Watching Andrew Marr's interview with Gordon Brown was a frustrating experience. Marr barely laid a glove on him, and in some ways* it was an impressive performance by Brown, who was able to stonewall Marr at every turn. Whenever he was asked anything about MP expenses he just battered Marr with a list of what he, and he alone, had proposed to reform the system. "It's me who has proposed," he kept saying. Me, me, me. Not Cameron, Not Clegg, me.Whenever Marr interrupted him he blurted out "hold on, hold on", and Marr stopped and let him continue. "You've known me for twenty years, Andrew," he said at one stage. And then, "you've got to give us credit...". Marr asked him about a lavender list of people he might appoint to the House of Lords, which Brown bizarrely interpreted as Marr suggesting that Brown might actually put himself in the House of Lords. The look on Marr's face was a picture.
The only new thing to come out of the interview was an apparent openness to the idea of electoral reform in the form of AV+.
Towards the end he came out with this pearl. "The Conservatives, UKIP and the BNP..." Nicely done.
Asked if he would step down if Cabinet ministers came to him and asked him to, he said "No". Marr suggested that instead, he would turn the pearl revolver onto them. Marr then asked him if he would hold a reshuffle after the "slaughter". Brown said that that it was wrong of the BBC to presume an election result.
He finished by saying that is any member of the Royal Family wanted to attend the D Day commemorations, he would make it possible. He appeared to hint that it was Buckingham Palace's decision that no one would be attending. That may prove to have been a big mistake.
In recent interviews, Brown has given the impression of being almost clinically depressed. This was not the case in this interview. He came out fighting, although I doubt whether many voters will have been swayed by what he said. It was the same old Gordon Brown.
* Impressive in terms of stonewalling and by comparison with some other interviews he has done of late. Just thought I'd clarify that, after some of the comments!
79 comments:
I quite agree. The "Lords moment" and the "Conservative, UKIP, BNP...." moment were truly toe curling!
How do we know though that it wasn't the Palace's decision? I hate the thought, but is possible that HM the Q is now getting a little too old to be gallivanting all over the place? I hope not. If it's the French who are blocking it, then it's outrageous and we should retaliate. If it's Brown, then it's just one more reason why he should go.
The apparent mudsling of linking the Tories, UKIP and the BNP, whilst blatant, is perhaps not so far wide of the mark in reality, given that Cameron is right now conducting talks with the Fatherland and Freedom Party in Latvia, whose members attend Waffen SS rallies and homophobic gay-bashing parties in Poland and elsewhere.
The more voters think about this, the more they will realise that despite all his promises, Cameron is still leading the same old headbanging Tory remnant tribe that survived the Thatcher turmoil. God help us all when he comes in. Right, right, right, right, right, if I may paraphrase Heseltine!
Brown pronounces to the Nation . . .Yawn . . . GENERAL ELECTION NOW, if you don't mind, you utterly useless excuse for a Prime Minister.
He really is a mendacious tosser. Or is he psychologically incapable of answering questions?
Iain were you watching the same interview as me?
Jug lugs went after him on everything and yes McBust did evade pretty much every question but it looked TERRIBLE. I can honestly say I've never seen a 'leader' look less fit to govern and that includes a stint in Asia living through some of Thailand's most inept incumbents.
Brown's finished if even Andrew Marr can turn him over like that.
I have just watched an hour long Party Political Broadcast on behalf of the Labour Party, courtesy of the B.B.C !!
"The apparent mudsling of linking the Tories, UKIP and the BNP, whilst blatant, is perhaps not so far wide of the mark in reality, given that Cameron is right now conducting talks with the Fatherland and Freedom Party in Latvia, whose members attend Waffen SS rallies and homophobic gay-bashing parties in Poland and elsewhere."
You do realise that the EPP has some racist and homophobic members as well don't you?
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/daniel_hannan/blog/2009/03/17/those_epp_extremists_and_fascists_in_full
Now I know for an absolute certainty that McTwat just doesn't get it.
