Edinburgh highlights
Just back from the Edinburgh Festival and Fringe which was as ever superb. My main job up there was to listen and respond to Mark Thompson's McTaggart lecture at the TV Festival, but I managed to pack in lots more. Highlights included Bryony Lavery's Beautiful Burnout, a sort of boxing redemption story which reminded me inevitably of Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby. It is extraordinarily powerful both in terms of acting and staging, and manages to tap into the madness but also the addictive excitement of the sport. I also saw a brilliant Paul Merton improvisation comedy number, Llyr Williams on top form performing Beethoven and Charles Ives and Alexander McCall Smith speaking with characteristic charm at the Book Festival. But as well as being good for the soul, cultural festivals are also good for the country's pocket as a massive driver of tourism revenue, something I hope doesn't get lost as we debate the best ways to sustain economic growth.
Posted on 30 August 2010 by Jeremy Hunt
England 2018 - totally compelling
On my first day back behind my desk I have just sat through the most extraordinarily compelling set of presentations on the England 2018 bid.
The FIFA inspection team are in town to do their report on the technical aspects of the bid and I was part of the team presenting England's case. Nick Clegg opened the batting by stressing the absolute commitment of the new coalition government to the bid. We then saw a video message from the PM stressing how passionate we are about the game in the England and quoting Liverpool coach Bill Shankly's comment that "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death...but it is worth much more than that." It appeared to be extremely well-received by the FIFA team.
Then Andy Anson, CEO of the bid team, gave a more detailed outline of our proposal. He pointed out that our bid offers technical excellence - probably the best football infrastructure in the world, with all the stadia needed to host the World Cup due to be built anyway regardless of whether or not we win. He also stressed the commercial strengths of our bid, and the amount it could potentially raise to boost the game in developing countries.
I then focused on our track record of delivering for London 2012 as an example of what a reliable partner we can be for FIFA, and Hugh Robertson wrapped up by talking about the many other sporting events we are hosting. Certainty in uncertain times was the theme we came back to time and time again.
Are we going to win? Impossible to call and we should remember this was a technical presentation to enable the inspectors to write a report, not a presentation to the 24 people who will actually be voting in December. But there is real goodwill towards an England bid (despite the London rain) and we should be really proud of the excellence of the proposal we are making.
Posted on 23 August 2010 by Jeremy Hunt
Constituency day
Somewhat of a relief to back in my constituency today.
Have met my local campaign team this morning, then the Chair of the Royal Surrey to hear their plans following their success in achieving foundation status. Then on meet a blind man to talk about the nightmare of dangerous road crossings in Farnham (which is equally lethal for parents with children), followed by a meeting with a local landlord to discuss the future of the pub industry. Will be wrapping up with a surgery in Sainsburys in Godalming.
After which...will be setting off over the weekend for my first ever family holiday with Jack and Lucia. Devon and France beckon, hopefully with some less cloudy weather.
Posted on 6 August 2010 by Jeremy Hunt
Report from India
I am having a fascinating time in India where David Cameron is managing to woo everyone, not least because of his age. There seems to be widespread surprise at such "young" politicians - once my host even failed to put out his hand to greet me because he was expecting someone older. The reception, it must be said, is extremely warm. When there is so much shared history, it is particularly challenging to refresh and renew a relationship but that is exactly what we have to do with the world's second fastest growing economy.
On the sports side, I have been able to see preparations for the Commonwealth Games here in Delhi in October this year. I had extensive discussions with the organisers and also the Sports Minister about how to create a sporting legacy - obviously very relevant for us. I also saw a remarkable social action project run by a charity called Magic Bus which raises awareness of social problems using sport, and football in particular. One of their main funders is the Premier League, and Richard Scudamore, the Chief Executive, was visibly moved to see the huge difference made by a relatively small amount of money. Football, incidentally, is now the no 3 most watched sport in this cricket-mad country - behind wrestling interestingly enough.
