How should the Tories respond to the Rawnsley allegations?

Dorothy Wilson

And perhaps someone should pick up the point made at the end of Nick Robinson's piece on the Today programme this morning.

Not long ago Mandelson was claiming that Brown had set out to destroy him. Now that same Mandelson is defending that same Brown against bullying.

However, the Conservatives and DC in particular need to play this carefully. As part of my work I've talked to a number of people who have been vicitims of bullying in the workplace. It is ironic how so often, whatever the evidence of the bullying, the situation somehow turns tail against the victim of it.

stephen

This is more than a dirty party political story now. This is about a man that the Sun calls "The Prime Monster"! Evidence is mounting of genuine flaws in his personality and can such an apparently volatile man be trusted with control of our nuclear weapons. Will a time come when HRH the Queen may have to exercise her rights as a constitutional Monarch? After all she sacked an Aussie PM a few years ago.

Sally Chatterjee

Why attack Brown on this? Most people just want the job done.

It's here that Brown's failed. He's been one of the worst Chancellors ever yet the Tories seem unable to expose his decade-long record of fiscal failure and bubble economics.

Let's have some substance please.

Vulture

Liebour is predictably trying to shift the story on to the confidentiality issue. This is the most scarlet of red herrings.

The issue is simple: almost everyone now knows that Bruin, now ludicrously pretending to be some sort of cuddly teddy bear, is in reality more like the owner of the Bates Hotel in Psycho. He even periodically drags out his old dead mum in justification.

This must be relentlessly hammered home. Bruin is a spiteful, evil-tempered, ugly sociopathic bully - utterly unfitted to be Prime Minister and often straying over the borderlines of sanity.

This is why the Bean/Stalin jibes and the spoof Hitler Downfall videos have such traction : we all knows they are uncomfortably close to the truth.

Cameron should taunt Bruin remorselessly over this at PMQs - Bruin has no sense of humour and is uniquely vulnerable because he is indeed a monster.

The cherry on the cake would be to find and pass to Andy Coulson a poor, battered Downing St. minion who's actually suffered
a Nokia air raid or similar.

Stevie

As the Labour Party are already smearing Christine Pratt their defence is ruined before it's even started. Bullying is a vile act, committed by cowards. And this particular coward, with his uncontrollable temper and huge ego has control over nuclear weapons. Of course the opposition should wade in.

Richard

This story is unravelling as we speak...In typical tory style.
The NB hotline now retrack claims that GB was involved. On SKY and BBC both presenters have poor scorn and ridicule all over this woman. Nice headline but under the surface as usual nothing of substance.
4 calls in 18 months and none of them directly connected to GB....could the complainant have an issue with the doorman or one of the police protection officers...who knows its a none story now.
A tory own goal AGAIN!
Why cant the tories get a decent leadership team and learn crying wolf every five minutes will only make them look like the little boy blue.

Billy Blofeld

Now that Gordon's henchmen have started to smear the anti bullying charity - the first priority is to stand up for them. We don't want another Dr David Kelly situation.

If the Tories act alone, they will fuel the fire.

Cleggy and Cameron need to club together and stand up for the charity and to call for an official statement into the wider allegations from Gus O'Donnell.

strapworld

The questions are, surely, IF Rawnsley's book is not true, SUE!

If this anti bullying charities allegation are not true, SUE!

Is the Prime Minister going to sue? Will he test the voractity of the claims in a court of law? This is an outrage against the Prime Minister of this Country.

If they are true he is unfit for office IF they are lies, as usggested, they must SUE.

That is the line I would be taking. BUT that would require leadership and Cameron aint a leader!

Nick

The most serious revelations (from a government point of view) in Rawnsley's books aren't directly about the bullying but that the bullying is Brown's personal reaction to his frustrations and inability to ever be able to take difficult decisions.

Rawnsley cites many people working with Brown who said he keeps deferring making decisions until he is 100% sure its the right decision. However by then the problem has moved on or got worse.

So whether its vacillating over whether to call an election, or all the dithering over what to do with Northern Rock (it spent months between getting into trouble and being nationalised) and now his deferring difficult decisions over what to do about the deficit.

Darling (sensibly) would like to start making some cuts now, ie Tory policy, but Brown just can't give him the green light. As a result the national economy just gets worse and worse.

This is the line that the likes of Cameron should take against Brown.

Leave the actual bullying incidents for senior backbenchers to ask about. MPs who can say "I never remember this type of behaviour in the Thatcher or Major Cabinet, and they had wars and crises to deal with."

Andy Leeds

I think you are right David. They should also attack his record at the Treasury, in clear and very simple terms.

2trueblue

The least Cameron says the better. A backbencher coming up with a very careful question at PMQs might be the better approach. It is all about perception. The media for once are on track, so let them work for a change. Liebore have had such an easy ride for 13yrs, let the medi do the job they should have been doing for that time.

