Brown and out

Peter

Labour should have binned Brown three months ago when the economy was tanking. Someone - Ms. Harman maybe - could have done some mucking out and led them to a reasonable defeat. Now if they change him it smacks of panic and they're going to get utterly stuffed at the polls. The cabinet and Labour backbenchers have left it too late to grow spines now.

Sally Chatterjee

I'm genuinely struggling to see why this story has such traction in the media. Brown is a coward and surrounds himself with bullies: did we not know this?

I'm all for airing this story but what's new. I'm also concerned the Conservatives are seen to be enjoying this too much when it's far too much a Westminster village affair, someone losing their job in Wolverhampton this week won't care about McBride.

strapworld

Which man, or woman, sitting around that cabinet table will have the guts to admit to themselves that 'with this they cannot put' and resign on PRINCIPLE?

Then their resignation speech could be the catalyst that gets Brown kicked out of Number 10 and replaced by a decent leader!

I am an old fashioned tory who respects old fashioned labour. We disagree, on issues, but can get on with them outside the debating chamber.

What we have now is the politics of HATE. That has to stop.

I have been a critic of Cameron. I happen to think he is no leader. BUT fairs, fair he has handled this issue well and gained my respect.

He could have met fire with fire, and still won the argument, but his softly softly manner may well be the medicine this country needs, post Gordon Brown.

For a good read, try fergus shanahan, in The Sun.

Publius

Miss Chatterjee. I think you underestimate how much the Brown spin about "son of the manse" and "moral compass" was taken as true by the general population.

What the Westminster hothouse knew, and what everyone else knew, are different things.

bernerlap

Good point Sally. I think it would be wise for the Tories to shut up about this now. It would be a good time for Cameron or Osborne to make a serious policy speech on the econmy or the broken society to show that while Brown is involved in character asassination they are working out how to improve people's lives.

Oscar

Disagree Sally. This story gets to the heart of what's wrong with politics now and why the public are so turned off. It's been the culture of new labour since the early 90s when it was developed under Campbell and Mandelson. It has to be exposed and at last that exposure is happening. Trust is a fundamental requirement before any politician is heard, let alone believed. It is more important now than ever. If in the past duplicity and bullying was tolerated as part of the political process, it just doesn't sustain in a modern environment. We don't tolerate bullying any other workplace - why should it be tolerated amongst politicians? Same goes for fiddling your expenses. Same goes for a culture of deceit. This is a necessary process to clean up politics and expose the two faced, bullies at the top of the Labour party who promised us a moral compass, transparency and decency while all along dishing out squalid lies and personal attacks. That culture has to go. Smeargate reveals that Gordon Brown is at the heart of this rotten culture and before long the public will understand he deserves to be removed from power in disgrace.

TB Macaulay

This is all very like TITUS OATES and the POPISH PLOT.

RayD

I thought it was only possible to substitute the PM once? So any leadership challenge triggers a General Election?

richardj

What everyone is forgetting is that these same poisonous people behaved in exactly the same way to dispose the eleceted labour prime minister and put in his place this unelected, incompetent, unpleasant, and downright revolting apology for a human being. What is even more damaging is the absence of anyone in his party to stand up to him and his KGB like enforcers. Disgusting that the taxpayer is paying for this unconstitional, illegal and possibly treacherous behaviour.

TrevorsDen

Of course we all knew it Sally, but I do not think the institutional lefties of the BBC knew what was going on and even those who 'knew' could say nothing without proof.

I do not think the conservatives are enjoying it - thats conservative politicians rather than conservative voters like me. And even I am more disgusted than anything.

People losing their jobs will be disgusted that labour are politicking rather than governing. Even the G20 - remember that - was just posturing.

Browns aids have succeeded in crucifying him this weekend. Brown has not only lost all moral authority to govern us but he has lost all real authority within his own party and cabinet.

During the last election a discredited (within his own party) Blair had to cling to Brown like a limpet. Just who will Brown use now?

Marbury

Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to remember at least one post on this blog (from Fraser?) after the last Labour conference, and the Ruth Kelly fiasco, vigorously defending McBride, saying what an excellent professional he was etc...

Ed B

Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke (as I type this I appreciate for the first time the double meaning of this phrase. The first is ironic, the other deadly accurate.)

Richard

Well, well, well. It just shows the bunker mentality and that they have to trust people so terribly much rather than keep their own counsel and require great technical abilities from staff.

This could have been dealt with in a heartbeat had normal delegation of duty been in place.

This may just be the media eating itself - the writing was on the wall with recession - not Steve Richards.

Mike, Brighton

Sally: It's got traction because its symbolic of Brown and his No.10 operation. In one simple-to-understand-story it tells you everything you need to know about Brown, his personality and approach to politics, the Labour government and their plans for the 2010 election.
Also there are so many enemies of Brown and McBride out there happy to keep stoking the fire.

Peter Wilson

@Sally Chatterjee: I'm genuinely struggling to see why this story has such traction in the media. Brown is a coward and surrounds himself with bullies: did we not know this?

For two reasons in my view;

One, the media has often been on the receiving end of McPoison's rage - he has made many enemies. and so this is now a time to gloat. Also the media now has substance to reveal the true workings of Brown's methods which they've known about for years.

