18th March, 2010, 8:12 am BBC: Hague knew about Ashcroft tax status in 2000 – 8 in the morning, March 18th Alex Smith Share this article: By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 * BBC alleges William Hague knew about Lord Ashcroft’s tax status in 2000, much earlier than previously claimed. * After another day of Tory attacks on Charlie Whelan, the Guardian plays down his “informal” role, saying “it is away from No 10 where his presence is felt most.” * Evoking the pager system introduced by New Labour in the mid-nineties, Conservative candidates will be kepy on message with new iPhone and BlackBerry applications. * Tensions between speaker John Bercow and Conservative MPs escalate. * The Fabians’ Stuart White questions Labour activists’ confidence in the government’s policy on retention of DNA samples. * George Osborne risks repeating John Smith’s mistakes of 1992 in next week’s budget, argues the Times’ Anatole Kaletsky. * Nadine Dorries is involved in a plot to damage Esther Rantzen’s election campaign in Luton South, reports the Telegraph. * The Conservatives drop a point in the latest YouGov poll, bringing the gap with Labour to four percent. Alex Smith Alex is the founder and CEO of The Cares Family. He was editor and first director of LabourList in 2009-2010, during which time he established the site as the number one Labour blog, and later an aide to Ed Miliband. @alexsmith1982 View all articles by Alex Smith Subscribe to our daily email More from LabourList News Peter Mandelson should lose peerage, Downing Street spokesperson says Peter Mandelson should no longer be a member of the House of Lords following his links to the… Daniel Green 2nd February, 2026, 1:18 pm Analysis ‘The fate of the assisted dying bill: a quiet end or a painful struggle?’ Earlier this week, Lord Falconer, the promoter of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, said that… George Peretz KC 2nd February, 2026, 6:00 am Comment ‘Alcohol harm is a public health crisis — and industry lobbying is blocking action’ We may not want to talk about it, but our country has a serious problem with alcohol. Alcohol… Cat Smith MP 2nd February, 2026, 6:00 am
Alex Smith Alex is the founder and CEO of The Cares Family. He was editor and first director of LabourList in 2009-2010, during which time he established the site as the number one Labour blog, and later an aide to Ed Miliband. @alexsmith1982 View all articles by Alex Smith
News Peter Mandelson should lose peerage, Downing Street spokesperson says Peter Mandelson should no longer be a member of the House of Lords following his links to the… Daniel Green 2nd February, 2026, 1:18 pm
Analysis ‘The fate of the assisted dying bill: a quiet end or a painful struggle?’ Earlier this week, Lord Falconer, the promoter of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, said that… George Peretz KC 2nd February, 2026, 6:00 am
Comment ‘Alcohol harm is a public health crisis — and industry lobbying is blocking action’ We may not want to talk about it, but our country has a serious problem with alcohol. Alcohol… Cat Smith MP 2nd February, 2026, 6:00 am
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