Will it be Balls in – Darling out? Lots of talk today about who would replace Alistair Darling as chancellor and one man whose name keeps on coming up is Ed Balls – the former public school boy who has probably the closest relationship with Brown of any minister in the cabinet. He spent more than a decade as his top advisor and has long been tipped for a top position in a Brown government. It was Balls who played…
Can we now expect fierce full-frontal attacks? What could be the most significant UK political development of the weekend was the news that Brown’s PR guru, Stephen Carter, has been “moved on”. This, according to James Forsyth of the Spectator Coffee House blog, could herald a major shift in Number 10s approach because Carter was a keen advocate of a more softly softly approach, particularly to David Cameron. He writes:”In recent weeks, Carter has been advocating not trying to tear…
What if Darling resigns over Gord’s £40bn plan? Three political stories dominate the Sunday papers and all point to just one conclusion – that we might be in the final phase of the Gordon Brown era. The first is in the Independent of Sunday which reports that Stephen Carter, the high-powered PR guru who was brought into Downing Street as Gord’s key strategist is to be moved to a new role. The second is the lead in the Mail on…
Should you be betting on an early Brown departure? The main story from BBC News overnight is the interview that Alastair Darling has given to the Guardian in which he says that Britain’s economic prospects are the “worst for 60 years”. The timing could not have been more significant as Brown prepares for yet another “relaunch” in order to try to stem the massive decline in Labour’s support that we have seen over the past six months. That was due…
Or are the fundementals just the same? With GB’s succeses in Beijing and the lack of any further moves on his leadership there is said to be a “mood of euphoria” surrounding the PM. The hope is that he’ll get through September unscathed so that his conference speech in Manchester will provide the platform for recovery. Brown is being helped as well by the dramatic political events across the Atlantic. For the next fortnight the main political focus wil be…
Is this why a cabinet re-shuffle could be a minefield? All of those old enough remember it – the speech to the commons by the deputy prime minister, Sir Geoffrey Howe, in November 1990 after he had resigned from Mrs. Thatcher’s cabinet. Click on the picture to watch. This was probably the most dramatic event that has been seen on TV from the Commons since the cameras were allowed in during the 1980s. For what Howe said that day and…
But does the poll ask the wrong question? The Guardian’s ICM poll for August is out and has the following shares compared with the last survey from the pollster earlier in the month – CON 44% (- 1): LAB 29% (nc): LD 19% (+3) So broadly little change except that that the dreadful rating for the Lib Dems from ICM that we saw at the start of August has now been reversed and Clegg’s party is back on 19%. The…
Is this the way to minimise another humiliating defeat? Â The Guardian writer Martin Kettle is one of many commentators to say that the timing of the Glenrothes by-election would be a major factor in determining whether or not Brown lives to fight another day. Since the death of John MacDougall, the Labour majority of 10,664 has been assessed and found to be unsafe in the face of the likely challenge of the SNP. It requires a smaller swing than…