a http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/ I'm Michael Crick, and I'm Newsnight's political editor. My guiding rule is that in any story there's usually something the politicians would prefer the world not to know. My job is to find that out. en Copyright 2009 Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:12:09 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.1 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss I've been moonlighting a bit from Newsnight over the past few days to make a radio programme about the Liberal Prime Minister William Gladstone. It's the 200th anniversary of his birth on 29 December and I'm presenting a half-hour about him at 11am on Boxing Day on Radio 4. I've Michael Crick (BBC News) http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/the_legacy_of_gladstone.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/the_legacy_of_gladstone.html Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:12:09 +0000 David Cameron's need to sort out the Lord Ashcroft problem is even more urgent than I suggested last week. Labour taunted the Conservatives with the issue once again at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, and it threatens to dog the Conservatives through an election campaign. The Tories' proposed new law, Michael Crick (BBC News) http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/dodging_ashcroft_questions_hur.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/dodging_ashcroft_questions_hur.html Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:40:52 +0000 This summer John Bercow made history by becoming the first Speaker of the House of Common to be elected by secret ballot. Many Conservative MPs were extremely unhappy with his election. They regard him as a Labour stooge, and are privately threatening to depose him should David Cameron secure a Michael Crick (BBC News) http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/why_the_speaker_has_no_say_in.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/why_the_speaker_has_no_say_in.html Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:40:11 +0000 I went the grand offices of the Institute of Government, a new independent think tank, on Thursday evening for a fascinating seminar to launch a report entitled Making Minority Government Work. It's a hot political topic at the moment, with the very real prospect that no single party will get Michael Crick (BBC News) http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/timely_advice_on_making_minori.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/timely_advice_on_making_minori.html Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:20:15 +0000 To the Irish Embassy for their annual Christmas bash. Over the excellent canapes and fine stout (as an old-fashioned BBC man I can't name the brand) I had a good chat with Ken Livingstone. I had heard a year ago that Mr Livingstone was telling friends that he would definitely Michael Crick (BBC News) http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/could_it_be_mayor_livingstone.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/could_it_be_mayor_livingstone.html Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:55:35 +0000 Wednesday's news from the Conservative MP Robert Key that he is standing down at the next election brings the number of retirements announced so far to 120 according to the BBC tally, though Julie Kirkbride (Conservative) and Andrew Pelling (Independent) may change their minds and stand again after all. Either Michael Crick (BBC News) http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/a_postwar_record_for_mps_stand.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/a_postwar_record_for_mps_stand.html Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:14:17 +0000 Following on from my comments on Gordon Brown at PMQs. The key word is "relaxed". Once one joke works well, a speaker relaxes and he establishes a relationship with his audience. Then his other material is likely to work successfully, and he gets more quick-witted on his feet. Mr Brown's Michael Crick (BBC News) http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/making_mileage_out_of_tory_tof.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/making_mileage_out_of_tory_tof.html Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:56:04 +0000 Further to my blog on the proposed AV referendum, I'm now told it is definitely happening, but it will require a formal announcement from Harriet Harman to go public on it. And Ms Harman is away at the moment. This follows months of debate within government. A strong delegation of Michael Crick (BBC News) http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/whipping_up_support_for_av.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/whipping_up_support_for_av.html Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:43:10 +0000 Today's performance by Gordon Brown at Prime Minister's Questions was the best I think I've seen him do in two-and-a-half years as PM. Thanks perhaps to Alastair Campbell's new regular advice, he came with a string of well ready made put downs of David Cameron. On the economy he said Michael Crick (BBC News) http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/a_return_to_the_nimble_witty_b.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/a_return_to_the_nimble_witty_b.html Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:40:31 +0000 On Wednesday morning I encountered the other side of our ludicrous Health and Safety culture - tackled in David Cameron's speech yesterday, and on Newsnight last night. I too hate our modern safety environment, dominated by silly health and safety forms and petty bureaucratic rules, all designed, it seems, to Michael Crick (BBC News) http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/health_and_safety_on_the_way_t.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/health_and_safety_on_the_way_t.html Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:53:40 +0000 On Newsnight on Tuesday night I briefly reported how Prime Minister Gordon Brown is about to agree to stiffen Labour's pledge to a referendum on introducing the Alternative Vote - or AV - voting system. The new plan is to legislate before the election for a referendum to be held Michael Crick (BBC News) http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/tories_may_have_no_alternative.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/tories_may_have_no_alternative.html Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:44:52 +0000 Sir Patrick Cormack today announced his retirement form Parliament, having served as an MP for almost 40 years. He will be a great loss to the Commons. He was a tremendous Parliamentarian and spent many hours sitting listening to Commons debates from his regular seat next to the gangway. I Michael Crick (BBC News) http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/wise_old_owls_departure_will_b.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/12/wise_old_owls_departure_will_b.html Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:23:49 +0000 The election of Lord Pearson of Rannoch as the new leader of UKIP may radically change public perceptions of the party. Lord Pearson's predecessor Nigel Farage has the appearance of the salesman ready to offer you a couple of cut-price bargains from inside his cashmere overcoat, the cheeky chappie who Michael Crick (BBC News) http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/11/a_change_of_leadership_and_ima.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/11/a_change_of_leadership_and_ima.html Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:49:42 +0000 I said my item on Jennings had nothing to do with politics, but I should add that the great irony of Anthony Buckeridge is that he was a life-long socialist, and a pretty left-wing one at that (he had very little time for Tony Blair). Yet few people can have Michael Crick (BBC News) http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/11/nothing_to_do_with_politics.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/11/nothing_to_do_with_politics.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:46:22 +0000 This is nothing to do with politics at all, but I am sad to report that Dairmaid Jennings, the model for Anthony Buckeridge's famous Jennings stories, has died at the age of 96. One of my proudest scoops as a journalist was to track him down about a dozen years Michael Crick (BBC News) http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/11/death_of_the_original_jennings.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/2009/11/death_of_the_original_jennings.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:23:44 +0000