That Cohen’s a card

It was off to the Frontline Club for the launch of this year’s Orwell Prize for political writing.

I’m told they’ve squirreled away cash to increase the prize money, partnered with a swanky new organisation called the Media Standards Trust and have built themselves a website, where you can download entry forms for the prize.

Jean Seaton, chair of the Orwell Prize, kicked off the evening with a sparky panel debate called “Orwell, ID cards, the citizen and the state”.

Only David Goodhart, editor of prestigious magazine Prospect, had a good word to say about the Government’s plans, while Jenni Russell (Guardian), Heather Brooke (Your Right to Know) and Nick Cohen (Observer) all gave them a good kicking.

I couldn’t help warming to Cohen’s confession that “I want ID cards to go ahead because it’ll keep me in work for years”.

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