Brown's press conference - live blog
Peter Hoskin 4:09pmBrown will be speaking to the press at 1630. Stay tuned for live coverage:
1609, JGF: There is a strong rumour doing the rounds that the Telegraph are doing another piece on Brown’s expenses. This will make life even more difficult for him.
1612, PH: Just to catch up, Ian Gibson has resigned as an MP - triggering a by-election which you imagine Labour will struggle to win.
1635, PH: Still no Brown. You'll can watch it here, by the way.
1639, PH: While we're waiting, the latest news is that Tony McNulty is to step down from Government. No great surprise given his expenses situation.
1647, PH: Brown's on in a minute, appararently.
1648, PH: Here's Brown now. He starts saying that he's going to be "totally candid." Don't laugh. He continues to say that the elections have been a "painful defeat" for Labour.
1650, PH: Now he's setting out his "way forward": to 1) clean-up politics; b) get the country out of recession, and c) reform public services.
1651, PH: There's the first "do nothing" jibe of the afternoon. And now Brown's talking about three councils that will report to Government - the one to renew our democracy; a new one for "domestic policy" (did I hear that right?); and the pre-existing national economic council. So: more committees.
1653, PH: Brown's sounding unapologetic, saying that he "will not waver" and "will get on with the job".
1654, PH: There's the dig at James Purnell. Brown says that he doesn't seek the "limelight," and puts the country before himself or "even the Party".
1656, PH: Nick Robinson is pushing Brown on whether he's actually being candid. Brown stands depressingly firm: "The task facing the country is so big that we've got to get on with the job."
1657, PH: PoliticsHome have the full Cabinet list here.
1658, PH: Adam Boulton (who seems to have been live on Sky for 2 days solid - quite heroic) asks Brown whether the new Cabinet can really be called an improvement. Brown: "We have chosen very talented people who have a determination to serve the country"
1659, PH: Brown denies that he wanted to sack Darling. Says that the Chancellor is "internationally acclaimed". Hm.
1701, PH: Brown's going to regret saying that he wants to be "candid". Every journo seems to be bringing it up, pointing out - quite rightly - that Brown is being far from candid.
1702, PH: Brown praises John Hutton.
1703, PH: Brown "apologises" for Parliament's inability to deal with expenses sooner. But adds that he is the "right person" to clean-up politics - "because of my background..."
1704, PH: Here's the main message: "Nobody walks away when you're in trouble." Brown adds that he hasn't thought about standing down, but that he's "not arrogant".
1705, PH: Oh dear. More of the Prestbyterian stuff. "When I look at the expenses crisi, I remember the words of my father..."
1706, PH: If you're playing Brownism bingo, there's "gentlemen's club".
1707, PH: CAROLINE FLINT HAS QUIT GOVERNMENT.
1708, PH: Brown's constant refrain: "You don't walk away." I'm not sure whether all this is defiant or deluded.
1709, PH: And more: "You don't walk away ... you finish the job."
1711, PH: Brown confirms that Caroline Flint has been replaced by Glenys Kinnock - who will be appointed to the House of Lords. Can you elect anyone in government nowadays?
1712, PH: This is shameless: "I think what people are saying is 'Get us through this recession'" Erm, polls suggest that people are saying: "Give us an election, and then someone else can get us through the recession."
1714, PH: Brown says that apppointing people through the House of Lords (a la Mandelson, Sugar et al) is "good for politics". Doesn't quite chime with his talk of bringing "power to the people," does it? He says that he might use the same technique in future.
1715, PH: Brown says that Mandelson has an "enhanced role," given his "contribution" in helping business.
1717, PH: Brown relates the appointment of Alan Sugar to having Lord Darzi - a surgeon - help out on health. He says that "more businessmen" should be able to get involved in government.
1718, PH: Brown: "All my life, I've won quite a lot."
1719, PH: Now he says that when he meets the PLP, on Monday, he will tell them that Labour can win the next election.