Cameron has to be very savy and keep the pressure up on the day to day things that are going on. He needs to push the economy thread, and keep it all up to date as that is where the real issue for the electorate is
right now. He must make sure the data he has is correct and keep it coming. If using statistics they must be accurate to stand up. The media will carry the 'bully' story and Cameron must personally watch his step for Liebores little friends.

alan packham

I think it would be a really smart move to say absolutely nothing and let the discussion carry on around them. This would prevent their comments being presented as cheap & opportunistic by No10 spinners.

Richard

@Vulture

"Cameron should taunt Brown remorselessly"
So much for your anti bullying credentials

strapworld

RICHARD? get back in the number 10 bunker. It must be milking time in the kindergarten!
What utter and absolute nonsense. Labour cannot get at Mrs Pratt so they are now saying it is a Tory plot.

IF only the Tory party under Cameron was so bloody devious, then they would get somewhere against this evil regime.

RKing

The questions obvious..... "Have you stopped beating your staff Gordon?

Yes or No!!"

Boom Boom!!
The old ones are always the best.

Ed

There are a lot of questions to be asked about this charity. It's accounts for 2008 are overdue by 207 days according to the Charity Commission. It is run by a business that seeks to profit from referrals from the charity. There are serious questions to be asked about this charity and that's before we even get to the confidentiality aspect. That the Tories (and their friends in the media) are salivating over this goes to show how desperate they are and how blinkered they are by the facts.

Ed

Strapworld - on the contrary, it is very easy to get at Ms Pratt. One only has to make a cursory glance on the internet to find out that her organisation is at best 'dodgy' and at worst deceitful.

Sir Graphus

It's a nasty story that may well run for a while. But Cameron et al should stay well out of it.

Richard

the problem for the tories is.
the more they make this an issue the more they damage the "Call me Dave" clean image.
The issue of bullying is clear for all to see in most of the posts here...dirty tactics lies smears will always be associated with tory sleaze and fat cats.
How can the tories fight dirty after the last two weeks fiascos ......they cant hold the moral high ground.....or even the immoral low ground....try changing your party Mr Cameron and join UK if your dare

JONNY

Even if Richard is right (which he isn't), this story is a terminal killer for Brown.
It reinforces suspicions about GB already cluttered thick on the ground, wriggling around for many years back.

Pratt and Rawnsley - what a lethal Double Whammy.

JONNY

Good on yer Eddy
If the terrible truth comes out smear the whistle-blower with shit.
It's Number One in the Mandelson/Campbell Dirty Tricks Manual.

welease woger

Don't underestimate how damaging this is for Brown. There's a good chance this will be the event that starts the reversal of the trend of lower poll leads.

More importantly this will stick and completely blows Brown's "fairer society" strategy out of the water.

On another note, I can't believe the number of people who equate this type of behaviour with strong leadership. Bullying is weak leadership as it betrays a lack of self-confidence and makes the free exchange of ideas and opinions difficult which means that bad decisions are much more likely. A good leader is not afraid to have his opinions challenged and is wise enough to listen to the good advice of others.

Rhoda Klapp

Oh, I see. I thought it was all about the character of the PM, but it turns out to be a discussion of how dodgy a charity is. How could their allegations be true if they are late with their accounts? We should immediately suspend all dealings with organisations with dodgy account histories.

What is happening today is a magical indictment of the way our political class and media deal with things. Red herrings, fake denials couched in evasion, trick questions designed to discredit the innocent. Partisan positions in what should be a straightforward question of truth.

Disgusting. And this means you, trolls. And you, journalists who knew and said nowt.
EU? Labour party?

Vulture

Yes, we clearly have two new Downing St interns Richard and Ed ( unless that is Balls or Miliband?) on duty today monitoring Coffee House.

You can almost hear the Prime MOnster behind them, beflecking their screens and necks with his spittle as he does one of his famous McHitler ragin' furies.

They still haven't answered the two questions ;
1) Does Bruin abuse and bully his staff - and if not will be be suing Rawnsley and Pratt?
2) Is he a mentally unstable psycho not to be trusted in a shower?

Irene

This is interesting:

http://dizzythinks.net/2010/02/brown-admits-his-office-has-bullying.html

Chuck Unsworth

@ Ed

And your view is that these (multiple) allegations are thus totally without foundation?

Excellent!

Dan

Brown can defend a position as a "bully who has the interests of the country at heart." it also can fit well with a reforming agenda -" good man against a bad system."
Labour will blend this into the narrative they are writing for the campaign. If their answering questions about bullying, their not being asked questions about 12 disasterous years in power.
This is good news for Brown. I expect polls to confound the commentariat on this story.

Phil Coutie

Perhaps someone should be asking for assurances that staff in No.10 will not be abused or put under any unlawful pressure as a result of these events gaining a public airing.

Also, political journalists really should be asking the unions what efforts they are making to protect their members in Downing street from bullying and oppressive working conditions

toni

"Cameron should taunt Brown remorselessly"
He has, and he does regularly at PMQ’s , that is until he’s warned off by team Cameron, for his bullying!
This whole scenario with the helpline is preposterous. As strapworld says, if there were so many complaints about GB why hasn’t anyone, or all of them together, taken legal action against him, and put their money where their mouth is? Now that would be sensational.

