An interesting exchange from GMTV's Sunday Programme (6am-725m this Sunday)...Gloria De Piero
Let me ask you about something that your former colleague, former leader of the Labour Party, Neil Kinnock said this week. He said that you should not get in the way of Gordon Brown becoming Prime Minister.
Dr John Reid MP
Well Neil’s entitled to his view; I don’t actually think he did say that, I read very carefully what he said. And he’s entitled, not only to his view, but to express his view, and everybody has been expressing it and exercising that right. I have chosen not to for five years, for five years I have said that I will only comment once the Prime Minister has said he’s going, because to do so before he does that, would not only be a discourtesy to him, but more importantly would be to take the electorate for granted, outside and a degree of complacency and would also be pretty contemptuous of the Labour Party, who ultimately will make these decisions. So I have made the decision, for right or wrong, that I will concentrate 100% on being the Home Secretary. And I think, given counter terrorism, crime; you know the worries about immigration….
PS The John Reid interview is on from 0710 to 0722 on GMTV on Sunday.
13 comments:
Tee hee. We all know how the prospect of JR as PM makes Tories wake up with cold sweats. Fair play to him.
"...would also be pretty contemptuous of the Labour Party, who ultimately will make these decisions. "
Pretty contemptuous of the rest of the electorate, who are supposed to make the decision as to who should be the (now presidential-style) prime minister as well.
In what way? Seems to me that he is keeping his powder dry. He may well aspire to become leader. However, it would require hell of a lot of stupid people to vote him in. Then even more stupid people to make him Prime Minister. The best advice that I can offer him, go and get your stash of hash from the back of the sofa and chill out. It's the next best thing to power. But, I suspect that he is too stupid to listen to advice and will insist on making a fool of himself. BTW, where are these 5 new prisons you promised? Strapped for cash? Guess who is holding the purse strings?
What odds can you get on Reid becoming the next British PM? Are bookmakers even taking bets?!
I see the robot Blears has been fitted with a new dual-core predictive chip and has come out saying there'll be a General Election in 16 months' time. Lots of jailhouselawyer's "stupid people" vote in general elections, especially those who only think in tabloid headlines and short-term fixes. Could that be what Reid's banking on?
Hatfield Girl, anyone who thinks under our constitution that we vote for a Prime Minster is an Essex Girl in disguise, not a Herts lass.
Any presidentialism by our prime minsiter is because the feeble lazy corrupt media tarts who we elect as MPs (all parties) allow it, nothing more. Remember Hailsham's comments about 'elective dictatorship'. He wasn't talking about Labour, 'New' or old!
Tom_r there ar always those willing to part a fool from his money!
I mentioned on pb.c last night that it seemed generous odds for JR to be at nearly 70 times the price for the leadership that Gordon Brown is at.
There's many a slip..
Well I do hope we can, for once, take Reid at his word. After all he's certainly got his work cut out with the not fit for purpose Home Office. It would be best all round if he could give it his full and undivided attention.
But then what does that say about his illustrious predecessors?
Why say it in 100 words when 1000 will do!
Relieved the Home Secretary prepared to acknowledge that we're all entitled to views and the expression of them. You never know what might be next on his list of civil liberty sabotage.
Who in their right minds is going to be at 7 o'clock on a Sunday ? Only the people who have just got in from a night's clubbing surely ? Is this the target market for Reid's message ?
'The rules of the game have changed' anon. 7.01 .
Blair said it (and there is a wonderful ballad by Rachel North on her blog, scarily set to music, where it's said much better).
It isn't right, and indeed isn't possible, to draw upon constitutional practice before 1997, as a justification now for the Labour Party alone choosing the next 3 years' administration of the UK.
Scotland and Wales have their own parliaments with considerable powers over everyday life in those countries. England has no say in those things but no independence of choice in them in England.
Direct answerability to Parliament has been devastated by ceding control of monetary policy to the Bank of England.
The second Chamber is unable to function properly as the botched 'reforms' brought in by Blair to change its powers of scrutiny and restraint by the wholesale appointment of the House of Lords by the prime minister, have been resisted.
European Union legislation, overiding domestic laws, has wholly altered the relationships between the judiciary, the executive and Parliament as a whole.
The widespread hiving off of powers and decisions formerly exercised within ministries by ministers who had to answer to the House of Commons, to independent, quasi-government bodies stuffed with NuLabour appointees (see Jowell's latest spree on the distribution of lottery funds) has extended and entrenched the lack of answerability to the electorate.
If Brown is foisted on us by the Labour Party he plans to speed up this already headlong rush into a corporatist and undemocratic state.
And to add democratic insult to democratic injury, we're to be electronically tagged.
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