Here’s a recap of the gossip around the bars last night..
1. Early election: Perhaps Brown started this hare running to wrong-foot the Tories, then came to take it seriously himself. Now the hype is so big, that perhaps Brown can’t stop it and will look cowardly if he doesn’t go now. He’s leaning towards a later election.
2. Bible: Plenty jokes about witch trials, Bible branding and Wicker Man style politics. “It made me feel like I was back in the Western Isles” says one fellow Scot down here. But obviously its part of the Brown brand. Hardly a day goes by without him reminding us that his dad was a Kirk minister.
3. Blairites: For all the talk of unity, the artists formerly known as Blairites (a bit like Blake’s Seven post-Blake) are still on the prowl, gently pointing to shortcomings in Brown’s speech and strategy. But there is no Labour split: the party genuinely seems more united than ever.
4. Gordon’s Smile: For those of you who thinks he only smiles when cameras are there, think again: a grin has been on his face at every party he was at (he spent ages at the Telegraph party, where Mrs Brown was at her charming best).
5. NHS reforms: The lefties gleefully point out how Gordon’s NHS reform will likely mean less, not more, private sector involvement. All his initiatives take as their premise the top-down Baldrick “I have a cunning plan” approach “let’s deep clean hospitals, bet no one’s thought of that before”. Blair believed the market best allocated resources: Brown does not. His ideas are finally on top
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