You Read It Here First
As reported here yesterday, it is official today:
"Madeleine Bunting has decided to resign as Director of Demos. Since it has emerged that her vision for Demos is incompatible with that of the trustees."
She was appointed 4th September 2006 and resigned today (19th October). Demos wonks should feel free to Email Guido anonymously with gems from her 45 day reign of madness.
45 comments:
YES!
great news.
Bunting's regular assaults on free speech and demands that liberal society change itself to accomodate religious demands, rather than t'other way round, made her an incomprehensible choice for director of any group that claimed to support liberal democracy. Plus she's a card carrying halfwit.
What the hell did they ever take her on for?
Of course, the downside of this is that she'll be back at the Guardian....
Still, at least I can cross Demos off my "groups to harass and snipe at" list. I'm sure they'll be pleased....
"she has decided to focus on her interests as a writer and a thinker"
lol
Doesn't say much for their interview process if such a major 'incompatibility' didn't become clear before she was appointed.
I loved the bit about wanting to "focus on her interests as a ...thinker". Her thought processes do seem to be in need of some attention.
As we's all knows de Mad Bunting 'as bin havin de torrid time down at dat Demos institute.
In de first place we's had it reliably reported by the doorman dat she bin takin de long ciggie breaks out de front.
Second an much worse, if dat can be believed, she wanted to change de name from Demos to Spliffos cos she thought dat de common people would relate to it better.
Course dere is a fews other matters which a gentleman cannot mention.
Oh, Bunting's a noun is it?
And there was I, convinced it was a verb.
These comments, especially Fisher's are BORING. They BORE me. Nobody cares about you Fisher - NOBODY. Stop BORING everyone for God's sake.
Mum? Is that you?
who?
Anonamong 12:54 PM said...
These comments, especially Fisher's are BORING. They BORE me. Nobody cares about you Fisher - NOBODY. Stop BORING everyone for God's sake.
Carrying a torch for the lady are we?
There is nothing more boring than someone banging on about how boring other people are. Carry on Frank Fisher.And, de elite crew, please tell.
I notice that she has a contract with Granta to write a book on the future of the countryside. As a card-carrying museli-eating left wing crazy she'd be torn between concreting over the countryside (esp. Southern England) to build social housing for "key" workers but panicing about the emissions the tractors and concrete mixers will give off. Should be good enough for 400pages of lefty drivel
Propellor Head Thinktank gossip has told me that she left because of a staff rebellion!
The very fact that someone like Madeleine Bunting could be appointed to Demos in the first place is another nail in the coffin of this Labour so-called 'government'.
Roll on the next election - and a Tory government.
How does that work, a Demos staff rebellion?
Do forces loyal to the junta make a move on the photocopying machine, while lead elements of the cleaning department march on the office radio and beardy guerillistas emerge from the potted plants smoking candy cigarillos?
john bull, I suspect the last time anybody in the government paid any attention to Demos was circa 1998.
I know it's been hard to be a Tory these last ten years (not as hard as it was to be unemployed whjen they were in power, but what the hell) but you really are losing the plot if you think this useless thinktank filled with loonies and people with numbers in their name has any bearing on the election result.
Was it her hair? Was it her breath? Did she defend/attack the burkha? Is this just another sign of the marginalisation of those from faith groups? Was it a case of heartache over TB's departure?
Come to speculate on it, it kind of makes sense in a relationshippie sort of way... Your lover leaves you, but there's kids to take care of and bills to pay, and, hey, you're still attractive! Even if the last guy was too blind to appreciate it.
So you slap on the makeup, hike up the skirt and take a walk through wonksville touting for daddy. Only all your suitors are just like the last guy, just not as good. So, in a fit of grief-inspired excitement you think "I'll go for someone completely different: instead of podgy - thin!; instead of male - female!; instead of be-speckled - un-bespeckled!; instead of a respected person with practical experience of the policy-making process and running an organisation of talented free thinkers in a world with an ascendant right-wing and funding harder to find than good, cheap cheese - a career journalist for a newspaper with a constituency of dyed-in-the lefties who wouldn't vote Tory if you agreed to give a twentieth of your monthly income to Amnesty!
Perhaps the trustees should be next.
John Bull, I just want to smother you in kisses, wet soppy kisses.
What a load a TITtle tattle about Mz totty with DEMOStest.. It makes me MAD enough to go a Bunting
Is that code?
what the fuck is your problem ? She wrote a fantastic book a few years ago called 'Willing Slaves: How the overwork culture is ruling our lives'. I would have thought you would approve of not allowing us to become a load of unthinking automatons solely interested in turning all of Britain's companies into assets of American owned multinationals run by Bush supporting wankers ??
