Labouring on
James Forsyth 12:08pm
Peter Riddell is not a man prone to hyperbole so when he writes that “The malaise is real and it is widespread. The Brown Government is in deep trouble” we should sit up and take notice. As Peter notes, much of the problem stems from the teething troubles surrounding the arrival of new people at Number Ten who have not meshed with the old team.
One of the oddest things about Stephen Carter’s new hires is why they keep talking to PR Week, hardly a subtle venue for strategic leaking. Philip Webster reports one Minister irritably asking, “What is going on here? Do people think they can go running to a trade magazine and somehow not have their thoughts end up in the national press? It is crazy and destabilising”.
When you consider what will probably happen in the next few weeks—Labour losing London, a bad set of local election results, Lord Levy’s book reigniting both the cash for honours row and the old Blairite-Brownite divide—it is tempting to say that things can only get worse for Brown. The Prime Minister desperately needs to get back on the front foot or the feeling that waiting until 2010 to is merely delaying the inevitable will begin to set in.
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Mike
April 3rd, 2008 12:32pm Report this commentAt the moment Brown is marking time until May/June 2010
Trumpeter Lanfried
April 3rd, 2008 12:56pm Report this commentI just love those library photos which you journos pull out to illustrate pieces like this: Brown attempting to laugh; Brown feeling collar and looking dodgy; Brown looking glum, etc. etc.
Not that I'm complaining. I love it.
On the same vein, the BBC always used low-angle photos of Margaret Thatcher to make her look domineering and level shots of Kinnock to make him look a regular guy. (I was told this by a BBC person.) Fat lot of good it did them.
Chuck Unsworth
April 3rd, 2008 1:28pm Report this comment"hardly a subtle venue for strategic leaking".
Depends what your strategy is. If you're in a job for a maximum of two years you might well be trying to raise your profile amongst potential employers.
Perhaps this might be regarded as part of the Great Career Plan. That assumes, of course, that potential employers are as gullible as one G Brown...
Simon
April 3rd, 2008 1:38pm Report this commentYet another wrong call by you guys. Only a few weeks ago we were being told that the arrival of Carter etc would transform No.10 and show up the weaknesses of Dave's team. Wrong again. These business pr types never do well at top level politics because they have no experience at the coal face.
Max Kaye
April 3rd, 2008 2:23pm Report this commentI agree with Simon. PR people are a waste of space. Pity that so much of my tax goes to pay for these parasites.
JAMES24
April 3rd, 2008 4:17pm Report this commentFor God sake the last thing we conservatives should do is misunderestimate not just Brown but the left in general we do that at our peril.
Neil
April 3rd, 2008 5:26pm Report this commentI caution anyone against writing off Brown and Livingstone, its gonna be a fight to the finish.
Fergus Pickering
April 3rd, 2008 6:39pm Report this commentLivingstone is a bonny fighter. Brown is a useless poetic epithet.
Ian C
April 4th, 2008 10:47am Report this commentA good PR man is worth his weight in £50 pound notes. The sign of a good PR man is one yowho is never talked about in public. Trouble is this requirement doesn't go with the ego of any one who is any good, for any length of time.
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