No nudges, no winks

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Until there's a general election announced to sort out all this nonsense the country is going to remain in limbo, a laughing stock to the rest of the world.

Change is all that matters now, and it's only just a case of when. I just wish they'd all get on with it.

Brown is desperate to hang onto whoever remains. After the rats have fled ship, he wouldn't welcome any more resignations, but there is one that must take place now. Jack Straw has apologised to the families of the two murdered French students and admitted full responsibility as Justice Minister, for the mistaken release from prison of one of the monsters who committed these foul crimes. The Senior Probation Officer in the case resigned last year, but he shouldn't carry the can alone, now it is Straw's turn. The families of the victims are going to seek legal claims against the British judiciary, and they are right to do so. It must be comforting for Brown to have Straw sitting beside him nodding his head like an obedient puppet, but the man is useless. Straw OUT, OUT, OUT!.

And the saga gos on David M to Resign Tomorrow

General Election Please

Brown out!

Will Gordon Brown act in the best interest of himself, the party, or the country.

The clamour for an election will grow if he goes, yet exactly what will we be voting on if that happens?

The Tories offer us no concrete policies, and Labour will be in the same boat with a new leader.

Sadly we seem to be entering an age whereby people believe that their votes and opinions can be actioned as quickly as their text votes to Big Brother, not based on considered thought, but on their reactions to the latest twist or turn in the media soap opera that is Westminster.

Mr Robinson

Why does everyone including the Conservative and Libdems keep calling for a general election?
It is clearly NOT going to happen, why? Because Labour would lose. As my history teacher said NO government is going to change the way it was elected hence NO government would change the electoral system to PR when elected via first past the post. I think we can stretch this to NO government is going to call an election when they are going to lose - BIG TIME.

Everyone including Mr Cameron should accept this and move on.

The next question is whether Gordon will go. The answer is NO. He is so thick skinned and assured that he is the best person to lead us out of this recession that his ego would not allow it.
There is no choice for him.

There is nothing we can do except wait 12 months for the General Election, get used to it.

Ironically Alistair Darling has GB's future in his hands...if he refuses a demotion and moves to the back benches, the prime minister is dead in the water...of course the same can be said for Milliband, but if i were AD i would get in quick to get my revenge..

It never rains but it pours. Poor Gordon.

What price loyalty these days?

This, just like the Blears resignation, smacks of a personal vendetta, and a knife in the back, hoping that their man - Johnson it seems - will reward them handsomely when the time comes.

I'm finding the whole thing sickening and it's only making Brown more sympathetic.

This perhaps would be better in "A Tale of Two Letters", but for some technical reasons it seems impossible to blog on that thread.
I simply want to say that if Blears isn't cracking up, she is already cracked. What sort of person wears a "Rocking The Boat" brooch when she is supposed to be resigning from a very responsible position?

Frankly I don't want Gordon Brown to go and I don't want a General Election anytime soon because he is The Opposition's best electoral asset!

These guys are just a bunch of jokers! Who in there real mind resigns and send the letter to the press. Why can't this weasel of a guy go directly to his boss and tell him he is resigning and why.
This is a guy supposedly a close friend of Tony Blair who sent innocent people to their graves based on a lie. That says a lot about his judgement.
Please where do these politicians and their journo friends come from and what world do they live in! Only in Westminster a nonetity like James Purnell could come out of no where and try to unseat the prime minister to save his own bloody skin.
What exactly has he achieved with the works and pension portfolio other than spending his time plotting! These guys should be sent to the real world to do some work. jokers the whole lot of them

Will someone explain to me, why a party in power, with the privilege and position to be able to do something about the recession and clean up politics is intent on imploding on itself? Doesn't serving the voting public and the country come before personal ambition and histrionics? I hear the latest one to go, a Labour "wet" and Blairite has been in close touch with journalists over his decision. Is the media running this country now?
If Purnell has political ambitions he is probably going the wrong way about realising them. If what I have heard is correct, he has presented one case to the PM and a completely different one to journalists. If his action does indeed have repercussions, he is unlikely to rise in politics in the future with a record of blatant double dealing, presenting one case to his party leader and another to journalists. Politics can be a nasty business and throughout history, those who are two-faced have come to a sticky end. Once the block, the noose, assassination or hanging drawing and quartering could have been the penalty. But today we are more civilised (thank goodness), it is just a reputation that is lost. Once down and out, we have the chance to tend our wounded pride and our gardens and pretend we are in the "best of all possible worlds."

Milliband's decision to stay could be crucial in buying time. If he had held off on commenting until the morning then pressure would have built further. If Brown can survive until tomorrow evening without a senior cabinet member resigning then he could survive over the weekend and get the reshuffle done, in which case he might still hold on. But if one of the big guns goes before Monday then Brown will have to go then too.

Apparently...Susan Boyle has phoned 10 Downing Street to see how Gordon Brown's doing!

Brown's HMS Invincible...I counted them all in!...and then I counted them all out!!!

Captain Brown's mutiny on the Bounty (thats now gone bust!)

Brown's HMS Invincible...I counted them all in!...and I counted them all out!!!

Brown's massacared in The Night of the Long Knives!

Dear Nick,

GB has already stated he will not resign for the sake of the party because he is the party (In his mind i think).

GB to go and give Labour some sort of chance is not looking likey.

GB to stay and give Labour no chance is my bet.

Xxxx
ps,
I could be wrong so, 12 hours is a long time in politics.

PS...I think the whole of the Westminster village is full of crooks!...sue me if you dare!

Getting rid of Brown would be unfortunate. It would defuse the immediate crisis and thus allow the political class to dodge the real question, which is electoral and constitutional reform.

