Gordon Brown’s a liability.
Jonathan Freedland sums up Labour’s malaise all too well in today’s Comment is Free: “I find myself in sympathy with those who admired Brown through his 10 long years as chancellor and who keenly awaited his premiership, and yet now conclude that they got Brown wrong – that, on the current evidence, he is simply not up to the job.”
A sad but necessary conclusion. Encouraged by my A-level Economics teacher, who explained that Brown was one of the best Chancellors of recent decades, I also looked up to the man and dearly hoped he’d be of stronger mettle than the thespian Blair.
Oh well, things fall apart. Read the rest of Freedland’s piece – be warned, if you’ve got a stake in society it’s a tearjerker – here.
Meanwhile, Sue Cameron writes in the FT: “all over town businesses are hiring Tories. Public relations companies are to the fore but all sorts of commercial organisations and non-profit-making outfits are sniffing the wind and looking for true blues.”
Oh dear Lord. The tide has already turned. Then again, David Davis’ heroic resignation last week made even me a Tory-supporter for a nano-second.
Photos courtesy Mark Hillary and Rakka on Creative Commons.
David Davis? Heroic? You must be kidding! His resignation was the most crass and opportunistic political stunt I’ve seen in a long time. And if you think he’s any true defender of civil liberties, read this piece by David Aaronovitch: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/david_aaronovitch/article4152102.ece.
why ‘crass and opportunistic’? he’s chucked his job in, probably won’t get it back, and for what? so he can have ten minutes in the spotlight against 25 comedy challengers? What kind of ‘opportunity’ is that?
I think he genuinely believes that 42 days is ridiculous, and was convinced by chakrabarti et al’s arguments, thus making his previous voting record less important. I don’t quite see the relevance of his stance on gay adoption etc either – that he’s wrong on some stuff and right on others? Wow. At least he’s saying something, at least he’s not cowering behind a facade of looking ‘strong on terror’ in a desparate attempt to salvage something from a train wreck of a premiership…i dunno, maybe i’m giving him too much credit. I’m just glad the debate and the issue has been stretched out for much longer than the normal limites of press attention given to such votes permits.