Thursday, June 04, 2009

Purnell Resigns!

James Purnell has resigned. I'm on 5 Live for the next hour. Tune in!

74 comments:

Nick Drew said...

Hide all the clocks, and hide that mobile phone,
The Cabinet’s told Brown he’s on his own.
Prepare the padded cell; sedate the bum
And let the headshrinks in their white coats come.

Bardirect said...

Will he now "cross the floor" but who would have him?

Unknown said...

And so, it begins.

New Labour is finished.

Lime_Smoothie said...

The resignation letter is pretty damning. Stabbed in the front, I'd say. Is Purnell the Geoffrey Howe de nos jours?

Lola said...

Wish I'd put money on my theory of a July General Election!

IanVisits said...

He has photoshopped himself out of the Cabinet.

Anonymous said...

Straight from the Harold Wilson playbook.

Anonymous said...

Hahahahahahahahahahahah.This just gets better cheery bye Gordon you utter,utter tosspot

W.W. said...

Doesn't want to be leader.

Well not quite yet anyway.

W.W.

Liz said...

Alan Sugar? Has somebody been spiking my tea with hallucinogens?

javelin said...

Flint has suckered up to Brown like an anal leech.
There has to be a vote of confidence now.
Purnell is right. There is no way Brown can win. He is laying out his credentials to be the leader in the future. But not immediately because he knows labour has lost no matterwho leads.

Harold Vest said...

Flint on Sky News, what an incredibly abrasive woman!

FonyBlair said...

Good to see BBC News devoting a whole 9 minutes to the elections!!? And with a cabinet minister resigning and a backbecncher asking for a secret ballot for the leadership!

What planet are these guys on?

Blaad said...

Brown is now seriously ****ed

Mirtha Tidville said...

Absolutely totally brilliant Iain.....This must surely be the beginning of the end of Broon...

VotR said...

So it begins, Iain.

Labour is now at war with itself.

Crikey, that almost sounded dramatic... if only Labour hadn't become so pathetic. It makes the Tory splits of yesteryear look like a game of conkers. A game of bonkers, in Labour's case.

Anonymous said...

I don't think the Labour Regime get it!....it doesn't matter WHO is Leader of the Labour Regime...

Labour OUT REGARDLESS!!!!!

Rob said...

Well done Purnell. Nice to know there was still somebody left in the cabinet with a backbone. Now for the rest to crawl out of the woodwork.

Ian B said...

Hooray!
I quite fancy him too!

Stronghold Barricades said...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/jeffrandall/5446031/No-amount-of-reshuffling-will-solve-the-mess-Labour-has-made.html

Jeff Randall kicks the Balls

Ask Richard if he'll allow you to stay on until the "special half Hour"

Newmania said...

Sorry Iain would love to but Question Tinme is on.Get back to your blog this instant

thespecialone said...

Brown is now surely toast!

Eckersalld said...

Guess that answers the lyric "And the question remained, just who would stab him in the back?" in my little ditty Gordy (The Worstest Leader in the West)

Martin S said...

Purnell resigns. How long can Brown last?

You showed Frank Dobson for the broken old political hack that he is. Is he drunk? He sounded like he might have been. Especially with his rather odd outburst.

Diamond Dave said...

Richard Bacon IS Gary Bellamy

Bill Quango MP said...

Dobson! What a fool. They don't give us any intelligence do they?

Purnell .. no one has ever heard of him.. the arse.

jaydeeaitch said...

Excellant (rubs hands). Less than a week after I upbraided him on CiF and he's gone.

Right, who's next.

Gordon, I mean YOU. This country does not need YOU.

Mikey said...

Well done Iain - you've beaten Guido to it. Too much margeaux at lunchtime perhaps?

J said...

El Gordo is surely history.

Steve Horgan said...

This is serious stuff as Purnell will be very difficult for the no.10 operation to discredit. He also appears to have timed his move to capture the front pages of the Times and the Sun at least. There are also a number of other Labour MPs doing the news studios demanding a secret ballot on Brown's leadership, regardless of their party rules. Very bad for Gordon Brown.

Wrinkled Weasel said...

A brilliant programme.
Frank Dobson on Brown's reaction to the Purnell resignation: "He'll be pissed off"

Caro said...

His resignation letter is here: http://timesonline.typepad.com/politics/2009/06/purnell-quits-the-times.html

"I now believe your continued leadership makes a Conservative victory more not less likely."

Anonymous said...

What a shock - Nick Robinson on BBC news saying this has the "smack of Blairite firmness" - has TB risen from the dead!!!

As a Tory don't want a new Labour leader, unless that brings on a General Election - if so, the sooner we can work to get out this disasterous government and get David into Number 10 the better!

Don't have an account

- Simon Wilkinson (Blackburn Conservatives)

Rob said...

And just looking back over my own blog I did call it this morning. Not that I'm blowing my own trumpet.

Time to go PM

Anonymous said...

And Spectator Coffeehouse has a rujmour David Milliband will resign on Friday!

Game over!

Anonymous said...

Rumour: David Miliband to go tomorrow.

From Coffee House

FireForce said...

Not many to go now!

Malcolm Redfellow said...

And, as I sense it, George Parker at the FT has got a hot line to A. Darling, esq. See his post via PoliticsHome.

It'll be a hot time in the old town tonight.

If your 'phone doesn't ring, you're out of the loop.

By the way, all those previous comment are from amateurs.

Anonymous said...

Coffee House are reporting the rumour that David Milliband will be resigning tomorrow.

Nokias will be flying tonight.

Eckersalld said...

Pity it didn't happen in time for Question Time's recording...

Also pity it's Purnell to wield the knife. He's a loathesome creature.

