What an amazing night. I spent a very enjoyable hour having great fun tweaking Frank Dobson on 5 Live. He seriously suggested that Purnell's resignation wasn't at all serious and that no one has ever really heard of him. When he called Richard Bacon "dear" I knew he was rattled. I then went onto the BBC News Channel (not exactly dressed for TV) and felt as if I was commentating on the death of a political party. And in among it the death of David Miliband's leadership ambitions. He had no need to say anything, yet he came out and nailed his colours to Brown's mast. Yet again he funked a major decision. Harriet Harman's silence has been noticeable.
Alistair Darling now holds the key to Gordon Brown's future. If he refuses to move, Gordon Brown couldn't survive. And yet if Brown lets him stay in post, it demonstrates the weakness of his position.
Feel free to comment about what's happening overnight in the local elections and to the government.
51 comments:
You mean people still listen to Frank Dobson? I was always surprised when they listened to him when he was in the government.
I'm going to bed: time will explain all. My word is 'apshist' which seems an appropriate comment to close with.
I've got to say I don't see Purnell as the killer blow. But he has raised the performance for Labour's share of the vote in the Euros, needed by Brown to survive. If he needed 18% before, he now needs 20%, if he needed third place, he now needs second, etc.
Monday will be the key day is my prediction, though doubtless it will be falsified as my predictions usually are.
Has tessa jowell aged quite rapidly?
You were great against Dobson. He showed himself as being shallow.
1.06am update. Cabinets falling to bits. Only question is how long can Brown continue?
We are watching with great interest from Canada - as a UK taxpayer I am looking forward to the demise of the sinecurists and tax-eaters who have had their snouts in the trough.
"Purer than pure!Whiter than white!"
RLT
He had no need to say anything, yet he came out and nailed his colours to Blair's mask
Freudian slip?
Has this shown that of all Labour's cabinet members, Harperson of all people has the most judgment?
What on earth was David Miliband PLAYING AT falling over himself to back Gordon?!
Just back from verification of county council votes and interesting to see that an independent who was expected to do well in current climate appears to have made little inroads into the Tory held seat. It looked like Lib dems are benefitting from labour collapse.
I loved the popped collar you were sporting on the BBC.
Dobson was so out of it it was almost cruel to be interviewing him. Looking forward to the radio show tomorrow.
I think the worst thing for Labour is the response of those supporting Brown. I have gone into a more detailed argument in my blog (shameless plug warning: http://my-own-doubts.blogspot.com/ ). However the essence is that members of the Labour government are saying things about Brown that look absurd. Labour then expect these people to vote for them.
Still think its going a bit Hitler bomb plot.
The mentalist isn't dead. He still has his grip. His propaganda minister Mandy will be sending the message out to the Brownite SS "The Fuhrer is alive and unharmed"
The Blairite SA will be arrested and executed in a mass slaying of people's enemies.
If quick action isn't taken by the plotters the coup will be over by midday.
Purnell has shown that it is not just Labour 'wimmin' that have balls.
At least he has demonstrated leadership quality.
As for the rest of them, the quicker we can extract their snouts from the trough the better.
I am Scottish and think that M.Martin and G.Brown have shamed our country and that, as a nation, we will be better with them gone.
brown will survive if only because off stalinist determination.he has patronage,prerogative and no purnell.the only way he will met his end is in an election and because labour supported him it will destroy the party for ever and this is from and ex card carrying activist.
Pete
Fortunately for Scotland I think this will be forgotten as soon as Brown is gone.
There are signs in England of annoyance that Scots Labour MPs have done so much damage to the country, but there are two reasons I don't think it will last. First the English are not very nationalistic at all, let alone within the Union. Second those that hate Labour are mostly Conservatives, and will feel sorry for the Scots, who have stuck them selves with socialist Labour and Nationalists. Rather patronising, but I think they can be forgiven, considering how patronising the Scottish Labour MPs are.
I believe the word for this is Schadenfreude. Sweet, delicious schadenfreude. My first time eligible for voting, as well.
This just confirms that Miliband is no politician, pointy headed policy wonk maybe, but politician no way.
bnp in local elections getting up to 17.4% in bristol seats. average about 10, but closely pushed labour who had held seat for 2nd in st george east.
assuming 30% is immigrant, not many bnp votes there, that means 25% plus of white people who voted went for the bnp.
i think it shows that the three main parties have little credibility, and the troughers need a combined bloody nose.
those that said they had 2 or 3% of the vote may be wrong, and telling people not to vote for someone is a sure fire way to get people to do something they would not otherwise do.
that is why a general election is needed and every candidate questioned on their ethics as people have decided it is time for a change, ANY change.
