Blair's prescience
James Forsyth 10:15am
There’s a certain amount of Blair nostalgia in the Labour party at the moment as Gordon Brown struggles at Number Ten. That feeling is only going to be heightened by Rachel Sylvester’s column in the Telegraph this morning which contains this great bit of reporting: “When [Blair] heard his anointed successor announcing with a dramatic flourish at the end of his speech a cut in the basic rate of income tax (a cut which was to be paid for by the abolition of the 10p rate that had been slipped out earlier) his grin froze in horror.
He returned to Downing Street, complaining that the Budget was a disaster that "played into all the worst perceptions of Gordon".
Mr Brown, Mr Blair told colleagues, was trying to pull the wool over people's eyes by giving the impression that his Budget was a tax-cutting package when it was not. The whole thing would, he predicted, soon unravel.”
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Comments
kinglear
April 22nd, 2008 11:23amAh, love him or hate him, Blair had a feeling for what would work.
John
April 22nd, 2008 11:52amAnyone with an ounce of sense knew it wouldn't work. Field did. Osbourne did. I did. You don't need to be a brain surgeon, just someone with an IQ above room temperature.
PJ
April 22nd, 2008 12:44pmWhat John said.
Brown really does think he's very clever and that everybody else isn't. He should get out more.
EyeSee
April 22nd, 2008 12:47pmWould this be the same I-can-see-the-future Blair who buys property at the top of the market and always makes a loss? (And wrecked the country, education, hospitals, justice, trust etc and is never responsible for anything going wrong).
MartSharm
April 22nd, 2008 1:32pmApart from brazen showmanship, does anyone know why Brown has done this? It's obvious it would blow up in his face. I'm thinking Brown is destined for self-destruction.
CS
April 22nd, 2008 2:13pmAm I the only one who finds the most appalling aspect of this anecdote to be the fact that listening to the actual Budget speech was the first that Blair had heard of the proposal?
CS
April 22nd, 2008 2:17pmIt also ought to put paid to the myth that Brown's greatest electoral asset was always his dedication to helping the poor.
He shafted those on low incomes for no other reason than to produce a headline-stealing gimmick.
dave, surrey
April 22nd, 2008 2:45pmthe question that should be asked of all the current labour rebels is why didn't you make such a fuss a year ago? Of course back then Mr Brown still had some credibility, now he's dead in the water. Expose them for the opportunists they really are.
A V
April 22nd, 2008 3:21pmJames, it's Tuesday. Isnt the coffee house tradition to say "Rachel Sylvester's must read column" or something gushing? You're right, its always brilliant. But your failure to be effusive has robbed me of one of my Tuesday treats.
HANS V.D. RECHTS
April 22nd, 2008 3:25pmsO lABOUR UNDER bROWN WANT TO SOAK THE POOR TO PAY FOR THE RICH , S TAX CUTS. REMEMBER HOW THE SHEEP CHEERED WHEN BROWN ANNOUNCED IT IN HIS BUDGET. NOW WE HAVE A TV CHANNEL ONLY FOR PARLIAMENT GET THE VIDEO AND SHOW THAT TO ALL THE VOTERS
TrevorH
April 22nd, 2008 5:57pmCS -
Browns problem is one of self delusion. He thought he was helping the poorer with his tax credits and other such bits of central planning, social direction.
That might work in his fantasy world but not in the real one.
But the reason I believe behind it all was to prepare his way to be elected leader, to curry favour with the labour party. A typical Brown piece of applause winning smoke and mirrors.
Its fitting the trick has blown up in his face.