There are plenty of members of the Labour Party who will be glad to see the back of James Purnell. Someone who should have joined the Tories in the first place.

All day there have been rumours that someone from Brown's government would speak when the polling booths closed. I kept Radio 4 on all evening, looking forward to The World Tonight. I can't believe their misjudgement in going with a special broadcast from and about Poland.
Generally I would be very interested in another country's politics. But tonight?! When James Purnell was to publish such a momentous letter?
The team should have been at Wesminster to report news as it was breaking. Instead, a history programme was broadcast.
Nick, I turned on my TV and listened to you and others on BBC News Channel. The World Tonight team needs to justify such a strange decision.

Harry Hill for PM...that's what I say!

I am very happy to see the rose-coloured specs fall from people's eyes at last.
Hopefully this is not just the end of Gordon, but the end of the Labour Party itself.
I would love a general election right now - we would stand a fair chance of seeing Labour in 3rd place.

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With-in the Labour Party there is a lot of support for Gordon Brown. The question now is what vision for society do we have. Never mind what Party have you supported but when we come out of recession, how do we want things to look.

Do we want an end to greed and selfishness or do we want a move toward inclusion and community?

I recommend the Rieth Lectures this year.

I wonder if any of Mandy's fingerprints will be found on the co-ordination of these resignations? Public support but private grudge?Devious people can do the most amazing things.

Well, I expect that after tonight's results, combined with this resignation, Gordon Brown will likely resign within a week. Alan Johnson is probably the safest option to take over from him and will possibly call an election later this year. This might save quite a few seats.

I get the feeling that the Labour MPs want to see major losses in these elections, as it will give them the weight to remove Brown quickly.

I cannot understand why he does not accept the damage he is doing. Not only to his party but also to the governing of this country.

not quite sure how this is going to go down - on balance, I think the Labour Party will back away from doing it - so, no new leader and no election this year - can't say I'm as certain of that as I used to be, however

The good news just keeps on coming, if the rest of the Blairites desert, Gordon Brown is in danger of winning the next election - providing he makes the correct choices. He and Obama are now experiencing a universal truth; you can never and should never, placate a right wing politician.

22. At 00:09am on 05 Jun 2009, mikerobbins wrote:
Getting rid of Brown would be unfortunate. It would defuse the immediate crisis and thus allow the political class to dodge the real question, which is electoral and constitutional reform.

-------------------------------


I agree fully


Parliamentary refrom is the only election issue!

James Purnell resigning might actually help Gordon with Labour's grassroots support, Purnell was always the unpleasant surprise in the punch bowl, his proposals on welfare reform would have made Maggie think twice.

Brown is finished really though, he fired the party up to oust Blair, now he's discovering it's a lot easier to start them up than turn them off. I do find it faintly ludicrous that Brown's supporters are still blaming his problems on Blair, the fact is Blair's poll ratings were pretty much those of a long term incumbent PM, his "unpopularity" was a mirage, Brown has shot past Blair's unpopularity and explored whole new depths in his tenure, Brown has allowed Cameron to run rings around him in a way that Blair would never have done, Blair might have pulled it round, Brown lacks the charm and communication skills to even try. The sad thing is that it does look like he might have turned round the economy, and the Labour Government has in general been good for the Health Service and Education, but that has been buried under an avalanche of bad press.

So in will come Cameron, destroy our relationship with Europe, slash public spending and Britain's economy will absolutely tank in a way people can barely grasp at present, still, it'll be the Telegraph wot won it.

James Purnell's expenses record is not whiter than white is it? There are many reason's why Gordon Brown is not a good leader or communicator, and one of them is not treating everyone who has fallen foul of the rules or the spirit of them equally. What is totally unnacceptable applies across the board.

However I do not see why he should be forced out as leader by those, who themselves face questionable times before the electorate. Instead he should agree with the other party leaders that those MP's who have abused the expenses system should be encouraged to step down by way of a number a by elections all to be held on the same day (to keep the cost down). This would no doubt produce a hung Parliament which would enable a Government of National Unity to sort out the expenses issue taking into account what the general public consider is a fair way of rewarding MP's who serve us - the stakeholders. Party politics and point scoring should have no role to play in that. If this means MP's working over the summer so be it.

Once a fair remuneration policy has been agreed, there should be a General Election in the autumn to be held with policies not expenses being the main issues.

Brown is finished. For 10 years he somehow managed to build up this mystique that he was an intellectual heavyweight constandly being denied the front of stage by Tony Blair. It was a sham. In fact, Blair's biggest mistake was not sacking the most incompetent chancellor ever to have led this country and the one utterly responsible for bankrupting Britain.

Yes, Brown has finally had his come uppance and shown himself to be nothing more than a busted flush, but look what a price the country has paid for this indulgence.

The whole of Westminster is in need of significant reform. No ruling party should be allowed to change its leader midway through a term of office without calling a general election.

We need a system which enables voters to choose the prime minister. Our ballot paper should allow us to vote for the party, local candidate of our choice and party leader we want should our choice of party win, rather than be left to a cabul of self-interested politians.

We also need fixed-term elections of 4 years and remove the power of the ruling party to select a time, which benefits it rather than the country.

Also, the electorate should have the option of calling an early election if it perceives that the Government hass betrayed key election pledges, through a call-in mechanism triggered by a certain % in each region of the country.

Just changing government and bringing in David Cameron will not make a jot of difference. He and his party have no substance.

Oh, and in case you didn't realise, Britain is about to go bankrupt!

This is no time for chicken hearted Blairites. Get into line Milliband and co or go (please) and while I'm here! why is that useless MP Flint still hanging around! Gordon flex your power and sack a few of the cuckoos. Flint first please!

