political commentator * author * publisher * bookseller * radio presenter * blogger * Conservative candidate * former lobbyist * Jack Russell owner * West Ham United fanatic * Email iain AT iaindale DOT com
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Why Gordon Brown Is So Crap At PMQs
I have an article on CommentIsFree which was originally titled WHY GORDON BROWN IS SO CRAP AT PMQs. However, I see they have retitled it to THE FINE ART OF PMQs. Read it HERE.
I'm not sure that Gordon's tactics of reeling off a load of statistics in PMQs rather than engaging in debate works. While admittedly it is impressive that he can remember all those figures, he comes across like one of those memory men who can memorised the entire sequence of a pack of cards - the general public feel vaguely that it is an achievement but that anyone who undertakes such a task is - well - a bit odd.
I think Gordon Borwn is having a crisi of confidence. Seriously. He had a great 100 days, but instead of developing his vision - as he could have - and extending his reputation as a statesman , he chose partisan party politics and an election. It has all backfired spectacularly and I judge by his attitude he loathes standing up and answering PMQs ... because he - a control freak - is not in control.
He has lost control of the political agenda as well and is desperately reining in unpopular policies to try to stop the bad press.
If this goes on, as a control freak, I think he'll have a nervous breakdown or he will change his ways. The latter is - to say the least - difficult.
Because he's crap at everything, but unlike his "brilliant" spell as chancellor (gold, pensions, debt, tax, debt etc etc) people can see the emperor is completely naked at PMQs.
"A politician's performance at PMQs often reflects the state of their confidence"
Right, and there is a direct correlation between believing what you say and the way you say it.(IDS excepted)
Brown is crap at PMQ's because he does not believe a word he is saying, and coming from a manse background such as his, it weighs upon his tortured and twisted conscience and it shows in his gurning visage which always reminds me of Malvolio's smile in "The Twelfth Night". If he one day appeared at PMQs yellow stockinged and cross gartered I would not be surprised, and if he was consigned to the same fate as his fictive double it would be merely what he deserves.
I have met a few people who influenced the way we live now and one thing came across to me time after time; those who are telling the truth are available, transparent, modestly forceful and desiring of your understanding, if not, approval.
In PMQ's, as far as Brown is concerned, none of the above applies.
Stalin McSporran will give good PMQ at times by machine-gunning statistics at a startled opponent, but when he runs out of numbers, the words often fail him.
Then the power he uses to impose his will ebbs away and he is left with nothing but his briefing papers and a gathering sense of helplessness.
The no longer startled opponent then steps in to give him a bit of a kicking.
It begins to look like PMQs are Stalin's great weakness. Cleverly exploited, they could be the death of him.
I agree with Travis Bickle (and basically everyone else.) Brown really does look like a man in crisis at PMQs. Watching yesterday I was struck how he can barely get a coherent answer out, no matter where the question comes from. Syntax deserts him and his pronounciation is often peculiar (and I'm not talking about his Scottish accent). The words literally hardly make sense. For instance in response to Cameron's opener on confiscating school surpluses he stutttered - "There are 1.7 million ... b ... 1.7 billion surpluses in our schools at the moment. Many schools have planned to use these surpluses and will be enabled to do them." Straw and Smith were looking on like parents worried about a child with learning difficulties. And that was just for starters. Something is just not right.
He hasn't sat and learned anything from Blair's PMQs, after all he has had 10 years to watch Blair deal with PMQs. His performance would be even more inept if he wasn't able to rely on planted questions from tame MPs on his own side. There must be times when he is glad that Gorbals Mick is there to help him out.
So PMQs is one of the most popular programs on C-Span. That's good but I hate to think what the Americans make of the typical backbench Labour 'questions' "Does the Prime Minister agree with me that Sure Start blah blah blah..."
Great article, Iain. I watched the whole thing late last night and couldn't believe the look on Jacqui Smith's face throughout the whole proceedings.
She looked genuinely TERRIFIED - white as a sheet at times while Gordon was talking, and reminded me of a parent mentally coaxing a young child through their first solo at the school nativity play. Priceless.
You are not meant to question the great leader in a socialist society, it upsets them to be exposed as malignant narcissists.
The feeling of powerlessness when faced with self-serving bureaucrats, the cynicism and lies which accompany their five year plans, the cancerous surfeit of legislation crushing freedom of action and thought, all these are par for the course in a socialist society.
Just enjoy the freedom to expose them for what they are - the Left fear (and will always fear) scrutiny because it exposes their baseness.
I agree with Oscar Miller that "something is not quite right".
WW - I don't agree with the importance you assign to his manse background. On another thread, a couple of weeks or so ago, Newmania detailed Brown's family background and they all but owned the village. They owned (own?) most of the businesses in it and a large number of residents are (were?) dependent on the Brown family for their living. In other words, he was a little prince accustomed to people being care not to annoy him or his family.
