Tag Archives: miriam gonzalez durantez

Praise for Nick Clegg and Liberal Democrats from both sides – should we be worried?

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 11th May 2013 - 12:16 pm

I remember hearing Nick Clegg saying that if he was being attacked from both left and right, then he felt reassured that he was doing something right. He may be feeling slightly worried now, as there have been a couple of not entirely unpleasant pieces in the New Statesman and Daily Telegraph in the last few days.

From the left, we have Rafael Behr, the political editor of the New Statesman, arguing that it’s Nick Clegg, not Nigel Farage, who has shaken up Westminster:

For Lib Dems, the distinction is between two styles of politics. There is the managerial one, laden with

…

Posted in News | Also tagged daily mail, daily telegraph, new statesman, nick clegg, peter oborne, quentin letts and rafael behr | 8 Comments

Nick Clegg’s son to go to state secondary school

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 4th March 2013 - 2:08 pm

It’s just been announced that Nick Clegg and Miriam Gonzalez Durantez have decided to send their son Antonio to a state Catholic secondary school. He’s been attending a Catholic Primary near his home.

Antonio will attend the London Oratory school. Nick and Miriam expressed the wish that now their decision has been made public, the privacy of their son will be respected.

Nick has previously said that he doesn’t believe in God, but his wife Miriam is a practising Catholic. He recently said:

I’ve never made my kids an issue in politics. My kids are more precious to me than anything else in

…

Posted in News | Also tagged education, nick clegg and private life | 280 Comments

Mail on Sunday’s smears and innuendo against Miriam and Nick: Lib Dem statement released

By Stephen Tall | Sat 1st December 2012 - 10:30 pm

Well, there’s a turn-up for the books — the Mail on Sunday in its first post-Leveson front page decides to play the man (and woman) rather than the ball, and splash on a desperately thin story implying some form of scandalous link between Miriam González Durántez’s support for Booktrust and the charity being given a government grant.

The paper’s baseless accusations get short shrift from the Lib Dems in this statement issued by the party tonight:

The decision to continue the funding for Booktrust was made by the Prime Minister

…

Posted in News | Also tagged booktrust and nick clegg | 25 Comments

Hurricane Miriam is in the Pacific

By Paul Walter | Mon 24th September 2012 - 6:50 am

How can she be? She arrived in Brighton yesterday.

Boom! Boom! (as Basil Brush would say).

Posted in Humour | Leave a comment

Politicians’ fathers and spouses – fair game?

By Paul Walter | Mon 23rd April 2012 - 1:23 pm

There’s always a debate as to the extent that politicians’ family should be fair game for media coverage. There seems to be a general consensus that their children should be off-limits. Mind you, that didn’t stop Caroline Spelman’s 17-year-old son being pitched into the national limelight recently. (However, in that case there appear to be justifiable reasons for coverage).

Over the last week, we have seen a number of stories concerning UK politicians’ fathers and wives (or, more correctly, wife).

The …

Posted in News | Also tagged caroline spelman, david cameron, george osborne and nick clegg | 18 Comments

What made the Mail, the Express and the Telegraph keen to see Nick Clegg doing more of his job?

By Helen Duffett | Sat 16th July 2011 - 2:47 pm

An odd set of messages this week from some of the right-wing press: the Mail, the Express and Telegraph all ran pieces criticising Nick Clegg for taking his children to school, while being essential to the smooth running of the country.

In a classic bit of pandering/flamebait (delete according to taste), they variously criticise Clegg for not working 24 hours a day before concluding that he is “powerful”, “Co-Prime Minister” and “the second most senior politician in the land”.

The Express’s Virginia Blackburn likes to think of Clegg as “a commanding figure, a statesman, a diplomat representing his …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged grazia and nick clegg | 8 Comments

LibLink: Nick Clegg, the New Statesman interview and crying

By Mark Pack | Sat 9th April 2011 - 12:26 pm

The latest edition of the New Statesman has an interview with Nick Clegg, which has mostly garnered attention for the shock news that Nick Clegg is a human being and has been known to cry to music:

He is besotted by his “three lovely boys” and is most proud “by a long shot” of the family life he has created with Miriam. They manage to lead a relatively normal life, “not in a bunker in Westminster”, and he tries to pick his children up from school and put them to bed at night at least two or three times a week.

He

…

Posted in LibLink | Also tagged afghanistan, hamid karzi, new statesman, nick clegg and paddy ashdown | 8 Comments

Lynne Featherstone’s speech to conference

By Lynne Featherstone MP | Wed 22nd September 2010 - 11:56 am

Liberal Democrats.

I look around and I see the faces of so many friends, colleagues, Cabinet Members. Yes – I did just say that – Liberal Democrat members of the Cabinet.

Now conference, I was pretty clear at the time as to just what I thought of having an all male all pale team sent to negotiate on our behalves in May. Often for some of us women we get frustrated when we see mediocrity promoted above us.

But in this case, they weren’t mediocre – our negotiating team did one hell of a job and I thank them all …

Posted in Conference | Also tagged animal farm, diversity, equalities, gay and Violet Bonham Carter | 4 Comments

Book review: Campaign 2010 by Nicholas Jones

By Stephen Tall | Sun 5th September 2010 - 3:45 pm

Anyone who has read Nicholas Jones’s previous books – especially Soundbites and Spin Doctors (1995) and Sultans of Spin (1999) – will look forward to a new tome from the BBC’s former political correspondent, who has proved himself to be an acute observer of the Westminster scene, and a fearless revealer of politicians’ trade secrets.

