A shadow Cabinet member needs to call Brown on his lies

The Bellman

Calling the PM a liar - especially in the face of such overwhelming supporting evidence - would not end the accuser's career. Conceivably, massed jealousy from those who lacked the guts to do it earlier might be a hindrance, but there is little else that could be done. Andrew Gilligan is a case in point.

So the fact that so few interviewers are prepared to face down the assembled conga line of thugs that McSnotty troops into the studios suggests either (a) apathy (2) ignorance or (C) cowardice.

Mike, Brighton

The problem is deeper - in Brown's personal and alternate version of reality (also inhabited by Balls) that he has so carefully constructed he isn't lying.

cjcjc

I think Andrew Neil would do it too...

Irene

Yes, I agree 100% with your last paragraph - Brown's announcements in the House yesterday were somewhat overshadowed by Cameron's attack and did actually make the BBC1 6pm news - so it is going mainstream now.
But which shadow Cabinet member? Would Ken Clarke be so bold ? - it has to be a "name" I think.
Also in your third paragragh regarding the word bully - Balls has already used that word against Cameron this morning.

C Powell

Why not get David Davis to do it? Not in the Shadow Cabinet but as a former chair of the Public Accounts Committee he has the expertise to be able to point out what rubbish Brown/Balls and the rest of them are saying and to do it in simple language which resonates with voters.

Little John

Brown is emerging larger than life from Bliar's shadow

John Page

An attack dog? Alan Duncan thinks he's one, but he's embarrassingly harmless.

How Norman would have relished it!

TrevorsDen

Andrew Neil is the only BBC person who would recognise the lies and call them so. No doubt thats why laborites do not get interviewed by him.

In an election it has been customary for the party leaders to be interviewd by Paxman - something which Brown has alwys avoided. paxman is a parody of himself these days - its going to be interedting to see how both he and brown cope.

IIRC its usual for some sort of face the public Question Time session as well. Again something Brown has always avoided.

Presumably Brown will spend all the election campaign being accompanied by Alan Johnson.

Every time Balls uses the word 'bullu' someone should throw the word 'McBride' back at him.

Jonathan Cook

There is a subtle way of a minister doing this i.e.

If Gordon Brown is not telling lies, then we request that Gordon Brown sits down with Jeremy Paxman for a couple of hours and explains the truth.

Peter

If Fraser could have word with his friends at NOTW, who would have word with their friends at the Sun, a Sun from page with nothing more than a Brown mugshot and the word Liar as a headline should do it nicely. Trevor Kavanagh could rip his figures apart in a 'Sun Says'on p2 and the lassie with her norks out on p3 could add a pithy one-liner. Nail started, if not driven home.

Tiberius

The Tories need to find their Peter Hain.

Ian Walker

Little John - here's a more apt quote for you?

"And as the Captains gazed south to the Land of Mordor, it seemed to them that, black against the pall of cloud, there rose a huge shape of shadow, impenetrable, lightning-crowned, filling all the sky. Enormous it reared above the world, and stretched out towards them a vast threatening hand, terrible but impotent: for even as it leaned over them, a great wind took it, and it was all blown away, and passed; and then a hush fell."

GJTory

I did want Ken Clarke to do it - but I prefer C Powell's suggestion of David Davis.

He's not in the Shadow Cabinet and so would avoid dragging David Cameron in but would act as a brilliant lightening rod after the Brown shirts try to respond to the PM being called a liar.

disgusted

Trevor Kavanagh has written about Brown Lies.

He quotes an "ex-Cabinet minister" with

"People accused Tony of telling lies but Gordon is the biggest liar in modern politics. "

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/columnists/kavanagh/article2384927.ece

John Smith

If the Tory party do not do it soon, the leader of the Lib/Dems will.

Dorothy Wilson

The leading comment in the Sunday Times ended with the sentence: "It's [Labour's] current position is dishonest and untenable".

paul holdstock

i keep seeing this image.
it's a large steam engine,
with brown's face on the front of the boiler, like the locomotives in 'thomas the tank engine'.
the locomotives' name?
why. the "Lying Scotsman" of course.

David Belchamber

We don't take our chances; Theresa May did not contradict Liam Byrne on Newsnight last night when Byrne talked of the 'tories' 10 per cent cuts'. Balls was on C4 News just now and managed quite a bit on the tories 'cutting billions from the education budget to fund IHT perks for millionaires'.

The first thing to do is to refuse to continue with a debate until the Labour minister agrees to use correct facts and figures.

If that fails, then use the word 'liar' more frequently.

Boudicca

It would have much more impact if Frank Field or the blessed Vince Cable could be persuaded to stand up and accuse Gordon of lying.

Then Labour as well as LibDem and Tory voters would take note.

On the Tory side, how nice it would be for Norman (Polecat) Tebbit to accuse Lord Putrid ...

wonderfulforhisage

Please, please, please, less spin and more honesty. Pretty well all the above, including the comments, is based on how best to spin. Please, please, please, could somebody please, say it like (they consider) it is.