyway, given the circumstances in which he lost his job as Paymaster General 13 years ago.
But other children of the elite of the Blair years are considering political careers. Will Straw is vying for the Labour nomination in Rossendale and Darwen, next door to his father's Blackburn constituency, which the Conservatives took in 2010 with a 4,493 majority. And Joe Dromey, younger son of Harriet Harman and Jack Dromey, is devoting a lot of time to work in the safe Labour seat of Lewisham Deptford, where the sitting MP, Joan Ruddock, will be 71 come the election.
Councillor, keep your counsel
This has not been a good week for relations between the police and the Conservative Party. Apart from the continuing story of Andrew Mitchell, there is the extraordinary behaviour of David Stephenson, a Tory member of Erewash council, in Derbyshire. Annoyed by two women standing outside a council building smoking, he told them, bizarrely: "If you get 100 points for shooting one policewoman and 200 points for shooting two, how many do you get for shooting a lawyer?" Unbeknown to him, one of the women is married to a police sergeant, who rang him to remonstrate. Councillor Stephenson has now apologised, and will not be allowed to stand as a Tory candidate again, but this man who finds something funny in the murders of two policewomen is still serving the people of Erewash.
Barack? I'll call him back
Charlie Brooks, whose wife Rebekah made a brief but much publicised court appearance yesterday, has been remembering when they were a power couple. The latest issue of Racing Post carries his description of a tennis match against David Cameron.
"We're pretty good friends. I played tennis with him at Chequers one day. I won the first set easily, then he won the second set, and then someone came up to him and said 'Er... Mr Obama is on the phone for you, Prime Minister.' He said: 'I think we've got time for a third set - tell Mr Obama I'll ring him back.' He obviously thought he had me on the ropes, and I beat him two sets to one."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments