'Emergency Labour'
James Forsyth 8:50am
Jackie Ashley coins the telling phrase ‘Emergency Labour’ to describe the party post-Mandelson’s return. Looking at the reshuffle as a whole one is struck by how little ideological direction there is to it. It does not mark, whatever the headline appearances might suggest, a return to Blairism. Yes, Mandelson is back but at the same time Lord Adonis—the man who was doing more to push forward public service reform than anyone else in the government—has been moved out of his role. Indeed, Brown’s strategy appears to be to rely on the public believing that only he and his team of ‘serious people’ can see the country through the financial crisis. As Jackie Ashley notes, it is unclear if Gordon actually knows what the follow-up is to his dramatic recall of Mandelson.
Meanwhile, the press are gleefully stoking the tensions between Brown’s long marchers and Mandelson. Trevor Kavanagh recounts this conversation with Mandelson at the Labour conference a fortnight ago:
“I used to be Gordon’s ‘Ed’,” hissed Peter.
It was Balls’ fault that Gordon was fighting for his life, said Peter.
“He plays to Gordon’s tendency to surround himself with cronies and exclude everyone else. He stops Gordon reaching out.”
It will be fascinating to see how long this Cabinet coalition of the willing survives. One can’t help but think they will turn on each other before 2010.
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Comments
Ian C
October 6th, 2008 9:44am"One can’t help but think they will turn on each other before 2010".
How about before half of 2009 is done with?
D. Dan
October 6th, 2008 9:45amBrown and Mandelson both have track records for telling lies. Neither of these two old has-beens fits the bill for the dependability and trustworthiness we need at a time of economic uncertainty.
Mark
October 6th, 2008 10:31amNo one believes it when Mandelson and Brown say they buddies again.
No one believes that Mandelson has been brought back for his experience in financial matters. He's been brought back to spin and attack the Tories.
People aren't fools. This will go down badly in the Labour heartlands, in Scotland (Glenrothes really is lost now) and will see Labour's rating drop down to the low 20s again.
Margaret Welsh
October 6th, 2008 10:50amWhat fun "Things can only get better"
Does anyone know if Ed Balls is included in the new alterative cabinet
TrevorsDen
October 6th, 2008 10:57amGlenrothes? what effect will Prescott's 'V' sign have on the vote.
kinglear
October 6th, 2008 11:11amLack of ideological direction? Do you think they ever had any? Or even any guiding principles? Forget Brown's moral compass - that only extends as far as a self-perpetuating oligarchy.
David C
October 6th, 2008 11:23am'Emergency Labour': but what's the emergency?
I don't believe either the Labour Party or Brown is thinking of the economic crisis.
The Labour Party's sole concern is the Labour Party's survival.
Brown has proved at every point (and I mean at EVERY point), his sole concern is his ongoing occupation of No.10.
This is not like the last years of the Major Government, where the party was tearing itself to pieces, but ministers kept plodding on, putting in programmes and rebuilding the economy after the ERM fiasco.
If Brown ascended to his premiership with any idea of the direction his government would take, this went by the board within six months.
In the previous piece on the replacement of Adonis in Education, Fraser Nelson remarked on ‘destructiveness of the Brown agenda’; This Labour Government is throwing away its (few) accomplishments along with its principles.
They now have 18 months left to leave power with a legacy other than mountainous debt, oppressive and intrusive legislation, disintegrating social structures, crippling taxes, untold squandered billions, shrunken international stature and twelve wasted years.
Tick, tick, tick, tick…
Nicholas
October 6th, 2008 11:30am"That must involve not a return to the high-rolling, blandly optimistic and simplistically free-market New Labour of the boom years - Mandy Labour - but a move towards a more progressive Labourism for credit-crunch Britain, in which fairness is the guiding principle."
Er, no. When Shape-Shifting, Stay In Power At Any Price, Mutant Labour or their payrolled media mouthpieces talk about "fairness" it means more of the extreme ideological, PC, social engineering crap from nutters like Harmthenation which has already irrevocably damaged our society and has nothing whatsoever to do with real fair play.