He is toast and it's just a matter of weeks before those who can do something about it actually find the backbone to get rid of him.
I quite like the smell of toast...
Clinging on, clinging on.
He said his presbeteriean principals were against what has been going on. He said that all MP's will go in to a star chamber and any involved in fraud will face legal proceedings.
He still has Smith, Blears, Hoon, Balls & Cooper in his cabinet. WIll they be first to go into the star chamber to be cleansed?
Think about it. Is this interview important?
The 220,000 floating voters who will decide any election are not those who interrupt their Sunday mornings to watch old jug ears.
Let me see...the weekly leg over, popping down to B&Q, sleeping off the hangover, sitting on the patio in the sun or watching a clapped out nonentity being interviewed by a self-important arse-licker?
Which one sounds more fun?
Brown blathered and twisted in the wind, forcing his unnatural smile and answering every question with lengthy generalised meander, but Marr let him blather - it was depressing.
He is playing catch-up on the expenses issue - and trying to manipulate the constitutional debate, just to show that he, also, has some ideas now - after 12 years in office. It was all 'me, me, me..'
On the D-day issue, he has clearly set out to undermine the Queen - and indeed the monarchy itself. Trying to turn it back onto the palace was outrageously cynical. That alone will lose him quite a few votes.
Only a general election will satisfy the people now - and Brown just doesn't get that - the longer he clings on, prevaricating and twisting, the worse Labour will suffer.
I am in two minds about whether The Queen should, at this stage and having been let down badly by her Government and been treated shabbily by the French, go to France on Saturday. If she goes, it could be portrayed (by people like the Mail, who always seem to dig the knife in) that she is playing with Sarkozy and Obama. If she doesn't go, it could be portrayed (by people like the Mail, etc.) as a snub to our veterans. This is a wholly avoidable 'brutta figura', as we say in Italy.
On another note, shouldn't the BBC have done something with all the party leaders on the last Sunday before an election? Or are they giving Labour the last word because the Tories have mooted capping the BBC's income?
Not sure which interview you watched Iain but as a family we thought Brown came over as completely barking with delusion thrown in for good measure!
What was going on with the hand movements? All that praying ... whoops I forgot he is the son of the manse.
No Longer - I agree actually, in fact, there is blatant homophobia and racism from many of the "left" parties as well.
Doesn't mean though that it isn't true that Cameron is barking taking the Tories out of the EPP. How can he portray the Tories in office as a serious, heavyweight party if he effectively distances himself from the other main conservative parties in Germany, etc?
To be fair Cameron had an easy ride the week before
Iain, you have confirmed for me my decision NOT to watch it.
I could not decide which would have been worse - watching the jaw-dropping tractor statistics-spouting, or watching Marr defer and soft-pedal to our beloved unelected leader.
Alan Douglas
As far as the queen's attendance is concerned, Brown said that Sarcozy only wanted prime ministers
and presidents but that he, Brown, would get the queen there if she wanted to go. The man's a plonker!
"an impressive performance by brown" no iain, my verdict...half an hour of verbal diarrhea...and marr let it happen,michael.
Well that's thirty minutes of my life I'll never get back again.
Amongst the things that struck me were his clear NO when asked if would stand down in response to a Cabinet rebellion, and his clear equivocation on the subject of why Blears, Hoon and Darling are still in that Cabinet.
He's trying to hide behind a spiral staircase and there can be no outcome other than implosion once the elections are passed. Will he survive? No. He's run out of hiding places.
I thought it was very brave of the BBC to give the PM such a nice interview a few days before the election.
That being said the revoler comment was amusing. Not a good sign when your buddies get snarky
Have another look at the interview Iain, it was a disaster.
Arrogance dripping from every pronouncement. The whole interview can be summarised as: "I have been saying this for years if only you'd all listened to me".
