Remote plotting
James Forsyth 10:51am
About the only thing Gordon Brown has got right in recent months is scheduling by-elections so that when the results come in, MPs have left Westminster. This makes it more difficult for those Labour MPs who want to remove Brown to mobilise support.
As Fraser noted in his papers round up last night, there is plenty of talk of a leadership challenge in the papers this morning. The quote that stood out to me came from Graham Stringer, a Labour MP who has already called for Brown to go:
The formal mechanism for removing Brown takes far too long: it will have to be the men in grey suits who do for him. To that end it is worth noting, as Nick Robison does, that we have not yet heard from Jack Straw. I also cannot remember seeing Geoff Hoon touring the TV studios in the last 36 hours. These are the two men to watch"A majority of Labour parliamentary private secretaries now think there should be a leadership election and the main debate is when it should take place," he said. "I am absolutely certain from my personal knowledge that soundings are being taken from the top of government at the present time on how to get rid of him."
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Trumpeter Lanfried
July 26th, 2008 11:48am Report this commentSee what giants of the labour movement have come out to give Brown their unequivocal support:
Des Browne
David Blunkett
Mohammad Sarwar
Stephen Ladyman
Er ... That's it
Drew
July 26th, 2008 11:58am Report this commentBuff Hoon did C4 News last night from Warwick, in fairness.
(Admittedly it was all speak-your-weight stuff, but the chap did put up with a strangely under-rehearsed Jon Snow for a few desultory minutes.)
Stu
July 26th, 2008 12:00pm Report this commentI'd like to see an 'Open Leadership Election' as a possible choice for the future of our party system. Brown should never have moved uncontested to the most important governmental position in the country. Labour shouldn't replace him without a proper election.
I think the public should be brought in - allow the people to vote on who should be the next leader of the Labour Party (and hence Prime Minister). Wouldn't it be great to have a directly elected head of the government, within the party system? Taking a leaf out of the 'open primaries' book would be a breath of fresh air to British high politics.
Teledu
July 26th, 2008 12:25pm Report this commentDuring this long Parliamentary break, surely now is the time to hammer home to the public the inadequacies of Brown's time at No11 and No10: no point in elaborating tory plans too much. All they have to say is surely that, with the nation's finances so unhealthy and likely to get MUCH worse by 2010, it's impossible to forecast the necessary policies a new government might have to introduce.
Just as zanuLabour apparatchiks persist in regurgitating the same old baloney (Gordon's the man with the experience; inflation low; record years of growth etc.) - which no one surely now believes, let's have opposition spokesmen repeatedly hammering home some of the following:-
Low pound and the effect it has on food prices.
Size of national debt when Northern Rock, Railtrack buy-off and future state sector pensions included.
Comparative wealth of nation's finances when Labour took power in 1997 compared to now.
Cock-up over Sats.
Cock-up over single-payment scheme for English (but not Scots and Welsh) farmers.
First foot-and-mouth debacle.
Private pensions holed below the waterline.
Vehicle Excise Duty rises hitting the (almost) most vulnerable.
Increased numbers dependant on benefits.
Shrinkage in UK manufacturing.
Increase in spin and amount of taxpayers money used to pay for it.
Immigration and loss of border control.
Refusal to have referendum on Lisbon constitution.
10p tax fiasco.
Diminution of personal freedom.
War in Iraq based on " dodgy" scenario.
Council tax rises.
House of Lords reform botched.
Cash for honours.
HIP's introduced just as the house market gets the spam-fritters.
No monies left in the kitty after 11 years of "prudence" during a time of worldwide growth to help reduce the tax/fuel duty burden now that times are hard.
I could go on - but I might start getting depressed at the buggerment they've put us through.
Silent Hunter
July 26th, 2008 3:30pm Report this commentTeleDu:
That's an impressive list you've got there! ;O)
Silent Hunter
July 26th, 2008 3:32pm Report this commentTrumpeter:
Of the 4 mentioned - I know of 2 who are so deep in sleaze & ordure themselves that they require snorkels to breath. LOL
As a clue -
One can't see it & the other one you wouldn't see in it.
john problem
July 26th, 2008 4:23pm Report this comment'Twas very bliss to be in Tuscany when Glasgow East hit the fan. Actually me and my fellow cadres in the labour movement are not plotting to get rid of Gorrdie. We are going to make a deal with him - we are going to reason with him. He wants to stay PM (surely he is a masochist) whilst we want the Unions to have more say. He wants to plug the hole in the party accounts whilst we want the Unions to have more say. There is going to be an accommodation - believe me. And if, against the odds, Gorrdie wimps out, we have our secret weapon - one of the ladies in the Cabinet has been listening sympathetically to us. And we to her ambitions.
Joe Mooney
July 26th, 2008 6:20pm Report this commentWe are all going down with Gordon Brown. As a listner said on Any Answere today he is a Duffer and he has got to go.
Joe Mooney
July 26th, 2008 6:35pm Report this commentWe are all going down with Gordon Brown.
As a listner to Any Answers said on radio 4 today GB is a duffer and he should go now.
Fergus Pickering
July 27th, 2008 10:48am Report this commentStu, do I getto vote on thenextLabour leader under your system? I which case I castmy vote for Hazel Blears and urge all right-thinking Coffee housers to do the same. Of course it should really be Peter Hain, but even matters of high statecraft could not move me to vote for that man.
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