I must explain my strange calling name!

It used to be...

BankRSlicker...but somebody complained about it.

The root cause of all our (and New Labour's) troubles stem from New Labour's government policy towards the City of London...do your homework!
An end to 'Boom and bust'...my ar**

With a very few honourable exceptions (Frank Field, Kate Hoey) I hope that Labour MPs in general and Gordon Brown in particular are thoroughly, thoroughly miserable tonight!
They might then get a very small inkling of how the rest of us feel. We've had our pensions stolen, our futures ruined and even our grandchildrens's futures mortgaged up to the hilt by the profligate spending and reckless borrowing incurred over the last twelve years.
Labour and Gordon Brown forgot many years ago that their first duty in Government was to the country as a whole, not lining their own pockets, not getting jobs for their mates, not using OUR money to bribe voters in their own constituencies in order to keep their seats.
Mr. Brown's first telephone call in the morning should be to arrange a 10am appointment with Her Majesty at the palace!
Call an election NOW!

Post 14 I believe that both David Milliband and James Purnell are playing the long game but from different starting positions.

Purnell has cut himself loose from Gordon and told him to go. Purnell knows now isn't his time. He is still young and has a lot to learn. I can see him as the possible leader after next.

In his ideal scenario Gordon goes and Alan Johnson becomes leader. Johnson salvages something at the next election and perhaps saves 40 or 50 labour MPs. After a couple of years or so of Conservative government and the new labour MP's get to know their way around Westminster Johnson states it is time to hand over the baton to a younger generation to lead an reinvigorated labour party into the following election. It is at this point that Alan's trusty Lieutenant Purnell steps forward.

David Milliband is playing the loyalty card. He knows Gordon is dead in the water but doesn't want to be seen as the "Brutus" to Gordon's Julius Caeser. I believe Milliband sees himself as Mark Anthony who after the death of Gordon's PMship comes to bury not praise Gordon.

This way he rounds up the support of the Brownites and his own supporters as the "anyone but Alan" candidate.

I however see Purnell as the Octavian in the wings.

I agree with some of the other comments - where is the loyalty?, do people like Blears/Purnell really think they are that important?, how is any of this helping the labour party or more importantly the government to focus on the economy? MPs are paid to help improve the country, I don't see how by resigning and trying to inflict damage on the Prime Minister they are helping at all.

I am not a labour supporter but I really want people to be challenging Cameron on economic policy. I have been dissapointed with the Conservatives response to the downturn as the general response seems to be criticise whatever the government is doing - even if some of it appears to be working. All these resignations by self important minor ministers is achieving nothing, and given the current issues that face the country really makes politicians look even more out of touch.

Best demonstration yet of the insanity of the so-called British Constitution, with no separation of powers and an electoral system designed for the benefit of the politicians in power rather than the people. The one good that may come out of it is the break-up of the unitary UK. Sadly, England now seems so Euro sceptic that even a confederal UK seems most unlikely.

Post or reactive moderation for all except CBeebies, please!

the soap opera just started, episode after episode.. they all remained quite till all came out to the public and now they all are staging a play so some go, but most remain.. so they can incorporate their friends..

all must go..

EU and MEP are manipulating the elections which just got less then 20% partecipation.. but they will increase proportionally, and claim 45% or so..

publish the MEP expenses, or allowances or whatever you call them.. let see if in the past they did comit fraud or crimes.. why EU is scared..

there is not democracy in EU.. even if you vote your vote can be ignored.. also, the EU is costing each person 500euro per year.. and what is they benefit 0.
if there is no EU, you will be able to save 500euro for yourself.. and not let your MEP or proEU payrolls buy TVplasma and adult movies with your money and even joke with you..
so, do NOT vote, but better do NOT pay taxes..
and ask for a bailout, and claim expenses.

this is all a scam and a soap opera.
they are all in it, all have a finger in this scandal.
all of them must go.
vote for your friends, who will help you, not for politicans who dont know who you are.

if there was justice and morals, they will all be facing procecution, but the justice system is their friends.. they are helping eachother, and the police are partecipating in crime.. why there is no state.. because EU has taken all powers from our country and our politicans are hiding behind EU, they know EU well, but they dont care to know us.. and what we want.

Thank you all for showing that political activism is alive in this world in a democratic society and that it is civil. The politics may be brutal but the response of the British people is wonderful to see. I am an American living in a western state that has its own drama but nothing like the political activity in Great Britain.
Good show and thanks. Thanks also to Mr. Robinson for his insightful political comments.

It is interesting how commentators say Labour MPs are in effect desperate to look after themselves and their own futures in the job. This is in fact yet more exposure of the bad attitude of the political class. Selfishness. No principle. No morals. Got to hold on to a fat pay cheque first. Support any party leader that has the best chance of assisting this. No apparent concern to represent the people! How strange. LOL
These sorts of demonstrations show very clearly there is nothing constitutional the problem, no change any solution, it is the types that get ahead in parties and get seats. Ask not what a politician can do for the people, but what is in it for themselves. That is all they do.
Gorgon has it easy, any plotters can simply be told back him or he calls an election now.

#5 "The Tories offer us no concrete policies, and Labour will be in the same boat with a new leader."

No and yes: the Tories are offering serious policies to deal with the HUGH debt burden inflicted on the nation (and the nation's children and grandchildren) by Brown and his minions; and Labour and their client groups won't face up to this debt, under Brown or any alternate leader.

The election should focus mainly on this problem (the expenses issue is 'small potatoes' compared to this). This election will be a generational break - for decades the debt has been piled up to pay for the bureaucrats, quangoes, benefits and pensions for the non-productive client groups supported by the Labour party. It must stop now ! In fact, stopping isn't enough - we have to CUT, CUT, CUT, back to the bone.