He wouldn't let Marr ask anything, preferring to eat up time with waffle rather than face a tough question. He clearly wasn't listening to the questions but literally counting off the points he was determined to make (mainly about how he has been right all the time and leading the fight against sleaze). Hence the fiasco over the "lavender list".
It may not influence the floating voter but I'm sure I heard the sound of Labour party knives being sharpened all over the country.
Yet more confirmation that Brown just doesn't get it, as if we needed it!!!
The man is incapable of giving a lucid, coherent, straight answer.
Bring on the election, the only question now is how large is the defeat going to be, lets hope for utter humiliation.
I didn't think Marr did that badly. It would be interesting to see Clarkson interview him.
Brown reminded me of a recalcitrant and lazy teenager trying to justify himself. The speed talking, machine gun, patronising and interrupting approach Brown chose to adapt simply confirms, to me, that he knows he a loser. I pity this country being led by such a waste of space.
Brown did look terrible- he kept avoiding questions and going on and on about committees, plans, reviews, structures- nothing about action.
Also on Conservatives/UKIP/BNP- this is standard Labour- LibDem- Green tactic (referring to the anti-Europeans). Comes in their Euro election literature and broadcasts indeed.
Just like BNP- UKIP and all the other fringe parties keep referring to Tory policy being same as Labour-Lib Dem.
So nothing new at all. I would say this is one of those where if your policy is slagged off by both extremes, it is almost certainly right!
I think - just for once - Marr really tried to hold Brown to account. When he could get a word in edgeways, he persistently question Brown on his performance as PM, the expenses issue and the 'Constitutional reform' he's cooking up in order to try and retain power against the wishes of the electorate.
Brown just steamrollered over Marr. He interrupted questions - didn't let Marr finish - and several times basically told Marr to "shut up because I've got something to say."
All in all he showed himself up for what he is; an egotistical bully with an unwarrented belief in his own abilities.
I doubt it got him one single extra vote and probably lost him 100s.
The only shame was that when Brown was blathering on about giving the people more power, Marr didn't ask him why therefore they couldn't have the Referendum Labour promised on the Lisbon Consti-Treaty. But then this is the BBC, so what else can you expect?
Iain Dale said " Brown has given the impression of being almost clinically depressed."
If he is depressed,FWIW I think he has depression (no shame in that BTW) It appeared he took an extra tablet to pep him up a bit. He wasn't impressive, just a jolly deludded fool.
DespairingLiberal, what difference does it make which grouping we sit in at Brussels? The European parliament is a toothless sop to democracy that doesn't make European law and only really serves to rubber stamp the laws coming from the Commission. If Gordon Brown announced tomorrow that our own parliament would have its powers reduced to those of Brussels, while an appointed commission would actually take charge, there'd be revolution. Yet somehow we put up with the EU, which supplies the lion's share of our laws, being run that way.
People talk about us losing "influence" but I don't see us so much as making a dent in policies as absurdly unfair as the CAP or as pig-headedly stupid as moving the parliament to Strasbourg once a month. We even let them talk us into giving our rebate, the one tangible benefit of our membership, while France continues to funnel roughly 1/8 of the entire EU budget into its agriculture industry.
It's a joke. The way the EU is organised, we're never going to sit at the same king's table as the French and Germans. The EU needs to be totally overhauled and what Cameron should do is threaten to leave and take our large net contribution if this doesn't happen. You can't "influence" these people.
Iain. Well, I thought, he was clinically depressed. His feet were pointing inwards, his arms were flailing around- in a sort of do not get anywhere near me way!
He was constantly interrupting and coming out with his rehearsed sound bites.
I agree with you that his answer, in relation to the Queens not being invited said it all! If the Queen wishes to attend I will arrange it!! which suggests to me that the invitation came direct to Brown and he made the decision not to invite our Head of State.
Talking about the Canadian Prime Minister was a nonsense.
