Poor old Gordon Brown. He really is becoming more hapless than John Major was at the end of his time in office. Every single BBC news bulletin is reporting the fact that Brown's trip will get zero coverage in the US as it clashes with a Papal Visit. Only Gordon Brown could organise a trip to coincide with one of the most famous people in the world. "We didn't know," bleats Number Ten. Well isn't that the sort of cockup Stephen Carter is paid to prevent? And more to the point, what on earth are the hundreds of diplomats at the British Embassy doing? Did no one think to point out the clash to Number Ten? Or did they in fact do so but no one wanted to listen?
Whatever the truth of it, it's yet another chapter in the book of PR disasters this Prime Minister is experiencing. One thing is for sure, it would never have happened under Tony Blair.
That is a mistake Team Blair would never had made. Even if they had it would not have mattered as the Pope and Dubya are two of his best mates. All three would have probably met up somewhere and talked about the good old days and how to put the world to rights.
ReplyDelete"Well isn't that the sort of cockup Stephen Carter is paid to prevent?"
ReplyDeletePaid by us (in our taxes) !! So we're not even getting value for money there either !
It's as if the Labour party (but not it's MP's-oddly..,) and the civil service are doing all they can to 'get rid' of Gordon. They know the game is up. They have nout else to do except hang on until the next GenElec- John Major's 'government' had exactly the same problem: they have done all they originally wanted to do, and can think of f'k all else to do instead. Labour could do worse- they could have that 'stupid european socialist' twat in No10 instead.
ReplyDeleteI understand what you're saying, Iain, but I can't help but feel asking myself, "What does it matter?". So what? Should we really care that much whether his trip has much coverage in America? Does that really make his trip more or less successful?
ReplyDeleteThere are many more things Brown needs to get right. I don't really think this is one of the important ones.
Gordon "Mavis" Brown strikes again.
ReplyDeletePerhaps this was a deliberate ploy.
ReplyDeleteSlip in under the radar, lecture the Americans, while I get all the TV coverage back home.
Nobody in America notices, so no challenging questions about who am I to lecture and how it's worse in the UK, whilst the public in the UK think what a great guy I am, telling the Americans how it is.
Iain, Iain, surely you've overlooked the obvious possibility that Brown just assumed he was more important than god?
ReplyDeleteIain, slightly off topic, but I'm sure you will be pleased to hear the news...
ReplyDeleteLast night, I was channel flicking, and stumbled across 'Who wants to be a Millionaire'. The tough question facing the latest contestant on the show was:
In which field if Hazel Blears famous?
The contestant, was so confused as to who the chipmunk is, that she asked the audience...who gave these figures...
Cookery: 8%
Sport: 3%
Literature: 24%
Politics: 65%
It’s seems not many are nuts about Hazel!
Depressing really that this pillock is supposed to representing our country. He evidentially isn't even talking to other world leaders and seemingly can't even hire a plane without ballsing it up!
ReplyDeleteAs His Grace has written, the most unfortunate diary clash comes on Friday. While Mr Brown is delivering his keynote speech on foreign policy - calling for the reshaping of the UN – Herr Ratzinger will be addressing that very body. Mr Brown’s criticisms will be somewhat overshadowed by papal blessings.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair it took Andy Coulson many months to get to grips with the Conservatives.
ReplyDeleteThe White House decreed the date of Brown's visit. If he had said No to that date then he would have had a very long wait for the next opportunity.
ReplyDeleteHmmm looks like your 'ol pal Tebbit doesn't agree with you on the BAE thing Iain
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=559922&in_page_id=1770
How does it feel to be a member of the Libral left?
Anonymong@9:46 is clearly a party troll .... posted identically on Guido - do they really think we are that naive ?
ReplyDeleteFeel sorry for Gordon? You must be joking. I save my sympathy for the poor citizens of this country who've had this man foisted on them, largely due to the groupthink of a moronic political class - willing dupes of Gordon's wild claims to brilliance, when all he has to offer is one tragically inflated ego combined with dismally limited abilities.
