Daniel Hannan (right), the Eurosceptic Conservative MEP who was discourteous to Gordon Brown, recounts the typical phone conversation with BBC researchers sounding him out for interviews:
Beeb Researcher: Hello, is that Mr Hanahan? We’d love you to come on our programme to talk about the coalition. Can I just ask you now how you feel about Nick Clegg being in government?Me: Well, he’s wrong about most things, but he’s essentially a decent type, who…
BR: All right, about the policies then?
DH: I’m not 100 per cent behind them, and neither is anyone else: that’s the essence of a coalition deal. But I’m glad that we’ve finally got a government that’s starting to tackle the deficit.
BR: But you must be disappointed to see the direction that David Cameron is following?
DH: It’s no secret that we disagree about the EU. On the other hand, as far as the domestic agenda goes, a lot of it was taken from The Plan. Open primaries, recall votes, localism, spending cuts, school choice, fewer MPs, a Great Repeal Bill: which bit of my own agenda am I supposed to be rebelling against?
BR (bored now): All right, well let me just have a word with my editor and I’ll come back to you…
Independent Minds 