The BBC reports. This is big. More soon. UPDATE: Nick Robinson says that Purnell wants to force a leadership batle, and calls on Brown to stand down. Tomorrow’s Sun and Times carry his resignation letter. Apparently, Purnell “isn’t seeking the leadership”. The quotes that Robinson read out make this sound like a bit of a
There are plenty of rumours swirling around the Wesminster washbowl, but two are worth pulling out in particular. The first comes courtesy of Danny Finkelstein (who is, incidentally, running a useful rolling post over at Comment Central on the latest leadership gossip): “Contrary to all previous reports, rumours are now circulating that Alistair Darling would
In his analysis of Blears’ resignation letter and Brown’s response, the Times’s Philip Collins picks up on one of the strangest minor details of the entire saga: neither letter, in 12 whole paragraphs, contains one full-stop. As Collins quips wonderfully: “No full stop appears in either letter. New Labour began with no verbs and it
And so we come to Election Day 2009. But the voting itself is being overshadowed by the melodrama on Downing Street; or at least being anticipated through the prism of What It All Means for Gordon. For any CoffeeHousers who have been out of the country for the past few days – and even those
Ok, so maybe we’re all going a bit reshuffle crazy in Westminster, but here’s a theory about Tom Watson’s resignation that just popped into my head. Imagine, if you will, that you’re the Dear Leader and you hear that Jacqui Smith’s resignation has leaked. This wasn’t Downing St-sanctioned information, and it’s certainly not part of
So is this one of the thousand cuts? Or perhaps even the killing blow? The SNP and Plaid Cymru are tabling a motion calling for the dissolution of Parliament, and it will get debated in the House next Wednesday afternoon. The Lib Dems have come out in support of it, and William Hague has said
Unbelieveable. It’s going from bad to worse to apocalyptic for Labour. The latest news is that Tom Watson – a key Brown ally, and minister for digital engagement – is set to resign as well. The main question doing the rounds in Westminster is whether this spate of leaks is designed to undermine Brown; whether
Here are Theresa May’s answers to the questions put forward by CoffeeHousers last week: John Moss “Is a time of financial crisis when many people are losing their jobs not the best time to push through radical reform of welfare to gain public trust in the system and get control of cost.” John, I agree
And so the expenses fiasco looks set to claim its biggest scalp yet – in the form of the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith. To be honest, it’s not much of a surprise: Smith – with her bathplugs and her husband’s porn rentals – became the embodiment of the scandal a couple of months back, and
So say Sky. More soon.
Absolutely worth reading Rachel’s Sylvester column in the Times today, on the growing frenzy inside the Cabinet. There are plenty of noteworthy snippets about Ed Balls (e.g. “Lord Mandelson’s allies suspect the Schools Secretary of spreading rumours that he would be moved to the Foreign Office because he wanted him out of the way”), but
Anyone who thinks that Cabinet members will immediately come out against Brown in the aftermath of this week’s elections had better take a look at this quote in today’s Mirror: “One senior figure said pressure will ‘ratchet’ up on the PM if Labour slips to third or fourth place. He added: ‘There is no person
Oh dear. The pressure really is on Alistair Darling now. After the revelations about his serial flipping, today’s Telegraph flags up another potential misdemenour on the Chancellor’s part: that he claimed parliamentary expenses on a south London flat which he rented out, while also claiming second home allowances for his grace-and-favour properties. Not only does
There’s something grimly hilarious about the frontpage headline of the Sunday Times today: “Gordon Brown wants Ed Balls as Chancellor”. Sure, we’ve known that for years, but now it sounds as though the Dear Leader may actually be on the verge of making it happen. The story goes on refer to a “top-level leak” from
Well, well, well – it just goes from bad to worse for Labour. A new ICM poll for the Sunday Telegraph has them behind the Lib Dems when it comes to general election voting intentions. The Tories are well ahead on 40 percent (up 1), then it’s Clegg & Co. on 25 percent (up 5),
As it’s Friday, and with the elections coming next week, here’s a poll triple-header (after the jump) for CoffeeHousers. The three questions are very much interrelated, and are certainly doing the rounds here in sunny Westminster. We’ll keep them running until 1230 next Monday. Online Surveys & Market Research Online Surveys & Market Research Online Surveys & Market Research
This snippet from today’s Guardian tells you everything you need to know about Labour morale at the moment: “Gordon Brown is facing an escalating crisis of confidence inside the parliamentary Labour party as record numbers of his MPs apply to sit in the House of Lords after the next general election. In the clearest indication
Now that Damien McBride’s out of the picture, just who will Brown use to take out his political opponents? Well, David Blunkett seems like he could do a thorough job. He’s got an article in the Guardian which takes the fight to the AV+ voting system proposed by the Man Who Would be King, Alan
It’s typical, isn’t it? Coffee House decides to stop working for a couple of hours and, in the meantime, two MPs confirm that they’re going to stand down. You’ve probably caught the news elsewhere on the good ol’ blogosphere but – yes – Margaret Moran and Julie Kirkbride won’t be running for Parliament in the
Will the elections on 4 June finish off Gordon Brown? The theory that an embarrassing result for Labour – finishing behind the Lib Dems and/or UKIP – could trigger a leadership challenge gets frequent hearings in Westminster. And now Guido blogs that plans are afoot, with David Miliband and Alan Johnson readying their “campaign teams”.