James Forsyth is former political editor of The Spectator.
A new Channel 4 / YouGov poll has further weakened the Prime Minister’s position. It shows that more Labour members want him out by the autumn than want him to stay and fight the election. Party members are usually the last group to turn against the leader so the numbers are particularly harmful and may
Events moved so fast yesterday it was easy to overlook the most important development of the day: Gordon Brown couldn’t move his Chancellor. Every Brown supporter who has fanned out across the media in the past few days has stressed that Brown should stay PM because he is the man best placed to lead Britain
The Guardian’s tick-tock of how Peter Mandelson and Number 10 prevented a full-scale Cabinet revolt after news broke of James Purnell’s resignation reveals just how easily the Cabinet were brought off: “These ministers believe they have won two assurances. First, that cabinet ministers such as Alistair Darling will not again find themselves briefed against. There was
Nick Raynsford just delivered perhaps the most articulate on-the record version of the rebels’ case that we have heard. Raynsford stressed that periods where government have huge majorities and the opposition are in chaos are not conducive to proper Parliamentary scrutiny—pointing both to Thatcher’s second term and Blair’s first two. Interestingly, a lot of the
Andrew Sparrow reports that Stephen Byers and Caroline Flint will address a Progress debate on the future of the Labour party on Monday. I somehow suspect that both of them will be saying that Brown should be part of the party’s past not its present or future.
For many on the Labour side this was the bell-weather. Before the election the council’s composition was Labour 38, Tory 14, Lib Dem 10 and independent 2.
His Chancellor has cut off his Balls
For the last year and a half or so, there’s been an invisible primary going on between David Miliband and James Purnell. The contest between these two friends was to be regarded as the candidate of their generation and side of the party, the one that the other would have to defer to. David Miliband
The Tories are cock-a-hoop this morning. They now have the prospect of a year of a battering a government with a Prime Minister who is so weak he can’t reshuffle his Cabinet as he wishes and a Chancellor who everyone knows does not command the confidence of Number 10. If Labour is polling in the
The BBC are reporting that John Hutton–the man who predicted that Gordon Brown would be a ‘fing disaster as PM’–is leaving the Cabinet.
Brown didn’t have the cojones to makes balls Chancellor and so one potential trigger for multiple Cabinet resignations has been avoided. But the country now has a Chancellor who everyone—including the markets—knows is not the Prime Minister’s first choice for the job. What authority will Darling now have when he pronounces on economic matters? Brown
Update: Nick Robinson on the BBC saying Miliband won’t go. Update 2: This Week is saying that Miliband and Hutton have said they disagree with Purnell’s decision. The word on the street which I haven’t confirmed is that David Miliband will go tomorrow.
As we all await ten o’clock (and there’ll be full coverage on Coffee House if anything kicks off then) and the second editions of the paper to see where the plot stands, it is worth looking at the best and worst conclusions to the Labour leadership crisis for the two main parties: Worst for Labour,
Late last week, we asked who should sing for Labour? (There had been reports that the party was having trouble finding a big name musical act for its annual fundraising do). Thomas Fry came up with the clever suggestion of Gordon Brown singing The Beatles’ ‘I don’t want to spoil the party so I’ll go’.
The question of whether Brown makes Balls Chancellor is still generally regarded as the key to what happens next. But it is worth pointing out that there is a huge danger to Brown in backing down now that he has gone so far: talking about Darling’s tenure at the Treasury in the past tense and
In public, the pause button has been pressed on the plot against Brown. The broadcasters cannot report because of election law and Labour MPs are keeping their counsel until the polls close. Of course, behind the scenes the plotting–from all I’m hearing–is continuing apace. There are rumours circling about which Minister, MP or party grandee will
Obama’s speech to the ‘Muslim world’ in Egypt was full of necessary fictions. But more substantively it set out what Obama sees as seven areas where progress must be made if tensions are to be eased: the fight against violent extremism, Israel / Palestine, Iran’s nuclear ambition, democracy, religious freedom, womens’ rights and economic development.
YouGov has just released a European Election voting intention poll and it has Labour in third behind UKIP. The poll has the Tories on 26, UKIP 18, Labour on 16, the Lib Dems 15, the Greens 10 and the BNP on 5. However, if those not certain to vote are included the numbers become the
Jack Straw has just been on Channel 4 News drawing contrasts between Jacqui Smith’s ‘dignified’ exit and Hazel Blears’. Straw made clear that he didn’t think Smith had leaked the news of her own departure, saying he had known about it for a month. Straw seemed happy to imply that he shared the rage that
And it is reporting that Blears might speak to the media tonight. Stay tuned.