What do yo think of Williamn Hague's statement re his marriage, miscarriages etc

[squeaver]

here

Did he have to tell the world about the miscarriages? From what I've read all he had to do was deny he was gay or in an extra-marital relationship. If he wants to speak about them fine. But I don't think he "had" too.

God, aren't people awful.
to assume that no children = gay, that gay = bad and that sharing a hotel room with someone means you're having sex with them.

I feel sorry for them, having to make a statememt like that about the most personal and upsetting details of their lives

Gosh I'm dim. I have spent the whole evening wondering why details of miscarriages were relevant in the statement. I really had never thought that no kids must = no sex with wife must = gay husband.

Anyway, so what if he is? Does it mean his advisor got the job because he fancied him? So what? Like that never happens with heterosexual politicians?

saintlydame, I just think that, judging from the sympathetic responses on this thread, IF he is cynically trying to deflect attention away from an extra-marital dalliance with a young employee, then he's doing a bloody good job. He wouldn't be the first politician to lie, would he?

Part of me is a bit at the mention of the miscarriages.

I would have thought the pertinent thing is that they shared a room not a bed.

my thought was poor Ffion - and vaguely wondered what really happened and why Hague didn't see this coming. Sharing a room like that is seen as unconventional and was bound to induce comments.

It is also a comment on our society that two unrelated adults are seen as not being able to share a twin hotel room without it being a sexual thing. It should be a pragmatic thing - cheaper option and no reason not to.

One would assume that if he was gay and therefore had something to hide the last thing he would do is share a room with his adviser...surely two rooms and tip toe -ing down the corridor would be the order of the day....unless of course this is a cunning double bluff.....hmmmmmmm.

I can well understand why he felt the need to share the miscarriages. The implication is clear: you don't have children because you are gay. When the real reason is as heartbreaking as theirs, I think a time must be reached where you just think "fuck you, you have no idea - this is what we are going through now piss off"

Yes nancy - that's exactly where I think they're coming from - and I wouldn't be surprised if Ffion was the prime mover in making that decision.

I agree with Nancydrewrocked second paragraph.

I have a lot of respect for him and have always enjoyed watching him when he has been running prime minsters questions opposite labour, he is very articulated and rather funny. He is also one of the few politicians I'd rescue from a sinking boat.

Having dcs doesn't preclude you from being gay. Look at Crispin Blunt.

blimey! Poor hagues. i'm no tory but i've always thought him bright, an excellent speaker, and a decent bloke.

my dh always shares a room with friends at conferences, as do i. it saves money, and often good to gossip. in fact i've shared a room at a conference with a gay female friend, but so what? I'm straight, happily married, and perfectly capable of sleeping in the same room as another person as i'm sure are most people but perhaps not tabloid journalists?! or the internet gossips.

mollie no of course it doesn't but in this case I think the implication is clear.

What Nancy said... Surprised at all the love for Hague. I've never liked him. Can't get past that speech he made at tory conference when he was thirteen. Like something out of Harry Enfield...

Don't think whats happening to him now is right though.

I love William Hague. I can't believe him actually saving the taxpayer money for once and sharing a TWIN room has been made out to be so grubby.

Would these people rather they both rented huge suits and charged them back?

I do think the under current was that WH was like how many people see Michael Portillo, a man married a long time and has no children and therefore MUST be gay. I feel sorry for Ffion, she's having problems having children and people assume it's because her DH would rather sleep with a man

Anyone can make an aqusation. And the effects of that can be dramatic. oh well, 'no harm done, then'. err no actually, harm has been done.

i find this quite confusing...

part of me thinks this is private and no one elses business. i think hague is one of the most gifted politicians of our generation so LAY OFF

part of me thinks that it was incredibly ill judged of hague to share a room (and yes, judgement is important given his position). how did he think it would be interpreted.

part of me feels desperately sorry for them regarding their attempts to start a family

but part of me thinks what does that have to do with anything?

rumours like this have been floating round westminster for years.