#24 I don't know which version of Radio 4 you were listening to, but they did lead with the Purnell story.
I suppose the reason for the Gdansk special was the Polish election anniversary and the fact that the BBC never reports UK politics on election days anyway. (Well, hardly ever, unless somebody just resigned...)
The R4 live interview with Sister Harriet was priceless - playing the same old broken record about Brown being the best man to work his socks off at least 5 times, and then admitting she hadn't actually seen Purnell's letter even though she was quite sure it was of no real political significance whatever.
Surely there is only one NuLabourite devious enough to want to apply for GB's job now, and that's Mandelson. Gawd 'elp us all if he gets it, though.
Let's face it, Labour civil wars are WAY more fun than the boring Tory "men in grey suits".

The remaining rats are coming out to support Gordy tonight. Ministers are paid a lot more than ordinary MPs. Obviously, there is no element of self-interest involved in the decisions made by these principled MPs.

It looks like three factions are forming

1) The Optimists who think Labour can win an election with a new leader.
2) The Brownites who are too tied to him to abandon him.
3) The Pessimists who do not think Labour can win the next election no matter who leads. They want Brown to take the loss, and then they can decide on a new leader.

Gordon may be able to hold on if the Optimists are a minority.

What sort of hysteria drives a senior minister to lose the plot so completely? How can anyone in his position seriously consider that either the country or the Labour Party will actually benefit from a general election at this moment? We've had enough lemming like stampedes over one cliff after another in the last two years. Let's try not jumping into a bottomless pit. Of course there may be the delusion that handing the current shambles to the Tories will quickly demonstrate their utter incapability to run a bath, and so hasten Labour's recovery. I doubt it.

To quote a Private Eye cartoon from the 70s:

The Rats Leave the Stinking Shit...

I find it incredibly difficult to comprehend how the very people that backed the coronation of Gordon Brown are now saying he's not suitable for the job. The party got it wrong with Gordon Brown and they'll probably get it wrong again with his successor. Meanwhile it's the people who these cowardly MP's are supposed to represent, who suffer. I also find it no surprise that it's the MPs mired in the expenses scandal who are now backstabbing in order to protect their own jobs. Their actions over the last month or so show that they look after themselves first, the people second, if that.

James Purnell is correct in his analysis. And people trying to dismiss his actions as "Student Union politics" or "Not been loyal" are clearly deluded. It's the people in the cabinet who are trying to cling on to this sinking ship, not James Purnell. Labour is finished, so why doesn't Brown go now, and Labour can try and maybe gain what little credibility they have left by electing a new leader for the remaining time they have left, until a General election must be called. So by my understanding once you become an MP and cabinet minister you've got to agree with Ayatollah Brown, otherwise you're considered a lone ranger. Like Purnell said, without a change of leadership you can kiss could by to "New Labour". I'm guessing though you'll probably need to hire a welder to prize Browns hands of the railings at number 10 this time next year!

Nick

Are you at all embarrassed about being paid so much while not delivering any scoops?

You seem to be a late commentator on everything (for ever chasing the wave), but you have indicated that you *do* have more information but (for what ever reason) are not prepared to disclose it.

If you are collecting information that you cannot use, do you think that maybe you are more suited to being a 'researcher' than a 'journalist'.

When will people learn? Every Labour administration ends in tears and deep in the red. If you voted Labour you brought this on yourself.

It's only relatively recently Labour became the "second party", now they're going to be consigned to third party status if not the rubbish bin of history. Could any government have got it more wrong?

So the grumpy, old, grey haired, dour Scot is having another bad day? Still, another night in The Priory and Susan Boyle should be fine!

You never see them in the same room do you?

How utterly ludicrous that some "on their way out" corrupt cabinet ministers think they can effect the future of the government/party, all they seem to manage is to destabilize the current administration, although I am glad the tax payer no longer has to dish out wages to egocentric fools like Blears, Purnell etc, I have no doubt they will still receive some form of compensation/recompense. History will only remember the fact that Brown was undermined by a disparate few, not who they were or what they (claimed)to stand for.

As Jurassic 5 said "Either you're a part of the problem or a part of the solution. What's your contribution to life"

Downfall. Except even Hitler had some who stayed loyal to the end.

Notsosilentmajority and Secretsciver I agree with every word. A general election is the only way to start to repair our broken politics and hence Broken Britain.

Blog 36, XCAnderson concludes....."Oh, and in case you didn't realise, Britain is about to go bankrupt!"
What happens?
Does Alistair/Ed/The Rt Hon E X Chequer pop over to the County Court with £345 from the petty cash tin and declare us bankrupt?
Will the government then face the ignomy of appearing in the classified section of a remote local paper which is only printed every other Tuesday?
We'll then have to wait 3 years before we can start again - only this time, our credit rating will be so poor, we'll have to deal in cash only. My goodness what a thought! Having to pay for things up front.
Up front - there's an expression MP's aren't familiar with!

