Saturday 9 February 2008

Charles Clarke - Gordon Brown is a Ditherer

Charles Clarke has made my prediction of Gordon Brown being given the boot by May, a whole lot more credible today. Speaking to Petronella Wyatt of the Daily Mail, Clarke has launched into what can only be described as a scathing attack on the Prime Minister. Not only that, he even has the bottle (I wonder if he has a spare one for Brown) to praise David Cameron for his decisiveness over the expenses fiasco.

This is just a small taste of the Clarke's criticism of Brown:

"Sadly, as far as I have learned, his relationship with the Treasury has not improved at all. The senior Civil Service, as a whole, is very pessimistic about the way he is running the country. This is something else he must address. "The art of politics is about fast reactions. When something comes along, you have to respond very quickly or it runs away from you. "You saw it with David Cameron over MPs' expenses when he was out, very fast, dealing with the situation. Gordon must stop being a ditherer. He lacks courage. He looks at his papers, dithers and isn't sure."
This reinforces my belief that Brown's days as Prime Minister are numbered - and that number is a small one. The Labour party has plenty of career politicians who do not want to be the Government's opposition. They are surely wondering if Gordon is capable of leading to victory in the next general election, I'm damn sure that I would be.

You can read the full article by clicking HERE.

2 comments:

William Gruff said...

I still can't see it happening. Brown cannot simply be toppled by a rebellion of MPs, which is in itself unlikely when one considers that even Frank Field and Kate Hoey can be coerced into following the party line. That notwithstanding, no Labour MP would contribute to the gift to the Conservatives that would be a vote of no confidence and even should they do so they cannot force his resignation. That some MPs express the view that the leader is a liability does not mean that a significant proportion of party members agree. Should it prove otherwise the members can have no opportunity to express their lack of confidence until the autumn conference and I am not aware of any precedent for such a motion at conference. Apart from the nearly universal loathing of the Conservatives amongst the party rank and file, many members in the Labour Party regarded Blair as an aberration, even though an arguably necessary evil, and Brown is much more in tune with their way of thinking. They are unlikely to turn him out except in the last resort. Brown has also been particularly generous to the public sector workers and their unions are indebted to him.

He is not the sort of man to relinquish power easily and will, without doubt, happily lead the party to certain defeat, just as John Major led the Conservatives to more than a decade in opposition, if it meant a few more months in No. 10, and with little more than two years until the next general election few can seriously wish to see a leadership contest. Who would want the post, knowing that a hung parliament is the best possible outcome for Labour and defeat almost inevitable?

He doesn't need nerve to stay put, just arrogance and the pig-headed stubbornness of the overbearingly ambitious, and those he has in abundance. Unless he has a nervous breakdown or he is assassinated, or Her Majesty sacks him, he's in for the duration.

Daily Referendum said...

Mr Gruff,

I think if they want rid of him, they can make it impossible for him to stay in office.