Playing to a packed house
Fraser Nelson 12:35pm
I have seldom seen the chamber so packed. Brown got his apology in early, thanks to a planted Labour question. In the Brown-Cameron clash, Brown scored a good hit, saying Cameron had proposed cuts on HMRC in the Tory 2005 James review – singling out data processing. Labour loved it.
Cameron hit back, with today's soundbite for tv: "He tries to control everything, but can't run anything". Brown responded by parroting his oft-vented lines about having run the economy—he didn't, he just taxed it—low interest rates, employment etc. His words were drowned out by cheers - but they were Tory cheers. Labour were silent. Both had the sense that this economic jargon is the only song Mr Brown can sing. And it won't get him out of this mess.
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Henry Rogers
November 21st, 2007 1:02pm Report this commentHave to say, I didn't think the PM looked a happy man at all, except when answering planted questions from his own side. My guess is that the public perception of his performance is a good deal less tolerant than Fraser's post above.
Oscar Miller
November 21st, 2007 2:20pm Report this commentFraser and James seem to be at odds in their assessment of whether or not Brown's James review jibe was a hit or a miss. No matter. Today's PMQs was not about soundbites and scoring points. It was about exposing the fundamental systemic failures at HMRC, exactly as DC stated. Most people don't care about who won PMQs. They do care about confidential data being safe in government hands. Many people also know Britain's dirty little secret of incompetence in our public institutions and quangos. Too many restructures, too much cynical careerism, demoralisation and lack of commitment are simply eroding one of Britain's greatest assets - dedicated public servants who used to ensure that systems worked. We're living in breakdown Britain. The HMRC debacle is just a sufficiently dramatic symptom of the problem for everyone to sit up and take notice. DC gets it - that's why he resoundingly triumphed at PMQs.
Fraser Nelson
November 21st, 2007 4:52pm Report this commentOscar, the view from the press gallery is always different than that from the TV screen. The latter is vastly more important, so James had the better view! Seeing it again on TV, I'd say Brown came across better than seemed from my perch (sorry Henry!) I'm doing a review on this for Sky News at 8.30pm tonight.
A CITIZEN
November 21st, 2007 5:45pm Report this commentBrown's reference to Cameron supporting the 2005 James review cuts in no way explains the gross incomeptence and systematic failure which brought about this fiasco. If Brown had been doing his job at Number 11 for the past 10 years and not constantly distracted by his obsession to covet his neighbours office he would have spared the country and his Government what amounts to a calamity. Brown's arrogant boast 'no fraud has taken place' maybe a little premature, the discs may have been taken to order and anyone with the slightest criminal inclination would seek to exploit any weakness in security systems. Leaving this much to trust was gross negligence.
Bymasson
November 22nd, 2007 3:19pm Report this commentIt is strange that Brown and Darling tell us that the issue has nothing to do with cost- and staff-cuts, but Brown still pulls out reference to the James review proposals. Is he trying to say something?
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