This has been a slur on our Country by France and Brown. I most certainly do not want to see Incapability Brown representing us. SEND PRINCE WILLIAM IN HIS UNIFORM!! so that Brown has to stand BEHIND him!! Or Princess Anne -she would put Broon in his place!
Anti Royalty Labour Party!
I WANT ALL THE NEWSPAPERS TO DEMAND THAT A ROYAL ATTEND.
I'm worried by Brown saying he wants decisions about MPs pensions to be made by an outside body.
Cameron pledged a long time ago that he would scrap the more generous of the two existing pension schemes.
If this [independent] body looks at this now (Pre-GE) it may well be subverted. Therefore, due to the Brown effect (or 'The Anti-Midas touch') the net effect of Expenses-gate may be to make politics MORE expensive.
That's how evil/inept Labour are.
Luckily people have now realised this and Labour's 3rd place in the ICM poll is entirely justified.
Brown is still in an exclusively tactical mode. Which is great news for Cameron, because Brown is totally rubbish at political tactics. His latest moves are even more leaden than they were before.
YO 2 JAGS! GO THIRD, OR MAYBE FOURTH! PLEASE!!
Kevin T - I agree about the CAP and Strasbourg. You also don't mention the persistent dismal failure of the Commission to produce verifiable accounts and the anti-democratic behaviour of the EU Parliamentary authorities. The list is indeed long.
But it is a council of despair and quite wrong to believe we have no impact and that (as you put it) it is run by a French/German "Kings Table". This is nonsense. The real reason behind any diminishment of UK impact in the EU institutions is DISENGAGEMENT. This goes back to Thatcher and before.
The sad truth is that this disengagement has been almost entirely due to manipulations by the UK press barons (particularly Murdoch) who feared that their tax-exile status would eventually be undermined by the EU. This is a correct belief on their part. They have long manipulated the little-Englander mentality of Tories and Tory voters as well as many others and made UK politicians fearful of engagement.
I am not a federalist but the EU institutions would be much more democratic and accountable if the UK had fully engaged.
Root and branch reform is needed in both the EU and nations, including the UK, "democratic" systems.
A corporatised EU does not serve the public interest, but neither does the UK continuing to act as if it's some tiny rebel country. London and the UK dominate the EU in many ways. It's time we used that power properly. Ordinary people throught Europe look up to the British, despite the rubbish we read in the Mail.
Brown responds to poll crisis.
WE BLOGGED THIS ELSEWHERE AT 10.10am AND SEE SINCE THAT IAIN AGREES WITH MUCH WE SAY. HOWEVER BROWN WILL HAVE DONE MORE HARM THAN GOOD WITH VIEWERS AND VOTERS WITH HIS BOMBASTIC PERFORMANCE.
A MAN STILL VERY MUCH IN DENIAL AND WITH AN AFFECTION FOR LONG GRASS!
Like us, viewers will have been shouting at the screen for Marr to say something like, “No Prime Minister. YOU listen please.”
Or to have the polling facts on hand showing the precise % of the public who DO want an early general election rather than, as this man in denial states, for him to ‘clean up the system first’ (repeated parrot-like ad nauseum l!). Marr also let him off the hook on answering whether he will be appointing more cronies to the Lords.
This was very poor journalism given the heights to which the Telegraph has risen and license payers and the electorate deserve far better.
No doubt we – and all your readers here – will have more to add later and we Essex Boys are gathering at lunchtime to watch the re-run together. This wretched Prime Minister is out of control and despite today’s wonderful sunshine we feel a heavy cloud hanging over our nation.
The times are rumouring that Brown is going to install Balls as Chancellor !
Well Guido comes up with the phrase that every Tory should throw at Balls if it ever happens
"Hell why not, the insane Caligula tried make his horse a consul. "
Did you notice the Brown Body language though!! Foot twitching is a classic sign of suppressed anger. The Beeb cameraman let the picture go to full body shot often enough to let one realise his foot had been twitching throughout. At least he didnt throw his Nokia at Marr!!
