2009 June « The Wilted Rose

Beckett or Bercow as Speaker would be a joke

22 June, 2009 at 5:52 am | In politics | Leave a Comment
Tags: Beckett, Bercow, Conservatives, House of Commons, Labour, Lib Dems, Parliament, speaker

There is a rumour, on the BBC news website and elsewhere, that the Government is canvassing for Beckett. Labour MPs are believed to favour Bercow, a change from the sheet metal worker and surprising that they would back a Tory.

Yet, one wonders how the Commons can be taken seriously with either as its speaker. Surely someone of the stature of Frank Field would be more plausible. He´s not besmirched by his expenses claims, as alas Mrs Beckett is (remember her notorious heckling on Question Time? who can forget?). As for Bercow, I don´t need to say anything about him.

Let´s see what happens. Maybe someone will be elected as Speaker who will bring some dignity back to parliament but I´d not be surprised if a majority of MPs, snout-deep in the troughs, decide to make an ever bigger laughing stock of the Commons.

Blankety blank

19 June, 2009 at 1:18 pm | In politics | Leave a Comment
Tags: blank, expenses, House of Commons

There was I, enjoying Midsummer in Finland (well, actually, no, it´s raining so I´m in the office in the university catching up on some work in anticipation of some sun next week), and I glance upon this latest iniquity by our MPs and the House of Commons authorities (hat tip: Conservative Home).

I thought that the Times front page does it most justice:

I look forward to obtaining a copy of the Guardian here (no Telegraph alas) and reading the juicy details, maybe, next week.

In the meantime, I, like everyone else apart from the MPs, am disgusted.

Roll on those by elections!

19 June, 2009 at 1:13 pm | In politics | Leave a Comment
Tags: by election, election, Glasgow North East, Gordon Brown, Labour, Livingston, Norwich North

Brown needs another crisis to show what a failure he is as Prime Minister, and how, like Macavity, he manages to dodge them all – with a bit of spinning from Mandy – as he seems to have escaped from the disastrous Local and European Election results by spinning that Labour has to stick together.

Not only Glasgow NE and Norwich N, but we may soon have another Livingston by-election due to the deselection of its Labour MP, who now threatens to “do a Gibson” and resign his seat. Fair play, methinks. If Brown loses all these elections (about the only thing he´s good at being losing elections), he will, with Mandy´s help, spin his way out of it no doubt.

And yet, while we can all wish the by elections to roll on, one election he won´t be able to worm his way out of is next year´s general election, at which more Labour MPs will be wiped out than ´79.

What a shame.

Brown may limp on; no election; just more shambles for another 12 months

8 June, 2009 at 4:15 pm | In politics | 4 Comments
Tags: European electionS, Gordon Brown, Labour

The European elections have been a disaster for Labour. It’s lost 5 seats, it’s been beaten by the Tories in Wales and by the SNP in Scotland, and has even let in BNP MEPs, Nick Griffin in the North West and his colleague in Yorkshire and the Humber.

But Brown may well limp on, will avoid an election, with a poor Cabinet, and we can expect another 12 months of Brownite shambles.

His Government is going down the pan more than even this blog is (down from #84 on Wikio to #209). But you win some, you lose some.

I’m off to England for a few days, then to Finland until at least the end of September – depending on whether my job contract is renewed, or not, or whether a decent offer is offered – and the Wilted Rose will not be totally silent. Maybe a comment or two on the speaker election or any other developments, if I can be bothered. Who knows, maybe some other shocker of news will emerge …

++ Caroline Flint resigns from Cabinet, as Ian Gibson forces Norwich, N by-election and Hoon resigns too ++

5 June, 2009 at 5:58 pm | In politics | 3 Comments
Tags: Caroline Flint, elections, expenses, Geoff Hoon, Gordon Brown, Ian Gibson, Labour

Brown’s weak Cabinet reshuffle – retaining the hapless Darling and the hopeless Milipede in their posts (because of their selfish demands to remain in post) and the pathetic recruitment of “Lord Sugar” as enterprise tsar (whose ‘You’re fired’ attitude will do much to damage the perception of business) – meant that he had nothing to offer the delightful Caroline Flint (Lab, Don Valley), who has been ultra loyal to him and deserved a promotion.

