It's all over now, Gordon Brown
Peter Hoskin 10:07am
I wouldn't care to be a laser printer in No.10 this morning. The papers are absolutely crammed with stories that are embarrassing, or just downright damaging, for Gordon Brown. The Mail on Sunday claims that relations between Brown and Alistair Darling are at an "all time low", and reveals that the PM went into a rage during his meeting with David Cameron and Nick Clegg about expenses. The Sunday Times reports that a minister has placed a "large bet" on Brown not winning the next election. Both Andrew Rawsley and Martin Ivens make the point that New Labour is dead. And, to top it all off, John Rentoul calls for our Dear Leader to step down.
The problem for Brown is that his opportunities for some sort of comeback are behind him. The G20 summit and the Budget have been and gone without the slightest sign of a bounce. And, if anything, there's worse yet to come. The MoS has more details about the "panic" that's sweeping though the Government whips' office over the publication of MPs' expense receipts, which are rumoured to include claims for "helicopter journeys and holiday homes abroad". So fasten your seatbelt, Prime Minister - it's going to be a bumpy few months.
Previous
mitch
April 26th, 2009 10:27am Report this commentWhat a fabulous headline although I think gordon has his fingers in his ears and is screaming lalalalala at the top of his voice and will do this until Cameron turns up with his wife and furniture.
You see it all started in America.......(we know the rest).
chris
April 26th, 2009 10:30am Report this commentUnfit to be PM! Did the Labour Party really believe that Brown would govern beyond his most craven tribal instincts? Shame on them! He's poisoned the party and resigned it to opposition for a generation. Shame on Blair for not standing up to the bully years ago and moving him from his Treasury bunker. One thing for sure the history books will not be kind to the "son of the manse"!
Slim Jim
April 26th, 2009 10:30am Report this commentIt's an absolute disgrace and an affront to democracy that this shameless charlatan is in power. Does anyone think for one moment that he will do the honourable thing and resign? Will his colleagues finally wake up and smell the coffee? Why are they being such bastards towards the Gurkhas? (I think that question answers itself). The best thing that can happen is for the MSM to do the right thing and campaign for the removal of this stain on the British political landscape. We voters will do the rest. Over to you...
adrian drummond
April 26th, 2009 10:33am Report this commentHe deserves all he gets.
molesworth_1
April 26th, 2009 10:37am Report this commentI couldn't happen to a nicer chap...
Silent Hunter
April 26th, 2009 10:39am Report this commentLabour are just a sick joke.
The sooner we see the back of them and their corrupt administration, the better it will be.
Where's our General Election you bunch of corrupt BarStewards?
Heironymous Bosch
April 26th, 2009 10:45am Report this commentI blame the Pilgrim Fathers...
JONNY
April 26th, 2009 10:45am Report this commentI can imagine the sort of look Cameron must have given him after his Downing street frenzy.
Slightly bemused, slightly wry, even a bit concerned.
"Is this chap alright? Should we send for a doctor?"
Humpty-Dumpty
April 26th, 2009 10:54am Report this commentThe old saying 'Be careful who you stab on the way up, they'll be waiting to stab YOU on your way down'. Gordon stabbed a LOT of people - great 'Spectator' sport. Sorry, I'll get my coat.........
Grunt
April 26th, 2009 11:04am Report this commentThe commentariat is deserting Brown.
Possible reasons?
- a feel for the mood of the country
- smeargate
- the crippling debt burden
- the resort to class-fare
- cringe making youtube appearance by the PM
- a credible opposition
- not fit for purpose
- a Cabinet of nonentities
hmm, which one to pick? I think the debt counter on the Coffee House page is the clue.
Hawkeye
April 26th, 2009 11:13am Report this commentI'm not surprised in the slightest.
Jane
April 26th, 2009 11:21am Report this commentThe man is a national disgrace and embarrasing on the world stage. Time to show him the door, he has already overstayed his welcome.
teledu
April 26th, 2009 11:31am Report this commentTake the Sunday Times piece about a minister having a large bet that Labour wouldn't win the next election with a large pinch of salt. He's supposed to have got 66/1 about Labour losing the next election. 66/1 !!!??? Shome mishtake shurely. (The bet was said to have been placed in 2007.)
Secondly, the writer of the piece - David Leppard- goes on to say:-
"The bookies are offering 8-1 on Labour winning an outright victory." He surely means 8/1 AGAINST.