I thi9nk the impression of the man in the street is that Brown "doesn't get it". He used the same old New Labour technique of announcing reviews and processes - instead of sackings. The impression I got was that he wasn't prepared to change.
Superb performance by the Prime Minister. I particularly like the fact that he could 'arrange' for the Queen to visit Normandy.
I feel a new Saturday Afternoon show for Gordo once he gets his arse kicked out of Government.
"Gordon has Fixed it for One."
Not ensuring the Queen was invited to the D-Day Commemorations is pure Brown - he sees it as a media and photo opportunity - a chance to show the World how important he is.
Doesn't want any Royals upstaging him!!!
(Didn't he save the World, it was at Dunkirk when he single handed conquered the 3rd Reich wasn't it)
The man is not just deluded, he is dangerous.
Not the leader to sort out the mess our government and Constitution is in - we need a General Election before he does more damage.
Brown spews a muddy puddle of words that often don't make sense but there are so many of them it's difficult to pick him up on a point before he's off again. I liked the response that Marr would have to get a statement from the Palace about the D Day celebrations but that if the Queen wanted to go he would arrange it!
It is also now clear that whatever suggestion anyone in the world has come up with about anything, Brown thought of it years, months or minutes before anyone else.
I wateched it too. It was more like a chat, although focuses, between two mates rather than the cut and thrust interview I was hoping for. Brwon played a good game. However, we don't all swallow BBC propaganda.
Nobody actually listens to Brown any more - he's too busy ordering his 'Steiner attacks' from his bunker.
But he may yet try to destroy the country by trying to change the electoral system and installing Balls as Chancellor to make sure the misery lasts for decades to come for our refusal to support Labour unelected Fuhrer. ( If any Labour readers find that to be a bit unfair - remember the unethical bastard tried to lump the Conservative party with the other main socialist party in this country the BNP which his disastrous leadership has driven many Labour voters to. )
Conservatives, UKIP and the BNP" was funny - what's Gordon Brown doing, trying to link the Tories with a Far Left organisation like the BNP?!
I fear (for Gordon Brown) that he has got to the point that the Tories were in for many years after 1997 - nobody is actually listening to him any more, no matter what he says. It took the Tories 9 years to get out of that position. I just dont think GB can recover.
Btw - I loved the fact that he claimed credit for exposing MPs expenses because of the FOI Act. We all know that the FOI response (when it comes) will have all the important items blanked out (e.g. address that prove flipping) and it was only the non-FOI publications by the Telegraph that brough all these to light. FOI would not have done so.
He was dreadful. The body language told it all, and it was quite clear in the final sequence - where he was sat with Jerry Springer and Helena Kennedy - that he would rather be anywhere than sat with Helena Kennedy. His answers to Marr showed that he didn't know what his Government had implemented and what it had yet to implement in respect of various constitutional changes. He spoke as if some changes had already been implemented (as on treaty ratification) when the measure to give effect to them has yet to be introduced.
The moderation rules on this blog preclude me from openly expressing my views about the AM "interview".
Brown once again spits into the face of UK citizens.
I think Ed Balls in his position as Children’s Secretary, should arrange for Gordon’s Children, to be taken into care.
The Bruin is a deluded very dangerous person who could damage his children.
Balls could arrange for them to be put into one of those nice Labour controlled council children’s homes with Margaret Hodge as the principal, seeing as she was so good in Islington.
Sky's viper the delectable Kay Burley, should interview Sara Brown immediately to check on Gordo's mental health and his relationships with his Children and the dark voice in his head.
I am sure she will say there are three people in my marriage, Gordon, the little dark voice in his head and, me.
In addition I would like to say something about Brown's *Breaking News* announcement: This stuff about going through all the reciepts. People were given the impression this was what was already happening. Am I missing something? Is this a re-announcement or not?
When Blobby from Bubbleworld comes on the telly I'm always totally befuddled. What the **** is he babbling on about now?