So she has resigned from the Cabinet and complained about how Brown uses women as ‘window dressing’. After all, with Jacqui Smith and Hazel Blears gone, why are their no roles for the good women in the Labour Party? Why indeed.

Flint has done a brave thing, but not as brave as Ian Gibson (Lab, Norwich, N) who has resigned as an MP and forced a by-election, because Gordon Brown treated him as a scapegoat. At least Hoon has now resigned, after his capital gains tax scandal; but why has Darling not done the decent thing and resigned?

Caroline Flint is right. Labour, despite the Blair’s Babe of the 90s, has always treated women as tokens. While some have risen to the top, they have been allowed to crash and burn.

The Tories will gain Norwich North, having taken councils such as Derbyshire and Lancashire. Now Warwickshire, and many more will follow.

Brown should resign, Alan Johnson is a fool to stand by him (although he’s clearly after the Leadership eventually). How many more Caroline Flints will there be?

Tories gain Lancashire and DERBYSHIRE councils from Labour

5 June, 2009 at 2:49 pm | In politics | Leave a Comment
Tags: DERBYSHIRE, election, Labour, Lancashire, Tories

So Tim Montgomerie reports. Labour’s rose may have Wilted, but Lancashire’s is now blooming – and has a blue tint. And DERBYSHIRE?

Turn out the lights when you leave the Labour party, Gordon. It’s game over. You cannot cling on any longer.

++ Sky News: John Hutton resigns from Government ++

5 June, 2009 at 9:40 am | In politics | 2 Comments
Tags: Gordon Brown, John Hutton, Labour, local elections, reshuffle

Fascinating that, according to Sky News, Hutton has now resigned. Is it part of the coup or has he just had enough of the abuse that comes about being a cabinet member? Word is that Cumbria, where he has his Barrow-in-Furness seat, has gone deep blue.

Who’d blame him for jumping ship, and we’ll soon find out why… In the meantime, we must watch this fiasco of a very uninspiring reshuffle …

++ Purnell resigns from Cabinet: calls for Brown to resign ++

4 June, 2009 at 9:05 pm | In politics | Leave a Comment
Tags: Brown, Labour, Purnell

Alistair Darling was characteristic and didn’t dare resign. Just like his handling of the economy: typically indecisive.

Now James Purnell has resigned and called for Brown to step down. Brown is finished.

Labour in for a severe bashing at European elections

3 June, 2009 at 6:51 pm | In politics | 2 Comments
Tags: 2009, European electionS, Labour, Lib Dems, opinion polls, Tories, UK

The Telegraph’s final, eve-of-poll YouGov opinion poll shows the following vote share:

Con 26%
UKIP 18%
Lab 16%
LD 15%
Grn 10%
BNP 5%

Hopefully, this will result will finish off Gordon Brown and we can have some sensible governance in the UK … and many Labour councillors will be gone too in the Shires.

As for Labour, they are in big trouble. Big trouble. And helpful Labour MPs are gathering 50 signatures to force Brown’s resignation. Will Labour even manage 10% tomorrow? Should its voters even bother turning out?

Here’s the letter from the Sky News website:-

Dear Gordon,

Over the last 12 years in government, and before, you have made an enormous contribution to this country and to the Labour Party, and this is very widely acknowledged.

However we are writing now because we believe that in the current political situation, you can best serve the Labour Party and the country by stepping down as party leader and prime minister, and so allowing the party to choose a new leader to take us into the next general election.

Yours,

XXXX

Does Mr Brown know how to spell the word “untenable”???

++ Hazel Blears resigns from Cabinet ++

3 June, 2009 at 10:46 am | In politics | Leave a Comment
Tags: Brown, expenses, Hazel Blears, Labour

Now we hear that Hazel Blears has resigned from the Government, making the position of Brown even more untenable. This is even better than the curry house plot – who will be next?

