Brown's Praetorians close ranks
James Forsyth 5:46pm
Ben Brogan, one of the most plugged-in journalists in Westminster, has a great scoop about a Brownite whipping operation which bypasses Geoff Hoon, the chief whip, and reports directly to the PM. Now, as Ben points out, Hoon has actually been quite successful as chief whip. This suggests to me that the real reason for the move is that the PM and his most loyal supporters believe they can no longer rely on Hoon; they fear that he will put the good of the party above that of the leader.
Hoon is mentioned in nearly every possible scenario for how Brown might be deposed. So in some ways it is not surprising that there are jitters about him among the Brownites. But cutting him out of the loop like this seems a sure-fire way to put distance between him and Brown. If Labour do lose Glasgow East, keep a very close eye on Hoon—Brown’s praetorians will.
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Comments
Wilfred
July 10th, 2008 6:32pmBrown's hierarchy of priorities (in descending order):
His own political interests;
His faction's political interests
His party's political interests;
His country's political interests.
(And there may be a case for adding 'The EU's political interests', in 4th place).
John
July 10th, 2008 6:45pmA case? That goes without saying, imo. In fact, I don't believe that 'his country's interests' get a look in.
TrevorH
July 10th, 2008 8:40pmRemind me ... what happened to Caligula?
Puncheon
July 10th, 2008 8:43pmWhat is his country, exactly?
Max Kaye
July 10th, 2008 11:32pmHoon as Sejanus?
john miller
July 11th, 2008 1:28amHoon is a willy after the main event.
Wet, soft and no use to anyone.
Faceless Bureaucrat
July 11th, 2008 7:17amHoon was always 'suspect' under fire (his peformance at the press conference when the death of Dr. David Kelly hit the media being a classic example - he simply froze). Brown's supporters cannot risk him falling-apart when faced by an angry mob of Labour backbenchers demanding he take a major role in toppling the Leader. From their point of view, Brown's people are right to by-pass him.