I'd be disappointed if you didn't comment on this Iain.
Voting in London, there were 19 candidates on the list and the ballots were handed out, folded four times, at 3pm when I wandered down there.
This is a serious faux-pas by whoever oversees this election. I can't ever remember seeing a ballot paper folded before now.
All that talk about not voting for the BNP and the format of the voting slip gave them prime slot.
Democracy in this country becomes more laughable by the day.
Just love seeing all the loyal nobodys coming out saying basically "Crisis what crisis?" "All the fault of the media" "Gordon world leader" "The people are telling us they want Brown to carry on leading us out of recession" etc.
Hilarious stuff.
Richard,
Whilst I hope that you are correct in that the ill feeling towards Scots will dissipate with the removal of M.Martin and G.Brown I fear that your optimism is ill founded.
In Scotland, more than England, there has always been banter between Scotland and England about who is best etc, etc. but in my experience it was done tongue in cheek, just a bit of fun between friends.
Gordon Brown, father of Scottish Devolution, changed that.
I could talk for hours on this but will round off by saying that at the last Scottish elections Labour were dramatically dumped and have been falling ever since.
Most Scots I know will be every bit as glad to see the Scots removed from Westminster as we were to see them removed from the monstrous Hollyrood.
I'm too tired to paste. A tiny bit of stuff at my place on the election.
http://oldrightie.blogspot.com/2009/06/it-is-looking-historic-moment.html
Has anybody else noticed that when Brown is strident he wears a red/purple coloured tie.
When he is being attacked and trying to deflect he wears a big chunky Tory blue tie.
It may be me but I seem to notice a pattern.
The election is going to hammer Brown, but it is the stock market which will kill him off. Right now it is riding high with a lively bear market rally keeping spirits up. Once this fades away and the next leg down gets underway the mood will turn far uglier.
It is the economy that will kill Brown - not the ballot box. And right now the economic mood is optimistic, and not angry enough.
If anyone wants to know how bad the locals are going to be for Labour/Brown, just check out Lincolnshire now:
http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/elecResultshome.asp?catid=2221
A total, utter annihilation.
According to the council's website, Bristol sees 4 Conservative gains and 4 Lib gains from a total of 23 seats up for grabs.
Only two Lab holds (by 9 and 91 votes!)in VERY Lab areas.
HAhaha!!! Pete, Scotland can't spell, "Holyrood".
PATHETIC DISHONESTY and Typically Tory.
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all hope remains in Spedo Shorts
Guess who can't spell "speedo"...
Thicko.
Staffordshire = total wipeout for Labour, too.
http://moderngov.staffordshire.gov.uk/mgElectionResults.aspx?ID=5&RPID=333938&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
Evidence of a political China Syndrome for Brown is mounting.
Spedo Shorts,
My Grandfather was a miner, my father was a miner and I work in a factory.
For you to accuse me of "PATHETIC DISHONESTY and Typically Tory" I think may be more a reflection of your own convictions/problems than of mine.
I should note that I work from a £320 laptop with a sticky keypad, hence the spelling mistake, I hope.
I assume that it is that because I work hard on 3 shifts and I resent Labour's huge tax burden then I must be a Tory.
OK, you are right. I am going to vote Tory because I am sick fed up having my wages deducted every week to pay for more and more stupid Socialist money wasting ideologies.
In Scotland, it looks like we have seen an approx 8% swing from Labour to the SNP, from our highwater-mark of the May 2007 Holyrood election (32.9%).
If true, that takes the SNP firmly into mid-30's territory - our all-time record.
Fingers crossed! Won't find out until Monday!! :(
Pete-Scotland: "spedo shorts" is the fairly new handle for a perennial troll that's inhabited the big blogs of Dale and Fawkes for as long as I've been a regular visitor on them (about five months).
His/her (I assume his) universal reaction-seeking unpleasantness on the comments boards is motivated by something that is frankly unknowable. But, no-doubt, it's something pretty sad.
Thought you should know.
It's like the end of the Italian Job. The Labour vehicle is hanging over the edge of the cliff, the situation looks very fragile but the viewer is not sure what is going to happen.
I'm surprised Gordo hasn't announced he's going. Afterall, you can't run a business without any staff, can you?!! Or am I missing something?