Unknown said...

Get Purnell across to the Conservatives. He's much too clever for Labour.

Anonymous said...

Beckett and Straw to "see" Brown 2moro

Anonymous said...

Sing the praises from the rooftops --- Elvira, Mistress of the Dark is still loyal.

Praise be if Brown now gives her a promotion. Preferably a job where she is never off the telly.

Anonymous said...

Hey Broon!.......go be Scotch Labour leader!, thats where you belong! in your OWN REGION!, whats one more bitter and twisted anti-English communist in Schhhhhortland!?

England doesnt want YOU!,

Anonymous said...

Meanwhile in the Bunker....

http://www.milfotos.org/images/4595db32ba6a8e1a19dd1b2cde464062.jpg

Trend Shed said...

So Purnell has some bollocks then. I didn't think he had it in him.

Well done sir.

Unknown said...

What a slimy coward Purnell is. He didn't tell his boss in Downing Street what he thought face to face, he announced his resignation to the press.

Still Brown must surely now be toast, as is nu liebour. I can never remember such a shambles in the 30 odd years I've been following politics.

Neil said...

I think it is checkmate.

Siberian Tory said...

Livingstone is on Newsnight trying to convince us Labour's pasting is the result of these ministers betraying Brown to distract us from expenses.

Nonesense.

The figures were looking grim before the expenses row.

Anonymous said...

Turnoutn 34% in my part of North Wales.

Viscount Bolingbroke said...

I propose a toast: to the death of New Labour!

jaydeeaitch said...

Suzanne 10:54

Like master like servant?

Anonymous said...

Spedo says Good Riddance to Purnell -- it is a necessary catharsis after Blairism. Labour are on the march and getting stronger!

We'll keep the red flag flying here de dum de dum de dee

Rush-is-Right said...

Remind me please. Who TF is James Purnell? I've vaguely heard his name.. but who exactly is or was he exactly?

judith said...

Lovely smack in the mouth from Barry Sheerman on Newsnight to Livingstone, along the lines of 'you're not one to talk about sleaze!'.

BJ said...

It's an electrifying night to be at work tonight. But you look a bit of a scruff on the BBC news channel, Iain. Where's your obligatory loud tie?

Anonymous said...

Paul Clark MP has turned off comment moderation on this blog. Why not pay him a visit and leave a message

http://www.labourisworking.com/?p=1000

Lime_Smoothie said...

Labour List reporting Burnham to go tomorrow, followed by Milliband. Should be interesting.

Anonymous said...

Rejoice.

Get back to " The Manse" you McMentalist.

Adrian said...

Iain, what's your impression of Richard Bacon. It's a while since I've listened to him, and I was impressed.

Anonymous said...

wasn't dobson hilarious?

Nick (in the naughty corner)

Newmania said...

Milliband tommorow , the narrative is developing clearly and I bet Flint wishes she had not been so craven.
This is judgement by his own Party that the polices of the Brown dominated Labour Party have been wrong for ten years.

I can only agree and I think we need a little chat expressed in votes

B Griffiths said...

Someone compared this government to the Titanic, but with all these ministers going away its far more like the Marie Celeste.

At this rate there will be no one - apart from Brown and a few cardboard cut-outs - left to govern.

Time for a change I think.

Anonymous said...

Cabinet Ministers are being rolled out to give a pro Brown mantra that sounds like the sort of praise heaped on Laurence Harvey by the brainwashed GI's in the Manchurian Candidate.

Still the good news is that Brown looks like surviving ... for a bit.

Philipa said...

James Purnell seems to me to be an odious little shit.

I'm told he is paid £142,000 + expenses. Expenses such as £250 on fridge magnets! He claimed for a digital camera, to more easily super impose his image on other photos? Apparently "He introduced a Bill to stop the "benefit scroungers". Is there some irony in this? Right Honourable this man is not."

Sadly he's in a safe seat - the sort you could present a rat wearing a red rosette and it would get elected. Obviously it did.

Doubting Richard said...

My god, these people are delusional. This could be the best possible result for the Conservatives, utter chaos in Labour and most of the senior figures making themselves look truly stupid and making it obvious they are centred around the needs of Labour rather than the country.

They are all saying that Gordon Brown is the best person to lead the country. They also seem to think his staying is good for Labour. How can anyone think the former, let alone the latter?

Peter Kilfoyle on the BBC is coming across as most deluded.

Newmania said...

http://www.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/3670948/rumour-david-miliband-to-resign-friday.thtml

Come on Dale get back to work is Milliband off ?

Anonymous said...

So now we don't have to talk about their thieving expenses. More diversion and spin from our crooked politicians.

Newmania said...

Millibqand now saying he is not resigning

Anonymous said...

I have to wonder if Purnell actually voluntarily wrote the article in the Guardian last week for which he was ripped a new one in the Comments? It doesn't make much sense if he was on the point of resigning.

Fausty said...

Very informative programme. Not much on election issues, though! Can't seem to find any decent coverage. Blimey - there's a gap in the market!

Unknown said...

Looks like the Purnell stunt may have backfired.

The rats are actually getting back on the ship!

Maybe if they had a candidate with any talent they could even arrange a transfer of power. But I somehow think they may splutter on to the bitter end [June 2010]

Anonymous said...

We the people may need to march on london to get rid of this clown for the good off the uk as a hole
and as soon as it start to kick off im there liebour even trying to deface the ballot papers today to stop us voting the you would like us to

Anonymous said...

I have to wonder if Purnell actually voluntarily wrote the article in the Guardian last week for which he was ripped a new one in the Comments? It doesn't make much sense if he was on the point of resigning.
_______
Silly! It was a term paper and he got a D.