1720, PH: Brown's on a bit of a "investment vs cuts" rant - "We are the party which will invest in the future."
1722, PH: Brown declines to say whether this has been a good or bad day for his premiership. "People care about the policies," he reassures us.
1724, PH: Fraser's asking about the cuts hidden away in the Budget. Brown says that "public spending is rising every year". Brown says that Fraser should aim the question at the Tories. Fraser - rightly - doesn't accept it, pointing out that this is a matter of "national importance". Brown looks a whiter shade of pale, and waves the question away. This really does make the blood boil - Brown kicked off saying he would be "candid," though he's anything but. This press conference is little more than one grand hypocrisy.
1727, PH: And that's it.
Previous
Mark
June 5th, 2009 4:39pm Report this commentWith any luck he's packing his bags and slipping out the back door.
Oh, only dreaming, that would assume he is possession of something known as a 'shred of decency'.
lawrence greek
June 5th, 2009 4:47pm Report this commentSo Gibson, Hoon and McNulty have all gone this afternoon - they are getting the resignations done with on one day, Brown has successfully reshuffled. It looks to me like he isn't out of the woods yet but Brown has clung on by his fingertips again.
DevonChap
June 5th, 2009 4:54pm Report this commentLost all his county councils, so he is making up some new ones.
David
June 5th, 2009 4:55pm Report this commentHe doesn't seem to understand that we would all really like him to just walk away, and keep walking...
Publius
June 5th, 2009 5:00pm Report this comment"It's all my fault so... I'm STAYING"
Useless! He's nailing his own coffin.
Maringa
June 5th, 2009 5:03pm Report this commentThe man cannot even turn up at his own press conference on time
MattsDad
June 5th, 2009 5:05pm Report this commentThe man is utterly deluded. I am tired of hearing him and his accolytes saying that the country want them to get on with the job, get on with the business of government, and are best placed to lead us out of the recession.
Does he and others reside on the same planet as us?
I am utterly utterly speechless.
Olaf
June 5th, 2009 5:06pm Report this commentDoing ok until Boulton asked him a question then the stuttering started
The Preston Park Panther
June 5th, 2009 5:08pm Report this commentHe's not arrogant, and he's candid. See? Everybody was wrong.
Ian Walker
June 5th, 2009 5:10pm Report this commentDale's reporting that Flint's resigned - right in the middle of the Press Conference!
Sterence
June 5th, 2009 5:10pm Report this commentHas he really just said "I was elected with almost complete unanimity" and "it's set down in the constitution"? And is nobody going to question him? I've heard a lot of made-up stuff from Brown but this takes the cake!
cp
June 5th, 2009 5:10pm Report this commentJUST GO.
colin
June 5th, 2009 5:11pm Report this commentPlease tell me this nonsense is not being broadcast abroad.
Brown is a national embarrassment. Our politics is a laughing stock.
Sterence
June 5th, 2009 5:11pm Report this commentOh, and the specially unctuous tone for the mention of his father made me gag too.
Andrew K
June 5th, 2009 5:12pm Report this commentHe's bringing Glenys Kinnock into the Lords as Minister for Europe! Un be-
f***ing-lieveable!
Fraser
June 5th, 2009 5:12pm Report this commentsomeone ask him about flint, please!
C
June 5th, 2009 5:18pm Report this commentNURSE!
Colin
June 5th, 2009 5:18pm Report this commentOk, further to my recent coffee housers wall post. How do we arrange for decent, like minded, right thinking people to take to the squares of our cities, towns and villages?
Fraser
June 5th, 2009 5:19pm Report this commentNot complacent about winning the next election. This man has the nuclear codes!
Greg
June 5th, 2009 5:21pm Report this commentThis is actually quite surreal.
kris nicol
June 5th, 2009 5:21pm Report this commentArrogance personified!!! Just go for gods sake just go.
