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11:35 UK time, Monday, 1 August 2011
End of an era
After 19 years at Newsnight, Political editor Michael Crick has moved on to pastures new and this blog is now closed.
Michael Crick Political editor, Newsnight
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.
17:53 UK time, Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Tories may not fight police elections
The Conservatives are seriously considering not standing candidates for the elections for the new elected police commissioners which are due to take place next May - providing the legislation gets through parliament.
The policy has been actively pursued by David Cameron and the Conservatives, against strong scepticism from many Liberal Democrats, yet it seems the Tories may play only an indirect role in the process.
17:06 UK time, Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Reshuffle ready if Huhne quits
With news that Essex police have passed their file on Chris Huhne to the Crown Prosecution Service, I am told that Nick Clegg and David Cameron have already agreed on what would happen in a mini-reshuffle if Huhne has to resign as Energy Secretary, in charge of Department of Energy and Climate Change.
The reshuffle, which would only involve Liberal Democrats, has been designed to cause the minimum of disruption.
18:08 UK time, Wednesday, 20 July 2011
Was Hague first link with Coulson?
Attention has focussed on Prime Minister David Cameron for appointing ex-News of the World editor Andy Coulson as his communications director, and Chancellor George Osborne for recommending him to Cameron.
That much is established. What has received very little attention so far is William Hague's links with Andy Coulson, which date back to 2003.
16:38 UK time, Thursday, 14 July 2011
1953 front page news - Murdoch fails to answer summons
I've delved back into my archives and found the following story, which seems rather amusing, especially given recent events.
From the Oxford Mail, 14 February 1953:
10:37 UK time, Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Cameron letter to save BBC Oxford
"Is this the right place…?" the Prime Minister pleaded in his own handwriting.
David Cameron was writing to the BBC Director General in an attempt to save the BBC Oxford News TV service. He was writing, of course, purely in his capacity as MP for Witney in Oxfordshire.
16:25 UK time, Monday, 27 June 2011
Miliband plan to cut union block vote
The unions are getting it from all directions at the moment. Whilst Conservative ministers are threatening to restrict further the unions ability to go on strike, the Labour leader is planning action to cut their powers too.
This, despite the fact that Ed Miliband was only elected leader on the votes of affiliated union members.
12:19 UK time, Monday, 27 June 2011
The death of the oldest former MP
The Telegraph carries an obituary for James Allason, who had the distinction of being the oldest ex-MP before his death eleven days ago.
Allason, who was 98, was the father of Rupert Allason (aka the spy writer Nigel West), also a former Tory MP. He was member for Hemel Hempstead from 1959 to 1974.
13:53 UK time, Thursday, 23 June 2011
Osborne's cannabis editorial
The editorial of the latest edition of Isis, the Oxford University magazine, reveals interesting details about Chancellor George Osborne's editorship of the magazine, back in 1992.
The cover of one of Mr Osborne's editions was adorned by two large cannabis leaves.
12:20 UK time, Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Was NHS reform review too rushed?
It all seems terribly rushed. Professor Steve Field has just given a press briefing for his NHS Future Forum report, and one couldn't help feeling they could have done with more time.
Prof Field stressed that they'd only had eight weeks to reach their conclusions. Several areas, he said, needed a lot more work. And twice he told us that he's only realised important points within the "last couple of days". So what if he'd had a couple more days, or weeks?
11:21 UK time, Tuesday, 7 June 2011
Conservative MP Arbuthnot to retire
Yesterday the MP for Hampshire North East, James Arbuthnot, became the first Conservative MP to announce he will retire at the next election. It is a pretty early announcement, given that the next election is not due for another four years, in 2015.
As a former Conservative Chief Whip, and now Chairman of the Commons Defence Select Committee, Mr Arbuthnot is pretty much guaranteed a place in the Lords - assuming the Lords is not reformed by 2015 (and I know nobody in politics who really thinks it will be).
20:32 UK time, Friday, 27 May 2011
Essex police approach people about Huhne's wife
I can reveal that Essex police have started approaching people who were at the seminar and dinner at the London School of Economics with Vicky Pryce on the night in contention, 12 March 2003.
One of her fellow participants has now confirmed this to Newsnight.
15:59 UK time, Friday, 27 May 2011
'Rubbish' that Huhne's wife not co-operating with police
Contrary to a report on the front page of today's Daily Telegraph, Chris Huhne's estranged wife Vicky Pryce is co-operating with Essex police, according to a reliable source.
Essex police this week interviewed both the energy secretary and Vicky Pryce over allegations that Huhne got his wife to take the points for a speeding offence on the M11 in March 2003.
11:42 UK time, Monday, 23 May 2011
Hello and welcome
I hope you like the new format, picture and biog.
Along with my usual posts, you will be able to see the best of my TV and radio reports on this new page and very soon my tweets too.
About Michael
Michael has been a journalist for more than 30 years, working for three of the great flagship TV programmes. He was a founder member of Channel 4 News back in 1982, and later became the Channel 4 News Washington Correspondent.
He joined the BBC in 1990, and worked on Panorama before joining Newsnight in 1992.
He has won two Royal Television Society awards, one for his coverage of the 1988 US election, and another in 2002 for a Panorama special programme on the life of Jeffrey Archer.
Crick is the author of several books, including biographies of Arthur Scargill, Jeffrey Archer and Alex Ferguson - which were all bestsellers - and of Michael Howard and Michael Heseltine. He became political editor of Newsnight in 2007.
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