The papers are full of rumours that Gordon Brown will have to abandon his planned reshuffle on Friday because various ministers have made ckear that they would resign rather than be moved. It's perfectly possible that the PM will say he never planned a reshuffle in the first place and that it was all media hype. Except that he can't, as he needs a new Transport Secretary. So he's got a bit of a dilemma. But doesn't it demonstrate the weakness of his position, that he is effectively having to give in the blackmail by his Ministers. I can think of no Prime Minister in my lifetime who has been held to ransom like this.
If there was a share market in Gordon Browns I would be selling them fast.
He richly deserves any crap that's coming his way!
ReplyDeleteexcept Thatcher being forced into the ERM by Major, Lamont and Hurd. Weakened by the poll tax she felt she couldn't have withstood a number of resignations but how many jobs were lost and houses reposessed as a result?
ReplyDelete"It's perfectly possible that the PM will say he never planned a reshuffle in the first place and that it was all media hype."
ReplyDeleteYes, just like a year ago, bottles the reshuffle like he bottled the election.
A year ago the country had to suffer the incompetent in his job because Brown lost his bottle when he realised he would lose.
Now Brown will have to keep incompetents in cabinet positions for the same reason.
It's the trickle down effect of socialism.
Iain, if you see Nick Cohen could you ask him if was infering that GB perhaps drinks too much - as that's what i got from his column. This is scary vitriol - if he's right then there's no decision that can be isolated - the knives are out even though no one knows who's with whom.
ReplyDeleteIn the papers - what you actually mean in is in the ToryGraph - must bne true then.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to Fridays resuffle
Can't he just promote someone to Transport without moving anyone else? There are lots and lots of Labour MPs not already in the cabinet...
ReplyDeleteYou lot never fail to make me chuckle !!!.
ReplyDeleteFirst a reshuffle is a sign of weakness and panic, now no reshuffle is a sign of weakness and panic.
Maybe, Browns successful conference, bounce in the polls etc etc, has made a reshuffle unnecessary.
My bet - there will be a small resuffle, and guees what !! you will all come out ranting that the small resuffle is a sign of weakness panic. YAWN
The Tory way. look left and right, up and down depending on the wind , and then claim consistancy
Anon 10.18 - glad you're having a laugh pet. I'm absolutely bricking it - RBS going now - hee hee hee, how funny is life!
ReplyDeleteBrown doesn't need a new Tansport Secretary just yet. Ruth Kelly hasn't resigned, she has simply said that she would be stepping down at the next cabinet reshuffle (whenever that happens to be).
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the Blairites would do if Brown threatened to appoint people like John McDonnell and Bob Marshall-Andrews as ministers. It would put them in a really difficult position. If Brown tries to move them, and they resign, they end up with all these left wing tub-thumpers in the Cabinet. People who would, of course, destroy Blair's legacy.
ReplyDeleteIf I was Brown, I'd be very tempted, just out of spite! And while it wouldn't be good news for the country, it would at least make politics more interesting. :-)
Let's wait and see shall we? If they're offered moves away from the top table they can resign all they want to.
ReplyDeleteThe assertion that no other PM has had such pressure, if indeed this is the case, is fabulously ridiculous.
And filling the Kelly post could of course be accomplished with one move within and one move inward. Or he could make her wait ... but that hasn't happened I can assure you.
PS Perhaps there will be no reshuffle on Friday because it'll be done at 3 am on Wednesday morning in a hotel bar somewhere? More seriously, perhaps GB'll take my suggestion of doing it during Cameron's speech ...
ReplyDeletepete chown.
ReplyDeleteBob Marshall-Andrews is standing down at the next GE, thank God, and
hopefully by then Hoey will have completed her voyage, and finally crossed the floor to the Tories.
@ chris paul.
ReplyDelete..."doing it during Cameron's speech" ...
Wonder if about an hour later would be more useful?
Cath said... 9.34 AM
ReplyDeleteAt last, someone with a decent memory who doesn't try to re-write history!
"...
ReplyDeleteIf there was a share market in Gordon Browns I would be selling them fast..."
Except that he would have been nationalised long ago at considerable public expense.
Oh, hang on, he's already causing the public considerable expense.
What a dilemma!
"But doesn't it demonstrate the weakness of his position"
ReplyDeletePossibly so. What will you say if he does as many labour MPs would like and just sacks the whole lot of the nulab traitors and whiners. I keep telling you, those people represent no-one but themselves.
"I can think of no Prime Minister in my lifetime who has been held to ransom like this."
That's just silly.
Well there is the Gordon Brown Weeks market on Spreadfair (and I'm sure other companies have the equivalent).
ReplyDeleteThere is a share in Gordon Browns - it's Sterling. Everyone is shorting Sterling as a proxy for Brown. This has been the year of ABS. (Anything But Sterling)
ReplyDelete"dick the prick" said "Iain, if you see Nick Cohen could you ask him if was infering that GB perhaps drinks too much"
ReplyDeleteAs far as I know Gordon is a teetotaller (son of the Manse, remember?). When I read Cohen's article I took it to mean that, in Manchester, drink was causing very loose conversation and too many politicos were making unguarded comments.
His description of how the gummint are using the media to knife their enemies in the back reminds me of how Diana was accused of similar media manipulation and we all know what happened to her in the end.
Feeding the media is like feeding a crocodile - you need to be careful they don't take your hand off as well as grabbing the proferred tid-bits.......
so which Shadow minister got a little drunk last night then ??? and with a media hack
ReplyDeleteworse still spotted HQ
ooouch
reshuffle on its way
At least Wow Gold for now.then
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