Rob
June 5th, 2009 5:25pm Report this commentStick it to him, Fraser. The lying toad!
lawrence greek
June 5th, 2009 5:27pm Report this commentWhat is this habit of saying 'but look..' all the time? Blair did it, Mandleson does it, Brown does it, they all do it. Has some obscure focus group told them that it makes them sound purposeful or something?
Mick
June 5th, 2009 5:27pm Report this commentNice question Frasier, and a bare faced lie from GB in response. This needs to be shown to a wider audience than us Coffeehouse politico-nerds!
Damon
June 5th, 2009 5:28pm Report this commentSo Gordon is clearing up expenses? Yet he's bringing Brussels trougher Glenys Kinnock into the Cabinet!
Tom
June 5th, 2009 5:28pm Report this commentThat was hideous.
Moraymint
June 5th, 2009 5:28pm Report this commentThe tears are rolling down my cheeks, but I don't know if I'm laughing or crying ...
Laurie
June 5th, 2009 5:28pm Report this commentListening to the conference, Fraser Nelson's voice noticeably wobbled during his question(s) - he needn't have been nervous, although I understand why he was. He should be given an award for concentrating on substance and holding the Prime Minister to account. Well done that man.
AAE
June 5th, 2009 5:29pm Report this commentFraser showed himself as the single most acute political journalist in the country, and Brown's response showed him as a typical left-wing thug who can't engage with the facts of his own budget. It is this moment of Brown's press conference which should be replayed time and time again.
TrevorsDen
June 5th, 2009 5:30pm Report this commentUnbelievable - Flint Quits !!!
Disaster for the Tories.
alan douglas
June 5th, 2009 5:30pm Report this commentPerhaps his definition of "candid" is "white ?
Lunatic !
Alan Douglas
BrianSJ
June 5th, 2009 5:33pm Report this commentGood for Fraser. He'll need to start checking under his car.
I think you could take the complete opposite of all Brown's remarks and it would be closer to the truth than what he said.
I haven't had much time for Common Purpose conspiracy theories, but we do now seem to be in a post-democratic regime.
Sterence
June 5th, 2009 5:34pm Report this commentWhat happened to my first comment please?
Jock
June 5th, 2009 5:37pm Report this commentIf Glenys Kinnock and Alan Sugar were the answers, what the hell were the questions ?
Alexandrovich
June 5th, 2009 5:38pm Report this commentAbsolute denial from beginning to end.
And Fraser - a valiant but unsuccessful attempt to clear your name.
egh
June 5th, 2009 5:39pm Report this commentColin - I don't know. But we'd better. Revolution is the only way; we need to do it now, while we can keep it bloodless.
Simon Stephenson
June 5th, 2009 5:40pm Report this commentI see that, unlike the BBC, you've chosen not to highlight the mention of his father's advice to "Always be honest".
You're probably quite right not to have reported this without having given a prior health warning - something the BBC failed to do.
Or does the word "honest" have a different meaning in the part of Scotland where he grew up?
TrevorsDen
June 5th, 2009 5:40pm Report this commentHaving just heard Flints resignation letter - Cannot stand the woman but reading her letter she has taken aim and kicked Brown fair and square in the bollocks, and then stuck her stilletto in to the residue
Rhoda Klapp
June 5th, 2009 5:41pm Report this commentThis really is not good enough. It seems he still wants to be PM, so nobody else has any sort of say until Gordon has fixed the world. Somebody should have asked him by what right, as he can command the votes of around 10% of the electorate (23% x 40% turnout)
The man is delusional, and those who are supporting him in his delusion ought to be made to answer for it, as he is obviously not responsible for his own actions any more.
Don
June 5th, 2009 5:46pm Report this commentFraser has caught him lying on live tv. for gods sake make the msm aware of what has happened and kick the living cr"p out of him
Suki
June 5th, 2009 5:47pm Report this commentOh, dear. I think Fraser got a bullseye there. Brown didn't like that question about his cuts in public spending one bit, did he?
I think Fraser and Robin Oakley had the best questions. We didn't get an answer to either of them, but what's new?
