The Xtra Diary - How Karen Buck’s Lebanon stance engaged ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair

Published: 10 September, 2010

KAREN Buck is the antithesis of a career politician.

It was her reputation as a grafter and constituency MP that helped her defeat the odds to beat Conservative rival Joanne Cash at the last election.

So it might come as a surprise that the woman who has avoided high office (owing more to her reluctance rather than opportunity) was the woman ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair said it was “risky to lose”.

Blair was anxious about losing her support over the Israel Lebanon war in 2006.

He writes in his book The Journey: “On the flight I reflected deeply on the politics of what happened in Lebanon and my own reaction to it.

“Ruth Turner, head of government relations, had been seeing members of the PLP [Parliamentary Labour Party].

“These were not necessarily the uber-loyalists but people it would be risky to lose, people like Peter Hain, John Denham and Karen Buck.

“They were mainstream PLP people with links to the left as well as the right of the party and they certainly had the finger on the party pulse.

“They disagreed with the position on Lebanon, but that wasn’t their real point.

“They thought my reaction indicated a profound loss of touch, a failure of instinct a decoupling of me and public opinion that they thought dangerous and more than that out of character.”

This week the former Prime Minister cancelled a planned book-signing at Waterstone’s in Piccadilly and a party at the Tate Modern following threats of continuing protests from the Stop The War Coalition.

Murad makes his Miliband choice

ED Miliband is the man to take the Labour Party back to its roots, so proclaims Murad Qureshi, who came out in support of Miliband minor at a rally in north London at the weekend.

The London Assembly member is going against the grain; five of his seven peers in City Hall, including leader Nicky Gavron are putting a cross by David.

Murad told Diary he believes that, despite the noises we hear from Conservative HQ, the Tories have the most to fear from Ed because he can purge the party of its New Labour hangover.

But we think there could be another less lofty reason for his choice.

We hear Murad was snubbed from the big David Miliband pot-boiler at King Solomon Academy a few weeks back despite living just a few streets away.

Ouch.

Bits of colour not on!

THE question of colour has to come up with Ian McKeever, with not a real splash to be seen in his new show which opens this week.

Black and white photographs, 44 of them, complement four monumental paintings from his Hartgrove series, dating from the early 1990s and the time the artist quit the smoke of London for life on a farm in Dorset.

Artists’ Laboratory 01 is the first of a new programme of exhibitions by Royal Academicians, giving contemporary artists “at the core” of the RA a chance to take risks and explore new ideas within their practice.

For McKeever, well known for his abstract paintings, as well as drawings and etchings, exhibiting these photographs is new.

“It gave me the opportunity to show a body of work nobody has seen before,” he said.

He doesn’t see his paintings as “monochrome” and will do “the occasional red or blue”.

But he admits now: “I just find colour too decorative, if it’s used in bits.”

He works with a Mamiya camera and makes his own prints in the darkroom.

He doesn’t hold with digital images, so much, and regards them as “furtive”, meaning that they can run away from one.

Photographs are, however, central.

He used to use them as the basis of some works, but now as points of reference, and with many images gathered on extensive travels.

Most in this exhibition are more homely, literally, and artistic being drawn from between 2007 and this year and taken at his Hartgrove home. Each is simply identified by a number.

McKeever’s work has been said to oscillate “…between figuration and abstraction”.

He wouldn’t be drawn on what his next major series might be, but in one way illustrated his real core values.

McKeever is also Professor of Drawing at the RA Schools and said: “The trick with an artist is to learn how drawing can become a productive tool as opposed to something you’re struggling with all the time.

At the RA till October 24. www.royalacademy.org.uk

Homework for Jeremy

Diary likes a chap who does his homework.

So it was pleasing to see Jeremy Paxman, journalistic notebook in hand, studying the seven shortlisted works for the £25,000 Threadneedle Prize for figurative art at the Mall Galleries on Tuesday.

Together with fellow newsman, Jon Snow, he was due there for a critics’ choice the next day, promoting the prize which is seen by many as a real antidote to the Turner.

Diary wondered. Was there real rivalry here?

Not worried by that, said Paxman, but he obviously wasn’t going naked into the critics’ chamber – just in case they chose the same work and he had to be the second to talk about it!

The judges’ winner will be announced next week, together with a separate £10,000 award for the gallery exhibition visitors’ favourite.