Just back from a day away to the big news. Yes, it's humiliating for Brown. Yes, his advisers are clearly not merely inept but a massive liability. Never forget it was his advisers who set the election hare running and then hyped it to the nth degree. Yes, Brown will never again be able to portray himself convincingly as a man on a mission. He now looks like a ditherer - just as he was in 1994.
But. He would have been stark staring mad to have called an election after the polling evidence.
But who is the big loser?
My money is on Ming. The man is a waste of space and the only reason he remained in place was because the LibDems couldn't remove him so near to an election. Now we know there won't be one until 2009, what possible reason do they have for keeping the useless old fool?
The next election will still be decided on the ishoos.
For what it's worth, my dismissal of David Cameron as a shoddy PR salesman has been tempered. If the Tories really are to offer school vouchers and Wisconsin style welfare reform then I'd unhesitatingly give them my vote.
Sent from Blackberry
Just back from a day away, to the big news. Yes, it's humiliating for Brown. Yes, his advisers are clearly not merely inept but a massive liability. Never forget it was his advisers who set the election hare running and then hyped it to the nth degree. Yes, Brown will never again be able to portray himself convincingly as a man on a mission. He now looks like a ditherer - just as he was in 1994.
But he would have been stark staring mad to have called an election after the polling evidence, as I wrote the other day.
Of course it will have implications for the way Brown is perceived and thus for the next election. Is he the big loser, however?
In the medium term, I'd say no. The real loser is Ming. The man is a waste of space and the only reason he remained in place was because the LibDems couldn't remove him so near to an election. Now we know there won't be one until 2009, what possible reason do they have for keeping the useless old fool?
The next election will still be decided on the ishoos.
For what it's worth, my dismissal of David Cameron as a shoddy PR salesman has been tempered. If the Tories really are to offer school vouchers and Wisconsin style welfare reform then I'd unhesitatingly give them my vote.
Sent from Blackberry
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Toby Belch
October 7th, 2007 10:35amIf even Pollard is voting Tory then we have a landslide on our hands
Praguetory
October 7th, 2007 5:39pmStephen - I'm a massive fan of your writing and your political views. I share your appetite for radical welfare and education reform and find myself agreeing with you probably more than any other journalist. Given that affinity and your integrity (I don't think you're posturing) why is your vote up for grabs? I can't imagine what reasonable alternative to voting Conservative a man like could consider at this time. I look forward to your enlightenment.