Labour backbenchers seem to be getting uneasy about David Miliband. In Quentin Letts's Daily Mail sketch today Medway MP Bob Marshall-Andrews describes Miliband as "this pillock on his gap year". Letts insists that Marshall-Andrews was sober when he said this and that he agreed to being quoted.
Even allowing for Marshall-Andrews's reputation as a troublemaker this is an amazingly disloyal thing for a backbench MP from the party in government to say about a new Foreign Secretary. Marshall-Andrews is going on Radio 4's Any Questions tonight. Labour Whips will be listening with trepidation.
30 comments:
It's no more than the facts. Miliband unfortunately looks utterly weird and the fact that both he and his brother are career Labour stooges rather marks him out as one of those welfare state families where there are three generations of them and none has ever worked.
he is right though. the government becomes more of a shambles with every day
Has there ever been a cabinet as full of over-promoted nobodies as the current one? David Milliband, as bad as he is, is actually one of the better ones.
It hardly matters what BMA says now does it? Even Clarke and Milburn are more important than him.
He has an inflated idea of his own importance and is jolly good sport and company - including for the likes of Letts - partly as a result of that.
But everyone else inside and outside the party knows he is just a funseeker in his last days at the HoP.
The "he was sober" line is a vile smear on several possible levels.
BMA is a pillock. Whatever happens to his seat the fact that he is retiring to spend more time with his barristers' fees means at least one Labour gain at the next election.
I think my post today entitled 'Somebody please buy Miliband a map' makes my feelings on his political incompetence fairly clear.
He is out of his depth and will cause nothing but grief for this country.
Someone else who has noticed how far out of step with the rest of us Miliband is.
BMA is abolsutely right - the Boy david has been promoted way beyond his competencies and cuts a pathetic and sorry figure as Foreign Secretary, no more so when he has to show his homework to No 10 and have it marked and corrected before he can give a speech. All joking aside, he is the second loser in succession to inhabit the Foreign Office and we are in danger of becoming a laughing stock internationally. 'Lord' Malloch Brown is another disatrous appointment by Brown, who is increasingly showing signs of being out of his depth. Anyone note how he threw down his papers on the dispatch box in an intermperate display when Cameron landed another blow at PMQs this week?
BMA being disloyal have a look at BMA on Queen's Speech as a fine example of what he does well.
Anyone that could double for Mr Bean, and act like him, has got to be a walking disaster. David Milliband's speech in Belgium the other day was typically full of theoretical argument and no substance. One of his gems was to say that a top priority should be "to keep our promises on enlargement of the EU". He went on to say that we should back Turkish membership of the bloc, warning: "If we fail to keep our promises to Turkey, it will signal a deep and dangerous divide between east and west." What a load of bollocks! He should be telling his boss to start building another 3 million houses right away for the Turks that will shortly come here, but I suppose he will say there is enough room for 15,000, or so. However, not content with this revalation he went on to suggest that Middle Easern countries should join the EU and (wait for it!) Russia. He is a total bloody idiot and a waster. It would be better if he offered his services to Rowan Atkinson as a stunt man!
"allowing for Marshall-Andrews's reputation as a troublemaker"
Come, come, BMA was paying the boy a compiment ! Many would not have been so mild.
Trouble is, will there still be a Britain by the time Broon has mortgaged it off to the EU ?
Alan Douglas
Heard a rumour that David Miliband is going backpacking round Thailand with his brother and Gideon Osborne.
He is saying no more than everyone else thinks.When I think of the people (of all parties) who have held that office,I cringe.What would the great Ernie Bevin have made of this clot?
I've always admired Marshall-Andrews both for style and content - and believe me we are at opposite ends of many political debates. He's a good speaker, witty, incisive and perceptive. He has been an excellent constituency MP and will be a loss to the Labour Party - not that some of the cretinous trolls here would actually understand any of that.
A pity that NuLab has debased the Socialist currency. I might not have agreed with the true Socialists, but I was impressed by their honest good intentions - and some of them were fine orators. Now what we have is Brown waffling, dissimulating and stuttering, and Miliband doing the gestures (as instructed and not very convincingly) and almost managing to read the autocue.
I think Bob was very kind to the boy `Milliband
Haha, a Labour MP who dares speak the truth about one inmate of this appalling so-called "Labour" gov.
There's one or two others, let's hope it's catching.
Ouch. That's one that might stick. Feel a bit sorry for Milliband - he seems pretty intelligent, which is a major plus these days.
