Looks like the next round of drinks will be on you guys then; Jag and Alex!
Just in case you haven’t heard, the new owner of the New Statesman has bought LabourHome - the grassroots blog that is for Labour what ConservativeHome is for the Tories. Well almost.
I’ve spoken to Jag and Alex before about LabourHome and why it doesn’t follow ConservativeHome’s style of publishing. The answer was that LabourHome was resolutely aimed at giving the grassroots a direct voice - they power the content and direction of the site.
I have to say that I admired this approach, but as traffic levels might suggest the editorial style of publishing that ConservativeHome uses makes for an easier reading experience of the news that matters about the inner party politics of the Conservative Party. There’s nothing like hand-picked news from two talented chaps with an eye for a story as opposed to the noise of the push-button masses. However, once you “get in to it” LabourHome can be quite accessible and informative.
With money behind it now I can see LabourHome starting to find some editorial focus. I don’t think it will do away with the voice that the grassroots has - at least I hope not - I just hope that it will become a more focused and stronger voice in the areas of the media that matter.
Jag will now be able to give it a makeover and tweak the technology and I think Alex will do a good job of leading it forward. My friend and former colleague Iain Dale has his doubts and whilst I agree that being a Labour Party PPC might make things difficult I think Alex has enough about him to carry it off.
Counterfactual?
One thing I would suggest in this area that is perhaps in the favour of Alex and the Labour Party is that if the 42 days by-election were reversed and it were a Labour MP that resigned his seat instead of David Davis I don’t think Alex, particularly as a PPC, would have posted a potentially damaging story.
Another point is that whilst ConservativeHome has been a critical friend of the Conservative Party, LabourHome stands the chance of being a Labour Party cheerleader, which is something they desperately need.
Bidding Starts At…
PoliticsHome is the successor to my beloved 18 Doughty Street Talk TV and is likewise funded by Stephan Shakespeare (who is a former Conservative Party PPC and backer of ConservativeHome let us not forget). Freddie Sayers is the Hillary Clinton-supporting *%@! that did the dirty work on all the ex-18 Doughty Street staff and who now runs PoliticsHome. I’m glad he wasn’t successful in his bid to bring LabourHome into the fold of what I would only describe from my personal experiences as a very nasty side of the political blogosphere.
There’s no love lost here and as you can read from my post about PoliticsHome’s possible visitor levels I wonder if it might be seen that an attempt to procure LabourHome was perhaps an attempt to save the venture from going the same way as 18 Doughty Street did?…. that is down the plughole for those of you not in the know. One can only wonder the real reason why LabourHome would be a target for PoliticsHome.