I think this fact is critical to understanding his strange pathology. He cannot bear to be questioned and doesn't know how to react. He regards questioning his judement as lese-majestie and he doesn't understand why it's allowed.
All this, plus the fact that he is stark, raving nuts.
Brown is crap at PMQ's because every time he has appeared in front of a camera in the last month he has had to waffle and spin. His cabinet ministers have to waffle and spin and though they usually get away with it, these embarrassing episodes are happening too close together for the people to forget the last one.
Labour have relied on the people having short memories. Unfortunately for Uncle Joe Brown they are not short enough to forget one disgraceful act followed quickly by another and another and another.....
The PM has won this week. What are you on about in saying Brown lost. If you tories want to believe that then go ahead but is drivel. How can anyone say cameron won this weeks debate. He was made to look uninformed.
Cameron was carved open a new one. The speaker had to help. How does Mr Dale think Cameron won did he go to Eton, is there some sort of code that Cameron gave out that no one in real world can understand. By the way if it was not for labour the tory bigots would have kepy your lifestyle illegal.
The problem is that Gordon can be rubbish at every PMQs and Cameron can "win" every argument BUT the electorate don't decide the issue of who to vote for on the sole issue of PMQs which the vast majority don't watch or care very much about I'm afraid. If the main news channels even bother to show snippets any "triumph" by the Leader of the Opposition will be quickly forgotten and if you control the news agenda you control public opinion e.g. ask anybody in the street if they were aware of David Cameron's policy review statement or the list of world leaders he was visiting which he gave at a press conference on Tuesday morning I suspect less than 1% if that knew anything about it as it wasn't widely reported if at all by the main BBC News
Hague was a brilliant orator and performer against Blair at PMQs but he lost the election.OK - it knocks Labour morale and allows the Conservative's to sound off about Brown "in crisis" but very few of the general public care
The most shocking thing when Brown took over was that Ming Campbell suddenly looked quite acceptable when on his feet. After Brown's pained attempts, it was relief to hear a voice connected to a person.
Brown the PM is not real. He is an imaginary character, being made to live out Gordon's power fantasies. Inwardly Brown does not believe in himself. That's why he sounds and looks so awful. The big lie has been uncovered. Until he backs down from the impossibility of what he has taken on, only catastrophy lies ahead.
Labour are shrinking visibly week by week. Soon the whole shebang will fit into a paddle canoe.
They will all float off down the Thames, and be forgotten in a fortnight.
I chuckled at the idea of throwing Gordon a tiny bit of hope - that he might one day end up emulating Thatcher. That bit was cruel, Iain. It's kinder to a wounded beast to deliver a quick kill.
it's simple - Gordon Brown does not understand the power of humour. Tony Blair, for all his faults, used humour to his advantage. David Cameron has a lovely 'Hugh Grant style' sense of humour...
I have had it up to here with this utter crap that Cameron is wiping the floor with Brown. This is obviously O' neil of the daily politics and his spectator buddies spreading this lie. He won on wedensday. I can get this spin alley stuff, But this happens every week. Within 3 days of PMQs history is re written and Cameron is said to have wiped the floor with Bornw it is utter utter crap. Thuis shows the BBC is tory biased. You get a panel of neutrals and you see who wins don't ask andrew tory neil the man who shut wapping.
"Watching yesterday I was struck how he can barely get a coherent answer out, no matter where the question comes from."
That is a fair point.
It is also true that he was visibly more relaxed than with his previous performances at PMQs.
By Christmas he will have rediscovered the humour for which he used to be known in the Commons, and even tories will have to go back to admitting that Cameron is crap.
"It is also true that he was visibly more relaxed than with his previous performances at PMQs.
By Christmas he will have rediscovered the humour for which he used to be known in the Commons"
-------
By Christmas we could have a different Prime Minister. Gordon Brown was never elected as Labour leader, let alone Prime Minister. He is only in his position by default - and manipulation.
Gordon Brown doesn't have what it takes. His days are numbered. The public don't want him.
Ironic that after they re-titled your piece, the first comment reads as follows...
ReplyDelete"Gordon Brown is crap at PMQs because he is a bully."
Lovely jubbly.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course their cartoon
Whatever next.....
I'm not sure that Gordon's tactics of reeling off a load of statistics in PMQs rather than engaging in debate works. While admittedly it is impressive that he can remember all those figures, he comes across like one of those memory men who can memorised the entire sequence of a pack of cards - the general public feel vaguely that it is an achievement but that anyone who undertakes such a task is - well - a bit odd.
ReplyDeleteI think Gordon Borwn is having a crisi of confidence.
ReplyDeleteSeriously.
