Most people know the apocryphal story of the infamous left-wing (in fact, Communist) British journalist Claud Cockburn inventing the most boring headline he could think of: Small Earthquake in Chile - not many dead. As it happens, I can think of many more boring ones and top of my list would be: Brown does not announce election again.
Non-British readers of this blog (and probably quite a few British ones) would have missed all the excitement (sorry, can't help yawning). Gordon Brown, still Prime Minister of this country, delivered a speech for the sorry excuse for a Spring Conference that the Labour Party has organized at Warwick University.
Why political parties need to have quite so many conferences these days is anybody's guess. Not so long ago a Spring Conference did not figure on the political calendar at all.
But if you must have a conference, however low-key and inexpensive, Warwick University is quite a good place. I have been to a week-end conference there and one of the curious aspects of the campus is that once in it there are very few ways you can get out. So, those unfortunate delegates or members who entered the place had to stay and listen to the Prime Minister and to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
The speech is, understandably enough, seen as the one that sets Labour's election agenda. It is very difficult to produce ideas when the country is in a mess and your party has been in government for 13 years. Mr Brown is calling on the electorate to take another look at Labour (an unwise suggestion as people who take a close look at that excuse for a government is likely to feel very ill indeed) and to take a second look at the Conservatives (a more sensible idea as anyone who takes a second or a third look at that sorry excuse for a would-be government is likely to feel even more unwell).
Mr Brown proposes as election slogan: A Future Fair For All. This is not only meaningless and unwise in the light of recent figures about less social movement than there has been in this country since the 1960s, it is also very hard to say. I am looking forward to Labout candidates trying to enunciate those words, particularly after a drink or two.
Well, that's enough about the loser in Number 10. Let us turn to the losers on the other side of the party political fence. (Really, this election is going to be all about who is the bigger loser of the two main parties.)
Conservative politicians, journalists, commentators and activists went through a crise de nerfs. Once again, they managed to fall for the not-so-subtle hints that Brown will use the opportunity to announce a March election. Why he should do so, escapes most people's understanding. Equally, why should the Conservatives want an election in March while they are clearly unfit for battle remains a mystery. But one could not hear oneself think from the screams, whoops, demands that Brown show his mettle and call an election, appallingly foul language because he might not .... until this morning when a number of bloggers live-blogged the speech and found that .... nothing much was said about a date, the indication still being that it will be May 6, on the same day as the local elections.
When one discards the hysteria and bad language, what the Conservatives are accusing Brown of is not calling an election a month and a half before the local ones and two and a half months before he absolutely has to. They are also accusing him of manoeuvring to outwit them. Well, colour me stunned: political leader manoeuvres to outwit the opposing party. Hold the front page!
Of course, what is really upsetting all these people is the fact that he has once again managed to outwit them, getting them all worked up about an imaginary date for election and hysterical about the country's allegedly desperate need for it, then refused to play ball. When one considers that the Conservatives routinely describe him as completely stupid and incompetent (he is certainly all of that) as well as probably clinically mad (non-proven) it does not reflect on them that he manages to make them look completely ridiculous time after time. How many "early election announcements" have we had since Gordon Brown became Prime Minister?
Showing posts with label Gordon Brown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gordon Brown. Show all posts
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Non-story of the day
It was my intention to brighten up my readers' day by putting up a video of Moira Shearer dancing in "Red Shoes", a wonderful Powell and Pressburger film, which I finally saw last week. (Three cheers for the National Film Theatre.) Sadly, it has proved to be impossible to embed the central ballet sequence, not, I may add, because of my incompetence but because of somebody's control freakery.
As I have no desire to post comments about the snow or the coldest winter since .... ooooh at least 1982 .... or any of the usual gumf about transport breaking down, schools closing down (that happened in 1987 or 1988, as I recall) and everything coming to a full stop. That leaves me with the biggest non-story of the day: the plot to oust Gordon Brown, its entirely predictable failure and the flap the Conservatives, politicians and commentators have got themselves into.
This morning everyone (well, about three dozen people) became very excited because a couple of Labour has-beens, Patricia Hewitt and Geoff Hoon, sent an e-mail to every MP in which they called for a secret ballot on Gordon Brown as leader. Of course, this disregarded several matters: the Labour Party's structure and constitution are such that it is well-nigh impossible to oust a leader who does not want to go; the last time they could have done it was at the Conference and they did not; nobody in their right mind would start a leadership election so close to a general election unless they absolutely had to and the Labour Party does not.
For several hours everyone (well, about fifty people) was on tenterhooks: will this succeed? No Minister has come out to support Brown, we were told breathlessly by one of the Tory bloggers (and I forget which one). This will lead to an early election, was the opinion heard everywhere (well, on Tory blogs and Facebook pages). Brown will have to go; Brown is a coward because he will not go; Brown .....
