Paul Waugh waugh.standard.co.ukPRThe Evening Standard says Waugh's blog is about "politicians, power...

1. The 10 best political blogs | Culture
Paul Waugh
waugh.standard.co.uk
PR
The Evening Standard says Waugh's blog is about "politicians, power struggles and Westminster
shenanigans", which neatly sums it up. The paper's deputy political editor is non-aligned. He roves
far and wide inside the corridors, committee rooms and bars of Westminster, and his posts fizz with
energy and mischief. On a running story he is hard to keep up with. A great exponent of political
bloggery at its best, his site is often irreverent and always fast off the blocks. On the serious stuff he
marshals the facts, but with the gossip just gets it out.
Tim Montgomerie
conservativehome.blogs.com
Photograph: Christopher Thomond
Three cheers for Montgomerie (and his co-editor, Jonathan Isaby), who, despite being funded by
notorious Tory non-dom donor Lord Ashcroft, have managed to retain the feistiness and

2. independence of their blog posts. While they are pro-Tory, they are not uncritically so, leading and
reflecting real debates going on inside the party. Naturally, they play down stories damaging to the
Tories (including the controversy about Michael Ashcroft) but they steer clear of propaganda.
Essential reading on the probable next party of government.
Michael White
guardian.co.uk/profile/michaelwhite+politics/blog
Photograph by Linda Nylind PR
Michael White's analysis is unique. His take on events is never predictable and he delights in
debunking. Where less experienced lobby journalists will talk a story up beyond its merit White, the
Guardian's former political editor, will hose it down and place it in historical perspective. He is one
of several contributors to the Guardian site, whose input is led by the forensic, relentless and astute
Andrew Sparrow who led the way with live blogging from events such as the Chilcot inquiry on the
Iraq war".
Will Straw
leftfootforward.org
Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images
The place to start the hunt for intelligent views and news about the centre left, or the "progressives",
as Labour modernisers like to call themselves these days. For too long the left had little to rival the
many Tory blogs but Straw has helped fill the void. This is good on news/analysis and has the feel of
the "inside track". Straw is the son of justice secretary Jack Straw but no auto-loyalist. He says his
blog is about policies and furthering progressive goals rather than "promoting individual politicians
and parties". It was inspired by America's ThinkProgress.org.
Anthony Wells
ukpollingreport.co.uk/blog

3. PR
For those who need to keep an eye on poll trends and like expert comment on them, this is a hugely
helpful blog. Wells works for the polling organisation YouGov and knows what polling is good and
what suspect. He links into a mass of information about past and future elections and lists key
battlegrounds at the next election, as well as target seats and marginals. There are also constituency
profiles of each seat in the country. But it is not just for political obsessives. His comment is
accessible and the analysis reasoned and factual.
Sunder Katwala
nextleft.org/
Photograph: Catherine Shaw
The Fabian Society has been an important force for more than century in the development of public
policy on the left of British politics. Now, with Sunder Katwala as general secretary, it has developed
an impressive presence online. His erudite and forensic blog has played an important role in the
fightback against the previous blogging dominance of the right. Katwala got stuck into the Tories
over their new far-right partners in the EU and their muddled proposals for tax breaks for married
couples. It is good to see a traditional thread of the Labour movement so active in the new media.
Benedict Brogan
blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/author/benedictbrogan
PR
Brogan, now deputy editor at the Daily Telegraph, launched his blog while at the Daily Mail and has
successfully transferred it to his new employer. Before he moved to Telegraph towers, the paper was
already shifting from an oddly pro Gordon Brown stance to its default position of robustly backing
the Tories. Despite this, the Brogan blog remains refreshingly waspish, witty and intelligent, taking
politics seriously but endlessly debunking the politicians. It brings a welcome unpredictability and
intellectual quality to the Telegraph's output.
Kerry McCarthy
kerry-mccarthy.blogspot.com

4. Photograph: Labour Party/PA Photos
Intriguing because it is done by a Labour whip, and whips are notoriously secretive. Yet McCarthy
blogs well, offering insights into her dual role as MP and Commons arm-twister. Her "April Skies"
post on 28 February is a snapshot of an MP's daily grind. There is also plenty about issues and
events in parliament. McCarthy uses the blog to bash the Tories (presumably that was part of the
deal with Nick Brown, the chief whip) but not too much to put one off. Again, it is the sense of the
inside track, and the personal element, that makes it attractive.
Daniel Finkelstein
timesonline.typepad.com/
Photograph: David Mansell
Finkelstein is chief leader writer and a columnist at the Times. He is also a former adviser to
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/ the Tory party. His Comment Central is, as he puts it, a "rolling
guide to the best opinion on the web" and his blogging has an intellectual undercurrent. Never
afraid to get stuck into blogging rows with fellow columnists, he has recently been in heated debate
with Janet Daley of the Daily Telegraph. Finkelstein also does more common or garden newsy
blogging which is worth following because he's well in with the Cameronistas. He is probably closest
to the Tory leadership of any blogger.
Paul Staines (Guido Fawkes)
order-order.com
The Guido Fawkes blog is impossible to ignore because it breaks stories. PR
Staines is a former member of the Committee for a Free Britain, a shadowy organisation funded by
Sir James Goldsmith and Rupert Murdoch. The Guido Fawkes blog is impossible to ignore because it
breaks stories. After it revealed his emails laying out plans to smear leading Tory and other
politicians, Gordon Brown's spin chief, Damian McBride, had to leave Downing Street. While
rightwing, the blog is anti-establishment in the broadest sense, so can have a go at the Tories too. It
has been robust over expenses and donations across the spectrum.