Asked whether he would go if approached by the cabinet, he said No !
It would have been even more bizarre if he had said Yes. Thoroughly daft question from Marr (who is really only interested in his alternative career as a luvvie groupie, he always packs the show with show-biz celebs).
Brown acted so vehemently and defensively about the "Lords question", that it looked as though someone else had really suggested that to him recently - Straw ?
Actually the most bizarre part of the whole show, was when Brown allowed himself to be confronted on the sofa by Jerry Springer and Helena Kennedy (who seemed quite keen to suggest that she had nothing to do with Brown or his party).
Brown just sat there awkwardly, sideways on, with that strange smirk, like a naughty schoolboy up before the headmaster.
I don't much like Marr but, frankly, I can't see what else he could have hit Brown with this morning.
The fact that he couldn't get an answer out of Brown on anything of substance is a different but predictable issue. Cameron hasn't been able to get a straight answer out the evasive Brown at PMQs since he became prime minister. Neither, to the best of my recollection, has any other interlocutor.
And, be honest; did any of us expect to hear anything different from the one-track, one-pace, me-me-me Brown?
"Presbytarian principles".
You could not make it up.
What on earth is this 'Star Chamber' that he keeps going on about ?
Isn't he aware that the Star Chamber remains a symbol of the abuse of power, even though it was abolished centuries ago ?
The BBC up the backside of Gordon Brown. What a shock. Not!
You should have heard the fat and vile Stephen Nolan sticking up for the scummy Labour MP that tried to claim £5 back for his BoB donation.
If anyone doesn't think Nolan is a Labour supporter, take a listen to that interview from last night. He'd have NEVER given a Tory MP and easy ride.
I loved the bit where Brown said that he didn't come into politics to allow MPs to abuse the system- either a lie, or an admission of failure after twelve years at the height of Government. It's the kind of brazen non-logic which he deployed which is more and more the source of public distrust and dislike of him. The faux mastery with which he kept managing the conversation was just more b-s. It was a bravura display of his psychological flaws.
Brown on Marr?
that is 20 mins of my life I will never get back!!!!!
I thought it was everything we’ve learnt to know is worst about Brown. Didn’t shoulder responsibility for anything, boastful, steamrolling, talked rapidly using alienating jargon like ‘due process’ and was entirely uncommunicative. He also looked grim. Either menacing to the point of dangerous or smug to the point of delusional. The House of Lords moment was truly bizarre. An unconscious admission he is preparing to leave office perhaps? The final disaster was his handling of the snub to the Queen, which was vile and condescending in equal measures. Car crash interview in my book. Normal people will be repulsed.
I sat with my 17 yr son and watched the performance.
With the advantage of Sky + we were able to repeat certain parts (I know we deserve a medal for courage - or perhaps a copy of his own book on the very quality he so dismally lacks - to watch this very unpleasant man with zero charisma).
Some thoughts;
1.)Wrong person to do the interview (known each other for 20yrs).
I propose the bloke who interviews the Apprentice candidates...he is going to be on this week's episode and rips them apart and spits them out.
2.)I think this "I did this first" and "I was the one who wanted this first" is actually a message to his Ministers and Party that HE is the man who makes the difference.
Any other leader of a group/organisation/business would include his top team in the discussion ; ie; We are doing X" or "we were the first to do y".
This really does show that Brown is in the final stages and will be finished by mid-June.
3.)My son was incredulous at the way Brown dominates the discussion and at the sheer mendacity - the youth of today are getting a terrible example to look up to!
4.)Kennedy's comments on the sofa were interesting re; a cove of ministers rather than the public and Brown saying "just wait and see".
Overall,this is a man who refuses to give up his position to anyone at any time - I can see the scenario where Cameron is running his first cabinet meeting as Prime Minister at No10 and has to excuse the noise from the basement as the men in white coats prise Brown's nailbitten fingers from the floor and drag him out to the van.
