A passage in Rachel Sylvester’s column today quotes two Labour figures – one a Downing St adviser and the other a “normally loyal minister” – effectively accepting the “headless chicken” charge that the Tories aim at Brown & Co:
“The long succession of announcements may have diminishing returns,” a Downing Street adviser admits. “We’re burning up money, which can’t go on, and the frenetic activity makes us look like headless chickens.”
A normally loyal minister is even franker: “Gordon is behaving like the Leader of the Opposition rather than the Prime Minister. It’s all tactics rather than strategy. He makes an announcement, gets the headline then moves on when what really matters is making sure it works.” It’s more and more apparent that Labour needs to change tack if it’s to have anything like a chance for a fourth term. The “global problems” and “do nothing” mantras aren’t having the same traction as before Christmas, and that’s even before we get on to Brown’s ineffective measures to combat the recession.
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