Purnell is a little sneaky traitor whose parasuicide will not be mourned by anyone.GOOD RIDDANCE, JUDAS!
Milliband would be a disaster as he is a coward.
Darling would be dreadful.Johnston would be dreary.
Straw would be catastrophic, Harman horrendous.....
Really, Gordon is still the best man for the job, and the knives are actually helping him regain support.
Here is a memo to GB:
Gordon, you need to get on the telly with someone you like and tell us how things are and that it is back to business as usual......make a joke of being "the Scottish git everyone loves to hate ,but I ain't dead yet and if you think I'm bad ....wait and see what would happen if you vote Tory!"
You are getting the job done which is hard and unpopular but that's tough, it is the way it is.You are getting on with the difficult business of sorting out the parliamentary expenses(enter John Reid), the economy (time for a green shoots story?)and a chat from Tony on the telly praising Gordon would be handy too.
(TONY ,PHONE UP THE BEEB AND GET ON AIR PRONTO!)
We need some new measures.....what about restoring all the old ruins under threat,(not just Labour grandees).... what about a Let's make Britain Great campaign.....litter, graffiti and clearing out drug dealers and beggars from the streets.
What about a "nominate your local hero" campaign?
What about a new measure to make all savings under 50k tax-free?
What about a rise in inheritance tax thresholds to 500k.
What about a recognition of the hardships parents are facing by a 30% cut in university tuition fees for the next year?
It is also time to root out the traitors in your midst,Gordon.
An announcement of the shuffle decisions a few days before the press expects it would help.
You need to go on air telling the country that you are cleaning up the mess that is affecting every political party, that half of your critics who jumped were on the way out anyway and start looking as if you were a toughie and not a loser.
SAY THAT YOU HAVE NO TIME FOR TRAITORS AND HANGERS ON AND THAT ANYONE WHO MAKES ANY STATEMENT TO ANYONE IS FINISHED, IF THEY THINK THE BRITISH PUBLIC WILL PUT UP WITH A COUP THEY CAN FORGET IT.
Deal with the Tory gripes about Scotland....saying that yes, the English feel like an oppressed majority, but would they like to be Scottish?
Expose the threat to the Union posed by a hostile Tory party and the irreversibilty of a break up in the Union.
Acknowledge the dilemmas and controversies posed by an English parliament.
ANYONE WHO IS NOT HAPPY IS WELCOME TO RESIGN, THERE ARE PLENTY OF PEOPLE WAITING TO TAKE THEIR PRIVILEGED PLACE..... SAY THAT BEING A LABOUR MP IS NOT A HEREDITARY PEERAGE AND THAT THERE ARE GOING TO BE MORE SACKINGS NOT LESS!
And say to anything Cameron says,"Well he would say that wouldn't he, he wants my job but he is not blooming well getting it!"
Also a joke about dealing with the swine threat might be a good one.

I met Alan Johnson during the Deputy Leadership contest - if he is the best that Labour have to offer as an alternative then I depair for the Labour Party

The question is I suppose, who else is there?

Labour seem to be falling apart and failing Britian but if an election was called all other parties would be all talk and no action. I do not really think any political party would be running the country well if they were power because all the parties are trying to scam the tax payer as seen with the stupid expenses which people were claiming and as a result of this and other business most parties have lost important memebers. We need politions to stop thinking of themselves and how to get richer and start to think about the countries problems and how to solve them as they are meant to be doing.

This has come as NO surprise, for the Labour Party is now only made up of those who want a change of Leadership with the view of trying to win the next General Election, and those whom ONLY want to ensure that they get paid up until Gordon Brown has the guts to call an Election which they ALL know that they are going to lose both not ONLY the General Election but also in the many Cases their own Seats as well.

Once an Election is called the Labour Party will proberly come in last place and my NEVER be a Political Party to be reckoned with again in the future, so Goodbye Labour RIP.
You won't be missed by the Poor, for there is not much you have done for them that really makes any livable difference to their lives given the Years that you have been in Power, and wasted these same Years big time.

Its almost like the BBC and Gordan Brown have a deal he has a new story in the news nearly every week.

Brown orchestrated a concerted campaign to topple Blair & he is now tasting a dose of his own medicine. The difference is that Blair, whatever one's opinion, did have charisma, an adept way of coping and international respect'. Blair's competence and charm were assets to the UK in the same way as Thatcher's toughness was and Churchill's inspiration was: the right qualities at the right time. Brown has the wrong qualities at the wrong time

Much has been made of Brown being candidate for worst PM ever: that title must be reserved for John Major, an intellectual pygmy without any sense of shame for the effects of his economic misjudgement on people and businesses in the UK. And Major was a hypocrite, having adulterous affairs at the same time as promoting traditional values.

Brown refers to his Presbyterian roots and values - does that include stubborness to the point of solipsism, hatred of his superior Blair and a coveting of the post of PM? I don't see much spirituality there and Brown displays his Calvinism in way that makes his Scottishness even more alien and unpalatable to the English majority electorate of the UK

In Brown's defence he does appear to care about the economic effects of the recession on UK people of unemployment, bankruptcy and stress - qualities never apparent in Major's premiership [one which he also initially inherited ]

In the short term Labour need to find a new leader then call an immediate General Election. In the long term Parliament & the UK Union needs reform - changing the members will not deal with the structural problems. The current set of Westminster players are a symptom not a cause of the malaise and that includes the oleaginous Cameron. Vince Cable looks like the only leader with the capacity to act without excessive narcissism

A system of more immediate and continous electoral involvement would ensure a TV Reality / Celebrity / Popularity show of hellish dimensions. The current UK electorate is largely a product of chav, dumbed down thinking; there is no deference or deferred gratification that can be called upon. Regrettably I see the only real chance of Parliamentary reform coming about during a period of benign dictatorship [based on the better examples of British Colonial Rule]. This is also the time to unhook Scotland from the Union, get rid of the Englishman's Burden of subsidising Scotland and restore English Independence. The English need to wake up from their political and cultural complacency which has lead to a Scottish PM, Chancellor and Speaker debasing the English political system. These actions would break the 'Dance of the Dumb' which persists between the UK electorate and their politicians. A country gets the institutions and politicians it deserves and right now the UK has hit rock bottom.