As my son asked,how is it that 60,000,000 Britons have to be at the beck and call of this madman?
In any other country,he would be hounded out and elections called immediately.
If I were a cynical type... Oh I am.
Yes, if I were cynical I would say Gordon is in denial.
Actually since I am cynical, I say Gordon Brown is in denial.
Wake up Gordon, voting day ahead. Oh well, stay in the bunker then. You must have a nice sandbox to bury your head in to enter your Never Never Land.
He is still the leader becuase he's far and away the best politician in labour. Even when surrounded, the defences are crumbling and hope seems lost he puts up a solid fight and maybe the economy will not look so bad in a year
I thought he looked demented. He could not answer a question (nothing new there), went off at bizarre tangents, barely mentioned Europe 4 days before the poll...If he was not causing such damage I would feel sorry for him.
I really object to Marr getting my licence fee. I am told he is kind to his guests because if he were not no one would get out of bed to be on his show. He allowed Brown to roam around more or less at will. Pathetic.
re: Marr's interviewing. I thought back to what Walden used to do: simply get in the way of an interviewee, say, "not good enough", lay down the law, set an ultimatum. Marr is such a flyweight by comparison.
Just look at his quote from Labour Home -
"I cannot for the life of me work out what goes on in the mind of Gordon Brown. Balls is one of the most divisive figures in government and seems to only be getting the job due to his chuminess with Brown, rather than any real talent or political skill.
Very disappointing to say the least."
Labour in complete meltdown.
While technically "open to discussion on electoral reform" he (A) didn't include it im his otherwise anodyne list of things to "look at" & (B) when Marr brought it up said it was something to discuss only after everything else has been done. Being cynical I drew the conlusion that this would be sometime after severe climate change in Hell.
On the other hand if Labour place 4th ot even 5th he will have to go & Johnson would make PR party policy. If the election were fought on the basis that Labour said the people had a right to a referendum & that they would legislate the result & the Tories said we didn't & they wouldn't I do not think the Conservatives would win, not by a long way.
I fear that the passing of time may result in loosing sight of the root cause of the disaster that has befallen the mother of parliaments.
There can be no dispute that the beginning of the expenses scandal goes back as far as the earlier Conservative governments. What must not be denied is that the present disgraceful situation was only arrived at with a Labour majority, a Labour Speaker and a Labour PM – between them they swept aside all remnant of decency, joined by weak minded MP’s of all parties. The present government could have stopped this monkey business but chose not to.
Any right minded person with an accurate moral compass and a life time study of “Courage” would have stamped hard on all this corrupt behaviour and injected a strong dose of moral certainty into parliament’s day to day life.
Gordon Brown chose not to, instead he seeks party advantage at every turn, his toying with proportional representation and flirting with the Liberal Democrats being a case to point.
Only his party will benefit from PR, we the voters will find ourselves governed by slippery Sids doing deals in back rooms diluting the programme of the majority party with wish lists put together by the likes of the BNP. We only need to look at Italy & Israel to see what a foul up PR is.
The only way forward is a general election, not tinkering with our parliament (please note parliament is not the property of the PM or MP’s). We need firm government, a clear direction and a firm grasp on government spending.
No one ever lays a glove on Brown because he never answers a question, simply trots out his prepared statements. One reason why he is such an awful prime minister.
perhaps there really is a need to justify the salaries of BBC presenters after that interview.
Too many luvies for a Sunday morning!!
Hmmmmmm. Pity I missed what is likely to be his farewell performance. I don't know about putting him out of his misery, he should put the rest of us out of the misery watching an unelected, inept politician failing at the job he has coveted the past 20 years.
Brown won't dare to put the cabinet troughers into his 'star'chamber'.
If he wants to stay as PM he will need all those dodgy bastards to support him.
The next few weeks will determine what happens and so long as Brown survives that there will be no election till next year.