He had a great 100 days, but instead of developing his vision - as he could have - and extending his reputation as a statesman , he chose partisan party politics and an election.
It has all backfired spectacularly and I judge by his attitude he loathes standing up and answering PMQs ... because he - a control freak - is not in control.
He has lost control of the political agenda as well and is desperately reining in unpopular policies to try to stop the bad press.
If this goes on, as a control freak, I think he'll have a nervous breakdown or he will change his ways. The latter is - to say the least - difficult.
Because he's crap at everything, but unlike his "brilliant" spell as chancellor (gold, pensions, debt, tax, debt etc etc) people can see the emperor is completely naked at PMQs.
ReplyDeleteAmazingly, you haven't been attacked by their leftie readers. That's quite significant in terms of support, or lack of it, for Brown.
ReplyDeleteYou say,
ReplyDelete"A politician's performance at PMQs often reflects the state of their confidence"
Right, and there is a direct correlation between believing what you say and the way you say it.(IDS excepted)
Brown is crap at PMQ's because he does not believe a word he is saying, and coming from a manse background such as his, it weighs upon his tortured and twisted conscience and it shows in his gurning visage which always reminds me of Malvolio's smile in "The Twelfth Night". If he one day appeared at PMQs yellow stockinged and cross gartered I would not be surprised, and if he was consigned to the same fate as his fictive double it would be merely what he deserves.
I have met a few people who influenced the way we live now and one thing came across to me time after time; those who are telling the truth are available, transparent, modestly forceful and desiring of your understanding, if not, approval.
In PMQ's, as far as Brown is concerned, none of the above applies.
Stalin McSporran will give good PMQ at times by machine-gunning statistics at a startled opponent, but when he runs out of numbers, the words often fail him.
ReplyDeleteThen the power he uses to impose his will ebbs away and he is left with nothing but his briefing papers and a gathering sense of helplessness.
The no longer startled opponent then steps in to give him a bit of a kicking.
It begins to look like PMQs are Stalin's great weakness. Cleverly exploited, they could be the death of him.
I think there are a LOT of Labour MPs who are seriously unhappy with Brown already.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Travis Bickle (and basically everyone else.) Brown really does look like a man in crisis at PMQs. Watching yesterday I was struck how he can barely get a coherent answer out, no matter where the question comes from. Syntax deserts him and his pronounciation is often peculiar (and I'm not talking about his Scottish accent). The words literally hardly make sense. For instance in response to Cameron's opener on confiscating school surpluses he stutttered - "There are 1.7 million ... b ... 1.7 billion surpluses in our schools at the moment. Many schools have planned to use these surpluses and will be enabled to do them." Straw and Smith were looking on like parents worried about a child with learning difficulties. And that was just for starters. Something is just not right.
ReplyDeleteHe hasn't sat and learned anything from Blair's PMQs, after all he has had 10 years to watch Blair deal with PMQs. His performance would be even more inept if he wasn't able to rely on planted questions from tame MPs on his own side. There must be times when he is glad that Gorbals Mick is there to help him out.
ReplyDeleteSo PMQs is one of the most popular programs on C-Span. That's good but I hate to think what the Americans make of the typical backbench Labour 'questions' "Does the Prime Minister agree with me that Sure Start blah blah blah..."
ReplyDeleteGreat article, Iain. I watched the whole thing late last night and couldn't believe the look on Jacqui Smith's face throughout the whole proceedings.
ReplyDeleteShe looked genuinely TERRIFIED - white as a sheet at times while Gordon was talking, and reminded me of a parent mentally coaxing a young child through their first solo at the school nativity play. Priceless.
You are not meant to question the great leader in a socialist society, it upsets them to be exposed as malignant narcissists.
ReplyDeleteThe feeling of powerlessness when faced with self-serving bureaucrats, the cynicism and lies which accompany their five year plans, the cancerous surfeit of legislation crushing freedom of action and thought, all these are par for the course in a socialist society.
Just enjoy the freedom to expose them for what they are - the Left fear (and will always fear) scrutiny because it exposes their baseness.
I agree with Oscar Miller that "something is not quite right".
ReplyDeleteWW - I don't agree with the importance you assign to his manse background. On another thread, a couple of weeks or so ago, Newmania detailed Brown's family background and they all but owned the village. They owned (own?) most of the businesses in it and a large number of residents are (were?) dependent on the Brown family for their living. In other words, he was a little prince accustomed to people being care not to annoy him or his family.
I think this fact is critical to understanding his strange pathology. He cannot bear to be questioned and doesn't know how to react. He regards questioning his judement as lese-majestie and he doesn't understand why it's allowed.
All this, plus the fact that he is stark, raving nuts.
Brown is crap at PMQ's because every time he has appeared in front of a camera in the last month he has had to waffle and spin. His cabinet ministers have to waffle and spin and though they usually get away with it, these embarrassing episodes are happening too close together for the people to forget the last one.