So yet another government ends its days in farcical turmoil. It is not just the politicians. It is not even the parties. It is the system that is failing. Blair/Brown were elected by just 21.6 percent of the electorate. Early results from todays elections indicate that turnout is now below 40 percent. There is no legitimacy to our form of government nor can there ever be when every time more people do not want the so-called winners than do.

anybody who doesnt vote should not complain about any government policy,point 1. point 2 brown is a disaster and will go shortly, but, then what? its the media that runs the country, its the media that forced the real elected pm(blair) to leave office.I would love to see the expense claims of the bbc published,we would be even more shocked ,no doubt.we need strong government ,a leader who can take on the media,and make decisions that benefit the country rather than the bbc.

Although James Purnell's comments regarding Gordon Brown's status as a liability for both the Labour party and the UK ring true, after fifteen years of this brand of government I find myself thoroughly sickened by his triumphal crowing. For my sins I'm old enough to remember a spectrum of previous governments and to my mind even the monetarist excesses of the Thatcher years do not come close to the self-serving malevolence of this current one. I confess I voted for Blair in 97 and have had cause to regret it ever since; the past fifteen years have been an exercise not in government but in PERCEPTUAL ENGINEERING, creating a media fantasy world about how well we are all doing and then cramming it down people's throats until they forget to disbelieve it. Well some of us remember; the national health system is worse now than when Labour came to power despite billions being thrown at it; our kids are given a low-calorie substitute for education and parents are mollified with meaningless pieces of paper. Our financial system was built on a fantasy under this prudent chancellor, telephone numbers and monopoly money. And war, we have been led into bloody, criminal, immoral wars by these dishonest men and women. So when Purnell crows the values of the Labour I'm afraid it just leaves a taste of bile in my mouth. If Labour do not go now and let one of the other main parties take the helm the political system in this country will collapse under the weight of voter apathy. Go now, all of you, whilst Westminster has even the slightest hope of continuing to represent us.

Lets hope Brown hangs on a little bit longer he is definitley the Conservatives best asset.

Does Gordon Brown have no pride, humility or self respect? Time for an election before he becomes the most shamed (albeit unelected) PM in our long history.....

Object to #66
I do not think that the majority of British voters are "largely a product of chav, dumbed down thinking;" although some may be. It is called 'democracy' and, whilst not recently apparent in UK politics, it is a system that works and should be respected! A General Election would be a step in the right direction....

#34 Chad Sexington

I agree with most of your assessment. The Telegraph has done it's best to oust the PM before the embarrassment of the official expenses, still to be published.

There is still the other motive the Telegraph has, which is to destroy the PM who is persuading the countries of the world to close down tax havens. Who owns the telegraph, a couple of tax exiles.

Gordon Brown is Cameron's best ally at the moment. If the PM does not step down Labour will lose the next election. If he goes now then the major obstacle to Labour being re-elected will have been removed and a new labour leader will have time to molify the country.

What a dilemma for the Tories. However, Brown's obvious overiding concern as to his own personal ambition, as opposed to the good of his party or the country, should see the Tories ok. He will dither, as usual, and leave it too late for Labour to recover in time.

Go now and call an election or stay until next year - he's doomed either way. Step down, call a leadership election and labour may have a chance.

Good Morning Nick,

when on the Andrew Marr Show Gordon Brown more or less said to the Palace 'tell you what, get on the phone and I'll get the Queen on to the D-Day celebrations' and it was that moment that Brown was done for. It was his arrogance to presume that he was Head of State, that the Queen was somebody who had to ask, I could not personally believe it.

Brown is now having to juggle getting ready for a photo opportunity and trying to save his political skin. He is not up to it, coups always take place when the leader is away.

Blair was ousted after saying that he would serve a full term. Brown took over without an election, he has always lacked any legitimacy, as you sow so shall you reap, and revenge is something best served cold, I think that the game is up.

Let us hear that David Milliband is still foreign secretary after the reshuffle, he has come out supporting the PM. Can we take it that Lord Mandelson will not be the foreign secretary after the reshuffle. If Brown moves Milliband then it is over, Milliband is playing a very good hand. This is not a tragedy, it is is not Shakespearian, it is a farce, a tragic Whitehall farce.

Brown is finished, and as for Jack Straw and the blunders which have led to the horrific murder of the two young Frenchmen. Any decent PM would not let Straw resign, he would sack him, only he can't, for obvious reasons.

One after another yesterday they were trotted out in front of the BBC and Sky cameras to support their bunkered leader, Mandelson, Harman, Byrne, the turncoat Woodward, Hattersley,Sir Stephen Pound and the Baroness on Question Time amongst various others. The line taken was as if they had all got together after a crime had been committed to ensure that they got their story right. The defence went something like this:
1. Gordon Brown is a very clever man who really works hard often burning the midnight oil. (Neither of these qualities guarantee success).
2. He made a good job of getting the countries of the world together at the G20. (Was he then the only one there and the only one who mattered? Was he solely responsible for organising the event?)
3. He scored a points win over David Cameron in PMQs yesterday and looked determined and in in charge. (a good enough reason to keep him in charge? I think not!).
4. He is the only man capable of steering the country through this economic mess which is a 'WORLD' crisis and nothing at all to do with him. (no mention of his loose regulation and reckless spending and borrowing which for years helped to stoke the credit bubble.
3. He is the only man who could have saved the world's banks. (Yeah right!).
4. There is noone in the Party capable of doing a better job (says a lot for his colleagues doesn't it?).
5. People are angry not only with The Government over the expenses issues but also M.P's of other parties and that is why they are going to do badly at the polls (no mention of any of his other policy gaffes).
6. A General Election right now would be unwise before the clear out of miscreant M.P's had been concluded.
7. Conservative policies are non existent and have nosubstance (no mention here of The Guardian column which in essence accused Gordon Brown of stagnating, having no policies and no vision for the future).
8. The resignation of Ministers was disappointing but they were all errors of judgement brought about by misreading the situation. Typical quote: ' -------- is a good friend of mine but in this case I believe he has been led astray by the situation.'