ReplyDeleteSo if the White House decreed the timing of the visit and THEY must have known that Brown would be way down the billing behind the Pope, then perhaps he is being punished for taking the British Amy out to the airport at Basra, where they can play Nintendo all day - whilst the place gets infested with gangsters which US troops have to help remove? Just a thought - Brown feeling the wrath of Bush?
ReplyDeleteOr perhaps ther eis the hand of a Sir Humphrey figure, colluding with his colleagues in Washington to make Brown look a complete prairie hat. Job done, a suggestion of a smile flickers at the corner of Sir Humphrey's mouth...
Marquee Mark
Talking of no coverage, I can't find any on last night's London mayor hustings with Andrew Neil yet. Did Bojo do bad? He looked off colour and a bit grim. He's still waffling about the cost of his bright new bus scheme.
ReplyDeleteI see that No 10 have set up a 'microsite' to cover Brown's visit. Currently it features a map showing the UK and the US (presumably that's just in case we're unclear about where both countries are) and a photo of a very lonely looking Gordo boarding a plane. Many MPs representing marginals must have prayed for a mid-Atlantic engine failure but it seems that the dear leader arrived safely, albeit anonymously, in the US.
ReplyDeleteIt's difficult to believe that this was a cock up - surely even the most incompetent No 10 spinner must have noticed that Il Papa would be in the US at the same time as Gordo. Surely?
Alternatively, of course, the Embassy DID know, but chose not to tell Number 10.
ReplyDeleteThe Establishment doing it's bit, perhaps...
P.S. Do you think Brown will step out of the plane wearing a silly hat, like John Major used to do?
"Mr Brown hopes to meet with Senators and Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama."
ReplyDeleteThis is a direct quote from Gordons official US visit site (why why why?)...To me there is one word which jumps out... 'HOPES'...
Will they all reject McTwat...if history is their guide, his Jonah tendancies might scupper their presidential chances...
The gig's up when those crypto commie bastards at the FCO conspire against you.
ReplyDeleteThis will make Gordo the Ineffectual Twat (GIT) even more paranoid.
Marquee Mark - a fine summary, that has the air of truth. I wonder too about all those planes that suddenly weren't available. How long has this trip been planned? Seems like a lot of people out there don't like Mr Brown.
ReplyDeleteI see that the Sun has (in its 'Sun Says' editorial) today got some very complimentary things to say about George Osborne and Tory economic policy / competence.
ReplyDeleteThe Times has been banging on for a while about how shite Gordon Brown is as PM(any Anatole Kaletsky article for months will do) and was as chancellor.
Surely Murdoch is now on the same page as everyone else and sees that the PM is a complete chocolate teapot.
For what it's worth, I think that the broadsheet reading classes made their minds up about Brown long ago. It's getting traction in the 'politically not really interested until things hit the fan' demographic that swings elections. That demographic is now going to get a non-stop deluge of dismal and depressing coverage on Brown. I know the Sun likes to overstate their own influence - but if the Sun Says pages maintain the attack and expose Brown for the charlatan that he clearly is then the marginal seats will not be recoverable for Labour.
Nothing to do with the Miliblogger being touted as a future Labour leader again I hope!
ReplyDeleteI would feel sorry for Brown only if:
ReplyDeleteReal inflation was not running so high;
My tax rate had not jumped from 10% to 20%;
I didn't have all this police-state stuff being pushed on me while Gordon gets pushed around by the Chinese goons in Downing St.
I feel saddest for all those Labour MPs in marginal constituencies.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown will urge Wall Street bankers to reveal their financial losses quickly during his three-day trip to the United States.
ReplyDeleteYeah - and they'll probably tell him he's a little tiny dot on the face of the universe.
Perhaps he doesn't want to steal the headlines from the latest unemployment figures (down again), employment figures (up again), redundancy figures (record low), vacancy figures (record high)
ReplyDeleteOh, sorry, I forgot where I was. All figures are lies unless they show what your pyjama wearer want to see, aren't they?
I think what you've all got to realise is that the Americans don't know who Brown is, and they care even less - all they need to know is that he's not Blair. Britain just isn't very important to the average American - most couldn't even place it on a map - so the TV networks aren't going to be doing much coverage of a visit from an obsure foreign politico. Blair was only useful to the White House as a poodle - now he's gone its business as usual. Get used to it.