The backbench loyality expected by all parties is boring beyond belief, most of them are like droids. Its bad for democracy that our MPs are more loyal to their parties than their people, it stifles creativity and leads to poor scrutiny and representation. We need more guys like Bob Marshall-Andrews on both sides of the House.
I can't say I like Marshall-Andrews much. His wife is a shroud waving gun grabber who is doing all she can to stop British people taking part in Olympic pistol shooting, which I used to like doing. However, he is right about Milipede.
This really is a Cabinet of useless nonentities. All Cabinets have the odd Hazel Blears, but this is ridiculous. Apart from Ruth Kelly none of them have any balls, and this cannot be by chance. The Clunking Fister has promoted these nonentities precisely because , in comparison to such pygmies, he's the daddy.
The only exception I can think of is Black Jack Straw. He's ditched his Himmler specs for contacts. Why I wonder? He must know that if the men in white coats ever come for Brown, he's the only credible grown up in the Cabinet. The nation needs him, he's sure of it.
I have a feeling things are going to get interesting.
I often find it hard to believe that the entire Left Constituency can really sit there and be represented by David Mazola Milliband.
I suppose with no backbone he is handy for packing in a suitcase and going to Bruges as a 'Pret a Surrendre' package .
Just doing his job ....( you know the type)
... Anyone note how he threw down his papers on the dispatch box in an intermperate display when Cameron landed another blow at PMQs this week? ...
I think that was after the final conservative question (can't remember who asked it) which returned to "when were you told about the fiasco at the Home Office etc... "
And yes, I though it was an extraordinary display of petulance and I'm surprised that the press didn't pick up on it.
Good on ya Bob - heres a man who says it as it is. - cant see him creeping to Brown and fellow creeps -
"BMA is a pillock. Whatever happens to his seat the fact that he is retiring to spend more time with his barristers' fees means at least one Labour gain at the next election."
Eh? He has got, I think, the slimmest majority of any Labour MP, that he won at all will be down to him rather than any popularity with the government.
Every time I see Brown and Miliband together it looks like one of those bring your kid to work days.
Chris Paul talks about "vile smears"? this from one of the Nu Liebour masters of the smear & lie machine! 'Pot and kettle' comes to mind? When Bliar was PM the likes of CP cringed and fawned like a Stalinist stooge BUT when Brown toppled him in a coup CP stabbed Bliar in the back with alacrity and started the kow towing to Brown! Pathetic party crawling and fake indignation is the mark of a lickspittle, but then again thats how the ZANULAB gang works!
Bob is not wonderfully respected at “The Bar” (ie by his fellow barristers) but he is an admirable politician, as he stands up for his opinions within the Labour Party.
He is also “de-mob happy”, which spells danger for Gordon Brown. Milliband does seem woefully inadequate. E.U. enlargement to Eastern Europe has been the aim of UK policy and has been accomplished. Largely on the back of the fact that Chirac was hated by so many of his fellow European politicians and the Franco-German alliance was weakened for a while. However, Sarkozy has revived it and Turkey will get into the E.U. over Sarkozy’s dead body. Enlargement to North Africa and the Middle East is inconceivable and, in any case, what is the point, as a lot of these countries are influenced by France and Spain anyway. Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia might “sneak in”. particularly the first, as the Germans have a “soft spot” for them but that will be it for enlargement. Milliband’s emphasis on further enlargement of the E.U. is yesterdays policy. He should be concentrating on building alliances with the new E.U. entrants before he asks for Uncle Tom Cobleigh and all to be admitted.
Am going along to AQ tonight...it should be a good one! Yeo appears to be the one most in support of the government's terror laws, which will be very interesting, because even he doesn't like them much!
My dream: a House of Commons full of thoughtful men and women who have made their mark outside Parliament and are not afraid to speak their minds: Bob Marshall Andrews, Alan Clarke, Frank Field, Enoch Powell, Dennis Skinner, Anne Widdecombe, Ian Paisley, etc. etc.
A pipe dream, I'm afraid. Most MPs nowadays are just babes or lobby fodder.
Disgraceful. The 'gap year' bit detracts from the obvious truth of the 'pillock'.
Trumpeter Lanfried said...
"My dream: a House of Commons full of thoughtful men and women who have made their mark outside Parliament ..."
The people in your list are all very worthy but what did Ann Widdecombe achieve before she went into politics. I believe she was just a lowly administrative officer at London University.
Post a Comment