I rest my case.

#73:

If The Telegraph had been as anti Government biased as you say I doubt the duck island and the moat would have seen the light of day until the end of June.

Nick,

yesterday I was in some sort of different universe, I was watching the parliamentary debate on the BBC and it was something about defence. You know the MPs were talking about soldiers fighting and dying in Afghanistan, about all their efforts to defend their country. Also they seemed to be talking about Iraq and something about not having a mandate, and the navy and patrolling the straights, and do you know how many back bench labour MPs there were in the chamber, Liam Fox asked the question for the purposes of being in Hansard, there was one. One. One labour back bench MP, when every wednesday the PM reads out the names of the dead, and they all mumur and yet they could not be bothered to turn up to listen to John Hutton and defence.

That is why I am angry. It is not Brown or labour, it is the wars, it is this contemptible parliament, it is the government of the day which is finished. Brown is finished and it is nobodies fault but his own, he thought that he could just inherit the crown from Blair, a fatal flaw. So it ends, not with a bang but with a whimper, goodbye Mr Brwon, and good riddance.

What we need is the next time someone is interviewing this buffoon they directly state the fact he the country has no time for him and he should go and when he responds in his wooden and perfunctory style they should continue to state the fact until his head explodes...

Having been a party member for nearly half a century and leader of a large Council, I am extremely disappointed with the decision that James Purnell has taken, it is a misjudgement on his behalf. I am absolutely sure, having been out campaigning to today, listening to the electorate that the right person to lead this country through the recession and in the interests of not just the party but the Country I am in no doubt that Gordon Brown is the right person who will take us through the recession, the right person to sort the expenses mess out and the right person to be the Prime Minister of our Country

Marie Rimmer CBE Leader of St Helens Labour Group

#76

what I think we have to do is to look out for people who simply assert something with little or no evidence. All the people coming out in support of Brown are simply making assertions, there is no actual substance to their argument. Our eyes have been opened by the revelations in the media about MPs, and government ministers and former ministers.

We have all been bound by ropes of lies and half truths. Now we are beginning to see that ropes that bound us are nothing but sand, they can be blown away, we will soon be free.

# 66 BuffsRawlinson

"A country gets the institutions and politicians it deserves and right now the UK has hit rock bottom"

Yes, I think this sums up what's happened over the past few decades. Smarter people than me will be to explain the detailed cause-and-effect relationship here. However, it does seem that the UK's citizens and its political class have colluded - perhaps unwittingly - in allowing the economic, political and social fabric of this country to get the point where, frankly, it's wrecked. One could list a litany of disastrous failures in each of these areas of life in the UK today.

You can pick whatever measure you like, but there's little doubt that in the past 12 years, the UK's decline has accelerated at a most alarming rate. In 1997 the British electorate was hoodwinked by a superficial, policy-lite, political marketing campaign (New Labour) led by a vacuous but lethally charming politician (Blair), manipulated by spin doctors (Campbell et al) and with a dark, malevolent and incompetent weirdo (Brown) tucked in behind the scenes and in the most powerful role of all - holding the purse strings.

Ultimately, New Labour is and was always incompetent; it is and always was a sham. The chickens have now good and truly come home to roost.

Finally, if somebody doesn't move quickly to grip the economy then, believe me, our society and way of life is threatened; few people seem to realise just what an ocean-going mess Gordon Brown made of his time in power. It's astonishing that our political system can allow someone who is now, to all intents and purposes a dictator, to sit in Downing Street.

#77 sicilian29

We'll see won't we, when the full publication comes out. Do we want our government decided by proprietors of a newspaper who take money out of our country.

#80

Madam, your blog is the case that proves the point. So out of touch with public opinion. One local council election ward has announced a few minutes ago that the Labour candidate came home in sixth(!!) place.

Despite your defence of Mr Brown, he personally is the reason Labour is doing so badly, irrespective of protestations that he is "the best man for the job". The public, (yes, us that have a vote), do not think so.

Wake up and smell the coffee.

Many thought David Cameron was poor in PMQs on Wednesday but I thought was very clever. By targeting Alastair Darling's position in the cabinet he caused a split.

Having briefed against Darling the party now had the thought of Balls as chancellor; very devisive. Brown's choice was now keep Darling and go back on the briefings. Or choose Balls and alienate many of the cabinet.

For the last few PMQs Darling sat next to Brown and looked miserable. On Wednesday he looked very relaxed and has been moved out with Shaun Woodward taking prime position next to Brown.

Darling is known to only want the Chancellorship. If he is deposed he will probably go to the back benches. Hmmm.

For Brown it is a no-win situation.

Purnell as a Blairite, has jumped before the above happens to position himself with backbench Labour MPs for a future challenge for the leadership. He won't want the poison chalice this time round.

sicilian 76

That was a pretty good summing up there. I have a question for you do you think Brown would go for the revolutionary option and make Yvette Cooper Chancellor? They say she is in for a big job, and economics is the background she has.

Absolutely agree with #6. This doesn't really change much. I still can't see a leadership challenge this side of the general election. Who would be crazy enough to want the job at a time like this?

