The limits of bipartisanship

luke

"But taking Osborne in may help shut him up. And this, let there be no doubt, will be Brown’s primary concern"

This is where we are losing the public at the moment im afraid. The whole country thinks that for all his faults, Brown is focused on getting through the financial crisis with the economy intact. They are almost certainly right. All we seem to be able to do is ascribe political motives to everything.

What matters is not whether the public think we are appear to be saying the right things, but whether we believe them. It is genionley a national crisis. Wanting to appear like we know this is not enough.

SandraS

You cant really blame the government for not taking this seriously given how critical the tories were over NR.

DavidDC

All this stuff is a huge mistake of political strategy.

We are playing right into "experienced" broon's hands by implying he has a plan and is taking lots of tough decisions.

We are making ourselves look like novices.

dalesman

Brown is a control freak. he doesn't trust his own people, wants to check everything himself.

The only thing any kind of "national government" will do is give Brown longer in power.

Cameron and Osborne should be sticking the boot in, not coming up with sill ideas like this, trying to prove they good chaps trying to pull together.

Paul B

I`m not strapping on any old pair of DMs Fraser, Im strapping on my special, steel toed capped pair. Metaphorically of course!!

LSS

The conservative party is in a no win situation here. The real truth is that they are wholly irrelevant to the action we can take because Brown will do as he pleases. The best we can manage out of this situation is to be as much in the loop as possible to avoid this situation playing completely into Brown's hands. Cameron should still do outline his approach for long term growth in the economy as this would take some of the initiative away from Brown. The only problem with that is... is that Brown will probably just steal any decent policy and call it his own.

GS London

It seems to me that the Tories are doing just fine - Cameron's speech this morning was especially well judged. Everyone knows what the Tories think of Brown and his Chancellor - no need to keep repeating it.

Bruce. UK

"The national interest lies in getting rid of an unusually unpopular, spectacularly wrong-headed Prime Minister who has a notorious record of subordinating the national interest to faction calculation".

Faction calculation? Selfishness is nearer the mark.

Polly and Alice's mum

I saw Irwin Seltzer this morning on the Daily Politics saying "In your country you have an elected dictatorship..."
He is absolutely right, except that this particular dictatorship wasnt even elected.

David Parker

I am dismayed that so many the public still believe that Brown has any competence or credibility. The global financial problem may be largely due to factors beyond Brown's control, however, our domestic debt levels and the Governments frofligate borrowing and spending most certainly were. He has persistently deliberately deceived the public over the true state of the British economy, and yet, if we are to believe the recent polls, a large number of people still believe that he would be the best man to run our economy.
It is no excuse to say that his experience will allow him to learn from his mistakes, since Brown will never admit, even to himself, that his policy was mistaken.

Whilst this also shows that, when the country is really under pressure, there is a lack of confidence in Cameron and Osborne, they, at least might learn from Brown's mistakes and are not tainted in the way that he is. Common sense would surely suggest that they could scarely be worse than Brown.

Hadrian

Being up here in Bonny Scotland it's somewhat tricky reading the political barometer but I still sense from friends down south that Broon has had his day, thank God. The quicker he and the rest of his nest of vipers is flushed out the better for us all. Ten years of socialism need a quick quashing not protracting under the guise of national interest! Let's hope Dave has added snake charming to his offensive or he'll find these thankless beasts bite the hand that feed them credibility.

ChrisD

Fraser, don you think that Cameron and Osborne have factored in the Brown form book when making this bipartisan offer?
I think the journalists need to play catch up with the Conservative agenda. And more importantly you are all chatting about the Tory initiative so job done.
By the way, out of interest, where is Gordon Brown today? Benedict Brogan had word that he was going to do a tour of the TV studio's this afternoon, but so far no sign of him.
Being cynical I could point out that for some reason No10 is always quick to respond to Benedict, must be the Daily Mail thing, Anyway, I suspect that the response to Benedict's question asking about Brown's whereabouts got a much quicker and clearer response than we are going to from our supposed PM!

David Lindsay

What limits?

Just how many times does James Purnell's and Andrew Adonis's obviously signed and sealed membership of any future Cameron Cabinet have to be announced before even the most die-hard Labour and Tory loyalists alike realise that something might be ever so slightly amiss?

And as of Sunday, Hazel Blears as well.

We are living in a one-party state.

Fergus Pickering

Lindsay, you're quite mad.

Hadrian

The games, the games indeed , Fraser.
For a die-hard, 'right' libertarian take on all this, I wonder, Fraser, if you've come across the site dedicated to Ludwig van Mises- mises.org ?
It's also highly entertaining to pop into garynorth.com and lewrockwell.com They give a refreshingly invigorating anti-socialist angle on what's swirling around us and for the most part worth listening to.
Finally, I must just add my appreciation of your reducing Ms Blears to shoolgirl giggling when you charmed the grim Brownite devotion out of her by suggesting she was a prime candidate for his job! Priceless!

Short the UK

Brilliant interview with Nouriel Roubini on Bloomberg.com, right now. Our leaders as so far behind the curve. The Bears are calling the shots.

Robert Williams

I have just watched Brown's interview with Nick Robinson. Beown is impossible to work with. He denies & denies until he can deny no more. In recent months he denied the level of inflation, he still seeks to distinguish the strength of our economy from that of Europe & the USA & he continues to insist that he had reduced debt to 37% of GDP.

mckenzie

Hey, you lot!
I'm over here,
round the corner!
Brace yourselves, and put these on!

oldtimer

You say "The idea of a national government for an economic war may appeal to Brown."

Has he come up with this idea then? Or is it being spread by some rumour monger? Whatever the origin, Cameron would be well advised to ignore/reject it.

All he needs to do is what he has done already and back the relevant legislation if/when it is needed. The watchword should be "Sup with a very long spoon."

TrevorsDen

"Brown is focused on getting through the financial crisis with the economy intact."

Intact? how is he going to achieve that?

IF and so far it still is an if - but IF the Lloyds HBOS deal does go south how much of the taxpayers money will Brown have to divert then?

'getting through the financial crisis' well if I had the entire nations spending power to divert I think I could navigate us through the crisis. But intact?

Good luck to Brown and his navigation, the only problem is the crew will find itself dead of scurvy when the voyage is over.

Brown is keeping up his poll ratings by telling lies by the way
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article4849695.ece
Its a deliciously classic Brown stealth tax - he has shafted us and we don't even notice.

John H

National Government? Over Brown's dead body, I should think.

First, there's no sign that the economy is tanking as badly as it did in the early 1930s, or that it's about to do so.

Second, even if it did, those saying "Brown would form a National Government to save his skin" should bear in mind the place which Ramsay Macdonald occupies in Labour demonology. There is no way on earth that Brown would want to become a second Ramsay Macdonald.