Well, there we are, ladies and gentlemen. By this evening two leading Labour Minister, David Miliband and Harriet Harman have come out in support of Brown and the crisis, it would appear, is over. Here are a few links that give the story in greater detail. ToryBoy blog tells us what Conservatives want from the Snowstorm plot (oh dear, the wit), then tells us that Hoon and Hewitt agree with Cameron that "we cannot go on like this", then assures us that the snowstorm in the teacup will be wonderful news for the Tories (having told us that if it succeeded it would have been wonderful news for the Tories).
Iain Dale spent most of the day updating the story with the odd interruption for the Peter Robinson story, which really should be of no concern to any journalist and blogger. (A politician's wife has an affair and tries to commit suicide is not something we all have the right to know about.)
I have no problems with wishful thinking; indeed, most of politics is wishful thinking. Therefore, I accept that the Tories got all excited because the Labour Party was about to tear itself to pieces over a leadership challenge. It might have been a good idea for them to find out whether this challenge ever had the slightest chance but that would have been realism not wishful thinking.
However, there are a few points one needs to make. In the first place, it might be a good idea for the Tories and their various bloggers to make up their minds whether they want Gordon Brown as leader or not and whether his presence is a good thing from their point of view or not.
Then it might be a good idea to make up their minds whether having an early election (which we shall not have, as this blog and EUReferendum have consistently predicted) is actually such a good idea from their point of view. Would calling an election in the middle of a really cold winter (an insane thing to do) make people feel warm about politicians at all?
Thirdly, the Tories should look outside the Westminster bubble. As far as most people are concerned today's non-events were of precious little interest. At present the Tories' lead is not so spectacular in the opinion polls as to justify their complacency and if this is the best they can do by way of political campaigning, they are not going to attract many more votes.
Fourthly, it is time to understand that the election will solve nothing. Regardless of who wins the most seats, the government in Brussels will not change any time soon.
As I have no desire to post comments about the snow or the coldest winter since .... ooooh at least 1982 .... or any of the usual gumf about transport breaking down, schools closing down (that happened in 1987 or 1988, as I recall) and everything coming to a full stop. That leaves me with the biggest non-story of the day: the plot to oust Gordon Brown, its entirely predictable failure and the flap the Conservatives, politicians and commentators have got themselves into.
This morning everyone (well, about three dozen people) became very excited because a couple of Labour has-beens, Patricia Hewitt and Geoff Hoon, sent an e-mail to every MP in which they called for a secret ballot on Gordon Brown as leader. Of course, this disregarded several matters: the Labour Party's structure and constitution are such that it is well-nigh impossible to oust a leader who does not want to go; the last time they could have done it was at the Conference and they did not; nobody in their right mind would start a leadership election so close to a general election unless they absolutely had to and the Labour Party does not.
For several hours everyone (well, about fifty people) was on tenterhooks: will this succeed? No Minister has come out to support Brown, we were told breathlessly by one of the Tory bloggers (and I forget which one). This will lead to an early election, was the opinion heard everywhere (well, on Tory blogs and Facebook pages). Brown will have to go; Brown is a coward because he will not go; Brown .....
Well, there we are, ladies and gentlemen. By this evening two leading Labour Minister, David Miliband and Harriet Harman have come out in support of Brown and the crisis, it would appear, is over. Here are a few links that give the story in greater detail. ToryBoy blog tells us what Conservatives want from the Snowstorm plot (oh dear, the wit), then tells us that Hoon and Hewitt agree with Cameron that "we cannot go on like this", then assures us that the snowstorm in the teacup will be wonderful news for the Tories (having told us that if it succeeded it would have been wonderful news for the Tories).
Iain Dale spent most of the day updating the story with the odd interruption for the Peter Robinson story, which really should be of no concern to any journalist and blogger. (A politician's wife has an affair and tries to commit suicide is not something we all have the right to know about.)
I have no problems with wishful thinking; indeed, most of politics is wishful thinking. Therefore, I accept that the Tories got all excited because the Labour Party was about to tear itself to pieces over a leadership challenge. It might have been a good idea for them to find out whether this challenge ever had the slightest chance but that would have been realism not wishful thinking.
However, there are a few points one needs to make. In the first place, it might be a good idea for the Tories and their various bloggers to make up their minds whether they want Gordon Brown as leader or not and whether his presence is a good thing from their point of view or not.
Then it might be a good idea to make up their minds whether having an early election (which we shall not have, as this blog and EUReferendum have consistently predicted) is actually such a good idea from their point of view. Would calling an election in the middle of a really cold winter (an insane thing to do) make people feel warm about politicians at all?
Thirdly, the Tories should look outside the Westminster bubble. As far as most people are concerned today's non-events were of precious little interest. At present the Tories' lead is not so spectacular in the opinion polls as to justify their complacency and if this is the best they can do by way of political campaigning, they are not going to attract many more votes.
Fourthly, it is time to understand that the election will solve nothing. Regardless of who wins the most seats, the government in Brussels will not change any time soon.
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