++ The Guardian calls for Brown to resign ++

2 June, 2009 at 10:38 pm | In politics | Leave a Comment
Tags: Gordon Brown, Guardian, Labour

The Leftwin newspaper The Guardian has called for Brown to resign. Just as Sir Patrick Cormack et al’s attack finished Mickey Martin, the speaker, Brown’s position is now untenable. And the Sun is urging its readers to vote TORY.

it was the Guardian wot done it… But the Telegraph tipped Brown over the edge. It has ended ministerial and political careers, with Darling rumoured to be resigning on Wednesday.

Labour will be wiped out in the local and European elections, ending Brown’s career as PM, and rightly too…

++ Sky News: 4 Labour MP “barred” from standing at next election ++

2 June, 2009 at 6:16 pm | In politics | Leave a Comment
Tags: expenses, Ian Gibson, Labour, MPs

Labour has barred Ian Gibson, Norwich North MP, and 3 others from standing at the next election. These MPs, while they allegedly did wrong in their expenses claims, are just whipping boys – it is people like Darling and Smith, plus many other Labour MPs (+ Tories + Lib Dems), who should be standing down. They are the real scapegoats.

Elliot Motley, Margaret Moron and David Chaytor (my freudian predictive texting changed the first two) have also been deselected. But, actually, why is what Darling, Hoon, Smith, and many others did OK? Why hasn’t the star chamber investigated them? Because they’re in the cabinet ? Well, it won’t curb the Labour meltdown but at least they’ll be sacked from the cabinet. Which doesn’t leave much material to replace them….

European and Local Elections – Labour in meltdown.

2 June, 2009 at 4:16 pm | In politics | Leave a Comment
Tags: Alistair Darling, elections, Gordon Brown, Jacqui Smith, Labour

The opinion polls are making dire reading for Labour and the Tories are soaring ahead, apart from a rogue poll (ComRes for the Independent) suggesting Con Westminster support has gone down by 15 points in a month. In the Euro elections UKIP is strong, on around 15 – 20% of the likely votes, with the Tories at the lead. Meanwhile, Labour will be lucky to hit 15% and may even finish FIFTH behind the Greens, Libs, UKIP, and Tories. (See Political Betting and UK Polling Report for some interesting analyses.)

But, at the end of the day, while the opinion polls (and canvassing returns, dreadful as they must be for Labour) may be spooking certain Party Leaders, it’s the votes on the day that will seal the fates of those Parties.

UKIP should have a spectacular European Elections. Cameron’s Tories should have hit 50 per cent in the Euros – and would have, had it not been for its pig-headed leadership’s insistence on bringing Ken Clarke into the ShadCab and not adopting a more robust policy on Europe (not necessarily withdrawalist, just a lot more sceptic than the wishy washy Hagueite ‘in europe, not run by europe’ line that still seems to persist).

Labour is in trouble. So much so, with the expenses scandal (though certain top Tories need to go too), that Jacqui Smith and Alistair Darling – amongst others – are for the chop. And they haven’t a hope of holding their respective Redditch and Edinburgh, SW seats. They will be the key actors in “Were you up for Portillo” moments.

Brown’s starting to throw his allies overboard as he tries to steady the sinking ship. It will be to little avail. His voters will stay at home, and Thursday/Friday’s local results will be dire as “Nottingham, Central – CON gain” and the like flashes across the screen, as scores of Labour council wards disappear and their councils flip, a bit like a flipping MP, just more honestly.

The Euro elections will come like a second wave of pandemic on Sunday and poor old Gordon won’t have a weekend to recover.

His Cabinet will be reshaped, cronies (like Ed Balls) will be in place, his leadership will be even more of a joke than it is, and his opinion poll ratings will take a further beating in the weeks after.

Then we’ll all go off for our summer breaks, enjoy the heatwave, and watch Labour go further into meltdown. Maybe a leadership challenge, maybe not.

But whatever happens. Labour’s meltdown is symptomatic of a wilted rose that was once a worker’s party. Again and again Labour betrayed the working man and the working woman. Whether it was grammar schools or the economy, or more recently expenses, they have betrayed their core supporters.

The wilted rose’s petals continue to fall, is there much rose left I doubt, but the Wilted Rose will continue to criticise it until it eventually gives up the ghost and ushers in a new era…