Much has been made about the tensions between the Brownite old guard and the Stephen Carter-led new guard at No.10. Those same tensions are now threatening to play havoc with Brown’s response to the speculation surrounding his position.
The initial response of “Brown’s allies” to Miliband’s infamous op-ed was all-out war. They briefed newspapers that the Foreign Secretary is everything from “immature” to “a traitor”. The word in Westminster is that that briefing came from the stable of Ian Austin / Damian McBride – the Brownite old guard. It wasn’t sanctioned by Brown, and even he’s said to have been taken aback by its ferocity.
Equally taken aback – and furious – is Stephen Carter. He’s behind the more reconciliatory message being put out by Downing Street, as reported in today’s Guardian and exemplifed by this quote yesterday:
“As we said yesterday, we agree with David that the whole party should pull together, take the fight to the Tories and focus on dealing with the real issues affecting people’s lives.”
Carter, it is said, has the PM’s full backing on this.
All indulgent Kremlinology? Perhaps. But there could be a serious point too. Brown needs his team to be operating at the top of their game at the moment. If it sends out anything like a mixed message, then the two sides could nullify each other – making life a whole lot easier for the leadership challengers. Will the Brownite attack dogs come to heel? Or will their personal vendettas against Team Carter get the better of them? One litmus test will be the content of this Sunday’s newspapers. Keep an eye out.
UPDATE: Word is that Brown has ordered McBride and Austin off for the Sunday press, realising internecine warfare would benefit no one. A two week truce – a
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