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Category: Gordon Brown

Is Miliband being a bit premature about the leadership?

Is Miliband being a bit premature about the leadership?

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Has he “launched” his bid too early? There’s a story running on the Daily Mail site suggesting that Miliband (D) has started a nationwide tour as part of an effort to drum up support ahead of the leadership contest that is expected after the general election. An email has gone out to party activists saying that Miliband is holding number of public meetings across the country to answer questions on a wide range of issues, including, and not just restricted…

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So will it win back Labour votes in the marginals?

So will it win back Labour votes in the marginals?

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What’ll be the impact of the Brown/Morgan programme? At this stage before the general election the only thing that matters is whether Brown’s much-hyped TV programme with Piers Morgan is going to cause any more people to vote Labour in the seats where it matters. It’s certainly blanked out the rest of the political news agenda including yesterday’s explosive row between Andy Burnham and Andrew Lansley which Labour might have gained from. On the thread overnight comments were broadly favourable….

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Could Europe blow Brown off course?

Could Europe blow Brown off course?

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Can the government avoid the Greek debt trap? After the recent EU summit, a reporter asked Gordon Brown if UK taxpayers’ money would be go towards a rescue package for Greece. He said, after a lengthy preamble that “the discussions at the moment are within the euro area”. That’s very far from a denial. The Greek government’s funding crisis could spread to Britain’s political scene rapidly in two obvious ways: if the UK forms part of a bail-out for Greece,…

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Could this turn the tide for Labour?

Could this turn the tide for Labour?

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Was Brown right to take part in this interview? If the objective of the Piers Morgan interview has been to dominate the political news and block everybody else out of the agenda then Gordon Brown’s now infamous session, due to be broadcast on Sunday, has certainly done that. And given that getting blanket coverage on the telly, as we see during the conference season, leads to short-term poll boosts then we should expect Labour increases in the coming few days….

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Could Hattie’s man come a cropper in Erdington?

Could Hattie’s man come a cropper in Erdington?

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How would his selection go down with the locals? There’s a head of steam building up over the plans by Harriet Harman’s husband, Jack Dromey, to try to become Labour candidate in what has been the super-safe seat of Birmingham Erdington. Martin Kettle in the Guardian put it like this: “Not all appointments of family members are necessarily bad ones. But they pretty much all look bad. And they therefore bring dishonour not just upon the individuals involved, but upon…

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What’s the cumulative affect of all of this?

What’s the cumulative affect of all of this?

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Something else to throw Brown Central off-stride? Another day and another book looking at what goes on within Gordon Brown’s Number 10 written by someone who was close to the heart of the party and government. The latest is by Lance Price, deputy to Tony Blair’s communications director Alastair Campbell and the first part of its serialisation starts today in the Independent. One extract goes: “…When he believes a story is running out of control or that – the worst…

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So who’s winning the death tax skirmish?

So who’s winning the death tax skirmish?

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How many of these will there be before the day? I love politics in the raw. It’s all a spectator sport when it’s how parties and leaders handle issues and who is gaining the advantage. We dissect it here to the nth degree and I for one relish every minute. So today’s spat between Dave and Gord was entirely predictable. Yesterday the poster featured above started going up and Labour had to respond fast. What’s being attacked, that a charge…

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Is this the best team for Labour in opposition?

Is this the best team for Labour in opposition?

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Has a PM Dave most to fear from the Gord-Ed duo? For me the big news of the week was the report that Brown would not step aside from the leadership even if, as expected, Labour loses the election. For everything we know about Brown is that he loves power and he is not going to give up easily the job he strove after for so long – even though, after May, the chances of him remaining at Number 10…

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