Can Labour move on from the Gurkhas issue?
When can they get the focus put on Cameron?
The political news this afternoon has been dominated, again, by the Gurkhas issue following the rejection by the UK Border Agency of four out of five residency test cases. This follows yesterday’s meeting between the Gurkhas’ campaigner, Joanna Lumley, and Gordon Brown.
Today’s decision led to interesting scenes and a hastily organised meeting at the BBC’s Westminster offices between Ms Lumley and the minister responsible, Phil Woolas.
Quite how the Prime Minister could have given the campaigners the assurances he apparently did without being aware of the Border Agency decision is quite remarkable. Joanna Lumley is a popular and hugely effective campaigner and the actions don’t make the government look good.
What it all means, of course, is that ministers seem to have lost another news cycle and we are one day closer to the general election. They desperately want the Tories to be put under scrutiny but instead things like this dominate the bulletins.