Anthony Seldon should fall on his sword, at least
unless he can produce that book which no one has ever written, a scholarly,
critical biography of Tony Blair.
For a start, he could revisit his reproduction as
gospel of the ridiculous authorised version of how a complete unknown, aged
only just 30 and with no political history whatever, came to be selected for a
rock solid seat which had somehow failed to select a candidate until almost the
literal eve of a General Election.
I'm no Blair fan but he had contested a by-election in Beaconsfield, Bucks, a couple of years before selection in Sedgefield. So he was hardly an unknown - often London barristers end up being selected last minute for vacant seats
ReplyDeleteNot for seats like that, they don't. Certainly not in those days. And why had a seat like that not selected anyone sooner? An awful lot sooner, in fact.
ReplyDeleteHe had been a paper candidate at a hopeless by-election which he had enlivened moderately by bringing along his wife's stepmother, Pat Phoenix, otherwise known as Elsie Tanner.
So what? The streets are lined, and all that.