Two, Brown is now vulnerable again to another leadership challenge - he is weak, his 'main attack dog' has gone so there's nothing to fear, and it seems the media sense this as well.

Chris Paul

Brown does have that moral Compass etc etc. No doubt. But he also knows that "nice don't pay the rent" and that it is de rigeur to have a few thugs as body guards. That SNP man Angus MacNeil caught in his own spot of bother was taken up by the media in the last quarter of yesterday putting in his twopenneth. And he identified - during a R4 or R5 interview - a particular cameron hanger on that is also, says Angus, "versed in these dark arts".

The idea that there aren't people of this ilk all over the political spectrum does not stand scrutiny. In the NW, specifically Greater Manchester, we have a couple or three Lib Dems *way* ahead when it comes to unfounded smears and attacking non-combatants. The most outstanding of them is paid by an MP to be a constituency worker, though he describes himself as "agent" and mostly does politics not casework. Utterly nasty piece of work. Labour have not cornered the market in these types.

And, one last thing, Nadine Dorries MP seems to have "gone to the danger" by outing herself as someone that was smeared in a virtually unpublished email. Seems to me she could have kept her name out of the papers. But she chose to do the opposite. And she was told more than once to stop smearing people, including live on radio and TV.

The BBC had to apologise for Guido Fawkes smearing on air. And Iain Dale also uttered some things thathe admits were wrong or that he cannot stand up.

James Forsyth

Marbury, I think there is more chance of the Pope becoming a Baptist than there is of Fraser having prasied McBride.

Madasafish

Chris Paul
You obviously have not read Today's Sun.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/columnists/fergus_shanahan/article2375497.ece

That is rather what Dale was saying.

If Watson does not sue...

Fergus Pickering

Macaulay, Oates was flogged. Who can we flog? Fat men flog well I am told.

Ivy Eileen

@ Sally Chatterjee - "I'm also concerned the Conservatives are seen to be enjoying this too much."

Like others, I don't think the Conservative politicians are "enjoying" this - if you mean they are making too much of a meal of it. On other postings, they are being criticised for not being publicly outraged enough.

If the boot were on t'other foot, I believe Brown's lackies would be all over the press and airwaves. For myself, I believe (certainly hope) that Cameron etc are playing a long game. At present, Labour itself and the press are doing the work for them. All they have to do is tweak it occasionally to get the right point addressed and point out the holes in any Brown attempt at a response. The letters of non-apology have yet to be disclosed in full by their recipients - with their comments attached. Ditto the scurrilous e-mails in their entirety.

Is Cameron waiting for a time nearer to the recall of Parliament ... and then to call for a full debate ?

Nicholas

"Brown does have that moral Compass etc etc. No doubt."

Perhaps you could point us to it. It's a bit hard to see from where I'm standing.

The empirical evidence is that New Labour is a repugnant entity. No doubt there are other dark artists in the other political parties but we don't see those parties embracing wholesale a culture of lies, spin and tarnishing those who dissent from their pernicious ideology with demonisation or smears.

I think you should take off those (New Labour) rose-tinted spectacles and take a good hard look at the Devil and all his works.

Oscar

The man that praised McBride was Ben Brogan. And Brogan now has a top job at the Gordograph.

Publius

No, Chris Paul, no! If Brown had any sort of "moral compass" worth its name he would know that there are some things you just do not do or permit to be done. And if the "rent" doesn't get paid as a result, then too bad.

Oscar

As the Daily Pundit saracastically wrote on 3 Oct 2008:

Ben Brogan has written a moving tribute to Gordon Brown's former spin doctor, the dearly departed Damien McBride. Holding back the tears, Ben writes:

"When the Day of Reckoning comes and those of us who know are free to say what we know, Damian McBride will emerge with great credit from the madness of the past few years."

Sally Chatterjee

Some good points in response to my earlier points above. Thank-you to those who replied, food for thought.

Richard

It has been clear for years to those of us who take an interest in politics that Brown is a hollow man. Brown does not have a "moral compass", he does not have principles, he cannot even emote like his vaudeville predecessor as PM - Brown simply uses words to one end - maintenance of power. Brown is autistic, to him politics is a game which he has to win at all costs and at any cost. Brown has been busy debasing the coinage of the realm and wrecking the UK's finances in his desperation to keep his self appointed role as our nominal PM after the next election. Since winning is everything, since Brown identifies himself so completely with his self appointed role, then any means justify the end of staying in power. Brown is like Hitler in his last desperate days in the bunker, ordering the destruction of Germany because it no longer deserved him.

You see the Brown mentality? We the poor citizens of the UK have to deserve him rather than the other way around. Understand that and you understand the man who appointed himself as our Prime Minister.

Chuck Unsworth

Remarkable that Chris Paul seems to believe that this sort of behaviour is a commonplace. Even more interesting is that he seems to believe it therefore excuses and exonerates these scum for their behaviour. What Chris Paul doesn't seem to remotely understand is the difference between 'bodyguards' and 'henchmen'.

And since when has it been the province of the BBC to apologise for the comments of those it interviews? Seems to me that the BBC is acting as a Government proxy in all of this. Well, things will certainly have to change after the next election. The summary removal of Mark Thomson would be an excellent start.

The Laughing Cavalier

Just as Clare Short always won when she wrestled with her conscience, Brown's moral compass always ends up pointing in the direction that suits him.