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 Comment ‘Labour members back assisted dying bill, Parliament must now ensure it passes’ For me and my fellow MPs, assisted dying is one of the most difficult issues we will ever… Lizzi Collinge MP 6th May, 2026, 6:00 am Comment ‘Let’s take every opportunity to tell our powerful Labour story’ Tomorrow is polling day. The thing I love most about my job is being on the road every… Anna Turley MP 6th May, 2026, 6:00 am Analysis ‘Will ‘bellwether’ Stevenage sound an alarm for Labour?’ The constituency of Stevenage has been a bellwether since its creation in 1983, quietly blazing a trail for… Tom Belger 6th May, 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
Comment ‘Labour members back assisted dying bill, Parliament must now ensure it passes’ For me and my fellow MPs, assisted dying is one of the most difficult issues we will ever… Lizzi Collinge MP 6th May, 2026, 6:00 am
Comment ‘Let’s take every opportunity to tell our powerful Labour story’ Tomorrow is polling day. The thing I love most about my job is being on the road every… Anna Turley MP 6th May, 2026, 6:00 am
Analysis ‘Will ‘bellwether’ Stevenage sound an alarm for Labour?’ The constituency of Stevenage has been a bellwether since its creation in 1983, quietly blazing a trail for… Tom Belger 6th May, 2026, 6:00 am
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