ReplyDeleteThe Mail website reports "Brown on a Charm Offensive." Brown? Charm? surely they are having a laugh.
ReplyDeleteVervet - Sugar Free @ 10.57 is clearly a party troll .... posted identically on Guido - do they really think we are that naive ?
ReplyDeleteThe PM has never had a recessions in 10 years in office. While Mrs Thacther had two recessions. The opresident will have two recessions.
ReplyDeleteUnemployment is down again today.
Is it the worse you on the economy the better a prime minister you are LOL.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7347995.stm
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Christopher Meyer, US expert, is putting the boot in, can't be helping too much either..
Still, I suppose it is better than being in Parliament and having to face Cameron across the dispatch box.
The BBC's angle is bizarre. Gordon is not going for publicity reasons but to do his job.
ReplyDeleteWhat does it matter if he doesn't get the publicity the Pope receives?
All it underlines is that the US concentrates on religion to the detriment of politics.
Archbishop Cranmer - maybe it is not a 'co-incidence' ? Maybe Gordon is going to the UN to get instructions from the Pope about the Next Steps for the New World Order ? Will he be upset when he's told that he must help Tony Blair become Holy Roman Emperor of the Enlarged Europe, one country under the Pope !!
ReplyDeleteNo one can claim anymore that the BBC is not biased to the tories. What kind of bizzare point is it from the BBC that the USA is no interested in a UK PM. They never have been that interested in UK PM's except for Blair and Thacther who sucked up the USA. I do not see why the BBC have to make a snide remark about labour. They are utterlet utterley biased to the tories now. Why?
ReplyDeleteBecause they are on the same pay as typical tory voters and only care about such people. Most BBC journalists are on the pay of a typical wealthy elite tory voter, so they are tories.
Most of them are BNP in my experience.
Unemployment is down again today
Plus We are still 10 years of ecomic growth while the UYSA is heading for a second recession in 8 years.
Chaucer Quango said...
ReplyDeleteI think that Gordon brown was terrific at PMQ's
today.
He pummeled Cameron over his poor grasp of the
real economic situation.
The Tory Toff leader was weak and ineffective and
failed to land a single blow.
Brown has really got a grip now, and is more than
a match for him.
Clegg was just insipid. A total waste of a
question.
Make no mistake, Labours fortunes are on the rise.
Given the recent cock-up over the Progressive Governance Summit logo, wil Gordon be wearing a pillow-case with eyeholes cut out to any of his engagements?
ReplyDeletePerhaps he could collect his mate Tony's Congressional Gold Medal to add to the reserves while he's over there?
What struck me this morning was the unanimity expressed by the Guardian and the Telegraph.Brown is a dead man walking say both.
ReplyDeletenever mind "Get Carter" he needs 'all-the kings-horses-and-all-the-Kings men' As yet another PR Consultant charged with putting his authority back-together-again.
Or will there be a fine for dropping a fag-end administration on the pavement outside No. 10
Tra La Tra la la farewell Humpty
Anonymous @ 10.15
ReplyDeleteIf your tax rate has jumped from 10% to 20% you must be earning about 7 grand a year or less.
What as, a part-time assistant to your MP Daddy in between your "studies"?
simon you are a dumb moron. The BNP who you claim to support have a leader who denied the holocaust they put forward a candidate who suggested rape a was like eating cake. You support an evil party. You despise this country's freedom and tolerance so you despire this country.
ReplyDeleteThis PM has not had a recession in 10 years and unemployment is down yet again Beat that BNP morons. Your party hate the working class.
Dirty European Socialist
ReplyDeleteOur growth was the lowest in the Anglo sphere and we are actually into the sixteenth year as all the pre-conditions were arrived at by Thatcher and Major ( Labour agreed and retained their reforms )as well as handing over balanced books also squandered by the baboon Brown This is in addition to his off balance sheet borrowing on our behalf. .