When New Labour nutters talk of "fairness" it is in strictly Animal Farm terms - all Britons are equal but some are more equal than others. We can see precisely the consequences (intended or unintended) of their concept of "fairness" in devolved Britain. Is it fair, New Labour nutters, I ask you, for Scots people to get cancer treatment and English people none, that English cancer victims will die where Scots survive? Is it fair, Labour Mutants one and all, I ask you, for Scots and Welsh hospital visitors to get free parking whilst English people have to pay? And so it goes, a very particular, peculiar idea of what is fair; deaf to entreaty, blind to justice, ignorant of common sense. That is the hideously mutated monster that Labour has become.
Their idea of a "fair" society is one where their very particular minority client groups (those labeled "victims") get pampered and mollycoddled at taxpayers expense whilst the majority view is gagged by their politically correct, thought & speech crime, no protest allowed repressive legislation. These creatures are not socialists, make no mistake, they are national socialists.
They are utterly obsessed, first with their own byzantine in-fighting and endless "debate" about how to implement their barmy ideologies (just look at the forum comments on any Labour website - it's comprehensive staff room stuff). This obsession extends throughout Labour ranks to an almost religious dogma that no other party has a right to govern - that even a thoroughly rotten, incompetent and despised Labour government is better than any alternative. We know their barmy, social engineering ideologies don't work because we have 11 years worth of examples, 11 years where Britain as a society has become very much worse not better. Secondly they are obsessed with their "victim" client groups (which includes a hefty chunk of the "civil service" - not very civil these days and rock all service - if not all). Third they are merely concerned with ordinary Joe Public, the British Man-In-The-Street, The Majority, as he relates to their perceived popularity and as that relates to them being able to stay in power to oppress us even more. And their perception of their popularity is firmly rooted in la-la land. Ms Ashley merely confirms this by what she writes. Utter tripe.
It is these tensions that embody Labour and these tensions that make them unfit to govern, here, now or at anytime. Do Britain a favour - demand a General Election from your MP now - and when you vote, vote for any party but Labour. Britain will be a better place on the very first day after the election, trust me.
Mark
October 6th, 2008 12:00pmDavid C, you are 100% right about the contrast between the last years of the Major government and what we have now.
I seem to recall that Brown refused to beleive that he had inherited a healthy economy and goverment finances. He obviously expected Ken Clarke to behave as he would have himself in the circumstances.
Frank Pulley
October 6th, 2008 5:37pmNicholas (11.30am)
Heh, heh, heh!
James F.
I suggest that you contact Nicholas and offer to pay him a reasonable remuneration for writing this stuff on the editorial page. The magazine needs his clarity and wit. Why can't the Tory party conjure up a scribe who can produce this sort of devastating invective against the worst government we have had in my lifetime. I just hope the weasely bastards that are in Nicholas's cross wires read it; even with their Teflon coatings it must occasionally break through and strike deep into whatever remnants of humanity remains beneath the six inch coating of slime that is the sub-strata beneath the Teflon.
Btw, have I ever mentioned that I won't be voting Labour in the next election?
Wilfred
October 6th, 2008 7:14pmGreat stuff, Nicholas!
Me neither, Frank. Never ever ever ever. Anyone but.
John
October 6th, 2008 7:16pm"How about before half of 2009 is done with?"
How about by this Christmas?
John
October 6th, 2008 7:21pmNicholas: Bravo!
TGF UKIP
October 6th, 2008 7:32pmFrank Pulley, hear, hear! Nicholas' posts are in class of their own and far better than a lot of the guff in the fanzine.
On your point, though, "Why can't the Tory Party conjure up a scribe who can produce this sort of devastating invective...." there are two answers.
First of all Cameron's Blue Labour Tories have gone along with so much of the social engineering "fairness" agenda that they are in no position to take issue in the laceratingly dismissive way Nicholas does.
Secondly, such "devastating invective" would be quite at odds with what Hilton and Cameron have fashioned for Dave's cuddly image, aimed they foolishly believe to woo the female voter. Wot a pair of misguided ultra PC plonkers the two of them are!
BTW, Frank Pulley, on another subject entirely - Ed Miliband's photo and your characterisation of him as "Isiah" - you wouldn't by any chance be a scouser or ex scousers would you?
blazing fawkes?
October 6th, 2008 7:51pmhas guido peed someone off or has boris cranked up a new anti-popo propaganda website?
http://sparkedoff.blogspot.com/2008/10/guido-fawkes-friday-caption-competition.html