Friday, May 01, 2009
Has Gordon Brown lost it?
The Telegraph reports that even Gordon Brown's cabinet colleagues think that he has lost control of the Labour Party and is spiralling towards defeat at the next General Election. He has now suffered two humiliating defeats in the course of a week, being forced to back down on his ill-advised proposals on members' allowances and on the Gurkha issue:
One minister close to Mr Brown told The Daily Telegraph: “We can still turn this round, but Gordon is not listening. He is lashing out and reacting to headlines. It’s all so reminiscent of the last months of John Major.
“If we don’t get our act together — and that means Gordon needs some better advice — we could go down to a defeat every bit as big as, if not bigger than, the Tories in 1997.”
Another Cabinet minister said: “Gordon is looking for someone to blame for the Gurkhas but he refused to see that we were in trouble and did not see it coming. Instead we had the spectacle of the Prime Minister, insisting at the dispatch box at 12.15, that the deal was the right one, only to be defied by dozens of our MPs only hours later.
“I am afraid we are giving the impression that we have lost control of our own side. We have to get a grip, give him better advice, otherwise there will be more talk of leadership challenges, which is the last thing we want.”
The report continues:
One loyalist minister conceded that Mr Brown has lost the respect of many of his own MPs.
“It’s a mess,” he said. “The biggest worry is that this isn’t just the usual suspects any more, it’s the decent, quiet guys who want to be loyal but can’t take any more. They look at Gordon and where we are now and they think we’re going to get slaughtered.”
A petition on the Downing Street website demanding his resignation has now attracted almost 36,000 supporters and, with polls predicting disaster at next month’s European and local elections, some Labour MPs predict an attempt to oust Mr Brown before the next general election.
A former minister said: “He’s in a very bad situation and he has lost a great deal of authority. It’s worse because it’s self-inflicted. Just because there is no single consensus candidate to replace him, it doesn’t mean he’s safe.”
The Prime Minister however has denied that his authority has been diminished. Perhaps he should get out more.
One minister close to Mr Brown told The Daily Telegraph: “We can still turn this round, but Gordon is not listening. He is lashing out and reacting to headlines. It’s all so reminiscent of the last months of John Major.
“If we don’t get our act together — and that means Gordon needs some better advice — we could go down to a defeat every bit as big as, if not bigger than, the Tories in 1997.”
Another Cabinet minister said: “Gordon is looking for someone to blame for the Gurkhas but he refused to see that we were in trouble and did not see it coming. Instead we had the spectacle of the Prime Minister, insisting at the dispatch box at 12.15, that the deal was the right one, only to be defied by dozens of our MPs only hours later.
“I am afraid we are giving the impression that we have lost control of our own side. We have to get a grip, give him better advice, otherwise there will be more talk of leadership challenges, which is the last thing we want.”
The report continues:
One loyalist minister conceded that Mr Brown has lost the respect of many of his own MPs.
“It’s a mess,” he said. “The biggest worry is that this isn’t just the usual suspects any more, it’s the decent, quiet guys who want to be loyal but can’t take any more. They look at Gordon and where we are now and they think we’re going to get slaughtered.”
A petition on the Downing Street website demanding his resignation has now attracted almost 36,000 supporters and, with polls predicting disaster at next month’s European and local elections, some Labour MPs predict an attempt to oust Mr Brown before the next general election.
A former minister said: “He’s in a very bad situation and he has lost a great deal of authority. It’s worse because it’s self-inflicted. Just because there is no single consensus candidate to replace him, it doesn’t mean he’s safe.”
The Prime Minister however has denied that his authority has been diminished. Perhaps he should get out more.
Comments:
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totally agree Peter. Just writtena similar post myself
http://chwythwrchwiban.blogspot.com/2009/05/long-slow-death-of-new-labour.html
http://chwythwrchwiban.blogspot.com/2009/05/long-slow-death-of-new-labour.html
He lost my respect years ago, with all the bickering about becoming leader, most knew he was not good enough. He has little man management, he has no personality.
He goes along with other what others tell him, hence when he said wait for my Vision most of us said nope nightmare.
But New Labour has changed to become a party struggling like hell to find a niche, Blair has gone now and most of his MP's are looking for a place to go, talk is they may well go to the Lib Dem's, sad to say the Lib Dem's have said this would be a great idea. What then welfare reforms from the Lib Dem's, throwing out Lib Dem's MP's and Blairite babes being unveiled, I hope not otherwise I'll be looking for another party to head off to, and we do not have to many left.
He goes along with other what others tell him, hence when he said wait for my Vision most of us said nope nightmare.
But New Labour has changed to become a party struggling like hell to find a niche, Blair has gone now and most of his MP's are looking for a place to go, talk is they may well go to the Lib Dem's, sad to say the Lib Dem's have said this would be a great idea. What then welfare reforms from the Lib Dem's, throwing out Lib Dem's MP's and Blairite babes being unveiled, I hope not otherwise I'll be looking for another party to head off to, and we do not have to many left.
So Peter I take it from the line of this post you would like to see Labour lose the election. Do we take it then that you want to see the Tories in office? It is difficult to draw any other conclusion given the Lib dems can't win. If neither party had a majority which would you want Clegg to support?
# posted by 
: 9:32 AM
: 9:32 AM
Patriot, your ability to add together two and two to get six never ceases to amaze me. Firstly the only opinion I express in this article is that the PM needs to get out more and listen to people.
What I do know is that Labour have blown it, that there is little difference between them and the Tories anyway and that asking me to make a choice is therefore irrelevant. If Brown loses the election it will because he deserves to do so. However, I have not see anything to suggest that Cameron deserves to win either.
Secondly, I clearly want the Liberal Democrats to win the next election and will not accept that they cannot do so until all the votes have been counted and I have been proved wrong. In that case I will then look at the verdict of the voters and form an opinion on what needs to happen next. Not that my view will count for much.
What I do know is that Labour have blown it, that there is little difference between them and the Tories anyway and that asking me to make a choice is therefore irrelevant. If Brown loses the election it will because he deserves to do so. However, I have not see anything to suggest that Cameron deserves to win either.
Secondly, I clearly want the Liberal Democrats to win the next election and will not accept that they cannot do so until all the votes have been counted and I have been proved wrong. In that case I will then look at the verdict of the voters and form an opinion on what needs to happen next. Not that my view will count for much.
Ok Peter I shall let you sit on your Lib Dem fence for now. But you know as the election approaches we on the left will relentlessly pursue you and your liberal democrat mates to be open and honest with the electorate about where you stand on this crucial issue. One thing is sure, if your right wing colleagues in London choose to support a Tory Westminister government, the Welsh people will extract a fearsome electoral price from the Lib dems in 2011.
# posted by : 5:12 PM
: 5:12 PM
What a choice, a right wing Labour government or a right wing Tory government. I dont accept that the Liberal Democrats at Westminster are on the right, in fact all the evidence indicates otherwise. What I do know is that we will be fighting to win the General Election and if we do not then we will be fighting to implement liberal policies.
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