In this time Public spending has risen by about the amount of annual income tax revenue, 30 %, per annum and almost nothing has been achieved except to create a ‘client state of loafers’ .( CSOL `s)
Amongst the CSOL`s are the BBC who are paid out of tax payer money which is why they are so biased towards the large state Stalinist solutions proposed by Bye-Bye Brown. When the Conservative Party are in power the BBC know full well they are going to pay for their years of progressive propaganda at our expense and that’s just one nest of maggots about to be dragged into the light.
One enlightened commentator called it a ‘bonfire of the bureaucrats’, and if it was up to me it would not be a figurative one. The members of the regional development boards would make a cheerful crackling blaze and save us £2.5 billion.
On one matter you are right .Brown has cured the unemployment problem , unfortunately it was the one on Warsaw not the one we have with 5million people of working age again part of the CSOL`s.
Tell me , were your brains sucked out at birth or was it a recent accident ?
The White House decreed the date of Brown's visit. If he had said No to that date then he would have had a very long wait for the next opportunity.
ReplyDeleteAha the return of the poodle ... come here wee Browny here boy ...here boy.
We have not forgotten , I hope, the National Insurance swindle in the budget . What with that and the car it cost me about £1000. Can you imagine what Brown would do to wage earners with a clear five years , his debts to pay and his arrogant belief that if he just keeps on turning the screw it will work eventually .It will be carnage ,and he will introduce some fancy franchise whereby each Labour vote is magically two.
I tell you people will be fleeing this place and begging to be allowed into Zimbabwe .Mugabe is ,after all, quite charming relatively speaking
The IMF points out that the UK is not going to have recession and the USA will. On what basis is our growth lower than the USA. What is the anglosphere. Is this the one that includes India, and Nigeria, but does not include the USA.
ReplyDeleteYou use spurious arguments.
Facts qare the USA is about to have long massive recession and we won't. Unemployment is down yet again.
Another ridiculous post Iain. No Prime Minister should go around checking his diary with other world dignatories in case of a clash. The visit is not for PR purposes but to discuss the financial situation. The prescence of the Pope is irrelevant to those discussions.
ReplyDelete@ greater manchester fabians:
ReplyDelete"Another ridiculous post Iain. No Prime Minister should go around checking his diary with other world dignatories in case of a clash."
Don't be silly, he's got other people to do that for him hasn't he? Or is he such a control freak that he does his own diary now?
"The visit is not for PR purposes but to discuss the financial situation."
Oh! Did he take the Chancellor along to watch whilst he gave those Wall Street Bankers a jolly good talking to? Maybe he'll just tell Darling what to do when he gets back from being conveniently abroad.
"The prescence of the Pope is irrelevant to those discussions.
Nope, believe me, Gordon Brown needs all the help he can get right now. And if the Pope can put in a good word for him he should be profoundly grateful. After all, no one else would.
anon 10:15
ReplyDeleteFYI retired on a small pension.
Not quite sure what you were trying to prove - unless you were blogging from work when you should have been doing something else?
chaucer quango @12.23 must be a moron or be on autopilot! Surely this nonsense was posted last week when Parliament was on its Easter break and anyone with the slightest interest in politics knows that they do not return until next week.
ReplyDeleteIain, can you edit out what can only be an auto posting or an idiot?
1 You mean employment is up. Unemployment is meaningless with the state acting as employer of last resort at everyone elses expense. Yes thats right we are employing more Poles than ever.Genius
ReplyDelete2 http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/politics/danielhannan/april08/anglosphere.htm
But wtf is Europe ?
IE except sclerotic Europe we could hardly have done worse and I donot have to argue the US is perfect.Is Cuba ? ( although if I had more time I could certainly show its low tax regime produces vastly better average wealth per capita after housing and essentials )
Think about it DES ,how do you imagine that increasing taxes and throwing them into the non productive sector could aid 'growth'? Just how does it encourage wealth creating when the greedy mits Mac South hating Brown nabs most of it.Even Gordon Brown is not so stupid as to pretend that is the case so why do you?
Black is white
Up is down
Brown is doing well
You carry on , I have work to do.
Anonymous @ 12.45... I assure you I am not a troll of any kind. I just thought I would make the same point on both sites. Sorry to ruin your weirdo conspiracy theories...
