Purnell's speechwriter pushed for trashing Brown
Fraser Nelson 7:34pm
Not so long ago, James Purnell released a speech on Microsoft Word format. This excites Tory researchers, who inevitably get hold of it, as they can interrogate the document - look for any revisions and, of course, the author. The "author" of the Purnell speech was one Phil Collins, who used to do work for Tony Blair. The smarter Tories (and I include Purnell's shadow, Chris Grayling, amongst them) would have realised this is bad news. Collins is one of the more clued-up Labour people, who gets what Brown doesn't and can find a vocabulary to reach out to the people now deserting Labour in droves. So news that Collins has been sent packing, due to a disobliging (but entirely accurate) piece he wrote about Labour's current state of affairs, is truly news to cheer the Tories. The more distance Brown puts between his party and the ideas that won it three elections, the larger the Cameron majority will be.
PS I'm back from Afghanistan now, but not quite back in Britain. Will send that full report I promised soon!
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Water
May 29th, 2008 8:08pm Report this comment"The more distance Brown puts between his party and the ideas that won it three elections, the larger the Cameron majority will be" never has a void been so appealing.
Oscar
May 29th, 2008 9:07pm Report this commentThe question is what ideas does Brown actually embrace? He clearly doesn't like Collins - too Blairite and too critical - but what ideas does he like? Not, I think, the Fabian and Compass tendency pushing for a move to the left. Apart from the usual grandstanding a la yesterday's staged oil meeting in Scotland, what on earth does Gordon Brown stand for?
Perry
May 29th, 2008 9:30pm Report this commentTruth hurts?
molesworth 1
May 29th, 2008 9:49pm Report this commentI know Purnell was on the front cover the other week lads, but just how much DID you punt on newSunnyJim in the celebratory haze of Bozza's victory party?
TrevorH
May 29th, 2008 10:50pm Report this commentI am not going to vote for anybody who looks like Val Doonican.
Pathetic I know ... but I remember labour taking the mickey out of Lord Hulme.
BTW - opinion poll latest - tory 47 labour 23
Frank Pulley
May 30th, 2008 2:25am Report this commentPlease confirm Fraser: the implicit admiration of young Jimmy in your recent posts is a ruse to undermine him in the cabinet, isn't it? On the other hand, molesworth 1 is a shrewd cookie and it could be punting, rather than politics.
Either way, why queer Purnell's pitch? He would be the ideal replacement if they do top Gordon: one w*****r for another. Good news for the Tories.
Austin Barry
May 30th, 2008 8:31am Report this commentChairman Brown has declared Collins an unperson and for those of us who support our Beloved Leader in his heroic efforts to increase production on all fronts and press the successful wars in Eurasia, that is doubleplusgood.
Alex R
May 30th, 2008 10:06am Report this commentFraser,
There is more to this. Carter had asked Collins to be Brown's speech writer. Collins however refused saying that it was impossible to humanise Brown's speeches. So this is as a much a dog in the manger episode as it is about tolerating criticism.
David Lindsay
May 30th, 2008 4:26pm Report this commentJames who?
Hysteria
May 30th, 2008 6:36pm Report this commentRead the Collins article linked above. He is hitting on an important truth I think - it is not (just) about Mr Brown's character - there is a more fundamental shift going on that if Labour don't grasp they will go the same way as the communist party - an interesting political experiment that lasted just over 100 years
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