Clarke's not done yet

PSJ

I don't think Brown's "chances of a successful relaunch" were ever particularly high. If CC hadn't come along, something else would have.

Gordon Brown has ruthlessly got to the job, annihilating everybody else on the way up, and can't now be surprised when he has no friends when he messes up.

Ian C

The game is over and this was Clarke giving notice that he is doing all that he can to be sure it happens. Quite right too.
The Labour Party is stuck on the horns of a dilemma and how they deal with it, and now will dictate whether it survives or not. That's their choice, that Clarke has spelt out in words of one syllable for them. Can they/do they want to read his writing?

mark c

as if clarke could do any better

like an awful lot of them .. its very easy to be the wrecking ball, to disassemble, its quite another to actually have the nouse to put something back together that actualy improves anything

richard j

Remember who allowed him to get to PM - the Labour Party and its MP's. Have they the means and desire to deal with the result of their extremely unwise and damaging decision?

mac

The head-in-sand, 'there's no problem here' attitude of Nigel Griffiths (MP for Edinburgh South), interviewed before Clarke, was just as revealing. Still, the result of the next election will probably allow Mr Griffiths to return to selling 'The Big Issue'.

David C

"Go with Honour".
Does Clarke really think he can persuade Brown to unlock his vice-like grip on No.10 by appealing to his vanity?
Or more likely, is he showing conspirators a way to salve their consciences; they can depose Brown and say to the world in general "he went with honour".

I expect Brown will be apoplectic.
Who has the contract for Government mobile phones?

Andrew Spencer

The problem with the 'let's give Brown time to turn it around' view, is what do you regard as 'turning it around'? Politically is it 10 points behind, 5? level pegging, Labour ahead even? Or do we judge it economically? House prices rising again? Economic growth restored? Inflation coming down?

There is no good indicator to decide whether the PM has 'turned it around' and therefore all this talk is just mealy mouthed. Compass' idea of success is probably not the Blairite view. The 'honourable' course, as Clarke would put it, would be to put up or shut up. Accept Brown's leadership, for better or worse, or depose him now. Anything other than that is the worst of all world for Labour.

The problem of course is that Labour MPs are like rabbits in the headlights, stuck in an electoral cleft stick, and Clarke hasn't got the support to take Brown down.

Mike. Brighton

Remember Brown has absolutely no courage as has been discussed elsewhere. How likely is he to pull a sickie later next year and leave the disastrous election to someone else?

Draughtsman

I agree with PSJ. From the start Brown was ruthless in encouraging his fellow travellers to undermine Blair and everyone else perceived to be a threat to his achieving the premiership, so now that he is on the ropes he should not be surprised that vengeance is being exacted. The old adage has it "Don't make enemies on your way up because you might need friends on your way down."

Peter Wilson

…and in case you can’t think of the right words Gordon - for the honour bit - here's Kevin Keegan to help you out (when he resign as England boss)

"I really just feel a little bit short of what's required, I just felt that things weren't right and I couldn't find in myself at the time the way to solve the problems, I probably had a longer run than I could've expected. I just don't feel I can find that little bit of extra that you need at this level to find that winning formula. I have got to be judged by my results and my results have not been good. I fell short of what's required for the job.
You carry the weight of expectation. I am the sort of person who is always honest with himself.

Honesty, courage and acceptance of shortcomings, go on Gordon try it, you know you want to.

The Laughing Cavalier

This is like watching a car crash in slow motion. Unfortunately, we're all passengers in this vehicle and are going to suffer far more than the driver (one G. Brown) who will have a large Prime Ministerial pension, a fat contract for his memoirs, a seat in the House of Lords and some sinecures to cushion the blow.

David C

I hope Lord Brown's sinecures do not include the after-dinner speaking tour - I don't think he's cut out for it.
I suggest some exculpatory memoirs in which 'The Real Story Can Be Told'.
Tales of how this mighty intellect was laid low by treachery and backstabbing and his glorious vision for a NuBritain was snuffed out.

Michael St George

Perhaps the preceding comments concentrate too much on Brown as the subject of Clarke’s noble intervention (not), rather than the originator himself.

Obviously the appalling Clarke thinks we are all stupid, and have conveniently forgotten both his ideological background and his utter incompetence as Home Secretary, to such an extent that we might be tempted to take him seriously now as some kind of elder statesman qualified to pontificate on the measures his ragbag of a party might employ.

I didn’t catch all of his Today Programme interview clearly, but I don’t recall any acknowledgement from him that the option of removing the Comrade Chairman McBroon from office and replacing him, without a general election, would absolutely destroy any lingering NuLab pretence at democratic legitimacy. It had to be left to Nick Robinson to make this point.

No doubt Clarke views himself as ideally placed to step in and reclaim the Blairite legacy. He presumably thinks we don’t remember his egregiously deficient performance as Home Secretary – this is the man who presided over so many debacles that his continuance in office became so untenable that his sacking was inevitable - and who then had the gall to suggest that as he had been instrumental in creating the disasters, only he could be trusted to stay in office and clear them up. The man is a totally shameless, self-deluding, failure.

GeoffH

"The man is a totally shameless, self-deluding, failure."

But, all of this lot are the same.

Polly's mum

"...shameless, self-deluding failure"... hmmm, now which other Labour politician does this remind me of?
Answers on a postcard, please.

Wilfred

Answers on a postcard?

How about a ream of A4?