Apparently the Downing Street cat has just left no. 10 but at the moment we're not sure whether he's resigned....
Milipede has now proved beyond any doubt that he really is an invertebrate.
Did Purnell leave a mark?
Susan Boyle has just checked out of The Priory. The maid has been told to prepare the room quickly for the next occupant - Gordon.....
This is hilarious - I'm really enjoying it. Miliband's act of cowardice wasn't surprising, although his failure to see the game was up was.
I think, from the Conservatives' point of view, that this is the best possible outcome: Brown weakened further by the three resignations, but still (just) strong enough to survive thanks to the pathetic declarations of support from Milipede and Flint.
Gosh what a piece of work this Flint goth is. It was obvious that she was very very ambitious, but she has clearly,indeed brazenly, decided that with two women leaving the cabinet, Brown is almost mandated to put a woman into a high profile and possibly senior cabinet post. God she makes Edwina Currie look nearly demure. I predict a fall out with La Blears, whether or not there was a mutual "suicide" pact.
Gosh what a piece of work this Flint goth is. It was obvious that she was very very ambitious, but she has clearly,indeed brazenly, decided that with two women leaving the cabinet, Brown is almost mandated to put a woman into a high profile and possibly senior cabinet post. God she makes Edwina Currie look nearly demure. I predict a fall out with La Blears, whether or not there was a mutual "suicide" pact.
Has anyone asked Gordon Brown what his motivation is for the cabinet reshuffle? Apart, of course, from the sudden lack of MPs willing to serve in the existing one.
Clearly it was designed to deflect attention from the impending disastrous MEP and local election results. The Darling debacle combined with the resignations of Smith, Blears and Purnell has scuppered that plan.
As if things weren't going to be bad enough from the election results, this latest catastrophe is all Browns own work. And I hope that Labour MPs realise that.
Poor Frank. It's hard when your face looks like a bum, and even harder when you think that the resignation of three Secretaries of State in three days is *not* serious.
@Pete, Scotland said...
//
I am Scottish and think that M.Martin and G.Brown have shamed our country and that, as a nation, we will be better with them gone.
//
Ermm, I think you are confused. You are getting them BACK. We don't want them any more. They are all yours again
I think that the resignations have made Brown's job safer. The people were shallow and self-regarding and have resigned in such a way as to restore some dignity to Brown and ensure they remain away from the levers of power forever.
A lot of the press seem to be behaving quite badly trying to trip people up over their words like a 6th form debating society. I've stopped watching interviews as they make the interviewee so defensive that there is no news to communicate.
Shameful behaviour on both sides of the microphone.
Been following the ups and downs of British Politics since the early 1970`s but cant ever remember anything like this. On the one hand you have the shameless (and talentless) opportunists like Flint and on the other the Millibands of instant indecision fame.Ye Gods
In the middle however is Britain.Stumbling and trying to bumble along while these preening pillocks grimly cling to whatever wreckage comes floating past.
Guy Fawkes truely had the right idea.
Events this week make one wonder what would persuade the owner, sorry the occupier of no. 10 to do the decent thing.
Half his cabinet don't want him to continue in office, half the Parliamentary party don't want him to continue, and 80% of the country don't want him to continue.
The guy's got no sense of shame, no morals, and is acting like a petty dictator.
Perhaps we need the poll-tax riots mark 2 to make him see the light of honest opinion from his bunker.
Purnell resignation is de nada. He would have been sacked IMO. Saw it coming as covered here, also tweeted to Dizzy.
He'll now get a roasting over main home is my guess. Fool.
Miliband shot his bolt when he hinted agt standing against Brown first time. Everybody looked at him & said "what a plonker". The only serious runner must be Johnson who has been fully loyal (either because he is honorable or because he wisely thought getting his hands dirty wouldn't work ).
However if Johnson does it has a referendum on PR & the Conservatives vote against a referendum & committed to ignoring the results Labour could still win & a Conservative overall majority appears unlikely.
Some form of vague opinion there, although all a little wrong.
Millie has said he is loyal so that he doesn't look more of the traitor he already is.
Harmen hasn't been quite at all.
Pleased you could write such a vast piece on such a huge situation, really nailed it.
Denverthen
I forgive you,,,,,,,,,,,Spedo
Pete, Scotland
This automatically generated political message generator dubbed "Pete, Scotland", is farcical. Please treat it with the contempt it deserves, dear reader!
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All hope remains in Spedo Shorts
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