ReplyDeleteLabour have relied on the people having short memories. Unfortunately for Uncle Joe Brown they are not short enough to forget one disgraceful act followed quickly by another and another and another.....
The PM has won this week. What are you on about in saying Brown lost. If you tories want to believe that then go ahead but is drivel. How can anyone say cameron won this weeks debate. He was made to look uninformed.
ReplyDelete>woo woo
ReplyDeleteTry living in the real universe.
woo woo -do you people have a Socialist Trolls Handbook? You look up a subject and then run your forefinger down Possible Responses?
ReplyDeleteWhy are you insects so predictable. Even a flea jumps in unexpected directions.
Cameron was carved open a new one. The speaker had to help. How does Mr Dale think Cameron won did he go to Eton, is there some sort of code that Cameron gave out that no one in real world can understand. By the way if it was not for labour the tory bigots would have kepy your lifestyle illegal.
ReplyDeleteincisive comment there from 'woo woo' ... clearly of another planet where black is white !
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that Gordon can be rubbish at every PMQs and Cameron can "win" every argument BUT the electorate don't decide the issue of who to vote for on the sole issue of PMQs which the vast majority don't watch or care very much about I'm afraid. If the main news channels even bother to show snippets any "triumph" by the Leader of the Opposition will be quickly forgotten and if you control the news agenda you control public opinion e.g. ask anybody in the street if they were aware of David Cameron's policy review statement or the list of world leaders he was visiting which he gave at a press conference on Tuesday morning I suspect less than 1% if that knew anything about it as it wasn't widely reported if at all by the main BBC News
ReplyDeleteHague was a brilliant orator and performer against Blair at PMQs but he lost the election.OK - it knocks Labour morale and allows the Conservative's to sound off about Brown "in crisis" but very few of the general public care
The most shocking thing when Brown took over was that Ming Campbell suddenly looked quite acceptable when on his feet. After Brown's pained attempts, it was relief to hear a voice connected to a person.
ReplyDeleteBrown the PM is not real. He is an imaginary character, being made to live out Gordon's power fantasies. Inwardly Brown does not believe in himself. That's why he sounds and looks so awful. The big lie has been uncovered. Until he backs down from the impossibility of what he has taken on, only catastrophy lies ahead.
Labour are shrinking visibly week by week. Soon the whole shebang will fit into a paddle canoe.
They will all float off down the Thames, and be forgotten in a fortnight.
I chuckled at the idea of throwing Gordon a tiny bit of hope - that he might one day end up emulating Thatcher. That bit was cruel, Iain. It's kinder to a wounded beast to deliver a quick kill.
Jacqui Smith has adopted the nodding dog approach to indicate approval of Brown's comments. She even out-nods Jack Straw and that is some achievement.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 5:15 - But does she out-nod Harriett Harman?
ReplyDeleteit's simple - Gordon Brown does not understand the power of humour. Tony Blair, for all his faults, used humour to his advantage. David Cameron has a lovely 'Hugh Grant style' sense of humour...
ReplyDelete:)
I have had it up to here with this utter crap that Cameron is wiping the floor with Brown. This is obviously O' neil of the daily politics and his spectator buddies spreading this lie. He won on wedensday. I can get this spin alley stuff, But this happens every week. Within 3 days of PMQs history is re written and Cameron is said to have wiped the floor with Bornw it is utter utter crap. Thuis shows the BBC is tory biased. You get a panel of neutrals and you see who wins don't ask andrew tory neil the man who shut wapping.
ReplyDeleteOscar Miller said...
ReplyDelete"Watching yesterday I was struck how he can barely get a coherent answer out, no matter where the question comes from."
That is a fair point.
It is also true that he was visibly more relaxed than with his previous performances at PMQs.
By Christmas he will have rediscovered the humour for which he used to be known in the Commons, and even tories will have to go back to admitting that Cameron is crap.
anon October 26, 2007 9:10 AM
ReplyDeletesays:
"It is also true that he was visibly more relaxed than with his previous performances at PMQs.
By Christmas he will have rediscovered the humour for which he used to be known in the Commons"
-------
By Christmas we could have a different Prime Minister. Gordon Brown was never elected as Labour leader, let alone Prime Minister. He is only in his position by default - and manipulation.
Gordon Brown doesn't have what it takes. His days are numbered. The public don't want him.
@ Verity
ReplyDeleteYes she does just about out-nod.
And the Smith and the Harman could be regarded as a pair of nodding dogs....
I must have this blog when you published it, Iain, but would have pointed out that you are lagging behind a certain, less distinguished, commentator!
ReplyDeletehttp://devilinthedetail.blogspot.com/2007/08/what-no-policies.html