Lisanne told me that when the Treasury Select Committee, which Giles [Radice] used to chair, published a report that was anything less than a perfect replica of the official position, Gordon Brown used to ring up Giles at midnight, incandescent with rage, f-ing and blinding, demanding retractions, slamming down the phone. At times, she said, it was so bad that Giles stopped answering the phone when it rang after midnight because he knew it would be Gordon. Giles said, 'He had no concept of the proporieties that should exist between a secretary of state and a select committee.'I wonder whether John McFall, the current chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, gets similar calls. I think we all know the answer to that one.
Reading Mullin's diaries - and he is a big critic of Brown's personal and political conduct - I keep wondering to myself just how this deeply flawed man was ever allowed to become Prime Minister when so many of his colleagues, like Mullin, knew exactly what he was like. The truth is, that Labour backbenchers (and ministers, for that matter) were terrified of him and no one had the guts to say what they were all thinking: that this man is not fit to hold the office. The irony is that many of them will now pay for that misjudgement with their seats.
Another amusing little story from his diaries...
Some time ago Clare Short and Mo Mowlam were attending upon the Queen when Clare's pager started vibrating. Claresurreptitiously checked the message. Whereupon her Majesty looked up and inquired, 'Someone important?'
I recommend watching a DVD of Sergei Eisenstein's film
ReplyDelete"Ivan The Terrible - Part 2". After all, back in the 1970's Gordon was something of a Russophile.
"many of them will now pay for that misjudgement with their seats.
ReplyDeleteDidn't you mean :
many of US will now pay for that misjudgement with OUR FREEDOMS/MONEY/COUNTRY ETC ETC ?
Alan Douglas
WV : (pre)sicsly
To be fair to Clare Short, she recounts that Queen/pager anecdote in her dreary self-justifying memoir, 'An Honourable Deception'(which might as well be subtitled Why I Was Right On Iraq And Why Tony Is A Twat).
ReplyDeleteLabour backbenchers cheered when Bair spoke of a 'big clunking fist'. Did they know it was code for 'bully'?
ReplyDeleteIain, I am glad the penny is starting to drop about Brown. It is something I have been banging on about for weeks.
ReplyDelete"The irony is that many of them will now pay for that misjudgement with their seats."
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't call that irony. That's politics. It's democracy. It's deserved, and appropriate that they should do so.
“Some time ago Clare Short and Mo Mowlam were attending upon the Queen when Clare's pager started vibrating. Clare surreptitiously checked the message. Whereupon her Majesty looked up and inquired, 'Someone important?'”
ReplyDeleteSo. The grovel before the Germans extends to you, Iain?
It’s highly embarrassing the way most of the British political establishment (of which you reveal yourself to be one) are in thrall to this unelected, undeserving, dysfunctional bunch of parasites.
(And I dare you not to throw a hissy fit and delete this for archetypal lèse-majesté.)
***Labour backbenchers cheered when Bair spoke of a 'big clunking fist'. Did they know it was code for 'bully'?***
ReplyDeleteIt amazed me at the time that none of them (and certainly none of the media) recognised that remark of Blair's for what it was. At the time it was portrayed as Blair voicing support for Brown. I can remember Brown's reaction in the Commons, getting all excited like a puppy thrown a treat.
It was obviously an example of Blair slipping a knife between Brown's ribs and comparing him unfavourably to himself and (possibly) Cameron as a lumbering heavy-handed thug versus a nimble operator.
Well simon,you could always move to one of your beloved eu republics if your not happy living with"parasites",though you seem to condone unmarried ones if they are breeding for state benefits.
ReplyDeleteAs for hissy fits,now THAT is calling the kettle black.
Still typical"liberal"I suppose.
@ Simon Gardner
ReplyDeleteAnd your nationality is?
Thoroughbred or some kind of mongrel stock?
@ Simon Gardner
ReplyDeleteOh, and who would you prefer this nation to be in thrall to? Brown and his acolytes, the Church of England, the EU, or The Mekon?
Furthermore simon,can you honestly compare the royal family,who do some good for the economy and country you despise,with the unelected dictatorship that is brussels.
ReplyDeleteOne set costs us millions,the other billions.
No your not a liberal,more likely a closet fascist.
Simon Gardner said...
ReplyDelete“It’s highly embarrassing the way most of the British political establishment (of which you reveal yourself to be one) are in thrall to this unelected, undeserving, dysfunctional bunch of parasites."
Who would you rather have as ceremonial Head of State? I can think of no-one better suited than the present Queen.
I think Michael Heseltine had it right when he said "If we didn't have a Royal Family, we would probably have someone like me – some pensioned-off politician."
No the queen wouldn't suit simon,she's foreign"
ReplyDeleteGrovel before the germans" hmm sounds a bit racist to me.
I thought simon loved the eu.Doesn't that include the germans too then?
“Doesn't that include the germans too then?”
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one here who reads the Eye?
Anyway that clearly lit a fire under the gunpowder. How satisfying.
Of course I’m a lifetime republican. What on earth would you expect? Good grief.
Just think boys and girls, if Simon got his way, we could have someone like ooooh sarkozy as the head of state........make no wonder Servalan still lives here.......
ReplyDeleteYes simon,you lit the fire and ran,typical cowardly arsonist,but you never answered about the cost of unelected eu compared to unelected royalty did you.
ReplyDeleteWTF are you gabbing on about?
ReplyDeleteSimon Gardner: you are a word far too offensive to mention in this forum; but I think you know what it is. And no, I don't mean 'liberal'... not by a long stretch.
ReplyDeleteSo our Queen has German ancestors. (Gosh!) And that's relevant in what way and to what, exactly?
ReplyDeleteThat we should have as our head of state someone who owes his/her office purely by right of birth was hugely embarrassing in the 20th century - let alone the 21st.
ReplyDeleteThat his/her sole qualification for office is that a parent held that office is indefensible and archaic.
"So. The grovel before the Germans extends to you, Iain?"
ReplyDeleteYou make a fool of yourself right there. The Queen was born in London which makes her English. Her father (George VI) was born in Sandringham Norfolk, which makes him English. Her mother was born in Scotland , which makes her Scottish - and as was considered then British. Her grandfather (George V) was born in London England, and her grandmother was Mary of Teck.
Took a long time to get to your despised Germans you buffoon.
Now - let's have YOUR geneology shall we, seeing as ancestory is of such importance to you.
Michele said... “"So. The grovel before the Germans extends to you, Iain?" You make a fool of yourself right there.”
ReplyDeleteAgain. For the hard of reading and the terminally dense: This is a very long-standing Eye joke - you know, like referring to the Guardian as the Grauniad and calling Andrew Neil - “Brillo”.
And enough with the tedious and irrelevant genealogy already. It misses the point by a mile. This family provides heads of state purely by right of birth; it’s a national joke.
Idiot.