I love the way that (some) people assume that Ffion had no say in the statement. I know that in my marriage, anything that siginficiant we would have agreed together.

If it were me, after going through the ongoing pain of repeated miscarriages (and I've had two, so I know what it's like :(),, the crass insinuations would have been the last straw and I would have wanted to let the know "take that in your pipe and smoke it"

And I hope that the journalist feels bad.

But I suspect he won't. That would assume a conscious.

Agree with HerHonesty,

Sharing a twin room would always be open to misinterpretation. Surely that would have been glaringly obvious to him. He's had many years of training/experience in media to avoid scandals like that. Tbh, it seems odd.

This isn't the media's fault....

The real story is that the Government promised to cut down on the number of special advisers and agreed that cabinet ministers should have two "special advisers" with extras being allowed if the minister has extra responsibilities.

Hague already has two "special advisers", the same as his predecessors Jack Straw and David Milliband.

Hague also has a speech writer working for him who manages to get around the limit of 2 advisers by being a Civil Servant.

As if that's not enough Hague then goes and employs a fourth "special adviser". Unlike most other advisers to cabinet member this person hasn't worked at Tory HQ before but Hague was able to directly employ him and thus get around the usual Whitehall recruitment requirements. His qualifications are also up for question as he graduated in 2006 with a 2:1 in History rather than politics or law.

So Hague's been caught out employing four advisers the most recent with questionable skills.

His reaction to this?

Throw his wife to the wolves in an attempt to get some sympathy.

Who's the real villain here the media or Hague himself?

I hate the smutty minds that people seem to think are acceptable nowadays.

That sharing a twin room means that it is OK to insinuate that there might have been sometihng else going on.

Poor Morecambe and Wise - imagine the trouble they would have been in nowadays.

I have often shared rooms with friends - usually for pleasure, but occasionally for business. I went to a Sales Conference once where we were forced to share with others - and I didn't even know the girl I shared with (and what is more, I was 6 months pregnant at the time - just as well I am not self conscious).

Since when was saving money a crime?

PS I like the way he finished his statement "I will not be making any further comment on these matters." ie and now bugger off.

"And I hope that the journalist feels bad.

But I suspect he won't. That would assume a conscious."

The journalists said to Hague "your Government has said you should have two advisers, you've got four and what exactly qualifies your most recent adviser for a £30,000 role?"

Hague then chooses to release that statement as his "response".

So who should feel bad?

Hague appears to have done a very good job here, people seem to be labelling the media as the bad guys when they've done their job perfectly and highlighted what Hague has been getting up to.

Why couldn't Hague just answer the questions and leave his family out of it?

Why did he feel that his best response would be to throw his wife to the press to try and shift the focus of this story from his advisers to "those poor Hagues"?

I think it's the fact that he CHOSE to share a room rather than have his own room which is questionable (though I don't really give a toos whether he's gay, straight or bi TBH). The issue of two men sharing a room per se isn't really seen as a problem - as others have said footballers do it, employees do it at conferences etc. to cut down on expenses. But WH could have had his own room given his income - I don't buy this trying to save the tax payer mullarkey. Plus the fact that he had 4 advisors when everyone else made do with 2, and the 4th didn't come through the usual route.

I don't like the way the media have said Ffion's mcs though - shoudl have referred to them as the couple's mcs, not just hers.

ah ha i hadnt caught up with the 4 special advisors side of the story...

saving money? snort....

I can't imagine for a second he would have done this without his wifes support - surely?? If they want to tell the world about mc's then thats up to them. I'm sure they have their reasons. I don't think they HAD to tell though. It doesn't actually prove anything anyway....

Its common place to share a room now isn't it to keep costs down - the bbc are all doing it if you listen to the dj's on radio 1

It was Guido Fawkes a blogger who started this story so not journalists really.