If that turns out to be the case , at least all the parties will have time to get rid of their cheating elements.
The more I see of this delusional nutter of a PM, the more I am certain we will never have another General Election again.
At one point, Marr opened up a question 'There has got to be a GE in the next 12 months...', to which, I'm sure, Brown semi-interrupted by saying, I think, 'possibly'.
Could anyone who recorded the interview have a re-run and let me know if my ears were decieving me?
Compare and contrast:
Dermot Murnaghan vs Nigel Farage
Agree so much with Oscar Miller and Ed Thomas. This was the typical delusional, bombastic, spinning ditherer and Marr was not at all incisive.
Marr probably did not want to take him apart but this inability for modern day interviewers to think on their feet is truly jarring. They may be clever in thinking up their initial list of questions but the skill really lies in being able to take apart the answers, lies, mini ppbs being spouted by the politician. Brillo can do it, Robin Day used to do it and so did Walden. Modern day interviewers are truly lightweights.
brown is the most dishonest person on tv.an utter,utter disgrace.roll on the election and get that honest man cameron in there to sort out the mess.
Osama - agree that the only man left at the BBC who could take Gordo apart is Brillo. There again Gordon would never agree to do an interview with Brillo for precisely that reason.
I would take a Devil's Kitchen style view on this issue. Mainly one which consists of talking about The Gobblin' King using many swear words which probably couldn't be published here.
I only watched it because of the furore.
Nothing to see here, chaps and chappeses apart from one thing that Gordo the Invincible rated. iterated and reiterated: 'there will be a new Constitutional Bill which will address these problems: there will be, apart from the Kelly inquiry, a 'new constitutional bill' which states the limits for MPs. And guess what folks?
A New Constitutional Bill.
Go watch. Go listen.
Then come back to me with; Marr was awful; Broon just did his usual; the man's depressed; I could do better on a wet day.
He is saying he wants to make a constitution in his own name/belief/wish.
And all you can argue about on here is 'what on Earth is this 'Star Chamber' he keeps going on about?'.
He is quite plainly saying that he will dictate the terms of a new parliamentary system that he has devised and you are all quite plainly arguing about something else..
He wants a Parliament in his own image.
Which means he and he alone has the nous to dictate terms. (did you see what I just did there?).
When he was doing his rhetoric, as Iain suggested, that was all he was doing but the only thing he repeated was his desire for a New Constitution.
Perlease peeple wake up.
STB.
p.s. He, like Straw is attempting to say that only they know best.
It is a sad reflection on the mother of parliaments that the best the UK can produce as its 'leader' is a fingernail chewing, dysfunctional misfit that doesn't know right from wrong or which way is up and routinely lies and bullies his way through each day. What an unmitigated disaster he is.
The Presbyterian Church of Scotland should forever be ashamed that this apology for a man, never mind a prime minister, should constantly use his father's vocation as the basis for his vocation.
His appearance on that daft softy Marr's show this morning ought to cause the remaining plethora of idiots who still seem to want to vote 'Labour' to think again about what they are doing.
I left the UK and now live happily in France where at least we have an elected leader. Think on you Brits...
Interesting as an example of the BBC's need to save money by having an interviewee talk uninterrupted for twenty minute without the need for an interviewer
Thurston
I am what is sometimes insultingly ( by the politically committed) referred to as "a floating voter", as though my vote is not important. Strange, given that we seem to be in the majority and are the ones that actually decide the outcome of elections ( rather than the party faithful)!
And isn't Brown a complete wanker ?
I attempted to watch this on the BBC's IPlayer & found that the "Flash file" was not streaming in the usual manner. You can normally skip ahead a little if you want, the file will download completly within a few minutes. This programme seemed to be hobbled & I couldn't be bothered to wait for the one-eyed one. BBC bias?
this man has no authority to initiate ANY constitutional change
he should have no authority to do anything.
I trust the Lords will just send any bills on the subject straight back to the immoral commons.
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