Browsed by
Category: Labour

Was Gord’s PMQ “blunder” what he really believes?

Was Gord’s PMQ “blunder” what he really believes?

Will he ever live the phrase down? There’s lots of material for the parliamentary sketch-writers this morning after Gordon Brown PMQ response to David Cameron is which he said “We not only saved the world..” Typical is Quentin Letts in the Mail: “..Saved the world’, eh? The hubris! It is one thing for Downing Street spin meisters to spout such nonsense but when a Prime Minister starts to believe his own propaganda we’re in trouble..In those moments immediately after the…

Read More Read More

Will welfare reform go through only with Tory support?

Will welfare reform go through only with Tory support?

How dangerous is such a radical package? As fore-shadowed in the Queen’s Speech the government has published its welfare reform white paper which, amongst many measures, seeks to get tough on claimants who are able to work. There’s little doubt that this will resonate will large sections of the electorate – but could it be a controversy too far in the run-up to an election? Marf’s cartoon sums it up – the measure might appear to be too tough for…

Read More Read More

Are savers the first to feel the impact?

Are savers the first to feel the impact?

Will Gord get the blame as incomes are slashed? What a difference a day makes? Yesterday morning’s main article featured the front pages from mostly the right wing press which were full of plaudits for Brown’s mortgage rescue plan. Today there’s a new side of the economy featured that threatens to undermine the living standards of millions and millions of voters. For it has taken another drastic cut in interest rates for the media finally to pick up something that…

Read More Read More

Did a minister have advance knowledge?

Did a minister have advance knowledge?

But has the story any impact beyond the Westminster village? The Green arrest affair has taken on a new turn this evening with a report by Iain Martin on the Telegraph “Three Line Whip” blog that “the strong rumour is that one minister with good police contacts did know and has remained well under the radar since the row erupted last week, for understandable reasons.” This, clearly, could have big ramifications because the most damaging thing for the government, surely,…

Read More Read More

Can Martin survive without Harman’s support?

Can Martin survive without Harman’s support?

Could the Speaker’s job now be on the line? Harriet Harman is in a very different category from every other member of the cabinet. For she owes her position of Deputy Leader to her successful campaign in last year’s election. Brown could sack her from his cabinet but he can’t fire her as his deputy. This has given an independence of action which she seems ready, when necessary, to use. As leader of the house she is in a position…

Read More Read More

Why can’t Gordon do spontaneity?

Why can’t Gordon do spontaneity?

Is this how the Tories will always trap him? It has, as predicted, been a gripping afternoon and on balance I think that the government has lost some ground. I thought that the Speaker, Michael Martin, made the best of a very bad hand and his frank explanations of where things went wrong will have bought him some more time. But for me the really intriguing element was the way that senior Tory figures managed to trap Gordon using what…

Read More Read More

Who’s going to come out of today on top?

Who’s going to come out of today on top?

Could the Tories have fired their big guns too early? In one sense today is a great victory for the opposition parties. Normally this annual set-piece event provides the peg for acres and acres of coverage on what the government is doing with the Tories and the Lib Dems struggling to get a look in. Well with the Green arrest likely to be dominating the headlines tonight that should be a minus point to Brown Central. But don’t underestimate them…

Read More Read More