Campaign 2010, Mr Jones’s new work, is billed by publisher Biteback as “political theatre brought to a fresh level”. Can it live up to such hype? Sadly – and it genuinely pains me to say it, as I have high regard for …

Posted in Books | Also tagged andy coulson, david cameron, featured and nicholas jones | 1 Comment

Miriam Gonzalez blows whistle on sexist media: “treat women for who they are and not simply for what their male partners do”

By Stephen Tall | Tue 13th July 2010 - 8:20 pm

Hat-tip to Lib Dem Welsh assembly member Peter Black for blogging the letter by Miriam Gonzalez (or Mrs Nick Clegg as she’s known to right-wing tabloids) published in today’s paywall-protected Times, in which she directs a well-aimed shot at the paper for its shabby treatment of a woman who happened to have fallen in love with a man in the public eye:

Sir, now that Spain has won the World Cup and Iker Casillas demonstrated on Sunday that he is an outstanding goalkeeper regardless of whether his girlfriend, Sara Carbonero, watches him from the touchline or not, it may be time for you to eat a bit of humble pie. Trying to blame Sara for Spain’s initial lacklustre performance while she was simply doing her job was not worthy of a newspaper that should treat women for who they are and not simply for what their male partners do.

Miriam Gonzalez
London SW15

You can read the background to the story, and The Times’s reaction to Miriam’s letter, in the Telegraph.

And for those who missed it, here is the rather touching video of Sr. Casillas meeting his girlfriend, Srta. Carbonero, for the first time after Spain’s World Cup triumph:

Posted in News | Also tagged spain and world cup | 7 Comments

Now the Daily Mail thinks election is about leader’s wife’s underwear

By Mark Pack | Sun 25th April 2010 - 9:23 pm

Elections used to about politicians. Then they became about politicians and their spouses. Now the Daily Mail introduces us to politicians, their spouses and their underwear choices with a “story” about where Miriam Gonzalez Durantez buys her underwear.

As Next Left points out, the story doesn’t have a name to it – just the generic “Daily Mail reporter” by-line. I wonder why?

UPDATE: As pointed out by several people on Twitter, the News of the World ran a similar piece first.

UPDATE 2: And as for Jan Moir’s contribution: sigh.

Posted in News | Also tagged daily mail, jan moir and next left | 4 Comments

Nick Clegg interview draws 1.1 million viewers

By Stephen Tall | Mon 22nd March 2010 - 1:15 pm

Nick Clegg was the subject of an hour-long feature interview with ITV’s Mary Nightingale on Sunday night – if you missed it, you can catch up courtesy of itv Player by clicking here. (It’s available online for the next 29 days).

Helen Duffett examined the 1950s-style newspaper previews of the Dead Tree Press, which focused on the shocking news that Miriam Gonzalez Durantez (Nick’s wife) has her own life, for LDV here.

Meanwhile MediaGuardian reports that over 1.1 million viewers watched last night. Okay, so it’s not as many as watched Gordon Brown be interviewed by Piers …

Posted in News | Also tagged mary nightingale and nick clegg | 1 Comment

The Leaders’ Wives obsession: why it’s missing the point

By Helen Duffett | Sun 21st March 2010 - 9:23 pm

Tonight it’s Nick Clegg’s turn for a Sunday evening party leader’s interview – with Mary Nightingale on ITV1 at 10:15pm.

Miriam Gonzalez Durantez (Nick’s wife) also appears in the programme. At first I was dismayed that Miriam might be wheeled out as yet another politician’s wife, dreading revelations about socks or other foundation garments…

Until I watched her in this extract :

I don’t like that name: “political wife”. I’m the wife of a politician… I don’t have a role. I’m just married to him…

…It’s a personal choice and I think it’s perfectly possible to have a normal life

…

Posted in Lib Dem TV and Op-eds | Also tagged Jo Swinson, lynne featherstone, mary nightingale, nick clegg and ros scott | 14 Comments

Miriam attacks stem cell waste

By The Voice | Mon 6th April 2009 - 1:12 pm

The Independent has the full story:

The wife of the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has criticised the financial and bureaucratic barriers that prevent British mothers from donating discarded umbilical cords to a national tissue bank.

Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, who married Mr Clegg in 2000, said she wanted to donate the cord blood cells of her third child, Miguel, to a national tissue bank but was told it was impossible.

Cord blood contains stem cells that can be used in transplant operations to treat a range of disorders relating to the blood and immune system, such as leukaemia and anaemia.

The Government has

…

Posted in News | Also tagged NHS and stem cells | Leave a comment

Stephen Tall asks: "Did Nate Silver write in vain?"

Nick Clegg: "Of course the EU has to change"

"Mad, swivel-eyed loons": a top Tory on the Tories

Ed Davey: Helping consumers to get cheaper energy bills

Tag Archives: miriam gonzalez durantez

Praise for Nick Clegg and Liberal Democrats from both sides – should we be worried?

Nick Clegg’s son to go to state secondary school

Mail on Sunday’s smears and innuendo against Miriam and Nick: Lib Dem statement released

Hurricane Miriam is in the Pacific

Politicians’ fathers and spouses – fair game?

What made the Mail, the Express and the Telegraph keen to see Nick Clegg doing more of his job?

LibLink: Nick Clegg, the New Statesman interview and crying

Lynne Featherstone’s speech to conference

Book review: Campaign 2010 by Nicholas Jones

Miriam Gonzalez blows whistle on sexist media: “treat women for who they are and not simply for what their male partners do”

Now the Daily Mail thinks election is about leader’s wife’s underwear

Nick Clegg interview draws 1.1 million viewers

The Leaders’ Wives obsession: why it’s missing the point

Miriam attacks stem cell waste

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Stephen Tall asks: "Did Nate Silver write in vain?"

Nick Clegg: "Of course the EU has to change"

"Mad, swivel-eyed loons": a top Tory on the Tories

Ed Davey: Helping consumers to get cheaper energy bills

Tag Archives: miriam gonzalez durantez

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