In an interview in today’s Daily Telegraph, former Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell, who quit the cabinet during the local and European elections last month, has said he lost faith in Gordon Brown as leader six months ago.
This has prompted the ‘never say die’, government faithful to pop their heads above the parapet.
Home Secretary Alan Johnson, also in the Telegraph, said that Mr Brown is the "best man for the job".
Ex-Defence Secretary John Hutton, this time speaking on the BBC's Straight Talk programme, said Mr Brown had "many, many talents" and it was a "tragedy" voters did not see them.
OK John, tell Gordon to show us these talents and we’ll have a look at them!
Meanwhile, back to Mr Purnell who stated "It's a very different feeling being twelve years into government from the idealism of the start, but we need to recapture that idealism, not by living in the past or by aping New Labour or just sticking to the old tunes.
We need to open up New Labour, reinvent it and then eventually move beyond it."
Try running that one past the traditional flat cap toting, whippet owning voter who, back in 1997 thought that he was voting for the good old red flag waving Labour Party. See what they think about your New Labour now!
Showing posts with label New Labour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Labour. Show all posts
Saturday, 18 July 2009
Thursday, 30 April 2009
The End Is Nigh!
Poor old Gordon Brown. He must be wondering today if even his wife and kids love him.
What a week for him! His Chancellor was caught out lying about the speed of economic recovery, less than two days after his Budget. To keep face with his party, he had to do a temporary U turn on MPs second homes, and now, probably the worst moment of his career, the one that even the political commentators didn't see coming, he has suffered his first defeat in a Commons vote.
When Lib Dem leader, Nick Clegg called for a motion to offer all Gurkhas equal right of residence in the UK, the Government were expected to win, if only by the skin of their teeth. But lose they did, the motion being carried by 267 votes to 246, with 27 labour rebel backbenchers voting in favour of it, even though Mr Brown tried to do a deal with them. This in effect means that Mr Brown was defeated by his own party!
This was the first time that a government had lost an opposition day debate since Jim Callaghan in January 1978, and fourteen months later he was forced to call an election.
Mr Clegg must have been feeling smug, it was the Lib Dems biggest Commons victory in their twenty one year history.
As soon as the result was announced there were shouts of “resign!”. Perhaps this should have been offered as a motion as well!
This was one battle the Gurkhas weren’t expecting to win, but in the end, justice prevailed.
It’s not cut and dried yet but I’m sure it wouldn’t be presumptious to open the champagne bottle.
Even if Mr Brown reneges on this one, the Gurkhas have kick started the beginning of the end of New Labour, and I for one salute them for that!
What a week for him! His Chancellor was caught out lying about the speed of economic recovery, less than two days after his Budget. To keep face with his party, he had to do a temporary U turn on MPs second homes, and now, probably the worst moment of his career, the one that even the political commentators didn't see coming, he has suffered his first defeat in a Commons vote.
When Lib Dem leader, Nick Clegg called for a motion to offer all Gurkhas equal right of residence in the UK, the Government were expected to win, if only by the skin of their teeth. But lose they did, the motion being carried by 267 votes to 246, with 27 labour rebel backbenchers voting in favour of it, even though Mr Brown tried to do a deal with them. This in effect means that Mr Brown was defeated by his own party!
This was the first time that a government had lost an opposition day debate since Jim Callaghan in January 1978, and fourteen months later he was forced to call an election.
Mr Clegg must have been feeling smug, it was the Lib Dems biggest Commons victory in their twenty one year history.
As soon as the result was announced there were shouts of “resign!”. Perhaps this should have been offered as a motion as well!
This was one battle the Gurkhas weren’t expecting to win, but in the end, justice prevailed.
It’s not cut and dried yet but I’m sure it wouldn’t be presumptious to open the champagne bottle.
Even if Mr Brown reneges on this one, the Gurkhas have kick started the beginning of the end of New Labour, and I for one salute them for that!
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