Thursday, April 29, 2010
Those pesky live microphones
There have been many gaffs on live microphone in the past and today's papers list some of them, though I am not sure that George Bush's 'Yo, Blair' ranks up there with his successors claim that a concerned Labour voter was a 'bigoted woman'.
We are all human of course and we have all at some time said something in private that leaked out leading to an apology, but Gordon Brown's gaff has more far-reaching consequences.
Firstly, it seems to reinforce the image that he has been trying to shed of somebody who behaves differently behind closed doors to his public persona. It also reveals somebody who appears to be often insecure about himself and his actions, not always a bad thing as it at least shows that he is a worrier and a thinker.
More importantly though the gaff undermines Labour's own narrative. The elector Gordon insulted had genuine concerns about immigration that the Prime Minister seemed to assuage, but his subsequent labelling of those views as bigoted reflected on millions of voters who have similar concerns.
For a party that has carefully written its manifesto to play to this demographic by talking really tough on immigration it was a disaster. It said that the Prime Minister does not believe his own rhetoric and that must be a problem for Labour.
We are all human of course and we have all at some time said something in private that leaked out leading to an apology, but Gordon Brown's gaff has more far-reaching consequences.
Firstly, it seems to reinforce the image that he has been trying to shed of somebody who behaves differently behind closed doors to his public persona. It also reveals somebody who appears to be often insecure about himself and his actions, not always a bad thing as it at least shows that he is a worrier and a thinker.
More importantly though the gaff undermines Labour's own narrative. The elector Gordon insulted had genuine concerns about immigration that the Prime Minister seemed to assuage, but his subsequent labelling of those views as bigoted reflected on millions of voters who have similar concerns.
For a party that has carefully written its manifesto to play to this demographic by talking really tough on immigration it was a disaster. It said that the Prime Minister does not believe his own rhetoric and that must be a problem for Labour.
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Actually Peter, I think if you listen to the tape again, Gordon Brown says: "she's a Big Gutted Woman" and didn't accuse her of being a bigot at all.
Nice to see he spend time with this constituent of Rochdale, I wonder if he's spent any time with the families of service personnel who've been killed on active duty during his Prim Ministership?
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Nice to see he spend time with this constituent of Rochdale, I wonder if he's spent any time with the families of service personnel who've been killed on active duty during his Prim Ministership?
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