And another thing…

Not much else you could do. I can’t see how they can possibly make the claim they will remain impartial.

” neutrality and independence ” in your eyes is left leaning.
I see this as another welcome shift to the centre not the right.

Labour now looks like its on the run. cant take the heat. No stay and fight just give in.

In the words of Kevin Maguire, Ashcroft is becoming “a right little Rupert Murdoch”.

Don’t blame you Tom, unbelievable – which idiot sold it to him?!

Toys,pram, throw

Quite right too, Tom.
Will the Tory Paymaster General, and potential purchaser of seats in marginal constituencies now be paying tax on his profits, if there are any?

As a regular, somewhat bemused reader of ConHome, it is evident that not all its opinions fit with the current, modern, fluffy, progressive Conservative party. It can be quite fun to read the more right wing commenters who are torn between desperately wanting to get back into power, but having to put up with some of Dave’s more populist, modernist, appeal to the plebs ideas. Now that Ashcroft also has a stake in that illustrious website, will he “encourage” them to toe the party line more closely?

Or, will he be like Murdoch, that other estimable power addict, and have no influence whatsoever on editorial content?

Now, if I were a betting woman, where would my money go?

I think that is a shame. Surely it is a lot more likely to get more right wing if all the left wing people leave it?

“Surely it is a lot more likely to get more right wing if all the left wing people leave it?”

Actually, it’ll probably get more left-wing now that I’ve left it (thought I’d better say it before someone else does).

For me, it’s more about personal reputation: do I really want to lend my name to a panel and a website that has just swapped Andrew Rawnsley for Lord Ashcroft?

But I agree, it is a shame, and I would like to see them repair the damage that has undoubtedly been caused to its reputation by Rawnsley’s departure and Ashcroft’s arrival.

I assume you’ll be removing ‘Politics Home’ from your blogroll then as it’s 57% owned by a Tory?

Unlike Iain Dale’s Diary which will no doubt remain despite being 100% owned by a Tory.

Makes perfect sense to me.

a trifle pompous, Tom……..your personal reputation and “lending your name”? Don’t imagine the politics home folks will lose much sleep………

How’s the knee, Tom? Fast, reactive movements in limbs – jerking – needs attention.

There is no logic in this. Firstly are you factually correct that Ashcroft is now the editor instead of Rawnsley? “a website that has just swapped Andrew Rawnsley for Lord Ashcroft?”

Secondly, you seem to have succomed to Mythical Hate Figure Syndrome of the kind usually reserved for Murdoch, Hitler and Simon Cowell.

Thirdly, are you trying to suggest that a website which is largely devoid of editorial material is now going to be biased?

Accordingly, are you going to refuse all invitations to write for the Times, the Telegraph or the BBC?

Pram, Toys, Throw. Dale is right.

It will be of no surprise for you to hear that agree with your decision.

As other comments have noted, it’s perversely Murdochian.

A shame – the Insider Panel was the only reason I actually visited the site.

I will make the minor point, Tom, that Andrew Rawnsley was Editor-in-Chief whereas Lord Ashcroft is merely the proprietor. But that’s just the pedant in me.

Nevertheless I agree with you Tom, it’s the right thing to resign. Ashcroft is just too close to the Conservative Party for the site to appear truly objective. And as such it is logical for you, a Labour MP, to resign from the panel.

Like Cathy, I think that you have been a bit premature in resigning. If you are in there, stay in there – resign when the content becomes intolerable.

It is a microcosm of the EU. Stay inside and change it. Don’t step outside and fume.

Such childishness is beneath you.

The correct solution was to place your concerns on the record, and if Ashcroft then interferes with the neutrality of the site, resign and say why.

As it is, you and your fellow lefties (e.g. Hundal, Katwala and Tom “proppa blogga” Watson – from all of whom I would expect such petulance) are simply coming across as taking your ball home.

A bad error.

[...] of PoliticsHome when it is transparently clear that he has never done it with Total Politics? To Tom Harris, I say: why are you happy to write for Total Politics but then resign from the PoliticsHome panel? [...]

[...] See also, Sunny at Liberal Conspiracy. Tom Harris [...]

Doesn’t Paul Staines own the ad-banner scrolly thing on the side of your website?

“it is difficult to escape the conclusion that the valuable and deserved reputation for neutrality and independence [...] has been sold along with the domain name.”

On what grounds? Has PH suddenly jumped to the right since Lord Ashcroft came in, or are you just assuming that, as a majority stakeholder in the politically-neutral Total Politics, he would be bored having two neutral outlets and therefore he would use PH to force a rightie agenda on you?

Your reasons for resignation make no sense. Why not wait it out and see whether PH goes right-wing? That way you’ll have some justification.

Alternatively, just say that your real reason for resigning was because other lefties threw their toys out of the pram and you thought that looked awfully good fun.

Either way, what a shame that lefties have given up on trying to keep a neutral site going. It makes me wonder whether you ever truly accepted the neutrality or were simply waiting for any opportunity to resign.

I think LS has hit the nail on the head. Shows Tom for what he, is a class war warrior.

Trouble is that nearly all the meeja in the UK is owned by right-wingers and Tory sympathisers.

Is the logic of Tom Watson’s and your position that no Labour sympathiser should ever work for any such outlet?

Richard: “Doesn’t Paul Staines own the ad-banner scrolly thing on the side of your website?”

He has something to do with MessageSpace, yes, but I don’t see how… Ah. Oh, right, I see now: you think I’m taking a stand against being involved with any right-wing or Tory-supporting organisation, yes?