Nicholas
April 26th, 2009 11:31am Report this commentPretty consistent responses here - don't forget the petition to evict him from No.10:-
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/please-go/#detail
He has been disastrous for Britain but the agony of his death by a thousand cuts has been prolongued by those in Labour who care more about power than principles. Nothing reveals more clearly the true nature of socialists.
Michael Booth
April 26th, 2009 11:41am Report this comment"helicopter journeys and holiday homes abroad".
No, surely not?
Hawkeye
April 26th, 2009 11:47am Report this commentGrunt said: "The commentariat is deserting Brown.
Possible reasons?"
1. How much do journalists get paid? £100K+ perhaps? Oh dearie me
2. Everyone knows he is going to lose. Who backs a loser?
John page
April 26th, 2009 12:51pm Report this commentO/T, I notice you don't cite anything from the Telegraph. Looking at he last two weeks' Sunday print editions,I'd been wondering if they did news any more (as opposed to rehashes).
Sam Armstrong
April 26th, 2009 1:04pm Report this commentUnelected!
Alex
April 26th, 2009 1:10pm Report this commentYou miss the point with the Bet - bet was that ZunuLab would form a coalition with the LibDems. This implies they'd be the biggest party, which is not losing really the election.
S/he stands to win nothing when the Tories win the GE
Tiberius
April 26th, 2009 2:24pm Report this commentMB: "helicopter journeys and holiday homes abroad".
No, surely not?
Well Margaret Beckett is in the clear, then. Caravans don't register on the same scale.
teledu
April 26th, 2009 2:39pm Report this commentAlex :-
"You miss the point with the Bet - bet was that ZunuLab would form a coalition with the LibDems."
From Sunday Times:-
David Leppard
"A GOVERNMENT minister has placed a large bet with bookmakers at 66-1 on Labour NOT WINNING the next general election. "
Sure Alex, the bet was to form a coalition, but, as you can see from the quote from the Times - THAT'S NOT WHAT IT SAID.
It implies that, as long as someone other than Labour win the election, he wins at odds of 66/1. Clearly wrong but not it appears, to the writer, David Leppard, (or at least he's not capable of making it clear just what the bet was).
THX1138
April 26th, 2009 3:04pm Report this commentThank you Baby Blue. Ring Them Bells the The Times They Are A-Changin for Gordon and he's not gonna Gonna Make Me Lonesome When he Goes.
john miller
April 26th, 2009 3:42pm Report this commentI've decided I need to get out more.
Specifically, I need to meet the people comprising 27% of the voters who, according to YouGov, will put their x next to the red rosette next year.
What a fascinating bunch they must be. If only we could establish the genetic link between the Guardian and the people of Glenrothes, we could probably advance work on the human genome by hundreds of years.
Well, some sort of genome, anyway.
john miller
April 26th, 2009 6:11pm Report this commentHaving read Rawnsley's piece, I must say I do envy opinion writers. That's all you need - an opinion.
Take "Some members of the cabinet, contemplating the amount of red ink that now weeps from the public finances, sigh with regret over the many billions of revenue foregone by those earlier tax cuts."
Ho ho ho.
As my hero points out - http://mreugenides.blogspot.com/
Income tax receipts 1990/91 £55.3 bn; 2008/09 £151.2 bn.
Yeah, shame - the pips didn't squeak.
We all know where it would have gone anyway.
TGF UKIP
April 26th, 2009 6:36pm Report this commentNo mention I note of the Mail's story (linked to via Guido at order-order.com) of the Scottish Labour whip and his £million of expenses.
While Gordon may presently be in the soft and smelly, he's still got over a year to go with the Tory lead still soft as evidenced by all the jumping around it does and a Tory Party with an entirely unconvincing leader and a Shadow Chancellor who nobody takes the slightest notice of other than his many fans at the Speccie. Indeed, it says it all about Dave as a "leader" that membership of the clique counts far more politically than an ability to connect with the voting public.
I reckon Gordon knows he can rely on the Bullingdon Buffers to screw it up.
Major Plonquer
April 27th, 2009 10:26am Report this commentThis is all quite wrong. Labour actually have two very valid strategies. The first has been mentioned in here and that is that Cameron was tank. He's already stated that he is the 'heir to Blair'. And we know how empty vaccuous and spineless Blair was.
The second strategy will be a spectacular relaunch of New Labour. They are likely planning it now. See: http://plonquer.blogspot.com/2009/04/brown-transforms-new-labour.html#comments
hadrian
April 27th, 2009 11:04pm Report this commentShame on Blair?! Yes, but for entirly different reasons! He was just as disastrous a PM as Broon, only slimier with it.
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