She also said the west could learn a lot from looking how women's position in Islam, that we should not insult religion, that we should exercise "responsible" free speech that doesn't include the right to offend people, whether we intend to offend or not. Fuck that, and fuck her. Good riddance.
Nice work if you can get it, eh? How many of us could quit jobs for another, decide we don't like it and then get our old jobs back no questions asked and without no open competition?
If I worked at the Graun and had been denied promotion recently (Ros?) then I might have something to say about this iffy re-appointment. Will the Graun NUJ chapel sit in silence on this?
Top inside info. However, a pat on the back is so much better when it is done by somebody else.
Christ, Fisher, you're being a bit mild-mannered about what should be a cause for national celebration.
Come to think of it, we should string up some Bunting...
O oldschoolhack, Maddy Bunting , "chapel", why bring religion into everything! We are talking Graun deep pockets here....
Maddy's real problem is self loathing which morphs into self rightousness making sufferers insufferable. That apart her inner tensions are exacerbated by the infrequency of robust servicings. I nominate Frank Fisher to deal with the latter problem.
Free Speech is not worth a penny if one has to use it in a "responsible" manner. Anyway I must be off I've got to go put a Burkha on my girlfriend in the name of equality.
Shame on her. An ounce of fore-thought should have told her that if she'd gone ippr instead she'd be Director of the No. 10 policy unit by tea-time......
anon,
An NUJ chapel is a union branch, not a religious body. Apols for the nomenclatura and I appreciate Guido's views on unions but maybe this presents some scope for mischief...
Anon 2.47 you are obviously paranoid at the mere mention of a word with a possible religious connotation - why so touchy ?? I guess you dont like bishop bashing ??
"...has agreed a book contract with the publishers Granta, on the future of the countryside."
I can see it now: Western traditions of animal husbandry and agriculture are oppressive, selfish and destructive... we in Britain can learn from other cultures, especially that of Islam. The solution? Import 5 billion tons of sand, scatter it liberally over the British isles.
Eursoc deux
Arabs literally love their animals.
As Nanny used to croon...
Cry Maddy Bunting
Demos has gone a hunting
Gone to get a director in
Not some nut from the Guardian
Cry Maddy Bunting
I notice that she has a contract with Granta to write a book on the future of the countryside
Is it titled 'Hunting with Bunting' ?
I can second anticitizenone's comment.
My mother worked in the King Fahd hospital in Saudi Arabia back in the 80's, and one day an unmarried Saudi fellow came in with a diagnosis of a ruptured penis. And for several days he remained in the hospital, taking wincingly painful daily walks in the hallway, drawing a fair bit of attention, as he walked so slowly anyone else could have run a marathon in the time it took him to do a lap around the ward.
Now, unmarried Saudi men are not supposed to be doing anything with their penises that could rupture them. They're not particularly supposed to notice that they have penises until they're married, except to ensure the pee isn't dribbling down their legs.
So the medical transcriptionist was curious. And so was the entire pool of medical transcriptionists. So they asked my mother to find out how it happened, my mother being an unabashed sort (acorn not falling far from tree and all that).
So she did.
She walked up to the doctor who'd examined the patient and asked him point-blank, "So how did that patient rupture his penis? All the typists are dying to know!"
The doctor rolled his eyes, then looked left, looked right, waited till the coast was clear, then leaned in and whispered:
The goat bolted.
Get over to Comment is Free now, where Georgina Henry is already having to leap to the defence of La Bunting in the posts that follow her latest missive.
She just pissed us all off and rubbed everyone up the wrong way.
Wonder how long your post will last, Guido?
Nice one, Raincoaster.
Georgina's cross at you Guido. AND she's questioning your accuracy.
Surely someone at Demos had a camera phone? I can't believe potted plants weren't thrown.
It's almost enough to make you feel sorry for her. Almost. Until her first offering to the Guardian. Playtime, folks; buy the flamethrowers here!
It would seem CiF have taken the article down (neither on the main page nor in Maddy's own index now). Has Gorgeous Georgina thrown her toys out of the pram because of the stick Maddy's getting? It's that wonderful sort of solidarity between columnists that saw Alan Rusbridger blunt the knives intended for Tessa Jowell during her spot of bother. Another glass of Shiraz, I think.
It's still there if you look under previous posts.
MorrisOx 12:45 PM said...
It's still there if you look under previous posts.
Can you please post a link - blind searching with the terms bunting + guido doesn't turn up anything recent (or bad-tempered) enough.
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