Wily Trout
June 5th, 2009 5:47pm Report this commentRespect, Fraser. I raise a glass to you. He didn't like it up 'im.
Derek
June 5th, 2009 5:48pm Report this commentThe impression I received was of watching a hybrid of Richard Nixon and Charles the First.
Ray
June 5th, 2009 5:49pm Report this commentDon't worry, Mein Fuhrer. I'm sure General Weidling's Army Group Centre will turf those pesky Russians out of Berlin.
john miller
June 5th, 2009 5:49pm Report this commentOK, let's get a bit of perspective on this.
These people - the ornaments on the sideboard members, not really members of a proper Cabinet - knew what he would be like. Was it not the great statesman Huttoon (sic - see Guido's commenters), who said he would be f-useless? And then signed up!
So now, instead of doing the decent thing, they slink off like fifth formers avoiding detention, mumbling, "We really do like you really, really, sir."
Are these the sort of spineless idiots we want in a future government? In Parliament?
They should all have their forheads stamped "Not fit for public consumption".
As to what the extant sideboard members and newly created peers should have stamped on their foreheads, well a few Old Bill size 12s wouldn't come amiss.
Derek
June 5th, 2009 5:50pm Report this commentColin - yes, it was broadcast in Shanghai where I watched it. I don't know what the politicians here made of it though...
Liz Brown
June 5th, 2009 6:00pm Report this commentNot ANOTHER bloody Kinnock in the Lords - the House they wanted to abolish
Glenlivet Guy
June 5th, 2009 6:01pm Report this commentCongrats Fraser for your perserverance...you certaintly had him rattled but the sheer lies that come from Brown in the same minutes as he gives a homily on how he was brought up to be honest at all times leaves one speechless. Then as an afterthought despite boasting that spending would still be going up, in direct conflict with the Red Book, he boasts to overtalk you,that borrowing will be coming down.Surely Leader of Opposition must pursue these lies at PMQ's
Liz Brown
June 5th, 2009 6:04pm Report this commentnot ANOTHER bloody Kinnock in the Lords -the House they wanted to abolish
Gormless is totally delusional thinking that the country will put up with much more of his gerrymandering- how the hell can we stop him?
R
June 5th, 2009 6:09pm Report this commentThat was some of the painful and embarrassing viewing I can recall. It reminded me of the grimmer episodes of 'The Office'.
The terrifying thing is that there seems to be no way to get rid of him, given that the key members of the cabinet are feeble wimps.
DownTrodden
June 5th, 2009 6:09pm Report this commentBe afraid, be very afraid. What will McMad be doing in his "Council for Democracy"?
This from an unelected leader stuffing his cabinet with unelected ministers.
Sterence
June 5th, 2009 6:20pm Report this commentBrown's response to Fraser Nelson's excellent question is quite significant, I think. He obviously knows what the Budget projections are, and knows that what was projected does indeed imply very deep cuts. But he thinks that by using the Clintonesque device of pretending that the present tense means something it doesn't ('public sector spending is rising'/'there is no relationship') he can fool enough of the people enough of the time, and that simply parrotting the 'Tory cuts' line will wash. Evidently with the BBC and other media who will either swallow his line or actively spin for him, this will be the case. I hope that you will continue to expose the full horror of the national balance sheet.
Dr J H Wright
June 5th, 2009 6:20pm Report this commentThe speed Brown gabbled through that press conference is totally abnormal. I think hes become HYPOMANIC !! For godssake can we have an expert pyschiatric opinion. This could be important.
Derek
June 5th, 2009 6:24pm Report this commentMy general impression was of watching Richard Nixon out of Charles I.
Steve Belfast
June 5th, 2009 6:38pm Report this commentI got the impression that when he mentioned Glenys Kinnocks name he was pulling it out of the air! Do you think she knew beforehand?