Well, no. In fact, had Ashcroft taken over at PoliticsHome and Rawnsley had remained in post, I would not have resigned from the PH100. I will continue to use MessageSpace. I will (if asked) write for Total Politics (prop: Lord Ashcroft) and various right-wing newspapers (again, if asked).

But Rawnsley’s departure casts doubt over the objectivity of PoliticsHome under its new management and I simply felt that remaining on the panel lent a tiny, microscopic smidgen of credibility to it, at a time when there is a question mark over the site’s direction (because of Rawnsley’s departure – not Ashcroft’s arrival).

Tom, disappointed in you.

Ian Dale’s blog is owned by Lord Ashcroft and that still has (AFAIK) some critisism of the Tory party and leadership.

Not only that, but Tim Montgomery of ConservativeHome has made it clear that he will not put up with any interference from Lord Ashcroft.

Of course, you couldn’t be the only “leftie” left in the panel, as that would surely put you in the untenable position of being accused as a red Tory!

[...] longer will Tom Harris, Sunder Katwala, Tom Watson, Charles Clarke, Martin Bright,  Sunny Hundal and a host of others be [...]

So in summary, you either:

resigned on principle because you think the content will become less neutral, rather than actually waiting to see if it does.

or

resigned on principle because PH is now owned by a filthy rich Tory who happens to be slightly richer than the other filthy rich Tory who used to own it.

Blimey I wish I had principles like that.

On this issue, I feel like Rhett Butler in Gone With The Wind:

Scarlett: Rhett, Rhett… Rhett, if you go, where shall I go? What shall I do?

Rhett Butler: Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.

Storm in a teacup politics..

Next you’ll have an article telling me the Pope is a Catholic

Site changes ownership.

All the lefties abandon what was one of the few non-partisan sites claiming its new owner will make it biased.

So, as all the lefties are running away, only centre right writers will be left.

Tom and his associates will, in a few days, loudly proclaim that it is now biased because no lefties write for it.

Well done for doing the left wing thing and en mass running away from something without debate purely because you don’t like something even though nothing has actually changed. Very admirable.

@ Tom.

Have you been told something about politicshome taking a new, partisan direction?

The point i was making is that despite messagespace being co-owned by a right wing loon and a prominent lib-dem it has managed to preserve a completely apartisan agenda, promoting books, essays, etc from all parties and none.

Ashcroft may be a known tory supporter but i’ve not read or heard anything that suggests that he intends to make politicshome into a campaign site or even to mess with their (non-)editorial stance.

I agree with your action Tom. I have deleted the shortcut to the site and will monitor Conservative Home as that too has been purchased. £1.3m is an awful lot of money for both sites.

[...] resignations en masse from the site’s daily survey and opinion tracker2. And Tom Harris also withdrew from the panel shortly after [...]

Looks like things are going to your head Tom with,
” I simply felt that remaining on the panel lent a tiny, microscopic smidgen of credibility to it,”

You have a very high opinion of yourself.
you should have waited and had a clear reason to go. This is all very tribal.and some what imature.

Tom you should re consider this. I did not wish to be rude in my last post. But when things are going badly for your party, people like you should not run away and hide. What is it you do not like about ashcroft is it because he lives abroad for most of the year or what. what is the difference between him and seniour members of your party wirh off shore bank accounts and hedge funds and residing in scotland etc.
I realy feel you have let yourself down and you should have taken more time to consider things like this. You could have asked this blog what they thought about it, but no you just jumped in feet first.It must be the celt in you, jump first ask questions later. wrong way round.Its all very small minded of you.

Dissapointed Norfolk.

Labour MP Resigns On Point of Principle.

Hold the front pages.

Fella, a principle’s not a principle ’til it costs you money. You resign from something 99.9999999% of the country have never heard of.

Big whup.

Awful isn’t it the way Ashcroft’s buying the election. Still it could be worse, it could be ‘The Brothers buying the election.

A response:

http://page.politicshome.com/uk/politicshome_the_phi100_panel_and_lord_ashcroft.html

For what it is worth I think it would have been better to see the lay of the land. The decision of 13 correspondents to resign seems to have been for purely political reasons and not based on any factual evidence which is rather a shame, but does call into question the judgement of those who have resigned.

Isn’t Rawnsley a self confessed left leaning journalist? Is it impartial for him to be Editor-in-Chief in the first place?

@Johnny Norfolk

“What is it you do not like about ashcroft is it because he lives abroad for most of the year or what. what is the difference between him and seniour members of your party wirh off shore bank accounts and hedge funds and residing in scotland etc.”

WHAT?

I went out for a loaf. Did I miss something? Are we independent now? Will I need a passport to go to Yorkshire? Is it the Lib Dems fault?

from “Confused of the Highlands”

Tom is not the only senior Labour person to resign from something today.

[...] also resigned, but of their own accord: Charles Clarke MP Matthew Taylor, RSA Nick Cohen, columnist Tom Harris MP Nick Assinder Hopi [...]

Ashcroft offered Michael Howard loadsamoney and said he knew how to spend it in the Conservative party interest. Dracul say “Non.”

Mr David Chameleon licketh Cashcroft’s purse, say “Yea” and Cashcroft move his people into Tory Central Office.

I wouldn’t let him feed my milkman’s cartoon horse.

Yes, how dare he use his money to help win seats that should go to decent, honest, hard working, union-funded Labour candidates?