Charles Clarke certainly didn’t say all he wanted to in his New Statesman article yesterday. He’s just filled in some of the gaps, and spelt things out more clearly, with a punchy interview on the Today programme. Sure, we know he’s not keen on Brown, but the severity of what he said was surprising nonetheless. Here’s a selection:
“There are many, many people now who are concerned about his ability to win the election. That is an almost universal feeling. But there is no clarity about a course of action …. The first [option] is for the performance of the government needs to improve significantly or, the second is for Gordon Brown to stand down as prime minister with honour and have a proper leadership contest …. It’s a question of months really, whether he can deal with the situation. I am personally sceptical, I always have been, but I also think it is quite possible he could turn it around …. Best for the country and the party would be if Gordon made his own mind up … and decided it had come to a point where it’s better to go with honour,”
It’s quite remarkable how Clarke – a one man wrecking-ball – has set about demolishing the truce that Labour had established. It’s as good as demolished Brown’s chances of a successful relaunch too. Perhaps the only consolation for the PM is that Clarke seems to confirm that no-one’s quite ready to topple Brown just yet (“there is no clarity about a course of action”). Could Clarke? He denies that he’s going to stand as a stalking horse candidate. But, whether that’s true or not, he’s certainly causing enough trouble in the meantime.
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