Londoner's Diary: Buddy, can you spare Right-wing hacks a dime?

Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images
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9 December 2016

CHRISTMAS is coming, the goose is getting fat, please put a penny in a poor hack’s hat. The new issue of Right-wing mag Standpoint features a leader penned by editor Daniel Johnson which advises readers to give Donald Trump the benefit of the doubt. Then comes the crunch: Johnson writes that Standpoint’s survival is threatened by a lack of funds and asks for donors. “It would be a pity if 2017, which promises to be no less dramatic than 2016, were to be our last after 10 years.” In case you are wondering where you should send your coppers, the plea goes on: “Donors should contact Michael Mosbacher, our managing editor.” His email address is given.

Two things are curious about this. The first is that Standpoint’s own advisory board is pretty prominent — it includes names such as David Hockney, Tom Stoppard, the entrepreneur Luke Johnson (a relative), Lord Lawson and Michael Gove, and if they didn’t have the money themselves for the cause, surely they have some rich friends.

The second is that Standpoint is one of the few publications to have sung the praises of Trump. Its contributors have included former UN ambassador John Bolton and climate sceptic Myron Ebell among them, yet this didn’t translate into a rise in sales.

The Londoner also wondered if the New Statesman was struggling. It recently sent out an email pushing for more subscribers but editor Jason Cowley says his is not a begging cap. “Magazine circulation at a four-decade high at 35k, web traffic at record high — 20 million page views in June alone — and we have just posted our first profit in a long while at Companies House. Even better, we are hiring four new journalists.” He even adds that Brexit has done wonders for the NS’s numbers — an upside at last?

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Yvette Cooper must have no nails left after her husband Ed Balls took to the dancefloor every week on Strictly, hilariously beating the odds and staying in despite his unorthodox style. “It always had that edge of danger — you never knew quite what might go wrong,” Yvette told me at last night’s British Film Awards. Will you make history by being the first husband and wife to feature in consecutive years? “That would be fabulous to do,” said Yvette. “But I don’t think it’s possible for anyone to keep up with what Ed’s done.”

Gentlemen’s club tackles troublemakers

THE Garrick Club has one reason to keep out female members: they cause too much trouble. The latest club magazine reports that CCTV picked up an unfortunate incident involving an invited woman guest.The club installed the cameras in the Irving Room, named after actor and member Henry Irving, in a recent revamp. “It came in handy in the summer to [record] a bizarre incident,” the article notes. “A lady guest who was rather the worse for wear [performed] a... rugby tackle on a distinguished club member, bringing him to the ground.” If anyone can identify this female Owen Farrell, do drop us an email.

After the show, let drink flow

Fuelled by the magnums of Moët & Chandon at Claridge’s, the Standard’s British Film Awards moved on for a late-night gathering at Soho House on Dean Street. Among those who arrived for the after-party clutching their Jo Loves candle goodie-bag were entrepreneur Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, actors Danny Huston, Luke Treadaway, Emma Greenwell and Paul Donovan. Greenwell was rocking the Heidi look: “The hair is detracting from my dress,” she commented. Versini proved that he’s more than just a pretty face. “I’m familiar with what’s going on in the world. Like in France, people voted for François Hollande because he spoke their language — I won’t be surprised if Marine Le Pen gets elected.” Fresh off the stage after appearing in The Libertine, Ophelia Lovibond was understanding after we accidentally confused her name. “Don’t worry — my own mother calls me Olivia sometimes. I’m like ‘Mum — it’s Ophelia’.

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LAST night staff and friends of The Tablet, the Catholic weekly newspaper, held their Christmas party at The Travellers Club, with attendees including former editor John Wilkins, Andrew Brown from The Guardian and author John Cornwell knocking back unconsecrated wine. The Londoner was reminded that this was the party at which legendary journalist Paul Johnson once commented it was “the one party in London where you stand any chance of finding a virgin”.

Why Gove is not for Turnering on arts

MICHAEL Gove’s attack on the Turner Prize in his Times column today is only the latest in a series of run-ins with the art world. The MP called the prize “modish crap” for neglecting painting.Gove, right, a former Education Secretary, faced the scorn of Sir Nicholas Serota for his attempts to marginalise arts in the curriculum.Also, artist Patrick Brill, known as Bob and Roberta Smith, challenged Gove as an independent candidate in his Surrey Heath constituency in the general election but only won 273 votes. The Turner loves controversy: “We are delighted that this year’s exhibition continues to inspire discussion.”

Champers all round (Soho) for Ludovic

TO THE glitz and glamour of 1920s New York last night for the opening of The Great Gatsby at the Leicester Square Theatre. Cressida Bonas stars as Daisy Buchanan, while Ludovic Hughes is Jay Gatsby. Hughes has come a long way: last year he was winner of the annual Soho Waiters Race, in which local staff carry a tray of champagne around the streets of Soho. Now the champagne is chasing him.

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