It couldn't be, could it, that this whole scenario is a touch over egged now for political purposes, with the likes of editors here indulging in the Daily Mail reason d’etre of keeping the troops in a continual state of agitation? (cough)
Regarding bullying the Tories have nowhere to go with Cameron leading them, now if it were John Major ...

Ed

Oh dear, oh dear. A charity that is skating rather close to the edges of what is permissable under the terms of the Charity Commission is apparently still a trustworthy source of information. The Tories really are desperate. If they have told little white lies about the nature of their charity, what makes you think they'll tell the truth about this? You would have to be terminally naive to take this woman at her word.

Incidentally, whilst it is none of your concern, I have never even voted for the Labour party let alone worked for it. I don't trust them one bit but I trust this woman even less.

Ed

Rhoda Klapp:

"What is happening today is a magical indictment of the way our political class and media deal with things. Red herrings, fake denials couched in evasion, trick questions designed to discredit the innocent. Partisan positions in what should be a straightforward question of truth."

Couldn't agree more. The political class on both sides and the media have been in bed with each other for too long. The fact that the media, the charity and the Tories have got together on this one demonstrates the utter immorality of our political class and the media.

anne allan

Conservatives must steer well clear of these allegations. Leave it to the media.
BTW - as I understand it, the EU is about 12 years behind with its accounts. Are any Labour stooges suggesting we shouldn't do business with it?

JONNY

I'm getting the awful feeling Ed that you're swallowing The Great Leader hook line and sinker.
What a credulous chappy!

oldtimer

The lady from the anti-bullying site appeared on SkyNews this am. I thought she had a valid point to make - Mandelson denied bullying - she had emails from staff at No 10 saying they had been bullied (without naming names). So what was she to do? Stay silent? Or speak up? I think she was right to speak up. It seems that Hansard also records that there have been "less than five" cases reported re No 10 (see Dizzy`s blog).

She also added that she had emails from staff at No 10; I think I heard her say she had copies in her handbag. If so she is very wise. No doubt GCHQ is on the job of downloading/deleting her email files, and knosking on the door of her ISP, as I write.

Re Cameron and co, I think they should watch, open mouthed and silent, at this slow motion car crash. Labour`s attempts to change the issue by bullying the anti-bullying lady is almost beyond parody.

Ed

Does anyone take John Prescott seriously when he is in the defence corner in a bullying debate? Almost as credible as the charity in question.

Ed

Anne Allan - I can't speak for the Labour stooges, but I would certainly argue that we should distance ourselves from the EU.

Ed

JONNY - You can believe that if you want. The fact that I want to see Brown in the dock at The Hague alongside Blair and the rest of the Labour leadership suggests that you know less than you may think.

TrevorsDen

Labours response to bullying accusations is to bully the chaiman of the National Bullying Hotline.

Nothing new then.

Dear Richard. Blair in No10 - no bullying. brown in No10 accusations of bullying (several).

The hotline never accused Brown of bullying, they are far too careful for that. They clearly said there was accusations of bullying from within No10.
The sight of yet agin all you lefties with your head in the sand is quite pathetic.

Tories should concentrate on not the 'reign of terror' but the 'reign of error'

Maggie

They should point out the countless ways Gordon is bullying British citizens. He is even currently rushing through commitments to pass legislation that is designed to thwart the wishes of the electorate in the event that they scupper his ambitions by not voting Labour.

welease woger

Ed there is only one party "desperate" over this issue as your continuous presence here shows.

How is Mrs Balls by the way?

Dimoto

I really did LOL when I read this sentence from the ED entity:

"The fact that the media, the charity and the Tories have got together on this one demonstrates the utter immorality of our political class and the media".

How ridiculous is that !
Labour are solely responsible for corrupting and subborning the media, it's owners and editors, in this country.
It's the main thing that they do.

That is precisely why, despite every decent journalist knowing very well the utter depths of this government's incompetance and depravity, (including the detail of sociopath Brown's personality disorders), our print and TV media studiously ignore, (indeed collude in covering up), everything.

The vital "fourth estate" in this country no longer functions as a monitor of government. It's unfitness for purpose makes Westminster look like a haven of efficiency and openness.

Paul Hawkins

Ed, I hope you have some facts to back up your allegations? They are serious,so please be careful. Or are you wedded to the idea that anyone anti-Brown is a right wing nutter?

Verity

No one who intended to vote Labour is going to be dissuaded by this story. It's very "yah-boo-sucks to you!"

Richard

@Vulture

I take it you condone bullying as long as it is done under parlimentary priviledge by the opposition?
Lets have an investigation into tory misrepresentations of national statistics while we are at it. Vote Cameron and you get the Marx brothers as light entertainment thrown in.....Bargin!!!

Kennybhoy

Hey Speccie Techie in the Basement!

Where are my posts????

Hippo Chrissy

Why not get Andy Coulson to deal with this?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/23/andy-coulson-now-bullying-payout

Ed

Paul - what allegations are you referring to?