Golur
June 5th, 2009 6:53pm Report this commentHas he offered a Cabinet place to the great ex-Iraqi propaganda Information (Propaganda) Minister Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf? If not, why not? At least he's a man who has practical experience of working for an unelected leader surrounded on all sides by enemy forces, while his 'allies' evaporate.
you can imagine his comments now: "There are no problems in my Cabinet. Their loyalty is assured." On second thoughts though, GB is quite deluded enough, and doesn't need outside support.
Time for another "Downfall" mashup - or are people waiting for the final hours before doing this again?
oldtimer
June 5th, 2009 6:57pm Report this commentListening to Brown`s press conference, I do not think I have felt so angry and outraged for a long, long time.
The appointment of another Kinnock to the Lords and a ministerial position is a disgrace and an insult to the House of Commons.
Let MPs (and especially Labour MPs) take their revenge on this PM as they did on the Speaker by voting for the dissolution of Parliament.
Flemingcrag
June 5th, 2009 7:14pm Report this commentFraser Nelson is a nice chap but, when it comes to
"Browneconomics" he struggles to understand.
Government revenue is plummeting faster than Ministers from office, it therefore follows that with less money coming in the Government will spend more. No area of public spending will be reduced, Health spending for instance will grow by 5% next year.
Now, there is no need for Fraser to get petulant about this and start irritating Gordon with second questions. If he is still confused he should consult the now permanent Minister for Children one Ed (so what) Balls, he can advise of a good night school class guaranteeing a certificate in "Browneconomics" for those completing the course.
teledu
June 5th, 2009 7:32pm Report this commentGood for you Fraser. Unfortunatley though, Brown is a master of answering esoteric (to most) financial questions disingeniously.
Why did no one ask him, if he's so intent on cleaning up the House follwing the expenses scandal, why he's left a tainted shyster at No. 11?
Fraser
June 5th, 2009 8:43pm Report this commentFraser, I am not fit to share your name. Your act was legendary. Brown obviously has no idea who you are, and when he pointed to you and you gave your name he nearly gave an audible "f*** not the Spectator hack".
Tiberius
June 5th, 2009 8:50pm Report this commentWe know that Brown could head a shot putt into the net from 18 yds if it kept him in power, and after reading this tissue of lies from him, I think we are one step closer to him engineering a reason not to hold an election.
If Matt's call of last night, that Brown is finished, doesn't materialize soon get ready for a Government of mostly appointed, not elected, ministers - yet another Constitutional weakness being exploited by this practitioner of insanity.
disgusted
June 5th, 2009 10:10pm Report this commentBBC has turned. The video is still available online.
disgusted
June 5th, 2009 10:18pm Report this commentHow rude Brown is.
Good on you, Fraser.
Archie Wedderspoon
June 6th, 2009 1:58am Report this commentI can assure Simon Stephenson that honest means the same in Fife as it does elsewhere - I grew up there at the same time as Brown. I blame the Church of Scotland for Brown's lies. That "moral compass" must have come from somewhere.
TomTom
June 6th, 2009 8:33am Report this commentCreating Green Jobs - that's what elections are doing ! The Government will regulate Parliament ! Walter Ulbricht has spoken !
Who wrote this speech where Brown drifts from "I" to "we" and still means Gordon ?
Now tell me, has this man been in office since 1997 ? Even Hitler accepted he had trashed Germany after 12 years.
This is so awful and I am only at 5:40 even cribbing from Churchill's speeches in hackneyed form
Every set of elections has left Labour saying we have listened and will change, but never have they ....now we have Brown disenfranchising the electorate and saying he has a mandate to do whatever he wants....the voters are simply serfs in a collective.
He speaks of MPs expenses but they have still not been published by Parliament.
At least Ian Gibson has some integrity in calling a by-election.
Brown has tried to copy Blair's body motions but loks uncoordinated
mrs peel
June 6th, 2009 3:12pm Report this commentmy impression was that Brown is approaching some sort of breakdown.
the phrases "i'm not complacent"
and "i'm not arrogant" were repeated
again and again and rendered utterly meaningless
i was embarrassed for him.
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