ReplyDelete'The visit is not for PR purposes ... ' says Greater Manchester Fabians.
ReplyDeleteHa! Ha! and Ha! again.
That's cos Tony would have flown in with the Pope, after receiving a private Mass in a specially constructed 'in-plane' chapel, dedicated to St. Teflonus and St. Fortunus, the patron saints of slick politicians, with his wife helpoing herself to the on-board free drinks, stashing bottles of Jack Daniels in her handbag to flog on ebay when she gets home!
ReplyDeleteChaucer Quango - Which failing BBC sit-com do you have a hand in writing?
ReplyDeleteYour Grace, From what we know of this Pope, I don't think blessings are going to be the main event. I look forward to the aggressive third world parasites (and third world oil nouveaux riches) getting their noses rubbed in their poo.
Chaucer Quango @ 12:23
ReplyDeleteYou posted this same rubbish on Guido's site. You may not have noticed it, but McBroon is away in the US today enjoying another PR disaster.
Things must be really bad for Labour if they're reduced to employing astroturfers like you who can't read. And those like DES who can't reason, construct a sentence or spell.
If you want a good insight into BAE and why the company should simply be allowed to fail, I recommend Lewis Page's "Lions, Donkeys and Dinosaurs". BAE has a shameful history of building crap weapons that arrive years late, cost a fortune and don't even work. For example:
ReplyDelete- The Tornado F3 fighter that is actually a converted bomber, can't dogfight, struggles to reach 30,000 feet and relies on American avionics and missiles. This was one of the aircraft the Saudis bought under Al Yamamah even though at the time it had concrete ballast in it's nose instead of radar, because the radar was late and didn't work
- The Sea Harrier. Cannot be used to support ops in Iraq or Afghanistan because it can't fly in hot weather.
- The SA80 rifle, a weapon worse than its predecessor that has never been sold to anyone. Years after its introduction each weapon had to be fixed by Heckler and Koch at a cost of £480 per weapon. HK are owned by BAE. Armalite rifles are available for £400 retail, and that's if you're buying one.
- The Nimrod. A billion spent, none delivered.
- The Eurofighter. We're ordering 232 but only need 120 and don't have plans to train pilots or support for more. Eurofighters will cost at least £86 million each and have no ground attack capability. The Saudis recently bought US F15s for £3million each.
- 2/3rds of BAE's employees are actually employed outside the UK. In the UK there are maybe 35,000 employees. They should go the way of the miners. They are an industrial subsidy masquerading as a defence policy.
As you know we here at Labour HQ have blogging comment targets.
ReplyDeleteI need to get at least a 35% response in order to get my co-prosperity integrated inclusive productivity credit.
I can't help it if there is no Parliament.
Stephen Carter just told us to post to all the big political bloggers that Gordon Brown is fantastic and link it to the major news story of the day.
Still, you would have thought that dirty european socialist and Chris Paul or Elsby would have told me!
They are only on the other side of the cubicle after all. But then again they always sit together at lunch. Very cliquey here
Bastards.
Sugar Free said...
ReplyDelete"Anonymous @ 12.45... I assure you I am not a troll of any kind. I just thought I would make the same point on both sites. Sorry to ruin your weirdo conspiracy theories..."
By Vervet's definition you are a troll.
Brown is less popular than a man who was in the Hitler Youth as a boy. That speaks volumes.
ReplyDeleteSnottie McBean would do well not to visit any breweries whilst in the USA...
ReplyDelete'stupid european socialist': you are even funnier than Kevin Maguire- and that takes some doing. Btw- pay attention halfwit- i do not support the BNP. They are even more bonkers than your 'party' LyingLabour! I suggest another visit to your psychiatrist.
ReplyDeleteSabina said...
ReplyDelete"Brown is less popular than a man who was in the Hitler Youth as a boy. That speaks volumes."
The Pope is more 'popular' because he is Chairman of a club with 1,000,000 members.
from Anon 9.51 am. Correction. I meant "1,000,000,000 members".
ReplyDeletechaucer Quango : Moron
ReplyDeleteApril 17, 2008 8:32 AM Lbaour = no recessions,. You are not funny.