James Purnell has his own problems re expenses. His constituency now has two reasons to de-select him at the next election. His undeniable troughing, and his double dealing with the Prime Minister and three national newspapers. He may be looking for a new job sooner than he anticipates, or does he think his voters will thank him for what he has done. Nick's description of him as a rising star in the Labour party now looks somewhat hollow. Gordon Brown's 'et tu, Brutus' moment, will probably evoke sympathy in most right thinking people. I hope he survives, even if it is only until the election at a time of his choosing. Once this feeding frenzy is over, he can announce a date and end the constant clamour from the Tories and Lib Dems. Maybe then he can move us out of this limbo and get on and do what needs to be done. What the country needs right now is a period of calm so the government can govern.

A general election will solve nothing. Until there's a full independent review of all MP's activities, then do you really know who you're electing to govern us?
This current situation has been spawned by a deal brokered between Tony Blair & Gordon Brown many years ago. If you have an unelected Prime Minister who governs us, not because of his talent, but because he somehow thinks he has the right to be PM then the present debacle shouldn't really be a surprise.

The day after the cabinet meltdown and the votes are arriving too. It isn't going to be very pleasant reading for Brown. Does he actually have someone read the "tractor" figures out to him?

I will be quite happy for Purnell to repay the CGT he avoided by getting the tax payer to refund his advice

Maybe now that he has resigned from the cabinet he may have a little more time to do some cleaning in his home.

So, that means three tainted cabinet ministers have gone, so that should mean Hoon, Straw, and Darling should be close behind. Our great leader still hasn't paid back his allowances money either.

Anyone so determined to become PM as Gordon Brown, how he fidgeted and grumbled impatiently throughout Blair's reign), was bound to be a disaster in the job. Please, Oh Lord, find us a PM who is not (even before they take the job) emotionally and psychologically unfit for the role. Let the people choose. That, after all, is how the Americans found Obama.

Err....I forgot....That is how the Americans also found Bush.

susan@ 66:

I suspect that Yvette Cooper will be our next Chancellor. A risky manoevre because she and her husband were earlier implicated in the expenses issue and there may yet be more revelations to come if she puts her head above the parapet. Add to that the fact that her husband isn't exactly popular with Labour M.P.s and I believe her appointment would be a gamble that may or may not come off. The added complicaton will be Alistair Darling who will be greatly miffed by the move and may prove to be a future thorn in his master's side.

#3 not only should he resign of that appallng issues. There are many many more

1) Bady P
2) Craig Sweeney and all the other rapists muderers and peado's that have been let out of jail whom they think that they can rehabilitate
life MUST mean life for these people.
3)The total injustice of the Family Courts and the havoc that they have brought to this country

that is just a small list of why jack Straw should go.

Grow a spine and take some responsibility for your inactions.

Are they in governement BUT actually DO NOT know what is happening on there watch, at the least its incompetance which means they should go or is it by design ?

Moraymint 82

Yes this is the point I have been making, they fiddle while Rome burns, it is the economy that worries me and on one seems to be getting to grips with the scale of our problem with Government debt. Looking at the latest figures and they will be by no means the true ones we are still spending far beyond what we are earning as a Country which is adding to our Government debt everyday. Printing money is merely propping that debt up. We need to make cuts and quickly in my opinion.

At least we will know what the electorate is thinking after today and Sunday. If the results are really bad for Labour maybe this will bring on an election personally I really do hope so.

"I am therefore calling on you to stand aside to give our party a fighting chance of winning."

Hmmm, how about the country? Is there anywhere in his letter mentioning what is in the best interest of the country and the people?

Very telling.

Is this really for self-interests?
Are Tony and Cherie pulling the strings and directing in the background?

Politicians :-(

Just listened to Nick Robinson on Today. The situation beggars belief. Do we really live in a democracy, or what? How can one man - Gordon Brown - hold the United Kingdom to ransom like this? Our country is in absolutely dire financial straits - we're on a course for bankruptcy - and a group of politicians play games with their jobs in Westminster. This is utter madness. I know it sounds ridiculous, but cannot HM The Queen intervene on behalf of her subjects? Or, what if the armed forces' chiefs resigned en masse? I can't believe I'm witnessing this.

"If his action does indeed have repercussions, he is unlikely to rise in politics in the future with a record of blatant double dealing." - newtactic - At 11:54pm on 04 Jun 2009.

On the contrary, he is likely to rise in his chosen profession at an unprecedented rate precisely because of the qualities you mention.

This 'cabinet implosion' makes me more angry than anything in the expenses scandal. These people are pathetic and more out of touch with the British people than anyone could possibly have imagined. The country is in the worst recession for 60 years, there's a war in Afghanistan, the NHS is at breaking point, the schools are in dire need of help, and what are the government MPs focusing on? "The future of the Labour party". Oh big DEAL. GET ON WITH RUNNING THE COUNTRY: THE JOB YOU WERE ELECTED - AND ARE PAID - TO DO. And the Tories are no better - Cameron baying for an election like a blood-thirsty hound. He should knuckle down and figure out how he would do things better.

If I went to work today and instead of doing my job spent the whole day thinking of how to oust one of my colleagues, I would be fired. And quite rightly too. Because I wouldn't have been doing the job I was paid to do.

I apologise for sounding so angry. But I really am now. It's simply this that I want to say to MPs: We pay your salary. We are your boss. Get back to work instead of squabbling like tiny children.

is it that GB peronality that he might call an election himself and give the turkeys an early chritmas present.

Ps moderatore there are swear words on this blog that you have missed. Where the i has not even been replaced by a 1 like on mine about Balls and Cooper ? Selective moderation ?

Surley it easy just to run a word search automatically over each post to make you jobs easier. If you need any help I can be hired for this type of work