On the cultural side I have met my counterpart. Tonight we will both be signing a Memorandum of Understanding for cultural exchanges. Both India and Britain have these with many other countries, how extraordinary it is taken until now to happen for two countries with so much shared history, culture and values.
Finally it has been fascinating to see Indian democracy at work. I met an MP yesterday who has 5 million constituents - surgeries must be a blast - and there is one constituency on the border of India and Pakistan which is the size of Wales. This is a country in which 80% of the poor vote - rather humbling for us when we are struggling to engage people so much in politics.
Posted on 29 July 2010 by Jeremy Hunt
Office art
Yesterday I sought consolation from the pain of having to submit my Treasury spending review bid on Friday by choosing the artwork for my office. The Government Art Collection is run by Penny Johnson who is totally committed to the idea that government offices should showcase the very best of British talent. So with her help I have chosen a Mark Wallinger as the centrepiece. With no reference to the previous PM they are called "Brown's" and are two of a series of liveries for jockeys who rode for owners with the surname Brown. I am also keeping a piece by Sonia Boyce that has survived a number of culture secretaries which is a sort of collage of 84 musical icons from Shirley Bassey to Estelle. There will be couple of other stunning pieces which I will divulge when they arrive in the office later in the week...
Posted on 20 July 2010 by Jeremy Hunt
Go to Henry Moore
Just been round the Henry Moore exhibition at the Tate with the brilliant curator Chris Stephens. If you ever need someone to explain to you how sculpture can be more than beautiful girls reclining in gardens, Chris is the man and Henry Moore the artist. It is a stunning exhibition which shows the transition in Moore's work, the way he recasts your thinking away from the idea that sculpture has to be descriptive and his use of different materials from bronze to lead to wood. It is also very sexual, perhaps appropriate for someone who said "The fullness of form, the tautness of form, all these things are connected with life and life is sex." Only two more weeks to go for this exhibition so don't miss him.
Posted on 16 July 2010 by Jeremy Hunt
The greatest creative challenge?
Last night I had dinner with Danny Boyle and Stephen Daldry who between them are responsible for the opening ceremonies for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics (Stephen is in fact responsible for all the ceremonies and Danny specifically for the opening ceremonies). They are two of our greatest film makers - responsible respectively for Billy Elliott and Slumdog Millionaire - and it was fascinating to see how they are coming to grips with possibly the greatest creative challenge the country has ever had. I say that not from a desire to exaggerate, but simply because the opening ceremony is likely to be watched by 4 billion of the world's 7 billion population.
They are still in the very early stages, but I was encouraged by what I heard: Danny talked about a ceremony which was both spectacular and "with a heart." Both were acutely aware of the challenge of presenting Britain's remarkable history, its vibrant cultural present and its future in a way that manages to make us proud without being in any way jingoistic. In other words tapping into that sense of understated British pride which we all intuitively understand but find it hard to put our fingers on.
Seb Coe and Paul Deighton, Chairman and Chief Executive of the London Organising Committee, were also there. They are right to have chosen film makers for this epic challenge - it will need someone with an eye for what will look good on TV screens across the world. Stephen and Danny are the best we have and so if anyone can pull this off they can.
Posted on 13 July 2010 by Jeremy Hunt
Another packed constituency day today
Another packed constituency day today: a supermarket surgery, a visit
to 'media on demand' in Haslemere, handing out the prizes at a school
speech day and assisting the residents of Moor Park Lane with commuter
parking. Train station parking has long been a problem in the
constituency with local residents continually battling with commuters
and commuters battling with a lack of expensive spaces. In my 'next 10
ideas survey' respondents indicated that this was a real problem. I
can understand the frustration on both sides and have held many
meetings with South West Trains and Network Rail in order to seek a
solution. Money is tight and it's going to be an ongoing battle but I
am determined to find a way forward
Posted on 9 July 2010 by Jeremy Hunt